New dinner menu

[SAKay]

@cjpj we were on the Caribbean Princess in Dec. I just asked for the Caesar salad without the kale & got it every time. A regular Caesar salad. No problem. 

[bronzey214]

Disappointed at the reduction of options in the new menu. The formal menu has fish twice, duck twice and no chicken entree.

[JimmyVWine]

18 minutes ago, malba2366 said:

I always thought Beef Wellington was a way to dress up poor cuts of meat...until a buddy of mine convinced me to order it at Gordon Ramsey Steak.

Heavens no. It is supposed to be made with tenderloin (same cut as Filet Mignon). 

[startedwithamouse]

15 minutes ago, bronzey214 said:

Disappointed at the reduction of options in the new menu. The formal menu has fish twice, duck twice and no chicken entree.

The printed menu sometimes differs from the app - since duck is on their twice, without a chicken entree, I suspect someone may have made an error?  The default is always the printed menu in the MDR.

[lennythenose]

19 minutes ago, SAKay said:

@cjpj we were on the Caribbean Princess in Dec. I just asked for the Caesar salad without the kale & got it every time. A regular Caesar salad. No problem. 

Good to know!  I just asked on a social site if this was possible and no one seemed to know. Hopefully this will be the case on the Ruby in April. 

[rnr4thatsme]

Kind of disappointing, agreed!

Edited February 26, 2023 by rnr4thatsme

[latebloomer56]

11 hours ago, cjpj said:

Parmesan bowl has been gone for awhile. 

That's sad but not good for me anyway 😁. Was a little disappointed in MDR plates but plenty to eat every place on the ship.

[californiagirl]

Boarded Discovery today.  On the menu tonight are the following “Princess Favorites”:

-shrimp cocktail

-romaine and kale caesar salad

-french onion soup

-seared salmon

-pan roasted chicken breast

 

There are 6 main entrees offered tonight.

 

I have cruised 4 times since the restart, the last time was in early September.  Based on today only the overall quality of food is lower.  The “tenderloin” at lunch tasted like pot roast.  I’ve had it on the prior 3 cruises and it was definitely different (better) than today.  The desserts in the buffet are primarily a gelatin mousse type of dessert both at lunch and this evening.  We didn’t try any so I can’t give an opinion about them.  My husband who has only been on one cruise since the restart…back in Nov 2021 was surprised at the decline.  We won’t starve but it’s disappointing.  On a positive note the soufflé was as good as always. 
 

Of note is that desserts are missing from the room service choices.  (Can you tell I have a sweet tooth!) I scrolled through every food section and found nothing.  I’ll check again tomorrow and report back.  Are they available on other ships?  

Edited February 26, 2023 by californiagirl

[latebloomer56]

10 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

This is correct. Though with recent issues involving the ethics of foie, the pâté is not nearly as common as it once was. As for the Parma ham, I have to say that I’ve never seen that. Lousy weather this weekend so maybe I’ll spend some time with my cookbook collection. 

Try it that's how I make it, puff pastry, thin layer of Parma ham, mushroom blend with madiera, Dijon mustard coated tenderloin. Yummy, darn it folks now I want wellington.

[wrongwaywatson]

I really don't get WHY they messed with The Love Boat Dream.  Why change it?  It makes no sense.  It was my favorite.  We were on The Enchanted over Thanksgiving for a 10 day cruise and I was pleasantly surprised that it was the original version.  My BIL & SIL stayed on the ship to do a back-to-back and they said that on the second leg of the cruise, it switched to the new version and it was not a hit.

[CruiseCrabs]

13 hours ago, Princessfan20 said:

 

LOL.  I am not sure you have done a thorough tour of Princess kitchens if you think everything is being individually prepped, prepared and cooked.  

 

It is simply more cutbacks, not a well thought out dining experience, and that menu would be short lived if it were in a restaurant on land.  It really is lacking in so many ways and many of the new changes we have tried on the current Princess menus are really void of imagination, presentation and taste.

There’s a vast difference between steam table slop versus proteins prepped for finishing for a massive dining room. I’ve been on the ship tour, the chef’s table “tour,” have worked in the restaurant industry, and have coordinated my share of massive catered events to know what is and is not possible. If a kitchen is trying to make a huge menu with random options every night, it’s a recipe for a train wreck. The MDR menus we saw in 2022 across three different ships were huge and lacked cohesion. Many “imaginative” dishes fell flat, sometimes because the interpretation of international cuisine was off, sometimes because the plate didn’t live up to the promise of the menu description. Quality control and plating was off—even in speciality dining and chefs table/winemakers dinner (save for Crown Grill on the Royal)—which could be a training issue post re-start but a massive menu just compounds issues.
 

We’ll see how the menu rolls this spring. Fewer options are welcome in our books.

 

 

[caribill]

14 minutes ago, CruiseCrabs said:

 Fewer options are welcome in our books.

 

 

 

 

To me the problem is they removed a number of my favorite dishes and kept items I never eat.

 

This is true for appetizers, mains, and desserts.

[MissP22]

20 hours ago, cjpj said:

Parmesan bowl has been gone for awhile. 

I've always wondered if it was because of saving money or time??

[Coral]

3 hours ago, caribill said:

 

To me the problem is they removed a number of my favorite dishes and kept items I never eat.

 

This is true for appetizers, mains, and desserts.

I don't expect any changes in the future to be good changes IMO. They will all be cost cutting.

 

I agree - on my last cruise, a lot of my favorites were gone.

[Coral]

2 hours ago, MissP22 said:

I've always wondered if it was because of saving money or time??

Parmesan cheese is not cheap - I am sure it is cost savings.

[LouChamp]

3 hours ago, CruiseCrabs said:

There’s a vast difference between steam table slop versus proteins prepped for finishing for a massive dining room. I’ve been on the ship tour, the chef’s table “tour,” have worked in the restaurant industry, and have coordinated my share of massive catered events to know what is and is not possible. If a kitchen is trying to make a huge menu with random options every night, it’s a recipe for a train wreck. The MDR menus we saw in 2022 across three different ships were huge and lacked cohesion. Many “imaginative” dishes fell flat, sometimes because the interpretation of international cuisine was off, sometimes because the plate didn’t live up to the promise of the menu description. Quality control and plating was off—even in speciality dining and chefs table/winemakers dinner (save for Crown Grill on the Royal)—which could be a training issue post re-start but a massive menu just compounds issues.
 

We’ll see how the menu rolls this spring. Fewer options are welcome in our books.

 

 

Aloha.  I appreciate your insight as a professional in food service. I have stated previously that as the ships get bigger it becomes almost impossible to provide the quantity of food at the quality expected. That said, I am disappointed other lines have discontinued prime rib, lobster and other items not for the difficulty i believe in preparation but for cost cutting purposes. There is a fine line with that. I look forward to reading your continued posts and thank you again!

[Coral]

3 hours ago, CruiseCrabs said:

If a kitchen is trying to make a huge menu with random options every night, it’s a recipe for a train wreck.

 

 

Though they make the items ever single week for years at a time.

[Torfamm]

Here is our menu for tonight

[BamaVol]

I see that “specialty dining” has crept into the MDR.  Another disappointment.

[PescadoAmarillo]

1 hour ago, Torfamm said:

Here is our menu for tonight

 Nice to see a different sorbet nightly back on this menu. That’s been missing for awhile. 

[kiwimum]

9 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

I see that “specialty dining” has crept into the MDR.  Another disappointment.

Specialty dining options were available on some itineraries prior to the shutdown.   

[tdkdak]

On 2/24/2023 at 4:36 PM, telecheck said:

 

In the mean time, Princess has been sending out heavily discounted offers to a lot of people. You can do a 7-day coastal for $50 per person or a 15-day to Hawaii for $100 per person. It is less than $7 per day, which is even cheaper than the lunch combo that I just picked up from McDonald's. What do you expect?

 

How can I take advantage of this deal?

[Torfamm]

1 hour ago, BamaVol said:

I see that “specialty dining” has crept into the MDR.  Another disappointment.

Why does it disappoint you to have extra options available? 

Edited February 26, 2023 by Torfamm

[MsSoCalCruiser]

2 hours ago, BamaVol said:

I see that “specialty dining” has crept into the MDR.  Another disappointment.

Why is that disappointing? There are times that I would love to order a steak, but the people that I am with do not want to go to the specialty dining venue. I consider that a win.  Also, this was available pre-pandemic.

Edited February 26, 2023 by MsSoCalCruiser

[MsSoCalCruiser]

2 hours ago, BamaVol said:

I see that “specialty dining” has crept into the MDR.  Another disappointment.

Unfortunately, I think that you have convinced yourself that you will not like Princess cruises before you have even stepped foot on a ship. There are things that I’m not happy with, but this is my favorite line. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but you may want to give it a chance before you decide that you hate it.  I also think a lot has to do with the ship you are on. I love the Royal class, but some do not.