Question about food

So I am going on Epic in 6 days and I have never cruised NCL before.

How many restaurants are free and how many do I have to pay extra to go to?

Also, what's all this I hear about Chocolate night or something? How does it work and are there really whole statues of the sweet treat posted on display along with all the food? Is there a time limit?

Side question: How deep are the pools?

Is there a pizza place like Sorantos on RCCL? (if yes) Do you have to pay extra?

So I am going on Epic in 6 days and I have never cruised NCL before.

 

How many restaurants are free and how many do I have to pay extra to go to?

 

Also, what's all this I hear about Chocolate night or something? How does it work and are there really whole statues of the sweet treat posted on display along with all the food? Is there a time limit?

 

Side question: How deep are the pools?

 

Is there a pizza place like Sorantos on RCCL? (if yes) Do you have to pay extra?

Garden Buffet , Manhattan , Taste, and O'Sheehans are all included.

We ate at Cagneys and was well worth the extra fee.

Pools are 4-5 ft deep not bad at all.

NCL pizza puts RCI Sorrentos 's to shame. It's free at the buffet but you can also get a pizza delivered to you anywhere on the ship for $5.00

The chicken fingers and burgers at Garden Buffet were very good also.

Didn't see or do Chocolate night , but they do have about 8-9 flVors of ice cream at Garden buffet. Along with soft serve machine.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

How many restaurants are free and how many do I have to pay extra to go to?

 

Dining info is right there on the website (Freestyle Dining Guide):

http://www.ncl.com/why-cruise-norwegian/cruise-dining

You can preview menus at http://www.Beyondtheship. Com

Also the Garden buffet had a themed night every night and it shows what will be available that night on a table setup in the entrance to Garden.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I hated the food on my last Gem cruise but was pleasantly surprised by the food on the Epic.

I even got a properly cooked tender, medium rare steak in the MDR. They are taught to cook everything medium well or better so this takes some persuading.

On another cruise a NCL chef warned me not to eat the lamb because it was so bad. The lamb at Modernos was sublime. That is a fee restaurant.

The pizza is very cheesy bread with some sauce. It's a step above frozen because of all the cheese but if you have ever had a NY slice this isn't it. However, it's lovely when you have drunk munchies. If you want a whole pie, just ask. They will make you one & plate it for you but you have to wait a few minutes.

The biggest disappointments: the nachos at Taste were so soggy I couldn't eat them & they didn't have enough cheese; the corned beef hash at O'Sheehans for breakfast is far from authentic and ears of corn at the lunch BBQs dry out unnaturally quickly once removed from the hot butter solution so eat them 1st.

The specials at the buffet change daily & are very creative. The Asian & Indian dishes are quite flavorful. Try something you never ate before.

When ordering a steak, order RARE in capital letters - they have generally complied with this in our experience.

Pizzas are not that good IMHO - having had proper Italian pizzas - NCL's come nowhere close (it's the dough that is just not right).

Lamb has been variable - Le Bistro's good - MDR good and not so good - it's a crap shoot.

The Asian stand at the buffet has usually had some decent curries and accompaniments.

No chocolate night that I am aware of.

HAL had a big dessert extravaganza that sounds a lot like what you are referencing.

When ordering a steak, order RARE in capital letters - they have generally complied with this in our experience.

 

 

 

Pizzas are not that good IMHO - having had proper Italian pizzas - NCL's come nowhere close (it's the dough that is just not right).

 

 

 

Lamb has been variable - Le Bistro's good - MDR good and not so good - it's a crap shoot.

 

 

 

The Asian stand at the buffet has usually had some decent curries and accompaniments.

Ok we are not comparing good Italian Pizza or New York or Chicago the OP asked about NCL compared to RCI Sorrentos .

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Ok we are not comparing good Italian Pizza or New York or Chicago the OP asked about NCL compared to RCI Sorrentos .

I said it was tasty & very cheesy, which is great. I'm just loathe to call it pizza. It could probably stand a bit more oregano. :D

I said it was tasty & very cheesy, which is great. I'm just loathe to call it pizza. It could probably stand a bit more oregano. :D

Trivia

I was just going off of steveH2508 quote not yours. It's just not a fair comparison to compare any big city pizza to what any cruise ship serves.

Heck we have a bunch of places in our small town that put all cruise ships pizza to shame ax I'm sure everybody does, again just answering the ? Of the OP comparing NCL and RCI.

I couldn't even get Sorrento's down when I needed to soak up some alcohol. LOL

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I meant Trisc1c not trivia. LOL

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Just to defend my corner - I do not go on a cruise ship to eat pizza (unless it takes me to Italy:D)

Just saying that to judge a cruise ship's food on the basis of pizza, hot-dogs or burgers is just wrong IMHO.

Coffee, bacon, how they cook a steak - now that is a whole different ball-game...

Many NCL ships had a chocolate buffet, but it was never on the Epic. There were usually some good sculptures there.

It has recently changed to a night where there are lots of chocolate deserts on the menu in the MDR's. I'm not aware of there being anything else that night other than the chocolate deserts, so the sculptures etc have probably now gone, although someone else may be able to confirm this.

In my opinion, the chocolate buffet wasn't very good anyway, and the Chocolate Volcano on the new menu is really nice, so I'm in favour of the change.

Just to defend my corner - I do not go on a cruise ship to eat pizza (unless it takes me to Italy:D)

 

 

 

Just saying that to judge a cruise ship's food on the basis of pizza, hot-dogs or burgers is just wrong IMHO.

 

 

 

Coffee, bacon, how they cook a steak - now that is a whole different ball-game...

Again no one stated anything about judging the cruise ships food based on the above the items mentioned.

The OP ASKED a ? Was just giving her my thoughts. Why is that so difficult to understand.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

The specialty restaurants on NCL are absolutely worth the extra money! :)

LuLu

:P Thank you all for the many opinions and comments. About the Pizza, I don't expect authentic Italian fair, or even that of NY. I am glad they have something pizza like available for free.

Food is my biggest concern here, as I am quite a foodie and love a stake as rare as it can be. I also have quite the sweet tooth, so if they have good desserts that's a big plus for me. The only ship I ever went on that had disappointing food was Oasis of the Seas, but the MDR food made up for that ten fold. (Seriously, everything besides Sorrantos was terrible, so I found my self saving room all day for dinner. They have NO idea how to make a cheese cake, yeeeuuughhhck, but the food in the MDR was amazing.)

Yay for ice cream! I am glad to know they have that available to me. Kinda disappointed the pools are only 5 feet, as I am almost 6 feet and I like deep water, but it's not a huge deal, as I am sure I will be able to get my share of treading deep water at Grand Cayman and a few other beaches.

I live in Canada in a place where I can get almost any type of cuisine pretty easily, and I tend to gravitate to Italian and Asian food the most, so I am glad to hear they have good Asian dishes on Epic. I don't much care for Indian food at all, so curry may not be something I'll eat, but I may give it a try just to see what it's like.

Any and all experiences on NCL ships be it Epic or in general is welcome. ^_^ Thank you everyone.

Many NCL ships had a chocolate buffet, but it was never on the Epic. There were usually some good sculptures there.

 

It has recently changed to a night where there are lots of chocolate deserts on the menu in the MDR's. I'm not aware of there being anything else that night other than the chocolate deserts, so the sculptures etc have probably now gone, although someone else may be able to confirm this.

 

In my opinion, the chocolate buffet wasn't very good anyway, and the Chocolate Volcano on the new menu is really nice, so I'm in favour of the change.

Me too. I'd rather have a portion (or two) of good chocolate than an entire plateful of really disappointing stuff.

I had the volcano on my last cruise but I think mine was missing the magma! It was just a little chocolate cake.

:D I still look forward to trying it though. Magma or not. <3 chocolate <3

The pizza on a ship will be about as good as the pizza from a Chinese All-U-Can-Eat place.

Paying for the Italian joint is worth it just for the Chocolate Torte.

The rest of the menu is also decent enough.

The lamb in LeBistro will make you happy.

Sailed on the Epic on 1/11

1st freestyle cruise on Norwegian, here are some of my experiences:

O'sheehans had prime rib on 2 separate nights, 1st night was only so so, the 2nd time was much better. I also had the ribs there on the night of the college football championship. They were very good.

O' sheehans seemed to always have an issue with bringing you what you ordered. The 1st time we ordered the prime rib, we waited for close to an hour, finally, after seeing other tables get seated, order, and get their prime rib, we said something to the lady who seemed to be in charge. She was very apologetic, and got our order to the table right away, and also gave us a bottle of wine for our trouble. Another time, I ordered a corned beef sandwich that never came. We just left without it because we didn't want to wait. Missing salads and apps were kind of the norm there, but if you stay on them, they will eventually get it for you.

I Know, O'sheehans is not exactly a gourmet type restaurant, but we really did like like the feel of the place, just wish they had their stuff together a little better.

We only ate at 1 pay restaurant, that was Tappanyaki. I don't really have any specific complaints about it, but to me, it was not worth the $25. The food was good, and very filling, but maybe it is because we have several of these type places near home, I just didn't care for it $25 worth.

I thought the food at the "garden" was really good all week. Loved the Asian and Indian selections, also had some pretty good fish dishes too. There was always hamburgers and hot dogs at the poolside station, can't say much about them as I usually don't eat them on a cruise, but I did find some really good fried fish fingers one night in that area. Delicious with the tarter sauce. The fresh fruit was always good, and breakfast always had plenty of good choices.

The omelettes were very good, if there is a line, check one of the other stations, I think there are about 6 of them through out the garden.

We also ate at Taste one night. I can't really even remember what I ate there, I do remember that I thought the menu was somewhat limited.

Also, the waiter took my plate away not once, but twice before I was finished with it.

The 1st time, I set my spoon down to grab a roll, and next thing I know the waiter just snatched up my delicious French onion soup, and walked off with it. My wife and I just looked at each other and laughed, it was kinda comical.

The second time, he asked if I was finished, and I clearly said " no, I am still working on it"

Next thing I know, he crossed behind me, and snagged my plate, and off he went.

As I re-read this, it sounds like maybe we didn't enjoy ourselves, but that is not what I am trying to imply. We had a great time, and had a lot more good experiences than bad, and we would not let little stuff ruin our cruise.

Over-all, if you get off this cruise hungry, it would be your own fault. There were lots of great choices everywhere, just thought I would share some of our food stories.

Kurt

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Thank you Kurt for the story. I do not intend to get off hungry. I appreciate the honesty and I know what you mean by how it sounds is not 100% a reflection on how much fun you had.

The saying goes "a bad day on a cruise is still a million times better than a good day at work."and I welcome the comments.

I have my own to share about Oasis and Freedom of the Seas, as those are my two most recent trips. Voyager I remember well, but I was also a kid, so things from that trip may not be present to how things are now.

Anyone else with stories?

^_^

Again no one stated anything about judging the cruise ships food based on the above the items mentioned.

 

The OP ASKED a ? Was just giving her my thoughts. Why is that so difficult to understand.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

omg - are you kidding me, calm down & think about what you are beating your chest about.

its cruise ship pizza, it'll probably stink., but the kids would prob like it

good luck, enjoy your cruise

Just to defend my corner - I do not go on a cruise ship to eat pizza (unless it takes me to Italy:D)

 

Just saying that to judge a cruise ship's food on the basis of pizza, hot-dogs or burgers is just wrong IMHO.

 

Coffee, bacon, how they cook a steak - now that is a whole different ball-game...

Well the Sabrett cart in the BA is an incredible find. Lol. A very nice snack.

The uptown grill hamburgers and salad bar could easily be called high end food and the burgers alone are a $20 dish in NYC

The only decent pizza we had on the BA was in la cucina but it was not NYC style by any means however it was good

We were pleasantly surprised by the food quality and quantity on the BA

We had huge steaks that we perfectly cooked and ordered rare in the mdr

On the jewel mdr in 2011 a streak was about 2 oz!!!! On the BA 10 oz plus in the mdr. Very very tasty too

I am very pleased with the improvement in food since 2011 and hope its fleet wide and not just the BA.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

The only decent pizza we had on the BA was in la cucina but it was not NYC style by any means however it was good

I agree. It didn't remind me of pizza I'd had in NYC. Surprisingly, it reminded me of pizza I'd had in Italy, which I think was kind of the point.