Major cuts to MDR menus

[ontheweb]

13 hours ago, kochleffel said:

 

Didn't some other cruise line try this a few years ago, to very negative reaction? But I don't think that it's a crazy idea.

 

Several years ago, on the Epic, I was at a solos dinner of about a dozen passengers that went askew because of the different multiple orders plus servers who either didn't ask at all whether anyone needed to get to a show at a particular time, or asked only one person (who didn't need to). Several people ordered two appetizers, and one person ordered, and ate all of, two mains.

 

NCL practice was not to serve a second app or main until the first one had been eaten and cleared, and also not to serve the next course to anyone at the table until all passengers' previous courses at that table had been cleared. I confirmed this with a dining manager.

I still remember on our first NCL cruise on the long departed NCL Crown, there was an appetizer course, followed by a salad course, and then the entre. Someone at our table ordered every single appetizer while my DW ordered no appetizer. She waited and waited and waited for her salad as the other person was served each appetizer one after another and not until the one in front of him was finished. 😢

 

That was one of the main reasons it took a long time to book another NCL cruise.

[PATRLR]

 

10 hours ago, IAcruising said:

 

This is a strange hypothesis. I know of absolutely no one in my fairly large circle of acquaintances, friends, and family that seeks out, or highly desires, Tilapia. It is exactly the same as it was when you grew up -- a trash fish.

 

The only reason anyone willingly eats Tilapia is because, a) it is tasteless and they don't like fish, or b) it is dirt cheap.

 

And I find it fascinating that you think salmon is "out of favor" when it's on nearly every.single.menu of nearly every single respectable restaurant in the US.

 

Strange.

Strange but predictable from that poster.  The extent they will spin things to try to make NCL look good is astounding.  Tilapia is far less expensive than salmon, the change is as simple as that but some posters refuse to accept that NCL makes changes solely due to cost.

[PATRLR]

14 hours ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

ALL cruise lines have cut back.

Why?

[PATRLR]

On 5/24/2024 at 4:20 AM, david_sobe said:

MSC now charges for any second entre in the MDR.   You can still order another appetizer or dessert but a second entre is $5.00.  I can see all cruise lines doing this soon.

On NCL, we often order the vegetarian entree to split between us in addition to our main entree.  It essentially becomes a side for us.  I would be disappointed if we could no longer do that.

[mking8288]

FWIW, we associate Tilapia with going to IHOP in the old days, cheap & simple, easy on the wallet.  Wild Alaska salmon - rich is Omega-3, is my / our favorite fish anytime and anywhere if red meat isn't desired, farm salmon is okay but not the same ... and, of course, good smoked salmon gets my full attention.  

 

There are frozen salmon fillet in our freezer all the time, just in case but Tilapia, not a chance - I rather keep some canned sardines around.  Sea bass, tuna, trout, flounder and Mahi mahi - those are fine when dining out (incidentally, did NOT once see Mahi mahi on our recent NCL 15 days TA onboard ... not going to call them major cutbacks but changes in the wrong direction)  Will speciality restaurant be replacing Dover sole or other fillet with Tilapia next.  Imagine the horror if they start showing up in the Haven everyday dining menu.   

[BirdTravels]

10 hours ago, IAcruising said:

This is a strange hypothesis. I know of absolutely no one in my fairly large circle of acquaintances, friends, and family that seeks out, or highly desires, Tilapia. It is exactly the same as it was when you grew up -- a trash fish.

 

As I prefaced my comment, I consider Tilapia a trash fish and would normally never order it. Yet, it is a very popular item. Maybe not in Omaha, but around our parts. My local fishmonger sells tilapia fresh (i.e., out of a tank). Personally, I would prefer eating fish every night over meat. Does that mean that I will never order a steak, nope,,, enjoy a good steak once or twice a cruise. 

 

My point is that while Omaha people may not eat Tilapia, others do. And providing a variety of entrees is what others seek. If they served salmon every night, people would complain that the menu never changes. 

[seemoreroyals]

59 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

As I prefaced my comment, I consider Tilapia a trash fish and would normally never order it. Yet, it is a very popular item. Maybe not in Omaha, but around our parts. My local fishmonger sells tilapia fresh (i.e., out of a tank). Personally, I would prefer eating fish every night over meat. Does that mean that I will never order a steak, nope,,, enjoy a good steak once or twice a cruise. 

 

My point is that while Omaha people may not eat Tilapia, others do. And providing a variety of entrees is what others seek. If they served salmon every night, people would complain that the menu never changes. 

 

The worst fish I have eaten anywhere was of all places in Omaha.  We had a gambling buddy of ours talk us into driving over to a well known eatery in Omaha to try a carp sandwich.  To my wife's credit she would not even try it.  I did and I can tell you that it was very bony and IMO not much taste. My buddy chomped away on his,  bones and all,  finishing and still maintaining how great it was.

[schmoopie17]

8 minutes ago, seemoreroyals said:

We had a gambling buddy of ours talk us into driving over to a well known eatery in Omaha to try a carp sandwich. 

Carp? I think you misspelled another word...

[seemoreroyals]

1 minute ago, schmoopie17 said:

Carp? I think you misspelled another word...

 

Nope.  I can vouch that some people consider a carp sandwich a delicacy.  Eating a fish sandwich with bones in it is not my thing.  Give it a try if you ever make it to Omaha.  

[schmoopie17]

21 minutes ago, seemoreroyals said:

 

Nope.  I can vouch that some people consider a carp sandwich a delicacy.  Eating a fish sandwich with bones in it is not my thing.  Give it a try if you ever make it to Omaha.  

Been to Omaha many times. Had a son at Creighton, so had many (excellent) meals there. But I would never order fish in a town known for its steaks.

[kochleffel]

My most recent cruises have been on Holland America and Royal Caribbean. It seemed to me that Holland America's main-course portions were smaller than before, although adequate. RCI's portions weren't smaller, but the preparations were less complicated.

 

3 hours ago, PATRLR said:

On NCL, we often order the vegetarian entree to split between us in addition to our main entree.  It essentially becomes a side for us.  I would be disappointed if we could no longer do that.

 

A couple on the Holland America cruise last year did that, and asked that it be served along with the other mains.

 

4 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Someone at our table ordered every single appetizer while my DW ordered no appetizer. She waited and waited and waited for her salad as the other person was served each appetizer one after another and not until the one in front of him was finished

 

I've never ordered all the appetizers, but I sometimes order two, such as a fish starter and a salad. I always ask for them to be served together.

 

 

[LAFFNVEGAS]

5 hours ago, PATRLR said:

Why?

Hmmmm I think there was something called a pandemic that the cruise lines were shut down and lost a lot of money. I believe they are looking at every way possible to add money to the bottom line. NCL is definitely not running in the black.

[MoCruiseFan]

On 5/24/2024 at 6:43 AM, ready2cruzagain said:

At first this bothered me when MSC did this but then I thought about it. Rarely have we ever ordered more than one entree but one cruise on MSC I seen a guy order a large amount of lobster entrees (7 or 8 ) and only eat a couple. The amount of food wasted was pathetic. NCL does not serve lobster in MDR and hasn't for years but I doubt anyone would order multiple Tilapia but if one is still hungry when dinner is over I would suggest O'Sheehans.

 

You SAW him order that much?

[MoCruiseFan]

On 5/24/2024 at 6:35 AM, ready2cruzagain said:

Would you consider the fact that the menus now are all cheap fish, Hoki, Talapia, Bluefish nothing? How about how much pork there is on the menus? I agree to disagree. 

 

I don't order food based on what the market value is.  I order what I think tastes good.

[david_sobe]

I'm interrupting this thread for a true story.  Back in 2009 I was on the NCL Jewel and they had that specialty Tex Mex place call Tangos.  The cover charge was $10 which included a margarita.  I ordered the ribs which were excellent.  Fall off the bone full rack.  The waiter came by and saw how I was chowing down and asked me if I wanted another rack.  I said sure and he delivered another rack. No extra charge. I finished everything and it was delicious.  Hard to imagine today but its a fun memory.

Those were the days!

Now back to your regular programming

Edited May 25 by david_sobe

[rbelshaw]

7 hours ago, mking8288 said:

There are frozen salmon fillet in our freezer all the time, just in case but Tilapia, not a chance

There is talapia in my freezer. One filet. Been in there since the lock-down, the remnant of  my failed attempts to find a way to make the fish palatable.

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, david_sobe said:

I'm interrupting this thread for a true story.  Back in 2009 I was on the NCL Jewel and they had that specialty Tex Mex place call Tangos.  The cover charge was $10 which included a margarita.  I ordered the ribs which were excellent.  Fall off the bone full rack.  The waiter came by and saw how I was chowing down and asked me if I wanted another rack.  I said sure and he delivered another rack. No extra charge. I finished everything and it was delicious.  Hard to imagine today but its a fun memory.

Those were the days!

Now back to your regular programming

"Those were the days, my friend. We thought they'd never end."

 

But alas they did. 😒

[PATRLR]

47 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

"Those were the days, my friend. We thought they'd never end."

 

But alas they did. 😒

They ended because we let them end (we being the overall cruising clientele).  I am as complicit in this as anyone.

[PATRLR]

5 hours ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

Hmmmm I think there was something called a pandemic that the cruise lines were shut down and lost a lot of money. I believe they are looking at every way possible to add money to the bottom line. NCL is definitely not running in the black.

they could also have chosen to maintain quality and charge more.  That would have been my preference.  

[LAFFNVEGAS]

11 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

they could also have chosen to maintain quality and charge more.  That would have been my preference.  

Actually they are already charging more, some of their competition is considerably less, Princess and Holland America as an example especially when comparing their Free at Sea program compared to what is offered with other cruise lines. Comparing Haven to other Suites they are probably some of the highest with premium cruising. Sadly the dumbed down their entertainment and shows, they are no longer nothing like Royal Caribbean for entertainment across the fleet. But Royal is also charging a premium for their cabins. Don't get me wrong I love NCL my  last 12 NCL cruises were Suites /Haven but I am actually stepping down for our January cruise, I no longer can see the value of Haven especially with the drastic price difference between the Club Suite and Haven. Over all NCL in my opinion is charging a lot more than competition. I am cruising to Alaska on HAL in what is similar to a Mini Suite and full packages of dining and beverage and shore excursion credit for close to half the price of NCL.

[edspec]

https://www.google.com/search?q=tilapia+quadruple+amputee&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari

[BirdTravels]

10 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

My point is that while Omaha people may not eat Tilapia, others do. And providing a variety of entrees is what others seek. If they served salmon every night, people would complain that the menu never changes. 

 

FWIW: Here's my example of the contemporary taste. 

 

Once upon a time, when you walked down the soup aisle in Costco, you would find pallets of Campbell's chicken noodle soup (CNS), cream of mushroom soup (CoMS), tomato soup, beef vegetable soup. That is what the "old timers" thought and still think is good food. 

 

When The Bird walks down the soup aisle of Costco today, there is no Campbell (or any other brand) canned soups. Gone are the old fashion chicken noodle soup. Gone is the old fashion cream of mushroom.

 

What you find is Cup Noodle (of multiple varieties), Ramen, Tonkatsu, Pho, Udon, 

 

Some here would argue that "that's just being cheap" and that "Campbell's CNS is much better" and that "none of my family or friends would ever eat that in Omaha". Well,,, NCL more than any other cruise line, continues to evolve and adapt to the desires of the contemporary cruiser. Maybe not the old timers from Omaha, but the rest of the world continues evolve. And to be successful, you need to evolve your menus. And yes, even serve Tilapia that a young Bird would catch and release from the local ponds. 

 

Yup, old timers, set in their ways, may still want that CNS or CoMS, but that is not what the contemporary cruiser is looking for in an innovative menu. They want the foods that they see appearing at their local restaurant. That demonstrates that NCL is trying to remain relevant. That's exactly why you'll find that Asian noodle soup stand in the buffet on big ships,,, even if they had to dump the old, clunky crepe stand. 

 

[FlatFooted Freda]

DH and I are off the Getaway last week. Several issues with that ship, but it is now in drydock. We certainly noticed that overall food quality seemed to have dropped as compared to our previous NCL cruises. I was hoping it was specific to that ship. Sounds like not.

We cruised Celebrity in January - it was definitely better. I'm a vegetarian, making the fewer options even more noticeable. The Getaway has 3 different MDRs, that all serve the same menu each night. There were options that were constant each night - 3 cheese ziti for vegetarian. Then part of the menu changed each night - so one other vegetarian option that was different each night. The ziti was fairly ho- hum. A few of the others were decent. Several nights we looked at the menu and decided to do the buff.

Of course, the specialty restaurants were better. We did La Cucina and Moderno. It seems that NCL is "giving " us 2 nights in specialty "gratis". So we most all do that. Learn it is better. Now on that next cruise we are tempted to up purchase the Free At Sea Plus - which is 4 nights of specialty restaurant ( plus unlimited internet). But - as a vegetarian- fewer great options in the specialty restaurants as well. 

[relmondcrsise]

On 5/17/2024 at 6:57 PM, YVRteacher said:

What I miss is the baked Brie appetizer.

That one is still on these menus.

[ready2cruzagain]

12 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

 

You SAW him order that much?

I sure did.