Tlbecker1 Posted January 24 #151 Share Posted January 24 5 hours ago, time4u2go said: You also get free drinks on Celebrity during their happy hours, 90 minutes of internet, priority tendering, and several other things, once you reach diamond on Royal. I agree, but it isn’t the same as it is on Royal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
time4u2go Posted January 24 #152 Share Posted January 24 (edited) 37 minutes ago, Tlbecker1 said: I agree, but it isn’t the same as it is on Royal. Very true! And there are other things included with Celebrity that I did not mention. Edited January 24 by time4u2go 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another_Critic Posted January 24 #153 Share Posted January 24 5 hours ago, Tlbecker1 said: The only thing that Celebrity matches is that you receive a free bag of laundry if you are a Diamond on Royal. The benefits don’t compare other than that. To clarify, that is not a Diamond match, it's an Elite benefit. Diamond (when sailing on RCI) does not get a free bag (only D+ and P). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another_Critic Posted January 24 #154 Share Posted January 24 4 hours ago, Oxo said: 90 minutes vs RCI 24 Diamond or 48 hours for Diamond+. JMHO I like RCI perks better! I think some would prefer 90 minutes vs 24 continuous hours (x2 for D+). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tlbecker1 Posted January 24 #155 Share Posted January 24 10 hours ago, time4u2go said: Very true! And there are other things included with Celebrity that I did not mention. We sailed with Celebrity twice last year and the benefits are a lot better on Royal IMO. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenderpaw Posted January 24 #156 Share Posted January 24 3 hours ago, Tlbecker1 said: We sailed with Celebrity twice last year and the benefits are a lot better on Royal IMO. What are they? We sailed Celebrity last year and thought the Elite benefits aren't as good as Diamond benefits, specifically the time and limited menu of free drinks. I do recall a bag of laundry that was nice on a long cruise, but what other benefits are a lot better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tlbecker1 Posted January 24 #157 Share Posted January 24 2 hours ago, Tenderpaw said: What are they? We sailed Celebrity last year and thought the Elite benefits aren't as good as Diamond benefits, specifically the time and limited menu of free drinks. I do recall a bag of laundry that was nice on a long cruise, but what other benefits are a lot better? The benefits are better on Royal.😀 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxo Posted January 24 #158 Share Posted January 24 13 hours ago, Another_Critic said: I think some would prefer 90 minutes vs 24 continuous hours (x2 for D+). We all have choices. Mine is RCI perks! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmarts Posted January 24 #159 Share Posted January 24 I've been on royal once and the food was not great (may2023). I did not get a good overall impression of this cruise line 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airbear232 Posted January 24 #160 Share Posted January 24 How much of the problem can be attributed to Royal now training their own chef’s? They used to hire experienced chefs from Europe, now they train their own. Yes, quality of ingredients has gone down but so too has the ability of the chefs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxo Posted January 24 #161 Share Posted January 24 12 minutes ago, bmarts said: I've been on royal once and the food was not great (may2023). I did not get a good overall impression of this cruise line Which one is better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another_Critic Posted January 24 #162 Share Posted January 24 2 hours ago, Oxo said: We all have choices. Mine is RCI perks! And that is why I said "some would prefer". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moltar Posted January 24 #163 Share Posted January 24 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nferr Posted January 24 #164 Share Posted January 24 I did seven nights on the Anthem in January and thought the food in the MDR was fine. Everything was served proper temperature and decent quality. Not gourmet food but fine for free dining on a cruise. I also did a couple lunches and a dinner in the specialty restaurants. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shofer Posted January 27 #165 Share Posted January 27 On 1/21/2024 at 7:45 AM, Engineroom Snipe said: I have stated how my experiences were subpar in general since "Royal" reopened after the pandemic hiatus. The food was adequate. I have slowly seen improvement over two years. I am willing to state when the food is not good so I have to admit when the food seems to get better. Food is SO subjective. Here is hoping my very good experience last November on the Jewel was not an exception. I would eat those MDR meals again in a heartbeat. 😉 Was this before they introduced the "new" menus? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Engineroom Snipe Posted January 27 #166 Share Posted January 27 12 hours ago, shofer said: Was this before they introduced the "new" menus? Three cruises after reopening before the menu change: I attributed the lack of quality of the food to supply chain issues and getting the dining crew fully staffed. The food was adequate at best. I did not go hungry but there was nothing special about it. Three cruises after the menu change: The first two were adequate with the last one in November showing noticeable improvement in the quality of the food and its preparation. Again, food is subjective and crews constantly change so the experience can be very different for someone else. I have said many times that all ships have had the same reduced menu for the MDR for almost a year, but there seems to not be any consistency from one week to the next or one ship to another. Since reopening, on a 1 to 10 scale, my cruises have been between 3.5 to 8.5 concerning food: no consistency. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another_Critic Posted January 27 #167 Share Posted January 27 2 hours ago, Engineroom Snipe said: Since reopening, on a 1 to 10 scale, my cruises have been between 3.5 to 8.5 concerning food: no consistency. RCI = Really Consistently Inconsistent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CntPAcruiser Posted January 28 #168 Share Posted January 28 On 1/22/2024 at 9:48 PM, aac1623 said: Just got done on the Mariner and this was our first Royal Caribbean cruise and I was not impressed with the majority of the food. The buffet was just OK, lots of options though! The MDR was hit or miss, the service was fantastic and we loved our waiters. The New York strip steak I had on first day and 4th day. The first day was great, the 4th day it just wasn’t as good. Attached is a pic of the lobster Mac and cheese, there was nothing cheesy or lobster about it 😂😂 it had 2 tiny pieces of lobster and that was it. I’m not a picky eater by far, this is the only thing I didn’t eat, but nothing was “great” to me. I also noticed the portions were small in MDR. I ordered shrimp cocktail as an app and it came with 4 shrimp. I’ve cruised Disney and princess before so maybe that spoiled me some. This was similar to the "lobster mac & cheese" I was served on our last cruise on Vision, November 2023. It was like pasta with lobster bisque. I didn't eat it. Not good at all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shofer Posted January 28 #169 Share Posted January 28 3 hours ago, CntPAcruiser said: This was similar to the "lobster mac & cheese" I was served on our last cruise on Vision, November 2023. It was like pasta with lobster bisque. I didn't eat it. Not good at all. We were on Vision in 2015 for a Med cruise. The food was very bad in the MDR and buffet. (the desserts in the buffet was small bowls of jello and squares of cake) On the survey, I scored the food a big fat ZERO. Two years later we were aboard Vision for a Baltic cruise and the food was very good. I knew from embarkation day it was improved when we had embarkation lunch in the WJ and there were LOTS of different desserts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjldvlks Posted January 31 #170 Share Posted January 31 When I walk into the Windjammer on Anthem (last week by the way) and they serve a portion of dry cake approximately an inch and a half square, frosted with a little whipped cream (which I’m not sure had any sugar in it) with 1 half of one strawberry on top and call it “strawberry shortcake” — I don’t think it is subjective — the food has gone way downhill. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgeny Posted January 31 #171 Share Posted January 31 On 1/11/2024 at 11:27 PM, twonpcb said: I know this is a very touchy subject but I have seen several posts regarding how Royal’s food quality has gone south recently. My husband and I were on a Celebrity cruise last January to Antarctica and we found the food superb. Can anyone expound on this? We have not cruised Royal since before the pandemic. We sailed Liberty of the Seas in June 2023. If I told you what I thought of Main Dining food and service in the words I would like to use this would not be posted. WORSE food ever on a cruise, couple that with added charges like $28 or some such for a good steak or a lobster we were totally disappointed. We decided to stop crusing RCL until we see some notable improvements noted on boards and reviews. Instead we sailed Holland America in October, noted that many cuts as well but food at least was far superior to RCL. Normally we would have sailed RCL from Bayonne for holidays but decided to stay home rather than be so disappointed but food and service. Let's not even get into recent pricing, nickel and dime onboard policies, constant gratuity increases, and service downsizing. After over 100 cruise over 30 years all lines really disappointed in what cruising has become. Ill attached a picture of the prime rib served me. Looked at tasted like a sole from a shoe. Waiter and assistant couldn't;t even tell you what menu offered or what something on your plate was. So sad, we loved cruising, now, will cruise again but not like before. George in NY 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarlK Posted January 31 #172 Share Posted January 31 Do people actually cruise for the food? I will admit, I am a pizza in the windjammer over MDR kinda guy. I hit great foods while in port, a true goal of mine, be it stewed cows foot in the Caymans, gibnut in Belize, Mexican seafood off the boats in Ensenada. Mass knocking out meals on a boat cannot compare to a land based restaurant. Even back in the day when I would go to the MDR, I would not say the steak or lobster was prepared spectacular. Is what it is, never horrible, but fine dining in this day an age of more people on board means more money is past history. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Engineroom Snipe Posted January 31 #173 Share Posted January 31 6 minutes ago, KarlK said: Do people actually cruise for the food? I will admit, I am a pizza in the windjammer over MDR kinda guy. I hit great foods while in port, a true goal of mine, be it stewed cows foot in the Caymans, gibnut in Belize, Mexican seafood off the boats in Ensenada. Mass knocking out meals on a boat cannot compare to a land based restaurant. Even back in the day when I would go to the MDR, I would not say the steak or lobster was prepared spectacular. Is what it is, never horrible, but fine dining in this day an age of more people on board means more money is past history. I remember some very fine dining in MDR over the past 35 years on Royal and you are correct that maybe things in the rear view mirror seem "closer than you think". I am not expecting much anymore. All I am expecting now is consistency. I do not pay suite prices so I am not going to Coastal Kitchen. I still appreciate and celebrate when I do get a better than average meal experience onboard. Those celebrations just seem to be happening less often since the start-up. Yes, I had some misses before on cruises but I had many more celebrations. From many postings, buying an unlimited dining package is not always a guarantee for better meal experiences. I will cruise again after this year but for now, unless I get an outstanding value. If the price is low enough, I can tolerate misses and shortcomings. I will lower my expectations with the price. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morecruisesplz Posted January 31 #174 Share Posted January 31 2 hours ago, KarlK said: Do people actually cruise for the food? I will admit, I am a pizza in the windjammer over MDR kinda guy. I hit great foods while in port, a true goal of mine, be it stewed cows foot in the Caymans, gibnut in Belize, Mexican seafood off the boats in Ensenada. Mass knocking out meals on a boat cannot compare to a land based restaurant. Even back in the day when I would go to the MDR, I would not say the steak or lobster was prepared spectacular. Is what it is, never horrible, but fine dining in this day an age of more people on board means more money is past history. Yes 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norwich Cruiser Posted January 31 #175 Share Posted January 31 4 hours ago, KarlK said: Do people actually cruise for the food? I will admit, I am a pizza in the windjammer over MDR kinda guy. I hit great foods while in port, a true goal of mine, be it stewed cows foot in the Caymans, gibnut in Belize, Mexican seafood off the boats in Ensenada. Mass knocking out meals on a boat cannot compare to a land based restaurant. Even back in the day when I would go to the MDR, I would not say the steak or lobster was prepared spectacular. Is what it is, never horrible, but fine dining in this day an age of more people on board means more money is past history. We don’t cruise just for the food but yes it’s a big part of it. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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