What do you think of the new Prima class dinner menu?

[Sailing12Away]

17 minutes ago, styxfire said:

And just remember, if Norwegian gets it’s way (and they will),  you can choose any ship in their line and get the same menu on your 2024 cruise as your 2023, and same in 2025, and…

 

Year after year, same ol’ menu.  The single menu can now be a sticky at the top of the Norwegian forum.  😞 

Now you're just being silly and coming off as a whiney child that didn't get their way when they wanted to eat ice cream for dinner.

 

The menus at NCL haven't stayed the same from year to year even when they did rotate, so why would they permanently stay the same now for 2+ years?

[styxfire]

5 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

I'm fine with past a different way each night and slapping on either chicken or steak. Can't wait to get to try it out!

You seem very flexible and I compliment you for that.  However, I expect most people paying $1500 to $3000 per person will desire more than a Hamburger Helper equivalent for 7 nights.  
 

(That was a metaphor, not in any way intended to be a smear.)

 

Your suggestion about asking for meat to be added to the veg meal IS a good work-around.  And I will try it if this menu is forced onto my Feb cruise.  But by definition, a work-around is used when there’s a problem…

[styxfire]

16 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

Now you're just being silly and coming off as a whiney child that didn't get their way when they wanted to eat ice cream for dinner.

 

Wishing you a good day.

Edited August 27, 2022 by styxfire

[BirdTravels]

17 hours ago, relmondcrsise said:

I was looking at the new Prima-class dinner menu tonight (I found all the Prima menus posted here: Prima Dining Menus).  I didn't think I would like having just one menu for an entire sailing, but this looks pretty good with a lot of nice selections. 

All of the menus for all of the restaurants (except the food hall) are posted on the NCL website. 

 

That being said, the MDR menus actually make me "afraid".  

 

The MDRs will be turning up to a couple of thousand covers a night. They can't cook that volume of food to order. Therefore, like today, a lot of food will be precooked and held for service. Normally, you kinda understand why certain foods are on a MDR menu for their ability to be cooked and held. Some/a lot of items on the new menus don't look like they will hold well. Works fine in a test kitchen where food is cooked to order and served... but not for a MDR or buffet. We'll have to see how the quality is once they start running full cruises.

 

This is not Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen where the kitchen may get 30 orders of wellington a night. This may be hundreds of orders. And there is nothing worse than an overcooked or soggy wellington. 

[Travelling2Some]

The new menu looks good to me and our next two cruises are 18 days and 15 days.  I like knowing in advance what is available.  Makes it easy to determine if I would be missing anything special if I went to the buffet or the Local instead.  I don't like having to make specialty reservations in advance without knowing what's on offer that night.  Love that I can get any MDR dish on any night rather than miss a favorite because it was offered only once.

[relmondcrsise]

3 minutes ago, Travelling2Some said:

The new menu looks good to me and our next two cruises are 18 days and 15 days.  I like knowing in advance what is available.  Makes it easy to determine if I would be missing anything special if I went to the buffet or the Local instead.  I don't like having to make specialty reservations in advance without knowing what's on offer that night.  Love that I can get any MDR dish on any night rather than miss a favorite because it was offered only once.

That's a good point!

[Zippeedee]

I prefer the specialty restaurants and the Local or the buffet when I need a break from big meals.  I haven’t been in an MDR since 2006, but if the quality is improved, this menu may make me try it. With less options they should be able to focus more on quality ingredients and consistency in preparation. Less waste should also allow budget for better quality food.

[rscales2]

I was on the Epic in April I such ate sea food and vegetarian food it was so good. The Pasta in the Epic buffet was superb. I’m not giving up meat for ever such from September 3 til October 5 on the Prima.

[styxfire]

This thread is an industry plant, right? I mean just looking at the history of a couple folks and whatnot…

[styxfire]

1 hour ago, Zippeedee said:

With less options they should be able to focus more on quality ingredients and consistency in preparation. Less waste should also allow budget for better quality food.

NO.   NCL isn’t changing their source supplier.  The quality of their ingredients will not be improved by streamlining their menu. Good grief.

 

[Zippeedee]

40 minutes ago, styxfire said:

NO.   NCL isn’t changing their source supplier.  The quality of their ingredients will not be improved by streamlining their menu. Good grief.

 

So I’m dumb enough to fall for the press releases that announced the huge new investment in dining. Time will tell.

[Trimone]

Shame none of the experienced staff want to work on Prima & Viva, in the third party universal hull the staff accommodation is very cramped, ask any staff why they are not going on them?

[ppcox]

7 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

All of the menus for all of the restaurants (except the food hall) are posted on the NCL website. 

 

That being said, the MDR menus actually make me "afraid".  

 

The MDRs will be turning up to a couple of thousand covers a night. They can't cook that volume of food to order. Therefore, like today, a lot of food will be precooked and held for service. Normally, you kinda understand why certain foods are on a MDR menu for their ability to be cooked and held. Some/a lot of items on the new menus don't look like they will hold well. Works fine in a test kitchen where food is cooked to order and served... but not for a MDR or buffet. We'll have to see how the quality is once they start running full cruises.

 

This is not Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen where the kitchen may get 30 orders of wellington a night. This may be hundreds of orders. And there is nothing worse than an overcooked or soggy wellington. 

I do think (with over 20 years in the restaurant trade) that the points raised by NCL in the press release are valid. By having the same menu they can control the quality of the food delivered to the table better. Staff training will be easier both for the chefs and the servers. Yes , they will also reduce their costs , especially when the menu is fleet wide. When I read the menu I thought it offered plenty of choice and was an upgrade to the current MDR menus. Taking into account that many cruisers will also dine at other restaurants or the Local or the buffet and do not have to dine every night of their cruise in the MDR unless they want too.

We are cruising on the Prima in a few weeks and we’re on the 15 night Panama Canal trip on Encore earlier this year so we will be able to compare and I will be sure to share.  Fingers crossed this change is going to be a good thing.

[NauticalOtter]

12 hours ago, styxfire said:

This menu is workable for me (meaning I would be alive at the end of the cruise but loss of appetite.). I agree 100% that this is a big strategic mistake for NCL.  Limiting the choices is a downgrade.  This is fully a cost-cutting measure, not a customer experience improvement.

 

Seeing this same dinner menu 7 days in a row would not be acceptable, let alone on a 10- or 14-day cruise.

 

3 of the 5 seafood choices are shrimp.  Seriously.  And 4 of the 6 meat choices are cattle.  And only ONE chicken dinner for the whole cruise.?!?!

 

I’m aware that Norwegian now has contractors who monitor Cruise Critic and I’m not sure whether or not they are allowed to post/influence.  But I expect to read a lot of positive spin online about the new streamlined menu, even as discontent on-board grows.  
 

Increased base fares, less meal choices and more add-on charges in the “free” dining room are not a recipe for customer satisfaction. Nor is sitting down to the same exact menu for 7 days in a row.  NCL seems to be doubling down on the economic strategies that are causing cruisers to look at other lines, even as NCL’s ability to fill all its cabins lags behind the other cruise companies.

 

And just remember, if Norwegian gets it’s way (and they will),  you can choose any ship in their line and get the same menu on your 2024 cruise as your 2023, and same in 2025, and…

 

Year after year, same ol’ menu.  The single menu can now be a sticky at the top of the Norwegian forum.  😞 

 

i agree that in a vacuum, the menu change is a value downgrade for passengers, but (at least for the prima and her sisters) there are MANY other additional complimentary options for dining on top of the MDR.  Obviously the buffet, then there is the local (another table service restaurant if that’s what you prefer) as well as the indulge food hall that is mostly included (select items are paid).

As someone who is allergic to shrimp and tries to stick to more poultry than red meat, am I happy with this particular menu (assuming it doesn’t change when it switches between Europe and the Caribbean, which I believe it will) no, but my fallback roasted chicken dinner is still on there, so if all else fails I know I will enjoy the hell out of that 😂

 

(to be clear though, I say this as someone who eats dinner in the MDR 3 nights max on a 7 day cruise and maybe do breakfast once)

 

[PATRLR]

13 hours ago, styxfire said:

 Limiting the choices is a downgrade.  This is fully a cost-cutting measure, not a customer experience improvement.

 

Agreed, of course it's cost cutting.  Surprising to me how many people don't see it that way.

 

13 hours ago, styxfire said:

Seeing this same dinner menu 7 days in a row would not be acceptable, let alone on a 10- or 14-day cruise.

We're getting to the point where we'll be cruising more frequently and longer.  This will affect our decision on longer cruises and I suspect it will be more encouragement to cruise other lines (not that I needed more encouragement)

12 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

The menus at NCL haven't stayed the same from year to year even when they did rotate, so why would they permanently stay the same now for 2+ years?

Sure they have. I'm only aware of minor tweaks to the menus in rotation the past 7+ years.  But "rotation" is the key - there were built in changes.

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, ppcox said:

I do think (with over 20 years in the restaurant trade) that the points raised by NCL in the press release are valid. By having the same menu they can control the quality of the food delivered to the table better. Staff training will be easier both for the chefs and the servers. Yes , they will also reduce their costs , especially when the menu is fleet wide. When I read the menu I thought it offered plenty of choice and was an upgrade to the current MDR menus. Taking into account that many cruisers will also dine at other restaurants or the Local or the buffet and do not have to dine every night of their cruise in the MDR unless they want too.

Yes, reduce cost by provisioning fewer items. Less food being ground up and fed to the fish because it has gone rotten. 

 

Or,,, in today's world, cost more money because you are going to pay high prices to get your limited list of provisions since have no ability to vary your menu week to week to account for supply chain issues. 

 

We have been on 7 post-restart cruises. On almost every cruise, supply chain issues have plagued food and beverage. Basic things like strawberries for choco strawberries and bacon for the buffet were not provisioned or shorted. We were down to choice number 3 or 4 on the wine list one night because the ship didn't have any of the popular wines stocked (I talked to the Breakaway's sommelier last week, and he said that it as been impossible to stock the ship... either things don't show up, or suppliers are just throwing anything/wrong things into their deliveries). You have seen multiple CC threads about basic alcohol running out on ships. We were on a cruise to Alaska and the bartenders said that supplies like coconut syrup had been out for weeks and, since many tropical drinks require it, the many menu items were unavailable. Heck, they even ran out of coffee beans to make cappuccinos at the restaurants last week. 

 

So, in today's world, there could be down sides to having a rigid, inflexible menu. 

[relmondcrsise]

On 8/28/2022 at 5:50 AM, BirdTravels said:

Yes, reduce cost by provisioning fewer items. Less food being ground up and fed to the fish because it has gone rotten. 

 

Or,,, in today's world, cost more money because you are going to pay high prices to get your limited list of provisions since have no ability to vary your menu week to week to account for supply chain issues. 

 

We have been on 7 post-restart cruises. On almost every cruise, supply chain issues have plagued food and beverage. Basic things like strawberries for choco strawberries and bacon for the buffet were not provisioned or shorted. We were down to choice number 3 or 4 on the wine list one night because the ship didn't have any of the popular wines stocked (I talked to the Breakaway's sommelier last week, and he said that it as been impossible to stock the ship... either things don't show up, or suppliers are just throwing anything/wrong things into their deliveries). You have seen multiple CC threads about basic alcohol running out on ships. We were on a cruise to Alaska and the bartenders said that supplies like coconut syrup had been out for weeks and, since many tropical drinks require it, the many menu items were unavailable. Heck, they even ran out of coffee beans to make cappuccinos at the restaurants last week. 

 

So, in today's world, there could be down sides to having a rigid, inflexible menu. 

 

That's an interesting take on it.  You could be right.  Will be interesting to see if the fixed menu makes it better or worse.

[The Traveling Man]

We enjoyed the food on the Prima last week.  We sailed for ten days and had five dinners in specialty restaurants.  That left us with five nights in the MDR.  With the never-changing menu that NCL now features on the Prima, we were able to find enough variety to suit our tastes on this cruise.  On a longer cruise, though, with more nights in the MDR, we probably would tire of the lack of variety.

[deepbluediver]

As an NCL critic (tough but fair), I'm not too pleased with a fixed menu - whatever the reasons they give, it's just their spin on it. But I'll hold my verdict until I've tried the food on the new fixed menu and see if it's truly better in quality to the previous rotating menus (which IMHO were hit and miss).

 

However, for folks without a specialty dining package, this may be a harder sell for them on longer cruises over 7 days.

 

A fixed menu in the MDR on the Prima may be an easier sell with the many (mostly free) options at the Indulge Food Hall (IFH). On most ships without the IFH, the other comp dining options are the buffet, the Local (or whatever name it goes by on other ships) and maybe an Asian restaurant. That's not a lot of choices for folks not interested in Specialty Dining. Previously, they could depend on the rotating menus in the MDR to provide some variety but with a fixed menu, that's no longer an option.

 

Just my 2 cents. But for all of you, it's comp! ☺️

[happy cruzer]

Appetizers and entrees look ok.  The few choices of soups are a bother.  Usually order soup each night and only like two of the 4 choices.  And those two I make at home often.  Additionally most of the entrees I make frequently at home.  So the menu is not that special for me.  But it will work and most will find it good.

 

Bottom line - I think one menu will make most think that they only want to eat in the MDR once or twice and visit the specialties the other nights.  So probably will mean spending more for dining on NCL.

[uneamie]

I think the MDR selections are very adequate. There are other free options on this ship that if you are not happy with the menu you can find other venues to eat. It would be nice if the nightly special was not an upcharge but I can live with it. Can't please everybody! 

[styxfire]

3 hours ago, uneamie said:

I think the MDR selections are very adequate. There are other free options on this ship that if you are not happy with the menu you can find other venues to eat. It would be nice if the nightly special was not an upcharge but I can live with it. Can't please everybody! 

And maybe they can start serving C-rations to the guests….?  Remember, people are paying for a VACATION, not for summer camp meal-repeats.  It’s a bad decision to downgrade the customer experience while trying to cater to higher clientele.  NCL must think we’ll be fooled…

[Cruising Lynne]

47 minutes ago, styxfire said:

And maybe they can start serving C-rations to the guests….?  Remember, people are paying for a VACATION, not for summer camp meal-repeats.  It’s a bad decision to downgrade the customer experience while trying to cater to higher clientele.  NCL must think we’ll be fooled…

LOL I never had coconut shrimp or beef Wellington at summer camp! When the camp cook wanted to save money, and give us something healthy, he made lentil soup. Not many campers wanted to eat it, but it was very good.

 

NCL "fooled us" into paying extra for specialty dining, so they may get away with this as well. For example, Le Bistro. It doesn't really have anything more special than the MDR used to have before specialty dining became a big thing. I never understood why so many people were willing to pay extra. I guess the more intimate venue is good for a "date night". I could see paying extra for Teppanyaki or Moderno because they are different than what the standard MDR food used to be. I guess time will tell if the fixed menu last

[styxfire]

33 minutes ago, Cruising Lynne said:

…I guess time will tell if the fixed menu lasts.

I hope it doesn’t last.  Otherwise my cruising partners (who aren’t huge MDR fans anyway) will choose the buffet every time after night #2, so I’ll either have to eat alone or eat every meal in the buffet too.  😞

[The Traveling Man]

2 hours ago, Cruising Lynne said:

LOL I never had coconut shrimp or beef Wellington at summer camp! When the camp cook wanted to save money, and give us something healthy, he made lentil soup. Not many campers wanted to eat it, but it was very good.

 

NCL "fooled us" into paying extra for specialty dining, so they may get away with this as well. For example, Le Bistro. It doesn't really have anything more special than the MDR used to have before specialty dining became a big thing. I never understood why so many people were willing to pay extra. I guess the more intimate venue is good for a "date night". I could see paying extra for Teppanyaki or Moderno because they are different than what the standard MDR food used to be. I guess time will tell if the fixed menu last

You still can get Lobster Thermidor in Le Bistro, which is not available in the MDR.  My favorite Le Bistro menu item used to be rack of lamb, but the new menu NCL adopted a year ago changed it to a combination of lamb chops and lamb shank, and that isn't as appealing to me.  Now I go to Cagney's for rack of lamb, since it usually isn't served in the MDR.  The new Prima MDR offers a fisherman's platter, but it doesn't indicate if it's grilled or fried.  I know you can get a wonderful grilled seafood platter in Cagney's as well as at the seafood specialty restaurant on some ships.  There probably are a few other menu items available in other specialty restaurants which aren't featured in the MDR.  My main reason for dining in a specialty venue, though, is that most meals there are prepared a la minute.  The MDRs serve several thousand covers each night.  You simply can't prepare that much volume without having mostly precooked meals.  The kitchens in the specialty restaurants are closer to their dining rooms than the main galley is to the MDR, so there is less time for your food to cool down in transit from the kitchen to your table.  NCL seems to assign the more experienced servers to the specialty restaurants, so the dining experience is generally more pleasant.  Other passengers may have additional reasons for choosing specialty dining.