is Princess food getting worse?

[Dena]

We have been on 3 cruises in the last 12 months (Diamond, Dawn, Sapphire). I believe I've noticed small changes in the food (I compared menus from Diamond and Sapphire - same route, 11 months apart. First, lamb chops have been relpaced with leg of lamb. I don't have the menus in front of me as I write this. Alaskan salmon I think had been replaced with Pacific salmon. And I recall one case of prawns being replaced by shrimp.

 

Our actual enjoyment of the food has not decreased. In fact, it has increased as we have learned which dishes to order and we have learned to avoid Horizon court in favor of breakfast and lunch in the dining room. We do use HC to make nice fruit and cheese platters (but better fruit selection is available in the dining room). Horizon court also has a nice carving station, but we still prefer the dining room. The desserts at HC were not good on the last trip (mainly spongecake with whipped cream icing in various colors and forms). On our previous 2 cruises often many of the same desserts offered in the dining room were found at HC; this rarely happened last time. That's okay, I like fruit or berries for dessert.

 

By the way, dessert portions were certainly smaller on our last cruise, not a bad thing at all. This way you can have a taste, but not worry too much about weight gain.

[coiran]

17 cruises and we think it is getting better.

Ron

[kendon]

I find the food preparation varies from ship to ship. Didn't care for the dining room food at dinner on the Carribean Princess at all. Same dishes I usually order were mediocre on this ship.

[Casshew]

First, lamb chops have been relpaced with leg of lamb. I don't have the menus in front of me as I write this. Alaskan salmon I think had been replaced with Pacific salmon. And I recall one case of prawns being replaced by shrimp.

 

Where I live Leg of Lamb is more expensive than chops. Alaska is the pacific, so I would say the salmon was the same & the words prawn & shrimp can be interchanged as well.

[spongerob]

I have noticed variations in style, quality, and presentation from cruise to cruise. It depends on the chef, what provisions can be had, and the skill and management of the galley crew. Every once in a while we get food that is out of this world, which unfortunately leads to a little disappointment when it is merely good. With a few exceptions, I generally have good things to say about the food served on Princess cruises in all the venues. Even I have a flop every once in a while, so I understand when something doesn't come off quite right. I've seen a slight reduction in some of the high-end items on the menus (crab is a rarity these days, it seems) but otherwise think the quality has remained reasonably consistent.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Now the funny thing is we didn't care for the food on the Golden in Oct 2004 and thought it had greatly improved on the Golden in July 2005. Still thought the food was so-so but we're used to eating out at top notch restaurants a few times of week here in Naples so that's probably why. The lobsters were a bit dry in 04 but cooked to perfection in 05! Sabitinis was even better and I can't wait to eat there again on board the Star.

[loge23]

We're just off the Sea for a 14 nighter. Early in the cruise, I was thinking the same thing about the lamb swap; however, both rack of lamb and lamb chops appeared on the menu on separate nights later on.

My personal favorite, the veal chop, was also available. Lobster tails appeared twice and prime rib was seen at least three nights. I can't complain about that!

Appetizers still included escargot and the delicious vole-a-vent(sic).

The pasta dishes were sublime as always.

I suppose menus differ based on the length of the cruise, but no drop-off at all on food quality was noted on ours. Portions may have been downsized a little, but seconds are always available. I found the slightly smaller portions very agreeable to my waistline!

[Pam in CA]

I agree that the quality and variety of the food can be different from cruise to cruise and from ship to ship with the determining factors being the chef (and staff) and the length of the cruise. I think there's more portion control monitoring and purchasing foodstuffs in bulk. IMHO, as more and more people cruise who just want to eat and run, the dining experience has been reduced to a lower common denominator. Perhaps this is why the food quality and variety is generally better on longer cruises: the passengers taking these cruises expect better dining.

[UKLady]

A couple of things were not up to previous standard on our last cruise but we have just put that down to the chef/staff having a bad day - it happens to us all.

 

I had not cruised on Princess for 4 years when I went on the Star last year and I was not as impressed as I had been in the past. I have put it down to being a larger ship and the fact cruising is no longer new to me so Im probably more used to it. My partner on the other hand, it was his first cruise and he was blown away.

 

We only ever visit the HC for late night snacks or a light lunch.

 

Im on the Sea Princess in March and I am secretly hoping they have the sponge cake with whipped cream icing you speak of, I love spongecake reminds me of being a child. Hardly eat it at home due to the fact it makes me rounder than I like to be. I always find that when the deserts from the restuarant are on the HC they never seem to taste quite as good as they did in the restaurant. For me there is nothing better than when your after a late night snack or naughty nibble and they have simple stuff like cookies and spongecake - I realise im probably in the minority here:p

[Druke I]

Like several other posters, I think the perception of quality has a lot to do with the chef aboard, and the size of the ship/passenger load can make a big difference also.

 

I'm not a "foodie" per se.

[cusyl]

That said, we could always find something to eat. There were many choices and some items were available every night even if not among the chef's menu. What we did order was very good.

[herb]

I don't know, but I think it's great that when I get to the Dining Room the food has been cooked for me, and when I leave I don't have to load the dishwasher :D