Regal Princess: what happened to the food?

Regal Princess: what happened to the menus and food Quality?

What happened to the menus and food? The options are drastically different on the Regal, I am quite surprised. This is a chaotic cruise, as are all holiday cruises, the food choices have been reduced and the quality has gone down. I'm no foodie but I know when chicken is not cooked properly, last night my Chicken was pink and there was sauce on half of the meat making the presentation awful. I noticed that they had sweet potato fries on the menu and asked for them, and they came cold and uncooked. OK, it happens, I asked for another plate of the same and my chicken was again pink in the middle, the sauce was piled high in one side and the rest of the chicken was naked. My sweet potato fries were again cold and uncooked! Bummer.

On one hand it is nice to see new choices, but I miss the old standards--there was no spring rolls on the first night, and no pasta choices. A few months ago on the Crown we had the the normal menus but this is a completely different experience. I asked for extra broccoli and did not get it. In combination with the poorly cooked chicken and sweet potato fries this added up to a major disappointment.

I have experienced this downward trend in food during the first few days of several past cruises including last years Love Boat cruise on the Pacific. On that cruise the food improved as the cruise went on so I am hopeful that this too will happen. I know holiday cruises are tough on the staff, but uncooked chicken is unhealthy and the last thing I need is to get sick from poorly cooked food.

I'm onboard for 21 days and hope things improve in the dining room. This is my first time on this ship, the staff seem a bit stressed, as if they expect the worse. This is a bad way to embrace your customers, if you think the best you get the best and vice versa. I expect my food to be cooked properly, plated pleasingly, and served with a smile. Come on Princess, I paid a lot of money for this Christmas cruise and don't expect miracles, just eatable food. The one bonus is that this could be a boon to my diet! There is always an upside.

All the best to all of my Cruise Critic friends,

Amelia

Hopefully the meal you experienced is an isolated incident. We absolutely loved our November cruise on the Regal and most of the recent reviews and Live From threads have been very complimentary. We thought the food quality and service in the MDR, Alfredo's, Horizon Court, Crown Grill, and IC were all very good.

We did a Thanksgiving cruise last month on the Oasis of the Seas with extended family and I also used the word "chaotic" to describe it, staff also appeared to be overwhelmed. Lots of kids and teens, which I assume is the case for your cruise too.

Please come back and report!

I wonder if the executive chef just changed. We were on Regal in June and October. Same executive chef on both so he was probably due for a break. We thought the food was quite good on both of those. However, the the maitre'D had changed and it showed in the quality of the MDR service. I suspect it's the same maitre'D as we had in October and the service then was not a well-oiled machine.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

We were on the Regal over Thanksgiving and the food to us was the best we've had in a long time. In all fairness we did not eat in the MDR because we find the buffet on the Regal far superior and a much better selection......just my opinion;)

Hi Amelia! We were on the Regal in November and I was disappointed with the menu changes. The quality of the food was good but I missed some old favorites. The food seemed more highly seasoned. I chalked it up to the first 7-day cruise we've been on in years. Our cruise buddies, Freddi and Bob, are sailing with you. They were on the Regal in the spring in the Baltic so I'm anxious to hear from her. Enjoy!Karen

I hope it gets better for you. We just finished a cruise and thought the food and choices were really good. A few things not to our liking but in general very good. We asked for a couple of the old every day menu items and got them.

We were on the Regal Oct-Nov and thought most of the MDR food was quite good and well prepared. I do wonder if there have been some key changes in the galley staff which can really have a major impact. As to menus, the issue raised by the OP is a two edged sword. Why we understand that some folks want to see the same menus and items year after year, many other folks like to see changes from cruise to cruise. We spend a lot of time cruising (over 100 days this year) and are usually very happy to see new menus and new menu items.

Hank

I was very disappointed in the Regal this year, the next cruise I had after Regal was a lastminute cheapie solo transatlantic on NCL Epic and the dining in the MDR as well as everywhere else was way better than Regal which totally surprised me.

And I had no nasty encounters with Princess employees in the computer room like I did on Regal. And Passenger Services didn't stonewall me on NCL like they did on Regal. But that's pretty much the usual thing on Princess in my experience.

I haven't given up on Princess, 3 more cruises coming up very soon, but not on Regal.

That chicken sounds absolutely awful. I sincerely hope it gets better. Keep us posted!!

-Andrew :)

Regal Princess: what happened to the menus and food Quality?

 

 

 

What happened to the menus and food? The options are drastically different on the Regal, I am quite surprised. This is a chaotic cruise, as are all holiday cruises, the food choices have been reduced and the quality has gone down. I'm no foodie but I know when chicken is not cooked properly, last night my Chicken was pink and there was sauce on half of the meat making the presentation awful. I noticed that they had sweet potato fries on the menu and asked for them, and they came cold and uncooked. OK, it happens, I asked for another plate of the same and my chicken was again pink in the middle, the sauce was piled high in one side and the rest of the chicken was naked. My sweet potato fries were again cold and uncooked! Bummer.

 

 

 

On one hand it is nice to see new choices, but I miss the old standards--there was no spring rolls on the first night, and no pasta choices. A few months ago on the Crown we had the the normal menus but this is a completely different experience. I asked for extra broccoli and did not get it. In combination with the poorly cooked chicken and sweet potato fries this added up to a major disappointment.

 

 

 

I have experienced this downward trend in food during the first few days of several past cruises including last years Love Boat cruise on the Pacific. On that cruise the food improved as the cruise went on so I am hopeful that this too will happen. I know holiday cruises are tough on the staff, but uncooked chicken is unhealthy and the last thing I need is to get sick from poorly cooked food.

 

 

 

I'm onboard for 21 days and hope things improve in the dining room. This is my first time on this ship, the staff seem a bit stressed, as if they expect the worse. This is a bad way to embrace your customers, if you think the best you get the best and vice versa. I expect my food to be cooked properly, plated pleasingly, and served with a smile. Come on Princess, I paid a lot of money for this Christmas cruise and don't expect miracles, just eatable food. The one bonus is that this could be a boon to my diet! There is always an upside.

 

 

 

All the best to all of my Cruise Critic friends,

 

Amelia

Talk to the head waiter! Hopefully you did after 2 deliveries of undercooked chicken and cold fries. Maybe they can get the quirks ironed out, but if they are not aware of the problems, they can't address them.

I hope you cruise improves. Happy holidays!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No pasta course??? :eek:

I've enjoyed that nightly since my "first" Princess cruise on Sitmar in 1988 & they better not eliminate the pasta course. :eek:

Hi Amelia,

We will be on the Regal on Jan. 29, so will just miss you! For the pasta course, it now is under entrees and will be the first entry. You can order an appetizer portion or a full entree. :rolleyes:

There is no excuse for undercooked chicken. Did you report that to your head waiter or the Maitre d'?

As far as reduced choices, other than no medallions of beef or tri-tip on the always available side, there has been no reduction. We were on the Pacific last month and CanadianBurger posted the embarkation and other menus from the Regal for the just completed 12/11 cruise. The Fettuccine Alfredo has been moved to the always available side and the daily pasta dish is now listed with the mains. In addition to the pasta main there are still a fish, shellfish, beef, other meat, homestyle (no longer called that) and vegetarian entrees. There are also still three starters and four soups/salads but now all in one section. About half of the day's there is a Curtis Stone entree that is the shellfish or other meat option for that day.

In the Med there were a number of Mediterranean Cuisine options each night as there were Caribbean Cuisine options on the recent Regal cruise. What I have noticed is that the old menus have changed and that they appear to vary by itinerary. There are some new items but many items have just been shuffled between menus. We thought the food on the Pacific was very good including a "semi-foodie" sailing with us who was on his first Princess cruise.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thanks Brian for sharing your positive experiences.

Hi Amelia,

Happy Holidays to you and Ken.(and any of your friends that may be traveling with you).

We also board the Regal (with Meredith and Bob)end of January for two weeks.

I remember the very fun SA cruise with you and Ken. That was such a great cruise including Christmas and New Years. And especially both of us sitting on Santa's knee (have the blackmail photo to prove it).

Please do a Live. We leave on the Ruby this week with our entire family to Celebrate Lew and my 50th wedding anniversary.

:D:D

Hi Amelia. I seem to remember you had similar problems with the food (the chicken) on the 50th anniversary cruise on PP last year. I hope things improve. (I hope Ken found some bridge players, too.) :)

All I know is...when I take a cruise over Christmas and New Years....regardless of Cruise lines....everything is off and lousy. I ( been on over 100 cruises) see A pattern and believe, that the cruise staff that is great is off the ship during this time. That is why we figured out to NEVER cruise over Christmas and New Years...typically is our worse cruise.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

ibfern,

When you say your sweet potato fries were "cold and uncooked", do you mean raw... or undercooked?

Regal Princess: what happened to the menus and food Quality?

 

What happened to the menus and food? The options are drastically different on the Regal, I am quite surprised. This is a chaotic cruise, as are all holiday cruises, the food choices have been reduced and the quality has gone down. I'm no foodie but I know when chicken is not cooked properly, last night my Chicken was pink and there was sauce on half of the meat making the presentation awful. I noticed that they had sweet potato fries on the menu and asked for them, and they came cold and uncooked. OK, it happens, I asked for another plate of the same and my chicken was again pink in the middle, the sauce was piled high in one side and the rest of the chicken was naked. My sweet potato fries were again cold and uncooked! Bummer.

 

On one hand it is nice to see new choices, but I miss the old standards--there was no spring rolls on the first night, and no pasta choices. A few months ago on the Crown we had the the normal menus but this is a completely different experience. I asked for extra broccoli and did not get it. In combination with the poorly cooked chicken and sweet potato fries this added up to a major disappointment.

 

I have experienced this downward trend in food during the first few days of several past cruises including last years Love Boat cruise on the Pacific. On that cruise the food improved as the cruise went on so I am hopeful that this too will happen. I know holiday cruises are tough on the staff, but uncooked chicken is unhealthy and the last thing I need is to get sick from poorly cooked food.

 

I'm onboard for 21 days and hope things improve in the dining room. This is my first time on this ship, the staff seem a bit stressed, as if they expect the worse. This is a bad way to embrace your customers, if you think the best you get the best and vice versa. I expect my food to be cooked properly, plated pleasingly, and served with a smile. Come on Princess, I paid a lot of money for this Christmas cruise and don't expect miracles, just eatable food. The one bonus is that this could be a boon to my diet! There is always an upside.

 

All the best to all of my Cruise Critic friends,

Amelia

Interesting review, and complaints.

Just curious, what Regal cruise did you sail on?

The reason I ask is, on our cruise on Regal, the same old standard "always available" food choices were still offered, as well as different pasta choices as a main or appetizer portion every night. :). As I recall, Egg Rolls and Sweet Potato fries are not offered on the "always available" menu. But we did have them on other dinners.

FWIW, we were on Regal earlier this month. 7 day Caribbean cruise from Fort Lauderdale. Early 5:45 am. Traditional Dining, table for 2. We usually sail on Princess mid size ships. This was our first time on Regal.

Contrary to your negative dining experience, we found the food in the MDR very good, good variety, well prepared, and always came out hot. Note: We had a new waiter and a.w. who were just assigned to the Royal. Waiter and a.w. had previously been assigned to Star Princess and Golen Princess We only experienced one hiccup. On the first night, our waiter seemed overwhelmed, and we waited about 30 minutes for our appetizers to arrive at our table. Our waiter blamed the delay because he still was getting familiar with Regal's MDR layout, and needing to queue up with other waiters at the food pick up station. Other than that, we found the service and food very good to excellent for non-specialty menu. Being a picky health conscious Foodie, on the first evening

I requested to our waiter that my nightly dinners include extra vegetables, omit the bread, rice, and potatoes, have less sauce and gravy on entrees, tea with dinner. I received exactly what I requested every night. :). That our waiter remembered my request from the first night.....now that's great service, IMHO. Very cool. 👍👍

I hope you have a better dining experience on your next cruse on Royal.

All I know is...when I take a cruise over Christmas and New Years....regardless of Cruise lines....everything is off and lousy. I ( been on over 100 cruises) see A pattern and believe, that the cruise staff that is great is off the ship during this time. That is why we figured out to NEVER cruise over Christmas and New Years...typically is our worse cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Guess we've been lucky because we've always encountered good food and service during our holiday cruises.

There is no excuse for undercooked chicken. Did you report that to your head waiter or the Maitre d'?

 

That should have taken care of the problem right there.

It sounds as though they've had a change in the cook crew & they're not up to Princess standards yet.

I know if it were on the Royal the chef would have had a good talking to whoever prepared that chicken & it wouldn't have happened again. Just mentioning to the chef in charge about something wrong at the buffet did wonders...and not on subsequent evenings but right then.

Trays of under cooked vegetables were removed on the spot, over salted items were thrown out, etc.

That should have taken care of the problem right there.

 

It sounds as though they've had a change in the cook crew & they're not up to Princess standards yet.

 

I know if it were on the Royal the chef would have had a good talking to whoever prepared that chicken & it wouldn't have happened again. Just mentioning to the chef in charge about something wrong at the buffet did wonders...and not on subsequent evenings but right then.

 

Trays of under cooked vegetables were removed on the spot, over salted items were thrown out, etc.

I think they are up to Princess standards but those standards are much much lower now.

I hope that it gets better for you. I just got off Regal on Sunday 12/18. The food for us on our cruise was great. No trouble at all.

I think they are up to Princess standards but those standards are much much lower now.

Perhaps the food standards have not been lowered, but with all the cutbacks in recent years it seems logical they may be offering less money to chefs... and getting what they pay for.

Hi - we were on Regal the week after Thanksgiving and did the same week last year as well. I was of the opinion the food was better this year than last...however, the exception was a chicken dish in the MDR one night - it was awful...not undercooked but more "rubbery" and not up to standards of the other evenings main course. Also a steak was over-cooked one night...brought to attention of waiter and received another that was good. I just assumed the chicken was an isolated incident...can happen anywhere and I hope the same is the case for you!