No Rotating Menu

[curlybelle2]

1 hour ago, cruzsnooze said:

    NCL is debuting a new concept whereby the main dining room menu will be the same. They give multiple reasons why this is a benefit but I'm not so sure. It is a money saver no doubt. On a longer cruise I think I wouldn't like it but on a week or 10 days perhaps it would be okay. 

   My thought is that if something goes over with an effective cost costing measure on any mass market cruise line the others will follow which would include Princess.  Any thoughts about this kind of change?

 

Norwegian Cruise Line on Tuesday will announce that the main included-in-the-fare restaurant on its soon-to-debut Norwegian Prima won’t offer a 14-day rotation of changing menus, as is typical for main dining rooms on cruise ships. Instead, it’ll offer a fixed menu of dishes that stays the same from night to night. 

Would not be happy with this, we like the variety in foods that Princess serves. That is what we enjoy, trying different types of foods that we wouldn't get at home. We always look for something different and special. Sure hope Princess is not considering this menu option.

[brisalta]

4 minutes ago, memoak said:

Sorry you must never have had club class because there are 1-2 dishes on each meal that are not on the MDR menu

 

At least on the Grand Princess there were 1 or 2 dishes served in the MDR that were not on the menu. These dishes were prepared by the head waiter. I do not know if this is still happening after the restart of cruising.

[azbirdmom]

21 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

At least on the Grand Princess there were 1 or 2 dishes served in the MDR that were not on the menu. These dishes were prepared by the head waiter. I do not know if this is still happening after the restart of cruising.

 

Have cruised twice in Club Class since cruising restarted.  There is no tableside / food preparation in the dining area.  The additional dish comes from the kitchen right now.

[Astro Flyer]

22 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

At least on the Grand Princess there were 1 or 2 dishes served in the MDR that were not on the menu. These dishes were prepared by the head waiter. I do not know if this is still happening after the restart of cruising.

Headwaiters prepared Penne Arrabiata in the MDR but in October the Majestic HW said they’re no longer allowed to make it…the aroma of that pasta was mouthwatering. 😋.

[cruzsnooze]

40 minutes ago, memoak said:

I have sailed with club class since it was started and the extra dish has never been something on the regular menu and it changes daily for more choices. Also they have been excellent for the most

My experience is different. I've done club class since the beginning and Caesar salad is on the every day menu and they made it "fresh" as the extra dish. 

  The newer NCL ship is actually smaller then the current trend according to the article.

At 142,500 tons, Norwegian Prima will be notably smaller than the vessels the line has added in recent years, such as the 2-year-old, 169,116-ton Norwegian Encore — a feature that will allow it to access smaller ports around the world.

 

Thinking about a largely expanded menu that stayed the same would be a nightmare. How can the ships galley cook so many dishes to offer a huge menu and what about the waste to have so much. It could be counter productive if I see Lobster tails as a regular menu item and want it most nights. I'm curious how this will pan out with NCL because if it's successful others will copy.

Edited March 9, 2022 by cruzsnooze

[PrincessLuver]

42 minutes ago, memoak said:

I have sailed with club class since it was started and the extra dish has never been something on the regular menu and it changes daily for more choices. Also they have been excellent for the most

 

This has been one of the many benefits we enjoy about Club Class and gladly pay for the experience too.

Edited March 9, 2022 by PrincessLuver

[MISTER 67]

I can see this as a plus but the menu would have to be fairly extensive, at least 3 red meat entrees, 3 fish, 2 chicken dishes, 2 or 3 pasta dishes and some Veggie dishes. The dessert menu would also need to be extensive.

I really think the quality would improve as practice makes perfect.

Shouldn’t be a problem as the World Market always offers an extensive selection including many desserts.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

We should be able to find out soon.

[CruisinFinsUp]

 

NcL focuses more on pay extra restaurants.  
Their website lists 12 specialty dining types.  That is a lot compared to Princess.  https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/why-cruise-norwegian/cruise-dining
 

 

On Princess, there is simply not enough other dining venues to seat everyone regularly so that they'd choose "included" dining only 2x on the cruise (as others have stated).  
Princess would have to change its offering and ship layout in order to accomplish this, so I doubt its a concern.  
 

 

[HBCcruiser]

13 hours ago, patrickmoran said:

I don't think this will be P thing. NCL large ships have more dining options than P's ships. As NCL reported, the average NCL cruiser only eats in the MDR twice on a cruise. A lot of their sales include specialty dining options. Thus a menu with say 8-10 entrees would work. On P, not so much

 

I agree. The Prima is a new ship with 19 restaurants to choose from. I’m not including the Haven because only suites eat there. Princess would need to offer many more restaurant options for this to work. 
 

PRIMA Restaurants:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nebr.cruiser]

This sounds like a terrible idea.  I love the variety of different menus every night.  It sounds like a ploy to force people to eat at specialty restaurants more.

[Daniel A]

We are booked on a ten-day NCL Breakaway next year.  One of the things we need to figure out is where to eat each day as the ship has so many choices.  We're sailing in the Haven which will add another prime restaurant to the mix.  There is no way we will be able to take an evening meal in each venue.  One concern I have is the very limited number of dining venues on Princess ships.  We have plenty of Italian restaurants and steak houses here in New York, so the specialty restaurants don't attract us much.  We only use Princess' specialty restaurants if they're comp'd.  That leaves the MDR - often, the choices on the MDR menus don't seem attractive, so that leaves the burgers or pizza on lido or the buffet for our dinners.  Not complaining though, we're clearly fans of Princess, but their food options don't compare to NCL's.  It might be nice for once to know what's on the MDR menu well in advance.  On Princess, we usually don't get to see that day's menu until afternoon.

 

I don't see this concept as being viable on Princess.

[cruzsnooze]

    If revenue is increased they could always find a way. Princess could convert one of the main dining rooms into a food court with several restaurants for an up charge. On some ships they use a portion of the buffet for the steak house Sterlings. 

  The issue for me is about the same menu every night. I usually sail in a suite or club class mini so usually the first night go to a specialty restaurant. The rest of my cruise I use club class which has the same menu as the MDR. On a 14 night cruise I think I'd be bored with the same menu unless there was a daily special that I cared for. 

   If it works for a competitor Princess will follow. Look at NCL's freestyle dining which everyone followed as anytime dining. I find these mass market cruise lines more alike then different.  

[generichandle]

You may not have sailed NCL, but I have. Each night in the buffet, AND in the MDR, they have one beef dish, one fish dish, two chicken dishes, and maybe a pork dish. Outside of going to the upscale dining venues, you will NOT see shellfish of any sort, not even shrimp, you will NOT see lobster, you will NOT see a quality steak. They occasionally make decent dishes in the MDR or buffet, but if you want quality, pay for it! I especially liked their French and Japanese selections. 

 

But truth be told, I do not recommend NCL for food. Overall, PCL is vastly better. I have gotten excellent food in the buffet, often enough. And they WILL get you anything they have available, upon request. 

 

Please PCL, stay with it!

[MissP22]

When it spreads to Princess they better have a menu that includes every item the DR prepares right now. 😀

[KruzPrincess]

There are so many choices on NCL that this wouldn’t bother me. I only eat in the MDR a couple times on each cruise. The amenities package gives you a couple specialty dining coupons. Loyalty club gives you a specialty dinner. You can pre-purchase a dining package that’s very affordable. The buffet has good choices. There are other options that are included in your fare. On Princess I wouldn’t like a non-rotating menu. There just aren’t many choices. I love Princess for many other reasons, though.

[cruzin4us]

Having a few items on the menu that never change (for example:Caesar Salad, Shrimp Cocktail, Escargot, New York Steak) I'm okay with that as long as there are new items on the menu as well.   They pretty much do this for breakfast already. 

[HBCcruiser]

2 hours ago, Daniel A said:

We're sailing in the Haven which will add another prime restaurant to the mix. 

We have sailed the Breakaway in the Haven and will be doing so again in July. Might I suggest that you eat several times in the Haven? The food is outstanding. If you let them know your preferences, they will work hard to make it work for you. We also enjoyed Ocean Blue, Le Bistro and Teppanyaki (for the kids - fun). Cagney's is like Crown Grill if you like steak houses. I also plan on booking the dinner show on the BA which is always fun.  

 

On another note, I enjoy sailing on Princess ships. The food is always good (my opinion) and I only need a few specialty restaurants to switch things up. 

 

Happy cruisiing! 

[MsSoCalCruiser]

22 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

We have sailed the Breakaway in the Haven and will be doing so again in July. Might I suggest that you eat several times in the Haven? The food is outstanding. If you let them know your preferences, they will work hard to make it work for you. We also enjoyed Ocean Blue, Le Bistro and Teppanyaki (for the kids - fun). Cagney's is like Crown Grill if you like steak houses. I also plan on booking the dinner show on the BA which is always fun.  

 

On another note, I enjoy sailing on Princess ships. The food is always good (my opinion) and I only need a few specialty restaurants to switch things up. 

 

Happy cruisiing! 

We sailed on the Bliss (not in the Haven) several years ago and enjoyed both Teppanyaki and Cagney’s.  

[Bgwest]

17 hours ago, memoak said:

Sorry you must never have had club class because there are 1-2 dishes on each meal that are not on the MDR menu

We've never sailed Princess OUTSIDE of CC.

1-2? NO, ONE "extra dish" and one only. 

And this assumes you consider that a salad, some random side or additional pasta qualifies as an "extra dish". 

Beyond this, the CC menu is exactly the same as the rest of the MDR.

[MauiLvrs]

To force people to eat in pay extra venues -- Simple. NCL has sucked for a long time and so now they suck more. Who wants to spend their cruise debating about where to eat tonight 🙄

[memoak]

1 hour ago, Bgwest said:

We've never sailed Princess OUTSIDE of CC.

1-2? NO, ONE "extra dish" and one only. 

And this assumes you consider that a salad, some random side or additional pasta qualifies as an "extra dish". 

Beyond this, the CC menu is exactly the same as the rest of the MDR.

We must have been on different ships. I have always had an extra entree offered and sometimes an extra app. The steak Diane I had a few years ago was one of the best versions I have ever had

[JimmyVWine]

5 hours ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

This sounds like a terrible idea.  I love the variety of different menus every night.  It sounds like a ploy to force people to eat at specialty restaurants more.

Except that the Specialty Restaurants have menus that rarely change.  So moving over from one static menu to a paid-for static menu hardly seems like a winning play. 

[Bgwest]

36 minutes ago, memoak said:

We must have been on different ships. I have always had an extra entree offered and sometimes an extra app. The steak Diane I had a few years ago was one of the best versions I have ever had

A few years ago...........I see.......then you are referring the way things used to be. 

We've also enjoyed some very nice extra CC entrees and desserts. Long ago and far away.

 

But as this discussion is about the present going forward, my comments relate to the 4 Princess (Emerald, CB, CB, Grand) cruises we've taken since restart. Prepare to have your expectations tempered. 

[rj59]

NCL is the worst for cheap cutbacks and price gouging. They're already doing the same menu practice, but at lunch, where they offer one menu every day of a cruise in the MDR. Princess has an equivalent with their disappointing, meager, dull breakfast menu in the MDR, with a few daily specials like compote. HAL has the most extensive and creative breakfast menu, with Asian, Scandinavian, and other unique breakfasts, and Carnival also has a very creative breakfast menu. But Princess simply isn't going to mess with dinner menus or lunch menus too much, but like HAL, find other ways to cut back, like shrinking portions, spreading out a meager amount of food on a huge plate and making it look pretty, or Princess skipping lobster on shorter cruises for a ridiculous giant shrimp, with the server carefully carving it out of its shell--my family rolled our eyes when we had that on a short coastal cruise. But realize that all the lines have lost billions and now face huge increases in fuel and food expenses, so I'd expect to see various forms of cutbacks, even if more premium lines make it less obvious.