Why do so many people dislike RCCL's food?

[Boo Boo]

Or at least tell them when you fill out the customer survey card.

 

I vageuly hope that SOMEBODY from RCCL keeps a track of what is said on these boards and might feedback what people say on this thread...

 

... BUT RCCL MAY take what quite a few of the people who post on these boards say with a "pinch of salt"... Let's hope that they read the boards and take away the sensible/useful things from here ;)

 

Boo

[Boo Boo]

Agree, but lots of people seem to think they are going to get 5 star dining at $100 a day along with a room at the Ritz. :rolleyes: It is not realistic. I went out to a fairly new high end Italian restaurant here. We had a nice meal, a single glass of wine each, a shared salad, and a shared dessert. The bill came to right at $100. Then people who are staying in the Royal Suite complain that for the money they spent the food is not that good, well true, but you get the exact same food as the person paying a $100 a day in an inside cabin. Expectations and reality are so skewed on the part of so many sailing the ships today.

 

jc

 

I think that you have something there... the amount that RCCL (and most cruiselines for that matter) budget for food is INCREDIBLY small. I am sure that I have seen the amount somewhere (a few years ago though), but can't remember it.

 

We just got back from Dubai and a buffet meal at the Burj Al Arab (http://www.burj-al-arab.com/) costs about £60 (over a $100) a person excluding drinks. Yes, $100 a person just for a buffet meal. Although it is a faultless buffet meal! ;)

 

RCCL (and many cruiselines) are on a difficult boundary: they are trying to appeal to quite a large range of budgets and tastes. They aren't like "Easy Cruise" (where budget is foremost for all cruisers) or Crystal (where everyone is willing to pay top whack).

 

There is always going to be this "tug of war" between price (and rising costs) and quality.

 

This may also help to explain why (on another thread), RCCL appears to be trying to increase the incentives/attractiveness of staying in suites: they need all of the help that they can get to keep those at the top of the budget from ditching RCCL suites and going over to the true luxury cruiselines.

 

I agree with the "banquet food" analogy (good banquet food though). To me, the main dining room food is not dissimilar to what I would hope to get served at a wedding. Would I have an enjoyable meal and like to food, yes. Would I have picked that meal over a meal in a top restaurant, then no. But I would be happy nontheless :)

 

It is good to read people's opinions on the subject and, hopefully, help prepare people who are new to cruising on RCCL as to what to expect.

 

Boo

[bay guy]

Having cruised with RCI since 1979, I have noticed fairly significant changes over the years in many areas aboard the ships. However, I will say that I always feel like I got my money's worth at the end of a cruise in spite of disappointment in some of the changes I've seen over the years.

 

That being said, I will say that the overall decline in food quality, both in quality of ingredients and in preparation, were very noticable when we were on Grandeur in June. I would say that about 1/3 of our main courses in the dining room were returned either for poor preparation, under or over cooked, or poor quality. The NY strip steaks are now very thin and highly processed cuts of meat which tended to be overcooked. Many of the fish entrees were poorly prepared. We'd never seen white salmon fillets before which tasted like old stale fish of some unrecognizable type.

 

We did have some good entrees but having experienced cruise meals in the days of excellent overall quality where you could order any entree and have it taste excellent versus having to try to figure out which entree would be palatable to you, as we did on Grandeur, was a disappointment.

Most meals were equivalent to a Ruby Tuesday or Applebees.

 

I think many passengers, who experienced good cruise food in the past, are disappointed to see the decline in quality especially because the evening dining room experience has always been such an important part of the overall cruise experience.

 

I believe the RCI still contracts out its food services. If that's correct, they need to pay more attention to how their vendor's are fulfilling thier contracts since this can have a major impact on the number of future repeat cruisers.

[xpcdoojk]

I am pretty certain that all cruise lines contract out their food suppliers. :D

 

Hey I am looking for a new job, think I go to work for the Crystal Slaughterhouse, and if that doesn't work out, I am going to the Silverseas lettuce farm, and if that doesn't work out, I am going to work on the Carnival lobster boat. :D

 

jc

[bay guy]

In answer to the question as to why people complain about the food but continue to cruise with RCI.

We continue with RCI because, in general, the ships are always excellently maintained and clean. The crew and staff are excellent and personable and the overall ambience, entertainment and cruise experience are so much better than other cruise lines we've tried. In these areas, RCI excells.

It's sad to see their food quality decline to the level of that we've experienced on other lines, some of which have been touted for years as being superior to RCI.

As I said in my prior post, despite the changes in some areas, as long as mu wife and I feel that we've received value for the money we spend to go on an RCI cruise, we'll continue with them.

[lolo73]

How is Princess food??:)

[Boo Boo]

I believe the RCI still contracts out its food services. If that's correct, they need to pay more attention to how their vendor's are fulfilling thier contracts since this can have a major impact on the number of future repeat cruisers.

 

I am not sure - have seen a few "behind the scenes on cruiselines" shows which are fascinating though.

 

I have a feeling that cruiselines TRY to keep the quality up, but that this is getting squeezed and squeezed by the bottom line (trying to keep prices down, whilst costs keep rising and rising...): something has to give somewhere along the line.

 

Bad prep and "past their peak" ingredients are inexcusable, though: that is down to the chefs and head chefs to monitor and ensure...

 

Boo

[Giorgi-one]

Unlike going to a regular restaurant if you order something you don't like they will bring you anything else on the menu in a moment. It is really impossible to please everyone, but on a cruise ship they try.:D

 

jc

 

Looks like I'm not the only person in the world who has problems with food quality on RCL.

[CL-JW]

We've found the food on RCI to be good (sometimes very good and once in a while so-so) but overall we do like it.

[Eileen2]

We never eat in the Windjammer and can say apart from some hitches in table service we have not had an awful meal in the main.

We do not eat red meat or chicken and so cannot speak for meat eaters, but as vegetarians we always found something tasty on the menu and are looking forward to our next cruise in November.

[gowhitesox99]

5 cruises with Roayl, #6 coming in Feb. I am a very lame eater. I dont like anything with onions, tomatoes, peppers, radishes, olives etc.. and me and the wife don't eat seafood. So I think the food is great. I am a plain meat and potatoes guy. I think the windjammer food is fine, and the meals served at the dining room I think are great.

[xpcdoojk]

Looks like I'm not the only person in the world who has problems with food quality on RCL.

 

Certainly you are not as unique as you would like to be.;) The world is full of people... that share attributes that you seem to have in spades.:D

 

Many people try to avoid them.:D

 

jc

[cruisePRN]

RCL is banquet food pre plated. It was much better when we started crusing back in 1979 and stayed great until around the 1990's. They used to bring a platter of veggies around the table and you could choose which ones and how much you wanted. The selection of entree's was much bigger and higher quality, more meats such as rack of lamb and less cheap pasta dishes.

The service has remained quite high and the dining experience is still very enjoyable but the food is a "C+" at best IMHO.

[cruiserbryce]

we have always been happy with the food offered by RC...we have found that on the other 2 lines we have been on, Disney and Princess, that the foodhas been slightly better, but RC has gotten better each time we have cruised with them

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

No complaints here....and we have the extra pounds to prove it!!! :D :eek:

 

We've been cruising over 20 years, yes there are changes.

What hasn't changed elsewhere? Changes are everywhere. I've seen huge changes in the grocery store alone. Cereal has gone up in terribly in price yet we are getting less in ounces for more money!

 

I look at it this way......

 

If I don't have to shop for it, cook it, clean it up, then its got to better than staying at home. :D :D

 

 

 

***

[hcat]

It is what it is--better than dorm food but not like a good restaurant... usually good enough that we don't go hungry & are satisfied with it..makes our visits to Chops & Portofino even more special..

 

Presentation, quality of food and preparation is always better on Celebrity-- but sometimes it's the main chef on board that makes a diff--once we repeated a ship but had an Indian chef for the second cruise --everything was way overcooked & much too spicy for our taste--could not believe it was the same ship's kitchen..--

[Cruiser Forever]

I vageuly hope that SOMEBODY from RCCL keeps a track of what is said on these boards and might feedback what people say on this thread...

 

... BUT RCCL MAY take what quite a few of the people who post on these boards say with a "pinch of salt"... Let's hope that they read the boards and take away the sensible/useful things from here ;)

 

Boo

 

 

Passengers must fill out the survey and let RCI know about their food problems if indeed you were not happy or satisfied with the quality of food, service, etc. Everyone needs to let tptb know what is wrong. And if everyone banded together the company would have to listen and make improvements. Don't you think that is just good business? Do you think Celebrity's food is any better. Haven't cruised with Celebrity since 1991?

 

lolo73

 

How is Princess food?? Never cruised with Princess so I wouldn't know.

[Giorgi-one]

No complaints here....and we have the extra pounds to prove it!!! :D :eek:

 

We've been cruising over 20 years, yes there are changes.

What hasn't changed elsewhere? Changes are everywhere. I've seen huge changes in the grocery store alone. Cereal has gone up in terribly in price yet we are getting less in ounces for more money!

 

I look at it this way......

 

If I don't have to shop for it, cook it, clean it up, then its got to better than staying at home. :D :D

 

 

***

 

Great attitude. As long as they throw some food at you, you are satisfied! Quantity over quality and you have the extra pounds to prove it.

 

What hasn't changed? The quality of food I get at land restaurants!

[ValerieJo]

No complaints here....and we have the extra pounds to prove it!!! :D :eek:

 

I look at it this way......

 

If I don't have to shop for it, cook it, clean it up, then its got to better than staying at home. :D :D

 

 

 

***

 

Yep, What she said! :D

[xpcdoojk]

Great attitude. As long as they throw some food at you, you are satisfied! Quantity over quality and you have the extra pounds to prove it.

 

What hasn't changed? The quality of food I get at land restaurants!

 

Again, you answer your own question... why cruise, when you know the food is going to make you miserable? :confused:

 

jc

[isujim]

sometimes it's the main chef on board that makes a diff--once we repeated a ship but had an Indian chef for the second cruise --everything was way overcooked & much too spicy for our taste--could not believe it was the same ship's kitchen..--

 

I finally believe this. I think the chef on board makes all the difference in the world and I never used to believe this. Our Grandeur cruise was the worst cruise food we ever had.......but the Radiance 15 day Panama cruise was the BEST food for all 15 days we ever had. In 17 cruises we have only had one bad food experience.

 

I'm convinced on board chef makes a big difference.

[PattyG12]

Hey, if I don't have to cook or clean up it's fine with me.

[Boo Boo]

Passengers must fill out the survey and let RCI know about their food problems if indeed you were not happy or satisfied with the quality of food, service, etc. Everyone needs to let tptb know what is wrong. And if everyone banded together the company would have to listen and make improvements. Don't you think that is just good business? [/i][/b]

 

Definitely... although not everyone fills out a questionaire and, if memory serves correctly, there isn't an awful lot of space for extra comments (specific comments are normally helpful in addition to ticking the "main dining room food was terrible" box). Actually, on our last cruise we didn'r receive a questionaire at all - don't know what happened there... :(

 

Boo

[Boo Boo]

Great attitude. As long as they throw some food at you, you are satisfied! Quantity over quality and you have the extra pounds to prove it.

 

I don't think that is what the poster meant... at least I am happy with the food and I am certainly not a "quantity over quality" kind of girl...

 

What hasn't changed? The quality of food I get at land restaurants!

 

Oh, I think this varies quite a lot: land restaurants vary quite a lot and can vary from owner-to-owner and chef-to-chef...

 

Also, more importantly, I bet that prices at GOOD land restaurants have gone up SIGNIFICANTLY over the past 20 years. I know that, in the UK, I would expect to pay (excluding drinks) about £40pp for a good meal, £55+ for a very good meal and easily £80/£100+ for an excellent meal. These prices are SIGNIFICANTLY higher than 20 years ago...

 

Yes, cruise prices have probably gone up in 20 years, but the proportion of that fare allocated to food has probably gone done and certainly the costs of the raw ingredients has gone up... so it is perhaps not surprising that there is a gap between great land restaurants and cruiseline dining rooms. It would be great to see some historical figures of fares, food budget and food costs...

 

Boo

[Eileen2]

I don't know if this is relates to food quality or this topic but in my previous post I stated we do not eat in theWindjammer. We did find the variety of food in the Windjammer offered us more variety but last year on a Transatlantic I noted passengers tasting food and double dipping. I told one of the passengers not to do that and reported the incident to the manager but he did not remove the dish. I also reported the incident on my survey and to the front desk. From then on we ate only in the main dining room.

I do think food service handlers need to be highly alert to this kind of behavior, and I was not happy that the contaminated food was not removed.

{ Scrambled eggs}