Meat & Fish Quality.

One thing that pops up regularly in Princess reviews is that the beef dishes are lackluster (or worse) with the exception of the steakhouse. Do you agree? How do other meats compare- both in quality and how well they're cooked?

I find Princess meat and fish entree's are excellent.

Regardless of whether it's the DR or specialty restaurant.

The last couple cruises the MDR menu has been below par. We have not carried for most the selections and food has not been good. On a 15 day cruise we only ate 3 times in the MDR and we did not think much of it. Also we don't eat in the buffet ever. Thats how we feel. It has changed in the last few years. We enjoy balcony dinning, chefs table, all the specialty restaurants, salty dog, vines for a light selection with wine and international caffee

We feel that the main dining room food has really slipped in the past year or so. In fact that is what prompted us to try another cruise line recently. We have been Princess cheerleaders for the past ten years but we may have found a new home.

We don't care for the beef at all & rarely order it. Fish has been from some of the best we've had to "it's been siting under the heat lamps" a little to long.

It wasn't the best ever, but as long as we stayed away from the Curtis Stone dishes, it was OK. I did send back one fish dish.

One thing that pops up regularly in Princess reviews is that the beef dishes are lackluster (or worse) with the exception of the steakhouse. Do you agree? How do other meats compare- both in quality and how well they're cooked?

I would agree with your main point: beef is kind of iffy, fish quite good.

I don't think we've ever ordered chicken (eat enough at home), and pork has not been our favorite. We did have wonderful filet mignon, but that was in the Crown Grill (an extra $25.)

We've only been on seven Princess cruises, but don't think MDR food quality has slipped over those 9 years. In fact, I think it's better now than our first Princess cruise in 2007.

Jim

One thing that pops up regularly in Princess reviews is that the beef dishes are lackluster (or worse) with the exception of the steakhouse. Do you agree? How do other meats compare- both in quality and how well they're cooked?

I feel the menu and food, ie., meat/fish is about the same on Princess as other lines we cruise on, i.e, Holland America, Celebrity, Cunard. Do feel Princess and Cunard handle special off menu requests better than Celebrity for sure.

We are pretty fussy, we only eat beef and fish - no shell fish, no lamb or pork and no dishes with a mixture of meat and fish or dairy, so that is why we special order in the MDR.

That being said, I do feel the overall menu has slipped. We do find the best quality of beef and fish for our taste is in the Crown Grill.

If one is selective, the buffet sometimes has quality options... roasted meats, fish at lunch time.

This is very subjective - not everyone's taste is the same. Personally I have never found a problem with the meat or fish either in the MDRs or Horizon Court. Maybe I am just easily pleased.:)

This is very subjective - not everyone's taste is the same. Personally I have never found a problem with the meat or fish either in the MDRs or Horizon Court. Maybe I am just easily pleased.:)

I agree. Can't say we have had a bad meal on Princess. ;)

I order fish dishes almost every night. Good to very good for me. More variety in seafood on Princess than on X, our other frequented line.

This is very subjective - not everyone's taste is the same. Personally I have never found a problem with the meat or fish either in the MDRs or Horizon Court. Maybe I am just easily pleased.:)

I'm with your thinking. Occasionally there's a meal that isn't perfect but most times we're more than satisfied, especially on the newer ships like the Regal & Royal.

With rare exception we have found the beef on Princess to be very average on the other hand their fish usually very good. Having said that everyone's taste in food is different.

If you're looking for five-star restaurant qualify, you'd best look for restaurants on land.

I am happier with their fish than DH is with their beef. While he had a few good dishes last winter, they were more the exception than the rule.

If you're looking for five-star restaurant qualify, you'd best look for restaurants on land.

Yeah, I figure any meals prepared for a boatload of people might lean more towards "mass produced" as opposed to "gourmet."

I suppose that if the food were as bad as all the so called "foodies" think that the ships would all be sailing empty. Doesn't seem to be the case.

Is it always perfect, no. But if all the experts feel you could do better cooking for 3000 people you could always send in your job application to Princess.

I think the fish is good. I don't think the quality of the meat is as good as it use to be. :eek:

Tony

I find them pretty good.

You aren't going to get 5 star when they're feeding 1000s.

Expect good wedding banquet quality and that's pretty much what you'll get.

Princess offers a nice selection to our tastes. The only complaint we've had with beef is that my wife can't seem to get a medium steak - they come out well done. Fish is fine.

When Café Caribe was serving dinner, we found the fresh cut meat and fish to be marvelous. Horizon Court has a subset.

We enjoy the fish dishes, and most cruises have had great shellfish.

I was on the Regal for 25 days this Spring and was amazed how good the dining room was considering the size of the ship. I was at a table for 10, same people for both cruises and no one had any complaints about the entrees. Yes, some were better than others but overall good considering the number of people they are serving.

I had beef more than I generally do because I saw my table mates choice! The filet mignon was good quality so was the prime rib. The fish, pork, lamb were all good, too. I read many food complaints before my cruise I was really interested to see how it was.

We've always found the fish to be quite good. :)

We were on the Diamond recently, and found the seafood to be consistently very good. Because this was a Japan cruise, the menu was heavy on seafoods. Don't know if that had an impact on the quality or not.

I had the strip steak in the MDR one evening and did not like it... was tough, not much marbling.

We tried several of the Curtis Stone dishes, and enjoyed a couple of them very much. The chicken & leek pot pie was delicious, and we also enjoyed the seafood stew. Its light preparation was welcome after 2 weeks of dining on the ship.

I have always enjoyed the MDR food on Princess. I know this is a very subjective issue, but I'm always surprised to hear across the board complaints. Certainly somethings are better than others, but that's true pretty much everywhere. I've never ordered a steak in the MDR since I limit the amount of beef I eat and save that for the steak house. However, I generally find the prime rib to be pretty good and plenty rare, as I ordered it. I also agree that the fish dishes are very good......so are the soups. :)

BTW, in my opinion, the food on Princess is consistently better than the food we have been served on our two NCL cruises (although the food on our last Breakaway cruise was significantly better than our Jewel cruise).

I think the fish is good. I don't think the quality of the meat is as good as it use to be. :eek:

Tony

We just got off the Royal.....this is our sentiments exactly. The Crown Grill was OK, but not as great as we remembered. Although we could get beef served how we wanted (med rare to rare), it all had a "steamed" texture and look to it. Not even in the CG could we get a "seared on the outside" steak. Our best beef was at the UBD. I think the fish/seafood is very good. I will mention that we think their pastas are still excellent!