What do you think of the new Prima class dinner menu?

[BermudaBound2014]

I give ncl credit for the innovation. I would likely not have an issue with the menu on a 7 day cruise but might be hesitant to book longer cruises. 

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, PATRLR said:

Good points but the key is that the SDP is free.  I  personally am not counting on that remaining the case forever.

 

If the Prima menu would only do this, put a complimentary special or two on the menu each night, it would make it so much better, IMO.  Just like a land based restaurant who has a fixed menu week after week, they typically add a couple "specials" each night.

That is a good idea. But, I bet if they did it, they would make it an extra charge item.

[PATRLR]

3 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

That is a good idea. But, I bet if they did it, they would make it an extra charge item.

Well, they do have a "special" item on the menu, it's an item from one of the Specialty Retaurants, and there is an upcharge.  What I don't know is how frequently that changes. 

[Karaboudjan]

35 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

Well, they do have a "special" item on the menu, it's an item from one of the Specialty Retaurants, and there is an upcharge.  What I don't know is how frequently that changes. 

 

As I recall one of the announcements said it changes nightly.  

[weltek]

I have mixed feelings. I like the lunch menu. Plenty to keep me happy for the ~2 times I eat lunch in the MDR during a cruise. For dinner, meh. For me, it's an okay menu that will be satisfied with if it's better than Applebee's/Olive Garden quality. If it's mediocre quality and I had to eat there more than 3 nights, I'd be bored unless there were some awesome specials. When I have to get down to my fourth choice of entree, I'm probably not excited about eating it. 

 

[The Traveling Man]

14 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

For folks that want a completely different menu every night on a 10+ day cruise, I'd love to see what your typical at home meal plan looks like. Guess we're just boring people who have no issue with repeating a burger, pasta, or protein of your choice dish within a 2 week period.

I'm not among those asking for a completely different menu each night, but a little variety is certainly welcome.  Half a dozen or so "old favorites" that stay on the menu every night, plus a handful of new items which pop up once or twice per cruise seems right to me.  When not traveling we usually go out to dinner two or three times per month, about half the time to a new restaurant we've never tried before.  When dining at home, we have two or three favorite foods that we repeat during a two week period, say twice each for fish, pork loin, and chicken.  When you count the one or two nights out, that leaves about a half-dozen evenings when we have something for dinner that we haven't eaten in more than a fortnight.  That routine works for us, and it's what we would like to experience when on board a ship.

[The Traveling Man]

5 hours ago, PATRLR said:

Good points but the key is that the SDP is free.  I  personally am not counting on that remaining the case forever.

It isn't actually free with the Free at Sea promotion.  You still have to pay a gratuity (currently 20%) on the equivalent value of the package.  Also, the cruise fares which include the FAS promotions are more expensive than those which do not.  The cost difference between "bare bones" and FAS rates varies somewhat from one cruise to another.  It usually means that the dining and beverage packages are available at relatively bargain prices, but there is still a cost.

[The Traveling Man]

2 hours ago, PATRLR said:

Well, they do have a "special" item on the menu, it's an item from one of the Specialty Retaurants, and there is an upcharge.  What I don't know is how frequently that changes. 

When we were on the Prima last week the special changed each night.  The surcharge usually was in the range of $25.

[curlstravel]

The reason I like the same menu every night is because some nights they  have several dishes that I would like to choose but can only have one.  The next night when you go back the ones you wanted are gone. We also go to specialty restaurants on several nights so we won’t be in the main dining room that often.

 

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[onionsband]

This is total B.S.!  Another way to steer customers to spend more money attending specialty restaurants.  The food is NOT going to improve in quality.  NCL has been turning out ALL these dishes for YEARS!  Their past dishes have been going on a long while, not just on a first-time basis, so if the narrow them down, the quality or lack of quality will remain the same. 

 

This new policy might be ok for a 4-day cruise, maybe even a 7-day.  What about a two-week cruise or longer, especially for those who don't want to spend extra money on specialty dining?  I'd wind up ordering the same dish three times.  And - pasta dishes?!  They're the CHEAPEST darn things to make.  Who would want a cheap dish like pasta at a cruise?  Children?  Then, how about mac & cheese for a main dish? 

 

You folks who think this is great are just being conned.  Yet another example of cruise lines trying to nickel and dime you to death.  More and more things cost extra now.  Shame on you, NCL!!

[cruiseny4life]

3 minutes ago, onionsband said:

  Then, how about mac & cheese for a main dish? 

Mmmmmm macaroni and cheese. This child will take it! And more! Just please make sure it's creamy and baked...with Cheddar. None of that fu-fu fancy stuff. I might accept bacon, but no other toppers, please.

[ricksurf]

We were on the Prima for 22 days and loved the new menu in the MDR.  Considering that you are mixing the choices on that menu with your other choices when visiting the other restaurants, then we never tired of that menu.  There are so many new items on the menu; plus they offer a number of side items which you can add to your main course similar to Cagney's.  We found some favorites which we wanted to repeat, then wanted to try some new items which looked so good. The quality and the prep of the selections have definitely been increased and was appreciated.

[laudergayle]

The menu does look limited for longer cruises if you’re going down the list in the order presented. To make this new menu work more effectively you will probably need to think outside the box of traditional dining — more freestyle.

 

Instead of ordering a starter, then soup/salad then entree, you can get creative…something like this:  I’d like to start with the California roll and the cobia crudo.  For my entree, please bring me a dinner size portion of the Asian spare ribs with a side of jasmine rice and steamed vegetables. Or another meal might be, I would like to start with sweet potato fries with a side of ranch.  For my entree please bring me the caeser salad and meatballs with marinara.  Please be sure the salad and meatballs are delivered together as an entree.  

 

Several of the lunch items would work well on the Dinner menu.  For instance, all of the soups and starters, as well as the the entree salads.  Seems as though it would be easy to add these to the dinner menu and possibly be more cost-effective in the long run.
 

I do believe they need to expand the dessert menu.  Possibly just bringing a tray of todays desserts from which to choose…could help eliminate waste.  Maybe one night the OMG butterscotch cheesecake from Cagneys (yum) would make it to the tray.

 
We sail Prima to Bermuda in May for 7 days, and I’ll have no problem finding enough food to enjoy onboard.  My scale will confirm it upon returning home…lol.

 

 

 

[weltek]

Can anyone provide some examples of the daily dinner specials? I'm having a hard time finding that info from recent Prima sailings.

[BirdTravels]

54 minutes ago, onionsband said:

This is total B.S.!  Another way to steer customers to spend more money attending specialty restaurants.  The food is NOT going to improve in quality.  NCL has been turning out ALL these dishes for YEARS!  Their past dishes have been going on a long while, not just on a first-time basis, so if the narrow them down, the quality or lack of quality will remain the same. 

 

This new policy might be ok for a 4-day cruise, maybe even a 7-day.  What about a two-week cruise or longer, especially for those who don't want to spend extra money on specialty dining?  I'd wind up ordering the same dish three times.  And - pasta dishes?!  They're the CHEAPEST darn things to make.  Who would want a cheap dish like pasta at a cruise?  Children?  Then, how about mac & cheese for a main dish? 

 

You folks who think this is great are just being conned.  Yet another example of cruise lines trying to nickel and dime you to death.  More and more things cost extra now.  Shame on you, NCL!!

Not really. Have you tried the new menu???? We have!

 

It is a much larger menu offering a wider range of choices. And the food was excellent. And you have the option of the Food Hall for a change of pace. More excellent food. 

Edited November 7, 2022 by BirdTravels

[stefmaia]

On 8/27/2022 at 11:20 PM, Zippeedee said:

I prefer the specialty restaurants and the Local or the buffet when I need a break from big meals.  I haven’t been in an MDR since 2006, but if the quality is improved, this menu may make me try it. With less options they should be able to focus more on quality ingredients and consistency in preparation. Less waste should also allow budget for better quality food.

After having worked in the restaurant business for many years I can attest to this.A fixed menu means each sous becomes an expert in their assigned dish and it comes out better than something that is made rarely.

[Oxo]

My personal experience on the Prima Hudson's MDR dinner Oct 15 - 27.

NY Strip medium rare -  the waiter and I could NOT cut the steak.

Pork Chops - 2 thin cut over cooked dried out.

Veal - tough.

I know, I could ask for something else.

Had perks and used the Speciality Restaurants. Excellent¡

[InsertWittyUserNameHere]

I am curious to see how this works out for people but hope it doesn’t spread to the rest of fleet.  I’m a strict vegetarian (no fish) and while the veggie options all sound very tasty, there are only three of them. And one appetizer that’s also available at lunch plus two salads one of which is just a garden salad. There is a pasta option but since all the add ones are meat that’s just noodles with sauce.  That’s not a lot of variety for the week. And many of the specialty restaurants also have very limited vegetarian options which usually aren’t worth the upcharge.  We’re comparing ships/itineraries for an upcoming cruise and I’m voting against Prima for this reason.

[PTC DAWG]

27 minutes ago, InsertWittyUserNameHere said:

I am curious to see how this works out for people but hope it doesn’t spread to the rest of fleet.  I’m a strict vegetarian (no fish) and while the veggie options all sound very tasty, there are only three of them. And one appetizer that’s also available at lunch plus two salads one of which is just a garden salad. There is a pasta option but since all the add ones are meat that’s just noodles with sauce.  That’s not a lot of variety for the week. And many of the specialty restaurants also have very limited vegetarian options which usually aren’t worth the upcharge.  We’re comparing ships/itineraries for an upcoming cruise and I’m voting against Prima for this reason.

I just don’t see how they make everyone happy, especially those with restrictions such as you..I see a good many vegetarian options..good luck. 

Edited November 7, 2022 by PTC DAWG

[InsertWittyUserNameHere]

I totally understand that my dietary choices are just that, a choice. With the current menus on the rest of the fleet there is 1-2 entrées a night that are vegetarian, plus a “classic favorite” and at least one, usually several appetizers. So I have the option to eat something different in the main dining room every night. With Prima I don’t have that option, simple as that. Like I said, if it works out well for other people then great!  Just doesn’t work out well for me and I will choose my ships accordingly.

[rxlowry]

I’m excited to try it!! I would rather have an unchanging menu of solid dishes than the hit or miss nights. 

[Sailing12Away]

11 hours ago, onionsband said:

This new policy might be ok for a 4-day cruise, maybe even a 7-day.  What about a two-week cruise or longer, especially for those who don't want to spend extra money on specialty dining?  I'd wind up ordering the same dish three times.  And - pasta dishes?!  They're the CHEAPEST darn things to make.  Who would want a cheap dish like pasta at a cruise?  Children?  Then, how about mac & cheese for a main dish? 

 

You folks who think this is great are just being conned.  Yet another example of cruise lines trying to nickel and dime you to death.  More and more things cost extra now.  Shame on you, NCL!!

Way to throw daggers and pass judgement on those of us with low brow tastes who enjoy the comforts of mac & cheese (which isn't even offered, I'd be happy if it were). If you're going on a cruise for expensive meals - you're looking at the wrong cruise line forum. Stop acting like they're serving you blue box Kraft made with margarine. 

 

7 hours ago, InsertWittyUserNameHere said:

I totally understand that my dietary choices are just that, a choice. With the current menus on the rest of the fleet there is 1-2 entrées a night that are vegetarian, plus a “classic favorite” and at least one, usually several appetizers. So I have the option to eat something different in the main dining room every night. With Prima I don’t have that option, simple as that. Like I said, if it works out well for other people then great!  Just doesn’t work out well for me and I will choose my ships accordingly.

Not sure how you can say you don't have options for vegetarian stuff when you can order any of the meals they serve without the meat....

[BirdTravels]

11 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Not really. Have you tried the new menu???? We have!

 

It is a much larger menu offering a wider range of choices. And the food was excellent. And you have the option of the Food Hall for a change of pace. More excellent food. 

 

Soups were flavorful. Sushi was repeated on several nights. Short Rib app was great. Crab Cake app was tasty (not too much filler). Chops were cooked nicely, moist. The wellington was a lovely medium rare. 

[curlstravel]

We had a great experience In Hudson.  The service was better than any service we’ve ever had in a free restaurant.  All of our food was really good.  The only thing I did not like was the skirt steak it was not as tender as I would have liked. Everything else was great!!! If you didn’t like anything or want something different they were happy to get you whatever you wanted. 
The choices in The food hall were amazing especially at dinner. You can also go to the local or the Buffet.  I thought there were plenty of good choices for dinner as well as breakfast and lunch. We were extremely pleased with all of the meal choices.

Edited November 15, 2022 by curlstravel

[laudergayle]

13 minutes ago, curlstravel said:

We had a great experience

Recognize you were reviewing food on Prima.  But a few other questions.  Where/when did you sail?  Do you know occupancy of your cruise?  How did you like your onboard experience from an entertainment perspective?  Did you do Price Is Right?  Games in the atrium?  Was the comedy available in main theater vs Improve.  Were you in Haven.  TIA