So it looks like NCL's war on seafood has extended to the MDR lunch menu

[IrieBajan54]

19 minutes ago, Phaedrus78 said:

War on Seafood.  I love it. 

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War on seafood is correct. On my recent cruises, I have seen fish dishes in the MDR for dinner that I never heard of. One I recall was bluefish. It sells for 74 cent a pound so with volume NCL might get it at 5 cents/lb.

[havanadaydreaming]

I had to Google bluefish 

 

Goes rancid quickly?!? Sweet! 

[KarlChilders]

Had the grilled mahi  sandwich today on Getaway, the other 2 were on the menu as well.

Edited December 1, 2019 by KarlChilders
Typo

[Zippeedee]

My dad was a lobster fisherman. I know pollock as “bait”. Not something he ever brought home for us to eat. Bluefish is strong, oily dark meat fish. An acquired taste at best.

[DZcreature]

 It is not just a loss of seafood. My husbands favorite lunch item was the lamb. I don't mind changes, but this menu definitely seems like cheaper food. My favorite was the fish sandwich. I can't imagine ordering the tuna melt. That seems more like something that would be in The Local or O' Sheehan's not the MDR. Not trying to be a food snob, but...

 

 

[PortFees45]

11 minutes ago, DZcreature said:

 It is not just a loss of seafood. My husbands favorite lunch item was the lamb. I don't mind changes, but this menu definitely seems like cheaper food. My favorite was the fish sandwich. I can't imagine ordering the tuna melt. That seems more like something that would be in The Local or O' Sheehan's not the MDR. Not trying to be a food snob, but...

 

 

Good point about the lamb...also one of my favorites. This menu is like something I'd expect at an Applebee's. 

[OHRiverRats]

9 minutes ago, DZcreature said:

 It is not just a loss of seafood. My husbands favorite lunch item was the lamb. I don't mind changes, but this menu definitely seems like cheaper food. My favorite was the fish sandwich. I can't imagine ordering the tuna melt. That seems more like something that would be in The Local or O' Sheehan's not the MDR. Not trying to be a food snob, but...

 

 

Agreed. That's one of the things we enjoy about cruising. The opportunity to eat good food that is different from what we can get at home. 

[mjkacmom]

3 minutes ago, OHRiverRats said:

Agreed. That's one of the things we enjoy about cruising. The opportunity to eat good food that is different from what we can get at home. 

Living in the NYC metro area, restaurants here have MUCH better food than mainstream cruise lines. I expect nothing more than what you get at chain restaurants (which we never eat at, well, except chipotle, kids like it).

[OHRiverRats]

Just now, mjkacmom said:

Living in the NYC metro area, restaurants here have MUCH better food than mainstream cruise lines. I expect nothing more than what you get at chain restaurants (which we never eat at, well, except chipotle, kids like it).

Lol, cruise food is definitely a downgrade for you then!  We don't have anything better than chains here in the sticks.  When cruise fare is no better than that, it's time to consider other options. 

[April42749]

25 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

Living in the NYC metro area, restaurants here have MUCH better food than mainstream cruise lines. I expect nothing more than what you get at chain restaurants (which we never eat at, well, except chipotle, kids like it).

I live in Manhattan and eat out about 6 times a week (not fancy, not chain...just casual places)....I eat a lot of fish.

I have never had fish in the MDR that approached "good".....not on any ship or cruise line that I sailed. (In fairness to fish...I don't recall any MDR food that I liked except for soups and desserts.)

 

[Nola26]

5 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Agree. No loss. 

The new turkey cottage pie was very good. 

 

Actually as someone that doesn't eat meat not having fish options or seafood options is an unwelcome downgrade. There used to be a shrimp "burger" that I had on my first NCL cruise on the Sky, first NCL meal ever, really good sandwich.

 

I think the goal is to just push more people to the buffet on Day 1 and sea days.

[mjkacmom]

5 minutes ago, April42749 said:

I live in Manhattan and eat out about 6 times a week (not fancy, not chain...just casual places)....I eat a lot of fish.

I have never had fish in the MDR that approached "good".....not on any ship or cruise line that I sailed. (In fairness to fish...I don't recall any MDR food that I liked except for soups and desserts.)

 

Yes, we are not fancy folk, most of the restaurants we go to are pretty casual, there are just a lot of them. This is a newer favorite, but there are many equally good restaurants within a mile. https://denovoeuropeanpub.com/montclair-menu Cruise ship menus usually sound a lot better than the food. They’d never stay in business on land.

[mking8288]

Just 2 or 3 years ago, maybe 4 at most - I'll just have to do my own fact-checking ... salmon was served in both O'Sheehan's; and, the MDR as an everyday entree for dinner and on the lunch menu as a burger (before the downgrade ... errrr "enhanced" changes, for our "convenience")  Imagine going to your local Applebee or IHOP and ordering bluefish or white fish fillet as your meal special ... how exciting is that.  

 

This is clearly trending and I respectfully disagree with those that feel this is fine & acceptable to them; well, not to some of us, at least more than a few of us ... We shop, buy, cook & prepare our salmon fillet at home - sometimes, just like spending for tiger shrimps and jumbo prawn - recognize that prices has gone up and it's more expensive, especially when dining out ... called it rising standards of living. 

 

Going to take a wild guess on what's possibly ahead:  standby for more chicken salad burger, tuna burgers, egg salad rolls, and turkey specials for lunch and dinner.   NCL is going to need to sell and fill all those brand new ships in the pipeline to make their financials and keep the majority institutional investors happy.  Cheers for those feeling this is great, going upscale as promised by senior management ... 

 

Feel free to kowtow and take 3 bows if you feel this is helping to keep the cruise fares low and affordable ... just wait & watch to see what the chances ahead are for Haven.  

[iggyc]

Menu looks better than what I have in my kitchen at home for lunch. 

[njhorseman]

5 hours ago, havanadaydreaming said:

I imagine most all seafood on a cruise ship has been frozen. 

Almost all proteins...both meat and fish are frozen . It's required by public health regulations. Even if delivered to the ship fresh it has to be frozen when stored on board.

 

By the way, you'd be hard pressed to find a restaurant on land that actually serves fresh fish except if the restaurant is located near a fishing port.

[EllieinNJ]

My husband is going to be devastated.  His MDR lunch mainstays are the shrimp arabetta (sp) and the pesto shrimp dish.

[IrieBajan54]

13 minutes ago, iggyc said:

Menu looks better than what I have in my kitchen at home for lunch. 

Since that is your benchmark then I can see why you are really happy.

[Nola26]

3 hours ago, IrieBajan54 said:

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War on seafood is correct. On my recent cruises, I have seen fish dishes in the MDR for dinner that I never heard of. One I recall was bluefish. It sells for 74 cent a pound so with volume NCL might get it at 5 cents/lb.

Bluefish is one of my favorites, unfortunately I've never seen it offered on NCL. When I see it at Whole Foods I always buy it as it  isn't the most rare, but it isn't typically available.

 

Last year on NCL I had to complain in the buffet, everyday it was tilapia, give me a break and some variety.

[DZcreature]

1 hour ago, OHRiverRats said:

Lol, cruise food is definitely a downgrade for you then!  We don't have anything better than chains here in the sticks.  When cruise fare is no better than that, it's time to consider other options. 

 

I expect food on a cruise to be a step up from what I throw together in a hurry at home, and agree that NCL is pushing people to consider other options  I am looking forward to my next cruise at the end of March on Star to see for myself if we still find the food to be what we enjoy. We have always liked Freestyle dining, but do not have a problem with branching out, and cruise with other lines.

[Sea saw 56]

I saw something called "coal fish" on one of the Encore menus in the past few days.  Never heard of that, but maybe because I am from the midwest.  

This OP, however, never has anything positive to say about NCL on ANY thread, so he has picked a good issue to harp on this time.  Negativity is his normal contribution (just my observation).

[Gershep]

I'm glad they finally changed the lunch menu, hope it goes fleet wide.

[PortFees45]

40 minutes ago, Sea saw 56 said:

I saw something called "coal fish" on one of the Encore menus in the past few days.  Never heard of that, but maybe because I am from the midwest.  

This OP, however, never has anything positive to say about NCL on ANY thread, so he has picked a good issue to harp on this time.  Negativity is his normal contribution (just my observation).

Totally false. I say nice things about NCL all the time. But I guess I'm just being too much of a buzzkill for saying my mouth doesn't water over the prospect of...coalfish. 

[erdoran]

Seems like it slipped by that both wine recommendations are $17 - so an upcharge of $2.40/glass. 

 

 

I went back and looked at Prof. Cruise's Bliss mdr dinner menus and they "recommended" $$ wine, but i wonder if it was a bottle price?  

 

https://profcruise.com/ncl-menus/

 

Her wine menu shows East & West NCL proprietary blend for $9.95, so the $17 price displayed is a 70% price increase.....

Edited December 2, 2019 by erdoran

[CoralHunter]

3 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

Living in the NYC metro area, restaurants here have MUCH better food than mainstream cruise lines. I expect nothing more than what you get at chain restaurants (which we never eat at, well, except chipotle, kids like it).

I think anyone living in a decent sized city could say the same, especially if you have ethnic neighborhoods with lots of restaurants or have a set of chefs committed to farm to table, etc. I tried the noodles at Shanghai's and know I can get an Asian fix if I need it, but they do not compare to this noodle restaurant that's about a 10 minute walk from my house. Not touching LaCucina as we have a good Italian restaurant community.

 

[newmexicoNita]

16 hours ago, ray98 said:

Good.....none of those ever really got my interest for lunch.  Hopefully they will add some other options that I would consider.

My thoughts exactly or pretty much: For most the MDR is not the number one or even second place they think about for lunch: seafood is not the norm for many for lunch and third most of us, if we are still on the ship at lunch time (sea days the exception) are inclined to eat basic salads and sandwiches at lunch I would imagine very few people are going to miss cheap seafood at lunch. This is just my impression by watching what others do eat at lunch. At dinner time there are always, at least one seafood selection available