Just off the Epic, boy has the food gone downhill!

[ready2cruzagain]

We sailed on the Epic last month for 3 weeks. We both can't believe the decline in the food on the Epic. We usually gain at least 7 lbs each on a 3 week cruise, we both lost a couple of pounds. I understand that food is subjective but the cuts and types of meats offered was shocking. Below is a few examples:

 

La Bistro - fillet was so tough you could not even chew it, portions seem to be half the size, I have never seen pureed Pasta Fagioli soup but it sure was pureed with 2 macaroni noodles (tasted and looked like white bean soup with 2 macaroni noodles floating in it)!

 

Moderno - meats were tough, hard to get someone to come to the table with meat, lamb chops is now lamb sirloin and it was very fatty and had a really bad wild smell, the sausage was the size of cocktail sausages and burned (no longer the large sausage that you would put on a bun), etc. We had booked Moderno's twice but cancelled the second booking since it was so bad the first time.

 

Shanghai's - portions were about half the size they use to be. 

 

Main Dining Room - I must say the menu's were really bad. I understand the menus repeat each week but out of 7 days, the main items were turkey twice, brats twice and pork several times. The New York Strip on the classic menu had a good taste but too tough to chew. We ordered pasta several times for it to be really dry and not much sauce on it. They use to serve Swordfish, Cod, Grouper, or trout. The fish they offered this time was Coalfish (Pollock), Tilapia, Hake, Flounder. They did have Red Snapper in an Asian Dish but there was one 1 inch square piece of Snapper and no more fish!

 

O'Sheehan's - not a fan of the wings anymore. They were so soggy! We use to eat them all the time, not this time. 

 

Just a question, do all the ships puree every soup? Every soup on the Epic was pureed, corn chowder, bean soup, pasta fagioli, even the French Onion soup had no onion in it, just broth.

 

Cagney's, La Cucina and Teppanyaki's were the best. We don't eat rice and asked for Udon noodles at Teppanyaki's and they were awesome!

 

Don't get me wrong, we didn't starve but was shocked at the decline in the food quality. We have the Jewel booked next, hoping it is better than the Epic. Will probably be going back to MSC after that if the food remains as bad as it was on the Epic.

 

Otherwise had a great 3 weeks!

 

Edited February 11 by ready2cruzagain

[schmoopie17]

22 minutes ago, ready2cruzagain said:

We sailed on the Epic last month for 3 weeks. We both can't believe the decline in the food on the Epic. We usually gain at least 7 lbs each on a 3 week cruise, we both lost a couple of pounds. I understand that food is subjective but the cuts and types of meats offered was shocking. Below is a few examples:

 

La Bistro - fillet was so tough you could not even chew it, portions seem to be half the size, I have never seen pureed Pasta Fagioli soup but it sure was pureed with 2 macaroni noodles (tasted and looked like white bean soup with 2 macaroni noodles floating in it)!

 

Moderno - meats were tough, hard to get someone to come to the table with meat, lamb chops is now lamb sirloin and it was very fatty and had a really bad wild smell, the sausage was the size of cocktail sausages and burned (no longer the large sausage that you would put on a bun), etc. We had booked Moderno's twice but cancelled the second booking since it was so bad the first time.

 

Shanghai's - portions were about half the size they use to be. 

 

Main Dining Room - I must say the menu's were really bad. I understand the menus repeat each week but out of 7 days, the main items were turkey twice, brats twice and pork several times. The New York Strip on the classic menu had a good taste but too tough to chew. We ordered pasta several times for it to be really dry and not much sauce on it. They use to serve Swordfish, Cod, Grouper, or trout. The fish they offered this time was Coalfish (Pollock), Tilapia, Hake, Flounder. They did have Red Snapper in an Asian Dish but there was one 1 inch square piece of Snapper and no more fish!

 

O'Sheehan's - not a fan of the wings anymore. They were so soggy! We use to eat them all the time, not this time. 

 

Just a question, do all the ships puree every soup? Every soup on the Epic was pureed, corn chowder, bean soup, pasta fagioli, even the French Onion soup had no onion in it, just broth.

 

Cagney's, La Cucina and Teppanyaki's were the best. We don't eat rice and asked for Udon noodles at Teppanyaki's and they were awesome!

 

Don't get me wrong, we didn't starve but was shocked at the decline in the food quality. We have the Jewel booked next, hoping it is better than the Epic. Will probably be going back to MSC after that if the food remains as bad as it was on the Epic.

 

Otherwise had a great 3 weeks!

 

After reading this I figured you wouldn't be ready2cruzagain, but see you booked the Jewel.

Here's hoping your culinary experience improves. Sounds like it couldn't get much worse.

[ready2cruzagain]

2 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

After reading this I figured you wouldn't be ready2cruzagain, but see you booked the Jewel.

Here's hoping your culinary experience improves. Sounds like it couldn't get much worse.

 

We love cruising, like I said, we did not starve just disappointed. The Jewel will be our 60th cruise and looking forward to it.

 

[UKstages]

30 minutes ago, ready2cruzagain said:

We both can't believe the decline in the food on the Epic.

 

it's not the epic... it appears to be all ships across the fleet.

 

i disembarked from the getaway earlier this week and my experience was, more or less, the same as yours.

[ready2cruzagain]

1 minute ago, UKstages said:

 

it's not the epic... it appears to be all ships across the fleet.

 

i disembarked from the getaway earlier this week and my experience was, more or less, the same as yours.

 

Not what I wanted to hear.😬

[Chirphy6438]

Poor reviews across the NCL are beginning to sound like the norm for this cruise line sadly.  Wish we had researched these reviews before booking on the Joy this May.  I'm now beginning to research other cruise lines for next years sailing.   Thanks for your review. 

[Laszlo]

16 hours ago, ready2cruzagain said:

We sailed on the Epic last month for 3 weeks. We both can't believe the decline in the food on the Epic. We usually gain at least 7 lbs each on a 3 week cruise, we both lost a couple of pounds. I understand that food is subjective but the cuts and types of meats offered was shocking. Below is a few examples:

 

La Bistro - fillet was so tough you could not even chew it, portions seem to be half the size, I have never seen pureed Pasta Fagioli soup but it sure was pureed with 2 macaroni noodles (tasted and looked like white bean soup with 2 macaroni noodles floating in it)!

 

Moderno - meats were tough, hard to get someone to come to the table with meat, lamb chops is now lamb sirloin and it was very fatty and had a really bad wild smell, the sausage was the size of cocktail sausages and burned (no longer the large sausage that you would put on a bun), etc. We had booked Moderno's twice but cancelled the second booking since it was so bad the first time.

 

Shanghai's - portions were about half the size they use to be. 

 

Main Dining Room - I must say the menu's were really bad. I understand the menus repeat each week but out of 7 days, the main items were turkey twice, brats twice and pork several times. The New York Strip on the classic menu had a good taste but too tough to chew. We ordered pasta several times for it to be really dry and not much sauce on it. They use to serve Swordfish, Cod, Grouper, or trout. The fish they offered this time was Coalfish (Pollock), Tilapia, Hake, Flounder. They did have Red Snapper in an Asian Dish but there was one 1 inch square piece of Snapper and no more fish!

 

O'Sheehan's - not a fan of the wings anymore. They were so soggy! We use to eat them all the time, not this time. 

 

Just a question, do all the ships puree every soup? Every soup on the Epic was pureed, corn chowder, bean soup, pasta fagioli, even the French Onion soup had no onion in it, just broth.

 

Cagney's, La Cucina and Teppanyaki's were the best. We don't eat rice and asked for Udon noodles at Teppanyaki's and they were awesome!

 

Don't get me wrong, we didn't starve but was shocked at the decline in the food quality. We have the Jewel booked next, hoping it is better than the Epic. Will probably be going back to MSC after that if the food remains as bad as it was on the Epic.

 

Otherwise had a great 3 weeks!

 

If you are looking for the best food you need to sail Oceania

[PATRLR]

16 hours ago, UKstages said:

 

it's not the epic... it appears to be all ships across the fleet.

 

i disembarked from the getaway earlier this week and my experience was, more or less, the same as yours.

Agreed.  Viva in December the food in general was awful.  It's really  the only word for it.

[PATRLR]

48 minutes ago, Chirphy6438 said:

I'm now beginning to research other cruise lines for next years sailing. 

We did RCCL last summer (their MDR and buffet were about the same, their specialty dining was head and shoulders above NCL's) and we're trying Princess this summer.

[detroitlions]

I did see some decline in the food a year ago. I leave on the Joy in March I hope its not even worse or near your experience. 

I have not been to Maderno in a long time I thought the meat was not very good quality.

I am not a fan of the main dinning room on any of the cruise lines I have been on but there is always a couple things I like on the menu. The list of fish you mentioned are all the fish I wont eat especially Tilapia and Flounder Yuck.

My last cruise on the Escape my porter house steak was chewy as hell everyone else had great steaks the fillets and the ribeye. 

I know when these cruise lines call beef angus beef it is not as good quality as choice or prime cuts you can buy at the store.

[Yesimapirate]

1 hour ago, Laszlo said:

If you are looking for the best food you need to sail Oceania

But if you read their board they're full of the same complaints. 

 

It's a the grass is always greener scenario.   Overwhelming debt from Covid and record bookings mean increased prices and lower standards, service and quality.   Every cruiseline (and most hotels for that matter) are going through it.  It will only change once there's a recession and bookings drop.  

[dexddd]

3 minutes ago, Yesimapirate said:

But if you read their board they're full of the same complaints. 

 

It's a the grass is always greener scenario.   Overwhelming debt from Covid and record bookings mean increased prices and lower standards, service and quality.   Every cruiseline (and most hotels for that matter) are going through it.  It will only change once there's a recession and bookings drop.  

If a recession, prices may drop but I can't really recall service or food getting better during such times.

[dexddd]

Ready - hope MSC works for you.  We sailed YC eight times and would say except for last food was pretty good.  October we sailed 11 nights and walked out of YC restaurant twice and skipped it another couple.  My go to filet was rubber on six of eight I tried.

 

Hola's was good as was BC.  Buffet was o.k. but they ran out of some stuff like lettuce.

[laudergayle]

I agree with OP re: food quality and portion size.  The silver lining with smaller portions…less bad food goes to waste.

[tonyfall1]

I don't think this is just affecting the cruise industry. My wife and I enjoy going out to eat regularly. Almost every restaurant we have gone to the prices are way up and the quality is way down. It is very noticeable. Almost to the point where we may stop going out. Also some of the grocery products the quality is down.

Edited February 12 by tonyfall1

[mking8288]

Thanks (not really) for the affirmation as it has been reported and observed by others lately, ourselves included - trending that began in 2023, it isn't really new but just heading not - suffice to say - in the right direction (as in going the wrong way)   $3 at McD for a single piece of greasy hashbrown and $4 for fries (where it used to be on the $1 menu ... nowadays, good luck finding something under $2 or $3 a piece, maybe the kid's special, depending on the franchise location.)  

 

However, comparatively speaking, the average daily costs for cruising (Haven & YC excluded) are still, relatively, reasonable compared to other forms of vacation.  We just booked a week of van rental - Budget & Hertz alike, $1,900 all inclusive w unlimited driving in a Ford Transit XLT that seat up to 12 plus luggage allowance - still "cheaper" than flying for 9 adults and 3 kids.  

 

Well, to balance things out, it means we are "eating lighter" as NCL menus are mostly "cooking light" in more ways than one.  The grass isn't greener elsewhere with the competition.  

[Sailing12Away]

I'll be hopping on Epic in ~2 weeks, so we shall see if this is a perception issue, just bad luck of the draw, the new norm, an exaggeration of reality, or somewhere in between.

Already know the wings at O'sheehan suck these days. It used to be one of our favorite spots to go for a simple quick bar type meal. Will probably give them one more try and ask for the wings to be crispy and see what we get.

[CruisingSince1982]

1 hour ago, Laszlo said:

If you are looking for the best food you need to sail Oceania

We are looking at Oceania and Regent for our next cruise! 

[dexddd]

5 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Thanks (not really) for the affirmation as it has been reported and observed by others lately, ourselves included - trending that began in 2023, it isn't really new but just heading not - suffice to say - in the right direction (as in going the wrong way)   $3 at McD for a single piece of greasy hashbrown and $4 for fries (where it used to be on the $1 menu ... nowadays, good luck finding something under $2 or $3 a piece, maybe the kid's special, depending on the franchise location.)  

 

However, comparatively speaking, the average daily costs for cruising (Haven & YC excluded) are still, relatively, reasonable compared to other forms of vacation.  We just booked a week of van rental - Budget & Hertz alike, $1,900 all inclusive w unlimited driving in a Ford Transit XLT that seat up to 12 plus luggage allowance - still "cheaper" than flying for 9 adults and 3 kids.  

 

Well, to balance things out, it means we are "eating lighter" as NCL menus are mostly "cooking light" in more ways than one.  The grass isn't greener elsewhere with the competition.  

What day and time will you be picking us up and you can mark us down for two bags and two carryons?

[love4god]

Just curious, I wonder how much food changes from ship to ship on the same cruise line. I'm sure they're all being supplied the same bulk ingredients at the same quality level across the line.  However, does one ship have a better executive chef or staff than the others?  Or, is it like a chain restaurant where so much is mass/factory kitchen produced and delivered that it's basically the same.

Edited February 12 by love4god

[laudergayle]

8 minutes ago, tonyfall1 said:

I don't think this is just affecting the cruise industry. My wife and I enjoy going out to eat regularly. Almost every restaurant we have gone to the prices are way up and the quality is way down. It is very noticeable. Almost to the point where we may stop going out. Also some of the grocery products the quality is down.

I agree with this 100%.  Since Covid we rarely eat out.  As a result, my cooking skills and menu choices have improved significantly.  When we do dine out, it  annoys me how much we pay for low quality food and service.  I guess that’s one thing I like about cruising…while we have purchased meals as part of the cruise fare, your mind tells you it’s free.  
 

 

[zqvol]

18 minutes ago, Sailing12Away said:

I'll be hopping on Epic in ~2 weeks, so we shall see if this is a perception issue, just bad luck of the draw, the new norm, an exaggeration of reality, or somewhere in between.

Already know the wings at O'sheehan suck these days. It used to be one of our favorite spots to go for a simple quick bar type meal. Will probably give them one more try and ask for the wings to be crispy and see what we get.

I was on the Epic the same time as OP.  The description is very accurate. 

[Laszlo]

14 minutes ago, CruisingSince1982 said:

We are looking at Oceania and Regent for our next cruise! 

We have an 11 day cruised booked February 2025 on Oceania. Not cheap, cheaper than the Haven and basically every cabin is a suite

[UKstages]

34 minutes ago, Yesimapirate said:

It will only change once there's a recession and bookings drop.  

 

recession, reschmession.

 

there is no recession in sight. the economy is strong.

 

this will only change when people vote with their wallets and say "no mas." they've had enough... the product no longer resembles anything like what it once was. when they decide to stay home with a good book, some take out Chinese food and a pint of ice cream.

 

as long as we continue to travel with after these cuts have been made, we are giving NCL (and other cruise lines) permission to continue to make cuts and destroy the product.

[Asawi]

1 minute ago, love4god said:

Just curious, I wonder how much food changes from ship to ship on the same cruise line. 

I cruised Star in October and Gem in December 2023. I eat most of my meals in the buffet. The food was noticeably better on Gem. Not necessarily better prepared, but better/more choice and presentation. 

As for speciality: Moderno on Star was not great. La Cucina on Gem was very good (taste and  portion size). Le Bistro at Gem (ate there twice) had well tasting food, but ridicilous portion size (small!). 
(Maybe it should be noted that I'm not much of a meat eater. Steaks are not for me, but I can tell the difference between good and not so good meat, an unfortunately Moderna served the not so good meat.)