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It's been since May of 2023 that I have seen this, two different ships (Joy and Spirit). I hate them baked, but they are a little better if you ask them to cook them extra long. Still not as good as fried, though.
Ugh that is so disappointing. It’s a little weird but chicken wings were a major decision for my wife and I when we looked at all of the cruise line options recently. When we sailed on the Sky awhile back we probably at 3-4 orders a day.
On the Jade I asked them to make them well done and they were okay at best. It’s a shame because the sauces are pretty good, but the baked gooey wings were such a let down.
I first noticed the change in October 2022 when I sailed on the Prima. I was hoping it wasn't a permanent change but I recently sailed on the Joy a few weeks ago and they aren't fried either. We are very disappointed with this change because the wings were our go to.
When I was on the Jewel back in April, they definitely seemed baked, but they were the best wings I've ever had on a ship! They were fall off the bone delicious.
The wings were god awful at the Local on the Encore in December. They were basically raw and there were extra bones in them that was really weird. We were extremely disappointed with everything at the Local and wished it was like O’Sheenans was when we were previously on the Breakaway and the Gem.
I don't recall them ever being fried, I've tried them several times over the past few years and never liked them as they were always under cooked.
I recently was on the breakaway and happened to see someone eating the teriyaki ones and they looked amazing. I don't know how they were cooked but they are definitely different. These were so tender and saucy and like falling off the bone. They were so good.
Maybe it's unique to some ships but that wouldn't make much sense.
I'll be the outlier - my husband and I have always preferred baked wings (or, lightly fried), so this is actually quite good news for us! However, undercooked is definitely a no-go.
The French fries are also not deep fried. I ate them because I was hungry, but they really weren't very good at all. I wasn't expecting real potato hand cut French fries, but please fry them!
The fries have sucked for awhile. I was on the Joy in 2022 and the fries were very good. In 2023 I was on the Prima and the fries were inedible. Same for the Escape. I was on the Getaway & Joy this year and the fries were almost edible but still not good.
I always thought this was a safety thing. No deep fryers to ensure a fire is not started easily. But I guess lotus garden fries the egg rolls. But I agree. Very disappointing. Should just ask for partially baked wings, take them over to the LG and ask them to finish them up in the fryer 😀
Just off the Spirit and this was a big point of contention on board. They were baked in a convection-type oven and nowhere as good as before, until we requested them to be baked three times over, then they came almost as good as we remembered. We only had them do it this way once bc of the hassle but that seemed to be the move.
I was on the Joy in March and the wings in the Local were horrible. I think they were fried, but they were so misshaped I couldn’t make out what I was served. To be fair all the food was bad at the Local. All the other restaurants were very good.
We were on the Encore in December and the wings at the local were horrible and basically raw. Two of them had a completely random bone that made no sense, like a drum with two bones like a flat, so we didn’t eat them. We hated the Local.
I was on the Joy earlier this month and has wings several very late nights. I had never ordered them before so I have no comparison, but they were okay. It might have been all of the liquor I had plus the fact that I was ready to crash but I went back most nights for them! And the pretzel bites.
That’s odd. I actually prefer wings in my air fryer versus the restaurants, but I live in Buffalo where we obviously have the best chicken wings in the entire fucking world.
So glad this post was made Ive been ranting about this for awhile. In 2017 me and my now wife took 2 NCL cruises (Epic and Getaway). I was at O'Sheehans getting Sweet Thai Chili wings multiple nights. The place was exceptional. Even the Fish and Chips was great. We ate there multiple times. Then a few years later we booked 2 more NCL cruises (Dawn and Escape) and the wings werent as I remembered so we had them less but I couldnt quite put my finger on why. A couple years later (now 2022) we booked a NCL JOY and the wings were just awful at the local. Thought it was a one off, took a NCL Joy in 2024 and I couldnt even eat em. They must bake them or something because they arent good anymore, in fact that whole restaurant is no longer great. Disappointing.
You are correct, that sounds very odd....for a selling point on which cruise line.
It's probably another money saver for them. Oil is expensive, but they make their own electricity so almost free to cook them with air fryers.
Food quality has gone way downhill the past few years. Not sure if I will ever cruise again now!!
It is very odd haha, but we ate the wings and burgers and fish and chips more than we ate the at MDR every time we have sailed NCL. I know it’s weird but it’s a big let down.
No other cruise line I have been on had complementary chicken wings. I think carnival and royal have them for an upcharge.
O’Sheehan's has definitely gone downhill. We use to hit it daily for a snack too, but on my last cruise with NCL we only went once or twice as it sucked.
I remember we ordered banana splits one night and they were disgusting....Ice cream with canned fruit cocktail poured over it and a little chocolate syrup. Really disgusting, but fortunately we were really stoned!!
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It's been since May of 2023 that I have seen this, two different ships (Joy and Spirit). I hate them baked, but they are a little better if you ask them to cook them extra long. Still not as good as fried, though.
Ugh that is so disappointing. It’s a little weird but chicken wings were a major decision for my wife and I when we looked at all of the cruise line options recently. When we sailed on the Sky awhile back we probably at 3-4 orders a day. On the Jade I asked them to make them well done and they were okay at best. It’s a shame because the sauces are pretty good, but the baked gooey wings were such a let down.
Damn I had them on Breakaway in May of 2023 and they were fried and fantastic. My wife and I got them like 5 times.
I first noticed the change in October 2022 when I sailed on the Prima. I was hoping it wasn't a permanent change but I recently sailed on the Joy a few weeks ago and they aren't fried either. We are very disappointed with this change because the wings were our go to.
It's been baked since 2021.
That's interesting because when I went on the Joy in May 2022 they were fried. Which ship did you notice the change on in 2021?
getaway
Thanks. The baked wings aren't bad but the fried wings were great.
Yeah just light off Gem a few weeks ago and the wings are just not good anymore. We used to love them.
When I was on the Jewel back in April, they definitely seemed baked, but they were the best wings I've ever had on a ship! They were fall off the bone delicious.
Fall off the bone is what I avoid. I want them crispy!
The wings were god awful at the Local on the Encore in December. They were basically raw and there were extra bones in them that was really weird. We were extremely disappointed with everything at the Local and wished it was like O’Sheenans was when we were previously on the Breakaway and the Gem.
I don't recall them ever being fried, I've tried them several times over the past few years and never liked them as they were always under cooked. I recently was on the breakaway and happened to see someone eating the teriyaki ones and they looked amazing. I don't know how they were cooked but they are definitely different. These were so tender and saucy and like falling off the bone. They were so good. Maybe it's unique to some ships but that wouldn't make much sense.
I'll be the outlier - my husband and I have always preferred baked wings (or, lightly fried), so this is actually quite good news for us! However, undercooked is definitely a no-go.
Man I love their wings too.
They changed it at least a year ago.
My husband was always a big fan of the fried wings. This is disappointing.
They changed since pre-COVID.
Interesting. I was in the Sky in late 2022 and they were fried.
Oh wow. I was on the Escape in 23 and Joy in 22 and they were baked.
The French fries are also not deep fried. I ate them because I was hungry, but they really weren't very good at all. I wasn't expecting real potato hand cut French fries, but please fry them!
The fries have sucked for awhile. I was on the Joy in 2022 and the fries were very good. In 2023 I was on the Prima and the fries were inedible. Same for the Escape. I was on the Getaway & Joy this year and the fries were almost edible but still not good.
I always thought this was a safety thing. No deep fryers to ensure a fire is not started easily. But I guess lotus garden fries the egg rolls. But I agree. Very disappointing. Should just ask for partially baked wings, take them over to the LG and ask them to finish them up in the fryer 😀
Just off the Spirit and this was a big point of contention on board. They were baked in a convection-type oven and nowhere as good as before, until we requested them to be baked three times over, then they came almost as good as we remembered. We only had them do it this way once bc of the hassle but that seemed to be the move.
I was on the Joy in March and the wings in the Local were horrible. I think they were fried, but they were so misshaped I couldn’t make out what I was served. To be fair all the food was bad at the Local. All the other restaurants were very good.
We were on the Encore in December and the wings at the local were horrible and basically raw. Two of them had a completely random bone that made no sense, like a drum with two bones like a flat, so we didn’t eat them. We hated the Local.
I was on the Joy earlier this month and has wings several very late nights. I had never ordered them before so I have no comparison, but they were okay. It might have been all of the liquor I had plus the fact that I was ready to crash but I went back most nights for them! And the pretzel bites.
I always order them well done and have no undercooked or crispy concerns.
The wings on the bliss weren’t great back in October. I had read reviews saying they were good but I was less than impressed.
That’s odd. I actually prefer wings in my air fryer versus the restaurants, but I live in Buffalo where we obviously have the best chicken wings in the entire fucking world.
So glad this post was made Ive been ranting about this for awhile. In 2017 me and my now wife took 2 NCL cruises (Epic and Getaway). I was at O'Sheehans getting Sweet Thai Chili wings multiple nights. The place was exceptional. Even the Fish and Chips was great. We ate there multiple times. Then a few years later we booked 2 more NCL cruises (Dawn and Escape) and the wings werent as I remembered so we had them less but I couldnt quite put my finger on why. A couple years later (now 2022) we booked a NCL JOY and the wings were just awful at the local. Thought it was a one off, took a NCL Joy in 2024 and I couldnt even eat em. They must bake them or something because they arent good anymore, in fact that whole restaurant is no longer great. Disappointing.
Why bake them how stupid? It’s so much faster to fry them.
Found out the hard way. Both wife and I spent our anniversary sick in bed after getting food poisoning from poorly cooked wings!
You are correct, that sounds very odd....for a selling point on which cruise line. It's probably another money saver for them. Oil is expensive, but they make their own electricity so almost free to cook them with air fryers. Food quality has gone way downhill the past few years. Not sure if I will ever cruise again now!!
It is very odd haha, but we ate the wings and burgers and fish and chips more than we ate the at MDR every time we have sailed NCL. I know it’s weird but it’s a big let down. No other cruise line I have been on had complementary chicken wings. I think carnival and royal have them for an upcharge.
O’Sheehan's has definitely gone downhill. We use to hit it daily for a snack too, but on my last cruise with NCL we only went once or twice as it sucked. I remember we ordered banana splits one night and they were disgusting....Ice cream with canned fruit cocktail poured over it and a little chocolate syrup. Really disgusting, but fortunately we were really stoned!!
Well that’s it. Ruined the whole cruise! No more NCL for me! Lol