I'm a "foodie" but some people take the food obsession to a whole new level.

[Cruising Erin]

I admit, I'm a "foodie" however when I read the posts on Cruise Critic, I'm amazed at how obsessed some people are with food. One review I read was all about the negative aspects of Royal Caribbean because they weren't thrilled with their every meal. I know that all reviews are subjective but I'm shocked at how someone can have their entire trip ruined because their steak wasn't prepared exactly as ordered in the MDR. I love to cruise. If I don't like my food, I either get something else or eat enough to get through the meal. Is every meal perfect? No. But do I obsess over it to the point of sharing every ounce of negativity to discourage others? No. I wish all cruisers went with the glass half full mentality. This isn't meant to start a fight between food snobs, just wondering how some people can have their entire vacation ruined because their bread wasn't soft enough?

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

I agree with the above sentiment. I don't cruise for the food. That said, Hubby is a foodie and he does get upset if his steak isn't cooked right or is too tough or if the lobster is too dry and so on. The food really matters to him. I'm more interested in other aspects of cruising. But being married to a foodie, I know first hand how they can be put off by unsatisfactory meals, poor or lsow service and other factors realted to meals.

[cb at sea]

Sure...some people can be upset with anything! Any you're right...some are totally "obsessed" with eating....and they do it to excess. For most folks, the 1st thing they do when they board, is go to the buffet..and start eating...never understood that!

And again, you're right...not every meal may be perfect, but there's no way you'll starve on a cruise. There should be something, somewhere, that suits your taste buds!

[enidcruiser]

I agree with the theory that everyone "likes different things". What I like, you don't so make the best of it, and there are too many things to like about cruising to let "food" dictate the make or break for whether the cruise was great or not.

So what if food is not the quality we enjoyed in 2006 but we just eat the things we like and move on.

Can't wait until my next cruise in January, I can eat al the escargot I want, and so there. :rolleyes:

[Kellie Poodle]

What amazes me is the folks who make such a whoop and holler about those little frozen lobster tails. No self-respecting "foodie" could consider the frozen tails real lobster. A true "foodie" would know that real lobsters are selected live and boiled in sea water in an outdoor kettle in Maine, Massachusetts or even the Canadian Maritime Provinces.

 

I'm just happy to go to the MDR, have the wait staff fuss over me and eat something I didn't have to shop for, plan or cook. I've never left a Royal Caribbean table hungry. There is always something to like.

[LBumb]

we rarely get to have dinner as a family so i enjoy that aspect at dinner on cruises

[bigeagle12]

I agree with the above sentiment. I don't cruise for the food. That said, Hubby is a foodie and he does get upset if his steak isn't cooked right or is too tough or if the lobster is too dry and so on. The food really matters to him. I'm more interested in other aspects of cruising. But being married to a foodie, I know first hand how they can be put off by unsatisfactory meals, poor or lsow service and other factors realted to meals.

 

Boy .. what does he do if you over cook his steak or fix a meal not to his liking :confused::confused::confused:

[Cruising Erin]

Can't wait until my next cruise in January, I can eat al the escargot I want, and so there. :rolleyes:

 

Oh yes! Royal Caribbean does know how to make escargot! :)

[Stevmead]

Just got off the Mariner today. If disliking chicken marsala that consisted of 2 pieces of breaded chicken with couple tablespoons of sauce, that an hour before was probably frozen; roasted pork loin that wasn't so much "roasted" as boiled and had the consistency of a supermarket turkey roll; and sirloin steak that was about as tough as shoe leather, makes me obsessed about the quality of the food, then so be it. RCCL does not bill itself as a fine dining cruise, but come on, the MDR experience should be about more than just getting full. You can do that at the Windjammer.

 

Our other four nights were spent in Chops and Portofino. Both were excellent! IMO, if you're a foodie or foodie wanna be, skip the MDR and consider the extra $40-$50 per night, per couple as an additional cost of the cruise. You'll probably then have nothing but good things to say abour RCCL.

[The Big Booper]

Just got off the Mariner today. If disliking chicken marsala that consisted of 2 pieces of breaded chicken with couple tablespoons of sauce, that an hour before was probably frozen; roasted pork loin that wasn't so much "roasted" as boiled and had the consistency of a supermarket turkey roll; and sirloin steak that was about as tough as shoe leather, makes me obsessed about the quality of the food, then so be it. RCCL does not bill itself as a fine dining cruise, but come on, the MDR experience should be about more than just getting full. You can do that at the Windjammer.

 

Our other four nights were spent in Chops and Portofino. Both were excellent! IMO, if you're a foodie or foodie wanna be, skip the MDR and consider the extra $40-$50 per night, per couple as an additional cost of the cruise. You'll probably then have nothing but good things to say abour RCCL.

 

Lisa from Vegas on her live Mariner thread was not too wild about most of the meals in the MDR; specialty restaurants were good, which supports your suggestion.

[Mikew0805]

Everyone is different.. What makes or breaks a cruise to me, may not be the same for someone else. While food does not make or break it for me.. the entertainment or lack there of, sure could.

 

So you should cruise for the reasons you choose, and others can cruise for the reason they choose.

 

Everyone says "they don't get it, how can someone be upset about this or that." Well, what I don't get is how anyone can think that everyone should be cruising for the same reasons.

 

JMO

[steamboats]

I´m a foodie but I´m not having any problems with the MDR. You have to consider that a MDR is feeding 1000 to 3000 people in one seating (depending on the ship) and of course that´s not a Michelin star rated restaurant. With a restaurant of this size you can´t expect everything to be cooked perfectly. Sometimes the food might not have the proper temperature when it arrives at your table. I´d expect more from the specialty restaurants as they do have smaller kitchens and don´t serve as many people as the MDR does. Same for the Windjammer buffet. I´ve never seen a buffet type restaurant where food was boiling hot. That´s simply not possible. Regarding these circumstances I still think that food in the MDR or Windjammer is pretty good.

 

steamboats

[BMT]

Its banqueting food - no pretence, they are cooking for thousands of people. If you are a real foodie, then you pay extra for specialty restaurants or go Silversea etc. - just as on dryland you don't go to Cheesecake Factory, but go to Ruth's Chris!!

 

We cruise a lot and I am not particularly keen on the food. I just have a decent salad for lunch and then a couple of starters and a caesar salad or baked potato!! I put on a lot of weight on cruises and it suits me to do this. I LOVE the prime rib and horseradish sauce though!! The pasta dishes are fine also.

[CruiseKeeper]

RCI seems to use "cuisine" a lot when they describe their food. I bet they aren't satisfied with being described as having banqueting food or food that just gets you full. Shouldn't the food be delicious?

[seaofwonder]

I don't know who goes on a mid-level cruise line expecting gourmet food?? That's like going to the Holiday Inn and expecting Four Seasons level of service/quality.

 

I go expecting half decent food....it's all about adjusting your expectations!

 

If you want gourmet food, pony up the money to get on a luxury cruise line.

[bigque]

To each his own! I'm a person that eat a variety of different places when I go out to eat. Buffets, The chain restaurants, Gourmet restaurants, Fast food, etc. First I think that the food in the Windjammer is as good as any buffet I have been too. Most buffets you go to is going to have a mixture of fresh and frozen foods there, so it is what it is. I only eat breakfast and lunch there and eat dinner in the MDR and I have always been able to find something that will fill me up and is pretty good. I believe they do a good job to give you a gourmet "TYPE" dining experience in the MDR. I would love to see restaurants have to feed 2,500 over 4,000 people (Oasis & Allure) breakfast, lunch & dinner and meals in between and maintain excellent gourmet quality. This would be like a small town with that many people all converging on the same place every day to eat. Sure there are some hits and misses, but if you pick a miss, you can as I have done try something else that could be a hit. I think that they do a hellava job! I have never seen anybody having to get carted off the ship at the end from suffering from being mal-nourished! :D

 

The person that said they do not know why people head straight to the Windjammer when they board.... well may they are hungry!

[dfishner]

As a foodie and also an avid cruiser on Royal you learn real quickly if you are just cruising and expecting high quality food that you are on the wrong cruise line. I know when we go out to dinner our expectations are high when we go on Royal our expectations are that we are going to have a fair to average meal with good service which is what we normally get. We tend to mix in the specialty restaurants in for a few of the nights which we do enjoy. With us it is all about the onboard experience and food on RCL in somewhere on that list but it is not on the top.

 

 

We were just on Oasis and did not even see the MDR and just dined in most of the speciality restaurants and it was a very good experience. We did the same thing on NCL last year never saw the MDR and on that ship you really heard complaints about the MDR.

[MVPJEFFMVP]

Maybe I've had just exceptional servers in the past, but if any of the food wasn't up to par, and we brought it to their attention, within minutes a fresh plate with a propertly cooked/tasting replacement.

 

Sometimes you just need to speak up and they will correct any problems. Humans can make mistakes but also have the incredible ability to redeem themselves.

[packedandready]

I don't even like some of the things I cook :D so how could I expect a ship to do it an please thousands of different tastes????

[Bailey151]

Boy .. what does he do if you over cook his steak or fix a meal not to his liking :confused::confused::confused:

Well one would think if it's that critical he would be doing it himself.

 

I´m a foodie but I´m not having any problems with the MDR. You have to consider that a MDR is feeding 1000 to 3000 people in one seating (depending on the ship) and of course that´s not a Michelin star rated restaurant. With a restaurant of this size you can´t expect everything to be cooked perfectly. Sometimes the food might not have the proper temperature when it arrives at your table. I´d expect more from the specialty restaurants as they do have smaller kitchens and don´t serve as many people as the MDR does. Same for the Windjammer buffet. I´ve never seen a buffet type restaurant where food was boiling hot. That´s simply not possible. Regarding these circumstances I still think that food in the MDR or Windjammer is pretty good.

Amen, it's simply well presented cafeteria food..............to think differently of meals prepared on such a scale is foolish.

[emilygrace]

I don't even like some of the things I cook :D so how could I expect a ship to do it an please thousands of different tastes????

 

My thoughts exactly!!! My DH probably appreciates the food on cruises just because he isn't eating my meals! And I appreciate the dining experience on cruises because I didn't have to do any of the work!

[Janet524]

I admit, I'm a "foodie" however when I read the posts on Cruise Critic, I'm amazed at how obsessed some people are with food. I wish all cruisers went with the glass half full mentality. This isn't meant to start a fight between food snobs, just wondering how some people can have their entire vacation ruined because their bread wasn't soft enough?

 

I agree with you completely. DH and I are "foodies" as well, BUT we recognize that a mass market cruise ship is not going to provide a land-based 5 Star cuisine. It's simply impossible taking into consideration the shear number of meals that are prepared at any given time. That said, it has been our experience over the past 25 years of cruising that lines like RCI, X and HAL had provided very good to excellent food considering the "masses" being fed.

 

My suggestion to those who have a vacation ruined because of an overdone steak or bread that's not soft enough....Pay the extra $$$$ and sail on a small boutique line.

[sparks1093]

Oh yes! Royal Caribbean does know how to make escargot! :)

 

I absolutely hate it when the escargot is slow:rolleyes:.

[OGCFreddie]

I have worked as an Assistant Cruise Director, Monorail Driver, Park Narrator and actor at some of the Central FL parks, and one thing I learned from a supervisor very early on is that, when on vacation, a guest wants to be happy. Unfortunately, there are some people in this world who are only happy when they have something to complain about. And my job was to make the guest happy. Personally, I don't get it...but that's the way it is. Heck...it doesn't spoil my vacation in the least. Let them complain all they want but, believe me, I will be the first one to back up an employee who is being made the scapegoat when a passenger or guest is abusing them for no reason. As a guest rather than an employee, I can do that now!

[Lizcourt]

You know what -- I love RCCL in particular and cruising in general. But no, I don't think its particularly picky to expect good restaurant-quality food when you're on a cruise. You are paying for the food as part of the experience, and I don't think that "well, that's just the way it is when you're serving thousands" is an acceptable standard. (On the other hand, I don't happen to think that IS RCCL's standard, as most of the food I've had on their cruises has been very good indeed.) I hate to see legitimate complaints about food quality dismissed with "oh well, those folks were just looking for something to complain about;" sometimes cruise lines, even the ones we love, fall below expectations, and the paying customer has a right to point that out.