Worried about food

Hi

We are onboard Ventura in June for a 17night cruise this year. It will be our third P&O cruise, we were on Britannia last year in the fjords and Ventura the year before. Now we are not massive foodies but like nice food nevertheless. I am worried by the comments regarding the quality of food recently. I accept that the buffet is what it is, we only use it for breakfast and sometimes lunch, normally salad etc. But we like a nice meal in the MDR in the evening. Last couple of times we have found the food in the MDR to be fine, not Michelin star quality but perfectly edible and pleasant. Has the quality dropped that much in the last year? Will we be disappointed?

Hi

 

We are onboard Ventura in June for a 17night cruise this year. It will be our third P&O cruise, we were on Britannia last year in the fjords and Ventura the year before. Now we are not massive foodies but like nice food nevertheless. I am worried by the comments regarding the quality of food recently. I accept that the buffet is what it is, we only use it for breakfast and sometimes lunch, normally salad etc. But we like a nice meal in the MDR in the evening. Last couple of times we have found the food in the MDR to be fine, not Michelin star quality but perfectly edible and pleasant. Has the quality dropped that much in the last year? Will we be disappointed?

The food is fine in the MDR.

The only thing is the buffet could be a bit better but on your longer cruise the food might be better quality.You can always go into the MDR for breakfast and lunch.

We were on Ventura for the 4 night new year's cruise and had a great time.

43 cruises and counting.

I think the food in the MDR is very good and I always use a different MDR for breakfast, simply because it is somewhere different. You can avoid the buffet breakfast time very easily. There is also an overnight order card for room service breakfast which other family members use.

Regards John

We were on Ventura 21st March - 2nd April and I have to say that the MDR food was better than we have had fir several years on P&O. The menus have been updated recently.

We were on Ventura 21st March - 2nd April and I have to say that the MDR food was better than we have had fir several years on P&O. The menus have been updated recently.

Absolutely agree with you, Josy. We were on Ventura 2-9 Apr and ate in the MDR most nights - couldn't fault it at all. Don't forget to enquire about the 'always available' options if there's nothing on that evening's menu that takes your fancy......

Absolutely agree with you, Josy. We were on Ventura 2-9 Apr and ate in the MDR most nights - couldn't fault it at all. Don't forget to enquire about the 'always available' options if there's nothing on that evening's menu that takes your fancy......

I do and steak is often on every night.

43 cruises and counting.

We were on Ventura last year & found NOTHING wrong with the food, all delicious. I'm sure it will be fine

Go with an open mind and don't worry mondas42. Food is very subjective and if I took notice of all the bad reports of food I would probably never cruise again! On one review of Arcadia I once saw someone say the food was like school dinners. All I can say is my school dinners were nothing like the poorest food I have ever been given on P&O.

The food is so bad we all put on half a stone..... [emoji23]

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Hi

 

We are onboard Ventura in June for a 17night cruise this year. It will be our third P&O cruise, we were on Britannia last year in the fjords and Ventura the year before. Now we are not massive foodies but like nice food nevertheless. I am worried by the comments regarding the quality of food recently. I accept that the buffet is what it is, we only use it for breakfast and sometimes lunch, normally salad etc. But we like a nice meal in the MDR in the evening. Last couple of times we have found the food in the MDR to be fine, not Michelin star quality but perfectly edible and pleasant. Has the quality dropped that much in the last year? Will we be disappointed?

I think you will be fine. It sounds as though you have realistic expectations regarding the MDR experience. Fine dining it isn't, but it's perfectly acceptable. We did a 4 day cruise on Ventura in February. We only had one dinner in the MDR (Gala dinner) and it was pretty good. Strangely, the two evening dining experiences that didn't live up to expectation were the Epicurean and Beach House, both of which are poor imitations of the excellent versions on Britannia. Sindhu, however, was as good as the Britannia version. Many of the issues we experienced were related to poor service, which we put down to it being a short cruise as the staff made little to no effort, something we have never experienced during any of our previous (longer) P&O cruises. As you are on a 17 nighter I think you will experience a different and much better product. I wrote a long review of the cruise which may be of interest. Link below;

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=567521

All I can say is having been on many different cruise lines...'People must eat very well at home, for them to criticize P&O food.'

But at the end of the day if you want Michelin rated food, pay out the big bucks and travel with the 5 or 6 star cruise lines, i.e. Regent, Silversea, Oceana, Seabourn, etc.

I was recently on QM2 and whilst the food was ordinary to OK, it was never bad or inedible and certainly better then what we eat at home.:loudcry:

Time for lunch, peanut butter sandwich, on a budget saving for our Adonia B2B's next year.:*

If you are just an ordinary person like myself and don't expect so called 'fine' dining then the food is just great in my opinion. I had no complaints whatsoever and in fact just the opposite.

The trouble with forums is one negative comment about anything registers a 10 with us while a good comment hardly registers at all. You will be fine

The food is so bad we all put on half a stone..... [emoji23]

 

 

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Me too in 4 days lol

43 cruises and counting.

Please don't worry. The MDR lunches and dinners are very good. I'm not a fussy eater, in that I eat almost everything, but I am a fussy eater in that I want everything I eat to be good. Ventura in January certainly provided that, with some quite complicated dishes, some very 'homely' ones on each menu. Everything I ordered was good, nothing was half eaten, or sent back

I join our Antipodean friend above in wondering just how good are some moaning passengers' cooks, housekeepers and butlers, to make them so dissatisfied with the service offered on board.

If you want 6* then go 6* and pay 6* prices. P&O offers excellent value for money, imo.

Please don't worry. The MDR lunches and dinners are very good. I'm not a fussy eater, in that I eat almost everything, but I am a fussy eater in that I want everything I eat to be good. Ventura in January certainly provided that, with some quite complicated dishes, some very 'homely' ones on each menu. Everything I ordered was good, nothing was half eaten, or sent back

 

I join our Antipodean friend above in wondering just how good are some moaning passengers' cooks, housekeepers and butlers, to make them so dissatisfied with the service offered on board.

 

If you want 6* then go 6* and pay 6* prices. P&O offers excellent value for money, imo.

I agree totally.

43 cruises and counting.

I've been on Ventura twice this year and have had no complaints about the food. I would suggest though, if you order steak in the MDR, ask for it to be cooked one level lower. So, medium rare rather than medium. Some people found that when they ordered medium or well done, the steak was a bit tough - probably due to the time it took to get to the table from the kitchens as the steak continued to cook. However, if you have a steak in the Glasshouse, order it as you would normally have it.

I've been on Ventura twice this year and have had no complaints about the food. I would suggest though, if you order steak in the MDR, ask for it to be cooked one level lower. So, medium rare rather than medium. Some people found that when they ordered medium or well done, the steak was a bit tough - probably due to the time it took to get to the table from the kitchens as the steak continued to cook. However, if you have a steak in the Glasshouse, order it as you would normally have it.

Good thought but my steak has always been cooked perfectly (medium)

43 cruises and counting.

Last December I tried P&O for the first time after many years of cruising Celebrity, HAL and Princess. It would be fair to say that food quality has declined significantly across all the cruise lines especially with the introduction of the Specialty Restaurants. Britannia MDR food was the worst we have ever experienced, after the second night we decided to use the Beach House, Sindu and Glasshouse and pay extra for a decent meal. We would compare the food in the MDR to what you would expect in British Pub - 2 meals for £10 sort of quality, don't expect any better.

They don't do a medium rare steak as I found out when I tried to order one. 'What do you do then' I said, 'rare to medium' he said. ;)

Last December I tried P&O for the first time after many years of cruising Celebrity, HAL and Princess. It would be fair to say that food quality has declined significantly across all the cruise lines especially with the introduction of the Specialty Restaurants. Britannia MDR food was the worst we have ever experienced, after the second night we decided to use the Beach House, Sindu and Glasshouse and pay extra for a decent meal. We would compare the food in the MDR to what you would expect in British Pub - 2 meals for £10 sort of quality, don't expect any better.

This sums up my last 2 weeks on Azura nicely. I was thinking to myself - would I go to a restaurant serving that standard of food on land (answer is no) and if yes what would I pay - 2 for £10 is about right

Incidentally you do put on weight if you eat poorer foods - fattier cuts of meat etc. Also as the only veg tends to be those b****y green beans personally I eat little veg in the MDR. We eat loads better at home - and we are not foodies - just like decent food cooked properly

Please don't worry. The MDR lunches and dinners are very good. I'm not a fussy eater, in that I eat almost everything, but I am a fussy eater in that I want everything I eat to be good. Ventura in January certainly provided that, with some quite complicated dishes, some very 'homely' ones on each menu. Everything I ordered was good, nothing was half eaten, or sent back

 

I join our Antipodean friend above in wondering just how good are some moaning passengers' cooks, housekeepers and butlers, to make them so dissatisfied with the service offered on board.

 

If you want 6* then go 6* and pay 6* prices. P&O offers excellent value for money, imo.

Totally agree with this.

We have been on a 6* cruise line a number of times (Seabourn) and, yes, the food is superb, but we love P&O and think that the food is absolutely fine.

Totally agree with this.

 

We have been on a 6* cruise line a number of times (Seabourn) and, yes, the food is superb, but we love P&O and think that the food is absolutely fine.

It is good when you consider the number of meals they are cooking every day.

43 cruises and counting.

It is good when you consider the number of meals they are cooking every day.

 

43 cruises and counting.

Indeed.

Of course, Sindhu is the restaurant of a michelin starred Chef in Atul Kochhar and the food in there is superb. We think that Epicurean is also a fantastic restaurant, and it's equivalent would be pretty expensive on land.

Indeed.

 

Of course, Sindhu is the restaurant of a michelin starred Chef in Atul Kochhar and the food in there is superb. We think that Epicurean is also a fantastic restaurant, and it's equivalent would be pretty expensive on land.

We dined in Epicurean on new years eve and new years day night on Ventura and enjoyed the experience both nights.

43 cruises and counting.

2 for £10, really? I've looked at some of the sample menus and they don't look to be on the lines of burger & frozen chips and microwave chilli and rice, which is all I'd expect on a 2 for £10 offer in our local... ;-)