Unreliable NCL Food Reviews

[klct39lg]

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.

 

Very funny!:D

 

My 13 year old son loves escargot, but hates cheese.

 

I don't like lemon in my water because I think it tastes like someone didn't get all of the soap out of the glass.

[Philob]

As long it doesn't tast like Vegemite :eek: , I'm good to go...:cool:

 

 

 

 

 

Apologies to any Aussies...;)

[janetbegum]

As long as I don't have to cook it and it's brought to me, all prettied up, I'm not picky.

 

It also helps if I order something I have never had before so if I don't don't like it, I don't know if it's prepared badly or it's suppose to taste that way.

[sailandcruise]

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:

 

What I was told by a CD staffer while on the Jewel last week was that for the European cruises NCL ships most of its food by sea to the European departure ports -- sorry for not being precise. I didn't mention either trucks or air as shipping methods to anywhere. And the two reasons I cited obviously don't apply to Houston or other American ports. I'm sure your first-hand observations of the delivery trucks in Houston are correct; they obviously wouldn't have to ship from Miami to Houston to get American style food. Your first hand information would of course be more accurate than what I was told second-hand.

[bluesea777]

As long as I don't have to cook it and it's brought to me, all prettied up, I'm not picky.

 

It also helps if I order something I have never had before so if I don't don't like it, I don't know if it's prepared badly or it's suppose to taste that way.

 

Amen to janetgegum!

 

My family is used to my cooking which is quick and from my head using the ingredients that is available in the house or from a quick trip to grocery store - I always cook from scratch. Our son often has his school friends over for dinner and there is ONE who really enjoy my cooking (he said tonight he's thinking about becoming a chef when he leaves school); the others weren't so appreciative. This shows people have different tastes in food and how they are cooked and served.

 

In addition to my cooking we eat out a lot. Here in Bermuda the restaurants are very good. The Italian restaurants here are excellent; they use their OWN sauce for pizzas and pastas and they are light and tasty (you can still taste the tomatoes) so when we were on Spirit and tried their Italian restaurant we found it to be too Americanized (i.e. too heavy and added with too much spices/herbs, just like the American chain pizza places). I have read reviews from other people that they loved that restaurant but not us.

 

BOTTOM LINE: we all have different tastes!!

 

So, people need to stop posting negative reviews about the food on ships!

 

On Spirit we found most foods really good: sushi, teppanyaki, Shogun, Cagney's (steak was good but lobster was overcooked (lobsters need just a few mins to cook, and we think they don't realize this. We tried telling them that!), both main dining rooms (although the service was slow but who cares? We are on holiday!), and we thought the buffet in Garden Cafe to be expectional with LOTS of choices. They only place we weren't keen on were Trattoria (since we were spolit by Bermuda's Italian restaurants. We believe that others love it, but not us) and Blue Lagoon - not our type.

 

Freestyle still rocks for us - we like to eat variety of foods. Also we go on cruise to enjoy the amenties and activities as well as excursions, and TO GET AWAY FROM WORK AND SCHOOL AS WELL AS THE KITCHEN for a bit!!

 

Please, no more bad reviews!! We all are different!! If you want VERY fine cooking and service, then PAY MORE and GO ON MORE UPSCALE CRUISE LINES! We prefer to go on more affordable cruises to see and enjoy more.

 

When we were in Orlando we found the restaurants too commercialised and making short cuts. When we wanted good cooking from the scratch we had to pay more $$$ for that!! That vacation wasn't that cheap for us!

 

:D :D :D

[salty dingo]

With the superb, upscale, extra-charge restaurants on board today, how can anyone complain about the food? If you don't like the main dining room fare, fork over a pittance for a royal feast in the specialty restaurants!

[LindaRH]

CT - What is american food anyway? I had no idea that USA ever had a real food culture. Everything we eat orginated from somewhere else. Sounds like you read the "Omnivore's Delimma".....

 

Just wanted to give you my opinion. I agree with you. I have done 20+ cruises so far and I believe, all except one cruise, that food on cruises has been less processed. Usually when the food is made with a lot of junk (poisons in my opinion) my stomach will scream at me...I won't feel good after I eat it. I do not find that when I'm on a cruise. The bottom line is basically what most are saying on this post. You either like the type and/or taste of the food you're eating or you don't.

 

Planer's edge - you are very funny.

[halos]

If a person makes a broad statement that all the food on the entire ship was horrid all week, then I just disregard it.

It amazes me sometimes how people want everything when they travel, to be as it is at home.

It's childish. It reminds me of taking your child out to dinner (whether a restaurant or even someone's home). They have ...let's say carrots on their plate. Now, they eat carrots at home all the time, but they taste these carrots and gag and cry, "This doesn't taste like my Mommy's carrots!"

 

That's what the 'food complainers' sound like to me...a bunch of 4 year old kids.

 

I'm Italian. I hade dinner at La Trattoria on the Spirit and no...LOL, it was in no way shape or form like the Italian food I make. But it was good enough that I ate it.

Some things on a ship are just ok...some things are excellent. I've never run across anythign that was inedible. And I ALWAYS take into consideration these things...first of all that there are between 2000 and 3000 people being cooked for AND all that food is loaded onto the ship at the embarkation port. So, a lot of it is frozen. The fish I have on the ship is not going to taste like the fresh fish I buy and then cook the same night at home.

People need to apply some common sense.

[smartgirl98]

I found no real problem with the food. Just cruised to the Caribbean on the NCL Majesty. If I didn't like something I didn't eat it. This is the choice everyone has. No one is forcing you to eat anything you do not want. There are many options, and if you don't like something, you can try something else. I don't understand why people would say the food is bad some place when they aren't making it or assisting with the preparation. If anyone prepared a certain food, you are gonna have some people who like it and some who don't.

 

After cruising this week, I found out that people are just a bunch of complainers and want something for nothing. On a cruise, you get 24 hour service, (almost)all-inclusive vacation. Food is just a part of it. So instead of worriying about the food, be happy that you are on a vacation.....Not everyone can afford one!! And if the food isn't up to par, its only a few days to a week. Just shovel the food down so you don't starve to death and enjoy the rest of your time.

[cruznut1111]

I remember it well.......... 1996 in the Caribbean.... we laughed that N C L stood for "no class, love." China and glassware didn't match (table for two), tea had no lemon followed by enough for the entire station. We never ordered the same thing, hoping that one plate would hold something we could eat. Despite all my advice to everyone to look at food as a percentage of "to your taste," this cruise got me down - 15% was to my taste, 10 % to my husband's and the rest of the time we were tripping over each other to find the closest restaurant at each port.

 

We lost weight and got to see some terrific ports.

 

It took 5 years for us to come back and what a wonderful surprise we had. We've taken a number of NCL cruises since and will take many more. I don't expect to like everything, but I know well over 50% will be "to my taste."

[jasoneats]

I agree completely with the OP....food is way too subjective for credible reviews. I have been in the food business (from white tablecloth restaurants to bakeries to caterers to gourmet retailers) for almost all of my 30 years of working, and I would not want to tell someone else what they will or will not enjoy when they sit down to eat.

 

That being said, we have enjoyed the food immensely on our two cruises on NCL. So much so, that we have booked a week on the Dawn in January. For me, the MOST IMPORTANT part of the equation is that I am on VACATION. From the moment I step onboard, I don't have to plan a menu, or shop for food, or prep/cook anything, or wash a single dish. I am free to eat from a huge variety of options all day and all night long. The staff has been almost unfailingly gracious and helpful. And aside from a VERY FEW surcharge meals, everything I am talking about is included in my cruise fare. On our ten days on the Spirit last winter, we actually kept track of all the different things we ate. Between the two of us, we sampled literally hundreds of different dishes. Were there things we didn't like? Certainly there were...but obviously that didn't prevent us from moving on and trying something else.

 

As others have said, if you board the ship looking for things to complain about, you will find lots of stuff to be unhappy with. It's YOUR vacation: make of it what you will.

[greywillow]

As others have said, if you board the ship looking for things to complain about, you will find lots of stuff to be unhappy with. It's YOUR vacation: make of it what you will.

Truer words were never spoken. This should be the permanent headline on all cruise line boards here.

 

Some people seem to go on a cruise with a scorecard in mind: how many towel animals? what percentage of desserts were flamed? what was missing from the main dining room menus? how many minutes did it take to eat dinner? was or wasn't coffee served at the same time as dessert; I had to ask for my iced tea every night--no one remembered; thorough inspections for dust bunnies under the bed; daily counting of the number of towels; how many crew didn't smile and bow when passed in the corridor? and on and on. Then a rush back to Cruise Critic to post proudly all the flaws experienced and scream BEWARE.

 

Why bother to vacation?

[halos]

I remember it well.......... 1996 in the Caribbean.... we laughed that N C L stood for "no class, love." China and glassware didn't match (table for two), tea had no lemon followed by enough for the entire station. We never ordered the same thing, hoping that one plate would hold something we could eat. Despite all my advice to everyone to look at food as a percentage of "to your taste," this cruise got me down - 15% was to my taste, 10 % to my husband's and the rest of the time we were tripping over each other to find the closest restaurant at each port.

 

We lost weight and got to see some terrific ports.

 

It took 5 years for us to come back and what a wonderful surprise we had. We've taken a number of NCL cruises since and will take many more. I don't expect to like everything, but I know well over 50% will be "to my taste."

 

LOL...your experience reminds me of my first Carnival cruise (in 1990) The food wasn't that great at all...years later when I took my second cruise I was absolutely FLOORED with the improvement.

All in all, of the 3 lines I've cruised, I like CCL food the best now, but the others are still very good and not all that much different. I thinkl steaks were best on NCL though (so I ate a lot of them :D )

I've never lost weight on a cruise. I had heard so much about NCL food being horrible that I had my expectations let so low and was truly hoping to not gain any weight on my cruise.

PFFT! :rolleyes:

The food was good and the bathroom scale was nasty. This was a 15 day cruise...why I expected to not gain weight on a 15 day cruise, I have NO idea. :eek:

[zachnlucy]

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.

 

Garlicky erasers? LOL. I agree, though I keep trying them for some reason. My kids (11, 11 and 13) love them.

[coka]

I do not mind reading cruiser reviews of ship food when they explain their tastes or preferences. I dismiss reviews when someone writes, "the chef should be fired."

 

When some write that the desserts were bland or not sugary enough, I just chuckle thinking that they must have picked something from the diabetic/sugar free section! When someone writes 'there was nothing to eat at the buffet,' I chuckle again, thinking they did not walk down far enough to see the different stations/options.

 

I will never forget the time I ate my first cajun lunch in New Orleans and then took a bayou alligator tour. One bathroom on board situated next to the Captain, who was also the speaker/guide. Imagine by the fifth time in 15 minutes exiting the 2x3x7 bathroom, everyone was rolling over laughing at me...I had tears too. Should I dismiss N.O. as a vacation spot? Of course not, that would be silly of me.

 

Coka

[ctdahlquist]

CT - What is american food anyway? I had no idea that USA ever had a real food culture. Everything we eat orginated from somewhere else. Sounds like you read the "Omnivore's Delimma".....

 

 

No, I have not read this book, but I'll look into it. I think for many people, based on my observations, American food has degenerated into fried chicken fingers, fries, and macaroni and cheese. It is a style of food that is familiar, quick, cheap, has a high fat content, and is intended to offend the least number of people. It is the food we feed our children, because it appeals to a child's taste, and it keeps them quite while we run around trying to manage a hectic lifestyle. These food habits are formed early and are carrier forward into adulthood.

 

Sure, this food I describe as "American" isn't appreciated by everyone, hence the plethora of choices in restaurants and in supermarkets. But notice what is popular at a Chinese restaurant, for example. I see folks at the buffet gobbling down General Tso's chicken, or Sweet and Sour chicken, which is really a different version of the chicken fingers I mention in the paragraph above. How often is the fresh vegetable dish chosen over a fat-laden mashed potato dish at the local TGI Fridays? What is the ratio of orders for the fresh salmon, versus the heavy pasta alfredo? If this is what SOME Americans are looking for at a restaurant at home, why would we think that they would enjoy the fresher, lighter fare offered on a cruise ship?

 

After having worked in the same office for 7 years, I can safely say that a majority of my office workers would HATE cruise food. It is such a struggle to find a restaurant we can all agree on, due to the very picky attitude toward anything out of the ordinary. On a business trip, some of my office mates actally refused to order at a fine Italian restaurant, because the dishes were a bit more exotic than what is found at Olive Garden. They ended up with ordering only a dessert that was familiar. Bring something to a potluck such as an olive spread, and they will ask all kinds of questions about ingredients. They will stare at it with suspicion, and if they are trying to be polite, they will very tentatively sample a tiny amount. In the end, if it isn't covered with cheese, sausage, or some sweet syrup, then the dish will barely be touched.

 

OK, I do like my co-workers, but their picky attitude toward food is frustrating. I suspect that they are reflective of a lot of other Americans who would not appreciate all of the food served on cruise ships. It is this cultural approach to food tastes that may contribute to some of the blanket statements about bad food on a ship.

[bluesea777]

amen ... Amen ... AMEN ctdahlquist !!!!

 

:) :)

[LindaRH]

I enjoyed reading your posts CT....very observant. If you read the Omnivore's Delimma by Michael Pollack you will hesitate before ordering any food you would buy in the Grocery store and think twice about what restaurants you will eat at. You will start asking quesitons like...Is this fish fresh? If so, where did it come from? What cow did this steak come from? Was it grass-fed or was it fed other cows? According to the book we are "walking corn" scientifically speaking...all foods in the US has some form of manifestations of corn from our midwestern states...and you don't want to know what they do with it!...Maybe I shouldn't write this in the post about cruise ship foods but I had the carrot dangling....

 

What I wrote before about cruise ship foods is that the quality is mostly top-notch. I do not get sick from it...I find the ingredients are usually have better quality then what you would buy in a typical US grocery store. At home I grow organic produce...I have pastured chickens that are fed Kefir and flax seed. I buy my produce at the local Farmer's Market...and when I say that cruise ship foods are better then most restaurants I mean it. We wouldn't cruise otherwise...I don't think :-).

[halos]

No, I have not read this book, but I'll look into it. I think for many people, based on my observations, American food has degenerated into fried chicken fingers, fries, and macaroni and cheese. It is a style of food that is familiar, quick, cheap, has a high fat content, and is intended to offend the least number of people. It is the food we feed our children, because it appeals to a child's taste, and it keeps them quite while we run around trying to manage a hectic lifestyle. These food habits are formed early and are carrier forward into adulthood.

 

Sure, this food I describe as "American" isn't appreciated by everyone, hence the plethora of choices in restaurants and in supermarkets. But notice what is popular at a Chinese restaurant, for example. I see folks at the buffet gobbling down General Tso's chicken, or Sweet and Sour chicken, which is really a different version of the chicken fingers I mention in the paragraph above. How often is the fresh vegetable dish chosen over a fat-laden mashed potato dish at the local TGI Fridays? What is the ratio of orders for the fresh salmon, versus the heavy pasta alfredo? If this is what SOME Americans are looking for at a restaurant at home, why would we think that they would enjoy the fresher, lighter fare offered on a cruise ship?

 

After having worked in the same office for 7 years, I can safely say that a majority of my office workers would HATE cruise food. It is such a struggle to find a restaurant we can all agree on, due to the very picky attitude toward anything out of the ordinary. On a business trip, some of my office mates actally refused to order at a fine Italian restaurant, because the dishes were a bit more exotic than what is found at Olive Garden. They ended up with ordering only a dessert that was familiar. Bring something to a potluck such as an olive spread, and they will ask all kinds of questions about ingredients. They will stare at it with suspicion, and if they are trying to be polite, they will very tentatively sample a tiny amount. In the end, if it isn't covered with cheese, sausage, or some sweet syrup, then the dish will barely be touched.

 

OK, I do like my co-workers, but their picky attitude toward food is frustrating. I suspect that they are reflective of a lot of other Americans who would not appreciate all of the food served on cruise ships. It is this cultural approach to food tastes that may contribute to some of the blanket statements about bad food on a ship.

 

So on the mark!

 

While we were in Guatemala, we took a tour that offered us a lunch. They had several choices:

Red Snapper

Chicken

Shrimp

Burger

Catch of the day

 

My Dh and I ordered the catch of the day as did my BIL. My sister ordered Red snapper. The fish is caught minutes before it winds up in the frying pan. It was amazing. We always try to eat local foods when traveling.

You wouldn't BELIEVE that some people on this tour ordered burgers.

In Guatemala :confused:

...who orders burgers in Guatemala??? :eek:

Of course they're going to be nothing like a burger here at home and FWIW, I wouldn't trust beef outside the US anyway...(hell, trusting it inside the US is not always wise I think!) A few people commented the burgers weren't good.

Well, DUH!

I hate that because we Americans are so self absorbed, that I see hard Rock Cafes and Planet Hollywoods as well as Burger Kings and Pizza Huts when I go to Mexico....all that it there to please the tourists.

If you're gonna travel to new places WHY on earth do you want Pizza Hut???

I just don't get it.

Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm not as brave as that Andrew Zimmern guy on the Travel Channel by any means...but c'mon people, at least TRY something new once in a while and be open to new and different ways of preparing food.

 

 

What I wrote before about cruise ship foods is that the quality is mostly top-notch. I do not get sick from it...I find the ingredients are usually have better quality then what you would buy in a typical US grocery store. At home I grow organic produce...I have pastured chickens that are fed Kefir and flax seed. I buy my produce at the local Farmer's Market...and when I say that cruise ship foods are better then most restaurants I mean it. We wouldn't cruise otherwise...I don't think :-).

 

Awesome!!

[luvgoldens]

Its interesting that many people go on cruise to sit and eat all day and then complain about the food. We've watched many a passenger sit and eat everything in sight and then grumble about what they just ate.

 

At home, I like to eat a wide a assortment of vegetables and grains and only small portions of meat. Cruise food is perfect for this. The meat portions tend to be small, and I can always order a wide variety of vegetables on the side.

 

I read lots of positive and negative food reviews before each of my cruises. In each case, the food has tended to be very good regardless of what the reviews said. Its funny, on our last cruise, the most raved about food was Carnival's chocolate melting cake. This was our least favorite thing, which again proves food is subjective.

[MonaCK]

Thank you for this post.

 

I married into a family of foodies. While I enjoyed a good meal growing up, it's nothing like what it's been like living with the family that I now do. My husband is the latest in a long line of those in the food business, and he, his brother, and his father manufacture sauces and marinades. DH was running his own restaurant when he was 19. His father ran a butcher shop, and has been involved in a number of other food endeavors. Both DH and F-I-L have attempted to leave the industry any number of times, but keep getting drawn back into it.

 

That being said - we have dined in some of the finest restaurants in NYC. DH and I have gone to New Orleans on a day trip just to buy food, shove it in a suitcase, and bring it back to NY. We also spent 4 days doing nothing but eating down there, without touching more than one cup of alcohol each.

 

DH, myself, and my inlaws are also avid cruisers. now, the cruising came form my side of the famiily -- my mother is a travel agent, and I can no longer count the number of cruises that I have been on. The ones in my signature are only a sampling, as there are cruises that I have forgotten the names of along the way.

 

We have never had a bad meal on a cruise ship. Why? Well, if we don't like something, we send it back, same as we would in a regular restaurant. If smething turns into a disappointment, then we let it go, and move onto the next thing. Sometimes that might have meant not eating a main entree, but that's okay. You know why? Because I know there will always be food, somewhere else, that i can enjoy.

 

We might sit at the table and critique the food. We might not order something else ever again, or resort to the old standby that is on the menu -- steak or grilled chicken.

 

I have never gone hungry on a cruise ship. I don't see that changing any time soon :)

[zachnlucy]

My Dh and I ordered the catch of the day as did my BIL. My sister ordered Red snapper. The fish is caught minutes before it winds up in the frying pan. It was amazing. We always try to eat local foods when traveling. You wouldn't BELIEVE that some people on this tour ordered burgers. In Guatemala :confused: ...who orders burgers in Guatemala??? :eek:

 

I totally agree. We always eat the local food; it's part of the experience. Nobody in our family has gotten sick yet, but I always bring Lomotil (just in case).

 

I'm looking forward to trying Tapado, the local Garifuna soup, in Guatemala next month. Coconut milk, spices, shrimp, fish, crab, and plantains. Yum!

[NoPiratesPlease]

In our one and only cruise on Carnival, this past June, we had serious problems with the food. Bad shellfish, cold food (sitting too long), and, worst of all, food that disagreed with us.

 

That's the worst sin a ship can commit: Food not kept properly hot. First off, hot food that isn't hot is unpleasant. Second, it's a health hazard.

 

Frequently food can be very, very rich. That can be hard on digestions. Or on certain nights the selection gets very thin if you don't eat meat, or don't eat, say, garlic.

 

One of the things I LOVE that I don't get ashore are the cold soups that they serve--fruit-based--I love 'em! My family thinks I'm nuts but since I'm happy, they are happy.

 

But the desserts are usually, to my taste: Soggy or grainy or flavorless. I find ALL the desserts in the cafeteria taste like nothing. I inevitably take one bite, and push it away.

 

We were in Cagney's, on the Jewel, and tried the New England Clam Chowder. Having had NE Chowder all over America (including NE), I can say that not only was it NOT New England Clam Chowder, it was inedible.

 

But still, the MOST amazing thing has been sailing SO many times on the Dawn (out of New York for years) and going on the Star last summer, and the Star's food being FAR better than the Dawn--when they should be the same.

 

How is that?

[LindaRH]

But still, the MOST amazing thing has been sailing SO many times on the Dawn (out of New York for years) and going on the Star last summer, and the Star's food being FAR better than the Dawn--when they should be the same.

 

How is that?

 

I believe the quality or lack of it can come from different ports using different food companies...I actually was on a cruise that couldn't get their food from where they normally get it so they had to use an alternative. Normally the meals are fabulous but with the change the food was good but not fabulous. So quality of the ingredients is crucial for a healthy and tasty meal. Also could be bad chef.....;)

[LindaRH]

So on the mark!

 

You wouldn't BELIEVE that some people on this tour ordered burgers.

In Guatemala :confused:

...who orders burgers in Guatemala??? :eek:

Of course they're going to be nothing like a burger here at home and FWIW, I wouldn't trust beef outside the US anyway...(hell, trusting it inside the US is not always wise I think!) A few people commented the burgers weren't good.

Well, DUH!

I hate that because we Americans are so self absorbed, that I see hard Rock Cafes and Planet Hollywoods as well as Burger Kings and Pizza Huts when I go to Mexico....all that it there to please the tourists.

If you're gonna travel to new places WHY on earth do you want Pizza Hut???

I just don't get it.

Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm not as brave as that Andrew Zimmern guy on the Travel Channel by any means...but c'mon people, at least TRY something new once in a while and be open to new and different ways of preparing food.

 

 

 

 

Awesome!!

 

That was funny....I'll tel you something though....Pizza Hut saved me in China. When you spend a month in China volunteering you will run to anything but chinese food once in awhile. :D