RCCL - Food Poll

[Jeano222]

I've sailed Rhapsody 5 times, the most recent in April. I felt the food quality had gone down from past cruises and I didn't care for Windjammer at all for any meal. Celebrity is my favorite for food, but they don't have the itineraries that i am looking for and RCCL has better deals, so I have to make choices. I'm sailing 15 night Hawaii on Serenade next month and I'm hoping they will kick it up a notch, but they probably won't.

[southerngoose]

I was on the Brilliance back in 2003 and the most memorable food was the Spinach Sweet Potato dip (similar to Spinach Artichoke dip but with sweet potato instead). I wish I had asked for a second, third or fourth portion (I had forgotten that that was allowed!). It was better than the main course!

 

I looked at the cruise ship recipe book and it wasn't in there. So I came home and emailed RCCL and they were nice, within 3 days I had my recipe! It was a well copied recipe at work...

 

The other memorable item was the scones at the WindJammer at snack time. There were other items...but nothing as good as the fresh, warm scones. I forced myself to walk up and down the stairs from the 4th fl to the WindJammer to burn off the scones (and yes...that strategy worked, I ate lots and gained 0)

 

Unfortunately, the soft serve ice cream was "soupy", the pizza was overwarmed (think K-mart level!). Dinner was acceptable but not memorable. I really look forward to someone else cooking , someone else cleaning and food that is mildly pleasant, somewhat filling with a few nutrients to fuel on. "GOOD" food (like Spinach Sweet Potato dip and scones) is a true treat! :)

 

I'm looking forward to trying Johnny Rockets and really studying that dining room menu and ordering dishes via room service (I'm not into 2 hour dinners!)

[cruisindoggie]

Food is not the reason we cruise. We enjoy every meal. We do however, enjoy Chops the best!

[French_Fry]

Sorry to nit-pick, but . . . . what other veggies do you expect on a Caesar salad??

 

A classic Caesar salad only has Romaine lettuce, croutons, the dressing and some shredded parmesan or similar cheese.

 

 

Agreed here is a "Classic Caesar Salad" recipie:

 

SALAD: 1 large egg; 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce; 1 teaspoon lemon juice; 1 garlic clove (crushed); Pinch of salt One-half teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; >One and one-half teaspoons anchovy paste (or 4 flat anchovies, minced) 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard; One-third cup virgin olive oil; 2 heads Romaine lettuce; One-third cup grated Parmesan cheese. Plus the croutons.

[SelectSys]

I have been on four RCCL Ships: Brilliance, Jewel, Vision, and Navigator. The food has always been just been fair to pretty good in the main dining room, very good to excellent in Chops and Portifino's, and fair to good in Windjammer. Sea View beats Johnny Rockets in my opinion for casual burgers and snacks. As many have said, don't go looking for a 5 star experience in a dining room serving 1000 people at a time.

[My2Kitties]

I agree with the op about some things being excellent and others just ok...we also found that some ships food was just better...Radiance was the best and Voyager the worse...but the Voyager was still good to very good depending on what is was...

also we are not paying "luxury" prices but if I went on Seven Seas and paid triple what I am at RCCL, than everything they put in front of me should be perfect...we are paying for average+ restaurant food...when you pay the extra you advanced levels...and Johnny Rockets is a sure better burger than in the Windjammer...

[TahoeBob]

I think the food is very good. The only comment I will make is to people who say there is not enough choices. To this say well would you say the same thing if you were at a land restraunt 7 days in a row?

[aqhacruiser]

In the days that you are talking about most average people couldn't afford to cruise. You can still get 5-star fine dining on a cruise. You just have to spend an amount appropriate to that level of service.

 

Ships were much smaller also. It's simply not possible to turn out 5 star dining for over 3000 passengers on Voyager class ships and up. I think that overall the food is very good and there are plenty of choices to choose from.

[Creeks]

Well, I may not have eaten in a true 5 star restaurant, but my DW and I always try to eat at some of the nicer restaurants in the cities we travel to when on land vacations. And yes, eating at fine restaurants involves a willingness to spend amounts on a meal that would make some in my family choke on their grits. I also like to think I am a pretty good cook. We think we know good food when we eat it.

 

We've only been on two cruises, both on RCCL. We thought the food was OK, but not great (I voted average). Equivalent to eating in a decent chain restaurant. In other words, about what I expected. I generally agree with what others have said - we don't cruise for the food - , and I would not let the food quality or lack thereof prevent me from cruising with RCCL again. However, we have booked a cruise with Celebrity in part because we hope the food is a little better.

 

I've always heard from others about how good the food is on cruise ships so obviously many people think the food is great. Food quality is is a relative experience. Depends on what you are used to.

 

Good discussion.:)

 

Hope you enjoy Celebrity. We found their menus boring,

food ok but not what we had been told it would be.

We enjoy the experience of dining with new friends

and having waiters learn our usual wants and taking

good care of us. We've cruised on lots of different

lines for the past 16 years, none spectacular food,

but most enjoyable meals. We did not enjoy Carnival

song and dance by the waiters each evening - they

rushed serving so they could go sing, then weren't

there to refill water glasses, etc. I too enjoy not

cooking, not serving, not cleaning up after the meal! :)

[vermonter16]

I don't think people are necessarily looking for 5* so much as just a good meal. No one wants just an "ok" meal when they might be paying thousands of dollars.

[BecciBoo]

When we first started cruising RCCL in 2004 on Rhapsody, I thought the food was absolutely outstanding. I couldn't complain about one thing other than the European way of serving 'Cold' bread while most Americans prefer hot bread. But in the intervening years I have noticed a trend by RCCL, cutting back on quality of ingrediants and cutting out some of their dishes.

We loved the She Crab Bisque and all of the creme brules they served, mmmm can just taste the Coconut creme brule now! But recently, it has deminished somewhat. I hope in cutting costs they don't lose what they had back then. I am still easy to please foodwise though so I would still say my dining experience is good. Leaving on Liberty Saturday,.,,if thread is still around I will comment on this dining experience when I get back.

[BecciBoo]

Sorry to nit-pick, but . . . . what other veggies do you expect on a Caesar salad??

 

A classic Caesar salad only has Romaine lettuce, croutons, the dressing and some shredded parmesan or similar cheese.

 

Don't forget the anchovies, the original "classic" Caesar had anchovies!:D No other veggies.

[AFT_LOVER]

We sailed on Celebrity Constellation (my favorite Celebrity ship) from Harwich to NYC. While we toured the isles we ate with iced butter on a silver dish. Bread was very warm and wrapped in a napkin in a braided basket. But as we were pulling into NYC docks (the 9/11 morgue) breakfst was wrapped butter on a plate. Breads were in a standup rack to be toasted. It was welcome to the USA where fast food rules.

[MrPete]

On my first RCCL cruise, on the Explorer, we found the food good.

 

On our second on the same ship, we were very dissappointed in the food, as well as the service.

 

One night, we just left our plates and went upstairs to the Windjammer.

[lyradd]

I was on Legend last year and don't recall being disappointed with any of the food. The lobster was perfectly cooked and delicious!:)

[HNicoleL]

After staying at all inclusive resorts in Jamaica where you are occasionally served stringy GOAT for dinner, the food on cruises is delectable to me. Seriously, we were fed goat. My friend literally threw up on her plate. She had also been drinking though.

[vermonter16]

After staying at all inclusive resorts in Jamaica where you are occasionally served stringy GOAT for dinner, the food on cruises is delectable to me. Seriously, we were fed goat. My friend literally threw up on her plate. She had also been drinking though.

 

I actually think goat is good! :) And I'm being serious!

[willysgrandma]

We just got off FOS and I can finally say I found a ship that I could equate the food to being as good as the food on Celebrity. I don;t think I had a single thing I didn't like.

 

I cruised the Sovereign four years ago and found the food awful. DOn't know if it is the ship or if RCCL had jst made a huge improvement in the food, but we loved the food on FOS.

[broberts]

vermonter, I don't remember the name of it. I'd have to pull out our pics. It was 9/22/84.

 

Carnival food has definitely improved since 1984. Were you to sail with them in the near future, depending on the ship of course, I suspect you would be quite pleasantly surprised.

[R'man]

We did Grandeur last November and the food was mostly enjoyable. The desserts, esp cheesecake, were needing improvement. The entrees were all very good, and the appetizers satisfactory and better. The coffee...the plain cuppa, IMHO, is just fine. (I'm not a Starbucks, etc. afficianado.) Ask for anything else at dinner, like cappachino, and you may find yourself with the breakfast crowd waiting for it. On the whole, DW and I give it a "B". Our dinner service, BTW, was straight "A" excellent.

[Merion_Mom]

Don't forget the anchovies, the original "classic" Caesar had anchovies!:D No other veggies.

 

ummmmm.....anchovies are not vegetables.................

[vermonter16]

I was just talking to the owner of the TA I work part time for regarding food on RCI and how I'm going to have a real issue is RCI doesn't step up to the plate with their food. She said she agreed and had recently sent a letter to Royal expressing her displeasure with their mediocre service and mediocre food. I think we both agreed that Carnival has surpassed Royal over the last few years. It's ashame that they have let themselves go a bit. And this TA has been on over 60 cruises and was 1 of 100 nominated to be Godmother of one of the Royal ships. Needless to say, she knows the lines and she knows the ships.

[captjaneway]

I think RC could offer a better selection of desserts but the food was always very good.

[Cruising89143]

Carnival food has definitely improved since 1984. Were you to sail with them in the near future, depending on the ship of course, I suspect you would be quite pleasantly surprised.

 

 

 

Yes Carnival has improved in the food department over the years but they had no where to go but up. They were truly known as a floating McDonalds for years in the food department. The first two times that I cruised with Carnival was back in 92 and 93. The food was awful and I do mean awful. It slowly improved over the years but IMHO their food is no better or worse than what I have experienced on RCI or NCL. IMHO it is all mass produced banquet food that I would find at a Hilton or Marriott banquet type setting.

 

This subject always brings out so many different opinions because we all have different taste buds. What one person likes another may not. I take most comments about food with a grain of salt.

 

Also we keep reading about how the food on RCI is not up to the standards of days gone by. Well either are the prices. Cruising today is so much less expensive than it was even ten years ago and ships are holding many more passengers. I don't expect the food on a mass market ship holding over 4000 passengers to taste like five star gourmet and anyone expecting this is in for a huge letdown. That is why RCI created Chops and Portfino. You now have that option at an added price. Folks have a choice.:)