Back from the Jade in Venice

[bp traveler]

Just thought I would share my opinion on the food on the past 3 NCL cruises I have taken....it is awful unless you pay for the upgraded restaurants! The steakhouse was good as usual as was the Teppanyaki. We dined in the more formal for of the dining rooms several times this cruise and the food there was just plain average!

 

The Epic was better than the Pearl or the Jade but the worst food on the ship is found in the garden cafe it is just plain inedible! I am not a foodie and can usually find something to get by on but it was worse than cafe in college! We met quite a few people on board and they also thought the food was awful!

 

Not sure if I can sail with them again unless the food improves.

 

Otherwise the sailing was very nice with great ports and staff! It is just such a huge disappointment to spend that kind of money and be disappointed in your meals.

[AF-1]

ooh, that is not good. I know NCL monitors these boards; so if enough people keep saying food is not great or food should be better; not just on Jade; but all the ships; maybe they will look into this. How was your trip on Jade? Any comments about the itinerary or the ship?

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[Ewoodspark]

 

the worst food on the ship is found in the garden cafe it is just plain inedible! .

Quite frankly, I do not believe you. Inedible is a pretty strong word. Starving millions in the third world would be glad to eat your "inedible food".

[Ilovesailing]

So now you can go back to Carnival. By the way it wouldn't take me three tries to figure I didn't like something.

Edited August 3, 2014 by Ilovesailing

[jonbgd]

The X Chef on the Jade is Rodney. H was on the Epic till this promotion.

Im surprised to hear the buffet isn't up to his normal standards.

The Epic buffet is the best at sea

[Keith1010]

Thanks for the report.

 

Keith

[Loving My Life]

Although food is subjective, it makes me nervous to read many people post about terrible food on NCL. But then I remember that I chose the Spirit for its incredible ports, not the food. I will eat delicious local cuisine for lunch/dinner on my excursions. And it wouldn't be a bad thing if I lost a few pounds on the cruise. :p

 

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed your ship, it's crew, and it's itinerary!

[Carinthalas]

My cruising experience is not extensive in any sense. I have been on NCL Spirit 3 times now and can report the following....

 

The food in the main dinning rooms is good, not great, but certainly good food. The food in the increase cover restaurants is excellent. We had great meals in Shogun and Bistro as well as a hoot in the Tepenyaki.

 

As our cruising has expanded (been on Celebrity a couple of times) we have noticed that the food quality in the Celebrity MDR is on par with the upcharge restaurants on NCL.

 

However, the night life and vibrancy of the ship on NCL is way better than Celebrity.

 

I guess what I am trying to say is, that we take different holidays at different times for different reason. If we want a foodie type holiday we will go Celebrity, if we want a fun holiday (still with good food) then we go NCL. We enjoy them both.

[Demonyte]

Although food is subjective, it makes me nervous to read many people post about terrible food on NCL.

 

Don't be nervous. Nobody has starved to death on NCL cruises even though posters like OP claim that the food is inedible. As expected, you will not get five-star cuisine with the price you pay but the food is at minimum "good enough" for most people - most people I've cruised with have been happy with the food onboard.

 

And as you said, it is all subjective - even though some seem to like to exaggerate when describing it. ;)

 

Edited to add: I don't agree with OP at all, within the last year I've spent two weeks on Jade and almost three weeks on other NCL ships and always came back home at least couple of kgs happier. ;) :D

Edited August 4, 2014 by Demonyte

[Tiggertastic]

A meal on ncl is better than me having to cook at home

[T.O.cruisers]

I'll be on the Jade in October. For me, it is a means of getting from port to port. I'm so excited for the itinerary. The food is hardly the deciding factor when choosing my vacation. I know many people who only cruise the likes of Crystal, Oceania and Azamara because they want good food. Go figure. To each their own.

 

For my dollar, visiting some wonderful ports on a ship with so so food is still better than lying on a beach for a week doing nothing. Just saying....

[SteveH2508]

Just back from the Jade and the buffet food was perfectly acceptable. The curries were very good; the bacon was awful (but it always is on US ships;)). We had a superb piece of beef from the carvery one night. I guess it depends on one's definition of inedible. If your diet consists of burgers, hot dogs and pizza then you may have a justified complaint (they did not look too appetizing to me but then they rarely do anyway). MDR food was generally good (steak lunches were excellent).

[june123]

Hubby and i were on the Jade earlier this year . We do consider ourselves `foodies` but were very happy with the standard of food in the main dining rooms and blue lagoon . As already stated the curry at the buffet was very good . Some people just love to moan .

[AF-1]

I am glad someone on the Jade enjoyed the food. It is hard to imagine that food would be no good for seven days in a row; that's right the op said they never had a good meal in any of the complimentary restaurants

[june123]

I am glad someone on the Jade enjoyed the food. It is hard to imagine that food would be no good for seven days in a row; that's right the op said they never had a good meal in any of the complimentary restaurants

 

we were on the Jade for 10 nights and were very happy with the service from the waiting staff , food quality and the food was lovely and hot . We have eaten in some very good ( and expensive ) restaurants so i feel i know a good meal when i have one . the food in the pay restaurants has always been extremely good and a notch up from the main dining rooms but we have never been disappointed in either main dining room .

[AF-1]

june123, Thank you. I Knew you can sail Jade and have decent food. Great to hear

[newmexicoNita]

Just thought I would share my opinion on the food on the past 3 NCL cruises I have taken....it is awful unless you pay for the upgraded restaurants! The steakhouse was good as usual as was the Teppanyaki. We dined in the more formal for of the dining rooms several times this cruise and the food there was just plain average!

 

The Epic was better than the Pearl or the Jade but the worst food on the ship is found in the garden cafe it is just plain inedible! I am not a foodie and can usually find something to get by on but it was worse than cafe in college! We met quite a few people on board and they also thought the food was awful!

 

Not sure if I can sail with them again unless the food improves.

 

Otherwise the sailing was very nice with great ports and staff! It is just such a huge disappointment to spend that kind of money and be disappointed in your meals.

 

you mean the food was spoiled? I sure hope you complained, no one should have to starve and if food is inedible you have no choice but to not eat.

 

As for not improving the food, we were not on the Jade but were on the Dawn a few months ago. Was the food in the buffet and MDR great? Nope, it could use improving, but have you priced food lately? If you do grocery shopping, no matter where you live, you must realize what has happened to food prices. The ships pay increases just like we do. There are 2 choices: we either pay a lot more to cruise or we survive the inedible food.

 

Why do I get the idea OP might be slightly biased when it comes to favorite cruise line and has she/he tried food on other lines recently or read the reviews. How about those who are complaining about the food on Princess or Carnival for that matter?

Edited August 9, 2014 by newmexicoNita