Changes to main dining room menu

[AKR2011]

I just hope they expand the menu if this is happening. I love having the set menu for half of the choices and a new menu each night for the other choices. On longer cruises I would definitely become bored with one set menu, especially since the new Free at Sea gives inside cabins less specialty  dining now.

Edited March 8, 2022 by AKR2011

[TominNC]

1 hour ago, Karaboudjan said:

 

But you don't eat the whole menu every night, do you?  I expect they will have enough selections so that you don't have to repeat at least during a 7-night cruise.

Will there be a week's worth of different items that I want to eat?

 

As for those in other posts who don't want to miss their favorite when at the specialty, it was easy enough to have the whole week's menus before the cruise.  That's how I picked my two specialty nights.  Then I had 5 different menus to choose different appetizers, soups and entrees the rest of the week.  People are assuming there will be plenty of options.  We don't know that yet.  It would seem that having a LOT of options every night would be less cost efficient than having a decent number per night.

[DrSea]

6 hours ago, clskinsfan said:

Hate to be "that guy". But I wont cruise with NCL again because of this change. Trying to force their customers to spend more money on food, something that has always been a staple of cruising, ends this line for me. I never complained about specialty restaurants when they started showing up on ships because I always had a choice to not use them and get an outstanding meal in the MDR anyways. And I have paid for and eaten in SR's a ton. But I had a choice. Taking that choice away from me changes everything. And there are far too many good cruise lines out there to put up with this. 

I'm right there with you. I will not sail with NCL beyond a 3 night cruise if they have a fixed menu. I would get bored and part of the fun is trying something new. If I want to eat the same old thing every day, I would just stay at home. Sharing food with my loved ones is a large part of the cruising experience with me. 

[DrSea]

I disagree with Harry Sommer's premise that: “Let’s face it, if you have a 14-day rotating menu, there aren’t 14 good ways to make beef and chicken...” There are literally unlimited  ways to cook beef and chicken. If Sommer's needs help, ask their multi-ethnic team to give some suggestions. 

 

Unless I am getting fillet mignon and/or prime rib nightly, it isn't going to be a great option for me. Even then, I would still get bored. 

 

Thankfully, there are other cruise lines and I am not loyal to any one particular lines. NCL will just be in the rotation fewer and fewer times.

[luckybecky]

9 hours ago, curlstravel said:

I like the idea of a set menu. Having the pasta choices will add to it. We go to our favorite restaurant at home quite often and like other restaurants we go to they have set menu’s.  I’m sure there will be alot of great options!

 

But do you go to that same restaurant every night? For 11 nights straight? That is the length of our scheduled Prima cruise. We have a 4 night specialty dining package included on our very expensive cruise. That means 7 nights eating the same menu every night. 

 

I guess it depends on how extensive the set menu is. If it is a typical cruise ship menu then that is a deal breaker for us. By typical menu, I mean what we have experienced: usually one beef, one chicken, one seafood, one vegetarian, one pasta. For apps, often the menu is 2 soups, 2 salads (one of which is usually caesar), and a couple of other choices. 

 

If that is the kind of menu they are talking about, then I'm out. We do specialty dining for special occasion nights. Otherwise, we do the MDR and enjoy having different choices every night. I don't want to have to choose from the same menu night after night. A "pasta bar" does not change the calculus for me. So I can choose red sauce, or alfredo, and I can put it on linguini, or tortellini, etc. it's still pasta. Don't tell me you are giving me 24 options. It is still pasta for supper.

 

I think this is a way for NCL to push people into spending more $$ for specialty restaurants.  I don't want to support that. One of the reasons I cruise is the "all inclusive" experience. Including dining at no extra charge. 

[luckybecky]

8 hours ago, kayjaypea42 said:

I think as long as they continue to offer a specialty dining credit as part of their free at sea promotion, most people will find there's enough variety included (use quotes around the word included if you want).  Go to the buffet, go to the Local, go to the MDR, go to the food cart area, etc.  I think I like the idea of the MDR being fixed nightly.  It means that I won't be pressured to try multiple entrees because it's a "Now or never" situation.  

 

Ok, so there is ZERO pressure to try multiple entrees.

[luckybecky]

6 hours ago, Karaboudjan said:

 

But you don't eat the whole menu every night, do you?  I expect they will have enough selections so that you don't have to repeat at least during a 7-night cruise.

 

Except for those who don't eat meat, or don't eat seafood, or have food allergies, or just a preference or aversion such as "no mushrooms" for example. Not necessarily picky eaters, but someone who just has a particular preference, or allergy. If it is a common item, then the menu can become very limited very quickly.

[KeithJenner]

As soon as I read this I knew that it would upset a lot of people.

 

It depends on a few things. For us, it is great news. We rarely use the MDR as we like to have a good idea of where we are eating before the cruise, so hardly ever plan the MDR as we won’t know the particular menu on that day. We tend to just leave. couple of days as maybes and almost always end up going elsewhere (o’Sheehans, buffet, Asian etc).

 

If we know the menu that is offered at each MDR then we will consider them when we are deciding on our specialities and can even see reserving them for a specific night. A massive improvement for us, which could result in us saving on speciality restaurants.

 

The people who will lose out most are those who try to recreate the traditional cruising routine on NCL (theatre for early or late show with a table reserved at one of the MDRs to tie in with this. Often in this situation people request the same server/table. I can see why this would be a deal breaker for them.

 

As for those in the middle (most people), it still depends on a few things. How extensive are the menus and how different the two MDRs are is a big factor. If the menus are different and extensive enough that you could eat at each twice then it is probably not too bad. Add in a free at sea meal or two and most people will probably be ok, but if you will now only get one or two meals in the MDRs then I can see why people will feel they are being pressured into paying for the specialities.

 

This concept will probably work well on the newer ships where there are more eating places, like the Prima. It will be much more of a struggle on the older ships where options are much more limited.

 

Im interested in seeing some menus.

[ontheweb]

Been a while since we have sailed NCL (we are booked for 2023 on the Prima). Question--are NCL menus made up of 2 parts, the part that used to change and another part that has always been available every day? That is how I remember cruise menus on the last ships we have sailed.

[KeithJenner]

17 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Been a while since we have sailed NCL (we are booked for 2023 on the Prima). Question--are NCL menus made up of 2 parts, the part that used to change and another part that has always been available every day? That is how I remember cruise menus on the last ships we have sailed.

Yes, that is currently how the MDR menus work.

 

From what we can tell they are getting rid of the part that changes every day and there will hopefully be a big increase in number of other dishes available, as that section has previously been fairly limited.

[Starflyr3]

16 hours ago, clskinsfan said:

Why would I want to eat the exact same menu for 7 nights on a cruise? Granted the MDR food on Escape is outstanding. But variety is the spice of cruising for us. We are foodies. And I dont like be ing forced to spend extra money to experience a different menu. To each their own though. 

you also have  O Sheehans (or whatever it's called now), the noodle bar, the buffet, etc.

[Karaboudjan]

8 hours ago, luckybecky said:

 

Except for those who don't eat meat, or don't eat seafood, or have food allergies, or just a preference or aversion such as "no mushrooms" for example. Not necessarily picky eaters, but someone who just has a particular preference, or allergy. If it is a common item, then the menu can become very limited very quickly.

Yes, but I was replying to someone who identified as a foodie.  To me part of being a foodie is getting over pickiness, preferences and aversions and trying different things.  

[Raleigh Traveler]

It has been five years since our last cruise which was a TA. We are booked this summer so will see any differences. One comment was that the two MDRs are always the same. In our experience, yes and no. The bulk of the menu was the same but there were always a couple items that were not. If going to a MDR for supper, we would often stop by and view the menus late afternoon to see if that would push us to one or the other. Even on a 14 day TA, with a few specialty sites thrown in, we felt that there were always plenty of options. Dining has always been a positive experience.

[Bonobochick]

10 hours ago, luckybecky said:

have food allergies

 

This was my first thought specifically cause I have shellfish allergy so I'm already limited with my dining options (e.g. Cagney's appetizers is a pain for me) and a fixed menu would further restrict that. I am not a fan of a fixed menu and I hope it goes down in flames. 

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, Raleigh Traveler said:

It has been five years since our last cruise which was a TA. We are booked this summer so will see any differences. One comment was that the two MDRs are always the same. In our experience, yes and no. The bulk of the menu was the same but there were always a couple items that were not. If going to a MDR for supper, we would often stop by and view the menus late afternoon to see if that would push us to one or the other. Even on a 14 day TA, with a few specialty sites thrown in, we felt that there were always plenty of options. Dining has always been a positive experience.

IIRC, on our last NCL cruise (which was quite a while ago), the 2 main dining rooms had sort of the same menu. They had the same entrees, but they were prepared in different ways.

[skeeter195]

My fear is if 2 or 3 times the amount of items are added to the menu it is going to look and feel more like a diner menu.  Plenty of good items but no real standouts.  The cooks just cannot put the care into making so many different dishes.  The MDR experience has gone downhill drastically over the years on NCL.  This move may just take all of the nice meal feel out of the dining experience.  BTW I love going to a diner when I want to maybe once every couple of months.  I would not want to go to one everyday for dinner though.  

[Jldevlin]

4 hours ago, Starflyr3 said:

you also have  O Sheehans (or whatever it's called now), the noodle bar, the buffet, etc.

Thats just what I was thinking ....and if you are platinum and have only one specialty dinner included with  your package there might be only one night you could go to the MDR.

[SNJCruisers]

23 hours ago, kayjaypea42 said:

There will be two MDRs. Could it be interepreted that each will have its own fixed menu, or do you think they'll use the same fixed menu in both MDRs?  (Also, I am referring to this article, too: https://www.ncl.com/newsroom/norwegian-cruise-line-serves-up-elevated-epicurean-experiences-with-new-prima-class/?fbclid=IwAR0wmPamiuTp6fBJB7-YRhlUiFuCcwbtMaWCpym9MthZaLWa4jzamk0DgTw)

I am inferring that the menu will be the same in both dining rooms but that the one dining room will have a more upscale feel to it and possibly shorts would be prohibited.  

[SNJCruisers]

23 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

I wish ncl would pay rcl a fee to buy that obviously super expensive top secret software that allows rcl to post mdr menus on an app. I won't even expect then to be loaded 3 months out like royal. Just day of would be fine

Carnival has the same software.  Spend 14 days on the Mardi Gras and had access to all of the menus on the ship, including specialty and the MDR on their app.

[SNJCruisers]

21 hours ago, TominNC said:

No thanks.  I don't eat regularly at the same restaurants at home because it's the same menu.  That's why we go to different places.  For variety.

 

I would not be happy looking at the same menu every day.   We go to the 2 specialties that came iwth our 7 day cruise, then enjoyed the variety at the main DRs the other 5 nights.

All you have to do is vote with your wallet and decide to cruise on one of NCL's competitors. If enough people do this then things will change back to how they were.

[SNJCruisers]

18 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

It just gets better, they reduced the Speciality Dining to just 1 night for an Oceanview on a 9 day cruise now I have the same old menu in the MDR for the other 8 days.

Good job I'm not a fussy eater 🙄

It's down to 1 night for up to an 11 night cruise, so those that are late booker's on the Halloween Prima cruise only get 1 night and are stuck with the MDR for 10 nights unless they decide to shell out more money for additional specialty nights.

[cybergremlin]

We could just wait till the menu is released/leaked before complaint 

[SNJCruisers]

19 hours ago, rnfulk said:

 You’ll still be able to make different choices each night even if the menu is fixed. 

All depends upon how large the menu is and how finicky your tastes are.  If the menu has 10 choices and you only like 5, you'll be doubling up one night on a 7 night cruise even after factoring in your 1 night of included specialty dining.  If the set menu has only 8 choices, then it makes things even more difficult.  Because of the made to order pasta option, I would not be surprised if the set menu was capped at 8 options.

[Oxo]

Why don't we all wait until the new menu comes out? 

Typical reaction to any change. 

Everyone is all flustered. 

When it comes out. Then we can voice valid exceptions.

Remember we all have choices. 

NCL will not change their mind based on these comments.

 

[rnfulk]

1 hour ago, SNJCruisers said:

All depends upon how large the menu is and how finicky your tastes are.  If the menu has 10 choices and you only like 5, you'll be doubling up one night on a 7 night cruise even after factoring in your 1 night of included specialty dining.  If the set menu has only 8 choices, then it makes things even more difficult.  Because of the made to order pasta option, I would not be surprised if the set menu was capped at 8 options.

You might be right, but at this point it is all speculation and it is exhausting (for both the readers and all of the chicken littles) to deal with negativity that may be completely unnecessary. 

Just relax until all of the complimentary  venues and menus are announced.

Those who have food restrictions can contact NCL in advance of their cruise to discuss possible accommodations.