Does the Mariner care anymore??

[travelzoo]

I am a 10 time cruiser 9 on Royal 1 on carnival and have invited some friends on their first cruise he is a chef. The last 9 cruises with Royal I have been on the main dining room food has been really good not great but really good. I read all the reviews. They all have one thing in common lately REALLY BAD FOOD. is it because they are moving and dont care about us west coasters anymore? Or is this the new norm on royal?

[satxdiver]

I have not been on a RCI ship in over a year so I will offer my best guess opinion. RCI has the behemoth Oasis and soon Alure to pay for. Between the two they need 11,000 pax per week more. This is added capacity to what they already have so either pax cruise more, they need new pax or a combination of the two. I think they are watching the bottom line and looking for revenue wherever they can find it. Witness the charges now for late night room service, no more coupon for JRs, raised price of JR and nixing all non-alcoholic drinks being brought aboard. One area to save a lot is to lessen the quality of the food service both in food quality and staff. I think we are going to see more of this in the coming months. I will have a better idea after my cruise next month.

 

It is no secret that the competition in SOCAL has caused prices to plummet. As a result RCI is moving their ship to a better location that will not be as competitive. Carnival has all but driven them out of Galveston and now they are driving them out of SOCAL.

[critterchick]

It is no secret that the competition in SOCAL has caused prices to plummet. As a result RCI is moving their ship to a better location that will not be as competitive. Carnival has all but driven them out of Galveston and now they are driving them out of SOCAL.

 

Mariner will be spending winters in Galveston. Of course, right after RCI announced that, Carnival announced that they are sending one of their new ships there.

 

To the OP, RCI sets a budget for food, and it's up to each chef to decide how to spend the money, although the menus are pretty much set across the fleet. We have found the food in the MDR on Mariner to be pretty good, not so good in the Windjammer. We've found the food on Radiance to be very good in the WJ, not so good in the MDR. But I think it all depends on who's in charge, not whether a ship is staying in a particular market.

[Merion_Mom]

I am currently ON the Mariner.

 

Food in the MDR is good.

 

Food in the WJ is good.

 

Relax, travelzoo. Cruising is what it always was. The Mariner is a good ship, and never DID care about you or anyone else. It's a ship. :rolleyes:

 

The ship is clean, well-maintained, with an excellent, caring crew. My cabin attendant is fabulous, and our My Time Dining waiters equally good. People all over the ship smile and make you feel welcome.

[bmarchal]

All of you self proclaimed food critics...GET OVER YOURSELVES! Every restaurant is going to have an off night or maybe your taste is just not up to the ship's fine cuisine. I have never had what I can say is a bad meal. Perhaps something that just didn't ring my bell or an over cooked piece of meat but that is not something that can't be fixed. If you don't like the ship, don't sail on it.

[ken987]

I was on the Mariner last week. I thought the WJ food was pretty good. I normally avoid the place but we were so tired we stopped in to eat. I had the BEST sweet and sour chicken at Jade. That night the crew including officers were all there grabbing a bite. Last year Chops was amazing. This year it was just ok. For breakfast our friends wanted WJ each morning. I had made to order eggs each day which were cooked exactly how I asked.

So I agree that it is all relative.

[Carguylee]

travelzoo,

 

We booked Mariner when she comes to Galveston and have been reading the same reviews and wondering about the food also. I am hoping that it's just coincidence the reviews were not the best during that time period.

[CruiserChloe]

They all have one thing in common lately REALLY BAD FOOD.

 

Sorry, but I don't buy it. I just can't imagine food on any RCI cruise being "really bad."

[sjb317]

We've been on 21 RC cruises with 5 on Mariner and we have always found the food to be good to really excellent. I had been reading reviews before our last Mariner cruise in November, 2009, and was expecting completely inedible food but found we had some of the best food ever! Everything, from the service to food was excellent.

 

I realize that taste is subjective and everyone is entitled to their own opinion but what I have found from reading CC is not to believe everything I read.

Sherri:)

[Poorplaya]

From what i have heard from family friends about the food on the Mariner, while the food is not 5 star, the quality is quite good in the MDR, and nothing to worry about for people who are sailing on the Mariner in the future. i am looking forward to my cruise in December aborad her, I think its going to be a great time.

[LBumb]

food was fine in mdr and wj. i am not saying i thought everything was excellent but most items i enjoyed. never had trouble at any meals finding something i liked.

[The Flying Pirate]

We have noticed that the Main Dinning Room does vary from ship to ship slightly. All have been good but they do seem to reflect the personality of the head chef. Our experience on Mariner was good, and the specialty restaurants was excellent. I agree that they have made a number of changes at RCCL that are not great, to reflect the current economy and to pay for the behemoths.

[Love2cruise58]

I was on Mariner last week and ate in the MDR every night...Food and service was wonderful... Everyone at out table remarked about the quality of the food and their ability to serve so many great meals to so many different people.....

We also enjoyed out lunch in the WJ on port days and the WONDERFUL salad in MDR on Sea days..

[wolfganghowell]

We were on Mariner November 2009 and found the MDR to be fine - some dishes ok, some excellent. Chops was quite good. WJ is what it is - a buffet with some good selections but still a run of the mill buffet. RCCL food is not fine cuisine, it is generally middle of the road. You won't go hungry but you won't nominate it for any gastronomic awards. :) Same way with Voyager. I do recommend the salad made to order at lunch on sea days. Excellent!

[skandls]

We were on the Mariner this July (2010). I thought the food had improved from the last few times we cruised on the Mariner in 2009. The Windjammer buffet was mostly the same but the food in the dining room was improved even while the menu itself has been downsized.

[Desert Cruizers]

In as much as each ship has their own chef and cooks, I judge the individual ship not the intire cruise lines if a get a bad meal. However, if it is just a bad meal, meat overcooked, didn't care for the sauce or seasoning, that doesn't necessarily reflect the intire food on a ship. I am not big on a lot of seasoning anyway so this is an individuals opinion. All in all my DH & I have not experienced a bad meal on our RCL cruises.

[klingoncruiser]

Food is so subjective. I have pretty much found all the ships are pretty close in food to each other. They are following a script in the kitchen. Relax everyone.

[kath00]

We loved the food in the MDR in March on the Mariner. We ate at Chops one night and thought it was delicious too, although I didn't think it was THAT much better than the MDR, and hence not worth the extra charge.

 

I don't know how people post such authorative statements like "this is terrible food" when taste is so subjective, plus anytime you don't like something, the waiters will more than gladly bring you something different to try. :rolleyes:

 

Katherine

[satxdiver]

Mariner will be spending winters in Galveston. Of course, right after RCI announced that, Carnival announced that they are sending one of their new ships there. <snip>

 

Carnival has two ships in Galveston 12 months a year. RCI has one ship there for 4 months in the winter. Carnival is bringing in two brand new ships just being built and larger than the present ones. RCI is bringing in the old MOTS. Carnival has Galveston in their pocket with token competition from RCI. The only reason being that RCI needs somewhere to station their ship between seasons in the Mediterranean. How long before RCI pulls out completely? I am switching to Carnival out of Galveston.

[Merion_Mom]

Carnival has two ships in Galveston 12 months a year. RCI has one ship there for 4 months in the winter. Carnival is bringing in two brand new ships just being built and larger than the present ones. RCI is bringing in the old MOTS. Carnival has Galveston in their pocket with token competition from RCI. The only reason being that RCI needs somewhere to station their ship between seasons in the Mediterranean. How long before RCI pulls out completely? I am switching to Carnival out of Galveston.

 

You should do what you like, of course.

 

Mariner is NOT "old"!!!!!

 

Carnival has far more ships than RC. CCL will always outnumber RC.

 

But that is a matter of quantity, not quality.

[Bakincakes]

I wonder if Carnival will hire someone else to design and decorate their new ships or will they continue to decorate them so they look like the inside of a pinball machine?:eek:

[onyourtoes]

They all have one thing in common lately REALLY BAD FOOD. is it because they are moving and dont care about us west coasters anymore? Or is this the new norm on royal?

 

 

To EVERYONE who thinks that the MDR food is bad, let me cook for you for one week:eek:, you'll be knocking one another over to get back to the MDR:D

[onyourtoes]

But that is a matter of quantity, not quality.

 

 

 

Amen to that:D

[bigque]

I know I know, Everyone on CC that thinks the food is so bad on on board the various ships are frequent diners at exlusive fine restaurants and nothing on the ship meets the delight of their taste buds in the MDR or Chops or Portifinos or the Windjammer or any other eatarie that the sip might have. It's funny that when you see the wait staff clean the plates from the tables they are all empty. I have not seen mal-nourished cruiser disembarking at the end!

[Bakincakes]

to everyone who thinks that the mdr food is bad, let me cook for you for one week:eek:, you'll be knocking one another over to get back to the mdr:d

 

 

rotflmao..:d