The Grand Pacific is the main dining room on board the Norwegian Jade. It’s an absolutely beautiful space that opens up as you descend the stairs and extends to the back of the ship with floor to ceiling windows to give you a great view with your meal. And, it’s a spot where we dined on several occasions during our cruise.
For dinner, you have to dress up a little to eat here. No shorts or open toed shoes for guys.
There were some hits and misses among dinner items. The creamy mushroom soup had plenty of mushroom flavor with bits of chicken throughout. Fried brie wedges were lightly breaded and were heightened by the tapenade. The NY strip for the steak frites dish was slightly undercooked and the quality of the meat was average and excessively fatty. The pot roast was rather dry and underwhelming. The fried calamari was decent. The 12 oz grilled lobster tail ($24.99 supplement) was excellent. One of the better dishes on the cruise. The tail was large and perfectly cooked and seasoned, accompanied by drawn butter. The dish came with who sides. Four large stalks of asparagus, and a small baked potatoes with butter and a marginal amount of bacon and chives.
For desserts, I tried (on different occasions) the pecan pie and chocolate lava cake. The latter re-baked and heated to order, there wasn’t much of a lava effect as the center was solid. It came with some strawberries and ice cream.
Breakfast at the Grand Pacific was rather good and you don’t have to dress up. If you get there early enough you can get a seat by the windows. It’s a gorgeous view!
The biscuit Benedict with country potatoes was delicious. The poached egg was perfect, the biscuit was a little doughy, but still decent. The potatoes were crispy, tender cubes. The French toast is identical to what is served at the buffet — thick cut triangles of bread. The only difference is the presentation. The chocolate pancakes, while beautiful, were thick and dry. They come with a caramel sauce and whipped cream and needed additional syrup because of the dryness.
Not all the dishes were great, but a few were quite good and the setting can’t be beat.
3.5 Stars
Norwegian Jade
Tampa, FL 33602
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