Anyone know the status of the "Food Improvement" or "New Menus"?

[happy cruzer]

Hi,  I just reread the "Food Improvement" thread where changes have been announced by Princess.

 

Does anyone know the current status?  i.e which ships have new menus - Ruby and Grand??  What is planned next?  Hopefully someone has some inside info to share.

 

Everyone's tastes are different so I like to just look at the menus that usually are fleet wide to get an idea of what to expect.  Also I think the chef and his staff are very important but that is harder to plan around :).  Just had a great experience on NCL which I think was mainly due to the staff's training and efforts.

 

Thanks in advance.

[jondfk]

I probably don't know the sort of definitive information you're looking for however:

 

When on Ruby last September the new menu experiment was in full effect.  The changes were not substantial in my opinion though yes some old favorites were gone.  Overall though IMHO if you liked the old, you'll like the new.

 

More recently, on Grand two weeks ago we were told that one of many projects undertaken during the currently running dry dock would be introduction of new menus to the servers (so that they can make experience based recommendations).  This information came from a CC waiter who was something of a comedian so I'm not entirely certain it was factual.   We will again be on Grand in April and will surely report back whether menus have in fact changed.  

 

If you have a specific question, happy to share my recent experience.

[pms4104]

Off the Ruby less than a week ago.  New menus still being tweaked, still a work in progess.  After 3 dinners, 2 of which went uneaten, we moved on to other venues.  Not impressed at all, and I'm not a gourmand.

 

In a nutshell, the food sounded better on menus than the reality on the table. 

 

Craziest thing ... instead of butter, tables were set with two little bowlettes of olive oil with green flakes for roll- drpping.  No way to obtain an individual portion, no spoon.  Double-dipping, anyone? 

 

The menus, both in food quality and preparation, still need some serious work.

Edited March 10, 2019 by pms4104

[happy cruzer]

Wow, sounds like it will be more time to see what will evolve.

 

Regarding the olive oil on the table, many restaurants here do that and most do not double dip.  If you use a new piece of bread each time, it is not a double dip only if you take a bite and dip the same piece....  At least that is how it works for us.

 

Thanks for the reports.  Any more?

[pms4104]

6 minutes ago, happy cruzer said:

Wow, sounds like it will be more time to see what will evolve.

 

Regarding the olive oil on the table, many restaurants here do that and most do not double dip.  If you use a new piece of bread each time, it is not a double dip only if you take a bite and dip the same piece....  At least that is how it works for us.

 

Thanks for the reports.  Any more?

Yes, I know how it works ... not everyone is as savy.

[oskidunker]

I hate that stuff but wife loves it. Makes me sick. 

[Kartgv]

We too were on the Ruby recently and overall found the food to be pretty good.    There were some strange (to us) menu items, but we always found something interesting and tasty.    Beef was particularly good on this trip -  a nice surprise since recent reviews haven't been good.   Portion sizes seemed smaller; we began asking for an extra plate of vegetables to fill us up without too much damage.

I loved the olive oil with basil, DH did not.   There was never any trouble getting a dish of butter pats.   The only truly excellent food items were the pastas cooked by the Head Waiter in Club Class.   

[c-boy]

2 hours ago, Kartgv said:

We too were on the Ruby recently and overall found the food to be pretty good.    There were some strange (to us) menu items, but we always found something interesting and tasty.    Beef was particularly good on this trip -  a nice surprise since recent reviews haven't been good.   Portion sizes seemed smaller; we began asking for an extra plate of vegetables to fill us up without too much damage.

I loved the olive oil with basil, DH did not.   There was never any trouble getting a dish of butter pats.   The only truly excellent food items were the pastas cooked by the Head Waiter in Club Class.   

well this is a refreshing and positive post

[Gretchendz]

I just got off the Ruby a week ago and at every dinner there was both the olive oil and butter.  My last Princess cruise was the Emerald a year ago and I felt the Ruby food was improved a bit. It's not high end gourmet in either case.

 

I like the new menu except I hate the up selling nightly of better beef, lobster, etc.

 

I like smaller portions--but I did see many people ordering two entrees--so they adjusted 🙂

[Dani24]

Love that they may be offering olive oil standard. On prior cruises we’d ask for it at dinner, and never had a problem getting it. If only they had balsamic to go with it! Though we would also sometimes ask for a little fresh minced garlic to add to the olive oil, which we usually got no problem. Double yum!

[Thrak]

5 hours ago, happy cruzer said:

Wow, sounds like it will be more time to see what will evolve.

 

Regarding the olive oil on the table, many restaurants here do that and most do not double dip.  If you use a new piece of bread each time, it is not a double dip only if you take a bite and dip the same piece....  At least that is how it works for us.

 

Thanks for the reports.  Any more?

 

Many people will tear off a piece of bread to dip, eat that piece, and tear off another small piece. I don't mind it that way - as long as they keep their fingers out of the stuff of course. If I see someone dip, bite, and dip again I will be done with it.

[Thrak]

5 minutes ago, Dani24 said:

Love that they may be offering olive oil standard. On prior cruises we’d ask for it at dinner, and never had a problem getting it. If only they had balsamic to go with it! Though we would also sometimes ask for a little fresh minced garlic to add to the olive oil, which we usually got no problem. Double yum!

 

Ahhhhhhhhhh...... that is the way!

[Times Prince]

I certainly hope that Princess does not make olive oil the standard, as that stuff (and garlic) makes me ill.

 

To some people it is like poison.

 

Princess, please keep butter available for the dinner rolls.

[fishin' musician]

From the standpoint of brand consistency, I would have thought these type of changes would be rolled out fleet wide and not isolated to individual vessels?

[MissP22]

5 hours ago, Times Prince said:

I certainly hope that Princess does not make olive oil the standard, as that stuff (and garlic) makes me ill.

 

To some people it is like poison.

 

Princess, please keep butter available for the dinner rolls.

I'm with you on that point. It make me sick to even smell others eating it. 

[Kingofcool1947]

On 3/10/2019 at 8:18 AM, pms4104 said:

Off the Ruby less than a week ago.  New menus still being tweaked, still a work in progess.  After 3 dinners, 2 of which went uneaten, we moved on to other venues.  Not impressed at all, and I'm not a gourmand.

 

In a nutshell, the food sounded better on menus than the reality on the table. 

 

Craziest thing ... instead of butter, tables were set with two little bowlettes of olive oil with green flakes for roll- drpping.  No way to obtain an individual portion, no spoon.  Double-dipping, anyone? 

 

The menus, both in food quality and preparation, still need some serious work.

Details of the two dinners that were inedible.  

What exactly was inedible?

[pms4104]

7 hours ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

Details of the two dinners that were inedible.  

What exactly was inedible?

It wasn't that the entrees were inedible, and I did not say they were.  I simply chose not to eat them because I don't like gravy.  Gravy generally is high in salt, and often is used to enhance cheap cuts of meat or to keep the meal moist on its way from preparation to the table.

 

My vision is deteriorating, so it is possible that I

missed mention of gravy on the menu.  Or perhaps not. 

 

In any event ... first night's beef, which I asked for without gravy, was quite tasty and satisfying.  It was not the prime rib that has become traditional for embarkation evening. 

 

Next night I ordered the lamb dinner and I was surprised to be served shreds of lamb drowning in gravy ... don't recall the accompaniments/sides, but it certainly was unlike any lamb meal I'd ever been served in the past.

 

Next night I ordered the Curtis Stone beef entree ... the menu description mentioned beef with carrots and mushrooms.  I was not expecting my meal to be served in a flat-bottomed bowl on a dinner plate ... turned out to be beef chunkets, a mushroom slice or two, one carrot chunk ... all  drowning in gravy, with a biscuit the consistency of a hockey puck floating on top.

 

I understood from staff that these new menus currently are only on a few ships and still as re being tweaked.  Whatever is meant by that.  

 

I recognize that food choices and tastes are relative and are based on personal preferences.  While I found the new menus on the Ruby not the least to my liking, others may consider the MDR offerings to be the highlight of their cruise.

 

 

Edited March 12, 2019 by pms4104

[Kingofcool1947]

27 minutes ago, pms4104 said:

It wasn't that the entrees were inedible, and I did not say they were.  I simply chose not to eat them because I don't like gravy.  Gravy generally is high in salt, and often is used to enhance cheap cuts of meat or to keep the meal moist on its way from preparation to the table.

 

My vision is deteriorating, so it is possible that I

missed mention of gravy on the menu.  Or perhaps not. 

 

In any event ... first night's beef, which I asked for without gravy, was quite tasty and satisfying.  It was not the prime rib that has become traditional for embarkation evening. 

 

Next night I ordered the lamb dinner and I was surprised to be served shreds of lamb drowning in gravy ... don't recall the accompaniments/sides, but it certainly was unlike any lamb meal I'd ever been served in the past.

 

Next night I ordered the Curtis Stone beef entree ... the menu description mentioned beef with carrots and mushrooms.  I was not expecting my meal to be served in a flat-bottomed bowl on a dinner plate ... turned out to be beef chunkets, a mushroom slice or two, one carrot chunk ... all  drowning in gravy, with a biscuit the consistency of a hockey puck floating on top.

 

I understood from staff that these new menus currently are only on a few ships and still as re being tweaked.  Whatever is meant by that.  

 

I recognize that food choices and tastes are relative and are based on personal preferences.  While I found the new menus on the Ruby not the least to my liking, others may consider the MDR offerings to be the highlight of their cruise.

 

 

Thank you.

I’ll be sure to read the menu carefully.  

Often times food swimming in gravy could  be masking an inferior quality protein.  Also gravy can be salty.

[caribill]

I always just say "no gravy" or "no sauce" when placing my order. That has always worked.

[Kingofcool1947]

54 minutes ago, caribill said:

I always just say "no gravy" or "no sauce" when placing my order. That has always worked.

 

Same here.

I  always just say “gravy/sauce on the side”  when placing my order.  Same with salad dressing.  Works all the time.

Exception is when I order S.O.S., Chicken Fried Steak, or Biscuits and Gravy.  Then I got to have my sauce/gravy.  

Edited March 12, 2019 by Kingofcool1947

[happy cruzer]

thanks for the food for thought 🙂

 

will have to watch to see the evolution.

[grouchomarx]

Just a note about the bread/olive oil dipping.  If you are tearing bread with your hands and then dipping it in the olive oil, it is really no different than dipping your hands in the oil since any germs on your hands have been transferred to the bread.  So it is really only sanitary if each bowl is dumped after diners are done with it.

[Kingofcool1947]

On 3/10/2019 at 8:01 PM, Gretchendz said:

I just got off the Ruby a week ago and at every dinner there was both the olive oil and butter.  My last Princess cruise was the Emerald a year ago and I felt the Ruby food was improved a bit. It's not high end gourmet in either case.

 

I like the new menu except I hate the up selling nightly of better beef, lobster, etc.

 

I like smaller portions--but I did see many people ordering two entrees--so they adjusted 🙂

We’re you pressured by your waiter to purchase the upsell menu?

[joeyancho]

We had the new menus on the Ruby on November. We thought the food was terrific. The new menu is a bit more adventurous. We enjoyed the olive oil dip, which is much healthier than butter. 

[MamaFej]

I got braces the day before boarding the Ruby last month, so I was generally in search of softer foods. 

 

The short ribs on night one were tasty. As mentioned above, the sauce/gravy was on the salty side. 

 

I had thought that I might actually lose weight... alas, there is a plethora of soft food available on cruises, I had  just never noticed. 

 

Food was generally tasty. The eggs Florentine at breakfast was really good (though getting my mouth clean after was even more of an adventure than after other meals).

 

Hubby was pretty happy with his meals. Food was generally better than on the Island or the Emerald, and reminded us of the quality of the food on the Regal in 2016.