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Love it or Hate it, the new “Love Boat Dream” dessert.

Cruising Juls

By Cruising Juls,
in Princess Cruises

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mlgb

mlgb

Posted
Posted (edited)

That Lychee Rose Raspberry thing was an awful flavorless foam rubber puck with a frozen medallion of what probably was supposed to be lychee gellee in the center over a refrigerated and not crisp cookie.

 

Most of the MDR desserts have not been very good.  On sea days I try to have lunch in the MDR so I can have the different flavored ice creams/gelatos/sorbets without paying. Add a half piece of the James Beard French toast. Most of the waiters seemed incapable of bringing both at the same time no matter how clearly I asked. There seems to be some kind of general communication issue in the MDRs as I often had to say "no bread" three times.

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geoherb "Live from...." Rare

geoherb

Posted
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On my last cruise, the Love Boat Dream varied from night to night. I never ordered one, but several of my tablemates did from time to time. The Pistachio Dome is not what it used to be either. Apparently Princess severed its relationship with Norman Love. 

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dickinson "Live from...." Rare

dickinson

Posted
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On 5/17/2023 at 10:17 AM, tonit964 said:

This picture is from November 2015. I don’t know if it was called something else back then or that’s around the time they changed the OG LBD. 
 

IMG_2676.jpeg

That’s not the love boat dream but a Chocolate Journey dessert by Norman Love. They only had it their 50th anniversary year. 

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tonit964

tonit964

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12 hours ago, dickinson said:

That’s not the love boat dream but a Chocolate Journey dessert by Norman Love. They only had it their 50th anniversary year. 

This is from last November on the Discovery.

Looks the same to me except the white chocolate medallion. I remember the Norman Love desserts.

IMG_2134.jpeg

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dickinson "Live from...." Rare

dickinson

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@tonit964 was it good? People are complaining about the Love Boat Dream. I remember loving the Chocolate Journey's desserts and was disappointed that the raspberry one was only served during the 50th anniversary.  The other two (hazelnut bar and pistachio dome) have continued to be served since then.

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tonit964

tonit964

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16 minutes ago, dickinson said:

@tonit964 was it good? People are complaining about the Love Boat Dream. I remember loving the Chocolate Journey's desserts and was disappointed that the raspberry one was only served during the 50th anniversary.  The other two (hazelnut bar and pistachio dome) have continued to be served since then.

I actually really like this new version of the original. I always loved all the Norman Love desserts.

As you probably already know, the Pistachio Dome has changed from the original as well and the new one is not nearly as good as the original.

thumbnail_IMG_2201.jpg

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travelin.sisters Great Review Rare

travelin.sisters

Posted
Posted

it seems to vary by ship:

 

last January (2022) the Grand still had basically the original

2022-01-0719_57_51.thumb.jpg.6b9927f6f2a023190ab4cd2c7628cc3a.jpg

 

then in September 22 on the Sapphire we got the horrible red thing:

2022-09-2419_57_32.thumb.jpg.a8389a93859bf4a6e5d12300a90be651.jpg

 

on the Crown in March 23 I mentioned to the director of resturant operations at our M&G how sad the new Love Boat Dream was & he told me it was because of the end of the contract with Norman Love, but maybe they could do something like it (I just wanted him to pass the concern on to "the powers that be" but a couple of these arrived via room service:

2023-03-0422_08_22.thumb.jpg.b27df25fae60f689f692341dd68766b2.jpg

 

this is what they were serving in the dining room on the Crown (according to our waiter they had just switched from the red thing that cruise)...it is not the original, but good enough to order when nothing else looks good:

 

2023-03-1020_13_01.thumb.jpg.f7e7bcccb98144c81f1f23e9a160f4dc.jpg

 

some ships still seem to have the red thing & some the updated more chocolate one...I personally just hope they never fiddle with the hazelnut one which is my favorite of the original chocolate journeys desserts:

 

2023-03-0520_03_43.thumb.jpg.6ff380bac62532647371c32cb2e76ad6.jpg

 

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caribill

caribill

Posted
Posted
On 5/17/2023 at 9:00 AM, StrawberryHill said:

What happened to " Chocolate Journeys"  ?  I have been watching menus that have been posted and do not see that option anymore ?  The chocolate pistachio dome was to kill for.  I did see it listed as on one menu although it was not a chocolate journeys listing ?   Oh well, the other desserts are still pretty good and you get a choice of things we would rarely try at home.

 

Either the contract with the company that designed those desserts ended or a cost reduction effort or a combination of both.

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MissP22

MissP22

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5 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Either the contract with the company that designed those desserts ended or a cost reduction effort or a combination of both.

Same with a lot of other desserts the Princess offers. The outfit that makes them has to cutback in order to maintain profits. 

Something has to give and you can be sure that Princess isn't willing to spend the extra money. 

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caribill

caribill

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3 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Same with a lot of other desserts the Princess offers. The outfit that makes them has to cutback in order to maintain profits. 

Something has to give and you can be sure that Princess isn't willing to spend the extra money. 

 

Princess makes almost all of the desserts from scratch.

 

So the cutback is by Princess and means using recipes that can utilize cheaper ingredients which results in mouth-watering dessert names but taste that disappoints.

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MissP22

MissP22

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1 minute ago, caribill said:

Princess makes almost all of the desserts from scratch.

I wouldn't be to sure about that.

After talking to a dessert chef last cruise, I found out that there are many items that they purchase from out side distributors .... i.e.- the pies and some other desserts offered in the DR. I suspect that the love boar dream is also another one. (not sure)

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Steelers36

Steelers36

Posted
Posted

I am sure the chefs have not forgotten how to make the NL CJ desserts, but the termination of the contract likely means they are not allowed (even though NL may not be making nor selling same thing).  So, they make some adjustments in order to offer something similar and seems leaves most folks wanting.

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jwattle Holiday Sharing Rare

jwattle

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

I wouldn't be to sure about that.

After talking to a dessert chef last cruise, I found out that there are many items that they purchase from out side distributors .... i.e.- the pies and some other desserts offered in the DR. I suspect that the love boar dream is also another one. (not sure)

Caribill is correct on this one

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MissP22

MissP22

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42 minutes ago, antsp said:

Possibly, but definitely cheaper to make onboard 

Could be.

Whichever it is I'm sure Princess would opt for the cheaper of the two at the cost of quality. As long as it's appealing to the eye seems to be the most important thing these days. 

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Thrak

Thrak

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13 hours ago, travelin.sisters said:

on the Crown in March 23 I mentioned to the director of resturant operations at our M&G how sad the new Love Boat Dream was & he told me it was because of the end of the contract with Norman Love

 

This was an outright lie. The Love Boat Dream was around for a very long time before Princess ever had a deal with Norman Love.

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nini

nini

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2 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

This was an outright lie. The Love Boat Dream was around for a very long time before Princess ever had a deal with Norman Love.

 

Exactly!

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Thrak

Thrak

Posted
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58 minutes ago, luvtoteach said:

I was also told by a member of the waitstaff that the Love Boat Dream was a Norman Love desert and they could no longer make it.

 

Nope. Not even vaguely true by quite a few years. I'm a relatively new cruiser and I had the LBD in 2011 and it wasn't new then. I don't remember for sure when the Norman Love connection came about but it was something like 2014.

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