Food Quality

On Fred Olsen Black Watch at the moment and it has to be said that the food on here is far superior to Thomson, we have noticed a deterioration over the years,we were on the Celebration in February and the food was worse than ever, come on Thomson get your act together!

We were on the Celebration in April and thought the food had improved since our last cruise with her. Others we spoke to also said the same. Apparently the Head Waiter had said that they had condensed the menu but also improved the food choices.

The only bad meal I had was a lamb dish - don't know why I keep trying the lamb dishes as I have never had a good one yet in around a dozen cruises with Thomson.

Have had good and bad on Thomson not tried FO as yet or P&O a good friend has been on P&O (VENTURA) said the food on Fred was better :confused:

so who knows ? :) ones personal taste etc

Stevie

ps they do a brill lancashire hot pot on the Dream (well it was when I went on her) err I mean the good white lady of course! damm the ship I mean:o

We have certainly felt the food was better on Fred Olsen than on Thomson too -what your pay extra for in he pay restaurants on Thomson is the sort of food (& better) that you are getting in the FO MDR

Stevie they do a brill lancashire hot pot on the Dream (well it was when I went on her) err I mean the good white lady of course! damm the ship I mean:o

yes bro, we get it you like bettys hotpot.

me likes new foods and friends say food is nice on fred and yuck on thomson. i like thomson. i work hard for my holiday. i work overtime to pay for my holiday. i like and always enjoy me holidays.

i thnk we should start petition to keep thomson ships. i like thomson ships. everybody is the same. everybody is equal.keep thomson name on ships and keep thomson food and keep thomson enterntainment.

me want to say that the price on thomson is good for ordinary working class people like me. its shame thast its soon gone.

We have certainly felt the food was better on Fred Olsen than on Thomson too -what your pay extra for in he pay restaurants on Thomson is the sort of food (& better) that you are getting in the FO MDR

Thanks for this. We have just booked our first Fred Olsen cruise to the Baltics on 9 August on Braemar.

When did you book that Gill? I thought you had nothing booked ;)

I think the food we had on Braemar last year was the best we have had on a cruise.

Braemar and the Baltics, sounds like a great combination to me.

Thanks for this. We have just booked our first Fred Olsen cruise to the Baltics on 9 August on Braemar.

I'm sure you won't regret it - it's all good & free safes too!

When did you book that Gill? I thought you had nothing booked ;)

 

I think the food we had on Braemar last year was the best we have had on a cruise.

 

Braemar and the Baltics, sounds like a great combination to me.

Went into Co-op TA today to see what they could do with the Fred Olsen In the Heart of the Baltic for August, and Spirit Black Sea Explorer / Undiscovered Aegean for September. Came away with Fred booked, but have since found we cannot get the coach as it doesn't do South Birmingham for Dover, and we wouldn't get to the obscure services by the M6 toll road to catch it, so have to check train fares in a couple of weeks. Spent all night tonight checking trips. Got the £10 pp pd drinks package ok too.

They couldn't do Spirit for web price, so going to Thomson tomorrow to check that one out, but will need to renew insurance for that one.

Feeling excited by it all, and yes - a free safe!

We have certainly felt the food was better on Fred Olsen than on Thomson too -what your pay extra for in he pay restaurants on Thomson is the sort of food (& better) that you are getting in the FO MDR

Agree Julessmiles, food and presentation is far superior on Fred. Last few cruises we did with Thomson, the food was a big let down. The worst we ever had was on the Dream winter 2013. Service was slow and the waiters not the usual happy bunch we were used to with Thomson. Put us off cruising with Thomson again. Hoping things will improve with the " new ship ". Certainly willing to give it a try if the price comes down in the next few months as we think Thomson cruises are now overpriced compared with other cruise lines with more to offer.

The worst we ever had was on the Dream winter 2013. Service was slow and the waiters not the usual happy bunch we were used to with Thomson. Put us off cruising with Thomson again. Hoping things will improve with the " new ship ". Certainly willing to give it a try if the price comes down in the next few months as we think Thomson cruises are now overpriced compared with other cruise lines with more to offer.

We too thought that Thomson food quality deteriorated in 2013. However, we had excellent food on Majesty May 2014 and equally good (SO much better than before) on Dream in November 2014. Must say that the waiter service was first class on both occasions last year.

Glad to hear things have improved Campolady. I think a lot depends on who the Maitre'D and executive chefs are at the time, as a change of staff can sometimes make a big difference to the choice and quality of food in the restaurants.

Last few cruises we did with Thomson, the food was a big let down. The worst we ever had was on the Dream winter 2013. Service was slow and the waiters not the usual happy bunch we were used to with Thomson. Put us off cruising with Thomson again. Hoping things will improve with the " new ship ". Certainly willing to give it a try if the price comes down in the next few months as we think Thomson cruises are now overpriced compared with other cruise lines with more to offer.

Sadly our experience too. I am keen to re-engage as I do like their itineraries, ambience, fellow passengers and entertainment but would have to feel confident that things are much better food-wise than last time.

We too thought that Thomson food quality deteriorated in 2013. However, we had excellent food on Majesty May 2014 and equally good (SO much better than before) on Dream in November 2014. Must say that the waiter service was first class on both occasions last year.

That's encouraging campolady.

Are you home Kruzseeka, or still sunning yourselves in Greece?

Agree Julessmiles, food and presentation is far superior on Fred. Last few cruises we did with Thomson, the food was a big let down. The worst we ever had was on the Dream winter 2013. Service was slow and the waiters not the usual happy bunch we were used to with Thomson. Put us off cruising with Thomson again. Hoping things will improve with the " new ship ". Certainly willing to give it a try if the price comes down in the next few months as we think Thomson cruises are now overpriced compared with other cruise lines with more to offer.

Yes that was the year of the 'great sickness' and we thought the food and service left a lot to be desired compared with the year before.

Glad to hear it has improved though :)

Are you home Kruzseeka, or still sunning yourselves in Greece?

Yes home now Linda - but did have a great time. Used local buses to get around and had a really interesting and varied time. Can recommend the island for a week's stay.

Glad to hear things have improved Campolady. I think a lot depends on who the Maitre'D and executive chefs are at the time, as a change of staff can sometimes make a big difference to the choice and quality of food in the restaurants.

hi sis nancy. yes. you are bang on. you are right. the chef is responsible for food, he cooks it, he gives direction to the cooks. i get it. i know where you are coming from on this. the chef is the one person, the main man. good on you nancy neptune, good sis

your bud

Have had good and bad on Thomson not tried FO as yet or P&O a good friend has been on P&O (VENTURA) said the food on Fred was better :confused:

 

so who knows ? :) ones personal taste etc

 

Stevie

 

ps they do a brill lancashire hot pot on the Dream (well it was when I went on her) err I mean the good white lady of course! damm the ship I mean:o

We've never had any reason to complain about food on Thomsons.

It's all down to personal taste (no pun intended) as you say.

I've read numerous bad food comments on hotel reviews and wondered if we'd stayed in the same establishment - some of the punters must have a Cordon Bleu/Michelin grade chef at home cooking for them !!!

Not sure what some folks expect from a tourist class holiday.

I'm sure it varies from time to time and ship to ship though WCM. And whilst everyone does have different preferences and expectations I do think some criticisms are founded. We have done lots of Thomson cruises and always returned to them and were very satisfied with the food (I refer in particular to the food on offer in the mdr where we choose to eat in the evening).

But there was absolutely no doubt that on our last trip the choice and quality had taken a nose dive. Since we were comparing with our previous experiences I think we were making valid comparisons too. In a 22 night cruise, no steak (all chargeable at that time), no lamb (other than in a kebab/curry), no 'treats' on gala night (no lobster etc), and pork wellington replaced beef! The evening meat choices were dominated by pork and any other type of meat was in a casserole type format (Beef Strogonoff for example.) The over-riding message we got was that the food budget had been slashed and cheap cuts were the order of the day.

We weren't asking for or expecting Cordon Bleu just the same standard we'd been used to having on previous trips - and some variety. It was a long cruise and we were just not looking forward to our meals at all. Not like us - and not like the Thomson of before.

So we are keen that things have gone back to normal in terms of selection and quality. (Their prices aren't much different from their competitors and they don't invest in new ships so food ought to be at least of equivalent standard).

I am encouraged to hear improved reports from some travellers on some ships - there seems to be a trend of 'better than last time' which is good. I sincerely hope so because other aspects of Thomson cruises beat their competitors hands down.

hi sis nancy. yes. you are bang on. you are right. the chef is responsible for food, he cooks it, he gives direction to the cooks. i get it. i know where you are coming from on this. the chef is the one person, the main man. good on you nancy neptune, good sis

 

your bud

I am the only person getting tired of silly remarks from the '2' underwear titled posters?

We've never had any reason to complain about food on Thomsons.

 

It's all down to personal taste (no pun intended) as you say.

 

I've read numerous bad food comments on hotel reviews and wondered if we'd stayed in the same establishment - some of the punters must have a Cordon Bleu/Michelin grade chef at home cooking for them !!!

 

Not sure what some folks expect from a tourist class holiday.

me like thomson cruises bro, and yes we like the food.

i like me cruises and yes i work hard to afford a cruise. me wants to keep the thomson brand and its great for working class peoples like me. me works hard and me works lots of overtime to pay for me holidays.

food is great and me likes the big fry up in the morning. toast is not hot but thats not the worst thing.

no brown sause on one cruise, as me likes brown sauce with a fry up and with me steaks. but it came back on next cruise, even though me brought me own bottle of brown sauce.

me likes the food on the thomson ships, now its going to be all foreign foods and i hope that i will like it.

your bud

I'm sure it varies from time to time and ship to ship though WCM.

We did a Princess cruise down the US west coast just recently and the food in the MDR was as good as we've experienced on Thomsons (and Princess previously) over six Thomsons cruises.

The selection (not quality) in the Princess buffet was noticeably reduced, but still more than ample for most punters.

You've obviously been unlucky methinks.

me like thomson cruises bro, and yes we like the food.

i like me cruises and yes i work hard to afford a cruise. me wants to keep the thomson brand and its great for working class peoples like me. me works hard and me works lots of overtime to pay for me holidays.

food is great and me likes the big fry up in the morning. toast is not hot but thats not the worst thing.

no brown sause on one cruise, as me likes brown sauce with a fry up and with me steaks. but it came back on next cruise, even though me brought me own bottle of brown sauce.

me likes the food on the thomson ships, now its going to be all foreign foods and i hope that i will like it.

your bud

If you want hot toast you have to be in the right place at the right time - when the waiter brings it freshly made from the galley. It's just not practical to keep supplying permanently hot toast in a mass catering scenario.

I would have though brown sauce was standard issue on a Thomsons cruise - did you ask why it wasn't available, and, if so, what was the response ?

Kruzseeka - your experience is testament to that.

 

We did a Princess cruise down the US west coast just recently and the food in the MDR was as good as we've experienced on Thomsons (and Princess previously) over six Thomsons cruises.

 

The selection (not quality) in the Princess buffet was noticeably reduced, but still more than ample for most punters.

 

You've obviously been unlucky methinks.

I think you're right - we hit a bad patch but sadly it has made us wary.

If you want hot toast you have to be in the right place at the right time - when the waiter brings it freshly made from the galley. It's just not practical to keep supplying permanently hot toast in a mass catering scenario.

 

I would have though brown sauce was standard issue on a Thomsons cruise - did you ask why it wasn't available, and, if so, what was the response ?

hello wee mann,i brought me own brown sause, as they had run out the year before. i understand what you said about hot toast. lets not forget toast is bread and the servants brings it from a kitchen far away. me like the hot toast and the fry up in the morning. its nice. i like it a lot. breakfast is great on a holiday and never once got a bad fry up from the servants they are good. i think we should keep thomson as when it changes no more fry ups it will be foreign stuff for breakfast and if i want that i can go to lidl and i prefer the fry up hot toast and brown sauce with me rashers and melted butter in a sdandwich. then we go to the lido for some nice fancy buns and tea. we dont really go on tours cuz you have to spend money which i dont have to spend so we enjoy all the free food on the ship and the servents are nice as they get to know us and i dont tip them aas i have no money to tip them but on one cruise the servants brought me a cake for my birthday and they sang some songs which was nice. the servents were good singers and made me feel special, i work hard for me cruisres and work overtime at weekends to pay for holidays on boats. the welfare cant pay for everything so we work at the weekends to get extra cash to hrelp pay the cost of the holiday which is nice and alwas great