Italian pizza makers gone?

[cruising cockroach]

4 years ago, I sailed on the Island P. on a short repo cruise. The pizza was wonderful and it was pretty much all made by an older Italian piiza maker by trade. He was from Bari and had been recruited by the Hotel Director (also Italian and may have been from Bari).

 

Fast forward to this spring, sailed on the Star P. on the same route. No Italian pizza maker but a couple of Filipinos instead. They haven't made a career making pizza and while the pizza wasn't bad, it wasn't superb.

 

Just wondering if Princess is removing the Italian pizza makers and replacing them with lower-wage workers? The pizzerias were on the pool deck and not in the fancy pizzeria some ships are said to be getting/have.

[shredie]

4 years ago, I sailed on the Island P. on a short repo cruise. The pizza was wonderful and it was pretty much all made by an older Italian piiza maker by trade. He was from Bari and had been recruited by the Hotel Director (also Italian and may have been from Bari).

 

Fast forward to this spring, sailed on the Star P. on the same route. No Italian pizza maker but a couple of Filipinos instead. They haven't made a career making pizza and while the pizza wasn't bad, it wasn't superb.

 

Just wondering if Princess is removing the Italian pizza makers and replacing them with lower-wage workers? The pizzerias were on the pool deck and not in the fancy pizzeria some ships are said to be getting/have.

 

I'm not convinced one must be Italian to make a good pizza. (Is this thread related to the one about the departing pizza guy?)

[cruising cockroach]

I'm not convinced one must be Italian to make a good pizza. (Is this thread related to the one about the departing pizza guy?)

 

Not related but reading that thread did make me think as my wife and I had been looking forward to pizza on the Star P. being made by a career pizza maker and then found that the pizzas weren't as good. I'd say the comparison is Domino's (which I don't mind occasionally and actually enjoy) compared to real Italian pizza.

 

No saying that you need to be an Italian to make good pizza but it is seen as an honorable vocation there (just as cooks and servers are in France) and not just a transitory job like in most of the world.

 

We talked to the pizza maker on the Island P. and he made the dough from scratch every morning (all separated into balls in wooden trays, as one would do in Italy). Pretty much authentic Italian pizza at sea (and yes, I have ordered take-out pizza in Italy). Even the style of pizzas that he made were authentic Italian (thinness of the crust, toppings). The stuff being offered on the Star P. a few weeks ago was more reminiscent of North American-style pizza.

Edited May 12, 2016 by cruising cockroach

[Astro Flyer]

4 years ago, I sailed on the Island P. on a short repo cruise. The pizza was wonderful and it was pretty much all made by an older Italian piiza maker by trade. He was from Bari and had been recruited by the Hotel Director (also Italian and may have been from Bari).

 

Fast forward to this spring, sailed on the Star P. on the same route. No Italian pizza maker but a couple of Filipinos instead. They haven't made a career making pizza and while the pizza wasn't bad, it wasn't superb.

 

Just wondering if Princess is removing the Italian pizza makers and replacing them with lower-wage workers? The pizzerias were on the pool deck and not in the fancy pizzeria some ships are said to be getting/have.

Based on my recent experiences, the ingredients used have declined which is the main issue for me and is much less about who is making the pizza.

 

I think there are few Italian pizzamakers even at land based restaurants although some may oversee their cooks. I think that Princess has reduced the quality of their ingredients & depending on old reviews from someone claiming they have the "best pizza at sea". I always try a slice or two to see if it's back to their old standards but toppings are sparse & whatever type of cheese blend they're currently using doesn't look like mozzarella used at home.

 

I enjoy the thicker crust Sicilian style pizza famiglia makes at home but in past years have enjoyed the Princess pizza. Now I prefer the individual pizzas from ships with Alfredo's Pizzeria but unfortunately these very popular restaurants are only on a few ships (Grand & Sapphire; multi course menu on Royal & Regal). Alfredo's is very popular but instead Princess keeps adding fee based venues that apparently are not being as well received by passengers.

 

Hopefully this doesn't evolve into another debate about the best style of pizza which is very subjective & instead a discussion about Princess pizza. I've rarely had any style of pizza that I didn't enjoy but I do not enjoy the current version of Princess pizza. Even a hot out of the oven slice of pizza is disappointing to me which may be heresy to others but in decades of enjoying Princess pizza to me it's not nearly as good as before. :(

[cruising cockroach]

Based on my recent experiences, the ingredients used have declined which is the main issue for me and is much less about who is making the pizza.

 

Toppinps may have suffered but I'm confident even the crust is poorer. And that's made from water, flour, yeast and salt, maybe some oil. Maybe the Italian makers could use Italian pizza flour (yes, there is such a grade) but the replacements only have whatever Princess/Carnival can get their hands on/will shell out for.

[Astro Flyer]

Toppinps may have suffered but I'm confident even the crust is poorer. And that's made from water, flour, yeast and salt, maybe some oil. Maybe the Italian makers could use Italian pizza flour (yes, there is such a grade) but the replacements only have whatever Princess/Carnival can get their hands on/will shell out for.

 

I think all of the lower quality ingredients (including the crust) are decisions based solely on cost. And as long as they have passengers who are okay with their pizza then nothing will change.

 

In 1988 we sailed the great Italian cruise line Sitmar with an all Italian & Portuguese crew with great pizza & pastas made onboard. Unfortunately six months later when it became a Princess ship the pizzeria was gone as were the freshly made pastas. Occasionally I've seen old Sitmar crewmembers working on Princess ships & enjoy reminiscing with them. :)

[CineGraphic]

I've always seen Filipinos making the pizza, and the crust is great.

This comes from someone who's made pizza and pasta from scratch for years, with flour and yeast from Italy.

[Thrak]

I find there is an egregious lack of sauce on the pizza and the sauce that is there isn't very flavorful at all.

Edited May 12, 2016 by Thrak

[tiessa]

We were on the Island in January. I had heard so mainly great things about Princess's pizza I really looked forward to it. I found it mediocre at best.

 

 

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[socaljo]

4 years ago, I sailed on the Island P. on a short repo cruise. The pizza was wonderful and it was pretty much all made by an older Italian piiza maker by trade. He was from Bari and had been recruited by the Hotel Director (also Italian and may have been from Bari).

 

Fast forward to this spring, sailed on the Star P. on the same route. No Italian pizza maker but a couple of Filipinos instead. They haven't made a career making pizza and while the pizza wasn't bad, it wasn't superb.

 

Just wondering if Princess is removing the Italian pizza makers and replacing them with lower-wage workers? The pizzerias were on the pool deck and not in the fancy pizzeria some ships are said to be getting/have.

Great pizza can be enjoyed at Sabatini's for lunch on the Island. We had a couple great lunches there in April.

[elliair]

The pizza on the Coral was horrible! Thin crust, burnt on the bottom and gooey under the cheese. I scraped off the mediocre cheese and ate that and the Canadian ham on top.:( Very disappointing.

[sunsetbeachgal]

The pizza on the Coral was horrible! Thin crust, burnt on the bottom and gooey under the cheese. I scraped off the mediocre cheese and ate that and the Canadian ham on top.:( Very disappointing.

 

 

We were on the Coral in January and everyone in our traveling group thought the pizza was delicious. I found myself eating it every day for lunch. But as always with the thin crust pizza definitely need to get it fresh out of the oven as it gets hard

Edited May 13, 2016 by sunsetbeachgal

[grouchomarx]

So your conclusions are:

 

a) Good pizza can only be made by Italians

b) Filipinos automatically make a lower salary doing the same job as an Italian

 

??????

[tailspintom]

So your conclusions are:

 

a) Good pizza can only be made by Italians

b) Filipinos automatically make a lower salary doing the same job as an Italian

 

??????

 

Yep, kind of like the fallacy that New York pizza and bagels are good because of the water. They are good because they are made well. We generally feel that the Princess New York style pizza is pretty good no matter from where the maker comes and certainly much better than the other four lines we have sailed.

[SadieN]

Toppinps may have suffered but I'm confident even the crust is poorer. And that's made from water, flour, yeast and salt, maybe some oil. Maybe the Italian makers could use Italian pizza flour (yes, there is such a grade) but the replacements only have whatever Princess/Carnival can get their hands on/will shell out for.

 

 

Carnival uses Italian pizza flour. See it being used every cruise.

 

The pizza ovens onboard are usually are a conveyor belt oven. The speed of the belt effects the quality of the pizza. Too slow and you get a soggy, raw pizza. Too fast and you get burnt.

 

 

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[geoherb]

I'm another who's never found the pizza on Princess to be something to rave about. I'll have an occasional slice once or twice a cruise. One of my pet peeves is that they never seem to have the advertised ingredients. I remember one time the specialty of the day was supposed to have fresh basil, according to the sign, but they didn't.

[CineGraphic]

Carnival uses Italian pizza flour. See it being used every cruise.

 

The pizza ovens onboard are usually are a conveyor belt oven. The speed of the belt effects the quality of the pizza. Too slow and you get a soggy, raw pizza. Too fast and you get burnt.

 

 

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The Princess ship's I've been on, all had brick pizza ovens, not the conveyor belt cr*p used by Dominoes and the like.

[Astro Flyer]

The pizza ovens onboard are usually are a conveyor belt oven. The speed of the belt effects the quality of the pizza. Too slow and you get a soggy, raw pizza. Too fast and you get burnt.

 

The Princess ship's I've been on, all had brick pizza ovens, not the conveyor belt cr*p used by Dominoes and the like.

I've also only seen the brick pizza ovens with the cooks rearranging the pizzas during the baking process.

 

So a conveyor belt is not a factor and I still think they're now using a lower quality of ingredients resulting in pizza I no longer enjoy.

Edited May 13, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[Skai]

So your conclusions are:

 

a) Good pizza can only be made by Italians

b) Filipinos automatically make a lower salary doing the same job as an Italian

 

??????

 

Heh, perhaps you've heard the saying...

 

 

Heaven is where the police are British,

the chefs Italian,

the mechanics German,

the lovers French,

and it's all organized by the Swiss.

 

Hell is where the police are German,

the chefs are British,

the mechanics French,

the lovers Swiss,

and it is all organized by the Italians.

 

 

Isn't it safe to presume that cultural foods are more likely to be the most authentic being made by the cultures where they originated?

[elliair]

I'm another who's never found the pizza on Princess to be something to rave about. I'll have an occasional slice once or twice a cruise. One of my pet peeves is that they never seem to have the advertised ingredients. I remember one time the specialty of the day was supposed to have fresh basil, according to the sign, but they didn't.

 

That's what I had, the "special"of the day. The pizza guy said it was still in the oven. I sat down then he motioned to me that it was ready. So, it was fresh out of the oven. I guess I'm not a thin crust pizza fan.

[KruzPrincess]

I don't think the pizza is as good as it once was, but I think it's still pretty good. It's 100 times better than the pizza on the small HAL ships I've been on recently. That stuff was way worse than bad frozen pizza. And, let me qualify that, I've had some frozen pizza that's not horrible. I, too, think it's a cost saving thing that has diminished the quality.

[riclop]

4 years ago, I sailed on the Island P. on a short repo cruise. The pizza was wonderful and it was pretty much all made by an older Italian piiza maker by trade. He was from Bari and had been recruited by the Hotel Director (also Italian and may have been from Bari).

 

Fast forward to this spring, sailed on the Star P. on the same route. No Italian pizza maker but a couple of Filipinos instead. They haven't made a career making pizza and while the pizza wasn't bad, it wasn't superb.

 

Just wondering if Princess is removing the Italian pizza makers and replacing them with lower-wage workers? The pizzerias were on the pool deck and not in the fancy pizzeria some ships are said to be getting/have.

 

Does it matter if they are not Italian??

[Astro Flyer]

I don't think the pizza is as good as it once was, but I think it's still pretty good. It's 100 times better than the pizza on the small HAL ships I've been on recently. That stuff was way worse than bad frozen pizza. And, let me qualify that, I've had some frozen pizza that's not horrible. I, too, think it's a cost saving thing that has diminished the quality.

 

While not as good as before, Princess pizza was better than what I had on RCCL which was bad. :(

 

It tasted like a market's "fresh" take & bake pizza that had been sitting around for days in the deli's refrigerated case and I've have had much better frozen pizzas at home than what was served on the Navigator OTS. :eek:

Edited May 14, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[cruzsnooze]

I absolutely LOVE the pizza on Princess. I grab a salad from the buffet and 2 slices of pizza every day I can for lunch.

[satxdiver]

While not as good as before, Princess pizza was better than what I had on RCCL which was bad. :(

 

It tasted like a market's "fresh" take & bake pizza that had been sitting around for days in the deli's refrigerated case and I've have had much better frozen pizzas at home than what was served on the Navigator OTS. :eek:

 

I have only been on the voyager class RCCL ships. The pizza is only available on the lido deck in the buffet at times when it is open - they close and lock the doors in between meals! Their pizza tastes like cardboard to me. They do have pizza available on the royal promenade deck in their 24x7 cafe but it also tastes pretty bad.

 

I have found the pizza on CCL ships - dedicated 24x7 pizzeria - to be quite good but they do use the baking machine instead of the ovens. I have found the Princess pizza to be good and do eat it frequently but what I have found at home to be much better in specialty pizzerias. I am anxious to get to Italy and taste the "real" stuff!