Food in specialty restaurant was terrible...should I complain?

[keikotrinity]

...got to say, La Trattoria is not my favorite specialty on the Spirit. I get a giggle though when I eat in there and you can hear someone from the Raffles Buffet area since they're in the same location basically. I agree with the previous poster, though, you really missed out by not going to Cagney's.

[LocalTracks]

- After Shogun, we ate at La Trattoria. The food was palatable this time, but still fell well short of our expectations for an upscale Italian restaurant. We had originally planned to eat at Cagney's at the end of our cruise, but after our two mediocre experiences, we scrapped that plan. So no, we didn't keep eating at specialty restaurants after being disappointed.

 

Thanks for the clarification - I assumed you ate at the specialty restaurants throughout the cruise.

 

I would follow up with the survey, or another letter (especially if you plan to cruise NCL in the future). Sometimes comments fall on deaf ears, but you never know - especially if similar issues are raised by other passengers.

[newmexicoNita]

We just got off the Spirit and our dining experience in specialty restaurants fell well below expectations. The sashimi we had at Shogun was particularly inedible.

 

We wrote a letter to the Hotel Director and the Executive Sous Chef did phone us with a canned response. Now I got an e-mail asking me to fill out the survey and I am not sure if we should take the time to write about this issue. I am thinking that it's going to get lost in the bureaucracy of the Miami Corporate HQ's anyways.

 

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

obviously it is too late to complain and remember food is very subjective. We love decent food and happen to think Shoguns is as good as any land based Asian restaurant we have had the pleasure of enjoying, other than maybe some in San Francisco.

 

Yes, fill out the survey and yes, tell them you were unhappy, but don't expect anything in return or is that your purpose for letting them know it wasn't to you liking?

 

Nita

[98Charlie]

To the OP, I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience at Shogun on Spirit. DH & I have eaten there several times over the years and have always felt we had good meals. Some items were better than others to our palate but never had anything served there that would be considered ``inedible.''

 

As said by a poster before, inedible normally refers to a food served that is unsafe to eat. While food served to you might be inedible to you might be well recieved by others.

 

I agree with others that you should fill out your survey from NCL with your concerns about the food served to you. I would list the reasons why the food was inedible to you and list the date the food was served to you.

 

Vent your feelings with corporate. You may not be alone in your feelings about the food served to you. Then, again, you may be the only one on that sailing that felt that way. But corporate needs to know.

 

On another note, you tried only 2 of the various specialty restaurants available on the Spirit and did not find anything that achieved your ``expectations.,'' and also said that food in the MDR was ``filling'' but in no way ``gourmet'' offerings.

 

I'm thing that perhaps your cruise ship food expections may be better met on a non-mass market cruise line.

 

DH & I have more than 30 cruises now on mass market lines from NCL to Carnival, RCL to Princess and Celebrity, and have had dinners on all of those lines that did not meet our expectations -- but were never inedible ---

 

except for the creme brulee we served on a Royal Caribbean cruise a few years ago that was totally burned, toasted, and served to the entire MDR one night. that RCL cruise cost much more money than any NCL cruise we've ever taken (including paying for extra dining venues on NCL) and the only apology we ever got for that toasted creme brulee was that the chef offered it one night later in the cruise prepared a little bit better than before.

 

Dianne

[Anginette]

Wow I didn't expect my original post to be so controversial, just wanted to add some clarification

 

- We didn't complain at the meal because of the exact reason the PP mentioned, we wanted to avoid confrontation. Also the sushi chefs were very warm and friendly with us, at the the time I felt like if we made a "scene" it would have been ungracious. I accept some degree of blame for not raising the issue right there.

 

- The next night, we dropped off a letter in the onboard mailbox to the Hotel Director and Executive Sous Chef followed up with us. The response we got was that under U.S. CDC regulations raw fish had to be frozen before it can be served, etc etc. As such, this was the reason the fish might have tasted off. I explained that I come from Canada and all the sushi I had ever eaten in my life had been frozen and then thawed and Shogun's problem wasn't the freezing thing. I told them that for Salmon at least, Shogun's problem was that it was using fish very close to the skin. The sashimi pieces were mushy and would break apart when you pick it up with chopsticks. The Exec. Sous Chef said he understood my concern and we didn't hear from him after that. No chocolate-covered strawberries or any tangible token of gesture.

 

-At least on the night we were there, we didn't see any other sushi diners order sashimi. They all ordered rolls (and the rolls were fine). So I am not sure Shogun's sashimi following is hundreds-strong.

 

- After Shogun, we ate at La Trattoria. The food was palatable this time, but still fell well short of our expectations for an upscale Italian restaurant. We had originally planned to eat at Cagney's at the end of our cruise, but after our two mediocre experiences, we scrapped that plan. So no, we didn't keep eating at specialty restaurants after being disappointed.

 

- Obviously at this point, we are not after any kind of materialistc compensation. Just wondering out loud whether my gripes would make it into the ears of someone at NCL who can actually do something about the kind of fish they use.

 

-Overall, here is how we felt about the food on the Spirit (this is what I plan on putting in our survey). The MDR selections were not spectacular or "gourment" by any stretch of the imagination. But all of them came out to a consistently good quality and left you full and satisfied. Based on our experiences at Shogun and La Trattoria, the specialty restaurant had a menu that got your mouth watering and had you looking forward to dinner all day. But when it was said and done, the food quality was mediocre at the best. I respect that many other posters around here feel differently, but I guess this is just my review of my food experience with NCL.

 

Well, you're traveling with a ship full of people who think cream cheese and fried shrimp are appropriate in sushi (and probably think "sushi" means "fish.") It's not really the place to expect anything gourmet in the sushi or sashimi line. That said, you ought to be able to enjoy your food (even if it isn't gourmet) and I hope you were able to try something else. In the past, when we were served something we didn't like, they were always happy to bring us something else.

 

Filling out a survey to let them know of something they could be doing better is not complaining, it's improving the experience for future pax.

[big green]

It does NOT say this at all.

The ops opening statement does not say WHEN the contact was made.

 

Also, a "canned response" is much different from "no response".

Just because it was not the answer the OP wanted, does not mean it was the wrong response.

There's simply not enough info in the original post to draw any conclusions.

 

:rolleyes:

 

 

if talking to the executive chef on the phone on the ship is not making contact

then what is it --you need to re read the statement.

 

Bg

[98Charlie]

Well, you're traveling with a ship full of people who think cream cheese and fried shrimp are appropriate in sushi (and probably think "sushi" means "fish.") It's not really the place to expect anything gourmet in the sushi or sashimi line. That said, you ought to be able to enjoy your food (even if it isn't gourmet) and I hope you were able to try something else. In the past, when we were served something we didn't like, they were always happy to bring us something else.

 

Filling out a survey to let them know of something they could be doing better is not complaining, it's improving the experience for future pax.

 

I giggled at your description of the cream cheese and fried shrmp. Never had that served to me on the Spirit before but doesn't mean it wasn't on the menu.

 

 

Like you, I have always have been offered something else to eat in any venue on Spirit if the waiters saw I was less than happy with what I was srved.

 

Dianne

[jpmnh]

My wife and I sailed on spirit july 2010, boston to bermuda; We found the main dining room not to our liking (as we felt like cattle in there). So we tried the specialty restrs.

 

The worst was le bistro where it seemed we were an inconvenience to the staff and the food was subpar.

 

Cagneys was ok, but nothing special (we also ate in cagneys for breakfast and lunch)

 

The italian place we a bit odd we thought, since it was next to raffles. However it turns out this was the gem we found on Spirit. The staff and the maitre'd really make the difference. This was one place where we got to see the crew work together like a well oiled machine and ended up going there 3 nights.

 

Now all that said, my son and his wife went on the same cruise a year earlier and raved about lebistro, thought cagneys was just ok, and the italian they didnt like..

 

Which for me says that one should let the staff know if the meal isnt up to snuff (I admit I'm not inclined to usually complain about it), since any given restaurant seems like it can produce good food and poor food.. How the staff deals with the issue is what brings me back or gets them a black mark...

[newmexicoNita]

My wife and I sailed on spirit july 2010, boston to bermuda; We found the main dining room not to our liking (as we felt like cattle in there). So we tried the specialty restrs.

 

The worst was le bistro where it seemed we were an inconvenience to the staff and the food was subpar.

 

Cagneys was ok, but nothing special (we also ate in cagneys for breakfast and lunch)

 

The italian place we a bit odd we thought, since it was next to raffles. However it turns out this was the gem we found on Spirit. The staff and the maitre'd really make the difference. This was one place where we got to see the crew work together like a well oiled machine and ended up going there 3 nights.

 

Now all that said, my son and his wife went on the same cruise a year earlier and raved about lebistro, thought cagneys was just ok, and the italian they didnt like..

 

Which for me says that one should let the staff know if the meal isnt up to snuff (I admit I'm not inclined to usually complain about it), since any given restaurant seems like it can produce good food and poor food.. How the staff deals with the issue is what brings me back or gets them a black mark...

this is why it is so hard to critique any eating establishment. We have always had service in Le Bistro that was almost too good to be true. This goes for the Spirit as well as well as 7 other NCL ships. We did have one bad experience, it is a ship that NCL leased for a couple of years. There wasn't a lot of positives about that ship and Le Bistro certainly wasn't one of them. Any one week can change everything, I don't know why, but this happens in land restaurants as well. We have 2 mid to up scale seafood restaurants here (no I am not talking Dead Lobster) we have eaten at both in the past few months. Asking friends what they think comparing the two: the one we did not care for as we thought the wine was grossly overpriced and the food was average is the one many of our friends prefer.

 

You have had a similar experience as we have. That is why I think if you are not satisfied with the food or service you need to speak up at the time. Writing a letter to complain does more harm than good especially when one says I don't like such and such. We all have our own tastes.

 

Nita

[Jab5549]

As an owner and operator of multiple restaurants, we always want to know when things are not to your liking. So it's never too late to make your comments. I don't feel you were looking fo anything for free but you are always entitled to enjoy your meal no matter where you dine. As as an operator I always instruct my staff to take the item off the check and offer a dessert or after dinner drink. It just makes sense to have the customer leave happy. You can't please all the people all the time but you can sure try. Send NCL a letter and let them know how you feel. They can't correct the problem if they don't know about it. And if it makes you feel any better, your not the only one to complain about the food on board.

[BikerAl]

It does NOT say this at all.

The ops opening statement does not say WHEN the contact was made.

 

Also, a "canned response" is much different from "no response".

Just because it was not the answer the OP wanted, does not mean it was the wrong response.

There's simply not enough info in the original post to draw any conclusions.

 

:rolleyes:

 

It is pretty obvious it was on board, I highly doubt the Executive Sous Chef phoned them after departing the ship

 

Al

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

if talking to the executive chef on the phone on the ship is not making contact

then what is it --you need to re read the statement.

 

Bg

 

 

You can read it a million times.

Nowhere in the first post does it say they wrote the letter and received a phone call while they were on the ship -- you assumed it. :rolleyes:

 

Until the OP came back to clarify, this all could have happened after they were already home. Thankfully they came back and provided more info!

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

It is pretty obvious it was on board, I highly doubt the Executive Sous Chef phoned them after departing the ship

 

Al

 

You can doubt it all you like...but until the OP came back to provide more info, it was just an assumption.

 

Having the whole story makes it a lot easier to comprehend.

 

:rolleyes:

[dasmonkey]

- After Shogun, we ate at La Trattoria. The food was palatable this time, but still fell well short of our expectations for an upscale Italian restaurant.

 

I got off the Spirit a few hours ago and it was $5 extra and essentially a roped off part of Raffles. I would have never assumed it was anything close to being "upscale Italian". :confused:

[WinterSky]

We just got off the Spirit and our dining experience in specialty restaurants fell well below expectations. The sashimi we had at Shogun was particularly inedible.

 

We wrote a letter to the Hotel Director and the Executive Sous Chef did phone us with a canned response. Now I got an e-mail asking me to fill out the survey and I am not sure if we should take the time to write about this issue. I am thinking that it's going to get lost in the bureaucracy of the Miami Corporate HQ's anyways.

 

Anyone have any thoughts?

 

Since you are asking... You specifically mention a particular dish at Shogun but also refer to disappointment with specialty restaurants (plural) in general. How may did you try? What types of issues did you have with these restaurants - if there were more issues than the one you said about Shogun.

 

Restaurants and foods are a matter of taste. It is highly unlikely that all the specialty restaurants were sub par, so if you tried all of them or most of them and had a negative experience at several of the ship's specialty restaurants, it is possible that you have very unique and specific culinary tastes.

 

If you had issues with your restaurant experience that were specific to quality of service, cleanliness or safety, such as food being served at inappropriate temperatures, these should have been addressed to the hotel director while you were on board. Unless you are specific, your feedback holds little relevance to management. Simply not caring for the menu or recipes used would only be relevant and potentially effect change if a significant number of other passengers offered the same feedback.

[WinterSky]

In specialty resdtaurants and MDR, I have never had a problem that they could not fix right there and then. That is one aspect of cruising NCL that I love.

 

I would much rather write a letter to Kevin Sheehan about how even though my sushi or whatever was dreadful, as soon as I made my concerns known to the server, everything was handled beautifully.

 

I understand that not everyone feels comfortable complaining, especially in a specialty venue.

 

I think it is all in the approach. A smile, courtesy, a non accusatory question...it works wonders!

 

I agree completely!

[WinterSky]

It is very interesting that you were disappointed with Shogun and La Trotteria... we don't like sushi so we didn't try Shogun but we did try La Trotteria and it was definitely not to our liking. Many other posters really loved the Italian restaurant but we found it to be just so-so. Our experience with the main dining rooms were similar to yours. We loved the Mexican, French, Asian and steak house restaurants. If you sail with NCL again, I recommend that you give these a try!

[newmexicoNita]

It is very interesting that you were disappointed with Shogun and La Trotteria... we don't like sushi so we didn't try Shogun but we did try La Trotteria and it was definitely not to our liking. Many other posters really loved the Italian restaurant but we found it to be just so-so. Our experience with the main dining rooms were similar to yours. We loved the Mexican, French, Asian and steak house restaurants. If you sail with NCL again, I recommend that you give these a try!

i have a quick question: how could you have loved the Asian restaurant if you didn't try it? Shoguns is the Asian restaurant.....

 

Nita

[radzer0]

Ive personaly eaten at La Trattoria many times on my cruises on the spirit. Every time ive been there hasnt been many people in there. But every time i did eat the restaurant manager for La Trattoria stopped by and asked me how everything was. Never had any problems with it.

 

I had a demo on the ship i paid for that included some stuff from shogun once and wasnt impressed. I wont be eating there because of that bad experence but I got all kinds of alcohol and stuff for my $10 so I didnt have any reason to complain.