New menu

some how i'm not as excited about these main dinning room chnages as i was about 4 or 5 weeks ago when the news first came out...i can't even find out if the Navagator of the Sea's will have it by the early part of March...i called RCCL over the weekend to see if i could get anything out of anyone and all that they said was to check with our tavel agent...kind way of saying we don't know and stop calling here...oh well...i'm not a picky eater any way...still better than what i'm eating at home...

I wouldn't hold my breath on getting the new menus because the ship is redeploying to Asia following this season. Hence, if they change the menus, it will probably be tilted to the Asian market so why change them now just to change them again. Just speculation, not based even on any rumors.

On the "maybe we'll get lucky side" (I'll be on the trans-Atlantic to Rome), I haven't heard anyone talk about a different set of menus on the Voyager that re-deployed to Asia last year following the season out of NOLA that what we had going over. I know they were the same as far as Dubai.

I'm just hoping they will be on the Mariner when we do the TA in November 2013. We are on the Mariner TA November 2012 but I have no hope on that one.

Tucker in Texas

Just got back from a great week on the Freedom and having cruise withdrawal!

 

The menus that OP posted are the same as we just had. As people realize, food is subjective, etc. and I am not a picky person at all, but the food was tremendous, IMO. We were a group of 4 and enjoyed the food and service tremendously in the MDR. Escargot available every night as an appetizer (along with Caesar salad and shrimp cocktail). Also, NY strip, pasta, fish, chicken available nightly along with a few desserts (creme brulee, and others)

 

Some options that our party enjoyed were the Mojo pork chop, lamb chops (4), Veal T-bone steak!, filet mignon (sliced), surf and turf (petite filet w/ shrimp), seafood platter (6 oz tail and shrimp), braised beef duo (short ribs and shoulder), roast duck, fish and chips (w/ scallops and shrimp). These are just some of the great options that were available.

 

The menus themselves were an experiment in that each level of the MDR has a different menu format. We had a multi page book which our waiter wasn't a fan of. He felt the one page menu, similar to the past, would be the one that would end up being the "winner". The other option was a tri-fold menu.

 

Hope this little info helps everyone. Any questions, please ask.

Thanks. Very helpful! We will be on Freedom in 2 weeks and are excited to try the new menu ourselves. Good luck with overcoming cruise withdrawal. Best cure is to book another cruise....

Thanks everyone for all the info. I've got 102 days to go, but who's counting, and I can't wait. Sliders and creme brulee here I come.

I might have over looked it, but does anyone have a schedule per ship when the new menus goes into effect? Will be on the Enchantment in April 2013.

I might have over looked it, but does anyone have a schedule per ship when the new menus goes into effect? Will be on the Enchantment in April 2013.

This is all we saw in the original post:

Freedom- 7/29/2012

Oasis- 8/25/2012

Allure- 9/9/2012

Jewel- 9/23/2012

Rhapsody- 5/24/2013

Freedom was actually a week later than what was posted.

I might have over looked it, but does anyone have a schedule per ship when the new menus goes into effect? Will be on the Enchantment in April 2013.

Nothing official has been announced. Next in line are Allure and Oasis. When I talked with the D+ desk last week they were not even aware that new menus were being tested on Freedom.

Just wondering having never sailed RCI - do they only offer lobster in the MDR if you pay for it? If so, that stinks... if not, is it offered on a formal night?

There is a Fisherman's platter, which includes a small lobster tail and shrimp. It is generally offered the 2nd formal night.

And you can ask for seconds or thirds of the "Fisherman's Platter" if you want more lobster. I always get two.

I am sailing on the Oasis sailing right now and we still have the old menu. I was able to get the Vidalia onion tart the first night!! Our head waiter said the new menus will be starting in 2 wks on Oasis and Allure.

Nothing official has been announced. Next in line are Allure and Oasis. When I talked with the D+ desk last week they were not even aware that new menus were being tested on Freedom.

Tested? Had not heard that. Thought the new menu was just that, a new menu.

M

Tested? Had not heard that. Thought the new menu was just that, a new menu.

M

They are rolling out the new menus and testing out new formats. While it is the new menu they might be tweaking it as they go.

Tested? Had not heard that. Thought the new menu was just that, a new menu.

M

Getting a big change like this going takes a while. It is a really big deal when you think of the number of ships/guests/ meals affected. The staff must all be trained on proper preparation and presentations. The public may not receive one or more offerings well. By opening it slowly to one or two ships at a time they can tweak it a bit easier. Nothing is perfect right away. It would be a lot less costly and confusing to change something that does not go over well or as planned on one ship than the whole fleet. If they planned on item A being a big seller and they prepared 2,000 dishes of it and only 800 plates of item B, but item B was the hit and they did not have enough of that and had to discard much of what they prepared of item A it would be a problem. That is why they say it is being tested.

Just off Freedom today...

 

The whole Maine lobster is not anything you need to tangle with....it comes already cracked and pulled from the shell for you..your waiter then brings the drawn butter. It is seasoned just right and cooked to perfection...loved it!

 

The Surf and turf is also pulled from the tail for you , as is the fisherman's plate. Your waiter comes right to the table and pulls the meat out for you.

wonderful, thank you:)

This is all we saw in the original post:

 

Freedom- 7/29/2012

Oasis- 8/25/2012

Allure- 9/9/2012

Jewel- 9/23/2012

Rhapsody- 5/24/2013

 

Freedom was actually a week later than what was posted.

Sound like a soft-opening of sorts for the menu, gives them time to tweak it. I don't see IOS listed so I assume we'll get to enjoy the current one, it's all new to me.:D

wonderful, thank you:)

 

 

 

Sound like a soft-opening of sorts for the menu, gives them time to tweak it. I don't see IOS listed so I assume we'll get to enjoy the current one, it's all new to me.:D

I am hoping the IOS has the new menu in February!

We are on Vision 11/02, would be great if new menu would be on Vision by then!

Thanks for the new menus. I hope that by December they are fleet-wide since I will be sailing on The Navigator.

Yes Darling Travelers, we changed our menu for the better, now things DO have a taste unlike those who said previously the food all tasted the same. WOW.... picky picky people!!! we traveled high and low sea by sea to buy the best seafood and meats to your specifications. Me i am a Begatian... thats right a BEGATARIAN... A person who begs for what ever is available I have for dinner, like a doggie... bark bark... I love the new choices in our menu... our chefs out did everyone recently and the food is superpub now... we do have GS Foods still as our vendor but they updated our menus... so lets get this ship rollin

this thread has gone surprisingly quiet.

I just read on another thread that the new menu should be on the AoS November 2012. While this is good welcome news we are 1st time cruisers and to be honest just looking forward to good food.(We wouldn't know the difference - new menu or old)

We were originally told that as part of the revamped menu's there would be an improvement in the ingredients and the general quality and presentation of the food. I may have missed it but I haven't ready any posts commenting on these planned improvements.

Thank You so much for putting the time and effort into this!! Understanding it might be tweaked and changed a bit for each ship, I am glad to see what it is!! 134 days to lose 25 pounds, then I can get on the ship and gain a few back!

Happy Cruising!

I am hoping the IOS has the new menu in February!

Funny, we'll be on the IOS in March and we're hoping it's not. I would love the Vidalia Onion Tart and Scallops Risotto then.

I am sailing on the Oasis sailing right now and we still have the old menu. I was able to get the Vidalia onion tart the first night!! Our head waiter said the new menus will be starting in 2 wks on Oasis and Allure.

My Cruise will be the tester bunny. I set sail on the Allure Sept 16th~

thanks for posting the new menus- they look good to me ;) ! cant wait to try them-

Thank You so much for putting the time and effort into this!! Understanding it might be tweaked and changed a bit for each ship, I am glad to see what it is!! 134 days to lose 25 pounds, then I can get on the ship and gain a few back!

Happy Cruising!

Wow, I feel for you. I gained 20 pounds on my Allure cruise back in May. It was worth every bite. I'm obviously not a picky eater and enjoyed everything on the ship. I'm glad it didn't take me 4 and a half months to drop those pounds or I would have seriously regretted eating so much. Good luck on hitting your goal, make sure you reward yourself on the cruise with a few goodies.

I'm a Begatarian too I guess - the old menus were good - I always found something good on them - and as long as someone cooks for me I love them. But it will be nice to see some changes and look forward to them on the Jewel.

We also are on the Independence in March but 16th to the 24th - so we will just miss some of you.

Love the ship, just not the regular itineraries. So we shall see - friends are supposed to be going with us - so it should be a fun trip