Princess - please read this

[SanDiegoSue]

There have been several reports recently on Cruise Critic about the food in the MDR on the Coral. My sister and I (it's her first cruise and my 4th on Princess) will be on the Coral Jan. 17-31 LA to Ft. Louderdale.

 

Can you look into this and see what you can do to improve the food...we're really looking forward to good meals.

 

I'd like to continue sailing with Princess, but if the food is as bad as people are saying, I may switch to another line...I imagine a number of other people will follow.

 

Thank you

Sue

[Pam in CA]

One persons yucky food is another's ambrosia. I always take reports of poor food quality and presentation with a grain of salt.

 

No matter what, all you have to do is ask to pre-order something you would like. Easy fix. While I haven't always loved every dish on every cruise, I've never left the table hungry.

[Sailingpeace]

There are so many posts about people beeing afraid to gain weight and mentions of taking the stairs to burn calories,etc, the food must not be that bad ! I guess you also have to read between the lines. I have no memories of a bad meal on Princess, (some meals I don't remember as they were in no way extreme ( goosd or bad). I do have memories of some really really good ones !

[Cruise Junky]

Wow, we thought the food on Coral was excellent. I wonder what happened.

[Cruisin' Chick]

As Pam stated, food is a very subjective subject. I'm not a foodie, but I can usually find something to eat.

 

If you agree in advance with a review on any subject, you'll probably never visit a different city, see a movie, read a book. There's always going to be someone who doesn't like something.

[Bowie MeMe]

Our family has cruised with folks who consider themselves gourmand, and a child who is on a medical diet with protein limited to 6 grams per day, and a baby under one and a diabetic. All of these conditions were no problem for Princess or for the folks themselves. We also shared a table for 3 weeks with orthodox Jews who ate Kosher. Again it was not a problem. As Pam says if there is something you must have to be happy -- let the waiter or his boss know and often it can be provided.

 

I do believe that if you have just a little tolerance for the fact the kitchen is serving thousands and mostly in the same time period AND your Mama or Family did not teach the Chef how to cook so therefore the Chef can not know the proper way something is made-- you will find enough to eat and probably enjoy it. The line is Princess and you are merely the paying customer --not THE Princess. :D Come on as passenger EAT EAT EAT! Get off as Cargo with the help of a crane.

[Sandy R]

I'm not a Princess "cheer-leader" unless warranted. Just got off the Sapphire and we felt the food was great. I had read about the Horizon Buffet going down hill but we had no problem. Thought there was a variety of food and all very good. At breakfast, there was a sign stating we could request any type of egg dish. The omelets were very good. Also ate dinner at Sabatini's and liked the new menu.

[lovevacadays]

Food is subjective. I've found most of the food on Princess very good. Some things not good at all. I really doubt that Princess would have time to change their menus between now and your sailing. I hope you find it to your liking. I think if you read other cruiseline boards you will find passengers complaining about their food as well while others love it.

[Richie2pies]

I've found Princess food to be good to excellent. I usually eat in the buffet and found the food on Princess to be much better than NCL where everything is recycled and the same stuff is put out each day with nothing noteworthy.

[MHMarkL]

I think the OP is referring to all the reports on the boards lately that specifically point out the Coral and the poor quality of the food in recent weeks. The numerous reports on the boards make one think that it may be a bigger problem than just “One persons yucky food is another's ambrosia”.

 

I too am concerned about this as we are sailing in March on the Coral. We have always enjoyed the Princess food in the MDR but the many complaints in the last few weeks have got us spooked as well.

 

Hopefully someone from Princess will read the many reports on these boards and presumably on evaluations from PAX. Hopefully they will take some action to quickly resolve the problems with food on the Coral and bring the quality back up to the level we have come to expect from Princess.

[calbabe]

My goodness. We just sailed on the Coral in October and thought both our table companions and the food in the MDR were terrific! Maybe it takes a great dining experience in total to garner a great culinary review?

 

Tricia

 

P.S. Hi "Sue" ;)

[Love.II.Cruise]

There have been several reports recently on Cruise Critic about the food in the MDR on the Coral. My sister and I (it's her first cruise and my 4th on Princess) will be on the Coral Jan. 17-31 LA to Ft. Louderdale.

 

Can you look into this and see what you can do to improve the food...we're really looking forward to good meals.

 

I'd like to continue sailing with Princess, but if the food is as bad as people are saying, I may switch to another line...I imagine a number of other people will follow.

 

Thank you

Sue

 

 

Really? You haven't sailed yet and you are already complaining. You aren't even being specific as to what dishes were bad. But how could you be when you are judging solely on what other people have written? You need to take what you read with a grain of salt. If the food is bad when you actually cruise, take notes on specific dishes and then file a complaint. Complaining before your cruise will get you know where. If you really think you will be this disappointed you should cut your losses and try another cruise line.

[Chas N Keith]

Really? You haven't sailed yet and you are already complaining. You aren't even being specific as to what dishes were bad. But how could you be when you are judging solely on what other people have written? You need to take what you read with a grain of salt. If the food is bad when you actually cruise, take notes on specific dishes and then file a complaint. Complaining before your cruise will get you know where. If you really think you will be this disappointed you should cut your losses and try another cruise line.

 

Right on Suitelive! Well said!

[mcrcruiser]

One persons yucky food is another's ambrosia. I always take reports of poor food quality and presentation with a grain of salt.

 

No matter what, all you have to do is ask to pre-order something you would like. Easy fix. While I haven't always loved every dish on every cruise, I've never left the table hungry.

 

Good point Pam ;). We have done 53 cruises & have had several that the MDR was just OK . Like you we have never left the dining room hungry :p

[MHMarkL]

Really? You haven't sailed yet and you are already complaining. You aren't even being specific as to what dishes were bad. But how could you be when you are judging solely on what other people have written? You need to take what you read with a grain of salt. If the food is bad when you actually cruise, take notes on specific dishes and then file a complaint. Complaining before your cruise will get you know where. If you really think you will be this disappointed you should cut your losses and try another cruise line.

 

I thought these boards existed so we could garner information from other cruisers. If we simply dismiss everything we read or that other people’s opinions don’t matter then what is the use of even reading the boards?

 

The OP was merely pointing out an unusual pattern of negative reporting of the food on Coral by other cruisers on these boards. No need to send them packing to another cruise line!

[jrzebird]

Keep in mind, Sue, that if you select a meal that is not to your liking, for whatever reason, you can always send it back and get something else. We often forget that we can do that! And, if there's a legitimate service problem, the Head Waiter should be notified, in a non-confrontational manner.

 

I know you'll have a great cruise if you just decide it's going to be great.

 

Maureen

[LARGIN]

We were on a b2b2b on the Coral this past September... The food in the MDR and The Bayou was excellent..

[MHMarkL]

My goodness. We just sailed on the Coral in October and thought both our table companions and the food in the MDR were terrific! Maybe it takes a great dining experience in total to garner a great culinary review?

 

Tricia

 

P.S. Hi "Sue" ;)

 

We were on a b2b2b on the Coral this past September... The food in the MDR and The Bayou was excellent..

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences, gives us hope that the rash of complainers were just a fluke and its Princess excellent Food Service as usual on the Coral.

[kruisey]

I With the opinion from a table of eight folks we all found the food was not up to the usual Princess standard.

I quietly made a private appointment withe 'Hotel Manager' on ship and we spoke with one another like good friends.I explained I was in the hospitality

industry in my youth.

I said you have great food supplies arriving on the ship.The only thing needed now is that it be cooked correctly then everything will be perfect;)

This chat behind the scenes made the difference the food was delicious from then on.:)

Very occasionally as in other businesses people take things for granted and let things slip.

A little reminder now and again does only good for a Company and its clients:)

[FawnRiver]

People are usually quicker to complain than to compliment.

 

We've haven't been on the Coral (yet), but if we had any dishes in the MDR that we didn't like on other Princess ships, you just let your waiter know and they'll be happy to fix the problem. Just speak up, don't let the resentment fester and ruin your vacation and then vent on the boards after the fact and make other people worry about their cruise.

 

Complain politely and they'll bend over backwards to fix it.

[Nomsayin]

Can't comment on recent food experience on the Coral, but it was fine when we went to Alaska on her in 2009. As others have opined, I don't recall ever having a truly bad dining experience on Princess or any other line. However, one of my pet dining peeves (and not confined to Princess) is being presented with a stained, well-used menu that is obviously long past its prime. Fortunately, it doesn't happen that often, but it's a definite downer on our dining experience when it does.:(

[WVBill]

The OP was merely pointing out an unusual pattern of negative reporting of the food on Coral by other cruisers on these boards.

 

I'm not sure the OP's assessment of recent comments as "an unusual pattern of negative reporting" is accurate.

 

I can recall only two posters who had negative comments. They posted their comments multiple times, but by my observaton, there were more posters who had positive comments than negative.

 

Such a pattern seems to be about normal.

[5326jan]

I have found most of the food on Princess to be very, very good. Service is excellent and our dining companions have always been pleasant and interesting people that we have enjoyed becoming friends with!

 

Also, I don't have to buy the groceries, cook the meals, serve it or clean up after it....... It's heaven!:D

[Quilter n Cruiser]

We were on the Coral in September and thought the food in the MDR was fine with one exception and that was the NY steak with a gravy which was not to my liking. It had a very strange taste. We were on the Coral for 17 days. The UBD was fantastic. We ate most of our meals in the main dining room.

[tunaman2011]

We always found the food on Princess to be very good. Both in the MDR and at the buffet the food was well prepared and flavorful. There may be an occasional miss here or there, but considering they are preparing several thousand meals I think they do an outstanding job. One thing I have noticed about the food is that while the quality of the dishes remains excellent, the food budgets have been reduced. So people may be complaining because the food isn't as luxurious as in the past. But from reading the boards for all the various lines, this seems to be happening everywhere. With the tough economy is seems the lines may be reducing the food budgets so they can keep the cruise prices stable.

 

Good Sailing

Tom

 

1977 MS Skyward

1978 MS Starward

1979 MS Southward

1981 Sun Princess

1983 SS Norway

1984 SS Emerald Seas

1992 Monarch of the Seas

1993 Costa Allegra

2007 MS Westerdam

2008 MS Zuiderdam

2009 Ruby Princess

2010 Ruby Princess

2011 Emerald Princess

Yes I am a pirate – Two hundred years too late