With Prima launch, MDR menu stays the same...

[pokerguy90]

Boy Mr. Del Rio loves to test us.  So, When the Prima launches they will be testing a "CONCEPT" in the PRIMA MDR's the Menu selections will NOT change during the voyage. However, every night will feature a special item from one of the fee based restaurant menus. It is the hope of UPPER MANAGAMNENT,  you will get so board of the same offering night after night, you will just go to an upcharge restaurant instead. 

 

Interesting... 

[cruiseny4life]

9 minutes ago, pokerguy90 said:

It is the hope of UPPER MANAGAMNENT,  you will get so board of the same offering night after night, you will just go to an upcharge restaurant instead. 

I cruise in the Haven and and enjoy a small menu that never changes. This allows those preparing the food to know exactly how to prepare it so the food is always phenomenal. Given that staffing issues will likely continue for the very (long) foreseeable future, this change will likely ensure MDR food doesn't become like the buffet (nearly inedible), though I will be looking forward to trying the buffet out again next month (no high expectations). 

 

Sure, variety may be the spice of life, but on a cruise ship I'll take quality over any kind of spice. Personally, I think it's a great idea to make all the MDR menus the same, and give all cruisers the option to a try a specialty restaurant meal without paying the extra fee. 

 

I suppose we'll see if this concept rolls out fleetwide in 2023/24. 

[coastcat]

It’s been discussed here before:

 

 

[casofilia]

We have a cruise on the Prima next year and will be interested to see how. and if, the idea works.   At present I am in two minds about it.

[G-DawgMN]

1 hour ago, pokerguy90 said:

Boy Mr. Del Rio loves to test us.  So, When the Prima launches they will be testing a "CONCEPT" in the PRIMA MDR's the Menu selections will NOT change during the voyage. However, every night will feature a special item from one of the fee based restaurant menus. It is the hope of UPPER MANAGAMNENT,  you will get so board of the same offering night after night, you will just go to an upcharge restaurant instead. 

 

Interesting... 

 

 It really depends on the number of items on the menu, but currently about half the menu is "classics" that are every day, and the other half the daily specials. I don't see this as much of a change, it's assumed the classic dishes will be expanded with just a cpl of special items every night.

 

 

[SeaShark]

If you pick 10 restaurants near your home and you eat at them repeatedly, how often you you get a completely different menu as opposed to a consistent menu with a one or more daily specials?

 

Is this really something new and dramatically different that we've not seen before?

[CruiseFanatic223]

Not really sure how I feel about it - on one hand it shouldn't be a big deal since about half the menu is the "Classic" menu that doesn't change anyways. On the other hand, I do sometimes enjoy trying something off of "today's" menu. Hopefully they expand the menu since it won't be changing.

 

 

40 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

If you pick 10 restaurants near your home and you eat at them repeatedly, how often you you get a completely different menu as opposed to a consistent menu with a one or more daily specials?

 

Is this really something new and dramatically different that we've not seen before?

I think the only difference between this new concept and what you've said is that most people wouldn't be going to the same restaurant every night for a week.
 

[SeaShark]

1 minute ago, CruiseFanatic223 said:

Not really sure how I feel about it - on one hand it shouldn't be a big deal since about half the menu is the "Classic" menu that doesn't change anyways. On the other hand, I do sometimes enjoy trying something off of "today's" menu. Hopefully they expand the menu since it won't be changing.

 

 

I think the only difference between this new concept and what you've said is that most people wouldn't be going to the same restaurant every night for a week.
 

 

There is, of course, a difference between "most" and "all" if I'm not mistaken. 

 

The point is, even if you did go every night, the menu at a restaurant typically doesn't change. Besides, you don't HAVE to go to the same restaurant every single night. You can MDR, you can buffet, you can specialty restaurant, or you can go to the Local/O'Sheehans.

 

Just how many people actually do eat in the exact same restaurant every night of the cruise?

[cruiseny4life]

2 hours ago, SeaShark said:

If you pick 10 restaurants near your home and you eat at them repeatedly, how often you you get a completely different menu as opposed to a consistent menu with a one or more daily specials?

 

Is this really something new and dramatically different that we've not seen before?

If you consider the history of MDR's, I believe one could make a point that this is "something new and dramatically different." I am sure I'm unaware of MDR's that do not rotate (and I'm sure you'll find it) their menus, however I feel pretty safe in saying that the typical, mainline cruise ships (I'm thinking NCL, MSC, Royal Caribbean, Carnival) have traditionally had a rotating cast of menus in their MDR's. Of course, I could be wrong.

 

As to your hypothetical question, of course if you pick ten restaurants they are bound to have a similar menu that I would enjoy, however I don't go to the same exact restaurant every evening.

1 hour ago, SeaShark said:

 

There is, of course, a difference between "most" and "all" if I'm not mistaken. 

 

The point is, even if you did go every night, the menu at a restaurant typically doesn't change. Besides, you don't HAVE to go to the same restaurant every single night. You can MDR, you can buffet, you can specialty restaurant, or you can go to the Local/O'Sheehans.

 

Just how many people actually do eat in the exact same restaurant every night of the cruise?

If it were up to me, I would only eat in the Haven Restaurant for dinner. It's possible I would venture out to other places, such as the MDR, for breakfast, but I'm definitely eating in only the Haven if given the choice. My husband does not believe in such silliness, so we do go to specialty dining (last cruise, 2x - August cruise, 5x - March cruise, thus far 2x). I'm currently trying to talk him out of the Free at Sea Plus so we only have the two in March. I'm not sure how successful I'll be, but here's to hoping!

[Kenlorz]

4 hours ago, pokerguy90 said:

Boy Mr. Del Rio loves to test us.  So, When the Prima launches they will be testing a "CONCEPT" in the PRIMA MDR's the Menu selections will NOT change during the voyage. However, every night will feature a special item from one of the fee based restaurant menus. It is the hope of UPPER MANAGAMNENT,  you will get so board of the same offering night after night, you will just go to an upcharge restaurant instead. 

 

Interesting... 

The concept will be rolled out across the entire fleet over the course of 2023. I’m super curious to see the Prima’s MDR menu next month. We sail on the Encore in March and since there’s a decent chance the MDR menu will have been updated to a static menu, seeing the menu will determine how many specialty restaurants we book that week. 

[ontheweb]

We have a Prima cruise booked for next summer, and this will be even more restrictive for us as we do not eat meat, only fish and vegetarian.

[coastcat]

Perhaps we can hold off on hating this change until we actually see a menu? The VIP inaugural is rapidly approaching and presumably we'll see the new MDR menu at that time if not before.

 

THEN we can bash the new menu.

Edited July 26, 2022 by coastcat

[weltek]

I'm not thrilled about this, but honestly with the dining package being included in most bookings and Latitudes benefits, it won't impact me very much. 

If I didn't have a dining package and was booking a sail away rate on a tight budget, I'd choose a different cruise line.

[kayjaypea42]

Even with the same menu day over day, NCL still has several complimentary options.  The Local is awesome, and supposedly the food court area in the back will have lots of free options as well.

[Sand and Seas]

We have already booked our dinners for our Prima October cruise.   We have two Plat meals plus four SDP for our 11 day cruise.  I'm not too worried about the unchanging MDR menus.  We should be able to find some good options to eat there two or three few nights.   

 

There are also several other interesting options to try onboard.    We aren't sure yet what the Food Hall will be like in the evening, but it will probably have some nice small plate options we will want to try.  I would guess there will be some special dishes that will have a charge.  I'm hoping it will be as enticing as a Food Republic menu.   May be a good use of OBC🤔   

[Jim The Lizard]

On 7/25/2022 at 4:55 PM, casofilia said:

We have a cruise on the Prima next year and will be interested to see how. and if, the idea works.   At present I am in two minds about it.

Keep an open mind!   And, I think in today's workforce and customer satisfaction needs, I think it's more important to see "how much we can do well versus how much we can do".   Supply chain, product shortages, employee shortages…..I’m more comfortable with a smaller well executed menu than lackluster food on a plate.  

[kitty-sail]

On 7/25/2022 at 8:36 PM, cruiseny4life said:

 

As to your hypothetical question, of course if you pick ten restaurants they are bound to have a similar menu that I would enjoy, however I don't go to the same exact restaurant every evening.

 

My friend recently sailed on Royal where they chose a fixed meal time.  Each night they were told to go to a different restaurant, rotating around and hence a different meal choice each night. If find this strange and she didn't like it either.

The Haven has a fixed menu which helps the staff to become proficient in that dish. I opt out of the Haven 2 nights for Cagney's and Bistro. Sommers is trying to bring the NCL line a little more upscale.

Edited July 27, 2022 by kitty-sail

[cruiseny4life]

1 minute ago, kitty-sail said:

My friend recently sailed on Royal where they chose a fixed meal time.  Each night they were told to go to a different restaurant, rotating around and hence a different meal choice each night. If find this strange and she didn't like it either.

Disney does this crap too...one reason (of many) I won't sail Disney...but I really don't want a fixed meal time., hence why I cruise with NCL. 🙂

[nferr]

On 7/26/2022 at 4:43 PM, weltek said:

I'm not thrilled about this, but honestly with the dining package being included in most bookings and Latitudes benefits, it won't impact me very much. 

If I didn't have a dining package and was booking a sail away rate on a tight budget, I'd choose a different cruise line.

 

The dining package has been reduced substantially. Unless you're looking to add nights at extra cost. 

[nferr]

1 hour ago, kitty-sail said:

My friend recently sailed on Royal where they chose a fixed meal time.  Each night they were told to go to a different restaurant, rotating around and hence a different meal choice each night. If find this strange and she didn't like it either.

The Haven has a fixed menu which helps the staff to become proficient in that dish. I opt out of the Haven 2 nights for Cagney's and Bistro. Sommers is trying to bring the NCL line a little more upscale.

 I don't think so. That was a few years ago. I recently cruised RCCL.  All the MDR's on the ship had the same menu. And I think it's only the Quantum class ships that had the multiple dining rooms. And that's what I was on and the menus were the same.

[DrSea]

On 7/25/2022 at 1:23 PM, cruiseny4life said:

I cruise in the Haven and and enjoy a small menu that never changes. This allows those preparing the food to know exactly how to prepare it so the food is always phenomenal. Given that staffing issues will likely continue for the very (long) foreseeable future, this change will likely ensure MDR food doesn't become like the buffet (nearly inedible), though I will be looking forward to trying the buffet out again next month (no high expectations). 

 

Sure, variety may be the spice of life, but on a cruise ship I'll take quality over any kind of spice. Personally, I think it's a great idea to make all the MDR menus the same, and give all cruisers the option to a try a specialty restaurant meal without paying the extra fee. 

 

I suppose we'll see if this concept rolls out fleetwide in 2023/24. 

I have cruised the Haven, and the same menu gets boring for me. It's good food. But I like having different food nightly, esp when I am not cooking. I can meal prep, eat healthy, and eat the same thing nightly when I am on land. 

[cruiseny4life]

11 hours ago, DrSea said:

I have cruised the Haven, and the same menu gets boring for me. It's good food. But I like having different food nightly, esp when I am not cooking. I can meal prep, eat healthy, and eat the same thing nightly when I am on land. 

I was definitely eating healthier foods in the Haven than I do in my normal life. Less cheese (mmmm), less carbs (mmmm), more veggies (my husband hates them), more fish and lobster than red meat (because my husband also hates all seafood, but shrimp). And definitely no pasta on the ship, because you can get that anywhere - mmmm pasta carbs!

 

If you've seen a few of my other posts, you'll know I'm one of those fat Americans that ensure your job security doc! Happy sailing! 

[PTC DAWG]

A bigger menu every night, with an added special changed nightly...as opposed to a smaller changing, albeit slightly, every night.  Give me option 1 most every time.  

[PTC DAWG]

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

I was definitely eating healthier foods in the Haven than I do in my normal life. Less cheese (mmmm), less carbs (mmmm), more veggies (my husband hates them), more fish and lobster than red meat (because my husband also hates all seafood, but shrimp). And definitely no pasta on the ship, because you can get that anywhere - mmmm pasta carbs!

 

If you've seen a few of my other posts, you'll know I'm one of those fat Americans that ensure your job security doc! Happy sailing! 

Your husband sounds like a real peach to dine with.  🙂

[cruiseny4life]

3 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

Your husband sounds like a real peach to dine with.  🙂

Hahahaha...definitely not showing him this comment! 

 

Yea - we don't exactly go to any restaurants that are more experimental. He really wanted to head out to 11 Madison Park on one of our trips to the city as he had heard of it from a tea farmer in Hawaii. I showed him a YouTube video of the food (before they went vegan) and he was over 11 Madison Park! 

 

Texas Roadhouse and Olive Garden...here we come lol. Bringing it back to cruising, I actually got him to reserve Le Bistro for our August cruise, because he has the Haven Restaurant as backup if he doesn't find anything on their menu (including the filet Le Bistro serves). I'm so glad I'm not as picky as he!