Main Dining Room FOOD

[OSU Buckeyes 1980]

We were on the 11/28 partial transit on the CP. Crown was actually better than we’ve experienced in the past. MDR unfortunately has declined but the food did seem better the second part of the cruise. Quite a bit of it for me we’re choices - the number of choices is definitely down for breakfast and lunch and dinner always has some oddball items you wonder if anyone orders. I joked with my wife they prepare for 4 people to order the pork loin they seem to have on four of the first five nights. In the past I would always order one of the nightly items and I ordered salmon twice as the options weren’t great. Not that the salmon isn’t good…. And the prime rib was barely edible. But, the Cornish hen, lobster, fillet and some other items were very good as were the soups. Used to be I wanted two or three appetizers- sometimes struggled to find one good one.  Won’t compare to others but it could be a reason we shy away in the future which is disappointing as overall we like all the things the OP mentioned. But this was our first post COVID cruise and this may be an industry wide issue. 

[smithmlmx]

Agree with Daka. Was on same 8 day Regal cruise. Beef in Lido inedible. Same for MDR. Captain happened to come to our table as we were discussing the poor quality of the meat. The following night we were given the opportunity to order a Rib Eye from Crown Grill (we paid for it) which was very good. Very difficult to get a reservation at Crown Grill but were invited to join a couple who did have a reservation. Ordered filet which was not very good quality. Replaced with lamb which was good. The last night had Prime Rib in MDR which was great but was about half the size of what we would have received 3 years ago prior to Covid  Despite my food comments we had a wonderful time. The crew were fabulous and yes, we will cruise with Princess again.

 

 

 

[cruzin4us]

21 minutes ago, smithmlmx said:

 

Very difficult to get a reservation at Crown Grill but were invited to join a couple who did have a reservation. Ordered filet which was not very good quality

 

 

 

Got that right about the filet not being good quality.   Mine on the Ruby (cooked med rare) was the toughest piece of meat.    It couldn't barely be cut with a steak knife.    

 

[cheeky_minx]

7 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

 

QUALITY of ingredients is a MAJOR difference. Even if they are using the same menus (not ones being phased in), the taste is NOT the same. 

 

We've been on seven cruises since cruising resumed in 2021, the last 3 in November and December (just off Discovery yesterday), and the food quality is lacking.  The menu selections were the same, but the taste was not.

 

We had the best food on Majestic.

Agree. We’re on the majestic now and MDR food has been excellent.   

[AZjohn]

18 minutes ago, cruzin4us said:

 

Got that right about the filet not being good quality.   Mine on the Ruby (cooked med rare) was the toughest piece of meat.    It couldn't barely be cut with a steak knife.    

 

Exact same experience on Enchanted Crown Grill in October.

 

But, we really enjoyed every meal in MDR 🙂

[Camberley]

On Regal next summer - first time with Princess. I know food is very subjective but if it is better than what I find to be mediocre at best in the MDRs on P&O then I’ll be happy.

[wowzz]

18 minutes ago, Camberley said:

On Regal next summer - first time with Princess. I know food is very subjective but if it is better than what I find to be mediocre at best in the MDRs on P&O then I’ll be happy.

I think you will be happy,  unless you are a green bean fan !

[Torfamm]

I was on the Sky Princess last month and the food in the MDR was good, the best I’ve ever had on a Princess ship. It was much better than on the Emerald last spring or than my last Princess cruise pre-Covid. I can’t imagine how awful the food on a single cruise would have to be to make me cancel future bookings and never sail with a line again. MDR food is almost never exciting.

[MissP22]

We've experienced a noticeable decline in overall food quality on the Enchanted lately. It's been hit or miss on many items in both the DR or buffet.

Just the other day at the most traveled luncheon,  the food wasn't any better than what you would get in the DR - Just a fried breaded lanb cutlet. Nothing special.

 

[dog]

10 hours ago, AZjohn said:

Exact same experience on Enchanted Crown Grill in October.

 

But, we really enjoyed every meal in MDR 🙂

Oh sorry for you.

on Enchanted October I had best surf & turf I ever had on a ship.

 

so much difference!

[AZjohn]

10 minutes ago, dog said:

Oh sorry for you.

on Enchanted October I had best surf & turf I ever had on a ship.

 

so much difference!

I don't think they liked me 🤣

 

Yep, just like every restaurant on land, sometimes you just strike out but most of the time it's a great meal 🙂

 

Cheers and Happy Holidays,

John

[Ombud]

I was only disappointed in 1 MDR dish last 2 cruises. The sauce on the walnut ravioli was a bit thin but the flavor was fine. Mine's thicker at home.

[startedwithamouse]

On 12/22/2022 at 10:20 AM, telecheck said:

 

I know someone who was just off Discovery yesterday also. He was also on a similar 4-day cruise out of LA back in mid-November. He said the food quality was much better back in November, and the menu selections were much bigger also. Not only the MDR but the buffet also. They had a big seafood bar with shrimps, mussels, octopus, calamari, scallops at that time, but this big seafood bar disappeared completely in his December cruise.

 

It was kind of shocking that only one month could make such a huge difference.

They had a corporate event onboard, that's why they had the seafood bar. 

[startedwithamouse]

1 hour ago, Ombud said:

I was only disappointed in 1 MDR dish last 2 cruises. The sauce on the walnut ravioli was a bit thin but the flavor was fine. Mine's thicker at home.

Walnut ravioli? What night was this?

[Ombud]

7 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

Walnut ravioli? What night was this?

It was the last night. And very good overall

[CruisefunSAN]

I was on Discovery couple of weeks ago, all the beef dishes were very good, the medallion, wellington, prime rib melted in your mouth.

[mrmarklin]

5 hours ago, CruisefunSAN said:

I was on Discovery couple of weeks ago, all the beef dishes were very good, the medallion, wellington, prime rib melted in your mouth.

I was on Discovery in November. Food was excellent, and me and mine are hard to please. While I’m not a serial cruiser like some of you, I have noticed that the food quality is very dependent on the chef. I haven’t had any awful cruises, but some have been better than others, food wise. 

[dog]

6 hours ago, CruisefunSAN said:

I was on Discovery couple of weeks ago, all the beef dishes were very good, the medallion, wellington, prime rib melted in your mouth.

Yes!!! same here in May.

[Ombud]

On 12/22/2022 at 4:21 PM, OSU Buckeyes 1980 said:

Used to be I wanted two or three appetizers- sometimes struggled to find one good one.

Surprised. They didn't have the cold fruit soup options? Or the fruit / cheese plates?? I struggled to pick between those as I only wanted 1 appetizer 

[dog]

8 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Surprised. They didn't have the cold fruit soup options? Or the fruit / cheese plates?? I struggled to pick between those as I only wanted 1 appetizer 

Now that mention this they did not offer the cheese plate.

[devonuk]

You just can’t predict what you’re going to get these days and unfortunately you don’t know until after the event whether it was good or not 🤔😇

Edited December 24, 2022 by devonuk
Error

[love to cruz]

We just got off Celebrity Equinox. The same exact complaints expressed by other passengers. Our prime rib was maybe a quarter inch thick. Steaks were not tender. The same exact menu for breakfast the 8 days we were on the ship. The shows were an hour & great, service great. 

It seems all the cruise lines have cut back, but this will not deter us at all from going on Celebrity or Princess.

[Guindalf]

On 12/22/2022 at 8:41 AM, wowzz said:

But you will pay much more with Celebrity.

We were on Regal in June, and felt the MDR food was more than acceptable. 

 

Disagree. We're looking at a suite for Alaska in early September and the Discovery Princess is a similar price to the Celebrity Solstice (within a couple hundred dollars) for almost the same itinerary. The latter has better suite facilities like a butler, Luminae restaurant and exclusive lounge and comes with $950 in OBC instead of $50 on Princess! Also, Princess has ONE accessible suite, which is missing many features like automatic door and more.

 

In fact, we booked the Discovery and are seriously considering cancelling and rebooking Celebrity. we're on the Solstice to the Mexican Riviera next month and will decide for certain after that.

 

[dog]

In the MDR at lunch & dinner they bring a basket of buns/ rolls to the table.

 

What happens to the ones you don’t take?

thrown out, given to crew or other passengers?

[Coral]

39 minutes ago, Guindalf said:

 

Disagree. We're looking at a suite for Alaska in early September and the Discovery Princess is a similar price to the Celebrity Solstice (within a couple hundred dollars) for almost the same itinerary. The latter has better suite facilities like a butler, Luminae restaurant and exclusive lounge and comes with $950 in OBC instead of $50 on Princess! Also, Princess has ONE accessible suite, which is missing many features like automatic door and more.

 

In fact, we booked the Discovery and are seriously considering cancelling and rebooking Celebrity. we're on the Solstice to the Mexican Riviera next month and will decide for certain after that.

 

Discovery Princess is a brand new ship and some people are attracted to that. I am one that prefers older ships but that maybe why the prices are similar.