What do you think of the new Prima class dinner menu?

[CruizinSusan70]

On 12/5/2022 at 12:44 AM, fandangocruiser said:

My wife and I got in the habit of going by the MDR during the day to decide if we wanted to go there or Locals, Asian, of buffet.  With the fixed menu, we'll already know the choices and not need to check each day.

Hudson's is great for lunch and not open on port days, only embarkation and sea days.  Also, the buffet closes at 900 am on port days and 930 am on sea days for breakfast.

[KeithJenner]

9 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Hudson's is great for lunch and not open on port days, only embarkation and sea days.  Also, the buffet closes at 900 am on port days and 930 am on sea days for breakfast.

I think that they meant they go by the MDR during the day to look at the menu, not to eat.

 

We do the same thing if we aren’t booked in somewhere in the evening. Have a quick look at the menu that gets posted outside the MDR during the day to decide whether to eat there or go elsewhere.

 

An attraction to us of the fixed menu is that we can make plans knowing what will be available. Some of the current MDR restaurants are a lot less appealing than others.

[PATRLR]

On 11/15/2022 at 3:14 PM, curlstravel said:

The secret to indulge is to go 10 min before it opens to get a good table

This seems to be a theme on Prima.  Get to the entertainment venues early, now get to Indulge early?

[curlstravel]

On 12/6/2022 at 6:45 AM, PATRLR said:

This seems to be a theme on Prima.  Get to the entertainment venues early, now get to Indulge early?

When we were on the prima it was a new ship and everyone was excited to try indulge because none of the other ships have it.  I think after a while the excitement will die down and the crowds will get less and less.

We were able to get in every entertainment venue when we were on the ship even without reservations. I believe a lot of people made reservations but didn’t show up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[asmit4]

People never fail to crack me up.

I don't eat/like any meat, seafood or pasta...the menus look terrible to me. There is nothing to eat for me. 

I want 5 star dining on a mass marketed cruise ship with 6000 other guests onboard. 

 

Are you people for real?! 🤣 

[MartiniTime]

On 11/7/2022 at 1:03 PM, weltek said:

Can anyone provide some examples of the daily dinner specials? I'm having a hard time finding that info from recent Prima sailings.

Hi, we were on the Prima last week.  Not sure if you've gotten an answer to this yet but on the nights that we dined in MDR the daily specials were:  Lamb Chops, Shrimp Fra Diavolo, Prime Rib, Mexican Carne Asada (Skirt Steak).  Totally missed the first night's special, lol.  My husband had the prime rib which was not really worth the extra cost.  Regular menu items were better than expected, specifically the short ribs.  You can view all menus on your cabin tv.  Enjoy!

[CruizinSusan70]

On 12/6/2022 at 6:45 AM, PATRLR said:

This seems to be a theme on Prima.  Get to the entertainment venues early, now get to Indulge early?

Indulge is busier at lunch versus dinner.  The quality of the food and the options are better at dinnertime though.  Sea days and embarkation day are good days for Hudson's and you avoid the crowds at Indulge.  

Syd's is the only venue you need to show up early for since there are no reservations.

[CruizinSusan70]

On 12/7/2022 at 10:28 PM, asmit4 said:

I want 5 star dining on a mass marketed cruise ship with 6000 other guests onboard. 

 

Are you people for real?! 🤣 

The Prima only holds 3100. 😉

[BirdTravels]

On 12/6/2022 at 6:45 AM, PATRLR said:

This seems to be a theme on Prima.  Get to the entertainment venues early, now get to Indulge early?

Isn't that true on any ship???? If you want a seat in the buffet for breakfast on a port day (on any ship), show up early. If you want a good seat in the theater (on any ship) show up early. If you don't want the front row of the comedy club and get picked on, show up early. 

 

At least NCL is not doing the RCL Windjammer buffet thing... making constant announcements "If you are done stuffing your face, get out so others can stuff their face". I have always found the RCL approach totally offensive. 

[PATRLR]

10 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Isn't that true on any ship???? If you want a seat in the buffet for breakfast on a port day (on any ship), show up early. If you want a good seat in the theater (on any ship) show up early. If you don't want the front row of the comedy club and get picked on, show up early. 

 

At least NCL is not doing the RCL Windjammer buffet thing... making constant announcements "If you are done stuffing your face, get out so others can stuff their face". I have always found the RCL approach totally offensive. 

Well, I guess this is a subjective topic.  The comment I commented on said "good table" and I admit I don't know what that means in Indulge because I've not experienced Indulge.  Buffet, theatre, comedy club, music clubs, we generally think of any seat as "good", we aren't particular about these things.   I guess I interpreted the Indulge comment as "any seat" which of course was my error.   

I agree, if you want a specific seat in any venue on any ship, then, yes you need to be their early.

 

Been a while since we've been on RCCL.  I agree, announcements to move on would be unpleasant.

[KKB]

To me this is clearly to push more people to go to specialty dining. 

(save $ with a more limited menu, make more $ via specialty)

I can't eat pasta, so that is out for me.

Spinach artichoke dip & chili? Straight from the Local/O'Sheehans menu.

We won't go hungry, but not super thrilled.

 

[Karaboudjan]

On 12/13/2022 at 12:58 AM, CruizinSusan70 said:

Indulge is busier at lunch versus dinner.  

 

I think that's too much of a generalization.  We ate there for two lunches and one dinner.  We arrived around opening time for all of the meals.  For the lunches it was pretty much empty when we sat down and gradually people arrived.  I'm not sure if it ever filled by the time we finished and left.  For the dinner we found a seat but 5 minutes after the tablets went online there were no seats and the stand that I could see had at least 10 tickets on the rail.  

[BirdTravels]

On 12/6/2022 at 6:45 AM, PATRLR said:

Get to the entertainment venues early,

How is this different that any other cruise ship that anyone has ever sailed on since the start of cruising? We have cruised for decades and can't remember a time that we did not feel compelled to do this. 

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, KKB said:

To me this is clearly to push more people to go to specialty dining. 

(save $ with a more limited menu, make more $ via specialty)

I can't eat pasta, so that is out for me.

Spinach artichoke dip & chili? Straight from the Local/O'Sheehans menu.

We won't go hungry, but not super thrilled.

 

There is absolutely no basis for this conclusion. The Prima offers more complimentary dining rooms than other ships. In fact, the Prima has moved some of the previous "for fee" items to complementary dining,,, like Q BBQ and Tapas (dishes from the Pinchos Escape). The Prima also features an expansive MDR menu (far bigger than any other ship) with quality items (beef wellington). 

 

I think that the conclusion is 100% the opposite. The Prima is inviting guests to get great food complimentary. 

[cruiseny4life]

37 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

How is this different that any other cruise ship that anyone has ever sailed on since the start of cruising? We have cruised for decades and can't remember a time that we did not feel compelled to do this. 

 

On 12/6/2022 at 6:45 AM, PATRLR said:

This seems to be a theme on Prima.  Get to the entertainment venues early, now get to Indulge early?

Come on Bird. You're better than this. You took the comment completely out of context. It's not about entertainment. It's about food.

 

[roxette]

I, for one, hope that these new menus will be rolled out to the entire fleet shortly.

 

Anyone heard anything?

[PATRLR]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

How is this different that any other cruise ship that anyone has ever sailed on since the start of cruising? We have cruised for decades and can't remember a time that we did not feel compelled to do this. 

We also have cruised for decades and until very recently, I don't recall ever feeling compelled to stand in line waiting just to be sure we can get in to an entertainment venue as has been described in reports about Prima.  The first time I recall this phenomenon was an NCL ship to get into Cavern Club or whatever venue was hosting the Beatles tribute (sorry, I don't recall which ship).  Now, as I stated in your first response to this quote, we aren't picky about seats for dining, and we aren't picky about seats for entertainment.  We show up when we want (prior to showtime, of course) and sit where we can.    Until that Beatles show, we have never felt a need to stand in line somewhere just to get in. 

Even for major  national acts like Jerry Lewis, we didn't feel a need to get to the venue early.

[wally4ever]

I would love to have a standard menu in the main dining room, but I say that as somebody that typically only eats in the main dining room once during a cruise.

[Kamila5]

I appreciate the points made about potential improved quality of food with a streamlined menu, but I'm quite disappointed by the options.  With dietary restrictions I can't eat beef or pasta, and as a personal preference don't enjoy fish.  That pretty much leaves me 1 pork and 1 chicken option.  I know my dietary restrictions are pretty specific (and I'm sure others would enjoy more of the available options), but even thinking about how many beef options there are compared to poultry, it feels like a lack of consideration for people who have more limited allowances in what they eat.

I'll be going on a 2-week cruise next year and am expecting to be quite frustrated in the dining rooms.  I loved the variety of different pork and poultry dishes there have been before. Particularly for a longer cruise, the variety helps to work against getting cabin fever/bored with food.

I'm also a dessert fan and enjoyed other options that are now gone (lemon cake, banana souffle).

Edited January 21 by Kamila5

[Liljo22]

41 minutes ago, Kamila5 said:

I appreciate the points made about potential improved quality of food with a streamlined menu, but I'm quite disappointed by the options.  With dietary restrictions I can't eat beef or pasta, and as a personal preference don't enjoy fish.  That pretty much leaves me 1 pork and 1 chicken option.  I know my dietary restrictions are pretty specific (and I'm sure others would enjoy more of the available options), but even thinking about how many beef options there are compared to poultry, it feels like a lack of consideration for people who have more limited allowances in what they eat.

I'll be going on a 2-week cruise next year and am expecting to be quite frustrated in the dining rooms.  I loved the variety of different pork and poultry dishes there have been before. Particularly for a longer cruise, the variety helps to work against getting cabin fever/bored with food.

I'm also a dessert fan and enjoyed other options that are now gone (lemon cake, banana souffle).

Well NCL went back to the rotating menus a while ago so you may or may not be disappointed.

[laudergayle]

Yup…that’s what happens when you get a year old post.  May 2023, Prima went to the rotating menu as other NCL ships.  We were on the first Prima cruise to have the rotation and we were quite happy about the change.