Unreliable NCL Food Reviews

[ctdahlquist]

I've been getting quite frustrated reading the various opinions about the food found on various NCL ships, so I decided to start a discussion with my own observations about the overall validity of relying on others to influence our cruising decisions based on subjective opinions about food.

 

For some reason, people have the tendency to project their own food tastes to the general population and expect that everyone else should be in agreement. I tend to observe people's reaction to food, and I am always amazed at the wide variety of opinions that seem to be based on cultural and personal preferences that are objective only from the standpoint of the opinion maker. I therefore find opinions about cruise food to be the MOST UNRELIABLE aspect of the various impressions of a particular line and/or ship.

 

I have observed that large food manufacturers have over time gotten the average American to accept and even expect highly processed food products that are very cheap to make. We grow up accustomed to specific flavors and textures and we complain if familiar items aren't readily available. On the other hand, there is a growing minority of Americans who have become "foodies," and they enjoy more sophisticated tastes and ingredients. There are also many Europeans and folks of many nationalities who have their own expectations. The cruise lines have a tough time trying to appeal to these disparate groups.

 

A good example of this idea is another post where the OP expresses impressions of the desserts offered on board the Norwegian Spirit. The OP made some vague statement about "not enough sugar" or something to that effect. Well, I find cruise lines offer desserts that are more in the European style, meaning they are a bit lighter, contain less sugar, and are sometimes lacking the chocolate gluttony that many Americans expect as a "proper" dessert. My point here is that opinions about food are all about cultural tastes that cannot and never will be objective. We should take food reviews, pardon the pun, with a grain of salt.

 

Can boards such as Cruise Critic provide good insights as the merits of one line or ship versus another? Well, I find these boards very useful, but relying on objective opinions about food specifically has become an exercise in futility.

[Planer's Edge]

Here we go again.

 

PE

[NoPiratesPlease]

Well, of COURSE I will judge the food on any ship I'm on by my tastes. Whose am I supposed to use--Fred Schmoe from Landlock, Wyoming? And how would I go about doing that.

 

After 30 cruises my wife and I are well aware that there's a difference in European and American food. I don't think I've ever seen a good piece of American apple pie on a ship. In fact I've never tasted a good apple pie, American or not, on a ship.

 

Taste is personal. Just because someone is a "gourmet" doesn't mean I want to eat or will eat what he/she will.

 

But some things can be judged. Is there too much cream or other fats in the food? Too little? Does "well-done" mean "medium" or "medium-rare"? Is the fish fresh? Is the lobster over-cooked so it's rubbery? Are the shrimp in the cocktail firm or mushy?

 

I was SHOCKED that the food on the Star was far better than it usually is on the Dawn, but the coffee (rarely tasty on the Dawn) was black Drain-o on the Star.

 

Like any totally subjective review (such as movies) you need to read between the lines to determine what it REALLY means to the only person whose taste matters--yours.

[zqvol]

Agree with the OP, food is so subjective that there is never a right or wrong, good or bad, it is to each his own.

[electricron]

Can boards such as Cruise Critic provide good insights as the merits of one line or ship versus another? Well, I find these boards very useful, but relying on objective opinions about food specifically has become an exercise in futility.

 

I completely agree with you. But new food threads will appear as long as Cruise Critics is around.

 

Everyone eats and everyone has an opinion.

 

It would be helpful if the reviewers gave their expectations and experence with foods before expressing an opinion.

I'm not surprised people who expect 5 star "cuisine" food are disappointed. Few 5 star restaurants serve 6,000+ meals a day.

Likewise I''m not surprised people who expect "locally prepared" cuisine are disappointed. It's not easy to get fresh Maine lobster in Hawaii or Florida. It's not realistic to expect spicy Cajun seafood in Hawaii or New York. NCL's menus and food selections are "International" in scope, where they can get the food delivered to the ships from the warehouses at all the ship's homeports.

[sailandcruise]

Actually, NCL loads most of its food in Miami, even for cruises in other areas. For European cruises it ships large containers of food from Miami to the departure ports. This is for two reasons: 1) so the food on all cruises has the consistent tastes that the predominantly American passengers are used to and 2) because not all foreign ports can handle the logistical needs of their ships.

[deepnite10]

my wife cook reasonably decent..but, there s those who

may deam any kinda cruise food to be of gourmet level..:D

 

coming from the San Fran. area though..i ve yet to find

comparable chinese food on a cruise ship..and there s those

from boston who would dare eat any lobster on a ship..

while other s would line up a hr. ahead of time for an over

size d crayfish..

[Twickenham]

Well, of COURSE I will judge the food on any ship I'm on by my tastes. Whose am I supposed to use--Fred Schmoe from Landlock, Wyoming? And how would I go about doing that.

 

Of course, we judge from our own POV. But I think the OP is more referring to people making broad judgements (i.e., the food is terrible), without specifying why they thought it was terrible. For instance, I recently read a review that criticized the food on a ship with such a broad stroke, then put, in brackets, a reference to 'fish mousse', obviously considering this to be an example of the 'awful' food that was being served, and that they couldn't even conceive of such a thing being eaten! Well, personally, I live in a place where every grocery store sells several types of fish mousse, and I love the stuff, therefore I would take their comments about food on that ship with a grain of salt... But that's the thing. By being a bit more specific, that review suddenly becomes more useful. Thus, when people say things about the desserts being not sweet enough, I know I'll probably love them, since I much prefer less-sweet desserts myself. Therefore, even a negative review becomes useful.

[Don Haynes]

As long as the food don't come up after its gone down I will be happy. Its eatible. My doctor has placed me on a no salt diet. My wife has thrown the salt shaker away. While I hate no salt food I don't have a choice anymore.

[fin]

While food tastes and expectations are obviously subjective and unquantifiable, other elements are not. Cold food, food that takes 40 minutes to reach a table, orders that are incorrect or incomplete etc are well within the realm of objective discussion. Same applies to waiting times to be seated.

 

Attitude of wait staff is a bit harder, but like some other things, you know it when you see it.

 

By the way, almost none of the above have ever been much of an issue for me on my five cruises on NCL.

[Host Star]

one thing i was told by a hotel manager on one of the cruiselines is that the extra pay restaurants will have steaks that have been aged for at least 28 days , at a higher cost to the cruiseline.. and the regular dining room will have steaks aged only 10 days as the cost to the cruise line is less

[jackchris]

Here we go again.

 

PE

LOL

Bottom Line- The beauty of dining on a cruise is if you are not happy with what you have ordered, order something else and if you are happy with what you have ordered, order more of it! Not everything is bad, not everthing is good. Find what you like and enjoy! I personally cannot resist the banana bread that they have sitting on trays in the Blue Lagoon on the Dawn. Everytime I walk through on my way to the atrium, I have to grab a piece!;)

[ctdahlquist]

Thank, everyone for sharing your thoughts -- even those who may not agree with my sentiment. This is a topic I've been wanting to throw out there for a while; I've wanted to get this off my chest.

 

I agree that specifics in a food review are much more useful than broad brush statements. I've written a few food reviews in my day, and I always try to describe my impressions with detail and also put things into context.

 

I live in the Southern USA, and I actually find the food on ships to be a bit lighter and feature fresher ingredients (as opposed to frozen or canned) than what you might expect in a typical American family-style restaurant. I don't see much processed food on board; it actually seems a bit more European in style. My suspicion is that SOME folks find this a bit removed from what they consider comfort food, so perhaps this explains some of the negativity we read when someone makes a broad statement of disapproval regarding food.

 

Yes, more detail about what makes something good or bad would be a step in the right direction. We need to know where you are coming from.

[deepnite10]

Not everything is bad, not everthing is good. Find what you like and enjoy! I personally cannot resist the banana bread that they have sitting on trays in the Blue Lagoon on the Dawn. Everytime I walk through on my way to the atrium, I have to grab a piece!;)

 

true..and i hate banana bread..so who s a reader to believe?..

i hate steak s..i luv tiger shrimp..prime-rib i can live without but

still enjoy..i like only certain kind s of fish as long as it s not

salmon...

 

im a real crappy food critic..:p

[runner15km]

I don't pay much attention to food reviews. Have been on four cruise lines for a total of nine cruises and never had to send a meal back to the kitchen.

[cmdchiefthom]

I don't cruise to eat, and I've never starved aboard any ship I've been on. So what's food got to do with anything?:o

[salty dingo]

There's a big difference in how a review comes across from different people.

 

One person may say "the food was bad" and go into great detail why the food was bad and therefore it must have been bad for everyone because they talked to other people with the same viewpoint.

 

Another person may say "I did not care for the beef wellington" but the tone suggests they understand that others would be very pleased with the same dish, and therefore the food was not "bad", just not to thier liking.

 

When I see someone post a review like the first example I gave, I don't take it too seriously.

 

And let's face it, NCL is not known for gourmet food, at least not in the main dining room. If people expect that, they should be going elsewhere on vacation, or going to the surcharge restaurants, where the food is usually reviewed very well by almost everyone.

[bulgargirl]

I eat too much on cruises, even when I don't like what I am eating. What does that say about me!?!?!?!?

 

I'm a vegetarian. Almost all the complaints are completely irrelevant to me. I see a lot of steak and lobster discussions. However, I was worried before my first cruise thinking that the food was going to be awful. It was good enough for me and that's all I cared about.

 

I have several times seen people compare the food on NCL to your average chain restaurant like Olive Garden or TGI Friday's. That seems accurate to me. Some people hate those places, some people love them, and some of the food is better there than others. That's about as objective as a subjective topic can be I suppose.

 

However - there are "foodie" cruises. One of these days when I'm rich, I'm trying it!!!! Didn't I just say I'll continue to eat when I don't even particularly like something?????

[scopewest]

I read a review from someone from Louisiana who found the food bland, boring, etc. Yep, I can understand that after spending a week at an office in Breaux Bridge, LA where someone cooked "homestyle" food in their office kitchens for us every day. The first day I thought my mouth was on fire, it was so spicy. By the end of week I was eating all the spicy food and thinking this is still hot but good.

 

So I go home, make my usual stew recipe, take a bite and think yuck, this is so bland and boring :) Took a week or so for my tastebuds to adjust back.

 

I ignore all food reviews!!!

[newmexicoNita]

Well, of COURSE I will judge the food on any ship I'm on by my tastes. Whose am I supposed to use--Fred Schmoe from Landlock, Wyoming? And how would I go about doing that.

 

After 30 cruises my wife and I are well aware that there's a difference in European and American food. I don't think I've ever seen a good piece of American apple pie on a ship. In fact I've never tasted a good apple pie, American or not, on a ship.

 

Taste is personal. Just because someone is a "gourmet" doesn't mean I want to eat or will eat what he/she will.

 

But some things can be judged. Is there too much cream or other fats in the food? Too little? Does "well-done" mean "medium" or "medium-rare"? Is the fish fresh? Is the lobster over-cooked so it's rubbery? Are the shrimp in the cocktail firm or mushy?

 

I was SHOCKED that the food on the Star was far better than it usually is on the Dawn, but the coffee (rarely tasty on the Dawn) was black Drain-o on the Star.

 

Like any totally subjective review (such as movies) you need to read between the lines to determine what it REALLY means to the only person whose taste matters--yours.

thanks; of course we can only judge the food from our own tastes, I can't speak for others tastes and yes, we all dffer. DH will eat almost anything and tell you it is good. If I had to depend on his to judge my cooking I wouldn't really know if I am a good or bad cook. Thank goodness for other peoples judging my talents or lack of. You are right, a few things we can determine, but many we can't.

 

Nita

[Lainy67]

I try not to pay too much attention to the food reviews. I read a few before I went on Carnival last time about how HORRID their food was. The only decent things were from the fish and chips... etc.... We got on board, and thought the food was pretty good. We ate at the main restaurant more often than not, and if we didn't like something, ate a little, decided yuck, and moved on. Since we were at a huge table there were always 3 - 4 "extra" plates ordered of something so we tried some of that.

 

I remember on that cruise there was a Lavender and something cream pie. We ordered one at the table, because we were like?????? what????? It was like eating spa lotion. We passed it around our table so everyone could experience the wonderful joy of downing spa lotion tasting pie. Then we laughed, ate the other desserts, and moved on.

 

I would say that that was awful... but I would also say why - - it tasted like I imagine some of my bubble bath would taste should I get the urge to eat it.

 

Those are the kind of reviews I enjoy reading and hearing about. That doesn't mean I wouldn't order it again, just for the novelty. There are some things that my hubby and I are like BLECK... other people probably llove them - escargot for example. We do not enjoy at all. Blah and ick. But we know others do. You could rate them as the best tasting ever and we would still think we are eating garlicky erasers. Everyone needs to take the review of everything, food, service, etc... with a grain of salt (HAHAHAHA) and form your own opinions.

[electricron]

Actually, NCL loads most of its food in Miami, even for cruises in other areas. For European cruises it ships large containers of food from Miami to the departure ports. This is for two reasons: 1) so the food on all cruises has the consistent tastes that the predominantly American passengers are used to and 2) because not all foreign ports can handle the logistical needs of their ships.

 

Really? So all those trucks delivering food and drinks to the Sea, Dream, and Sun the past few years in Houston, originated their delivery runs from Miami warehouses? :confused:

 

I wonder how those trucks loaded with food from Miami warehouses get to Honolulu, Dover, and Barcelona? By ferry? :eek:

 

I saw plently of local Houston food suppliers names on those food trucks. Maybe a few items are air shipped to far distant ports from Miami warehouses, but not most of the food. :rolleyes:

[qiangf2]

Agree with the OP, food is so subjective that there is never a right or wrong, good or bad, it is to each his own.

 

totally agree

[jdarch]

I completely agree with you. But new food threads will appear as long as Cruise Critics is around.

 

Everyone eats and everyone has an opinion.

 

It would be helpful if the reviewers gave their expectations and experence with foods before expressing an opinion.

 

:rolleyes: Well... I think I can safely say my wife and I can comment freely, as we are particularly experienced in that department. We have a combined total of 114 years eating a wide variety of cuisine in a broad spectrum of venues, all frequently prepared and served by a similarly experienced staff. :D ;)

[JenDalessan]

The other night my husband made dinner. He found a box of Tuna Helper in the cupboard and cooked it up. (i had no idea that we had that stuff in the house). My teens RAVED about this "delicious" meal.

 

I can now rest assured that they will be fine with whatever is served on our next cruise. :D