Exployer of the seas 11/7/09

[Maureenie Beanie]

What happened to the quality of the food? The serving sizes were small not much on the menu, the food in the MDR was bad. Having been on many cruises in the past this had to be the worst. Please tell me your feelings. M

[jsjr]

They have to pay for those big, BIG ships. In order to pay for them they cut everything else. We have a cruise in 7/2010, by then we will probably have to bring our own food and drinks.

[red devil]

What happened to the quality of the food? The serving sizes were small not much on the menu, the food in the MDR was bad. Having been on many cruises in the past this had to be the worst. Please tell me your feelings. M

We were on the Explorer 10/1/09 & 10/10/09 and thought the food was fine and menu selection was good. To each his own.

[alphakitty]

I sailed Explorer 10/24 to 10/29 and had no complaints with the food. :)

[DC2OC]

Compared to 10/2006 the food and selections both went downhill.Without Question

[amybeth4]

They have to pay for those big, BIG ships. In order to pay for them they cut everything else. We have a cruise in 7/2010, by then we will probably have to bring our own food and drinks.

 

Hopefully by then they'll have invented a Hibachi Runner so you can smuggle your hibachi on too! You don't want to eat sandwiches all week!

[HorrorFan]

Hopefully by then they'll have invented a Hibachi Runner so you can smuggle your hibachi on too! You don't want to eat sandwiches all week!

MMMM, nothing any better than a BBQ on the balcony.:D

Followed by a big stogie or two of course.

[amybeth4]

MMMM, nothing any better than a BBQ on the balcony.:D

Followed by a big stogie or two of course.

 

HAH!!! You think the people on their balcony complaining about smoke NOW is a problem... :)

[PhoenixCruiser]

The prices are soooo cheap right now that something had to give. I'm not expecting better quality until the prices return to normal.

 

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[Pooh8941]

What happened to the quality of the food? The serving sizes were small not much on the menu, the food in the MDR was bad. Having been on many cruises in the past this had to be the worst. Please tell me your feelings. M

 

 

I sailed on the Explorer Oct 1, 2009. The food was the best ever! The menu was the same as I have had recently on my other sailings. The portions very adequate and seconds always available. We came away each night remarking on how delicious the dinner was and how perfectly we had been served by the wait staff. Lunch at the MDR was equally remarkable, especially the make-to-order salad bar. I know we all have different taste buds, but your criticisms seem off the wall. Not much on the menu? Really? Were we on the same ship?

[Maureenie Beanie]

Pooh, looks like you have been on many cruises also. You don't think the quality and entire menu has changed in the last few weeks. That you can't deny.....

[teddie]

What happened to the quality of the food? The serving sizes were small not much on the menu, the food in the MDR was bad. Having been on many cruises in the past this had to be the worst. Please tell me your feelings. M

 

Ok, honesty time for me. I love RCI, and after having cruised the Explorer to Bermuda on 9/28 to 10/1, here are my feelings:

 

Windjammer:

Breakfast still offered many excellent choices, but missing were the citrus fruit sections that I adore. Oh well. There were plenty of other items to keep me happy, especially the raisin bread and butter, and oatmeal.

 

Lunch was also good, with several hot and cold choices I enjoyed, including salad bar, sushi, and desserts. There were a few unappealing items that I could only identify by the little card posted in front. "Pork Stew" comes to mind.

 

Cafe Promenade: the offerings were the same to me as on previous cruises: fresh and tasty little sandwiches, frozen-style pizza, and lots of kiwis for the taking.

 

Room Service: we used this for the first time this cruise, and were pleasantly surprised. The only caveat is that the portions are on the small size; if you are really starving, then order two of everything :)

 

Dinner:

We had all our dinners in the MDR, except for one night at Portofinos. I can honestly say that I am growing tired of many of the appetizers. Nothing was bad, but none were stellar.

 

I have absolutely no complaints about the MDR dinners. The prime rib was medium rare, and extremely flavorful. The lamb shank was excellent. The little lobster tails were as usual--little, but plentiful. I felt the service at Portofinos was uneven, but the filet mignons were fabulous.

 

I wouldn't call the food quality to be noticeably worsened; I've only been cruising for less than ten years, so maybe I would if I had experienced "the good old days". I do feel, though, that if you cruise on RCI and can't find something to your taste, then you must be very finicky, and granted, some of us are, as evidenced here.

 

teddie

[Pooh8941]

I have no idea what has changed in the past couple of weeks. But I did not see a decline in the food from my January b2b Indy cruise until my Oct Explorer. In fact, I thought the Explorer was noticeably better.

 

I'm impressed at how well RCI does feeding thousands on any given day. There are always little glitches (cold pancakes, for example), but nothing to prevent me from coming back. We're not cruising Oceania, you know. I'm happy with what my dollar is buying.

[blueyfish]

We were on the October 29th cruise to Bermuda and E. Caribbean and found the food to be as good or better than the Nova Scotia/Canada cruise last Ocotber. It was tasty and abundant. The wait service was impeccable. Don't understand what all the discussion is about.

[pcur]

We just got off 11/3/09 from 33 nights on the Rhapsody. The food was wonderful! Yes, portion sizes have become smaller; so, ask for a second serving. DH gets the pasta as a side dish with his dinner almost every night.

 

The fish dishes I had were the best I've had on any RCCL ship since I started cruising.

[The Viking]

What happened to the quality of the food? The serving sizes were small not much on the menu, the food in the MDR was bad. Having been on many cruises in the past this had to be the worst. Please tell me your feelings. M

 

The menue is getting a little "stale" but we still enjoy the preparation and presentation. As someone previous noted you can always order another entre or two.

 

The portions are not much different from those in finer restaurants, but of course much smaller than the huge plates with a burned steak and lots of fries you get in many restaurants.

[luckyprincess]

Hi! We went on Radiance in 2008 and my bf, a professionaly trained chef that has worked under some of the best chefs in the world was impressed with the quality considering the amount of people they were feeding. This was one of the things I was a bit nervous about before hand, actually so I was super happy that he found it good. It's not at all easy to make him happy when we go out to eat.

I am curious about the 'new' portion sizes. When we do go out to eat its usually at a finer place, which serves courses so of course you get an appropriate amount so you don't get stuffed on one course. Just wondering if anyone has a pic of what the size looks like now.....

[BBTT]

We were on this sailing also and I thought the food took a big drop from our cruise on her two year ago-still had a good cruise and did manage to gain a few pounds :cool:. my biggest gripe was mdr choices, usually 4-5 and NO LOBSTER NIGHT !!!!!! was told they missed a shipment and they didnt have enough for everyone.:eek: that night i chose buttermilk fried chicken ! tasty but only got a wing and a thigh-with INSTANT mashed potatoes-maybe they should put a KFC next to Johnny rockets :confused: I did see ELVIS onboard..in full costume and all walking with his wife/girlfriend..made me go huuummmm.

[MAZANDSTEVE]

We were on Brilliance and were not impressed with MDR food at all either but Portofino and Chops were very good and worth the extra. Seaview cafe was very good too.

[EBJarvis]

We just returned from the AOS (11/1 to 11/8). This was our first time sailing RC and I have to say it was some of the worst food I've ever eaten! Not sure exactly how much salt they go through during the week, but my guess it's a lot! The eggs in the Windjammer were inedible and mostly everything else was salty. And cold cuts? What was that stuff they were tying to serve? We did manage breakfast each day, mostly oatmeal, grits, fruit and some good bread. Having said that, the MDR meals were much better. The Prime Rib was delicious as was the lamb shanks. Everything else was good, nothing to write home about. Portofino's had some great steaks but I think that's about all. The seafood skewers were just ok and honestly not really worth the price.

 

What did we think of RC compared to other cruise lines we've traveled? Well, now that I know the foods not as good as other lines, I have to say armed with that information, I'd still go on a RC cruise! There were so many activities to choose from, the staff was just so accommodating, and those ships are beautiful! Other cruise lines left us with nothing to do at midnight except sleep, but at RC, there was plenty to do and we had a ball! So, as long as I know what to expect with the food and can find something edible for each meal, we'll be happy!

[Pomperaugrr]

Serving sizes have been reduced to save fuel. Passengers that constantly overeat gain weight which increases the amount of fuel needed to propel the now heavier ship. By reducing the serving sizes and some of the selection, people will eat less and the line saves on fuel. :p ;) :rolleyes:

 

 

(Please note that this post was intended as comic relief only. It is in no way intended to be a factual statement, nor a snide comment to the OP or subsequent posters. The author of this post understands that there has been a change in menu selections and serving sizes, but also understands that personal tastes vary and that food quality is wholly subjective based upon the individual doing the tasting. No animals vegetables...or desserts were harmed in the making of this post.) :)

 

Eric

[jmf123]

We were on Brilliance and were not impressed with MDR food at all either but Portofino and Chops were very good and worth the extra. Seaview cafe was very good too.

 

Ditto. We were just on the Radiance, and Chops was a perfect evening- both food and service were excellent. Seaview Cafe was delicious too, and nicely uncrowded.