Food on Coral

[weedpindle]

It depends on the Chef..Some are good, some not so.

[daydreamer16]

Just off the Coral March 2 and enjoyed the food in the MDR. I would agree with the poster that commented that food was not as seasoned as we are used to at home. On the Italian night, there was a pasta dish prepared in the dining room that was highly seasoned  (garlic/red pepper flakes), which we thought was great!. The waiters were warning everyone as I'm sure it was not to everyone's taste.

[AZ Stan (FKA Stan in Chicago)]

I agree with several of the recent posters...the executive chef is certainly more important than the ship when comparing food quality.  Several years ago, we sailed on the Star Princess, had the best food ever on a cruise ship.  Only wish I knew who the executive chef was on this cruise, I'd follow him around the world.

That being said, Princess food is generally good, I have never lost weight on a Princess cruise.  We tried the Seaside on MSC a couple of years ago.  MDR food was just OK, buffet food for Breakfast and Lunch was boring.  There was no buffet available at dinnertime when we were onboard, but I think they have changed that now.

 

I fully expect to enjoy most of the food on our Coral cruise next week.  After about 13 or 14 days, the volume of food I eat will be reduced.  Can only go for 2 or 3 apps for a short time.

Stan

[Colo Cruiser]

1 minute ago, AZ Stan (FKA Stan in Chicago) said:

I fully expect to enjoy most of the food on our Coral cruise next week.  After about 13 or 14 days, the volume of food I eat will be reduced.  Can only go for 2 or 3 apps for a short time.

Stan

I don't know it sounds pretty bad. You may need someone to take your place.  😁

[Kingofcool1947]

3 hours ago, hobbyfarmer2 said:

DW & I both found the food just fine on the Coral in January.  That being said, the food is generally a lot blander than we both eat at home.  We use a lot of herbs, zest, garlic, olive oil and heat in our dishes.  Our food is very tasty to us, but not to all of our guests some of the time.  The ship's kitchen will not do the same as we do because far too many passengers would complain, "......I don't like garlic", "...….rosemary is a girl's name and does not belong in food", "......it's too hot" and so on.  Many passengers have pedestrian tastes.  Many can also be found every day eating burgers and fries.  What people eat is their business, not mine, but it is also the business of the chefs who plan and cook the meals for a few thousand passengers every day.

 

Go to chef's table or a small classy restaurant if you are looking for novel or beautifully flavoured complex food.   You generally won't find it in the large MDR of a cruise ship, that's for sure.  DW and I know what to expect and we are generally pleased and sometimes surprised. 

 

 

Since you are “Foodies”  have you considered trying a cruise line that has more complex and inventive cuisine offerings?  Not the pedestrian offerings of mass market cruise lines like Princess.?    I alternate between Princess, and near luxury Oceania,  and Celebrity, for their itinerary and difference in cuisine.  

Oceania ships carry less passengers per ship,  IMO have less pedestrian offerings, and generally the cuisine is focused on more sophisticated PAXs with discriminating palates and taste.   Nice wine pairings.  BTW,  Oceania will season your food to order.   Service is exemplinary.  Check sample menus on Oceania’s website.

Just my opinion.   YMMV.

Good luck.  Mangia, Mangia!

King

Edited March 12, 2019 by Kingofcool1947

[Kingofcool1947]

6 hours ago, MissP22 said:

I've got no problem with people stating their dislike for food on certain ships as we're all entitled to our opinions. 

I keep a list of certain posters that are in line with my preferences and I follow their comments about certain ships. To me this is more meaningful than just any poster that takes a cruise once in 5 years & thinks everything was wonderful.  

 

Better yet,  keep a list of those kind of people who are habitual complainers.   Those kind of people who nick pic  about  anything, and everything.   Or they have a beef with the cruise line.   

Don’t pay attention to those kind.

Better to remember all the positives of your cruise.   And not dwell or obsessed on negatives.   

Enjoy your cruise.   🙂

Edited March 12, 2019 by Kingofcool1947

[cheezenip]

2 hours ago, RMMariner said:

Entirely agree. We were on the Star a couple times in a short period. The head chef changed, and the food changed completely.

 

I concur with this statement. I too was on the Star twice within a year and had 2 diff executive chefs. On the first cruise, the meats  in the MDR were excellent, fishes not so good, and the buffet preparation poor. The 2nd time, the meats were poor and the both the seafood and buffet food were very good.

 

It's so odd how much variance there can be between chefs with Star Princess. Understandably, differences are going to happen but the changes were quite noticeable (at least on the Star). I now look at it as a culinary  adventure when I repeat Star.

[hobbyfarmer2]

1 hour ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

 

 

Since you are “Foodies”  have you considered trying a cruise line that has more complex and inventive cuisine offerings?  Not the pedestrian offerings of mass market cruise lines like Princess.?    I alternate between Princess, and near luxury Oceania,  and Celebrity, for their itinerary and difference in cuisine.  

Oceania ships carry less passengers per ship,  IMO have less pedestrian offerings, and generally the cuisine is focused on more sophisticated PAXs with discriminating palates and taste.   Nice wine pairings.  BTW,  Oceania will season your food to order.   Service is exemplinary.  Check sample menus on Oceania’s website.

Just my opinion.   YMMV.

Good luck.  Mangia, Mangia!

King

Many thanks for the thoughtful suggestion.  Don't think I would call us foodies but we do eat quite well thanks to DW's art and imagination with ingredients and my skill in prep and cleanup.  We also love decent red wines.  We combine good food and wine all the time at home with family and friends and at a small fraction of the price of replicating same on a ship.  We cruise for the itinerary, the pleasure of meeting new and different people and the sun - being from a cold climate.  We already eat great at home and are quite content with our choices onboard Princess.  

[bemis12]

6 hours ago, c-boy said:

there is truth to this but; what about the head scratching untruths / spin?

 

I'm afraid I'm not in the know enough to have noticed it.

[elliair]

11 hours ago, RMMariner said:

 

Entirely agree. We were on the Star a couple times in a short period. The head chef changed, and the food changed completely.

 

The experience we had on the Star is sausage, sausage and more sausage.  We dubbed the Star Princess the sausage ship.  In the buffet, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, dishes and dishes of sausage.  I think the  chef got a deal on sausage and ran with it.  We were on a cruise to Hawaii, while in Hawaii in the buffet on the Star Princess, there was a baby roasted pig with an apple stuck in its mouth.  I thought to myself, "oh look, almost link sausage!"

Edited March 13, 2019 by elliair

[rkacruiser]

On 3/12/2019 at 2:16 PM, cheezenip said:

It's so odd how much variance there can be between chefs with Star Princess. Understandably, differences are going to happen but the changes were quite noticeable (at least on the Star). I now look at it as a culinary  adventure when I repeat Star.

 

This is not only true on Star Princess, but on any ship that I have been on more than once.  Executive chefs are allowed to "tweak" the basic corporate recipes.  Some are better "tweakers" than others.

[Thrak]

On 3/11/2019 at 9:55 PM, cheezenip said:

 

I sailed on Coral in May 2018 to Alaska and share the same sentiments with the added complaint that I found the buffet poor compared to the other Princess ships. I too will NOT cruise on Coral in the future.

 

Don't judge the ship based on the food on a single voyage. We did a 17 day full transit of the Panama Canal a few years ago on Coral Princess. The first part of the cruise the food was pretty blah and we were disappointed. The second part of the cruise the food was very good. We asked the waiters what the deal was and were told the head chef had changed mid-voyage. The difference was night and day. We sailed 19 days on Coral Princess last November and the food was fine. Not a single complaint from us.

[rkacruiser]

5 minutes ago, Thrak said:

The first part of the cruise the food was pretty blah and we were disappointed. The second part of the cruise the food was very good. We asked the waiters what the deal was and were told the head chef had changed mid-voyage. The difference was night and day. 

 

I appreciate your confirmation, whether intended or not, of my prior post.  Some Executive Chefs are better than others.

[sfpd3000]

On 3/12/2019 at 8:10 PM, elliair said:

The experience we had on the Star is sausage, sausage and more sausage.  We dubbed the Star Princess the sausage ship.  In the buffet, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, dishes and dishes of sausage.  I think the  chef got a deal on sausage and ran with it.  We were on a cruise to Hawaii, while in Hawaii in the buffet on the Star Princess, there was a baby roasted pig with an apple stuck in its mouth.  I thought to myself, "oh look, almost link sausage!"

"Father Wolfgang caters to... our dietary needs."

"He only knows how to cook one thing: German sausage. Day after day. Liverwurst. Bratwurst. Bierwurst. It's the worst."

From Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit

 Sorry, I just couldn't resist!

[elliair]

1 hour ago, sfpd3000 said:

"Father Wolfgang caters to... our dietary needs."

"He only knows how to cook one thing: German sausage. Day after day. Liverwurst. Bratwurst. Bierwurst. It's the worst."

From Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit

 Sorry, I just couldn't resist!

LOL!  Okay my first laugh to start the day.  DH and I thought it was funny and true!  We still talk about the sausage ship. Only way I would book the Star Princess if I could be assured that there's more than sausage in the buffet being served.  DH is going under the knife in a couple of weeks, so our traveling plans are on hold - at least 2 months to recuperate.🙏

[sfpd3000]

1 hour ago, elliair said:

LOL!  Okay my first laugh to start the day.  DH and I thought it was funny and true!  We still talk about the sausage ship. Only way I would book the Star Princess if I could be assured that there's more than sausage in the buffet being served.  DH is going under the knife in a couple of weeks, so our traveling plans are on hold - at least 2 months to recuperate.🙏

My thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery

[Kingofcool1947]

On 3/12/2019 at 8:10 PM, elliair said:

 

The experience we had on the Star is sausage, sausage and more sausage.  We dubbed the Star Princess the sausage ship.  In the buffet, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, dishes and dishes of sausage.  I think the  chef got a deal on sausage and ran with it.  We were on a cruise to Hawaii, while in Hawaii in the buffet on the Star Princess, there was a baby roasted pig with an apple stuck in its mouth.  I thought to myself, "oh look, almost link sausage!"

 

Did they provide different kinds of mustards at the sausage tasting?

Red onion sauce?

And the krauts? 

 

[elliair]

3 hours ago, sfpd3000 said:

My thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery

Thank you for your kind words.  I appreciate that.  Elliair

[elliair]

54 minutes ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

 

Did they provide different kinds of mustards at the sausage tasting?

Red onion sauce?

And the krauts? 

 

I don't recall any of those sauces.  I just remember the chef reinventing different ways to cook sausage.  One thing I do recall is a meatloaf with a hotdog down the middle of the meatloaf.  I swear they were left over from the grill and a new dish reinvented with them.  I thought how clever the chef was.  Next day, what was left  of the hotdog meatloaf was served cold on the salad  aisle.

[floridalover5623]

10 minutes ago, elliair said:

I don't recall any of those sauces.  I just remember the chef reinventing different ways to cook sausage.  One thing I do recall is a meatloaf with a hotdog down the middle of the meatloaf.  I swear they were left over from the grill and a new dish reinvented with them.  I thought how clever the chef was.  Next day, what was left  of the hotdog meatloaf was served cold on the salad  aisle.

I couldn't get myself to eat that meatloaf when it was fresh without the hot dog. 😫

[elliair]

36 minutes ago, floridalover5623 said:

I couldn't get myself to eat that meatloaf when it was fresh without the hot dog. 😫

Actually I was laughing about it at the table I was sitting at.  One of the people we were sitting with had to get up and go check it out.  They came back laughing and not believing what they saw.  I'm not a meatloaf fan, don't serve it home and I sure as to heck wouldn't eat it on the ship.  The hot dog down the center was truly innovative, a work of art from the galley.

[TSM AND JP]

We were on the Coral in February, 15 day Panama Canal.  We had fabulous wait staff and followed their suggestions.  We were not disappointed.  

[c-boy]

5 minutes ago, TSM AND JP said:

We were on the Coral in February, 15 day Panama Canal.  We had fabulous wait staff and followed their suggestions.  We were not disappointed.  

wonderful !