Norwegian Bliss Speciality Dining

[AlaskaGoer]

Any recommendations for the specialty dining on the Bliss?

 

 

Cagneys is a given.. but I also noticed 'Ocean Blue'. First time using them next year.

 

 

Traveled on the Pearl last year, so this will be a bit of an upgrade.

[BirdTravels]

Any recommendations for the specialty dining on the Bliss?

 

Cagneys is a given.. but I also noticed 'Ocean Blue'. First time using them next year.

 

Traveled on the Pearl last year, so this will be a bit of an upgrade.

Cagney’s, Teppanyaki, Los Lobos (we ate there twice on the Bliss). Q was ok, but it was just BBQ.

 

Menus, food pics and all thing Bliss can be found on our live post https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2641186

[littlelulu01]

We really liked Le Bistro. Hate to admit it but we dined there 4 times last week. We tried something different each visit and the only thing we were not in love with was the lobster bisque. Tasted too day old fishy to us. Otherwise fantastic food and service. We looked at the menu for Ocean Blue and gave it a pass. If you are really into oysters it's probably a great place to try. Check out the menus on Bird Travels review to see if menu is to your liking. BTW Bird Travels - thanks for such an excellent review. We had an excellent vacation and are glad we finally gave NCL bigger ships a try. We were also impressed with La Cucina. I know some people are not fans of the food here but we had great service and the food, while not as good as Cagney's or Le Bistro, was still solid.

[gambit57]

I really liked Q. Great portions and it was good. Yes, you can find better restaurants, but that's the same for all of the specialty restaurants. I'm just comparing them directly to the other specialty restaurants on the Bliss.

 

Q and Teppenyaki were great. Le Bistro was pretty blah in my opinion. Service was the poorest anywhere (including buffets and MDRs) until some of the Filipino waitresses stepped in to do stuff for our server. I'm not really docking too much for that (just had a bad server). It was the food. Just... mediocre. Other than some pricier items, it wasn't cooked particularly well or taste all that great and the portions were tiny. Pretty bland was the general feeling. Nowhere close to the complimentary french stuff you can find on, say, Princess or Disney. Awful compared to French restaurants I've had in the US (never been to France but I imagine they'd disavow the stuff as not being French food at all).

 

No, Q isn't super authentic, and Teppenyaki is totally not authentic, but at least the stuff was cooked well (pulled pork was soft and flavorful, for example) and it tasted great (other than the BBQ beans).

[chefchick]

Another vote for Q. Maybe I wasn’t expecting much, but that was the best meal I has all week....from the smoked peach margarita, to the ribs, the cornbread and that pecan pie.....#yum

[klcardella]

We enjoyed Le Bistro, as we do on all of NCL cruises. Probably my favorite. La Cucina was surprisingly good after hearing bad reviews - not upscale Italian, but well prepared and a decent selection. We usually like Cagney's, but were not impressed on the Bliss. I usually order a porterhouse, but it was literally less than 1/2" thick, so they could not reasonably cook it to medium rare, and anyone who enjoys steak knows a thin steak is just not juicy, even when cooked rare. First time I had to send something back. Others had the prime rib and filet, and they were happy. They also did away with the bone-in ribeye, and the substitution was not nearly as good. Unless you REALLY like oysters, avoid Ocean Blue. The selection was minimal (no lobster or crab on Alaska cruise?). The mussels and clams we had as appetizers were very good, but the fish dish was bland and non-distinct. Service was so-so. I expected MUCH better for a restaurant with a cover charge. Would never waste my money to go back. We had better seafood on the buffet. Others in our party loved Los Lobos (for the guacamole) and Teppenyaki, but nobody tried Q

[JackB60]

This is helpful. Thanks folks

[lkjacobs]

My thoughts on Ocean Blue: I've dined there on the Getaway and on the Escape (they call it Bayamo, but it's the same menu now), and intend to go while on the Bliss in mid-December. These comments relate to the Atlantic menu, and not what's available on Alaska runs.

 

The king crab leg appetizer is terrific, but the stone crabs were pretty tasteless. The whole lobster main course (steamed) was watery and mushy, but combos that include a grilled lobster tail were fine. The seven seas combo includes a very tasty piece of fish, grilled shrimp and a grilled lobster tail. It's available with the dining plan. On the Getaway, it was a $12 upcharge including gratuity.

 

My last cruise had some steak problems at Cagney's as well. Not sure if they've changed suppliers or are buying cheaper quality, but the ribeyes were not good. In that case, the Porterhouse was much better. Hope they fix the problem, as it seems to affect multiple ships (I was on the Sun). For chocoholics like me, the seven-layer cake for dessert overcomes any other shortcomings (though it isn't available on the "small ship menu" offered on the Sun).

 

At Le Bistro, I like the frisee salad with goat cheese and pancetta. For the entree, my favorite is the shrimp roasted in butter with potatoes and artichokes. At La Cucina, I've always found the beef lasagna to be better than I expect, and the osso buco to be a treat for the main course. On the other hand, I've been disappointed with the veal marsala; the cutlets are fine, but the sauce lacks punch.

 

Just some thoughts and ideas.

[AlaskaGoer]

I appreciate all the posts.

 

I will be booking the special dinners as soon as they are available for my end of June cruise.

Can't wait!

[gmbhardy]

On 10/2/2018 at 1:32 AM, chefchick said:

Another vote for Q. Maybe I wasn’t expecting much, but that was the best meal I has all week....from the smoked peach margarita, to the ribs, the cornbread and that pecan pie.....#yum

 

We didn’t like Q very much, but the pecan pie was absolutely delicious.

[AlaskaGoer]

As a follow up question, the reservations can be taken starting the 23rd for our trip.

 

I assume I can call when when the phones are open and just place the reservations with the customer service rep?

[klcardella]

You can call, or just make your reservations on myNCL.com.  We only called when we had a large party (more than 6); otherwise we made our reservations on NCL.  If they don't have the time you want, you can also change it once you get on the ship.  They usually have cancellations/changes. 

 

Have a great time!

[FLAHAM]

First, it is not immediately clear to me why one should especially expect lobster on an Alaska cruise.  Second, Ocean Blue/Bayamo is under a real handicap with regard to lobster dishes -- they have no live holding tank, so the lobster is previously frozen and loses flavor.  I agree that the grilled lobster tail is superior to the whole steamed lobster.