Has anyone noticed a decline in quality of Princess food?

[Guest ldtr]

10 minutes ago, Crown Vic said:

Gracious! What’s wrong with haggis? No need to comment as long as you leave bagpipes outta the conversation. Och aye! Cheers…

They had it on my British Isles cruise on the day we were in Scotland (the inside stuffing mixture, not the lining).  Was pretty good

Edited July 16, 2023 by ldtr

[EDVM96]

1 hour ago, ldtr said:

Try medical meetings, such as the Oncology meeting generally held in Whistler each year.

Sounds good, but that's not my league. 😄

[Crown Vic]

8 minutes ago, ldtr said:

They had it on my British Isles cruise on the day we were in Scotland (the inside stuffing mixture, not the lining).  Was pretty good

👍 👍 

[GoHuskies!]

5 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

I have always found the west coast cruises to compare unfavorably with Princess cruises from other parts of the world.  I can't speculate about why that would be, but I do feel comfortable making the generalization.   I doubt that it has anything to do with non-American chefs.  That would be common I think across the board, not just for West coast cruises.  

Who knows?  You might be right.  But most of my cruises have originated from the west coast, so I am doing that comparison.

[GoHuskies!]

3 hours ago, ldtr said:

They had it on my British Isles cruise on the day we were in Scotland (the inside stuffing mixture, not the lining).  Was pretty good

Gotta admit, I've never eaten haggis.  But just the thought of the ingredients makes me all OOGLY inside! 🤪

[SCX22]

I still think that cruise line food is convention/hotel banquet food because of the preparation method.  It's cooked in large batches to feed hundreds/thousands of people.  It's nourishment, but you can't expect top quality nor can there be much attention paid to to detail. 

 

As far as West Coast cruises go, the Executive Chef told me on the Royal Princess in January that food on the West Coast of the the U.S. costs more than than in other parts of the world, which is why there is less variety and/or the cooks have to take shortcuts.  The food budget doesn't go far.  Not sure if this is accurate or if he was just making excuses.

Edited July 16, 2023 by SCX22

[startedwithamouse]

9 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

I still think that cruise line food is convention/hotel banquet food because of the preparation method.  It's cooked in large batches to feed hundreds/thousands of people.  It's nourishment, but you can't expect top quality nor can there be a much attention paid to to detail. 

 

As far as West Coast cruises go, the Executive Chef told me on the Royal Princess in January that food on the West Coast of the the U.S. costs more than than in other parts of the world, which is why there is less variety and/or the cooks have to take shortcuts.  The food budget doesn't go far.  Not sure if this is accurate or if he was just making excuses.

He's not lying.

 

Food costs on the West Coast are much higher than most of the US. 

 

[Coral]

4 hours ago, ldtr said:

Try medical meetings, such as the Oncology meeting generally held in Whistler each year.

Four Seasons or Fairmont? I just was in Whistler in May. I love Whistler!!! 🙂 

[startedwithamouse]

3 hours ago, MissP22 said:

If you say so. 

We had a private tour of another large cruise line's bakery, it was all about costs and budgeting.

 

The bread making was most impressive - the largest floor Hobarts, and dough would transfer to roll forming machines, then set on trays to proof. These crew members were just finishing up for their day in the morning, as they work all night long.

 

Desserts were made daily, on a schedule, and cakes were made every couple of days, using a dry mix. Specialty cakes were baked all at once, wrapped and frozen. They were thawed to decorate/frost and finish. The only dessert not made onboard was the Baked Alaska. 

 

Our tour was quite a few years ago, pre-Covid, so I'm sure costs are even more important.  The company was keen to start charging guests for desserts during the day (outside of buffet/restaurant) to increase revenue, since this was so successful on land, and they eventually did.  When we started cruising with Princess, we were surprised International Cafe desserts didn't have an up charge.

 

[cr8tiv1]

40 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

He's not lying.

 

Food costs on the West Coast are much higher than most of the US. 

 

EXCEPT ... Hawaii.  Everything needs to be shipped in, even milk.  But I do know Princess will pick up a few items from the islands (pineapple, bananas, and Hawaiian Papaya).  Sometimes they pick up strawberries (ha ha) that are shipped to the islands.  That's because strawberries will not last the 15 day cruise.

[brisalta]

On our cruise in May 2023 the food quality and selection in the MDR, buffet and IC were not as good as previously. I noticed major changes to menus.

The big difference is that the head chef for Princess Cruise Lines is now Rudi Sodamin. He controls overall what is on the menus and what will be purchased for victuals. He also determines how the chefs and cooks under him are trained to prepare dishes.

[startedwithamouse]

37 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

EXCEPT ... Hawaii.  Everything needs to be shipped in, even milk.  But I do know Princess will pick up a few items from the islands (pineapple, bananas, and Hawaiian Papaya).  Sometimes they pick up strawberries (ha ha) that are shipped to the islands.  That's because strawberries will not last the 15 day cruise.

Hawaii and Alaska are West Coast too. I guess??  

[brisalta]

7 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

Hawaii and Alaska are West Coast too. I guess??  

 

Hawaii is West Coast only if you are geographically challenged.

Alaska is debatable as it is not part of the contiguous with the continental USA though it is on the West Coast of the continent.

[startedwithamouse]

11 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

Hawaii is West Coast only if you are geographically challenged.

Alaska is debatable as it is not part of the contiguous with the continental USA though it is on the West Coast of the continent.

Ships don't go from Ft. Lauderdale to Hawaii and back.

 

Where do Princess ships sail from when they do a Hawaii round trip?

[brisalta]

1 minute ago, startedwithamouse said:

Ships don't go from Ft. Lauderdale to Hawaii and back.

 

Where do Princess ships sail from when they do a Hawaii round trip?

 

Sailing form the West Coast is one thing. Stating a location is in the West Coast is another thing.

[startedwithamouse]

37 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

Sailing form the West Coast is one thing. Stating a location is in the West Coast is another thing.

I was referring to post 82. 

[GoHuskies!]

1 hour ago, startedwithamouse said:

Ships don't go from Ft. Lauderdale to Hawaii and back.

 

Where do Princess ships sail from when they do a Hawaii round trip?

From Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver, I believe.  Other cruise lines also sail from San Diego.

[Over from NZ]

3 weeks onboard last month. Have to admit, thought the food was average in the MDR. Sometimes really good.. sometimes not so good at all.. but generally just average. Towards the end of the third week.. we even went to the buffet a couple of times instead as the MDR had lost it's allure. Nothing to write home about.

[UT-Volsfan]

19 hours ago, Teechur said:

Can you tell me if the Island offered a Super Tuscan dinner (or lunch) in Sabatini's? Also was there a winemaker's dinner, or any other specialty meals? Pub lunches?

 

Did you enjoy the Island? We will be on her in 2 months.

Pub lunch was listed on the lunch menu in the open dining room at least once during our June cruise on Island.

 

Did not see a winemaker's dinner offered.  Only specialty dining we did was going to Bayou Cafe the first night for dinner. 

 

We did enjoy the Island.  We were on last August, then in June, and are booked again for 28 nights in Nov and Dec.  We thought buffet selections were better in June than last August, so hopefully supply issues are being worked out.

[Guest ldtr]

14 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

He's not lying.

 

Food costs on the West Coast are much higher than most of the US. 

 

However, most food purchases for Princess are the same no matter where the ship is. Very little if any local purchasing.

 

I have done a number of west coast cruises (San Pedro, SFO, Vancouver) in the past year, as well as cruises out of FLL and Southampton. Food has been pretty much the same.

 

 

Edited July 17, 2023 by ldtr

[ldubs]

14 hours ago, brisalta said:

 

Hawaii is West Coast only if you are geographically challenged.

Alaska is debatable as it is not part of the contiguous with the continental USA though it is on the West Coast of the continent.

 

I read it as meaning part of a west coast cruise.   Makes sense when talking about high food costs for west coast cruises.    

[ldubs]

15 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

EXCEPT ... Hawaii.  Everything needs to be shipped in, even milk.  But I do know Princess will pick up a few items from the islands (pineapple, bananas, and Hawaiian Papaya).  Sometimes they pick up strawberries (ha ha) that are shipped to the islands.  That's because strawberries will not last the 15 day cruise.

 

Going off topic.  It is hard to accept that gasoline prices in Hawaii are lower than California's. OK, back to the topic.  😀

[brisalta]

55 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

I read it as meaning part of a west coast cruise.   Makes sense when talking about high food costs for west coast cruises.    

 

There is a big difference between retail prices and wholesale prices. Princess purchases wholesale.

There is a wide variety of fresh produce available year round in California at reasonable prices.

Beef is an interesting story and prices have gone up nation wide due to consolidation of the ownership of meat packing houses. The large meat packing houses have decided they can earn more money by exporting the bulk of the higher grade cuts overseas which has led to an increase in meat prices domestically.

[startedwithamouse]

But, you'll notice walnuts making a return in desserts, because they are CHEAP. 

 

Most of the world's walnuts now come from China as many California farmers are getting rid of their trees to have more profitable crops now that China has devalued them. 

[startedwithamouse]

1 hour ago, brisalta said:

 

There is a big difference between retail prices and wholesale prices. Princess purchases wholesale.

There is a wide variety of fresh produce available year round in California at reasonable prices.

Beef is an interesting story and prices have gone up nation wide due to consolidation of the ownership of meat packing houses. The large meat packing houses have decided they can earn more money by exporting the bulk of the higher grade cuts overseas which has led to an increase in meat prices domestically.

100%