Major cuts to MDR menus

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, laudergayle said:

But…the cuts are noticeable.

Fortunately, a Guinness is still a Guinness, and they were at almost every bar on the 16 day itinerary I disembarked last week. 😎  A few ran out temporarily, but I may have had something to do with that....  No worries, I just ordered a Blue Moon.🐀

[KeithJenner]

4 hours ago, david_sobe said:

The change I see is the crab and seafood appetizers are gone.  Seafood is always the first thing to get cut since its more expensive than salads or soup.  I remember when Cagney's had crab legs and jumbo shrimp.  I am not a huge seafood eater so it does not bother me.

 

I think its fair to say that lobster is out of the question 😲

(sorry seafood junkies, I couldn't resist)

The odd thing is that the Cagney appetisers are 100% seafood. My wife for one would love them to make some savings by cutting back on the seafood there.

[Luffe]

2 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

The odd thing is that the Cagney appetisers are 100% seafood. My wife for one would love them to make some savings by cutting back on the seafood there.

And as seafood allergic that annoys me a lot. There should be a non seafood variant in the appetisers in all restaurants -that  would cover some of the allergies and preferences. 

[ready2cruzagain]

OP I agree! We had these menus on the Epic in January and was very disappointed. Also, notice the fish choices, cheap fish (Hoki, Bluefish,etc). A lot of pork also. We have 22 days booked on NCL in December then going back to MSC. Love their menus.

[schmoopie17]

12 hours ago, Jagger11379 said:

Just back from a Pride of America Hawaii cruise.

I was watching the MDR menus for a baked Alaska. None

Did they have Baked Hawaii?

[CruiseMH]

12 hours ago, david_sobe said:

The change I see is the crab and seafood appetizers are gone.  Seafood is always the first thing to get cut since its more expensive than salads or soup.

 

I can understand that they try to cut costs but there is no need to reduce the variety. If seafood is too expensive you can still create cheaper options and so still offer 10-11 different appetizers instead of only 7.

With the same ingredients you can create quite a lot of variety without having to use expensive ingredients.

 

[david_sobe]

2 hours ago, CruiseMH said:

 

I can understand that they try to cut costs but there is no need to reduce the variety. If seafood is too expensive you can still create cheaper options and so still offer 10-11 different appetizers instead of only 7.

With the same ingredients you can create quite a lot of variety without having to use expensive ingredients.

 

I dont think anyone would disagree with you.  Seafood has been cut like crazy over the years. My last NCL cruise the shrimp appetizer was gone for lunch on the Haven menu.  It was replaced by a frozen, deep friend medley of some seafood.  Not the same on any scale but it is what it is.  The shrimp was on the dinner menu as an appetizer but they were a quarter the size they used to be.  Its happening everywhere. I just got home from the grocery store and had a spontaneous craving for BBQ Fritos until I saw the small bag was over $6.00.  We are all paying more for less.

[SeaShark]

17 hours ago, relmondcrsise said:

Look at the appetizer section.  It's been cut a LOT.  Many of my old favorites are gone.

 

?? How can I look at a menu and know that your "old favorites are gone"?

 

Besides, you put 2000+ people on a ship and every menu item is bound to be somebody's favorite.

[Cruising Lynne]

22 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

I dont think anyone would disagree with you.  Seafood has been cut like crazy over the years. My last NCL cruise the shrimp appetizer was gone for lunch on the Haven menu.  It was replaced by a frozen, deep friend medley of some seafood.  Not the same on any scale but it is what it is.  The shrimp was on the dinner menu as an appetizer but they were a quarter the size they used to be.  Its happening everywhere. I just got home from the grocery store and had a spontaneous craving for BBQ Fritos until I saw the small bag was over $6.00.  We are all paying more for less.

My husband does most of the grocery shopping. I was shocked when he told me how much a bag of chips costs. It is good he was shopping because I am too cheap to pay that for chips, and I would miss having some with my sandwiches.

 

There are definitely less appetizer choices, but it is in line with the number of choices we had on our HAL cruise. I love seafood and have been disappointed in the cut backs. My favorite appetizer at Le Bistro is gone. I understand making changes to keep things interesting, but they should replace items with something else.

 

NCL needs to have something to set them apart from other lines if they want people to keep coming back. Another issue I have is entertainment. I told my husband that if NCL keeps cutting back on shows, we may as well cruise with HAL. So far NCL is still my preferred line, but this could change. We shall see after my next NCL cruise in September. By then I will have tried HAL, MSC, and Princess within a year. 

[MohrPfun]

If my math is correct, that’s close to a 40% cut in choices.  I would call that significant.

[Cruising Lynne]

6 minutes ago, SeaShark said:

 

?? How can I look at a menu and know that your "old favorites are gone"?

 

Besides, you put 2000+ people on a ship and every menu item is bound to be somebody's favorite.

So true. 

[itsnotjustme]

2 hours ago, CruiseMH said:

I can understand that they try to cut costs but there is no need to reduce the variety. If seafood is too expensive you can still create cheaper options and so still offer 10-11 different appetizers instead of only 7.

The ingredients are only part of the cost.  It is also cheaper in staff hours to prepare 300 each of 8 appetizers than to prepare 200 each of 12 appetizers.

 

On the whole, I am seeing tha changes as small scale and not worthy of the "major cuts" headline.

[CruiseMH]

8 minutes ago, itsnotjustme said:

The ingredients are only part of the cost.  It is also cheaper in staff hours to prepare 300 each of 8 appetizers than to prepare 200 each of 12 appetizers.

 

 

Absolutely correct but it would only make sense if they also reduce the amount of kitchen crew members.

 

Edited May 18 by CruiseMH

[itsnotjustme]

1 minute ago, CruiseMH said:

Absolutely correct but it would only make sense if they also reduce the amount of kitchen crew members.

Agree 100%.  And I suspect they do.  Just like they reduced crew members by cutting housekeeping service.

 

And each crew member is not just one less person on the pay role, but one less to feed, lodge, provide medical care, supervise, etc. 

[catsarealiens]

I usually eat at the buffet a few times for lunch.  The pizza did not seem quite as good as remember from past sailings (I know........ minor grip) but maybe it is just faulty memory on my part.  Definitely fewer pizza choices (it seemed it was cheese, pepperoni, and a veggie selection).  Not the variety of the past .  The carving station seemed to lack the variety it has had in the past.  On a positive note the Indian section was still excellent.

 

On my recent Alaska voyage (Late April/Early May on the Bliss) there were significantly more appetizer selection then what the current Encore menu is showing.

The change that disappointed my the most was a lack of prime rib in the MDR during the voyage.  It is also missing from recent menu postings from the Encore.  The was one of the MDR items I looked forward to.  I suspect prime rib in the MDR has gone the way of lobster tails.

[hallux]

19 hours ago, Ellis1138 said:

The classic salmon turned into flounder.

Are you talking about that breaded flounder filet?  That's been on the classics menu since 2019 when I started sailing NCL (so it could be longer).

[Ellis1138]

13 minutes ago, hallux said:

Are you talking about that breaded flounder filet?  That's been on the classics menu since 2019 when I started sailing NCL (so it could be longer).

 

Yeah that one. And yeah, it's been on the menu for several years now. I first sailed NCL in 2003. 

 

Salmon is pretty much the only scale fish I will eat. So changing it to flounder has a big impact for me. I also don't eat port and I'm not wild about chicken. I have an allergy to shrimp and as of 3 years ago, had to quit as much carbs as possible. So no pasta or rice or potatoes for me. 

 

But there's always something, somewhere on the ship, for me to eat.

[KarlK]

I do notice less using the MDR. We haven't in our last 2-3 cruises. Just takes too long and being on vacation, I don't bring slacks or longpants for any formal nights. I noticed more and more in the buffet on each cruise I do.

 

[hallux]

38 minutes ago, Ellis1138 said:

So changing it to flounder has a big impact for me

My point is that the menu item itself hasn't changed.  The change is that it may be the only fish on the menu...

[schmoopie17]

1 hour ago, KarlK said:

I do notice less using the MDR. We haven't in our last 2-3 cruises. Just takes too long and being on vacation, I don't bring slacks or longpants for any formal nights. 

 

That's good, but just a reminder that there are no formal nights on NCL

[PATRLR]

So essentially there are:

 

• Three appetizers to choose from, 2 of which are the same every night (Bruschetta and Ravioli)
• 2 Soups, 1 of which is the same every night (French Onion)
• 2 Salads, 1 of which is the same every night (Caesar)

 

And people are really saying they don't see the cuts? 

 

[mking8288]

13 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

So essentially there are:

And people are really saying they don't see the cuts? 

 

Well, some aren't bothered by it ... a few, cheerleading always but for a handful of us, seeing the same old again and again for 15 days recently, many sea days within TA, was pretty sad, to say the least.  Of course, that's my biased & highly personal opinion, not "evidence-based"  

 

There are cuts for sure, IMHO but perhaps one can disagree, respectfully, whether they are consider major cuts, or minor cuts, maybe LingChi cuts.  Serving portions are smaller as a whole, except for the last day, disembarkation evening in the MDR - never failed on longer cruises.  

 

DW usually isn't the one to be critical, said, why is NCL serving some sort of eggs based dessert every night.  Me ... speechless, maybe let's leave a comment for the F&B Director or GM.  With a bit of luck, we'll get a note and plated cookies for our inconvenience. 

 

 

[ChiefMateJRK]

4 hours ago, catsarealiens said:

I usually eat at the buffet a few times for lunch.  The pizza did not seem quite as good as remember from past sailings (I know........ minor grip) but maybe it is just faulty memory on my part.

I got off the Spirit last Wednesday.  The pizza in the buffet was the best I've had on NCL.  They've gone to a slightly thicker crust that actually has some flavor.😎  Also, the "noodle soup station" (or whatever they call it) was great.  They had a lot of good stuff.  If I want a good burger, I go to the local or MDR.  I sometimes get soup and salad at the buffet before joining DW and DD at the MDR for lunch.  They like to get off the ship and shop and I like to stay on the ship and eat/drink/chill/gamble.  win-win!

[ChiefMateJRK]

45 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Serving portions are smaller as a whole

Why are serving portions even in the equation?  If you're still hungry, order more.  Same price!

[Ellis1138]

21 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I got off the Spirit last Wednesday.  The pizza in the buffet was the best I've had on NCL.  They've gone to a slightly thicker crust that actually has some flavor.😎  Also, the "noodle soup station" (or whatever they call it) was great.  They had a lot of good stuff.  If I want a good burger, I go to the local or MDR.  I sometimes get soup and salad at the buffet before joining DW and DD at the MDR for lunch.  They like to get off the ship and shop and I like to stay on the ship and eat/drink/chill/gamble.  win-win!

 

I call that Hobbit Mode. I do it for breakfast, getting just the thing that one venue makes best and going to the next one. 🙂