New dinner menu

[MsSoCalCruiser]

5 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Pre-specialty dining, there was a beef entry (of good quality) on the dining room menu each night and at no extra cost.

That’s true.  When did that end?  Yes, it would be better if I could order it off of the regular menu instead of paying for it.  I’m still happy that I can have a steak when I’m craving one but free/included is definitely better.  

[PrincessLuver]

3 hours ago, TexasBrit said:

30 or so years ago a 7-day cruise on most of the MM lines was around $700 or so. This is about $1600 in today's money. But a 7-day cruise is still $700 or less now. Food prices and other costs have increased substantially over this time period. This is why things are not as good as they used to be. So yes, the alternative is to go to the higher priced lines if you still want this level of service. I imagine we will be doing so also, but this will mean less frequent cruises than we have been used to recently.

Ships were much much smaller 30 years ago so it really has more to do with scale then rising costs.  Less services equal less crew needed which leads to less expense.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

5 hours ago, BamaVol said:

I do try to keep my expectations low so I can be delighted.  I think the problem is it won’t come close to living up to the hype.  There was a much better set of menus, IMO, prior to this change.  I saw them on CC.  The MDR has always been my favorite part of any cruise.  The juice bar was hyped.  Then in reality, it’s a couple of 5 ounce concoctions that may not be available when I sail.  I don’t care about the desserts, but they may also not be available.  I thought the medallion was cool, but the app has been awful.  I’m not alone in that thought. I’m still hopeful and I’m sure I will enjoy myself.  But I can’t help thinking about all those menu choices I’ll never see. Will I sail in Princess again after this?  I do not know.  But it may turn out I don’t enjoy cruising like I once did.  The last cruise as a minor disaster.  So it’s been 6 years.  I want this one to be relatively fabulous.

I hope you have a wonderful cruise.  I remember my first cruise had midnight buffets and I didn’t know that was ending until it wasn’t there my second cruise.  Yes, it is disappointing when you expect certain things and they are no longer there.

 

There have been so many changes since Covid and it is a bummer.  There are usually at least two entrées that catch my eye in the MDR but I also am not seeing that on the new menus.  Try to think positive and get excited about your future cruise.  Which ship are you sailing?  

[BamaVol]

1 hour ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

I hope you have a wonderful cruise.  I remember my first cruise had midnight buffets and I didn’t know that was ending until it wasn’t there my second cruise.  Yes, it is disappointing when you expect certain things and they are no longer there.

 

There have been so many changes since Covid and it is a bummer.  There are usually at least two entrées that catch my eye in the MDR but I also am not seeing that on the new menus.  Try to think positive and get excited about your future cruise.  Which ship are you sailing?  

Sailing on Caribbean Princess March 2. 

[MsSoCalCruiser]

11 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

Sailing on Caribbean Princess March 2. 

I’ve never sailed on that ship.  My favorite is the Discovery Princess.  I like the larger ships.  I really hope you enjoy your cruise.  

[TexasBrit]

1 hour ago, PrincessLuver said:

Ships were much much smaller 30 years ago so it really has more to do with scale then rising costs.  Less services equal less crew needed which leads to less expense.

But if costs have gone up and prices have been reduced, even if some savings are made elsewhere, the overall result is lower quality for the consumer. This has happened. Nobody thinks the quality on any of the mass market lines is anywhere near what it was 30 years ago. And this was true before the COVID shutdown, and is even more so now, especially as the companies are trying to erase all of their red ink. We have been on four cruises after the restart and were not particularly happy with any of them, for different reasons, not always food-related, although some were better than others. We have one more scheduled which is on Princess hence I have been following this board. So far it sounds very similar to our recent experiences.

[caribill]

3 hours ago, PrincessLuver said:

Ships were much much smaller 30 years ago so it really has more to do with scale then rising costs.  Less services equal less crew needed which leads to less expense.

 

Yes, scale brings about reduced costs and the technology with the newer (and larger) ships also brings about reduced costs.

 

A ship with 4500 passengers has one Captain just like a ship with 700 passengers does. So the larger ship can have 4500 passengers while only paying for one captain instead of paying for the 6.5 captains needed to carry the same number of passengers on the smaller size ships.

 

Likewise, 1 cruise director, 1 head chef, 1 staff captain, 1 hotel director, etc. instead of the numbers needed for having more smaller ships.

 

And the technology has evolved so that the new and larger ships are much more fuel efficient than ships built years earlier.

 

Likely the cost/passenger to Princess for all the fixed costs (including fuel) on a new ship is significantly less than the smaller and older ships.

 

In fact, CCL Corp has indicated they are growing the total number of passenger berths by building larger ships while reducing the total number of ships in the fleet.

[Torfamm]

6 hours ago, Coral said:

I ran into issues on my last cruise where the app on the phone listed far more than what was listed in reality. Not only that - some of the main items were not listed. I said something to my head waiter at breakfast that "tonight was banana fosters night" and he said "no, but I will make it for you tonight as another table wants it". My app was not very accurate in reality on what was offered. The pics I have seen have been from the phone app.

And they were exactly what was available in the MDR

[Torfamm]

10 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Pre-specialty dining, there was a beef entry (of good quality) on the dining room menu each night and at no extra cost.

I agree that the food was better on cruise ships in the 80’s and 90’s but cruising was also much more expensive than it is today. I suspect that if we were all willing to pay more, we would get more.

[Torfamm]

10 hours ago, Princessfan20 said:

 

Not in the least.  Princess is charging way more for less post Covid and new leadership.  They have cutback in many ways and they may not be done for all we know.   Obviously the new menus are just a shell of what they use to be.  As the ships get larger their international itineraries will be shrinking too.  

My last cruise before COVID was Norway and Iceland on Princess and it had menus very similar to what I’ve seen since the restart. I remember being pretty surprised that the Princess Favorites section of the menu offered a hamburger every night as opposed to the steak offered nightly by Celebrity. I think changes started well before the pandemic 

Edited February 27, 2023 by Torfamm

[caribill]

32 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

My last cruise before COVID was Norway and Iceland on Princess and it had menus very similar to what I’ve seen since the restart. I remember being pretty surprised that the Princess Favorites section of the menu offered a hamburger every night as opposed to the steak offered nightly by Celebrity. I think changes started well before the pandemic 

 

After the restart, even the hamburger has disappeared from the favorites section. No beef in that part of the menu anymore.

[Torfamm]

Just now, caribill said:

 

After the restart, even the hamburger has disappeared from the favorites section. No beef in that part of the menu anymore.

Yes. I think chicken and salmon are much more appealing choices for dinner than a hamburger so I see it as an improvement. 

[caribill]

 

6 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

Yes. I think chicken and salmon are much more appealing choices for dinner than a hamburger so I see it as an improvement. 

 

The chicken and the salmon were on the menu also when the hamburger was there.

[Torfamm]

14 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

 

The chicken and the salmon were on the menu also when the hamburger was there.

On my cruise in 2019 it was only salmon and hamburgers. The menu and the food were both pretty bad on that cruise but it may not have been typical.  I was willing to give Princess another try. My experience on cruises after the restart have been much better. 

[lucas34]

On my cruise in 1992 with Star Princess during gala night there was Malossol caviar and for main course pheasant, beef Wellington ja Maine lobster...those were the golden days of cruising!

[Staci0615]

1 hour ago, lucas34 said:

On my cruise in 1992 with Star Princess during gala night there was Malossol caviar and for main course pheasant, beef Wellington ja Maine lobster...those were the golden days of cruising!

And on my first cruise also early 90s I remember it was a five course dinner with frog legs and other very exotic foods and the waiters with the baked Alaska parading thru the dining room.

[lucas34]

7 minutes ago, Staci0615 said:

And on my first cruise also early 90s I remember it was a five course dinner with frog legs and other very exotic foods and the waiters with the baked Alaska parading thru the dining room.

Yes...and even 3+ star Cunard Princess had lobster and silver service dinner!

[Jemnibabe]

30 minutes ago, lucas34 said:

Yes...and even 3+ star Cunard Princess had lobster and silver service dinner!

Isn't the bottom line that we are blessed to be able to cruise?  And we will never go hungry on the cruise even if not all your favorites are listed in one venue.  I don't hear many people saying they lost weight on a cruise.  LOL

[LouChamp]

Aloha. I have mentioned before and some of my fellow posters have said the same that the massive ships cannot provide the same level of quantity with sacrificing quality and choice as yesteryear. It is impossible also given financial realities.  I recall the smaller ships of yesteryear having sailed since 1971. As the world has changed so has cruising. Sad but true. Leaning towards more upscale smaller lines and ships as we get older. 

[LouChamp]

10 minutes ago, Jemnibabe said:

Isn't the bottom line that we are blessed to be able to cruise?  And we will never go hungry on the cruise even if not all your favorites are listed in one venue.  I don't hear many people saying they lost weight on a cruise.  LOL

Aloha. I agree totally. We are blessed and dealing with first world problems but I enjoy dining and having items I would not normally prepare at home whilst on holiday. Meatloaf I can have at home.  I am Italian and Spaghetti and Meatballs not so much. Beef Wellington…much! Enjoy 

[lucas34]

1 minute ago, LouChamp said:

Aloha. I agree totally. We are blessed and dealing with first world problems but I enjoy dining and having items I would not normally prepare at home whilst on holiday. Meatloaf I can have at home.  I am Italian and Spaghetti and Meatballs not so much. Beef Wellington…much! Enjoy 

Ciao!  May I ask when you was on board Cunard Princess? I was twice...1992 and 1993 sailing out of Málaga to the Canary Islands

[LouChamp]

12 minutes ago, lucas34 said:

Ciao!  May I ask when you was on board Cunard Princess? I was twice...1992 and 1993 sailing out of Málaga to the Canary Islands

Aloha.  1976 or 1977. It was a new ship leaving from Miami on a Caribbean Cruise. In those days visitors were allowed on board. I remember my parents had friends visit. The food was delicious, plentiful and the midnight buffet…oh…the midnight buffets were memorable. 

[lucas34]

2 minutes ago, LouChamp said:

Aloha.  1976 or 1977. It was a new ship leaving from Miami on a Caribbean Cruise. In those days visitors were allowed on board. I remember my parents had friends visit. The food was delicious, plentiful and the midnight buffet…oh…the midnight buffets were memorable. 

Oh yes...their midnight buffets...as well as the restaurant breakfast (I still have that menu)...

[Coral]

3 hours ago, caribill said:

 

After the restart, even the hamburger has disappeared from the favorites section. No beef in that part of the menu anymore.

It is still available on the children's menu.

[BamaVol]

1 hour ago, Jemnibabe said:

Isn't the bottom line that we are blessed to be able to cruise?  And we will never go hungry on the cruise even if not all your favorites are listed in one venue.  I don't hear many people saying they lost weight on a cruise.  LOL

Probably just the ones who catch norovirus.