Food on Princess

[Clutterlady]

As you can see by all of the responses to this thread, you're going to get a wide variety of opinions. Since food is way too subjective, if you find something you didn't care for, ask for something else. You're servers are there to make you happy.... no reason to leave your table hungry or dissatisfied!! Check out the pay venues and the Cafe Caribe on other nights. Enjoy....you definitely won't go hungry:)

[IKE]

Everbodies taste in food is different. We have sailed princess over 20 times and we just got off the cb(new england/canada cruise) and have to say both hubby and myself were disappointed with the food this time. We ordered lamb one night in the dining room and it was all fat. We had to return it and pick something else off menu. Then another night we ordered fish and that was terrible, very dry . Our waiter also agreed with us on both occassions and apologized. It was no biggie, we just picked something else but we were suprised. We also didn't care for the buffet in the horizon court". It seemed no matter when we got to the buffet the food was a mess in the serving dishes. All kinds of food was mixed in with it and not very appetizing to us, so went and ate lunch down in the main restaurant. This past march 2009, we sailed "emerald princess" and food was great both in dining room and buffet.. Who knows why the food is good one time and not so good another time.

[taxatty]

We have found the MDR quality to be variable from ship to ship--the best for us was the Royal--the smallest size ship. Nothing was ever worse than very good, with the exception of a couple of nights on the Emerald--one where we asked the waiter what was particularly good that night, and he answered "nothing"!?!?! The specialty restaurants have always been worth the money. The Horizon Court has always been at least decent--eat in Cafe Caribe at night on the ships that have it if you want something more exotic and spicy than what the MDR serves. Also, the new "low end" additions to the MDR (meat loaf, BBQ ribs, etc.) were consistently good.

 

Les

[Worn out mailman]

My girlfriend and I sailed on Princess for the first time in March, after previously cruising on RCCL exclusively. I recall the menu choices not being as enticing on Ruby as on my RCCL cruises...nothing looked as appealing to me, I just chose what I thought I might like. The salads were good, though I had to peel a anchove off my Ceaser salad nightly, which I don't like. The soups were good and served very hot. And the entrees were good as well. They did offer a traditional american choice each night, but I figured I was on a cruise so why eat boring stuff. You'll like the food just fine.

[Loucat]

Thanks for all who responded. Overall, food sounds good. I have only sailed RCC so do not have a comparison. I have friends who sailed on Princess and loved the food. Thanks again for all of the great information. Happy sailing to all:)

[mr green]

Just off Coral Princess, on the whole the food was very very good.

However, the soups, and dinner rolls were not up to the normal standards, IMO. The 'Pub Lunch' in the Bayou should be avoided.

Tips. IF you order an 8 oz berger, ask for an empty plate for you companion, it works out just right.

The 'Chefs Table' was outstanding,- even the 'home made' dinner rolls!:)

 

john

[rdsqrl]

My girlfriend and I sailed on Princess for the first time in March, after previously cruising on RCCL exclusively. I recall the menu choices not being as enticing on Ruby as on my RCCL cruises...nothing looked as appealing to me, I just chose what I thought I might like. The salads were good, though I had to peel a anchove off my Ceaser salad nightly, which I don't like. The soups were good and served very hot. And the entrees were good as well. They did offer a traditional american choice each night, but I figured I was on a cruise so why eat boring stuff. You'll like the food just fine.

I'll take your extra anchovies! That's what makes the Caesar salad, and one of the reasons I think Princess's is among the best out there -- they haven't dumbed it down by doing away with the anchovies or using "creamy" Caesar dressing (an abomination)! Of course, I'm also remembering the days when they used to toss the salad tableside, making the dressing right there with proper coddled eggs. Sigh.

[bhopal21]

I'll take your extra anchovies! That's what makes the Caesar salad, and one of the reasons I think Princess's is among the best out there -- they haven't dumbed it down by doing away with the anchovies or using "creamy" Caesar dressing (an abomination)! Of course, I'm also remembering the days when they used to toss the salad tableside, making the dressing right there with proper coddled eggs. Sigh.

 

You REALLY know how to tease a guy, don't you?:D

 

Thanks,

 

Mike:)

[Michigan honey]

We did a cruise on the Crown Princes last year. The MDR food was delicious. We enjoyed the specialty restaurant but I don't know if it was worth the extra money. The buffets were horrible; I've had better food at Circus Circus in Las Vegas. We loved the little cafe and the Pizza was very good. Hope this helps!!

[Ando]

I have very high standards and expectations of the taste and quality of food served in the MDR and am generally satisfied. Nearly every meal has had at least 1 course that had the "wow" factor, and if I have that each night I'm a happy diner :D An exception was on Sun Princess though - the food there was only average to good.

 

My personal experience and opinion is that the food on Princess is much better than RCCL, quite better than Carnival, and just slightly better than HAL. JMHO;)

[Infi]

Like others have said, it's all quite subjective. In my experience, the food quality ranges from good to very good. In general terms, the chilled soups, desserts, and "homestyle cuisine" options are usually quite good. One thing I have found is that the executive chef aboard greatly impacts how the food is prepared. On one of our cruises, the food was beautifully presented; the other, not so much. Of course, presentation doesn't make a dish, but it's a little thing I've found.

 

There is no reason that you will go hungry on Princess - your servers are always more than willing to please and bring another entree if necessary. Asking for their nightly recommendations is a good idea - they know what's best and will point you in that direction.

[G.C]

I've found the food on Princess better than expected. They've been tweaking their menus and I miss some of the entrees they have dropped. Choices seem more cautious as is the spicing.

 

Pictures of many of the entrees from the Star Princess this past April 2009

 

Jackie

 

Thank you for taking the time to post those pictures. They are so much better than opinions.

[flipflops84]

We liked the food- DH actually thought it was the best of all the lines we've cruised (RCL and Carnival). I don't know if I personally felt that strongly about it, but the food was good. I was in love with the crossant-type rolls at the buffet. They were delicious! And the Crown Grille was amazing so we went there twice (love love loveeeeeeed the black and blue soup [french onion soup w/ blue cheese & i think johnny walker black]). Sabatini's was also good, if you like that kind of food- there was certainly a LOT of it!