Menu changes coming?

[DiRon]

When I eat in the MDR, I don't want the home style types of food I can fix at home. To me that is one reason I cruise is to try and eat food I have never even heard of. My suggestion is to put the home style menu items in the buffet that way for the boring people who are afraid to try anything new they can have their meatloaf, pot roast, or fried chicken.

 

 

Hmmm - I agree, not a big fan of the "Home Style" menu. Did any of you try the meatloaf? My husband did and of course I had to try a bite, but it was not like any meatloaf either of us have ever had and certainly not anything we would try again. We will stick with the "fancy dishes" - which is one of the reasons we cruise and when (if) we get tired of that we will have pizza or head to the buffet.

[johnmik1]

When I eat in the MDR, I don't want the home style types of food I can fix at home. To me that is one reason I cruise is to try and eat food I have never even heard of. My suggestion is to put the home style menu items in the buffet that way for the boring people who are afraid to try anything new they can have their meatloaf, pot roast, or fried chicken.

 

Let me get this straight,I am boring and should eat in the Horizon Court if I like meatloaf?I spent 50 days cruising last year and after 15 days on a cruise,I appreciate the meatloaf,which is very good!

[Coolmama_1]

My mother has early stages dementia and has a very limited palate. Meatloaf is her absolute favorite and she will most always order it in a restaurant if available. So of course she had it on our last cruise! Personally, I prefer to try things I would never cook at home or be adventurous enough to order. But for my mother, the meatloaf was her favorite meal. Go figure.

[kywildcatfanone]

While I can certainly understand people wanting "foods they wouldn't normally cook at home", it makes sense to me to have a little of both, and that should satisfy everyone's taste and desire for dinner. I like to try some different things, but on our last cruise I had the Fried Chicken one night and it was wonderful. I like having options.

 

Mike

[Coral]

I don't think the large plate, small plate menus were fleetwide. I think they tried them on a ship or two but don't think it went over well.

 

I thought there was a time when NY Steak and Medallions were both on the anytime menus each night.

 

I am trying to figure out how long the "home style meals" have been on the menu as I think that was the last major change......

 

I welcome new changes.

[Hulagirl]

They had the "Homestyle" menu offerings in December of 2008! We were on the Emerald Princess for Christmas and the menus were on that cruise. They were pretty new then.

 

It seemed like the menu's that offered the Large Plate/Small Plate offerings confused people. Have no idea why, but they did. Those menu's had some different food items which were good. They didn't seem to last long. We had those menu's in 2007, like Toto mentioned, when we were on the Royal Princess. I could certainly do away with any homestyle food.

[cherylandtk]

Judging from the variety of responses, there are just as many people who like the homestyle entrees as there are those who do not. I suppose that is why it is a menu, because there are choices. I am sure Princess did some research and focus groups before adding these and had to have determined there was enough demand for the homestyle choices. I don't think I have ever ordered one, but that is my choice.

 

Another thing we asked during the Chef's Table was what happens with the leftover meals...we were surprised to be told that there is actually very little excess, maybe 10-20 servings. When a new menu is tested and becomes operational, they have it down to a pretty good number. That is not to say that on any given cruise the pax mix does not sometimes skew the preferences, but on average there is very little left over. The crew frequently gets the extra meals; if there is lot on a particular sailing it may sometimes show up in Horizon Court, but they generally try to avoid doing that.

[srpilo]

You typed my thoughts! It would not surprise me a bit if changes are made, it will be for cost cutting reasons mainly.

 

Yep, the first thing I thought when I read the OP, was ok this just means "cost cutting"

 

 

I fear it's sad but true

Srpilo

[caribill]

Hmmm - I agree, not a big fan of the "Home Style" menu.

 

Since the Home Style food is limited to just one item on the menu each evening, it is very easy to enjoy the traditional "fancy" cruise food and bypass that single item.

[4cats4me]

:eek:I clearly remember that the new menu had not been rolled out when we cruised on the Golden in April 2007, but I also remember at that time hearing that new menus were being rolled out only on certain ships.

By April 2008, the new menu was in place when we sailed on the Emerald.

Truthfully, I've always been pretty happy with Princess food.

The portions were getting rather skimpy last year and the year before,

but on the last cruise, Sapphire, the portions were much larger than last year's. However, the beef had declined considerably in texture and taste.

 

I have always been able to find something to satisfy my palate on a Princess cruise. I love how they have so many fresh veggies for salads

and wonderful, fresh bread rolls.

 

I have noticed, however, a paucity of shrimp at the buffet. They always used to have shrimp, either fresh or deep fried, and on the last two cruises I haven't seen that.

 

I have never ordered a homestyle meal while at sea, however.

 

My husband's lobster was comical on the last cruise. I actually thought they'd brought the wrong thing because it looked like a giant shrimp,

but it wasn't.

[avalong]

Since the Home Style food is limited to just one item on the menu each evening, it is very easy to enjoy the traditional "fancy" cruise food and bypass that single item.

 

True. But there's no getting around the fact that the homestyle item has replaced a "fancy" choice. I think the homestyle option was a real misstep for Princess. They can talk all they want about trying to offer more of what folks "really want," but I think it was nothing more than a cost-cutting measure.

 

Maybe on really long cruises they could throw a few homestyle options in to mix things up, but on cruises of 14 days or less they should keep it haute.

[latebloomer56]

When Head Executive Chef Alfredo Marzi was on our October 2009 sailing from Sydney to LA on the Star, he told us we were one on the 1st ships to have new menus. It appears that he might have been the chef the OP referred to on the Wake Show & it will be interesting to see if there will be any noticeable changes.

 

Well we were not thrilled with the changes in April 2010 Fla. to Southampton TA. We were however soooooo lucky we had Chef Marzi with us for Chef's Table what a treasure he is. We spoke to him later in the cruise and I mentioned the homestyle turkey was aweful, but I got something else. AH the beauty of so many choices. For the record I liked the menu in 2003 thru 2005. Maybe they can get help from Carnival we like the food when we took our sons a couple of times. (Not to mention the wonderful beds) :D

[Infi]

We were on the same Christmas cruise as Hulagirl, which was supposedly the first cruise of the "new" menus with the homestyle options. The waitstaff seemed very concerned with asking the passengers for feedback on the homestyle options, so you could tell it was a new thing. That was December 2008. So if they do change the menus every 3 years, they're on track. But, from what others have posted, it doesn't sound like a complete overhaul of the menus (like this one) is that frequent.

 

If they do change the menus, I personally will be thrilled. We're very fortunate to cruise as often as we do, but I will admit that the menus have gotten pretty tiring lately. It would be nice to see some new dishes. I just hope new menus isn't just a euphemism for cost cutting and eliminating some of the pricier dishes.

[cruisemom42]

True. But there's no getting around the fact that the homestyle item has replaced a "fancy" choice. I think the homestyle option was a real misstep for Princess. They can talk all they want about trying to offer more of what folks "really want," but I think it was nothing more than a cost-cutting measure.

 

Maybe on really long cruises they could throw a few homestyle options in to mix things up, but on cruises of 14 days or less they should keep it haute.

 

I agree. It's not so much the homestyle item being on the menu that bothers me (although it does; I am not one who would ever serve meatloaf to guests in my own home, why would I want to eat it in a restaurant?), it's just that I'd prefer to have a different entree item that is not "homestyle" -- one that I might actually consider ordering.

[LARGIN]

The new "Short Ribs" option on the last formal night is a great choice.. :)

[conwakr]

I do hope they tweak the menus abit. This will be my first Princess Cruise next year and I did not find the menus as mouth watering as others I've seen or experienced. Not a fan of homestyle and not a fan of singing/dancing waitors but I do understand there is an audience for that sort of thing. We did Carnival several times when the kids were young and I have to admit they have pretty darn good food/menus. The food in the dining rooms was about the only thing I really enjoyed about Carnival. Hopefully Princess can get some tips from Carnival kitchens.

[Whoo]

Hmmm - I agree, not a big fan of the "Home Style" menu. Did any of you try the meatloaf? My husband did and of course I had to try a bite, but it was not like any meatloaf either of us have ever had and certainly not anything we would try again. We will stick with the "fancy dishes" - which is one of the reasons we cruise and when (if) we get tired of that we will have pizza or head to the buffet.

 

My husband LOVES pot roast - so he tried it on 2 different ships, and said it was inedible. He likes meatloaf too, but didn't try it! We would rather stick with the "fancy dishes" too, as we can have meatloaf or pot roast any time at home.

[west coast cruiser]

I have enjoyed the "home style" food. Once in awhile when on a longer cruise a bit of "comfort food" hits the spot. IMHO.

WCC

[johnmik1]

My husband LOVES pot roast - so he tried it on 2 different ships, and said it was inedible. He likes meatloaf too, but didn't try it! We would rather stick with the "fancy dishes" too, as we can have meatloaf or pot roast any time at home.

 

Meatloaf was outstanding,fried chicken was inedible.

[zahav1]

We loved the newer menu on the Coral last month. They do have some more unusual items, I would say less fancy. The fancy items were still there but less of them. I think they're just trying different ideas and see what "sells". I have a feeling that some food was wasted and they do try to 'use up' as much of the purchased food as possible. Some of the homestyle items are great for kids/teenagers, especially during school vacation times.

[boone2]

Homestyle should be termed North American Homestyle, there are not many British nor I venture to add Australians who eat meatloaf at home. Horrible stuff, looks like catfood! Pot roast is another way of making a cheap cut palatable. I agree with others on the board, I would never order that stuff in a restaurant and have never ordered it on board, now if it was Fish and Chips or toad in the hole, that would suit but we go to the Wheelhouse if we fancy that

Terry

[Coral]

Homestyle should be termed North American Homestyle, there are not many British nor I venture to add Australians who eat meatloaf at home.

 

There are many of us in America who don't eat meat loaf either! I don't know anyone who does.

 

I was disappointed on my last cruise, the one evening I went to the buffet, meat loaf was at the carving station. Yuk!

[adjoankora]

I hope they do something as we have decided,after 32 cruises on Princess,to try HAL because of the menu options.

 

We were on Zuiderdam this past December. The food was wonderful! Enjoy!! We will be doing a TA on Ruby Princess in October. I certainly hope the food is as good as on Zuiderdam. Ho-hum food options, taste and presentation would be deal breakers for us in considering future cruise(s) on Princess.

[jrzebird]

I think offering homestyle choices on the menu is a great idea. There's nothing that says you have to order it, so why let one or two menu options bother you?

 

While on a 10 day cruise on the Noordam, I got tired of eating 'fancy' food by the last day. There was an offering of meatballs and spaghetti on the menu for our last dinner. I was in heaven .. until I tasted it! We still joke about the inedible meal. I have no idea why I didn't ask for something else, even if just to get the taste out of my mouth! So while 'homestyle' is great in theory, it should also be great in taste.

[4cats4me]

I would be so pleased to see the entire menu have nothing but Italian

food! Spaghetti and meatballs every night!! Yum:D