Spirit: All Things Food

[alwalaska]

It has been a while since I have seen a thread answering spirit questions, so I thought I would try and get some conversations going about dining on the Spirit. Here are a few of my questions.

 

Where do you go to eat if you want an early lunch around 11am?

 

What specialty dining is a must do? Which is your least favorite?

 

Any words of wisdom for the buffet? ie: when it is the least crowded, what line to get in first or last, what food item not to miss, etc.

 

Where can I get a Pepsi on the way up to the buffet for breakfast? I can only handle so much apple juice from concentrate and milk in paper cartons.

 

 

Any pictures of recent dining room menus or food?

 

Please feel free to vary from these and ask or comment on anything Spirit related. :D

[big green]

It has been a while since I have seen a thread answering spirit questions, so I thought I would try and get some conversations going about dining on the Spirit. Here are a few of my questions.

 

Where do you go to eat if you want an early lunch around 11am?

 

What specialty dining is a must do? Which is your least favorite?

 

Any words of wisdom for the buffet? ie: when it is the least crowded, what line to get in first or last, what food item not to miss, etc.

 

Where can I get a Pepsi on the way up to the buffet for breakfast? I can only handle so much apple juice from concentrate and milk in paper cartons.

 

 

Any pictures of recent dining room menus or food?

 

Please feel free to vary from these and ask or comment on anything Spirit related. :D

 

1. early linch buffet or maybe the beer garten for a hamburger off the grill--this could vary depending if at sea or in port. breakfast at buffet lease crowded at 7;30 am---we do not not normally dine their for dinner--but dinner at the buffet is the least crowded of all meals. or the Blue Lagoon.

 

2. Pepsi can be bought from a waiter in the buffet just ask--or if the bar is open on Raffels terrace (a great place outside of the buffet to have breakfast.)

 

3. speciality dinning are all good my favorite is Le Bistro. least favorite

is Teppenaki(sp) because it is very available at many places in socal.

 

4. same menus as last year in dining rooms--no changes.

 

Nothing has changed much on the Spirit accept for no breakfast at Blue Lagoon. There are many existing threads with comments like this.

 

Bg

[Toyz711]

the trick to the buffet is to NOT stand in any lines. move around and check out the different stations. the salads are in one area, usually with a made-to-order station. carved meat, a pasta stations with premade and made-to-order. but the way the stations are arranged if you stand in line you will miss most of the good stuff.

the not to miss: the crepe station!

[alwalaska]

the trick to the buffet is to NOT stand in any lines. move around and check out the different stations. the salads are in one area, usually with a made-to-order station. carved meat, a pasta stations with premade and made-to-order. but the way the stations are arranged if you stand in line you will miss most of the good stuff.

the not to miss: the crepe station!

 

Where is the crepe station?

[Toyz711]

they may have moved it since i was there...it was on the backside of the buffet (a semi-circle)...then you take your plate over to the ice cream station. hot, fresh crepe with ice cream, yum. we went most night, if after we had dinner/dessert elsewhere.

the freshly made sandwiches, at lunch, were nice also.

[FuninWB]

On our recent Spirit cruise, we had great meal in the buffet one night when they offered roasted beef tenderloin. Another diner tipped us off to how delicious it was. Watch for it mid-cruise!

[alwalaska]

New food question.

 

Can you get food to go at Blue Lagoon or do they expect you to eat if there?

 

If you get the food to go, where do you go to eat it?

[newmexicoNita]

New food question.

 

Can you get food to go at Blue Lagoon or do they expect you to eat if there?

 

If you get the food to go, where do you go to eat it?

i think you can get it to go. You could on the Jewel and Star anyway. in fact our group on the Star had one gal that loved the buffalo wings. Every morning for breakfast hubby would get her a small order from Blue Lagoon and take it to the cabin.

Nita

[big green]

New food question.

 

Can you get food to go at Blue Lagoon or do they expect you to eat if there?

 

If you get the food to go, where do you go to eat it?

 

There are no trays and they do not wrap it----right outside the Blue lagoon on the deck they have some tables- for day use--I have had my wings out there several times--There is really no food to go per se--I guess you carry your plate somewhere--the Blue lagoon has tables and right next to it the Sports Bar has tables-- there is Henry's Pub--I have seen people carry their Blue Lagoon stuff there. You could carry your plate to your cabin and have cold food.

 

Bg

[Dajbman22]

You can get your Blue Lagoon food to go, BUT they will only serve you if you are sitting at a Blue Lagoon table while ordering. It was an annoying rule, but it is necessary to prevent the small galley from getting overworked. One night (about 12:30am) my GF and our friend just gave up waiting and got room service. Don't worry though, I still ate there every other night (and once for lunch). You can bring the food with you outside on the pool deck, on the promenade, into the adjacent bar, into the pub, or to your room (only recommended if you have a balcony or larger).

 

In terms of specialty dining, I only did Le Bistro, and as much as I enjoyed my dinner I did not personally find it better than the MDR (which I also enjoyed), thus not worth the surcharge for me.

 

Not to be a negative nancy, but also, I much preferred the outside BBQs (especially at the Bier Garten) and Blue Lagoon over Raffles. I was just not a big fan of that one dining choice (going to give the better-designed Garden Cafe on the Jewel a chance though).

[alwalaska]

Thanks all. The Blue Lagoon looks even smaller than Longboards on the Sky and we did give up there one evening when we couldn't find anywhere to sit after quite a while. It also doesn't really seem like a great place to hang out. The tables outside sound very tempting.

[newmexicoNita]

There are no trays and they do not wrap it----right outside the Blue lagoon on the deck they have some tables- for day use--I have had my wings out there several times--There is really no food to go per se--I guess you carry your plate somewhere--the Blue lagoon has tables and right next to it the Sports Bar has tables-- there is Henry's Pub--I have seen people carry their Blue Lagoon stuff there. You could carry your plate to your cabin and have cold food.

 

Bg

 

actually our friend i was mentioning did get a "to go" box on the Star. I don't know about the other ships.

 

Nita

[susanrfc]

Where do you go to eat if you want an early lunch around

Bier gardten deck 13 or the Blue lagoon on deck 7

We ate most lunches in Windows my kids ate in the buffet and Blue lagoon.

 

What specialty dining is a must do? Which is your least favorite?

We did Cagneys loved it very nice dinner. My daughter could not finish her steak asked for a togo box and they said no problem and they would deliver it to our room not only did she get her leftovers but another steak and baked potato delivered to the room.

 

Any words of wisdom for the buffet? ie: when it is the least crowded, what line to get in first or last, what food item not to miss, etc.

 

Where can I get a Pepsi on the way up to the buffet for breakfast? I can only handle so much apple juice from concentrate and milk in paper cartons.

My son was the only one that drank soda on the trip and he did not have a problem getting a soda anywhere just ask and someone would bring him a soda at any time.

[big green]

actually our friend i was mentioning did get a "to go" box on the Star. I don't know about the other ships.

 

Nita

 

they stop doing this on the Spirit and I read a review they stop doing it on the

Star--when were you on the Star the last time??? maybe it came back--I will know next week.

 

 

BG

[alwalaska]

they stop doing this on the Spirit and I read a review they stop doing it on the

Star--when were you on the Star the last time??? maybe it came back--I will know next week.

 

 

BG

 

Wow, I didn't realize the repo was so close. Have a great trip. Make sure you post a review when you get back. :)

[newmexicoNita]

they stop doing this on the Spirit and I read a review they stop doing it on the

Star--when were you on the Star the last time??? maybe it came back--I will know next week.

 

 

BG

 

it may very well be something they stopped and yes, this was a couple of years ago.

 

Nita

[Pollyanna Dreamgirl]

It has been a while since I have seen a thread answering spirit questions, so I thought I would try and get some conversations going about dining on the Spirit. Here are a few of my questions.

 

We just got off the Spirit Canana/NE trip on October 10th - I'll give you my opinions (and these are MY opinions only):

 

Where do you go to eat if you want an early lunch around 11am? I believe Raffles was open at that time. Also, the Blue Lagoon and the outside BBQ's usually had something available. You can always order room service and either eat in your room, or take it somewhere else.

 

What specialty dining is a must do? Which is your least favorite? Our favorite was LeBistro - and Cagney's steaks were DELICIOUS. We would not go to Shoguns again, other than the all-you-can-eat Shushi for $15.

 

Any words of wisdom for the buffet? ie: when it is the least crowded, what line to get in first or last, what food item not to miss, etc. We had a tendency to each lunch later - around 1:30 or 2 pm - hardly anyone in there at all. Breakfast is best after the NCL's shore excursions have left. We didn't really experience any lines, to speak of. And we never had a wait in any of the main dining rooms or specialty restaurants. Of course, there was just the two of us traveling, and we weren't picky about our table size.

 

Where can I get a Pepsi on the way up to the buffet for breakfast? I can only handle so much apple juice from concentrate and milk in paper cartons. Ask a waiter - they will bring it to you.

 

Any pictures of recent dining room menus or food? Sorry, none. But I think you would be hard-pressed to not find a meal to your liking SOMEWHERE on ship.

 

Please feel free to vary from these and ask or comment on anything Spirit related. :D

This was our first NCL cruise and we loved everything about it. Having been on Holland and Celebrity before, we have noticed they all 3 have their pluses and minuses. I would just say I would be very happy sailing on any of them again in the future.

Annie & Les

[keikotrinity]

I personally think the best place on all of the Spirit to get a Pepsi is the coffee bar in the atrium. They're fast and the same people work there all week, so they get to know what you want.

[alwalaska]

I personally think the best place on all of the Spirit to get a Pepsi is the coffee bar in the atrium. They're fast and the same people work there all week, so they get to know what you want.

 

 

Thanks. That sounds like a great idea.

 

Do you have recommendations for the best pastries to get from there? I enjoyed getting snacks from a similar location on the Explorer of the Seas.

[newjerseygeorge]

Our daughter is a big fan of the Blue Lagoon both on the Gem and Jewel. She loved being able to stop there morning noon and night. She and a lot of her friends would get something small to tide them over from meal to meal. As you know teens need a lot of fuel. I loved the Dining rooms and never seemed to miss a meal either. I hope the Blue Lagoon is just as good on the Spirit and it should be as we never have a problem with Norwegian Cruise Lines. We are going out of New Orleans the week between Palm Sunday and Easter.

[Dajbman22]

There is definitly nothing wrong with the galley for Spirit's Blue Lagoon... the food is always amazing. The issues people raised about it are its relative small size and awkward position in a major connector hallway between forward and aft. These two things lead to crowding at busy times (lunch on sea days and late night meals) but the food is always worth the wait when there is one.