Has anyone noticed a decline in quality of Princess food?

[GoHuskies!]

On our recent RT to Hawaii out of Los Angeles, I was expecting the great food onboard the Sapphire Princess that we have always experienced in the past.  I was sadly mistaken.  I'm not sure why it is, but across the board nearly all the dishes were flavored in a way that was disappointing.  My theory is that the crew and the officers were all non-Americans who brought foreign tastes aboard.  I'm not talking about foreign dishes--I love cuisines from around the world.  But it seemed that normally American dishes were seasoned in unusual ways, and not to the good.

[startedwithamouse]

14 minutes ago, GoHuskies! said:

On our recent RT to Hawaii out of Los Angeles, I was expecting the great food onboard the Sapphire Princess that we have always experienced in the past.  I was sadly mistaken.  I'm not sure why it is, but across the board nearly all the dishes were flavored in a way that was disappointing.  My theory is that the crew and the officers were all non-Americans who brought foreign tastes aboard.  I'm not talking about foreign dishes--I love cuisines from around the world.  But it seemed that normally American dishes were seasoned in unusual ways, and not to the good.

 

Which ones?

 

[Teechur]

21 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

 

Which ones?

 

And give us the names of each of the galley staff!!! 🤪

[JoRoy218]

I need to share a very positive experience a few weeks ago on the Emerald. Every meal we had (and we ate in various venues, from Reserve Dining, to MDR to Sabatini’s) was just right. The beef dishes in particular were spot on. Perhaps some were not seasoned as we like, but was easily fixed with a bit more added at the table. It was probably the most consistently good food we’ve had on any cruise thus far.  No complaints at all! 

[cr8tiv1]

Interesting observation.  I am not sure what "My theory is that the crew and the officers were all non-Americans who brought foreign tastes aboard."  Asian?  Spices? Heat?  European? 

[Ronnieslady]

52 minutes ago, GoHuskies! said:

On our recent RT to Hawaii out of Los Angeles, I was expecting the great food onboard the Sapphire Princess that we have always experienced in the past.  I was sadly mistaken.  I'm not sure why it is, but across the board nearly all the dishes were flavored in a way that was disappointing.  My theory is that the crew and the officers were all non-Americans who brought foreign tastes aboard.  I'm not talking about foreign dishes--I love cuisines from around the world.  But it seemed that normally American dishes were seasoned in unusual ways, and not to the good.

If they haven’t noticed, then they haven’t cruised lately!!   Especially in the Main Dining room.  I don’t mind the portions being smaller, but when you can’t chew a steak in Club Class or in the Suite Breakfast & every passenger is talking about it, you just realize what’s new in cruising.   I could go on & on, but I won’t.

[SCX22]

1 hour ago, GoHuskies! said:

My theory is that the crew and the officers were all non-Americans who brought foreign tastes aboard.

 

The "non-American" crew and officers have always outnumbered the American crew, virtually nil.  It was and still is hard to find Americans working on cruise ship except on the entertainment team.  Don't see the connection.  Care to elaborate?

[Bgwest]

1 hour ago, GoHuskies! said:

On our recent RT to Hawaii out of Los Angeles, I was expecting the great food onboard the Sapphire Princess that we have always experienced in the past.  I was sadly mistaken.  I'm not sure why it is, but across the board nearly all the dishes were flavored in a way that was disappointing.  My theory is that the crew and the officers were all non-Americans who brought foreign tastes aboard.  I'm not talking about foreign dishes--I love cuisines from around the world.  But it seemed that normally American dishes were seasoned in unusual ways, and not to the good.

You’ve chosen to comment on/inquire about the most subjective of all topics. 

[EDVM96]

1 hour ago, GoHuskies! said:

On our recent RT to Hawaii out of Los Angeles, I was expecting the great food onboard the Sapphire Princess

Are your sure it was the Sapphire? It wasn't in Hawaii since ages.

[voljeep]

it's just 'food' in the mdr - nothing special at all - just food

[memoak]

1 hour ago, GoHuskies! said:

On our recent RT to Hawaii out of Los Angeles, I was expecting the great food onboard the Sapphire Princess that we have always experienced in the past.  I was sadly mistaken.  I'm not sure why it is, but across the board nearly all the dishes were flavored in a way that was disappointing.  My theory is that the crew and the officers were all non-Americans who brought foreign tastes aboard.  I'm not talking about foreign dishes--I love cuisines from around the world.  But it seemed that normally American dishes were seasoned in unusual ways, and not to the good.

When was this “recent “ cruise ?  The Sapphire has been in Alaska since May. The last cruises to Hawaii for that ship look to been at least 6 months ago if not back in 2022. If you are trying to comment about current cruises please give the dates of the cruise

[GoHuskies!]

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses.  To allay the concerns of some, my latest cruise on Princess was in October 22, which is recent for me, having cruised Princess for over 20 years.  The MDR was certainly just "food", but the specialty restaurants were outstanding, particularly Sabattini's and the pizza restaurant.  Steak house was mediocre.  But the buffet just seemed tasteless in general, which prompted my original question.  Sure, it's very subjective--but that's why I asked.

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, GoHuskies! said:

On our recent RT to Hawaii out of Los Angeles, I was expecting the great food onboard the Sapphire Princess that we have always experienced in the past.  I was sadly mistaken.  I'm not sure why it is, but across the board nearly all the dishes were flavored in a way that was disappointing.  My theory is that the crew and the officers were all non-Americans who brought foreign tastes aboard.  I'm not talking about foreign dishes--I love cuisines from around the world.  But it seemed that normally American dishes were seasoned in unusual ways, and not to the good.

Most of the kitchen staff chefs, assistants, etc. are pretty much always foreign. Indian, Indonesian, etc. Have been for the 15 years I have been sailing on Princess

[GoHuskies!]

Just now, ldtr said:

Most of the kitchen staff chefs, assistants, etc. are pretty much always foreign. Indian, Indonesian, etc. Have been for the 15 years I have been sailing on Princess

That's true.  But for some reason, things were not the same last Fall.

[cr8tiv1]

@GoHuskies!  Thank you for the clarifications.  I can understand your concerns about the food in the Buffet.  I have never been a fan of this venue.  I've always managed to find "something" but stay away from lots of the dishes.

 

On the other hand, I have found foods in the other venues to be excellent to outstanding.  I am not a foodie by any stretch of the imagination AND I also need to pre-order my MDR meals.  

 

Could you be more specific (dishes, flavors, etc) on what was not to your liking?  We are all second guessing your review.  This is a good opportunity for you to go on another cruise and see if there is a difference.

[GoHuskies!]

9 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

@GoHuskies!  Thank you for the clarifications.  I can understand your concerns about the food in the Buffet.  I have never been a fan of this venue.  I've always managed to find "something" but stay away from lots of the dishes.

 

On the other hand, I have found foods in the other venues to be excellent to outstanding.  I am not a foodie by any stretch of the imagination AND I also need to pre-order my MDR meals.  

 

Could you be more specific (dishes, flavors, etc) on what was not to your liking?  We are all second guessing your review.  This is a good opportunity for you to go on another cruise and see if there is a difference.

Most of the dishes I encountered in the buffet lacked something--not sure what.  But I agree about the other venues.  

[Ombud]

I unfortunately had to fix 100% of buffet dishes. I don't know if that's more than normal as it was my 1st foray into the buffet. MDR was great but I ordered off the vegan menu and added cheese. Lots of cheese. And omitted salt & pepper. 

 

Buffet lacked imagination. I had 'most' of the elements just not how they imagined them. EX: Add dried fruit, nuts, and granola to their yogurt parfait. How is it a yogurt parfait if there's just a drizzle or smattering on top? Get mashed potatoes add cheese sauce, grilled seasoned onions, and beer. Soup would've been better if potatoes were lumpy but oh well! Cake was inedible. So dry. And frosting was too sweet.  Little things like that 

 

Am I too picky??

[cr8tiv1]

2 minutes ago, Ombud said:

I unfortunately had to fix 100% of buffet dishes. I don't know if that's more than normal as it was my 1st foray into the buffet. MDR was great but I ordered off the vegan menu and added cheese. Lots of cheese. And omitted salt & pepper. 

 

Cake was inedible. So dry. And frosting was too sweet.  Little things like that 

 

Am I too picky??

 

Cheese makes everything better!

 

Buffet desserts look amazing, until you bite into them.    I keep trying, but haven't found "the one" yet.

[Ombud]

1 minute ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Cheese makes everything better!

 

Buffet desserts look amazing, until you bite into them.    I keep trying, but haven't found "the one" yet.

Key Lime Pot from app .... resembles meyer lemon pie not key lime pie but soooo good. 

[cr8tiv1]

@Ombud I like lemon (and not key lime).  But that is from room service.  Toss up between Chocolate Cake and Key Lime Pot.  May have to order both.  Thanks

[Ombud]

@cr8tiv1 I've been hesitant to try the cake but I will now! Was concerned it'd be like the buffet cake. 

[cr8tiv1]

2 minutes ago, Ombud said:

@cr8tiv1 I've been hesitant to try the cake but I will now! Was concerned it'd be like the buffet cake. 

 

Haven't tried it since the restart, but looks about the same.  Room Service was the only place to get a decent chocolate cake....not something fancy.

[Ombud]

As long as we're wandering away from the buffet:

 

IC (international cafe) has a great almond croissant & paninis

[waltd]

We were on the Sapphire for 31 days in December and thought the majority of the food to be outstanding.   

[Coral]

43 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Cheese makes everything better!

 

Buffet desserts look amazing, until you bite into them.    I keep trying, but haven't found "the one" yet.

I wonder how the pie slices are in-tact. My apple and cherry pies always run. I wonder what it takes to make a pie like that (though theirs doesn't taste good).