Restrictions on ordering with new menus

[parrotfeathers]

12 hours ago, CruiseMomTX said:

but I think if you’re nice to the staff & tip well you may not have a problem with a request.  

 

I'm not sure that will help with the new rules.  

[DallasGuy75219]

1 hour ago, HicksRA said:

Also, I had the crab cake for the appetizer.  The crab(?) was rubbery and chewy. First time I ever had rubbery crab….

Probably because Royal uses imitation crab ("krab"). It's not meant to be fried because it's already cooked once during the manufacturing process. 

Edited February 6, 2023 by DallasGuy75219

[nelblu]

15 hours ago, hac82 said:

I heard from someone just getting off a cruise that there is a disclaimer on the new menus that you cannot get anything that is not on the menu. Has anyone had any issues like this with the new menus? If your cruise still had the old menus this most likely is not an issue. It only seems to be with the new menus. 

I tried getting savory bites, but politely told by the Headwaiter - No. however, was able to change to marinara sauce for the linguini with seafood.  This presently on Anthem. 
 

First 2 nights slow in getting entrees. 
IMO, has nothing to do with the new menu. Some at my table have threatened to go to the WJ.  Headwaiter asked that it will be corrected.  The irony is that our table is not too far from the entrance to the kitchen. 

Still long lines for MTD and that is the crux of the problem. 

[ValerieJo]

4 hours ago, Fun2snorkel said:

We are on the Enchantment now and last night’s menu had nothing that I wanted. I asked for either grilled chicken or salmon and was denied the request. They would not budge!  The beef has been awful in the dining room and not up to par in Chops!  It is really disappointing. I think the staffs hands are tied but it really makes no sense. Ou meals were no quicker than ever before. 
 

 

We were on Enchantment 2 weeks ago (First sailing with the new menu).  I have to agree with you.  The food was very disappointing.  Staff was almost embarrassed to serve it.

 

[goldfish65]

Just my $.02 and probably worth as much...haha...but I am inclined to believe that this inflexibility will ease fairly quickly. This is the first major change in dining and when you factor in that so much of the crew in the whole dining operation is new, it's a learning curve for them. What I have seen in my own workplace, new staff who are from different cultures and languages often perceive new rules in an "all or nothing" sense. In time they learn what works best, and that saying "no" to reasonable requests doesn't make sense. 

[mikefromny]

I'm reading this and wondering if I was on a different cruise line. I was just on Symphony in January and loved the MDR. Was everything great, no. But almost everything was at least very good. Granted, I never asked for something off menu, but I never felt the need. Most nights my problem was narrowing down my options so I didn't go so overboard (cruise pun). As for the quality of the meat, I had meat several nights and the only night I didn't think the meat excellent was on Mediterranean night. That night the steak tasted good, but was a thin cut steak.

[hac82]

23 minutes ago, goldfish65 said:

... What I have seen in my own workplace, new staff who are from different cultures and languages often perceive new rules in an "all or nothing" sense. ...

That is exactly the same issues I faced during my years working with many from other countries.  In some cultures, as I was specifically told by one woman, "we are trained to follow orders and never question". Depending on how they were told about changed on the menu, that could be an issue. Some may be looking at the menu specifically as printed and others may be able to look at it and see that, for example, fruit salad is on the kids menu and they can grab two of them and put it together in a bowl for you.  I had to learn how to relay instructions in a completely different way to get around some of the cultural differences.  I'm beginning to see that this might take some time to work out the kinks.  If they can't, this will most definitely go the same route as Dynamic Dining

Edited February 6, 2023 by hac82

[Summarum]

For this reason we got the unlimited dinner plan for our transatlantic cruise.

[slyster]

I can see asking for things not on the menu not being available anymore.  I usually look at the nights menu before going to the MDR and if nothing is appealing, I do not go.  

 

My wife has dietary restrictions and allergies and she always orders the following days meal before we leave dinner the nght before. 

 

I don't usually ask for what they don't have, but I will ask them to make my meal a certain way.  Or change a side to another side from the menu.  They have been pretty accommodating.

[ReneeFLL]

 

17 hours ago, happy cruzer said:

Does the fine print preclude ordering a salad with dressing on the side, the salmon without the crust with an extra serving of spinach (listed in the lamb entree)?

 

Never had to prove an allergy in the past...

I think they are referring to ordering an Indian meal or something that isn’t on the menu at all.

[CapeLibertyGirl]

Anyone eaten  in Coastal Kitchen on Anthem recently and asked to see  New MDR menu if there was nothing on CK menu you liked ?

[NCMtnBoys]

4 hours ago, mikefromny said:

I'm reading this and wondering if I was on a different cruise line. I was just on Symphony in January and loved the MDR. Was everything great, no. But almost everything was at least very good. Granted, I never asked for something off menu, but I never felt the need. Most nights my problem was narrowing down my options so I didn't go so overboard (cruise pun). As for the quality of the meat, I had meat several nights and the only night I didn't think the meat excellent was on Mediterranean night. That night the steak tasted good, but was a thin cut steak.

We sailed Symphony in January also, 21st-28th, and I, too, thought the MDR food was very good to great. Far better than our Mariner sailing in May of last year. No complaints regarding the new menus. I don't eat a lot of meat other than pork or chicken, and for me, if there's a non-seafood pasta option I'll sometimes choose that over the meat option. Other than shrimp, I don't eat seafood either. But all hot dishes were hot and portions were plentiful. I thought their lasagna bolognese was excellent, and I ordered two servings of that and no appetizer or dessert that night.     

[Morecruisesplz]

2 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

 

I think they are referring to ordering an Indian meal or something that isn’t on the menu at all.

The new menus include India offers.

[DaKahuna]

 As long as we can get steamed rice, either as my starch or as a side dish, we'll be okay.

 

 I love rice with my morning eggs!  I will make sure to mention this to my waiter at lunch on embarkation day. 

 

 

[MD_Dan]

I don't understand the change.  What was broken before this change?  Did these changes fix whatever was broken?  At what cost?

 

We've sailed on about ten week long cruises.  I'm a prescatarian.  My only allergy is to shellfish.  I choose not to eat meat.  In other cruises, I could order an Indian vegetarian entree.  And I enjoyed that because the same Atlantic salmon offered every meal became boring.

 

Dinner is a social event and I enjoy conversing with fellow passengers.  And I don't want to go to the WJ - even if their food selection is much more inviting to me.  RCI is making me want to bring WJ food into the MDR.

[time4u2go]

8 minutes ago, MD_Dan said:

I don't understand the change.  What was broken before this change?  Did these changes fix whatever was broken?  At what cost?

I don't think anything was really broken. I believe they did this as a cost saving measure to simplify things in the kitchen.

[Merion_Mom]

Here is another report and another opinion from the Enchantment.

 

Don't kid yourself that the new menus have anything to do with speeding up the dinner process.  It's a budget move by Royal Caribbean.  The choices are fewer, the quality lower, the presentation less appealing.

 

Someone mentioned that everything was great, except the steak was thin.  Yes. It is about 1/3 of an inch.  There is no way for this to be tender, and it's not.

 

Food comes out lukewarm at best.  You have to escalate to the headwaiter to get hot food.

 

And when the food comes out, it is 100% obvious that it was prepped loooong ago and left out to be served whenever.  Toppings are hardened, garnishes are dried out.  

 

If you want two entrees, they are not allowed to bring them out together.  You must finish one, then they can go get the other.  And if you are a consecutive cruiser, you know exactly what you are getting with each entree, and know darn well that you want another, and don't need to be treated like a miscreant child who may be wasting food. 

 

About the "maryland-style crab cakes".  I have always laughed that they have brass balls to put this on the menu on a cruise that departs out of Baltimore.  At least fake the name, because you are faking the food.  There is not one jot of crab in that cake.  It is surimi.  (DallasGuy described it; it's called surimi)  Gooey breadcrumbs and surimi.  No thank you.

 

IMO, it is very important that people use the end-of-cruise survey to be clear with their comments/complaints.  It is the only thing that will (possibly) move Royal Caribbean.

 

For those of you who like a little "positive" with the negative:

Wait staff are wonderful, as always, and try their darnedest to please.  The beef carpaccio is delicious.  Caesar salad is acceptable.  Lamb rogan josh is delicious, but sometimes has enough sauce and sometimes doesn't.  It is important that there be enough sauce, because the rice has been left to dry out.  Wedge salad is excellent, and I was able to get extra bacon.  

 

Now, back to the negative:

Windjammer offerings are GREATLY reduced.  GREATLY.  The signage is almost nonexistent.  You often can't tell by looking at something what it is, and there is no sign to tell you.  Things marked gluten free ARE NOT.  Staff is reduced.  Far fewer walking around with beverages; replacing empty trays of cups/glasses. Salad bar has disappeared the last two days; now there are just some prepared bowls of greens.  

 

 

 

 

[DallasGuy75219]

12 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

I don't think anything was really broken. I believe they did this as a cost saving measure to simplify things in the kitchen.

They marketed it as a time-saving measure for guests.... fewer dishes on the menu and fewer off-the-menu requests would mean guests wouldn't wait as long for their food.

 

But that was just putting lipstick on the pig.  The primary reason is to cut costs.

[island284]

1st night on Harmony two weeks ago ordered the prime rib. Mashed potatoes were listed with the prime rib. Asked if I could substitute a baked potato instead. Was told no.  However it was listed for the thin steak plate. Ridiculous!

[DallasGuy75219]

29 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

About the "maryland-style crab cakes".  I have always laughed that they have brass balls to put this on the menu on a cruise that departs out of Baltimore.  At least fake the name, because you are faking the food.  There is not one jot of crab in that cake. 

I had the same thought when I cruised Grandeur out of Baltimore.  I'm originally from south Louisiana and can tell the difference between real blue crab and surimi.  Surprisingly enough, last time I cruised Carnival they were still using real crab the night crab cakes are a MDR appetizer. 

Edited February 7, 2023 by DallasGuy75219

[long4acruise]

24 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

Here is another report and another opinion from the Enchantment.

Carol,

 

Oh gee!  We'll be on Enchantment on the 23rd.  I'll just pack a few more protein bars as I usually eat these for breakfast or a shake.  Hope things will get better soon but I'm patient.

 

BTW: Curious, who's the Hotel Director onboard?  Dean Bailey was there when we were on previously in 2022.  Thanks!

 

Donna

(from Maryland)

[KansasK]

I used to sometimes order a shrimp cocktail and a caesar salad for an appetizer.  They would bring one and then bring the other after I finished the first.  I don't think I can do this now without paying for the second one.  I enjoyed it, but will be content with one. I think that waiters have to deny people if they order off the menu takes away from the dining experience.  

 

Our first cruise was in July, 1999, on the Enchantment of the Seas before she was stretched.  On the side of the ship, it was painted "like no vacation on earth."  They had a different approach then, I think. 

[DallasGuy75219]

3 minutes ago, KansasK said:

I used to sometimes order a shrimp cocktail and a caesar salad for an appetizer.  They would bring one and then bring the other after I finished the first.  I don't think I can do this now without paying for the second one.  I enjoyed it, but will be content with one.

The extra fee for more than one dish from one course only applies to lobster....for now.  Carnival has started charging $5 for the third and subsequent entrees in the MDR.

[Merion_Mom]

28 minutes ago, long4acruise said:

Carol,

 

Oh gee!  We'll be on Enchantment on the 23rd.  I'll just pack a few more protein bars as I usually eat these for breakfast or a shake.  Hope things will get better soon but I'm patient.

 

BTW: Curious, who's the Hotel Director onboard?  Dean Bailey was there when we were on previously in 2022.  Thanks!

 

Donna

(from Maryland)

 

Zoe has been the HD for a long time.  She just went home and a totally new guy is on board.  Didn't quite catch his name.  Sandrain or something.

 

I love Dean.

[Merion_Mom]

40 minutes ago, island284 said:

1st night on Harmony two weeks ago ordered the prime rib. Mashed potatoes were listed with the prime rib. Asked if I could substitute a baked potato instead. Was told no.  However it was listed for the thin steak plate. Ridiculous!

 

THAT I can get.  (baked potato)