Dining menu change frequency?

[Boku]

Does anyone know how often Princess change their menus in all dining rooms. Not the daily changes in the MDR but the overall cruise dining menu changes. We have just been on Regal and the menus were the same as on Sky last May, we have another cruise booked on Sky in May 2025 and would be disappointed if the menus were the same.

 

Thanks

[memoak]

Just now, Boku said:

Does anyone know how often Princess change their menus in all dining rooms. Not the daily changes in the MDR but the overall cruise dining menu changes. We have just been on Regal and the menus were the same as on Sky last May, we have another cruise booked on Sky in May 2025 and would be disappointed if the menus were the same.

 

Thanks

Some have not changed substantially in years   We look at a menu on the TV and go “We remember this one”

[arizonaperson]

They do not change much year to year unless you happen to catch an update. Never seen a definitive schedule by Princess.

They definitely change though. Because quite some time ago they used to have on the first night in the dining room only -the flourless chocolate cake and it was my absolute favorite. I don’t believe it’s on the menu any longer ….for quite some while.
I think the only way to catch some different menus is do a seven day cruise and then do a 10 day cruise or a 12 day cruise etc. those menus will be a little bit different.

or mix up the main dining room with a few specialty($) or casual venues($).

[1025cruise]

Maybe once a year, or once every couple of years.

[skynight]

They don't really change very much. Some items may be eliminated and some added. 

[VibeGuy]

The last really big menu change was coming up on ten years ago. 

 

That said, I think there is one coming.  There have been changes here and there, and the restructuring of the lunch menu rolled out without too much mutiny.  Combine this with Chef Sodamin taking more of a role at Princess, I’d say the time draws near. 

[voljeep]

yes - coming soon to the mdr to ease the congestion in the specialty dining venues

 

more, a lot more, specialty dining items for pay in the mdr - to supplement the current steak and lobster

 

these will be covered by the unlimited Premier SD  but a 18% charge will be applied at the full SD rate (currently $45 pp)

[Boku]

Thanks for the responses. Sounds like I will have to wait until nearer the cruise date. I find some of the menu dishes to be rather strange in their composition, for instance beef stroganoff served with tagliatelle and gravy, chicken Kiev without the garlic butter filling or lamb shank served with some type of bean (possibly haricot) to name a few. Great mashed potato though.

Edited September 12 by Boku

[Iamcruzin]

3 hours ago, Boku said:

Does anyone know how often Princess change their menus in all dining rooms. Not the daily changes in the MDR but the overall cruise dining menu changes. We have just been on Regal and the menus were the same as on Sky last May, we have another cruise booked on Sky in May 2025 and would be disappointed if the menus were the same.

 

Thanks

The only time they change the menu is when they want to cut the quality of the food served. 

[Kay S]

52 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

The only time they change the menu is when they want to cut the quality of the food served. 

That is pretty much the truth!  Anyone remember "Always Available" beef medallions?

[startedwithamouse]

4 hours ago, Boku said:

Does anyone know how often Princess change their menus in all dining rooms. Not the daily changes in the MDR but the overall cruise dining menu changes. We have just been on Regal and the menus were the same as on Sky last May, we have another cruise booked on Sky in May 2025 and would be disappointed if the menus were the same.

 

Thanks

Prepare yourself for disappointment then. 

 

The only this that's had a significant change in the MDR is the lunch menu.

[rosevew]

1 hour ago, Boku said:

Thanks for the responses. Sounds like I will have to wait until nearer the cruise date. I find some of the menu dishes to be rather strange in their composition, for instance beef stroganoff served with tagliatelle and gravy, chicken Kiev without the garlic butter filling or lamb shank served with some type of bean (possibly haricot) to name a few. Great mashed potato though.

The food combinations are certainly weird to us. We dislike many of the items on the menu, if it wasn't for the itinerary, we'd never cruise Princess for the food. For us, that's the least enjoyable element and often something to be suffered, rather than enjoyed, sadly.

[Iamcruzin]

36 minutes ago, Kay S said:

That is pretty much the truth!  Anyone remember "Always Available" beef medallions?

Yes. Do they still serve Prime Rib on the first night?  That was my go to every time. 

[Senga]

4 hours ago, Boku said:

We have just been on Regal and the menus were the same as on Sky last May, we have another cruise booked on Sky in May 2025 and would be disappointed if the menus were the same.

Just curious, how many times have you eaten the same thing at home only 3 times in over a year?  How many times have you had multiple choices at home for a meal?  The answer for us would be:  too many to count and never.  😱

[VibeGuy]

3 hours ago, Senga said:

Just curious, how many times have you eaten the same thing at home only 3 times in over a year?  How many times have you had multiple choices at home for a meal?  The answer for us would be:  too many to count and never.  😱

I’ve had the sailaway menu from the Prime Rib era so many times I can recite it verbatim, still. 
 

There are allegedly 42 unique MDR dinner menus fleetwide and it would not kill them to swap one of them out of rotation every six months.   The two I would favor getting the most churn would be sailaway and final night - they’re so common across all cruises regardless of geography that everyone is enduring repeats no matter how frequently or infrequently they cruise Princess and they are among the worst menus for cohesiveness and interest. 
 

I would actually be well in favor of the dinner MDR menus going the way of the lunch one where only a couple of items rotate daily in favor of a more thoughtful through-line in the always available.  While I recognize the apples-to-tree-ripened-mangosteens comparison, look at the relative size and cohesion of the Regent Seven Seas always-available with their well-thought-out much smaller rotation. 

[qoap24]

4 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

Yes. Do they still serve Prime Rib on the first night?  That was my go to every time. 

I just got off the Enchanted and prime rib was the last night and was not very good. Last year on Regal I enjoyed the prime rib, but I know it was not the first night then either. 

[Cairns Cruisers]

6 hours ago, rosevew said:

The food combinations are certainly weird to us. We dislike many of the items on the menu, if it wasn't for the itinerary, we'd never cruise Princess for the food. For us, that's the least enjoyable element and often something to be suffered, rather than enjoyed, sadly.

Cruising Princess for the first time Saturday,I hope your food critique doesn’t come to fruition for us.

[Kay S]

3 hours ago, Cairns Cruisers said:

Cruising Princess for the first time Saturday,I hope your food critique doesn’t come to fruition for us.

You will find something you like.  It's true that there are some weird dishes (avoid Grandma's Coq au Vin) but there are some good ones, too.  The fettucini Alfredo is always a favorite.  I once sailed with a lady who ordered it every night and alternated a chicken breast or shrimp with it.  If all else fails, there is always a pretty decent chicken breast with a sauce. You can also order off the children's menu if you want something "plain" like chicken tenders or mac and cheese.

[MyriamS]

Just out of curiosity, what is weird about the Princess MDR food? I'm going in less than two weeks and I've avidly researched the menus (they vary very slightly depending on your destination so I looked for the ones specific to my UK cruise) and nothing seemed very strange. Coq au vin is hard to screw up, how did they manage that?

[Boku]

14 minutes ago, MyriamS said:

Just out of curiosity, what is weird about the Princess MDR food? I'm going in less than two weeks and I've avidly researched the menus (they vary very slightly depending on your destination so I looked for the ones specific to my UK cruise) and nothing seemed very strange. Coq au vin is hard to screw up, how did they manage that?

Imagine chicken in lumpy gravy, rather than in a wine sauce. The menu description doesn’t always match what you get on the plate.

 

we had the same gravy on the beef stroganoff, a chicken (can’t remember what it was called) dish and the veal in Sabatinis, the description was different in each case.

Edited September 13 by Boku

[Boku]

Another thing, the quality of the dishes differs ship by ship, we had dishes on Sky that were vastly superior to the same dish on Regal. Sky struggled to cook steak and lobster as per our request but Regal could produced great steak and lobster.

Edited September 13 by Boku

[MyriamS]

23 minutes ago, Boku said:

Imagine chicken in lumpy gravy, rather than in a wine sauce. The menu description doesn’t always match what you get on the plate.

 

we had the same gravy on the beef stroganoff, a chicken (can’t remember what it was called) dish and the veal in Sabatinis, the description was different in each case.

Urgh that sounds nothing like coq au vin! Will not order that one. 

[Coral]

1 hour ago, MyriamS said:

Urgh that sounds nothing like coq au vin! Will not order that one. 

Sometime's the ship's interpretation of the dish is unusual. I remember a dish that said sweet and sauce sauce on the side and they served ketchup.

[latebloomer56]

3 hours ago, MyriamS said:

Just out of curiosity, what is weird about the Princess MDR food? I'm going in less than two weeks and I've avidly researched the menus (they vary very slightly depending on your destination so I looked for the ones specific to my UK cruise) and nothing seemed very strange. Coq au vin is hard to screw up, how did they manage that?

When I tried it the skin was never rendered which made my chicken pieces flabby and greasy first and only meal in many years I sent back.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

we were on Enchanted in Nov 2022 and June 2024, and the menu has changed quite a bit (but not 100%). You can compare them if you look in my reviews for both cruises.