Is Food THAT bad?

[Astro Flyer]

3 minutes ago, losfp said:

That's a shame to hear - as I mentioned in my earlier post, I went in Majestic's first season, and it was great. If the menu and quality has gone downhill that's really disappointing.

I planned to go to Harmony but after the original menu was changed to this new menu which is more like Panda Express we decided to skip it.

 

[cr8tiv1]

The peanut butter cookies may not be the same as before (2 years is a long time to try to compare), but I enjoyed my almost daily run to the IC for my peanut butter cookies.  A couple of times, they seemed to be under baked.  There were a couple of days that they didn't have them.  But, overall, I got my fix for the day.

[brisalta]

17 hours ago, spunks said:

Ok...for purposes of this thread, forget that we have 49 Princess cruise  s...the only ones that count are the 6 taken since January....Also, anyone that thinks the food quality has not eroded over the years is simply not paying attention.

 

The Sky in January....food was fine. The Enchanted on March was not nearly as good. We are currently on the Emerald and the food is simply not up to Princess standards....pork belly is the featured dish several times a week. 

 

 

Pork belly was promoted by SHARE.

I am glad SHARE is no longer contaminating the fleet.

[brisalta]

6 hours ago, jeno said:

My husband was talking to someone at our table about escargot and the next night the waiter brought it for the whole table.  Very nice of him, but it was the first escargot we’d ever had with absolutely no garlic.  Not much flavor without that. 

 

Escargot is a vehicle for garlic and butter and garlic and butter...

[TBfrPH]

@Kitty Ellas Mom if you are not expecting a Michelin-starred experience, you'll be fine.  Food is not the reason that we cruise with Princess.  Yet, over the last 4 trips since last September we have by trial-and-error learned to have a good free-food experience in the MDR by avoiding certain disasters:

- Avoid anything with a pastry accompaniment, like beef Wellington.  Pastry will invariably be soggy, doughy, and lacking in any buttery flavor that one would expect.

- Avoid all shell fish.  They are consistently not fresh, comes out with a fishy smell, and overcooked to a rubbery texture.  The lobster is hit-n-miss.  Don't bother with the crab cakes either.  You'll need a microscope to find any crab hidden in what essentially is a Thanksgiving turkey stuffing cake.

- Avoid anything cooked with a batter that you expect to come out crispy and light.  You'll most likely get a limp, wet, and mealy coating over whatever is inside.

- Don't venture too far into Asian ethnic food, except Indian food.  Many have already commented on "Panda Express at Sea."  Don't be tempted by satay, tempura, or any of the stir-fry noodle variations.  On the other hand, our experience with Indian food on the Ruby was terrific.  Rumors attribute it to the fact that Ruby has a good Indian chef aboard.

- For dessert don't be tempted by ice cream.  They only sound good on the menu and are a waste of your caloric allowance.  Stick with all the Chocolate Journey items for dessert.

 

The only specialty restaurant that is worth the extra charge is Bistro Sur La Mer on Majestic.  That came the closest to knocking our proverbial socks off.  The others are serving food that used to be in the MDR.

 

We don't bother with the grills and pizza by the pool areas.  Alfredo's is excellent, but we're not the type who can subsist on pizzas alone.

[antsp]

4 minutes ago, TBfrPH said:

@Kitty Ellas Mom if you are not expecting a Michelin-starred experience, you'll be fine.  Food is not the reason that we cruise with Princess.  Yet, over the last 4 trips since last September we have by trial-and-error learned to have a good free-food experience in the MDR by avoiding certain disasters:

- Avoid anything with a pastry accompaniment, like beef Wellington.  Pastry will invariably be soggy, doughy, and lacking in any buttery flavor that one would expect.

- Avoid all shell fish.  They are consistently not fresh, comes out with a fishy smell, and overcooked to a rubbery texture.  The lobster is hit-n-miss.  Don't bother with the crab cakes either.  You'll need a microscope to find any crab hidden in what essentially is a Thanksgiving turkey stuffing cake.

- Avoid anything cooked with a batter that you expect to come out crispy and light.  You'll most likely get a limp, wet, and mealy coating over whatever is inside.

- Don't venture too far into Asian ethnic food, except Indian food.  Many have already commented on "Panda Express at Sea."  Don't be tempted by satay, tempura, or any of the stir-fry noodle variations.  On the other hand, our experience with Indian food on the Ruby was terrific.  Rumors attribute it to the fact that Ruby has a good Indian chef aboard.

- For dessert don't be tempted by ice cream.  They only sound good on the menu and are a waste of your caloric allowance.  Stick with all the Chocolate Journey items for dessert.

 

The only specialty restaurant that is worth the extra charge is Bistro Sur La Mer on Majestic.  That came the closest to knocking our proverbial socks off.  The others are serving food that used to be in the MDR.

 

We don't bother with the grills and pizza by the pool areas.  Alfredo's is excellent, but we're not the type who can subsist on pizzas alone.

Is this fact, or opinion. What do you actually eat then. 

[TBfrPH]

14 minutes ago, antsp said:

Is this fact, or opinion. What do you actually eat then. 

They are facts as far as my taste buds can tell me.  But as many have said, it's very subjective what is good food. 

 

Fortunately the menu is extensive enough to find other perfectly satisfying, if not mind-blowing, dishes, including pork, fish, scallops, duck, some beef choices, and more.  I've started a dinner diary so I know what to order, or more importantly avoid, in future.

[VibeGuy]

I have to say, I’ve had six perfect wellingtons out of six since the restart.  I’ve generally avoided it out of the typical concerns of overcooked meat and wan pastry, but after my DH’s came out looking remarkably good, I wheedled a bite and was impressed enough to order one.  Plenty of duxelles, meat done to a turn and probably the crispest pastry I’ve had on a Wellington cooked outside a private home.  Just fantastic. 

[TBfrPH]

3 minutes ago, VibeGuy said:

I have to say, I’ve had six perfect wellingtons out of six since the restart.  I’ve generally avoided it out of the typical concerns of overcooked meat and wan pastry, but after my DH’s came out looking remarkably good, I wheedled a bite and was impressed enough to order one.  Plenty of duxelles, meat done to a turn and probably the crispest pastry I’ve had on a Wellington cooked outside a private home.  Just fantastic. 

Did any of these Wellington perfections happen on the Ruby or Majestic?

[Cuedon]

I think one of Harmony's main issues is that it's suffering from an identity crisis at the moment, transitioning from a ship focusing on the Asian market to... whatever its long term plans are now. (Similarly, listening to the Majestic's former casino manager vent about how they removed sixteen baccarat tables after all the trouble he went to set them up was rather amusing.) Some of the more interesting dishes have been removed, and what's left has been simplified or adjusted to (perceived) US-centric tastes, a la Panda Express. For example... the lobster dish: While I can't comment on if it was made well, it's a standard preparation method that I've enjoyed for decades: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/cantonese-lobster-tail-9845903

 

SHARE was actually my favorite of the premium restaurants, partly due to their pork dish... which, while they may have moved pork belly over to different locations, it's not nearly as finessed as it was then. And they also removed the roughly approximate pancetta from Sabatini's a few years back, replacing it with the much more stock pork loin as well.

[ebeluga]

7 hours ago, jeno said:

My husband was talking to someone at our table about escargot and the next night the waiter brought it for the whole table.  Very nice of him, but it was the first escargot we’d ever had with absolutely no garlic.  Not much flavor without that. 

Yes, I thought the same about the escargot - not a hint of garlic flavor or aromar! That was on Discovery!

Edited May 7, 2022 by ebeluga

[Astro Flyer]

12 minutes ago, ebeluga said:

Yes, I thought the same about the escargot - not a hint of garlic flavor or aromar! That was on Discovery!

My wife had escargot on Discovery (inaugural & 2nd cruise) and she tasted garlic…apparently their preparation is inconsistent.

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

3 hours ago, losfp said:

That's a shame to hear - as I mentioned in my earlier post, I went in Majestic's first season, and it was great. If the menu and quality has gone downhill that's really disappointing. 

So did we, twice, and the dishes we tried were very interesting and different but looking at the menu now it's much more westernized. Still we might try it next year if only for the duck salad which is still on the menu.

[mpk]

It seems some long time Princess cruisers are unhappy with changes in the MDR.  For example:

1. No more butter basket on table
2. No bread basket on table
3. Smaller portions

 

I'm good with all these changes.  It reduces waste.  As for the food itself, I thought it was quite good.  I did have a so-so pizza at Gigi's on embark day on Discovery.  I think it was because they were hammered.  Tried Gigi's again later in the week, and the pizza was quite good.

[caribill]

1 hour ago, TBfrPH said:

They are facts as far as my taste buds can tell me.  But as many have said, it's very subjective what is good food. 

 

 

Agree.

 

But each individual can compare what his/her taste buds told them before the pandemic compared to what those taste buds tell them now.

[Musky Ike]

3 hours ago, brisalta said:

 

Escargot is a vehicle for garlic and butter and garlic and butter...

The escargot at the Bistro Sur La Mer on the Enchanted was very different from the MDR version. Rolled in a panko bread shell

[roxievegas]

23 hours ago, jeno said:

Out of curiosity, what ships were you on? Thanks! 

Majestic in December, and in March.  Discovery in April

[jeno]

14 minutes ago, roxievegas said:

Majestic in December, and in March.  Discovery in April

I have a feeling the newer ships are doing much better than the older ones, especially the Emerald. Just my suspicion. 
Our friends that had FCC to use picked the Panama Canal cruise (originally on the Crown) and asked us to join them.  
I'm glad you had a good experience on both ships!  

[roxievegas]

We will be on the Ruby next month for 10 days.  We are not picky about food, but we will go with the flow.  Next month will be our 10th cruise with Princess and I can say that we have enjoyed the food on every cruise.

[Nebr.cruiser]

11 hours ago, suzyed said:

I agree on the cookies....but I thought the escargot was as delish as ever!!

 

I didn't try the escargot this time--I usually do--don't know why I didn't.

[capriccio]

31 minutes ago, jeno said:

I have a feeling the newer ships are doing much better than the older ones, especially the Emerald. Just my suspicion. 
 

We thought the MDR food (we didn't try any specialty restaurants) was much better on the Caribbean in January than the MDR food on the Enchanted in March.  I really think it isn't old versus new ships but lots of other factors including:  provisioning and supply chain issues, galley staffing, the number of passengers being served, and (as with any cruise) the the head chef.       

[chrysalis]

We have been on two princess ships (Sky and Enchanted) since November for a total of 82 days. The food on the Enchanted, while not perfect, was much better than the Sky....but those recent 54 days on the Enchanted had its moments.

 

Examples include:

 

Walked out of dinner, mid meal, from Sabatini's due to mgr lecturing us on how tender the chicken was...

Our Escargot, and those of 4 others at table around us, arrived still stone cold.

Waitress telling us that we should eat up everything on our plate, even tho the beef was full of inedible "stuff".

Consistently receiving dirty cutlery in one area of the Santorini DR.

MTP lunch...every meal at our table arrived cold.

 

But, we didn't starve, that's for sure.....and for the most part, the crew were excellent.

 

 

[suzyed]

29 minutes ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

I didn't try the escargot this time--I usually do--don't know why I didn't.

Haha!  I have it every cruise!!

 

[JF - retired RRT]

13 hours ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

None of the cookies were very good, compared to before.  The peanut butter cookies tasted like they had no peanut butter in them.  They were all hard, dry and mostly tasteless.

Tried lemon cookies on our recent cruise. They were good and as I remembered from before the pause.

[MissP22]

57 minutes ago, chrysalis said:

MTP lunch...every meal at our table arrived cold.

And did everyone just eat it and not complain or was it all sent back?