Quality of food on Royal Caribbean

I think the people that make the Applebees comments tend to have no idea what good food is and are just trying to put on an act like they are sophisticated diners. It's a dead giveaway. Quite frankly, some of the food IS worse than Applebees. But that doesn't mean anything. How is that an insult, anyways? These chain restaurants have a ton of processes and investment in their recipes. It should be decent food and it is. They expect banquet style food on a cruise ship serving thousands of guests at the same time to be as hot and fresh as a local restaurant? It's not realistic. The specialty restaurants are very good on the ships and better than MDR because the food is served to you quicker. But anyone who expects the mass market options on a mass market cruise line (buffet, pizza, MDR, etc.) to be better than a local restaurant are simply naive.

 

I have realistic expectations with cruise ship food. Some of it is stellar, some of it not so much. I've been cruising for 20 years and the food is about the same. We are just getting more spoiled. In fact, I think they have improved the variety and options.

Food in the MDR has been on a steady decline over the years, even the specialty restaurants have declined in food quality. Cruise lines are pinching everywhere they can to make an extra dollar and it really shows in the quality of food served.

Deny facts? So everyone else on here that states that the quality of food has gone down is "denying facts"? You are delusional.

The quality of food has been on a steady decline. Hard to deny that!

The quality of food has been on a steady decline. Hard to deny that!

Exactly!

We were on the Adventure in August. For reference we had been on Anthem in February. The food on the Adventure was awful, abysmal. We were wondering if Rccl was trying to see how low they could go before people really complained.

Every night was an adventure. :) I ordered medium prime rib and I got a gray slab of meat. I put it on Facebook and we played "name that meat". Boiled pork was the best guess. I got a piece of cake one night for dessert that had 2 candle holes in it. Yup used cake. Nice huh?

We were on the Adventure in August. For reference we had been on Anthem in February. The food on the Adventure was awful, abysmal. ...

Funny, we were on Adventure this past July and thought the food was fine.

First RC cruise in 85 days. My opinion should be highly regarded as I really can’t cook that great at home. I’ve tried 8x to copy a Caesar dressing recipe and had to spit out 5 of them. My best meal ever was at a restaurant 25 years ago, I don’t expect RC to beat that...but I do expect it to be hot and tasty. Five Guys, our local Tony’s Pizza, Houston's, even Chick Fil A have consistently tasty food...they rarely miss the mark. If RC can hit the mark 5/7 days...I’ll be pleased. Time will tell.

First RC cruise in 85 days. My opinion should be highly regarded as I really can’t cook that great at home. I’ve tried 8x to copy a Caesar dressing recipe and had to spit out 5 of them. My best meal ever was at a restaurant 25 years ago, I don’t expect RC to beat that...but I do expect it to be hot and tasty. Five Guys, our local Tony’s Pizza, Houston's, even Chick Fil A have consistently tasty food...they rarely miss the mark. If RC can hit the mark 5/7 days...I’ll be pleased. Time will tell.

You will be pleased. Food is improving and not declining on cruise ships, just like on land. Ignore the negative folks.

Just a quick reply. We are not picky eaters but we enjoy well prepared food of all types. We were on the Quantum for 53 nights. The food choices became so boring that we would enjoy appitizers in one venue,

then move to another retuarant for the mains and even a third for desert. But then towards the end I went to the windjammer to make my own tacos ect. Just more choice to mix and match. This was for evening only. We lived on the specialty retuarants for lunch and had our favorites. So whether the food quality has gone up or down you just make it work for you. I do know that Holland America Alaskan cruise food has really changed. Does any one remember real baked Alaska being served in the MDR those were the days. Also real leechee nuts next to the icecream. Owell I need to watch my wieght more now anyway.

So go and enjoy your way. Fran

Just a quick reply. We are not picky eaters but we enjoy well prepared food of all types. We were on the Quantum for 53 nights. The food choices became so boring that we would enjoy appitizers in one venue,

then move to another retuarant for the mains and even a third for desert. But then towards the end I went to the windjammer to make my own tacos ect. Just more choice to mix and match. This was for evening only. We lived on the specialty retuarants for lunch and had our favorites. So whether the food quality has gone up or down you just make it work for you. I do know that Holland America Alaskan cruise food has really changed. Does any one remember real baked Alaska being served in the MDR those were the days. Also real leechee nuts next to the icecream. Owell I need to watch my wieght more now anyway.

So go and enjoy your way. Fran

I used to think I would love to go on a very long cruise, but not anymore. I get tired of cruise food after two weeks and don't think I could handle more than 3 weeks max regardless of how good it is.

You will be pleased. Food is improving and not declining on cruise ships, just like on land. Ignore the negative folks.

Based on my experience, I have to disagree... while I don’t think the food is bad, it is definitely not better than it was 20 years ago!

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Food in the MDR has been on a steady decline over the years, even the specialty restaurants have declined in food quality. Cruise lines are pinching everywhere they can to make an extra dollar and it really shows in the quality of food served.

I certainly agree with you, food quality in both MDR & specially restaurants have been spiraling down hill in the last few years.

First RC cruise in 85 days. My opinion should be highly regarded as I really can’t cook that great at home. I’ve tried 8x to copy a Caesar dressing recipe and had to spit out 5 of them. My best meal ever was at a restaurant 25 years ago, I don’t expect RC to beat that...but I do expect it to be hot and tasty. Five Guys, our local Tony’s Pizza, Houston's, even Chick Fil A have consistently tasty food...they rarely miss the mark. If RC can hit the mark 5/7 days...I’ll be pleased. Time will tell.

If you enjoy fast food, you’ll be fine! To me, the key is knowing what they do well and what they do not so well. Foods that benefit from long, slow cooking like lamb shanks are consistently good. Foods, like fish, that can easily be overlooked, not so good.

But that’s the case any time you are feeding large groups of people.

I don't have to:

 

1. Buy it

2. Prep it

3. Cook it

4. Serve it

5. Clean up after it

 

 

I consider myself as a decent cook....not great, but pretty good. I have been on at least 10 cruises and all different cruise lines. I only recall ONE dish (salty) that I could not eat or considered inedible. Other than that ONE dish....I have enjoyed every meal on every cruise line from soup to nuts.

I consider myself to be a very good cook but I totally agree with you!

I have 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 rule when dining out. One third of my enjoyment from each the company, the service and the food. If the food is lacking a little, the service and the company usually more than make up for it.

The food was so bad on my last cruise I only gained 15 pounds I am going to try ??? Next cruise.

“Come on Man”

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The food was so bad on my last cruise I only gained 15 pounds I am going to try ??? Next cruise.

“Come on Man”

:'):'):')

:'):'):')

Thanks Bob be sure to call next time you need a ride to the port

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Thanks Bob be sure to call next time you need a ride to the port

You bet I will Curtis.:)

Our family cruised on the Allure last March. It seemed the menu had changed from the Rhapsody the previous March. I talked to the Head waiter. From my observation, the variety had declined a bit, but the quality of the rotating entrees seemed better. I rarely order a steak on board, because I am from the Midwest, and they are pretty good here. So I order something I can’t get as easily at home. The “catch of the day” rotated, and I found the salmon, cod and grouper to be exceptional. Like some others have said, I don’t have to cook or clean. Sounds like a win win. If I were to go back to our first experience on the Monarch of the Seas in the early 90’s, it seemed amazing. But, it was our first cruise, so I had nothing to compare it to. The funny part was we were in the lowest priced cabin on deck 2 on the MOS, and Somehow, we were invited to the Captain’s Table. We dined with Captain Tor Stangland. It was surely an evening my wife and I will never forget. I did order the beef fillet that night, and it was fantastic.

I wonder how much of it is because the expectation for the quality of food has changed. I mean like 20-30 years ago going out to a restaurant even in a large metropolitan city meant a chain restaurant. Now everything is super hipster food, yelp & instagram friendly, farm-to-table, nouvelle cousine, etc. maybe people are just expecting better food?

I wonder how much of it is because the expectation for the quality of food has changed. I mean like 20-30 years ago going out to a restaurant even in a large metropolitan city meant a chain restaurant. Now everything is super hipster food, yelp & instagram friendly, farm-to-table, nouvelle cousine, etc. maybe people are just expecting better food?

This is well documented. It's a fact that local dining has improved massively over the last 20 years. Cruise food has improved, not declined. But it's not improving at the same level as local eateries. Mostly because cruise food is more similar to catering. It's not a fair comparison.

This is well documented. It's a fact that local dining has improved massively over the last 20 years. Cruise food has improved, not declined. But it's not improving at the same level as local eateries. Mostly because cruise food is more similar to catering. It's not a fair comparison.

I would be willing to bet that most on here disagree with that opinion.

This is well documented. It's a fact that local dining has improved massively over the last 20 years. Cruise food has improved, not declined. But it's not improving at the same level as local eateries. Mostly because cruise food is more similar to catering. It's not a fair comparison.

Sorry but cruise food has been on a steady decline for many years. Most experienced cruisers will agree with that.

Amazing food has gone down but why could it be the cost of cruising keeps going down my next two cruise cost less than my first two and they were 36 years ago.[emoji53]

Some people will never be Happy

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Just off Freedom and was so disappointed in the WJ for breakfast and dinner. After many cruises we have now preferred to have our meals in the WJ but this was the worst we've experienced to date.

Amazing food has gone down but why could it be the cost of cruising keeps going down my next two cruise cost less than my first two and they were 36 years ago.[emoji53]

Some people will never be Happy

 

 

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Not exactly true. Fare is unchanged or even cheaper, but ships a much larger now. 1 Oasis class ship is cheaper to operate than 3 Vision class ships.

Plus while fare is unchanged or down all other expenses- drinks, photos, excursions, gratuities, additional dining etc went up considerably while it doesn’t company much more if it all to offer them.

However... we don’t notice much decline overall in RCCL food since 2004 when we started cruising with this company.