Thoughts on recent food on Princess

[likestorelax]

I do believe quality has decreased in the years, likely due to budget cuts. In general it is difficult to serve high quality food to thousands of people. I keep that in mind when I am ordering-some choices don't adapt to mass production. I have found the appetizers are pretty good-I usually am adventurous when trying the different appetizers. Overall I enjoy the MDR experience mainly to be waited on and have a relaxing meal more then the quality of the food. I find the pizza, burgers and hot dogs at the pool excellent if you want simple food. People seem to rave over the IC too.==Like others have said "I never go hungry on a cruise"--It is nice to eat and not have to look at prices on a menu, everything is already paid for.

[Potstech]

Having taken several Princess cruises I have been satisfied with the food I have eaten. Some good some bad. I do hope all who seem to not like the food trend on ships are filling out comment cards and handing them in. Letting Princess know there is a downward trend to the food by these cards would be a good way of letting them know what you think. Enough comments and maybe something will be done to improve the food.

[Carolyn R]

As Pam said, even with the same menus, taste and presentation vary from ship to ship. I have to say that my recent experience on the Royal Princess was exceptional. There were some misses in the MDR, but the food was very good overall. I am not a big beef eater so usually stick to the pasta and seafood dishes which Princess does very well. The expanded Alfredo's on the Royal is a huge welcome addition. If the MDR menu for dinner is not appealing, you can count on a great meal at Alfredo's. For the beef lovers, the steamship round in the Horizon Court in the evening was the best beef on the ship apart from the Crown Grill, medium rare, fork tender, delicious. The huge selection of salad fixings and fruits was phenomenal in the HC. I had dinner in the Crown Grill one night and the rack of lamb was excellent.

 

The one place I think Princess needs to improve is with vegetarian offerings. Several nights I ordered the vegetarian offering on the menu for the table to taste. Most were tasteless and uninspiring. Also, adding a few standard vegetarian items to the always available menu would be a good thing, eggplant rollatine, pasta primavera, veggie lasagna, I recommend consultation with your head waiter and requesting specific items if you are a vegetarian.

Edited November 5, 2013 by Carolyn R

[pris993]

We have sailed Princess a number of times and recently about every 2 years. We are sailing again on Emerald in March. Two cruises ago (4yrs) we felt we noticed a falling off in the quality of the food. Then 2 years ago on the Island Princess we felt there was an even greater drop. As an example I will use Beef Wellington. It always was very good until 4 years ago. Then 2 years ago the meat in it was actually tough as was the meat in general on that cruise. Also before our last cruise 2 years ago the Horizon Court buffet always had a bowl of peel and eat shrimp every night. Last cruise they never had it. Also 2 years ago every night they had a reception for Platinum members. They handed out a menu at the beginning of the cruise that told what would be served at each reception during the cruise. Two nights listed shrimp. My wife is a huge shrimp lover, so the first listed night we went. Lo and behold no shrimp. We complained to the hostess and she had no reason. She did check and confirm that the second listed night would have the shrimp and called us to confirm that. In general though we felt Princess had cheapen up on the food. What do people think about more recently? Especially would like to hear from people who have sailed with Princess over the years.

 

Agree 100%. We just got of the Grand, our 23 cruise with Princess. Thank goodness we don't cruise for the food. Not much on the current menu we like. We ordered the always available salmon in the MDR the first night, not very good at all. We eat salmon all the time at home. We eat better at home. We are not beef eaters routinely though, do like the short ribs on the menu. Enjoy the veal chops in Sabatini's. Otherwise we stick with fish - cod, orange roughly, sea bass etc., just pan grilled with vegetables, which we generally special order off menu.

[sweet carol]

We cruised on the Island Princess in September. For us we felt the food was way above anything I cook in our house and our family tells me I am a good cook. Maybe it tastes better because I don't have to be in the kitchen. The beef my husband had in the main dinning room was always tender. I never cook for 2000 plus people and certainly could never please all of them even with a selection of meals. For myself I will continue to love cruising and enjoy my meals even if the occasional meal is not perfect it is only one meal and I did not have to shop for the food, drag it home, put it in the fridge or cupboard, plan a meal, gather and prep my food I need to prepare my meal, cook the meal, serve the meal, clean the table and wash the dishes. I love my cruise meal so much less work.

[geoherb]

The food last year on the Sapphire was pretty good. We've taken two HAL cruises since, so I'm eager to get back to Princess to compare. I've hardly ever had a dish so bad that I couldn't eat it. The only time I ordered a second entree was when I ordered pheasant. I've decided that pheasant isn't for me.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Have never ordered beef on a cruise, almost always take sea food or

 

chicken, etc

 

while some things have gone down hill, like the lobster or the shrimp cocktail of old,

 

new things have appeared like the steamed sea bass,

 

so while you may need to search and be open to never tried it before so lets take a chance,

 

over all for mass produced mass market food its better than OK

 

yours Shogun

[caribill]

In general it is difficult to serve high quality food to thousands of people.

 

Yet Princess was able to accomplish this up until several years ago.

[Jim Avery]

Is the food generally better on the smaller ships, specifically the Pacific?:D

[The Wilkies]

Totally agree, the food in the MDR has gone downhill. Filet steak should never be tough, is was twice on our recent Crown cruise. I too looked at the menu some nights and suddenly lost my appetite. One night just had soup. Love the fresh fruit and yogurt for breakfast.

 

Still like Princess but not for the food!

[tailspintom]

Is the food generally better on the smaller ships, specifically the Pacific?:D

 

Hello Jim,

 

It has been a little while since I have been on the Pacific Princess (2011) but in general, I found it to be better. A little less choice in offerings, but a bit better freshness and prperation.

 

My own experience with the Royal crossing was quite positive. We had some serious carnivores at our table and they liked the beef flavor and preparation just fine. I have noticed that the portion sizes have come down a bit over the years and view that as positive. I like to have a small pasta with my evening meal and I like the smaller portion. I found the pastas to be generally nicely done; seasoned properly and not over-cooked, just short of al-dente. The veggies were always nicely prepared, not over cooked once. Fish I had was not over cooked at any time. As the goat cheese soufflé is one of my favorite dishes, I found it to be consistent with the way it was prepared in the past.

 

Alfredo's and the pool area offerings were consistent with what we have experienced before. The Horizon room was improved in my estimation. We used it for breakfast and light lunches. It was easier to navigate and the pastry area was exceptional. Now, I did have occasion to come across some eggs in the morning that were not to my liking but that was easily solved by asking the staff to cook me up some easy over eggs. They did it without attitude. I did not try the eggs benedict because they always seemed to be overcooked, however, I have only been on one ship (a Celebrity) where they were able to master a good eggs benedict.

 

In all, I have had better experiences but this one was absolutely fine.

[avcruz]

I could be wrong, but I doubt there were very many requests to Princess to add hamburger to the dinner menu every evening.

 

I was on the Dawn Princess in Alaska in 2001. A gentleman at our table for 8 would complain loudly about the menu offerings every night. I think it was on the 4th night he asked the waiter in an exasperated voice "What does a guy have to do to just get a decent burger around here?" The unflappable waiter did just that for him!!

 

We had other issues on this cruise with this gentleman, so when shortly after this Princess introduced the Personal Choice dining we took advantage of it.

 

I like to try things I wouldn't have at home when I'm on a cruise, however I'm sure that it was for this gentleman and his peers that Princess introduced the Homestyle Menu. Different strokes for different folks!

[PhilipHF]

I was on the Island Princess in October for a Panama Canal cruise. I found the food in the MDR to be consistently very good. The daily dinner menus were creative and usually had a variety of protein (meat) choices prepared in interesting ways. And considering the high volume, the quality was surprisingly good. As good as many of the NYC restaurants I'm familiar with.

 

There was one issue I had.... many of the fish and seafood entrees were flown in from far away... I don't know why they wouldn't highlight local Caribbean fare. It would be fresher and more interesting to eat local. But that was small complaint.

 

But of course food tastes are a subjective thing.... just my 2 cents.

[turbo46032]

Our experience with 3 cruises over the last few years (going on a 4th in January we hope) was that the food is getting alarmingly worse as time goes by.

 

1st cruise in 2005 - (eastern carib) incredible seafood, lots of dining options, pizza and burger place open till midnight.

 

2nd cruise in 2007 - (south carib) a bit less than 2005 but good choices, seafood, etc.

 

3rd cruise in 2012 - (alaska) major disappointment - the only Alaskan dish they had was the baked Alaska, once. A lot of simplifications in the menu I'm afraid. and serious portion size cuts (always avail Fettuccine Alfredo). Burger and Pizza places close at 9:00?

 

We're contemplating a rolling cooler with some food if this continues :cool: hopefully they're busy looking for liquor and they won't notice...

 

Don't get me wrong, the food is good, well prepared, and so on but it is trending lower quality. A lot of specialty or luxury dishes are gone (lobster about the size of a crayfish... no crab legs, etc). And service seemed to be hurried.

 

It still has not hit bottom yet - my girls found some pictures of a Costa Cruise Line buffet that looked indistinguishable from their high school cafeteria (and I've eaten there...)

 

Desserts seem to have gone up in variety and quantity, not necessarily in quality tho. The International Cafe is a great option still and food there is pretty good.

Edited November 6, 2013 by turbo46032

[rdsqrl]

Hello Jim,

 

It has been a little while since I have been on the Pacific Princess (2011) but in general, I found it to be better. A little less choice in offerings, but a bit better freshness and prperation.

Really? I was under the impression that dining room menus were standard across the entire fleet. This would be a rather unpleasant surprise were it true. Especially since with my luck, it would be my personal favourites that would be gone.

[mr green]

We were on Coral a couple of months ago, and had no complaints with the food or menus, in fact while I have never cared too much for the soups that Princess provided in the past, on this cruise I enjoyed them.

As far as OPs example about Beef Wellington, I have no comment to make, as I never order the dish.

The one complaint that I did have, I believe to be common to most lines however, is the absence of crab, as a main dish.

 

john

[caribill]

Really? I was under the impression that dining room menus were standard across the entire fleet. This would be a rather unpleasant surprise were it true. Especially since with my luck, it would be my personal favourites that would be gone.

 

We have found the menus on the Pacific and the Ocean to be the same as on the rest of the fleet (don't know about the Royal).

[caribill]

There was one issue I had.... many of the fish and seafood entrees were flown in from far away... I don't know why they wouldn't highlight local Caribbean fare. It would be fresher and more interesting to eat local. But that was small complaint.

 

 

It would be extremely difficult (and probably cost significantly more) to get the required quantity and quality on a reliable schedule from a local source.

 

How can a local supplier on a Caribbean Island guarantee that the fishermen there will have the required size fresh catch on the days every ship is scheduled to be there? Think of those islands that often have 6, 8 or even more ships in port almost every day.

 

And if you did take such quantities from a local source, the local population might find they have less affordable food available.

[rdsqrl]

We have found the menus on the Pacific and the Ocean to be the same as on the rest of the fleet (don't know about the Royal).

Thank you; I was hoping to be reassured by someone who knew stuff.

30 more days 'til I see for myself!!!! [excited? moi?]

[tailspintom]

Really? I was under the impression that dining room menus were standard across the entire fleet. This would be a rather unpleasant surprise were it true. Especially since with my luck, it would be my personal favourites that would be gone.

 

My reference was to the HC, not the MDR for the choice comment. In general, we found that the themes in the HC were better presented and there was a more personalized service then on the bigger ships. My apologies for not being more precise.

[fluffy1951]

Just of the Ruby, after 12 days wandering around the Eastern Med.

Horizon court buffet breakfast was just that - a canteen buffet. Fruit was OK. Croissants were hard. Cooked food was "meh".

Salads in International Caff were OK. Paninos were not properly heated through, despite asking - unmelted, chilled mozzarella?).

Lunches were onshore, apart from burgers and dogs on the two sea days. Fresh seafood, well-presented salads etc etc etc. (And Pizza in Naples!!)

 

Afternoon tea was the hidden gem on the boat, BUT the water used to brew the tea was occasionally too cold, and in all cases the tea was too weak for the British taste.

 

Food in Botticellis for the 815 sitting was edible, little more. In general it was bland and unappealing to the eye. The taste was non-existent in most dishes. The highlight was the fried sushi roll starter on one night, the lowlight was the "Italian Night" (scheduled on Halloween, five days after leaving Venice!), where both the fish and beef main course options were dried out (in the beef's case with some unidentifiable brown salty slop poured over it - odd for a "potroast").

 

Thank goodness for the unfailing good humour of the waitress, who reached the point of delivering each dish to our table with the words "if you don't like it, I'll change it".

(and our table comprised Brit, Mex, US and Swiss guests, none of whom had met before, so please don't play the "ethnic preferences" card in reply).

[Commodore]

We have found the menus on the Pacific and the Ocean to be the same as on the rest of the fleet (don't know about the Royal).

 

Last may we were on the Ocean Princess and in 4 days we'll be on the Pacific.

Thank god the food on the small ladies is far Superior to the rest of the fleet. Last year on the Sapphire I did not like the food at all.

The best food I ever had was with Royal Viking Cruises in the 70's.:eek:

[Projunior]

There's an old joke: two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort and one of them says, "Boy, the food at this place is really terrible." The other one says, "Yeah, I know, and such small portions."

[monakayk]

There's no doubt that dining has changed on Princess (and other cruise lines) over the years. They have become more mass market and dining options changed to reflect mass market tastes. You would never have seen a "homestyle" entree option or hamburgers on the menu every night even five years ago. But that's where passenger demands and expectations have gone. Princess and other lines are adjusting to passenger demands.

 

 

ITA with the (above) part of Pam's post except...:confused:my question is: if passengers have demand that Hamburgers be placed on the MDR evening menu....how is it I have never once seen a person on the cruises we have been on order/eat burgers at dinner? I am sure there are some folks who love burgers for dinner, but I really wonder....number-wise how many folks really do order the burger at dinner. Or is this just a menu item that Princess has 'dumbed down' to add to their menus. I think the latter is more true.

Edited November 6, 2013 by monakayk

[mr green]

ITA with the (above) part of Pam's post except...:confused:my question is: if passengers have demand that Hamburgers be placed on the MDR evening menu....how is it I have never once seen a person on the cruises we have been on order/eat burgers at dinner?.

 

One reason that you have not seen a burger eaten, could be because of the way the order wqas phrased. On our last cruise, burgers were ordered at our table, 'WITHOUT THE BUNS!!!' The platters looked quite normal.:D

 

john