MDR food on Oasis

[hammer000]

We currently have the Central Park package which includes chops, Giovanni's and 150 Cp. We figured the rest of the week we would eat in the MDR.

After reading some comments and reviews on the food, I'm starting to think I should add more specialty restaurants for the week. For us the dining experience is an important part of the cruise.

For those who frequented a lot in the specialty restaurants, will we be disappointed with the MDR? I expect the quality to be less, but at the same time I don't want to leave dinner hungry. Thoughts appreciated.

[Jim M]

Only one person to blame if you leave dinner hungry and its not your waiter! We enjoyed the MDR food on Oasis but that was before the new menu rollout.

[G85 SS]

You don't have to worry about leaving the dining room hungry. If you want more, ask and you shall receive.

 

The food in the Main Dining Room was ok when I was on Oasis. Oasis was my first cruise since the revised menu's and needless to say, like many others, I am not thrilled with it at all.

 

But every person is different and the new menu might cater more towards you than it did my family and I.

 

A few food pics from the main dining room:

 

Tiger Shrimp

 

Duck

[Ashland]

Recently off Oasis and I don't recall seeing/hearing about anyone suffering from hungar...Many options to insure this doesn't ever happen onboard. :p

[cb at sea]

You could NEVER pay for a specialty restaurant, and be satisfied and quite full....no worries!

[hellsop]

For those who frequented a lot in the specialty restaurants, will we be disappointed with the MDR? I expect the quality to be less, but at the same time I don't want to leave dinner hungry. Thoughts appreciated.

 

Some dishes are better than others, but I don't think that the finest of them is particularly worse than anything you'll find at the specialty restaurants. I personally tend to avoid the "Classics" part of the menu, and typically end up with nothing worse than "didn't live up to my expectations" and that was only one dish out of the 20 courses on a week cruise. (Cheese tortellini in a creamy sauce. It was okay, but pretty bland. Or, at least much milder than I was hoping for.)

[Granny DI]

We lasted 2 nights in the MDR. I had prime rib one night and veal the other night. Couldn't eat either one. My husband had pork one night and said it was ok. Perhaps I didn't order the correct things. Specialty dining did not disappoint!

[DJZS]

We currently have the Central Park package which includes chops, Giovanni's and 150 Cp. We figured the rest of the week we would eat in the MDR.

After reading some comments and reviews on the food, I'm starting to think I should add more specialty restaurants for the week. For us the dining experience is an important part of the cruise.

For those who frequented a lot in the specialty restaurants, will we be disappointed with the MDR? I expect the quality to be less, but at the same time I don't want to leave dinner hungry. Thoughts appreciated.

 

MDR food on Oasis and Allure is BAD to put it nicely. There is the occasional good item, but dont expect good food in the MDR

Edited November 25, 2013 by DJZS

[At Sea 4Ever]

Sitting outside at night on the"patio" of Giovanni's under the stars in Central Park listening to live music across the way was truly spectacular. So romantic, so hard to believe you are out in the middle of the sea. That whole experience is a major reason why we rebooked on an oasis class ship. We thought the food there was great but a great atmosphere also makes a great meal!

[BekkaW]

We also did the Central Park package and it was great, but we also enjoyed the MDR on the other 4 nights. The only item I didn't enjoy was a shrimp ravioli dish which was bland. The wait staff will bring you more than one of any course if you feel hungry or want of try a few things.

[mcatmcat]

I always eat in the MDR and always ask for 2 main dishes. I haven't being in the pay restaurant in my life so I can't compare but I love the MDR. I might be a " mean" person because I always look for a table for my family only ( I don't really go to a cruise to meet new people) but the experience at the MDR is fantastic. They make you fell welcome so I never miss it.

 

 

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[LMaxwell]

I have to wonder what people are used to eating on a daily basis at home if MDR food is considered inedible, poor, bad, couldn't do it more than 1X, etc...I've never had a bad MDR food experience. :confused:

 

Particular dishes I ordered but did not care for? Yes. But I would simply make another selection. I always enjoyed the food, the atmosphere and experience. The portion size is reasonable and you can order as much variety as you wish.

 

I'm looking forward to experiencing some of the for-pay venues for unique items and experiences, but not because I feel like the MDR food is lacking.

[Pennstateman]

We currently have the Central Park package which includes chops, Giovanni's and 150 Cp. We figured the rest of the week we would eat in the MDR.

After reading some comments and reviews on the food, I'm starting to think I should add more specialty restaurants for the week. For us the dining experience is an important part of the cruise.

For those who frequented a lot in the specialty restaurants, will we be disappointed with the MDR? I expect the quality to be less, but at the same time I don't want to leave dinner hungry. Thoughts appreciated.

 

 

In my humble opinion, the next time I leave the MDR hungry will be the first time. The food is comparable to banquet, wedding type food...

[Sumisid]

One year ago, for our first cruise on Oasis we also booked the Central-Park package because I was worried about the quality of the food in the MDR. DH and I were honestly surprised how much we liked the food in the MDR. We actually loved it so much that we did not book any specialty restaurants for our last cruise on Liberty. And again, we were not disappointed.

For sure, you can't compare dinner 150 Central Park with MDR, but I expect good food during my vacation and I got good food almost everywhere on Oasis (ok, never went to Windjammer, don't know about that).

[m*u*g*]

I thought the MDR food on Oasis was pretty good overall. The only thing that was bad was the standard steak they have on there every night. Mine had a lot of gristle in it and was mostly inedible.

[DJZS]

I have to wonder what people are used to eating on a daily basis at home if MDR food is

 

And I have to ask the same question if you ENJOY MDR food on lets just say the Allure and often Oasis...

[ryano]

I thought the MDR food on Oasis was pretty good overall. The only thing that was bad was the standard steak they have on there every night. Mine had a lot of gristle in it and was mostly inedible.

 

They have had MANY complaints about their "included" steak and they still continue to serve the poor quality meat :( The old sirloin they served wasnt any better. I guess its in order to almost force people into paying the upcharge for the Chops filet if they want a decent steak.

 

Ive heard the Prime Rib is starting to get many complaints too.

[iCruise717]

I am probably not the best person to answer this question, as I am not picky when it comes to food on cruises, but I rather enjoyed my experience in the MDR. Not everything was wonderful, but there were some highlights (including the tiger shrimp someone posted a picture of). We also liked having the same wait staff and felt the service was good. I would say give the MDR a chance and if you don't like what your get, you can always order the filet from Chops and then do specialty dining the other nights.

[Pennstateman]

And I have to ask the same question if you ENJOY MDR food on lets just say the Allure and often Oasis...

 

I enjoy it actually, yes:o

[riclop]

We currently have the Central Park package which includes chops, Giovanni's and 150 Cp. We figured the rest of the week we would eat in the MDR.

After reading some comments and reviews on the food, I'm starting to think I should add more specialty restaurants for the week. For us the dining experience is an important part of the cruise.

For those who frequented a lot in the specialty restaurants, will we be disappointed with the MDR? I expect the quality to be less, but at the same time I don't want to leave dinner hungry. Thoughts appreciated.

There is a big difference in the quality and experience from the specialty restaurants to the MDR.

[papaflamingo]

We were on Allure in March and Oasis in Sep. We did Chops and Giovanni's on Allure and the dining package on Oasis. I love Chops. I always get the Filet, and many sides. For me the steak is always excellent. We do Giovanni's for lunch. It's always great. Love the meatballs. 150 CP is a wonderful dinner experience. We split the wine pairing. There is just too much wine per glass for each of us. This is no problem and they bring the wine in 2 glasses, but a smaller, but in my opinion, satisfying pour.

We did MDR for the rest of the week. I actually like the new menu. I also have realistic expectations. They are cooking for 3000 people per seating. It's a banquet. But it's a "gourmet" banquet. I avoid the standard "steak." I will get the tenderloin and it has always been quite good. But if I am going to Chops, I'll save "steak" for the "steak house." I have enjoyed the fish, really like the duck, and usually do lobster. I have never been a prime rib fan on cruise ships. It's "ok," but just doesn't do much for me so I select something else. I also don't do pasta. But there's an artichoke filled crepe that was really good. I try to avoid the "fried stuff." In my opinion you can always find something decent to good every night. Again, I liked the fish dishes and duck. In my opinion the final night's dinner (and this is standard on all RCL ships) is my least favorite. I order the turkey. It's actually not bad.

So, I'd look at the menus, and decide which days are "least interesting" and go to the specialty restaurants. Both formal nights are, IMHO, the best. We always do night 1 and night 7 to meet the waiters and say goodbye. We also do both formal nights. So that leaves the other 3 for specialty restaurants. Works good for us.

One last comment, since we aren't big fans of the menu for night 7, we sometimes go to Johnnie Rockets for lunch. Then we just aren't hungry for dinner and go pick over appetizers and small dinners.

[Let'sGo!]

Always a subjective topic... but our personal experience in the MDR in Oasis this past May was not all that great. With so many specialty restaurants on Oasis, we opted for MTD, which was our first experience with that.

 

We showed up one night about 6:30 and asked for a table for 2. We were seated at an out of the way area, but the tables for 2 are so close to each other, we might as well been placed at a table for 10! Our service was horrible... our poor wait staff had all of our tables as well as a giant group of about 12 right behind us. We didn't fault the waiters at all, but rather the decision to give them all of the small MTD tables that came at different times, as well as that giant table.

 

Our food was not the greatest... we both thought Chops and Giovanni's were much better. After that one night in the MDR, we opted to stick with the other food options on board.

 

Ann

[OCruisers]

We were not fond of the food in the MDR for dinner on Oasis but LOVED the specialty restaurants.

 

One night in the MDR was enough for us!

 

LuLu

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Edited November 26, 2013 by OCruisers

[FLAHAM]

I thought Oasis MDR food was edible but only "average," with an outlier or two on both ends. Didn't like the lobster. Thought the lamb shank was pretty good. The attractive room and cheerful service helped. I enjoyed Chops and Giovanni's. Thought the tasting menu at 150 Central Park was "hit or miss."

[sealeggs]

I have to wonder what people are used to eating on a daily basis at home if MDR food is considered inedible, poor, bad, couldn't do it more than 1X, etc...I've never had a bad MDR food experience. :confused:

 

Particular dishes I ordered but did not care for? Yes. But I would simply make another selection. I always enjoyed the food, the atmosphere and experience. The portion size is reasonable and you can order as much variety as you wish.

 

I'm looking forward to experiencing some of the for-pay venues for unique items and experiences, but not because I feel like the MDR food is lacking.

 

I'm in agreement with you. Where are all of these people eating? 5 Star restaurants. If I don't have to prepare it, it tastes great to me. As you said I have never had anything I couldn't eat. There are things that I prefer over others but you can ask for something else if you aren't happy with what you ordered.