NCL Dawn food - Aug 23 - 30 2013

Was anyone else on this cruise? I was, and this was our first NCL cruise.. we've cruised 4 times previous with Carnival.

On this Dawn cruise, we found the food to be bland, or a taste not to our liking. I ate breads mostly in the Garden Cafe.. and what meals I did have in the main diningrooms were not all that good. Two come to mind quite clearly.. One was the mushroom raviolli.. there were three large ones in the plate.. and the cheese on it was supposed to be a mix of Fontina, Parmesean and Mozzerella.. so I thought it would taste great.. but what I got looked AND tasted exactly like melted Cheez Whiz.. yep.. light orange and semi-runny.. And, did anyone else order the prime rib?? We did, on two nights..and both times we swear it was PORK.. yep.. light in color, too firm in texture, and it could be "pulled apart" like pork.. NOT beef.. although smoothered in beef gravy.. oh my.. We are not the type to make a fuss in a restaurant so we ate what we were given.. just posting this here to see if anyone else had the same experiences??

So you complain about NCL and previously you complain about Carnival. Which line will be next on your attack list?

I have had the staff on the ship tell me what a difference the chef can make and I think they know, they eat all of their meals onboard also. I went on the NCL Jewel and about a year later went on the Gem. Both had the same exact menus but the food on the Gem was clearly better. I think sometimes this happens but that being said I have never come home from a cruise any lighter than I was before went onboard. There is always something good around somewhere. I do believe that cruise food as a whole varies a bit more than it should within some lines though. I have seen the same thing on other lines as well.

That "prime rib" sounds weird!! What doneness did you request??

Sorry you didn't enjoy your experience.

Did you take up any of your concerns with the Food and Beverage Director while you were on the ship? If not, why not?

That "prime rib" sounds weird!! What doneness did you request??

the prime rib was requested "medium"

Did you take up any of your concerns with the Food and Beverage Director while you were on the ship? If not, why not?

there would have been no point.. this was the same food served to everyone.. If we had a specific issue pertaining to us alone (hair in the food, etc) then we would have.

So sorry the food wasn't to your liking. With so very many different areas to eat on NCL ships I'm sure you found something. I did in May we weren't to happy with the prime rib so didn't eat much of it. Later that evening (much later) went to the Blue Lagoon for a snack. Easy fix on NCL. That being said food as always is a matter of taste. We have been on 7 Princess trips and only 2 Carnival but my husband still raves about the Carnival food. NCL is somewhere in the middle for me.

Like another poster never went hungry on any line :).

Just think no dishes to do and lots of choices.

We were on the Dawn in July and we thought the food was very good. As a matter of fact, my sister raved about the mushroom ravioli. I had the prime rib; it was great. I guess it's all subjective. We will be back on the Dawn this Friday; we'll see what happens!

We were on the Dawn Aug 16 - 23. Two people in my family ordered the ravioli and, like you, also said it had cheddar cheese in the mix! We all thought that was quite weird. The only other time we ate MDR food was the surf and turf night and the food was not good at all. Needless to say, we LOVE the fee restaurants and have found that the food there is fabulous and worth every penny!

I was on the August 23rd-30th trip. Overall, I thought the food was okay.

The best thing I ate was the Truffle Chicken at Cagney's, but I'm always bummed about the quality of desserts on board. Just tasteless and blah for the most part.

I have not been on the Dawn but have had the wild mushroom Ravioli on Epic. It was my favorite dish the entire cruise! But it came with a white creamy sauce, not orange.

Sorry the food did not meet your expectations. I think it is a trend everywhere on land and sea that restaurants are forced to cut back due to high prices and the food is not the same. I have seen the food quality decline year after year since I started cruising. But it is not just NCL. Our favorite land restaurants are even worse. The food and bread are just not the same but the price is way up.

I have had the staff on the ship tell me what a difference the chef can make and I think they know, they eat all of their meals onboard also. I went on the NCL Jewel and about a year later went on the Gem. Both had the same exact menus but the food on the Gem was clearly better. I think sometimes this happens but that being said I have never come home from a cruise any lighter than I was before went onboard. There is always something good around somewhere. I do believe that cruise food as a whole varies a bit more than it should within some lines though. I have seen the same thing on other lines as well.

I agree wholeheartedly that is can be the chef..We have been on some cruises where the food was fabulous and then some not so much!!

I was on the Dawn in April and will be again in 7 weeks. I can say the food on the Dawn in April was the worst I have had in any of my cruise history. Did we starve, nope. Were things okay..yep. I definitely agree that the beef was just plain "weird" in the MDR. I don't eat seafood or pork, so I ordered beef every night, I swear it was the same "beef" just covered in gravy, the best beef dish was in the buffet. We LOVED our meal in Moderno..yummy!

Again, the food doesn't make or break our cruise!

We were on the Dawn in July and we thought the food was very good. As a matter of fact, my sister raved about the mushroom ravioli. I had the prime rib; it was great. I guess it's all subjective. We will be back on the Dawn this Friday; we'll see what happens!

My sister will be on the same trip. Her very first cruise, hope the food is OK for her. Her boyfriend is a vegetarian so I think he will do fine. She will let me know when she gets back. We go in Oct. :D.

I was also on the Dawn in July. I had the Mushroom Ravioli and it definitely didn't have an orange colored cheesy sauce on it. I also found the Prime Rib delicious. We also ate at the free restaurants as well. I definitely would have returned the dish to your server and asked for something else. I agree with others that the food doesn't make the cruise. However, you're paying for the food so you should be able to get something you can eat.

Just got off the Dawn , You can tell they are cutting back in the food costs , Cheaper cuts of meat , less ripe fruits and lots more pasta and rice..:(

I have not been on the Dawn, but have sailed on the Jade and Star. In both cases, I thought the MDR food was pretty mediocre. Much of it was bland, often times lukewarm, and the beef was frequently tough.

On the other hand, the fee restaurants were very good. Especially enjoyed Le Bistro.

I was on the Dawn in July - Mushroom Rav one of my favourites, sauce was white...

We were on the Dawn in June and the food is.. just well... I think I would rather go to the Outback lol. We found the same thing when we cruised a couple of years ago with NCL, don't cruise for their food lol