Food Selection and Quality Hits an All Time Low

[travelberlin]

5 hours ago, nelblu said:

Are you implying that only those individuals on this or some other forums are the real cruisers.  That's absolutely insane.  

Talking about insanity, I wonder what state of mind can make someone draw this conclusion out of my post. I have not implied what you state.

[nelblu]

7 minutes ago, Vibe said:

I was on the Wonder last week. The waiter, assistant waiter and the head waiter mentioned several times about giving a 10 for all dining categories.  The waiter at Giovanni’s also asked for a 10 rating twice, even after I gave him an additional cash tip.

I've been on Anthem and Oasis twice this year with the latest on October 20 and have not experienced a direct request for a certain grade.  What I have received is a reminder of how important the survey is to them. If you feel that strongly contact Royal Guest Experience Management--800.256.6649 

[mek]

Back to food - my grandson and his wife just returned from Adventure.  They dined in the speciality restaurants 3 nights, MDR 2 nights, and the Windjammer 2 nights.  This was their first Royal cruise so nothing to compare it to, but they were pleased with the food in all venues.  The pictures they took of their meals in the MDR looked as good as or better than what I had on Allure last October before the menu changes.

[TheHawk1]

5 hours ago, Vibe said:

The problem is that the wait staff practically beg you for a 10 rating in the survey. They tell you that if you don’t rate a 10 on everything including food taste and quality they get punished. Most people feel obligated to rate a 10 for food even if it doesn’t deserve a 10.

Yes, the MDR staff mentioned the importance of the survey at least twice while dining during the week on my recent Symphony cruise.  Did that influence my rating?  Absolutely not.  I rated the service a 10, because that was my experience. I also rated the food a 7, because that reflected how I felt overall about the dishes I was served. I can't control what RCI chooses to do with that feedback, but hopefully it is aggregated with the opinions of others and they can determine where changes are needed.

[Loracpin2]

2 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I wouldn’t demean your comment and I wouldn’t discount your cruise experience. But if it is true your entire feedback is negative, I would think you would be at the point you are moving on to another cruise line. I can directly relate to your experience. I used to be an avid Carnival cruiser, but after 30 plus cruises with Carnival, it seemed every time I filled out a survey after a cruise it was becoming more and more negative. It eventually got to the point where I decided I wasn’t happy with Carnival. I haven’t cruised on Carnival for many years and I can safely state I will never cruise on Carnival again. I don’t have any regrets cruising on Carnival other than if all my cruises on Carnival were on RCI, I would be close to reaching Pinnacle. 

My Husband and I moved on with Royal pre-covid.The only reason we took this past July Oasis cruise was to join our Daughter's Family. Love spending time with Grandchildren.

 

So based on that experience, every once and a while I look at the RCI posts to see what's going on. Next 2 cruises are booked with Celebrity (Elite+status with them) and 2 after that with Oceania.  

[nferr]

I just got off the Oasis two weeks ago and the food was fine. I ate in the MDR five nights and specialty two nights. The MDR food was not gourmet, but it was always served nice and warm and was fine. A few of the meals were really good. 

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

2 hours ago, nelblu said:

I've been on Anthem and Oasis twice this year with the latest on October 20 and have not experienced a direct request for a certain grade.  What I have received is a reminder of how important the survey is to them. If you feel that strongly contact Royal Guest Experience Management--800.256.6649 

 

I wonder (sorry!) if it's ship specific.

 

My two recent sailings (yes, on Carnival) are a case in point. On the Liberty in August - I was asked for positive ratings by perhaps 3 people over the course of 3 days - it seemed desperate. Just a couple weeks ago (7 night Celebration) nobody mentioned a thing. 

Tom

[nelblu]

2 hours ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

I wonder (sorry!) if it's ship specific.

 

My two recent sailings (yes, on Carnival) are a case in point. On the Liberty in August - I was asked for positive ratings by perhaps 3 people over the course of 3 days - it seemed desperate. Just a couple weeks ago (7 night Celebration) nobody mentioned a thing. 

Tom

That's tough--3 straights nights.  That's close to verbal harassments.😆

[MommaBear55]

We've done cruises on Explorer and Odyssey within the last three weeks. I was very pleasantly surprised with the improvement in the food. We felt the quality had definitely taken a step up over the cruises we took 6 months ago. There's still room to go, but I'm hopeful

[Scottdalfonso]

13 hours ago, nferr said:

I just got off the Oasis two weeks ago and the food was fine. I ate in the MDR five nights and specialty two nights. The MDR food was not gourmet, but it was always served nice and warm and was fine. A few of the meals were really good. 

Agreed. We sailed Oasis the first week of October and thought MDR was very good every night. We only skipped one night...believe it or not, we skip Lobster night,  and we went to Windjammer and also enjoyed that. We did lunch once in Playmakers, GREAT chicken fingers and Burgers! 

[Hogbay]

On 11/7/2023 at 4:04 AM, Vibe said:

This site is called Cruise Critic, there will be positive and negative comments and observations. I feel that the food on the Wonder (especially in the Windjammer) last week crossed the line of what I feel was acceptable. If you were not on this particular cruise, you would not of experienced what I did. Hopefully it was just a bad week and not what will become the new normal.

Yes I understand what the sites called but you need to have constructive criticism for it to be informative  . 

[MichaelCMTX]

On 11/5/2023 at 4:02 PM, TheHawk1 said:

I go on a cruise now accepting the fact that the MDR is not fine dining.  Maybe it was many years ago, but it's now more like above average cafeteria food provided in a nice atmosphere, with decent service (if you're fortunate to get a good waiter). I don't do the WJ, as there other better choices on Oasis class, like Solarium Bistro, Park Cafe, El Loco Fresh and even Sorrentos if I'm hungry and desperate. 

A point few make.  I wouldn't say the MDR has turned to 'rations a prisoner would turn down' as some so gleefully try to put it, but it's not RC's "A game" any more. The two factors are that there are ever-larger ships and the rise of Specialty Dining for an extra charge. 

[KyGirlHeather]

On 11/4/2023 at 5:55 AM, nelblu said:

I find that the WJ set up in on the Anthem classes is the best (Quantum & Anthem).  As an example, for breakfast, there a U-shaped area and in front has 2 made to order omelets/eggs station, plus a station where pancakes and waffles are being made that you can see.  I wait until the waffles come off the waffle maker and help myself.  Sometimes, I wish they had ice cream that I could put a scoop of vanilla on the hot waffles.🤪For lunch, the same area has 2 pasta made to order stations and a stir-fry station.  

 

I remember, one of our earliest cruise on Anthem, my wife and I visited the WJ after dinner curious as how they handled lobster night.  We could not believe our eyes.  The same area that I described above had a huge bowl filled with lobsters and next were grilled steaks.  Also, an impressive dessert station with various ice cream flavors and toppings and other sweet goodies.

 

Those were the days of Dynamic Dining experience in the MDR and the Tutti salad bar for lunch in the American Icon dining room. As the song goes "those were the days my friend, etc."

 

 

We just off the Anthem last week from the crossing.  Food was great.  We ate in specialty restaurants 7 of the 15 nights, but we were just as pleased with the dining room.  No complaints from us.  

[Jimbo]

55 minutes ago, KyGirlHeather said:

We just off the Anthem last week from the crossing.  Food was great.  We ate in specialty restaurants 7 of the 15 nights, but we were just as pleased with the dining room.  No complaints from us.  

No complaints from Royal either, they achieved what they set out to do most likely, was  to get you to pay extra for food on a cruise you already paid for.

[bretts173]

45 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

No complaints from Royal either, they achieved what they set out to do most likely, was  to get you to pay extra for food on a cruise you already paid for.

Some people will always pay more for things they already have, seriously people pay thousands for a cabana at the beaches when there is a ship next door offering the same thing minus the sand, people pay to go to Margaritaville at Cozumel when they already have the exact same thing on board.

 

But the thing that is important was they said they were just as happy with the main dining room.

[Cruise Girl Forever]

On the Oasis last month.  I noticed the portion size of the entrée' in the mdr was small. And the dishes contained the cheaper cuts of meat.   However, I did find all the food tasty and served hot.  

My waiter and assistant were outstanding.  

 

I do miss the old menu's and selections.  and the chilled soup.  But will have to get use to the new way.  And will I am sure.

 

Had dinner one night in the Windjammer.  I enjoyed what I choose.  It was hot and tasty. 

 

 

[jewopaho]

For the umpteenth time, this thread has demonstrated in spades that food is a highly personal matter. Multiply that by the number of ships in the fleet, and we must come to the conclusion that nothing here will change. We've cruised Royal/Celebrity dozens of times, and have had varying experiences. Our December Allure sailing was excellent in all respects, while the food on our February Beyond trip was disappointing. We're booked on the Harmony in March and the Edge in September. We plan to eat on both cruises.

Edited November 11, 2023 by jewopaho

[bucfan2]

deleted (don't want to be that 'Umpteenth +1' dude).

Edited November 11, 2023 by bucfan2

[jean87510]

On 11/5/2023 at 9:49 PM, CntPAcruiser said:

We just got off Vision, and the selection and quality of the food was poor. Breakfast was fairly good yet, but it never changed except for the addition of smoked salmon later in the cruise. Lunch in the MDR was by far not as good as it used to be, but was better than the Windjammer for lunch. There, it was hamburgers and hot dogs, bland stir-fry with tough meat, stews with more tough meat, and the biggest issue: hot food not hot and cold food not cold. 

The main dining for dinner was only saved by the service. We had late seating and for the first time got a bad piece of prime rib on the first night. Well, actually three bad pieces. One and two were mangled beyond recognition, and the third was raw in the center. Steaks later on were poor quality and unevenly cooked. Two of three pieces of fish I had for dinner were badly overcooked and dried out. There was a fish curry dish that tasted like warm ketchup, and even the Indian headwaiter said it didn't look right and must have been made incorrectly. The last night in the MDR saw a tough braised lamb shank (first time ever), and bland, unpleasantly textured turkey with some horrid corn blend, uncooked "stuffing," and what they called mashed sweet potatoes, but was apparently a mixture of mashed sweet and white potatoes that tasted like nothing. The only dish I enjoyed out of the final dinner was an asparagus appetizer. The Middle Eastern appetizer has been reduced to a teaspoon of good tzatziki, a teaspoon of awful, runny roasted pepper hummus, two tiny triangles of pita bread, and a scoop of Greek salad that had more onion and red peppers than anything, and cucumber with the bitter peel left on. 

We had lunch in Chops one day, and the taste was good, appetizers good, but our side dishes were not hot (how difficult is it to keep mashed potatoes hot?), and the steaks were not cooked to order. We asked for medium and medium rare, and instead got medium well and medium. They were still edible, and we didn't want the bother of waiting for another set to be cooked. Desserts were good.

We were on with you as well and agree with the lukewarm? food at Chops lunch.  I got the cobb salad or whatever the salad in the appetizers.  No blue cheese, no dressing, few bacon crumbles and salad was yellow.  Burger was cold.  Fries were lukewarm.  This was embarkation day and it normally is nice but not on the Vision.  

We has issues with trying to change our MDR reservation from late seating to anytime so we only could eat in the MDR 1 night and actually had pretty good food BUT the survey spiel rubbed my husband the wrong way when he was trying to eat.

We ate 90% of our meals in the WJ as couldn't make our late seating and didn't feel like specialty based on our Chops lunch.  Park cafe line was always long.  I ate the same thing every day.  It was difficult finding proteins I like other then the carving station.  I survived with salads, meats, and the roast beef sandwich on 2 sea days. I did actually lose weight on this cruise.  Food was repetitious and lack luster.  I miss the bountiful steamed vegetables like broccoli.  I like eggplant but 9 days straight is overkill.

Even the CocoCay beach club food was not good.  I felt bad as my husband booked it to surprise me and we had a wonderful time but for the life of me I do not get what the big deal is about stale brownie, mushy vegetables, tiny lobster tail for my husband, cold burger for me.  This was definitely a one and done.  It is a shame because the area is really nice other then the terrible techno music repeating the same song on a loop.  We really liked it but agreed $50 pp is all we would spend in the future.  We actually left and went to get food outside of the beach club as our food was that bad.  My husband eats anything and even he said this is pretty bad, let's just go grab something at the free place.

 

I hope this was just a fluke as normally I can find stuff to eat.

[BND]

We talked to the Ex chef on Jewel last week. He said first off that with some of the company/ies that supply cruise ships going out of business and others almost doing so, they are still getting back up to pre pandemic status.  And, that when they restarted they had to buy what they could find and some companies misrepresented themselves.  They would show really good items when bidding on the job and then actually supply with lesser quality.  Food was a bit better on Jewel on our b2b (20 Oct-9 Nov) but still not what it was.  Beef tends to suffer the most.  They still have work to do.

[Ocean Boy]

On 11/4/2023 at 10:01 AM, Jimbo said:

Actually the Hamburgers were quite good, they actually had a good mixture in them to actually taste like something. Most of the other Windjammer items were rather tasteless with not much seasoning.

 

Hamburgers became our go to items(plus the darn Chicken tenders they had for both lunch and dinner times) when we couldn't find anything else. Sad but true 😞

 

No way the food is as good as it used to be overall, but I guess now a days that is expected and we better get used to it or find another form of vacations.

On Odyssey the hamburgers and Mac & Cheese in the WJ were consistently very good. I new there was always something to fall back on if nothing else was appealing. I don't really need any fancy foods. Simple is fine as long as it is good.

[Ocean Boy]

10 hours ago, jewopaho said:

For the umpteenth time, this thread has demonstrated in spades that food is a highly personal matter. Multiply that by the number of ships in the fleet, and we must come to the conclusion that nothing here will change. We've cruised Royal/Celebrity dozens of times, and have had varying experiences. Our December Allure sailing was excellent in all respects, while the food on our February Beyond trip was disappointing. We're booked on the Harmony in March and the Edge in September. We plan to eat on both cruises.

Wow, that font is a chore to try to read.

[Jimbo]

2 hours ago, jean87510 said:

We were on with you as well and agree with the lukewarm? food at Chops lunch.  I got the cobb salad or whatever the salad in the appetizers.  No blue cheese, no dressing, few bacon crumbles and salad was yellow.  Burger was cold.  Fries were lukewarm.  This was embarkation day and it normally is nice but not on the Vision.  

We has issues with trying to change our MDR reservation from late seating to anytime so we only could eat in the MDR 1 night and actually had pretty good food BUT the survey spiel rubbed my husband the wrong way when he was trying to eat.

We ate 90% of our meals in the WJ as couldn't make our late seating and didn't feel like specialty based on our Chops lunch.  Park cafe line was always long.  I ate the same thing every day.  It was difficult finding proteins I like other then the carving station.  I survived with salads, meats, and the roast beef sandwich on 2 sea days. I did actually lose weight on this cruise.  Food was repetitious and lack luster.  I miss the bountiful steamed vegetables like broccoli.  I like eggplant but 9 days straight is overkill.

Even the CocoCay beach club food was not good.  I felt bad as my husband booked it to surprise me and we had a wonderful time but for the life of me I do not get what the big deal is about stale brownie, mushy vegetables, tiny lobster tail for my husband, cold burger for me.  This was definitely a one and done.  It is a shame because the area is really nice other then the terrible techno music repeating the same song on a loop.  We really liked it but agreed $50 pp is all we would spend in the future.  We actually left and went to get food outside of the beach club as our food was that bad.  My husband eats anything and even he said this is pretty bad, let's just go grab something at the free place.

 

I hope this was just a fluke as normally I can find stuff to eat.

I agree with you, was telling my Wife the other day we have to go on another cruise so we can lose some weight, we eat to good at home. 🙂

[CntPAcruiser]

4 hours ago, jean87510 said:

We were on with you as well and agree with the lukewarm? food at Chops lunch.  I got the cobb salad or whatever the salad in the appetizers.  No blue cheese, no dressing, few bacon crumbles and salad was yellow.  Burger was cold.  Fries were lukewarm.  This was embarkation day and it normally is nice but not on the Vision.  

We has issues with trying to change our MDR reservation from late seating to anytime so we only could eat in the MDR 1 night and actually had pretty good food BUT the survey spiel rubbed my husband the wrong way when he was trying to eat.

We ate 90% of our meals in the WJ as couldn't make our late seating and didn't feel like specialty based on our Chops lunch.  Park cafe line was always long.  I ate the same thing every day.  It was difficult finding proteins I like other then the carving station.  I survived with salads, meats, and the roast beef sandwich on 2 sea days. I did actually lose weight on this cruise.  Food was repetitious and lack luster.  I miss the bountiful steamed vegetables like broccoli.  I like eggplant but 9 days straight is overkill.

Even the CocoCay beach club food was not good.  I felt bad as my husband booked it to surprise me and we had a wonderful time but for the life of me I do not get what the big deal is about stale brownie, mushy vegetables, tiny lobster tail for my husband, cold burger for me.  This was definitely a one and done.  It is a shame because the area is really nice other then the terrible techno music repeating the same song on a loop.  We really liked it but agreed $50 pp is all we would spend in the future.  We actually left and went to get food outside of the beach club as our food was that bad.  My husband eats anything and even he said this is pretty bad, let's just go grab something at the free place.

 

I hope this was just a fluke as normally I can find stuff to eat.

 

Sorry to hear the Coco Cay beach club was a disappointment foodwise. The food we had on Coco Cay from the snack shack and buffet was decent to good and a nice change from the repetitive Windjammer (if you don't count the burgers and hot dogs, something I never touched throughout the cruise). My DH is less adventurous than I am about food and also found it difficult to get a decent meal on board many days at lunch without eating the same thing over and over again. 

[OCSC Mike]

4 hours ago, jean87510 said:

Even the CocoCay beach club food was not good.  I felt bad as my husband booked it to surprise me and we had a wonderful time but for the life of me I do not get what the big deal is about stale brownie, mushy vegetables, tiny lobster tail for my husband, cold burger for me.  This was definitely a one and done.

 

Sorry to hear that. I would never pay for the beach club but have been treated to it twice and loved the food. I agree the lobster tail is overrated but the filet mignon and coconut crusted lobster sandwiches were excellent both times. Also agree the desserts aren't very good. We had funnel cakes from the Snack Shack for dessert.

 

All that said, gimme the Snack Shack chicken sandwiches and funnel cakes to go with the Chill Grill taco bar and I'm just as happy. I can appreciate a good steak but I'm cool with simple, included food as long as it tastes good.