Food review 9/27 5 day Carib Princess

Will try to review the entire cruise over the next few days just thought that I'd start with the food:

Just to give you guys some background it was just DH (43) and I (34) we live in Chicago and we do go out to dinner often to nice places. We did PC dining and usually went around 7:00pm--7:30pm every night. We didnt have a problem getting a table at all on any night--we never made reservations except for Sterlings.

First I have to say that the service in the dining rooms lacked alot. We kind of expected to have great service the first night and then keep the same waiter but it just didnt happen. We didnt keep the same wait staff at all because none of them seemed to "click" with us and we kept searching all week for a great waiter. We are not difficult to please we pretty much ordered off the menu and didnt ask for anything special. We aren't big drinkers not because we're cheap it's just not that big of a deal to have a drink with dinner.

Monday we went to the Palm for dinner they sat the 2 of us at a table for 6 and then they didnt seat anyone else with us... talk about having a complex...we wanted to meet others but didnt think that PC is condusive to this. I had the prime rib that night and it was kind of "rare: when I asked for medium well--I was too tired to send it back which I know I could have. I also asked for broccoil for a veggie and that was no problem getting that instead. DH had some kind of seafood which I cant remember right this second what it was. It was good he said.

Tuesday night we went to Sterlings for dinner it was really good DH had the 22 oz and finished it I had 10oz filet and really enjoyed that. The service was good and the selection on the menu was also good. I would go back again.

Wednesday night we went to the other PC dining room (name escapes me)

it was just ok we really didnt like the atmosphere so we knew we'd go back to the Palm. I had chicken kiev that night which I thought was good. Also had the apricot "cold" soup which I thought was good.

Thursday went to the Palm for lobster and beef wellington. The beef was ok kind of salty. Dh said the lobster was really good. He also had shrimp cocktail every night.

Friday back to the Palm for dinner we both had prime rib and this time it was really good. DH had his fixed just like he wanted and mine was excellent as well. I do have to our JR waiter that night was 10 times better than our waiter...I think his name was Stan.

See what I mean nothing stands out as "OH my Gosh" this was the best part of dining on the entire trip. Of course all the desserts we had we're excellent.

Horizon Court:

I have to say that I'm not a big buffet fan . DH however does like a good buffett and for him to say he didnt like the Horizon Court at all was a pretty big deal. Friday for lunch they had sushi & Seafood...I dont eat sea food at all and DH isnt too much of a sushi fan. The pasta dish they was lasagna was so gross I couldnt eat it. Now mind you I had pasta for lunch the day before and it was good. We also commentd on how the food was never really hot just warm. It also made me mad that yesterday they said breakfast would be until 8:30am in the Horizon Court at 8:00am they we're shutting down the line...I just made it in and DH had to "beg" to get some breakfast. I do have to say that we really didnt gain any weight on this cruise I spent most of the time eating fresh fruit. I also found it difficult to get someone to get us a coke to drink with our lunch...the wait staff mainly stood around the entire time. One girl was too busy putting comment cards on the table that she forgot to get us a coke. I also noticed that some of the JR waiters we're also the ones working in the HC buffett. We really only made it to breakfast twice and it was ok...nothing special to write home about the usual cold cereal--pancake----french toast---eggs----meats--cheese--fresh fruit. The usual selection one would find at a breakfast buffett. I was a little disappointed we didnt make it down to the dining room for breakfast...just not enough time to see and do it all.

Now I'm not sure if we missed something but I think that the midnight buffett didnt exist. We found food up on the 15th floor which I think is where they have the Caribe Cafe...it seemed like leftovers from dinner so we only went to that twice.

The pizza at Pregos was good we only snacked it twice.

I guess one thing that I wasnt crazy about was that all the "snack" food was up on the 15th floor. In the afternoon we went to horse racing and bingo and there wasnt any thing to munch on....which was kind of disappointing.

We didnt eat at the ice cream place--jut not in the mood and we really arent big ice cream eaters.

I thought the coffee was ok--but then I only had it in the dining room with dessert each night and I'm not a coffee drinker really either---so I couldnt say if it was good or bad.

So I guess that ends the food review....will write more later & answer questions as well.

Sherri

Hi Sherry,

I was under the impression that Cafe Carib was right where the Horizon is? Is it really on another floor? I guess I thought that you pass through the Horizon Court to get to the Cafe Carib.

Sounds like the food was ok but the service could have been better. I wonder if that is the drawback to PC dining. I am used to traditional where the waitors get to know you quite well and it seems like with PC dining, unless you request the same waitors every night there just isn't the opportunity for that special kind of service.

I can't wait to hear more!! I'll be there in less than two weeks and can't wait to relax and enjoy the ocean:)

I was on the same cruise with travelscrapper and would agree with most of her comments. I always ate in either the Horizon or Carib for breakfast and lunch but never dinner. There was simply no way to get the wait staff to get anything for you without physically getting up and stopping them. They would clean up your plate and sell you water but get a soda, they never asked me. I did eat the Sushi, I don't think any of it was raw fish, and loved the pizza by the pool. Coffee was fine it was just weird getting out of what looked like a beer tap. We were signed up intially for traditional late dinning at a table of 8 but with the lower number of passengers we only had one other couple show up. Switched to PC in the middle of the cruise and loved it, met more people, had better service.

I was on this 5 day cruise also. I completely agree on the food but Iwould maybe even notch it down a little more. We ate at the buffet for breakfast and I thought it was good. I generally had fried eggs and toast with bacon. The coffee in the buffet was horrid (as has been alluded to before). Comparing it to syrup was right on, or maybe instant. This is the same coffee they use for room service. The coffee in the dining room was good (somehow?)....go figure. I thought the dining room food was mediocre at best. I didn't even like the salmon...how do you screw up salmon? The service in the dining room was just like Sherry described. Non-existent. It was amazing. The ship was only 2/3 full so there really was no excuse. I have heard that they went through some major staff changes the week before (of that week), maybe that is why?? I found the same to be true all over the ship. Our attendent was fine....don't know what more I would have expected but didn't exceed expectations if this makes sense? The bar staff up on the Lido deck was constantly there. It was very obvious they were working for tips. When you ordered a coke they let you know they didn't like it, even to the point of an eye roll (according to this newlywed I met). She was disillusioned as to the service. Said she was embarressed to admit she had expected more. I told her she was right on. I have taken many cruises and never had this problem.

How can I put it. I felt like there were a bunch of people working there who had a better place to be. Normally, I feel like they are there to serve you and are so happy to do it. How horrible does that sound and that doesn't sound like me, but I feel like cruise ships sell this concept/vision and it is not anywhere in sight on the Caribbean Princess. I am not the only one who feels this way, I heard lots of talk of this on the ship.

On the Plus side.......Sterlings was probably the best meal I have ever had (at least it felt like it at the time :p ) So worth the $30. The ice cream was $1.50 and worth every penny. I didn't love the pizza but my party did (so I'm accepting that I am wrong :rolleyes: ), so you can enjoy that. The entertainment staff was awesome and Sarge ruled.

I will write a review later. My glass is definately half full. That doesn't change certain facts. Still had an awesome cruise!

Jen

Jen

I will chime in on the service comments from the 5 day CP trip also. We also felt like we were in the way of the staff. Found one waiter, Marlon, on Wed. who at least acted like he was happy to see us at his table. The table didn't have a comment card so I asked him for one half way through the meal and by golly did he fuss over me the rest of the night. We were only able to go back to his table on Friday night for dinner but it was everything that I had read other people describe when it came to service. I filled out another card for him. That was it - the whole week and Marlon was our shinning moment. I just wish we could have met him on Monday.

The staff seemed tired and a number of them did just arrive or were leaving on Sat. We saw Sarge getting off the ship on Sat. dragging bags all over - even that was funny.

This was far from a normal cruise.

Ditto to the above posts. We were also on the 9/27 CP cruise and I am sorry to say that there was definitely something missing on the part of the staff and that was throughout the entire ship not just the dining areas. I just did not have that "wow" feeling you usually get. We had traditional dining in the Island Dining Room and our waiters were just okay. However, we did eat one night at Sabatini's and our waiter was wonderful. We used room service every morning and had no problem. If there was recent staff changes it certainly shows and I think Princess needs to address it.

The service issues you all mention were not just on your cruise. I sailed the 9-day cruise before you, and I totally agree that the dining room service left something to be desired. The exceptions to this were Sabatini's and Sterling's, both of which had the kind of excellent service we always used to get in regular dining rooms on our prior cruises. I do think that Personal Choice has made a difference... but also, I believe that the automatic tipping has impacted service as well.

We found most of the food to be good. Not excellent, but definitely good. One thing I disagreed with: I actually think the room service coffee was better than that on the Lido deck, and not just as bad, as one poster stated.

And I, too, found all the drink-hawking around the pools and at the Island Party Night to the point of annoying.

I was very disappointed with food. The serivce was below satisfactory. Our waiter and assistant waiter didn't listen to our request. They forgot several things, gave me tea when I requested a diet coke. Our cabin steward wasn't any better. The ship smelled like someone forgot to flush the tolet in the art gallery. I would rate the service and the food at the level of cafateria food. Sorry that's my opion. The pizza and burgers were great, but so is the pizza and burgers at most fast food joints.

Rick

My husband and I usually ate breakfast between 9-10 and had no problem. Where they shut down one line they open another. I assumed that since it was a buffet that the drinks were self serve as well, we never expected people to get our drinks at the buffet. We found the food to be good with a nice variety and they had two kinds of juice available.

We we're only looking for cokes at lunch to be served to us. Have been to Vegas many times which is the buffett capital of the world and even there they serve you a coke ! I expected to have this same kind of service---silly me.

Sherri

This is really disappointing to hear; sorry you all had such mediocre and/or outright bad service!!!

When we were on the Grand in 2002 we never had problems with service in the Horizon Court for breakfast or lunch. Someone was always very nearby that we could ask, or they were asking us if we need more Coke or whatever. Waitstaff in the dining rooms was always first-rate (of course, we did traditional and not Anytime, which I'm sure is a factor).

I hope this is not an indication of a more general decline in service as the CLs try to cut costs. I've been bragging about how great Princess is to friends and have convinced some to join us in January; I hope it's all I've built it up to be!!! :o

I too was on the 9/27 five day sail. (It was more like 4 day sail) I have only cruised once before on Carnival Legend. And I have to say our food and wait staff was top notched on that ship. So I was disappointed with CB. Many servers definately acted like they did not want you to sit in their areas. We were PC dining and went to Coral Dining Room, We were abruptly told to dine in the Palm Dining Room. If I wanted to go there, I would have gone there to begin with.

Again! What is with the baked beans, fried rice and french fries on the breakfast buffet? I felt they were just using up space, that a better breakfast selection could have been used.

tom-n-jules~I totally agree with you, I hope this is not a general decline in services with the cruise lines. If so, it could devastate the future cruise industry. If they are trying to cut cost, to the point we just get adequate service and food, then I will find another way to spend my vacation money. I hope this is not the case, because I LOVE TO CRUISE~~~~~~

I will definately watch for future reviews...I hope what is broken...gets fixed!

~Kathi~

Again! What is with the baked beans, fried rice and french fries on the breakfast buffet? I felt they were just using up space, that a better breakfast selection could have been used.

Again! I have to say, just because it's not what you're used to doesn't mean it's bad. Baked beans are classic British breakfast buffet fare, rice is standard Asian breakfast fare, and well, as far as the French fries go, while I'm not sure if it's technically anyone's standard fare, I saw a lot of people really enjoying having French fries for breakfast....just another version of home fries I suppose ;)

Sorry, this is kind of a sore spot of mine....just because it's not what you're used to, doesn't make it wrong or a case of Princess filling up space on the buffet. Pricness doesn't just cater to American tastes and that's one reason I love them so much!

Baked beans are classic British breakfast fare? Do they put them on top of their pancakes? I think the main problem is we felt that they didn't treat us very well and that is making other smaller items like this seem more anoying than they really should be. They had a golden opportunity to convert all of us into some of the biggest salespeople for Princess. It just seemed to me that everybody working on the boat was trying to get thru the week and on to the next group. I don't mind getting my own drink at a buffet but that was not possible if you wanted a soda. They had to get it for you. I was never asked once if I wanted one even when I had my Princess drink cup with me.

Baked beans are classic British breakfast fare? Do they put them on top of their pancakes?

Yes they are. At least when I was in London and in the outskirts last year they were. Baked beans, tomatoes, mushrooms....all very popular at breakfast. And believe it or not, not all cultures consider pancakes a breakfast staple.

Time to step outside of the breakfast box ;)

Funny...I never saw the baked beans or fried rice touched. Looks like more people other than me, need to step outside the breakfast box...;)

I agree with Rexin...Service was lacking on this cruise, it is a serious issue. I can overlook the rest.

We still had a good time. Lots of R&R...........

~Kathi~

No arguments about breakfast stuff...just don't understand why people can't accept that there may be others besides Americans onboard who are also comforted to see that Princess takes the time to supply their breakfast favorites.

In case anyone is interested, here's what a traditional English breakfast is comprised of:

Check out this info about a traditional English breakfast and just be glad they chose to serve baked beans and not black pudding!

 

BRITISH MEALS

The first meal of the day in the morning is breakfast (usually eaten between about 7:30 and 9:00). Many British people eat toast with butter or margarine and jam (often strawberry, raspberry, apricot or blackcurrant jam), marmalade (a type of jam made from oranges) or Marmite (a dark brown spread made from yeast). Melon, grapefruit or fruit cocktail are popular. Others eat a bowl of cereal; for example, cornflakes or muesli with milk, or porridge (a mixture of oats, hot milk and sugar). A traditional English breakfast (also known as a cooked breakfast or a fry-up) is a cooked meal which may contain food such as sausages, bacon, kippers (herring - a type of fish - which has been covered in salt and smoked), black pudding, scrambled or fried or poached egg, mushrooms, fried tomatoes, baked beans, hash browns and toast. People sometimes eat a boiled egg, dipping (dunking) strips of toast (soldiers) into the egg yolk. A continental breakfast is a small meal and is not cooked; for example, a bread roll or croissant with cheese or ham and a cup of coffee. The most common drinks at this time of day are orange juice or a cup of breakfast tea.

 

from:

http://www.ukstudentlife.com/Britain/Food/Meals.htm

 

Shame you didn't see anyone eating it. Can't imagine you spent the entire breakfast time watching to see if anyone ate beans or rice, but hey, it's your vacation..who am I to say what's fun? ;) Oh well, more for me on my cruise I say! You can keep your bacon and pancakes..bring on the baked beans and rice.

I think that's part of the fun I've had during my travels.....discovering new, formerly foreign concepts, and incorporating them into my life. I admit, when I was in Watford and first came across baked beans at breakfast, I was like huh? But I learned quite quickly from a native Londoner that just because we have something in America, doesn't mean everyone else does the same thing and vice versa ;) Now I love finding baked beans for breakfast... I adapted their customs into my way of doing things. Does that mean I eat baked beans for breakfast every day? Nope, but when I do have them it's a great reminder of my time in the UK

Just out of curiosity, did you feel like the baked beans were taking away space from some other food you had to have? My experience with Princess buffets is that even if there are a few things I don't like, I can find plenty of stuff that I do like

As long as they had fruit I could care less about the other selections...

Enjoy your beans!;)

I guess I need to read up on Beans 101. I didn't mean to get your dander up.

Still enjoyed the R&R aboard CB!!!

~Kathi~

Ah, my dander's not up :) I have just dubbed myself the great baked bean benefactor of the board ;)

I just laugh when I see people say that Princess is clearly cutting costs since they put things like baked beans and rice on the breakfast buffet, when in fact they are just that in tune with all of their consumers.

Now, don't get me wrong, if they decided they were going to put baked beans on the buffet instead of say bacon or sausage, then yeah, I could see where people would be miffed by that. (or God forbid, those tasty little chocolate croissant thingies :eek: ) I just see it as Princess going the extra mile to make everyone happy, not just catering solely to their North American clientele :)

What we really missed was an omelet station. There was a chef standing by the pre-cooked eggs and you gave him you're order and the made it back in the kitchen---I like to watch them cook my eggs---call me quirky it's just something I missed. Also we didnt see hard boiled eggs at breakfast---did we miss them?

I agree with Faith Path I ate mostly fruit the entire 5 days for breakfast and neither my DH or I gained weight. I just didnt like the lunch selection at the Horizon Ct buffett. I'm sure we would have gone down to the dining room more often had there been time, they seemed to have so much crammed into the 5 days we we're there that the only food we could find when not busy was at the Pizza station or the Horizon Ct buffett.