Concerned re spirit food reviews

[TSJE4]

Hi . Can people put my mind at ease . I keep reading about Luke warm and cold bland food on the Spirit . One of the reasons I have loved cruising in the past ( P&O Australia ) is going to the dining room.- doing the whole restaurant thing for Breakfast lunch and dinner ( depending what schedule is of course ).. Being served by waiters designated only a few tables so you get personalised promt excellent service and being served up wonderful food . I keep reading these disapointing reviews . Everything from sitting at a table for 20 minutes before being served to having to send food back because its cold and or tasteless :-((. Surely if one liner with 2000 people can get it right with a varied yummy menu entree , main and dessert with hot food every time another can .. Can't they ??? .

And P&O is anytime dining .. You can book the same table each night And get the same waiters .. Book a different table or just turn up and wait for a table . No allocated seating . Part of the whole holiday experience for me and my hubby is dining out .. Really really hope I won't be disappointed NCL .

[Love my butler]

Hi . Can people put my mind at ease . I keep reading about Luke warm and cold bland food on the Spirit . One of the reasons I have loved cruising in the past ( P&O Australia ) is going to the dining room.- doing the whole restaurant thing for Breakfast lunch and dinner ( depending what schedule is of course ).. Being served by waiters designated only a few tables so you get personalised promt excellent service and being served up wonderful food . I keep reading these disapointing reviews . Everything from sitting at a table for 20 minutes before being served to having to send food back because its cold and or tasteless :-((. Surely if one liner with 2000 people can get it right with a varied yummy menu entree , main and dessert with hot food every time another can .. Can't they ??? .

And P&O is anytime dining .. You can book the same table each night And get the same waiters .. Book a different table or just turn up and wait for a table . No allocated seating . Part of the whole holiday experience for me and my hubby is dining out .. Really really hope I won't be disappointed NCL .

 

Sadly all NCL dining rooms are understaffed and waits are the norm, not the exception. Warm not hot food is also the norm. Bland food? Everyone is different, but yeah, it's pretty bland.

 

Lower your expectations and you will probably be happy. NCL is not a luxury cruise line nor is it like it was 10+ years ago.

[TSJE4]

P&O is not a luxury liner ... It is rated 3 star( I think

It's almost a 4 ) but the food is definitely 4/5 with service being the same with 2 waiters that work together and have about 4 tables ( ours was a table of 8 ) each time .

To me if NCL advertise a beautifully crafted menu and delicious fresh meals ( as on their brochure ) and they serve bland and not at the right temperature food ... Then management need to lift their game . It's not the occasional review .. Its most that I have read ... Which is disappointing . I am certainly going on Ncl for the itinerary and the fact I was sold on it being more family friendly than Celebrity for our 12 and 14 year old . Hoping management have been reading these reviews and have fixed whatever

problem they have in the kitchen before we get on . Don't see why people have to go to the specialty restaurant to get a good meal ( from what I have read ) Maybe that's ncls problem -they have so many specialty restaurants that they figure they don't need to "try " in the complimentary dining areas ?? Hope I will be pleasantly surprised come our cruise .

[Cloudyrain]

There have been quite a few recent reviews about the Spirit and they were all quite complimentary about the food and dining experience.

 

We were on the Spirit in November and didn't find any of the problems you mention. However, to me waiting 20 minutes for a meal isn't a bad thing when going for an actual meal as opposed to a fast food restaurant. There was a good variety of food, and daily specials, and the service was fine. We weren't waited on hand an foot and no one tugged their forelock, but it was certainly good enough. There was only one lunch time when it wasn't as good, but there were loads of large thanksgiving groups in and it made it a lot busier than normal.

 

It's not at all about lowering your expectations, it's about asking yourself if what you expect is realisitic. If people expect 6 different main courses to all be ready in 5 minutes they they may be better off in McDonalds. If people want staff running around after their every desire they would be better in a Jane Austen novel! :D

[Froggitt]

We also were disappointed with MDRs on the Spirit last month.

 

- Loads of empty tables and yet there were queues to get into the restaurant, and then more queues to be seated

- Food was often warm at best, what looked great on the menu turned into generic brown meat with a gloopy congealed brown sauce on it. Got to a point where I had the vegetarian option, which isn't like me

- All the waiter would say was he would tell his manager.....did he.....dunno but no one seemed to care

- Garden Room was more like a corridor, and with a table right outside the door to the kitchen, was even worse

- Poor service e.g. no water refills, warm water refills, no bread, long time before taking order, long time for food to arrive

- Breakfast same issues e.g. why does a toasted bagel take half and hour to arrive cold, even when the restaurant was 80% empty, and on multiple occasions asked for juice and got water

 

In contrast, the pay restaurants were excellent.......Bistro and Shogun. Blue Lagoon was also good....comfort food freshly cooked usually.

 

MDR on Allure in summer was complete contrast - attentive staff, hot food, excellent food, and that was also on the MyTime Dining. The difference was we were still seated on the same table with the same staff, no matter what time we arrived, an they were overly motivated to do a good job by the feedback system......giving only a four out of five on the comment card they would get pay or tips docked. Little things like matching up our photos to our names on the first day, bringing Diet Coke for the kids from day 2 without being asked.

 

We tried to rationalise the cold food by speculating whether the kitchen was on the floor below.

[Froggitt]

In hindsight, I would be more demanding, and send the food back every time it wasn't hot or not right....multiple times per course if need be. Same with the service......rather than wait for water or bread, to ask for it multiple times if required. The problem is though, that generally the waiters are anonymous, and finding the waiter for your table is often difficult.

[Azafran]

Four of us got off the Spirit yesterday. I am afraid the comments re luke warm, bland, boring, never changing menu's are ALL TRUE in my opinion.

 

I have posted a full review on this site but do not know whether it will make it online after it has been vetted.

 

Service levels were not too bad in MDR Windows but the main bars need more waiters at prime times.

 

We paid to go in 4 of the speciality restaurants and can only say 2 were worth it. Cagneys Steakhouse and the Tappanaki. Room service was also dire, ordered a burger with no chesse one lunchtime, 1st one arrived with cheese, second one arrived 40mins later, cold, third one another 40 mins later was at best luke warm. We could not use the Buffet as my hubbie has a broken foot and trying to balance a tray whilst selecting food with a crutch in the other hand was a defo no go. But the buffets are always a bunfight/Butlins type place which we try to avoid even on higher class ships anyway.

 

Go with an open mind, not everyone has the same tastes or expectations.

[newmexicoNita]

Hi . Can people put my mind at ease . I keep reading about Luke warm and cold bland food on the Spirit . One of the reasons I have loved cruising in the past ( P&O Australia ) is going to the dining room.- doing the whole restaurant thing for Breakfast lunch and dinner ( depending what schedule is of course ).. Being served by waiters designated only a few tables so you get personalised promt excellent service and being served up wonderful food . I keep reading these disapointing reviews . Everything from sitting at a table for 20 minutes before being served to having to send food back because its cold and or tasteless :-((. Surely if one liner with 2000 people can get it right with a varied yummy menu entree , main and dessert with hot food every time another can .. Can't they ??? .

And P&O is anytime dining .. You can book the same table each night And get the same waiters .. Book a different table or just turn up and wait for a table . No allocated seating . Part of the whole holiday experience for me and my hubby is dining out .. Really really hope I won't be disappointed NCL .

 

We were just on the Sun and though the food wasn't 5 star by any means it wasn't cold or even luck warm most of the time, we never waited to be seated or waited for service with the exception of the first night. No, it isn't P&O, they are 2 different lines with 2 different personalities. I will be honest, you are expecting to be disappointed by your concerns and your reference to the negatives you have read, so, yes, you might not be totally satisfied with the dining experience. It is very casual, has been for years and most people who cruise NCL do it just for that reason. I hope you come back and are pleasantly surprised.

[newmexicoNita]

Four of us got off the Spirit yesterday. I am afraid the comments re luke warm, bland, boring, never changing menu's are ALL TRUE in my opinion.

 

I have posted a full review on this site but do not know whether it will make it online after it has been vetted.

 

Service levels were not too bad in MDR Windows but the main bars need more waiters at prime times.

 

We paid to go in 4 of the speciality restaurants and can only say 2 were worth it. Cagneys Steakhouse and the Tappanaki. Room service was also dire, ordered a burger with no chesse one lunchtime, 1st one arrived with cheese, second one arrived 40mins later, cold, third one another 40 mins later was at best luke warm. We could not use the Buffet as my hubbie has a broken foot and trying to balance a tray whilst selecting food with a crutch in the other hand was a defo no go. But the buffets are always a bunfight/Butlins type place which we try to avoid even on higher class ships anyway.

 

Go with an open mind, not everyone has the same tastes or expectations.

 

NCL uses the same menus company wide as I have been told and not changing them daily is just plain not the case. I don't know how long your cruise was, but if it was 7 days and you choose to eat in specialty dining rooms 4 of them, you really have no idea if the menu changes. There are 4 always avail entrees, Steak, Chicken breast, salmon and Lamb shank plus always available soups, salads and appetizers. On the left hand side of the menu are 4 different entrees daily, never repeated plus pasta and veggie dishes.

 

As for the buffets, they are much like buffets anywhere, great for grabbing a quick bite, they are not meant to be used if you are looking for great food, but I happen to think the Spirit does a better job than many. BTW, I am guessing you never went near the buffet, I can understand hubby not being able to use it because of his foot, but you mention the trays, like most mass marketed lines today, they no longer use trays.

 

You only were happy with 2 or your 4 specialty choices, food is subjective, I am not going to ask you what two you thought were not worth the money, but we all have our ideas about this. I do agree with you 100% on the room service and I have stated this. Although we do not use room service except in an emergency, I will say it is awful!!!!!!!!

 

Will your review get posted. I don't have a clue, but most, if they are written in any decent form and are even mildly objective they do. Yes, I have seen some pretty negative one posted. If they are too one way or the other without details who knows?

[mypleasure]

I am joining the Spirit in Barcelona tomorrow and I will see first hand what has changed since I was last onboard.

 

As Nita correctly said, the left side of the menu changes every day and the right side has the "always available" items. On our 12 day cruise last May the left hand side was never repeated in all 12 days of the trip.

 

I will feed back some of these comments to the person who has influence over this on the ship since he is someone I know very well. He will be very upset, I know. There is a change of hotel director tomorrow in Barcelona so that shouldn't make a difference but may.

 

It looks like it is the Chinese and Le Bistro that didn't meet expectations or maybe it was the Trattoria. I don't enjoy Italian food myself but usually find Le Bistro very acceptable indeed. I 'll see how it is very soon.

[Froggitt]

It is very casual, has been for years and most people who cruise NCL do it just for that reason.

 

But casual shouldn't mean cold.

[Froggitt]

It looks like it is the Chinese and Le Bistro that didn't meet expectations or maybe it was the Trattoria. I don't enjoy Italian food myself but usually find Le Bistro very acceptable indeed. I 'll see how it is very soon.

 

They were the two that we did and they were both excellent

[Azafran]

I agree that the LH side of the menu changed, but the content was pretty similar to the RH side. On one evening one of our party had the new york strip from the RH side of the menu and another had a beef steak from the LH side of the menu. The only difference was the style of potatoes served with each steak. The cruise was 9 nights and the main problem was food temperature. We sent a couple of dishes back only the get the cold meal returned to us on sizzling plates.

 

Another Fawlty Towers meal was an Italian meal ordered specifically with no cheese. The waiter moved the pasta dish from one side of the plate, scraped the cheese on to a side dish and then re-assembled the same meal into the middle of the plate.

 

The lunch menus never changed in Windows. And don't order tartar sauce with fish, you get garlic aioli sauce, even though we had told the waiter that one of our party was allergic to garlic and therefore he didn't want anything served that contained garlic.

 

Anyway, it might just have been the luck of the draw. However we have heard from different sources that some cruise liners purposely serve food colder than UK taste would like, to avoid litigation from diners burning their tongues on hot food?

[dollydosh]

I am joining the Spirit in Barcelona tomorrow and I will see first hand what has changed since I was last onboard.

 

As Nita correctly said, the left side of the menu changes every day and the right side has the "always available" items. On our 12 day cruise last May the left hand side was never repeated in all 12 days of the trip.

 

I will feed back some of these comments to the person who has influence over this on the ship since he is someone I know very well. He will be very upset, I know. There is a change of hotel director tomorrow in Barcelona so that shouldn't make a difference but may.

 

It looks like it is the Chinese and Le Bistro that didn't meet expectations or maybe it was the Trattoria. I don't enjoy Italian food myself but usually find Le Bistro very acceptable indeed. I 'll see how it is very soon.

 

I have seen several comments that the Spirit will be in dry dock for 18 days from the 24th January but can't find out what they will be doing to her, any info on your return would be greatly appreciated.

Have a super cruise

[Cruiser Bruiser]

Hello, OP. As is always the case, expectations and experience will vary.

 

On my 12-night sailing last September/October, I had nothing but good experiences in the MDR. I had one dish, the Thai Chicken and Shrimp, where I thought the chicken was dry. Otherwise, I was happy with every meal. Everything was served at an appropriate temperature, and presentation was inspired. In my experience, if everything is going according to plan, dinner will take about 75 minutes. As I'm on vacation, I appreciate a long dinner. Under the worst circumstances (peak demand times), dinner can expand to 2 hours. That's too long, in my opinion, but I've had it happen only a few times.

 

I particularly love the poolside barbeques on Norwegian ships. The paella on my Pearl sailing last month was delightful. Calamari, shrimp, fantastic. The Indian dishes in the Garden Café are also a highlight for me. Given the volume of food that is served every day, I think Norwegian does a very good job. Obviously some folks think they serve prison slop, so perception does vary. But you'll just have to decide for yourself. Bon apetit!

[Big Chippy]

Hello, OP. As is always the case, expectations and experience will vary.

 

On my 12-night sailing last September/October, I had nothing but good experiences in the MDR. I had one dish, the Thai Chicken and Shrimp, where I thought the chicken was dry. Otherwise, I was happy with every meal. Everything was served at an appropriate temperature, and presentation was inspired. In my experience, if everything is going according to plan, dinner will take about 75 minutes. As I'm on vacation, I appreciate a long dinner. Under the worst circumstances (peak demand times), dinner can expand to 2 hours. That's too long, in my opinion, but I've had it happen only a few times.

 

I particularly love the poolside barbeques on Norwegian ships. The paella on my Pearl sailing last month was delightful. Calamari, shrimp, fantastic. The Indian dishes in the Garden Café are also a highlight for me. Given the volume of food that is served every day, I think Norwegian does a very good job. Obviously some folks think they serve prison slop, so perception does vary. But you'll just have to decide for yourself. Bon apetit!

 

Thank goodness for what I would consider a balanced view of the food on the Spirit. Whilst accepting that peoples views differ and that any opinion with regard to food is subjective, some of the recent negative reviews are simply ridiculous.

 

The following is an extract from a very recent review on Cruise Critic by "tchabbs"

Quote "The food is by far the worst I have ever had on a cruise. The complimentary dining is really inedible, the specialty restaurants are not much better....I cannot stress enough how brutal the food on this ship was.

The Room Service menu is pathetic and the only thing I was able to eat after ordering a pizza, chicken fingers, grilled cheese, soup, and peanut butter and jelly was the the peanut butter and jelly...and they still managed to make a PB and J taste terrible."

 

Would I respect the opinion of someone who orders "pizza, chicken fingers, grilled cheese, soup, and peanut butter and jelly" from room service and them complains about the latter or the opinion of "Cruiser Bruiser" who wrote an excellent review on his cruise? I think you know the answer:rolleyes:

 

We cruised on the Spirit last April and concur with "Cruiser Bruisers" opinion of the food and would add that we found the food in the Raffles Court Buffet at Breakfast and Lunch to be excellent and as good as we have had on any cruiseline. We are returning to the Spirit in March and are looking forward to the food. :)

[newmexicoNita]

But casual shouldn't mean cold.

 

Where in my response did you get the idea I said anything about comparing casual with cold. We did not experience any cold food on our cruise a few weeks ago. Quite the opposite except in the buffet. There our eggs benedict were cold!!

[portcbob]

Hi guys

 

Have been on the Jade and the Star. Both ships were great as was the food. Never had an issue with the food whatsoever.

 

Cheers Bob & Chris.

[Daisyduke70]

Hi, we were on the Canaries cruise in October and this is what we found with the food:

 

We are foodies, we really love eating out regularly, and have got to say we really enjoyed the food on the spirit. We ate at the buffet (enjoyed lunch there particularly, the deli sandwiches were really good, breakfast soaked muesli yummy). We ate lunch in window once, and have to admit the food was Luke warm...we had a burger and fries and a Philly sandwich and fries, tasted good...but the fries were at best warm....evenings at windows or the garden room, food seemed much hotter and we enjoyed our choices.

 

We ate at Cagneys, Shoguns and did the jazz brunch, all these restaurants we thought he food was OUTSTANDING...best fillet in Cagneys I think I have ever eaten....and I eaten some amount of steaks around the world!

 

The chefs table was an amazing experience....so worth the money if you can do it, food, again, fabulous...

 

Now that's my opinion and the opinion of my dear hubby....but it is always subjective....we went to dinner last night with my brothers girlfriend....she sent all her food back (different dishes to what I had) I enjoyed mine......perhaps I don't expect So much....

 

So true...the MDR food is not piping hot....but bland, In-edible...I really do not agree.

Edited January 5, 2014 by Daisyduke70

[TSJE4]

Cloudy rain - I was referring to 20 minutes to get served . 20 minutes or more

to get a meal if it's hot and tasty is fine with me :-). I am quite realistic .. Just think there is no excuse for bland and cold food when you are paying for it ( and you are in your cruise fare )

 

My pleasure - P@0 is similar ... Some new choices daily and some the same . Our last cruise was 16 days .. Food so good . Amazing service , atmosphere and choice . And thankyou for possibly be bringing it up with whoever you know . As an " outsider " with no affinity to ncl ( yet )...... It's what I notice at most reviews I read ( not just on cruise critic forum ) is the Luke warm food and food not up to par

And yes I realise reviews are subjective ... And everyone's expectations are different ..... Will have to wait until May untill I get to form mine .... And yes if I get a Luke warm meal ( within reason ) it will going back and F&b management made aware . If people don,t say anything either ...management are none the wiser :-)

 

Sample menu on p&o for those interestedhttp://www.pocruises.com.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/Life%20Onboard/Waterfront%20Dinner%20Menus%20Oct12.pdf. Is the menu similar ??

[TSJE4]

http://www.pocruises.com.au/newtocruising/pages/cuisine.aspx

 

Maybe this link wil work. Waterfront is the mDR

[SteveH2508]

Four of us got off the Spirit yesterday. I am afraid the comments re luke warm, bland, boring, never changing menu's are ALL TRUE in my opinion.

 

I have posted a full review on this site but do not know whether it will make it online after it has been vetted.

 

Service levels were not too bad in MDR Windows but the main bars need more waiters at prime times.

 

We paid to go in 4 of the speciality restaurants and can only say 2 were worth it. Cagneys Steakhouse and the Tappanaki. Room service was also dire, ordered a burger with no chesse one lunchtime, 1st one arrived with cheese, second one arrived 40mins later, cold, third one another 40 mins later was at best luke warm. We could not use the Buffet as my hubbie has a broken foot and trying to balance a tray whilst selecting food with a crutch in the other hand was a defo no go. But the buffets are always a bunfight/Butlins type place which we try to avoid even on higher class ships anyway.

 

Go with an open mind, not everyone has the same tastes or expectations.

 

We also got off the Spirit yesterday - we often do a few speciality restaurants if the MDR menu does not appeal. We work on the principle that we order things we do not make at home. We only found one night where nothing really appealed to us on the daily changing menu. We only had sushi once because we were full from the German lunch.

 

We had no complaints about the temperature of the food or the speed and accuracy of the service. Some of the meals were excellent (the Key Lime pie sticks in my mind as does the Beef Wellington and the three dessert thingy on New Years Eve). The Surf and turf was pretty good as well.

 

We found the Garden dining room to be a bit more to our taste (more intimate and closer to the kitchen so food was hotter).

 

We did the Chef's Table - AWESOME! (Top Tip - go hungry and do not be afraid to ask for a doggie bag - the veal chop for breakfast was lovely!)

 

We only order coffee/juice etc. from room service so cannot comment on the burgers (but then we do not eat burgers at any time - certainly not on a cruise ship).

 

Agreed - the lunch menu in the MDR doesn't change but they usually do a special lunch at the buffet on sea days so no biggie IMHO.

 

Agreed that they need another bartender at peak times in certain bars - e.g. Jesse in Champagne Charlies was run off his feet at times.

[TSJE4]

We also got off the Spirit yesterday - we often do a few speciality restaurants if the MDR menu does not appeal. We work on the principle that we order things we do not make at home. We only found one night where nothing really appealed to us on the daily changing menu. We only had sushi once because we were full from the German lunch.

 

We had no complaints about the temperature of the food or the speed and accuracy of the service. Some of the meals were excellent (the Key Lime pie sticks in my mind as does the Beef Wellington and the three dessert thingy on New Years Eve). The Surf and turf was pretty good as well.

 

We found the Garden dining room to be a bit more to our taste (more intimate and closer to the kitchen so food was hotter).

 

We did the Chef's Table - AWESOME! (Top Tip - go hungry and do not be afraid to ask for a doggie bag - the veal chop for breakfast was lovely!)

 

We only order coffee/juice etc. from room service so cannot comment on the burgers (but then we do not eat burgers at any time - certainly not on a cruise ship).

 

Agreed - the lunch menu in the MDR doesn't change but they usually do a special lunch at the buffet on sea days so no biggie IMHO.

 

Agreed that they need another bartender at peak times in certain bars - e.g. Jesse in Champagne Charlies was run off his feet at times.

 

Will keep the Garden dining room in mind . Are the menus different between windows and Garden ?

[SteveH2508]

Will keep the Garden dining room in mind . Are the menus different between windows and Garden ?

 

The left hand menu is the same - the right hand side (always available) is slightly different but not significantly IIRC (e.g. different cut of steak).

[valleyvillage]

I don't know if I can put your mind at ease, but I can share what I do! I take a look at the overall percentages (75 percent liked it, food 4 or 3.9 out of 5) and go from there. I also take a look at the first page of stars and get an average, since those are recent passengers.

I am amazed how often they are similar.

Given the nature of food reviews and the immense delta of opinions from people who were on the same ship on the same cruise (!) I tend to take the screaming RAVES and the "inedible slop" type reviews with a grain of, you know...