Quality of food on Royal Caribbean

[time4u2go]

Amazing food has gone down but why could it be the cost of cruising keeps going down my next two cruise cost less than my first two and they were 36 years ago.[emoji53]

Some people will never be Happy

 

 

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It's because the cruise lines are looking to maximize their profits. Cutting the amount they spend on food is one way to do that.

[tugboat]

It's because the cruise lines are looking to maximize their profits. Cutting the amount they spend on food is one way to do that.

 

 

 

News flash it’s a business You don’t have to keep buying yet you still do.

 

 

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[galavant3]

 

However... we don’t notice much decline overall in RCCL food since 2004 when we started cruising with this company.

 

That’s when we started also. I never thought the food was that great but we’ve always managed to find something we like. We certainly don’t cruise Royal Caribbean for the food.

[time4u2go]

News flash it’s a business You don’t have to keep buying yet you still do.

 

 

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Oh I know it's a business. I was responding to you finding it "amazing" that the food has gone down. I'm not sure why you'd find it amazing.

[tugboat]

I find some of the remarks here as amazing. The food is so bad I booked another to check it out again. If it is so Bad customers would stop booking.

 

 

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[grapau27]

I find some of the remarks here as amazing. The food is so bad I booked another to check it out again. If it is so Bad customers would stop booking.

 

 

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I can't remember having a bad meal on RC.

We also like to treat ourselves to Giovanni's and sometimes chops,150 Central Park,Wonderland and the only poor meal was in Chops last year on Freedom where I paid an upcharge on a Porterhouse steak which was more fat than meat.

[davy jones]

I wonder how much of it is because the expectation for the quality of food has changed. I mean like 20-30 years ago going out to a restaurant even in a large metropolitan city meant a chain restaurant. Now everything is super hipster food, yelp & instagram friendly, farm-to-table, nouvelle cousine, etc. maybe people are just expecting better food?

 

On the flip side, 20-30 years ago, dinner on a cruise was a 5 to 7 course experience with fine cuts of meat and seafood and elegant service throughout. Some dishes were prepared tableside.

 

Granted, meals and service like that can not be done on today's mega ships and most passengers do not want that type of formal dinner anyway. Also, fares then were considerably higher than they are now, so cost cutting is necessary to maintain profitability.

 

However, I do believe that food quality has decreased on the mainstream lines over the past 10 years. The decrease was very much on display on my recent Grandeur cruise. Some popular dishes were no longer offered. Cakes and pies had little flavor and many MDR entrees had low quality meats. I could not even eat the lobster tail served to me.

 

I think that the statement often heard on these boards, "I can always find something to eat." indicates how much things have changed. Passengers used to have difficulty choosing from the menu. Now they are settling.

[fishbonz]

Like I said on another tread,,,

 

If your looking for Great food stay home,,,, if your looking for food that is OK to Good and you will not go hungry you will find it on a cruise. Yes I think the food was better when we stared cruising back in 2009 but than a lot has changed since than with royal.

[BNBR]

On the flip side, 20-30 years ago, dinner on a cruise was a 5 to 7 course experience with fine cuts of meat and seafood and elegant service throughout. Some dishes were prepared tableside.

 

Granted, meals and service like that can not be done on today's mega ships and most passengers do not want that type of formal dinner anyway.

 

Cruise lines do still offer this, just through specialty dining. Which makes sense as it's smaller and more intimate. Main dining rooms are essentially catering and they have to be that way. Specialty dining offers the more traditional restaurant experience.

 

As for passengers "settling" - I still strongly believe this has to do with standards of food drastically improving at local restaurants. Cruise ships have stayed roughly the same. So diners tastes and expectations have been improving. The improvements in local dining are undeniable. Even McDonalds makes burgers fresh on the grill the moment you order. That would have been unheard of 20 years ago. So the cruisers have higher and higher standards and the cruise food hasn't been improving at the same pace. Thus, it seems like it's declining.

 

The rise of specialty dining has obviously helped with this issue.

[Hoopster95]

As for passengers "settling" - I still strongly believe this has to do with standards of food drastically improving at local restaurants. Cruise ships have stayed roughly the same. So diners tastes and expectations have been improving.

 

I know this is your strong opinion and you've made some great points, however I still disagree.

Take an Oceania cruise and come back on this thread ... I suspect we'll have a different discussion of "how come Oceania food is better than anything I ever had on land and Royal can't do the same". Of course this answer is extremely easy.... like absolutely everything in life, you get what you pay for.

 

I would be willing to bet $$ that the experienced RCCL cruisers from 20-25 years ago (ie. davy jones a couple of posts ago) who have explained the 6-7 course dinners of the highest quality on Royal from yesteryear, would also come back from an Oceania (or other luxury line) cruise and say "yes, that's what Royal used to be like!!"

 

It's all about expectations.

[BNBR]

I know this is your strong opinion and you've made some great points, however I still disagree.

Take an Oceania cruise and come back on this thread ... I suspect we'll have a different discussion of "how come Oceania food is better than anything I ever had on land and Royal can't do the same". Of course this answer is extremely easy.... like absolutely everything in life, you get what you pay for.

 

I would be willing to bet $$ that the experienced RCCL cruisers from 20-25 years ago (ie. davy jones a couple of posts ago) who have explained the 6-7 course dinners of the highest quality on Royal from yesteryear, would also come back from an Oceania (or other luxury line) cruise and say "yes, that's what Royal used to be like!!"

 

It's all about expectations.

 

My first sailing was about 20 years ago. They most definitely were not serving 6 course meals. It was virtually identical as it is today. A small menu with apps, mains, dessert. Waiters brought it out on trays, took the tops off and served it. So I can't really relate to your comments of this amazing multi course dinner experiences that simply did not exist 20 years ago. I would point out that if you are referring to much more than 20 years ago, then the idea that the food has been declining becomes almost meaningless.

 

So yes, if you are comparing to a non-existent dining experience, I guess you could come to the conclusion that it has decreased in the years since?

 

Bringing up Oceania just proves that Oceania does it better. And since I can't relate to your comment that Royal used to be similar, then it really holds no bearing on the idea that Royal's food is declining. With the additional of better specialty restaurants and concepts, in my opinion, it seems obvious that the food is improving, if anything.

Edited September 28, 2018 by BNBR

[Hoopster95]

With the additional of better specialty restaurants and concepts, in my opinion, it seems obvious that the food is improving, if anything.

 

For me, and only in my humble opinion, you've hit the nail on the head here. I've had some outstanding meals, and some just ok meals, in specialty. So now my expectations are MDR is worse than average for the most part, specialty better than average mostly... so I stick with specialty.

 

 

I have many food photos from even before I started photo reviewing cruises here on CC (2014) and there is no doubt that my food photos from 10 years ago for example the MDR food presentation has declined. As I go through old food/venue photos of cruises from 5 years ago for example, I find awesome memories and food photos of specialty experiences such as Sabor on Navigator when that venue first opened, the incredible Chop's photos I have from Legend, Wonderland, CP150 and others. I have zero memories of any MDR experience and of specific meals that were outstanding on any sailing other than the Indian feast served to us on my Indy TA.... now that was memorable and delicious!... and obviously cooked a la minute and with a lot of love form the kitchen staff to do a special meal.

 

Again.... all about expectations.

Also the very well-known and truthful adage "You get what you pay for" applies perfectly in this discussion in my humble opinion.

[Tatka]

It’s not only “you get what you pay for”.

We usually pay pretty close fares for Royal cruises and for Princess/Celebrity cruises.

I feel Royal allocates more $$$ for entertainment and innovations while other two for food and probably service (not sure if they pay higher salaries)

[Hoopster95]

It’s not only “you get what you pay for”.

We usually pay pretty close fares for Royal cruises and for Princess/Celebrity cruises.

I feel Royal allocates more $$$ for entertainment and innovations while other two for food and probably service (not sure if they pay higher salaries)

 

Agreed. With all the many variables you and I can discuss, this topic can produce 2 page posts by each of us... there's many more things we can both say about the "get what you pay for" vs. entertainment vs. food vs. service vs. quality vs. inovations vs. etc etc etc...... waaaaaaaay too much to discuss typing a simple one line post on a forum. I've read lately from others that X/Princess food has declined/is declining a great deal as well.

[Tatka]

Agreed. With all the many variables you and I can discuss, this topic can produce 2 page posts by each of us... there's many more things we can both say about the "get what you pay for" vs. entertainment vs. food vs. service vs. quality vs. inovations vs. etc etc etc...... waaaaaaaay too much to discuss typing a simple one line post on a forum. I've read lately from others that X/Princess food has declined/is declining a great deal as well.

 

 

 

Well.. they definitely have longer way to go. [emoji4]

We found that last year while sailing on Celebrity Silhouette/Royal Princess combo that food was simply amazing.

 

I’m not complaining about Royal’s food, as I said we haven’t noticed that big of a change since 2004 when we sailed with Royal for the first time. We don’t go to specialty restaurants. Only to included, and they in our opinion haven’t declined much if at all.

I somewhat miss nicer sushi on Royal in buffet, but then I like escargots nightly.

[BNBR]

For me, and only in my humble opinion, you've hit the nail on the head here. I've had some outstanding meals, and some just ok meals, in specialty. So now my expectations are MDR is worse than average for the most part, specialty better than average mostly... so I stick with specialty.

 

 

I have many food photos from even before I started photo reviewing cruises here on CC (2014) and there is no doubt that my food photos from 10 years ago for example the MDR food presentation has declined. As I go through old food/venue photos of cruises from 5 years ago for example, I find awesome memories and food photos of specialty experiences such as Sabor on Navigator when that venue first opened, the incredible Chop's photos I have from Legend, Wonderland, CP150 and others. I have zero memories of any MDR experience and of specific meals that were outstanding on any sailing other than the Indian feast served to us on my Indy TA.... now that was memorable and delicious!... and obviously cooked a la minute and with a lot of love form the kitchen staff to do a special meal.

 

Again.... all about expectations.

Also the very well-known and truthful adage "You get what you pay for" applies perfectly in this discussion in my humble opinion.

 

This brings up a good point considering the claims of "decline". Is anyone complaining about the decline in cruise fares?

 

It reminds me of airfare. People complain about how seats are getting smaller, no more service, decline decline decline... but ignore how much the price has also declined. But it's not really true, in a sense. Air travel has vastly improved. You can buy a first class ticket today for the price of economy 20+ years ago (inflation adjusted). And you'll have a much better experience today. So if you are fine paying the same price when everything was so much better, then you can have an even better experience.

 

I'd suggest the same with cruising. You can buy a specialty dining package for $168 on a 7 night cruise which includes sea day lunches, too. 10+ specialty dining meals. The cruise fares have come down in price more than $168 in comparison to 20+ years ago. So just buy specialty dining. And nobody is going to convince me that 7 nights of specialty dining on Symphony is a "decline" compared to MDR on Majesty of the Seas in 1999. Or just how much better cruising was when you only had the MDR and Windjammer as options.

[davekathy]

...in the MDR excellent. Our opinion. ;)

[CCC3]

...in the MDR excellent. Our opinion. ;)

 

 

 

We also concur. Not all entrees, and not all waitstaff, but overall, it has been excellent.

 

 

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[CanadaRob]

Took 25 years off between my 1st cruise and my 2nd cruise. Things that I remember from before: the actual flaming baked Alaska, more elaborate waiter presentation, better dressed passengers as a whole. Remember not going hungry :)

[davekathy]

Took 25 years off between my 1st cruise and my 2nd cruise. Things that I remember from before: the actual flaming baked Alaska, more elaborate waiter presentation, better dressed passengers as a whole. Remember not going hungry :)

Four out of five. ;p

[Jzx1103]

We will be taking an Australian/New Zealand cruise in December. It'll be the first time we took a cruise that doesn't leave from the U.S. does anyone know if the menu in the MDR is the same as US sailings or is it a completely different menu?

[MrYellowDuck]

We will be taking an Australian/New Zealand cruise in December. It'll be the first time we took a cruise that doesn't leave from the U.S. does anyone know if the menu in the MDR is the same as US sailings or is it a completely different menu?

 

There will be some local customisation but fundamentally it will be pretty much the same.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

I've only sailed RCL once, 4.5 years ago, and the food was the least impressive part of the cruise. This was before staff cuts, repeat menu options, and much of what others have described here. That said, we like the decor and entertainment, so would still consider a 3-5 day sailing to get a taste every now and again.

[mek]

My first sailing was about 20 years ago. They most definitely were not serving 6 course meals. It was virtually identical as it is today. A small menu with apps, mains, dessert. Waiters brought it out on trays, took the tops off and served it. So I can't really relate to your comments of this amazing multi course dinner experiences that simply did not exist 20 years ago. I would point out that if you are referring to much more than 20 years ago, then the idea that the food has been declining becomes almost meaningless.

 

So yes, if you are comparing to a non-existent dining experience, I guess you could come to the conclusion that it has decreased in the years since?

 

Bringing up Oceania just proves that Oceania does it better. And since I can't relate to your comment that Royal used to be similar, then it really holds no bearing on the idea that Royal's food is declining. With the additional of better specialty restaurants and concepts, in my opinion, it seems obvious that the food is improving, if anything.

 

I agree, you have to go past 20 years to get the kind of food and presentation that people seem to think existed in the 90's, although midnight buffets and ice carvings were still around. My first cruise was in 1972 and my husband and I started seriously cruising in the 80's - food was considerably different back then, but so was cruising in general. Most people would be complaining right and left if they had to be on ships like Song of Norway or Song of America.

[Iowa_Vike]

I also think the MDR and WJ has declined just a bit since I first started cruising in 20+ years ago. However, I still love it.

I agree that perhaps they needed to reduce the quality as to not compete with the specialty restaurants. Mo-Money you know.

Also, I think the availability of quality foods in everyday homes and restaurants has improved and became more plentiful over the past 20 years so people are more adjusted to higher quality or higher standard of product and service.

If I don't have to cook it and clean up after it, I love it.

 

I would like to see menus change more frequently and differ from ship to ship.