suzyed Posted February 11, 2009 #201 Share Posted February 11, 2009 I like this post! So funny how subjective food tastes are! ;) If we want to compare apples to apples or oranges to oranges....we probably should just compare the food in the MDR's of the various cruiselines...instead of complicating things by adding the different "surcharge" dining rooms. With that said...of the lines that I have sailed on: I think Carnival overall has the best food with the biggest variety. After that I would say Cunard. Then RCI and NCL about the same level. I think RCI was better in the past....but now I feel like the quality has gone down a bit. Of course when you figure in the specialty restaurants...you can supplement your dining experiences and then I say that NCL may be superior only because there are SO many more choices than the other lines have. The specialty venues on NCL are very good to excellent! They are "worth" the extra fee. ;) JMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzyed Posted February 11, 2009 #202 Share Posted February 11, 2009 OK, I found the daily from the Star 1/24/09. Tappanyaki $25 Endless Summer $10 Le Bistro $15 Cagney's $20 La Trattoria $10 Ginza Asian/Sushi $15 Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dukegirl5577 Posted February 11, 2009 #203 Share Posted February 11, 2009 You get better mattresses and linens now than in 2006. You get a glass of champagne when you board and free dessert samples. You get lobster every night. If you're in a suite you get Cagney's for breakfast and lunch. I think I read somewhere that balcony pax get a different dining room for breakfast, too, but I may remember that wrong. Why doesn't MadBrewer mention any of that? Why do we only get to hear the half-empty stuff from people like this? Me me me me. More more more more. Wah wah wah wah. And not only do you get a lot of extras included in your base fare that you didn't have before, but the prices are pretty much the same...and sometimes lower! I've priced out nearly the identical itineraries for the cruises I took in 2004 and 2006, and in both instances, the fare is the same or LESS today than I paid then. Are you paying the same thing for pretty much anything else in 2009 that you did in 2004? Really? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dukegirl5577 Posted February 11, 2009 #204 Share Posted February 11, 2009 So funny how subjective food tastes are! ;) With that said...of the lines that I have sailed on: I think Carnival overall has the best food with the biggest variety. Food is so subjective, because other than the buffet, I couldn't disagree with you more! I found the food in Carnival's dining rooms to be bland and boring. Not bad, but not good. I could always find something to eat, but rarely did something listed on the menu excite me and there was nothing I ate that I would rave about. NCL's dining rooms on the other hand...plenty of interesting selections with much better taste and presentation. But I found it to be the opposite for the buffet. I thought that Carnival's was much better organized, with a larger variety of yummy food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newmexicoNita Posted February 11, 2009 #205 Share Posted February 11, 2009 OK, I found the daily from the Star 1/24/09. Tappanyaki $25 Endless Summer $10 Le Bistro $15 Cagney's $20 La Trattoria $10 Ginza Asian/Sushi $15 Hope that helps. you left off Soho which I believe is $15 and very good in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphalina Posted February 12, 2009 #206 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Me too. I am way into dinner. On my NCL cruise we ate at the specialty restaurants I think 5 of 7 nights. But for bfast I just had cereal, for lunch a sandwich, and really didn't snack much. I think they get their money's worth from me!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzyed Posted February 12, 2009 #207 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Food is so subjective, because other than the buffet, I couldn't disagree with you more! I found the food in Carnival's dining rooms to be bland and boring. Not bad, but not good. I could always find something to eat, but rarely did something listed on the menu excite me and there was nothing I ate that I would rave about. NCL's dining rooms on the other hand...plenty of interesting selections with much better taste and presentation. But I found it to be the opposite for the buffet. I thought that Carnival's was much better organized, with a larger variety of yummy food. Yup! I totally agree, as far as being subjective...the three times we ate in the NCL MDR, I found the food bland and boring and the service seriously lackiing.:eek: I don't remember what I ate there...not the least bit memorable...except for the chilled banana soup...that was yummy! As far as the buffet...I am not a big fan on any of the lines...but I found really good grilled veggies on the Carnival buffet. But, bottom line...I prefer the specialties on NCL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachchick Posted February 12, 2009 #208 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Full Lobster in CAgneys, is it actually from Maine, that I do not know. Nita The menu said "Maine lobster," but you never know. I've heard that it's no longer a whole lobster, but rather a large Maine lobster tail. Just to note, that the lobster in Cagney's is one of the "extra surcharge" items: General surcharge $20, if ordering lobster (or a few other specialty items) additional $5 or so on top of the $20 "admission" fee. I don't think there is a Maine lobster tail available at Le Bistro (at least, it hasn't been), but there is at least one dish that includes lobster. Le Bistro is very French-style in cuisine. beachchick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newmexicoNita Posted February 12, 2009 #209 Share Posted February 12, 2009 The menu said "Maine lobster," but you never know. I've heard that it's no longer a whole lobster, but rather a large Maine lobster tail. Just to note, that the lobster in Cagney's is one of the "extra surcharge" items: General surcharge $20, if ordering lobster (or a few other specialty items) additional $5 or so on top of the $20 "admission" fee. I don't think there is a Maine lobster tail available at Le Bistro (at least, it hasn't been), but there is at least one dish that includes lobster. Le Bistro is very French-style in cuisine. beachchick thanks beachchick, it has been over a year since we splurged and got it. I couldnt' remember if it was Maine or otherwise. Again, it was good and yet I think I would settle for one of the regular entrees in Cagneys, still $30 for Lobster is darn good. Nita Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Wink* Posted February 12, 2009 #210 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Thanks, Ladies. Since Le Bistro is my only choice, I will "have to do" with the lobster they serve on lobster night. Woe's me! I guess I'll "have to do" with 2 or 3. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suni99 Posted February 12, 2009 #211 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Thanks, Ladies. Since Le Bistro is my only choice, I will "have to do" with the lobster they serve on lobster night. Woe's me! I guess I'll "have to do" with 2 or 3. LOL They had scallops for an appetizer in Le Bistro that were so dang good,make sure you try them, i ordered 2 orders( you only get 3 ):D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veggie59 Posted February 12, 2009 #212 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Check out the Freestyle Dining section...it tells the price. Not sure if they will raise it, but this gives you a good idea...there are other pages as well. there is a "magnifying glass" on the right hand side that you can see it larger, and there are other pages :) http://picasaweb.google.com/bakerintn/NCLPearlFreestyleDailies#5296048717608865938 Thank you. It will be our 25th Wedding Anniversary....so I wanted to get an idea of how much they charge in case we decide to check one out. Some one had mentioned a 2 for 1 day? Anyone have info on that? I am a vegetarian...so I wouldnt be really eating much.....unless maybe pizza at the Italian place. Hubby would probably like Cagney's for steak.......so a discount would help if I am just sitting there with salad and a baked potato!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Wink* Posted February 12, 2009 #213 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Thank you. It will be our 25th Wedding Anniversary....so I wanted to get an idea of how much they charge in case we decide to check one out. Some one had mentioned a 2 for 1 day? Anyone have info on that? I am a vegetarian...so I wouldnt be really eating much.....unless maybe pizza at the Italian place. Hubby would probably like Cagney's for steak.......so a discount would help if I am just sitting there with salad and a baked potato!!! I believe the 2 for 1 is everyday during early dining hours. Not sure of the exact times tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veggie59 Posted February 12, 2009 #214 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Thank you everyone that responded to me! We will be sailing on the NCL Jewel next month. It has been very stressful putting this together last minute. Airfare wasnt cooperating. Finalized everything late last night. Five weeks and counting........I need a vacation after all this.....lol. Has anyone actually tried the pizza in the Italian place that charges? Is the pizza actually different than the pizza you can get for free? I see that someone mentioned that there are additional charges for some items on top of the fee to get into Cagneys. A double charge,,,,interesting. What items dont get the extra charge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruisinEurope Posted February 12, 2009 #215 Share Posted February 12, 2009 I believe the 2 for 1 is everyday during early dining hours. Not sure of the exact times tho. on the Jade last week the 2 for 1 was ONLY on port days and ONLY in the first hour that they were open. and not all participated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewelfine Posted February 12, 2009 #216 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Thank you everyone that responded to me! We will be sailing on the NCL Jewel next month. It has been very stressful putting this together last minute. Airfare wasnt cooperating. Finalized everything late last night. Five weeks and counting........I need a vacation after all this.....lol. Has anyone actually tried the pizza in the Italian place that charges? Is the pizza actually different than the pizza you can get for free? ? We had the pizza in Papa's on the Jade (when it was the Pride of Hawaii) on the Gem and on the Dawn - and on at least 2 out of 3 of them it was the best pizza ever. And on the other one it was great! - and we are pizza foodies!:p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veggie59 Posted February 12, 2009 #217 Share Posted February 12, 2009 We had the pizza in Papa's on the Jade (when it was the Pride of Hawaii) on the Gem and on the Dawn - and on at least 2 out of 3 of them it was the best pizza ever. And on the other one it was great! - and we are pizza foodies!:p Thank you! I eat pizza alot when I am on a cruise.....and when I am not. I make homemade alot at home....so I hope it is decent. Have you had the pizza that there is no extra charge for? Is it okay......or do you really need to pay for the better pizza? I wouldnt want to have to pay for it too many times on a nine day cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewelfine Posted February 12, 2009 #218 Share Posted February 12, 2009 The regular is good too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jondirk Posted February 13, 2009 #219 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Thank you! I eat pizza alot when I am on a cruise.....and when I am not. I make homemade alot at home....so I hope it is decent. Have you had the pizza that there is no extra charge for? Is it okay......or do you really need to pay for the better pizza? I wouldnt want to have to pay for it too many times on a nine day cruise. I had asked about fresh-made pizza on the Dawn and was told I had to order it from room service. The buffet pizza was the square cut, cafeteria looking, pizza and was not good at all. The stuff they had on Great Stirrup Cay was even worse, it looked like it might have been the leftovers of the buffet pizza. I didn't notice if Impressions had it or not but probably would not have ordered it anyway as I had an itch for the lobster ravioli. Norwegian Sky baked it fresh from a little pizzeria next to a bar. It was fresh, custom made to order, and you could eat it in the bar or take it to your room. I missed that on the Dawn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachchick Posted February 13, 2009 #220 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Thank you everyone that responded to me! We will be sailing on the NCL Jewel next month. It has been very stressful putting this together last minute. Airfare wasnt cooperating. Finalized everything late last night. Five weeks and counting........I need a vacation after all this.....lol. Has anyone actually tried the pizza in the Italian place that charges? Is the pizza actually different than the pizza you can get for free? I see that someone mentioned that there are additional charges for some items on top of the fee to get into Cagneys. A double charge,,,,interesting. What items dont get the extra charge? It's actually not a double charge at Cagney's. It's the regular surcharge plus either $5 or $10 for only a few specific items. The menu has changed, but the three I remember were the Maine lobster (I think some ships had Nova Scotia lobster), surf and turf (including a portion of lobster), and the 24 oz Porterhouse steak. Everything else is included in the basic surcharge. Filet mignon, a bunch of different steaks, salmon, chicken, prime rib, and probably things I'm forgetting. The appetizers, soups, salads, sides, and dessert are all included. beachchick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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