Why Cruise?

[2sunny]

Well, for us it definitely isn't the food! We've cruised 7 different lines and have yet to find the food on any line any better than banquet food. However, we do like to go to dinner and be waited on ;):)

 

We cruise for destination as well as just to relax. We've been able to see more of Alaska, Hawaii and just last year Italy than we would be able to on a land trip of the same amount of time.

 

We've cruised locally a number of times, the Port of Los Angeles is only an hour away so we've taken advantage of weekend cruising...just to relax, we don't even get off the ship.

 

Not to say the places we've visited on a cruise wouldn't be worth a land trip, most certainly it would. But for a first look a cruise is a great way to sample an area without having all the travel hassles. Unpack once and it's done, the only down side is only one day in most ports of call.

 

We just got back from a whirlwind long weekend in San Francisco and my husband is already saying he can't wait to cruise again!

 

Have you sailed on the Celebrity M class ships? You do not like the food in their main dining room? How about their speciality dining room?

How about HAL? You did not like their food?

[cusyl]

I love to cruise just to be on a ship at sea. I've already seen all the islands, but it's still nice to go and see them again. Also, I love being able to unpack and stay in one place instead of flying and dealing with luggage every day.

[miss prairie girl]

We love to cruise because:

- we can leave the extreme cold behind in Canada in January and go where it is warm

- we can fly to the cruiseport

- no long driving hours for DH and myself and navigating strange cities

- we both can get away from our jobs

- a chance to 'sample' islands and ports-of-call on the chance we might return someday for longer periods of time

- it is fun doing research on the islands and ports-of-call you may visit

- get to meet great people at dinner (always pick late Traditional dining)

- we get to eat food we would not normally have access to here in Canada

- what is more relaxing than sitting on your balcony with a coffee and DH by your side watching the ocean go by?

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of cruising!

[I'm lovin' it!]

I would agree with the comments made by the others about the excellent combination of service and non-stop activity available on cruise ships, as well as the outstanding food. The other thing that I noticed on my first cruise was an very unique sense of euphoria that came from realizing that one is completely adrift in the middle of nowhere , so to speak. I feel completely exhiliarated when the realization sets in that I'm "a million miles from nowhere" with no land or other ships in sight! (And passing another cruise ship lit up in the distance is awesome, too). I'm hooked! ( and planning cruise #6).

[Happy ks]

Have you sailed on the Celebrity M class ships? You do not like the food in their main dining room? How about their speciality dining room?

How about HAL? You did not like their food?

 

 

I've cruised on Infinity, the food was fine but nothing special. The best food we've eaten on any ship was in the specialty dining rooms, but still could not compare to a fine land based restaurant.

 

We've not cruise on HAL yet and do wish to, but still I don't think mass prepared food can possibly be the same quality as a finely prepared food in a land based restaurant. There has been only one line (NCL) that I thought the food was bad enough to not continue eating. We just ate at their specialty venues the rest of the cruise, it cost a bit but we were happy to have decent food.

 

I think my opinion comes from the fact that I often read here on CC that you are served gourmet food on cruise ships and that simply is not true. The food is edible and better than say fast food from McDonalds, but more akin to a chain restaurant or banquet food.

 

I'll list the ships we've been on: Disney Magic, American Hawaiian Independence (closest to the best food we've ever had, alas they went bankrupt), Celebrity Infinity, RCCL: Monarch, Vision, Legend, Mariner, Carnival (better than we expected and that was a shock, close to what others are serving), NCL Star (see above), Cunard QM2 (one would have hoped the hype was true, but not).

 

Perhaps we've been spoiled by great restaurants on land ;):confused::) On our last cruise in Italy/Croatia we had some absolutely wonderful meals off the ship, nothing could have come close to it onboard.

[Devil Dog]

You never mentioned Princess. We have cruised Princess for almost 300 sea days and the food is very good. we go to the specialty restaurants and we also do the Chefs table and the Ultimate balcony dining and we have been pleased. Maybe you should try Princess. We go to the MDR for formal nights and specialty restaurants or UBD for the casual nights. They have a very good steak house, Sabatinis for Italian and we do the Chefs table. So we pretty much eat in the MDR only on formal nights.:cool:

[Happy ks]

You never mentioned Princess. We have cruised Princess for almost 300 sea days and the food is very good. we go to the specialty restaurants and we also do the Chefs table and the Ultimate balcony dining and we have been pleased. Maybe you should try Princess. We go to the MDR for formal nights and specialty restaurants or UBD for the casual nights. They have a very good steak house, Sabatinis for Italian and we do the Chefs table. So we pretty much eat in the MDR only on formal nights.:cool:

 

We may cruise Princess in the future, but just like HAL, we'd expect the same food as any other cruise line.

 

I suppose it's all subjective and we have a different opinion of food than others do. It's just cruise food, it's edible, once in a while you have something really good. Most of the time the food is prepared en masse from frozen and canned ingredients. Chicken and fish are usually overcooked, meat is tough, salads are skimpy, too much rich sauce, desserts are pretty but kind of like what you get from a grocery store bakery section.

 

We do enjoy dinners on a cruise ship, more for the ambience and service than the actual food. I'm not complaining (really :)), believe me....just realistic.

 

My husband started cruising in the late 70's, I didn't cruise until 1999. He told me before our first cruise together not to expect gourmet food and I'm glad he did, or I would have been very disappointed.

 

It's just not the reason we choose cruising over other types of vacations.

[slyfox0113]

It's not as stupid a question as the title may imply.

 

I am wondering why folks like to cruise. I love to travel and until recently have always liked the idea of going somewhere and exploring more than the idea of being on a cruise ship only experiencing ports for a day or less. For example, this summer we are headed to Honduras where we will see much of the country, including several days in Roatan, which is more than we would ever see and experience if it were just a port call on a cruise.

 

I have just booked my first cruise as a present for my 40th birthday next year and it is largely to get a taste of what a cruise is like. For me, the cruise itself is largely the destination, with the bonus of seeing a couple of places I've never been to (its only a 4 day cruise).

 

If I like it and book longer cruises in the future, the ports will be an important factor, but the cruise line and ship will be equally important in deciding on a cruise.

 

So the question is, why do you guys cruise? Is it destinations? Is it the ships? The food?

 

For me the reason I cruise is the ship. I enjoy being at sea and never really have to leave the ship to be content. Sitting on the balcony and watching the ocean reminds you there is a higher power. It is relaxing and calming. It is the idea that I can get up when I want, eat when I want, be alone if I want or be with a crowd of people. I can chose what I want to eat and where. I have the advantage of seeing several different ports and enjoying their people and culture. I have people taking care of me and all my needs for one week, I have to do nothing. They will even put my napkin in my lap. They will smile at me and wish me a good day. Cruising is the ultimate vacation. I have taken four and just booked my fifth. I can read that book on my balcony with a drink or a cup of tea and be undisturbed for as long as I like. These are just some of my reasonings for cruising and they are the reasons I will continue to do so.

[read52]

Someone had a similiar post. We cruise because my husband was sick for 1 1/2 years. After he got better (not completely healed), we went on a cruise. He still has health problems so knowing that there is a doctor on board makes traveling easier.

[SirDomino]

We cruise for a couple of reasons...they can be very relaxing (notice I said can be ;) ) you get to see a lot of different countries/cities in a short period of time. It's an easy vacation in that they do most of the work for you, they get you there, you just have to walk off in the port. The can also be a very economical vacation. We were absolutely decided that we were doing a land trip in 2010..and then found the Star's transatlantic... huge balcony, 18 days, portugal, spain, france, england, brussels, holland, denmark, sweden and norway for $1,700 pp...with 350 OBC. I can't touch that on a land trip. We still do plenty of land trips, but always keep out eye out for cruise deals.

 

My wife and I are interested in a cruise with a similar itinerary. It goes to all the places we want to go. Yet you have to cross the atlantic?

[kescott98]

There are several reasons as to why I like to cruise. First of all, you unpack once and can go anywhere in the world. Also, the opportunity to meet all kinds of people that you might not get the chance to meet. Another reason, is that for the time that I am gone, I get pampered and within reason of my responsiblities are left on land. I also find cruising really relaxing, I can do what I want when I want. These are just afew of my reasons.

[cruiselover57]

It's not as stupid a question as the title may imply.

 

I am wondering why folks like to cruise. I love to travel and until recently have always liked the idea of going somewhere and exploring more than the idea of being on a cruise ship only experiencing ports for a day or less. For example, this summer we are headed to Honduras where we will see much of the country, including several days in Roatan, which is more than we would ever see and experience if it were just a port call on a cruise.

 

I have just booked my first cruise as a present for my 40th birthday next year and it is largely to get a taste of what a cruise is like. For me, the cruise itself is largely the destination, with the bonus of seeing a couple of places I've never been to (its only a 4 day cruise).

 

If I like it and book longer cruises in the future, the ports will be an important factor, but the cruise line and ship will be equally important in deciding on a cruise.

 

So the question is, why do you guys cruise? Is it destinations? Is it the ships? The food?

 

The question is "why take any other type of vacation?" -- because it's the BEST way to travel! You only have to unpack once and you get the chance to meet people.

[fun*n*sun]

We like both land and cruise vacations. One of the things that appeals to me most about cruises is that the time spent traveling from one place to another I get to spend eating, sleeping, swimming, watching shows and movies etc instead of stuck in a car, a train, a bus or a plane. I eat dinner, go to bed and get up in a new place refreshed and ready to go see the area. If I find a place I want to spend more time I can go back on a land vacation.

 

I've been to much of Alaska and several Carribean islands both on land and by cruise and while I had a good time spending several days in these places when there on land, one long day in port really was enough to see everything that was unique to many of the small islands and towns.

 

Oh and I find the sound and site of the ocean going by while relaxing on my balcony relaxes me like nothing else :)

[trixietx]

Cruise one time and you will see!

[momofmeg]

We may cruise Princess in the future, but just like HAL, we'd expect the same food as any other cruise line.

 

I suppose it's all subjective and we have a different opinion of food than others do. It's just cruise food, it's edible, once in a while you have something really good. Most of the time the food is prepared en masse from frozen and canned ingredients. Chicken and fish are usually overcooked, meat is tough, salads are skimpy, too much rich sauce, desserts are pretty but kind of like what you get from a grocery store bakery section.

 

We do enjoy dinners on a cruise ship, more for the ambience and service than the actual food. I'm not complaining (really :)), believe me....just realistic.

 

My husband started cruising in the late 70's, I didn't cruise until 1999. He told me before our first cruise together not to expect gourmet food and I'm glad he did, or I would have been very disappointed.

 

It's just not the reason we choose cruising over other types of vacations.

 

You are right about feeding the masses thing. I think food is better the less PAX a ship has. HAL's vista class food I found fairly decent, and I do believe it was because they have a third less PAX than the RCI voyager class. The Princess grand class ship I was on (Caribbean Princess) was only slightly better than the voyager class ( Mariner of the seas) in the main dinning room, which I believe was because the ship held about 500 less PAX, so it was that slight amount better. However I give the edge to Chops for the steak specialty restaurant, I did not care for the steakhouse on the CP. I also found the food fairly good on the Constellation which was a similar size to the HAL vista class. I am guessing though the Soltice holding nearly a 1000 more PAX would not have as good of food.

 

Of course on any of these ships we have nowadays, the specialty restaurants will be better. As in them, food is not prepared in mass, the specialty restaurants have their own separate galleys.

 

I am too the point I would just as soon eat in the lido restaurant as the main dinning room, when I am on these large ships. Although many like to complain about NCL having so many specialty restaurants, and say they only had good food if you pay extra, I find this true of all the mega ships. I liked that NCL had more choices, and as some of the specialty fees were nominal, I felt I had a much better meal for a small amount more. I loved the Mexican restaurant! I do believe if the lines are going to keep making the ships larger and larger, they should all give us more choices in specialty restaurants.

[SirDomino]

Of course on any of these ships we have nowadays, the specialty restaurants will be better. As in them, food is not prepared in mass, the specialty restaurants have their own separate galleys.

 

I am too the point I would just as soon eat in the lido restaurant as the main dinning room, when I am on these large ships. Although many like to complain about NCL having so many specialty restaurants, and say they only had good food if you pay extra, I find this true of all the mega ships. I liked that NCL had more choices, and as some of the specialty fees were nominal, I felt I had a much better meal for a small amount more. I loved the Mexican restaurant! I do believe if the lines are going to keep making the ships larger and larger, they should all give us more choices in specialty restaurants.

 

The fees are not nominal, especially if you consider the cost of the cruise. The fees they charge are even more than most mainstream land-based restaurants for similar, superior dishes. The fact that they have the ability to offer higher quality food in these specialty restaurants is a testimony that it is possible for everyone and that it is their bottom-line that they are looking out for and all they care about.

 

I personally think that the cruise lines purposely have allowed the quality of the food and service to deteriorate in the "Inclusive" Main dining areas as a way to literally "force" passengers to consider the specialty restaurants.

 

I know my wife and I were extremely disappointed on our last cruise with the food quality. I was expecting it to be at least as good as a fast food restaurant, or a cheap buffet (Golden Corral, Ryans, Barnehills, etc). Or for the breakfast to be at least like Cracker Barrel, Sonics, McDonalds, or Burger King. Ironically, those land-based dining restaurants seem like 5-star establishments when compared to cruise ship food quality. The food was usually at least a little better than hospital food, while the service was nothing stellar. Our expectations were not high at all, as I said, hoping for most of the food to be eatable and at least of the quality of mass-produced, frozen, instant foods at Wal-mart.

 

My opinion is that the cruise lines give you "tolerable" food just to keep you alive enough to spend more money during the cruise. I also don't understand with them using the "economy" as an excuse to do this. The ships seem to be selling out consistently at decent rates, gas prices have decreased, the specialty restaurants tend to be booked full, and I can't blame passengers as the main dining room food is barely tolerable so it was almost an essential thing to do!

 

I remember asking anothoer couple about the specialty restaurants and they said the food was much better than the dining room. I brought up the cost and they stated that they sacrificed an excursion to ensure that they could at least have dinner nightly in a specialty restaurant as they were having problems eating the "free" food that was available.

 

Another issue that really irked me on our last cruise is that previously juices were inclusive and available at all times. OThis last time, juices were only available for breakfast and cost $1.50 per tiny glass during other times. Talk about trying to nickel and dime you to death. I just find it ridiculous that we are purposely getting low quality food as a way for the cruise lines to save money and encourage passengers to pay extra for the food we should have gotten in the first place.

 

Overall, we did not look forward to dining during the cruise, and could not afford the additional cost of the specialty restaurants on a consistent basis. Now that we know, I suppose we will have to wait a little longer to go on our next cruise to ensure that the cost of food is budgeted in, as that will add another few hundred dollars to the cost.

 

Cruising, personally, has lost a lot of it's value with the advent of specialty restaurants and the lower quality food forced onto passengers as part of the price of the cruise. I would rather they elminate a bulk of the specialty restaurants, charge everyone 5% more for their tickets and invest that money into providing decent food and juice for all the passengers!

[momofmeg]

The fees are not nominal, especially if you consider the cost of the cruise. The fees they charge are even more than most mainstream land-based restaurants for similar, superior dishes. The fact that they have the ability to offer higher quality food in these specialty restaurants is a testimony that it is possible for everyone and that it is their bottom-line that they are looking out for and all they care about.

 

I personally think that the cruise lines purposely have allowed the quality of the food and service to deteriorate in the "Inclusive" Main dining areas as a way to literally "force" passengers to consider the specialty restaurants.

 

I know my wife and I were extremely disappointed on our last cruise with the food quality. I was expecting it to be at least as good as a fast food restaurant, or a cheap buffet (Golden Corral, Ryans, Barnehills, etc). Or for the breakfast to be at least like Cracker Barrel, Sonics, McDonalds, or Burger King. Ironically, those land-based dining restaurants seem like 5-star establishments when compared to cruise ship food quality. The food was usually at least a little better than hospital food, while the service was nothing stellar. Our expectations were not high at all, as I said, hoping for most of the food to be eatable and at least of the quality of mass-produced, frozen, instant foods at Wal-mart.

 

My opinion is that the cruise lines give you "tolerable" food just to keep you alive enough to spend more money during the cruise. I also don't understand with them using the "economy" as an excuse to do this. The ships seem to be selling out consistently at decent rates, gas prices have decreased, the specialty restaurants tend to be booked full, and I can't blame passengers as the main dining room food is barely tolerable so it was almost an essential thing to do!

 

I remember asking anothoer couple about the specialty restaurants and they said the food was much better than the dining room. I brought up the cost and they stated that they sacrificed an excursion to ensure that they could at least have dinner nightly in a specialty restaurant as they were having problems eating the "free" food that was available.

 

Another issue that really irked me on our last cruise is that previously juices were inclusive and available at all times. OThis last time, juices were only available for breakfast and cost $1.50 per tiny glass during other times. Talk about trying to nickel and dime you to death. I just find it ridiculous that we are purposely getting low quality food as a way for the cruise lines to save money and encourage passengers to pay extra for the food we should have gotten in the first place.

 

Overall, we did not look forward to dining during the cruise, and could not afford the additional cost of the specialty restaurants on a consistent basis. Now that we know, I suppose we will have to wait a little longer to go on our next cruise to ensure that the cost of food is budgeted in, as that will add another few hundred dollars to the cost.

 

Cruising, personally, has lost a lot of it's value with the advent of specialty restaurants and the lower quality food forced onto passengers as part of the price of the cruise. I would rather they elminate a bulk of the specialty restaurants, charge everyone 5% more for their tickets and invest that money into providing decent food and juice for all the passengers!

 

I don't know-$10 for mexican or Italian is not much-is it 4 star-no-but it is very good and worth it and I like that it is offered. I also enjoyed Cagneys whose fee was $20, other lines charge $25-$30 for their specialty steakhouse, so I felt Cagneys was very fair in price, and also Cagneys was excellent quality. I did find Cagneys 4 star.

 

However, you MISSED my point-my reply was to KS who was saying-mass produced food is never going to be 4 star. Mass produced food is going to be as she said, hotel banquet food at best.

 

MY POINT was the larger the ship-the more mass produced the food is in the main dining rooms, and the less quality. I would much prefer spending $10 for Mexican than eating that. How good food is, is not always about how expensive ingredients are, but the fact that it was not mass produced and pre prepared.

 

A few us remember cruising on ships on 600 to 1200 people. Those ships existed just 5- 10 years ago. The Zenith existed until late 2006 I think. I cruised the Zenith just 4 months after cruising the Marienr of the seas and I saw a major difference in the quality of food. The Zenith was much, much better and did not taste like "hotel banquet" food.

 

Now the lines I am sure, are cutting costs and using cheaper ingredients, but that is another issue form what KS and I wee referring. Now as far as that, what can we expect with bargain fares we have seen in recent years? and as the fares are even more bargain now-I am sure the food costs will be cut again. I am sure if the rich sauces no longer contain whipped cream or real butter, but used a powdered milk and margarine, or instead of an expensive wine, a cheaper wine is used, yes they would not be as good. But KS and I were not referring to that.

 

My thinking is food does not always have to be expensive to be good. After all, most of us love a good pizza, and that is not expensive to make. Those of us who like Mexican realize that is not expensive either, but that does not mean we don't enjoy eating it.

[SirDomino]

MY POINT was the larger the ship-the more mass produced the food is in the main dining rooms, and the less quality. I would much prefer spending $10 for Mexican than eating that. How good food is, is not always about how expensive ingredients are, but the fact that it was not mass produced and pre prepared.

 

My thinking is food does not always have to be expensive to be good. After all, most of us love a good pizza, and that is not expensive to make. Those of us who like Mexican realize that is not expensive either, but that does not mean we don't enjoy eating it.

 

Excellent points. So I suppose that the increasing size of these ships contributes to the quality of food decreasing, as I am sure it is quite a feat to prepare food for 3,000+ passengers and crew!

 

You are exactly right! Food does not need to be expensive to taste good. I would rather they just make tasty food without wasting time making it look like a "5-star" dish. An excellent example of this is when we were driving back from our cruise we stopped at a Wendy's to get a couple burgers off their dollar menu. It was amazing at how much better it tasted overall than the burgers on the ship or most of the main dining room food.

 

We still had a great time on the cruise, but it was sad that the food was of such low quality. It really did make us wish we could afford to eat in the specialty restaurants every night.

[momofmeg]

Excellent points. So I suppose that the increasing size of these ships contributes to the quality of food decreasing, as I am sure it is quite a feat to prepare food for 3,000+ passengers and crew!

 

You are exactly right! Food does not need to be expensive to taste good. I would rather they just make tasty food without wasting time making it look like a "5-star" dish. An excellent example of this is when we were driving back from our cruise we stopped at a Wendy's to get a couple burgers off their dollar menu. It was amazing at how much better it tasted overall than the burgers on the ship or most of the main dining room food.

 

We still had a great time on the cruise, but it was sad that the food was of such low quality. It really did make us wish we could afford to eat in the specialty restaurants every night.

 

Cruising is not what it used to be. I also understand your point abotu the $10 fee for Mexican. We all know we can get a meal for less at home. (except the steak fajitas, which is what I had at Mambos and loved)True. But I imagine it costs the line an extra expense to provide another galley and separate area for the restaurant. I also think at first there was no extra fee, but they had to trouble with both the Mexican and Italian being too popular, it was hard to get reservations for those 2 restaurants. I think NCL started the fee more for that, it made those 2 restaurants a little less popular.

 

As far as burgers, I have never had one I enjoyed on a cruise ship except at Johnny Rockets. As a previous RCI guest I had a coupon so I did not pay extra, but normally there is a fee for that also, and if I had gone a second time I would have paid the fee. I know my daughter went several times and paid.

 

Your cruise was NCL? Did you try the burger at Blue Lagoon? Was it any good? We didn't have a burger, we had spinach dip and hot wings. I also had a chef's salad there. I felt they did those well. I liked that the Blue Lagoon had quick snack type meals and that they did not charge an extra fee. The first night we had spinach dip around 5 pm as we had an 8 pm dinner reservation at Cagneys. I had the chef's salad there for a late lunch another day after returning from a morning excursion. My hubby and daughter had the hot wings and the spinach dip a couple of other times. We also found they made for a quick breakfast which we did one morning before we left for an excursion. Less choices, but it was quicker than the main dining room or the lido restaurant.

 

What I absolutley loved about the NCL Pearl though, was the cappuccino machine in the lido restaurant. We were in a minisuite on deck 11, so that was only one deck above us. We had those every morning. I always spend tons on cappuccinos, and so my guess is that alone paid the Cagneys fee for me! Perhaps my Mexican too!

[SirDomino]

Your cruise was NCL? Did you try the burger at Blue Lagoon? Was it any good? We didn't have a burger, we had spinach dip and hot wings. I also had a chef's salad there. I felt they did those well. I liked that the Blue Lagoon had quick snack type meals and that they did not charge an extra fee. The first night we had spinach dip around 5 pm as we had an 8 pm dinner reservation at Cagneys. I had the chef's salad there for a late lunch another day after returning from a morning excursion. My hubby and daughter had the hot wings and the spinach dip a couple of other times. We also found they made for a quick breakfast which we did one morning before we left for an excursion. Less choices, but it was quicker than the main dining room or the lido restaurant.

 

For $10 or $20 per person in the specialty restaurants I could order a decent meal at most sit-down restaurants (Chili's, TGI Fridays, Applebees, Cracker Barrel, Longhorns Steakhouse, Red Lobster, etc). Now if the quality is more on par with Ruth's Chris or something of the sort then it may have been worth it. ;) Although those I asked said it was better than the main dining rooms but they didn't feel like they got their money's worth.

 

We did try the blue lagoon and it appeared the food was precooked so the meat was extremely dry, hard and very tough. The bread was also very stale and the french fries were stale, cold, and tasted like freezer burn. The dip tasted very good although it was so watery it didn't stay on the chips.

 

The BEST food on the ship is the 8oz Angus burger via Room Service. Just make sure you only order 1 burger and it will arrive perfectly fresh, tasting excellent. If you order anything else they let the burger sit quite a while and it takes a lot longer to get your meal (10 min vs 45min). But the room service room service burger tasted like something from a sit-down restaurant and I was impressed.

 

As for the food in the dining room, 90% of it was bland, cold, and overall not good. 5% was literally uneatable due to it being too over cooked or extremely stale. The final 5% was very good.

 

I actually asked a waiter about the food quality and he said it wasn't so bad. I then asked him how much gets thrown away from guests not liking it, and he said "A lot" so I can only imagine how much money is wasted on rejected food being literally thrown in the trash. I know on 3 of the 7 nights I noticed passengers sitting at tables near me making comments about how horrible the food was and they actually told the waiters who suggested they just order something else.

[momofmeg]

For $10 or $20 per person in the specialty restaurants I could order a decent meal at most sit-down restaurants (Chili's, TGI Fridays, Applebees, Cracker Barrel, Longhorns Steakhouse, Red Lobster, etc). Now if the quality is more on par with Ruth's Chris or something of the sort then it may have been worth it. ;) Although those I asked said it was better than the main dining rooms but they didn't feel like they got their money's worth.

 

We did try the blue lagoon and it appeared the food was precooked so the meat was extremely dry, hard and very tough. The bread was also very stale and the french fries were stale, cold, and tasted like freezer burn. The dip tasted very good although it was so watery it didn't stay on the chips.

 

The BEST food on the ship is the 8oz Angus burger via Room Service. Just make sure you only order 1 burger and it will arrive perfectly fresh, tasting excellent. If you order anything else they let the burger sit quite a while and it takes a lot longer to get your meal (10 min vs 45min). But the room service room service burger tasted like something from a sit-down restaurant and I was impressed.

 

As for the food in the dining room, 90% of it was bland, cold, and overall not good. 5% was literally uneatable due to it being too over cooked or extremely stale. The final 5% was very good.

 

I actually asked a waiter about the food quality and he said it wasn't so bad. I then asked him how much gets thrown away from guests not liking it, and he said "A lot" so I can only imagine how much money is wasted on rejected food being literally thrown in the trash. I know on 3 of the 7 nights I noticed passengers sitting at tables near me making comments about how horrible the food was and they actually told the waiters who suggested they just order something else.

 

I liked NCL okay. Yes, you can get meals for $10 at fairly decent restaurants, I agree, although my hubby is never satisfied with just an entree, he must have an appetizer and dessert which is included in the $10 fee for these NCL restaurants. We never get out of those type places for less than $60, even though I ONLY have an entree and rarely have any drink but iced tea or coffee. it is HIM that runs up the bill!

 

But as I said, I think that fee was implemented because so many preferred the Mexican and Italian to the main dinning room. We actually were able to go for half price on our cruise and the cruise following us had a deal where they received free margaritas, so actually a better deal than we had.

 

I think because we had a couple half price meals, although my hubby and I went to 4 pay extra restaurants that week, our bill for both of us was less than $100 for all 4. We had a mini suite for around $800 for each of us, which included that gas surcharge and this was Thanksgiving week, so we did not do bad in price, even if you add in the extra $100 for the surcharge restaurants. If you think of it that way, it cost us $850 a person for a mini suite Thanksgiving week (by adding in the restaurant fees) we still had a very good price for the stateroom we had.

 

I am not a cruiseline loyalist. I normally pick a cruise by itinerary, then price, then line. We hope to book a partial Panama Canal cruise in early 2010, and we like that HAL Zuiderdam actually goes through the locks and spends 3 days in the Panama Canal area. so we will probably book HAL next.

 

However I expect we will go on NCL again. I like that the Sun moves to Pt. Canaveral in October 2010 and will have one itinerary that goes to San Juan. We also like the 9 day itinerary that was offered on the NCL Jewel this year And I think the Dawn has it next winter, as this goes to some of the ports that are considered southern caribbean. I could see us doing one of those 2 cruises in the future (late 2010, early 2011)after we do the partial Panama canal.

[Waynetor]

One advantage of cruising I did not notice anyone else mention is the use of the English language on board and ship based excursions. Not a big deal on a Carribean crusie but very helpful to what you may experience on a land based exotic.

Wayne S.

[Pickels]

It's not as stupid a question as the title may imply.

 

I am wondering why folks like to cruise. I love to travel and until recently have always liked the idea of going somewhere and exploring more than the idea of being on a cruise ship only experiencing ports for a day or less. For example, this summer we are headed to Honduras where we will see much of the country, including several days in Roatan, which is more than we would ever see and experience if it were just a port call on a cruise.

 

I have just booked my first cruise as a present for my 40th birthday next year and it is largely to get a taste of what a cruise is like. For me, the cruise itself is largely the destination, with the bonus of seeing a couple of places I've never been to (its only a 4 day cruise).

 

If I like it and book longer cruises in the future, the ports will be an important factor, but the cruise line and ship will be equally important in deciding on a cruise.

 

So the question is, why do you guys cruise? Is it destinations? Is it the ships? The food?

 

My answer:

[world~citizen]

Its nice. You'll like it.:D

[lel5344]

I apologize for duplications, but I didn't take the time to read all the posts.

 

We cruise because:

 

We unpack once and take our hotel with us.

 

We don't drink, we gamble very little, and we're not big on shore excursions, so we know up front what our cruise will cost (few surprises).

 

We love to take walks in places we've never been.

 

We love to experience the flavor of a place so we can determine if it's a place that we would return to for an extended vacation.

 

We love that we get to know our dining room staff and our room steward.

 

We love to meet new people knowing we might have the opportunity to spend considerable time with them.

 

We love it that a ship is big enough so that we don't have to spend considerable time with certain other people.

 

We love to spend sea days doing nothing.

 

We love the variety (and the enthusiasm) of the entertainers.

 

We love to see the smiles of other contented cruisers.

 

We love sunsets on the ocean.

 

You get the idea....