8-Night Independence Menus (New Fleet Menus) 1/9/10 Sailing

[maitaiguy]

First of all, OP thank you so much for all your work!

 

Next, a possibly dumb question - What would be different about the 8 day menu posted and the fleet's 7 day menu?

 

Third, I'm going to take a wait and see attitude. I know we will go to Portofinos one night and Chops another. This will be a menu driven decision.

We have tried NCL, Princess and five cruise on Royal Caribbean dating back to 1989. Yeah, I guess we are some of the cruisers used to the 'old days' of pretty impressive food.

 

However, I will reserve judgment. If we don't like the food and want to cruise from a port we can drive to we have other options. The first one I'd like to try is Carnival Splendor. It's only a year old and I've heard good things about that ship. I'm sure the overall experience will be DIFFERENT. Maybe not better or worse overall but different.

 

Ya pays your money and makes your choices.;)

[minnie00]

thank you for posting your opinions...it made me feel better about how weird the menu looked. I am a bit worried about what my DH will think.

We left Princess because we didn't like the food....thought RCCL was so much better....sure hope this doesn't change.

The things I was planning on eating are missing: pork chop, turkey, stuffed chicken breast, and more beef;)

[scottbee]

Frankly I'm pretty happy looking at the new menus, and DW is thrilled. The reduction of meat and potatoes to fish, pork and even delicious sounding veggie dishes is a huge step in the right direction, away from the "biggest piece of prime rib wins" attitude that has taken over a lot of cruise lines.

 

 

 

The fact that there's a curry on every menu is going to be hard for me to resist (love Indian food). A few years back on Vision, our waiter introduced himself and said "Our Executive Chef on board is xxxx from India". I asked him if that meant some great curries, and he sad "Well, no. But I'll see what I can do". Day 2 he showed up with a little pot and some rice along with the main course, DW and I split it and it was excellent. All the table mates started asking/trying... Well by day 5 or 6, there was a couple of pots of curries every night, and they were all excellent. I'm pretty sure that the waiter was trotting down to the staff kitchen, but the curries while not super spicy, were WAY spicier than blandness treatment that most ethnic dishes get in the MDR.

 

Any reports on if the curries have any oomph? Or do I still have to ask for Sambal on the side (the Indonesian waiters LOVE it when you ask for it).

[joyride21]

Maybe I'm losing my mind, but these menus seem almost identical to the menus on Liberty in November. Maybe Liberty was testing them out? I know every item I had then is still on the menu (because I'm a dork and keep track of that sort of thing).

 

I've never had issues with the food in the MDR. On occasion I have ordered something new and not cared for it, and it was whisked away and replaced almost instantly by something more to my liking.

[Klutz]

I was on teh Freedom in Dec. and the menu was pretty much the same, and I found the food amazing! I am a big seafood lover though, and I don't eat beef, so for me I had losts to choose from. There was onoly one night where I wasn't completely blown away by the food. But still no complaints here.

[Working 2 Cruise]

Interesting information but I'm of the opinion that any menu is only as good or bad as the talent of the chefs (cooks) preparing the food. Otherwise we are judging the executive chef's ability to write creatively and as they say, "the proof of the pudding is in the eating".;) All too often I have found that items that didn't sound good to me when I read their description in the menu turned out to be wonderful and sometimes my anticipation of a wonderful meal based on the descriptions in the menu led to serious disappointment when presented with the actual food. I have rarely been unable to find something on the dining room menu that would be meet my admittedly finicky tastes but have often had trouble deciding between two or more menu choices. It should also be noted that this post represents only eight night's worth of menus and perhaps the Grand Marnier Souffle would have turned up on another night.

Also, not listed were the always available items and the ala carte "Chops steak".

 

I also noticed that there are no steaks and no lobster.......... :mad:

[esmo]

In looking over these menus there seems to be a preponderance of shellfish/seafood -to which my husband has a severe allergy. How does this work on RCCL? When we cruise Princess I have faxed in a medical form and then let the dining room know. On our cruise in June we will be doing MTD so it will not be as easy to handle. What are the "always available" options for those nights when nothing will appeal to him?

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Kathy

[printingchick]

Ditto all the THANKS! It was a lot of typing.

 

I had the shrink ravioli on my last cruise and it was GREAT! Glad to see it is on the new menus!!

[crazy4themouse]

I really didn't think this would be an issue, but since people keep pointing out the lack of beef on the menu...

 

On DCL, I could always, always just get a steak & baked potato if nothing else was appealing, which for me is pretty much always. Just reading that menu in the first post made me kinda green. LOL So can I not just get a simple steak at dinner if I don't like anything else?? What about a chicken breast or something?

[wolv4life]

Thanks for all your work...Seeing this new menu has made it now easier for me to choose to eat in one of the specialty restaurants or the WJ for dinner...Sorry it doesn't look very good to me...:(..JMHO

 

Agree. These are very disappointing. Have they ever heard of red meat?

[marci22]

I really didn't think this would be an issue, but since people keep pointing out the lack of beef on the menu...

 

On DCL, I could always, always just get a steak & baked potato if nothing else was appealing, which for me is pretty much always. Just reading that menu in the first post made me kinda green. LOL So can I not just get a simple steak at dinner if I don't like anything else?? What about a chicken breast or something?

 

There is a steak offered every night on the alternative menu but we have found it to be hit or miss in terms of quality. There is also the Chops steak available for $15-we ordered it once and it was very good and plenty for two to share.

[crazy4themouse]

There is a steak offered every night on the alternative menu but we have found it to be hit or miss in terms of quality. There is also the Chops steak available for $15-we ordered it once and it was very good and plenty for two to share.

 

 

Thanks for the reply... At least I know I can get a steak, hopefully an edible one. It's either that, or order off the kids menu every night, which I'm fine with too. :)

[MAHA]

Did they take the beef tenderloin off the 1st formal night dinner? I know ithers have asked, but I haven't seen a reply.

Thanks!

Mary Anne

[marci22]

Did they take the beef tenderloin off the 1st formal night dinner? I know ithers have asked, but I haven't seen a reply.

Thanks!

Mary Anne

 

It is usually listed under 'Chef's Selection' and since I didn't see that, I'm assuming the OP accidentally omitted it.

[emen822]

Night One:

 

MAIN COURSE

Pan-Fried Pork Medallions 0 Meaty medallions served with buttery mashed potatoes, broccoli and a savory forest mushroom ragout

Truffled wild mushroom linguini alfredo – White truffle oil enhances the earthiness of the wild mushrooms in this creamy pasta dish.

Slow-Roasted Prime Rib

Grilled Mediterranean Quesadilla – Melted Monterey Jack cheese and vegetables sandwiched in a warm flour tortilla; served with a tomato-cilantro salsa

Pan-seared golden sea bass – Served atop green lentils, green beans, snow peas and verjus beurre blanc

Aloo Gobi Methi ) – Fenugreek-flavored potato and cauliflower curry served with fragrant basmati rice, pappadams, and tangy riata

 

Did they take the beef tenderloin off the 1st formal night dinner? I know ithers have asked, but I haven't seen a reply.

Thanks!

Mary Anne

 

There is prime rib the first night. It just wasn't highlighted as a selection when she typed it. :D

 

Mary

 

Edited to say: whooops. Just realized you asked about the first formal night.

[tinaka]

Am I missing what night Lobster Tail was on the menu?

[nancronin]

Am I missing what night Lobster Tail was on the menu?

It's on NIght 6 Formal Night - Fisherman's Plate :)

[msbptg]

Now can some one tell me if that menu is on the 6 nite cruise?? sailing 2/28 thanks

[msbptg]

Does anyone no whats on the room service menu on Ind o Seas?? thanks sailing 2/28

[tinaka]

It's on NIght 6 Formal Night - Fisherman's Plate :)

 

Thanks! I read through the menu 3 times and missed it...must be blind :p

[tiamar]

Do people really choose to sail based on the MDR menus? That's can't be true, right? ;) I love the fact that there are a variety of items on the menu because as a vegetarian, I wouldn't want to just have pasta or rice every night. The Indian food is fantastic and the chilled soups are a great way to start the meal.

 

FWIW, every time you order and the waiter puts that order in the kitchen, it is tabulated and put into a report. Business is supply and demand and if more people are eating seafood and if the soups are a hit, then that is what they feed us. It's not like they are conspiring to feed us old food off of horrible menus. As for the veggies and fruit becoming soups, what do you think they do in the restaurants you frequent at home?

 

BTW, just got off a Carnival cruise 2 weeks ago and although I thought the MDR food was good, the buffet was horrendous. I'm not talking bad, but really, really bad (i.e., high school or college cafeteria might be better). By the time I got to the MDR, I would have eaten a horse. :D I really do like the variety of menus and offerings on RCL and I am glad that they mix it up. If we don't see something we like, we ask for an alternative or we can always pop up to the Windjammer or order room service.

 

Lastly, I am so lucky to be able to cruise and I'm going on the Mariner in 16 days. Quite frankly I would eat the same food every night just to be able to be on vacation. Additionally, since I booked last February, our rates went down significantly enough that we moved from a balcony to a JS.

[klingoncruiser]

Where's the beef? Talapia? (ick) If this really will become the "New Menu" then RCL has made a BIG mistake with me. That sounds awful. Sigh....:mad:

[marci22]

Quite frankly I would eat the same food every night just to be able to be on vacation.

 

And that, my friends, explains the ever downwardly-evolving menus.

[marci22]

Between the 'eat the same thing every nighters' and the 'at least I don't have to cook and cleaners' those menus will soon be featuring fruit salad soup and tilapia hash every night.

[okimot]

We sailked on the Independence in June, August, November and December 2009. The menus were similar to those posted. We think the food is not as it used to be on RCCL. Some evenings we went to the Windjammer as there was a better sekection, including the sweets.