Food in decline?

[Engineroom Snipe]

11 hours ago, shofer said:

 My last cruise with DH was on Symphony Jan 29/2022 and the food was great.  My friend & I were on Jewel 10/19-30/2023 for a Canada/New England cruise.  New menus aside, the MDR food was pathetic.  We were not impressed by the theme nights which were poorly executed.  It seems that there are more dishes focused on Indian cuisine than the "theme".  We ate dinner in the buffet for Mexican and Caribbean nights and had steak and salad which was pretty good.  Then there's all those yummy desserts beckoning us.  For me, the ambiance between the Jewel and Symphony couldn't be any wider.  My friend was underwhelmed with Jewel.  I'm trying to convince her to try Celebrity.

This is the problem. Inconsistency. I had the opposite experience of having a great Jewel cruise in November in the MDR. I still always enjoy the cruise. I appreciate the effort that goes into a good food experience.

[Lakelife4me]

On 1/12/2024 at 5:39 PM, Engineroom Snipe said:

Legal disclaimer:

 

"I believe what the poster intended to say is that the cheese and meats will have a very short period of time before they are being consumed after leaving the Windjammer and as such, they do not require any sort of refrigeration."

 

I give those items a very short life-span on your balcony!

 

😆

Thank you for properly translating my post!!!🤣

[The_edge2]

We just did an 11 night on Anthem of the Seas and the food in the Windjammer was horrible. It looked like the buffet scene from Vegas Vacation. 

 

 

 

We had cruised Royal almost exclusively until the past year, but other lines are doing a lot better with food selection and quality. 

 

We were on a Holland America cruise in December and the buffet always(lunch and dinner) had rotisserie chicken, carving station for beef, carving station for lamb or pork, pasta bar, stir fry bar, salad bar and typical buffet items. At dinner they had most of the MDR meals on the buffet.  

 

Our last Carnival cruise on the Mardi Gras had Guys Burgers, Shaqs chicken, a panini shop, guys barbecue. And offered the Italian, Chinese/Mexican restaurant as choices for my time dining, for free. 

 

Royal is going in the wrong direction with food quality and selection while the other lines are improving.

[toad455]

Agreed about the food in the Windjammer on the Anthem. Was just on her and everything was repeatative. Nothing interesting and their "daily special" was far from special. Zero variety and they had a station at lunch time service breakfast foods. Ate mostly in the Solarium for breakfast and 270 for lunch. Got deals at Chops and Jamie's for lunch as well.

[Engineroom Snipe]

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.

 

😉

[mets123]

We just got back from the Anthem on Thursday. Breakfast in the WJ is worse than ever. Remember the carving station of ham or different sausages, gone. Replaced with hash brown patties.

[Engineroom Snipe]

10 minutes ago, mets123 said:

We just got back from the Anthem on Thursday. Breakfast in the WJ is worse than ever. Remember the carving station of ham or different sausages, gone. Replaced with hash brown patties.

Sorry to hear that. I had carving stations in WJ every morning last November and I truly appreciated them. For many years, they were gone and like you said, replaced with hash brown patties on a cast iron plate.

 

They had applesauce with ham (white pork, not traditional style Honey-ham) in the morning which I found quite delicious and interesting for breakfast.

[Mum2Mercury]

On 1/11/2024 at 11:49 PM, ALTravelGal said:

Not exaggerating. 

Exaggerating.  

On 1/12/2024 at 5:08 PM, Lakelife4me said:

OK, so you just grab a few cookies from the WJ, drop them in the bag and keep them in your cabin?

We do the same with cheese, crackers and a bit of fruit.  Or we order an Artisan Cheese Platter "to go" from the MDR.  We never take out much -- just enough for a bite or two.  

On 1/13/2024 at 8:19 AM, Moltar said:

sources do matter that’s why it’s very very hard for me to take anybody on this forum seriously when all they do is nag and complain, and I constantly ask myself why the hell are they still cruising on the cruise line if they hate it so much

Agree.  I never believe anyone who says EVERYTHING was awful.  I do tend to believe people who give details.  

On 1/14/2024 at 4:26 PM, Twenty2020 said:

Hilarious. You think a family that can drop $15k/wk for an Icon sailing is used to eating at McDonald's and doesn't know any better as to what is good food?

One of the things I like best about myself and my family is that we can enjoy ourselves at any price point.  We can enjoy going to a 5-star restaurant (or oceanfront resort), and we can enjoy stopping at McDonalds on the way to a camping trip.  

I'm convinced that some people on this board complain about everything because they think it makes them seem more cultured, superior.  Doesn't work that way.  

[lovesthebeach2]

6 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Exaggerating.  

We do the same with cheese, crackers and a bit of fruit.  Or we order an Artisan Cheese Platter "to go" from the MDR.  We never take out much -- just enough for a bite or two.  

Agree.  I never believe anyone who says EVERYTHING was awful.  I do tend to believe people who give details.  

One of the things I like best about myself and my family is that we can enjoy ourselves at any price point.  We can enjoy going to a 5-star restaurant (or oceanfront resort), and we can enjoy stopping at McDonalds on the way to a camping trip.  

I'm convinced that some people on this board complain about everything because they think it makes them seem more cultured, superior.  Doesn't work that way.  

We can also enjoy ourselves at any price point BUT I don’t expect to pay the same price for McDs as I would for a fancy restaurant. And that’s what I’m seeing. For our last cruise on Radiance, the WJ food was not even as good as McDs and we paid a lot for that cruise, don’t ask me how much, because it was way too much. The MDR was good….the WJ was terrible, But the soft serve chocolate ice cream was delicious. 🤤 

[gadaboutgal]

On 1/14/2024 at 7:42 PM, shofer said:

 My last cruise with DH was on Symphony Jan 29/2022 and the food was great.  My friend & I were on Jewel 10/19-30/2023 for a Canada/New England cruise.  New menus aside, the MDR food was pathetic.  We were not impressed by the theme nights which were poorly executed.  It seems that there are more dishes focused on Indian cuisine than the "theme".  We ate dinner in the buffet for Mexican and Caribbean nights and had steak and salad which was pretty good.  Then there's all those yummy desserts beckoning us.  For me, the ambiance between the Jewel and Symphony couldn't be any wider.  My friend was underwhelmed with Jewel.  I'm trying to convince her to try Celebrity.

Be careful in recommending Celebrity.  We are on Constellation for 30+ days right now and are extremely disappointed in the dining.  Case in point, last night's dinner offering was Meatloaf and a vegetarian pot pie with only mushrooms and potatoes.  We sail most of the cruise lines at least 100 or more days a year and find that Celebrity food at this point is no better than MSC or Royal-in fact their offerings are better than what we've found on Celebrity--such a decline, such a sad state of affairs!

[zaylyn2590]

All I got from this post is I need to up my to go plate! 

[shofer]

4 hours ago, gadaboutgal said:

Be careful in recommending Celebrity.  We are on Constellation for 30+ days right now and are extremely disappointed in the dining.  Case in point, last night's dinner offering was Meatloaf and a vegetarian pot pie with only mushrooms and potatoes.  We sail most of the cruise lines at least 100 or more days a year and find that Celebrity food at this point is no better than MSC or Royal-in fact their offerings are better than what we've found on Celebrity--such a decline, such a sad state of affairs!

That is very disappointing to hear.  Unfortunately, I can only cruise once a year so nothing is currently scheduled.

[DerekLF]

7 hours ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

We can also enjoy ourselves at any price point BUT I don’t expect to pay the same price for McDs as I would for a fancy restaurant. And that’s what I’m seeing. For our last cruise on Radiance, the WJ food was not even as good as McDs and we paid a lot for that cruise, don’t ask me how much, because it was way too much. The MDR was good….the WJ was terrible, But the soft serve chocolate ice cream was delicious. 🤤 

I think that is an interesting part to this equation.  Someone who paid $5000 a couple in a suite with a concierge is eating the exact same food as someone who booked an interior for $900 a couple. 

The person in the interior thinks “I couldn’t have stayed in a motel 6 and ate at McDonald’s for a week this cheap” and the person in the suite thinks “this isn’t the 5 star experience I paid for”. 

Edited January 21 by DerekLF

[Engineroom Snipe]

10 minutes ago, DerekLF said:

I think that is an interesting part to this equation.  Someone who paid $5000 a couple in a suite with a concierge is eating the exact same food as someone who booked an interior for $900 a couple. 

The person in the interior thinks “I couldn’t have stayed in a motel 6 and ate at McDonald’s for a week this cheap” and the person in the suite thinks “this isn’t the 5 star experience I paid for”. 

My sentiments exactly. When I get a cruise for the right price point, much can be forgiven in meal quality compared to spending top dollar as you stated.

[Tatka]

We just sailed for #7 time on Anthem after pandemic and the only thing I missed in Windjammer were vegetable smoothies we had last year for breakfast. Everything else was adequate.

[Cruisegoer]

21 hours ago, gadaboutgal said:

Be careful in recommending Celebrity.  We are on Constellation for 30+ days right now and are extremely disappointed in the dining.  Case in point, last night's dinner offering was Meatloaf and a vegetarian pot pie with only mushrooms and potatoes.  We sail most of the cruise lines at least 100 or more days a year and find that Celebrity food at this point is no better than MSC or Royal-in fact their offerings are better than what we've found on Celebrity--such a decline, such a sad state of affairs!

Makes me excited and happy to be going on the new Carnival Jubilee in May, food videos on YouTube look GREAT!

[Cayman1]

On 1/12/2024 at 6:35 AM, Ourusualbeach said:

We were just on the Odyssey over NYE and I found that the food had improved in the last 9 months.  Much more variety in the WJ and better quality.  While we did not eat in the dining room we had family that did and they said the same thing.  Also had friends on board the Wonder over NYE and they agreed they had seen a improvement.

 

Is it back to pre covid times, probably not but for me anyway it has improved post covid.

 

We were on Odyssey for Christmas and 100% agree. The WJ was one of the best ones that I have experienced on any ship. 

 

[Oxo]

On 1/21/2024 at 12:04 PM, gadaboutgal said:

Be careful in recommending Celebrity.  We are on Constellation for 30+ days right now and are extremely disappointed in the dining.  Case in point, last night's dinner offering was Meatloaf and a vegetarian pot pie with only mushrooms and potatoes.  We sail most of the cruise lines at least 100 or more days a year and find that Celebrity food at this point is no better than MSC or Royal-in fact their offerings are better than what we've found on Celebrity--such a decline, such a sad state of affairs!

Food is subjective! Example, we think MSC food is the worst of all cruise lines. Yes, we cruise MSC and have done so since Jan 2009.

Yes, we know it is European  or Italian style. Traveled to Europe many times. Still, we disagree. 

[SUgwoz]

Did two night in MDR with a group that recently did MSC, Norwegian, and Carnival. Everyone seemed pleased with the food, if the appetizer was sparse they got a second. Enjoyed their meals and dessert. 

 

I set my expectations low and found the food solid. Didn't walk away dissapointed at all, actually enjoyed everything they served and was good temp. 

 

I was more disappointed with Solarium bistro. Not exactly sure why, but just seemed lacking. Also Johnny Rockets breakfast seemed weaker that previous experiences. 

 

Still speciality dinner is the way to go. Giovanni for lunch was great and very good value at $18/person. 150 Central Park, not as good value, but still my favorite dining experience. 

[Engineroom Snipe]

12 minutes ago, SUgwoz said:

I set my expectations low and found the food solid. Didn't walk away dissapointed at all, actually enjoyed everything they served and was good temp.

 

A very honest review about how our expectations color our food experiences.

 

We have set our expectations much lower than what we experienced in the past so we are not disappointed.

 

Food is food. We do not go to bed hungry. I just really enjoy a good food experience which seems harder to find on a consistent basis with 'Royal' compared to years past.

 

Thank you for your opinion.

[Pellaz]

10 hours ago, Cruisegoer said:

Makes me excited and happy to be going on the new Carnival Jubilee in May, food videos on YouTube look GREAT!

We sailed on the Mardi Gras, very similar to Jubilee, and we were amazed at all the "free"/included dining venues.  I discovered exactly what shawarma was, and also bulgogi beef, thanks to the station on the Lido and Street Eats, respectively.  And then there are a myriad of other options, from Shaq's Big Chicken to the oft-overlooked Fresh Creations salad bar up in Serenity.  

If you haven't opted for YTD, please do so, since YTD also includes Cucina del Capitano and Chibang! as part of your dining experience as well as the MDR.  

[Morecruisesplz]

On 1/14/2024 at 6:16 PM, Twenty2020 said:

, I have no idea). 

This

[SUESEABE]

On 1/21/2024 at 11:39 AM, lovesthebeach2 said:

For our last cruise on Radiance, the WJ food was not even as good as McDs and we paid a lot for that cruise, don’t ask me how much, because it was way too much. The MDR was good….the WJ was terrible, But the soft serve chocolate ice cream was delicious. 🤤 

When were you on the Radiance? We board her in March, hopefully they'll improve by then...

[aac1623]

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. 

[Morecruisesplz]

2 hours ago, SUESEABE said:

When were you on the Radiance? We board her in March, hopefully they'll improve by then...

Not likely.