Anyone enjoying the new menu selections?

[mcatmcat]

On 5/4/2023 at 5:27 PM, Submariner said:

I enjoyed these two dudes YouTube's analysis of the new menu. Spot on! 

 

We try Royal Caribbean's NEW Controversial Menus

I follow then, and I totally agree with them

[seasidemama]

I think it depends on the ship. I'm not loving the new menu but most nights there were good enough options. I was surprised to learn my children and I liked Indian food or at least RCCL's version of it. Disappointed that most nights that's all we had. Even on nights where we liked things on the menu that weren't Indian dishes - there were much too many instances of us sending the food back (lack of quality mostly - rubbery or tough meat, extremely salty dishes etc) and just reverting to that night's Indian option. The goat cheese tart had a microscopic piece of goat cheese on top of a very bland vegetable tart. The chicken dish with the puff pastry on top (not sure the name) was actually some broth topped with puff pastry and a piece or two of rubbery meat which was probably? chicken.. WJ has been sad to look at on Freedom and Harmony.  Pizza is consistently a good option when you're hungry, but I'm not a pizza lover and that is my last resort usually. I used to really look forward to the dining part of the cruises. Now It's just mostly eating meh to not terrible food so that we're not hungry. Tenderloin and lobster were the exceptions. 

[icsys]

Quality of the food hasn't changed but the choices have.

 

MDR choices have been scaled back so much that several nights on our recent cruise we didn't dine there as there was nothing on the menu that appealed.  In the past you could always fall back on the  'classics' but these are no longer available.

 

What I found most bizarre was the significant lack of vegetable choices in the WJ. 

[moposh]

On 5/1/2023 at 10:53 AM, Tatka said:

We had food with good temps on recent Enchantment cruise.

My onion soup was sooooo hot temperature wise that it was hard to eat.  One night I asked waiter if it could be a little cooler.  He just kinda laughed.  😄

[moposh]

2 hours ago, icsys said:

there was nothing on the menu that appealed

That was true with me a couple times.  I got the steak, which was delicious, but then I got tired of it.  I think next time if I don't like an entree, I might get two appetizers instead if I like those.  Plus, there's always the bread, which is good.  😋

[The Fun Researcher]

26 minutes ago, moposh said:

That was true with me a couple times.  I got the steak, which was delicious, but then I got tired of it.  I think next time if I don't like an entree, I might get two appetizers instead if I like those.  Plus, there's always the bread, which is good.  😋

That's good to remember.  I always have a hard time choosing apps because I like so many of them.  Maybe next time I'll just say "screw it" and just focus on those.  I can't eat large volumes of food anyway, just makes me feel miserable.  Maybe 3-4 apps instead of my typical 2 plus entrée.  (I rarely ever get dessert)

[Mountaineer0313]

Well, this thread makes me glad we always buy the specialty dining package lol. Pretty sure we've only eaten in the MDR like 3 times ever.

[BK79]

Check out Medling World on YOUTUBE. He is currently on Oasis and says his MDR on first night was great. He has great reviews and seems to be pretty level headed. He has only posted the first night so far so will be eager to see what he says about the next few nights.

[dman1]

On 3/29/2023 at 7:36 AM, poocher said:

This is what we call making sauce (it’s a 20 qt pot)

 

It’s gravy, @poocher, not sauce!!😂😉

[BK79]

2 hours ago, moposh said:

My onion soup was sooooo hot temperature wise that it was hard to eat.  One night I asked waiter if it could be a little cooler.  He just kinda laughed.  😄

He probably thought you were trying to make a joke, i would too.

[xtremegk]

This is not meant to be a cheerleader post, but I'm struggling with all these posts saying the variety and choices are the issue.

 

There are 6 appetizers and 7 entrees on the menu every night. Every night's entrees include options for fish, chicken, beef, pasta, vegetarian and Indian.

 

What are the expectations that I'm missing here? Are the people bemoaning the lack of "variety" upset that the non-changing "Classics" are gone, so they don't have the choice of the same thing every night? (Nevermind the fact that at least one Classic is on the menu each night, so is it that the Classics are gone or that YOUR personal choice from the Classics is gone?)

[FionaMG]

24 minutes ago, xtremegk said:

This is not meant to be a cheerleader post, but I'm struggling with all these posts saying the variety and choices are the issue.

 

There are 6 appetizers and 7 entrees on the menu every night. Every night's entrees include options for fish, chicken, beef, pasta, vegetarian and Indian.

 

What are the expectations that I'm missing here? Are the people bemoaning the lack of "variety" upset that the non-changing "Classics" are gone, so they don't have the choice of the same thing every night? (Nevermind the fact that at least one Classic is on the menu each night, so is it that the Classics are gone or that YOUR personal choice from the Classics is gone?)

 

I obviously can't speak for others,  but in our case, it was mostly a question of preferring plainer options. A lot of the fancier options come with sauces that DH can't eat (spicy) or which we genuinely dislike (mixture of sweet and savoury, for example). In this situation, only having one of the plainer classics each night severely limits your choice.

[Tatka]

6 hours ago, moposh said:

That was true with me a couple times.  I got the steak, which was delicious, but then I got tired of it.  I think next time if I don't like an entree, I might get two appetizers instead if I like those.  Plus, there's always the bread, which is good.  😋

 

I switched to several appetizers some time ago instead of appetizer +  entree. We also do not order desserts for years and years and as we do MTD on all cruises we get questions why we are not ordering desserts almost every night!

 

Well... after they cut appetizers menu on last cruise I did have to order entrees on several occasions, but I miss 2-3 appetizers. Gives you a variety without overeating.

 

With 5 cruises a year while constantly dieting I must watch it. 🤣

[Morecruisesplz]

4 hours ago, xtremegk said:

This is not meant to be a cheerleader post, but I'm struggling with all these posts saying the variety and choices are the issue.

 

There are 6 appetizers and 7 entrees on the menu every night. Every night's entrees include options for fish, chicken, beef, pasta, vegetarian and Indian.

 

What are the expectations that I'm missing here? Are the people bemoaning the lack of "variety" upset that the non-changing "Classics" are gone, so they don't have the choice of the same thing every night? (Nevermind the fact that at least one Classic is on the menu each night, so is it that the Classics are gone or that YOUR personal choice from the Classics is gone?)

Back to old menus.

[Morecruisesplz]

12 hours ago, icsys said:

Quality of the food hasn't changed but the choices have.

 

MDR choices have been scaled back so much that several nights on our recent cruise we didn't dine there as there was nothing on the menu that appealed.  In the past you could always fall back on the  'classics' but these are no longer available.

 

What I found most bizarre was the significant lack of vegetable choices in the WJ. 

Quality of food HAS changed. Thats what all the complaints are about.

[Morecruisesplz]

19 hours ago, seasidemama said:

I think it depends on the ship. I'm not loving the new menu but most nights there were good enough options. I was surprised to learn my children and I liked Indian food or at least RCCL's version of it. Disappointed that most nights that's all we had. Even on nights where we liked things on the menu that weren't Indian dishes - there were much too many instances of us sending the food back (lack of quality mostly - rubbery or tough meat, extremely salty dishes etc) and just reverting to that night's Indian option. The goat cheese tart had a microscopic piece of goat cheese on top of a very bland vegetable tart. The chicken dish with the puff pastry on top (not sure the name) was actually some broth topped with puff pastry and a piece or two of rubbery meat which was probably? chicken.. WJ has been sad to look at on Freedom and Harmony.  Pizza is consistently a good option when you're hungry, but I'm not a pizza lover and that is my last resort usually. I used to really look forward to the dining part of the cruises. Now It's just mostly eating meh to not terrible food so that we're not hungry. Tenderloin and lobster were the exceptions. 

Yes, "good enough" is not what most of cruise for.

[mcatmcat]

13 hours ago, Mountaineer0313 said:

Well, this thread makes me glad we always buy the specialty dining package lol. Pretty sure we've only eaten in the MDR like 3 times ever.

 My plan was the same for my upcoming RCL cruise, get a dining package, but I concluded that rather switch to celebrity lol

[icsys]

8 hours ago, fredmdcruisers said:

Quality of food HAS changed. Thats what all the complaints are about.

 

Subjective... the quality of the food last week on Symphony seemed to be as good as any previous sailings. The food choices however were certainly not.

 

Edited May 11, 2023 by icsys

[icsys]

16 hours ago, Mountaineer0313 said:

Well, this thread makes me glad we always buy the specialty dining package lol. Pretty sure we've only eaten in the MDR like 3 times ever.

 

2 hours ago, mcatmcat said:

 My plan was the same for my upcoming RCL cruise, get a dining package, but I concluded that rather switch to celebrity lol

 

Cynics may argue that is the intention... cut costs AND make more on the upsell.

[Mountaineer0313]

6 hours ago, mcatmcat said:

 My plan was the same for my upcoming RCL cruise, get a dining package, but I concluded that rather switch to celebrity lol

We did Celebrity for the first time last year and LOVED IT. We’re doing Celebrity in January, but Royal had the itinerary we wanted for the Norwegian Fjords next year, so definitely getting a dining package. 

[cruiseboy89130]

23 hours ago, xtremegk said:

There are 6 appetizers and 7 entrees on the menu every night. Every night's entrees include options for fish, chicken, beef, pasta, vegetarian and Indian.

Yes and those options will repeat on 3-4 other menues - so you are only getting 1-2 new options each night!

[xtremegk]

13 minutes ago, cruiseboy89130 said:

Yes and those options will repeat on 3-4 other menues - so you are only getting 1-2 new options each night!

 

But it's not the same fish, chicken, beef, pasta, vegetarian or Indian offerings each night... Pecan crusted salmon and fried cod nuggets are hardly similar. Just struggle to see where there's a lack of variety.

[cruiseboy89130]

11 minutes ago, xtremegk said:

 

But it's not the same fish, chicken, beef, pasta, vegetarian or Indian offerings each night... Pecan crusted salmon and fried cod nuggets are hardly similar. Just struggle to see where there's a lack of variety.

I said they have a few new options each night but every menu will have some same options as the other menues - also they are sneaky they change the description on some items but they are exactly the same or almost the same just some minor change...

Edited May 11, 2023 by cruiseboy89130

[HappyTexan44]

One thing I noticed on the recent review from those two guys we've been discussing.   They said that the Shrimp Cocktail on the British night was the British way.   Right before they said that I'd thought, "What is that, it isn't Shrimp Cocktail"   I expected the American way of Martini glass with cocktail sauce and shrimp hanging on the rim.  
 

[Ret MP]

On 5/10/2023 at 8:57 AM, moposh said:

My onion soup was sooooo hot temperature wise that it was hard to eat.  One night I asked waiter if it could be a little cooler.  He just kinda laughed.  😄

That falls into the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" category.  My dad, if he was served anything other than HOT food and/or on a cold plate, he'd return it until it was what he expected. Don't bring him a steak if it wasn't sizzling on the plate. At home, he lived with us for the last 6 years of his life, and when he got coffee fresh out of the K cup machine (the K cup machine was set to 192 degrees/the hottest setting), he put the mug in the mic to get it even hotter.