Food in decline?

[Kbonner]

1 hour ago, shofer said:

The worst food I ever had on a cruise was on Vision of the Seas-2015 Med cruise.  Even the buffet had poor selection and taste.  That survey got a big, fat ZERO.  Everyone in our group did the same. Two years later, we were on Vision again for a Baltic cruise and the food was great!  So I guess they do pay attention to the survey.

Or the Chef was on vacation during your 2nd tour

[mjldvlks]

On 2/26/2024 at 10:32 AM, jeh10641 said:

The "Law of Supply and Demand" will answer your question. If pricing drives away customers, prices will retreat, maybe not all the way but enough to spark demand.

 

In the meantime, our Royal cruise (Anthem OTS) had very few of the complaints found in this conversation. Included food was very good and choices were ample. Service was impeccable. Did i miss not having two cabin attendants? No. Did I miss two daily cabin cleanups? No. Most hotels do not offer those services.  Many do not even offer daily service on longer stays.

 

If you do not want to pay Icon OTS prices, there are many more options in Royal's fleet. I do not care about all the bells and whistles that she offers. For me, destinations are more important than the ship. The megaships cannot visit the smaller, less visited places. Those are what I like.

 

By the way, my preferred cruise line is HAL.

You again change the subject from the listed topic “Food in Decline?” to a discussion of price. Any discussion of supply and demand generally assumes the product remains the same. Even you seem to agree the product has diminished — at least as to service. Hack the product enough and it’s not marketable at any price. For me, Royal has reached that point. I simply am not interested in the product at any price. 

[jeh10641]

1 hour ago, mjldvlks said:

You again change the subject from the listed topic “Food in Decline?” to a discussion of price. Any discussion of supply and demand generally assumes the product remains the same. Even you seem to agree the product has diminished — at least as to service. Hack the product enough and it’s not marketable at any price. For me, Royal has reached that point. I simply am not interested in the product at any price. 

First off, I did not change the subject to pricing but was responding to somebody who had. Second, I did not find the human service or food diminished in any way. One or two cabin cleanups per day is fine with me. All of the food we had was tasty and abundant. Staff members were friendly, efficient and willing to talk from management to servers.

 

So far, Royal's booking activity has been above average for 2024 and beyond so I guess that people are ENJOYING their trips despite the naysayers.

 

I am not a member of the Loyal to Royal bunch but I certainly enjoy their ships and everything on board. I should have bought their stock when it was in the $50 range. Woulda, shoulda. 

[Oceansaway17]

I will reply before this thread is closed.

On any given week each ship might have issues but I feel the overall do the best they can.

Specialty restaurants is a way to get more variety.

Overall, there is not a 4- or 5-star restaurant IMHO on any ship.  Most food is pretty good.

Stick to veggies and salads and the wonderful bread is what I do a lot as I am on the ship to see things and enjoy entertainment.  Back on land I can cook for myself very nicely.  Cruising is not about cuisine like it used to be.

[OCSC Mike]

9 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

Cruising is not about cuisine like it used to be.

It largely still is for me. Food is subjective. 

[firefly333]

16 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

It largely still is for me. Food is subjective. 

Agree and imo there is no doubt that food has declined. Little things like honeydew melon with the fruit now gone. I used to find arugula lettuce in the cafe as a lettuce choice. .. only a year ago. Fewer choices. Both of which I saw on carnival who is doing the opposite and stepping up menus. 

 

I just eat more at specialty and it seems I always have some obc, so it doesnt stop me from cruising, but imo food has declined.

[zebra36]

IMHO food quality and choices have declined YMMV!

[toxicfairy]

On 1/12/2024 at 10:41 AM, JeffT237 said:

You probably won't find the answer you are looking for on this board, YouTube or any social media platform. I'm just as guilty of reading and watching many people's views on food and all things cruising, however in the 3 cruises we have done (not all on RCI) post pandemic we have found most of the complaints about the onboard experiences to be overly exaggerated.  After too much time on CC I have questioned should I even cruise anymore, but once onboard most of those concerns quickly went away.  

 

If you do chose to cruise on Royal I'm willing to bet you will find the food to be good, whether that be the included food or if you choose to do speciality dining.  If you're that concerned stick with Celebrity since you already know you like it.  Best of luck with whatever you decide, it's still cruising!

I think it's people like me who have been cruising for many years that remember much better food. The kind you got excited about. It's not that the food now is horrible.  It's that when you compare it to what use to be served It's very disappointing!

[mjldvlks]

11 hours ago, jeh10641 said:

. . . Second, I did not find the human service or food diminished in any way. One or two cabin cleanups per day is fine with me. . .

Unless you contend Royal never had two “cabin cleanups” a day.   The second sentence above clearly contradicts the first. The fact you are OK with the reduction of service doesn’t make it any less a reduction. I and others have cited specific reductions in the quality of included food options. Again, you maybe OK with the reduced quality, the reductions are obvious and many. I could list many more. 

 

Please understand I am not blaming the staff —  I agree they are, for the most part doing the best they can. I feel sorry for the room attendants and wait staff who are getting more and more pressure to get good ratings while getting more rooms to take care of or tables to serve. You maybe happy with the decline — you may even continue to contend there haven’t been any declines because things remain OK. I am not willing to settle for that low of a bar. I was loyal to Royal for years. 10 years ago I was avidly defending Royal from criticisms of curs and nickel and diming.  But I feel like the present state of affairs is virtually a spit in the face for those who have been loyal. Personally, I’ve had enough — I’m done. 
 

I saw a video recently about Boeing’s current problems. The presenter argued that, after the Boeing merger with McDonnell Douglas in the late nineties, Boeing changed its corporate philosophy to one that emphasized share value above all else. As a result, corners began to be cut and safety compromised. Employees became afraid to point out problems. The company that was once known for quality and reliability is now having to explain why its planes are literally falling out of or coming apart in the sky. I don’t want to be overly dramatic, and as far as I know, none of the cuts of any cruise line have compromised passenger safety, so the comparison is not perfect. I mention this only as an example to point out compromising the product in order to maintain or increase profits is fraught with danger. Boeing (along with Airbus)  is one of only two makers of large airliners.  So Boeing will undoubtedly survive. But the controversies are starting to impact sales. Royal has no such security blanket. Destroy the product and I doubt the company will survive. Nobody has to take a cruise vacation. 

[Georgeny]

6 hours ago, mjldvlks said:

Royal has no such security blanket. Destroy the product and I doubt the company will survive. Nobody has to take a cruise vacation. 

 

Well said and also a point I have made in past. Airlines will survive simply because the need to get from point A to B exists for many. The need to be on a cruise ship, not so much. Ocean liners don't exist, they were put business by airplanes. If someday someone invents a system to beam us up Scotty airlines will disappear. Once land resorts and cruise ships offer equal value, getting there fast thanks to nickel dime culture and service reductions, cruise ships will disappear.

 

Cruiselines are steeped in debt, there fault. The urge to be biggest, to have the most outrageous activities, do they really need those slides etc. The core business of service, food, and relaxation has developed into must be Disney at Sea.

[CJDepew]

Was on the 2/24 sailing of the Adventure of the Seas. Previous cruise was same ship, 2/23/2020. The difference in food quality was obvious and the crowd control for the Windjammer was an issue on the cruise last month, although I will say that breakfast each day was very good and there were plenty of options.

 

I'm not a buffet snob. I can be quite happy at Golden Corral, if that gives you any idea of my highly developed culinary tastes. The lunch and dinner selections were pleasing to the eye but seemed to have little taste. I was really excited to dig into my chicken fajitas on Mexican night, but there was as much gristle as there was chicken. Most of my meals ended up with a few chicken tenders, which were very good, and a loaded baked potato. I will give props to the S'mores cookies and brownies on the last night of our cruise. They were delicious.

 

Lines were insane to get into the Windjammer each night for at least the first half hour, but not all sides of the buffet were open. I suspect it's a matter of staffing, and those who were there were always friendly and helpful, so I feel badly for them.

 

We ate in the MDR two nights. First time, our apps came quickly but it was a 50-minute wait for our meals. At that point the six of us were ready to just walk out. When the food came, it was tasty, I will admit. Meal delivery was much quicker the second time, but either I wasn't that hungry, or the lasagna was just meh.

 

No matter what, I'm not going to let dining ruin my cruise. Looking on the bright side, I only had a couple of extra pounds to lose when I came home.

[time4u2go]

43 minutes ago, CJDepew said:

The lunch and dinner selections were pleasing to the eye but seemed to have little taste.

This is how I've felt about the food for a while.  Even more so regarding the desserts.

[DreadPirateRobert]

We’re just off Voyager of the Seas and were quite pleased with the food. Our first RC cruise in many years but I’ll put it up against several more  expensive lines.

[Anton]

33 minutes ago, time4u2go said:  Even more so regarding the desserts.

Yes indeed.  Every time I go to the Windjammer for lunch or dinner I marvel at all the visually appealing dessert choices, and then I try a few and they are almost devoid of any taste.  Literally like biting into nothing.

[jeffr6596]

Just got home from an 8 night Adventure of the Seas cruise.  The food on all cruise lines has declined over the past 10 years.  The MDR food was prepared as intended.  It was appropriate temp and presentation and portion were fine.

 

2 nights there was not a good option on the menu imo.  Every person’s taste is different and some might like what I didn’t.  
 

the strip steak is “edible” which is more than I can say for the strip steak from Norwegian and Carnaval. However, it is worst than most chain restaurants like Colten’s, Texas Roadhouse, even worse than Golden Coral.  

 

The obvious intention by Royal is to force people to upgrade to either the purchased steak from the MDR or specialty restaurant.

 

Restricting the hours for free soft serve ice cream and having one machine on the entire ship was irritating.  And it was rationed like cheese during WWII by a RC staff person.

[scooby1]

To summarise this thread. 

 

Food quality is down, costs are up resulting in guest dissatisfaction overall and more looking at other options to holiday. 

 

Shareholders are happy for now though as supply is low and demand high still, will that carry on, who knows. 

[Georgeny]

19 hours ago, CJDepew said:

or the lasagna was just meh.

 

No matter what, I'm not going to let dining ruin my cruise. Looking on the bright side, I only had a couple of extra pounds to lose when I came home.

 

Their lasagna has always been yuck. The meat in it is more like dogfood than good beef.

[Anton]

11 minutes ago, Georgeny said:

 

Their lasagna has always been yuck. The meat in it is more like dogfood than good beef.

It's as if they sourcing their lasagna meat from Taco Bell.  And it's always dry to me, not enough sauce is used.

[jeh10641]

On 3/8/2024 at 8:48 PM, mjldvlks said:

Unless you contend Royal never had two “cabin cleanups” a day.   The second sentence above clearly contradicts the first. The fact you are OK with the reduction of service doesn’t make it any less a reduction. I and others have cited specific reductions in the quality of included food options. Again, you maybe OK with the reduced quality, the reductions are obvious and many. I could list many more. 

 

Please understand I am not blaming the staff —  I agree they are, for the most part doing the best they can. I feel sorry for the room attendants and wait staff who are getting more and more pressure to get good ratings while getting more rooms to take care of or tables to serve. You maybe happy with the decline — you may even continue to contend there haven’t been any declines because things remain OK. I am not willing to settle for that low of a bar. I was loyal to Royal for years. 10 years ago I was avidly defending Royal from criticisms of curs and nickel and diming.  But I feel like the present state of affairs is virtually a spit in the face for those who have been loyal. Personally, I’ve had enough — I’m done. 
 

I saw a video recently about Boeing’s current problems. The presenter argued that, after the Boeing merger with McDonnell Douglas in the late nineties, Boeing changed its corporate philosophy to one that emphasized share value above all else. As a result, corners began to be cut and safety compromised. Employees became afraid to point out problems. The company that was once known for quality and reliability is now having to explain why its planes are literally falling out of or coming apart in the sky. I don’t want to be overly dramatic, and as far as I know, none of the cuts of any cruise line have compromised passenger safety, so the comparison is not perfect. I mention this only as an example to point out compromising the product in order to maintain or increase profits is fraught with danger. Boeing (along with Airbus)  is one of only two makers of large airliners.  So Boeing will undoubtedly survive. But the controversies are starting to impact sales. Royal has no such security blanket. Destroy the product and I doubt the company will survive. Nobody has to take a cruise vacation. 

Shame on you for chastising my comments on pricing as I was only responding to another's comment. Then you rant and rave about Boeing which has nothing to do with cruising at all.

[mjldvlks]

8 hours ago, jeh10641 said:

Shame on you for chastising my comments on pricing as I was only responding to another's comment. Then you rant and rave about Boeing which has nothing to do with cruising at all.

Getting a little personal?

 

I don’t think the Boeing analogy is off topic since it addresses the impact of the obvious reduction in quality of the Royal Caribbean product — which, at least as to food, is the stated topic of this thread. 
 

Anyway, I’m done. I’m tired of beating this dead horse. 

[PSLLI84]

We’ve sailed on about 11 different ships in the past 7 years and always feel the food is just okay. Seasoning is minimal— understandably as you have so many guests with a variety of palates. There are some places you will find a good dish and repeatedly eat that all week. We just got off the Adventure of the seas and ironically the best grilled chicken salad and sandwich was at Johnny rockets. The mac and cheese side I’m chops was horrible and the meat lasagna on Italian night in MDR was horrendous. What kills me is when they do something odd to a dish - eggplant parmesan had layers of eggplant with marinara a slice of random tomato and then cheese - why a tomato in there? Or theme nights like Italian but the next few days they have a random chicken Marsala and tortellini Alfredo - why weren’t those on Italian night?

[SplashOfWater]

On 3/11/2024 at 9:03 AM, Georgeny said:

 

Their lasagna has always been yuck. The meat in it is more like dogfood than good beef.

I totally agree. My husband ordered it on Italian night. I tried a bit of it and we both agreed it tasted terrible. They should just make a meat, cheese and marinara sauce lasagna.