Any suggestions on specialty dining

[Madhatter12]

I have a cruise in May on the Encore and I upgraded to 3 special dining for four night cruise. I cannot figure out which ones I want to do, any suggestions would be helpful. this is the first time I’ve ever cruised on NCL and I’m going alone. i’ve cruise seven times on carnival and I usually do all the specialty dinings on the cruise. I am not a big seafood eater.

[genealogyfan]

2 minutes ago, Madhatter12 said:

I have a cruise in May on the Encore and I upgraded to 3 special dining for four night cruise. I cannot figure out which ones I want to do, any suggestions would be helpful. this is the first time I’ve ever cruised on NCL and I’m going alone. i’ve cruise seven times on carnival and I usually do all the specialty dinings on the cruise. I am not a big seafood eater.

We thought Le Bistro was the best one out of all the speciality dining restaurants.  Ocean Blue was also a really good one that we had on the Breakaway.

[Sand and Seas]

On Encore, we loved Onda and Los Lobos.  They aren't on every ship, so they are a must visit on Encore for us!

[complawyer]

cagney's hands down!

[bkrickles1]

I agree with Sand. Onda and Los Lobos are terrific.

I really enjoyed Los Lobos and was sad it wasn't on Joy.

I'd choose Teppanyaki if you want to have some fun.

I'd choose Cagney's if you want an awesome seven layer cake. Lmao!!

[www3traveler]

Cagney's and Ocean Blue

[debenson0723]

Onda on the Encore was excellent both times I have eaten there, both pre and post covid. Agree about Los Lobos too. Teppanyaki is fun for a solo cruiser who wants to socialize, Cagneys for the chocolate cake and Food Republic for everything.

[UKstages]

all these restaurants are good. and they have all been bad, or at least less than stellar. it depends on the ship, the staff and sometimes on the passengers, the supply chain and a host of other factors.

 

it's kind of like when you got to any land-based franchised restaurant... sometimes they knock it out of the park... sometimes they are clueless. while NCL has brand standards and your visit to cagney's is supposed to be more or less the same on any ship in the fleet... the reality is, it often isn't. 

 

i love moderno... on some ships. on one ship, it was really bad. i love cagney's... on one ship. on other ships, it was meh. the best recommendation i can make is to view recent reviews not just for the restaurant, but that restaurant on the encore.

[cheersforbeers]

Cagney’s, Ocean Blue, Teppanyaki all excellent 

[destar]

On Prima early November, enjoyed Onda, Palomar, Lo Lobos, Food Republic, Cagney and Teppanyaki.

Teppanyaki was the least favorite, we got better by us.

[BirdTravels]

We're on the Encore next month and Le Bistro, Teppanyaki, Los Lobos would be our top picks. Close 3rd is Ocean Blue.

 

We're not a Cagney's fan and would pick Los Lobos over Onda. 

Edited March 23, 2023 by BirdTravels

[luckybecky]

12 hours ago, Madhatter12 said:

I have a cruise in May on the Encore and I upgraded to 3 special dining for four night cruise. I cannot figure out which ones I want to do, any suggestions would be helpful. this is the first time I’ve ever cruised on NCL and I’m going alone. i’ve cruise seven times on carnival and I usually do all the specialty dinings on the cruise. I am not a big seafood eater.

 

We tried Cagney's, Le Bistro, and Ocean Blue on our recent cruise. Like you, I am not a seafood person, but to my surprise I liked Ocean Blue the best. I had an excellent filet mignon. The beet salad was also exceptional. Of these three, I would rate them in this order:

Good: Le Bistro

Better: Cagney's

Best: Ocean Blue

[YVRteacher]

On the Encore I recommend Los Lobos, Food Republic and Ocean Blue for the cauliflower steak.  It’s truly incredible. My favourite dessert is the vanilla raspberry cheesecake in a jar from Ocean Blue.

[YVRteacher]

Just adding that you can see all the menus online through NCL’s app so you can read through them and see what appeals to you before making reservations for your dining.

 

Enjoy your cruise!  The Encore is a beautiful ship and you get to see Choir of Man!

[ExArkie]

10 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Just adding that you can see all the menus online through NCL’s app so you can read through them and see what appeals to you before making reservations for your dining.

 

Enjoy your cruise!  The Encore is a beautiful ship and you get to see Choir of Man!

When do the menus show up on the app? Our sailing (on Jade) is September, but the app currently only shows the options for upgrading the specialty dining package.

[mlgb]

I sailed on Bliss for 3 weeks prepandemic with lots of specialty dining. 

 

My rankings (we ate at Le Bistro and Cagneys twice).

Le Bistro

Ocean Blue (but I like seafood)

Los Lobos

Cagneys (sides and service not very good)

Food Republic

[Mississippian]

10 hours ago, ExArkie said:

When do the menus show up on the app? Our sailing (on Jade) is September, but the app currently only shows the options for upgrading the specialty dining package.

I haven't been able to open menus on the app, even though there is a button. But you can open them on desktop.

[9tee2Sea]

I can only give my opinion.  The two best were Le Bistro and Moderno.  The past 3 times, I have had food quality issues at Cagney's ( cold, rubbery).I even left Cagney's to go up to the buffet.  Teppenaki is too loud for me. La Cucina is missing lots of flavor.  

[cruiseny4life]

I'd suggest you make some reservations at places that sound interesting to you, but then a month (or so) before your cruise start paying attention to reviews/lives from the ship you're sailing on. Hopefully you'll hear some good news about the reservations you have or you may find out a particular restaurant isn't doing so hot. There is such gross inconsistency between ships that you really can't expect La Cucina on one ship to be as great on another. 

[Mike_DeA]

Was on the Encore in Dec. 2022.

 

Los Lobos - good Mexican food, tableside guacamole.  Desserts aren't great unless you like Tres Leche.

 

Cagneys - pretty good steaks, ok sides, great desserts - caramel cheesecake is fantastic if you have a sweet tooth.

 

Teppanyaki - Good food and show, very loud though.  Desserts choices are terrible in my opinion.

 

Didn't try the others.

[TheycallmeDrew]

Le Bistro is our favourite but I am going to go out on a limb and stray from the herd and recommend Q. I have only been once to the one on Encore but I really enjoyed it. The food was good, there was a lot of it (I got the platter) and service was excellent. They also had a band playing so it was like dinner and a show.

[vswan]

I'm traveling on Bliss with my 14 yr old grandson and reservations just opened up. When I started listing restaurants we could book he said that Teppanyaki sounded fun, so booked that. I was unsure of the second to book, but when I suggested Q thinking it would be more casual my PCC steered me to Cagney's. Don't think he would really care for the more formal French and Italian. Would I be better with Los Lobos than Cagney's?

[RocketMan275]

We usually book two nights at Le Bistro.  The lobster thermado is magnificient and so is the Sole.

[UKstages]

2 hours ago, vswan said:

Would I be better with Los Lobos than Cagney's?

 

for a fourteen year old, provided he likes mexican food, i would say: definitely!

 

the food is very good at every incarnation of los lobos i have been to on any ship. the tableside quac is a bit of a show and the mexican street corn is out of this world.

 

cagney's can be good or bad depending on the ship and a variety of factors. i've had many mediocre meals at cageny's, whereas i've never had a bad meal at los lobos.

[Mississippian]

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Edited April 1, 2023 by Mississippian