Do You Get Bored With The Same Menu ?

[Lottycruiser]

I think the food on Royal is very good so I am not knocking it in any way , I have only been on Royal 4 times my 5th being in April but I have to admit that when picking up the menu in the dining room I do feel a bit disappointed that's it the same old things from all my other cruises , I understand if it's working well it doesn't need fixing but for those of you who have done loads of Royal cruises do you wish they would change the menus now and then ?

[bplazo]

No, because I do not like alot of things so I usually just have a plain steak or prime rib every night with a baked potato.

[Lottycruiser]

No, because I do not like alot of things so I usually just have a plain steak or prime rib every night with a baked potato.

 

It's good that they have the alternative menu of steak , chicken ,a fish and veg dish as that in itself will suit everyone if there is nothing else to their taste but doesn't having that alternative menu give them the option to introduce new things to the main menu ? I don't think there is anything on the main menu that I would miss enough to not warrant them to change it a little over the years .

[gw2fll]

To be honest, yes. Our first and second cruises were within 5 months of each other, so I expected the menus to possibly be the same. However, with a two year gap between the second and third I did expect some change. To our surprise, they were still the same which was disappointing.

 

I appreciate some "standard" items, but do feel it is time to begin introducing new dishes.

[regg1216]

I think the food on Royal is very good so I am not knocking it in any way , I have only been on Royal 4 times my 5th being in April but I have to admit that when picking up the menu in the dining room I do feel a bit disappointed that's it the same old things from all my other cruises , I understand if it's working well it doesn't need fixing but for those of you who have done loads of Royal cruises do you wish they would change the menus now and then ?

Yes, and because of this we will probably not go to the dining room much on our next crusie. I wish they would mix it up a little. Maybe different menus on each ship.

[Lysingers]

I think the food on Royal is very good so I am not knocking it in any way , I have only been on Royal 4 times my 5th being in April but I have to admit that when picking up the menu in the dining room I do feel a bit disappointed that's it the same old things from all my other cruises , I understand if it's working well it doesn't need fixing but for those of you who have done loads of Royal cruises do you wish they would change the menus now and then ?

 

I haven't even done as many cruises on RCI as you have Lottycruiser, but the menu already seemed familiar & predictable during our second cruise with them last summer. And it kinda went both ways. When I saw something I recalled liking it was like, "Oh goodie, there's that beef/seafood/chicken dish I really enjoyed last year!" :) But when I saw something I disliked the first time around it was like, "Oh Yuck, there's that beef/seafood/chicken dish I hated last year!" :( So it might be nice if they did change it up a little, just to keep us guessing, huh?

[phoenix1181]

It's unfortunate that you're bored with the menu but changing it frequently isn't realistic. When you're feeding a large group there are many items that don't hold well & just can't be served. Overall, IMHO, they do a pretty good job &, as was pointed out on a similar thread a few months ago, most restaurants don't change their menu very often (if at all) either.

 

There are several local restaurants that I've been going to since I was a teenager who's menus are very similar to what they were the first time I was there. Yes, they've changed somewhat over the years but overall, they're not that much different than they were 50 years ago & the majority of the menu items are the same.

[PattyG12]

I guess if I cruised every month I might get bored. We cruise 2-3 times a year and I know what I like and when I should go to the WJ for dinner. I like knowing what's available so to answer your question, no I don't get bored.

[Bakincakes]

One might think that if the menus have stayed the same for so long that all kitchens would learn how to prepare those dishes and make them taste better.

 

Our last trip on Freedom the MDR food was nasty. We did get some decent food but the rest was poor. If they are sticking to the same menu for months at a time why can't they all learn to prepare those meals so that they are tasty and not overly salted or bland?

 

Makes me wonder if the chefs actually taste things before they are served.

[hancogran]

I have no complaints about the food in the MDR but the longest cruise we've done is 7 days. Can somebody tell me what happens on a TA which is 13 or 14 days... do they repeat the 7 day menu the second week? :confused:

[phoenix1181]

I have no complaints about the food in the MDR but the longest cruise we've done is 7 days. Can somebody tell me what happens on a TA which is 13 or 14 days... do they repeat the 7 day menu the second week? :confused:

 

They don't recycle the 7 day menu. There may be some repeat items (I really don't pay that much attention) but the menu on day 8 will not be identical to what you saw on day 1.

[bouhunter]

Yes indeed. Our first few cruises we would go to MDR every night except one to Chops. The last cruise a few weeks ago: one night in the MDR, 3 in Portofino, two at Windjammer and one at Johnny Rockets. The night we went to MDR was for Prime Rib and it was the worst I've had on RCCL, we may not do MDR at all next time. We've gotten burned out not just on the MDR menu's but on whole ritual/routine there.

[BillB48]

I have no complaints about the food in the MDR but the longest cruise we've done is 7 days. Can somebody tell me what happens on a TA which is 13 or 14 days... do they repeat the 7 day menu the second week? :confused:

 

The longest cruise we have been on was a 15 day TA, while some items made more than one appearance, each night the menu was different.

[hancogran]

Thanks for the info on the TA menus!

 

That's good to know that they won't repeat the first week's menu the second week. Here's hoping that the repeat things which are on the second week's menu are the things I really like! :D

[BillOh]

I think the food on Royal is very good so I am not knocking it in any way , I have only been on Royal 4 times my 5th being in April but I have to admit that when picking up the menu in the dining room I do feel a bit disappointed that's it the same old things from all my other cruises , I understand if it's working well it doesn't need fixing but for those of you who have done loads of Royal cruises do you wish they would change the menus now and then ?

 

Yes and No, but I understand your sentiment. My first cruise was in 2006 and I've really only seen one major change in that time period, they dropped the Carribbean night from the menu. On Voyager I got something safe and another person at our table got a Jerk Chicken dish that looked wonderful. It was removed from the menu after that.

 

Since then my wife and I both had weight loss surgery and the food is a little less important to us and we have become a little more adventurous and trying different things as if we don't like it, its not hard to find something else.

[ryano]

No, I dont get to cruise enough or have cruised long enough to get "bored" with the menu.

 

In fact I look FORWARD to MDR dining and certain dishes and things on the menu that I either cant get or dont get on land.

 

My favorite places on land have not changed in years. I tend to get the same things when I go there.

 

If I cruised 3 or 4 times a year like some here are fortunate to do then I might think differently.

 

My only complaint would be if they are gonna offer a daily steak, it should be a little better quality cut of beef. And dont false advertise by saying thats Black Angus beef........I dont believe it :)

[PH8]

In a way,it is nice that it is the same because I can look at the menu early in the day and decide if I am going to the MDR that night........I dont care for Italian night at all.......

 

I will go when it's duck........the ships are the only place I get to eat that!

[luvscruising2007]

I don''t have a problem with the MDR menus. There are several choices each night and that varies my dinner.

However, I do find the vegetables to be boring. I like veggies and there is not a variety during the cruise. They are mostly root veggies. Just would like more to choose from each night.

[Lottycruiser]

In a way,it is nice that it is the same because I can look at the menu early in the day and decide if I am going to the MDR that night........I dont care for Italian night at all.......

 

I will go when it's duck........the ships are the only place I get to eat that!

 

I don't care for Italian night either , I asked dh would he prefer Royal changed the menu one and then and he said what else can they put on they do all the different meats and seafood , fair point , but just to introduce one new dish now and then would be nice , they must know which is the most unpopular dish by the amount of orders ,just delete it and try something new .

[setsail]

Now that they have SR'S variety is easier as far as food goes. Changing up the MDR menu for 90,000 cruisers eating 3 times a day would be a logistic nightmare. I know the crew wouldn't mind it changing as they get everthing we won't eat. :p

[sailor moon]

Yes! On our last cruise in January we did not eat in the dining room once. We could not face the menu again :). We ate at portofino and chops and windjammer. I know it is not realistic for them to change menus annually, but it does get boring having the same items over and over. This boredom does not keep me from booking future trips.......

[Big_G]

No. When I start getting this type of meal at home every night or cruise more than 2 or 3 times a year then maybe I'll get bored...Not. I find it difficult to be bored when essentially I'm going out to dinner every night for a week at a full service restaurant. I have also found that the same menu items vary in flavor from ship to ship. We do at least one specialty restaurant during the week but it's not because we're bored with the MDR menu.

[jonbgd]

Nope Dont get bored with the menu but we cruise on other cruiselines as well.

Even if we cruised on Royal all 4 cruises this year I like the familararity. On certain nights i know exactly what I will order before i have a menu.

[Puffinater]

When we first started cruising we would not miss the MDR. Now we pretty much pick and choose which nights we head there. On our B2B's on the Oasis we didn't use the MDR at all.

[Topo Gigio]

If I see a menu that doesn't appeal to me, I will head to the buffet. Especially at Royal Caribbean it's nicely done with tablecloth etc. On my transatlantic I did not eat once in the MDR because the food in the WJ was so good. Sometimes when you dine in Jade they will offer you some (green) tea to wash down your food.