What's the best thing you've eaten on an NCL cruise?

[tony s]

16 hours ago, drcarp4 said:

Le Bistro: Mushroom Soup

Moderno: Salad Bar (I could make a meal out of it)

Do Martini's count as food?

Yes Martinis and Manhattans count,lol

[kayjaypea42]

My first real cruise ever was on the Pearl, and I LOOOVED the Salmon Tartare.  When they had it on subsequent cruises, I was less impressed.  But the lamb anywhere on any ship is amazing, and I really enjoyed the Pork Loin from the Escape MDR.  I tried Ceviche for the first time on the Getaway and loved it, and tried Corn Jalepeno chowder for the first time on Escape...I've been on the hunt for as good on land for a while and have come up empty... The Thai Chili wings from O'Sheehan's was AMAZING.  Also, loved the pistachio bars from the buffet at Great Stirrup Cay and the Molten lava cake on the Escape and the Espresso bar thing I had on Getaway! I really hope they have all of that (or better!) on the Prima.  That's my next cruise, and I'm starving waiting for my dinner reservation (that has yet to be made), already! LOL

Edited June 14, 2021 by kayjaypea42

[ClevelandCruisin]

Hmmm... where to start.

 

Le Bistro Creme Brulee

O'Sheehans Wings

Le Bistro Escargot

Teppanyaki and more teppanyaki

Cagney's Filet

Le Bistro French Onion Soup

Los Lobos tableside guacamole

Buffet crepe station

Buffet scooped ice cream

MDR Taste once had a meatball sub

Le Bistro Peppercorn Filet

Ocean Blue Crab Cake

Food Republic Dumplings

Ocean Blue Lobster grilled

Le Bistro Mussels

O'Sheehans/local Fish and Chips

 

[Sailing12Away]

It's funny how varied folks tastes are. I see Teppanyaki come up a lot in this thread and in general when talking about which specialty restaurant to pick from. Just curious, for those who love it - do you not have the traditional hibachi grills near where you live?

 

For us, the experience was a bit too hokey. We literally heard the exact same jokes from the chef to our left, then our own, then to the table on our right during the course of our meal. The food itself was ok, but nothing that makes me remember it or want to go back. The best memory I have from that meal was the fact that our table had a couple from Miami, a couple from England, family of 4 from South Africa, and us from NY. The non-US folks had no idea how to eat edamame, so that was fun teaching them what to do. The conversation around the table was much more memorable than the food itself.

[complawyer]

of course we have hibachi style restaurants. benihana is worldwide. that doesnt take away from the experience. there are also thousands of steak houses across the country. new york is famous for them.by the same reasoning would you forgo cagney's.

 

i agree, the jokes ae old, stale and groaners, but it's still fun to eat  there.

 

if you think showing a person from a different country how to eat edamame is interesting,

 

, go to wasabi and try to explain what to order to someone that has never tried sushi or drank cold saki!

 

now that's an experience

 

in any event hope your cruise was enjoyable. if we ever sail together, the first drink is on me!

[ClevelandCruisin]

8 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

It's funny how varied folks tastes are. I see Teppanyaki come up a lot in this thread and in general when talking about which specialty restaurant to pick from. Just curious, for those who love it - do you not have the traditional hibachi grills near where you live?

 

For us, the experience was a bit too hokey. We literally heard the exact same jokes from the chef to our left, then our own, then to the table on our right during the course of our meal. The food itself was ok, but nothing that makes me remember it or want to go back. The best memory I have from that meal was the fact that our table had a couple from Miami, a couple from England, family of 4 from South Africa, and us from NY. The non-US folks had no idea how to eat edamame, so that was fun teaching them what to do. The conversation around the table was much more memorable than the food itself.

We have tons of them around us, actually a hibachi restaurant about 3 minutes away. I love teppanyaki on the ship, not only are the portions great, but such awesome chefs.

 

Just because you are not a fan, doesn't mean we aren't. Hence why there are many different options on board to fill any craving. 

 

To follow up what do you pick then if no teppanyaki? 

[Sailing12Away]

8 hours ago, complawyer said:

of course we have hibachi style restaurants. benihana is worldwide. that doesnt take away from the experience. there are also thousands of steak houses across the country. new york is famous for them.by the same reasoning would you forgo cagney's.

One of the beautiful things about living in NY is that we have literally everything available to us - food from all over the world as well as Broadway shows every day. But I don't go on cruises and compare my experiences on them to every day life. My everyday life is missing that amazing scenery floating past me that I get on the cruise. But having said that, we go in with what we feel are appropriate expectations. 

 

When we first ate at La Cucina, I went in expecting an Olive Garden experience. We got a few notches above that, so we were happy with our experience. As much as we didn't walk into Cagney's expecting it to compete with Wolfgang's (the best porterhouse for 2 that we've had so far and highest bar to beat), I was hoping it would be fairly high up. It wasn't bad by any stretch, but again, of the 3 times we've tried them I would just personally pick something else going forward.

 

2 hours ago, ClevelandCruisin said:

Just because you are not a fan, doesn't mean we aren't. Hence why there are many different options on board to fill any craving. 

 

To follow up what do you pick then if no teppanyaki? 

Of course, but I was curious to see what I was missing. Maybe my one experience with it wasn't the norm and I should give it another go. I wasn't trying to criticize or imply that because I didn't care for it others shouldn't either - it was genuine curiosity as to what specifically folks were drawn to. 

 

We try to mix it up on each cruise and try something out that we haven't had before. If we're on a ship where we've already eaten at each specialty, we'll opt for comfort food. The pesto gnocchi for me at La Cucina, the duck at Le Bistro for hubby. Next cruise coming up is the Encore which is new for us, so we'll be trying 2 new places.

[ClevelandCruisin]

3 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

One of the beautiful things about living in NY is that we have literally everything available to us - food from all over the world as well as Broadway shows every day. But I don't go on cruises and compare my experiences on them to every day life. My everyday life is missing that amazing scenery floating past me that I get on the cruise. But having said that, we go in with what we feel are appropriate expectations. 

 

When we first ate at La Cucina, I went in expecting an Olive Garden experience. We got a few notches above that, so we were happy with our experience. As much as we didn't walk into Cagney's expecting it to compete with Wolfgang's (the best porterhouse for 2 that we've had so far and highest bar to beat), I was hoping it would be fairly high up. It wasn't bad by any stretch, but again, of the 3 times we've tried them I would just personally pick something else going forward.

 

Of course, but I was curious to see what I was missing. Maybe my one experience with it wasn't the norm and I should give it another go. I wasn't trying to criticize or imply that because I didn't care for it others shouldn't either - it was genuine curiosity as to what specifically folks were drawn to. 

 

We try to mix it up on each cruise and try something out that we haven't had before. If we're on a ship where we've already eaten at each specialty, we'll opt for comfort food. The pesto gnocchi for me at La Cucina, the duck at Le Bistro for hubby. Next cruise coming up is the Encore which is new for us, so we'll be trying 2 new places.

Encore for me as well in October! 

[Sailing12Away]

2 minutes ago, ClevelandCruisin said:

Encore for me as well in October! 

I'll be there at the end of August and will try and report back on the best thing we remember having 🙂 

[ChiefMateJRK]

I may be the outlier here, but the best thing I had was a Filet at Cagneys.    I'm looking forward to trying Ocean Blue on an AK cruise in a few months.  We won't quite be platinum (yet), so will likely just be trying two or three of the specialty venues.  I appreciate all the great feedback in this thread.

[ClevelandCruisin]

6 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I may be the outlier here, but the best thing I had was a Filet at Cagneys.    I'm looking forward to trying Ocean Blue on an AK cruise in a few months.  We won't quite be platinum (yet), so will likely just be trying two or three of the specialty venues.  I appreciate all the great feedback in this thread.

I always get the filet at cagneys! Ocean Blue is okay. Worth it to try once. 

[ClevelandCruisin]

2 hours ago, CaptainMcSorley said:

 

I like to sample different varieties of cheese 😉...

Room service you can get a cheese tray for 7.95, along with a pizza! 

[Crown Vic]

Just reading this thread makes my mouth water seeing all the lovely dishes enjoyed by so many...but...right near the top of my ‘favourites’ list are the kippers available, usually by special order, at breakfast. What a treat!

[ClevelandCruisin]

Le Bistro anyone?

Peppercorn filet and creme brulee!!

 

 

Edited June 22, 2021 by ClevelandCruisin

[Sailing12Away]

40 minutes ago, ClevelandCruisin said:

Room service you can get a cheese tray for 7.95, along with a pizza! 

I'll buy it for you @CaptainMcSorley, I'll have $700 in OBC to burn through.

[Sailing12Away]

40 minutes ago, Crown Vic said:

Just reading this thread makes my mouth water seeing all the lovely dishes enjoyed by so many...but...right near the top of my ‘favourites’ list are the kippers available, usually by special order, at breakfast. What a treat!

What's a kipper? That looks like bacon and onions...

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

What's a kipper? That looks like bacon and onions...

My parents used to give me these as snacks:

 

They were otherwise great parents!! (RIP)

[ysolde]

8 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

My parents used to give me these as snacks:

 

They were otherwise great parents!! (RIP)

My husband loves smoked herring.  I refer to it as . . . stinky fish.  LMAO!

[BirdTravels]

Tomahawk Steak

[Crown Vic]

7 hours ago, ysolde said:

My husband loves smoked herring.  I refer to it as . . . stinky fish.  LMAO!

Aah! Obviously a gentleman of quality and good taste (if you'll excuse the pun.). Kippers from Aberdeen (aka smoked herring)! Also known as “Ambrosia of the Gods”.

[Sailing12Away]

19 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

My parents used to give me these as snacks:

 

They were otherwise great parents!! (RIP)

🤢🤮

 

I'll stick with my chicken fingers and mac & cheese.

[Sailing12Away]

20 hours ago, CaptainMcSorley said:

 

Did someone say cheese?

I'm fussy with my cheese, drives hubby insane. I'll eat mac & cheese, but avoid parmesan/ricotta on regular pasta. I'll eat grilled cheese with bacon, but not a regular sandwich with cheese. I'll eat string cheese, but not other cheese by itself just as is (like cubes or cheese & crackers). I think it's more of a texture thing - I like my cheese nice & melty otherwise I tend to pick it off.

Definitely the palate of an 8yr old when it comes to food, despite a more refined palate when it comes to scotch.

[ChiefMateJRK]

46 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

I'm fussy with my cheese, drives hubby insane. I'll eat mac & cheese, but avoid parmesan/ricotta on regular pasta. I'll eat grilled cheese with bacon, but not a regular sandwich with cheese. I'll eat string cheese, but not other cheese by itself just as is (like cubes or cheese & crackers). I think it's more of a texture thing - I like my cheese nice & melty otherwise I tend to pick it off.

Definitely the palate of an 8yr old when it comes to food, despite a more refined palate when it comes to scotch.

Single malt or blend?  After EXTENSIVE research I arrived at Johnnie Walker as my preferred scotch. Red Label is a staple. Black label neat on occasion (which is daily on NCL).  Perhaps a shot of blue label next cruise. 😎

[kayjaypea42]

Speaking of cheese, I seem to remember some fried brie wedges that were to die for in the MDR of either Getaway or Escape (can't remember which)

[Sailing12Away]

2 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Single malt or blend?  After EXTENSIVE research I arrived at Johnnie Walker as my preferred scotch. Red Label is a staple. Black label neat on occasion (which is daily on NCL).  Perhaps a shot of blue label next cruise. 😎

I don't discriminate, but my go-to for special occasion celebrations is Macallen 18. 

 

For less fancy enjoyment I'll go for the Glenfiddich Solera blend. Easier on the budget...