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Oasis is palatable. But then again we tip the pizza crew in Sorrento

 

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I only eat pizza on Oasis if I'm drinking at one of the bars close by and need a snack to hold me over until my "real" dinner.

 

That's really all Sorrento's is good for. That, and children.

 

If anyone walks into that place expecting a quality lunch or dinner, your expectations are completely out of whack and you're going to have a miserable dining experience during your cruise.

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We've been cruising for 20 years and all but 3 times have been with RCCL. To say the least, we've been very loyal and introduced many of our friends to RCCL. We sailed on January 27th on Harmony of the Seas and due to health issues, this was our first cruise in 3 years. The ship was beautiful and clean, the crew was friendly and helpful but the whole dining experience was very disappointing. Over the years we've noticed changes, of course, but what a difference 3 years has made! Back in the "good old days" the dining was elegant, food was delicious and presentation impeccable. Gone are the days when we would have a drink on our table when we arrived and the bar waiter would pass our table frequently. At the end of the meal, we would have the opportunity to have the after-dinner-drink of the day and who could pass these up in the pretty little glasses? The food served was so delicious there was no need to pay extra for eating in a special place on board. In fact, as I recall, there were no separate restaurants. On formal nights there was either a pianist or string quartet, and other nights as well. Our last night on the Harmony, I swear my selection was a frozen dinner! And don't even get me started of the lack of dress code. Are we the only ones objecting to this and should we just move on to another cruise line for older and stuffier cruisers?

 

Dont feel bad. You are not alone. Just got off the FReedom and experience the same thing. They have a new policy now at the dining room that you order all at once and have to leave right away. You are not able to stay and chat like before because they allow less time to serve. Also the shows are mostly at the same time as you are having dinner. You have to just rush and get out. Diamond Plus member have no benefits and treated very poorly. Now is just Pinnacles that count. Also bar prices and everything had just gone up two weeks before according to them. Me, Now I feel I have choices and get treated better somewhere else. RCL had been trying to cut too much at the same time and they were a lot of complains on board. Very sad. They do not realize that once you try and like some other cruise line, they loose you. Or.....maybe they just do not care.

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We've been cruising for 20 years and all but 3 times have been with RCCL. To say the least, we've been very loyal and introduced many of our friends to RCCL. We sailed on January 27th on Harmony of the Seas and due to health issues, this was our first cruise in 3 years. The ship was beautiful and clean, the crew was friendly and helpful but the whole dining experience was very disappointing. Over the years we've noticed changes, of course, but what a difference 3 years has made! Back in the "good old days" the dining was elegant, food was delicious and presentation impeccable. Gone are the days when we would have a drink on our table when we arrived and the bar waiter would pass our table frequently. At the end of the meal, we would have the opportunity to have the after-dinner-drink of the day and who could pass these up in the pretty little glasses? The food served was so delicious there was no need to pay extra for eating in a special place on board. In fact, as I recall, there were no separate restaurants. On formal nights there was either a pianist or string quartet, and other nights as well. Our last night on the Harmony, I swear my selection was a frozen dinner! And don't even get me started of the lack of dress code. Are we the only ones objecting to this and should we just move on to another cruise line for older and stuffier cruisers?

 

 

Our cruising life began 14 years ago, in 2004. By 2010, the dining experiences had changed greatly on Royal. Gone was the French Service. Gone was the attention to detail by many of the wait staff -- remembering what drink each cruiser would order and have it at their setting when you arrived or how you liked your coffee or tea, night after night. Gone were the chocolate mints on your pillow each night.

 

Things have changed....but so have things for the better (IMO) with more things to do and greater choices of entertainment across the cruise line. Some ships offer a Broadway show that you can enjoy, or waterslides. It is about choices....so for for us, with all the changes that can be looked at as 'I wish these things hadn't changed' to those other changes 'that make it more interesting for us to cruise with Royal' we stay loyal to Royal.

 

What I can say has also changed and not necessarily for the better......cruisers have changed. More rude and nasty cruisers who almost pick arguments with staff over things that the staff member has no control over --- but those people do the same thing at restaurants or other places when they are at home. SAD to say.

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I only eat pizza on Oasis if I'm drinking at one of the bars close by and need a snack to hold me over until my "real" dinner.

 

That's really all Sorrento's is good for. That, and children.

 

If anyone walks into that place expecting a quality lunch or dinner, your expectations are completely out of whack and you're going to have a miserable dining experience during your cruise.

If you can wait 10 minutes have them build one from scratch. Extra sauce extra cheese, and make sure they cook it longer than usual.

 

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Sounds like you need to try another cruise line ... maybe Princess or Celebrity.

You can always go back to RCCL if it turns out you like it better. :)

 

I doubt another cruise line is the solution. We as a society have changed and the cruise lines merely adapt. A significant number of people don't want to dress up for dinner, not even at a fancy restaurant. For a primer on how cruising used to be take a trip on the Empress and even after an extensive dry dock see how small the rooms are. I sure remember the days of the thin well-worn mattresses and don't honestly remember the food as being so great.

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You can have a cruise experience very much like what the style was 20 plus years ago, but not on a mass market line. Even Celebrity (as much as we like their product) ain't going to get you there. You would need to step up a few more rungs on the ladder.

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I feel the same way about cruising the Mass Market cruise lines. I call them WalMart on Water. I am a Diamond Plus Member and will probably never cruise on RCCL again.....subpar food, service and experience. Not worth my vacation time.

 

You won't be getting any of the D+ perks except with Celebrity. I think you may find that they will be missed unless you are going with a luxury line

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I doubt another cruise line is the solution. We as a society have changed and the cruise lines merely adapt. A significant number of people don't want to dress up for dinner, not even at a fancy restaurant.

 

I like to consider myself young, I'm 35, and one of the things we LIKE about RC are the formal nights. That's right, born in the 1980's, and we LIKE to dress up! You are absolutely correct that society has gotten lazy. We think it's nice to have an excuse to dress up now and then and be around others who are as well. Not to mention, it makes for great photo opportunities.

 

We're both business professionals and things have gotten so lax in the corporate world that I've seen people wear clothes to the office that I would deem unacceptable for the RC dining room (if I could enforce a dress code).

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You might want to up the price you are paying. If you cruise on Celebrity, go in Aqua Class. There is a special dining room for breakfast and dinner that is one of the perks of upgrading. The dining room seats less than 100 and the wine and bar service was excellent. There were special menus and the opportunity to order exactly what was served in the MDR> Sailing in Aqua Class made the entire cruise experience much more pleasant. We also had a similar experience sailing on Princess in their upgraded mini-suite which includes dining in a designated area of the dining room. We dined whenever we wished and had the same waiters each time. The experience was just as wonderful as it was 20 years ago. We are sailing on the Allure with our family next June. I am aware that we will not be receiving the same type of service we received when we upgraded on Celebrity & Princess. If you want to try RCC, you might consider upgrading to a Grand Suite. We are booked in that suite for our June sailing. It does include a special dining room for breakfast, lunch and dinner which I hear is really nice. Unfortunately, we couldn't afford to have everyone stay in that suite, so we won't get to try the special dining room as it is just for suite passengers.

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For all those saying to go to a much higher priced line, not sure that would do it. You could sail in either a star class, and get much better service (and access to coastal kitchen on ships with it), or do a lesser room and do the UDP for much less than most of the higher priced lines. With either of these, you would get much closer to what you are looking for, at least for the food and service. If dress code is the main thing, then yes, you will probably have to go to much smaller, much more expensive ship as that is just not what the majority seem to want these days.

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I miss the more sophisticated dinning experience which I believe came with more experienced waiters and higher standards.

 

I did use to think that the dinning experience on RCI was superior to other lines. No longer the case and I have adapted. Something I can live with, not a deal breaker.

 

If I really want an enhanced experience, I splash out on a suite. Costs a lot more but then you get what you pay for.

 

I might miss somethings but I am still happy with what they offer.

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I doubt another cruise line is the solution. We as a society have changed and the cruise lines merely adapt. A significant number of people don't want to dress up for dinner, not even at a fancy restaurant. For a primer on how cruising used to be take a trip on the Empress and even after an extensive dry dock see how small the rooms are. I sure remember the days of the thin well-worn mattresses and don't honestly remember the food as being so great.

 

In many ways you are right that as a society we have changed and therefore our travel logs have changed as well. I can accept change, it happens all the time in corporations and what they offer. But overall the cruising experience for US, is still a great way to vacation. What disappoints me personally is how crude and rude too many cruisers have become, and unfortunately this is also reflective in how our society has changed. It isn't just the poor etiquette at elevators or the chair hogs at the pool or the lack of manners at dinner, it is in so many other areas. Pushing and shoving to arguing with a crew/staff member about something that the crew/staff member has no oversight ability on. I watched a cruiser argue with a member of the gym staff over a class schedule and the cruiser would not back off. The cruise line keeps the same schedule of classes on 'at sea' days....but the cruiser would not accept the fact that perhaps she had picked up the wrong clipboard when signing up for the class. The cruiser literally was pointing her finger right at the staff members nose.

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For all those saying to go to a much higher priced line, not sure that would do it. You could sail in either a star class, and get much better service (and access to coastal kitchen on ships with it), or do a lesser room and do the UDP for much less than most of the higher priced lines. With either of these, you would get much closer to what you are looking for, at least for the food and service. If dress code is the main thing, then yes, you will probably have to go to much smaller, much more expensive ship as that is just not what the majority seem to want these days.

 

What is UDP? I don't understand the acronym.

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There is a Huge difference between the Harmony and any cruise ship that was around 20 years ago. By size it probably 3 times bigger than any ship that was around back then. Today's large ships are about a lot of entertainment for a lot of passengers.

If you want a more personal experience like in the past I think you are going to have to stay away from Royal, Norwegian and Carnival and stick with the smaller operators.

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I miss the more sophisticated dinning experience which I believe came with more experienced waiters and higher standards.

 

I did use to think that the dinning experience on RCI was superior to other lines. No longer the case and I have adapted. Something I can live with, not a deal breaker.

 

If I really want an enhanced experience, I splash out on a suite. Costs a lot more but then you get what you pay for.

 

I might miss somethings but I am still happy with what they offer.

 

Do I miss the French Service, in the dining room, of my first few cruises? Yes a little bit. But I have had very experienced waiters along with newbies that have provided excellent service many times....sometimes not so....I have also taken the time, during those first few days to explain to my wait staff what I wanted and expected....and viola usually got it. We have only twice splurged on a suite and both times for the larger cabin -- on neither sailing would it have given us a different dining experience (not available on either ship).

 

Although the cabin attendant staff has shrunk and cabin attendants have more rooms to attend to than in our early years of cruising, the schedule they have to handle their assignments has made for a better experience for us. I do like when I have a business card from my cabin attendant and if I need something, I call them and leave a message. It works much better than having to find them or leave a note in the cabin.

Edited by Paulette3028
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