What to order at Ocean Blue

[sheshe01]

The general consensus seems to be the lobster is not worth paying the upgrade fee. What do you think is the best dish?

[DorothyB]

I've never eaten there, but plan to.  Not sure if these items are still on the menu if it changed in June, but what I think I would like there (I'm not into fancy food) is:

Appetizer: Pan Seared Scallops; Entree: Fisherman's Platter Fried; Side (if included) Potatoes Au Gratin; Dessert: French Apple Tart

[Wayward Son]

5 minutes ago, DorothyB said:

 

Entree: Fisherman's Platter Fried;

 

Others can chime in, but I would personally advise against this. It was automatic for me the first time, and it was disappointing, to say the least. The breading was thick, doughy, with no crunch at all. The actual seafood was small and was overwhelmed by the breading. In the end, I just took off all the breading and ate the seafood. Not at all satisfying.

 

My wife, on the other hand, absolutely loved the grilled sea bass.

 

[gofigyawhy]

I agree!  Had the Fishermen’s platter May this year on the Breakaway. Went there a second time and had the grilled sea bass. That to me was awesome!

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, sheshe01 said:

The general consensus seems to be the lobster is not worth paying the upgrade fee. What do you think is the best dish?

Food is totally subjective. Order what you want to eat.... not what a bunch of internet people think you should eat. 

 

Order the 8 oz Filet Mignon. Or order the Roasted Brick Chicken. Order a Cauliflower Steak. Or a Grilled Fish.  

 

After eating in Ocean Blue 20+ times, we have decided not to book there again. 

 

In our "expert" opinion,,, 

Cioppino - Bad

Fisherman's Platter (grilled or fried) - Bad

The last 3 times we ordered grilled fish - Bad (Sea Bass ordered April 2024 and August 2023 sent back to the galley)

Whole grilled lobster - Bad (last ordered May 2024)

[bedfordmom]

I enjoyed the grilled salmon. I also like the grilled fisherman’s platter and I am from New England. I disliked the fisherman platter from Cagneys. 

[schmoopie17]

My favorite thing is the spicy shrimp appetizer. We asked for the recipe and it showed up in our cabin the next day. Now if only could find it...

[coolrider71]

Bang Bang Shrimp, then the gumbo, then the filet. Everytime. One time I did order the roasted chicken because I wanted to see what $30 chicken tasted like.  It was good but the steak is better. I could go for just the shrimp appetizer.  

[pcakes122]

Fish & chips! I MUST have it on every NCL cruise (at least once lol) and no matter which ship, it's always been fantastic. (MUCH better than the fish & chips at O'Sheehan's/The Local.)

[Ellis1138]

I advise against cruise ship lobster simply because it's frozen and the taste really suffers from that, more than frozen beef, lamb, chicken or white fish.

 

One general guide I use is this: "Where am I cruising?"

 

Like, we just did Norway/Iceland, so we made sure to eat the freshly caught fish there and the lamb. So for the ship food, I got whatever wasn't available in the ports and what would taste all right for having been frozen.

[zqvol]

21 hours ago, sheshe01 said:

The general consensus seems to be the lobster is not worth paying the upgrade fee. What do you think is the best dish?

Interesting that what a 3rd party thinks is the best dish matters. If seen things in the above posts that I have tried once and have said never again. If it has scallops it is a hard no go, but I understand many people love them. Lobster on a ship is also a no go, it’s just not very good to me, as is most fish since it is all sourced out of Miami.  You have to order what seems appetizing to you, not what someone else says. 

Edited July 6 by zqvol

[valleyvillage]

18 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Order a Cauliflower Steak

My favorite!

[DorothyB]

2 hours ago, pcakes122 said:

Fish & chips! I MUST have it on every NCL cruise (at least once lol) and no matter which ship, it's always been fantastic. (MUCH better than the fish & chips at O'Sheehan's/The Local.)

I will keep that in mind.  I actually LIKE the O'Sheehan's / Local fish & chips and was thinking the specialty might be the same, but if it is better . . . 

[pcakes122]

Just now, DorothyB said:

I will keep that in mind.  I actually LIKE the O'Sheehan's / Local fish & chips and was thinking the specialty might be the same, but if it is better . . . 

I actually like the O'Sheehan's fish & chips, too - they were always on my 'must have' list until I had the Ocean Blue version (Ocean Blue is larger pieces of cod and the batter is less salty (IMO.) Definitely a step above (and delicious!)

[sheshe01]

1 hour ago, zqvol said:

Interesting that what a 3rd party thinks is the best dish matters. If seen things in the above posts that I have tried once and have said never again. If it has scallops it is a hard no go, but I understand many people love them. Lobster on a ship is also a no go, it’s just not very good to me, as is most fish since it is all sourced out of Miami.  You have to order what seems appetizing to you, not what someone else says. 

Taste is subjective for sure.  If  many people think something is good or bad that's a clue

[stellarose33]

1 hour ago, valleyvillage said:

My favorite!

I thought cagney had the cauliflower steak. is this still on a menu?

[valleyvillage]

16 minutes ago, stellarose33 said:

I thought cagney had the cauliflower steak. is this still on a menu?

Yes, when last I looked!

[zqvol]

19 minutes ago, stellarose33 said:

I thought cagney had the cauliflower steak. is this still on a menu?

I do not see it on the new Cagney’s menu. Maybe I am missing it. 

[valleyvillage]

19 minutes ago, zqvol said:

I do not see it on the new Cagney’s menu. Maybe I am missing it. 

Ocean Blue not Cagney's

[laudergayle]

I’ve had the Cioppino twice now (10/22 Breakaway and 11/23 Bliss) and enjoyed it.  But, I’ve seen pictures of other CCer’s and it looked awful.  We typically start with shrimp, then the crab cake, followed by the entree.  For me it has been the Cioppino, for DH it was Fried Fisherman’s Platter (never again) and some grilled fish.  The key lime for dessert looks factory made, but is really tart and delicious.

 

Edited July 6 by laudergayle

[zqvol]

Just now, valleyvillage said:

Ocean Blue not Cagney's

But the poster asked about Cagney’s, not Ocean Blue. It is on Ocean Blue’s menu. 

[DorothyB]

16 minutes ago, zqvol said:

But the poster asked about Cagney’s, not Ocean Blue. It is on Ocean Blue’s menu. 

The title of the post says Ocean Blue and the post doesn't specify, but does mention lobster - I was thinking that was available for upcharge at both Cagney's and Ocean Blue

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, laudergayle said:

I’ve had the Cioppino twice now (10/22 Breakaway and 11/23 Bliss) and enjoyed it.  But, I’ve seen pictures of other CCer’s and it looked awful.  We typically start with shrimp, then the crab cake, followed by the entree.  For me it has been the Cioppino, for DH it was Fried Fisherman’s Platter (never again) and some grilled fish.  The key lime for dessert looks factory made, but is really tart and delicious.

 

 

 

This sad little bowl was what we got on the Escape last year. The "soup"/"sauce" was over reduced (or not made correctly) killed the taste of the seafood. 

 

[mking8288]

Let's see, what are signature dish(es) at NCL's (once) highly rated specialty restaurants ... with the new "limited" 2024 menus.  

 

Paloma - Filet Mignon / Veal Milanese (and) Salt baked Whole Fish (Sea Brass)

Ocean Blue (seafood) - Beef Filet

La Cucina - Beef Fillet

Cagney's Steakhouse - Dover Sole / Grilled Fisherman's Platter

 

Hmmm.

[laudergayle]

35 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

This sad little bowl was what we got on the Escape last year. The "soup"/"sauce" was over reduced (or not made correctly) killed the taste of the seafood. 

 

Your experience and picture is one that made me seriously think twice about ordering it. Thanks for sharing how YMMV.