Concerned re spirit food reviews

[Da-Painter]

We were on the Spirit for the 12 day Med cruise last April, and on 2 cruises out of New Orleans also within the last year.

 

Ate at a few of the speciality restaurants, and enjoyed the variety of meals we had in the speciality and MDR's. I do not recall anything cold, or bland.

We enjoyed the timing of the meal, we were not in a hurry to get in and out, but wanted relaxing meals.

 

We have also had NCL staff come by our tables to check up on how our meal service is going. We never had anything that needed addressing, and appreciated them doing so.

 

We do not have 5 star restaurants in our town, so its nice to have a meal with a lot of choices, and prepared well, we look forward to NCl's meal service.

We of course, had the sea salt shrink our clothes, to attest to the filling meals.

 

We did a RCCL cruise years ago, and found the food horrible, decided that cruise line is not for us.

 

This is one of the most subjective subjects on CC, food quality.

But some of the expectations and experiences folks have can be kinda hard to believe. If you have cruised NCL and the food and services are not for you, the beauty is there are lots of other choices available that could suit you. ;)

[TSJE4]

Thanks everyone . Nice to see some positive food reviews ( phew) Hoping we we will be pleasantly surprised being " foodies" . ( being Melbournian's is a bit of a disadvantage .. We are very spoilt for our food choice ... Not to mention coffee taste ... But that's another topic lol :-))) ).

[newmexicoNita]

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

 

Maybe this link wil work. Waterfront is the mDR

 

Just let me say, which I did earlier, do not expect the same quality of food on the Spirit as you get on P&O. This doesn't mean it isn't good, I am considered a blue ribbon cook, love spending time in the kitchen, rarely eat out because I can do a better job at home, unless we are talking special celebrations, and I find the food on NCL to be very satisfactory. Also I pay little attention to reviews on food because food is very subjective. Still I realize NCL doesn't have the best food unless you choose specialty dining rooms Let me recommend a few things to you though, that we found very good on our last cruise: Yes, beef Wellington, Lamb, and the "always available" Salmon. Also the "always available" broccoli soup and the spring rolls are outstanding.

[TSJE4]

I am presuming you are comparing going off the link i put put up re P&OAustralia for interest sake . ??? ( its good isn't it .... They even do a full hard copy recipe book that we bought as the food in the MDR rocked ! ) Australians especially melbournians have very cosmopolitan tastes :-)

Hoping its just tasty and not lukewarm when we get on ... Lucky we get lunch at ports from different countries that will tickle the taste buds also . Thanks for the suggestions..... I'll pass on the broccoli soup though lol .... And i'll keep an open mind . Maybe when p@o aust get overseas visitors they complain menu is too fancy ... Who knows . Guess you can't make everyone happy .... But you sure can try ;-)

[EnsignPulver]

One thing that I do in the MDR is mix and match from the everyday menu and the daily menu. I may pick an entree off of the daily menu but if I don't care for any of the specialty saladsI will order a Ceasar salad from the every day menu. I do the same with side dishes ie, order a baked potatoe and customize the dinner to my tastes.

 

Regards

[TSJE4]

Thanks :-). Just out of interest does anyone have a link to a sample NCL ( like the one I put up ) to wet my appetite ( literally ha ha ) .

[newmexicoNita]

One thing that I do in the MDR is mix and match from the everyday menu and the daily menu. I may pick an entree off of the daily menu but if I don't care for any of the specialty saladsI will order a Ceasar salad from the every day menu. I do the same with side dishes ie, order a baked potatoe and customize the dinner to my tastes.

 

Regards

 

We do the same, you can also order different veggies. if they have them they are more than willing to bring them to you. I like the way they cook the veggies, never over done.

[newmexicoNita]

Thanks :-). Just out of interest does anyone have a link to a sample NCL ( like the one I put up ) to wet my appetite ( literally ha ha ) .

 

I don't, I do have a copy of the dinner menu from one night, but not being computer savvy I have no idea how to load it.

[vols_159]

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.

 

Don't listen to much this joker says.. They hate ncl and I wonder how many times they have been on a ncl ship the dawn had the best food I've had on a cruise ship everything was seasoned jut right. On the sun I needed to add a little salt.. But I like salt..

[Bocadude85]

Food is very subjective and while one person may say the food is horrible you can have the person next to them think the food was wonderful. I have never had any problems with the food or service on NCL. But on my last cruise which was with Royal Caribbean I thought the food and service were horrible.. so all I can say is to each their own.

Edited January 6, 2014 by Bocadude85

[rbrs1600i]

I am lactose intolerant and a bit of a fussy eater - no red meat etc. I came back from the Spirit today and would say that their set-up for dealing with special diets is the best that I've come across on a cruise ship. All my food made to my requirements wether in either of the MDR or the speciality restaurants.

 

Johan the special diet waiter is a star :)

 

It was my birthday and the kitchen made a dairy free cake, canapés and 3 different types of cakes for afternoon tea in our cabin.

 

 

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[Grandma Gilly]

We are going on the Spirit next month. It will be our first time on NCL. What a roller coaster this post has been. One of our party is vegetarian but does eat eggs and cheese. What is the choice like?

Any other tips for a first timer on NCL (although veterans of over 25 cruises)?

[newmexicoNita]

We are going on the Spirit next month. It will be our first time on NCL. What a roller coaster this post has been. One of our party is vegetarian but does eat eggs and cheese. What is the choice like?

Any other tips for a first timer on NCL (although veterans of over 25 cruises)?

 

NCL is very good at providing for special diets, be it vegetarian or others.

[Love my butler]

Don't listen to much this joker says.. They hate ncl and I wonder how many times they have been on a ncl ship the dawn had the best food I've had on a cruise ship everything was seasoned jut right. On the sun I needed to add a little salt.. But I like salt..

 

Don't listen TOO much to this cheerleader. He loves NCL and I wonder if he has actually ever been on an NCL ship. Objectivity does not exist in his world. Simply rah, rah, rah, go NCL!

[Da-Painter]

We are going on the Spirit next month. It will be our first time on NCL. What a roller coaster this post has been. One of our party is vegetarian but does eat eggs and cheese. What is the choice like?

Any other tips for a first timer on NCL (although veterans of over 25 cruises)?

The Spirit is a smaller ship, about 2,000 passengers, but it was made for the Orient, and the decor inside is done very nicely. Easy to get around, and all the folks working on the ship were terrific, which also made it a wonderful ship to be on for vacation.

We did the 12 day Grand Med last April, and after returning home, we enjoyed it so much, we booked the 10 day Canary cruise, again on the Spirit.

You will have a great time, enjoy!!:)

[newmexicoNita]

[quote name='Love my butler']Don't listen TOO much to this cheerleader. He loves NCL and I wonder if he has actually ever been on an NCL ship. Objectivity does not exist in his world. Simply rah, rah, rah, go NCL![/QUOTE]

Just a simple question: How can anyone love something they have not experienced? You can have an agenda to prove, which apparently you do, but you can't love something you haven't tried. He has been on NCL, more than once.