Embarkation day lunch

[nina_930]

Does NCL still do lunch in the MDR on embarkation day?  We'd rather do that than go to the buffet.  TIA

[oteixeira]

Go to O'sheehan's if you are not in Haven, if you are in Haven use that restaurant.  Much better options then the buffet, and since on boarding they steer people to the buffet, it is always a bit crowded (although I am not sure with the limited capacity).

[ziggyuk]

3 minutes ago, nina_930 said:

Does NCL still do lunch in the MDR on embarkation day?  We'd rather do that than go to the buffet.  TIA

 

Yes, one dining room is always open, they will try to guide you to the buffet but just ask which dining room is open for lunch.

[3kidsncats]

We always do MDR for embarkation day — it’s one of our favorite start of cruise traditions 🙂

[ChiefMateJRK]

Embarkation day lunch is always one of my favorite parts of a cruise.  We're finally on the ship and it's time to start eating, drinking and having a great time!  We wound up in the Local on our last cruise (October Encore), but that's all just details. 😎

[roger001]

We’re Haven this time.  But usually, weather good, we sit on the pool deck, snack from the grill items available out there, or grab something out of the buffet, and sit, drink and people watch as the guests arrive.  An exciting part of it all beginning.  And, don’t want to get too full and not appreciate the evening meal. 

[BirdTravels]

45 minutes ago, nina_930 said:

Does NCL still do lunch in the MDR on embarkation day?  We'd rather do that than go to the buffet.  TIA

Yes. One of the main dining rooms on the Pearl will be open for lunch. We always avoid the crowds in the buffet and enjoy a served meal. Have a great cruise and enjoy Christmas Day at sea!

[julig22]

LOL.  My last couple of cruises have involved loooong overseas flights (24 hrs airport to port) so it's grab a burger or piece of pizza and take a nap!

[Calvin]

1 hour ago, 3kidsncats said:

We always do MDR for embarkation day — it’s one of our favorite start of cruise traditions 🙂

It's funny because, though it makes a lot more sense to eat the first meal in the MDR, and it feels great to be served, we all still head directly to the buffet. Why? Because that has become our tradition. We also like the fact that there are so many more food options.   This time however, we are going to break with tradition because we are in the Haven, and I am certain we are going to be headed directly to the Haven dining room.

[3kidsncats]

41 minutes ago, Calvin said:

It's funny because, though it makes a lot more sense to eat the first meal in the MDR, and it feels great to be served, we all still head directly to the buffet. Why? Because that has become our tradition. We also like the fact that there are so many more food options.   This time however, we are going to break with tradition because we are in the Haven, and I am certain we are going to be headed directly to the Haven dining room.

I pretty much only hit the buffet a few times, for the Indian food.  In the Haven, they may offer you the option of having lunch in one of the specialty venues — in which case we take that option, since the haven menu is the same all week.  But yes, traditions have a special place for us, don’t they!

[Calvin]

35 minutes ago, 3kidsncats said:

I pretty much only hit the buffet a few times, for the Indian food.  In the Haven, they may offer you the option of having lunch in one of the specialty venues — in which case we take that option, since the haven menu is the same all week.  But yes, traditions have a special place for us, don’t they!

I'm so glad you mentioned the possibility of a specialty dining lunch as an option!  I read that they sometimes offer the American Diner. If such is the case, I'll have to try to squeeze that in. It's really hard work to be 6'3" tall and weigh 240 lbs., and I never get the praise I deserve...😄

[Old & Retired]

5 hours ago, 3kidsncats said:

I pretty much only hit the buffet a few times, for the Indian food.  In the Haven, they may offer you the option of having lunch in one of the specialty venues — in which case we take that option, since the haven menu is the same all week.  But yes, traditions have a special place for us, don’t they!

You can order anything from the Haven menu, breakfast, lunch or dinner at any meal you eat in the Haven restaurant.  Some items require advance notice.

Ex. You can order a surf and turf for lunch.  You can have pancakes and scrambled eggs for lunch.

[bkrickles1]

2 sailings ago on Escape we headed straight to O'Sheehans/The Local for lunch. Service was slow, but still a good choice.

On our last sailing on Encore, we went straight to the Observation Lounge as we were meeting up with my aunt and uncle who were boarding after us.

It's a great spot to meet on boarding day as they have some very good snacks there and we could start drinking while we waited in the most comfortable venue on the ship.

I'm sailing Joy in January and we'll probably do the same as we have 8 other people we are meeting up with.

[vacation44]

Our always go to spot is O'Sheehans/The Local and will be this time again.

[MellaJoyce]

We just got back from cruising on the Escape in the Haven. After we met up in the Haven lounge to drop off hand luggage, they took us to the American Diner (specialty dining) for a free lunch while we waited for our rooms. That was handy. We weren't in a "let's explore the ship" mood in our first couple hours on board. We were hungry and wanted to get to our room and settle in first. 

 

After lunch, we popped up to O'Sheehans to have our muster station scanned and there were people already in there eating as well. 

[The Traveling Man]

18 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Yes. One of the main dining rooms on the Pearl will be open for lunch. We always avoid the crowds in the buffet and enjoy a served meal. Have a great cruise and enjoy Christmas Day at sea!

Up until the recent change in the menu, our favorite embarkation day lunch was always the fish sandwich featuring grilled grouper.  They didn't offer that on either of our two NCL cruises this year.

[AJHELLER]

On 12/9/2021 at 9:35 PM, Calvin said:

I'm so glad you mentioned the possibility of a specialty dining lunch as an option!  I read that they sometimes offer the American Diner. If such is the case, I'll have to try to squeeze that in. It's really hard work to be 6'3" tall and weigh 240 lbs., and I never get the praise I deserve...😄

LOL LOL MY husband weighs 160 and is 6'8..

Too funny

[UKstages]

yes, i realize this thread is two years old, but now that's been resuscitated, i thought i'd update a few references contained within for those that stumble in here.

 

american diner is now a complimentary venue, albeit with a dumbed down menu. it was there that i ate lunch on embarkation day on the getaway two weeks ago. i take it word hadn't really spread yet about it being "free," so it was fairly empty. it became very busy during the rest of the cruise however, with 30 - 45 minute waits.

 

as for the buffet and its vast selection... what a difference two years makes! the selections are far more limited now at the buffet and cost cutting is evident at every station. they now repeat the same items three, four or even five times throughout the buffet. and the indian food! that was always my go-to at the buffet... but on the getaway last week, they served only vegetarian indian dishes... and only four of them confined to one very small section of the buffet. one dish was always rice and another always papadum, so you basically had two actual dishes... some sort of curry or chana masala or alu gobi. that was it! i have no idea if this is a getaway "innovation" or if it's fleet wide.

[Biffire]

We used to always head to the buffet, which is normally a zoo on day one. We got tired of fighting for a table, and with people who kept their bags taking up room. Now we head to whichever MDR is open, and sit and relax. As soon as we sit down, we go into vacation mode, can't wait for November. 

[dbrown84]

4 hours ago, UKstages said:

yes, i realize this thread is two years old, but now that's been resuscitated, i thought i'd update a few references contained within for those that stumble in here.

 

american diner is now a complimentary venue, albeit with a dumbed down menu. it was there that i ate lunch on embarkation day on the getaway two weeks ago. i take it word hadn't really spread yet about it being "free," so it was fairly empty. it became very busy during the rest of the cruise however, with 30 - 45 minute waits.

 

as for the buffet and its vast selection... what a difference two years makes! the selections are far more limited now at the buffet and cost cutting is evident at every station. they now repeat the same items three, four or even five times throughout the buffet. and the indian food! that was always my go-to at the buffet... but on the getaway last week, they served only vegetarian indian dishes... and only four of them confined to one very small section of the buffet. one dish was always rice and another always papadum, so you basically had two actual dishes... some sort of curry or chana masala or alu gobi. that was it! i have no idea if this is a getaway "innovation" or if it's fleet wide.

they had vegetarian in the spot that used to be for Indian food (it's labeled vegetarian now).  They do have Indian dishes with meat in the Asian section, but just white rice there.  I would go to the vegetarian section to get the basmati rice, then go to the Asian section for the Indian meat options.  They lightened up on the spices though.  I had the lamb curry a few times, but it wasn't as spicy as I've had on other cruises.  Still good though.  This was my experience on the Getaway two weeks ago

[UKstages]

yes, and on the cruise after you, just last week... ten day caribbean... they had just the four veggie indian dishes at the very back of the buffet, starboard side... and only two of them were actual entrees. lunch and dinner, same thing,

 

i agree about the spices... all the right flavor notes were there, but there was little heat.

[cruiser2015]

Sailed 2 weeks ago today on the Bliss

Hit the MDR (Taste or Savor) for lunch.

Calm, comfortable, easy...😁

[Grandmafreddie]

So sad about indian dishes. On the encore it was as good as any land based restaurent. On getaway was dissappointed. Maybe in 2 weeks it eill add dome bew dishes if we ask the chef 

[dbrown84]

1 hour ago, Grandmafreddie said:

So sad about indian dishes. On the encore it was as good as any land based restaurent. On getaway was dissappointed. Maybe in 2 weeks it eill add dome bew dishes if we ask the chef 

I can only speak for myself, but the Indian dishes were still good.  They just dialed down the spice level a little, but still quite tasty 

[MagnoliaBlossom]

MDR lunch is my favorite venue on embarkation day.  After being herded like cattle through the shutes to get onboard, it is simply such a civilized way to begin a journey.  White tablecloth, real menu, adult beverage, nice glassware, and generally quiet.  Yep, when we travel a non NCL cruise line wh doesn’t offer MDR I’m not a happy camper.