Royal Caribbean food has gone way down hill and so has the service

[robb s]

did the 17 nighter from Brisbane to Honolulu on quantum of the seas only went to the main dining room twice as the food was of a poor standard, service was slow ( staff cut backs) ate most nights in wind jammer’s, as diamond plus members they must have noticed that we were not attending the dining room and tried to appease us with a one off fancy dinner (steak lobster, wine etc) but that doesn’t cut it you have to have good quality food on the menu at all times for all people, we felt this was just a token effort to get us back into the MDR . 
NB we didn’t go back kept eating elsewhere.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

You win some, lose some and some get rained out.  Not all cruises are up to previous standards.  It looks like you found one of the lesser ones.  Sometimes it’s the Chef and a lack of cohesion among the kitchen and the servers and their managers.  As you said…a lack of dining staff?  Sometimes it’s the supply chain…perhaps the ship departed Australia with a shortage of high quality comestibles.  Some of these big ships are still trying to recover from their Covid hiatus.  Better luck next time.

[ZaferKurtul]

We had a recent cruise trip with Explorer of the Seas Royal Carribean and we were not satisfied with the service including the food. We had experience with Princes and Oceania and they were much much better. So our strategy is to avoid Royal Carribean International. 
 

[shipgeeks]

We have sailed on Enchantment five times, and Vision once, since the lockdown, including the new menus.  Although we are not thrilled with a few of the new selections, we've found the service on those two ships to be outstanding, and the MDR food quite acceptable overall.

I wrote about my theory in another Foodies post: Decline in food.....

To restate my thoughts:  I read (mostly here on CC) complaints that "dinner took 45 minutes for three courses; that is way too long!"  Apparently many have become so used to drive-through, instant meals that can be gulped down, that any time spent at a real table, perhaps with a short while between courses to digest and maybe even converse with others, is wasted time.  Complaints like that might be leading to pre-plating many of the meals so they can be picked up and rushed to the passenger.  I don't think that enhances the quality of the meals for the rest of us, quite the contrary.

[Musigurl]

Agreed! We were on the Symphony back in November -- dinner took 2.5 hours every night -- more than 30 minutes to get appetizers and then they arrived cold -- ditto on the temperature of the mains as well. Yes, we can send them back, but the wait for new/hot food is insane. Beef dishes were consistently low quality (tough and full of gristle). Had to beg for water refills multiple times.

 

Our waiter had a total of 24 people in his section to look after. And the assistant was not just his assistant, but the assistant for a totally different waiter as well. The bread basket was the best part of each meal (seriously). I love everything else about RCL (the ships, the shows, etc), but until I hear of improvements in the food area, I'm sticking with Celebrity and Holland America.

 

Because I'm Diamond, I had 4 drink vouchers per day, but they screwed up multiple times and charged me, which then meant I had to either phone (and wait on hold) or line up (and wait) at guest services to have this corrected. I wrote a long review after receiving an email requesting one, but (surprise, surprise), I never heard anything from anyone.

 

 

[BruceMuzz]

Food in America has gone downhill and so has the service.

Why should a cruise line based in America be any different?

[shipgeeks]

I agree that our best experiences with long meals was not because the food failed to arrive, but because each course was enjoyed without guzzling, interspersed with some conversation. A good waiter notices how things are progressing, and will cater to that pace.

Of course, if one wants to get in and out to attend a show or something, it's easy enough to tell the waiter upon arrival.

[Musigurl]

On 8/16/2023 at 6:14 PM, shipgeeks said:

Of course, if one wants to get in and out to attend a show or something, it's easy enough to tell the waiter upon arrival.

We did, but alas, it seemed to make no difference.

[Seamus6]

I have been on 3 RCI cruises since COVID and are going on another one in 2 weeks (family cruise that I did not plan).  RCI used to be one of my favorite lines but the food has suffered GREATLY since the restart.  though service has suffered some (definitely slower) I think the quality of the food is a bigger issue and since it has happened on 3 ships, I assume it is going to affect most if not all cruises.  We got a lot of cold food, virtually no attempt of nice presentation, and flavor is way down.  how expensive is salt and pepper?  I definitely agree that beef dishes are nearly inedible due to toughness.so I mostly selected chicken dishes.  Specialty dining is slightly better but has slid down in quality as well.  So far I don't feel my cabin steward service has slipped much if at all.

 

I fear this will be the standard across all the mass market lines and plan to sample some of the luxury lines...

 

[Domuneek777]

Yes, I'm currently on RC, and from the over 35 years ago, things have gone way done. Food was not at all good. 

I spoke with a head Chef, and like in business, everything is to scale based on matrix of dollars the Chef has at his disposal. Let's face it, that's a bunch of bull. Anyone in my age group I'm sure remembers. This class selection of type of ship and destination is bull.

No one should be subjected to this bad food. I went on CC a few months ago. You couldn't even give me a free cruise in a penthouse on those ships. No way. 

 

PC has been a better choice, and the Premier package is worth it. 

 

Stop short changing everyone. Take 1-2% of that revenue you make, and make each cruise an over the top sensation with quality food. Just do it.

 

 

[Hlitner]

Interesting thread.  One upon a time, RCI (then called RCCL) was my "go to" cruise line.  Our DD was Diamond by age 16, and we were D+ decades ago.  The RCI we knew had white glove service in the MDR, food was a priority, sides were served by waiters out of silver serving bowls and platters, etc.  Then, RCI (it was still called RCCL) made a decision to WOW cruisers with nice new ships that were loaded with amenities, and gradually those ships became Mega Ships.  When RCCL solicited suggestions on what to name the Oasis, my DW suggested "Blight of the Seas."  But their business plan has been very effective, they are hugely successful, and plenty of cruisers love the line.  This cruiser gave up on RCI about 16 years ago, partially because the quality of their cuisine (and service) was not up to our standards.  

 

We have continued to cruise with many other lines, but will not likely return to RCI.  My comment to the OP is welcome to the club (of ex RCI lovers) and give consideration to the fact that there are many other cruise lines :).

 

Hank

[Mick B]

Hi,

It's a bit of a mixed bag since the restart.

 

Fortunately, I have not had any cold food or had to complain, but I do miss some of the old favourites.

 

My wife and I choose My Time Dinning and request a table for 2.

We try and get a table for around 1845-1900ish and know we won't make the first show, so don't bother trying as there is normally one at 10pm.

 

We don't bother with speciality as we have done them all and find there is still plenty to choose from one the new menus.

I can eat just about anything, my wife used to, but has had major ops so now has to be careful, but has not had any issues - she has had to have the NY Strip Steak twice in a row a few times, but that has not caused any issues.

As for the waiters, we have not had any issues.

 

One tip I have found is that if the staff are say Spanish, then speaking a little of their own language goes a long way to a pleasant cruise.

 

The worst things during dinner used to be photographers constantly interupting the meal and in some cases staff from Chops grill trying to sell 1/2 price meals.

 

There is a trade off here, and that is for the cruise fare to remain within reach of most of us, cutbacks to staff (whether in housekeeping or dinning) were an option for the cruise line, which now under control of the ex accountant, would result in liberties (excuse the pun) being taken.

 

Of course, there could be another reason. May be they want you to book the speciality restaurants or buy a dinning package and anyone who has the money and isn't happy with the service in the MDR will probably go that route.

 

Food is subjective, but I can tell you this, I have enjoyed all the food on all the ships (with the exception of one cruise on the Anthem in 2019 where one of the MDRs food resulted in a complaint), and although the food in the speciality restaurants is nice, we didn't think it was that much better than the MDR and wasn't worth the extra cash.

 

Furthermore, as D+ we get a BOGOF offer on the first 2 days of a Chops Grill lunch, but my wife says for what it is it's a waste of money and would rather go to the Windjammer!

 

Did the TA this year of the Jewel back in April for 15 nights and I can tell you that the food and service on that ship was up to the same standard as before the pandemic.

 

May be it is a ship thing, depending on the chef and staff.

I have 12 nights on the Indy next May from the UK and I will let you all know what I think of that. Not been back on the Indy since 2019 so we will see.

 

Mick.

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 08:03 AM by Mick B
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