RCCL Food Opinions

[ilovetexas]

My daughter and I were on Monarch of the Seas last August and the food was just BAD. There's not even a nice way to say it. Just BAD. Buffet, MDR, everywhere! :eek:

 

Problem is this, we told the rest of the family when we got back and now my husband refuses to even consider trying RCCL. I would like to try again since it's supposed to be a really good line for teenagers.

 

Can I get some opinions from others who have been on RCCL? Good, bad, indifferent? I'm hoping we just caught them on a bad few days.

 

Thanks!

[cb at sea]

Ok..you won't starve...but it won't be like eating in a 4-star restaurant!

RCI has cut back on the food service...it's gotten pretty "basic" lately. The food is fine, but the presentation and selection is suffering.

If you're not picky, you'll be ok.

We've never had " bad" food...just food that isn't "inspired"!

[moose the caboose]

hi all,

 

reduction of the level of food service seems to cross ALL the cruise lines, not just rci. i agree with everything 'cb at sea' said, but would also add that if you are doing the shorter cruises (3 or 4 or 5 night), the problem is a little more pronounced. i don't have an answer for this, but perhaps the total amount of alcohol consumed (by the 'i'm going to party like its 1999' crowd) on short cruises leads to slovenliness on the part of ship's galley staff. no hard facts about it, just circumstantial evidence. longer cruises tend to be much better. why??!!

 

i've gone so far as to contact onshore-home office management about the problems we've encountered. i'm not a vengeful-emotional person and my conversations with them were well received and appreciated. have i ever gotten brushed off? not to my knowledge...i'm still getting and giving feedback. i don't care what cruise line you are partial to, you are their best quality control inspector. let them know how they are doing. after all, we vote with our custom...and DO THEY KNOW IT!

 

Ok..you won't starve...but it won't be like eating in a 4-star restaurant!

RCI has cut back on the food service...it's gotten pretty "basic" lately. The food is fine, but the presentation and selection is suffering.

If you're not picky, you'll be ok.

We've never had " bad" food...just food that isn't "inspired"!

 

moose

[Villcruise]

We just completed a B2B on The Adventure of the Seas and had some of the best food, in the MDR, that we have had on a cruise in years. The WJ was good, but the food was never more then luke warm. The head of the WJ blamed it on corporate,which I didn't buy. Later the first week it did improve.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

We have never had "bad" food, but we always go on longer cruises. Early in the year 2008 in cruise trade reports it was reported that CCL stepped up their food quality while RCCL had taken a back seat..having said that, we have been on 2 or 3 RCCL cruises since then and the food was very good. Do keep in mind the food is still considered "banquet" food and is being served to a huge audience. I sometimes think it has to do with your server and how they get their food from the galley. Which is sitting longer, etc, maybe. As soon as we meet our mdr stff, they immediately know we are seasoned cruisers and have expectations, maybe thats a help; having the best of the best wait staff? On our last 14nt, only twice did we have to ask for something else, otherwise the food was actually very, very good! Again, not a 5 star venue, but delish all the same!

 

I would give it a shot again with your family!

[newtocruisingcdn]

:)We travelled on RCCL Vision on a Transatlantic from Lisbon to Brazil,in December of 2010. My biggest disappointment was the selection in the MDR for breakfast. It was the same menu every morning, with a very limited number of choices. Having said that, I never left hungry and there was a great fruit, pastry, etc. buffet set up.

In the MDR at lunch time they had a fantastic salad bar. Wait staff make you salad following your instructions - yummy!

[Langley Cruisers]

Can only say that it seems to vary from ship to ship. Food on Oasis - lackluster. Food on Mariner - amazing! *shrug* Don't know what to tell ya.

[teachrsg]

Just came back from a 7 night on the Serenade of the Seas. On the whole, food in the MDR was good. Also the buffets in the WJ had lots of choices. We are not real picky eaters though. We have cruised over 15 times on various cruise lines and found this to be one of the better ones.

[BroncosFan2010]

I have always enjoyed the food on RCCL. I have cruised on the Serenade and the Adventure. The food was never gourmet, but it was good.

[kjoeb]

the rcl vision and the mariner were very convenient out of l.a. the ships are beautifull and the service was very good. dinners in the mdr have declined dramatically, particularly with the beef and fish. i have sailed rccl 16 times starting in 1979 with the song of norway and have very fond memories of the excellent dining offered then. i have contacted rcl twice to question their adminisrative decisions to use cheaper food vendors. each time i was thanked for my concerns and told things were improving. there are many better options for good cruising dinners. kb

[seowaft]

The world's second-largest cruise line, Royal Caribbean International began in the late 1960's as a consortium of Norwegian ship owners who wanted to get in on the rapidly expanding American market .

[the queen of clutter]

We used to love RCCL's food but in 2010 we sailed on the Enchantment of the Seas and the food was just ho-hum. We found CCL's Fantasy's food ok but not special in 2010, yet in March 2011 we thought it was very good! Do you think chef's have moods? ;)

 

Overall I agree with the other posters who say that the food quality is declining. Did they think we wouldn't notice? I have food allergies and getting a special diet is one reason I keep cruising! But if the food quality keeps lowering I may just pack PBJs and do road trips to the many wonderful places our country has to offer!

[Jennfor5]

I don't care for Royal Carribean's food but my parents swear by it. I like Carnivals.

[zoncom]

One of oldest ships out there doing short cruises to the party crowd. Time for a better ship with better kitchen. They vary depending on who is running kitchen. Try another line. There are so many cruise buys out there now.