Welcome to the Crossroads! This is the place for my experiences and reviews on the road, on cruises, or in or about Disney/Universal Studios. I’m eating at and reviewing another restaurant on the Norwegian Bliss, the American Diner. Located on deck 17, the American Diner is included with your cruise fare. It is only open for lunch, from 12 pm to 5 pm. The only thing that isn’t included is the milkshakes, which are $7 each. The milkshakes also do not count for the More At Sea beverage package. If you want a milkshake, you’re paying for it.

Now, what about the menu, and how was my meal? Let’s find out!

We chose to eat at the American Diner on embarkation day. Because most people head straight to the buffet on cruises, we hoped the American Diner wouldn’t be crowded. Luckily, we arrived right as it opened and didn’t have to wait. It never was crowded during our lunch, and there was ample seating. A portion of the menu is available at other restaurants on board, like at The Local, so we wanted to focus on items only served at the American Diner.

We ordered the smoked fish dip and the white bean chicken chili for our starters.

The chili was warm and very flavorful. It wasn’t too spicy or bland, hitting somewhere in the middle. The chili tasted good, and I enjoyed it as my starter. The smoked fish dip tasted delicious. The dip didn’t have an overpowering fish taste, and the smoke flavor showed through. If the fish had been overpowering, it would’ve drowned out the smoke. The chips served with it were stale, however. We joked that they were left over from the previous cruise and needed to get rid of them. Apparently, hungry folks boarding a ship is a good place to unload stale chips.

Now, for our main dishes, we decided to pick the pulled pork sliders and the homemade meatloaf. The meatloaf sounded like it could be good—or it could be bad, but I was willing to take the risk.

The sliders were average. They needed more sauce, and the slaw was bland. The Hawaiian rolls were good, and the fries were of the nice, thin, and crispy variety. Overall, the sliders were okay, but not something I’d beat the door down to order again. The meatloaf was surprisingly good. It was served with grilled corn and mashed potatoes. I wasn’t a big fan of the gravy, but it didn’t detract from the meatloaf’s flavor. I would’ve ordered it again if I had dined at the American Diner a few more times. The corn was good, and the potatoes were bland, but it was passable when you put the meatloaf gravy on it. I’d place the main dishes as above average.

When ordering dessert, we paid for the chocolate shake and added the chocolate mousse and bread pudding.

The shake was good, but I’m not sure it was $7 good (it was actually $9.17 after taxes and added gratuity). The other two desserts weren’t anything to write home about. The mousse was a basic chocolate mousse with a tiny dab of the strawberry coulis and a few graham cracker crumbs. The bread pudding was tasteless unless you covered your bite in the caramel whiskey sauce. The problem was that you ran out of the sauce after a few bites. Overall, I give the desserts a below-average rating.

How did the American Diner fare? I’d give it an average rating. It’s okay, but not a place I’d rush to eat again or go out of my way to dine at another time. I would still recommend it if you are on an NCL ship and have never tried it. Don’t take anyone else’s word about a restaurant until you try it yourself. I only give these opinions and reviews to pass on restaurant information and my experiences. Have you dined at the American Diner? If so, comment with your experiences below.

I hope you enjoyed this review, and I hope you take that trip you’ve been wanting to take!

See you at the Crossroads,

Brent