Cagney's vs. Ocean Blue

[MAZ-JMZ]

Which specialty restaurant is the Filet Mignon & Lobster Tail better at?  I will be celebrating my "78th" Birthday.

[Middleager]

I had that at Ocean Blue, on the Getaway in 2021.  It wasn't good.  Both the lobster, and the steak meat, were loose.  I was disappointed.

 

The steaks at Cagney or Le Bistro are usually very good.

 

I had also heard from the F&B Manager saying that they have challenges sourcing lobsters.

 

Anyway, there are many good restaurants in Toronto where we get get good lobsters, and at cheaper price.  So I don't eat lobsters on NCL cruises any more after that experience.

[Ellis1138]

Since you're from the Long Island NY area, I give you this advice: Don't bother with cruise ship lobster or lobster tails. They're frozen and thawed, no matter which restaurant.

 

We here in the Northeast US have access to the best lobster.

 

I don't know when your birthday is, but before this summer season ends, get some live Maine Lobster and have it steamed and eat that as your special treat.

 

If you insist you must have it on the cruise ship, it won't matter which restaurant; they do it the same. You can even pay a $25 upcharge to have that same steak and frozen lobster tail served at the MDR and not have to worry about reservations.

Edited August 8 by Ellis1138

[Middleager]

Some Americans think they eat good lobsters from NE states, until they taste the good lobster dishes, in Toronto Asian restaurants, sourced from Atlantic provinces.

 

Over the years we've had many American friends from all over, and they've never tasted lobsters as good as they've had in Toronto.  Of course that includes those from the NE states.

 

As for steaks, there are good steaks everywhere.  But the best I've tasted were from Texas.  I'd give that to Texas.

[zqvol]

Agree with @Ellis1138, don’t fool with the lobster. It is simply not very good. 

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, MAZ-JMZ said:

Which specialty restaurant is the Filet Mignon & Lobster Tail better at?  I will be celebrating my "78th" Birthday.

The lobster on NCL is not good. Avoid. 
 

We prefer Cagney’s. A simple steak and some sides. The filet is. Bit small for our liking, but it is just enough for some. 
 

For us, Ocean Blue has fell out of favor. We have had multiple quality issues across multiple ships. We cruise on NCL 4-5 times a year. 

Edited August 8 by BirdTravels

[IAcruising]

Gonna take the easy road here. Forget the lobster. We have had excellent filet at ocean blue, and we've had excellent ribeye at cagneys. Guess if I had to choose I'd pick cagneys, but then I might do ocean blue so, there you go. Just don't put lobster in the equation.

 

[tomk3212]

Go with the filet at Cagney's.  Then get in your car & take a drive up to Maine & snag yourself a lobster at a restaurant of your choice.  Even those small diners along Route 1 are better than the lobsters aboard ship.  At least they're fresh...

 

@BirdTravels sadly, I agree with you 100% re: Ocean Blue.  To NCL's credit it was a GREAT idea & concept to have an honest-to-goodness REAL seafood restaurant aboard a cruise ship.  Unfortunately, the execution of this idea fell way, way short of expectations.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, tomk3212 said:

Go with the filet at Cagney's.  Then get in your car & take a drive up to Maine & snag yourself a lobster at a restaurant of your choice.  Even those small diners along Route 1 are better than the lobsters aboard ship.  At least they're fresh...

 

@BirdTravels sadly, I agree with you 100% re: Ocean Blue.  To NCL's credit it was a GREAT idea & concept to have an honest-to-goodness REAL seafood restaurant aboard a cruise ship.  Unfortunately, the execution of this idea fell way, way short of expectations.

Ocean Blue and Bayamo (Escape) were great restaurants when run by Iron Chefs Geoffrey Zacharian and Jose Graces, respectively. After NCL took over, the menu and quality of the food has gone down hill. 

[Sand and Seas]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Ocean Blue and Bayamo (Escape) were great restaurants when run by Iron Chefs Geoffrey Zacharian and Jose Graces, respectively. After NCL took over, the menu and quality of the food has gone down hill. 

So true!   Loved Bayamo and the original Ocean Blue menus.

 

We ate at Ocean Blue on Breakaway two weeks ago.....and then cancelled our second Ocean Blue reservation. The only thing we enjoyed in Ocean Blue was the spicy shrimp starter.  Everything else was bland including the bread service.  With the reductions to the menu they took away some other decent choices we had enjoyed previously.  

 

We 'lost' one of our dining credits, but as we were in the Haven we did fine without it😉

Our meals at Teppanyaki and Le Bistro were good as usual. 

[Grandmafreddie]

Had the lobster at la bistro not good and not worth 25$ upcharge. Overdonexand mushy,

[zqvol]

10 hours ago, Grandmafreddie said:

Had the lobster at la bistro not good and not worth 25$ upcharge. Overdone and  mushy,

I’ve never had it there but I have seen it and I have seen the pictures of it and it looks unappetizing, and IMO that is a nice description of it. 

Edited August 10 by zqvol

[Ixtoras]

Unfortunately, I would tend to agree with the others that the Lobster in any of the specialty restaurants typically isn't worth the upcharge.

 

That said, @MAZ-JMZ you didn't specify which ship, or itinerary that you will be on.   I don't think that it will make a lot of difference with the Lobster, but in our experience, Cagney's vs Ocean Blue is pretty dependent on the ship and staff. We've experienced both very good and bad meals / service at both, and honestly I think the best filet we had might have been at La Cucina.