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What to skip on the NCL menu


tcruisin77
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I'll bite...pardon the pun.

 

I skip the desserts. Total waste of calories, riffs on gelatin.

 

This does not pertain to the crepes that are freshly made on some ships, although even those aren't as good anymore now that they don't have chocolate fondue sauce available. ( notice I said the fondue chocolate. Chocolate syrup is noxious)

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Most people think the pizza is a waste of calories but I happen to like it. Most of the desserts in the buffet are pretty tasteless unless it is one of the days they bake a giant sheet cake or if you like cookies and soft serve ice cream. The pastries are definitely not worth it unless you can manage to get the lemon Danish or almond Danish. They go fast!

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I'll bite...pardon the pun.

 

I skip the desserts. Total waste of calories, riffs on gelatin.

 

This does not pertain to the crepes that are freshly made on some ships, although even those aren't as good anymore now that they don't have chocolate fondue sauce available. ( notice I said the fondue chocolate. Chocolate syrup is noxious)

 

Agree. Nothing I would waste the extra calories on.

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The gnocchi in the MDR. I've had it on 2 different ships (Breakaway and Dawn) 3 years apart, and both times they were just dense and bland and not very appetizing. Enough so that I remember the subpar dish from the Breakaway when I had it on the Dawn last month.

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Rubin sandwich in O'Sheehans, the so called lox in the buffet, it is a lox mouse sort of and am not a fan of the desserts except as others have said, Creme Burle. I was surprised to see someone say Eggs bene in the buffet. It must have been a bad morning or the end of a pan of them. I always get them and love the spinach eggs benedict.

Edited by newmexicoNita
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Feel free to walk past Chin Chin's. Not only did I feel the female servers uniforms were tacky, the food was super bland. Easily the worst of the "free to feed" restaurants with quality. No spices to the traditional dishes and just not very good in general.

 

The beef curry in the buffet was head and shoulders better than anything in chin chin's.

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The internet ate my detailed post. Grr. Abbreviated list of waste of calories:

 

-Breakfast pastries/muffins and cookies. Reminds me of cheap grocery store bakery items.

-Ice cream/gelato. I'm from Wisconsin and am picky. I don't like the soft serve, hand dipped or gelato. But whether it's soft serve or hand dipped, people clamor for this stuff on ships.

-Sugar free desserts. Just order a regular dessert and have a few bites instead. And be picky about your regular desserts. Cakes are questionable in their value.

-Biscuits and gravy. They've improved, but are still fairly terrible.

-Burgers. In nine cruises, across many NCL ships, I haven't found one any place on board that I consider worth it. I'm super picky about my burgers (unless I'm drunk and someone takes me to a McDonalds), and like them medium, juicy and light textured. On NCL, buns are usually dry, meat is dry and flavorless, and they are always overcooked. Poolside BBQs on sea days are the best bet for a juicy burger, but the buns are usually dry. I always enjoy the chicken most at the poolside BBQs.

-I'm always torn on chicken wings. They are lightly breaded, so they aren't my favorite, but during a football game on board, with a lot of beer, they'll do.

 

 

On a non-calorie note, I skip the coffee in the buffet and just drink water or juice with my breakfast. I then go buy a good coffee in the cafe.

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Most people think the pizza is a waste of calories but I happen to like it. Most of the desserts in the buffet are pretty tasteless unless it is one of the days they bake a giant sheet cake or if you like cookies and soft serve ice cream. The pastries are definitely not worth it unless you can manage to get the lemon Danish or almond Danish. They go fast!

 

The almond danish is the best of the worst. I don't find them worth the calories unless I'm really stuck on wanting a pastry.

 

I also don't mind the pizza. It's not great, but it will fix a quick craving. I sometimes grab a small slice on the way through the buffet if I've been drinking a lot during the day. It does the trick.

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The gnocchi in the MDR. I've had it on 2 different ships (Breakaway and Dawn) 3 years apart, and both times they were just dense and bland and not very appetizing. Enough so that I remember the subpar dish from the Breakaway when I had it on the Dawn last month.

 

Yes! I love gnocchi and am usually disappointed. Granted, I also suck at making it, so I shouldn't cast stones.

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I was surprised to see someone say Eggs bene in the buffet. It must have been a bad morning or the end of a pan of them. I always get them and love the spinach eggs benedict.

 

I've had really mixed experience with the eggs benedict in the buffet, so I get both opinions. Always have a back up option is my motto. Sort of like bacon. Sometimes a pan is out that has some decent pieces. Other times they are all either too over or undercooked.

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It may have just been an off batch and/or improved in the past 8 years since I was last on NCL, but the escargot in both Le Bistro and the MDR on Spirit were a total disappointment (the snails had no taste of their own, it was like biting into a slightly rubbery ball of pure clarified butter).

 

Also my wife (well she was still just my GF at the time) hated the weisswurst and sauerkraut at the grill at the Beir Garten and also served in Le Bistro.

 

That being said, we enjoyed the food overall, and found every meal to be at least adequate, most being quite good, and some absolutely amazing.

 

The worst thing I think I ever was served on any cruise line was the room service "steak" sandwich on the RCI Adventure of the Seas a couple years ago. Plus, it came over an hour later than the quoted time.

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