Specialty Dining 1-1-1

[PATRLR]

10 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

To those who say food was better 30 or so years ago: do you think it's true that the demographic of cruisers has changed a lot over the years? My only experience long ago was the old MS Starward owned by Norwegian, and that was in 1992. I do remember the food being good, and lavish, and the midnight buffet. But my impression is that cruise lines have gotten more affordable and opened up to a larger, and younger, demographic. Maybe it's my memory, but it seems like cruising of yore was older, well-to-do people who dressed up for dinner, ate at the same table every night with the same waiter, etc. Maybe as cruise lines compete for dollars, more people can afford to cruise, but there are bound to be cuts. I don't know. I see the same thing in the airline industry.

@DCGuy64 No doubt about it, what you write is my recollection as well.  BUT, I'm not convinced that the cruises have become all that much more affordable.  I recall spending about $700 pp for HAL and RCCL for 7 days Caribbean back in the 80s ($100/night was the benchmark).  That would be about $1800 today.  I'm happy when I get on a similar cruise today for about $2000 pp.  That's a balcony and includes drinks neither of which was available back then.  So, maybe less but not a whole lot less.

I won't hesitate to call out that the food quality isn't good.  But I know that going in and expect it and won't let it ruin my vacation. 
 

[gmbhardy]

days of the voyage. SDP is not available on 1 and 2-day sailings; On 3-day sailings, SDP is for sale on day 1 only. No refunds available if not all meals are used. SDPs are personal (per person, e.g., 2 guests cannot share 1 SDP meal) and non-transferable (guests cannot give their SDP meals to someone else). An SDP meal in a la carte restaurants includes 1 appetizer, 1 soup or salad, 1 main course and 1 dessert (does not apply to cover charge restaurants or Food Republic, Pincho Tapas Bar and Sushi, where a meal includes any 4 menu items). No sharing or to go orders permitted. SDP does not include beverages and additional and/or premium menu items will incur charges. A 20% gratuity and specialty service charge will be added to the package price. No SDP kids pricing available. We encourage guests to visit ncl.com/myncl to make dining reservations in advance. Reservations are not required but highly recommended, once onboard, reservations will be subject to availability. SDP meals can be enjoyed at American Diner, Cagney’s Steakhouse, Food Republic, Italian, Le Bistro, Los Lobos, Moderno Churrascaria, Pincho Tapas Bar, Q Texas Smokehouse, Raw Bar, Seafood, Sushi and Teppanyaki

 

 

Just catching up with this thread. Does this mean you cannot split the allowed 8 items (four per person) at Food Republic into two meals? We were on the Bliss last week and had no problem doing that. I was also going to do it at Q on our next cruise.

 

 

 

 

[DCGuy64]

2 hours ago, PATRLR said:

I won't hesitate to call out that the food quality isn't good.  But I know that going in and expect it and won't let it ruin my vacation. 

Yah, we're in agreement there. One quasi-exception has been Moderno. I ate at a Brazilian steakhouse for my birthday about 2 weeks ago, and the food we had at Moderno last month on the Epic was every bit as good as the sit-down place. But I'm with you: I don't expect cruise ship food to be quite as good as a regular restaurant.

[goldmom]

I understand that this will hopefully cut down on food waste, but it seems to be a very silly place to cut back.

You can order as much as you want in the places included in your cruise fare (main dining room, buffet, O'sheenan's)

But you can't order whatever you want in a restaurant that you are paying extra for on top of your cruise fare.  How does that make sense?

For me, personally I'm probably full after 3 courses but I'm sure others aren't.  Also, a cruise was always a great place to try something new as you could get something else if you didn't like it.  Not anymore.

I'm sure we'll all adjust but it does get annoying to constantly see more and more cutbacks.

[DCGuy64]

10 minutes ago, goldmom said:

But you can't order whatever you want in a restaurant that you are paying extra for on top of your cruise fare.  How does that make sense?

Because unlike the buffet, where they just put out loads and loads of food at several locations, the specialty restaurants are waiting for people to order and then cooking it on demand, and with fewer people, to boot. So, fewer people = higher cost per customer.

 

11 minutes ago, goldmom said:

I'm sure we'll all adjust but it does get annoying to constantly see more and more cutbacks.

Agreed, the cutbacks are annoying.

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, gmbhardy said:

Just catching up with this thread. Does this mean you cannot split the allowed 8 items (four per person) at Food Republic into two meals? We were on the Bliss last week and had no problem doing that. I was also going to do it at Q on our next cruise.

The "no sharing" rule has always been there. We have always used 1 SDP credit for 4 shared items for lunch, then 1 SDP credit on the next sea day for lunch, sharing the 4 items. I can't imagine that this has changed.

[PATRLR]

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

I ate at a Brazilian steakhouse for my birthday about 2 weeks ago, and the food we had at Moderno last month on the Epic was every bit as good as the sit-down place.

Can I ask which one - was it one of the chains or a local restaurant?  I am a fan of Brazilian steakhouses and I found the two major chains (Texas de Brazil and Fogo de Chão) to be much better than the Moderno we expereinced on Getaway about 5 years ago.  Admittedly, it's probably been 4 years now since I've been to one on land so maybe they too have gone down hill.

 

[DCGuy64]

10 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

Can I ask which one - was it one of the chains or a local restaurant?  I am a fan of Brazilian steakhouses and I found the two major chains (Texas de Brazil and Fogo de Chão) to be much better than the Moderno we expereinced on Getaway about 5 years ago.  Admittedly, it's probably been 4 years now since I've been to one on land so maybe they too have gone down hill.

 

Sure, it was Fogo (I didn't mention it because I thought maybe we weren't allowed to, LOL). I was in a proverbial food coma afterwards, per usual.

[PATRLR]

9 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Sure, it was Fogo (I didn't mention it because I thought maybe we weren't allowed to, LOL). I was in a proverbial food coma afterwards, per usual.

Interesting. Thanks.  

[New2cruise2022]

Fogo is always money well spent. I am impressed if Moderno was as good. 

[rfurler]

I am new to NCL and booked a cruise to Alaska in August 2023 on Jewel. I have 1 SDP included and now am wondering if it is worth to spend another $90 for 2 additional SDP. How is the food in the main dining area and do the SD venues really provide quality that justifies another $45 on top of what is already covered with the main dining?