Best Food------Royal vs NCL

[Clarea]

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.

I think the different answers are mostly due to the subjectivity of the term "best food". Two different peple can eat the same exact food, one will say it's great, the other will say it's inedible.

[pcur]

I think the different answers are mostly due to the subjectivity of the term "best food". Two different peple can eat the same exact food, one will say it's great, the other will say it's inedible.

 

You're right, Bob. I try to weed out the subjectivity in "food posts", or clarify that one of us has a preference. We've cruised for so long, and have found that overall RCCL brings more consistency to their food offerings. Hubby said on our third leg of the b2b2b that it was like coming home.

[bsblindab]

Does RCL have anything comparable to what was the Blue Lagoon on NCL? fish and chips/chicken wings etc

[bsblindab]

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.

 

After hitting the buffet on one of our NCL embark day..it was a pleasure to do the dining room for lunch on our next cruise.

[BNBR]

Does RCL have anything comparable to what was the Blue Lagoon on NCL? fish and chips/chicken wings etc

 

I think you may be referring to something like Playmakers which is a new concept on Symphony of the Seas. It's not complimentary, however.

[Living4acruise2day]

Yes, I always cruise for fish and chips.

[bsblindab]

I think you may be referring to something like Playmakers which is a new concept on Symphony of the Seas. It's not complimentary, however.

 

this will be our first RCL cruise on Grandeur ... We've always liked what was the Blue Lagoon on NCL

[Clarea]

Does RCL have anything comparable to what was the Blue Lagoon on NCL? fish and chips/chicken wings etc

Indy has a new Fish & Ships venue.

[Thorben-Hendrik]

Very expensive too!

[Kingofcool1947]

Does RCL have anything comparable to what was the Blue Lagoon on NCL? fish and chips/chicken wings etc

 

Yes, I always cruise for fish and chips.

 

Is it the highlight of your cruises?

 

Any fried shrimp?

Fried crayfish?

Gotta have me a side of grits as well.

[John&LaLa]

MDR burgers on Mariner

 

 

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[BenDover]

MDR on NCL Epic was awful. Worse meal I have ever had on a cruise ship. Only ate there once.

The speciality dining on Epic was sensational!!! And reasonably priced, especially when buying package.

I enjoy RCI MDR meals and am quite content eating most of my meals there. For the most part I have found RCI speciality dining to be overpriced and not significantly better than the MDR.

[ONECRUISER]

MDR on NCL Epic was awful. Worse meal I have ever had on a cruise ship. Only ate there once.

The speciality dining on Epic was sensational!!! And reasonably priced, especially when buying package.

I enjoy RCI MDR meals and am quite content eating most of my meals there. For the most part I have found RCI speciality dining to be overpriced and not significantly better than the MDR.

Over the years best meals on NCL have been Specialty Dining... Yeah prices on Royal gone to high, was only $10 a head when they came out 19 yrs ago...

[AZDivers]

We have done about 6 RC and 2 NCL now. We feel the food in the buffet is better on NCL and everywhere else pretty much RC has it better.

 

Just our .02 cents.

[grest]

Just got off the Norwegian getaway....food was pretty good

[fredflint]

I feel it is very hard to determine if one cruise line is better, since there is usually a lot of variability between different cruise destinations as well as between ships. That said I have been on RCCL Allure and the NCL Epic but 2 years apart. The food overall on the Epic was much better but we also ate at the Buffet most of the time on the Epic because it was so good.

 

My pet peeve on the Allure was the lack of an Omelette in the regular buffet. Epic also had a coffee maker in the room.

[DarthGrady]

I found the food quality between the two to be about a wash. Buffet food is buffet food. The two high points on our recent Epic cruise was the teppanyaki restaurant (cover charge) and the O'Sheehans Sports Bar.

 

O'Sheehans was really awesome. Think Schooner Bar but with excellent (free!) pub food. They had burgers, wings, hot dogs, onion rings and more. It's got a full menu during the day, and a limited menu 24 hours. Royal would do well to increase their late night offerings. So many times I've left the club and luckily caught Sorrento's just before they closed, but more often had to settle for Promenade Cafe.

[John&LaLa]

FWIW, Oasis ships have 4 venues to get a custom omelette

 

MDR

CK (full suites and Pinnacle)

Wipe Out Cafe

Johnny Rocket

 

 

 

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[M&JfromSDL]

I think it's a tough question to answer. My wife and I seem to think cruise ship food has declined in quality over the years but it could just be that our palate has refined and our expectations are higher.

 

We stepped outside of our loyalty to RCI a few years ago and sailed on NCL Getaway. Everyone raved about Le Bistro but our first night there was terrible. The 2nd visit was one of our best cruise ship meals ever. The steak restaurant was mediocre at best. But what we really hated was having to make reservations so far in advance. It seemed much harder to get into their speciality restaurants last minute when compared to RCI. We ended up at the asian place adjacent to the casino because we had no other choice.

 

I found the food quality between the two to be about a wash. Buffet food is buffet food. The two high points on our recent Epic cruise was the teppanyaki restaurant (cover charge) and the O'Sheehans Sports Bar.

 

O'Sheehans was really awesome. Think Schooner Bar but with excellent (free!) pub food. They had burgers, wings, hot dogs, onion rings and more. It's got a full menu during the day, and a limited menu 24 hours. Royal would do well to increase their late night offerings. So many times I've left the club and luckily caught Sorrento's just before they closed, but more often had to settle for Promenade Cafe.

 

THIS!!!! I think NCL stands out against RCI is the 24 hour food option with O'Sheehans and IMHO, their buffet was better. We sailed on the Allure last year and I remember saying to my wife around midnight (after a day of drink) that I wish I could order some wings and fried food from O'Sheehans instead of Pizza from Sorrento's.

[John&LaLa]

I think it's a tough question to answer. My wife and I seem to think cruise ship food has declined in quality over the years but it could just be that our palate has refined and our expectations are higher.

 

We stepped outside of our loyalty to RCI a few years ago and sailed on NCL Getaway. Everyone raved about Le Bistro but our first night there was terrible. The 2nd visit was one of our best cruise ship meals ever. The steak restaurant was mediocre at best. But what we really hated was having to make reservations so far in advance. It seemed much harder to get into their speciality restaurants last minute when compared to RCI. We ended up at the asian place adjacent to the casino because we had no other choice.

 

 

 

THIS!!!! I think NCL stands out against RCI is the 24 hour food option with O'Sheehans and IMHO, their buffet was better. We sailed on the Allure last year and I remember saying to my wife around midnight (after a day of drink) that I wish I could order some wings and fried food from O'Sheehans instead of Pizza from Sorrento's.

 

You can get wings from room service

 

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[AZDivers]

How much does RC charge for Johnny Rockets now?

[Clarea]

How much does RC charge for Johnny Rockets now?

Last I heard it was $8 plus 18%.

[4774Papa]

We have cruised NCL, Royal C. and Celebrity.

 

Rating MDR food, I would rate the cruise lines as follows:

 

1. Celebrity

2. Royal C.

3. NCL

 

For the buffet:

 

1. Celebrity

2. NCL tie Royal C.

 

Specialty Restaurants

 

1. Celebrity (however cost is so high that we hardly ever dine there)

2. Royal C. and NCL tie, with NCL having more restaurants to choose from.

[L1211]

Last I heard it was $8 plus 18%.

 

 

 

$9.95 Plus grats on HOTS this spring.

 

 

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[mra9955]

It’s interesting on these food threads that the Royal apologists never try to insist that food is better today than in the past....

 

 

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