How is the MDR food these days?

[RJ2002]

Hello.

 

We are returning to Princess next month for a Grand Japan cruise on the Diamond. Our last Princess cruise was on the Sapphire in Indonesia in January 2015. Since then we sailed with Celebrity on the Constellation (Aqua Class) and on the HAL Prinsendam. We select cruises primarily on unique and different itineraries, so we jump around from line to line.

 

We thought the MDR food on the Sapphire was good. The Prinsendam food was mostly very good, and the Celebrity food was consistently very good, though we did dine in Aqua and not the MDR.

 

In preparation for a cruise, I always return to the line's forum here on CC to get a sense of how "things are". I have noticed a few passing references that the MDR food on Princess has declined, and some reviewers talk about eating more in the specialty restaurants.

 

We are pretty loyal to MDR dining, with maybe an occasional dinner in Sabatini's. The MDR food would have to slip quite a bit from what we last experienced on the Sapphire in order to move us to other venues.

 

Just curious what other folks are experiencing these days in the MDR?

[kuldalai]

Princess main dining room food is excellent especially the three featured Curtus Stone Menu items 1. Chicken & Leek pie 2. Osso Bucco and 3. Pork Belly .

Edited April 19, 2016 by kuldalai

[chrysalis]

Princess main dining room food is excellent especially the three featured Curtus Stone Menu items 1. Chicken & Leek pie 2. Osso Bucco and 3. Pork Belly .

 

Have you tried those "three featured" items?

[Luvmyrotti]

Have you tried those "three featured" items?

 

My guess is that they have tried the menu items given that they are an Aussie cruiser having just recently completed two sailings on the Golden. I think the Curtis Stone MDR menu items have been on the Aussie sailings since they were introduced and seem to be a hit down under.

[Aus Traveller]

On our recent cruise, the eight people at our table felt the current menu is not as good as the one being used last year. I don't know exactly when it changed.

 

The Curtis Stone menu items got a solid 'thumbs down'. Out of every seven nights (42 night cruise) the featured item of fish stew appeared probably five times, chicken and leek pie once and port belly once. I am not being precise on these figures, because Curtis Stone missed out on formal nights. To try the pie, we ordered one for the table and the waiter dished a spoon-full out onto our bread and butter plates so we could each have a taste. It was good, but needs vegetables or something else with it. Not just a bare pie on a plate.

[chrysalis]

My guess is that they have tried the menu items given that they are an Aussie cruiser having just recently completed two sailings on the Golden. I think the Curtis Stone MDR menu items have been on the Aussie sailings since they were introduced and seem to be a hit down under.

 

I was curious because those are not the featured items on the Royal...totally different. The Stone pork tenderloin was the worst meal item ever on a Princess ship.

[socaljo]

Last month the MDR food on the Island was wonderful! I often had trouble deciding from all the interesting menu choices! Superior service in the Provence MDR added to our enjoyment, thanks to waiter & assistant, Ian & Roel, we had a delightful 15 nights dining there. We so enjoyed our table-mates & the service, we didn't eat elsewhere for a change!

 

We even went there for breakfast & lunch on most days! At breakfast there are suggested items, but asking for something else, like their special French Toast, when it wasn't on the menu was NO PROBLEM. Same at lunch, DH loved the huge ground sirloin burger (cooked to order) but wanted onion rings instead of fries. The waiter had to ask to be sure, but he had some yummy rings with his burger that day! On the 3rd might, I asked when I would see salmon on the menu, Ian said, "any night you'd like, just let me know, you can have it tomorrow". Baked potato? Say the word, its yours tomorrow night!

 

LOVE being spoiled like that! Can't wait to have those "hard decisions" to make again in January! :D

[cruzsnooze]

I found the food to be good banquet style food, nothing special but not bad. The choices have become cheaper cuts of meat and lots of fish and pork and chicken. They have to contain costs somehow and the dining room was one way. The service I found excellent. The last night of every Princess cruise I have been on had meatloaf and turkey which I consider too ordinary and unimaginative.

There is usually an alternate menu which has some standards. There is always something to like but it's no where special like it used to be.

[mamkmm2]

Personally? Any meal I don't have to cook is a good meal. Sometimes they are even great or excellent.

 

I don't do "frou-frou" food and I'm not a foodie by any stretch. I'll try something outside my comfort zone so long as it isn't something too far out there for me. I'm not picky, just careful not to give myself indigestion.

 

On the other hand what I consider a very good meal could be boring to down right horrifying to some and vice versa.

 

So what I do is take all I hear on these forums with a grain of salt and then make my own decisions. So far, I haven't really had all that much trouble having a really good meal while on a cruise.

[hpeabody]

I was on a 21 day B2B Sapphire Princess sailing in SE Asia in Feb-Mar 2016. I was so pleased that Curtis Stone dishes had not yet been imposed on her yet. The menu was basically the classic menu with the usual anytime offerings we are used to. YAY!!!! The food overall was good - to very good. My favorite on this cruise was the fettuccini alfredo in the basket topped with grilled chicken (for my main course) Also the bread & butter pudding with the english pub lunch was excellent, best I have had.

[dtb55]

Princess main dining room food is excellent especially the three featured Curtus Stone Menu items 1. Chicken & Leek pie 2. Osso Bucco and 3. Pork Belly .

 

 

Lol, love it!

[Putterdude]

We find the quality of the meals in the MDR varies from ship to ship and from cruise to cruise so it's really hard to say. Food is a very subjective topic but what I would say is that at worst the meals are OK and at best they are pretty good.

[Thrak]

On our last cruise I would say the food was very good. It seems to vary - probably due to the head chef on the ship. Our last cruise was on Coral and the food in MDR was mostly very good. On a side note the food in HC was the best we have experienced in that venue which was a pleasant surprise.

[Lucky TGO]

We find the quality of the meals in the MDR varies from ship to ship and from cruise to cruise so it's really hard to say. Food is a very subjective topic but what I would say is that at worst the meals are OK and at best they are pretty good.

 

I totally agree with you. The only thing I like to say is in the last three years the choices are less now. I cruise with my friends and some of them have as many as 130 cruise with Princess say the same thing.

Tony

[arizonaperson]

Hello.

 

We are returning to Princess next month for a Grand Japan cruise on the Diamond. Our last Princess cruise was on the Sapphire in Indonesia in January 2015. Since then we sailed with Celebrity on the Constellation (Aqua Class) and on the HAL Prinsendam. We select cruises primarily on unique and different itineraries, so we jump around from line to line.

 

We thought the MDR food on the Sapphire was good. The Prinsendam food was mostly very good, and the Celebrity food was consistently very good, though we did dine in Aqua and not the MDR.

 

In preparation for a cruise, I always return to the line's forum here on CC to get a sense of how "things are". I have noticed a few passing references that the MDR food on Princess has declined, and some reviewers talk about eating more in the specialty restaurants.

 

We are pretty loyal to MDR dining, with maybe an occasional dinner in Sabatini's. The MDR food would have to slip quite a bit from what we last experienced on the Sapphire in order to move us to other venues.

 

Just curious what other folks are experiencing these days in the MDR?

 

Food is too subjective......

We enjoy the food in the main dining room and we also on occasion go to the specialty dining. There is definitely food and more food everywhere on Princess.I've had no problem finding something that I enjoy. any day that I don't have to cook for food ,shop for food ,clean up the food ,clean up the dishes is a good one in my book .so I totally enjoy cruising and Princess and the dining room.i Don't go to the buffet very often so I'm not a good judge of the buffet ,I maybe go once during the whole cruise. Julie

Edited April 20, 2016 by arizonaperson

[OCruisers]

We were happy with our MDR food on Emerald in January (except for the Curtis Stone selections) ... but did go to Crown Grill when we wanted steak. Princess does a great job with pasta! :D

[moki'smommy]

In the past 5 years, we found Celebrity to have the best food of any of the lines we've cruised. We were on Princess 12/15. The food was good. The Curtis Stone items were the worst on the menu, but there was always something good each evening. Please post feedback on the Diamond and your Japan cruise. We have 20 nights on the Diamond scheduled.....hoping for some katsu-dan, but will for sure get it in Tokyo.

[Opua Kiwi]

Hello.

 

We are returning to Princess next month for a Grand Japan cruise on the Diamond.

(quote edited)

I was on Diamond last month.

I ate dinner about 15 nights in the MDR and found the food very good indeed.

 

Especially enjoyed the fish dishes, the spicier Asian dishes and the Lamb Shanks.

 

I don't know if or how the menus will change once based in Japan.

 

The Diamond and her crew are in great shape....enjoy.

[riclop]

On the Royal/Regal the buffet is much better then the MDR.

[RJ2002]

Thank you all for the responses.

[easyboy]

On the Royal/Regal the buffet is much better then the MDR.

My feelings too. Especially with my DW's grilled salmon disappearing on the MDR "always" available menu selection.

[wishfulone]

My guess is that they have tried the menu items given that they are an Aussie cruiser having just recently completed two sailings on the Golden. I think the Curtis Stone MDR menu items have been on the Aussie sailings since they were introduced and seem to be a hit down under.

We're Australian and have been on two recent cruises out of Sydney. The second cruise didn't improve the quality of Curtis Stone menu or our opinion of it. It's downright horrible bordering on inedible.

[mrs and mrs]

We're Australian and have been on two recent cruises out of Sydney. The second cruise didn't improve the quality of Curtis Stone menu or our opinion of it. It's downright horrible bordering on inedible.

Same Same,our pork belly was very ordinary,and the chick/leek pie was just awful.Actually im quite embarrassed that an aussie boy has his name attached to this stuff.But having said that the Escargot,scallops and steak dishes were wonderful and the lobster.The pasta dishes mmmh.This is mdr,a paid for meal in the fare and quite frankly the choices and service are outstanding.P/S we have paid top dollar for many a land based crap meal,so are we living in a different world.Our motto is if what you have ordered in the mdr isn't satisfactory,push it round your plate,enjoy the company of your fellow table mates,then head up to the buffet,and then grab some grub and some cheese and crackers and a dessert and snuggle in and enjoy a movie. Tomorrows another day,how hard can it be on $100 a day each.lets get serious. :cool:

[RoePost]

We recently sailed on the Royal Princess...I can tell you that I did not think the Curtis Stone menu was anything special.....also, we are Elite members of Princess Cruises and for the first time, we found the food in the buffet better than the main dining room. The food tasted OK in the main dining room but the choices were a bit odd....Like Calamari and Shrimp soup??? Also I have seen Duck on the menu twice in ten days...I think on our part..we would just like to see some more of the familiar foods listed on the menu...Service, as always, was excellent everywhere on the Royal Princess...

[RetiredNTraveling]

Princess main dining room food is excellent especially the three featured Curtus Stone Menu items 1. Chicken & Leek pie :cool: 2. Osso Bucco :rolleyes: and 3. Pork Belly :eek: .

 

OK now I know to stay away from these three items.

But just a question when you refer to Featured Items just how does one know what are Featured vs Regular. We haven't cruised in 3 years for health reasons and are looking forward to our upcoming Hawaii Cruise on the Star!

 

Just Mike