So many negative comments about the food

[Painter4me]

There seems to be so many negative complaints about food, cleanliness and service coming for so many people on a variety of ships now. We’re sailing in a couple weeks and all the negative comments are concerning. We were on 2 cruises in Jan/Feb and the RCCL food, service and cleanliness were excellent. I’m sure the food has to do with the escalating costs of food. You can’t continue to buy quality cuts of meats and with inferior cuts, it’s hard to get the same results. The cleanliness will be an issue. If this is what cruising is turning into, unfortunately, it’s time for another hiatus for us. I’m hoping it’s just people who can’t be made happy that are doing the complaining. 

[Luckynana]

1 minute ago, Painter4me said:

 I’m hoping it’s just people who can’t be made happy that are doing the complaining. 

Bingo!!

 

We were on Allure this past April.  Out of all of the meals, etc I only had one disappointment.  Everything was delicious and well plated.  Shows were awesome.  

[cruiseguy1016]

If you look for problems, you'll find them. If you look for things to complain about, you'll find them. Don't listen to all the complainers, they're the ones looking for things that they don't like then they come here and tell everyone how terrible their cruise was. If you go on your cruise expecting to have a good time, you'll make it happen.

[loman]

The food is good , you should try it and then report back after your cruise.

The ships are clean, as they dont want the passengers to get ill while they are on vacation with them. 

The cruise companies do really want you to have a great time so you will book another cruise with them.

A very small percentage of passengers complain , most are completely satisfied and are repeat customers . I am looking forward to my upcoming cruise .

[gerif]

Some people just live to complain. Shortly after my late mil moved into a lovely assisted living facility I asked how everything was going. Well, everyone complains about the food. Is it bad? No but the portions are small. Won’t they give you more if you want? Oh, yes, they’ll give you all you want - but everyone complains. Had to shake my head and walk away. 

[cruisegus]

On Liberty right now, 3rd day, food has been great, same quality as in past, service is still excellent.

 

Now I would have preferred the crew keep serving in the Windjammer, but I understand the economics of going back to self serve.

[D4]

We were on Oasis for 14 days ending April 3.  We had early dining both weeks.  The first week we had a table on deck 3.  The food and service were great.

 

We had a table on deck 4 the second week.  The food service was very slow every night, even when I told our waiter when he greeted us that we wanted to get out quickly to go to an event.  People at our table often didn’t receive appetizers they ordered. They didn’t say anything because they didn’t want to make our service any slower.

 

On lobster night, our waiter the second week said they weren’t allowed to remove the meat from the shell because of Covid.  Interesting because our waiter the first week (and the other waiters within our view that week) removed the meat for their tables.

 

I’ve seen firsthand how the service can vary widely.

[flamingos]

Food is great, as usual.  I'm not cooking it, I'm not cleaning up, and it's served with a smile.  Nothing to complain about at all.  

 

[baelor]

8 minutes ago, flamingos said:

I'm not cooking it, I'm not cleaning up, and it's served with a smile. 

To be fair, none of this has anything to do with the actual quality of the food.  Not sure whether your first sentence was independent or not.

[flamingos]

1 minute ago, baelor said:

To be fair, none of this has anything to do with the actual quality of the food.  Not sure whether your first sentence was independent or not.

I've never returned anything, and I have rarely been dissatisfied with my meal.  Plus the rest.  🙂

[HicksRA]

On Liberty now. First night was Giovanni’s.  Everything (food and service) was as good as usual.

Last night was Chops and it was a cluster%#@3. My medium rare ribeye was well done, the wrong sides were delivered, service was slow. The couple next to us sent their steaks back twice because they were cooked wrong and the couple next to them were there way before we arrived and were ignored until we were served our dessert. They complained loudly (rightfully so) and left.

The entire restaurant was in disarray and has been the same every morning at breakfast.
I am not a complainer and went ahead and ate my boot leather steak, but I’ve never seen a restaurant in such disarray on a Royal ship. 

Edited May 3, 2022 by HicksRA

[MACE]

Just off the Symphony 4/23/22 Cruise

 

Overall the Food was good with 3 exceptions in the MDR:
1) The Escargot wasn't as good as it always was on previous cruises

2) Only half my Chicken Cordon Bleu had Ham, Swiss, and Lemon-Dijon Sauce.

3) Tried MDR for Breakfast one morning, the portions shrunk and the Corned Beef Hash was better in the WJ

[Kellie in Texas]

2 hours ago, flamingos said:

Food is great, as usual.  I'm not cooking it, I'm not cleaning up, and it's served with a smile.  Nothing to complain about at all.  

 

@flamingosyour post is almost word-for-word what I was about to say. 😄  Also noticed you are a beagle rancher.  Both myself and DH had beagles growing up and one after we were married.  My beagle was 16 when he died, DH's was about 12, and ours was 14. They are sweeties. 

[flamingos]

9 minutes ago, Kellie in Texas said:

@flamingosyour post is almost word-for-word what I was about to say. 😄  Also noticed you are a beagle rancher.  Both myself and DH had beagles growing up and one after we were married.  My beagle was 16 when he died, DH's was about 12, and ours was 14. They are sweeties. 

Not a beagle rancher - that must be someone else. They are cute dogs, though.

[mickeygirl78]

I was on odyssey at the beginning of April and I thought the food was good. There were a few misses, but overall I enjoyed the food and service. Everything was very clean. 

[baelor]

3 hours ago, MACE said:

1) The Escargot wasn't as good as it always was on previous cruises

 

If you don't mind, how so/why not?

[sjb317]

I don’t think that I am a “complainer” but I do think that I am realistic.  We have been on Allure twice since September, 2021 and we are are sailing again this weekend, so I think it will be interesting to compare this sailing with the other two.  
 

Food was really, really good on our September cruise.  Food on the April cruise was prepared differently and just not as good as September.  It was certainly not inedible but just not a wow, I really like this.    I get it, when I am cooking I can make the same dish several times and have it just not turn out quite the same at times.  
 

We shall see what next week bring.😂

 

Sherri🙂

[AlohaLivin]

We are just off the Symphony, the coastal kitchen was fabulous every day. Sure, they were a couple of things I didn’t particularly like. But then I made a meal last night at home that I didn’t particularly like either 😬

 

Edited May 4, 2022 by AlohaLivin

[nancy2vues]

My husband and I were on the Adventure in August, the Freedom in October, the Brilliance in January, and the Adventure again in March.  No complaints from us!   The service was great and we have had the best table mates ever!  

[Ashland]

We just got off Harmony on Sunday and the food was so good in the WJ we ate there every night.

[RockHoundTX]

The problem with RCCL is inconsistency. The MDR food on Adventure in December was fantastic. However, the MDR food on Liberty in March was below average (been on this ship 10+ times so have a pretty good reference for comparison). My personal belief is that this is a combination of supply constraints and staffing. I think it is safe to say that most ships (particularly the smaller ones or the "feeder" ships like Liberty) are way understaffed. As an example, our waiter was responsible for over 30 people (3 tables of 4 plus two large tables of 10). There is just no way to keep up. Also, a large percentage of the staff that were on Liberty were fairly new (we talked to a bunch of staff that said that this was their first or second week on the ship). In both the MDR and WJ, they were definitely "making due" with what-ever ingredients they had. Was the food terrible? No, but it was just not as good as it has been in the past. As long as you don't have high expectations and willing to "go with the flow", you are likely to be pleasantly surprised.   

[Norwich Cruiser]

We’ve always enjoyed our food in any venue that we may have eaten at on any class of Royal ship.

 

Sure some meals may have been more enjoyable than other meals.

 

But never once had to complain.

[Merion_Mom]

13 hours ago, HicksRA said:

On Liberty now. First night was Giovanni’s.  Everything (food and service) was as good as usual.

Last night was Chops and it was a cluster%#@3. My medium rare ribeye was well done, the wrong sides were delivered, service was slow. The couple next to us sent their steaks back twice because they were cooked wrong and the couple next to them were there way before we arrived and were ignored until we were served our dessert. They complained loudly (rightfully so) and left.

The entire restaurant was in disarray and has been the same every morning at breakfast.
I am not a complainer and went ahead and ate my boot leather steak, but I’ve never seen a restaurant in such disarray on a Royal ship. 

 

I had dinner in Chops last night, too.  Everything was delicious.  Meat was served as ordered.  Manager checked on our table multiple times.  Offered to get me more lamb chops, since I had enjoyed them so much.  Brought extra sides without prompting.  A+++

[Cruise a holic]

I think food still very good.  Not gourmet quality but surely very good.  Always something to eat.  Now many people do not eat meat and prefer other options.  Ships will accommodate all types of diets.

[OCSC Mike]

7 hours ago, Ashland said:

We just got off Harmony on Sunday and the food was so good in the WJ we ate there every night.

 

Love seeing WJ Dinner fans. Glad you enjoyed it! I feel we're in the minority. Looking forward to the cook to order stations on my 5/29 cruise.