MDR food quality

[albean99]

We just did a 11 day on the Spirit in April. We had 5 pay meals and several dining room dinners although didn't always go to the MDR. I my meals were okay although the one beef meal I got wasn't good. The fish and chicken always seemed good. I agree about the desserts but I usually find that in the big dining rooms. My favorite dessert was the coconut ice cream sandwich in Cagney's.

 

 

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[CruisingUS]

I've not cruised yet with NCL (my first one is upcoming next August)

 

 

I may not have cruised yet with NCL but over the years have been with Orient Line, P & O, Cunard, Azamara and Holland America, so have some experience, from inside through to Club Balcony, (though not as much as many on these boards). The boards for each line seem to carry similar comments and criticisms about food and MDRs/buffets.

I'm particularly interested in your review in NCL. Please post when you go on it. TY.

[newmexicoNita]

Just got back from our amazing fantastic 11 day cruise on the Spirit. We went to specialty restaurants for 5 nights and to MDR/Shogun for the rest. While the specialty dining food was excellent, we frequently had problems with the quality of the food in the complimentary dining.

 

This is in stark contrast with my last cruise on the Jade in 2012 where the complimentary dining was excellent. Is the food going downhill on NCL in general or is this just the Spirit or was this a fluke? My family is discussing another cruise and we are all worried this will be a trend.

everyone has his/her own idea of good food. Some think the food is much improved the past few years, others say it has gone down hill. Personally, I am not a fan of breakfast in the MDR, otherwise I think the quality is improved. We eat most of our dinners in specialty dining rooms but certainly eat in the MDR at least 2 or 3 times, depending on the length of the cruise. Sorry you were a little disappointed.

I know we do not expect the MDR to be outstanding, not on NCL or any other line, but I can't say we have ever left really disappointed. Our biggest complaint is often slightly slow service, but I have cruised 2 other lines with much worse service. Princess being one of them.

Edited September 12, 2017 by newmexicoNita

[CostaFortune]

We just did a 11 day on the Spirit in April. We had 5 pay meals and several dining room dinners although didn't always go to the MDR. I my meals were okay although the one beef meal I got wasn't good. The fish and chicken always seemed good. I agree about the desserts but I usually find that in the big dining rooms. My favorite dessert was the coconut ice cream sandwich in Cagney's.

 

 

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This is the cruise we did! From Venice? What did you think of the excursions? We were dumped in Athens as it was gridlocked caked with coaches, there were 6 cruise ships in port that day! I had to walk with my stick to the Acropolis by the museum!

The shows were fab weren't they? Where did you fly from? Bev.

 

 

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[cruisemama5]

We cruised on NCL for the first time in 2006 and thought the food was awful, then hoped it was a fluke and tried again in 2008. Wasn't much better, so we swore we would never do it again. However, we have heard better things about it lately and are going to give it a try again later this week. Looked at some menus and they seem a lot better, so I am hoping we have made a good choice. We aren't into fancy foods, don't eat out regularly, so it isn't that we are expecting 5 star meals. On the first trip in 2006, everyone was complaining about the food. We have been on lots of other cruises and have never had a problem with the food on any other line.

[Loving My Life]

Just got back from our amazing fantastic 11 day cruise on the Spirit. We went to specialty restaurants for 5 nights and to MDR/Shogun for the rest. While the specialty dining food was excellent, we frequently had problems with the quality of the food in the complimentary dining.

 

This is in stark contrast with my last cruise on the Jade in 2012 where the complimentary dining was excellent. Is the food going downhill on NCL in general or is this just the Spirit or was this a fluke? My family is discussing another cruise and we are all worried this will be a trend.

 

We cruised on the Spirit 2 years ago and found the same thing. Food in the specialty restaurants was very good (except for 1 lunch entree) but the 2 meals we had in the main dining rooms were awful, nearly inedible. We LOVED our cruise, but will only sail NCL with a dining package from now on.

 

We don't generally visit the buffet but did find some good snacks there and also enjoyed some of the other free venues that were very good.

[albean99]

This is the cruise we did! From Venice? What did you think of the excursions? We were dumped in Athens as it was gridlocked caked with coaches, there were 6 cruise ships in port that day! I had to walk with my stick to the Acropolis by the museum!

The shows were fab weren't they? Where did you fly from? Bev.

 

 

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We may have been the cruise before yours because we left from Barcelona. Yes, the shows were very good.

 

I'm not sure if all our stops were the same but loved all the Italy ports and most of the rest. Least favorite was Zadar, Croatia because we had a terrible guide at Krka (through NCL). We were in Athens on a Sunday and took a chance on a cab tour which was great! We loved our Rome tour which wasn't a ship excursion.

 

Il Trattoria was not only beside the buffet but if you went in the day the walls were down and was a part of the buffet.

 

 

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[texasreb]

Where is the link/icon on myncl to book the dining ? I even phoned NCL a week ago to find it. It was not showing on my browser. It used to show. Now not showing, at least for me.

 

I even contacted web/tech support, and got nowhere. No surprise there with any corporations' support staff.

 

Now back to MDR. My wife insisted for years she (we) eat breakfast there. The last 2 trips I finally convinced her to do "Great Outdoors" or similar. Cook our eggs, waffles fresh, and quicker than MDR. Sometimes for lunch or a quick snack we do the O'Sheehans.

[CostaFortune]

We may have been the cruise before yours because we left from Barcelona. Yes, the shows were very good.

 

I'm not sure if all our stops were the same but loved all the Italy ports and most of the rest. Least favorite was Zadar, Croatia because we had a terrible guide at Krka (through NCL). We were in Athens on a Sunday and took a chance on a cab tour which was great! We loved our Rome tour which wasn't a ship excursion.

 

Il Trattoria was not only beside the buffet but if you went in the day the walls were down and was a part of the buffet.

 

 

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Our original booking was a 15 day one. I forget where it was due to start from but, due to available funds, we changed it to an 11-day one. We weren't able to go Barcelona round trip. NCL lady told me they are trying to avoid the cruises where they are not round trip (in the future) due to the inclusive flights being difficult to arrange. Plus when you try and book seats it's a pain as it's a group booking so you need to get NCL to pre-book the seats or get a code from them to quote to the airline. Nightmare!

 

Yes, we had all the same ports but was Zadar an excursion? Our port of call was Dubrovnik. We also did our own thing and it was our favourite day. We walked around the walls of the old town, then took a boat ride to Lokrum island, which was uninhabited and tiny, and was a wildlife nature reserve, with just a day time cafe, fab! Then we were asked if we'd like to share a tour with 5 others up to the top of the mountain where we had tea in the Panoramic Restaurant and saw where Game of Thrones was filmed. Much better than the NCL excursions where I trail way behind, even on a Level 1 tour, where they say they will make allowances for someone like myself, that walks with a stick, post surgery.

We were in cabin 9096 and it was very quiet even with an adjoining door (locked) to a single American lady, who we are still in contact with now! As she lives in London with her husband, and is a lovely new friend. [emoji4] where were you on the Spirit?

Shocked that they opened La Trattoria up as part of the buffet, yet it became a speciality dining restaurant at night!! What a cheek!

 

 

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[Sanz]

Conditioning/forcing people to eat when they're not hungry is a good way to foster later obesity.

 

Or not - May cause some people to always leave a bit on their plate because they now are able to do so.

[riclop]

All the cruise lines are the same , quality has gone downhill.

[Allerotsap]

Anyone have recent menus from MDR?

[newmexicoNita]

All the cruise lines are the same , quality has gone downhill.

I agree and disagree with you at the same time: compared to 25 years ago, yes, food has gone downhill, but that was in the days when cruising was pretty much designed for the upper middle class and above. Families rarely cruised, People planned for a year or so to take the cruise. They had to, unless they were wealthy because of the cost. Now it has become a very popular vacation for families in all brackets and the quality of food has gone down. Also there were the days when there were not 10 different choices for dining and often just one formal dining room. life does change.

 

Where I disagree is the quality of food on NCL compared to 50 years ago. In my estimation it has improved 100% in the MDRs.

[newmexicoNita]

We cruised on NCL for the first time in 2006 and thought the food was awful, then hoped it was a fluke and tried again in 2008. Wasn't much better, so we swore we would never do it again. However, we have heard better things about it lately and are going to give it a try again later this week. Looked at some menus and they seem a lot better, so I am hoping we have made a good choice. We aren't into fancy foods, don't eat out regularly, so it isn't that we are expecting 5 star meals. On the first trip in 2006, everyone was complaining about the food. We have been on lots of other cruises and have never had a problem with the food on any other line.

that was almost 10 years ago, I don't see any comparison. We were on Princess about 5 years ago, found the food, even in the specialty dining to be ok, but not great and not particularly good service. I would not compare that to today as we haven't cruised on them since. We have cruised on Carnival since then, thought the food was below par. I guess this just shows, the old phrase, food is subjective has some meaning. ;) I hope you are more satisfied this time.

[KeithJenner]

Anyone have recent menus from MDR?

 

These are from the Spirit, and they are the same on the Jade. It is possible that some other ships may be using different menus, but from what I can gather these seem to be on most ships.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2491535

[Gampy1967]

Do they have Lobster in the MDR?

[NCLfamily]

I don't think so. Haven only I think.

 

 

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[Allerotsap]

I didn't see menus on that link

 

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[BirdTravels]

I don't think so. Haven only I think.

Not in the Havens.

[texasreb]

Do they have Lobster in the MDR?

 

A year ago yes. For a $25 fee. My February cruise, I did not visit the MDR. So I could not say for recent sailings.