Help me convince the wife

[crisp1]

Our last NCL cruise was on the Dawn in 09. We thought the food in the mdr was mediocre at best. Yesterday we attended a luncheon on board the Breakaway and found the food to be excellent. We've been looking at cruise options for this fall that cruise from local ports (NYC) and the 12 day Gem came up as an option- good itinerary and price. Will the food be as good as we experienced on the Breakaway ( I know it was one meal and I'm sure they picked the menu to impress). What type of musical entertainment can we expect to find on the Gem. We prefer listening to live music- rock, pop, jazz, piano bar instead of the shows in the theater.

Thanks

[sparks1093]

Our last NCL cruise was on the Dawn in 09. We thought the food in the mdr was mediocre at best. Yesterday we attended a luncheon on board the Breakaway and found the food to be excellent. We've been looking at cruise options for this fall that cruise from local ports (NYC) and the 12 day Gem came up as an option- good itinerary and price. Will the food be as good as we experienced on the Breakaway ( I know it was one meal and I'm sure they picked the menu to impress). What type of musical entertainment can we expect to find on the Gem. We prefer listening to live music- rock, pop, jazz, piano bar instead of the shows in the theater.

Thanks

 

I don't know how the Gem compares to the BA but we did find that the food was better on the Gem than it was 4 years ago on the Sky (that seems to be the timeframe where all of the ships were being panned for the quality of the food). There always seemed to be many music options in the evening including a piano player in the atrium and guitar player near Magnums. Is it possible for you to fit a 1 or 2 nighter in on the Gem before committing to a 12 day? It would give you a fair idea of what is offered.

[anandaindonesia]

If food is important to you, calculate to include UDP (ultimate dining package) in the cost of your cruise.

 

Enjoy!

[jkgourmet]

If food is important to you, calculate to include UDP (ultimate dining package) in the cost of your cruise.

 

Enjoy!

 

I agree - both with the OP's opinion of the food in the MDR and that getting the UDP us the only way to assure better meals.

 

Truthfully, we only sail NCL when it's cheap and very port intensive so we can enjoy some terrific lunches while in port. That makes up for the mediocre buffet and MDR food.

Edited June 30, 2014 by jkgourmet

[yoboy08753]

Our last NCL cruise was on the Dawn in 09. We thought the food in the mdr was mediocre at best. Yesterday we attended a luncheon on board the Breakaway and found the food to be excellent. We've been looking at cruise options for this fall that cruise from local ports (NYC) and the 12 day Gem came up as an option- good itinerary and price. Will the food be as good as we experienced on the Breakaway ( I know it was one meal and I'm sure they picked the menu to impress). What type of musical entertainment can we expect to find on the Gem. We prefer listening to live music- rock, pop, jazz, piano bar instead of the shows in the theater.

Thanks

 

We are looking at this same cruise in March 2015 for the same local port reason for my birthday and plan on booking it while onboard our Oct 2014 sailing. We have sailed the Gem and agree with you about the food, but we don't plan our cruises around food, it's better then we have at home after a days work. We just go to have fun and getaway from it all. Mediocre food on a cruise is better then a good dinner at home after work:)

[OCruisers]

If food is important to you, calculate to include UDP (ultimate dining package) in the cost of your cruise.

Enjoy!

 

Totally agree! The UDP is well worth it!

LuLu

[Winnigirl]

Food is so subjective. No one can guarantee that anyone else will love or hate the food - unless it is so terrible that everyone agrees. Everyone's idea of "fine dining" differs. Some say a great steak is fine dining, some say "fusion" is fine dining, some say international cuisine is fine dining, etc. It's not realistic to ask people to "guarantee" that the food will be delicious and "5 star". If you're serious "foodies" then order the Ultimate Dining Package. Personally, I've always enjoyed the food on Norwegian cruises.

[crisp1]

What would the UDP cost for a 12 day cruise cost? For the 7 day Bermuda cruise on the Breakaway it was $119 pp and it included Cirque Dreams and dinner

Edited June 30, 2014 by crisp1

[pastrychef]

What would the UDP cost for a 12 day cruise cost? For the 7 day Bermuda cruise on the Breakaway it was $119 pp and it included Cirque Dreams and dinner

 

I just booked a 12 day in Nov 2015 and the UDP is 195. for 12 days

[ColinIllinois]

What would the UDP cost for a 12 day cruise cost? For the 7 day Bermuda cruise on the Breakaway it was $119 pp and it included Cirque Dreams and dinner

 

 

http://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/gifts-and-more#diningpackage

[warb]

We were told by a Dining Room Supervisor that a new menu was being served. It was

 

similar to Breakaway food. We found the Dining Room Food to be very good. We

 

usually cruise on Princess , but we thought the Dawn's quality of steak was better. Portions

 

were better. The Supervisor asked us what we thought of the food each day. She was very

 

nice.