do cruise lines give better food on their better ships?

[rkacruiser]

9 hours ago, BruceMuzz said:

Day 4 is usually when the Chef starts to get serious with menu and buffet items. He can offer pricier, higher quality foods, and still have an overall lower consumption and lower cost.

 

 

Very interesting!  I had not thought about that.  On a 7-10 day cruise, maybe that is a reason why Lobster is more likely to appear on the last Gala/Formal night menu and not earlier.  

[George C]

I haven’t taken a ncl cruise in almost 20 years for a few reasons food is definitely one of them, but have cruised dozens of times on rccl and about 8 times on celebrity and other than newer larger ships have more options the food is equal.

[rkacruiser]

2 minutes ago, George C said:

I haven’t taken a ncl cruise in almost 20 years for a few reasons food is definitely one of them, but have cruised dozens of times on rccl and about 8 times on celebrity and other than newer larger ships have more options the food is equal.

 

The cuisine that I have enjoyed in Murano and the Tuscan Grille on Celebrity Eclipse was superior to what I ate in the MDR.  The cuisine served on HAL in Sel de Mer, whether a stand alone venue or a pop-up, is superior than what is served in the MDR.  On HAL, the Pinnacle Grill and the Italian and Asian Fusion restaurants may or may not be.  

[George C]

12 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

The cuisine that I have enjoyed in Murano and the Tuscan Grille on Celebrity Eclipse was superior to what I ate in the MDR.  The cuisine served on HAL in Sel de Mer, whether a stand alone venue or a pop-up, is superior than what is served in the MDR.  On HAL, the Pinnacle Grill and the Italian and Asian Fusion restaurants may or may not be.  

Of course specialty restaurants are better , I had dinner in one of the first specialty restaurants on ncl on Seaward in late 1980’s when ship was brand new it was really great , don’t remember name of that restaurant, we always have a couple of dinners in specialty like Pinnacle , or Tuscan , Chops etc . My last rccl cruise 6 months ago we bought the UDP so all meals were in specialty, also some suite restaurants like celebrity luminae are really good others like rccl CK are not that great.

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, George C said:

Of course specialty restaurants are better , I had dinner in one of the first specialty restaurants on ncl on Seaward in late 1980’s when ship was brand new it was really great , don’t remember name of that restaurant, we always have a couple of dinners in specialty like Pinnacle , or Tuscan , Chops etc . My last rccl cruise 6 months ago we bought the UDP so all meals were in specialty, also some suite restaurants like celebrity luminae are really good others like rccl CK are not that great.

 

We had a similar experience on Princess, at least until they were well and truly Carnivalised.

 

Our son worked on Island & Coral Princess and we used to join him for dinner in the Bayou Cafe & Steakhouse. Although in those days the MDR meals were very good, the cuts of meat and fish in the Bayou Cafe were definitely an improvement. We had some exceptional meals on both those ships.

 

In 2015, on the Sea Princess, our entire table went to the Steakhouse one night and out of the 8 of us, only 1 steak was properly cooked to order - that one was ordered "Well Done". All the rare/medium rare/medium were seared and raw. Some steaks were returned 4 times before we gave up and went to the buffet. 

[Znjan]

My first job in the industry was as an assistant Maitre d with Celebrity out of Miami. I then after a few years took the easier job as gift/duty free shop manager. 

The best food we have had on a Cruise was on Discovery Cruise line from Fort Lauderdale to Freeport and back. The ship was a old wreck but the dining room food was very very good. 

[Znjan]

On 6/5/2022 at 6:54 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

With most cruise lines, the majority of the victuals are procured from a centralised corporate purchasing department, so each ship receives the same standard of ingredients.

 

The biggest difference in quality is based on the crew. In the galley, quality starts with the Executive Chef and how s/he manages and mentors their subordinates. If the Executive Chef sets high standards, the quality should be good, subject to the cruise line. Even the best Executive Chef on RCCL/NCL cannot produce the same standards as a luxury/premium ship.

 

Where the Executive Chef doesn't care, that attitude quickly spreads to the lower ranks.

 

The Master is also instrumental in setting standards throughout the ship.

I would sit in at the daily meetings in place of the maitre'd 3 times a week as part of my training. I had to report the pax interaction with my brigade 140 wait staff among other things. If the executive chef did not care he was toast. I also worked with three excellent Masters who would ask me to pick interesting pax for Captains nights. 

[ldubs]

On 6/16/2022 at 7:59 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

We had a similar experience on Princess, at least until they were well and truly Carnivalised.

 

Our son worked on Island & Coral Princess and we used to join him for dinner in the Bayou Cafe & Steakhouse. Although in those days the MDR meals were very good, the cuts of meat and fish in the Bayou Cafe were definitely an improvement. We had some exceptional meals on both those ships.

 

In 2015, on the Sea Princess, our entire table went to the Steakhouse one night and out of the 8 of us, only 1 steak was properly cooked to order - that one was ordered "Well Done". All the rare/medium rare/medium were seared and raw. Some steaks were returned 4 times before we gave up and went to the buffet. 

 

"only 1 steak was properly cooked to order - that one was ordered "Well Done"."

 

This seems to have become a common problem in land-based restaurants too.  I wonder what is causing this.   Fear of undercooked food?  IDK.  

[Znjan]

14 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

"only 1 steak was properly cooked to order - that one was ordered "Well Done"."

 

This seems to have become a common problem in land-based restaurants too.  I wonder what is causing this.   Fear of undercooked food?  IDK.  

More likely sloppy communication and delivery. Initially before I got a grip of my brigade I would visit table complaints on the same sitting  "my steak is rare I wanted well done" "my steak is well done I wanted rare" I was salaried so tips hunting was of no Interest. Cunning waitstaff create a problem and reap the rewards when they solve it.

[ldubs]

7 hours ago, Znjan said:

More likely sloppy communication and delivery. Initially before I got a grip of my brigade I would visit table complaints on the same sitting  "my steak is rare I wanted well done" "my steak is well done I wanted rare" I was salaried so tips hunting was of no Interest. Cunning waitstaff create a problem and reap the rewards when they solve it.

 

Yikes, it would never have occurred to me it would be wait staff gaming for a tip.  

[AmazedByCruising]

On 6/12/2022 at 8:31 AM, BruceMuzz said:

The Corporate F&B People have forecasted a feeding budget based on itinerary, number of sea days, country where the provisioning will take place, menu cycle being used, number of children expected, number of repeat cruisers expected, average price paid for the cruise, special groups onboard, time of year, and many other factors.

Then the Exec Chef, F&B Director, Controller, Hotel Manager get together and guess - based on all the information they have - how many chickens the Chef will serve during that cruise, how many lobster tails will be needed, how many jars of peanut butter will be consumed.

 

Why the guessing on the ship? If HQ's computer can calculate a decent budget, why not have it think about each and every guest on board which the team can't possibly do. Kids don't eat snails but will consume more peanut butter and experienced cruisers stay away from lobster tails. The computer knows much more and can spit out "800 chickens, 5000 eggs is enough, 95% sure". 

 

Another question: on a series of short cruises (3 nights), does it matter much? Who cares if you bought too many cans of Coke, or eggs, if their are sold on the next cruise.  

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, AmazedByCruising said:

 

Why the guessing on the ship? If HQ's computer can calculate a decent budget, why not have it think about each and every guest on board which the team can't possibly do. Kids don't eat snails but will consume more peanut butter and experienced cruisers stay away from lobster tails. The computer knows much more and can spit out "800 chickens, 5000 eggs is enough, 95% sure". 

 

Another question: on a series of short cruises (3 nights), does it matter much? Who cares if you bought too many cans of Coke, or eggs, if their are sold on the next cruise.  

 

They might not eat snails, but they do eat bugs and dirt!  

 

I agree with you about the lobster tails on mass market lines.  That MDR daily offering of chicken breast,  I think they are all overcooked on the first day then nuked to heat them up on demand.  😀

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, AmazedByCruising said:

 

Why the guessing on the ship? If HQ's computer can calculate a decent budget, why not have it think about each and every guest on board which the team can't possibly do. Kids don't eat snails but will consume more peanut butter and experienced cruisers stay away from lobster tails. The computer knows much more and can spit out "800 chickens, 5000 eggs is enough, 95% sure". 

 

Another question: on a series of short cruises (3 nights), does it matter much? Who cares if you bought too many cans of Coke, or eggs, if their are sold on the next cruise.  

I would say the use of the word guess was probably a slip of the tongue. Analytics is an amazing science...I would think their "guesses" are pretty educated by past data, and probably not wildly off..

[Heidi13]

17 hours ago, AmazedByCruising said:

 

Another question: on a series of short cruises (3 nights), does it matter much? Who cares if you bought too many cans of Coke, or eggs, if their are sold on the next cruise.  

 

One reason is it cost money in fuel to move all the extra victuals, if they purchase way too much for a cruise.