Has the Star food improved since 2005???

[riffatsea]

Hi all,

We were on the Star to Alaska in 2005 and as you can see from my signature we loved Alaska but didn't love the Star , mainly because of food issues.

I thought the main dining room food was edible but not interesting and the buffet was more like a high school cafeteria. We didn't eat in any of the specialty restaurants where I imagine the food was better soooooo fast forward to today when we are actually considering another cruise on the Star because we like her Mexican itinerary. DH says food is not so important to him and it is up to me to decide sooooo all you foodies out there ---- please tell me what's happening these day?

BTW since food is such a personal thing please don't take my question the wrong way and don't get mad that you and I may not have similar taste buds:rolleyes:

Thanks for any info/opinions you may have.

[agabbymama]

Not as of September 2011. We like the freestyle cruising, but the food on the Star was terrible.

 

We tried the Versailles Main Dining Room, Aqua Dining Room, Blue Lagoon, and even Cagney's. My steak in Cagney's was good, but my friend's was like shoe leather, she couldn't even cut it with a steak knife, let alone eat it.

 

We ate a lot of hamburgers that cruise. Any other beef was not edible. Oh wait, not just beef, even the pork chops were shoe leather.

 

Of our 7 cruises, the Star had the worst food.

 

The best Captain and crew though. I have always said, if I don't have to cook it, and clean up, I surely will never go hungry. The Star put that saying to the test, for sure.

[swedish weave]

Many ships and cruise lines sail the itineraries you choose. If you don't like the ship, please choose another so you don't spoil the cruise for those of us who do like the ship and food.

[Va. Plumber]

If you go on a cruise expecting to hate the food, you will probably hate the food.

 

I don't know what people expect from cruise lines. You are not going to get gourmet meals on mass market cruise lines. The Star is not the Queen Mary, but neither are the prices.

 

We were on the Star in February 2013. Ate three nights in the main dining rooms with no compaints. Ate in four specialty restaurants. Again no problems.

 

The ultimate insult is to compare the buffet to a school cafeteria. It's been a few years since I ate in one, but I don't think they offered the variety of food options that NCL does. Schools generally offer one and out. The buffet has an ever-changing menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I didn't see too many people starving.

[Ilovesailing]

I don't understand in fact it makes me crazy when there are comments about how terrible the food is when all the ships cook from corporate menu. While we have had dishes we didn't like because we were expecting another taste doesn't mean the entire buffet, dining rooms were terrible.

We've done almost 30 cruises mostly all b2b and have never experienced terrible food or food that was more like a high school cafeteria and trust me I've eaten many a day at the high school cafeteria.

 

I also can't count the number of times we've been on the star and will be on her in January.

Edited April 14, 2014 by Ilovesailing

[kjquilts]

We've been on the Star four times and have her booked again for British Isles cruise next Sept. We have no problem with the food on the Star or any other Norwegian ship for that matter.

We love freestyle and choosing where and when we want to eat. Sometimes it is one of the main restaurants, sometimes specialty, sometimes the buffet. We're never left hungry :)

 

I understand your comment about school cafeteria for the buffet - - the table and chair set up in the Star buffet is our least favorite on any Norwegian ship we've sailed on. No problem with the food - - it's just the cafeteria like tables and the fact that they are quite close together. We still eat there at times and it doesn't change our cruise enjoyment.

[cpcanuck]

I thought the main dining room food was edible but not interesting and the buffet was more like a high school cafeteria.

 

I can appreciate your concerns, and can also understand the fears of a repeat experience. However I am somewhat surprised to hear that you felt the buffet was like a high school cafeteria. I wish my high school cafeteria had been like a cruise line buffet. I would have been in heaven! :)

 

Having said that, I have been on various cruise lines and do tend to not go to the buffet as much as I find it much more enjoyable to have a sit down meal and not have to juggle food and drinks while looking for a place to sit - and perhaps this is what you meant about being much like a high school cafeteria?

 

I have found the food in the buffet and in the MDR on the NCL ships to be quite good - certainly comparable to other cruiselines I have been on. It isn't like the high end cruise lines but neither is the price (as someone has already stated). Course, as you mentioned food is so subjective and based on personal taste. Good luck sorting it out for yourself!

[jdvmd]

We did the same trip on the Star to Alaska around the same time that you did. And we hated the cruise for the very same reason - food (as well as some other issues). It was so bad room service ran out of everything on Day 2 of the cruise. Anyway, we said we would never go on NCL again. I ate my words and went on the Sun in 2009 to South America and it made me fall in love with NCL and I haven't looked back. The food was wonderful!

[RJ2002]

We were on the Star in May 2013. In our experience, the MDR food was more "miss" than "hit". Food was often bland, and dishes that should have been served hot would often times be luke-warm. Beef dishes tended to be tough. However, the service was good. The buffet was passable. We mainly ate there for breakfast and dined off the ship for lunch on our port intensive Baltic itinerary.

 

We did frequent the specialty restaurants and I can report they were very good. Went to Cagney's, Le Bistro and Moderno. Le Bistro was our favorite.

[riffatsea]

Thank you for your thoughtful comments!

I tried to word my question as respectfully as possible since I know that everyone has different tastebuds.

Sorry if I managed to offend some of you.

Sometimes if you go out to eat and don't expect too much then you can be happily surprised! It sounds like that might be the case for us on the Star the next time. When we did our Alaska cruise we had just had our first cruise on RCCL and the food there was in a whole different category so I guess we were expecting something similar. If we go again on the Star I'll have a better understanding of what to expect.

Thanks again for taking the time to respond!

[VideoTech]

As you said, food is a very subjective subject (can I say that?).

 

You'll see from my signature that we've been sailing NCL exclusively for a long time. It's our opinion that the quality of the food in the "free" eating areas has gone downhill over this time. It's all still edible, it's just not as good as it used to be.

 

On the other hand, the quality has recently gone up in at least one specialty restaurant, Cagney's.

[DMH15]

I don't understand in fact it makes me crazy when there are comments about how terrible the food is when all the ships cook from corporate menu. While we have had dishes we didn't like because we were expecting another taste doesn't mean the entire buffet, dining rooms were terrible.

We've done almost 30 cruises mostly all b2b and have never experienced terrible food or food that was more like a high school cafeteria and trust me I've eaten many a day at the high school cafeteria.

 

I also can't count the number of times we've been on the star and will be on her in January.

 

 

As a trained chef I can tell you one main issue is consistency. There are a lot of good restaurant chains that succeed with standardized recipes. But there are some that fail. You should be able to go in any location and order the same dish with the same results but sadly it is not always the case.

 

 

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[DMH15]

It sounds like you need to budget for specialty dining for your cruise or you will probably be unhappy. Or spring for this package deal.

 

 

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[kylenyc]

I'm not a picky eater. That said, I've sailed nearly exclusively with NCL, 100+ days at sea and counting and I've seen steady improvements and more recent improvements on the newest ship Getaway. I continue to eat about half the time in the specialty restaurants and half in the main dining rooms. I always find something I enjoy eating and can't recall every having a bad meal in since 2007 when I ordered this odd mushy meaty bread crusted dish... It must have been some kind of european delicacy. :p I haven't seen it on the menu since. If someone forced me to eat in the MDR and buffet every day in order to go on a cruise... I'm there! :p

Edited April 15, 2014 by kylenyc

[newmexicoNita]

Hi all,

We were on the Star to Alaska in 2005 and as you can see from my signature we loved Alaska but didn't love the Star , mainly because of food issues.

I thought the main dining room food was edible but not interesting and the buffet was more like a high school cafeteria. We didn't eat in any of the specialty restaurants where I imagine the food was better soooooo fast forward to today when we are actually considering another cruise on the Star because we like her Mexican itinerary. DH says food is not so important to him and it is up to me to decide sooooo all you foodies out there ---- please tell me what's happening these day?

BTW since food is such a personal thing please don't take my question the wrong way and don't get mad that you and I may not have similar taste buds:rolleyes:

Thanks for any info/opinions you may have.

 

I would say, the Star is probably my least favorite NCL ship and I agree about the food in the MDRs. We cruised her in 2007. Now, food is subjective to say the least and what one loves someone else hates but I think the food on NCL has improved over the past few years. Yes, it is still banquet class and I understand this. We all have to remember the number of people being fed per day. I would suggest you try a couple specialty dining rooms, you might be very surprised how good they can be. BTW, even though I didn't think the food in the MDR was particularly good, it certainly wasn't bad. One thing I will say: servings have gotten smaller each time we sail and I do not think this is a bad thing. Most of us overeat on cruises. Why not serve smaller helpings and allow the passenger to order a second whatever. We have yet to starve on a cruise ship.

 

I don't know how long it has been since your last cruise, but I will tell you and this is the case with other lines as well, most of them have cut back on the number of selections as well. Again this isn't a good or bad thing, but it is fact. So don't expect to have unlimited number of appetizer, salad and entrée choices.

Edited April 16, 2014 by newmexicoNita

[newmexicoNita]

Many ships and cruise lines sail the itineraries you choose. If you don't like the ship, please choose another so you don't spoil the cruise for those of us who do like the ship and food.

 

My thoughts exactly. When I hear anyone say the food was awful, I don't think they are going to find things much better the next time around. Maybe because they are probably setting themselves up for disappointment. I have never sailed on a ship that has awful food, maybe one dish or one meal, but awful is a pretty strong word.

[cliffd64]

It's been several years since I have cruised on NCL Star...

 

That being said, I have noticed in the past couple of years a steady uptick in quality of food across the board on all NCL ships. Last year I was genuinely impressed with the food on the Gem. Obviously I don't know you or your preferences and expectations, but for me I was pleasantly surprised by the upgraded quality of food available.

 

For what it is worth, my opinion is that you meet your own expectations... so it's best to expect the positive :D

[Casco Bay Kid]

I really want to try Norwegian but there are an awful lot of bad food reviews and comments. Scared me away. All the lines have a few but Norwegian gets more bad food reviews by a landslide.

 

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[agabbymama]

My thoughts exactly. When I hear anyone say the food was awful, I don't think they are going to find things much better the next time around. Maybe because they are probably setting themselves up for disappointment. I have never sailed on a ship that has awful food, maybe one dish or one meal, but awful is a pretty strong word.

 

 

Well Nita, you must be easily pleased. The only DECENT dinner we had in 7 nights was the New York steak when we dined with the Captain. That was excellent!

 

The one night the pork chops were so tough a sharp knife wouldn't cut them. No way a person with dentures could even chew it. And it looked like everything was thrown on the plate in haste. Applesauce was on the green beans instead of the porkchop. Mashed potatoes were mixed with the green beans and applesauce. Totally unappealing.

 

I ordered the chicken dish and the sauce was gross. So both dishes were left uneaten,

 

3 meals in the Blue Lagoon were tasteless and cold. Soggy french fries & fish are not appetizing. Cagney's my filet was great, my friend's was shoe leather.

 

Breakfasts were good either Lido or MDR. Room service breakfasts were ice cold. Even the coffee was cold.

 

We are not foodies, and didn't starve, but neither was the dining experience anything to brag about. The only consistent meal was the hot dogs and hamburgers, Served fresh hot off the grill, but there was a line of about 30 people each day.

 

As everyone says, food is certainly subjective. I don't cruise for the food, if I did NCL would not be my choice.

[mearsfansinboise]

I really want to try Norwegian but there are an awful lot of bad food reviews and comments. Scared me away. All the lines have a few but Norwegian gets more bad food reviews by a landslide.

 

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We've sailed HAL which I would say has excellent food, and DCL which has very good food, and NCL. There was never anything horrible about the food on NCL. I was disappointed that there was no lobster. And I found the service in the MDR to be slow, and the menu lackluster. There was always something good in the buffet, or even that Denny's kind of restaurant on there that has burgers and fries. I wouldn't let the food scare you away. We are sailing NCL again for spring break even after I recall complaining about the food - LOL I love food. I mean lovvvvve it. But it's only part of the experience, and I'm not paying for 5-star dining either.

[cherrypop]

We sailed on the Star a while back and all 10 of us thought the food was great. We have since booked another cruise on her in October. We cruised on HAL and on our particular cruise the food wasn't great. On our last cruise on Princess there was nothing to write home about, the Star beat all those hands down. But like they say to each their own, everyone has different tastes. I am pretty sure everyone can find something they like. Heck I am just happy not to be the one cooking!

[Hikini]

We have sailed on the Star 4 times and NCL a total of 9 times, with #10 just around the corner. (Less than 12 days, but who is counting???)

 

We LOVE NCL and we enjoy the food too! DH and I would not consider ourselves total foodies, but we live in Seattle, have eaten in restaurants owned and operated by internationally acclaimed chefs and have traveled a lot, so we do know what good food is. We have no problems with the food on NCL at all.

 

It's a touchy subject for many folks, obviously.

[Love my butler]

The menus have certainly changed. The food budget has decreased and as a result the quality of ingredients has gone down. If you can make a better tasting dish with cheaper ingredients I guess the food could possibly be better. Don't think NCL has cracked that code. In my experience the taste and quality of food on all NCL ships has declined considerably over the last 10 years.

[surran12]

Many ships and cruise lines sail the itineraries you choose. If you don't like the ship, please choose another so you don't spoil the cruise for those of us who do like the ship and food.

 

I'm surprised that one person not liking the food being on the same ship as you will spoil your cruise. Yours is one of the most ridiculous comments I've seen on these boards in the few years I've hovered around. Talk about touchy.

[yoyocruiser]

In general I think you can always find some excellent food, but everything is not excellent. That said, we always found wonderful food and enjoyed it greatly. Others just wish to complain and make no effort to search out what would be more pleasing to them. All in all I found the food getting better and better with each cruise I have been on. But seriously--check the menus, think about what you want, look at what is being served. You can find some glorious food on NCL.:)