Good Food?

[mcroadman]

So I am consistently seeing comments that the food on RCCL is not good.

I do think most of us review things when they are either really good or we are mad and things did not make us happy. But I do take reviews very serious and I am starting to wonder if our plan to switch to a RCCL cruise from Carnival is a good idea.

 

My dd is 16 and eating is not on the top of her list- rarely is!

but the Liberty of the Seas looks like a lovely ship and we are thinking of changing our plans from the Carnival Triumph to the LofSeas.

 

But is the food that bad?

What 3 dinner choices do you recommend?

What special menus are the best?

What desserts did you enjoy?

What does room service for lunch and dinner offer?

Are they doing 5 courses?

 

We have only cruised once, on Disney.

If we go on the RCCL Liberty I am guessing we are going to have a lovely ship, lovely balcony room .. good or great shows but lousy food if I take 80% of the comments seriously! :(-- and for dd that will be fine.

.. but I do like to enjoy good food on vacation!

 

So what IS good on Liberty of the Seas??

 

Thanks

Mary R

[Clarea]

With regard to room service, the menu is the same all day. Here is an example:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=36762748&postcount=5

 

If having fresh grilled hamburgers out by the pool is essential, then Royal may not be right for you.

Edited February 22, 2016 by clarea

[runawaysoul]

Half of my sailings have been with carnival and half have been with RC. I thought carnival was at least as good as RC. Food is a subjective thing. Also, the nature of this forum is to dissect pretty much everything about cruising, so I don't think the opinions of this forum are all that representative of the whole. I wouldn't be too concerned. Just my opinion.

Edited February 22, 2016 by runawaysoul

[jagsfan]

A lot of the complaints are from long time cruisers who know that the quality of the food has gone downhill, but this is true of every cruise line I've sailed on in the last few years. Try RCCL, I'll bet you'll like it. There are plenty of good food choices to be had.

[mxylpic]

So I am consistently seeing comments that the food on RCCL is not good.

I do think most of us review things when they are either really good or we are mad and things did not make us happy. But I do take reviews very serious and I am starting to wonder if our plan to switch to a RCCL cruise from Carnival is a good idea.

 

My dd is 16 and eating is not on the top of her list- rarely is!

but the Liberty of the Seas looks like a lovely ship and we are thinking of changing our plans from the Carnival Triumph to the LofSeas.

 

But is the food that bad?

What 3 dinner choices do you recommend?

What special menus are the best?

What desserts did you enjoy?

What does room service for lunch and dinner offer?

Are they doing 5 courses?

 

We have only cruised once, on Disney.

If we go on the RCCL Liberty I am guessing we are going to have a lovely ship, lovely balcony room .. good or great shows but lousy food if I take 80% of the comments seriously! :(-- and for dd that will be fine.

.. but I do like to enjoy good food on vacation!

 

So what IS good on Liberty of the Seas??

 

Thanks

Mary R

 

I have been on numerous RCI cruises and a few Carnival, so I can make a comparison I think. I find the food comparable between the two. MDR on either line is equivalent to a fairly high end commercial restaurant IMHO.

 

You will find things you like and don't like. Don't eat in the MDR for lunch or breakfast, usually the Windjammer. They certainly do not do 5 course meals for lunch. Dinner is a choice of appetizer, main course and dessert. But you can easily order multiple appetizers to create a soup and a salad if you like. :)

[Badgertr]

Our first cruise was on the Triumph. The rest have been on Royal. Our last and next cruise is/was a sister ship to Liberty, Freedom OTS. We are from Wisconsin, our cheese, butter and beef is some of the best tasting. We also eat wild game, fresh fish, Buck burgers at a local bar, and we've had $100 per plate dinners. The latter is not our taste, however. We found the food just fine, we enjoy trying different things and we usually order a fish and a meat that way if we don't care for one we have the other. They also have chicken and a steak each day if you don't like what they have. I've also found the buffet ok for breakfast and lunch.

[kbset]

So I am consistently seeing comments that the food on RCCL is not good.

I do think most of us review things when they are either really good or we are mad and things did not make us happy. But I do take reviews very serious and I am starting to wonder if our plan to switch to a RCCL cruise from Carnival is a good idea.

 

My dd is 16 and eating is not on the top of her list- rarely is!

but the Liberty of the Seas looks like a lovely ship and we are thinking of changing our plans from the Carnival Triumph to the LofSeas.

 

But is the food that bad?

What 3 dinner choices do you recommend?

What special menus are the best?

What desserts did you enjoy?

What does room service for lunch and dinner offer?

Are they doing 5 courses?

 

We have only cruised once, on Disney.

If we go on the RCCL Liberty I am guessing we are going to have a lovely ship, lovely balcony room .. good or great shows but lousy food if I take 80% of the comments seriously! :(-- and for dd that will be fine.

.. but I do like to enjoy good food on vacation!

 

So what IS good on Liberty of the Seas??

 

Thanks

Mary R

 

We were on a B2B on Independence in early 2014 and the food was horrid....there was not one person that we ran into that didn't complain about the food. However, we are doing a cruise on Empress in March and we are hoping that the food will be better :)

 

I think a lot of the problem is that Royal is too focused on trying to be "bigger and better" rather than focusing on the quality of what they already have.

[Crazycombine64]

Very subjective. I think the food quality has been decreasing a little over the years, but I still enjoy the food they serve. The food on Liberty back in Nov 2015 was really good, didn't try any specialty restaurants, just between Windjammer and MDR. In the MDR I always ask for more plates to try and share. If you don't like something you can ask for something else.

Edited February 22, 2016 by Crazycombine64

[fragilek]

By no means a cruise expert only 3 cruises to our name 2 in Carnival and 1 on RCCL - Carnival was much better in terms of the main dining room for both diner and breakfast (far far better for breakfast)- But we are not big fans of any fast type food - so cannot comment on burgers pizza etc. RCCL had very good specialty restaurants with Isumi being my favorite one. Did not try any of these on the carnival cruises as the MDR was very good. However in neither lines MDR are you getting top end food- but Carnival presentation and taste was better for every MDR meal for all 4 of us. Service was also far far better in the Carnival MDR. On saying that the food on RCCL was fine and we have booked another cruise with them the ports are the main attraction for us - we can fine dine at home :D

[garnetpalmetto]

So I am consistently seeing comments that the food on RCCL is not good.

I do think most of us review things when they are either really good or we are mad and things did not make us happy. But I do take reviews very serious and I am starting to wonder if our plan to switch to a RCCL cruise from Carnival is a good idea.

 

My dd is 16 and eating is not on the top of her list- rarely is!

but the Liberty of the Seas looks like a lovely ship and we are thinking of changing our plans from the Carnival Triumph to the LofSeas.

 

But is the food that bad?

What 3 dinner choices do you recommend?

What special menus are the best?

What desserts did you enjoy?

What does room service for lunch and dinner offer?

Are they doing 5 courses?

 

We have only cruised once, on Disney.

If we go on the RCCL Liberty I am guessing we are going to have a lovely ship, lovely balcony room .. good or great shows but lousy food if I take 80% of the comments seriously! :(-- and for dd that will be fine.

.. but I do like to enjoy good food on vacation!

 

So what IS good on Liberty of the Seas??

 

Thanks

Mary R

 

I certainly don't think I've ever had a bad meal on Royal Caribbean. The Main Dining Room Menus can be found here. I'm not sure what you mean by "special menus" - do you mean specialty dining venues that cost extra? As for your other questions:

 

 

• 3 dinner choices I recommend - The Mojo-Marinated Grilled Pork Chop from the Mojo menu, the Carved Filet of Beef Tenderloin from the Saffron menu, and the Chicken Marsala from the Pimiento menu.
  
• Desserts I enjoy - The Carrot Cake from the Mojo menu, the Sticky Bread and Butter Pudding from the Pimiento menu, and the Key Lime Pie from the Pomodoro menu.
  
• The room service menu has already been addressed by Bob.
  
• It's really a 3-4 course offering. You have an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert. Within the realm of appetizer you can order multiple appetizers (say a soup and a salad) and they'll be brought out at different times, so I suppose I tend to go for a 4-course meal in that I generally get a soup and a salad each night.
  

I seriously wouldn't worry about it. The food really isn't awful. We took friends of ours on a cruise on Oasis of the Seas this past October - it was their first cruise and they loved the food. Beyond that, you have options other than the Main Dining Room - on Liberty here's what you have

 

 

Complementary Venues

Cafe Promenade - Sandwiches and pastries

Main Dining Room

Sorrento's - Pizza

Windjammer Marketplace - Buffet

 

 

Specialty Venues

Ben & Jerry's - Ice Cream

Chef's Table

Chops Grille - Steakhouse

Cupcake Cupboard - Cupcakes

Giovanni's Table - Italian

Johnny Rocket's - Burgers

Sabor - Mexican

Edited February 22, 2016 by garnetpalmetto

[CT Sean]

Was on Liberty over the summer. We only used the free food options and the food was good. Not fantastic but generally good with occasional "very goods".

 

The key, in my opinion (having done a bunch of cruises but nowhere near as many as some here) is to have the right expectation level. I think some people expect a 5 star dining experience in the main dining room and that just isn't going to happen. The last couple cruises I actually enjoyed the food in the Windjammer more than the MDR.

[ryano]

By no means a cruise expert only 3 cruises to our name 2 in Carnival and 1 on RCCL - Carnival was much better in terms of the main dining room for both diner and breakfast (far far better for breakfast)- But we are not big fans of any fast type food - so cannot comment on burgers pizza etc. RCCL had very good specialty restaurants with Isumi being my favorite one. Did not try any of these on the carnival cruises as the MDR was very good. However in neither lines MDR are you getting top end food- but Carnival presentation and taste was better for every MDR meal for all 4 of us. Service was also far far better in the Carnival MDR. On saying that the food on RCCL was fine and we have booked another cruise with them the ports are the main attraction for us - we can fine dine at home :D

 

I know its subjective but Im very happy to be reading this right now :) I have Carnivals steakhouse booked for the first night onboard as well.

[IceManCan]

The food is fine. About on par with a mid range chain restaurant. Breakfast being the worst meal IMO. You dont have to cook it, clean it and you can try many options until you find what you like. Activity wise Royal cant be beat. so what if the food isn't 5 star. I'm a foodie, live to eat kind of guy but I dont cruise for the food. I cruise for fun family memories. You wont go hungry!

[cb at sea]

Carnival and RCI's food is very similar....as far as "quality" goes...of course, menus are different!

 

Do the dining room for breakfast...much nicer than the buffet, in that you are SERVED, so everything is hot...and all condiments will be on the table....no searching for syrup while your pancakes get cold!

[OCruisers]

We are always very fond of the food service in the $pecialty restaurants on RCCL ships ... not fond of MDR food.

[mcroadman]

I am grateful for the feedback and comments. I do think i can come with appropriate expectations.

And that blue sea before me is why I want to cruise!

I will plan on a few special meals at the specialty restaurants.

We will be on the Liberty. If you do the Dine any Time do you have to phone in a reservation each day for when you want to come??

 

 

Maybe Room service and a balcony is top of my plan! :)

 

Thank you everyone!

Mary

[Clarea]

... We will be on the Liberty. If you do the Dine any Time do you have to phone in a reservation each day for when you want to come??...

No, you have the option to show up without a reservation.

[mistshar]

I really believe you will enjoy Royal. I am a very picky eater but have enjoyed the meals on Royal and Carnival as well as the other ships we have been on. There is always somewhere you can find something good to eat.

 

Whatever you decide, I hope you have a wonderful cruise.

[Funbobby68]

I really enjoy food in general , will travel out of my way to get something good , with that said I enjoy about 90% of the offerings on royal ships that number would be higher if they offered more selections in the WJ , it's good at first but by day 5 gets a little old , speciality restaurants are very good sabors is great and chops is fantastic, if you a steak person pay the extra for the porterhouse, worth every penny extra . In the MDR the only real complaint I would have is on occasion the food could be warmer , but there is always something appetizing , and servers always want you to leave happy and full

[IsanTom]

I would go on Liberty! Your dd will excited just being on the ship and many activities to enjoy! I normally discount complaints about food and I have been on upwards of 40 cruises and never felt hungry or really unsatisfied with the quality of food! Bon Voyage!

[pajazz28]

I have read negative comments here before taking cruise I have been on 4 carnival and 3 RCI and I have never ever felt the negative comments. So I no longer worry the comments I just go on the cruise and enjoy myself.

[AustinCruise]

Food could be better? Yes. But we do find it enjoyable.

 

Recommend - brownies off the kids menu, with ice cream. Seriously, they don't mind. A cookie is also a good alternative if nothing on the main dessert menu matches your taste.

Edited February 23, 2016 by AustinCruise

[lizardhowson]

Your opinion of cruise food will be determined by your home eating experiences.

If your family eats out frequently at somewhat upscale restaurants, you will likely find the food somewhat ordinary.

If you tend to eat out a fast food type places, you may find the food a nice change of pace.

[yuvraj]

It's all subjective and I would not regard any of the food on RCI ships to be lousy or of poor standard.

 

It's not fancy and some RCI regulars (like me) have seen standards steadily drop. Still, I enjoy dinning, just don't have the same level of expectations as I did 20 yrs ago.

 

With so many people on board, you might come across the odd mishap. A lamb shank not properly cooked for example. My view is that this can happen anywhere and the attention to detail is more likely to vary between ships rather than cruise lines.

 

I have lost count of the number of sailings on RCI ships. I have never come back feeling that the food was bad.

 

Overall, my subjective rating for food on RCI ships is average or just above average. For the sake of comparison, I have been on Cunard. Princess, P&O and Celebrity.