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.

1 minute ago, lenquixote66 said:

Interesting in that whenever my daughter and husband drive from NY to Indiana to visit their daughter in college they make a stop in Harrisburg to sleep and eat..

We live on the other side of the river from HBG. It's not that you can't find some good food, but we do refer to our area as a food desert. Even the national chain restaurants struggle to put out a good meal here.

12 hours ago, sauna director said:

Our favorites were the Adventure OTS and the Liberty OTS. Liberty OTS returns to Bayonne in May.

Anyone know if it will still have the same (free) amenities?

Thankfully they have not ruined Adventure and Liberty... yet. Freedom, Voyager, and Navigator all had their nice locker rooms with complimentary sauna/steam facilities ripped out in favor of adding cabins and other things that generate revenue directly. 

5 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

I do not understand this

The quoted message includes "Indiana" instead of Indian, hence Pennsylvania. I live in Pennsylvania and I don't recommend it. In Central PA they add tons of sugar to everything: salads, sauces, even sausage!

4 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

I never ate meals in the WJ

In olden days it was sometimes worth it, or good for a snack. Nowadays not so much, sadly.

The sushi class was fun, and we ended up with a lot of food to finish off. On some ships, they won't let you leave the restaurant with it--you have to eat it or leave it behind. Some people just had other family members come by at the end of the class to help finish off the sushi they made. 

My DH doesn't eat raw fish, so we made a special request when booking the class that he get different items, and they accommodated as much as they were able. 

7 hours ago, actuarian said:

When my late wife and I first started cruising on Royal over 20 years ago, the food in the MDR seemed comparable to the food that is presently served in the specialty restaurants. Back then, there were only two specialty restaurants, Chops and Portofino.  Chops was a true fine dining experience. We thought it was comparable to a top quality steakhouse in Dallas (where we used to live). Portofino was not quite as good as Chops but I think it was better than Giovanni's or Jamie's is now.

 

IMHO, the present specialty restaurants (including Chops; Portofino is gone) serve food that is comparable to the food that was served in the MDR back then and, as other posters have pointed out, MDR food has gone way down in quality. However, there are a lot more other attractions on the ships now. Moreover, I think that, after adjusting for inflation, cruises cost more back then. In fact, it is probably possible to purchase the unlimited dining package and still pay less in total than the inflation adjusted price that we spent to cruise in 2004.

These comments are right on the money, pun intended! Our experience at Chops on Vision most recently was far from perfect and would have been close to pre-COVID main dining room in some respects, the difference being the food items were of better quality. Sadly, the preparation and food temperatures were not up to what I would consider fine dining.

2 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

Is the sauna complementary?  Also, is sex segregated or coed?  My wife won't want to sit in a sauna with a bunch of men?

The sauna/steam facilities are complimentary, available within the men's and women's locker rooms of the fitness center. They are separate, unlike the thermal suites on the newer ships.

Royal has Indian food in the Windjammer for lunch and dinner (possibly breakfast too), and an Indian selection on the main dining room menu each night. It has always been available on the buffet, but has come and gone on the MDR menu, so at times we've had to ask for it.

My DH and I always bring our tuxes and wear them on formal nights ... except for night two on our most recent cruise. For whatever reason, we just didn't feel up to it on this most recent cruise, and our tablemates weren't dress-up types, so we didn't dress for the second formal night. 

Can confirm very poor food quality on Vision of the Seas in November 2023 sailing out of Baltimore. Even the Indian food was bad! So-called New York Strip was a shredded mess in the MDR. We were so disappointed with the quality drop in every venue we tried on that sailing. Even Chops had issues with the food temperatures for the sides and steaks.

Love that Adventure is one of the older ships that still has a nice locker room in the fitness center with steam/sauna facilities. They've ripped these out of Navigator and ruined her.

DH and I brought our tuxes and wore them on the first formal night of our last cruise. As it turned out, we ended up not wearing them on the second formal night, partly because our tablemates in the MDR were not dress-up folks, but also because of the itinerary and the fact that we just didn't feel up to it. That was a first for us, not wearing tuxes since we've brought them on a cruise. I guess we're slipping.

4 hours ago, Jomykje said:

I was reading this thread to find the answer to the following question: does the jewel of the seas sauna and steamroom have a relaxation room nearby that you can use after you went into the sauna or not. I went to the sauna last year on the Jewel but did not see a room like that: just the sauna, steamroom, showers and lockers. Did I miss the relaxation room, or is there none?

 

And after reading this thread I am confused: are you allowed to use the single-sex sauna naked or do you have to wear a swimsuit? Last year I wore my swimsuit because I thought I had to. 

I can't answer about a relaxation room, but on Royal's ships, we've always gone naked, sitting on a towel, in same-sex-only steam rooms and saunas. It is not necessary to wear a swimsuit. It is required in the thermal suites, however, on ships that only have these mixed-sex facilities. 

We always enjoyed lunch in the MDR on sea days, though on our last cruise (Vision of the Seas), we had mixed experiences. One meal was so slow and so bad that we gave up and left before dessert to go to the Windjammer to get something to eat. Another meal was just fine the way they used to be, but overall the new MDR lunch menus aren't that good in our opinion. They even threw in an extra lunch in the MDR because of an itinerary change, but it wasn't that great. I'm thinking that with the options on Oasis-class ships we might not miss sea day lunches in the MDR as much, but it was always a treat.

Used to enjoy the cold soups (as well as hot soups) on Royal very much, but the cold ones are mostly no longer on the menu. I had given up most of them anyway because they were high in sugar and I'm trying to cut back. The hot soups on our last cruise, apart from French onion, were underwhelming this time around, which is sad. Their soups and sauces used to be so good.

On 12/31/2023 at 12:09 PM, lenquixote66 said:

Let us say hypothetically that a person had terminal cancer and was in Hospice .Said person would know that they had x amount of days to live and could eat the same meal every day.

Often it is not clear how many days a person has left when they go into hospice, only that their days are numbered. By the time one is to the point of not living more than a few days due to a terminal illness, they are usually beyond the point of eating a normal meal, sadly. I guess this topic can be a reminder to enjoy every day and every meal as if it could be one's last. 

We have often made special requests on our sailings with Royal, but nowadays they are rarely accommodated anymore. They were in the past, such as requests for specific bread items, Indian food, special desserts, but not lately. The one thing I did get that I asked for was Indian pickle to eat along with curries and other Indian food. But it was only because our head waiter was Indian and had some. There was a large Indian family in our section, and they had brought in a few things like that for their group. 

It was hinted to us on our October/November 2023 cruise that once the COVID debt was paid off, menus on Royal would improve again. Let's see if that ever happens!!!

An appetizer of liver pate with toasts, Vichyssoise, whole trout bonne femme, a light salad, cheese and fruit with port, then brandy and chocolates. All of the initial courses with appropriate wines. 

Or a really good grilled cheese sandwich on sourdough bread. 

On 12/18/2023 at 7:21 PM, nelblu said:

Not sure that is the case.  It's part of the streamlining process that accompanied the new menus in which no substitutes or special requests allowed.  The last time I was successful in getting the bites was my sail on Anthem in February '23.

Well, you call it streamlining--it's cost cutting either way. They have eliminated many items to save money and consequently no longer have the ingredients available. 

3 hours ago, Saturngrl said:

I start with Meclazine (Bonine) 25 mg twice a day, starting at 48 hours before embarkation.  This helps acclimate me to the medication without drowsiness.  Once on board, I also supplement this medication with other Central Nervous Suppressants (CNS) otherwise known as adult beverages paid for in the beverage package. 

This is generally what I do, and I buy the generic 100-count bottles at the pharmacy (may also be available online). I've supplemented with ginger capsules for a queasy stomach.

On 12/20/2023 at 7:33 AM, goofy810 said:

You just need to ask on the Vision we had them every night but night 1 in Aug on Vision

As mentioned, this was on our October/November cruise on Vision, which is subsequent to August, and we did ask, but they are not available. I'm glad you were able to get them, but we did not.

On 12/13/2023 at 5:24 PM, goldfish65 said:

Partial blame to the anti-gluten movement and the shutdown. Many people avoiding bread altogether. Changes in bakery staff. The pastry chef at the resort where I work makes only one kind of bread for the steakhouse, a very good roasted shallot and thyme brioche. Also packaged gluten-free bread that comes frozen. Small changes that save a lot of resources.

It's because of the post-Covid drastic measures to cut costs. Royal has changed the menu from top to bottom and is no longer bringing in a lot of the specialty ingredients needed to make the better bread items they used to (such as savory bites). On our galley tour, we saw firsthand how they have cheapened everything, including pictures of how they do the thin little cuts of beef they call steaks for the MDR, because corporate wants them to get an impossible number of steaks out of each loin. They are impossible to cook properly now.

On 12/15/2023 at 2:59 PM, AlohaLivin said:

If you get the right server, you can get them. We actually had the headwaiter on EX sure we had some. But our last sailing on GR everyone claimed it was not possible (including the MDR mgt). So I guess it depends on the server and the ship. But they sure are delicious when you can get them! 

We've now been told on several cruises that they are no longer available since they do not carry the specialty ingredients to make them any longer. There were major cutbacks in the bakery after Covid and the quality of the breads has definitely suffered on Royal. We really miss these tasty little treats.