Everything you said is EXACTLY what we encountered on the NCL Getaway. The food was minimal, cheap, and lacked variety. We have been on RCL, Princess, and Carnival and NCL had the worst food out of any of them. We missed having dining open at all hours too. Want an ice cream or pizza at 11 pm? Tough luck. Considering that NCL is supposed to be a step above the budget lines this was a surprise. Overall we couldn't find the value for the cost in NCL and only a good itinerary made it worthwhile. I'm also tired of people excusing everything on covid. It's been four years now.
I am sorry to hear you had a bad time. I will avoid the Getaway in the future. Do you think the new NCL ships have the same issues? I agree with you interms of being tired of covid excuses. After doing a bit of research, I noticed NCL never had special formal dining menus. I also heard cuts started even before covid.
On the Norwegian Bliss, the local was open 24 hours and served bar appetizers and basic light pub food. But they had gluten-free buns for the burgers and always had a salad available.
Nickel and dime is NCL’s policy and has been for several years. I’ve avoided NCL cruises for these very reasons. “Chef Boyardee ravioli” was a great laugh.
I am glad you enjoyed my commentary. I was shocked at how bad the food is. Listening to other reviews on TH-cam set my expectations. However, after trying it myself, I can't believe other TH-camrs rate this food well.
I have been on 1 NCL cruise in the 90's and never went back... Cruise lines use to be known for their great cuisine, now it seems like they offer you sub par fatty greasy food so you pay for Specialty dining. OUTRAGOUS that after paying the higher cruise fare, they stick you with $130 per couple....And if you have kids your talking over $250 ...Land tours are now the true Bargain...I went on a 10 day tour of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales with CIE Tours that includes all hotels, food and gratuites... for my wife and I....$3,250....$1,625 each covers our trip plus air fare of $1,500 Under $5,000 with everything included...all hotels were superior deluxe...all day tours with plenty of free time everyday...all luggage handling and wine with dinner included...all soft drinks included...and we had the time of our lives...I broke the chains of being shackled to a cruise vacation...It is now cheaper to do land tours then cruises in many cases are cheaper.
How sad. I could tell just by seeing the pictures that the food wasn't very good. I always get excited about a cruise when Celebrity releases the menu a few weeks before embarkation day. Granted, the MDR isn't always a 10, but I have never had a meal I could really complain about very much and the service has always been on point. I don't think I would sail NCL after different things I have heard, but I am considering a Princess Panama Canal cruise from Los Angeles to Ft. Lauderdale next year. Thanks for another great video Tom!
You are very welcome, Rick! I would not want to sail on this ship again. To be honest, I am not sure if I should even try any other NCL ships. I was considering one of their newer ships at some point. However, this experience is making me very hesitant.
I was hoping NCL's food was just temporarily bad because of Covid, which is what they told us a couple years ago. In years past it was like high end dining every night in the included restaurants. Plus they had the grill going by the pool where you could get steaks, ribs etc. Last cruise on the Epic was awful. I got served a breaded fish that was like Gorton's. I sent it back and asked for the chicken and it was worse than Banquet TV dinners. The server told me they had pre-prepared frozen dinners due to supply chain issues because of Covid. It seems they are just cutting costs while raising their prices.
@@tomsunday They used to set up a large grill near the pool in the Afternoon and you could just help yourself buffet style. It was great. I also miss the chocolate formal night.
To be honest, I was very surprised how bad this was. Other reviewers rate it well. After trying it myself, I am wondering how someone can give this anything above a 5/10.
Ok, so I’m not ever going on this cruise line even if they paid me. The food looks worse than terrible. People work too hard to have to deal with this nonsense on a vacation. Ew, I’m disgusted. Someone shut this cruise line down.
I believe NCL should consider reevaluating the dining options on the Gem. While I've heard that the food used to be quite good, it seems that some adjustments are necessary to restore its quality. Currently, the dining experience on this ship falls short of acceptable standards.
Cruise food has gone downhill since covid. Our last meal on NCL in osheenans was a mediocre burger and cold fries. Left a really bad taste in our mouths. Your food looks similar to what we've gotten on RCL and nowadays the bar is very low. 😢
Thanks for your insights. Dining is my favorite part of cruising. This is my first NCL cruise, and I was very disappointed. Do you know of other NCL ships are similar in terms of food quality?
@tomsunday we have been on Breakaway and Getaway prior to covid and got hooked on NCL. Immediately after covid, October 2022 we went on the Gem. At that time ships were 50% capacity and grateful for your business. In Dec 2022 we were on the Dawn and were treated like royalty. We were again on the Dawn in February 2023 and it was a totally different experience. The crew was Asian Indian and African. The officers that had been so friendly prior to covid were now frazzled and off putting. None of the crew we made friends with 3 months ago were there. We have been on the Jade twice since covid and now accept the lower bar as the norm. To be fair, HAL and R C have all cut back, charge more and provide less also. We were just so underwhelmed on our last NCL cruise that we have one more in 2025 that we are going on as we were able to double up on the cruise next credits. After that we're done with them. Osheenans was a disaster on the Jade and the Dawn. We are 4 star on HAL and we wouldn't go with them again if the cruise was free, they picked us up and paid to board the dog. Our last cruise with them was so boring that we canceled a FREE 30 day cruise down the Amazon while on that cruise. It was so boring we couldn't wait to get off. Royal Caribbean is still on our okay list but the dining room offerings sometimes are not for us and not what you think it's going to be. since we get casino rates on "the motel 6" of cruise lines (Carnival) and the free freak show(!!!) we take that for what it's worth as a quick getaway. I wish you all the best and hope this helps. ❤️
I just got off the bliss and the food was awesome! Freestyle concept elevated this. There were special selections each night. About to go on 2 transatlantic (each direction) and a trans canal on the NCL Bliss!
I was hoping this was only happening on the NCL Gem. I'm sad to hear that other NCL ships are the same. It was highly disappointing. I am not sure I would ever want to return.
@@tomsunday This is exactly how we feel. We did a lot of research before choosing NCL. The food was such a let down but also the entertainment was sub par along with the crew seeming unhappy and not engaged. We are fairly seasoned cruisers and have received better overall experiences on more budget lines. I doubt we will cruise on NCL again.
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Everything you said is EXACTLY what we encountered on the NCL Getaway. The food was minimal, cheap, and lacked variety. We have been on RCL, Princess, and Carnival and NCL had the worst food out of any of them. We missed having dining open at all hours too. Want an ice cream or pizza at 11 pm? Tough luck. Considering that NCL is supposed to be a step above the budget lines this was a surprise. Overall we couldn't find the value for the cost in NCL and only a good itinerary made it worthwhile. I'm also tired of people excusing everything on covid. It's been four years now.
I am sorry to hear you had a bad time. I will avoid the Getaway in the future. Do you think the new NCL ships have the same issues? I agree with you interms of being tired of covid excuses. After doing a bit of research, I noticed NCL never had special formal dining menus. I also heard cuts started even before covid.
@@tomsunday I think it's probably the case on all NCL ships right now.
On the Norwegian Bliss, the local was open 24 hours and served bar appetizers and basic light pub food. But they had gluten-free buns for the burgers and always had a salad available.
Nickel and dime is NCL’s policy and has been for several years. I’ve avoided NCL cruises for these very reasons. “Chef Boyardee ravioli” was a great laugh.
I am glad you enjoyed my commentary. I was shocked at how bad the food is. Listening to other reviews on TH-cam set my expectations. However, after trying it myself, I can't believe other TH-camrs rate this food well.
Remember, you had just experienced Luminae! 😂
@@Katherine-xo7do 😅 quite the contrast!
Was there Indian food on menu ain Norwegian GEM ? Traveling from Miami in December and was wondering
I have been on 1 NCL cruise in the 90's and never went back...
Cruise lines use to be known for their great cuisine, now it seems like they offer you sub par fatty greasy food so you pay for Specialty dining. OUTRAGOUS that after paying the higher cruise fare, they stick you with $130 per couple....And if you have kids your talking over $250 ...Land tours are now the true Bargain...I went on a 10 day tour of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales with CIE Tours that includes all hotels, food and gratuites... for my wife and I....$3,250....$1,625 each covers our trip plus air fare of $1,500 Under $5,000 with everything included...all hotels were superior deluxe...all day tours with plenty of free time everyday...all luggage handling and wine with dinner included...all soft drinks included...and we had the time of our lives...I broke the chains of being shackled to a cruise vacation...It is now cheaper to do land tours then cruises in many cases are cheaper.
After this experience, I am not sure I would go back either. I'm glad you enjoyed your land based vacation!
How sad. I could tell just by seeing the pictures that the food wasn't very good. I always get excited about a cruise when Celebrity releases the menu a few weeks before embarkation day. Granted, the MDR isn't always a 10, but I have never had a meal I could really complain about very much and the service has always been on point. I don't think I would sail NCL after different things I have heard, but I am considering a Princess Panama Canal cruise from Los Angeles to Ft. Lauderdale next year. Thanks for another great video Tom!
You are very welcome, Rick! I would not want to sail on this ship again. To be honest, I am not sure if I should even try any other NCL ships. I was considering one of their newer ships at some point. However, this experience is making me very hesitant.
I was hoping NCL's food was just temporarily bad because of Covid, which is what they told us a couple years ago. In years past it was like high end dining every night in the included restaurants. Plus they had the grill going by the pool where you could get steaks, ribs etc. Last cruise on the Epic was awful. I got served a breaded fish that was like Gorton's. I sent it back and asked for the chicken and it was worse than Banquet TV dinners. The server told me they had pre-prepared frozen dinners due to supply chain issues because of Covid. It seems they are just cutting costs while raising their prices.
They used to serve steaks and ribs at Topsiders Grill? That is far from what is being served there now. Wow!
@@tomsunday They used to set up a large grill near the pool in the Afternoon and you could just help yourself buffet style. It was great. I also miss the chocolate formal night.
That sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing. I hope they bring it back.
The Teppanyaki and Moderno did look good. Thanks for your review. We're pretty sure that your view of food aligns with ours.
To be honest, I was very surprised how bad this was. Other reviewers rate it well. After trying it myself, I am wondering how someone can give this anything above a 5/10.
Ok, so I’m not ever going on this cruise line even if they paid me. The food looks worse than terrible. People work too hard to have to deal with this nonsense on a vacation. Ew, I’m disgusted. Someone shut this cruise line down.
I believe NCL should consider reevaluating the dining options on the Gem. While I've heard that the food used to be quite good, it seems that some adjustments are necessary to restore its quality. Currently, the dining experience on this ship falls short of acceptable standards.
Cruise food has gone downhill since covid. Our last meal on NCL in osheenans was a mediocre burger and cold fries. Left a really bad taste in our mouths. Your food looks similar to what we've gotten on RCL and nowadays the bar is very low. 😢
Thanks for your insights. Dining is my favorite part of cruising. This is my first NCL cruise, and I was very disappointed. Do you know of other NCL ships are similar in terms of food quality?
@tomsunday we have been on Breakaway and Getaway prior to covid and got hooked on NCL. Immediately after covid, October 2022 we went on the Gem. At that time ships were 50% capacity and grateful for your business. In Dec 2022 we were on the Dawn and were treated like royalty. We were again on the Dawn in February 2023 and it was a totally different experience. The crew was Asian Indian and African. The officers that had been so friendly prior to covid were now frazzled and off putting. None of the crew we made friends with 3 months ago were there. We have been on the Jade twice since covid and now accept the lower bar as the norm. To be fair, HAL and R C have all cut back, charge more and provide less also. We were just so underwhelmed on our last NCL cruise that we have one more in 2025 that we are going on as we were able to double up on the cruise next credits. After that we're done with them. Osheenans was a disaster on the Jade and the Dawn. We are 4 star on HAL and we wouldn't go with them again if the cruise was free, they picked us up and paid to board the dog. Our last cruise with them was so boring that we canceled a FREE 30 day cruise down the Amazon while on that cruise. It was so boring we couldn't wait to get off. Royal Caribbean is still on our okay list but the dining room offerings sometimes are not for us and not what you think it's going to be. since we get casino rates on "the motel 6" of cruise lines (Carnival) and the free freak show(!!!) we take that for what it's worth as a quick getaway. I wish you all the best and hope this helps. ❤️
I just got off the bliss and the food was awesome! Freestyle concept elevated this. There were special selections each night. About to go on 2 transatlantic (each direction) and a trans canal on the NCL Bliss!
It was the same on the Getaway. NCL was such a disappointment compared to other cruise lines we've been on.
I was hoping this was only happening on the NCL Gem. I'm sad to hear that other NCL ships are the same. It was highly disappointing. I am not sure I would ever want to return.
@@tomsunday This is exactly how we feel. We did a lot of research before choosing NCL. The food was such a let down but also the entertainment was sub par along with the crew seeming unhappy and not engaged. We are fairly seasoned cruisers and have received better overall experiences on more budget lines. I doubt we will cruise on NCL again.