RC Food Quality

[mra9955]

If dining is important to you, do the 5 night speciality package on Royal! It’s a bargain for sure!! We just sailed in April on HOTS and speciality dining was outstanding. Two nights in the MDR were plenty. Luke warm food, spotty service, banquet dining. Ugh. Didn’t enjoy. Wouldn’t do it again.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

 

Giovanni’s has been good. But we feel chops is severely lacking. Consistently bad service and meh food. Coastal Kitchen has been good.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[gfountain1]

Carnival typically has better quick service options for breakfast and lunch IMO. Blue Iguana has awesome breakfast burritos and guys burgers are some of the tastiest burgers Ive had. With that said, RCI still has good food and I regularly eat in the windjammer.

[Ellaleah]

I am just off the Ovation and couldn’t have been more disappointed in the complimentary dining options food quality. One night I order braised chicken in black bean sauce and ended up with a plate of bones. Getting a coffee refill was like pulling teeth. The Windjammer was a mob scene, unappealing, offered poor selection, insufficient seating, and the food was tasteless. On my first morning in the dining room I was told that eggs take an extra 20-30 minutes. The servers and all employees knock themselves out to help you, so maybe it’s poor management or insufficient number of employees. This was my second RCL cruse. It was supposedly geared to the Asian market, but that was not evident from the menu choices nor was it evident that formal night was special as they put nothing special on the menu. The specialty restaurants were head and shoulders above in service and quality, but doesn’t it make you mad that you need to pay for specialty restaurants to get descent food?

I was on 1 Carnival Cruise 2 and a half years ago and their dining room was so much better in service and especially quality.

[KeywestK]

We no longer consider the dining experience on Royal something even remotely special. But I would say the same for the other mass market cruise lines we've sailed in recent years--Celebrity, Carnival, and MSC. The specialty restsurants on all of those cruises were hit and miss. All that said, the only cruise line with at least a decent buffet dining option was on MSC. Their pizza was fabulous. I actively stay away from the Windjammer buffet on Royal.

 

Sent from my SM-T713 using Forums mobile app

[ObstructedView2]

Cafeteria food?? Give me a break. Its apparent many people here are in need of a vacation from cruising. If your food is luke warm, send it back! And the burgers, wow, does that burger really make or break your vacation. And the pizza complaints? LOL!! Try something new, maybe something you don't normally eat at home. Let your taste buds explore. Try something other than a burger or pizza. After all it's 'complementary' with your cruise fare. It's not 'Free' hahahahaha!:') You paid for that 'free' food. Maybe the complimentary food would taste better for many if eaten on a boat instead of a ship. Just ask Stewart your cabin steward to join you, he would appreciate some complimentary food that passengers get to enjoy/complain about.

 

 

;p

[carnival03]

Thanks for everyone's input, it's certainly helpful as in what to expect...

[atb]

Food is definitely a subjective review. We have been cruising for many years, and have found the food choices to be OK over the years.

When you compare cruise prices today, to cruise prices of yesteryear; prices are lower. The 2 big variables are staff and food costs.

Still puzzles me that people want to pay cafeteria food prices, then complain they are not getting 5-star Michelin meals.

Have never been served a cold (luke warm) meal. I am on vacation, and do not have to cook, clean, plan. I am a happy cruiser.

[sunlover12]

I've never been truly disappointed with the food on RCI. Never been on Carnival so can't compare. I'm not a picky eater but the quality and temperature of the food in the MDR has been fine with me. The one thing I think the MDR is lacking in is choice. Not many options there. For lunch, Park Cafe on HOTS is probably the best complimentary restaurant I've experienced. Really good sandwiches, salads and desserts. I stay away from Windjammer. For specialty restaurants, Chops and Jamies Italian are quite good.

[cruisegoal100]

If you want to discuss recent food quality and choices on RCL then you should be aware that the menus are being changed into what appears to be cheaper cuts. An example would be one night in the MDR on the Freedom OTS in February 3 of the entrees ended in the word "loin" and none ended in the word "steak". If you haven't cruised RCL in a year or so you would probably not be aware of these changes.

However, RCL is cruising at over 100% capacity which is defined as 2 to a stateroom. When a company is having that type of success they can readily make cost reduction changes until it starts affecting bottom line.

Personally we still cannot understand why RCL will not place simple items like tuna salad, egg salad and chicken salad in their Windjammer lunch offerings.

That having been said we will continue to cruise RCL because we enjoy the service, the shows, etc. that they offer.

[Iamcruzin]

We sail almost exclusively on Royal now. 100% because we have elementary school aged children and we value Royals kid program. Will spend 24 nights on Royal this year, all in suites. Have come to be pretty disappointed in food on Royal. What we like are simple meals, freshly prepared, with high quality ingredients. A lot of the food on Royal nowadays seems to be cheap(er) than in the past. My idea of cruise ship dining is what we first experienced in the specialty restaurant on Celebrity Summit some years ago. I think it was called the Normandie restaurant. But even back then on Celebrity we liked the French inspired dishes in the MDR, how things were prepared table side in some cases, and how there was an actual (and knowledgeable) sommelier, for example. I suppose Royal is targeting a demographic where those things don’t matter. When our kids are grown we will not need the kids club and likely will move on to another line.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I think you make a valid point. Royal's target market is family based. They would rather be climbing a rock wall than spending hours in the main dinning room savoring the entrées. They couldn't care less about food temperature or food quality. My son 22yrs old at the time sailed on Anthem last year. He was quite happy with the food in the MDR. With that said, when we have taken family trips on Princess the kid's always at in the buffet so he really has no MDR experience. We are booked for a family cruise next year. My wife and I would have booked Celebrity if we were traveling by our selves. However, I feel Royal is a better choice for a multi generational cruise. I look forward to my experience in the MDR and I am keeping an open mind. Last time were sailed Royal was 2001 and I wasn't too impressed with the MDR then. We sailed Princess after that trip and were very happy with the food and service.

[Pearlieq]

I don't have a terribly sophisticated palate and I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to food. Here's my subjective take on the various lines I've sailed, from best to worst:

 

#1 - Disney - Their quick service is plentiful, varied, and decently tasty. Their dining room food is hot and served efficiently. Their buffet is their weakest point, but it's serviceable. Best self-service ice cream available. Decent room service.

 

#2 - RCL - I'm ok with their quick service burgers, though they are nothing special. Most varied buffet offerings I've experienced and very tasty. I liked the hot dog stand. Pizza was convenient and best when right out of the oven. One step above frozen, but did the job when needed. Self-service ice cream wasn't worth the calories. MDR is sloooooow, but all the food I've had was tasty.

 

#3 - HAL - MDRs are slow and not terribly creative, but food was tasty and served hot. Buffet is decent-sized with varied options. No quick-service to speak of. The hot dog/burger stand was delicious, but also a minimum 20 minute wait for food. OK-quality pizza routinely had waits of 45 minutes or more. Best bread I've ever had on a ship, and the worst desserts.

 

#4 - Carnival - Guy's burgers and Blue Iguana were awesome. Pizza was made to order and was good, but usually at least a 20 minute wait. Buffet was revolting, like a bad OK Corral, and yet somehow had interminable lines. MDR had sticky tables with no linens never took less than 90 minutes for 2 courses.

 

#5 - NCL - So, so, so, so BAD! Buffet small and endlessly repetitive. Bread stale and hard. Dull MDR offerings that I didn't enjoy. I actually lost weight on this cruise!

[Thorben-Hendrik]

Seriously, what happened to the good old days of skipping lunch in port, because the food was so good and cheap on the ship? Now we have to get takeout in port, and try and sneak it onto the ship. :rolleyes:

Yeah or instant noodle soup for dinner..... to get something GOOD and HOT! ;p

[Thorben-Hendrik]

Love the RC MDR tutti salad bar for lunch.

 

Windjammer isn't as bad as many people say - I think it depends what you are looking for. I don't eat the hot, casserole-type stuff for lunch; prefer to make a sandwich out of the cold meats, cheese, salad stuff and sometimes french fries or soup. Never a problem.

 

Personally hate cold food, especially for MDR dinner. I do traditional dining and the first night let the waiter know ( politely and nicely) that I really don't want my dinner luke warm. Anytime if anything is not good; cold, tough, just plain don't like, have never had a problem. When people complain about their food I often wonder if they did anything to correct the problem at the time. Before it sounds like I am a foodie or overly picky - I am not! If you are polite and friendly I have found the staff to be very anxious to please.

 

OK so you do not care about food anyway... a little salad and some bread and cold cuts is marvelous for you.... and so the food is all good? :eek::confused:

Honey do you even know what a foodie is?:rolleyes:

[carnival03]

I don't have a terribly sophisticated palate and I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to food. Here's my subjective take on the various lines I've sailed, from best to worst:

 

#1 - Disney - Their quick service is plentiful, varied, and decently tasty. Their dining room food is hot and served efficiently. Their buffet is their weakest point, but it's serviceable. Best self-service ice cream available. Decent room service.

 

#2 - RCL - I'm ok with their quick service burgers, though they are nothing special. Most varied buffet offerings I've experienced and very tasty. I liked the hot dog stand. Pizza was convenient and best when right out of the oven. One step above frozen, but did the job when needed. Self-service ice cream wasn't worth the calories. MDR is sloooooow, but all the food I've had was tasty.

 

#3 - HAL - MDRs are slow and not terribly creative, but food was tasty and served hot. Buffet is decent-sized with varied options. No quick-service to speak of. The hot dog/burger stand was delicious, but also a minimum 20 minute wait for food. OK-quality pizza routinely had waits of 45 minutes or more. Best bread I've ever had on a ship, and the worst desserts.

 

#4 - Carnival - Guy's burgers and Blue Iguana were awesome. Pizza was made to order and was good, but usually at least a 20 minute wait. Buffet was revolting, like a bad OK Corral, and yet somehow had interminable lines. MDR had sticky tables with no linens never took less than 90 minutes for 2 courses.

 

#5 - NCL - So, so, so, so BAD! Buffet small and endlessly repetitive. Bread stale and hard. Dull MDR offerings that I didn't enjoy. I actually lost weight on this cruise!

 

Thanks for the details and input. Although we've cruised with Carnival, I think we're going to proceed in booking our Anthem cruise for next May.

[boscobeans]

Cafeteria food?? Give me a break. Its apparent many people here are in need of a vacation from cruising. If your food is luke warm, send it back! And the burgers, wow, does that burger really make or break your vacation. And the pizza complaints? LOL!! Try something new, maybe something you don't normally eat at home. Let your taste buds explore. Try something other than a burger or pizza. After all it's 'complementary' with your cruise fare. It's not 'Free' hahahahaha!:') You paid for that 'free' food. Maybe the complimentary food would taste better for many if eaten on a boat instead of a ship. Just ask Stewart your cabin steward to join you, he would appreciate some complimentary food that passengers get to enjoy/complain about.

 

 

;p

 

+1

 

We've cruised the Caribbean for the past 19 years and have done more than two dozen of them on Celebrity, Royal and HAL.

Only ONE on NCL and that will be our last on them...





In the first few years Celebrity was the top as far as food went, then HAL and then Royal. Now they all seem to be about the same.





Better in our opinion than any of the chain restaurants like Olive Garden or Applebee's.





Not FIVE STAR but we understand that and DO NOT expect it.





Never went hungry and as past owner of 2 restaurants I can say THE THREE all do a great job preparing and presenting the enormous variety they do.





bosco

[champagne123]

Cafeteria food?? Give me a break. Its apparent many people here are in need of a vacation from cruising. If your food is luke warm, send it back! And the burgers, wow, does that burger really make or break your vacation. And the pizza complaints? LOL!! Try something new, maybe something you don't normally eat at home. Let your taste buds explore. Try something other than a burger or pizza. After all it's 'complementary' with your cruise fare. It's not 'Free' hahahahaha!:') You paid for that 'free' food. Maybe the complimentary food would taste better for many if eaten on a boat instead of a ship. Just ask Stewart your cabin steward to join you, he would appreciate some complimentary food that passengers get to enjoy/complain about.

 

 

;p

Love, love, love your post. I consider myself a pretty good cook...yet I have had NO problem on ANY cruise line with the food. In 20 years of cruising, I can only recal ONE thing I could not eat. It was too salty for me.

 

Paid $599 for a 12 day cruise. Shall I expect four or five star dining???? Hell no. We can drop that for ONE MEAL at at 5 star in the city. My $599 includes 36 meals (or more if I so choose), cabin, entertainment, activities, a cabin steward leaving me fresh towels and making my bed, meeting great new people....geeezzzz, I could go on and on. I am sooooo tired of people complaining. If you don't like it....STOP CRUISING. Stay home and cook.

Edited May 26, 2018 by champagne123

[MACE]

Food is indeed very Subjective.

 

 

IMO, on our Adventure of the Seas 4/28-5/5/18 cruise, we enjoyed some of the best Tasty, Hot, and promptly served meals in the Sapphire MDR, that we've ever enjoyed on our 10 RCI cruises.

 

 

Thoughts that perhaps the size of the party at a particular table, the location of said table in regards to kitchen access, and your waitstaff, has something to do with 'warm' food being served?

 

We also thought the food in the WJ (though maybe not the Hamburgers) were also tasty, never 'warm', with varied selections each day.

 

 

Room Service food was also delivered (30-35 minutes) hot and tasty, plus with cold crisp, fresh salads, and even though the menu had the same offerings, each day, we found we could pick something different in variety.

 

 

Cafe Promenade did occasionally shake up their sandwich, pizza, and desert options every day, loved their Greek Salad Pitas.

Edited May 26, 2018 by MACE

[tortoisegirl]

Last cruise we sat in the back of the main dining room every night and didn't have a less than warm meal. I think it was a combination of being closer to the kitchen and having an on point server (meals were quick in general, but not rushed).

 

In the buffet by design it is tough to have a warm meal. To do so, you have to get a table first, which has to be fairly close to the food, get your drinks and cold items and set them on the table, go back and only get only 1 or 2 warm items, then sit down to eat right away. Usually it is too busy for that to work. So, we ate nearly every meal in the dining room. We liked it that way though, and thankfully there was time (we are on vacation after all).

 

I thought food quality was as expected. Somewhere in between cafeteria and 5 star. We enjoyed probably 90% of what we had, and the other 10% was meh, probably due to me being a picky eater. With 3+ courses for dinner and usually having multiple items per meal for breakfasts and lunches, there is a lot of variety so that isn't an issue. If I wanted fabulous meals we would choose a different (much more expensive) cruiseline.

 

So far RCI meets our expectations. We haven't tried Carnival, but have been on NCL twice and Princess once. Princess food was slightly better to on par with Royal. NCL food was much worse for us (that was closer to cafeteria, rather blah), so much so that my husband said he never wanted to cruise them again.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

I am sooooo tired of people complaining. If you don't like it....STOP CRUISING. Stay home and cook.

 

Are you not complaining? If you don't like it, stay off cruise critic, or don't click on food themed threads. I don't know what you thought this site was all about, but people are going to critique changes, compare ships and other lines, food included.

 

So you are getting still getting a good deal at $599, of course that's true! Some of us would rather pay $750, and have these cruise lines keep up with inflation and dining quality, which is also a good deal. Don't blame us for liking a product that RCL used to offer, without getting upset :mad: at them for even offering it.

[Lady_831]

My group of 11 just got off the Anthem today. Everyone loved the cruise, but the common complaint was the food. I kept telling everyone that the food on Carnival is better, but people tend to scrunch up their face when you say the word Carnival, even if they’ve never sailed on it before. I’ve sort of gotten used to the mediocre food on Royal so it didn’t bother me that much, but my family members weren’t happy. We ate in the Windjammer, MDR, JR, and Chops Grille.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Pepsi36]

Never had a problem with the food quality or the temperature it is served in the MDR. We enjoy the meals and the service. We sailed on Celebrity and RC last year and we found the food on RC equal in quality to Celebrity. We had heard for years that Celebrity's food was better. Haven't sailed with Carnival in MANY years.

Yes I agree.We did our first Celebrity cruise this year and didn't find the food to be superior to RCCL at all. Some RC ships do serve better food than others I've found.

[_linda_]

Jewel in the Med seemed lower standard Windjammers food than Radiance around New Zealand. Made me wonder if windjammers is run like a separate business? and/or if Windjammers reflects the quality of food in the area?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[champagne123]

Are you not complaining? If you don't like it, stay off cruise critic, or don't click on food themed threads. I don't know what you thought this site was all about, but people are going to critique changes, compare ships and other lines, food included.

 

So you are getting still getting a good deal at $599, of course that's true! Some of us would rather pay $750, and have these cruise lines keep up with inflation and dining quality, which is also a good deal. Don't blame us for liking a product that RCL used to offer, without getting upset :mad: at them for even offering it.

Last time I checked, it was a free country and may give my opinion on a public website. Have been cruising RC for many years and have no complaints as many others do and profess their opinion. Mine may differ, but still is mine. You have absolutely no right what to tell me what to do or not to do. Stay off CC because I may disagree??? Lol.....YOU stay off CC if YOU disagree. You are being a hypocrite by stating this,

[sfaaa]

Are you not complaining? If you don't like it, stay off cruise critic, or don't click on food themed threads. I don't know what you thought this site was all about, but people are going to critique changes, compare ships and other lines, food included.

 

So you are getting still getting a good deal at $599, of course that's true! Some of us would rather pay $750, and have these cruise lines keep up with inflation and dining quality, which is also a good deal. Don't blame us for liking a product that RCL used to offer, without getting upset :mad: at them for even offering it.

 

You always have that option upgrading to specialty restaurants. Problem is some cheapskate posters expect 4-5 star quality products for nothing and if they don't get what they want, they come here to trash the cruise line like calling the food cafeteria quality. Hardly an objective and fair review.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

Last time I checked, it was a free country and may give my opinion on a public website. Have been cruising RC for many years and have no complaints as many others do and profess their opinion. Mine may differ, but still is mine. You have absolutely no right what to tell me what to do or not to do. Stay off CC because I may disagree??? Lol.....YOU stay off CC if YOU disagree. You are being a hypocrite by stating this,

 

I am sooooo tired of people complaining. If you don't like it....STOP CRUISING. Stay home and cook.

 

Are you talking to me or yourself? Typically I don't tell people what to do, but it seems that what's good for the goose isn't what's good for the gander, speaking of hypocrites. ;p