underwhelmed by Princess (Emerald)

[mrstmaxx]

I certainly agree about the food.  We have sailed at least 20 times on Princess and this was the first time we thought the food was horrible.  Lamb and/or veal EVERYDAY.   Just steamed veggies.  No variety at all.  the only good thing about the food was the desserts.  I commented when I did my review at the end of the cruise.  I hope this was just because the Executive Chef was lazy.  We have a number of Princess cruises coming up - unfortunately one on Emerald in 2020 so hoping for another EC by that time.   We also did not like the cruise director at all - Alex.  He was so full of himself and often made fun of passengers.  The only saving grace was the crew was the best we had every had.

[MTJSR]

2 hours ago, mrstmaxx said:

I certainly agree about the food.  We have sailed at least 20 times on Princess and this was the first time we thought the food was horrible.  Lamb and/or veal EVERYDAY.   Just steamed veggies.  No variety at all.  the only good thing about the food was the desserts.  

 

I just got off the Emerald 2 days ago (my 15th Princess cruise) and it was by far the worst overall collection of food and menu items, I have ever seen on Princess. (and I was already use to the subjective "just average" food you'd expect on princess)

Once we realized the food was way off, we just laid low and listened to others talk about the food as we shared tables in the MDR. The unanimous dissatisfaction for the taste and quality was shocking. Cold plates and luke warm food, gooey warm butter on tables, no ice in water glasses at second seating, warm deserts, watery salads, flavorless sauces and dry overcooked veal scallopini.  The food was even worse in the buffet, so we never ate there a second time in 15 days. 

Edited January 5, 2019 by MTJSR

[Brisbane41]

2 hours ago, mrstmaxx said:

I certainly agree about the food.  We have sailed at least 20 times on Princess and this was the first time we thought the food was horrible.  Lamb and/or veal EVERYDAY.   Just steamed veggies.  No variety at all.  the only good thing about the food was the desserts.  I commented when I did my review at the end of the cruise.  I hope this was just because the Executive Chef was lazy.  We have a number of Princess cruises coming up - unfortunately one on Emerald in 2020 so hoping for another EC by that time.   We also did not like the cruise director at all - Alex.  He was so full of himself and often made fun of passengers.  The only saving grace was the crew was the best we had every had.

I can list all the food outlets that Princess does much better at.

1 Local RSL clubs

2 Local bowling clubs

3 McDonalds

4 Pizza Hut

5 KFC

6 Burger King

7 Dominos

8 Subway

 

Some of these are the largest food chains in the world so in my opinion Princess is doing quite well to be much better and far superior to all of these in terms of food.

[GUT2407]

15 minutes ago, Brisbane41 said:

I can list all the food outlets that Princess does much better at.

1 Local RSL clubs

2 Local bowling clubs

3 McDonalds

4 Pizza Hut

5 KFC

6 Burger King

7 Dominos

8 Subway

 

Some of these are the largest food chains in the world so in my opinion Princess is doing quite well to be much better and far superior to all of these in terms of food.

Not sure about that but RSLs and Bowles do some pretty good tucker.

 

pizza hut does better pizza than Princess in my opinion amd Subway do a better sub than I’ve managed to get on any ship.

 

byt of course food is totally a personal taste.

[stoneharborlady]

16 minutes ago, Brisbane41 said:

I can list all the food outlets that Princess does much better at.

1 Local RSL clubs

2 Local bowling clubs

3 McDonalds

4 Pizza Hut

5 KFC

6 Burger King

7 Dominos

8 Subway

 

Some of these are the largest food chains in the world so in my opinion Princess is doing quite well to be much better and far superior to all of these in terms of food.

Sorry to disagree, but your comparisons dont say much for Princess.  I dont expect fine dining aboard, but I do expect better than McDonalds or any of your other choices.

[MTJSR]

34 minutes ago, Brisbane41 said:

I can list all the food outlets that Princess does much better at.

 

If Princess opened a land based restaurant with the current menus and food quality on Emerald, nobody would come back a second time. 

[stoneharborlady]

Just now, MTJSR said:

 

If Princess opened a land based restaurant with the current menus and food quality on Emerald, nobody would come back a second time. 

Oh, dont get me wrong, I am not saying its great, but in my limited experience, it was way above McDonalds.

[Coral]

This is probably going to sound odd.

 

I would probably be ok with Princess's food if I was booking a super cheap cruise to Mexico or the Caribbean. If I am only paying $700 pp on the cruise - I would probably think the food is fine as I am not paying that much for the vacation.

 

Though my cruise preference is no longer Mexico/Caribbean and my cruises now cost significantly more. My cruise to Norway last year was my most expensive vacation that I have had and I have 2 rather expensive trips with Princess this year (one being South America). For what I am paying - I would expect "better food". Though - Princess serves the same food, regardless if the trip is $400 or $7000 pp.

Edited January 6, 2019 by Coral

[Coral]

49 minutes ago, Brisbane41 said:

I can list all the food outlets that Princess does much better at.

1 Local RSL clubs

2 Local bowling clubs

 

I don't know - our local bowling alley is supposed to have the best burgers in town. I would put them against the Trident Grill. 🙂

Edited January 6, 2019 by Coral

[stoneharborlady]

1 minute ago, Coral said:

I don't know - our local bowling alley is supposed to have the best burgers in town 🙂

LOL, our bowling alley serves pretty good burgers too.

 

[XBGuy]

My wife was raving about the dining room hamburgers on the Ruby Princess, last month.

[suzyed]

6 hours ago, XBGuy said:

 

 

Your comment about SHARE is not entirely accurate.  Sabatini's has been replaced with SHARE on three Princess ships--Emerald Princess, Ruby Princess and Sun Princess.  I am pretty sure it will not be added on additional ships.

 

I am a bit disappointed that you did not respond to my query regarding SHARE.  My conclusion has to be that you did not visit it.  If that is the case, then I think you missed out.  I have stated multiple times here on Cruise Critic that SHARE is, consistently, the finest dining experience on Princess--my comment regarding the headwaiter on my most recent cruise, notwithstanding.

 

I agree with most of your comments regarding the Crown Grill.  My wife and I dine there--and SHARE and Sabatini's--regularly, because we prefer that dining experience.  I might quibble a bit about the superior quality of the beef over that served in the dining room.  I find the quality of beef at Crown Grill to be inconsistent.  I have had some pretty chewy cuts in Crown Grill.  I have, of course, also had some excellent cuts.  I really think that if you are not "married" to beef, the finest entree they serve is the sea bass.

 

 

 

Personally, I'm OK with the charges for alternative dishes in the dining room.  I see it at the same as the charge for alcoholic beverages.  The diner can decide.  If Princess can make a couple bucks, that's a couple bucks they don't have to add to future passage tickets.  I know I'm in the minority on that opinion.

 

Our two recent times dining in Crown Grill, while maybe not as great as other times, was still very good and waaaay better than what we got in the dining room.  We had ribeye and it was very good!

[Brisbane41]

7 hours ago, stoneharborlady said:

Sorry to disagree, but your comparisons dont say much for Princess.  I dont expect fine dining aboard, but I do expect better than McDonalds or any of your other choices.

I said Princess does much better than all of them. I have never expected Princess to be fine dining. It has always been good enough for me to eat and keep doing cruises with them.

 

McDonalds is kind of good fast food when you want a quick feed on the run. It is the kind of food I would only eat like once every 6 to 12 months. Princess is something I would keep returning to.

[happy cruzer]

13 hours ago, Coral said:

This is probably going to sound odd.

 

I would probably be ok with Princess's food if I was booking a super cheap cruise to Mexico or the Caribbean. If I am only paying $700 pp on the cruise - I would probably think the food is fine as I am not paying that much for the vacation.

 

Though my cruise preference is no longer Mexico/Caribbean and my cruises now cost significantly more. My cruise to Norway last year was my most expensive vacation that I have had and I have 2 rather expensive trips with Princess this year (one being South America). For what I am paying - I would expect "better food". Though - Princess serves the same food, regardless if the trip is $400 or $7000 pp.

Yes, this causes problems.  Cruisers do not realize that the extra cost goes to compensate for an exotic itenary, larger cabin, seasonally high time of travel, etc.  The included food is typically the same for all no matter what the fare is with the exception of clearly noted special benefits such as those offered for suites.  Also the menus and the food sourcing is typically the same for all ships; with a very few changes such as new trials and local options such as in Asia.

 

The best value is often the low season, inside cabin booking :0.

[Coral]

25 minutes ago, happy cruzer said:

Yes, this causes problems.  Cruisers do not realize that the extra cost goes to compensate for an exotic itenary, larger cabin, seasonally high time of travel, etc.  The included food is typically the same for all no matter what the fare is with the exception of clearly noted special benefits such as those offered for suites.  Also the menus and the food sourcing is typically the same for all ships; with a very few changes such as new trials and local options such as in Asia.

 

The best value is often the low season, inside cabin booking :0.

When I was doing Caribbean/Mexico/Alaska - I always booked at least a mini suite. Now that I am more free time wise (no longer taking care of sick parent) - I am hitting the better itineraries (and booking lower cabins). One of my trips next year is only done 2x year and the other one is only done 3x - so both at high season. 

 

I did pull off a Crystal River cruise last during low season and had a pretty good deal. Oh - yea, the food was also amazing.

Edited January 6, 2019 by Coral

[MTJSR]

17 hours ago, Coral said:

This is probably going to sound odd.

 

I would probably be ok with Princess's food if I was booking a super cheap cruise to Mexico or the Caribbean. If I am only paying $700 pp on the cruise - I would probably think the food is fine as I am not paying that much for the vacation.

 

Totally agree, we just paid 8,000.00 for BAJA 609 and had the worst expensive food of any previous cruise. 

[RDC1]

During the past year we have been on HAL, Royal Caribbean, and Princess. While there have been differences in the menu's, the over all quality is pretty similar on each of the three.

[Coral]

10 minutes ago, RDC1 said:

During the past year we have been on HAL, Royal Caribbean, and Princess. While there have been differences in the menu's, the over all quality is pretty similar on each of the three.

Thanks for the comparisons - can you do me a favor and sail a Celebrity cruise quickly so you can also add that to your comparisons 🙂

[Coral]

1 hour ago, MTJSR said:

 

Totally agree, we just paid 8,000.00 for BAJA 609 and had the worst expensive food of any previous cruise. 

I thought I would be blasted for my comments. I don't consider myself a cruise or food snob by any means. I have sailed in everything from an inside cabin to a suite and go back and fourth depending on price and destination. 

[GUT2407]

26 minutes ago, Coral said:

Thanks for the comparisons - can you do me a favor and sail a Celebrity cruise quickly so you can also add that to your comparisons 🙂

Celebrity and Princess food is, in my opinion, pretty similar.

[MTJSR]

33 minutes ago, RDC1 said:

During the past year we have been on HAL, Royal Caribbean, and Princess. While there have been differences in the menu's, the over all quality is pretty similar on each of the three.

 

This would be true, however this thread is specifically about the Emerald. This ship, at least on my cruise that just ended and the O.P's apparently had unusual (normally mediocre) to now poor food review. I have been on lots of Princesse's ships and have learned to not be too impressed on the food to now blown away on just how much lower it can get. When the food is now served cold and overcooked and the waiter is afraid to go back into the kitchen and get yelled at, there is a major problem. (this last part was my recent experience on 2nd seating Bottechelli)

[GUT2407]

24 minutes ago, RDC1 said:

Have not sailed on Celebrity for the last two years (had one booked in Australia but had to cancel when my wife broke her wrist).

While we have over 100 days booked for 2019, none of them are on Celebrity, maybe in 2020.

 

When someone asks me about cruise line MDR food, I describe it as Hilton or Hyatt banquet food with a larger menu selection (banquet choices being usually fish, chicken, or veg.)

I think banquette food is a pretty fair description of every line I’ve sailed on.

 

Though I normally say Wedding reception food (with maybe a few more options).

[apeller]

On 1/5/2019 at 3:50 PM, MTJSR said:

 

I just got off the Emerald 2 days ago (my 15th Princess cruise) and it was by far the worst overall collection of food and menu items, I have ever seen on Princess. (and I was already use to the subjective "just average" food you'd expect on princess)

Once we realized the food was way off, we just laid low and listened to others talk about the food as we shared tables in the MDR. The unanimous dissatisfaction for the taste and quality was shocking. Cold plates and luke warm food, gooey warm butter on tables, no ice in water glasses at second seating, warm deserts, watery salads, flavorless sauces and dry overcooked veal scallopini.  The food was even worse in the buffet, so we never ate there a second time in 15 days. 

We were on this cruise too, and all (7) of us agree that overall, the food was not very good.  Everything was cold (except for the cold soups and cheesecake), They ran out of so many items (spinach, bananas, cream cheese, etc.).  There were some exceptions,  but for the most part we were not happy with the MDR.  We ate at the Crown Grill (good), Share (1st time there and it was good) and The Salty Dog(so-so).  The pizza was ok, the grill was good, and the buffet was also full of cold food.  We always like the International Cafe. There was a poor variety of vegetables at the salad bar.  Let me make a good salad for lunch, and I would be happy, but couldn't even do that. There was a lot of conversation onboard among passengers about the food.  In addition, they have cut back on the number of items and variety on the menu. Our headwaiter said he predicts that people will have to pay extra to eat in the MDR someday in the future and only the buffet will be included in the cruise fare.  We wondered if they are trying to get people to not eat in the MDR so they have an excuse to say that people don't want to eat there.  OK, I'm going to stop talking about this now. 

 

Returning to some of the comments from the OP about activities onboard, I agree with that too.  Effy plays a prominent part in activities all day long.  The lectures were not of interest, and we don't do Bingo or art auctions.  We did play a lot of trivia.  Highlights of some of the days were the art classes where we made origami, a button lifesaver ornament, a card, bookmark, and luggage tag. Now don't get me wrong, we had fun  on the cruise, but it wasn't about the food, activities, and don't get me started about the entertainment.  

 

The staff and crew was very nice and the captain was very present.  His family was onboard for the cruise, but he made time to come to our Meet and Greet.  Someone had brought prizes and he even pulled the names in the raffle.. 

 

I really hope the cost cutting we noticed is not the new norm because I have a couple of long Princess cruises planned for this year and I want them to be fabulous.

Edited January 7, 2019 by apeller
addition

[Credit 00]

We did the LA to Chile portion of a trip on the emerald princess. The layout of the ship is a mess though the food was pretty good. The only food I didn't like was the crawfish, I think you'd need to be desperate to bother pulling the tiny portion of meat that these things provide let alone serving it in a restaurant. The rest of the food was fine and the service was right up there like any other princess cruise. 

[floridalover5623]

2 hours ago, Credit 00 said:

We did the LA to Chile portion of a trip on the emerald princess. The layout of the ship is a mess though the food was pretty good. The only food I didn't like was the crawfish, I think you'd need to be desperate to bother pulling the tiny portion of meat that these things provide let alone serving it in a restaurant. The rest of the food was fine and the service was right up there like any other princess cruise. 

I always considered the crawfish as a garnishment.