Non-Haven food lacking

[Old & Retired]

2 minutes ago, J0Y0US said:

 

Mind telling me why? Interested

Seems odd.  No Haven restaurant, tiny Haven area.

[kitty-sail]

On 9/21/2021 at 10:52 AM, psac said:

Yeah our last pre-COVID cruise on the Escape, our dinner at Cagneys was probably the worst Cruise meal we had in 15+ cruises, including MDR meals from other cruise lines. Having said that, our Haven dinners from that trip, and even La Cuchina (surprisingly) were all REALLY good. Sometimes it’s just the luck of the draw — who the cooks are that sailing, where they’ve sourced the food from, etc. There is a lot of variability involved before it ever gets on your plate. 

The Head Chef has a lot to do with food taste. Each NCL ship has a different Head Chef and although the dishes might be the same, each one is prepared differently depending up the chef. Had a chef from India once and it seemed that curry was added to every dish. Just saying. Had a chef from Bavaria Black Forest and every dish and desert was fabulous.

[JYDCruise]

We were also on the 8/28 Encore cruise to Alaska. Other than a couple of isolated hiccups it was an outstanding introduction to cruising . . . with one area falling short across the board. I enjoy food from biscuits and gravy, and Coney Islands, all the way to Michelin 3* but the NCL food, including the Haven, just didn't do it for me.

 

Onda was the sole standout, and if there was one (or a Scarpetta) in our area, we'd probably go once in a while. Ocean Blue was decent - we had the mussels and cioppino, both tasty - and the sliders were good at the American Diner. Nothing bad at the other places we ate, but it seemed pretty food-service grade, especially the Local - hamburgers felt like they used generic-brand frozen patties.

 

The Haven food was upscale relative to the non-specialty dining, but still struck me more like an Outback/Red Lobster as opposed to fine dining. Great service, as was almost universally the case on the Encore, but the menu wrote checks that the food on the plate didn't cover. The kitchen did a decent job (other than some inconsistent cooking on the steaks) but the ingredients again seemed mid-level food-service grade: crab cakes made of finely shredded crab instead of lump, very small lobster tail, mid-grade steaks, etc. First world problems? Sure, but again - not the fine dining that one might hope for in a product such as the Haven.

[Markanddonna]

I usually travel with inside cabins which of course makes my cruise fare not comparable to the Haven experience. That said, I'm very content with the food in the main restaurants on NCL. It isn't noteworthy, but then we also enjoy many meals in the specialty dining restaurants because of our status and the perks. I've sailed in the Haven and enjoyed their restaurants. To be honest, at my age, I shouldn't be eating that much "fine food."  

I just consider myself so very fortunate to be traveling, not cooking my own food and am very content. Every meal doesn't have to be fine dining. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

6 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

I usually travel with inside cabins which of course makes my cruise fare not comparable to the Haven experience. That said, I'm very content with the food in the main restaurants on NCL. It isn't noteworthy, but then we also enjoy many meals in the specialty dining restaurants because of our status and the perks. I've sailed in the Haven and enjoyed their restaurants. To be honest, at my age, I shouldn't be eating that much "fine food."  

I just consider myself so very fortunate to be traveling, not cooking my own food and am very content. Every meal doesn't have to be fine dining. 

Amen!!!

[The Traveling Man]

22 hours ago, JYDCruise said:

We were also on the 8/28 Encore cruise to Alaska. Other than a couple of isolated hiccups it was an outstanding introduction to cruising . . . with one area falling short across the board. I enjoy food from biscuits and gravy, and Coney Islands, all the way to Michelin 3* but the NCL food, including the Haven, just didn't do it for me.

 

Onda was the sole standout, and if there was one (or a Scarpetta) in our area, we'd probably go once in a while. Ocean Blue was decent - we had the mussels and cioppino, both tasty - and the sliders were good at the American Diner. Nothing bad at the other places we ate, but it seemed pretty food-service grade, especially the Local - hamburgers felt like they used generic-brand frozen patties.

 

The Haven food was upscale relative to the non-specialty dining, but still struck me more like an Outback/Red Lobster as opposed to fine dining. Great service, as was almost universally the case on the Encore, but the menu wrote checks that the food on the plate didn't cover. The kitchen did a decent job (other than some inconsistent cooking on the steaks) but the ingredients again seemed mid-level food-service grade: crab cakes made of finely shredded crab instead of lump, very small lobster tail, mid-grade steaks, etc. First world problems? Sure, but again - not the fine dining that one might hope for in a product such as the Haven.

We were on the same sailing with you.  I agree that the dinner in Onda was our best meal of the week, but the lamb in Le Bistro and the scallops in Ocean Blue ranked right up there, too.  The sushi in Food Republic was very good, maybe not the best ever, but very good.  Dinner in Los Lobos, especially the cactus salad, was outstanding.

[drcarp4]

Give me a martini and a bologna sandwich and I'm content.

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, drcarp4 said:

Give me a martini and a bologna sandwich and I'm content.

I've already used up my quotas of "Amen!" in this thread, so I'll just say "heck yeah!"

Edited September 28, 2021 by ChiefMateJRK

[JYDCruise]

4 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I've already used up my quotas of "Amen!" in this thread, so I'll just say "heck yeah!"

You should look into the Unlimited Amen package - it's just $25.95/day, but everyone in your house has to upgrade.

[Calvin]

On 9/19/2021 at 6:53 PM, J0Y0US said:

 

Walk up and for the two of us we basically always sat right next to the window. Also the Haven was "sold out" so its not like reduced capacity had much to do with it. Although if you travel during a school break possibly with more kids it might change but doubt it the room was never more than like 1/3rd full.

 

Oh and absolutely feel free to mix and match dishes. Example I added lobster one night to another steak dish instead of getting the filet again.

You have absolutely no idea how happy you have just, inadvertantly, made me! We have been on NCL's older ships where the Haven was only a partial experience because there was no dedicated Haven restaurant. We also sailed on the Bliss a few years ago, in a non-Haven cabin. We love that ship!  The one caveat was that there was no lobster available anywhere.  We will be sailing on the Bliss soon, in the Haven (because of a huge celebration), and I was hoping that NCL returned to offering lobster. From your post, it appears they did, and I'm escstatic.  Thanks for contributing to my already over the top excitement and anticipation.