So many negative comments about the food

[luckyinpa]

one genuine disappointment i had was 6 buck nachos in playmakers. the 2 extra i paid for barely warm chili and not much of it was kinda sad. also i do hate liquid cheese but my fault for not asking about the cheese. i was worried about too many jalapenos on the dish.. was a single one! no worries there

 

onion rings were towered high for 6 bucks. red robins are much better but we are on a ship after all. i passed by a johnny rockets and those looked better but i didnt get them

 

i loved the free chips at park cafe. smiled at the nice girl and we each got 2 name branded bags. 2 different days. talk about jackpot! 

 

filet in CK was top 3 ive had on any ship. fav is on princess with the balcony dinner. 

 

it almost seemed like real mashed potatoes in the buffet. they had lumps! score for me

 

 

[CatLadyFemme]

We were on the Allure and had both the UDP and dined several times in the MDR, and twice in WJ. We found that the WJ was fairly fine hit not as good as some I have had. MDR was solid; a few outstanding items, mostly good, and only one item we sent back (the grilled avocado that was totally hard and unripe). Other than Chops (my partner said the mushroom soup was amazing but everything else was a grave disappointment), we had a great time in all of the speciality restaurants, and found that the food was quite tasty.

[ONECRUISER]

3 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

one genuine disappointment i had was 6 buck nachos in playmakers. the 2 extra i paid for barely warm chili and not much of it was kinda sad. also i do hate liquid cheese but my fault for not asking about the cheese. i was worried about too many jalapenos on the dish.. was a single one! no worries there

 

onion rings were towered high for 6 bucks. red robins are much better but we are on a ship after all. i passed by a johnny rockets and those looked better but i didnt get them

 

i loved the free chips at park cafe. smiled at the nice girl and we each got 2 name branded bags. 2 different days. talk about jackpot! 

 

filet in CK was top 3 ive had on any ship. fav is on princess with the balcony dinner. 

 

it almost seemed like real mashed potatoes in the buffet. they had lumps! score for me

 

 

Agree, completed multiple Sailing last 2 months and they been serving Real Mashed Potatoes in WJ and MD with the small pieces of Spuds in them. Don't remember consistency pre-CV

[Intent2smile]

We just got off Liberty on Sunday.  My hubby worked in restaurants for years so he is normally picky.  He had no issues at all.  My steak in Chops was over cooked but it was the first night.  They cooked me a new one in no time though and it was great.

On the last night my stuffed chicken jalapeño was cold in Sabor on the last night but I had a hot one in no time.  
 

Neither experience made me think anything less of the food or the service.  We were on vacation and like we heard in Jamaica there are not problems only situations that can be fixed

[smeck]

I believe much of the inconsistency people complain about could be attributed to crew changes.  One week you had great food and another week not so much, the previous exec. Chef might of gone on vacation.  

[BillHoo]

On 5/7/2022 at 1:56 PM, MACE said:

From the Symphony - 2nd Day at Sea April 28th, 2022 from the MDR: Surf and Turf...all was Good!

You could order the lobster tails alone without sides?

[loman]

On 5/7/2022 at 1:56 PM, MACE said:

From the Symphony - 2nd Day at Sea April 28th, 2022 from the MDR: Surf and Turf...all was Good!

yep , thats  what i do too , lol🙂

[OCSC Mike]

11 minutes ago, BillHoo said:

You could order the lobster tails alone without sides?

Generally speaking from past experience, you can order anything you want (or don't want). Leave off a side, ask for a different side, ask for double sides, leave off a sauce, ask for double apps, double entrees, double dessert...

 

If they can do it they usually will.

[davekathy]

We did a B2B cruise on the Explorer March 2022. Ate in the MDR for breakfast and dinner. Everything we selected we liked and cooked the way we ordered it. No complaints about the food, selections or the amount. 

Edited May 10, 2022 by davekathy

[Loves2Stamp]

Just on Enchantment last week...we thought the MDR food was very good...no complaints.  Park Cafe was good and consistent; Windjammer food was ok, not great but not terrible either.  It served its purpose when we wanted something quick...what I didn't like was how crowded it was but that's not anyone's fault!  I avoided it during the "rush hours".  Service was excellent everywhere we went on the ship!  There is only Chops Grille and Chef's Table on Enchantment and we did not eat at either so can't comment on those.   

[Snuggss]

Just my 2 cents, but I think that the Specialty Restaurants have hurt the quality of the MDR.  It seemed that the quality of the food prior to the addition of the Specialties was what we now have to pay for now in Chops, Giovanni's, etc.  I remember the food on cruises that we took in the Early 2000's as the highlight of the trip.  Not that the food is bad now (usually better than the food at local chain restaurants) but it's not the next level dining that I remember from days gone by.

[mndity]

On 5/3/2022 at 12:34 PM, Painter4me said:

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. 

Pure and simple, people complain to complain.  If you think the food should be 4-5 star you will be disappointed, even in the Specialty restaurants. It's good food, all you want, and if you want, its available 24/7 .

 

The cleanliness and service is very good.  I was on Freedom late February and it was great.  Granted the boat was half-full.  I have been on 8 cruises with RCCL and the service and cleanliness is always above average.  Excellent even.

 

I would not make judgements on what you hear on CC.....experience it for yourself!

[emory2001]

And some people love to invalidate people’s lived experiences, after they did experience it for themselves. As a hard core realist, I personally appreciate people’s honest assessments, so I can make informed decisions.

[baelor]

9 minutes ago, mndity said:

Pure and simple, people complain to complain.  If you think the food should be 4-5 star you will be disappointed, even in the Specialty restaurants.

That is not complaining to complain.  That is complaining that your expectations were not met.  Those expectations may not have been reasonable, but then it is incumbent on people talking about their experiences to be candid about what is good and what is bad so that others can form realistic expectations.

[xxHadleyxx]

I was just on the Wonder TA....so 14 days and nights of meals......quite a few people on teh same ship/same sailing were complaining about the food, and I can't for the life of me figure out how we could have such different experiences.  I had one dissapointing meal out of, what?  28 (not a  breakfast eater, the few times i had it I skipped lunch).  Mostly everythimg was quite good.

 

I think people just want something to complain about.

[BillHoo]

On 5/8/2022 at 10:25 PM, luckyinpa said:

 

amen about problems. since this is the complaint thread i may as well add some from my oasis cruise last week😁

 

1st bfast in CK i ordered a dish that included hash browns . it was a single one about the size of a quarter. sigh, disappointing

 

2nd bfast i got a single one, but now it was triangle shaped. totally confused me. whats going on here! talk about inconsistency

 

3rd bfast i decided to ask for more than the pittance they gave me. i said could i have 2 or just a few more. i got 4.count them..FOUR of the triangle ones. also i asked for 2 sausages and got them. but since i had 4 hash browns, i felt very full. worried i wouldnt be hungry for lunch.

 

4th bfast. they didnt read my mind and know i wanted ketchup with my hash browns. i forgot to ask for it all week. to make matters worse, when i finally did remember, even i forgot to ask for it till meals were brought to me. then they had to run for it and put it in the cute little cups for me. this delayed my pleasure of overeating.  also the cups were irregularly shaped, not perfectly square. i prefer symmetrical dishware. i trimmed my order down to 3 hash browns for the rest of the week

 

scan forward to disembark day. asked for just 2 hash browns so as not to be full. they went back to the ROUND ones. can you believe it? and again they didnt remember that i forgot to ask for ketchup. so more delays in my hash brown pleasures. and if i knew there were the tiny round ones. i could have gotten 4 instead of 2 so now i wasnt the exact measure of fullness that i wanted. 

 

another huge issue is they HEAT the plates in CK to the point where you get your food hot and fresh but you cannot touch the darn plate. so if you wanna change positioning for maximum pleasure you had to use your napkin.  if you forget you get a stern burn reminder. and they dont always warn you about the hot plate. you are expected to remember day to day where mcdonalds always warns me coffee is hot. also planters warns me nuts are in their peanuts. every single time! 

 

went to MDR for lunch one day and dinner another day. both times they put me next to a window. it was sooooo far a walk. then when you get there, they make you and your party scooch down different aisles because it's impossible to go between the tables or your bum will be literally on the other persons table. what reallllllly sucked is when i got up to leave, both sides of the aisle were now seated and i literally couldnt fit between the seats to get out cause i'm too big boned. (i think skinny would still touch the chairs though).  they didnt realize that sitting next to the window would cause me such a hardship. sigh. i wont even mention that the curtain on the window was literally covering up the middle of the window so it was impossible to easily see out. why would they make the curtain the focus of your attention..why why why??? pull the curtains back so we can see the full window!

 

then there's the silverware..does anyone really know why there are like 9 pieces on the table in the MDR. there arent even that many in CK!   then they start adding and subtracting them during the meal and it makes me feel like i dont know what i'm doing. what if i use the wrong one. will they kick me out to the buffet? i had to stop going to the MDR because of the silverware stress😜

 

but i did miss the cold plates and barely warm food. sigh. cant have it all i guess. 

 

in the buffet i wanted mustard on my fries...the pump didnt work till the 3rd try..again more wasted time and effort..sigh

 

i could go on..but i wont..

 

or will i....when it was time to disembark the concierge took a group of us to the elevators. turns out the people in the lower floors learned the trick to take an elevator up..to go down. to avoid the crowds. so we had to wait like 60 seconds for her to take the people down to 5 then use her key card to get priority up to 17 and back to 5. 

 

oh the forgot best part... since boarding was delayed due to marine traffic we had to wait like 15 minutes to be let in the terminal. in NJ once you are in there are comfy black chairs for the suites to sit on (far away from the dock door) which is where i sat last time but noooo, this time they sat us in the uncomfortable green chairs. and they were literally next to the dock door. meaning we were forced to be on almost first.  we had to take an empty elevator to the solarium buffet which literally had no one in for like 15 minutes. all this with nary a passenger to talk with and socialize. sigh. so lonely and all that hot food all to ourselves. except i think the burgers werent hot because there was zero cheese meltage. 

 

i was also disappointed that announcements werent made in the cabins..except the ones calling peoples names to do muster. id rather hear it's time to get off in port than some strangers name. sigh. my cabin was so sound proof i couldnt even hear any announcements unless i kept the balcony open to hear the echo of the speakers from the pool deck. next time ill get a less sound proof cabin. 

 

i really will stop now. i had to sit down and think of what to complain about given the circumstances of this thread. it took a lot of effort and now i'm waaaay past my bedtime. and it's all royals fault. im removing my gratuities now! 🙃

 

I agree with your manifesto and read it to the end!  😄

 

[davekathy]

21 hours ago, emory2001 said:

And some people love to invalidate people’s lived experiences, after they did experience it for themselves. As a hard core realist, I personally appreciate people’s honest assessments, so I can make informed decisions.

As a hard core realist, I would never make informed decisions based on someone's negative or positive opinions or experiences, no matter the subject.  

Edited May 11, 2022 by davekathy

[emory2001]

16 minutes ago, davekathy said:

As a hard core realist, I would never make informed decisions based on someone's negative or positive opinions or experiences, no matter the subject.  

God another person who just wants to tell you how wrong you are. 

[davekathy]

Just now, emory2001 said:

God another person who just wants to tell you how wrong you are. 

You're assumption is incorrect. Exactly why I'll make my decisions, no matter the subject. Just stating my opinion as you did.

[ssb]

What do you folks eat at home that is so much better than on ship?????

 

[johnjen]

On 5/3/2022 at 1:34 PM, Painter4me said:

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

It's kind of unfortunate that these are (typically) the "cruise experts" we'll meet at the MDR. They will launch into a tirade called "cruising isn't what it used to be" and I roll my eyes thinking, "here we go again."

[baelor]

26 minutes ago, ssb said:

What do you folks eat at home that is so much better than on ship?????

Out of curiosity, what do you eat at home?

[Oxo]

Currently on a B2B on Oasis, May 1 & 8.

Have not had any bad or less than good food experiences.

 

Some complained because the ship seemed crowded with about 5,000 onboard. The ship will hold about 6,400.

 

The major shortcoming is entertainment. No Aqua show for these cruises. Aqua team not ready? Don't they practice before being assigned to a ship?

 

Cats was not performed due to some cast being sick? Scheduled for Friday.

 

People complain and always will.

 

Stay Safe and Happy Cruising! 

 

[ssb]

1 hour ago, baelor said:

Out of curiosity, what do you eat at home?

If you are asking me,  I'm not complaining about food on ships or at home .

[deliver42]

I never had a problem with RCCL's MDR food, or the Windjammer for that matter, other than their scrambled eggs, which are usually too runny for me. The people that do the most complaining expect gourmet food, which it has never been. I'm 80 with about 25 cruises under my belt, and to me the quality hasn't changed much since I started cruising in the early 1990's.