New "trial?" MDR menus Ruby 3-31-18 sailing

[land lover]

Oh and I forgot to mention that each bread basket came with a special spread each night - cheese spread, butter mix, olive oil mixture. Each night was different. I loved them all but the curry one. You could still ask for butter if you preferred.

 

Also, each night there were two feature side dishes - usually a vegetable or potato dish of some kind. We never ordered one as the sides with our entrees were plenty for us. But they looked interesting.

 

We did try a few of the side dishes green beans and mushrooms, tri-colored roasted potatoes, roasted potatoes and bacon..etc....and found the portions were enough for 2.....most were tasty.

 

My BIL loved the apricot curry spread........me, I'm with u, my least favorite.... enjoy......

[Kingofcool1947]

here is a photo of the waffle/chicken selection offered on our sailing

 

the waffle is the same round one served in the buffets and at the suite breakfast. If u look closely u can see it is hiding under the fries at the top.

 

Sounds like Princess is going to more Southern style comfort food. U think?

Did they have Chicken Fried Steak with country gravy on the new menu? Breakfast, lunch, or dinner?

or beef liver with fava beans?

Thank U.

[DaisyRose]

I was also on this cruise, and I thought the new menu items were mostly excellent. We felt the new menu items were a big improvement over what we have felt were recent declines in food. My husband loved the new shrimp cocktail, and we saw many, many, people ordering it night after night; some ordering two, so I think a lot of people liked it. My husband said the salmon seemed to be a better cut - thicker, and therefore not as dry after cooking.

 

The first night Texas style chili was replaced with a new turkey chili; I liked the old style better, though the new turkey chili was also good. Eggplant parmesan on Italian night was similar but different; my husband preferred the new version, I preferred the older version, but it was still very good. Yes, I agree that pot of creme dessert was delicious; very nice flavor and very creamy. New different dinner rolls each night, all were excellent. The spreads were also all very good, although the scoop they gave you was on the small side for four rolls. There were no breadsticks on any of the six nights we ate in the dining room, something we missed.

 

French onion soup has always been my favorite, and it seems over the last few years it has really declined, almost to the point of, "where's the cheese?" Well, that is now much improved. Maybe not quite back to the days of a nice thick slice of cheese melted over the top of the cup, but definitely a lot more cheese back on the soup. That was a big improvement, almost back to the original onion soup I loved so much.

 

As for reading the menu, yes, the first night it seemed a bit hard to read. But then I figured it out. There was a thin blue line between offerings. Then, there was a thick blue line between the items that changed every night and the always available items. They listed some wines that paired well with some of the entrees, so that was additional reading on the menus. I was unhappy to see extra charge items on the dinner menu. There were three for $19 and one for $29. I think they were items that came from the Specialty restaurants, so I guess the thinking was that if one person wanted an item from the Specialty restaurant, the others in their party did not have to go to the Specialty restaurant, because you could get a few of those items in the main dining room for the extra charge. I thought the cost of the extra charge items was high.

 

No one has mentioned that the Anytime Dining Room opened at 4:30 each evening, something I never saw on other ships, so I think that was new; Anytime Dining always opened at 5:30 on the ships I have been on. If they could have gotten the food out a little faster, it might have helped alleviate the long lines that have been forming outside the Anytime Dining Room in the past few years. Unfortunately, as others have said, the food was very slow to come out, I guess because of all the new recipes.

 

I give Princess a lot of credit for trying to add new items, and prepare older items in a new way. Food is very personal, everyone has different opinions, so they will never please everyone; case in point, I liked the old eggplant parm better, my husband liked the new better. But on the whole, we felt it was a big effort on their part, and most of the items were very successful. They do want feedback, which tells me they care what we think. We had a note delivered to our stateroom with a website address asking us fill out a survey about the new menus. Bravo to Princess for trying to make some improvements to their menu!

[land lover]

Daisy Rose, glad to hear you enjoyed many of the new options......and yes, you were correct Anytime opening at 4:30 was a change...also did you notice Michelangelo closed at 9pm rather than 9:30.

 

Another change on our sailing was that the Trident grill, Pizza & ice cream closed at 10pm rather than 11pm and the pool bar in the area closed at 7pm.

 

Horizon Court was still open until 11pm...but this sailing DH & I found it to really be a dud....same old same old

 

Crooners bar was opened until 1am rather than midnight on some of our past sailings.

 

Wheel house was 4pm-midnight...in the past it was 5pm opening....

Edited April 9, 2018 by land lover

[land lover]

Also we had wine a few times at Vines and were not offered tapas and never saw anything available or people snacking when we walked by...

 

No Happy Hour....as mentioned in pervious posts.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

MDR open inform dinner at 430?????? That's taking the Early Bird Special to a whole new level!

 

Often I struggle to have lunch earlier than 3-3:30pm......

[land lover]

Also afternoon tea was from 3-4pm not the usual 3:30 to 4:30pm

[dfields1814]

I was on that cruise on the Ruby. This was not a slight change. I was so used to the old menu format that I found the new format a little confusing at first. The first night prime rib is gone. A lot of the old standards are gone. But some of the new dishes were pretty good. All in all I prefer the old menus. One of these days they will have just a basic menu where I don't have to read French or Italian.

[pablo222]

and yes, you were correct Anytime opening at 4:30 was a change...

 

Wow, what a dream come true for princess customers...

 

Eat at their regular time, with coffee and dessert included, and not have to drive home in the dark.

 

If the community bus could pick them up outside the dining room, that would be ideal.

 

But seriously, I think this is a great idea. Anyone who is seated at 4:30 will be gone by six-ish,

freeing a table for prime time.

[Coral]

I think I am hoping this stays on the Ruby and doesn't get to the other ships this summer.

[land lover]

Wow, what a dream come true for princess customers...

 

Eat at their regular time, with coffee and dessert included, and not have to drive home in the dark.

 

If the community bus could pick them up outside the dining room, that would be ideal.

 

But seriously, I think this is a great idea. Anyone who is seated at 4:30 will be gone by six-ish,

freeing a table for prime time.

 

There was always a line up at 4:30...so the early start did appeal to many......

 

Another out of the ordinary......was the production of Magic to Do on our sail away night.....there was a 5 day before our sailing so maybe that had something to do with scheduling.

[Geoffa30]

When we were on the Caribbean Princess the week before Easter, we did the galley tour after the head chef demo. They were taking pictures of food in the galley and some of the crew said it was of new menu items.

 

They had the filet / sweet potato skewers during our cruise and our main waiter said that some of the usual menu items had been changed somewhat. He didn’t think the changes were always for the better! Overall we liked some of the new items (no chicken and waffles though) and thought the food was some of the best we had had in the MDR on Princess. The head chef was called Guido and was originally from Germany. He was great in the demo and was informative rather than the clown we have seen at the show on some ships.

[pablo222]

The shrimp cocktail was unrecognizable - served in a glass and DH was not a fan.

 

Maybe princess hired the executive chefs from one of the fremont street casinos,

where they advertise $0.99 shrimp cocktail as a hook,

[XBGuy]

Thanks to Land Lover and the others for these reports. Other than the lack of Tapas/Sushi in Vines, I think these changes sound pretty good. I wonder if the issue at Vines was a problem with deliveries?

 

It is not unusual one evening per cruise for Mrs. XBGuy and I to have dinner in Vines--she goes for the Sushi and I go for the Tapas. If Land Lover's report does, in fact, foretell a change in the Vines policy, I do have a backup plan ready. We can always find something in the International Cafe. So, we'll just pick up a Panino or salad there and walk it in with us.

[voljeep]

off the Regal, and we often had to wait for Tapas in Vines...but they eventually came, if we still wanted them

 

and yes, we've made meals from the tapas, and a quick trip to IC and had plenty to eat for us:cool:

 

my wife discovered the wine flights...nice

[land lover]

Thanks to Land Lover and the others for these reports. Other than the lack of Tapas/Sushi in Vines, I think these changes sound pretty good. I wonder if the issue at Vines was a problem with deliveries?

 

It is not unusual one evening per cruise for Mrs. XBGuy and I to have dinner in Vines--she goes for the Sushi and I go for the Tapas. If Land Lover's report does, in fact, foretell a change in the Vines policy, I do have a backup plan ready. We can always find something in the International Cafe. So, we'll just pick up a Panino or salad there and walk it in with us.

 

 

Hey....Wine man....

 

 

My observation....

 

On Ruby's 31st sailing....In every Patter......Vines was listed alone

 

 

On past sailings I remember listings like this: Vines( sushi,tapas & wine).

 

Maybe with the intro of the new menus they decided to eliminate the snacks just for our sailing. Who knows? Should have inquired, but I didn't.

 

Also I noticed flights were not listed on the Vines menu anymore...but the last time be ordered them was over a year ago so maybe this was not a recent change.

 

 

I do believe though, that the adjustment on certain bar times was related to the elimination of Bogo.

[DaisyRose]

Tapas were available on this cruise. Once I was offered them (did not want any) and on other afternoons, I saw them being served and people eating them. We were usually there around 4:00 when they opened, don't know what the availability was later in the evening.

 

As for the early opening and lines, yes, I was surprised that there was a line at 4:30, I thought at that time I could just walk right in. But, the line was not as long as the lines I have seen on other sailings for the 5:30 openings. I thought the early opening was actually a great idea, thinking people could eat and be done by 5:30 or 6:00, freeing up tables for more Anytime diners. Unfortunately, service was extremely slow, I suspect because of all the new menu items. I'm hoping that once they get the preparation of these new items down to a routine, service will be faster and therefore lines to get in shorter. Time will tell. Another thing of note, I think they gave a lot of people reservations for the 4:30 opening time, because each day at 4:30, many people would get on the line that said "reservations." It seemed like the "without reservations" line did not move until all the people on the reservations line went in, so I'm guessing they may have been given a table for the entire cruise and knew where their table was and just walked to it themselves. I have given up trying to get reservations in Anytime, because every time I have tried, I have been told none are available.

[land lover]

Tapas were available on this cruise. Once I was offered them (did not want any) and on other afternoons, I saw them being served and people eating them. We were usually there around 4:00 when they opened, don't know what the availability was later in the evening.

 

As for the early opening and lines, yes, I was surprised that there was a line at 4:30, I thought at that time I could just walk right in. But, the line was not as long as the lines I have seen on other sailings for the 5:30 openings. I thought the early opening was actually a great idea, thinking people could eat and be done by 5:30 or 6:00, freeing up tables for more Anytime diners. Unfortunately, service was extremely slow, I suspect because of all the new menu items. I'm hoping that once they get the preparation of these new items down to a routine, service will be faster and therefore lines to get in shorter. Time will tell. Another thing of note, I think they gave a lot of people reservations for the 4:30 opening time, because each day at 4:30, many people would get on the line that said "reservations." It seemed like the "without reservations" line did not move until all the people on the reservations line went in, so I'm guessing they may have been given a table for the entire cruise and knew where their table was and just walked to it themselves. I have given up trying to get reservations in Anytime, because every time I have tried, I have been told none are available.

 

Glad to hear the tapas were available...like I said never saw them, should have asked but our experience was later than 4ish for sure.......

 

One evening, late in the cruise we went to the anytime dining room around 5pm and were sat in a section where it appeared our servers were well antiquated with many of the diners sitting at 2 tops...so I think your observation was accurate....we chatted with a few and many were doing B2Bs.

[XBGuy]

Hey....Wine man....

 

 

 

;p

 

 

 

[quote name='land lover;55792219

 

My observation....

 

On Ruby's 31st sailing....In every Patter......Vines was listed alone

 

 

On past sailings I remember listings like this: Vines( sushi' date='tapas & wine).[/b']

 

Maybe with the intro of the new menus they decided to eliminate the snacks just for our sailing. Who knows? Should have inquired, but I didn't.

 

Also I noticed flights were not listed on the Vines menu anymore...but the last time be ordered them was over a year ago so maybe this was not a recent change.

 

 

I do believe though, that the adjustment on certain bar times was related to the elimination of Bogo.

 

Now that you mention it, I don't remember seeing flights listed in Vines during our Ruby Princess cruises in November or February.

 

Also, in our November and February cruises the did not have any of the Stammtisch events in Vines. I always enjoy those.

 

No Big Deal. I still have great cruises. The next one is coming up the end of the month.

[Kingofcool1947]

Glad to hear the tapas were available...like I said never saw them, should have asked but our experience was later than 4ish for sure.......

 

One evening, late in the cruise we went to the anytime dining room around 5pm and were sat in a section where it appeared our servers were well antiquated with many of the diners sitting at 2 tops...so I think your observation was accurate....we chatted with a few and many were doing B2Bs.

 

Nice report.

But, what do you mean by well antiquated? How so?

[land lover]

Nice report.

But, what do you mean by well antiquated? How so?

 

 

:oLOL..well I never said, my grammar, spelling or choice of words was good......typing fast & seldom proof...but often edit and still miss my errors....... look at the Thread title........ didn't know we were on the RUDY or that trial has 2 ls......

 

I am sure you noticed that;p

 

 

The word should have been acquainted... many apologies:halo:.......or then again maybe it was a Freudian slip in reference to the severs or the guest who knows...lol

 

Enjoy.....

[Kingofcool1947]

:oLOL..well I never said, my grammar, spelling or choice of words was good......typing fast & seldom proof...but often edit and still miss my errors....... look at the Thread title........ didn't know we were on the RUDY or that trial has 2 ls......

 

I am sure you noticed that;p

 

 

The word should have been acquainted... many apologies:halo:.......or then again maybe it was a Freudian slip in reference to the severs or the guest who knows...lol

 

Enjoy.....

 

 

I got it now. Thanks.

Actually, I didn’t even notice the Thread title was Rudy or two i’s in Triall. ;)

Be well.

[land lover]

I got it now. Thanks.

Actually, I didn’t even notice the Thread title was Rudy or two i’s in Triall. ;)

Be well.

 

Interesting how the human mind reads words as a whole, and not letter-by-letter...

 

 

But I knew better than to mess with you after reading your sig.....

 

 

Former inmate San Quentin Prison, CA. Now enjoying my freedom and cruising after serving hard time. Back in the day, if you looked at me wrong, or disrespected me, I would hurt you or try to kill you. But then, I found Jesus. Praise the Lord!:D

Edited April 10, 2018 by land lover

[Host CJSKIDS]

:oLOL..well I never said, my grammar, spelling or choice of words was good......typing fast & seldom proof...but often edit and still miss my errors....... look at the Thread title........ didn't know we were on the RUDY or that trial has 2 ls......

 

I am sure you noticed that;p

 

 

The word should have been acquainted... many apologies:halo:.......or then again maybe it was a Freudian slip in reference to the severs or the guest who knows...lol

 

Enjoy.....

 

 

I didn't even notice that it wasn't the Ruby until you pointed it out!! :):):)

 

Want me to change the title to Ruby?!!

[land lover]

I didn't even notice that it wasn't the Ruby until you pointed it out!! :):):)

 

Want me to change the title to Ruby?!!

 

 

Could you, please.......and trial...too........and follow around all my other posts so u can correct them too;p:*

 

Thanks.....

 

I have another question is there anyway to center my avatar.....seems a nose job took place with the software changes awhile ago.....