Are all Princess menus the same?

[8 Bells]

Just curious if the menus are the same on all the Princess ships, or do they change according to the destination?

[DallasGuy75219]

1 hour ago, 8 Bells said:

Just curious if the menus are the same on all the Princess ships, or do they change according to the destination?

In the MDR some items are standard across the fleet, but others are specific to the region or ports on a specific sailing.

[VibeGuy]

The answer, like many things on Princess, is “it depends”.   
 

For the most part, the MDR menus are common across the usual US/Canada/UK/Europe departures and ships homeported there.  One glaring exception is Alaska, as of this year, got new Alaskan wild seafood dinner starters and mains.  When they have ships homeported in Japan and China, the MDR menus have additions for local tastes.   This includes breakfast and lunch menus, which are otherwise about the most homogenous across the fleet. 
 

There is some ship to ship variation across these standard dinner menus - often a different species of fish, or a substitution due to ingredient availability.   Normally this is about 5% of the dinner items across any given  week. 
 

Itinerary length is still another source of variation.  Naturally, days get inserted or deleted from the usual seven.   This is more a rearranging than a different menu - the Italian Night menu is still the Italian Night menu, even though the ship hasn’t been near Italy since it was built at Fincantieri, and almost all sailings get one.  There are menus from 14- and 15-night sailings that never make it into the 7-Night rotation. 
 

After all that, we come down to the differences between, say, a 7-night Mexican Riviera and a 7-night Eastern Caribbean.   Once the nights are rearranged to fit the formal night schedule for example, and we’re comparing apples to apples, they’re virtually identical.  There may be one or two different entrees and/or starters with some connection to the itinerary, but you’d really have to look for them.  

 

[skynight]

Yes and no. There are standard menu items that always appear, and the head chef has some freedom to adjust the menus. The days they appear varies based on itinerary and length of cruise. A 10 day cruise will have ten different dinner menus while a 7 day one will have 7 different menus. On longer cruises such as a transatlantic each evening will be different, but items may and do repeat. Certain menu items are itinerary specific.

[MissP22]

I enjoy almost every Princess menu item but would love to see them present something new for a change.

[VibeGuy]

6 hours ago, MissP22 said:

I enjoy almost every Princess menu item but would love to see them present something new for a change.

Rumour has it that the menu revamp inspired by the appointment of Rudi Sodamin as Fleet Executive Chef is starting to roll out.  

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

I hope so!  I have looked at a few menus that some people have posted here, and I am thinking that they look a bit different.  But, I am wondering if I am not seeing Prime Rib on the first night.   We are on a shortie cruise, so I will probably be disappointed in the menus on that one.  They probably aren't going to have the best stuff.  

 

I am hoping that they have the Sea Bass at the specialty dining on the Regal,  I hear that can be there, or maybe not.

[c-boy]

7 hours ago, MissP22 said:

I enjoy almost every Princess menu item but would love to see them present something new for a change.

😄 that's a sure sign of a seasoned cruiser

[KreinKrunker]

4 hours ago, PRINCESS Sweet Pea said:

 But, I am wondering if I am not seeing Prime Rib on the first night.   We are on a shortie cruise, so I will probably be disappointed in the menus on that one. 

On the seven day cruises we've been on since reopening, Prime Rib has been on the second night.

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, c-boy said:

😄 that's a sure sign of a seasoned cruiser

Perhaps better seasoned than the food.

[MissP22]

4 hours ago, KreinKrunker said:

On the seven day cruises we've been on since reopening, Prime Rib has been on the second night.

Ordering the prime rib has always been a hit of miss for me. It always looks great but at times has been very disappointing. 

I'll sample it again next cruise but if it's lousy, it's going back for something else.

[caribill]

4 hours ago, KreinKrunker said:

On the seven day cruises we've been on since reopening, Prime Rib has been on the second night.

 

Isn't that a formal evening?

 

If so, what beef item did they remove from the menu for the 1st formal evening?

[KreinKrunker]

18 hours ago, caribill said:

Isn't that a formal evening?

It hasn't been formal night.

 

18 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Ordering the prime rib has always been a hit of miss for me.

I usually didn't order it on the first night.  They have changed the presentation, and got rid of that soggy piece of corn on the cob.  Recently was aboard Emerald Princess on a 10 day sailing.   Had the best prime rib ever on a cruise ship.  It was big, thick, and very rare.  

[MissP22]

7 hours ago, KreinKrunker said:

Recently was aboard Emerald Princess on a 10 day sailing.   Had the best prime rib ever on a cruise ship.  It was big, thick, and very rare.  

It posts like yours that make me try it again, mostly with disappointment.

But once again I'll give them another chance to present a decent prime rib and

I still don't expect anything like I would get at a land based restaurant considering their increased operating costs lately.