Mr. Grumpy, having cruised four times previously, all on Princess Cruise Lines (Alaska 2009, Scandinavia 2010, Mexico 2011, Caribbean 2012), wishes to share his comments about his recent experience cruising for the first time on an NCL ship.

Food:

• The quality of food in the NCL Spirit's two "complimentary" dining rooms (excluding Raffles Buffet) was far below Princess' "complimentary" dining rooms. On one occasion, one of our fellow diners sent her Molten Lava Chocolate Cake back to the kitchen three times because the cake was practically hard as a rock. She was literally unable to cut it with a knife! Ultimately the server suggested ordering another dessert after the third was no better than the first. On another occasion, Mr. Grumpy and his lovely wife were served their main course of Mahi-Mahi to find the side dishes consisting of ¼ of a potatoe and 1½ carrots. As the server was putting the plates on the table he sheepishly commented that he could bring more food if we wanted. The menu on another night listed Bean Burritos with BBQ sauce as a vegetarian option! Burritos…and with BBQ Sauce! On yet another night, the "regional speciality" was Spaghetti with Meat Sauce. Entrees like Burritos and Spaghetti are buffet fare and should not appear on a main dining room menu! Read more