Has food quality declined industry-wide?

[Mary229]

On 11/30/2023 at 8:19 AM, Heidi13 said:

Quantity: portions are much smaller, with minimal vegetables. On our last cruise we requested a bowl of steamed veggies every dinner.

Same.  Vegetables are surprisingly inexpensive but I think the amount of waste is likely staggering. As much is said about healthy eating it is not actually practiced.   The cruise lines are well aware of what people actually eat as opposed to what they profess to want 

[Harry Lake]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

as opposed to what they profess to want

This!

[rtdiva]

On 12/1/2023 at 5:54 AM, sparks1093 said:

Evidently having a limited palate saves me a ton of money, so I'm good🤣. (Although I do like trying new things when given the opportunity.)

I too, have a limited palate, not refined, however that said, I’m bringing on all future cruises a selection of seasonings. I have seldom used salt on any dishes in the past, now I do. We sailed six cruises this past year on four lines, I don’t expect the best cuts of meat with exotic names, just a tasty mouthful in the MDR. For awhile I thought I had tastebuds affected by covid, or as some of you have pointed out is it an ageist thing? Turned grizzled? Or numb?

[sparks1093]

6 hours ago, rtdiva said:

I too, have a limited palate, not refined, however that said, I’m bringing on all future cruises a selection of seasonings. I have seldom used salt on any dishes in the past, now I do. We sailed six cruises this past year on four lines, I don’t expect the best cuts of meat with exotic names, just a tasty mouthful in the MDR. For awhile I thought I had tastebuds affected by covid, or as some of you have pointed out is it an ageist thing? Turned grizzled? Or numb?

It could be anything, including the brand of food that is used by the ship. There is a reason that there are so many varieties of items at the grocery store.

[SelectSys]

On 11/30/2023 at 9:48 AM, Hlitner said:

Explora Journey 1 (Explora Journeys Cruise Lines)...  It is a wholly owned company of the MSC folks which means they have very deep pockets, are privately owned, and are not beholden to a board of directors or bankers.

They are also trying to establish a new brand at the high end of the market.  It could be they are trying to "buy their way" into the market in the short run, but being private certainly helps.

 

I believe that their mass market line, MSC, was very aggressive on pricing when they upped their presence in the US market. Is this still the case as they have become more known in a market?

 

On 12/2/2023 at 2:09 PM, leaveitallbehind said:

This shift, at least in our taste and current preference, has resulted in our primary choice in dining now to be the specialty restaurants v the MDR, which - given the evolution of this over the years - is probably exactly what the cruise lines wanted. 

This is exactly what I believe -  The cruise lines are intentionally trying to drive passengers into an upsell while maintaining a low base fare.  On our last cruise, the only good meals we ate onboard were in the specialty dining restaurants.  Everything else was average at best. 

[leaveitallbehind]

24 minutes ago, SelectSys said:

This is exactly what I believe -  The cruise lines are intentionally trying to drive passengers into an upsell while maintaining a low base fare.  On our last cruise, the only good meals we ate onboard were in the specialty dining restaurants.  Everything else was average at best. 

While I agree it is intentional, it also likely that the MDR has by default become the lower quality offering resulting from the inflationary issues and cost control methods at managing the lower base fare, which makes the upsell to the specialty restaurants more palatable.  (No pun intended). 

[ldubs]

On 11/29/2023 at 6:00 PM, JanR said:

DW and I retired last August and since that time we have sailed on 14 cruises (including a world cruise).  Among the cruise lines we've sailed are MSC, Royal Caribbean, Oceania, Regent, Viking, and Atlas.  And while we would generally characterize the food across the spectrum as "good" (defining "good" as it was generally properly prepared, presented, and we finished the food without true criticism).  However, we are finding that it is more and more infrequent that we receive a dish that makes us sit up and exclaim "wow, that's good."  Further, we are finding that it is more and more frequent that we find a dish that is a "miss" or improperly cooked to the ordered temperature.

 

We don't think that it is because our palate has changed.  We do still have those "wow" experiences in land restaurants.  Nor do we think that one can chalk this up to the pandemic.  Cruising has been up and charging ahead for the last two years and even today on our current Oceania cruise, we left the dining room wondering where the good food has gone.

 

Thoughts?

 

We have sailed RCI, Celebrity, Princess, & Carnival.  I think the decline you are asking about happened several years ago coinciding with the advent of the specialty restaurant.