Princess - please read this

[MHMarkL]

No issues with food, I had a bad apple today, should I tell Washington State Apple board to improve their product?

 

If you dont like Washington apples, you should switch to California apples.

[rdsqrl]

No issues with food, I had a bad apple today, should I tell Washington State Apple board to improve their product?

Apple season is over, dear. Eat a grapefruit instead.

[gertz]

My research has been reading the boards a whole lot the last several weeks. I am not going to find every thread again and quote each one or do a statistical analysis, this is just my observations. The OP, I and others have noticed the subject of poor food on the Coral brought up many times in recent weeks. Maybe it is just a few posters, posting to multiple threads. Maybe I am just extra sensitive to this subject since we are going on our first 14 day cruise on the Coral in March. Maybe there is some credibility to this observation and that is the reason the question is being raised on these boards for the opinions of other cruisers who may have had different experiences. Sounds like we may be making a mountain out of a molehill so that is good news.

 

I am in complete agreement with many of you that YOUR CRUISE experience is 90% attitude and 10% what happens. If your attitude is bad then your experience will be bad no matter what. We have always enjoyed Princess food and plan on doing in the future. It can’t hurt however to let Princess know if quality might be slipping in one area or on one ship.

 

I too work in the hospitality industry and have for many years. Our food service operation serves over 3000 meals a day during peak season. Each and every survey and opinion of our guests is reviewed and discussed to see how we can improve. It is true that specific complaints are easier to resolve than general complaints so I totally agree with your point about sweeping statements not being that productive. Ill take my 30 lashes with a fettuccine noodle.

 

Thank you for your comments and in general I agree with them.

I do think that a better way of letting Princess know is to fill out the comment email we now get. Still prefer the comment cards though. Better yet if something is not up to par while on the ship do your best to correct it when it occurs and not just in the MDR.

No noodle required intelligent comments always appreciated.

And for SD Sue who is departing on Jan 17 on the Coral hope you have a wonderful cruise and let us know on the chow. As we will be departing on Jan 18 on the Island, we might pass. My post recuperation cruise, and of all things we will be on the Island again this summer on a cruise tour for our anniversary.:D:D

And PS. If I have a problem with the food there is always pizza.:)

[bplazo]

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 agree with you.

 

I am so happy that I do not have to cook (not that I do anyway) that I can always find something I like on a cruise.

[Chas N Keith]

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:)

 

Simply AMAZING!!!!

[LoveThisCruisingThing]

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

 

You really expect Princess to read this and change the food in a month? Let me know how that works out.

[dr__dawggy]

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.

 

We were on the Coral over Thanksgiving. We loved the food, particularly in the main dining room, where we took most of our meals. Whoever posted they found the dishes " good to excellent" describes our experience to a T. Among the memorable options....prime rib, lobster, lamb chopsn and several fish dishes.

[woohooTOO]

We are on the Jan 3 saling of the Coral. Like many other posters, we have never had a consistantly bad experience with Princess food in 15+ Princess cruises. Sure, we have sent a few things back but we also do that at restaurants. I can say that the food has got to be much better than the white rice and crackers we ate when we were confined to our cabin on the Dec 11 through 18 sailing of the RC Mariner of the Seas.

 

My DW and I are realllllllllly looking forward to getting back on Princess. I missed the smiling faces, the pleasant attitudes and the overall "I really care" attitude of Princess folks. I missed the obvious competance of the medical staff. I missed the orderly boarding process.

 

It's nice to get your water glass refilled in the MDR without having to ask twice. It's nice to have someone bring you a drink in the buffet. It's nice to have lemon available for your iced tea. It's nice to be waited on when you sit down in a lounge.

 

If the food is not quite up to par then we will just eat hamburgers and hot dogs and pizza and ice cream and cookies and milk and fresh fruit and wash it all down with lots of adult beverages.

 

P.S. If complaining about Princess gets me to the top of the upgrade list, then disregard this post.

[Richard in Panama]

cooked correctly

 

On a ship with 3,000 people (guests and crew) who is to define what "cooked correctly" means? Having overdosed on food shows (I'm home for the holidays!) even amongst the pros I doubt if anyone could define "cooked correctly"?

 

Regards, Richard

[luvtheships]

subjective or not..gourmet or not...doesn't really matter,,,and regardless of wether or not every single cruiser...newbie or veteran is concerned...and regardless of wether it is noticed or not.......let's not kid ourselves.....

 

while the food is....ok..good...great...excellent...(well maybe not on NCL)..depending on your palate...sophistication...previous dining out experience.....etc. etc....

 

the food quality has defintely changed in recent years!!

 

now, I didn't say diminished...I said changed.....take it as you may....

 

 

but I have sailed 3 lines in 5 years and getting ready to try my 4th line....and the best food was on the cheapo CCL Victory cruise to Canada!!!! But that was pre 2008 economic meltdown.:D

 

food has gone downhill IMHO and the lines, the pax, everyone you can blame it on will probably say the same thing....cost cutbacks due to the economy....something like the shrinking orange juice containers out there. Well, at least the price didn't go up:Deven though the quantity did go down.....oh, yeah..that's the same thing...

[Minoushka]

Last Summer we were on the official first cruise of Celebrity Silhouette The food in the dining room sometimes was seriously under par ... Who does not know how to make chicken soup??? obviously THAT chef

I mentioned it here ...suggested the executive chef 'FIX " silhouette ...WEll someone listened because He was sent and did fix things for subsequent pax

So Princess go fix what ails Coral !!!

 

I for one have always enjoyed Princess meals

 

Michele

[dr__dawggy]

Last Summer we were on the official first cruise of Celebrity Silhouette The food in the dining room sometimes was seriously under par ... Who does not know how to make chicken soup??? obviously THAT chef

I mentioned it here ...suggested the executive chef 'FIX " silhouette ...WEll someone listened because He was sent and did fix things for subsequent pax

So Princess go fix what ails Coral !!!

 

I for one have always enjoyed Princess meals

 

Michele

 

We are lucky. We did not begin cruising until after 2008, so we have not experienced any decline in quality. Like you, we have always enjoyed Princess meals. In fact, we enjoyed the meals on our 2011 cruise on the Coral more than the meals on our 2009 cruise on the same ship. Unless the staff misinformed us, the Coral is the fleet leader in customer satisfaction. We were certainly happy campers. Our biggest disappointment was returning home to discover no steward was scheduled to tidy up for us and no wait staff were on duty to prepare, serve and clean up our meals, no hot cookies magically appeared at 3:30 each afternoon, no room service to fetch us coffee and muffins at 4am, no princess patter to help us decide between activities planned or us, and on and on. Conclusion: life on land is brutal.

[5326jan]

We are lucky. We did not begin cruising until after 2008, so we have not experienced any decline in quality. Like you, we have always enjoyed Princess meals. In fact, we enjoyed the meals on our 2011 cruise on the Coral more than the meals on our 2009 cruise on the same ship. Unless the staff misinformed us, the Coral is the fleet leader in customer satisfaction. We were certainly happy campers. Our biggest disappointment was returning home to discover no steward was scheduled to tidy up for us and no wait staff were on duty to prepare, serve and clean up our meals, no hot cookies magically appeared at 3:30 each afternoon, no room service to fetch us coffee and muffins at 4am, no princess patter to help us decide between activities planned or us, and on and on. Conclusion: life on land is brutal.

 

So happy to see life brought back into perspective! :D

[2little time]

I was amazed at the quality of food on the Island The service in the MDR could not have been better. No matter where we got food it was very good bordering on excellent. I was more than pleased. I would be even happier to find lobsters in my garage.....

[stoneharborlady]

Apple season is over, dear. Eat a grapefruit instead.

 

 

 

LOL, I had a mouthful of coffee when I read this, and nearly sprayed it all over my computer screen. Best laugh I have had all week, thank you!!!

[kywildcatfanone]

As others have said, food is a very subjective thing. If you are used to eating at places like Ruth's Chris, or Smith and Wollensky regularly you will be somewhat disappointed likely, but if your tastes aren't so high, you will likely have a great experience.

There are so many options, and so much, you will not have any trouble finding something to your liking, we have never been disappointed. We were just off the Grand and the food was as I expected, not overall spectacular, but not bad either.

I don't have any experience with the smaller ships, not sure how many dining options, but I'm sure it will be fine. If you are concerned, perhaps try the specialty restaurants (if the smaller ships have them). We ate twice at Crown Grill on the Grand last week and it was two of the best meals I have ever had.

 

Mike

[Griller]

The OP was concerned about Coral P and so many members have jumped in defending Princess food generally or mentioning other ships, or theorising, or quoting historical food quality.

So now some actual hard facts.

We are on Coral Princess now and have been for 3 weeks. There have been food problems while we have been on.

Its not that we don´t like the food generally,we are Elite Captains Circle so have some experience of what we like, but there have been problems in the galley on Coral P recently.

Hot entrees were served just barely warm and on cold plates, souflees, a Princess speciality and one they normally present very well, were served raw except for the top, and replacements were not right either.

Steaks were gristly, watermelon pineapple and canteloupe were too unripe and hard to eat and not sweet. Lamb chops were a lot of bone not much meat. And so on.

The waiters and head waiters were in denial, would not progress a complaint in the dining room,would not take the poor food back to the galley,they just scraped the uneaten food off so the Chefs never knew there was a problem,

Written comments went unanswered and were obviously not acted on as the food did not improve.

We actually started dining in the Horizon Court buffet and it was there

I met with the Executive Chef Sean Candon who was both embarassed and not aware of the comments about the food. He was apologetic and from the very next day on the food has improved to a good extent.

Yesterday was Christmas Day and they made a great effort on the ship to make it a great experience for everybody, snow showers, gifts for kids, Santa, Carols, a well decorated ship, and we thought a good Christmas dinner in the main dining room, for the specific tastes of both US and UK passengers. They even had Christmas Crackers ( the sort you pull, not to eat)for everybody which they did not do last year at Christmas when we were on the same ship.

The Exec Chef also had a great Seafood Buffet on the last night of the last cruise, a mountain of excellent king crab legs apart from anything else. That was great, and something I have not seen on Princess for a long time.

[dr__dawggy]

Here is another set of "facts"--there have been approximately 11 positive comments in this thread from cruisers who have recently siiled on the Coral. I counted two negative comments and two or three expressions of concern from people who are scheduled to sail on the Corl in the future.

 

I did not tally the pro vs con comments on the thread linked by someone earlier in this discussion, but it appeared the complaints came from two or three individuals who repeated their complaints numerous times in that thread. There were also a number of positive comments.

 

Just looking at the last negative comment, part of the problem might simply be in food choic. I found the papaya fresh not green....the poster had. Bad experience with watermelon....I loved virtually all the dessert, but nev tried the souflee, which was apparently terrible.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

The past few years I have been able to visit a Princess ship while in port

 

as guest of crew or captain etc.

 

Each time I have taken with me none cruisers to show them what a cruise ship is like,

 

we have eaten at all places onboard, not all at the same time but over a few yeras,

 

every guest has been amazed by the quality of food on offer as well as the range

 

yours Shogun

[Griller]

Hi All

 

The past few years I have been able to visit a Princess ship while in port

 

as guest of crew or captain etc.

 

Each time I have taken with me none cruisers to show them what a cruise ship is like,

 

we have eaten at all places onboard, not all at the same time but over a few yeras,

 

every guest has been amazed by the quality of food on offer as well as the range

 

yours Shogun

 

I absolutely agree with you, which is why there are passengers on Coral P over the last week or two who have been disappointed in some meals on this one ship - which is oñly what the original post was all about.

 

I understand the Executive Chef is quite new on this ship and has to remedy a few bad practices in the galley. And I believe he has every chance of suceeding, he comes from a background as a British Army Catering Corps chef originally, so I am sure is well used to imposing discipline when it is required. I read about his background in the Patter on Coral P yesterday.

[ONT-CA]

Hi All

 

The past few years I have been able to visit a Princess ship while in port

as guest of crew or captain etc.

Each time I have taken with me none cruisers to show them what a cruise ship is like, we have eaten at all places onboard, not all at the same time but over a few yeras, every guest has been amazed by the quality of food on offer as well as the range

yours Shogun

 

We agree completely Shogun, all our previous Princess cruises, all 20 of them have been noted for fine food. It is this last situation, Nos. 21 & 22 on the Coral that prompted the posting. Something is wrong and hopefully something will be done about it. We are concerned that this not be the quality we have to look forward to in future cruising.

 

Some posters refer to the number of pro's and con's on this board. The real story is in the analysis of the cruise survey as it pertains to food quality. I can only hope that those who complained with us did in fact fill out the form. But as we all realize, the outcome of that analysis will not be shared with this board.

[Hula1]

We just returned from a 2 week cruise on the Coral and had wonderful meals in the dining rooms, including the speciality dining rooms. The Secret? We made friends with the Headwaiter and tried to sit at the same table for 2 in the anytime dining room each night. Every night we received a special treat made just for us, all our special requests appeared effortlessly, and without a doubt the food was out of this world, including special off menu items. We sent the wine we brought on board to the Headwaiter via Room Service each afternoon, and it was at our table waiting when we arrived each evening. I developed strep throat and special meals were created just for me, one was delivered to me in bed when I had a 103 fever. Needless to say we tipped all the people involved generously in addition to the standard tip charged to our account each day.It was worth every penny, we made new friends, and were treated like royalty.Don't be demanding and don't be CHEAP! The old addage my Grandmother taught me at age 3, still holds true: "It's Nice To Be Nice".

[pablo222]

he comes from a background as a British Army Catering Corps chef originally, so I am sure is well used to imposing discipline when it is required.

 

Do you want your corned beef hash with or without a runny fried egg?

[Griller]

Unfortunately there was a step backwards yesterday, the entrees at dinner were delivered to the table only slightly warm, and on cold plates again. The food was tasty and well presented otherwise and would have been excellent if served hot.

We, amongst others, put a comment card in so the Chef is aware of it and can hopefully remedy this seemingly simple to solve problem.

We were told yesterday that 22 of the crew did not make the ship in LA last week so they are slightly short of enough crew and are having to do the best they can in the circumstances.

There was another Seafood (inc Crab Legs) Extravaganza in the buffet last night, looks like this may a regular feature on Coral Princess.

Hurrah!

We went after dinner as an extra course!

[Griller]

Do you want your corned beef hash with or without a runny fried egg?

Sir - you very obviously have no idea that the British Army has very high standards of catering and is often involved in huge banquets serving fine cuisine as well as providing food for our troops in the field who are currently fighting and dieing alongside the US and other countries' soldiers in the hope of keeping you and your family safer at home.

Please do not mock them.