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Worst food item you tasted on a cruise??


Heidict
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I've only sailed NCL, so here's my memories of awful food:

  • Dry sandwich buns at the buffet and poolside grill (not always, but quite often-enough that I never get them anymore)
  • Most daytime desserts in the buffet
  • Red snapper "nuggets" (it wasn't described on the menu that way, but really, it was "fishy fish nuggets") in the MDR
  • Biscuits and gravy (dry, dry biscuits with white gravy and sausage links) in the MDR. Once over the disappointment that it wasn't a good US Southern style, we tried it in the buffet a few times and it was marginally better (biscuits strangely softer, anyway).
  • Muffins in the breakfast buffet (not worth the calories at all).

The rest is all good to excellent, IMHO.

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I know that taste is subjective and that what one person may not like, another may love. But if a friend asked you what food they should avoid on their up coming cruise, what item(s) would you tell them to skip? And don't forget the cruise line. What may be bad on one, may be to die for on another. ;)

 

For me, on RCCL (AOS) i would have to say the Lobster Bisque in the dining room. It had a very unlobstery taste, with no lobster in sight. Was also very runny, like canned tomato soup.

 

Maybe being in New England has spoiled me for lobster bisque. I would be interested to know what others thought of RCCL's Lobster Bisque.

 

Eggs Benedict on Princess - by a wide margin the worse anywhere.

 

Coffee on Princess would be a close 2nd.

 

DON

Edited by donaldsc
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  • 2 weeks later...

This may surprise some. A couple of years ago I went to one of Princess' specialty restaurants - Sabatini's. I ordered the lobster as I've had lobster in the main dining room many times. This particular evening they had the lobster in some weird, brown sauce. Not only did it taste horrible it was also very, very salty. Yucky, Yucky!:eek::eek::eek:

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I traveled on the Carnival Liberty in 08 and the Carnival Legend in 09. I found that all the shrimp dishes in the main dining rooms were pretty lack luster. Not saying that they were inedible but if I han't eaten them I wouldn't have been missing anything.:rolleyes:

 

Another problem I've noticed is with the buffets;nothing seemed to be labeled. If i'm unsure of what something is I just skip over it, which is unfortunate because it may have been something I truly liked.

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  • 2 months later...

I listen to the waiters' recommendations. I then select two items; I ask the waiter their preference usually works to get a good tasting meal....works on land also! I stay away from steak everywhere but home, because logistically to get a steak med rare on a cruise ships is going to be a nightmare!

 

Worst thing I have ever had was a fish dish on Celebrity Century years ago BEORE I starting listening to waiters. Luckily my waiter knew what was going to happen and had a second plate of a different selection waiting on me! Waiter just reached down took the fish plate and put the second plate....I never had to admit to the BAD choice!

Edited by Roxymax
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We just returned from a 7 day cruise on the Navigator of the Seas and as someone has already said, the lobster bisque was disappointing. Not creamy at all. Better to eat in on the wharf at Galveston. Some of the desserts were too dry (sugarless coconut cake, chocolate cake with cherries). And I was quite surprised that the apple dumpling was completely flat! I was thinking it would be apple-shaped with pastry covering it. Taste was just fair.

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  • 1 month later...
Eggs Benedict on Princess - by a wide margin the worse anywhere.

 

Coffee on Princess would be a close 2nd.

 

DON

 

I had an odd experience on HAL (Oosterdam). I ordered eggs Florentine, looking forward to the combination of spinach, runny egg and holland aisle sauce. It came with these but also covered in grated hard cheese. (Edit) I left in the auto correct typo as perhaps this is the right name for it. I prefer traditional hollandaise.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Edited by cjm66
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There seems to be a bit of a fairly consistent problem with lobster, as I read over what others have written - being from the Boston area, we are used to Maine lobster, and there is truly no substitute for it, anywhere in the world - that is chauvinistic pride or regional bravado speaking, but rather the simple fact that the conditions are perfect in the waters here to produce an outstanding species of lobster. On our first Celebrity cruise, it was a big deal in the main dining room, that lobster was on the menu this particular night - we thought, 'oh, yum!', only to be dramatically disappointed! MANY other people, most in fact, seemed to love it, but my advice to everyone is that if you are used to Maine lobster, accept no substitution, and order something else! :rolleyes:

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  • 2 weeks later...

The worst food to date was a "steak" that I had the poor judgement to choose at the Lido Buffet on the Carnival Splendor a few weeks ago. It looked ok, but it was SOO highly tenderized, it had a mooshy texture, then the taste hit me................OMG, it tasted as though it was in the process of spoilage. Very, very repulsive, and appalling that such garbage would make it to the buffet line. Yes, I admit buffets are "iffy," but this was just over the top.

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Feel the urge to relate this old tale. When DD was about 6 we took her on a Sitmar cruise. On one of the formal nights we went to a cocktail party where waiters were coming around with all kinds of hors d'oeurves and DD spotted a piece of toast with a topping she thought was chocolate. She quickly grabbed this item off the tray and popped it into her little mouth. Within a couple of seconds she got this horrid look on her face, a few tears in her eyes, but she still finished her snack without a sound. She had just had her first (and to this day 27 years later her last) taste of caviar!

 

Hank

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I've had a few tough steaks over the years on cruise ships, pretty much in the main dining rooms, the specialty restaurants do a better job with better cuts of meat. I typically avoid ordering any chicken at dinner on any ship...it just tastes reheated to me.

 

The absolute worst meals I've ever had on a cruise ship were the curry risotto (main dish meal) on NCL Star and pretty much "lobster" night on any line. It's rather odd (to me) that many others look forward to tough, overcooked lobster, maybe they just like the melted butter? Why do we keep trying it? We've learned to order one entree to share between us and load up on the salads and appetizers instead. I think once out of 20 or so cruises we've had almost good lobster in the main dining room.

 

That curry risotto was in 2002 and I still remember how nasty it was, I don't remember what my husband had but he didn't like his food, either. We got up and went to the buffet afterward...the food wasn't any better there. So, the rest of that cruise, dinners were in the specialty restaurants.

 

For years people raved about the honey stung chicken on RCI on boarding day at the buffet. I haven't cruised RCI in a couple years, so I don't know if it's still served. The stuff had a fatty feel to the tongue and very little actual meat on the chicken, mostly just the breading with sticky "honey" sauce. I wanted to prove myself wrong, so tried it several times...nope, always pretty bad.

 

Food is so subjective. I have a brother in law who will rave about a restaurant...we try it and think it's just average or not so great. I think a lot of my distaste for restaurant food comes from the fact that I cook fresh at home and can tell the difference between fresh and frozen veggies and meat, fresh or bagged dehydrated lettuce.

 

I definitely don't cruise for the food!

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Feel the urge to relate this old tale. When DD was about 6 we took her on a Sitmar cruise. On one of the formal nights we went to a cocktail party where waiters were coming around with all kinds of hors d'oeurves and DD spotted a piece of toast with a topping she thought was chocolate. She quickly grabbed this item off the tray and popped it into her little mouth. Within a couple of seconds she got this horrid look on her face, a few tears in her eyes, but she still finished her snack without a sound. She had just had her first (and to this day 27 years later her last) taste of caviar!

 

Hank

 

When I was 6 myself, I was lucky enough to travel with my parents in First Class Transatlantic. We were the only passengers in First and when the Cabin Attendant asked me what I wanted for started, I told her, with a posh intonation:rolleyes: Caviar! So be it, se gave me the WHOLE pot, of extremely expensive Beluga Malossol... First time caviar for me, and a couple of hours later also the first time becoming sick onboard an airplane...:rolleyes::D

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Only been on one cruise so far on Navigator of the Seas. I agree with whomever said that the hamburgers and hot dogs in the Windjammer were inedible. Tried them on embarkment day and it was a huge mistake! The bun was so stale that it broke.

 

The other nominee I have for worst meal was the beef stroganoff in the MDR. It wasn't bad per se, but it tasted like chili and it was super weird.

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  • 1 month later...

I don't know if they still have it or not but I was on the Carnival Conquest in 2003 & 2004 when they did the chocolate buffet on the final sea day. I have always loved chocolate and tried everything. The ONLY tasty item was a banana fritter! I don't know how it was possible to have so many horrible chocolate creations in one room.

 

On a happier note, all of deserts I had with my meals were really good. I loved the creme brulee' and tiramisu.

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Here's what I have come to believe about buns...

 

Ships have to fight the moisture in the air. I know if I leave my balcony door open for a little my clothes sitting out get a mustiness to them. That's why even the potato chips get stale quickly. So perhaps they have to slightly toast all the buns to keep them from getting soggy? Then they sit under those heat lamps that just keep toasting them & toasting them?

 

Now as for the hot dogs? Those are just plain bad. The lines have partnered up with so many, they should partner up with Nathan's or Sabretts in there!!

Edited by Pack My Bags
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  • 3 weeks later...

The Eggs Benedict on Princess which are overcooked and dried out. At least that's what they were on the UBB. This was our substitution for the lox.

 

Now I am not a big fan of salmon but had it on the Coral Princess in 2007 with the butter sauce and it was yummy. Next year on the Grand, no more butter sauce, now melted butter with herbs. No good. I guess the real butter sauce just masked the flavor of the salmon. LOL.

 

Sue

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