Food on Royal Carribean

[lovetotraveltx]

Now considering royal carribean and celebrity to Alaska. We are kind of foodies.

 

How is the food on royal carribean? And, if you've been on both, how does it compare to Celebrity?

 

Thank you!

[Merion_Mom]

Now considering royal carribean and celebrity to Alaska. We are kind of foodies.

 

How is the food on royal carribean? And, if you've been on both, how does it compare to Celebrity?

 

Thank you!

 

Royal Caribbean is NOT a "foodie" cruise line.

 

You would probably have to pay for a specialty restaurant every night to get the "foodie" experience.

 

:)

[Darkwolfe]

You are going to get so many opinions on this one it may well make your head spin. :)

 

Personally, I find the food to be quite good, improved this year, but others will say it has gone down or worse, that it's glorified cafeteria food.

 

In truth, the only way you'll know for yourself is to actually try it.

 

Still gather what you may from the flood to be and have a wonderful trip to Alaska whichever line you choose.

[renee1222]

Not a foodie by nature, but I have always enjoyed the food on Royal Caribbean. It is always presented nicely and has a variety of menu options each night in the MDR. The food may not be considered "gourmet" by some but it is more gourmet than I would eat if I were cooking it myself! I would rate it above most typical chain restaurants such as Outback, Olive Garden, etc.

 

The buffet is typical buffet food but still offers quite the variety with some international dishes as well.

 

I have never sailed Celebrity, but I am satisfied with Royal Caribbean and have never gone hungry!

[nednrom]

I agree with the posters above-- taste and flavor are very subjective. I've always been able to find something to my liking in the main dining room. I've also checked on MDR menu and made reservations for the specialty restaurants.

[AussieVisi2r]

I may not be a hard core foodie....but eat out regularly, often in fine restaurants.

 

I am very happy with RCL food. In my opinion, the food is much better than 'average'. I don't know what cafeterias and functions you guys eat at, but I have never had food that good at one. I have eaten things in the MDR that are not to my liking, ie oily snails or salty soup, but have never had anything terrible, cold, tough etc. And I am not paying over $100 a head (as we often do in Aust).

 

I never eat at the Windjammer and do love Chops and Giovani's.

 

Maybe some people confuse the ambiance of the MTR with food quality. It is loud and busy! (the other hand I have never felt rushed. Maybe I am oblivious to the poor waiter trying to hurry me along!)

 

Just My Opinion.

 

Raina

[onthelake]

Celebrity will probably suit you better. No matter which cruise line you choose, the chef for your particular cruise does make a difference. You can also check how much each line spends per passenger for food which may also give you some insight.

[3CatsInMA]

Celebrity will probably suit you better. No matter which cruise line you choose, the chef for your particular cruise does make a difference. You can also check how much each line spends per passenger for food which may also give you some insight.

 

Where can this info be found?

[ehfl]

MDR food on most any cruise line is just going to be banquet food. After all, that's really the only way you can feed thousands of people in a small amount of time.

 

If you're not into banquet food, then go with the specialty restaurants on whatever cruise line you chose.

[summersigh]

Not a foodie by nature, but I have always enjoyed the food on Royal Caribbean. It is always presented nicely and has a variety of menu options each night in the MDR. The food may not be considered "gourmet" by some but it is more gourmet than I would eat if I were cooking it myself! I would rate it above most typical chain restaurants such as Outback, Olive Garden, etc.

 

The buffet is typical buffet food but still offers quite the variety with some international dishes as well.

 

I have never sailed Celebrity, but I am satisfied with Royal Caribbean and have never gone hungry!

 

I couldn't have said it better :):)

We've never had a menu on RCCL that we couldn't make choices in all categories that were tasty and satisfying.

We don't go to specialty restaurants on RCCL or HAL - we don't feel the need with their menues and would rather spend the $$ going out at home when ship's fare is included in the price :D

[JamesEM]

IMO when DW and I were on the Oasis last year the food in the MDR was somewhere between that of cafeteria and banquet quality.

[wotaripper]

IMO when DW and I were on the Oasis last year the food in the MDR was somewhere between that of cafeteria and banquet quality.

 

We sailed on Oasis last year also and dined 4 out of 7 nights in the M

DR and 3 nights in various specialty restaurants we where a group of 8 and all enjoyed our various meals in all locations We all thought the food in the MDR was very good always hot and tasty and well cooked and as one of our pary was a professional head chef with over 30 years experience his opinion was of a more professional perspective.We have also sailed on other Royal Carribean ships and also with M.S.C and Carnival and much prefer the food on Royal Carribean.

[MoYerclan]

I've found the food on RCCI to have diminished in quality in the past couple years, and prefer Celebrity more. The specialty restaurants on both lines are so much better, yet for extra cost. I prefer to consider it the cost of getting more of what I prefer (much better food *and* service) and worth every penny.

[dfishner]

I always am amused with these kind of threads and agree with everything the other posters have wrote. We have been cruising with RCL for quite awhile now, when we first started to consider RCL I found CC and started to read reviews of the food and almost did not book our first RCL cruise which would of been a big mistake. Over the years I continue to read how the food quality has declined to a point the food would be inedible.

 

So I would say RCL is not a foodie cruise line we are foodies and never had a problem with RCL food some we like some we do not and we mix it up with the Specialty restaurants and that seem to be a good balance for us. Is it 5 star no it is banquet food but that is not always a bad thing does the quality suffer yes but more times then not the food is good . If it is just about the food that interest you then you did pick the wrong cruise line Celebrity would be much better choice but if it is all about the on board experience which is why we cruise on RCL you made a good choice

 

On a side note Azamara has some of the best tasting food we ever had on a cruise ship the MDR was so good made going to the specialty restaurants a non event.

Edited February 28, 2014 by dfishner

[seb]

Just another 2 1/2 cents - DW and I are kind of foodies ourselves..cooking has been my "hobby" for the past 30+ years.

 

IMHO, both lines MDR food is not what I would consider "foodie" quality. It is good on both, but as others have said it is certainly is more toward the banquet quality than gourmet. Both lines have I think what you would be happy with in their "speciality" pay venues.

 

If you choose RCI that has Chef's Table, you will definitely like that as well as Chop's food and wine combo.

 

Either line, I'd factor in the cost of at least 3 specialty restaurant nights to get the experience you might be looking for.

 

There you go…maybe this advise was only with 2 cents, but enjoy your Alaska cruise. It's one of our favorite cruises.

[TC1957]

It seems to me from reading these types of discussions (regardless of the line) that on most mass market line ships the food included in the quoted price is good (2.5 to 3 stars)...but not great. If you want the best food that particular ship has to offer you are required to shell out extra money.

 

Personally, I think that is poor customer service. I also think that if a line made the effort (and incurred the expense) to put 3 to 3.5 star food on the MDR tables every night and have the specialty venues serve 4 star plus they would be way ahead of the game.

 

But thats just me...YMMV.

[silentbob007]

It seems to me from reading these types of discussions (regardless of the line) that on most mass market line ships the food included in the quoted price is good (2.5 to 3 stars)...but not great. If you want the best food that particular ship has to offer you are required to shell out extra money.

 

Personally, I think that is poor customer service. I also think that if a line made the effort (and incurred the expense) to put 3 to 3.5 star food on the MDR tables every night and have the specialty venues serve 4 star plus they would be way ahead of the game.

 

But thats just me...YMMV.

 

You are describing what cruising used to be ... however, the current strategy is to offer the lowest possible price and allow people to self-select the experiences they want to pay more for. In the end, however, you are not going to have consistently great food prepared for 3,000 people at once ... this is more manageable for 30-60 guests at a time per venue.

 

With that said, I have not cruised RCI in a few years, but historically I have thought that Celebrity has tended to have better and a bit more unique food in both the MDR and the buffet. However, it is close enough that I've had wonderful comparable experiences on both (though the average, again, slightly points towards X for my own tastes).

[lovetotraveltx]

Thanks everyone!

[chris410]

I consider myself a foodie, although I'm not extremely picky. We tend to eat out 4-5 nights a month at nice restaurants at home.

 

I thought the food in the MDR on the Oasis was pretty good considering it was mass produced. I think the good service and the nice atmosphere helps make up for the short comings of the food.

 

We had planned on doing a specialty dinning on the Oasis but were more then pleased with our dinners in the MDR.

[connes1]

It depends which ship you are on. The food quality can change from ship to ship. Some cruises good some cruises really bad.

 

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[Sherlock43031]

Royal Caribbean is NOT a "foodie" cruise line.

 

You would probably have to pay for a specialty restaurant every night to get the "foodie" experience.

 

:)

 

The MDR food is just fine. The WJ especially for breakfast with cooked to order eggs/omelets and endless bacon is good. the Pqrk is very good for late afternoon Ranger cookies and coffee. The specialty restaurants imo are nothing special for the $70 up-charge plus extra charge for certain items you can get a much dinner in your home town.

 

as for the MDR just being "banquet quality" you folks must have much better banquet facilities in your neck of the woods.

Edited February 28, 2014 by Sherlock43031

[alwaysflyin]

I consider myself a "semi-foodie" and find the MDR quite good. I think that it is way better than banquet quality food. The Windjammer, on the other hand, is pretty so-so. I eat lightly during the day and then splurge at night in the MDR.

[OCruisers]

While we really don't like the food on RCCL ships in the MDR, we absolutely love :) the RCCL Specialty Restaurants.

LuLu

~~~

[silvermcs]

Just another 2 1/2 cents - DW and I are kind of foodies ourselves..cooking has been my "hobby" for the past 30+ years.

 

IMHO, both lines MDR food is not what I would consider "foodie" quality. It is good on both, but as others have said it is certainly is more toward the banquet quality than gourmet. Both lines have I think what you would be happy with in their "speciality" pay venues.

 

If you choose RCI that has Chef's Table, you will definitely like that as well as Chop's food and wine combo.

 

Either line, I'd factor in the cost of at least 3 specialty restaurant nights to get the experience you might be looking for.

 

There you go…maybe this advise was only with 2 cents, but enjoy your Alaska cruise. It's one of our favorite cruises.

I enjoy reading the food posts on CC and get a big laugh. I love that you are from OC and now live in Oxford. My oldest and dearest friend went to Ole Miss. That being said, we are big foodies but cruise on the mass market ships because our kids love the amenities including the Flowrider. We also travel with multi generational so it is good to have something for everyone. Trust me, once the kids are in college, DW and I are going strictly first class :)

BUT, I have to say we really enjoy the food on RCL. We usually review the nightly menus and plan around the nights that are less appealing. On a 7 night cruise we will do two specialty restaurants and the chef's table. That leaves four nights in the MDR. It makes for a great cruise vacation!

[Merion_Mom]

The MDR food is just fine. The WJ especially for breakfast with cooked to order eggs/omelets and endless bacon is good. the Pqrk is very good for late afternoon Ranger cookies and coffee. The specialty restaurants imo are nothing special for the $70 up-charge plus extra charge for certain items you can get a much dinner in your home town.

 

as for the MDR just being "banquet quality" you folks must have much better banquet facilities in your neck of the woods.

 

I didn't say that the MDR food isn't "fine". It is. I rarely pay for the specialty restaurants because I am satisfied with the MDR and the WJ and don't feel that I get enough bang for my buck at Chops, for instance, for $35.

 

But the OP put himself/herself forward as a "foodie". RC MDR dinners are not gourmet.

 

Now, I don't know the OP. For all I know, his/her idea of "gourmet" is Outback instead of Golden Corral.

 

:)