Princess Changes

[ssbeagle]

Has anyone noticed the changes in the food quality on Princess ships or isit just me? We were on the Emerald in November and are just off the Grand and we noticed a definite change in the food. It was almost impossible to get a decent steak in the dining room, the pasta dishes were not as good, and at breakfast the pastry didn't taste as fresh and the sausages tasted different. The menus were not as appealing to us as the old menus were. We love the soufflés at dinner but got them only twice instead of most every night. And maybe it was the Grand Princess service which didn't seem quite as good as the service we received on the Emerald.

 

Also when we first got into our cabin on the Grand, I was appalled at the condition of it. First we couldn't get into our closet where the safe was because the handle was missing and we couldn't pry it open. Then the safe was in the locked position with the door open and we couldn't set our combo. Last but most important was the state of the cabin for cleanliness. It smelled moldy in the bathroom and the carpet looked like it hadn't been vacuumed from the last passengers. We couldn't find the cabin steward and it took several calls to the purser's desk to get it all fixed.

 

Where is the quality control Princess was famous for?

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

Sounds as your cabin steward was not as good as they should be,

 

a few cruises ago I got a cabin in a poor condition, did you ask

 

for customer services director, or hotel manager.

 

I went to the pursars desk, and requested an officer attend my cabin

 

as I was not accepting it, by the time I walked back to the cabin an

 

officer was waiting for me, all issues were then delt with, also got a

 

obc but cabin was in a poor state,

 

was on Grand in summer and had no issues, but my best and worse

 

cruises have been on the same ship, so things change.

 

yours Shogun

[sunsetbeachgal]

My October cruise on the Sspphire was first rate...will see how our upcoming January cruise on the Emerald is...

[Tiffany's mom]

Yes the new menu and the food quality is a lot lower. We were on the Pacific Princess for 24 days in May and June and had good food. But our TA on the Ruby Princess in October was completely different. I did not care for the meals we had. It as hard to find something to order on the new menu. I am not picky, but no good from bad and this was bad. We are going to try a different cruise line this year (X). We are interested in the difference between the 2 companies. It is hard to leave Princess after over 250 days of cruising.

 

Pam

[CruisinEars]

We were just on the Emerald Christmas cruise and the food was fantastic. I had the best steaks and the prime rib was delicious. I have had excellent beef on all of my Princess cruises. So, no I don't see any downgrade of food.

[fishywood]

I was on the Grand December 15-22 and must say that we received exemplary service from every department throught the cruise. One look at the cabin and you knew you were on a 15 year old ship--the phone was battered and scratched (and had no time display) and the bedside lamps were cobbled together from spare parts. Yet the cabin was spotlessly clean on arrival and meticulously mantained by our steward.

 

As for dining: it is clear that they have changed food suppliers, lowering the maximum bid. No rack of lamb or veal, only leg-o'-lamb and veal scaloppini. And the veal ravioli was the biggest disappointment from a dish I recall from previous cruises: the pasty filling and sauce were completely tasetless. BUT I do think the bigger change was not in the food itself but in preparation techniques. The steak served on surf-and-turf night had no sear whatsoever; I suspect it was baked in a convection oven rather than broiled. Does one attribute this to cutbacks in galley staff? I do, and even more regretfully believe that the bakery/pastry department has been shrunk: as the OP said, the desserts were quite pedestrian other than the souffles (most at my table stuck with the daily cheescake, creme brulee or ice cream) and I strongly suspect several of the pastries I got from the International Cafe had been previously frozen.

 

But did I, or anyone else I dined with, ever leave the table hungry? Of course not. Are any of these changes a dealbreaker in deciding on our next cruise? No more so than any of the other little niggles you inevitably notice when comparing any vacation to your previous one.

[CruiseAdict218]

I found the food to be excellent on the both the Caribbean Princess and the Golden Princess. But I have to say the we've had our share of not so good cabin stewarts but we did all the issues resolved on the cruises (this was on the Caribbean Princess) but on the Golden, it was nothing less than excellent.

[casavaha]

Just off the Golden from Hawaii. We found the food to be very good, the pastry chef

prepared a special soy dessert for my wife every night. Service could not have been

better. Cabin was perfect, outside obstructed view. This was a Christmas cruise and

the ship was more than full. The only problem we had was with the cruise director and

the band in the Wheelhouse.

 

Greg

[crosj]

My friends just returned from the Goldens Hawaiian cruise. Wife loved the new menus while the hubby hated the new menus. Its all a matter of opinion.

I will be boarding the Grand in April and I plan on having a grand time and I am sure I can find something on this ship to eat that I like.

I have never gone hungry on a cruise and I don't plan on starting.

[lovesandiego]

I was on the same TA as Tiffany's Mom and have to agree that those were the worst menus of any Princess Cruise that I have been on. Everything seemed to have an unusual sauce or a strange cut of meat. I missed the old menus. Of course I did not go hungry, but there was not a dish that I particularly liked either. The friends that I traveled with and people I talked to outside looking at the menus seemed to feel the same way. Maybe it was just this particular Ruby cruise and things have gotten better. I sure hope so.

[ILVTX]

Yes the new menu and the food quality is a lot lower. We were on the Pacific Princess for 24 days in May and June and had good food. But our TA on the Ruby Princess in October was completely different. I did not care for the meals we had. It as hard to find something to order on the new menu. I am not picky' date=' but no good from bad and this was bad. We are going to try a different cruise line this year (X). We are interested in the difference between the 2 companies. It is hard to leave Princess after over 250 days of cruising.

 

Pam[/quote']

We were on the Ruby just prior to your cruise, and were always able to select a dish that we enjoyed. I did miss having the souffle as a dessert option as often as I have had, but taking its place was a frequent creme brulee, a perfectly acceptable substitute. Nothing we had was anywhere near "bad". And I do know good from bad. Sorry to hear about your experience.

[icat2000]

I was just on the Dawn Princess and I thought the food wasn't as good at the Ruby TA in October :eek:

[BoPippy]

Maybe,they need to get a contract with MacDonalds and serve 100%BEEF!:D:D:D

[cruiselovers20]

we were on the Grand dec-8 thru 15. We had excellent services by ALL depts, including our cabin steward.

 

As already mentioned, the menu has changed. our main issue is the offering of a hamburger in the MDR. We feel it should be offered as part of the MDR menu. If someone wants a burger, they can go to the grill., but please not in the MDR.

[shastatroy]

Was on the Coral Christmas cruise, I noticed the quality has gone down a bit. The new york steak was uneatable by all at the table and did see other tables sending it back. Although the steak was a poor cut, I do agree that the overall problem is in the preparation of all of the food. Veggies were often overcooked and pasta was dried out. Princess needs to step up the quality control in the kitchen.

[Restless Feet]

DH and I along with my mother just returned from the NYE CB cruise and all three of us found the MDR menus to be uninspired. This was the first time that I have ordered off of the 'always available' menu for three dinners. The dessert selection was particularly disappointing as there appeared to be only two options which changed each day. All of that said, we never left hungry and enjoyed ourselves. Our biggest disappointment in terms of food quality was with the filet mignon - everyone at our table commented on how tough the meat was.

[RKF]

Just returned from a 14 day Amazon trip - great itinerary and service fine. We had not been on Princess for 5 years and did notice a definite change in food quality. Menu's in the MDR not at all imaginative and many nights hard pressed to decide what to order. Thankfully, some of the items available every night ( shrimp cocktail, caesar salad, fettucine, salmon) were frequent picks and usually good. Most seafood "pan-fried" and overcooked. Even the Grand Marnier souffle not as grand as I remembered. At breakfast I was hoping to have blueberries, strawberries or raspberries to put on waffle but told to use the strawberry jam. The BBQ grill would have been better if it offered some sort of fish sandwich but did not.

 

Sadly for Princess, we had sailed Oceania's Marina this past spring and the food was so wonderful and I kept comparing until I finally gave up......

[Sunviking]

We cruised on the Ruby in September. It was my fifth time on her. While we had an excellent cruise (we always do!), we didn't think the food was as good as it has been previously. We get the menus in our cabin for the next evening and, frankly, most nights there was nothing that appealed to us so we ate in the alternative restaurants. Our service was uniformly excellent, but the choices just weren't inspiring to us. That and some other changes which we've seen motivated us to try something different in the fall when my husband and I normally cruise. After many cruises very nearly alike, we thought a change is in order. It's great that there are lots of things to choose from!

[Cruisin' Chick]

Just off the Golden from Hawaii. We found the food to be very good, the pastry chef

prepared a special soy dessert for my wife every night. Service could not have been

better. Cabin was perfect, outside obstructed view. This was a Christmas cruise and

the ship was more than full. The only problem we had was with the cruise director and

the band in the Wheelhouse.

 

Greg

 

We were on that cruise, too. I'm not a foodie, so I was fine with the food as long as I have non-fish options. Each of us did get the always available chicken (on different nights). Our waitstaff got to the point of knowing if there was a souffle on the dessert menu, I'm going to order it. I did wish there were steak knives as I needed one on the night I had the steak.

 

My teen did complain about the fried chicken she had one night. Very little meat and tasteless. And a few times there were bones in what was supposed to be boneless chicken.

 

I am curious as to why you didn't care for the CD. I can see that she's very frisky, but she was a massive improvement over David Bradshaw on the Golden holiday cruise two years ago. I never saw him, unless I turned on the Wake Show, except for the last night of the cruise when he showed up for all of 15 minutes in the Piazza.

[IECalCruiser]

I find the posts about food so subjective. We have sailed on nine Princess cruises since the menus changed the last time in late 2008/early 2009 and the last cruise was with the new menus. Quality hasn't changed much except for the lobster which is not that good any more. I have found the beef to be hit or miss and typically only eat the filet or sometimes prime rib. On all of those cruises there have only been soufflés about twice per week for dinner. There were also creme brûlée about twice a week but now the original version is available every night. The always available medallions of beef are gone now. I find it somewhat interesting when people decry the lack of choice on the new menus when they are the same as the old menus with on average one appetizer, one soup or salad and one entree changed on each menu. Of course everyone has their own opinion, but many of them don't appear to be backed by the facts IMHO.

[Sandpiper13]

I normally don't comment on food quality, as many have stated food is a very subjective topic however, I have to agree with many of the other posters and am not a big fan of the new menus. We sailed on the Star in late September and no, I didn't go hungry, but often didn't find anything too appealing so,ate in either the specialty restaurants or HC more often than normal.

[steveww48]

I realize that these are no longer traditional comment cards, but these days are on-line surveys... nevertheless...

 

For those who have strong opinions about the food (whether positive or negative)-- are you reporting your opinions in the post-cruise surveys? I hope so-- that is the only meaningful way to provide feedback to Princess and hopefully provoke changes to the extent that changes are needed.

 

My last cruise was 15 months ago, so I don't have current data (although I will soon :D), but if the food quality has in fact deteriorated Princess needs to hear about that. I hope that if they receive significant feedback they will act on it. But we have to provide that feedback to Princess, and not just gripe to one another.

[caribill]

Has anyone noticed the changes in the food quality on Princess ships or is it just me? ... It was almost impossible to get a decent steak in the dining room

 

I have not had a decent steak in the dining room for several years, so that is not a recent change.

[caribill]

I did miss having the souffle as a dessert option as often as I have had, but taking its place was a frequent creme brulee, a perfectly acceptable substitute.

 

In the past creme brulee may not have been on the menu every evening, but it was a different flaor each time it was on and I enjoyed several of the flavors.

 

Now it comes in just one flavor all cruise long, and it is not one of the flavors I enjoyed in the past.

[mikjr]

Has anyone noticed the changes in the food quality on Princess ships or isit just me? We were on the Emerald in November and are just off the Grand and we noticed a definite change in the food. It was almost impossible to get a decent steak in the dining room, the pasta dishes were not as good, and at breakfast the pastry didn't taste as fresh and the sausages tasted different.

 

This past Saturday (1/5) my family (9 of us) went to have dinner at a very nice restaurant in Newport Beach (Orange County). we had been there a few months ago, and the food was great.

 

This time, the fish was dry and it was served warm, not hot. there was no sauce so it was tasteless. The filets had a lot of fat and the prawns on top were cold! Service was less than adequate, but because we had a large group, they tacked on 18% service to the $500+ bill.

 

My point is... even the finest restaurants in town fall short. it seems in this age, everyone is trying to cut corners, cut labor costs, etc. For the $500 I spent on a one night dinner, I could have paid for four day west coast cruise!! So... I guess it's all a matter of perspective... even with the cutbacks, the lesser menu, etc... cruising is still a great deal.

 

PS... We were on the Golden in October... and I actually liked some of the changes made to the menu... again... a matter of perspective.