No steaks (?) and other Royal Princess food issues

[PrincessPete]

Hi all, we have cruised 15 plus times on Princess ships since 1988 but not for 4 years due to medical issues. Some friends have just returned from a 20 night cruise on the Royal Princess (back to back 10 nighters) in the Caribbean and were fairlyscathing about the food. It was their first Princess cruise although they have done several on other lines.

They said there were no steaks available, even on the “Always Available” menu, and were also critical of the prawn cocktail (4 prawns) and the Caesar salad (3 croutons).They said they gave up on the main dining room and ate in the buffet where “the food was much better and had a greater choice”.

We were not there, of course, so can hardly suggest they are being hyper-critical but if correct it does seem a major drop in standards since our last cruise on Diamond Princess when we had outstanding meals for 17 nights in the main dining room.

I also found the shortage of steaks strange bearing in mind the number of American passengers who I know love steaks!

I would welcome comments and opinions from Princess regulars and particularly from recent Royal Princess passengers. Our friend’s comments will certainly not put us off Princess as they are our preferred line, perhaps demonstrated by the fact that we are Elite status in the Captain’s Circle. Other opinions, though, would be most welcome.

Many thanks in advance and best wishes to all.

Peter

[floridalover5623]

First let me say that if they were very critical about the Royal food & selections they would have been really upset with any of the other Princess ships. The Royal class ships do have the best selections & preparation compared to any of the Princess fleet.

As far as steaks go they have been cut back over the years & on a 10 day trip you might see them offered once in the DR. They're not the greatest but not bad. The nightly steak medallion has been taken off the menu in the DR.

On the Royal we ate mostly in the buffet & they did have minute steaks a few times. Nothing great but they were tasty. If you wanted a really decent steak, it was at extra cost in the Specialty restaurant.

The nightly selections at the buffet were so various that there's always something for everyone on any night.

 

After our last cruise on the CB we've decided to limit our cruises to the Royal class ships in the future mainly for the food and other reasons also.

[antsp]

First let me say that if they were very critical about the Royal food & selections they would have been really upset with any of the other Princess ships. The Royal class ships do have the best selections & preparation compared to any of the Princess fleet.

As far as steaks go they have been cut back over the years & on a 10 day trip you might see them offered once in the DR. They're not the greatest but not bad. The nightly steak medallion has been taken off the menu in the DR.

On the Royal we ate mostly in the buffet & they did have minute steaks a few times. Nothing great but they were tasty. If you wanted a really decent steak, it was at extra cost in the Specialty restaurant.

The nightly selections at the buffet were so various that there's always something for everyone on any night.

 

After our last cruise on the CB we've decided to limit our cruises to the Royal class ships in the future mainly for the food and other reasons also.

 

Am i understanding you, you are saying the Dining room menus on the Royal/Regal are different to other Princess ships

[floridalover5623]

Am i understanding you, you are saying the Dining room menus on the Royal/Regal are different to other Princess ships

The menus no different on the Royal class ships but I perceived the food prep to be a little better on them in the DR and also MUCH better in the buffet. We even choose toe buffet most times in the evening on the Royal because of that. It was so much faster to eat then waiting to be served and having more selections than the DR at the same time.

On some evenings there are items which are at the buffet that you won't see in the DR which we considered outstanding.

[antsp]

The menus no different on the Royal class ships but I perceived the food prep to be a little better on them in the DR and also MUCH better in the buffet. We even choose toe buffet most times in the evening on the Royal because of that. It was so much faster to eat then waiting to be served and having more selections than the DR at the same time.

On some evenings there are items which are at the buffet that you won't see in the DR which we considered outstanding.

 

i agree the buffet is far superior to the standard Princess ships, dining is always hit and miss

[sunsetbeachgal]

On our cruise on the Regal in February there were plenty of beef entrees in the Dining Room. Prime rib once or twice, filet, strip steak. And the dinner buffet had carving stations with beef as well. Of course the best steak was at the Crown Grill. We all thought the food overall was quite good and the buffet excellent.

 

 

OP, if your friends are counting croutons maybe they are a bit overly critical! I would form my own opinions!

 

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[JF - retired RRT]

Your friends could have requested extra croutons and more than one shrimp cocktail. To just sit there and steam about missing croutons is just silly.

I don't like a salad without tomatoes, so on the first night I tell the waiter (Traditional Dining, so I don't have to repeat myself every night)...tomatoes on any salad I order with dressing always on the side. It happens and it happens with a smile.

Can't believe there were no steaks in 20 days, maybe the missing croutons colored their perspective.

[cruising nole fan]

On our cruise on the Regal in February there were plenty of beef entrees in the Dining Room. Prime rib once or twice, filet, strip steak. And the dinner buffet had carving stations with beef as well. Of course the best steak was at the Crown Grill. We all thought the food overall was quite good and the buffet excellent.

 

 

OP, if your friends are counting croutons maybe they are a bit overly critical! I would form my own opinions!

 

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My thoughts as well, 3 croutons, oh the horror. The food is just fine. Complaining over croutons is ridiculous!

[keithm]

Hi all, we have cruised 15 plus times on Princess ships since 1988 but not for 4 years due to medical issues. Some friends have just returned from a 20 night cruise on the Royal Princess (back to back 10 nighters) in the Caribbean and were fairlyscathing about the food. It was their first Princess cruise although they have done several on other lines.

They said there were no steaks available, even on the “Always Available” menu, and were also critical of the prawn cocktail (4 prawns) and the Caesar salad (3 croutons).They said they gave up on the main dining room and ate in the buffet where “the food was much better and had a greater choice”.

We were not there, of course, so can hardly suggest they are being hyper-critical but if correct it does seem a major drop in standards since our last cruise on Diamond Princess when we had outstanding meals for 17 nights in the main dining room.

I also found the shortage of steaks strange bearing in mind the number of American passengers who I know love steaks!

I would welcome comments and opinions from Princess regulars and particularly from recent Royal Princess passengers. Our friend’s comments will certainly not put us off Princess as they are our preferred line, perhaps demonstrated by the fact that we are Elite status in the Captain’s Circle. Other opinions, though, would be most welcome.

Many thanks in advance and best wishes to all.

Peter

We were on the Regal Feb.2016 for a 14 day B2B(our first Princess trip)Though we found a lot of the pax to be I hate saying it: Trailer trash(Super bowl week the first leg of the trip)The food was very good. Actually much better than our Jan.(this year)14 day Celebrity Eclipse trip.(usually the food was much better)The second week of the Princess trip, the offending pax left & were replace with what I hope is a more normal group. I'll not cruise Princess during "Bowl" week in the future. Steaks were featured frequently. The steaks still are not as good as Celebrity(especially in the celebrity's specialty rest). The Seafood aboard Regal was excellent(better than Celebrity) As to your friends gripes about the Caesar croutons..Really? Sounds like you need better friends. That complaint is one of the signs of people who can NEVER be satisfied. Our salads were great & if I wanted more croutons, they were forth coming, along with my usual requested 3 anchovies to be dropped on top(love 'em or hate 'em)The buffet, I will say was probably the best we ever had. Many different & great choices. I still like Celebrity more. We booked a cruise for next Jan. If the food is still as hit or miss as it was recently, we'll probably switch to Princess for a while. Though the Royal class ships have some quirks(no stairways by central elevator etc.)they are still really elegant ships.

Edited March 12, 2017 by keithm
minor correction

[Colo Cruiser]

Food is subjective.

Since this is second hand info (taken with a grain of salt) and they are first time Princess cruisers I will assume they never spoke with a HW in the DR and expressed their dissatisfaction and/or requested any off menu items.

Edited March 12, 2017 by Colo Cruiser

[KruzeKrazy!]

Only 3 croutons . . . but perhaps they were really great croutons! [emoji6]

[-Lew-]

We were on the Royal from January 19th until February 18th this year. We found the food and service in the Symphony dining room some of the best we have experienced on any ship. Although I don't usually order steak in the MDRs, I did enjoy the New York Strip one evening on the recommendation of a dining companion and found it to be very good. Was it the same quality as steaks in Crown Grill...no, but it was very good.

 

[Sea and Me]

We were on the Royal in November. This was our 10th Princess cruise. I was surprised that steak wasn't on the alternate choice menu. It was offered once out of 10 days. When I asked about escargot our waiter said it will be offered toward the end of the cruise. It was offered once also. I found that the food was good not great. Of course, there is the specialty restaurants where we ate at the Crown Grill one evening. The dinner was fine nothing to brag about. The turnoff of the Crown Grill was the music coming from the Wheelhouse bar!! Definitely not dining music. After 22 cruises I feel when we started cruising in '94 dining was a lot better than the present time. I know others will disagree with me and that's fine, just my opinion.

 

 

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[floridalover5623]

We were on the Royal in November. This was our 10th Princess cruise. I was surprised that steak wasn't on the alternate choice menu. It was offered once out of 10 days. When I asked about escargot our waiter said it will be offered toward the end of the cruise. It was offered once also. I found that the food was good not great. Of course, there is the specialty restaurants where we ate at the Crown Grill one evening. The dinner was fine nothing to brag about. The turnoff of the Crown Grill was the music coming from the Wheelhouse bar!! Definitely not dining music. After 22 cruises I feel when we started cruising in '94 dining was a lot better than the present time. I know others will disagree with me and that's fine, just my opinion.

 

 

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We were on the Royal throughout last Nov and the food couldn't have been better. Everything was done to perfection at the buffet and if you had a comment the item was removed from the line & redone on the spot. Of course it's you opinion but for a general mass market cruise line I can't see how they could do things any better.

Could be my standards are lower than most but my comments come from comparing food on different Princess ships- not from land based restaurants.

 

btw- had you asked for escargot from the head waiter in advance at the restaurant they would have made it special for you every night.

[lolane1]

Our salads were great & if I wanted more croutons, they were forth coming, along with my usual requested 3 anchovies to be dropped on top(love 'em or hate 'em)The buffet, I will say was probably the best we ever had. Many different & great choices.

 

OMG I never thought of that. I love anchovies! I thought the food was great last year on my Med. Cruise. The buffet was outstanding. Had a Ceasar salad almost every night. Will request anchovies this summer on my Greek cruise. Thanks for stating the not so obvious. Duh.

[G&T Cruisers]

We were on a B2B on the Caribbean Princess over Christmas & New Year and found the food in dinning room to be excellent and they featured some sort of steak on the menu every night.

We have been on both the Royal & Regal and found the food on Caribbean Princess to be at the same level as those newer ships.:D

[joeyancho]

If you think Princess food is sub par, then avoid Carnival at all costs. Just my opinion and experience.

[KruzeKrazy!]

We are by no means food snobs and are, in fact, pretty plain eaters but we do find mass market cruise line food to be less than it used to be. We chalk it up to the usual cost reductions just like you see at many land-based mass appeal restaurant chains. To is cruise food used to be a bit more of a wow - not because it rivaled top land-based restaurants but more because it was way better than one might have expected.

 

We are still, however, amazed at how they can cook for and serve thousands at a time and give the impression of nicely prepared and presented cooked-to-order items.

 

So while the food isn't spectacular to us it is certainly good enough and with so many choices we never ave and will never complain about it. We can always find something we like and enjoy it very much.

 

And after all - we'll take an average meal on a cruise over a very good meal on land any day! [emoji568]

[Astro Flyer]

PrincessPete...as others have said your friends are being hypercritical & based on my experiences there's no reason for you to be concerned.

 

Since you last sailed 4 years ago Princess has responded to passenger's desires for new menu options & there are plenty of good nightly choices. Comparing food quality to that decades ago isn't realistic at today's much more affordable prices. My first cruise was on Sitmar in 1988 and that's the best food & service we've had but the price was also much more expensive. Overall I've enjoyed the food on Princess which I describe as quality banquet food with a great variety to serve thousands of passengers.

 

The nightly always available beef medallions are not currently available which is disappointing. As I recall the same thing happened several years ago & they responded to passenger input to add it again. But the always available gourmet hamburger is a very poor replacement for beef medallions on the always available menu. During their failed celebrity chef Curtis Stone experiment salmon wasn't always available but it was added again based on passenger input. Maybe if they get enough passenger input about having the beef medallions again if will also return to the always available menu. For awhile their great eggplant parmigiana was cut from the menu but so many of us requested it they added it again. So I have seen them respond when sufficient number of passengers want something changed.

 

There were sufficient nights with steak & other beef options but we enjoy trying new types of food more than just having steaks. I don't often have fish & seafood but greatly enjoyed their preparation of those courses.

 

Like us you've sailed enough on Princess to know what to expect from their food & we rarely are disappointed. While some of the menus may be different they're still just as enjoyable for me as they were 4 years ago & sailing regularly it's good to have a variety of food options. And we feel that food on our Royal & Regal cruises (6 weeks with 2 more weeks scheduled) not only had the best buffet food but also the best MDR food. Taste is very subjective so others will feel differently but I think you'd still enjoy the food on the Royal & other Princess ships.

Edited March 12, 2017 by Astro Flyer

[curlybelle2]

We were on the Royal for a 10 day cruise in February.8-18th. Most nights we ate in the Dining Room. There were beef entrees available. One evening we had delicious prime rib also beef wellington was served. We thought the food was wonderful.:)

Also in the buffet there were beef choices available. They had turkey one evening in the buffet that was fantastic!!

[OCruisers]

On our cruise on the Regal in February there were plenty of beef entrees in the Dining Room. Prime rib once or twice, filet, strip steak. And the dinner buffet had carving stations with beef as well. Of course the best steak was at the Crown Grill. We all thought the food overall was quite good and the buffet excellent.

 

Per above, some sort of beef entrée is offered every night in the main dining room on the main menu. :)

[Thrak]

Steak in MDR wasn't worth ordering. Princess doesn't seem to understand beef very well. Of course preparing steak for a bazillion diners isn't going to be a winning proposition anyway. Steak should be cooked individually to order and served immediately. If you want steak go to Crown Grill.

[Astro Flyer]

Steak in MDR wasn't worth ordering. Princess doesn't seem to understand beef very well. Of course preparing steak for a bazillion diners isn't going to be a winning proposition anyway. Steak should be cooked individually to order and served immediately. If you want steak go to Crown Grill.

 

That's why I stopped ordering MDR steaks & prime rib because they varied so much.

 

I know that we can return them if unhappy for a replacement but eventually I just gave up because they were too often disappointing. With so many other options I rarely took the chance on steaks & prime rib although I did enjoy other beef dishes such as Beef Wellington & Châteaubriand.

 

On recent cruises I once again tried the prime rib & steaks and maybe I just got lucky & had good servings. Although the best way is to go to Crown Grill, Sterlings or Bayou Cafe for a more consistently better steak.

[denatravels]

requested 3 anchovies to be dropped on top

 

 

Glad to see I'm not the only one that didn't think about this!! It never occurred to me to ask for this.

Also I will ask for extra escargot next time, too, as it's my favorite!

 

 

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[floridalover5623]

Steak in MDR wasn't worth ordering. Princess doesn't seem to understand beef very well. Of course preparing steak for a bazillion diners isn't going to be a winning proposition anyway. Steak should be cooked individually to order and served immediately. If you want steak go to Crown Grill.

Oh, I think they understand the grades of beef very well and when they have a budget to work with there not much else they can do & still be competitive with other cruise lines.