How bad is the food really?

[akachop]

:confused: My husband and I booked our first NCL trip for this fall. Ever since I have been reading these boards and am nervous about what sort of food experience we may have. I am somewhat uplifted to hear about the new freestyle 2.0 program - whatever that may actually be. My question is whether people are complaining about the actual quality of the food - are there bad cuts of meat for instance...do things look particularly greasy? Or, are they complaining that the offerings aren't gourmet enough? And that they didn't end their trip with an additional 5 lbs around their waistline? We booked this trip with my in-laws and this will be their first cruise ever. They've never seen the Caribbean before and I would hate for them to be disappointed with the experience as a whole. They are driving all the way from Indiana to Miami to experience this with us. If you are wondering why I chose NCL it is because of the relaxed dress code. My father-in-law is very much a jeans and white sneaker kind of a guy. He would be totally out of his element if he was expected to eat carpacio as an appetizer for instance. In short, I realize some people cruise specifically for the food on board ship. We are not that type but I don't want to be grossed out either:confused: Any feedback would be appreciated.

[ILOVEOSU]

I thought the food was great. The buffet had a good selection of foods, waffle buffet in the mornings, carving stations, sandwich stations, etc. The main dining rooms were great. There were some "fancier" sounding items, like the black cherry chilled soup, for instance, as an apetizer, but there were also things like crab salad, caesar salad, onion soup, etc. And if you try something new and don't like it, you can just order something else. I saw people ordering 2 apetizers, 2 entrees, 2 desserts, etc. The entrees were great. We had fish, steak sandwiches(yum!), beef stroganoff, pork loin, even hot dogs...a really good variety. And that doesn't even include the specialty restaurants. We went to Le Bistro. The beef tenderloin was a very good cut...cooked perfectly. We tried the foi gras...I hated it, my hubby loved it. But the chocolate souffle was amazing. I don't think there was one meal that we didn't leave saying it was great. The tapas bar was good, too.

Dress code is great. We're not really "dress up" people. Not on vacation anyways. My husband only took shorts, a couple of polos, jeans, sandals...we still were able to eat in one of the main dining rooms as long as he wore jeans.

[greywillow]

For every person who whines about the food there are ten who say it's fine. And you worry about this? Why?

[taxmantoo]

:confused: ... My question is whether people are complaining about the actual quality of the food YES - are there bad cuts of meat for instance YES ...do things look particularly greasy? YES Or, are they complaining that the offerings aren't gourmet enough? YES And that they didn't end their trip with an additional 5 lbs around their waistline? YES

 

Should you be worried or concerned about these answers ? NOT AT ALL !!!

Welcome to Cruise Critic where you will find some people complain on just about everything. If you search the boards or the reviews for your particular ship and itinerary you will find as many good reviews as you will find bad. In the long run, they tend to even out.

 

You will definitely not be grossed out by NCL food. It is as good, if not better, than most mid-price cruise lines and has the advantage of offering more choices and variety (as many as 9 or 10 restaurants on some NCL ships). And they do allow people in jeans and sneakers to eat carpaccio or lobster or shrimp or whatever they like to eat if they so desire. ;)

 

You will be very comfortable with your in-laws.

[Toyz711]

some of the complaints were that it's too gourmet...small portions, for one. i would like to see some new items, but we loved what we had. haven't had a problem with slow service or hot food served cold.

the cruise in 2006 had a same basic menu items as the cruise last december. as much as we like some of them, come new choices..yes!

some complain the food was too salty, some say it needs more spices/seasoning.

mostly, there were days that we looked at the main dining rooms and, neither, of us saw anything to knock our socks off. but that was fine, we were "freesytling" it and had other places to eat.

i would like to see more fish dishes, but realize how hard it is to keep fresh tasting fresh.

i loved the actions stations at the buffet...it will be nice to have table cloths and more service in that area. some better desserts would be nice, but i don't want to lose the creme brulee (with fudge bottom) or the dessert crepes (at the buffet). DH loved the duck, in the main dining, and the cog au vin...maybe more of that type of dish?

[mbisson]

On my last cruise, on the final night we sat with a gentleman who complained during the entire meal about how bad the food had been. Then he complained that he had gained so much weight he needed to buy a new belt and there weren't any in the gift shop

 

Go figure

 

For our tastes, the food in the main dining room is fine, maybe not as good in some of the specialty rooms, but we've still always found something we liked and we've been happy with the way it's prepared

[retired rascal]

our experience on a recent 14 PEARL cruise was the food was excellent...but it depends on what you are looking for. we are casual people. we're happy snorkeling and detest 'black tie.' we also LOVE really fine food. however, we don't care about being 'served.' having said that we always found something we truly enjoyed. there is TONS of fresh fruit and salad makings and interesting prepared salad and always multiple sources of good solid clean protein including tofu, sliced lamb or beef, chicken, etc. we enjoyed the buffet more than almost anything except the filet in the specialty restaurants. the espresso/cappucino/latte machine is a wonderful addition to a meal. i think some people are so ego-driven and carried away with the need for a certain 'ambience' to feel good that they miss the good food that is available. :)

[watchdiva]

I doubt that you're looking/hoping for the food to be bad - but the title of the thread is a little disconcerting (at least to me).

 

I've NEVER had "bad" food on ANY cruise (HAL, NCL, RCCL) - maybe we've been really lucky but we've never come away from any of our cruises without gaining the requisite amount of food. Freestyle offers choices to every pax - choices of what to eat, where to eat and when to eat. If you order something and it's not to your liking - order something else and your server will accommodate you. If you don't like the particular way your steak is cooked, tell your server who will replace it with another.

 

For us, it's about expectations - we cruise expecting to have a great time and we do; we cruise expecting to enjoy and/or love the food we're eating and we do (or if we don't we get something else); we cruise for the sheer enjoyment of spending alone time together and not having to cope with cell phones, e-mails and stressful jobs.

 

You absolutely cannot take to heart everything you read on these boards on certain subjects (food, tipping, etc - they are hot-button issues here and VERY subjective) - go expecting to have a fantastic experience and I bet you will.:)

[Ephraim]

I'm not going to be specific about any particular cruise line.

 

There will always be people complaining about the portions. Personally I think I'm with the minority and will say that I much prefer a smaller portion on my plate. If I want more, I can ask for more. I also like that there is less waste. There is no limit on how much you can have. That being said, there is no excuse for a puny lobster tail, though.

 

There is always going to be the argument of quantity versus quality. I am a quality person, but many people out there are quantity people. I would rather have very little high quality food on my plate than a plate full of lower quality food. Give me a small square of a beautiful pate and I'm happy. But there are many people who would prefer to have a plate full of pasta to a baguette with a little pate on it.

 

Where I draw the line is the quality of the ingredients. Most of the mass-market lines have been penny pinching in the quality of the product. That doesn't mean that they don't have enough food, but for me there is a big difference between using a broth made from high quality product versus using something like Campbell's broth which has flavourings (I'm sorry, but I don't care if it's natural or unnatural... you shouldn't need to add flavour to food if it's done right) nor yeast to a broth. There is nothing wrong with using a cheaper cut of meat, if you are preparing it correctly. Taking a piece of chuck and slow cooking it to make roast is great, but don't expect that you can cut up the chuck and make a steak from it.

 

Also, there is the inference factor. For example, a filet is not filet mignon. And loin isn't tenderloin.

 

And then there is the necessary evils. Using egg product for scrambled eggs because they change colours in the buffet trays if you use fresh eggs. (And no one wants discoloured eggs).

 

And the unnecessary evils, like frozen cakes, frozen pastries that need to just be baked, Costco tortilla chips served with Costco salsa (Yes, I've seen this one with my own eyes... the couldn't have even bothered to hide it or to cut up some fresh vegetables to add to it and make it appear man made.) And the pre-poached eggs that are simply dunked into a bain marie to warm and serve.

 

You will find plenty of food to eat and enjoy. There are just some picky foodies out there. I can be picky at times and I always find something to eat. And sometimes you will ind some interesting selections. RCCL had a fantastic Indonesian rice dish that was available that I loved. I asked the staff and they told me that it wasn't very popular that people were afraid to order it. To me a cruise is a PERFECT chance to order something new... because if you don't like it, you can just order something else.

[CC Help Michell]

:confused: My husband and I booked our first NCL trip for this fall. Ever since I have been reading these boards and am nervous about what sort of food experience we may have. I am somewhat uplifted to hear about the new freestyle 2.0 program - whatever that may actually be. My question is whether people are complaining about the actual quality of the food - are there bad cuts of meat for instance...do things look particularly greasy? Or, are they complaining that the offerings aren't gourmet enough? And that they didn't end their trip with an additional 5 lbs around their waistline? We booked this trip with my in-laws and this will be their first cruise ever. They've never seen the Caribbean before and I would hate for them to be disappointed with the experience as a whole. They are driving all the way from Indiana to Miami to experience this with us. If you are wondering why I chose NCL it is because of the relaxed dress code. My father-in-law is very much a jeans and white sneaker kind of a guy. He would be totally out of his element if he was expected to eat carpacio as an appetizer for instance. In short, I realize some people cruise specifically for the food on board ship. We are not that type but I don't want to be grossed out either:confused: Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

I really don't understand the title of this thread. If you are planning on the food being bad, and are only concerned about the degree of "bad" -- WHY are you taking this cruise, again? You could very well encounter carpaccio as one appetizer choice (it's not not like it takes a lot of culinary genius, or a Cordon Bleu graduate, to cut some thin slices of raw meat or fish and put some seasoning on them). But you can also count on there being a house salad, a conventional soup like mushroom or French onion, etc.

 

I'm going to assume your title didn't convey your ACTUAL question (at least I hope not, because otherwise the concept of "enlightened self interest" is one you might want to check out -- "I'm going to pay $1500 or so per person to eat bad food! Yay!" :)). I think the food on NCL is fine, and quite comparable to any other mainstream line, and all of them present a product far ahead of most mass-produced food I've encountered. There are minor variations between cruiselines, but overall I think they are more alike than different.

 

However, food is highly subjective. If you are cruising with food as the number one priority, I would pick a very high end, luxe line, with a limited number of passengers. Once you pass a certain point in terms of the number of people being served, it becomes mass food, and the only real question left after that is how the cruiselines actually do make the experience feel more "special" than a "rubber chicken with glutinous gravy and soggy veggies" lunch at a typical convention seating 2000+ people, and then do it every meal for 7 days. That the cruise lines succeed at all in doing this every day is a testament to how hard they TRY to make their food and presentation something other than mass-produced food.

[Frosting Master]

My husband likes a plain meat and simple veggies. I like fancy combinations with great sauces and tons of new things to try. We were both very, very happy.

 

I also like the FREE dining room meals and am happy eating in them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

 

We did eat at Le Bistro, once, with the Anniversary package and the cream of mushroom soup is the best I ever had. It was a great meal, but we've also had great meals in the dining room.

 

I think there is a wonderful combination of new foods to try and familar favorites.

[salty dingo]

Food is subjective, and the notion of "bad" food is totally in the eye of the beholder. I can't tell you how many posts I have read where one unfortunate soul complained about the food and several others on the same cruise said the food was wonderful.

 

The best advice I can give is to TOTALLY IGNORE the personal opinions and go see for yourself. After all, even if it is horrible food, you are going to have the time of you life on a cruise, so does it really matter?

[Ottawa Lynne]

DH and I are very picky eaters (especially DH). We don't like fancy food or sauces. The nights we thought about eating in the diningroom nothing struck our fancy - it was too fancy for us. That said, we certainly didn't starve. We ate at Mama's one night, Cagney's three nights, Tepanayki (sp) one night, BBQ one night, Blue Lagoon twice and the buffet once. We loved the food in Cagney's the filet mignon that I had was incredible.

 

This was our first cruise so we likely didn't approach the dining situation with the right strategy - we should have checked the menus for the 9 days and then decided when to eat in the speciality restaurants.

 

I'm sure the food will work out for you - we're hard to please and we did fine. Enjoy yourself!

[A Sixth?]

I'm just back from a land all inclusive at a Cancun "Five Star" the GR Solarious and the food was so salty, tasteless and fried that 3/4 of customers plates were cleared nightly almost untouched. It was Bad! Inediable a number of times.

 

I will never complain about even one disappointing meal of a cruise ship again.

 

BTW we loved NCL food, better than some, not as great as a few others afloat, but IMHO only a super picky won't enjoy it.

 

Don't worry, you'll gain weight

[Luvtotrav]

My wife and I just returned from our first NCL cruise. "SUN" 8 others on RCI and Celebrity. We found the food to be about the same as past cruises. I find it interesting that people want to pay bargain prices to go on a cruise and then complain that the food is not 5 star quality. I found the NCL cruise to be almost equal to my other cruises except for some service issues. We found the crew to be less motivated in some instances to go out of their way. I still found the service as a whole to be more than satisfactory. The ship was very nice and always kept spotless.

 

Don't fret about your choice of NCL. The freestyle was great and we loved it. We will without a doubt cruise with them again. You will have a great time if you go with a positive attitude about it.

[I'mwithhim]

Well we are just off the SUN and we LOVED the food. I agree that some nights there wasn't anything on the menu in the dining rooms that appealed to us, but on those nights we went to the buffet, where we found the food to be just as good..albeit not plated as fancy.

 

I have also 9 years of AI "food experience" and the best food at a resort doesn't rival the worst food on the SUN, so don't worry about it.

 

I happen to appreciate the so-called smaller portions (even the "puny" lobster tails of which I could only eat one), because if there had been any more food on my plate with would have gone to waste..rather than waist, where it obviously ended up! :o

 

We dined on things such as beef wellington, lobster, studded pork tenderloin, and roast turkey dinner with stuffing in the dining rooms. We dined on escargot and duck a l'orange and braised short ribs with tenderloin in Le Bistro, (and yes, that mushroom soup IS to die for..as is the french onion) and we dined on the best stir fry I have ever tasted in the buffet. All of it I would be proud to serve at home and all of it would cost us $50 to $100 in a restaurant with 2 dining, around here. :)

 

Yup... no complaints here.. I just can't imagine how much better food can be on any other cruise lines.. If I didn't like Freestyle so much I might actually book to find out! :D

[Ask4Jay]

akachop - To us food is of little consequence. An aft cabin with balcony has much greater priority with us than where and what to eat. We have eaten in some of the finest hotels in the Far East, we also eat at our local diner and even at McDonalds. On NCL (and Oceania) we usually eat either in one of their main dining rooms or in the buffet. Love the buffet on the newer NCL ships with their individual action stations, which beats having to slide your tray along a buffet line that's half a block long. They have a great vegetarian station with lots of veggies and Indian dishes, excellent selection of salads, chilled fruit soups, etc. Atmosphere in the buffet could be a bit better, but maybe Freestyle 2 will take care of that.

I'm pretty sure that all four of you will be pleasantly surprised.

[briangl]

I find it interesting that people want to pay bargain prices to go on a cruise and then complain that the food is not 5 star quality.

 

I couldn't have put it better myself. You are not going to get Per Se, Daniel, French Laundry, Commander's Palace level cuisine on any mass market cruise line. The food was perfectly acceptable. I was on the Pearl last Summer and enjoyed Summer Palace and Indigo. Tepanyaki was fun but I next time I would tell them to hold the salt. I liked that I could bring my own wines for only $15/bottle. That 1989 Lynch Bages was great.

[CanadianTwosome]

Here's a link to my 'food' album again:

 

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/562285834btzutd

 

One of the reasons I took pictures of a lot of the food we had was that I'd seen people here complaining that it 'wasn't even recognizable'. Well, I recognized all of it and my family and I loved it all!! (One minor qualification - I finally tried a chilled soup and confirmed that I like mine hot. My husband ate both his and mine :).)

[Lady Slipper]

We have been on several cruises, three of them being with NCL. The last one was on POA, seeing as you are not going on this ship I can say honestly "do not worry" the food will be fine.

Now go get your bags packed & get ready to have a wonderful holiday! :)

[akachop]

Thanks to everyone who responded to my post. I needed to hear that people had positive food experiences with NCL. I think all too often in life there is a tendency to speak out only when we are not happy with something - hence all the negative remarks concerning food on past posts - and when we are satisfied we keep to ourselves unless prompted to speak up. I anticipate that my family will have a wonderful cruise on Pearl. My children will get to spend an entire week with their grandparents who they see maybe once or twice a year. Belize, Roatan, and Cozumel are new destinations for us (just trying to figure out a way to talk father-in-law into zip-lining!) to explore together. And when I get back to the ship after 7 hours of touring, I don't have to hurry up and shower to get all dressed up because it's formal night. I can take a nap if I want and mosey up to the buffet whenever I feel like it :)

[Duffys wife 1957]

We just returned from POAL and I have to say the food was very good. there is alot of variety, for different tastes. No worries. ;)

[Tatka]

I haven't sailed with NCL yet (first cruise is coming!), but my husband and MIL sailed on NCL Sun.. He said while it was less fancy than lets say on Celebrity it was still very good, some dishes he like even more. With free style dining they were able to get the tables in different locations.

[Ms belp]

:confused: My husband and I booked our first NCL trip for this fall. Ever since I have been reading these boards and am nervous about what sort of food experience we may have. I am somewhat uplifted to hear about the new freestyle 2.0 program - whatever that may actually be. My question is whether people are complaining about the actual quality of the food - are there bad cuts of meat for instance...do things look particularly greasy? Or, are they complaining that the offerings aren't gourmet enough? And that they didn't end their trip with an additional 5 lbs around their waistline? We booked this trip with my in-laws and this will be their first cruise ever. They've never seen the Caribbean before and I would hate for them to be disappointed with the experience as a whole. They are driving all the way from Indiana to Miami to experience this with us. If you are wondering why I chose NCL it is because of the relaxed dress code. My father-in-law is very much a jeans and white sneaker kind of a guy. He would be totally out of his element if he was expected to eat carpacio as an appetizer for instance. In short, I realize some people cruise specifically for the food on board ship. We are not that type but I don't want to be grossed out either:confused: Any feedback would be appreciated.

The prime rib was excellent, The steaks were not.

[PA Cruisers2]

We have been on 7 NCL Cruises on 4 different ships. On each and everyone of them the food has been very good. On the occassion that we got something we did not care for the crew was more than happy suggest something else and bring it immediately. The food court has gotten better each time we have gone. If you can not find something you like to eat you might be very picky or used better restuarants than I am. Don't worry:) be happy:) it is a vacation.

 

The speciality restaurants are also VERY GOOD. Are they world class...I don't know. They are VERY GOOD...but people have different tastes.

 

Have a great life.