Re-imagining Food Glorious Food

[LuAnn]

Brunches (jazz, officers, dim sum) in the main dining room typically run from 10 until 1 or 1:30, so there was no need to eat at 10. Thanksgiving dinner sittings at Plimouth Plantation are at 11, 2:30, and 6, buffet sittings are 11, 1:30, 4 and 6, so I don't understand the over-the-top upset at a brunch from 10 to 1.

 

Apparently, there was a traditional dinner available in the dining room but perhaps this wasn't made clear in Pursuits or on the posted menu. Not having been there, I can't comment. Unfortunate, but the first thing I would have asked was why not, rather than complain afterwards. A legitimate complaint, but not worthy of a "don't get me started."

 

Regarding potatoes and pumpkin pie, I'd be interested to know what was served. And does the absence of these items make dinner "terrible?" Not for me, and I live in Plymouth, where the whole business began. My traditional dessert would be apple pie or Indian pudding or grape-nut pudding, with pumpkin pie only my fourth choice, but I don't think anyone should expect their personal favorite to necessarily be on the menu. There are just too many options.

 

Bottom line, it appears a traditional Thanksgiving meal was served at a brunch, in the main dining room at dinner (although apparently inadequately advertised), and also in Windows. If that isn't "catering to Americans," I don't know what is.

 

I "complained"..your words..not mine.. the day afterward...so ...you think I should have "run down the HD"...and confronted her that night??? i don't do things that way...I explained to her the next day...my concerns...There was NO traditional T-Day menu offered..in any venue...all day..it was all "this and that" and not what I would consider "traditional menu". SO...I live on the WEST COAST..and you live on the EAST COAST...but I think we all live in the US...so your choice and my choice...of where I grew up..and what I eat may be different!!! Your ideas ..and mine ...are different...your choice of pie ...different...BTW...I love GRAPE NUTS...so can I have your recipe for that?? Would just love it!!! LuAnn

[LuAnn]

I can completely understand your disappointment Lu-Ann. As a Brit had I been on your cruise I would have loved to have Thanksgiving Dinner in the MDR (had it been on the menu of course)

 

Many of my "Brit" friends felt the same way!!! LuAnn

[nordski]

 

As this is a tradition we don't have in our little country, it would have been nice to see how our friends across the pond celebrate but instead we visited the Windows cafe and certainly enjoyed the very tasty turkey on offer but this really didn't meet our expectation of a special occasion.

 

I must point out that if you include we of the North as your "friends across the pond", and surely we were the "loyal" ones :), then to truly experience Thanksgiving you would have to set aside the second Sunday in October as the appropriate date. It's disconcerting to realize that only one date is being recognized.

 

As luck would have it, we were on board the Journey on that date this year and, as usual, the needs of the poor cousins of North America went unmet. Just as, despite my admonishments, they continue to label back bacon as "English" instead of "Canadian".

 

On a more serious note, detached from its religious and familial moorings we can't get excited about the meal itself. Like my mother's Christmas (suet? carrot?) pudding recipe the food evokes warm memories, but I can't remember anyone ever saying "Boy, that was amazing!" (Although "That was filling!" would certainly be appropriate. :))

 

Thus, to our minds, a meal in the cafe would be appropriate and sufficient. Particularly if, as the discussions on menus suggest, people are looking for a "Wow" factor in their menu offerings.

 

On the other hand, I can certainly see the attraction of enjoying the atmosphere for Thanksgiving dinner at Plimouth Plantation.

[Henk123]

Just back from the Journey (Panama Canal 23/12). The choise of food was not great but the quality was more than good.

We have tried every restaurant and never had something less than good. The meat was always great.

[BBMacLaird]

I have just posted this over on Azamara Asks question about our MDR menus, but I don't want you to miss it...

_________________________

Everyone's feedback is helpful, thank you.

Here's a statement from the top...

 

"Azamara did not change suppliers nor reduce the quality of the food purchased. We did change the menu, which was used for 4 years in the main dining room, earlier this year (he means 2015.)

The feedback on Cruise Critic will help us in the right direction to make adjustments to satisfy most guests.

The Hotel Ops team is going to the Journey during dry-dock next week and will look at the menu selections, make changes, test it and roll out when the ship comes back in service."

[MrMojoRisin]

I have just posted this over on Azamara Asks question about our MDR menus, but I don't want you to miss it...

_________________________

Everyone's feedback is helpful, thank you.

Here's a statement from the top...

 

"Azamara did not change suppliers nor reduce the quality of the food purchased. We did change the menu, which was used for 4 years in the main dining room, earlier this year (he means 2015.)

The feedback on Cruise Critic will help us in the right direction to make adjustments to satisfy most guests.

The Hotel Ops team is going to the Journey during dry-dock next week and will look at the menu selections, make changes, test it and roll out when the ship comes back in service."

 

Looking forward to testing this myself when we board on 7th February!

[bigmjh]

I have just posted this over on Azamara Asks question about our MDR menus, but I don't want you to miss it...

_________________________

Everyone's feedback is helpful, thank you.

Here's a statement from the top...

 

" ... The Hotel Ops team is going to the Journey during dry-dock next week and will look at the menu selections, make changes, test it and roll out when the ship comes back in service."

 

Let's hope that the Hotel Ops Team actually comes up with some more exciting (enticing?) MDR options. Keeping fingers crossed that Azamara brings the WOW factor back to the MDR ... much as they are doing with other areas of the Journey. We'll find out on Feb 7th.

[uktog]

Currently on second leg of Quest sailings. Execution of cooking by Monica and the team is generally excellent (there can always be things that go wrong) but much less beef offered mostly lamb and pork. This needs a rethink to Increase beef in the MDR. Agree dh had a really bad New York strip so have decided that option is off. Just wonder as the maitre Ds answer was we do lovely steaks in Prime C ( yes agree been there a few times ) is this is s ploy to push meat eaters upstairs for a fee.

[Kamlee]

Currently on second leg of Quest sailings. Execution of cooking by Monica and the team is generally excellent (there can always be things that go wrong) but much less beef offered mostly lamb and pork. This needs a rethink to Increase beef in the MDR. Agree dh had a really bad New York strip so have decided that option is off. Just wonder as the maitre Ds answer was we do lovely steaks in Prime C ( yes agree been there a few times ) is this is s ploy to push meat eaters upstairs for a fee.

 

When we were on Quest in early December we thought there was too much beef and not enough lamb! Maybe the problem is just lack of choice.

[muggchen]

What we have learned from this thread and others comments on cruisecritices, there are obviously more and more comments about degreasing quality and drastically reduced choices on food in the MDR.

 

Also read some complaints about decline the quality of the daily wine offering.

 

After cruising 5 times with Azamara, and two more booked cruises on journey in February and March 2016 we are beginning to worry about the recent comments about the decline in quality in Discoveries.

 

Overall, we were very satisfied with AZ up to now, the MDR food one the choices were normally more than acceptable in the past.

 

After cruising with German cruise ships “Europa”, “Europa2” and the Oceania R-Ships, e.g. Nautica we have experienced, that this lines offer overall very, very good varieties of food in the MDR and Buffets.

 

We think, it was, still is and should be a challenge for Azamara.

 

Otherwise AZ would not be regognized as a luxury cruise line as they stated and loose theirs loyal customer.

 

We appreciate that the Hotel Ops Team now will work on this matter and hopefully make adjustments.

 

Therefore we will give an example from the Oceania MDR menus, what they offer every day:

 

3 healthy living choices (appetizer, salad and main)

 

5 appetizers

 

2 soups

 

7 !!!!!Plus 2 more Main courses,

(1 grand salad, every day the same)

1 pasta dish,

2 different kinds of meat and

2 seafood/fish dishes and

1 vegetarian choice,

In addition:

1 Asian style dish and

1 more seafood /shellfish dish.

 

Besides this, they offer 3 Signature Dishes, repeating every day.

 

We hope that after reconsidering the menu we will enjoy the upcoming cruises with the journey as we did it in the past.

[Bloodaxe]

Currently on second leg of Quest sailings. Execution of cooking by Monica and the team is generally excellent (there can always be things that go wrong) but much less beef offered mostly lamb and pork. This needs a rethink to Increase beef in the MDR. Agree dh had a really bad New York strip so have decided that option is off. Just wonder as the maitre Ds answer was we do lovely steaks in Prime C ( yes agree been there a few times ) is this is s ploy to push meat eaters upstairs for a fee.

 

I also had a really poor NY Strip in November, it never used to be like that & it seems that the good Beef is now reserved for Prime C.

[SuiteTraveler]

Since Azamara has an employee who reads these posts, I just want to say, I spent several hours last week looking at menus and food photos from a cruise 2 years ago for one of your ships and I thought everything looked amazing. Finally, I had found a cruise line that has the kind of great food I am looking for. I'm a chef and foodie, so I was seriously considering booking on Azamara for my birthday this year (in August - round trip Venice) and I'm a suite type passenger. Having read about your food from 2 years back, I thought, FINALLY a cruise line that is perfect for us! But having read about the decrease in food quality, particularly the decrease in fish dishes, now I'm not so sure your line would be a good match for us at all. I saw a lot of pictures of your ship (Journey) and I really liked the style, but to me, it is the food that is all-important in selecting a luxury cruise. I really hope that your company does everything possible to address these issues and turns this around to bring the "WOW" factor back to your MDR food. Here are things I would expect to see on a luxury cruise:

 

Amuse bouche - to start anything that is only 1 bite but sets the tone for the meal.

followed by:

caviar service (at least once in a week)

Shrimp, crab, lobster, mussels, clams, sea scallops, smoked salmon, escargot, oysters - different preparations for at least one of these each night.

Sashimi preparations (different ones at least 3-4 times in a week)

Fruits

Antipasto

savory souffles

anything else that fits into the appetizer category from goat cheese stuffed roasted dates to terrines and pates.

 

Gorgeous and variable salads

 

Delicious soups

 

variable intermezzos (a simple way to bring your MDR standard back to a Full Course Dinner) such as cucumber-lime, prosecco, pink grapefruit, lemon basil, watermelon, lemon and lavender, rose, champagne peach and mint, lychee, blackberry cabernet...

 

Prime Rib - the best possible with yorkshire pudding

Fillet Mignon

Rack of Lamb

Duck

Venison

Bison

rabbit

Flounder, trout, salmon, sea bass, Ahi tuna

Perfect risotto dish (possibly paired with lobster.)

quail eggs

Molecular gastronomy techniques

 

Various desserts with gourmet ingredients

High quality artisan fruit and cheese plate (changes every night)

 

I would far rather have small portions of the finest food prepared beautifully and deliciously, then big portions of mediocre food. I'm looking for things like vanilla scented butter poached lobster,

 

Finally, I just want to give your executives this food for thought, it seems based on what has been written in this thread you have cut back on your food and quality, possibly to avoid raising prices, however, this is the exact opposite of what you SHOULD be doing. People who go on luxury cruises expect the best and are willing to pay more for it. Another $100 - $500pp per cruise per week is NOT a problem for most of us luxury cruisers. But cutting back on food options and quality is a HUGE problem and will drive luxury cruisers away from your brand.. I know the trend across most lines is to cut back. It appears your executives have fallen into that trap. Now is the time to stop and turn this around. Don't lose your loyal base over this and don't drive people like me away from your line before we have even tried it. I will be monitoring this part of the CC board in hopes of reading of some substantial improvements before I decide whether or not to book.

[Henk123]

I also had a really poor NY Strip in November, it never used to be like that & it seems that the good Beef is now reserved for Prime C.

On our Decembercruise all kind of beef and the lamb was (very) good in all the restaurants (MD, Prime C, Aqualina, Buffet and with deckparty's).

[factor30]

Hi SuiteTraveler

Just felt I had to make a quick response to your post. I wanted to point out that not all guests are gourmet chefs or indeed luxury cruisers. We are on the Journey at the end of this month (our 4th Azamara cruise) and look forward to making our own judgement on the menus offered. We do like the WOW factor occasionally but do not expect, or wish to eat, gourmet food each day as you describe in the MDR. It would probably put Azamara well out of our reach and that of many friends. We're sure that Azamara are aiming to strike a happy medium for all guests regardless of which cabin they occupy.

Rita

[Host Jazzbeau]

Suite traveler -- your descriptions sound more like a true Luxury cruise line (e.g. Seabourn). I don't think Azamara or any of its competitors has ever had Caviar service.

[MrMojoRisin]

Since Azamara has an employee who reads these posts, I just want to say, I spent several hours last week looking at menus and food photos from a cruise 2 years ago for one of your ships and I thought everything looked amazing. Finally, I had found a cruise line that has the kind of great food I am looking for. I'm a chef and foodie, so I was seriously considering booking on Azamara for my birthday this year (in August - round trip Venice) and I'm a suite type passenger. Having read about your food from 2 years back, I thought, FINALLY a cruise line that is perfect for us! But having read about the decrease in food quality, particularly the decrease in fish dishes, now I'm not so sure your line would be a good match for us at all. I saw a lot of pictures of your ship (Journey) and I really liked the style, but to me, it is the food that is all-important in selecting a luxury cruise. I really hope that your company does everything possible to address these issues and turns this around to bring the "WOW" factor back to your MDR food. Here are things I would expect to see on a luxury cruise:

 

Amuse bouche - to start anything that is only 1 bite but sets the tone for the meal.

followed by:

caviar service (at least once in a week)

Shrimp, crab, lobster, mussels, clams, sea scallops, smoked salmon, escargot, oysters - different preparations for at least one of these each night.

Sashimi preparations (different ones at least 3-4 times in a week)

Fruits

Antipasto

savory souffles

anything else that fits into the appetizer category from goat cheese stuffed roasted dates to terrines and pates.

 

Gorgeous and variable salads

 

Delicious soups

 

variable intermezzos (a simple way to bring your MDR standard back to a Full Course Dinner) such as cucumber-lime, prosecco, pink grapefruit, lemon basil, watermelon, lemon and lavender, rose, champagne peach and mint, lychee, blackberry cabernet...

 

Prime Rib - the best possible with yorkshire pudding

Fillet Mignon

Rack of Lamb

Duck

Venison

Bison

rabbit

Flounder, trout, salmon, sea bass, Ahi tuna

Perfect risotto dish (possibly paired with lobster.)

quail eggs

Molecular gastronomy techniques

 

Various desserts with gourmet ingredients

High quality artisan fruit and cheese plate (changes every night)

 

I would far rather have small portions of the finest food prepared beautifully and deliciously, then big portions of mediocre food. I'm looking for things like vanilla scented butter poached lobster,

 

Finally, I just want to give your executives this food for thought, it seems based on what has been written in this thread you have cut back on your food and quality, possibly to avoid raising prices, however, this is the exact opposite of what you SHOULD be doing. People who go on luxury cruises expect the best and are willing to pay more for it. Another $100 - $500pp per cruise per week is NOT a problem for most of us luxury cruisers. But cutting back on food options and quality is a HUGE problem and will drive luxury cruisers away from your brand.. I know the trend across most lines is to cut back. It appears your executives have fallen into that trap. Now is the time to stop and turn this around. Don't lose your loyal base over this and don't drive people like me away from your line before we have even tried it. I will be monitoring this part of the CC board in hopes of reading of some substantial improvements before I decide whether or not to book.

 

You will not get this on ANY cruise. It is just pie in the sky. And why do we have to know you are a suite type traveller? It doesn't make your views any more valid than someone in an inside cabin!

[Grandma Cruising]

Reckon it's just a wind-up - the description is of the sort of food you'd pay £150 plus per person per meal in a restaurant - you won't get that on any cruise!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[nordski]

Reckon it's just a wind-up - the description is of the sort of food you'd pay £150 plus per person per meal in a restaurant - you won't get that on any cruise!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

 

Think you are correct.

[marinaro44]

You will not get this on ANY cruise. It is just pie in the sky. And why do we have to know you are a suite type traveller? It doesn't make your views any more valid than someone in an inside cabin!

Thanks for saving me the trouble of having to write this. Edited January 11, 2016 by marinaro44

[wuppis]

I think, there is only one ship who will serve food like suitetraveler described:

 

EUROPA 2, rated the best ship in the world.

 

It´s from a german cruiseline and it only have suites and maximum of 500 passengers, but you have to pay for a week for all these included delicacies a lot more money.

 

Here an example: 1 week mediterranean starting at 3.490 Euro.

 

10 days 4.790 euro and these are special offers.

 

Here a normal price:

Piräus (Athen) – Civitavecchia (Rom)

24.05. – 31.05.2016, 7 Tage, EUX1613 6.790,00 Euro startprice.

 

 

 

For these prices you get a lot more things, 7 included specialty restaurants, most drinks included. But you cannot compare it with Azamara and even not with Seabourne, Ponant, Crystal and all the really luxury cruiselines which are much higher priced.

 

 

Like someone else said, we are satisfied with medium quality in this pricerange, but we are expecting more, than people wrote about the last months. But nothing like being served in a $ 200 per person restaurant.

 

 

Sorry for my mistakes, but you know german is my first language and not english. But I hope you understand what I always try to say.

[welshfamily]

Well said Wuppis. If only my German compared to your excellent English.

 

We would not want that sort of meal every night, even if it were on offer.

For us the beauty of Azamara was the variety of food choices. We enjoyed the buffet evenings just as much as the speciality restaurants.

By the way we had Amuse Bouche and champagne sorbet in Aqulina.(spl?)

White night was a BBQ evening and we had a buffet in the MDR on the Amazing evening.

The pool grill was excellent.

Unfortunately we didn't get to try the MDR and we hope that Azamara will add the 'wow' factor which regulars say is missing before we cruise in August.

 

However the back deck, a good Italian/ Indian buffet, a few cocktails, green apple icecream, good/ new friends and a view over a Greek island is, in my humble opinion, bliss. Add to that a show, a nightcap and a comfy bed and you

have a jolly good evening.

Perhaps suite traveller should give it a go and then post his comments.

[SuiteTraveler]

Hi SuiteTraveler

Just felt I had to make a quick response to your post. I wanted to point out that not all guests are gourmet chefs or indeed luxury cruisers. We are on the Journey at the end of this month (our 4th Azamara cruise) and look forward to making our own judgement on the menus offered. We do like the WOW factor occasionally but do not expect, or wish to eat, gourmet food each day as you describe in the MDR. It would probably put Azamara well out of our reach and that of many friends. We're sure that Azamara are aiming to strike a happy medium for all guests regardless of which cabin they occupy.

Rita

 

The reason I am interested Azamara is because they promote themselves (or used to) as a line that is especially focused on quality food. I don't think a slight price increase would put Azamara out of anyone's reach and if that is what it takes to keep the quality very, very high, isn't it worth it? Surely you all don't want to wind up with meatloaf and hangar steak like on Carnival?

[SuiteTraveler]

Suite traveler -- your descriptions sound more like a true Luxury cruise line (e.g. Seabourn). I don't think Azamara or any of its competitors has ever had Caviar service.

 

This is not as far-fetched as you seem to think. Princess had American caviar service back in the 1990's. Nowadays, there are very high quality American caviars as well as some really interesting flavored Japanese caviars that are not all that expensive, but are equally as good (in a different way) as Russian and Iranian caviars. Presented thoughtfully and with imagination, just about anyone who likes caviar will love these and they can add a real "Wow" factor to an otherwise rather ordinary appetizer.

[SuiteTraveler]

You will not get this on ANY cruise. It is just pie in the sky. And why do we have to know you are a suite type traveller? It doesn't make your views any more valid than someone in an inside cabin!

 

The user ID was chosen for my by the CC mods maybe 10 years back. Initially, it was a joke because to my surprise, I kept getting upgraded to suites without doing much of anything to cause that to happen or I would find a one day sale with an extreme discount and upgrade myself. I'm just lucky that way, I guess. BTW, I've helped lots of other people here on CC as well as many of my family and friends get suites with big discounts as well.

 

I never said there is anything wrong with having an inside cabin and, in fact, I don't think there's anything wrong with that at all. But do try to think of my post this way, just because you are in an inside, doesn't mean that you should not have the best possible food in the MDR. I'm advocating for the best possible food for everyone - not just me. Rather than the cruise line going after food as a cost cutting measure, I'm advocating that they keep the food standards very, very high. That is for all of us!

[marinaro44]

The user ID was chosen for my by the CC mods maybe 10 years back.

That may be, but you made certain to include the following in your lengthy posting above: "I'm a chef and foodie, so I was seriously considering booking on Azamara for my birthday this year (in August - round trip Venice) and I'm a suite type passenger."