Food Offerings on Cruise Ships

[seagoingJLW]

what has happened to the elegant meals on cruise ships? We used to enjoy French fine dining, exotic dishes and local foods at barious ports of call. Now the emphasis seems to be on the same foods we eat at home. Why dine out if you are getting the same foods? And shipboard dining is dining out.

 

Also, portion sizes seem to be increasing as much as US restaurant portions increase. This is poor strategy. If the cruise ships served foods in the French style, (i.e. small portions, many course and slow dining) we wouldn't have so many overweight adults and so many cruisers gaining unneeded poundage.

 

I try to eat like the French and manage to lose weight on a cruise (due to the extra activity on board and during shore tours..)

[cusyl]

Don't know which cruiseline you are thinking about...looks like the last one was the Jewel in 2004? Well anyway, I actually do not see any change in the food on the ships we have been on...they are still small portions well presented and usually a different country specialty each night. The alternative restaurants that you pay extra for go a bit further with this.

 

(33 cruises since 1964)

[cruisegirl1]

I happen to agree that the portions are way too large. We enjoy several courses and if we ate all that is served, there is no way we could eat the main course. Forget about dessert.

 

We usually eat half of what is served.

 

As for variety and quality – we usually sail RCCl, a mass market line. I certainly don’t expect the same type of meal I would receive on a luxury line.

 

 

Marci

[happy cruzer]

Hi, If you are a foodie, you will need to go to a line that caters to people who care about food. RCI seems to care more about families and people who like big beautiful ships with lots to do. For most, as long as there is something to eat that they did not cook they are happy. That attitude can be present in any cruiser or even staff member on any ship but you will have better luck going with a line that celebrates food. If you care about food, I would look for a line that emphasizes food such as HAL. They have the culinary type events and "FOODand Wine" events. I've even hear some good things lately from people on Carnival but if you take someone's opinion you need to know their foodie ideas. I think the foodie type cruise will cost more simply because nowadays people don't want to pay for better food (they are used to cheap fast food) but they will pay for glitz/excitment ( think Las Vegas). That my two cents of why cruise food has been changing. I think gourmet food is still there just not on every ship or line.

[Jane110]

what has happened to the elegant meals on cruise ships? We used to enjoy French fine dining, exotic dishes and local foods at barious ports of call. Now the emphasis seems to be on the same foods we eat at home. Why dine out if you are getting the same foods? And shipboard dining is dining out.

 

Also, portion sizes seem to be increasing as much as US restaurant portions increase. This is poor strategy. If the cruise ships served foods in the French style, (i.e. small portions, many course and slow dining) we wouldn't have so many overweight adults and so many cruisers gaining unneeded poundage.

 

I try to eat like the French and manage to lose weight on a cruise (due to the extra activity on board and during shore tours..)

 

Well, you bring up many points in one post....

 

Overall, no food on a cruseline can match a restaurant experience simply due to the fact that hundreds or thousands of dinners are bring cooked to serve at one time. That said, there are some lines with exceptionally good food - Oceania (600+ passengers) and Windstar (200+) passengers comes to mind. Also, these lines are more expensive so there's more money spent on the quality of ingredients as well.

 

Sadly, one of the other issues is that cruising is no longer the luxury vacation it used to be. So for many, now being able to afford what only those with alot of money used to be able to do brings a different mentality. Instead of a "gee, I'm going to get to try things I've never eaten before", it's more of a "I paid my money and now I'm going to stuff as much down my gullet as humanly possible". I've read here on the board that people will order multiple entree's - not in the spirit of a slight indulgance or trying a new food, but rather in the "gotta get my money's worth" frame of mind. Once I read on this board that a couple's two teenage sons were allowed to see how many lobsters they could eat in one night as a form of contest. These kinds of passengers obviously lower the bar, not raise it.

The fact that so many on cruises are obese is just logical when you consider the mindset.

 

What's happened to the elegant meals? Well, it's gone the way of the elegant passenger. Take a look at the fashion board section. With the "I paid my money so I'll dress how I please" attitude and people showing up on formal night in flip flops, khaki's and polo shirts or even on some ships with shorts, tee's and sneakers, they're sending a strong message to the cruiseline that they prefer quanitity over quality. "I'm on vacation, why should I have to wear a tie?" is often the mantra.

No doubt that many of these people would make faces or express sounds of "EWWWW....you're eating_______(frogs legs, escargot,rabbit, liver)" fill in the blank So again, there's less and less of it offered.

 

You also mention "what's happened to slow dining"? Well again that's gone the way of the elegant passenger. I agree that after a nice day ashore, sharing a leisurely meal with new friends, having small multi courses, tasting/sharing different wines and talking about our adventures is a wonderful way to spend an evening - with a little time left over to catch some of the show or a little time in the casino or some dancing. But again, I've read here that dinner often "takes too long" and I've seen people post menu's on the board that now show some of the lines are incorporating multiple courses into one. The three courses - soup - salad - appetizer - are sometimes now rolled into two. You're still free to order as much as you want, but I don't know if they come simultaneously or are paced as courses.

 

I did have some lovely meals on our Princess cruise last year (Grand Princess) and was impressed with the quality overall as well as the passenger mix. It was a cruise to the Baltics and cost more than a cruise to the Carribbean, so perhaps it attracts a different class of cruiser?

The best food I've ever had at sea was on Oceania.

[Sthitch]

Jane your observations are so spot on, especially your points concerning elegance. But it is something that is not only lost on cruise ships, it is lost everywhere. I have heard complaints from people who are required to wear a coat and tie when dining in 3 star restaurants, not realizing that part of the criteria that Michelin uses to award the third star is the elegance of the restaurant and its guests. But also in my work place there are too many women whom routinely wear unflattering and overly tight outfits, or men wearing torn jeans and t-shirts, and then complain when they are criticized for unprofessional behavior and wonder why they are not taken seriously and fail to advance in their careers. If people dress this way while working, I can only imagine how they must dress while on vacation.

Elegance has not died, but it is getting more and more difficult to find amongst the myriad of disheveled, flip-flop wearing hordes who have be multiplying faster than Seattle based coffee houses. Then again the afore alluded to purveyors of burnt coffee might be one of the causes along with prevalence of Old Navy, and Abecrombie and Fitch.

As for cuisine, even on the smallest ships with the most favorable crew to passenger ratios the food is not going to be as elegant as the best restaurants on-shore. Yes, you will find lovely food, but it is not going to be innovative, and while it can be competently executed, it is not likely to be perfectly done. The best cruise lines cannot recruit the same class of cooks that restaurants like Le Bernardan or Alain Ducasse can recruit, that is not to mean they are bad cooks, but the most talented cooks do not gravitate to banquet cooking that is required on a ship.

[Jane110]

Elegance has not died, but it is getting more and more difficult to find amongst the myriad of disheveled, flip-flop wearing hordes who have be multiplying faster than Seattle based coffee houses. Then again the afore alluded to purveyors of burnt coffee might be one of the causes along with prevalence of Old Navy, and Abecrombie and Fitch.

 

I understand and sadly agree that elegance is getting harder and harder to find. However, IMHO, there's nothing wrong with Old Navy or A&F, as long as it's worn at the right time and place. It's certainly not for work or for dining out in anyplace other an a McChain restaurant.

 

 

As for cuisine, even on the smallest ships with the most favorable crew to passenger ratios the food is not going to be as elegant as the best restaurants on-shore. Yes, you will find lovely food, but it is not going to be innovative, and while it can be competently executed, it is not likely to be perfectly done. The best cruise lines cannot recruit the same class of cooks that restaurants like Le Bernardan or Alain Ducasse can recruit, that is not to mean they are bad cooks, but the most talented cooks do not gravitate to banquet cooking that is required on a ship.

 

I honestly would never expect Alain Ducasse, David Bouley or Wylie Dufresne level cuisine on a ship. I don't go on a cruiseship for a small restaurant experience. I'm very happy with the cuisine on Oceania and I was pleasantly surprised on the cuisine on the Princess Grand. I was invited for lunch on Radisson (now Regent) when it was docked in NY and though the service was excellent, the food was a bit disappointing. The food on HAL was inedible at lunch and barely passable at dinner though the passengers did dress appropriately. I've never been on Carnival or RCCL and most likely never will. From what some friends have told me about recent cruises (biz trips) on some of these lines, the behavior of too many of the passengers is a horror show.

[45014]

what has happened to the elegant meals on cruise ships? We used to enjoy French fine dining, exotic dishes and local foods at barious ports of call. Now the emphasis seems to be on the same foods we eat at home. Why dine out if you are getting the same foods? And shipboard dining is dining out.

 

Also, portion sizes seem to be increasing as much as US restaurant portions increase. This is poor strategy. If the cruise ships served foods in the French style, (i.e. small portions, many course and slow dining) we wouldn't have so many overweight adults and so many cruisers gaining unneeded poundage.

 

I try to eat like the French and manage to lose weight on a cruise (due to the extra activity on board and during shore tours..)

 

 

I guess I am in the minority, I DON'T cook like they do on a cruise ship. The food we eat at home does not consist of several courses and served on china and crystal. Maybe it is just me. I enjoy have dinner in a dining room with people there to serve me. Maybe I just don't the right friends and family to share meals with. I do agree, though, with the portion sizes.