Which foods would you avoid on NCL cruises?

[CruiseNurseBabe82]

We're just back from Dawn. The food was okay but not great. Don't know anything about prison food but I suspect this was better.:p I don't eat red meat but my wife was disappointed with the steak she had the first night in the MDR. My salmon was good though a tad overcooked. Most everything else was just fine. The one thing that was particularly disappointing was the desserts. I don't think any of us had a single dessert all week that was at all remarkable - all very generic, mass-produced stuff. Not bad, just not any standouts. Wait, my wife did enjoy the chocolate caramel mousse thing. The stuff at the chocolate buffet was equally unremarkable. If you can get there early and avoid the crowd, it is worth it but if there is a line out the door, don't bother.

 

When we were on the Dawn in June on the last night of the cruise in the MDR, there was this whole apple in I don't know if it was wrapped in some sort of dough or puff pastry (I am not a chef :p), but WOW. It was also immersed in some sort of white sauce, no clue what it was, but it had an almond taste. It may have been up there with the most amazing desserts I have ever eaten. I definitely wanted to ask for seconds, but I am way too shy to do this!

[Louiseec]

Love the Scottish Bangers in the breakfast buffet on the Dawn.:D

[NewYearsBaby]

Love the Scottish Bangers in the breakfast buffet on the Dawn.:D

Ditto on the Scotch bangers!

I wish NCL would bring them back to the main dining rooms.

[clarkg]

what was wrong with the hash browns? We love hash browns so knowing what we're in for would be nice.

 

also regarding ordering of steaks one level rarer than you normally order: is this a general rule of thumb across the entire NCL fleet or ship specific?

I like my steak to be between medium rare and medium but i definately don't want any brown in it except for the nummy sear on the outside. I'm a little hesitant to order rare in order to get medium-rare, in case they end up actually making it rare! i guess i can ask them to cook it a little longer....

 

I have been on eight NCL cruises and like my steaks well done, but the others in my party always tell me about that one level down trick and it seems to work. The hash browns in the MDR are very greasy and too crisp for my liking, but better than nothing. The come in these weird little squares that have been over packed and deep fried.

[weltek]

The biscuits and gravy will disappoint you if you are a fan of that dish. They are rock hard biscuits, with white gravy (which isn't terrible) and sausage links. Put them all together and it's sad. You should've seen the look on my hubby's face when the dish was presented at breakfast. He tried to think positive and chopped up his links, but the biscuit was awful.

 

The buns in the poolside grill are the only other thing I found inedible. They don't keep them soft very well, so they taste like buns that have been sitting out all day.

 

Everything else has generally ranged from good-average, with a few highlights in between. Over four crusies, the soups, appetizers and lunches had the most "delicious!" remarks from me. A few specialty restaurant entrees also wowed me. Entrees in the MDR generally hit the "average" mark for me.

[kayhil3]

Was on both the Dawn and Gem and the only thing that I didn't like was the spinach dip at the blue lagoon. It was like undiluted cream of broccoli soup. Every steak I ordered on both ships was served just like I love it rare to med rare. Try the sugar free deserts, I found them to be the best out of all of them, except the desert crape station on the Gem.

[disneysteve]

Was on both the Dawn and Gem and the only thing that I didn't like was the spinach dip at the blue lagoon.

I thought the dip was okay. Not the best I've had but not bad. It would have been better with some Tostitos instead of the tasteless overly salty chips they served, though.

[MissRabbit]

I have been on eight NCL cruises and like my steaks well done, but the others in my party always tell me about that one level down trick and it seems to work. The hash browns in the MDR are very greasy and too crisp for my liking, but better than nothing. The come in these weird little squares that have been over packed and deep fried.

 

thanks for replying. i guess i'll order rare and hope for medium rare. At worst, they have to re-fire it.

 

ooooo i love crispy hash browns. All we get up here are square hashbrowns. First time i went to the states and had shredded potatoes for hash browns, i had no clue what they were lolol.

[craigers]

Love the Scottish Bangers in the breakfast buffet on the Dawn.:D

 

I love that type of food[sausage,kielbasa and scrapple],but I thought the bangers I had several years ago were tasteless.Should I try them again or is what I had pretty much what i'm going to get ? Thanks