Had to finally book with NCL because Disney wanted me to sell my house... lol

[MexiFinn]

My only suggestion is to NOT constantly compare NCL (or any other cruise line) to DCL while you are on the cruise. You'll just drive yourself crazy. It won't be like DCL but that isn't a bad thing. Enjoy it for what it is and you should have fun.

We did a Carnival cruise after only doing DCL. Once I got over that it wasn't DCL and won't ever be DCL, I enjoyed my cruise tremendously. I am booked on RCL for two upcoming cruises (also booked on DCL because the price was right) and am looking forward to the change.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Thanks! I've been trying to figure out which rotation to try for and I'd been thinking of trying to get out of AP for exactly the reasons you described. That said, I'm on a weird itinerary (I), and a friend who was on the only other I this year said she was given completely incorrect rotation info from shoreside, so I may have to punt.

...yeah, looking at my email, I requested ERAA, with the intention of Palo on night 3/pirate, and probably room service or something on the last night.

We like AP just as much if not more than the other MDRs. The tenderloin with wasabi mashed potatoes is good, been a favorite since our very first cruise. The Crush interaction is fun to watch. On our first ladies cruise Crush talked to me. You should've seen his face when he asked who I was there with. "27 ladies, no men or kids. We left them all at home." His jaw dropped. Silence & disbelief. It was such a hysterical interaction.

My guys go nutty for the French onion soup in Royal Court. They always put in special orders asking for it to be made or brought over to them regardless of what dining room we're in every night.

I forget which restaurant it is but the truffle pursettes are really, really divine. I try not to order them because they're dangerous. But so amazing.

On the pirate menu they have pot stickers & this pineapple spear dish for appetizers. I always mess up & order the potstickers then get aggravated because they don't have the dark sauce I'm used to getting with them at my favorite Chinese takeout at home. The pineapple spear dish is so good. I love that one.

We won't have the Frozen menu on the Dream but it debuted on our WBPC. I can't not tell you about this! One of the appetizers was a meat & cheese plate of some sort. I kid you not, one of the meats was straight up potted meat! I know that taste! My super-country-fied relatives used to feed it to us. No lie, I took a pic since I got home, you can buy a can of that crap at Walmart for like $.30. I was rather shocked to see it served anywhere other than at a campsite. LOL! Then I sat there giggling at the notion. It just struck me funny, I guess.

I know I don't talk too fondly of the MDRs as a whole. You know my food issues already. I get bored sitting there. And I don't like the repetitiveness after sailing with Disney so much. I've started inventing my own dishes. I'll ask for 2 of the salads for the evening + a lighter note steak cooked medium. I cut up the steak, dump it on the double salad, and voila. Made up my own dinner. I also hate & despise their dinner rolls. You could hurt somebody with those rocks. We took to cracking them open & digging out the soft innards. Disney seriously could use some lessons in bread baking. And when you serve bread the butter should be soft, not fresh out of the fridge. It doesn't spread when it's hard. We would rub the unopened butter packets in our hands before attempting to use them. LOL! My only other complaint would be the desserts. I do not like the majority of the desserts anywhere on the ship. They mostly have this reoccurring textural theme, gelatinous-themed creations like how flan is. Or cheesecake. Or pudding. The soufflés people go insane about are okay but, again, the texture throws me. Even when they attempt cakes, the frosting is gel-like and ruins it. My raging sweet tooth has no issues with control on Disney cruises. I won't hardly touch a dessert. Even if I'm tempted enough to take a bite, a bite is all it takes to go right back to "Nope."

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

We like AP just as much if not more than the other MDRs. The tenderloin with wasabi mashed potatoes is good, been a favorite since our very first cruise. The Crush interaction is fun to watch. On our first ladies cruise Crush talked to me. You should've seen his face when he asked who I was there with. "27 ladies, no men or kids. We left them all at home." His jaw dropped. Silence & disbelief. It was such a hysterical interaction.

My guys go nutty for the French onion soup in Royal Court. They always put in special orders asking for it to be made or brought over to them regardless of what dining room we're in every night.

I forget which restaurant it is but the truffle pursettes are really, really divine. I try not to order them because they're dangerous. But so amazing.

On the pirate menu they have pot stickers & this pineapple spear dish for appetizers. I always mess up & order the potstickers then get aggravated because they don't have the dark sauce I'm used to getting with them at my favorite Chinese takeout at home. The pineapple spear dish is so good. I love that one.

We won't have the Frozen menu on the Dream but it debuted on our WBPC. I can't not tell you about this! One of the appetizers was a meat & cheese plate of some sort. I kid you not, one of the meats was straight up potted meat! I know that taste! My super-country-fied relatives used to feed it to us. No lie, I took a pic since I got home, you can buy a can of that crap at Walmart for like $.30. I was rather shocked to see it served anywhere other than at a campsite. LOL! Then I sat there giggling at the notion. It just struck me funny, I guess.

I know I don't talk too fondly of the MDRs as a whole. You know my food issues already. I get bored sitting there. And I don't like the repetitiveness after sailing with Disney so much. I've started inventing my own dishes. I'll ask for 2 of the salads for the evening + a lighter note steak cooked medium. I cut up the steak, dump it on the double salad, and voila. Made up my own dinner. I also hate & despise their dinner rolls. You could hurt somebody with those rocks. We took to cracking them open & digging out the soft innards. Disney seriously could use some lessons in bread baking. And when you serve bread the butter should be soft, not fresh out of the fridge. It doesn't spread when it's hard. We would rub the unopened butter packets in our hands before attempting to use them. LOL! My only other complaint would be the desserts. I do not like the majority of the desserts anywhere on the ship. They mostly have this reoccurring textural theme, gelatinous-themed creations like how flan is. Or cheesecake. Or pudding. The soufflés people go insane about are okay but, again, the texture throws me. Even when they attempt cakes, the frosting is gel-like and ruins it. My raging sweet tooth has no issues with control on Disney cruises. I won't hardly touch a dessert. Even if I'm tempted enough to take a bite, a bite is all it takes to go right back to "Nope."

LOVE the pursettes! I think they're in the Royal restaurants. As far as rolls go, can't can't stand the rocks they serve, mentioned it to Head Waiter last time on Fantasy and every night after that had a fresh basket of soft dinner rolls on the table waiting for us.

 

[Ariel484]

Pursettes are in Animator's...


...and back to lurking.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Pursettes are in Animator's...


...and back to lurking.

You don't have to lurk, Shannon.

 

[Ariel484]

You don't have to lurk, Shannon.

 

[littleblackegg]

Don't dread it but I wouldn't go in expecting to say, "This is the best XX I've ever had..."

Food though is highly subjective and it can also depend on what/where/when you eat. My parents and I raved about the food at WDW (all of us adults), my brother, his wife and their 3 kids went. When they returned home, my brother said he didn't think the food was that good and basically told us we didn't know what good restaurant meals were. They had done practically non stop character meals for the kids - of course the food was mediocre at best. Buffet after buffet of lukewarm trays of various foods served in various sauces.

The next trip I urged them to mix up the restaurants a little - not everything had to have Mickey and Friends jumping around them. He came back with a completely different view of the food.

On one cruise on Pirate night, both my dad and I ordered the short rib. His was fantastic - he had little to no fat and only 2 bones. Mine had 5 bones and a big blob of fat along one side. By the time I took that off, I had maybe 2 bites of not so good meat. He of course loved his. Although it's the same meal, two different experiences.

Food is subjective. Some people enjoy the food at Applebee's more to a finely crafted meal at a five star restaurant. It's what makes us human. My husband and I like continental and market cuisine, fresh tastes,lots of veggies and salads, and yummy steaks. People feed kids differently than when we were kids. Our mothers just made dinner. If you didn't like it, you didn't eat it. We are adventurous eaters. I think the food on DCL is good. The high-end restaurants are very good. I think the food at Disney's signature restaurants is excellent. So, I think most people will enjoy the food just fine. Most of the high end travel zines rate DCL right up there for cuisine.

 

[perditax]

The only issue I have with 'food is subjective' (and I've said this over on Cruise Critic) is that it isn't all subjective. You can quantify things like quality of ingredients (I get the sense this is the thing that has dwindled), whether your steak was cooked the way you ordered it, whether the seasoning was sufficient, whether it looked like anyone took any time with it or just tossed it on a plate, whether pasta was cooked al dente or boiled into mush, etc etc.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

The only issue I have with 'food is subjective' (and I've said this over on Cruise Critic) is that it isn't all subjective. You can quantify things like quality of ingredients (I get the sense this is the thing that has dwindled), whether your steak was cooked the way you ordered it, whether the seasoning was sufficient, whether it looked like anyone took any time with it or just tossed it on a plate, whether pasta was cooked al dente or boiled into mush, etc etc.

I've not been on NCL yet so Im cautious to say "It's cruise food." It's not terrible. It won't be the best thing you ever ate. We also like to ask our server what they recommend. They know which dishes get sent back or diners don't finish often. They know. We had a server once that would give his opinions as we ordered. Like Tracey ordered the fish and he said, "Uuuummm...why don't you pick a second choice because the fish hasn't been a hit. It's dry. I'll bring you the fish, too, but I don't think you'll like it so let's have a second choice." Sure enough, the fish was dry and Tracey was happy to have another selection in front of him. I have sent steaks back for being overcooked. The missteps aren't as common as the hits. I think you'll find things you like just fine.

 

[perditax]

I appreciate all the reassurances. I'm not that hung up on food, I've just seen a definite trend downwards since I started researching this hobby. It's mostly a point of intellectual curiosity. It's really interesting the way one cruise ship can be described by one person as having the best food on the seas and another person may describe it as completely inedible. I know 'subjectivity' is part of that but I've also seen, for example, some really terrifying pictures of prime rib on DCL.

Again--this won't make or break my cruise (but I do still appreciate the reassurances).

 

[darwinsrule]

I have sent steaks back for being overcooked. The missteps aren't as common as the hits. I think you'll find things you like just fine.

We did NCL to Bermuda in 2012 (damn I wish DCL would do Bermuda). Steaks were. . . . . well. . . . not good. Between 2012 and 2014 they did a complete menu revamp. The quality of the steaks went from not good to pretty much what you would find in places like Outback. And that was in the main dining rooms. There were a few things that trip that just weren't good. Didn't do Cagney's last summer so can't comment on it. It was good in 2012, not sure it was worth the upcharge however.

They did have a wonderful bread pudding in 2012. Couldn't get enough of it. Sadly they did drop it when they updated the menu.

 

[Ofinn]

I appreciate all the reassurances. I'm not that hung up on food, I've just seen a definite trend downwards since I started researching this hobby. It's mostly a point of intellectual curiosity. It's really interesting the way one cruise ship can be described by one person as having the best food on the seas and another person may describe it as completely inedible. I know 'subjectivity' is part of that but I've also seen, for example, some really terrifying pictures of prime rib on DCL.

Again--this won't make or break my cruise (but I do still appreciate the reassurances).

The first cruise on the Dream I thought the food was horrible. I think I had really high expectations. Ive gotten used to cruise food, and I think its good. Nothing great, but the fact that I dont have to cook it or do the dishes makes it taste better.

 

[TestingH2O]

I appreciate all the reassurances. I'm not that hung up on food, I've just seen a definite trend downwards since I started researching this hobby. It's mostly a point of intellectual curiosity. It's really interesting the way one cruise ship can be described by one person as having the best food on the seas and another person may describe it as completely inedible. I know 'subjectivity' is part of that but I've also seen, for example, some really terrifying pictures of prime rib on DCL.

Again--this won't make or break my cruise (but I do still appreciate the reassurances).

I read all the same negative reviews and hand wringing about declining quality. I found the food on the Dream a couple weeks ago good to very good to excellent (sea bass and those pasta pursette things.) I think a couple things helped me be very pleased. First, I did read the reviews and knew what people talked about being the best of the best. Second, I listened to our servers. While there were things they recommend, I didn't order stuff I knew I wouldn't enjoy because of specific ingredients. Unless you're going with the expectation that you'll be eating at a 5 star restaurant, I really do think the food is above average for mass production.

 

[emma'smom]

Having recently cruised on the Getaway and ate in 3 of the specialty restaurants and did the main dining rooms 4 times I can honestly say that there was NOTHING wrong with the food in the main dining rooms.

Having recently cruised on the Getaway and ate in 3 of the specialty restaurants and did the main dining rooms 4 times I can honestly say that there was NOTHING wrong with the food in the main dining rooms.

Wow...I'm glad you had that experience because the food we had in the main dining room on the NCL Jewel was inedible...and we are not all that discerning. Just such a negative dining experience (to the point that we didn't even bother going to the MDR toward the end of trip)---so glad to know others haven't had the same experience.

 

[bigtony777]

DCL has priced themselves out of our market for the time being. The funny thing is that our girls (11,9, & 7) all preferred Royal Caribbean to Disney when we asked them. Much of that had to do with the amenities on our previous RC cruise. It had an ice skating rink, flow rider, and rock wall that the girls loved.

 

[SonyaShay]

I have read all pages of this thread today because I am considering jumping ship for other lines due to the new policy changes along with the rising prices.

My main concern is how are other lines with food allergies? I have a crazy allergy to citric acid and Disney is wonderful. It concerns me that with no set servers my allergy wouldn't be taken as seriously on other lines as it is with DCL. Anyone here have first hand experience with allergies on another cruise line?

 

[Maddysdaddy]

I have read all pages of this thread today because I am considering jumping ship for other lines due to the new policy changes along with the rising prices.

You'll probably want to stay away from NCL if you are considering leaving DCL because of policy changes. There have been multiple policy and pricing changes there over the past few months that have people up in arms on the message boards as well, many of which are much more significant than DCL's "if you want alcohol, you'll have to buy it from us" policy change.

 

[perditax]

You'll probably want to stay away from NCL if you are considering leaving DCL because of policy changes. There have been multiple policy and pricing changes there over the past few months that have people up in arms on the message boards as well, many of which are much more significant than DCL's "if you want alcohol, you'll have to buy it from us" policy change.

Hmm, I don't think they're more significant, no. DCL's liquor policy change potentially removes HUNDREDS of dollars per trip that people were previously saving on alcohol, especially on longer cruises. NCL's changes, while mildly annoying, have amounted to something like fifty cents per day in stateroom charges and an $8 room service fee ... At half the cruise price of DCL.

And NCL seems to have calmed down for now. Something tells me Disney is just getting started. Don't forget that a la carte priced ice cream and candy is on the way.

 

[sayheyrenee]

We have cruised NCL, RCCL, Carnival, Holland and celebrity. We finally booked our first DCL cruise in October 2016.......and I am pondering changing. The cruise is close to $6500 when I am use to spending $2700. If I find another cruise that wows me, I may just do it.

 

[momof2n2]

I have read all pages of this thread today because I am considering jumping ship for other lines due to the new policy changes along with the rising prices.

My main concern is how are other lines with food allergies? I have a crazy allergy to citric acid and Disney is wonderful. It concerns me that with no set servers my allergy wouldn't be taken as seriously on other lines as it is with DCL. Anyone here have first hand experience with allergies on another cruise line?

My son has a ton of food allergies. I've heard they are excellent on NCL. I'll report back on this piece after our spring trip.