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Lobster Tails Apparently Gone on NCL

MATHA531

By MATHA531,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Scott2.0

Scott2.0

Posted
Posted

I was going to make "lobster night" the one night that we ate dinner in the buffet. In order to plan, I emailed the pre-cruise desk and was given the following response:

 

Good afternoon Scott

 

Thank you for your email inquiry.

 

Lobster tails are served in the freestyle dining room, however, kindly check the Freestyle dining room menu to determined which day lobster will be served.

 

Regards,

Vanessa

Pre-cruise Desk

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fishin' musician

fishin' musician

Posted
Posted
1. it probably was crawfish- African hard frozen crawfish tails...

2. I must tell you I am disappointed in NCL about this. People travel because they look forward to being pampered. One of the pampering was the "lobster" tails. NCL buys these in bulk. They don't cost more than a few bucks per passenger. They will spend millions on "cruise like a Norwegian" but then cut into the experience for many. Yes I know that a lot of people don't care but many do. I for one am going to write the CEO...I suggest those that are disappointed do so too...Kevin Sheehan <ksheehan@ncl.com>;

 

Just got this from HQ, "In order that NCL may further its Cruise Like a Norwegian theme, please be advised that lutefisk will be replacing lobster in the main dining rooms of all vessels."

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Sizzlechest

Sizzlechest

Posted
Posted

There's an urban legend in the airline industry claims that the former CEO of American Airlines, Bob Crandall, once saved his company $100,000 a year by calling for the removal of a single olive from every in-flight salad. As the story goes, some of these savings came from lower fuel burn thanks to fewer olives, and thus a lighter load on each flight in the American network.

 

I'm in the "lobster night was a joke and we're better off without it" camp. However, NCL seems to have embarked on a "how many olives can we remove?" campaign over the last couple years. This is precisely why I quit Carnival after just one cruise. Carnival seems to have optimized their cost/benefit for just about every aspect of their operation. They provided the minimum acceptable level of quality whenever possible. People who had been cruising for a while were less inclined to see the totality of this. Like the story of the frog being boiled alive in the pot, the slight changes over time eased them into complacency. "Yeah, maybe the food is a little worse, but that won't make me change my mind about Carnival." "Okay, maybe the entertainment has dipped, but that won't make me change my mind about Carnival." "I admit the staff isn't as accommodating as they used to be, but I still like Carnival." Eventually all those little things add up.

 

I honestly can't wait for my cruise on the Breakaway. I think it's going to be great and I think I'm going to like the bigger ship. I got the specialty dining package for free and I made reservations for the shows and dining in advance. I'm very curious how the NCL experience will compare to 2 years ago. It may not be a fair comparison considering I'll be having lobster from Le Bistro (maybe twice) and I may never have to visit a buffet during the entire cruise, but I guess I'll have to wait and see.

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quercus alba

quercus alba

Posted
Posted
Just got this from HQ' date=' [i']"In order that NCL may further its Cruise Like a Norwegian theme, please be advised that lutefisk will be replacing lobster in the main dining rooms of all vessels."[/i]

 

Does it come with lefse and lots of aquavit? :D

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Love my butler

Love my butler

Posted
Posted
I'm confused. Someone help me out here.

 

Have lobster tails been removed ENTIRELY from NCL, or just from the free food options such as the buffet and MDR?

 

Can I still get them at the specialty restaurants?

 

Oh yes, you can still pay an extra nickel or dime for lobster on NCL.

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conandrob240 "Live from...." Rare

conandrob240

Posted
Posted (edited)
I've said it before and I'll say it again. "Nickel and diming" is a term used by people who a) didn't do their research on the cruise line, b) people who have dust and moths flying out of their wallets and c) forum trolls.

 

 

Signed lovingly, Ignorant Mass.

 

Bull. It is a term used by people to describe how they personally felt on an NCL cruise. Not everyone does weeks of research or scans the cruise message boards. Not everyone goes in well-informed. It is an issue that comes up to describe NCL again and again so it certainly has some validity for many people.

 

As for the lobster, I am in the camp of disappointed. We really enjoyed the tails on the buffet a few weeks ago on BA. They were very well-cooked, not at all rubbery.

 

No one likes to see a perk/feature removed. For those of you who don't care about that particular removal, that's fine but many do. I care about everything that is removed or no longer offered-even if it doesn't personally affect me. It means something.

Edited by conandrob240
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Medtech2

Medtech2

Posted
Posted
Just another in a long, long list of cutbacks by NCL. Between the cutbacks and the continued nickel and diming I don't know how they get people to cruise a second time on NCL. I guess the ignorant masses are easily fooled.

It could be a cut back, or it could be that they could not get an adequate supply.

 

Here in South Carolina we are experiencing a shortage of Blue Crab. Prices are going through the roof. The fishery is decimated.

 

So, unless I see more reviews from different ships saying the same thing I think I will withhold judgement.

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danacline

danacline

Posted
Posted

I just returned from the 12-day Grand Mediterranean on the NCL Spirit. There was no lobster there, not in the main dining rooms nor the buffet. And they didn't substitute crab legs either. Quite surprisingly, there were no escargot appetizers, and no shrimp cocktail. The strip steak was a poor cut, with only about half of it edible. Despite very few Indian passengers, the buffet always had a large selection of (mostly vegetarian) Indian dishes.

 

Why did we choose this cruise, as our first NCL? Mainly the itinerary and dates worked better than the other alternatives, but this one was also cheaper by a fair amount. The fact that it was their oldest, smallest ship should not have been an issue.

 

Most of our cruising, however, is in the Caribbean, and there are alternatives that are as cheap or cheaper that (last I cruised on them) had way better food. So far NCL has had the worst food of any cruise I've taken, although Celebrity came pretty close to that mark.

 

I plan on giving NCL one more chance - we will be taking Breakaway's rare Southern Caribbean itinerary in 2015 or 2016. If the food is no better, then we'll return to RCL and Princess for our future cruises.

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kcwingwalker

kcwingwalker

Posted
Posted
I've said it before and I'll say it again. "Nickel and diming" is a term used by people who a) didn't do their research on the cruise line, b) people who have dust and moths flying out of their wallets and c) forum trolls.

 

 

Signed lovingly, Ignorant Mass.

 

LOL and well said:)

 

I don't cruise for lobster tails. Good basic food suits me any day. I'm just as happy with fish and chips and like lower fares with the option to chose the extras that appeal to me.

 

Actually with the cost of food rising faster than most of us can keep up, it makes sense to cut back on some of the frills and stick with the basics. I bought ground coffee last week and Folger's was $10.99 for 33.9 ounce container:eek:

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TravelJoe

TravelJoe

Posted
Posted
LOL and well said:)

 

I don't cruise for lobster tails. Good basic food suits me any day. I'm just as happy with fish and chips and like lower fares with the option to chose the extras that appeal to me.

 

Actually with the cost of food rising faster than most of us can keep up, it makes sense to cut back on some of the frills and stick with the basics. I bought ground coffee last week and Folger's was $10.99 for 33.9 ounce container:eek:

 

 

+1

 

Seems that people sometimes forget that all businesses exist to make a profit, and allow them to continue to exist. If they don't make a profit, they fail and cease to exist.

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AweighToSea

AweighToSea

Posted
Posted (edited)
It could be a cut back, or it could be that they could not get an adequate supply.

 

Here in South Carolina we are experiencing a shortage of Blue Crab. Prices are going through the roof. The fishery is decimated.

 

So, unless I see more reviews from different ships saying the same thing I think I will withhold judgement.

Bumper crop in Canada. Yesterday saw TV ad selling Subway lobster sub

Edited by AweighToSea
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smeyer418

smeyer418

Posted
Posted (edited)

So I emailed Mr. Sheehan. Annette of the executive offices called me back at 5 pm Eastern time. She tells me that you will still be able to get lobster tails on the ship- from the Buffet not the main dinning room. So the tails and not in a seafood salad will be available. But you will have to get them yourself. So I will do what I have done at other times. excuse my self from the dinning room go to the buffet and bring a plate down for the table.

I have a comment but have decided not to post it...

NCL as a private company can do what it likes...I don't have to agree with it.

Edited by smeyer418
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LrgPizza

LrgPizza

Posted
Posted
So I emailed Mr. Sheehan. Annette of the executive offices called me back at 5 pm Eastern time. She tells me that you will still be able to get lobster tails on the ship- from the Buffet not the main dinning room. So the tails and not in a seafood salad will be available.

 

That's exactly the way it has been for quite a while now. So what about the reason for this thread, saying it has changed? I'm confused now.

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Valen9

Valen9

Posted
Posted
Gem has steak and lobster the 1st night in the MDR last week

 

It's lobster season. My friend reported buying lobster meat in the supermarket (suburban Boston) for $6 a pound. It is possible that it is on the menu on NCL ships for the next month or two.

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