Food on Viking Embla is horrible

Actually, it's a pretty common dish!

 

 

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I did a lot of hunting on the internet and it's definitely not a traditional Romanian dish. The Romanian version seems to be roasted Cauliflower served alone in a tomato paste sauce (so sweet) as opposed to being in a meat sauce - but not with pasta. I wonder why the Viking chef didn't make something truly Romanian such as cabbage rolls? The actual Romanian recipe:

http://homecookinginmontana.blogspot.com/2012/06/romanian-cauliflower-in-tomato-sauce-or.html

1 head cauliflower

1 onion

3-4 TBS olive oil

3-4 TBS tomato paste

2 TBS flour( for gluten free, opt to use a GF thickener)

2 cups water*

salt/pepper, to taste

chopped parsley/chives/dill

a squeeze of lemon juice (optional)

* more or less depending on desired sauce consistency

It is also not a traditional Italian dish. So...it seems to be something that some people make up due to being vegetarian or not having meat for whatever reason.

Just found this thread, and noticed that goldenrod's next cruise is on Princess. We've been spoiled on both Crystal and Regent, but last month took the Star Princess out of our hometown of Los Angeles for a fun 10 day cruise to Mexico.

 

It was our first time on Princess. We had a blast...loved the ports, the entertainment, the excursions, but, alas, the food was almost inedible. We couldn't eat any fish because it was almost all uniformly overdone, greasy, tasteless and had a completely unappetizing and weird, hard to describe texture. For us, the MDR offered subpar cafeteria food, so we ate upstairs in the buffet every night. It was only mildly better. The specialty restaurants were all nice.

 

So, goldenrod, if you're expecting some kind of gastronomical fantasy on your next cruise, you might want to readjust your expectations.

 

 

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I've heard this from a bunch of people. It's so unfortunate because Princess used to have really good food - especially back in the 1990's. But lately, all I have heard is that it was nearly inedible.

This post is so right. We were on Princess NE/Canada cruise several yrs ago.. I'll never get dh on another Princess cruise. The food is only part of the reason, but it was terrible. At lunch one day in the MDR, I ordered a salad with "field greens" as did another woman at the table. The "field greens" were iceberg lettuce!

 

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You know you've got a really bad chef if s/he is actually be able to mess up a salad. Unbelievable!

You know you've got a really bad chef if s/he is actually be able to mess up a salad. Unbelievable!

Being generous, it's possible the ship was unable to procure field greens and unable to redo the menus, so..... (haven't been on Princess since 2011, Pacific Princess in the Black Sea, which was fabulous....)

If the OP thinks food on Viking was bad, how will it be so much better on a large cruise ship? They're cooking for several thousand people not the usual 180-210 on a river cruise. Never had a problem with food on any of our Viking river cruises or Viking Ocean travels, one can always find something to their liking IMHO.

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I omitted that one day the food on the Star Princess actually made me sick, and I had an unpleasant upset stomach on our final sea day after a dinner in the Horizon Court buffet the previous night. It's completely unclear to me why Princess is regarded as an even mildly upscale cruise line. It's actually some of the worst food I've ever eaten. Frankly, it was so bad, it might cause goldenrod to actually look back fondly on the Viking dining experience.

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My expectations on the quality of meals varies with cruise lines and ships. When I'm on the Regent, where I pay more, I expect better variety and quality of meals, but when I'm on Princess, where I pay less, I expect the quality of a chain restaurant. If I had paid what the OP paid for his Viking cruise I would also have expected better quality. It would be like going to Denny's for dinner and expecting to get Ruth Chris Steakhouse meal for Denny's prices. I definitely would be upset if I went to the Steakhouse and received Denny's quality at Steakhouse prices. Am I making sense here? I enter each cruise with expectation of that cruise line, that ship and the price I paid for that cruise.

(Note: I like Denny's, especially for breakfast, but I know what to expect when I go)

Being generous, it's possible the ship was unable to procure field greens and unable to redo the menus, so..... (haven't been on Princess since 2011, Pacific Princess in the Black Sea, which was fabulous....)

If that was the case, the waiter should have explained to the guests what happened OR the chef should have told the waiter that the salad was not available and to ask the guests if an iceberg lettuce salad would be OK or if they would prefer to order something else instead.

Az2sea...agreed, on Princess I was certainly not expecting Regent quality food. But my substantially diminished expectations were not even met. I would have been happy with food the quality of a chain restaurant. I would have been thrilled!

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If the OP thinks food on Viking was bad, how will it be so much better on a large cruise ship? They're cooking for several thousand people not the usual 180-210 on a river cruise. Never had a problem with food on any of our Viking river cruises or Viking Ocean travels, one can always find something to their liking IMHO.

 

 

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I think the issue is that the OP paid $25,000 for this trip and was expecting a more upscale experience with regional cuisine. On the large cruise ship, he is not paying as much, so his expectations should be lower. I have looked through his past posts and he reported having a great time on a Carnival cruise. So, it seems to me that the OP is only expecting to get what he paid for here. Viking is apparently attempting to meet his expectations, which is good.

I think the issue is that the OP paid $25,000 for this trip and was expecting a more upscale experience with regional cuisine. On the large cruise ship, he is not paying as much, so his expectations should be lower.

Good point.

Would the expectations be as high if he had paid for "aquarium class" on the same ship?

Don't know that, but we do know that on a river cruise most people have the same MDR experience whatever they paid. There simply aren't as many dining options on a river ship compared to an ocean liner, although that is gradually changing.

Another reason why river and ocean cruising are virtually different experiences and people must keep that in mind.

Good point.

 

Would the expectations be as high if he had paid for "aquarium class" on the same ship?

 

Don't know that, but we do know that on a river cruise most people have the same MDR experience whatever they paid. There simply aren't as many dining options on a river ship compared to an ocean liner, although that is gradually changing.

 

Another reason why river and ocean cruising are virtually different experiences and people must keep that in mind.

I'm kind of wondering if Viking should either charge less for their suites or upgrade their suite experience. I know it is based on real estate onboard, but $25,000 for a suite is an awful lot when there don't seem to be suite perks such as room service or butlers or anything I have the same thought about ocean cruises, BTW. I've been on a lot of different lines and NCL offers a ton of perks with their suites that you don't get on most of the other lines. I think the perks and butler service make a lot of difference, especially when the food is just the same thing that all the other guests get. I was thinking about how a river ship might upgrade the experience - I wonder if they couldn't order delivery from land based restaurants for meals to be served in the suites? The chef on the river ship is going to be super busy with dinner service and really would not have time to constantly be creating special meals. Maybe a butler could be responsible for plating and serving. Other perks I could think of: fresh flower arrangement, welcome aboard champagne, more expensive wine for suite guests, coffee machine in the suite, robes and slippers, upgraded bathroom amenities, welcome aboard gift, included spa treatment, maybe a special private excursion for suite guests only that would take them to a special lunch somewhere, carriage ride...

Anyway, just some thoughts on how Viking or any river cruise line could distinguish their suite guest experience and make it more special.

SuiteTraveler,

are you saying there isn't anything offered apart from more space? Have not llokd into that in detail as I would not book Viking from Germany anyway. I had plenty of room in my cabin and I know it is similar in size to the French balcony rooms on Viking. I would not spend so much extra if there was not anything else included, at least something like fresh fruit on arrival and a bathrobe, or similar.

I found this little article from a while back on conde nast: http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2012-10-03/ask-wendy-viking-river-cruise-line-njord-ship-advice

notamermaid

It's an important point to bear in mind when tossing out total cost numbers.

Higher grade suites, airline cabin upgrades etc. all inflate the total cost but have zero impact on the experience outside your suite door...

You can't use that total number as a justification for elevated expectations beyond the specific services you paid for.

The tours, food etc. are the same for everyone on most river cruise lines.

There are some exceptions on those lines with enhanced dining options linked to cabin grade, but that doesn't include Viking.

Haven't been on Princess since 2013 but remember the food being consistent with other large lines (HAL, Celeb, RCCL). Don't remember anything that sunk to inedible. Planning to see how Viking does this summer.

Just found this thread, and noticed that goldenrod's next cruise is on Princess. We've been spoiled on both Crystal and Regent, but last month took the Star Princess out of our hometown of Los Angeles for a fun 10 day cruise to Mexico.

 

It was our first time on Princess. We had a blast...loved the ports, the entertainment, the excursions, but, alas, the food was almost inedible. We couldn't eat any fish because it was almost all uniformly overdone, greasy, tasteless and had a completely unappetizing and weird, hard to describe texture. For us, the MDR offered subpar cafeteria food, so we ate upstairs in the buffet every night. It was only mildly better. The specialty restaurants were all nice.

 

So, goldenrod, if you're expecting some kind of gastronomical fantasy on your next cruise, you might want to readjust your expectations.

 

 

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We were on that same Princess cruise. And I agree the food wasn't great.

There was a lot (I mean A LOT) of italian-style items. And some not very well done. I'd like to see a bit more itinerary-styled meals. I mean we were in Mexico, is it asking too much to do some Mexican food?

One night I only had the soup for dinner.

The Viking River Cruise website does list suite amenities above & beyond simply the size difference. Includes upgraded drinks package, fruit in the room, stocked & replenished minibar, laundry. Etc.

Agree that when comparing, for river cruising esp, MUST look at details of what is included at what rate - for different cabins on the same ship AND when looking across different lines....

I wouldn't expect a ship to provide food from shore for my meal. There are times you don't dock where you are scheduled to dock - too much uncertainty for that type of benefit, I'd think.

I am taking OP's claim of 25K with a grain of salt. That figure may include business class airfare, a suite on the ship, etc.

Of course, staying in a suite means you get the same food as someone in aquarium class. No difference, so spending more doesn't necessarily mean better quality cuisine on a river cruise.

I don't think that $25,000 is that much, given they are 2 people, given they are in a suite, and given they are sailing for 23 days. On most any voyage, 23 days in a suite is going to run in that range. And if he lumped airfare in his estimate, then it's even better.

We travel on Princess for ocean cruises and Uniworld for river cruises and never would I expect food being served to 3,000+ passengers to be as good as that served for 60 - 100 passengers (on our 3 Uniworld cruises). That said we were on a 31 day Princess cruise this winter where we (party of 4) enjoyed the MDR dining - both the food and the service in traditional dining - and have always enjoyed the expanded buffet on their new ships (Royal and Regal). As others have said, realistic expectations help. If I was paying Crystal or Regent prices on ships with a much smaller number of passengers I too would expect high quality dishes and peparation.

I should also note that our 31 day Princess cruise was about 2/3 the price (including a free booze package) of our 15 day Uniworld cruise and we were in a much larger cabin.

SuiteTraveler,

 

are you saying there isn't anything offered apart from more space? Have not llokd into that in detail as I would not book Viking from Germany anyway. I had plenty of room in my cabin and I know it is similar in size to the French balcony rooms on Viking. I would not spend so much extra if there was not anything else included, at least something like fresh fruit on arrival and a bathrobe, or similar.

 

I found this little article from a while back on conde nast: http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2012-10-03/ask-wendy-viking-river-cruise-line-njord-ship-advice

 

notamermaid

I wouldn't know what Viking offers suite guests as I've never sailed that line.

What I can say is that when I compare suites on ocean cruises, I notice the difference in amenities offered and that does make a difference to me especially on cruises where all the guests only have access to the same food.

Posted by the original poster in another thread:

"We are currently on the Viking Embla Amsterdam to Bucharest we are in day 7. We have done 36 ocean cruises, this is our first river cruise, we have decided it's much to structured for us! We like anytime dining this 7 pm dinner every night is bad you get back to the ship from an all day tour and you don't have any time to relax and some drinks, cause dinner is at seven! You have no other options no room service you miss dinner your next meal is breakfast period! We're in a suite but hardly any storage space. This will be our first and last River cruise and the food has also been lousy!"

It seems that the original poster is basically blaming Viking for a poor decision on their part. After 36 ocean cruises, the switch to a river cruise should involve a good deal of research. Most of the things the cruiser complains about should have been apparent in advance after some time spent on Cruise Critic. Having booked a very long cruise in a very expensive suite, the rest became a self-fulfilling prophecy. Since they decided early on that river cruising was not for them, they have spent the rest of the time looking for things that will reinforce their disappointment.

Absolutely agree with above poster, we did our first river cruise last summer after 40 plus ocean cruises. People on these boards suggested starting off with a Rhine Cruise which we did. It gave us a great introduction to river cruising. We liked river cruising and have another booked. Our traveling companions, also ocean cruisers, did not care for river cruising as much and I don't anticipate them doing another. But neither of us spent anywhere the time or money as OP did, and would never do so unless I was sure I would like it.

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Agreed. That's not only a European difference, that's a regional US difference. If you visited Louisiana and you were even able to find pastrami on a menu anywhere here, you would be served it "fully dressed" (lettuce, tomato, mayo) unless you specified otherwise.

 

At this point, he is just being that obnoxious American traveler that everyone hates.

There was a deli we used to go to by Madison Square Garden that had a sign on the door that read, "corned beef on white bread with mayo only served to those with Nabraska ID"

NY humor - gotta love it! [emoji16]

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It's an important point to bear in mind when tossing out total cost numbers.

 

Higher grade suites, airline cabin upgrades etc. all inflate the total cost but have zero impact on the experience outside your suite door...

 

You can't use that total number as a justification for elevated expectations beyond the specific services you paid for.

 

The tours, food etc. are the same for everyone on most river cruise lines.

 

There are some exceptions on those lines with enhanced dining options linked to cabin grade, but that doesn't include Viking.

True - you need to know what the OP is including in that number. We had a veranda room (b deck designations). The cost for that level was around $12,000. When we added in first class airfare (offered at a discount to suite guests), insurance, $50 for Air Plus, $100 deviation fee for doing extra days pre cruise, and the extension in Lucerne it came to nearly $20, 000

And I was very happy with the food [emoji7]

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