Best Food------Royal vs NCL

[scootersdad]

I am a RCL D+ and stockholder so I'm not bashing RCL.:(

 

However, I am considering jumping ship (pun intended) over the quality of the food.

 

On several of my last RC cruises, the head waiters confirmed that a large percent (MOST) of the food is prepared off-site; not made on ship. Just warmed up:loudcry:

 

Any regular and recent cruiser can advise if the food has improve?

 

:( :confused:

[boscobeans]

We took our first cruise on NCL in February and although some of the specialty restaurants were pretty good the food was a few notches below anything we have had on our past 13 or so RCCL cruises. The buffet was decent but lacked the variety we have always had on Royal or Celebrity.

 

As far as the breads and baked goods the NCL offerings were sub par. Seemed like they used a lot of off ship products that they either finished baking on ship or just heated up.

 

Desserts on NCL looked great but seemed to be lacking in taste and variety.

 

Although smoke never bothered me or my wife while on any other ships in the past it seemed to be very bothersome in places like the casino and anyplace near by.

 

Just our opinion, after one 14 day cruise on the Breakaway.

 

Cancelled a future NCL cruise and rebooked one on the Anthem.

 

bosco

[scootersdad]

you're right NCL deserts were tasteless

thx

[L454S]

you're right NCL deserts were tasteless

thx

 

As are RCI's. No icing, just a lot of whipped cream. They look pretty, but aren't very good.

[cruzeluver]

One of the main reasons we have more or less ditched NCL was the food in the main dining rooms. Specialty dining was always excellent, especially Le Bistro, but main dining had just gotten awful.

[newcruzer2]

I think it depends on WHAT food on the ship you're talking about. For example my husband swears by NCL's food, but of course he eats like a 12-year-old, chicken nuggets, pizza etc. and I go on cruises to experience different foods, then I would experience at home, like the duck a la orange or Chilean Seabass. But I must say, the only experience on any cruise ship NCL, Princess or Royal Caribbean I ever left thinking "wow that was the best" and still think it's the best to this day . Was NCL's Italian restaurant.

[Arubamoose]

We are not quite D+ and have sailed NCL a number of times. Their specialty restaurants are awesome. One of the best steaks DH said he ever had on was at Cagney’s on the Getaway. Ocean Blue’s Seafood was spot on. Le Bistro was hit or miss. Mostly miss. Regular dining was awful. Service pathetic. Yet on the Jade the dining rooms were not too bad. Go with extra funds to pay the upgraded dining.

[ONECRUISER]

Been cruising on Royal 30+ yrs and NCL 20. Royals food always better though less in last few yrs,. NCL specialty Restaurants can be pretty good. Surprisingly best food I've had last 2 yrs is some of the WindJammer dinner's on Serenade...

[Aquahound]

you're right NCL deserts were tasteless

thx

 

So you've been on NCL and had their food? What exactly are you asking? :confused:

[Rogueperson]

I am a RCL D+ and stockholder so I'm not bashing RCL.:(

 

However, I am considering jumping ship (pun intended) over the quality of the food.

 

On several of my last RC cruises, the head waiters confirmed that a large percent (MOST) of the food is prepared off-site; not made on ship. Just warmed up:loudcry:

 

Any regular and recent cruiser can advise if the food has improve?

 

:( :confused:

 

Really?!?! The tours we took to the kitchen make it seem like they're making things in their kitchens...

[SheehanDJ]

I don't know for sure, but I strongly suspect all cruise lines get their food from the same vendors. So then it would come down to the chef's, which back in the day may have mattered. Anymore? I really don't think so.

 

I have simple $20 rule on MDR food when cruising. If you can't get the same thing at a chain sit down restaurant for $20 don't order it as you WILL be disappointed.

[golden6911]

I sailed on NCL recently and definitely agree that the desserts were all show and no go. In particular, I remember having a terrible piece of apple pie in the main dining room. The buffet was decent and the specialty restaurants, Cagney’s in particular, were very good to outstanding.

 

 

I sailed RCL years ago, and I remember the food being excellent, a bit better than NCL, and I will be sailing next week (yay) so I will judge the difference then.

[Shannon12]

I will say on our NCL breakaway cruise I didn't get a warm meal outside of the specialty restaurants. Cooler than room temp in the dining room every try.

[ReneeFLL]

............ Go with extra funds to pay the upgraded dining.

 

And this is exactly what RC wants you to do. They keep the food terrible so people will pay more $$$ for the speciality restaurants and they win again.

Edited April 7, 2018 by ReneeFLL

[cruiser123!]

Went on the Jewel in ‘15 and had great food. Went on POA last year and the food was so so. Went on Jewel of the Seas in March and ended up with food poisoning for my daughter first day and hubby third (and yes...food poisoning- medical confirmed it vs norovirus). Still going to try Allure next year. If not, we will start budgeting for specialty dining

[TexCruise371]

We’ve only cruised on the NCL Getaway and thought the food overall was very good. Especially their buffet vs the Windjammer. Specialty restaurants were very good. We did not eat in the dining room. Another plus for NCL was the pub where they served pub type food 24 hours.

 

Picture is from the buffet. Great steak! [emoji2]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[mike123abc]

I find the food better on RCL. I took a 16 day cruise on RCL Radiance of the Seas in February and just finished an 11 day cruise on NCL Jewel. Two smaller ships.

 

RCL carved meat in the buffet for lunch every day and a lot of times had a different one in Park Cafe. NCL did not carve a meat during lunch. On sea days they would have a barbecue on the pool deck.

 

The MDR of RCL was much better than the MDR of NCL. We ate most dinners in the MDR of RCL, only had a few on NCL since we did not like the food. Ended up eating at Cagneys a few times on NCL where you do get a good meal, but costs extra. At least they give you coupons for free meals in the specialty restaurants for being a frequent cruiser.

 

I have over 200 nights on both lines. I do believe there have been cutbacks in the MDR on both lines over the years, but NCL really seemed to cut back about 2 years ago, prior to that I thought they were close. I have found the buffet on RCL to have a better selection.

 

All deserts in the buffets on both lines are severely lacking. NCL does usually have hard ice cream being served in the buffet (or out at the pool deck) all the time and it is better than the deserts they make.

 

I view it all as "hotel banquet quality". Unless you go to the specialty restaurants where they really seem to cook the items individually to order, you get a mass produced item. I do not believe that they are reheating food from shore. If you take the kitchen tours you see them in there working with raw ingredients prepping everything. The problem is that they prep everything early and have to hold it all day, it is the only way to serve thousands of people in a short time. This really cuts food quality down, it is much better if it is prepared fresh to order, but only a small restaurant can do that. They are not reheating food from shore, but food they made earlier in the day.

[lenquixote66]

I am a RCL D+ and stockholder so I'm not bashing RCL.:(

 

However, I am considering jumping ship (pun intended) over the quality of the food.

 

On several of my last RC cruises, the head waiters confirmed that a large percent (MOST) of the food is prepared off-site; not made on ship. Just warmed up:loudcry:

 

Any regular and recent cruiser can advise if the food has improve?

 

:( :confused:

 

Neither cruise line has great food ,however ,in my opinion food is better on RCI ships than on NCL

[BNBR]

I definitely wouldn't jump to NCL for better food. Especially not for the complimentary options. Sure, the specialty dining on NCL was good, some of it great, but specialty dining is always a better experience on every line. The complimentary food was dismal on NCL. The tapas were outstanding and their beer selection was solid, though.

[Kingofcool1947]

Been cruising on Royal 30+ yrs and NCL 20. Royals food always better though less in last few yrs,. NCL specialty Restaurants can be pretty good. Surprisingly best food I've had last 2 yrs is some of the WindJammer dinner's on Serenade...

 

I will have to try Windjamers on my next cruise. I’m dying for a plate of liver and fava beans.

Why do you think the dinners at WindJammer is the best food you’ve had in the last 2 years?

Can you give an example of what sets it apart from all others?

And, is the food at WindJamers a cut above what is served on Princess or Celebrity?

Edited April 8, 2018 by Kingofcool1947

[LMaxwell]

I think NCL is significantly better than Royal in at least the included food, although I do agree I have had very good windjammer dinners on Royal and will next week again. But I like NCal dining room, their buffets are pretty good, and alternative free options are way superior to Royal

[BNBR]

I think NCL is significantly better than Royal in at least the included food, although I do agree I have had very good windjammer dinners on Royal and will next week again. But I like NCal dining room, their buffets are pretty good, and alternative free options are way superior to Royal

 

Maybe I missed all of these alternative free options on Escape? Other than the pub, it was the buffet and dining room, that's it.

[LMaxwell]

Maybe I missed all of these alternative free options on Escape? Other than the pub, it was the buffet and dining room, that's it.

 

24 hour pub much better than Cafe Promenade.

 

On ships without a CP if there is a Park Cafe they have some late night snacks.

 

Royal buffet closes 9pm. NCL has late night hours w fresh offerings.

 

Debarkation morning we have a full MDR menu on NCL, not case on Royal. Also MDR open for lunch on NCL on embark day, not on Royal. Royal sea day salad bar in MDR is a winner.

[pcur]

I just did a b2b2b on NCL Dawn, HAL Rotterdam, and RCCL Rhapsody. We found the food on NCL to be medium OK, with not a lot of variety. The buffet especially was uninspired. The desserts, however were very good, and also in the buffet where you usually get gelatinous moussy deserts.

 

The Rhapsody had the best food according to my husband, who is a beef eater. He had good quality beef all but one night. I thought the food was better than the Dawn, too.

 

I was on the NCL Spirit a year ago in Europe and found the food much better than the Dawn, overall. It's one of the reasons I convinced hubby to go on the Dawn. But, NCL is now off our list of cruise lines to look at when we book.

[golden6911]

Interesting how different the answers are!

 

It makes me wonder whether you get a lot of variability between ships on the same line, or whether the departure port makes a difference, especially in the availability of fresh meat, fruit and produce.

 

I did like O’Sheehans a lot. It was nice to be able to grab a small pub meal at anytime, although we only used it once on our cruise towards the end.