RCCL - overall food quality poll

[bubbachief]

Just got off the Brilliance of the Sea on its Transatlantic cruise. The food was good, but I think Norwegian and Princess are better. The lunch menu was the same every day except for one or two specials. We ate in the Windjammer for breakfast and most lunches. Food there was ok, but nothing to write home about. Salads at night in the dinner seatings the same, with one new item each night. After 13 days, it got kind of old. We had eary dinner, 5:30, which was really too early. Had to race to get to 7:00 pm show or wait until 8:30 or 9:00 for the second show. We are early risers and retire early to read and relax, so missed some shows for that reason. For nightowls thats not a problem.

I really don't know if we would cruise RCCL again. To us, it did'nt compare to Norwegian, Carnval or Princess, not only on the food, but just overall.

[bilgeboyPa]

Ok Now

It wasn't just french fries in the Dining room. It was also some sort of fish served over mashed potatoes, which I have or anyone else I have told, ever heard of.Brown gravy smothering a rack of of lamb, mushy losbster tails, a night when my Uncle sent his chicken back TWICE because it was raw in the middle, linguenie that was so starchy, it clumped on the plate in a ball. It looked like a Pasta Pop. Wilted salads...I can go on and on if you like. Maybe it was a one time fluke and the chefs that week lost their collective minds, but it was really bad.It wasn't one bad dinner, it was many and if I am paying a premium, I want good meals and service...sorry. I had a 45 minute meeting with the Hotel Manager and he.....hold on to your hat Monte, agreed with ME.. and that was when he comped us to Portofinos....He said it was unexceptable as well.

I will now step down off the soap box and relinquish my remaining time to you Monte.

Jeff

[mudhenmick]

We just got off the Mariner, 05/01, and thought the food in the dining room was very good. Although not as good as the food on our 1st cruise, RCCL VOS. But that may just be because of the 1st time cruise effect.

We tried chops and thought it was outstanding but not all that much better than the dining room. However, the deserts were excelent, better than the dining room. I just wanted to put that out there for anyone about to go on a cruise that has not previously been to chops or portofino. From reading the boards I thought that chops was going to be a can't miss. After going I would say that if you are having a good time with your tablemates, and are enjoying the food in the dining room you don't HAVE to try chops. JMHO.

Also thought that the windjammer was great, for what it is, a buffet.

Did not see french fries at dinner in the dining room, the NY strip steak had a side of fried potato wedges, maybe thats what the previous poster is referring to. There were french fries in the windjammer.

[mbisson]

[quote name='bilgeboyPa']

Jeff[/QUOTE]

No soapbox needed for me. Just read my sig line.

LOL

-Monte

[bilgeboyPa]

[quote name='mbisson']No soapbox needed for me. Just read my sig line.

LOL

-Monte[/QUOTE]
ROFL :D

Jeff

[FinelyCruising]

If they were wasabi mashed potatoes then I would have been thrilled....but there is potato thing going on....;)

[05mak05]

In April, six of us went on a "No Boys Allowed" cruise on the Rhapsody out of Galveston. Two of the six are gourmet cooks. The food exceeded our expectations! Every single meal in the dining room was delicious! And, the food in the buffet is much, much better than Celebrity. Victor, the manager of this area, does an outstanding job! None of us could comprehend anyone having the slightest complaint about the food or the variety. We booked the "Freedom" today ... I think you will also be very impressed with RCI!

[sassystyxfan]

[quote name='mbisson']sassystyxfan

Just noticed your name. I also am a fan of Styx. Reminds me of the day.

-Monte[/QUOTE]

A friend from the Styx Message Board (which I never go to anymore) gave me the screen name after I got what he called, "a sassy hair cut". We used to be obsessed with them, but now it's cruising. The bass player in the new incarnation of the band left and I guess I haven't been excited about seeing them since. I gave it a couple of chances, but it aint the same. ;) I still love Tommy Shaw, though.

[elleluv]

[quote name='SanFranBayCruiser']

Thanks for your replies all, overall, RCCL doesn't sound bad and very do-able for a 1 week cruise. Does anyone have menus they can post?

Thanks!![/QUOTE]


We have menus for our Navigator cruise posted here...

[url="http://www.theloves.smugmug.com"]www.theloves.smugmug.com[/url]


"a gruntled cruiser"

[cruise wizard]

These new menu's look like quite an upgrade both in appearance and variety. I hope that this same selection will be on our AOS cruise on 12/4/05. After that will be Freedom om 12/3/06 - and hopefully one in between.

Anytime we had a meal that wasn't up to our taste, we would order another one - no problem. RCCL does a great job considering that 3000+ people need to be fed 3 to four times a day - it's amazing that the quality and presentation is as good as it is. Not to mention the super service every night!!

[sicsinohio]

Have been on 2 RCCL cruises and am going again in March. On last two cruises, food was good, and some things were better than others, just like on dry land :D If I ordered something in the dining room and didn't really care for it or it wasn't what I had expected, I simply ordered something else...I can only think of one time on each cruise that this happened. One pasta dish was so good I ordered an extra helping (which I did not need)...something I would not ordinarily do! We ate in the dining room every night and there was never a night that they didn't have SOMETHING I liked. Have never eaten in Portofino's, although I've heard good things about them. Maybe we'll try them on the next cruise.

Having said that, there are so many things to do on a cruise besides eating, and RCCL offers a huge variety activities in a casual atmosphere. Staff are friendly and structured activities we have taken part in were well organized and enjoyable. Had a great time and can hardly wait to go again!

[PVDCruiser]

I was perfectly happy with the food - better than most restaurants around here, and mom was happy to get a break from cooking!

[mtchg]

..the two RCI cruises I have taken so far (one on the way) were somewhat different in quality.

The Splendour, a 12 day cruise was overall fair to good..but the Dining Room was not equal to my many Carnival experiences (though Windjammer might have been a little better than some Carnival buffet experiences)

The main problem was the beef. One night everyone at our table ordered it, and everyone sent it back; tasteless.

However, RCI really recovered a year later for me on the Rhapsody 7 dayer.
Food Good to Very Good with an occasional Superior..and the beef was very good. It at least matched Carnival in the Dining Room.

Looking forward to Jewel of the Seas. I anticipate enjoying the specialty restaurants and comparing them to CCL's supper clubs, which are superb.

Mitch

[kelmac]

After 20 cruises, five with RCCL, I would have to say Royal Caribbean's food rates the lowest. I love many, many things about Royal Caribbean, but the food has become a deal breaker for me.
Celebrity and HAL are the best, with Princess and NCL still scoring above RCCL. They just put out too much low quality food. Huge volumes, which might appeal to the American demographic, but low quality stuff.

Let's hope they fix the food!:D

Kel

[bilgeboyPa]

HERE HERE Kelmac.

Cya
Jeff

[Libracruzer]

Food on RCCL is OK, it varies from ship to ship. I had my best food on RCCCL on the Monarch when it was sailing out of San Juan. The best food I have had at sea was on the Norwegian Star - free style when it was in Hawaii. I don't expect great food on a cruise. I get much better food in the restaurants at home. I am on my way to 30 cruises and have been on four different lines.

[skandls]

Hi San Fran - I was on RCCl in Apr 2005. Food was equivalent to banquet food at a Hilton or Marriott. Room temp salads, strange soups. Don't do dessert asked for cheese plate - 10 grapes some brie swiss and cheddar. Entrees some good others mediocre. Best was the beef. Lobster about the size of 2 thumbs and undercooked shrimp shrimpy size. We lived in SF for 5 years and the SF - wine country restaurants are hard to match. If you order plain stuff (prime rib, steak) you will be OK. Veggies were used to 'upscale' the presentations not really much of a factor in the meal.
At the lunch buffet we ate salad. We took the premade sandwich and enhanced it with hot or cold meats which were offered separately. I have lowered my expectations of food on the cruise ships and just order simple. My favorite restaurants are in wine country but there are many in the city that we liked a lot. We hung around Polk, Union, Van Ness and Chestnut. So I am kind of a food and wine snob but I don't expect meals served to 2500 people to be the quality of restaurant food. One of my favorite meals was to walk to the pier - buy 2 or 3 whole Dung crabs - walk home - make slaw - add sourdough some good wine - a hard to beat meal.

[1corona4u]

[quote name='skandls']Hi San Fran - I was on RCCl in Apr 2005.[b] Food was equivalent to banquet food at a Hilton or Marriott.[/b] [b]Room temp salads, strange soups.[/b] Don't do dessert asked for cheese plate - 10 grapes some brie swiss and cheddar. Entrees some good others mediocre. Best was the beef. Lobster about the size of 2 thumbs and undercooked shrimp shrimpy size. We lived in SF for 5 years and the SF - wine country restaurants are hard to match. If you order plain stuff (prime rib, steak) you will be OK. Veggies were used to 'upscale' the presentations not really much of a factor in the meal.
At the lunch buffet we ate salad. We took the premade sandwich and enhanced it with hot or cold meats which were offered separately. I have lowered my expectations of food on the cruise ships and just order simple. My favorite restaurants are in wine country but there are many in the city that we liked a lot. We hung around Polk, Union, Van Ness and Chestnut. So I am kind of a food and wine snobbut I don't expect meals served to 2500 people to be the quality of restaurant food. One of my favorite meals was to walk to the pier - buy 2 or 3 whole Dung crabs - walk home - make slaw - add sourdough some good wine - a hard to beat meal.[/QUOTE]


Not sure what ship you were on, but the food was very good on the Navigator recently, and the salads were crisp, and cold. Obviously I am not a "food snob", but I am a chef.....

I guess it depends on which ship you were on....

[1corona4u]

[QUOTE=WeBeCruisin']As I mentioned earlier, I've eaten in legitimate five-star and four-star restaurants, but I honestly have to say that in nine previous cruises, I have never had a meal I didn't like and have never felt the need to return food because it was unsatisfactory. I even like the buffet, and feel they really go out of their way to have a large variety of different foods from many different countries. Realistically, the logistics of a buffet severely limit what can be offered and I think the cruise ships do a great job with their buffets. And there's always the dining room as an option for those who feel buffet food is beneath them.

Allen[/QUOTE]

Well, apparently, the dining room food is beneath some people too.....:rolleyes: some of these comments truly amaze me. I watched when we came back into port in Miami, and one by one, the semi's lined up to off load their FRESH FRUIT and PRODUCE, and there were 4 of them, FULL. That's a lot of fresh food people.

So to those of you that think they should have more choices, better food, fresher this and that, etc. perhaps you wouldn't mind giving up some of that valuable cabin space to share with a pallet of fresh brocolli, or green beans or maybe even a couple of cows, chickens or steer........:rolleyes: because if the cruise lines catered to everyone, and had everything I have seen asked for on these boards, there would be no room for passengers!

[mbisson]

I think some posting on this thread are either spoiled, lying or Hilton/Mariott have really improved the quality of the convention food. All I ever get at conventions (incloding some at Hiltons and Mariotts) is rubber chicken.

-Monte

[Soxfan05]

[quote name='mbisson']I think some posting on this thread are either spoiled, lying or Hilton/Mariott have really improved the quality of the convention food. All I ever get at conventions (incloding some at Hiltons and Mariotts) is rubber chicken.

-Monte[/QUOTE]

You're right, it is subjective. I went to a wedding at a Marrriot and had a nice piece of filet mignon with grilled red peppers and asparagus and baby potatoes. I would say it was very good CONSIDERING that the kitchen was feeding 250 people at one sitting. Had I paid $100 per plate for the meal in a restaurant, I would not have been satisfied.

I keep hearing that NCL food is better than RCCL. That scares me. Our last cruise was on NCL and I thought the food was just okay. It seemed like everything had a sauce and hubby and I had an inside joke that we would try to guess what varietal of wine they had added to the can of cream of chicken soup that night to make their "sauce". Others at our table found the food to be excellent. But they also looked forward to every burger by the pool and every late night buffet and rushed back to the ship each meal time to "get their $ worth". Different strokes for different folks. I never felt the food was "beneath" us but I definitely didn't think that we got our money worth in quality.

[1corona4u]

[quote name='Soxfan05']You're right, it is subjective. I went to a wedding at a Marrriot and had a nice piece of filet mignon with grilled red peppers and asparagus and baby potatoes. I would say it was very good CONSIDERING that the kitchen was feeding 250 people at one sitting. Had I paid $100 per plate for the meal in a restaurant, I would not have been satisfied.

I keep hearing that NCL food is better than RCCL. That scares me. Our last cruise was on NCL and I thought the food was just okay. It seemed like everything had a sauce and hubby and I had an inside joke that we would try to guess what varietal of wine they had added to the can of cream of chicken soup that night to make their "sauce". Others at our table found the food to be excellent. But they also looked forward to every burger by the pool and every late night buffet and rushed back to the ship each meal time to "get their $ worth". Different strokes for different folks. I never felt the food was "beneath" us but I definitely didn't think that we got our money worth in quality.[/QUOTE]

I have never been on NCl, so I can't speak to their food, however, I think if you go into this dining experience, or any other for that matter, with an OPEN MIND, you will enjoy anything you eat. If you go into it, thinking that you have heard bad things about it, then you will look for things to be critical of.

As I said, I enjoyed ALL of the food, even in the WJ. Go with an open mind!!!!!

[WeBeCruisin']

[quote name='Soxfan05']I never felt the food was "beneath" us but I definitely didn't think that we got our money worth in quality.[/QUOTE]

I read somewhere recently that the average price of a cruise was about $100 a day, with some being as low as $50-$60 a day. If you break that down into travel expense, room, and food, you're spending about $17 to $33 a day for each category. If you eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner and nothing else, that's about $6 to $11 per meal. If they served you nothing but hotdogs, french fries, and hamburgers, you would still be far exceeding your "money's worth in quality." On a land vacation, even if you take all your meals at places like Denny's, Shoney's, IHOP, or Chili's, you'll still be spending more than you would per day on food on a cruise ship. Now, if you figure transportation and lodging at [i][b]more [/b][/i]than a third each (which is far more probable) your food cost on a cruise might drop as low as $5 to $10 a day.
And, for those of you who are going to yell that you spend far more than $100 a day for your suite, penthouse or balcony, the extra cost is for the "superior" quality of the room and has nothing to do with food costs.

Allen

[kelmac]

[quote name='1corona4u']Not sure what ship you were on, but the food was very good on the Navigator recently, and the salads were crisp, and cold. Obviously I am not a "food snob", but I am a chef.....

I guess it depends on which ship you were on....[/QUOTE]

A good chef would always serve a salad at room temperature!:rolleyes: :D Only at low budget buffets would you serve a cold salad on a chilled plate.

[SanFranBayCruiser]

Thanks for all the input! it's really appreciated but I'm sorry to say we're still on the fence - any other thoughts on this "touchy" subject?