FOOD-- Royal vs Norwegian

I am a diamond plus and RC stockholder but had to take 2 NCL cruise due to the itineraries.

I must admit NCL's food is better than Royal's.

On my last Royal cruise, I was told by the wait staff and verified by the head waiter that Royal is buying prepared food made off ship from outside venders. Not all, but enough that it became apparent to all 8 of us at the table.

Has anyone else experienced that?

Hope Royal will fix this issue before my December cruise.

Finished our 7th cruise on NCL BA class ships last year, mostly Haven, next one in May again. We were on RCI in Sept and again in December. I have to say the food is as good or in some cases better than NCL in MDR and Buffet venues, although the food in the NCL Haven and Specialty restaurants is better consistently, based on our Sept experience.

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Finished our 7th cruise on NCL BA class ships last year, mostly Haven, next one in May again. We were on RCI in Sept and again in December. I have to say the food is as good or in some cases better than NCL in MDR and Buffet venues, although the food in the NCL Haven and Specialty restaurants is better consistently, based on our Sept experience.

 

 

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We do like the variety on NCL. O'sheehans and Chinese help to mix it up a little.

We really loved specialty dining on NCL. But we like specialty dining on RCI too but NCL seems to be a touch better here.

I think NCL wins with variety especially with the Dining Package. RCI seems to have a better MDR experience all around.

Granted the 2 times on NCL were on the Star in Norway and Jewel to Mexico (Haven). Our only 2 times on RCI were both on the Freedom. So we aren't quite seasoned cruisers. (Freshman)

The dining in the Haven was awesome. We enjoyed breakfast there daily. We also did notice that our trip out of an international port to Norway (on a smaller ship) had much better food and service then what we experienced leaving out of American ports.

I think itinerary, the ship (size regardless of line) and season of travel will make a bigger difference in your overall MDR experience.

-Sean

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Have not been on Royal for quite some time except for 1 charter cruise last year on the Brillance and can’t really compare but must say they food on my last two NCL cruises got me back to cruising with them again.

Have just book the Allure this November so will soon be able to compare.

Sea ya

Eric

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I have been on both and found that the food was good on both. There will be differences from ship to ship so it I'd really hard to do a good comparison.

I am a diamond plus and RC stockholder but had to take 2 NCL cruise due to the itineraries.

I must admit NCL's food is better than Royal's.

 

On my last Royal cruise, I was told by the wait staff and verified by the head waiter that Royal is buying prepared food made off ship from outside venders. Not all, but enough that it became apparent to all 8 of us at the table.

 

Has anyone else experienced that?

 

Hope Royal will fix this issue before my December cruise.

Frozen food prepared "a la minute" has become very obvious on RCI. I think of competitor lines RCI has the worst food. I think the idea is to eliminate MDR's eventually and just have a buffet, one or two quick service counters, and the rest be specialty dining. If you are hungry after 9PM and not on a mega ship with RCI, you'll have to pay for room service basically.

Royal has the worst food in my opinion. I've sailed 5 other lines. I don't cruise on their ships for the food. I don't go hungry but there is nothing I look forward to.

The only time we have have cruised on NCL was last December on the Getaway. We never dined in the MDR but the specialty restaurants were fabulous. Also, the buffet was fantastic in quality and selection. When was the last time you had a ribeye in the Windjammer?

The only time we have have cruised on NCL was last December on the Getaway. We never dined in the MDR but the specialty restaurants were fabulous. Also, the buffet was fantastic in quality and selection. When was the last time you had a ribeye in the Windjammer?

The served small pieces of an excellent cut of steak on the Windjammer on Brilliance this past January.

The served small pieces of an excellent cut of steak on the Windjammer on Brilliance this past January.

That's good to know. The last time I had a steak in the WJ was 2002 on Enchantment. :o

We hate the food in the MDR and buffet on NCL, to be honest, if you have to be gluten free as I do, the buffet lack a lot for me. The only specialty restaurants that I rate as very good to excellent on NCL Breakaway is Le Bistro, Ocean Blue and the Raw Bar....on RC that would be 150 Central Parc and Giovanni's. Food in the MDR on RC is much better than Carnival and the edge for RC over NCL but typically similar ok food...we don't eat dinner in the MDR any longer, we go to the specialty restaurants every night, much much better food and quality!