Quality of food on Royal Caribbean

[davy jones]

Has anyone posted the new MDR menus?

[Bookish Angel]

We find Royal's food, specialty dining or not, to be on par with a mid-level wedding reception. We certainly won't starve, but none of it is in any way memorable.

 

I eat lots of meatless meals and there are enough veggie selections in the Windjammer to keep me sated. On our last cruise in January, the mdr menu selections were blah and the poor staff was overworked so we opted for the jammer most of the time. Dinner there is far more relaxing and quiet than the mdr.

[grapau27]

And that is the problem! Being persuaded to give a perfect score for food quality as it reflects bad against the service.

Ask the waiters and they will tell you, marking down the food quality reflects on them.

 

If the food quality is very good then by all means, score it a ten. No problems there. But on the occasions that it is not up to a previous standard then mark it down appropriately.

Write in the additional comments section.... Why should the servers be punished for the food quality? They did not cook it or prepare it, they just brought it to the table!

 

Icsys who is waiting to be told that you shouldn't hurt the hard working wait staff. ;p

It seems like the score is all that matters.

It is grossly unfair if the waiters take the blame for the food quality although if they are rushed and food has been waiting for a while to be brought to your table and is only luke warm when brought to the table there is point to be made there.

[Mikew0805]

We have had quite a few sailing with RCI over the last couple years and have noticed the decline in quality and choice. While I agree that taste is subjective... quality and temperature really are not.

 

I am looking forward to my CCL cruise for a change of pace. Hopefully the variety will make for a nice dining experience.

[Diver2014]

Why respond to a thread that was started on January 1, 2017? Everyone has a different opinion on the food back then and now.

[Big Feet]

I'll start off by saying I'm not an employee of Royal Caribbean, don't have any relatives who work for Royal Caribbean or anything like that. I just wanted to start this thread to get a feel for what others think of the food quality on Royal Caribbean.

 

I've been cruising for 10 years - predominantly with Royal Caribbean but have also tried some other cruise lines as well. Over the last couple of years it seems to me that the food quality in the main dining room (not the specialty restaurants) - variety, quality of food itself - has decreased on Royal Caribbean.

 

People who I've talked to onboard seem to feel the same way - new cruisers, cruisers who have cruised other cruise lines and loyal Royal Caribbean cruisers.

 

Do others find this as well? How does the quality of food compare to say Princess these days? Be interested to hear people's thoughts on this.

 

I think I have experience and can share here. Please look at my signature for some verification.

We noticed the food on Carnival has gotten much better than other lines. RCI, when menu changed about 2 years ago, has gone down. Speciality restaurants- we always went to Giovanois for our steaks because we thought it was better than Chops. Carnival doesn't have much in the way of specialty restaurants so hard to compare. Cele is OK NCL samo samo.

On the subject of comparing. We wrote to RCI several years ago about the quality of their SHOWS. Carnival was kicking there butt with technology shows. It was the same 42 st broadway shows on RCI and Carnival was using bright lite shows. Big difference. RCI is catching back up in there production shows.

My pet peeve is Carnival not having a final jackpot bingo to clear the til. They do the full card hit bingo in 49 numbers (which in 65 years I've never seen done) Never even a close one in all these years.

My wife and I do this when cruising. When in US ports-- have a good local lunch- we go ashore and ask vendors where do they go with their family's-- that's where we go. IT'S FANTABULOUS!!!!!

[Mikew0805]

Why respond to a thread that was started on January 1, 2017? Everyone has a different opinion on the food back then and now.

 

The thread is ongoing... maybe you should take your own advice and move on. :rolleyes:

[grapau27]

Why respond to a thread that was started on January 1, 2017? Everyone has a different opinion on the food back then and now.

Its always open to debate then and now.

[grapau27]

The thread is ongoing... maybe you should take your own advice and move on. :rolleyes:

Good advice.

New people are posting all the time and that brings variety.

Keep on posting everyone.

[3XX1XY]

It has definitely declined over the years. However I usually find that each night there are a few well done items on the menu and a few really bad items. The truck is figuring out which are going to be the good items. If I choose poorly I order something else.

[JTBCruiser]

DW and I just did our 7th sailing with RCI this one on the Navigator. Though we've been very happy with the MDR food, this was the first time I'd rate it across the board as below average.

[George C]

We did navigator 3 months ago and celebrity summit last week, the lunch buffet was so much better on celebrity , not even close.

[Debrad128]

2018 royal food took a dive into terrible

[icsys]

2018 royal food took a dive into terrible

Which ship?

[Janet524]

Just off Serenade 3/10. MDR food was very good and we always found something that appealed to us.

 

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[FOXTROT]

We have found the food in the MDR has stayed about the same. Dinners in the Windjammer have improved. Dinners in some Specialty Res. have diminished. We will no longer have dinner in Chops. It used to be everything was special there, especially the desserts. Not anymore. Have always enjoyed breakfast & lunches at the various venues around the ships.

[BecciBoo]

Back from Vision 2 months ago. Noted that all the wonderful soups have just about disappeared. My favorite Garlic Soup has been totally changed and is no longer the same.

 

Rated the MDR staff a 10 and then made my lengthy negative comments about the decline in quality and variety of the food on the comments where it should be. The staff tried to satisfy as best they could. A big complaint at our table was the new whipped butter. They brought us stick butter every night after the first night. They couldn't have been more accommodating...but the food hasn't been the same since many years ago. Fortunately, we do not cruise for the food alone.:halo:

 

But RCCL should honestly listen to their loyals about this issue.

[Debrad128]

Since sailing on allure in September and harmony in October our oasis cruise thiis January had a completely different menu and quality of food. My daughter just got off oasis yesterday. Her comment was the food was bad. I don’t think they have chefs but people who heat up previously prepared food. The staff said it had recently changed and this is apparently fleet wide. We travel on royal three or four times a year. This is really disappointing and we aren’t anxious to return right now. It won’t improve if people accept the quality. This sailing was our first complaint about the food. It was always fine.

Edited March 19, 2018 by Debrad128
Auto correct messed up

[BecciBoo]

I don’t think they have chefs but people who heat up previously prepared food. ..

 

I can tell you that this notion is nonsense. I have been on many galley tours and the food IS prepared fresh every day. Even the bread and rolls are made, risen, and baked before each meal. I have personally seen and smelled :pthe proofing rooms.

 

That said, doesn't account for the recipes having changed and sourcing changes for the quality of food. On that we agree.

 

But do not note any consistency between ships. Having melt in your mouth filets in Chops on last April's Liberty but not so much on this January's Vision cruise there. Quality of the filets from Coscto has far over reached the ones in Chops lately! It has got to be the grade of beef they have gone to.

 

Even my favorite chicken Marsala was over salty and dry...how do you do that with chicken Marsala?

[WeLuvVacation]

On a scale of 0 - 10 with 10 being excellent and zero being inedible I'd grade the MDR as 7. With the WJ as 6.5 and the specialties at 8.

[WeLuvVacation]

First of all do not buy the Give us 10s on the survey spiel I will rate them like Chef Gordon Ramsey would.If it's poor quality its 0 if its OK its a 3. If its excellent an 8 but never a 10.

 

Sorry but there is always room for improvement.

 

 

Sure always room for improvement but sad to say Gordon Ramsey is a total boor and an oaf as well. His opinions are great "made for TV" comments but that is all.

[GalFitness19]

My two cents after taking several Carnival cruises over the past few years and just took my first Royal on LOS last week:

 

I fully expected the food to be better on Royal but was surprised that it was not. Salt is overused on almost all dishes. The so-called drawn butter served with lobster tails tasted like movie theater popcorn “butter”. And instead of serving real butter with bread, margarine was in its place. Even in Giovanni and Chops.

 

Compared to the steak houses on Carnival, Chops paled in comparison. The food was not as good and over salted, much of the waitstaff was aloof, and the tables are crowded together so that we felt like sardines. Carnival steakhouses really do know how to bring that “wow” factor with all of the little things that add up. Some subtle improvements could make a huge difference.

 

I was really hoping to be wowed by RC food but was not, especially since we loved everything else Royal offered. Everyone traveling with me agreed.

 

 

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[mek]

I don't have to:

 

1. Buy it

2. Prep it

3. Cook it

4. Serve it

5. Clean up after it

 

 

That's how I feel when I go out to eat during the week at a place like Applebee's, but not really what I want on vacation.

 

My husband and I are light eaters and find the speciality restaurants wasteful because unlike home when we go to a nice steakhouse, we can't split an entree' or take home leftovers.

 

I like Izumi's because I can order ala carte - wish more of the speciality restaurants were like that.

[soapbxking]

In the last ten years we have accumulated over 1,000 cruise nights(not points) with RCCL. Over the last few years we have seen a slow but steady decline in both quality and offerings of the food on board. For example, the food and service in Chops and Giovanni's closely approximate that which was in the MDR. While we can still find reasonably satisfactory meals, to deny the decline is a fact. Having spoken to some head chefs, they acknowledge that the per person food budget has declined and that it makes them be "creative." Only time will tell us if the food someday reaches such a low level that we no longer are loyal to Royal.

 

OK, so I am trying to figure this out? There are 3650 days in ten years, so basically you have spent 1 out of every 3 days at sea on a cruise over the last 10 years?/ that would be over 3 solid years out of 10? How many cruises do you take a year? That means you take approx. 14 seven day cruises or 20 5 day cruises a year??

[KiwiGal117]

 

My husband and I are light eaters and find the speciality restaurants wasteful because unlike home when we go to a nice steakhouse, we can't split an entree' or take home leftovers.

.

 

I would think it would be easy for Giovanni's to split an entrée for you. How they would charge for it, that's another question, but I found them to be very accommodating on our last cruise about sharing.