How bad is the food really?

[bprice11512]

We just arrived home today after spending 5 days on the NCL Pearl, Cozumel and Grand Caymen. We previously had cruised with the Princess line. The food was bad. We ate one night in the dining room. My husband's NY strip steak was so touch (medium rare) that he couldn't chew it, and we had to send it back. The buffet was a joke. Very disappointed with the offerings on it. I felt that they were trying to nickel and dime us with their additional charges for their "speciality" restaurants, but that was where the edible food was.:mad:

 

: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.

[DJ Dale]

We just arrived home today after spending 5 days on the NCL Pearl, Cozumel and Grand Caymen. We previously had cruised with the Princess line. The food was bad. We ate one night in the dining room. My husband's NY strip steak was so touch (medium rare) that he couldn't chew it, and we had to send it back. The buffet was a joke. Very disappointed with the offerings on it. I felt that they were trying to nickel and dime us with their additional charges for their "speciality" restaurants, but that was where the edible food was.:mad:

 

You only tried the dining room once?

[watchdiva]

bprice11512 - sorry that you didn't enjoy your food experience on the Pearl. Can you be more specific as to why the buffet is a joke? I mean, what's the joke and what's the punchline............

 

No one forced you to eat in the speciality restaurants, did they? With 13 restaurants on board, it's hard to believe that you couldn't find one single venue that had food to your liking. How many different things did you sample on the buffet before you decided there was nothing there to your liking?

 

I have no idea as to what your expectations were for your cruise - it's too bad though that you found cruise critic AFTER your cruise rather than before.........these forums have a wealth of information on them and that information could have helped you.

 

Do you dine in the extra-charge specialty restaurant on your Princess cruises and if so, do you also feel as though you are being nickle and dimed?

 

Hopefully you found time in both Grand Cayman and Cozumel to eat while off the ship.......otherwise you must have returned home VERY, VERY hungry!

[Giorgi-one]

We were on the Gem in January. My opinion on food as follows:

 

Dining Rooms - Good, although on some nights we did not see anything on the menu we liked so we went to the specialty restaurants. Only choice of about 4 entrees where some Cruise lines have as many as 6 or 7. Good size portions. Deserts were not great so we usually had ice cream or sherbert. Service was very good and very friendly.

 

Buffet - I thought it was the worst buffet of 22 cruises I have been on. Basically the same food every day. Not a big deal for us because we rarely eat at buffets. The hot dogs and hamburgers were good.

 

Room Service - Inedible and we had the special room service for suites. WE just gave up and ordered cereal, fruit and danish for breakfast.

 

Steakhouse - $20 each - Good but this is not Chicago Prime or Ruth Chris.

 

Mexican - No charge - Very good.

 

Oriental - $10 each but we got a 2 for 1 after 8:30 PM. Very Good.

 

Le Bistro - $15 each. One of our favorite restaurants anywhere, land or sea. We ate there twice. Escargot, Mushroom soup served in bread bowl, onion soup, duck, filet. Fantastic, friendly service.

 

Never had to wait in the dining rooms and had no problem making reservations for specialty restaurants. Did not use concierge.

[Rickdabear]

: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 relate well to your father-in-law. The staff was better dressed than we were. If you go to one of the main dining rooms, I'm sure you can find a wonderful selection of food. In 15 days on my last NCL cruise, I had one meal that was not my cup of tea. It was my fault and not their's. I don't care for mussels and I forgot to ask. If you have a dish you don't care for, order something else. No problem.

 

If you want to escape the unappetizing food, I would shy away from the buffet except for maybe a quick breakfast. The food taste fine, but it looks like most buffets after the hoards of hungry passengers attack it.

Da Bear

[newmexicoNita]

We just arrived home today after spending 5 days on the NCL Pearl, Cozumel and Grand Caymen. We previously had cruised with the Princess line. The food was bad. We ate one night in the dining room. My husband's NY strip steak was so touch (medium rare) that he couldn't chew it, and we had to send it back. The buffet was a joke. Very disappointed with the offerings on it. I felt that they were trying to nickel and dime us with their additional charges for their "speciality" restaurants, but that was where the edible food was.:mad:

this certainly shows how food is subjective. We cruised the Star in Oct and the Golden Princess in Jan. As for meats, I do give the edge to Princess, but as for buffets and breakfast in the dining room: we thought Princess was down right bad, especially breakfast in the dining room. Not only was it slow, the food was cold and my eggs one morning were still clear in the middle (obviously undercooked) I did not send them back because it had taken 1/2 hour to get them the first time. I just didn't eat. There 7 of us at the table, all ordering at the same time and each got their entrees at different times. Way over 20 cruises now and never had anything like this happen. The buffets, both breakfast and lunch served the same things daily. I expect that, there is only so much you can do, especially for breakfast. I did miss the sandwhich bar that we are accustom to on all NCl ships. Yes, they had hamburgers, clear across the deck, but no fresh sandwhich bar.

 

You tried the dining room once, sent the steak back (I have done the same a few times) but how was it the second time around? You indicated you ate the other 4 nights in the sur charge restaurants, did you think of trying the specialty dining rooms that do not have an extra charge?

 

Nita

[Tatka]

You indicated you ate the other 4 nights in the sur charge restaurants, did you think of trying the specialty dining rooms that do not have an extra charge? Nita

 

This is off topic, but what are the names of these speciality restaurants? Are they the same on different NCL ships? We are sailing on NCL Spirit.

[flgirl]

Loved the food on the Jewel!

 

Loved the variety of restaurants and LOVED the smaller more european portions at each course. That's the way it's done on most cruises. We Americans are used to one big fat course!

 

Funny story: We just got off a 9 day cruise and as the days went on, my father in law was complaining about how the portion sizes were getting so small! The problem I think was his stomach was getting bigger and bigger! After a 9 day cruise, he certainly wasn't starving!

[newmexicoNita]

This is off topic, but what are the names of these speciality restaurants? Are they the same on different NCL ships? We are sailing on NCL Spirit.

I haven't been on the Spirit; you can go to the NCL website, bring up the Spirit and restaurants or public areas. They will be listed. Normally there is a Mexican restaurant which seems to have a different name on each ship/ some of the ships have an Italian restaurant that has no charge and there is always "Blue Lagoon" again not all ships have this one. It could be called something else, but normally is called Blue Lagoon. It really isn't a restaurant for dinner but for late night comfort food, lunch and breakfast. We did eat dinner there one night after having a late buffet lunch. They have awesome hamburgers, buffalo wings and fish and chips just to mention a few things. One of the couples with us on our church group cruise last Sept loved the wings so much the wife would have hubby get them for her at breakfast. She would eat in the cabin on the balcony. I don't think they are quite that good...The Sun has a cooking light restaurant that has no charge and the food is surprising very good. Beleive me, there are plenty of places to eat other than the buffet and the main dining rooms where you can have something a little different without paying extra.

 

Enjoy the Spirit.....

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

Loved the food on the Jewel!

 

Loved the variety of restaurants and LOVED the smaller more european portions at each course. That's the way it's done on most cruises. We Americans are used to one big fat course!

 

Funny story: We just got off a 9 day cruise and as the days went on, my father in law was complaining about how the portion sizes were getting so small! The problem I think was his stomach was getting bigger and bigger! After a 9 day cruise, he certainly wasn't starving!

exactly. Yes, the first time you see the size of the entree can be a shock to put it mildly, but then consider: you have just had an appitizer, salad, soup and will have dessert afterwards, plus you can order more than one entree. No wonder so many of us fight the weight, we don't know when enough is enough.

 

I love to cook, do not subcribe to prepared foods, frozen veggies or many canned items; I will pay what I have to for good meat and produce and yet I am overweight; why? Lack of exercise and portion sizes.

 

Nita

[mamamusings]

did you think of trying the specialty dining rooms that do not have an extra charge?

 

Nita

 

On the Gem right now, the *only* specialty restaurant without a surcharge is Tequila (the mexican/tapas restaurant). If you don't want to pay, you've got the main dining rooms (Grand Pacific/Magenta), the buffet (Garden Cafe), the casual/snack area (Blue Lagoon), or Tequila. (That was plenty for us, and we enjoyed most of the food we had, but it's not the case that there are a wide variety of specialty restaurants without a surcharge.)

[newmexicoNita]

On the Gem right now, the *only* specialty restaurant without a surcharge is Tequila (the mexican/tapas restaurant). If you don't want to pay, you've got the main dining rooms (Grand Pacific/Magenta), the buffet (Garden Cafe), the casual/snack area (Blue Lagoon), or Tequila. (That was plenty for us, and we enjoyed most of the food we had, but it's not the case that there are a wide variety of specialty restaurants without a surcharge.)

thanks, I guess the Gem has added the extra charge to the Italian restaurant but this is not the case on all NCL ships, at least not yet. I guess I should not have said a variety, but there are more than on any other lines. That would be a better way to put it. Thanks for responding. We live and learn.

 

Nita

[mamamusings]

According to the hotel director, the $10 charge in La Cucina is a 4-week test run that started with our cruise :(

 

I hope it's unsuccessful, because I really had looked forward to eating there with my whole family, but couldn't justify the $50 price tag.

[Tatka]

Enjoy the Spirit.....Nita

 

Thank you.:)

[electricron]

This is off topic, but what are the names of these speciality restaurants? Are they the same on different NCL ships? We are sailing on NCL Spirit.

 

The names of the Speciality restaurants can change.

The names of the Main restaurants can also change.

The names of the Main buffet can change too.

 

The Le Bistro is the French surcharge specialty restaurant on most NCL ships. But there are some exceptions. On the America it's called the Jefferson's Bistro, and on the Aloha it's called the Royal Palm Bistro.

 

Cagney's Steakhouse is the surcharge specialty restaurant serving large steaks on most NCL ships. The Aloha, Dream and Majesty don't have a steakhouse specialty restaurant at all. On the America it's called the Lazy J Texas Steakhouse, and on the Sun it's called the East Meets West Steakhouse.

 

The Asian surcharge specialty restaurant has a different name on every ship that has it. It usually includes the Sushi Bar and Teppanyaki Tables. Here's a list.

America> East Meets West

Dawn> Bamboo

Gem> Orchid Garden

Jade> Jasmine Garden

Jewel> Chin Chin

Pearl> Lotus Garden

Spirit> Shogun

Star> Ginza Asian

Sun> Ginza Japanese

Note, the Aloha, Dream, and Majesty don't have an Asian restaurant.

 

Italian specialty restaurants on most NCL ships are free. But there are a few that charge a surcharge, and from what I've read lately, a four week trial on the Gem too. The most common name for the Italian restaurant is La Trattoria. La Trattoria's are free, and occupy half the Main Buffet each evening. You'll find a La Trattoria on the Spirit and Star. Little Italy on the America also uses half of the Main Buffet. On the Dream, the Sun Terraces Trattoria is one deck below the Main Buffet, but is used during breakfast and lunch as overflow capacity for the Main Buffet/Sports Bar.

On the Majesty there is a similar arrangement as used on the Dream, except it is called the Pasta Cafe

The following ships have dedicated restaurants for the Italian restaurants.

Dawn> Impressions of Italy

Gem> La Cucina Italian

Jade> Papa's Italian Kitchen

Jewel> Mama' Italian Kitchen

Pearl> La Cucina Italian

Aloha> Kahili

Sun> Il Adagio

All are free, except for the Kahili and Il Adagio on the sister ships Aloha and Sun. Presently, during a four week trial, it appears the La Cucina aboard the Gem has a surcharge.

 

There are a few other specialty restaurants that aren't widespread throughout NCL's fleet.

Star> Soho Room is a surcharge specialty restaurant serving Asian Fusion cuisine which includes a lobster tank.

Endless Summer is a free restaurant serving Tex-Mex.

Aloha> Pacific Heights is a free restaurant with Cooking Light menus.

Sun> Pacific Heights is a free restaurant with Cooking Light menus.

Las Rambas Tapas Bar & Restaurant is a free restaurant serving Tapas.

Gem> Tequila Latin & Tapas is a free restaurant serving Tapas, Tex-Mex.

Jade> Tapas & Salsa is a free restaurant serving Tapas, Tex-Mex.

Jewel> Tangos Tapas & Latin is a free restaurant serving Tapas, Tex-Mex.

Pearl> Mangos Latin & Tapas is a free restaurant serving Tapas, Tex-Mex.

 

Additionally, you'll find various grills with different names serving various fast food/food court menus, including pizzas, on almost every ship. The most unique grill is on the Spirit, called the Bier Garten.

 

It can get confusing.