Comparing Royal's Food Ship to Ship

[SamFritz]

At twice per year, I don't remember the food well enough to compare one ship's MDR food, apples to apples, or tilapia to tilapia, or prime rib to prime rib to another. So I'm wondering if anyone wants to identify a meal you've had on two different ships where one was noticeably better than the other. Just name the MDR menu item, the names of the ships and which ship's meal you preferred. I'm not especially interested in hearing about the specialty restaurants or the Windjammer, just the MDR.

 

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[SamFritz]

So does the lack of response mean that the food is consisent across the fleet?

 

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[homeschoolmama]

It is kind of a moot discussion being that chefs and cooks change out like every other staff member. You could go on the same ship 3 times a year and have different food experiences each time. Until the same staff stays with the same ship that kind of comparison will never be accurate.

 

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[Rala]

So does the lack of response mean that the food is consisent across the fleet?

 

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I would say for the most part , your statement is accurate. I have never found anything but minor differences in over 30 cruises. :)

[FLACRUISER99]

I would say for the most part , your statement is accurate. I have never found anything but minor differences in over 30 cruises. :)

I disagree, mainly on the use of salt. I have had food extremely salty on some ships on others it's fine.

[Lady Hudson]

In the last 15 months I have been on EX, EN, and Grandeur. We were most disappointed in the Grandeur MDR food. Something was different on GR but I can't put my finger on it. GR had escargot every night but they were lukewarm. Sometimes the meat was tough. I started to order the pasta because usually that was ok. However, our 2 weeks on GR was during the Noro outbreak so I can give them a pass -- everyone was stressed and working very hard. Going back in March for 18 days so I will check it out again. I don't hold a grudge!

 

We enjoyed EN (12/13) and EX (4/13) food.

[papaflamingo]

Since Dec. 2012 we have done Freedom twice, Allure, Oasis, Legend, Rhapsody. To be honest I think the food is quite consistent. There are some things I really like, such as the Duck Breast. It has been very good on all the ships. I don't like the Prime Rib as I find it bland. That, too, has been consistent. I have found the fish dishes very good across the board. So, to answer your question, no particular dish stands out as "better" than from ship to ship. It's simply "likes and dislikes" for me.

[KPLIONMA]

We enjoyed every meal we had in the MDR on the Allure last May. We had wonderful table mates, so maybe we didn't pay much attention to the food. But if wasn't too good, I think we would have remembered.

 

We will be on the Adventure of the Seas this September. In the MDR as usual.

[candiac]

I have always enjoyed the food in the MDR. Last September I had the opportunity to do two sailings one out of Barcelona on Serenade and the other out of Southampton on Adventure. The food was markedly different but it may have been to please the tastes of the different sets of passengers. I found the food on Adventure out of Southampton to be more overcooked, lukewarm, and more salty than on Serenade. Service on both sailings was delightful but the food was very different.

 

I could not believe the two ships were from the same fleet. The staff on Serenade seemed happier, more professional, the ship cleaner and a better time was had by all. The linen was of better quality on Serenade although the staff told us that it was the fault of the washers being broken??? The beds were more comfortable on Serenade.

 

I understand that the refurbishment on Adventure was moved up and I suspect it was due to some of the complaints on the Sept 27 cruise passengers.

 

There was a medical emergency on Serenade that my daughter acted as first aider, as medical staff were slow to arrive, first because telephone operator out of Southampton did not understand her Canadian accent for incident in "Cloud Nine", operator asking if it was on ninth floor???, she did not have a clue where cloud Nine was, elevators supposedly being overcrowded or not working, and then doctor spent time on his cell phone. Waiters stood around watching my daughter, she is a school teacher not a medical professional provide medical attention. Very disappointing and frightening experience.

 

Yes, big difference on Adventure.

[bighairtexan]

I found almost everything on the Navigator and Mariner better than the food in general on Explorer. Again, personal opinion and therefore subjective.

[reallyhooked]

I can't remember from one ship to the next. I look at each as different advienture. We've been on some ships more than once.

[ehfl]

I'm not sure why there would be a significant difference. They all pretty much use the same suppliers, at least for those that resupply in the US.

[Rala]

I disagree, mainly on the use of salt. I have had food extremely salty on some ships on others it's fine.

 

I like salt (maybe too much:eek:), so I probably would not have noticed .:)

[ikirumata]

Bread on our Radiance trip was hard and sometimes overcooked. Bread on the Brilliance was good.

 

I don't know if it was due to cost cutting (comparing a cruise 8 years ago vs current), but I think I enjoyed our beef when we sailed out of Galveston better than any other cruises.

[Starry Eyes]

Ship to ship? That might be hard for me to remeber. I do remember commenting to a waiter on the second half of a B2B that the lamb shank was been significantly better (flavor, texture) the first week than the second week. I think that was on Explorer.

[footzz]

It is kind of a moot discussion being that chefs and cooks change out like every other staff member. You could go on the same ship 3 times a year and have different food experiences each time. Until the same staff stays with the same ship that kind of comparison will never be accurate.

 

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Bingo! It's pretty much the luck of the draw. The Chef's and galley staff have contracts like the rest of the crew.

 

On a recent cruise on the LOS the MDR food was uninspired, noticeably bland and nothing was memorable.

We got off the NOS a couple of weeks ago and the food in the MDR was really very good. Every item I had was seasoned well and the presentations were visually appealing.

 

The difference between the dining experience on the LOS and the NOS was markedly noticeable. So much so, that I mentioned it to the Maitre D. He told me that the chef on board the NOS cruise was German and ran the kitchen with strict authority and expected only the best from "his" kitchen. So, there you have it.

 

If there's been one thing that has been very consistent across the line is the "Manhattan Strip" (whatever that is?) steak offered every night in the MDR. Every one I have tried, without exception, has been as tough as a Catchers mitt and just about as tasty.

 

Hmm, maybe it's no coincidence that steaks from Chops Grille are available for purchase in the MDR.

Edited June 17, 2014 by footzz

[Karma5]

I was recently on Grandeur and the food was worse than any other cruise I have been on.

On a scale of 10 being the high it was a 3…………..

[Tyler80]

On all of the ships I have sailed on the food has been consistently good with no problems. I'm not a food expert, but considering all the mouths Royal Caribbean feeds on a daily basis, they do a pretty good job!

[wild0826]

Here is a difference my sister witnessed. The top picture was palm sugar chicken from Allure and second pic was same dish from Grandeur. She said the Grandeur one was not good. They looked totally liked two different dishes

[CVU]

Bingo! It's pretty much the luck of the draw. The Chef's and galley staff have contracts like the rest of the crew.

 

If there's been one thing that has been very consistent across the line is the "Manhattan Strip" (whatever that is?) steak offered every night in the MDR. Every one I have tried, without exception, has been as tough as a Catchers mitt and just about as tasty.

Hmm, maybe it's no coincidence that steaks from Chops Grille are available for purchase in the MDR.

Yes! Never get their steaks in the MDR, they are always the same as you say........consistently tough!

 

SALT was Radiance's favorite shaker!!!:eek:

One chicken dish two of us couldn't eat it at dinner, tooooo salty! I can shake my own salt on if I want, plus it is unhealthy to use salt???? [We lose pounds right after we get home, from the salt in the food on any ship.]

 

DHs Chocolate Sensation has varied greatly ship to ship and night to night even on the same ship!:confused:

[kevink]

As others have pointed out, it's really a function of the staff rather than the ship, and it's going to vary over time.

 

What I've learned in general over ~15 RCCL cruises is IMHO:

1) They excel at bread.

2) They do much better at chicken and seafood than they do beef. I have seen some pretty low quality beef served. If you really want a steak, go to Chops and avoid the steak in the MDR.

3) Pasta can be hit or miss sometimes, but in general they do quite good with pasta.

4) Skip the lobster. I'm not a big lobster person to begin with, but I've cruised on three different cruise lines and I've never had good lobster on any cruise ship.

5) To sum up my strategy: I scan the menu in priority order,

chicken>pasta>seafood>beef .

 

And of course, everything tastes better if you have a few drinks before dinner. :-)

 

-- Kevin

[Bobal]

There is definite variation between ships, despite the menus being the same. And incidentally the argument that they all get the same ingredients doesn't hold up - it's the execution which counts. I could buy the same ingredients from the same place and prepare a meal as could my husband - and I can tell you that the results would be very different ;)

 

We've taken 2 Royal Caribbean cruises this year - one on Allure in the Caribbean and one on Serenade in the Med and the Allure was vastly superior to the Serenade. I can't remember specifics but do remember one fish dish on Serenade was so overcooked as to be inedible.

Edited June 24, 2014 by Bobal

[cruisnpat]

Yes there is some difference from ship to ship . But it is a minor difference most of the time