Food on Royal Caribbean

[Bobbie Ford]

We just completed our 5th cruise on Royal Caribbean and will not return. The food was fine in 2001 and 2002, but the quality has deteriorated since then. We had an unusual room service experience in the Mediterranean on Splendor in September. My husband stayed up to watch the presidential debate and ordered room service before the debate started. After one hour, he called back, and they promised it in 20 minutes. Another half hour went by. When he called, he was told that they ran out of burgers. When the debate was over, he called to cancel the order. You would think that they would be prepared for a special event like this.

 

Thanks to these message boards, we will be sailing on Celebrity for our next cruise. We sailed on the Mercury to Alaska in 2000 and were very pleased with the quality of the food.

[kelmac]

I'm with Andy and Bobby on this one. We have done five RCI cruises in the past 2 1/2 years and we can't get excited about the food any more. Large amounts of low quality food. We pretty much are sticking to Celebrity (great food) and HAL (pretty good food); that leaves RCI, Princess and NCL out of the mix.

 

With these higher prices, I hope we see an improvement in the quality of the food!

 

Enjoy!

Kel

[zeke11]

oh no! I was all set to book a RCI cruise for June, but am concerned about the food issues....

 

We cruised Disney in September and would do Disney again (thought their food was great), but there are no Caribbean cruises past May next year.

 

I was looking into Carnival, but decided to go with RCI because of the activities for teens and because of RCI's private island which Carnival does not have.

 

My dh and I enjoy food and would be very disappointed if it was horrible. We don't expect a lot, but certainly not "boil in bag" type of stuff.

 

Help!

Kris

[kelmac]

zeke11,

 

The food will be fine. It's not great, but it's fine. If you liked Disney, RCL will be just as good. The kids will love the ships of RCL! Lots to do, and some of the the greatest looking ships afloat!! Enjoy! Kel

[chazaroo]

We have been on Celebrity twice (2000 Millenium and 2003 Summit). And Celebrity claims food as one of their strong points.But the food in 2000 was light years better than 2003. They must have cut the food budget, as have most of the large ship lines. We are switching now to Oceania (Regatta, 12/9/04). Since food is a major reason why we cruise, we're keeping our fingers crossed hoping Oceania is the answer.

[bUU]

It seems the larger mainstream cruise lines have realized that a large customer base wants lower fares rather than five-star cuisine. RCI, for example, now directs only $10 of your cruise fare per day to food. From the detailed qualitative reviews I've read, the food is an incredible value at that price.

[nny92825100]

I am with the above cruiser about RCI cruise food. We were on the Jewel in May 2004 and the food was so bad, I lost weight on the cruise. Thank goodness it was a port intensive cruise or we would have gone crazy. What was served in dining room in the evening was in the Windjammer the next day. Buffet food can be disgusting if you really think about it. They just keep adding to what is there. Dilution is the solution on spoiling.

 

The food in the dining room was usually cold, not fresh but wilting salads, overcooked or undercooked, never arrived and the list goes on. We did talk to Matre'D and Purser and Chef but no improvements. We wrote to RCI and hopefully they worked on correcting the problems.

 

We want to take a cruise next spring and am concerned about which line to use. We don't want another experience like our last two RCI cruises.

[House_Atreides]

Sailed on the Mariner last June...

 

Main dining room food was pretty darn good, no complaints at all!!!

 

The swill they served on the aft deck was awful; the buffet was mysterious lol. :eek: Yuck.

[bUU]

We're just back, and will surely have more to say, but first impression is that all the concerns about food quality were off-target IMHO. The food was actually pretty darned incredible given how little we pay for it. Some of the food was remarkably good. Some was just-regular-good. Nothing we had was shockingly bad.

[Marysunshine]

I guess the quality isn't quite the same as it used to be. But, I have always found that the bigger the ship, either the food or service is lacking. I was on the Explorer in May, and the food in the Windjammer was not good. The dining room was pretty good though AND the vegetarian sandwiches in the cafe promenade were fantastic.

 

And, Dennis the chef, I believe I sat with you at dinner on the Serenade transatlantic. I thought the food was very good on that cruise. But, again, I like "tame" food.

 

The worst food, by far, was on Carnival. I got food poisoning all three times I sailed with them. The best food, IMHO, was on the now defunct, Dolphin Cruise line. Disney is a little worse than RCI and about the same as NCL. I've never been on HAL, Celebrity or Princess as they are much too laid back for me (from all the reviews I've read and friends I've talked to). Again, these are only my experiences, and things can be hit and miss depending upon the sailing and ship. Also, food isn't even in the top 10 reasons I cruise. Good luck on the baltic cruise!

 

I thought my friends and I were the only folks who remember the great food they had on Dolphin. We had one of our best cruises with them out of Aruba. It's too bad they are gone.

[lookin4calm]

Bringing this back to the top as I have some questions regarding our upcoming cruise on RCCI's Rhapsody in March. I gotta tell you, reading what I've been reading on this thread about RCCI's food makes me want to bring my own food, and cook for myself in my cabin. ;) However, I have found that setting proper expectations is key to an enjoyable time, so I'd like some opinions from those who've sailed before (this will be our first cruise). If my expectations are way off, I guess I'd prefer to know now.

 

First of all, I don't view a cruise as cheap - I'm into $6,200 for a family of 5 (one balcony, one inside cabin) for a week, and I haven't had a single cocktail -- wait'll I get that bill, haha! I don't really care if they allocate $1/day per person or $100/day per person for food, I just want excellent food. If I am being asked to dress in formal attire, I would expect the quality of the food to be commensurate with said attire. Even though I think the price of the cruise is already quite expensive, I will pay extra if that is what it takes to get excellent food.

 

So, what do I mean by excellent food?

1. A prime of cut of beef (filet, strip, ribeye, etc.) cooked to my specifications. I prefer on the rare to medium rare side, and if it's medium or more, I'd probably prefer to do without. If my steak is overdone, can I just ask for another one? (I know, they're serving thousands, but I still want my steak done like I want -- is that too much to ask?).

2. Fish (especially salmon) not overcooked. I think the number one mistake most poor restaurants make with fish is simply overcooking. Salmon should be rare to medium rare, IMO.

3. Interesting sauces to go with my meal

4. Good wine to be paired with a meal. Do they have an extensive enough wine selection to employ a sommelier?

5. Is caviar available at all on board?

6. Is whole lobster available?

 

As I type this, unfortunately, I think I already know the answers to my questions, but I thought I'd ask the experts. Is my choice of Royal Caribbean a mistake?

[mimikens]

lookincalm,

 

I can answer some of your questions, but this is based on my cruise on other ships since I haven't been on Rhapsody. RCI does have an extensive wine list, and they do have a sommelier on every ship. On a 7 day or longer cruise, they have a wine tasting seminar ($10 or $20 per person). I am like you with my steak, if it's medium, it goes back, and yes you can send it back as many times as it takes. I don't like my salmon undercooked so I don't know if my opinion would agree with yours here. I don't like it dry but I do not want any translucency left. IMO, the salmon onboard is very good-very moist. I had a filet on my last two RCI cruises (May & Sept of 2004), and on both occasions, I could have cut it with a butter knife. Sometimes it just depends on the chef. Also, your being from Texas, you might like things spicy. You won't find that on RCI (at least I've not experieinced it) so the sauces might not be "interesting' to you. The food is very European, IMO. I've never seen full lobster served. I know they serve caviar at different functions, but I don't know if it is readily available. Hope that helped. Someone else might be able to tell you specifically about the Rhapsody, though I've been on 13 RCI cruises, and there are very strong similarities.

[Diana68]

We spent two weeks on the Vision of the Seas in August. I felt the food was ok, but not great. By the second week, I was sick of the food. Otherwise I loved the ship, and I don't think that I am hard to please. The service and entertainment were wonderful,and I would cruise with them again. We were offered a tour of the galley on the second week of the cruise, and I was very surprised to find out that RCCL has a set menu for their ships. It doesn't matter if you are in Alaska, the Caribbean, or Europe,.....you will be eating the same thing!!! They even had photos hanging on the walls on how each item should be plated. I told the head chef that we had been looking forward to fresh Alaskan seafood, but he told us that they were unable to buy from local suppliers. They would not be able to control the quality for such large amounts. So all of the items on the menus are available from large suppliers who can supply worldwide. The soups ect. are started with prepackaged base, so the posts who said it tasted like it came out of a pouch, were partially correct. They do add fresh ingredients, but the food is not made from scratch. I do suppose that it would be impossible to feed so many people if it was from scratch though. Oh well, if the food had been better, I would have gained weight, so I'm better off not loving it.

[ChefPeg]

Hi everyone,

My husband were just on the Radiance of the Seas two weeks ago. The food was outstanding!! The Waiters were great!!

I am an experienced chef and I have my own place and I will tell you I was a little concerned about the quality of the food, after reading all the negatives, if it was going to be good or not. I am here to say the food was excellent. Everyone on the cruise enjoyed every meal. We had lobster, it was perfect, not over done. The steaks were done just right, medium rare, even a herbed chicken dish I had was moist and juicy. The desserts were fantastic!

We just booked another RCCL cruise, our 4th. We only book RCCL. I have never had a problem with food on any ship.

Peggy

[gerif]

When we sailed HAL to Alaska several years ago, we had salmon and/or smoked salmon at virtually every meal (plenty of other choices, but it was always there), as well as King Crab Legs on a couple of occasions. I thought these must have been obtained locally, but maybe not. Seems absurd to sail in an area known for a certain type of food and not make it available.

[mimikens]

On RCI, Salmon, Rosemary Chicken, and Steak is available at every dinner as alternatives if you don't like the items on the menu. I've never seen King Crab on the menu of any of the lines I've been on. It would be nice though!

 

I know part of the "not buying locally" is the inability to acquire a large enough supply. One of the chefs also said there is always a question of health standards since all their suppliers are heavily screened.

[Nannan]

We have only been on Carnival twice and will be going on our first RCCL cruise next year. We loved the food on Carnival and the fact that we could try anything we wanted and if it wasn't to our liking we could try something else.

We also loved the theme nights, all the entertainment in the dining room. I've seen people complain about it on these boards and I just don't get it!?! It's all about the experience & the atmosphere. We will make up our own minds on the Brilliance next year- and I'm sure that with the right attitude we will find something to enjoy about it!!

[telesaps]

We were on the Serenade last August to Alaska, and overall, I was very impressed with the food. I am a good cook, love to eat in nice restaurants (we live in the Los Angeles area, so there are lots of them!) and feel that I am rather picky about the food I eat.

 

I was impressed with most of the food, especially the fish dishes. They were beautifully presented, and except for one meal, were very good. The salmon was farm raised though.

 

Everything else was very good. Maybe the food really varies from ship to ship.

[ashleysm]

ditto

[wireman180]

The best salmon is one you catch. On my last cruise on Vision to Alaska they served my salmon to our table. There was enough left over for some of the people at the next table. For a real treat try the cold soup. It sounded nasty to me as I like my soup hot but it was surprisingly good. I plan to order it next month on Navigator.

Corky:)

[FoodieGirl_VeganBoy]

I remember looking through the boards before to find out about what options were specifically available for vegetarians, I was worried he'd be eating a lot of salads, pastas, and sauteed vegetables.

 

Now that we are back from our cruise on Grandeur of the Seas, I have to say that Royal Caribbean accomodated his vegetarian dietary need beyond our expectations.

 

Breakfast and Lunch always had options at the buffet and dining room. We aren't really breakfast eaters, but for lunch he enjoyed the one vegetable curry dish they seemed to always have at the Windjammer. If we had lunch at the dining room, there was always a vegetarian selection or two. Once we had the vegetarian burger, which turned out to be a homemade patty created from mashed potatoes and broccoli. Usually I make fun of his Morningstar burgers, but I found this burger delicious.

 

For dinner they always had a few vegetarian appetizers and one new entree to select from besides the pasta with marinara sauce. These varied a lot each night so he never found himself repeating anything. I took pictures of the menu displayed by the doors every day as proof that he could choose from

appetizers such as Melon and Mango drizzled with ginger syrup, Vidalia Onion Tart, Chilled Watermelon Gazpacho, Orange Carpaccio, Chilled Golden Pear soup, Vegetable Spring Roll, Fire Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, etc.

to entrees such as Grilled Mediterraneous Quesadillas, Eggplant Mozerella Towers, Vegetarian Chili, Vegetarian Bami Goreng (for Caribbean night), Risotto Primavera, Asian Fried Tofu in Red Curry, etc.

 

Where RCI went above and beyond though is that after the first night when we told our head waiter and waiter about requesting Indian Vegetarian meals, from the 2nd night they always had a new dish waiting for him. After the first Indian dish of simple vegetable curry (the same thing as in the Windjammer), I guess he passed the test because they started giving him more authentic Indian food which included fresh papadum every night (which I also stole from since they brought out a whole basket just for him) and a different curry every night, along with a broth and a little yogurt dish. Again, I took pictures many nights if you want to see.

 

A couple times he conversed with the head waiter and waiter (both Indian) with what the chef (also Indian) could make based on what he had eaten before and what he liked. He requested peas or spinach, and the next two nights he had both! They didn't have paneer an substituted tofu instead, but it was spicy, flavorful, everything tasted great!

 

Thus, even though we were beat and wanted to just get room service, even when we weren't hungry, we found ourselves at the dining room every night just to see what they had in store for him. I was relieved I never had to worry about whether he was enjoying his meals- usually dining out with him is such a pain, and it was really a true vacation to have that worry taken away for a week. Lots of range, lots of personalization to his taste, it was great.

[FoodieGirl_VeganBoy]

I remember looking through the boards before to find out about what options were specifically available for vegetarians, I was worried he'd be eating a lot of salads, pastas, and sauteed vegetables. He isn't specifically Vegan since he will have skim milk in coffee, but will avoid most cheese and milk products and won't eat eggs.

 

Now that we are back from our cruise on Grandeur of the Seas, I have to say that Royal Caribbean accomodated his vegetarian dietary need beyond our expectations.

 

Breakfast and Lunch always had options at the buffet and dining room. We aren't really breakfast eaters, but for lunch he enjoyed the one vegetable curry dish they seemed to always have at the Windjammer. If we had lunch at the dining room, there was always a vegetarian selection or two. Once we had the vegetarian burger, which turned out to be a homemade patty created from mashed potatoes and broccoli. Usually I make fun of his Morningstar burgers, but I found this burger delicious.

 

For dinner they always had a few vegetarian appetizers and one new entree to select from besides the pasta with marinara sauce. These varied a lot each night so he never found himself repeating anything. I took pictures of the menu displayed by the doors every day as proof that he could choose from

appetizers such as Melon and Mango drizzled with ginger syrup, Vidalia Onion Tart, Chilled Watermelon Gazpacho, Orange Carpaccio, Chilled Golden Pear soup, Vegetable Spring Roll, Fire Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, etc.

to entrees such as Grilled Mediterraneous Quesadillas, Eggplant Mozerella Towers, Vegetarian Chili, Vegetarian Bami Goreng (for Caribbean night), Risotto Primavera, Asian Fried Tofu in Red Curry, etc.

 

Where RCI went above and beyond though is that after the first night when we told our head waiter and waiter about requesting Indian Vegetarian meals, from the 2nd night they always had a new dish waiting for him. After the first Indian dish of simple vegetable curry (the same thing as in the Windjammer), I guess he passed the test because they started giving him more authentic Indian food which included fresh papadum every night (which I also stole from since they brought out a whole basket just for him) and a different curry every night, along with a broth and a little yogurt dish. Again, I took pictures many nights if you want to see.

 

A couple times he conversed with the head waiter and waiter (both Indian) with what the chef (also Indian) could make based on what he had eaten before and what he liked. He requested peas or spinach, and the next two nights he had both! They didn't have paneer an substituted tofu instead, but it was spicy, flavorful, everything tasted great!

 

Thus, even though we were beat and wanted to just get room service, even when we weren't hungry, we found ourselves at the dining room every night just to see what they had in store for him. I was relieved I never had to worry about whether he was enjoying his meals- usually dining out with him is such a pain, and it was really a true vacation to have that worry taken away for a week. Lots of range, lots of personalization to his taste, it was beautiful. Special shoutout to Osban and Saiith of Grandeur of the Seas for all their hard work for us, thank you!

[elhenry]

I am so happy to read this message about the South Asian vegetarian option on RCCL. I thought you had to order it in advance, but from this message, it appears you can do so on board? Is this true? I will be on the EOS on 8/17, and as a vegetarian (not vegan) I have never had a problem finding something to eat, but I adore good Indian food.

 

One of my best cruise memories is the NCL Indian vegetarian buffet at lunch. NCl may not be known for its food, but I have cruised RCCL, Princess and Celebrity and this buffet was the equal of or surpassed any of them.

 

Yum!

 

el henry

[FoodieGirl_VeganBoy]

Yes, you can order Indian Vegetarian on board- he talked to the waiter/head waiter the first evening, and every evening after that (they don't have it ready so that you can order and get it the same evening, they need advance notice of at least a day), they had an Indian vegetarian entree prepared for him. He would still get to order any appetizers/salads/additional entrees off of the regular menu if he wished.

[kellywhitehills]

I was on Monarch last October and the food was edible but not outstanding..The appetizers were the best part of dinner..I only sent back one thing and that was the salmon..