You don't sell the steak, you sell the sizzle. - Cosmo Kramer

[DCGuy64]

FWIW, they always had a basket of condiments positioned at various points in the Garden Café. (A1, Tabasco, HP sauce, pepper mill, etc.)

[drwbrt]

15 minutes ago, sailorusvi said:

You can always add spice, you can not take it away.  With 3000-5000 taste buds and various health issues,  I get making foods on the less spicy, low salt side.  But agree some sort of condiment bar/menu for those who might want more spice would be a good compromise. 

 

I personally am a wimp when it comes to spice, so I appreciate the menu not being full of spicy items (I'm finding an increase number of restaurants having a large amount of "spicy" foods).   Boy do I love salt though (blood pressure levels are in the lower side).  Husband likes spice, but he needs to watch salt levels because of high blood pressure.  So he appreciates lower salt levels, but would appreciate being able spice to his foods.

 

In general, people just want options.

Exactly. Give us some more options. 

[eileeshb]

Interesting…. I haven’t yet been on Bliss but I ate the pad Thai at Food republic on Escape pre-covid and my immediate reaction to it was that it was exceptionally mild. But then my local Thai place regular gets recognised in the take-away food awards here.

As @BirdTravels peppers issue, I’m actually allergic to the flesh/seeds of peppers but no problem when it’s dried powder form used (like cayenne) and that gets very complicated to explain to servers in the restaurants. I wind up avoiding dishes that might have peppers in them as a result though I did manage to get it through to the folks at Shanghai on Epic and they adapted my choices accordingly. It’s excellent fun being allergic to sweet pepper (capsicums) as the red ones often blend in with tomatoes so I have to be wary of stuff that should be tomato based. 
I really wish teppanyaki would ease up on the soy sauce in their rice, the last time I ate there 2 of us on the table requested low sodium but the way the chef cooked the rice if you wanted it without soy it would be completely plain. 

[PTC DAWG]

Oh I definitely think cruise lines go out of their way to make things bland.  

 

I agree with others, give people options for more kicked up dishes.  I grew up eating any and everything.  I think that helps.  IF your parents liked things bland, most likely you will too.  

 

And some of y'all need to learn to read the room on jokes, but I digress. 🙂

Edited February 1, 2023 by PTC DAWG

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, PTC DAWG said:

And some of y'all need to learn to read the room on jokes, but I digress. 🙂

LOL. Sometimes these boards are a case study in "you can't please some people."

"My food is too hot!"

"Mine is too cold!"

"Mine is too salty"

"Mine has no salt"

"Mine is too spicy"

"Mine is too bland"

 

ROTFL 😛🤣🤭

[cruiseny4life]

15 minutes ago, eileeshb said:

I really wish teppanyaki would ease up on the soy sauce in their rice, the last time I ate there 2 of us on the table requested low sodium but the way the chef cooked the rice if you wanted it without soy it would be completely plain. 

Your wish was our hibachi cook's command in January! We actually wrestled him for the container of soy...ok not really. I reached for the chef's salt shaker to put some actual sodium on my rice and he just handed us the entire container of soy. Perfection!!

[zzdoug]

8 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

And some of y'all need to learn to read the room on jokes, but I digress. 🙂

I know I can be pretty dense sometimes. Especially in the comments sections. 

[New2cruise2022]

2 hours ago, nadeki said:

We were on this sailing. I would have LOVED for a decent ranch dressing. 

 

NCL used to have the best buffalo wings in the Local.Now, they are fair and definitely need dressing to dip into. The amount of allocated dressing that is coming in the little silver container is about 1/4 full.It is not near enough and the staff was not around to ask for more.

 

We did not go hungry but were disappointed this time in the food and beverage service.

 

On a side note, we discussed the salt and pepper shaker as a memorable souvenir also! It was good looking.

The one where you grind one direction for salt and the other direction for pepper?

[9tee2Sea]

I have never had a problem with the seasonings.  I LOVE garlic, so anything that I order in the MDR, I just tell the server to make a note to add crushed garlic.  When doing the buffet for breakfast, I wander the stations and pick up a few things to add into the made to order omelet ( like sliced ham, slices of cheese, salmon, etc).  As for the coffee ( I NEVER buy Starbucks), if I want something fancy, I get a regular coffee and go to the soft serve ice cream station ( if they still have that) and put a dash of the soft serve into my coffee, then add brown sugar.  I have no complaints about doctoring up my plate as if I was cooking at home.  They did all the work and clean up, I just have to add a few things to my taste.

[thedarklord]

22 minutes ago, eileeshb said:

I’m actually allergic to the flesh/seeds of peppers but no problem when it’s dried powder form used (like cayenne) and that gets very complicated to explain to servers in the restaurants. I wind up avoiding dishes that might have peppers in them 

Ah, you may be the person who can answer a silly question I have!
Whilst I'm not allergic to peppers so it's not essential for me to avoid them unlike yourself, I do absolutely detest them and find they ruin the flavour of anything they touch.
So, breakfast potatoes. Always served with peppers, totally inedible!
I've always assumed that customising anything during the mad breakfast rush would be impossible, but I wonder - can they perhaps serve the potatoes without peppers?

[sailorusvi]

23 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

LOL. Sometimes these boards are a case study in "you can't please some people."

"My food is too hot!"

"Mine is too cold!"

"Mine is too salty"

"Mine has no salt"

"Mine is too spicy"

"Mine is too bland"

 

ROTFL 😛🤣🤭

 

🤣 Seriously.  The general publics' complaints are so contradictory it can be mind-blowing.   The general public on vacation ups the craziness.

 

I once had a customer complain her double vodka on the rocks was too strong. 

 

😳  Umm, okay. 

 

My husband and I could write a book on our experiences working in restaurants, especially the ones that were in vacation locations.

 

 

 

 

 

[New2cruise2022]

10 minutes ago, sailorusvi said:

 

🤣 Seriously.  The general publics' complaints are so contradictory it can be mind-blowing.   The general public on vacation ups the craziness.

 

I once had a customer complain her double vodka on the rocks was too strong. 

 

😳  Umm, okay. 

 

My husband and I could write a book on our experiences working in restaurants, especially the ones that were in vacation locations.

 

 

 

 

 

In fairness, this thread isn’t a complaint. It’s a review and a suggestion. No crew was berated. No one went Karen. Everything in this read: you do this well, but could do this better. 
 

Maybe you are experiencing some PTSD from your days working in kitchens. Geesh. 

[drwbrt]

2 minutes ago, New2cruise2022 said:

In fairness, this thread isn’t a complaint. It’s a review and a suggestion. No crew was berated. No one went Karen. Everything in this read: you do this well, but could do this better. 
 

Maybe you are experiencing some PTSD from your days working in kitchens. Geesh. 

Not enough $2 bills.

[reeinaz]

40 minutes ago, thedarklord said:

Ah, you may be the person who can answer a silly question I have!
Whilst I'm not allergic to peppers so it's not essential for me to avoid them unlike yourself, I do absolutely detest them and find they ruin the flavour of anything they touch.
So, breakfast potatoes. Always served with peppers, totally inedible!
I've always assumed that customising anything during the mad breakfast rush would be impossible, but I wonder - can they perhaps serve the potatoes without peppers?

Yes. On my last cruise in the buffet at breakfast, I happened to always sit pretty close to a guest who had some pretty strict dietary requests. Not allergies or health condition, just a preference based lifestyle choice. no added butter, sugar, salt, no gluten, etc.  They met with the manager and explained their preferences and special items were prepared for this guest. I saw the manager meet with them each day and ask how everything was. I don't know if they already planned on eating there each day or if the food needed to be requested the day before.

[DCGuy64]

1 hour ago, thedarklord said:

Ah, you may be the person who can answer a silly question I have!
Whilst I'm not allergic to peppers so it's not essential for me to avoid them unlike yourself, I do absolutely detest them and find they ruin the flavour of anything they touch.
So, breakfast potatoes. Always served with peppers, totally inedible!
I've always assumed that customising anything during the mad breakfast rush would be impossible, but I wonder - can they perhaps serve the potatoes without peppers?

In addition to the good advice provided by @reeinaz , I would suggest eating in the MDR for breakfast. You can have everything cooked to order, meaning breakfast potatoes sans peppers. I love going there because it's quieter than the buffet and you can get your eggs, etc. exactly how you want them.

[DCGuy64]

47 minutes ago, sailorusvi said:

 

🤣 Seriously.  The general publics' complaints are so contradictory it can be mind-blowing.   The general public on vacation ups the craziness.

 

I once had a customer complain her double vodka on the rocks was too strong. 

 

😳  Umm, okay. 

 

My husband and I could write a book on our experiences working in restaurants, especially the ones that were in vacation locations.

 

 

 

 

 

LOL. My wife loves to tell the story of her grandmother going to McDonald's and asking for the Filet-o-fish with no mayonnaise. Asked how it was, she said "it was too dry," whereupon my wife said "but you said no mayo," to which grandma replied "well, they could have put a little." 🙄 *facepalm*

[smillerholmes]

1 hour ago, eileeshb said:

Interesting…. I haven’t yet been on Bliss but I ate the pad Thai at Food republic on Escape pre-covid and my immediate reaction to it was that it was exceptionally mild. But then my local Thai place regular gets recognised in the take-away food awards here.

As @BirdTravels peppers issue, I’m actually allergic to the flesh/seeds of peppers but no problem when it’s dried powder form used (like cayenne) and that gets very complicated to explain to servers in the restaurants. I wind up avoiding dishes that might have peppers in them as a result though I did manage to get it through to the folks at Shanghai on Epic and they adapted my choices accordingly. It’s excellent fun being allergic to sweet pepper (capsicums) as the red ones often blend in with tomatoes so I have to be wary of stuff that should be tomato based. 
I really wish teppanyaki would ease up on the soy sauce in their rice, the last time I ate there 2 of us on the table requested low sodium but the way the chef cooked the rice if you wanted it without soy it would be completely plain. 

I totally get it.  I am allergic to tomato seeds so I usually explain it as I can't have "raw" tomatoes, it's hit or miss because trying to explain I can have processed tomato products is very difficult.

[9tee2Sea]

1 hour ago, thedarklord said:

Ah, you may be the person who can answer a silly question I have!
Whilst I'm not allergic to peppers so it's not essential for me to avoid them unlike yourself, I do absolutely detest them and find they ruin the flavour of anything they touch.
So, breakfast potatoes. Always served with peppers, totally inedible!
I've always assumed that customising anything during the mad breakfast rush would be impossible, but I wonder - can they perhaps serve the potatoes without peppers?

they won't customize in the buffet, but ask your server in the MDR to have them make your potatoes without peppers.I assume it won't be a problem.  Your food is guaranteed to come out hot if it has some customization to it ( or come out at least room temp)

[RocketMan275]

3 hours ago, thedarklord said:

Ah, you may be the person who can answer a silly question I have!
Whilst I'm not allergic to peppers so it's not essential for me to avoid them unlike yourself, I do absolutely detest them and find they ruin the flavour of anything they touch.
So, breakfast potatoes. Always served with peppers, totally inedible!
I've always assumed that customising anything during the mad breakfast rush would be impossible, but I wonder - can they perhaps serve the potatoes without peppers?

I would expect the potatoes are cooked with the peppers.  

[PATRLR]

First - let's be clear that cooking for a few thousand is NOT an excuse for low quality meals.  Some of the best meals I've had were at a banquet hall that can server up to about 1000 covers in one sitting.  It can be done.  (And yes, I understand that cruise ships are no longer trying to provide that high quality meal.  I get it.)

I do agree that when cooking for the masses, they can't get carried with with the spices, if we're talking about "hot" spices.  But, that doesn't mean you can't cook meals with good flavors.  It seems to me that the dishes in the MDR are getting blander and blander - that's what disappoints me so much.

[drwbrt]

13 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

First - let's be clear that cooking for a few thousand is NOT an excuse for low quality meals.  Some of the best meals I've had were at a banquet hall that can server up to about 1000 covers in one sitting.  It can be done.  (And yes, I understand that cruise ships are no longer trying to provide that high quality meal.  I get it.)

I do agree that when cooking for the masses, they can't get carried with with the spices, if we're talking about "hot" spices.  But, that doesn't mean you can't cook meals with good flavors.  It seems to me that the dishes in the MDR are getting blander and blander - that's what disappoints me so much.

I think you dropped this, 🎤.

[nadeki]

5 hours ago, New2cruise2022 said:

The one where you grind one direction for salt and the other direction for pepper?

Yup, we really liked it. We did. not bring one home.

[New2cruise2022]

7 minutes ago, nadeki said:

Yup, we really liked it. We did. not bring one home.

I was tempted as well. 

[drwbrt]

I wish I could buy this for all of you.

[cruiseny4life]

26 minutes ago, drwbrt said:

I wish I could buy this for all of you.

Oooooo thank you!! I just sent this to my husband to purchase. We, also, did not lift one from one of the various dining rooms that had these shakers...but I love this shaker!