Navigator of the Seas poor MDR service and food quality

[marjoriemcdonaldd11]

We recently went on our first Royal cruise on Navigator of the Seas, November 26-29 to Ensenada. It was the second revenue sailing of the ship since the COVID pause. Before this, the only cruise we've been on was Princess before the pandemic. We were disappointed by the MDR service and food quality on Navigator and want to know if it is typical.

 

• Slow service. We didn't order an inordinate number of dishes - just the usual one app, entree, and dessert. One night, we waited 30 min for our apps, another 30 min for our entrees, and then another 30 min for our desserts. Every night, we were waiting over 20 min for coffee - they would bring empty cups (sometimes we had to ask twice) but not fill them or bring milk/sugar until 20 min later.
• Tasteless food. Steak was lacking seasoning. Salmon was dry and lacking seasoning. Desserts other than the cheesecake were supermarket quality. In retrospect, we should have used salt and pepper on the savory dishes, but it didn't come to mind as something we would need to resort to as we didn't need to add any spices to MDR dishes on our Princess cruise.

 

I don't write this to give offense to loyal Royal cruisers. I just want to understand if what we experienced was typical.

 

1. Anyone else who was on early Navigator of the Seas sailings: were the MDR service and food up to the Royal standard? Should I chalk it up to them getting back into the groove? Has it gotten better on more recent sailings?
2. Has anyone noticed this issue on other ships and has it improved with time?
3. Is adding salt and pepper and other seasonings to season the food yourself typically necessary in your experience at the MDR?

[bonsai3s]

The first Navigator sailing in California was Nov 19, 2021, 7 night sailing. There were approximately 1500+ passengers...the ship felt empty, food and service were great...not perfect, but issues were corrected immediately.

 

The second cruise, Nov. 26th, 3 night sailing, had an increase of about 1000 passengers. Bottom line: They were simply unprepared and overwhelmed. 

We were told that the Nov. 26th cruise had approximately 75% first-time cruisers.

1. Food in the MDR was good and bad. For example,  the rack of lamb was inedible...they  replaced it, and I got one of the best, most tender, rack of lamb I've ever had...it could have been from Chops.

2. Yes, other ships had isses and corrected.

3. No.

[Ashland]

Glad all these kinks are being worked out before we sail on her Jan 17th.

[Jingerwoppy]

We've always had a bit of an issue with MDR service as far as speed when at a larger table. We have the first seating and it seems that at least twice per cruise we have to leave before desert so we can make it to the show.  If it's 6 seats or less, the timing seems to work better. Fortunately I've never had any issues with the food that was served. We'll be on Liberty in late January and we'll see how it goes. 

[imola]

1 hour ago, Ashland said:

Glad all these kinks are being worked out before we sail on her Jan 17th.

Right there with you on this one.  Although I try to look at it this way:  

 

I don't have to decide a meal that will please everyone coming to it. .

I don't have to shop for the food.

I don't have to cook the food.

I don't have to clean up after the meal no matter how big  or small the mess.  

I just get to sit down pick out what I want from all the menu selections and be waited on.  If the meal is not so good,  I love pizza!!  Plus I have a card for specialty coffee.  I am a happy girl. 

[gsalbato]

My wife, my 13 year old son and I were in the Nov 19th Navigator cruise. We had amazing service in the MDR. In fact, even though we had My Time Dining, we requested the same waiter and assistant waiter for every night. I also don't recall any of us hating any particular dish. I guess we got lucky.

[nelblu]

9 hours ago, Jingerwoppy said:

We've always had a bit of an issue with MDR service as far as speed when at a larger table. We have the first seating and it seems that at least twice per cruise we have to leave before desert so we can make it to the show.  If it's 6 seats or less, the timing seems to work better. Fortunately I've never had any issues with the food that was served. We'll be on Liberty in late January and we'll see how it goes. 

It's even better if a table for 2.  I found in my sailings, that on average, it took me about an hour to complete the dinner, especially since you order the entire meal in advance.  

[3yorkies]

I was on the Dec. 6 to 10 sailing and the food and service at late seating were superb!   Tarin and Omkhar, both from Mumbai, India, bent over backwards to make dinner a fun and satisfying experience every night.  

[Chase101]

I was also on the December 6th-10th. My friend & I had early dining & had amazing service from our waiter & asst waiter! The head waiter came by every night to check on us! We were done every night in 45 minutes to an hour! We enjoyed all our meals, some better than others! We are pretty easy to please!

[marjoriemcdonaldd11]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences! It seems like we got the short end of the stick with the large influx of guests on our sailing and what we received was absolutely not standard.

[rj59]

Things should improve as they get used to larger crowds. As far as quality, they're always happy to fix a mistake or give you something different. Sometimes different lines do certain dishes better, so I've learned to find the sweet spot on every menu. If you're a serious foodie, then Princess and HAL and Celebrity are better options, I'd say, since Carnival, RC, and NCL are focused more on families, fun,  and lower fares, and NCL and RC want you to go to specialty restaurants. I've been on Royal, Princess, and Carnival so far this year, and am going Monday on Navigator, and already scoped out the menu and marked down things I liked on my last cruise (cheesecake, pasta) and things that I disliked (French onion soup with a thick layer of rubbery cheese on top). The same is true of the buffet, where I head to their Indian food and fresh cookies and avoid their tasteless burgers. 

 

On my Ovation cruise in September, I had mediocre service in one dining room the first few nights and was frequently forced to sit close to other tables, but I just tried the other main dining room and asked for a distanced table, which got me a nice table and very friendly and attentive waitstaff, so I stuck with them. 

If you go at peak times, or go for early set dining, then you're much less likely to get quick and efficient service. I found that going at 8 was the sweet spot for uncrowded, quick dining that allowed me to make the late shows, and the wait staff and I presume the cooks were less rushed so presumably able to devote more time to each dish. For breakfast and lunch, I actually found the dining room that was mixed vaxxed/unvaxxed was the least crowded, with distancing signs on tables, and I always had a nice table next to a window and wait staff and a manager who knew me and my wants and there were usually no more than 10 people in the dining room if I went first thing to lunch and breakfast.