cruisingourmet

2 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

Specialty restraints cost more, so don’t use them. Is that what you mean by that last paragraph..

 

well maybe on land you eat all your meals in a soup kitchen, anything else costs more.

No

I would not call the Main Dining Room a "soup kitchen" and I eat at the specialty restaurants not because I find the MDR  bad, but I take long cruises, so just for variety of experience and unique offerings.

4 minutes ago, land lover said:

 

 

OP you are an "expert" foodie how many cruise ships have met your expectations? I certainly am not a foodie, but I can only name one ship Anthem of the Seas where we enjoyed their specialty restaurant Wonderland where I truly found food close to land based excellence.

 

While no cruise line is perfect, I have found that Azamara, RCL & Celebrity do a pretty good job in the MDR.

I'd say Cunard, Princess, MSC were not as good in the Main Dining room.

 

Generally the specialty restaurants seem to offer better food and service, that is subjective but you are paying extra for a meal that you could have had for free.

 

 

 

 

 

Several of you who posted on here, were or are on the ship and had planned to review the cruise following the early December one. Please follow up so we can find out if this was just one poorly executed cruise or an actual tread,

I did this itinerary last month and for NawiliwiliI recommend walking off the ship and staying to the right and just across the bridge is a local car rental for $50 for the day. Their office is in the rear of the little shop center.

Then drive to make a helicopter reservation here

It was the best excursion ever and their advance booking is a steal also it is a jet helicopter.

They are on the dry side of the island so you are guaranteed to fly.

This island is basically beautiful but the beauty can only be seen by air and the valleys are inaccessible.

you will also find the ocean blowholes and coffee plantations on that side of the island.

Enjoy !

On 1/14/2019 at 12:10 PM, bestdogever said:

If you have taken the 15-day Princess cruise to Hawaii we would love to hear your thoughts about the itinerary, ship, activities, etc. Thanks.

I actually wrote about it last month.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2617085-underwhelmed-by-princess-emerald/

23 minutes ago, MTJSR said:

 

Indeed!

 

I would write a full review of the Dec 19th cruise and all it's disappointments / issues, but people would just think I was making it up. I submitted an issues report day 12 onboard and I got a form letter that didn't even cover the main topic. Our entire table told the head waiter (bald head waiter in Bottechelli) and he quickly dismissed us and we never saw him at our table again. For this cruise Princess seemed completely tone deaf. 

Please do post a review since it would be on Topic.. I'd like to hear your observations.

I feel vindicated ! I thank all of you recent cruisers who were on the Emerald Princess in December 2018.

I was expecting an avalanche of Princess Pro posts claiming as a food writer I had unusually high expectations.

Like I stated I , was judging the food only on what I expect as reasonable for a cruise ship, not as Michelin star

dining. MANY fellow cruisers have backed my observations as being an honestly objective and I appreciate that.

I do hope Princess reads these forums and accepts this reasonable criticism as a wake up call and makes positive changes to their culinary program and staff.

When the sea days are long and activities few & far between, it makes the nightly MDR experience that much more important.

Would I cruise Princess again, possibly, if I read many postings suggesting that efforts were made to rectify the situation.

That said, there are so many lines & itineraries to choose from, it seems unlikely.

I'd really appreciate it if those that agreed with me by posting here and those who merely lurk, write to Princess at customerrelations@princesscruises.com and express your thoughts in a respectful manner.

They can't fix a problem if they are unaware of it & I find it surprising they don't know, especially since I wrote a letter while onboard to the Executive Chef John Convery.

Hopefully Princess will take it to heart and people will soon be posting glowing reviews of their MDR experiences, time will tell.

I want everyone to have a great cruise experience for their hard earned dollars !

1 hour ago, RDC1 said:

Here is the reality of cruise line food.

 

Amount spent per passenger day across all of their owned cruise lines based upon last 10Q (food costs divided by passenger days)

 

CCL  $11.37

RCL  $12.00

NCLH $10.19

 

Cruise line food  is  comparable with hotel banquet food. While there has been changes the MDR's have always been in the hotel banquet food level, with greater variety of choice.

 

Note this is all money spent for food so it most likely also include that spent for the crew, so these should be considered to be max per passenger numbers. 

This might explain why RCL & Celebrity have not disappointed my with their MDR offerings, they seem to spend more. Any stats on Princess?

1. I agree a mint sauce would be better than jelly and I guess did they offer it or did you asked for it. I personally don't hate mint jelly and if served on the side in a small ramekin I'd not make too much of it, especially if the chops were of quality and cooked as ordered.

2. I again think placing the glaze in a small ramekin would be a nice touch.

I think they have done away with Sabitini's and replaced it with SHARE.

The crown grill has nice ambience and good service but the food just only slightly better than MDR

I had the rib eye and it was not great because it was only 1/2"  thick which I felt was skimpy for a "premium Steak house"

Finally, I remembered at our Cruise Critic meet up, which was well attended by the Ship's officers, a CC member mentioned that the optional upsell card tucked into the corner of the MDR menu was tacky. I didn't think much about it on day 2 but perhaps there was a subtle message, you want better quality you will have to pay $$

THIS MAY BE THE BEGINNING OF A TREND.. They are putting prices in the MDR Menu for an upsell.. The NEXT STEP logically will be prices next to every item on the menu. Don't laugh, Carnival eliminated ALL FREE ROOM SERVICE as of Jan 1 2019

FWIT .. We were on the Late 7:15 dining and that is where all this post originated from.

I got a call from Princess Customer service regarding the email I sent them a week ago which was mostly the original posting here.

She said "We will answer you in 6 to 8 weeks" We are way behind in customer service.

I don't know if there are that many complaints or what but I suppose it confirms that they got my email...

I had no Idea that so many folks on here mostly Agree with me about the Food & Activities.

There are a very few Princess loyalists that have defended the food, but were you onboard recently?

I'm looking for a sea day Princess Patter so you can see how little there was to do onboard.

I will say the food NOT made in the Main Kitchen was quite good, the Pizza station & Hamburger stand on the Pool deck made tasty food. In other words, it need not be Gourmet to be delicious. Just good ingredients well prepared and THAT IS NOT TOO MUCH TO ASK OF ANY CRUISE SHIP !

I have been on Azamara and the food was very good, just a wee bit better than Celebrity & RCL.

It is just I like long cruises 2 weeks or so and the "small ship" boutique lines have a problem for me

the ships at 600 ft or so are not as interesting on sea days and the entertainment is very limited.

The smaller ships are also much bouncier in heavy seas, so I prefer a bigger ship that has quality food.

Again, this was the 1st time I ever wrote a letter of complaint in over 20 cruises. I'm not expecting over the top

Michelin guide cuisine, just well prepared and appetizing meals.

After reading the replies, including a fresh report from someone on the same Emerald Princess on the   Hawaiian itinerary I think my critique is legitimate and warranted. I'm sure Princess has some loyal cruisers who believe Princess can do no wrong, that's fine, but hardly objective.

I also mentioned many positives about the trip, so I'm not a hater just felt a company that takes my hard earned money to do a quality job of delivering their product.

Finally, I loved the Cigar lounge as a classy room to have a nice Cuban stogie, which Celebrity just doesn't offer but Cunard also offers on QM2, so again not a hater...

To be fair other than the deficiencies I listed in the OP I would say that the

service from employees was very good, the room attendant great, the bed comfortable

the cabin storage quite ample, the entertainment & theater very good (although the times for shows conflict with dining times)

the embarkation/debarkation efficient so I am being fair & honest so folks can draw their own conclusions.

Again I am not saying Princess is terrible, I am just sharing some detailed observations and it would seem I am not alone in these observations, as someone onboard the same ship currently has echoed the same issues I have laid out.

5 hours ago, crawford said:

With 20 cruises under your belt in the last 6 years and a writer for a food magazine, I would love your opinion of the food on comparable 3*-4* lines. Been exclusively on Princess for over 10 years; maybe a change is in order? 

Try Celebrity especially their Solstice Class ships and if you like a deal book a Trans-Atlantic, I did one in April this year I was very happy with the food and when you go to their "Oceanview Cafe" which is used like the Princess "Horizon Cafe" you will be very presently surprised with the layout and variety, you have to get your water or tea and silverware bundle at the self-serv station, but you won't be disappointed with the huge variety and open floor plan of the food service area.

10 hours ago, Skai said:

What led you to think that Princess was 4*?

 

Furthermore, in what scenario have you ever sailed a cruise ship with 3K pax(or even 2k pax) where the food was anything above that of banquet quality? 

 

It would appear that perhaps you had unrealistic expectations that led to your being "underwhelmed"...

 

Simply an observation.

The reviews from cruise critic show it as 4 Star. The food on Celebrity is very good and their optional dining Murano is close to Michelin 1 star dining. I simply expected the MDR to serve appetizing well prepared food and again I chatted with over a dozen other passengers who also said and I quote "Princess has slipped in quality" I don't think getting quality meals daily is unrealistic and again I let the Exec Chef know by detailed letter (no reply at all)

13 minutes ago, Centsless_Cruiser said:

My DW and I have 56 days of experience on the Emerald and other than agreeing on the lowered quality of Princess food (both MDR and buffet) the majority of the OPs post seem to be negatives about the layout of all the Grand/Grand Plus ships and the standard Princess amenities and programs.  Also as to 5 Star I don't think Princess claims that level of service if you want a luxury cruise you need to move up to a luxury cruise line!  What Princess offers is a reasonable cost for the services and ships they sail.

I spoke to many passengers from suites and those who were Elite and they agreed that the food has slipped BIG TIME since I have only taken 2 Princess cruises I am just using my 30 years of culinary experience and Ironically the Exec Chef John Convery & I are members of the same international gourmet organization, making it worse !

 

5 minutes ago, mthomp5 said:

 

Was your cabin in the aft section of the ship?  I was wondering because we usually book mid or mid-aft but we booked aft on our last cruise (on the Ruby) and we heard a lot more creaking than on other cruises.  We got used to it and it became white noise to us lulling is to sleep with the rocking of the ship. So perhaps a cabin mid or mid aft would have less creaking. 

 

Sorry to hear about the food misses.  

Cabin C520 that is deck 10 midship

2 minutes ago, Vic The Parrot said:

I like creaky cabins. Reminds me that I'm on a moving ship at sea. 

A little is okay, although I spoke to many people & made friends onboard and their cabins did not creak.

This was creak creak and occasionaly loud crack that kept waking us up !

8 minutes ago, GUT2407 said:

Not my favourite ship either, but still better than staying at home.

I agree, even a mediocre cruise is better than 2 weeks on land.

It is just that I was expecting a 4 star experience and got 3 star

7 minutes ago, Cruiserkenn said:

OK, well, other than that, how was Hawaii?  😌

Hawaii is an amazing collection of islands !!

Not even a cruise line that cares so little could spoil these unique gems !

Just got back from a 15 day Hawaii cruise out of Los Angeles and found it lacking in what a 4 Star

cruise line should be.

The ship itself is very disjointed with bad flow from bow to stern and many dead ends.

The daily activities are movies on the deck BIG WHOOP ! or activities where they want to sell jewelry.

Considering what a unique place Hawaii is they could have had many many lectures on

what to see and learn on this island state.

The food was HOSPITAL QUALITY bland and poorly prepared.

Having cruised over 20 times in last 6 years, I have had many experiences, I know food, as a writer

for a food magazine, and some of the culinary disasters were unforgivable. Below is Main Dining Room or Crown Grill

• pineapple salsa was catsup, horseradish and a small chunk of pineapple
• plain white rice as a side dish
• Steak Tartare served cooked (that is a crime) Crown Grill
• vegetables either served mushy or almost raw
• a mashed potato ball that was dry and crusty inedible
•  

This was the 1st time I ever wrote a letter to a ship's Exec Chef about the awful food in MDR (No Reply either)

Our Cabin creaked LOUDLY when ship was at sea constantly and  a letter to Hotel Director led to being shown adjacent

cabins that creaked too.

It seems that Princess is a shadow of the "Love Boat" which they re-run 24x7 and all the cost cutting and profit maximizing

have ruined a once nice cruise brand !

PRINCESS IS A 3 STAR CRUISE LINE .....MAKE NO MISTAKE

Well this is a most unusual cruise for those folks that got on last week. Looks like it will be a 2 week cruise. I always wondered what would happen if a ship couldn't return to original embarkation/return port. Surprised they didn't divert to Tampa since RCL does cruises from there but perhaps it was out of season. For the folks onboard they will have a fun story about an extra week at sea,

Hi,

I don't see any other postings on this itinerary, so here is post one.

There are three of us so far one couple & one single.

I guess we'll meet people on board if not here first.

George -n- Jonathan

and Darek

Me and my partners have cruised almost exclusively on Celebrity (X)

Never an issue never a hassle in fact look at this video and let's close this silly thread.

Video [YOUTUBE]

First of all a tuxedo with bow tie & cummerbund or vest is technically semi-formal. Formal is white tie & tails ala' Downton Abbey.

I personally like to wear an ascot(caravat) on non-formal nights with a sport coat or tux jacket and I usually contrast the ascot ie light ascot with dark shirt and dark ascot with white shirt and I have had many people offer up compliments at cocktail hour and at the dinner table.

On formal nights I usually go with a dinner jacket (tuxedo jacket) with a bow tie, matching to the cummerbund or vest.

If I am in the mood or there is a special formal evening I sometimes go with the White tie & tails and the white pique' shirt & vest. I can tell you that getting a bit dressed up never hurts and I get even more compliments with the aforementioned outfit.

I am sure you recall the formal elegance of the great oceanliner movie "Titanic"

http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/3700000/Leonardo-Decaprio-in-Titanic-leonardo-dicaprio-3787848-276-400.jpg

Like they say your actual milage may vary, but I think looking one's best is always a good idea.