Food in decline?

[Tlbecker1]

5 hours ago, time4u2go said:

You also get free drinks on Celebrity during their happy hours, 90 minutes of internet, priority tendering, and several other things, once you reach diamond on Royal.

 

I agree, but it isn’t the same as it is on Royal.

[time4u2go]

37 minutes ago, Tlbecker1 said:

I agree, but it isn’t the same as it is on Royal.

Very true! And there are other things included with Celebrity that I did not mention.

 

Edited January 24 by time4u2go

[Another_Critic]

5 hours ago, Tlbecker1 said:

The only thing that Celebrity matches is that you receive a free bag of laundry if you are a Diamond on Royal.  The benefits don’t compare other than that.

To clarify, that is not a Diamond match, it's an Elite benefit.  Diamond (when sailing on RCI) does not get a free bag (only D+ and P).

[Another_Critic]

4 hours ago, Oxo said:

90 minutes vs RCI 24 Diamond or 48 hours for Diamond+.

JMHO I like RCI perks better! 

 

I think some would prefer 90 minutes vs 24 continuous hours (x2 for D+).

[Tlbecker1]

10 hours ago, time4u2go said:

Very true! And there are other things included with Celebrity that I did not mention.

 

We sailed with Celebrity twice last year and the benefits are a lot better on Royal IMO.

[Tenderpaw]

3 hours ago, Tlbecker1 said:

We sailed with Celebrity twice last year and the benefits are a lot better on Royal IMO.

What are they?  We sailed Celebrity last year and thought the Elite benefits aren't as good as Diamond benefits, specifically the time and limited menu of free drinks.  I do recall a bag of laundry that was nice on a long cruise, but what other benefits are a lot better?

[Tlbecker1]

2 hours ago, Tenderpaw said:

What are they?  We sailed Celebrity last year and thought the Elite benefits aren't as good as Diamond benefits, specifically the time and limited menu of free drinks.  I do recall a bag of laundry that was nice on a long cruise, but what other benefits are a lot better?

The benefits are better on Royal.😀

[Oxo]

13 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

 

I think some would prefer 90 minutes vs 24 continuous hours (x2 for D+).

We all have choices. Mine is RCI perks! 

[bmarts]

I've been on royal once and the food was not great (may2023). I did not get a good overall impression of this cruise line 

[Airbear232]

How much of the problem can be attributed to Royal now training their own chef’s?  They used to hire experienced chefs from Europe, now they train their own.  Yes, quality of ingredients has gone down but so too has the ability of the chefs. 

[Oxo]

12 minutes ago, bmarts said:

I've been on royal once and the food was not great (may2023). I did not get a good overall impression of this cruise line 

Which one is better? 

[Another_Critic]

2 hours ago, Oxo said:

We all have choices. Mine is RCI perks! 

 

And that is why I said "some would prefer".

[Moltar]

[nferr]

I did seven nights on the Anthem in January and thought the food in the MDR was fine. Everything was served proper temperature and decent quality. Not gourmet food but fine for free dining on a cruise. I also did a couple lunches and a dinner in the specialty restaurants.

[shofer]

On 1/21/2024 at 7:45 AM, Engineroom Snipe said:

I have stated how my experiences were subpar in general since "Royal" reopened after the pandemic hiatus.

 

The food was adequate.

 

I have slowly seen improvement over two years.

 

I am willing to state when the food is not good so I have to admit when the food seems to get better.

 

Food is SO subjective.

 

Here is hoping my very good experience last November on the Jewel was not an exception. I would eat those MDR meals again in a heartbeat.

 

😉

Was this before they introduced the "new" menus?

[Engineroom Snipe]

12 hours ago, shofer said:

Was this before they introduced the "new" menus?

Three cruises after reopening before the menu change: I attributed the lack of quality of the food to supply chain issues and getting the dining crew fully staffed. The food was adequate at best. I did not go hungry but there was nothing special about it.

 

Three cruises after the menu change: The first two were adequate with the last one in November showing noticeable improvement in the quality of the food and its preparation.

 

Again, food is subjective and crews constantly change so the experience can be very different for someone else.

 

I have said many times that all ships have had the same reduced menu for the MDR for almost a year, but there seems to not be any consistency from one week to the next or one ship to another.

 

Since reopening, on a 1 to 10 scale, my cruises have been between 3.5 to 8.5 concerning food: no consistency.

[Another_Critic]

2 hours ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

Since reopening, on a 1 to 10 scale, my cruises have been between 3.5 to 8.5 concerning food: no consistency.

 

RCI = Really Consistently Inconsistent

[CntPAcruiser]

On 1/22/2024 at 9:48 PM, aac1623 said:

Just got done on the Mariner and this was our first Royal Caribbean cruise and I was not impressed with the majority of the food. The buffet was just OK, lots of options though! The MDR was hit or miss, the service was fantastic and we loved our waiters. The New York strip steak I had on first day and 4th day. The first day was great, the 4th day it just wasn’t as good. Attached is a pic of the lobster Mac and cheese, there was nothing cheesy or lobster about it 😂😂 it had 2 tiny pieces of lobster and that was it. I’m not a picky eater by far, this is the only thing I didn’t eat, but nothing was “great” to me. I also noticed the portions were small in MDR. I ordered shrimp cocktail as an app and it came with 4 shrimp. I’ve cruised Disney and princess before so maybe that spoiled me some. 

This was similar to the "lobster mac & cheese" I was served on our last cruise on Vision, November 2023. It was like pasta with lobster bisque. I didn't eat it. Not good at all.

[shofer]

3 hours ago, CntPAcruiser said:

This was similar to the "lobster mac & cheese" I was served on our last cruise on Vision, November 2023. It was like pasta with lobster bisque. I didn't eat it. Not good at all.

We were on Vision in 2015 for a Med cruise.  The food was very bad in the MDR and buffet. (the desserts in the buffet was small bowls of jello and squares of cake) On the survey, I scored the food a big fat ZERO.  Two years later we were aboard Vision for a Baltic cruise and the food was very good.  I knew from embarkation day it was improved when we had embarkation lunch in the WJ and there were LOTS of different desserts.  

[mjldvlks]

When I walk into the Windjammer on Anthem (last week by the way) and they serve a portion of dry cake approximately an inch and a half square, frosted with a little whipped cream (which I’m not sure had any sugar in it) with 1 half of one strawberry on top and call it “strawberry shortcake” — I don’t think it is subjective — the food has gone way downhill. 

[Georgeny]

On 1/11/2024 at 11:27 PM, twonpcb said:

I know this is a very touchy subject but I have seen several posts regarding how Royal’s food quality has gone south recently.  My husband and I were on a Celebrity cruise last January to Antarctica and we found the food superb.

 

Can anyone expound on this?  We have not cruised Royal since before the pandemic.

 

 

 

We sailed Liberty of the Seas in June 2023. If I told you what I thought of Main Dining food and service in the words I would like to use this would not be posted. WORSE food ever on a cruise, couple that with added charges like $28 or some such for a good steak or a lobster we were totally disappointed. We decided to stop crusing RCL until we see some notable improvements noted on boards and reviews. Instead we sailed Holland America in October, noted that many cuts as well but food at least was far superior to RCL. Normally we would have sailed RCL from Bayonne for holidays but decided to stay home rather than be so disappointed but food and service. Let's not even get into recent pricing, nickel and dime onboard policies, constant gratuity increases, and service downsizing.

 

After over 100 cruise over 30 years all lines really disappointed in what cruising has become. Ill attached a picture of the prime rib served me. Looked at tasted like a sole from a shoe. Waiter and assistant couldn't;t even tell you what menu offered or what something on your plate was. So sad, we loved cruising, now, will cruise again but not like before.

 

George in NY 

[KarlK]

Do people actually cruise for the food? I will admit, I am a pizza in the windjammer over MDR kinda guy. I hit great foods while in port, a true goal of mine, be it stewed cows foot in the Caymans, gibnut in Belize, Mexican seafood off the boats in Ensenada. Mass knocking out meals on a boat cannot compare to a land based restaurant. Even back in the day when I would go to the MDR, I would not say the steak or lobster was prepared spectacular. Is what it is, never horrible, but fine dining in this day an age of more people on board means more money is past history.

[Engineroom Snipe]

6 minutes ago, KarlK said:

Do people actually cruise for the food? I will admit, I am a pizza in the windjammer over MDR kinda guy. I hit great foods while in port, a true goal of mine, be it stewed cows foot in the Caymans, gibnut in Belize, Mexican seafood off the boats in Ensenada. Mass knocking out meals on a boat cannot compare to a land based restaurant. Even back in the day when I would go to the MDR, I would not say the steak or lobster was prepared spectacular. Is what it is, never horrible, but fine dining in this day an age of more people on board means more money is past history.

I remember some very fine dining in MDR over the past 35 years on Royal and you are correct that maybe things in the rear view mirror seem "closer than you think".

 

I am not expecting much anymore. All I am expecting now is consistency. I do not pay suite prices so I am not going to Coastal Kitchen. I still appreciate and celebrate when I do get a better than average meal experience onboard.

 

Those celebrations just seem to be happening less often since the start-up. Yes, I had some misses before on cruises but I had many more celebrations.

 

From many postings, buying an unlimited dining package is not always a guarantee for better meal experiences.

 

I will cruise again after this year but for now, unless I get an outstanding value.

 

If the price is low enough, I can tolerate misses and shortcomings. I will lower my expectations with the price.

[Morecruisesplz]

2 hours ago, KarlK said:

Do people actually cruise for the food? I will admit, I am a pizza in the windjammer over MDR kinda guy. I hit great foods while in port, a true goal of mine, be it stewed cows foot in the Caymans, gibnut in Belize, Mexican seafood off the boats in Ensenada. Mass knocking out meals on a boat cannot compare to a land based restaurant. Even back in the day when I would go to the MDR, I would not say the steak or lobster was prepared spectacular. Is what it is, never horrible, but fine dining in this day an age of more people on board means more money is past history.

Yes

[Norwich Cruiser]

4 hours ago, KarlK said:

Do people actually cruise for the food? I will admit, I am a pizza in the windjammer over MDR kinda guy. I hit great foods while in port, a true goal of mine, be it stewed cows foot in the Caymans, gibnut in Belize, Mexican seafood off the boats in Ensenada. Mass knocking out meals on a boat cannot compare to a land based restaurant. Even back in the day when I would go to the MDR, I would not say the steak or lobster was prepared spectacular. Is what it is, never horrible, but fine dining in this day an age of more people on board means more money is past history.

We don’t cruise just for the food but yes it’s a big part of it.