How’s the MDR Food on the Getaway?

[Cruzinforpeace***]

Any recent Getaway cruisers out there?  We just disembarked the Celebrity Summit and the food was not too great.  Looking at booking a January Caribbean cruise (balcony category) on the Getaway but feeling a bit sheepish about the food after our most recent X cruise.  We’ve cruised NCL in the past but it’s been a while and the last time was in a suite so it was different food all together and also on smaller ships (Dawn and Gem).  I remember the food being fairly plain when we went “steerage” about 15 years ago.  I think we have a few speciality dining nights in  one of the packages being offered but we tend to stick to the MDR and buffet to keep it simple most nights.  I remember enjoying NCL in the past and feeling very relaxed.  Decisions, decisions…

[FLAHAM]

MDR items tend to vary greatly, from unacceptable to quite good.  I would say most are in the reasonable to good range.

[Sand and Seas]

We also enjoy two other complimentary venues on Getaway.   O'Sheehan's Bar& Grill is open close to 24 hours.  Also, absolutely LOVE Shanghai Noodle Bar.  You have to get in line when it opens, but it's worth it😋

[amygutman]

Cruised on the Getaway in April and can vouch that the buffet was wonderful - especially the Indian offerings. Kiddo thought the pizza was better than MSC, and gave two thumbs up for the fries (considering how many plates he ate of them, I think he can give an honest review). 

Never ate in the MDR though, but hope that helps. 

Warmest Amy

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, Cruzinforpeace*** said:

Any recent Getaway cruisers out there?  We just disembarked the Celebrity Summit and the food was not too great.  Looking at booking a January Caribbean cruise (balcony category) on the Getaway but feeling a bit sheepish about the food after our most recent X cruise.  We’ve cruised NCL in the past but it’s been a while and the last time was in a suite so it was different food all together and also on smaller ships (Dawn and Gem).  I remember the food being fairly plain when we went “steerage” about 15 years ago.  I think we have a few speciality dining nights in  one of the packages being offered but we tend to stick to the MDR and buffet to keep it simple most nights.  I remember enjoying NCL in the past and feeling very relaxed.  Decisions, decisions…

Here’s some recent menus from the Getaway’s cousin, the Escape. NCL is supposed to have similar menus across the fleet. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

[omahabob]

We had almost every meal in the buffet on the Getaway in May. We were quite happy with it. The food wasn't as warm as we would have liked sometimes, but that seems to be typical of buffets. The only other minor issue I might nitpick was the themed meals. I have pre-cancerous Barrett's Syndrome, and don't tolerate spicy food well. Some of the menu, like the Asian food, is spicy by default. So when they had Mexican themed meals, there was almost nothing to eat that wasn't spicy. Even on non-Mexican themed meals, you can't get rice that isn't heavily spiced (I love rice).

 

The two MDRs had the exact same meu the entire cruise, and none of it really appealed to us, so we never went there.

 

We highly recommend Cagney's but it's a specialty restaurant. We weren't interested in any of the other specialty restaurants.

 

Although the menu is pretty limited, we loved the food in O'Sheehan's. They're also open almost 24 hours a day.

[fojo4404]

For what it's worth,

The bride and I were on the NCL Dawn this past June/July and the menus were close to, if not exactly, the same as posted above by Bird travels. This was our 1st NCL cruise and I would rate the MDR meals as officially "Good". Not bad and not outstanding. We're gonna give them another go as we are booked on the Getaway in Oct of next year.

BTW, if you haven't already, do the Ruben sandwich at O'Sheehan's. It's the best. 

 

Forest

[AstoriaPreppy]

9 hours ago, Cruzinforpeace*** said:

Any recent Getaway cruisers out there?  We just disembarked the Celebrity Summit and the food was not too great.  Looking at booking a January Caribbean cruise (balcony category) on the Getaway but feeling a bit sheepish about the food after our most recent X cruise.  We’ve cruised NCL in the past but it’s been a while and the last time was in a suite so it was different food all together and also on smaller ships (Dawn and Gem).  I remember the food being fairly plain when we went “steerage” about 15 years ago.  I think we have a few speciality dining nights in  one of the packages being offered but we tend to stick to the MDR and buffet to keep it simple most nights.  I remember enjoying NCL in the past and feeling very relaxed.  Decisions, decisions…

 

As a general rule, NCL’s MDR are not going to compare favorably to Celebrity MDRs.

 

I’ve always described NCL MDRs as airport Holiday Inn convention lunch, and Celebrity as like an upscale Westin banquet. To get comparable food to a Celebrity MDR you’re going to likely need to eat in a specialty restaurant on NCL 

 

The quality of ingredients on NCL tends to be lower (cheaper proteins), and the preparations tend to be less creative… you won’t be getting lots of flavors or spices in an NCL MDR. It’s much more direct (and their passengers tend to like). 

[Peachypooh]

The food in the main dining rooms on the Getaway was decent. If eating in taste or savor ask for a table away from the entrance. The noise from the bar between the restaurants can be overwhelming.

[jb12]

How often does NCL change menu in MDR?

[omahabob]

On our Getaway cruise, never.