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MDR food, the good, the bad and the ugly

Liztoybiz

By Liztoybiz,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Merion_Mom

Merion_Mom

Posted
Posted
So is the chocolate soufle that Merion Mom mentioned the same as the flourless chocolate cake? And what are samosas? And I will take your warning to heart about the lobster bisque, seems many agree with you. Hope the scallops risotto is an appt. Love the apps!

Do they still offer the escargot? And any idea which night escargot or lobster (or fisherman's platter with lobster, whichever) is offered?

Surely we can't gain weight just talking about the food...lol

 

Thanks again guys!!!

Liz

 

ps. Cari, are those things all available on the menu? That chocolate brownie with ice cream sounds pretty good right now. And did you find the bittersweet chocolate thing too bitter or what was yuck about it?

 

NO NO NO, very different chocolate desserts.

 

Lobster bisque used to be a real highlight. They switched suppliers, I guess, and now it is just a yucky, salty mess.

 

Samosas are an Indian appetizer: it's a purse stuffed with yumminess.

 

Vegetable-Samosa.jpg

 

Try not to plan TOO much. Let your cruise unfold by itself!

 

:)

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F5Loar

F5Loar

Posted
Posted

Just off Oasis a month ago and to be honest we didn't have anything bad. Sure there was somethings better then others. Maybe a few of the soups a bit salty but overall it was very good on everthing we had in MDR. I didn't think much of the salads. Some soups were so good I could have had 2nds. Rack of Lamb was great. Escargo was so good I had 4ths. I liked all the fish main dishes. Lobster tails bigger then any other MDR ship I can recall. And the way I look at it if you get something you don't like then say so. Ask for something else and you will get something else more to your taste. I would rather turn something down I don't like then complain about here and miss out on something I would have enjoyed just for the asking while I was on the ship. If you got a tough steak and didn't complain, it's your fault not the ships. You can get a bad cut of beef at Ruth's or Palms.

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new seekers

new seekers

Posted
Posted
Bad - Roasted Duck (nothing but skin, fat and bones)

Good - Thai BBQ Chicken Breast

 

The best is the roasted duck,always good, have had it on legend,brilliance.navigator,liberty,vision,explorer,might be a bit too upmarket for the baked bean brigade.lol ps love the lobster bisque too.

 

happy diamond member, rci is the best,thats why i book with them.

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Greghouseo

Greghouseo

Posted
Posted
Bad - Roasted Duck (nothing but skin, fat and bones)

Good - Thai BBQ Chicken Breast

 

I think this is a matter of ship because...............

I was on the Adventure of the Seas in November and the duck was absolutely superb. Was then back on tthe Allure of the Seas at the end of November and had a similar duck dish which I particularly selected because of my experience on the Adventure and it was truly dire.

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new seekers

new seekers

Posted
Posted
I think this is a matter of ship because...............

I was on the Adventure of the Seas in November and the duck was absolutely superb. Was then back on tthe Allure of the Seas at the end of November and had a similar duck dish which I particularly selected because of my experience on the Adventure and it was truly dire.

 

thanks for that i will avoid the allure if the food is bad.

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NMG318

NMG318

Posted
Posted
Chocolate melting cake on the menu every night with Carnival was one of the reasons I preferred their food.

 

 

The Chocolate melting cake is defiinitely a winner!!!...hopefully they don't start adding gelatin to it like they do to most of the other tasteless desserts they have.

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RMM75

RMM75

Posted
Posted
The best is the roasted duck,always good, have had it on legend,brilliance.navigator,liberty,vision,explorer,might be a bit too upmarket for the baked bean brigade.lol

 

Maybe I just got a bad piece on the Jewel, but I would hardly call something that's very fatty 'upmarket'. Or maybe I'm just too used to the very lean meat of the ducks that I hunt and cook myself.

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Canoeguy

Canoeguy

Posted
Posted

Here are my picks for an enjoyable onboard menu:

Select plenty of bread and rolls-always fresh

Wife loves the chilled soups-Stay away from lobster bisque at all costs.

If you love fish, you will love the main courses. Can't remember a bad selection.

Desserts-I must agree with others about the gelatin. I always select ice cream.

One final thought- You will not go away hungry unless you are a very finicky eater. And if you are, you can always go to Chops or Portofinos. The tiramisu is something you will never forget!

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jewopaho

jewopaho

Posted
Posted

If you're a beef lover, you'll likely be disappointed. Prime rib isn't bad, but it's terribly under-seasoned and almost without flavor ... I understand why they do it, but it doesn't change the taste (or lack thereof). We actually bring some Zatarain's Creole Seasoning with us, and many of our tablemates have requested to use some. "Boy, wish I'd thought of that!" was a common remark. There's also a "New York Strip" on the menu one night, but it's closer to sirloin in texture and tenderness (again, or lack thereof). Incidentally, beef can be ordered either medium-rare or medium-well ... nothing cremated or passed through a warm kitchen. However, on our last cruise, we ordered one of each, but both steaks were cooked identically ... medium!

 

We really liked the smoked fish tapenade, and most seafood dishes were done nicely. We've had issues with the lobster tails being overcooked, but they were good on our last cruise (Voyager, 1/16). Salads are fine, as are soups, although a few are pretty salty.

 

I'm sure you'll all find something each evening, and won't leave the MDR hungry. Have a terrific cruise!

 

Al

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Jtd724

Jtd724

Posted
Posted

I personally only had 1 bad meal from the MDR. A steak, the one they have on the menu everyday no matter what. Horrible. Looked like a bottom of worn out sneaker, it was GREY. My personal favorites in the MDR: Escargot, lobster bisque, and some kind of onion soup I forget the name of.

 

 

They do still have Escargot right?

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Lisa-UK

Lisa-UK

Posted
Posted

Hi

 

We loved:

 

Fresh bread rolls, the mini ones with seeds especially:

 

Prawn cocktail was good (quite small, not a man-size portion)

 

Lamb shank with mash

Lamb chops

 

Raspberry mini pavlova

 

Didn't care much for:

 

cold apple soup - :(

souffle (can't remember if this was lemon) dry and flat

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chef_christoph

chef_christoph

Posted
Posted

 

Try not to plan TOO much. Let your cruise unfold by itself!

 

:)

 

This is fantastic advice M_M!

 

 

As for the food, there are several items I look forward to. The chilled soups almost always appeal to me as well as the onion tart and any beef selection. The flourless chocolate cake is also a favorite.

 

I can only remember being disappointed with two meals in the MDR. One was the turkey dinner I had on Oasis in Dec 2009 (and I know lots of people on CC have said they enjoy it but the one I had was terrible) and the second was a pork chop I had on Serenade in 2006 that was waaaaay too salty. On both occasions my waiter was more than happy to bring me something else.

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Snackdaddy

Snackdaddy

Posted
Posted
No bad MDR meals on our recent Explorer cruise, just much smaller portions than in the past. We ordered the fried calamari as an appetizer and four, count them, 4 pieces of calamari were on the plate. We simply laughed and ordered another one :D
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CruisinGerman

CruisinGerman

Posted
Posted
So here's my touch of a subjective opinion as well.

1. We don't really care for any of the soups. We have this image in our head of army mess hall style huge cans of soup being heated up for 3,000 people.

2. Caesar salad and shrimp cocktails aren't bad.

3. We enjoy the primer rib, surf & turf, steak, lamb and even the turkey dinner. We don't enjoy the fish they serve on the cruise line.

4. We prefer baked potatoes (at least we know the potato is real and not made from a packet of condensed flakes).

5. We don't care for any of the desserts -- they all seem to look pretty but don't taste like anything, so we just end our dinner with a scoop or two of ice cream.

When you add in the entire cruising experience, food is incredible value as part of your cruise.

You don't go hungry, but it is not gourmet, either. Whenever we go to New York City, it costs us $40 for two people just to have a scant breakfast in any plain deli type restaurant, most of which have been self-service lately. Compare that to the MDR on a Royal Caribbean Ship. Maybe it's not the best breakfast you'll ever have, but look at the excellent service, linen table cloths, and huge variety.

Enjoy your cruise.

Kind regards,

Gunther and Uta
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BroncosFan2010

BroncosFan2010

Posted
Posted
[quote name='CruisinGerman']So here's my touch of a subjective opinion as well.

1. We don't really care for any of the soups. We have this image in our head of army mess hall style huge cans of soup being heated up for 3,000 people.

2. Caesar salad and shrimp cocktails aren't bad.

3. We enjoy the primer rib, surf & turf, steak, lamb and even the turkey dinner. We don't enjoy the fish they serve on the cruise line.

4. We prefer baked potatoes (at least we know the potato is real and not made from a packet of condensed flakes).

5. We don't care for any of the desserts -- they all seem to look pretty but don't taste like anything, so we just end our dinner with a scoop or two of ice cream.

When you add in the entire cruising experience, food is incredible value as part of your cruise.

You don't go hungry, but it is not gourmet, either. Whenever we go to New York City, it costs us $40 for two people just to have a scant breakfast in any plain deli type restaurant, most of which have been self-service lately. Compare that to the MDR on a Royal Caribbean Ship. Maybe it's not the best breakfast you'll ever have, but look at the excellent service, linen table cloths, and huge variety.

Enjoy your cruise.

Kind regards,

Gunther and Uta[/quote]

The soups are prepared fresh. We watched them prepare the soup in big vats during our galley tour right before dinner!
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