New menu

[erin_cruisers]

Mike - Are you okay? :p

 

...I was on this cruise with my family and had the good fortune to be asked to join a small forum to discuss the new menu with the head of food and beverage for the whole cruise line and a couple of his staff. Approx 12 of us spent 90 minutes with them and were rewarded with a $50 obc. They were asking about the presentation of the menus, their content, did we want to dine in the MDR, what makes a perfect experience and what we might like to see in the future. They were interested to hear that I had heard of the new menus through cruise critic and what items were being discussed...

 

I was thinking that based on the menus presented, and the "themes" that this was the case.

I figured that they might be "trying" many different items, and eliminating ones that are unpopular,

before finallizing the menus for fleetwide roll-out.

Good plan. And how great for you to be able to participate in it.

(hope you said good things about the escargot, and crab dish :D )

Edited August 14, 2012 by erin_cruisers

[surreymum]

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

Are you British?

 

Yes. There were a couple of Brits, a Canadian and the rest of the forum were American.

[srice]

I didn't see any mention of ice cream, especially RCCL's homemade, different flavored ice cream served every night in the MDR.

 

Has ice cream been dropped from the dessert menus?

[insulationbabe]

My husband has ice cream every night at dinner - if its on the menu or not - he always asks for it

Our other friends always ask for fresh strawberries in a bowl for dessert with their ice cream and get it too - so just depends what you ask for I think

[adamdm]

What were the everyday choices? Was a New York Strip steak one of them?

 

New York Strip (Best meat entree I had, but to me it still needed a good bit of steak sauce.)

Grilled Chicken

Pasta Pomodoro

Sliders (These were actually really good, I thought!)

 

Might be another that I'm forgetting. You should be able to find some of the menus that have been posted already.

Edited August 14, 2012 by adamdm

[adamdm]

I didn't see any mention of ice cream, especially RCCL's homemade, different flavored ice cream served every night in the MDR.

 

Has ice cream been dropped from the dessert menus?

 

I can't remember if it was on the menus, and I'd be surprised if it were "homemade", but we had a few ice-cream-oholics in our group and there was generally a different ice cream, sherbet, and jello every night. They were all very basic flavors...chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, pistachio, lemon sherbet, pineapple sherbet...

[lemonade-sails]

Thanks so much for posting these menus. Getting ready for our first cruise and while I enjoy dreaming about dinners, I don't really care what's on the menu - just looking forward to staring at my husband on the other side of the table!

 

With that said, I can't understand why anyone would complain. There are so many choices for each night. If you can't find something to satisfy you, I'd be surprised!

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I didn't see any mention of ice cream, especially RCCL's homemade, different flavored ice cream served every night in the MDR.

 

Has ice cream been dropped from the dessert menus?

I may be wrong, but I believe the home made ice cream is a Princess specialty. At least we have enjoyed the unique, yummy flavors on our Princess cruises almost every night. I don't remember home made ice cream on RCI. However, my DH will always ask for pie and most cakes, when offered, a la mode on every cruise regardless of line and he has always gotten it.:)

[srice]

I can't remember if it was on the menus, and I'd be surprised if it were "homemade", but we had a few ice-cream-oholics in our group and there was generally a different ice cream, sherbet, and jello every night. They were all very basic flavors...chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, pistachio, lemon sherbet, pineapple sherbet...

 

I should have said "made on board" instead of "homemade".

 

In the past RCCL has offered different flavors as you mentioned but I was asking if those various flavors had been eliminated with the release of the new menus.

 

And Sunny AZ Girl, it is my understanding also that Princess makes its own ice cream. I thought RCCL made its own but I could be mistaken. At any rate I am trying to find out if RCCL still offers various flavors of ice cream after release of the new menus.

[dz9yvr]

I can't remember if it was on the menus, and I'd be surprised if it were "homemade", but we had a few ice-cream-oholics in our group and there was generally a different ice cream, sherbet, and jello every night. They were all very basic flavors...chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, pistachio, lemon sherbet, pineapple sherbet...

 

I'm not sure what qualifies as "homemade" ice cream, but at least on Oasis they make their own ice cream on board. We took the kitchen tour on our last cruise and the ice cream section was one of the stops. The flavors may be basic, but they are all made from scratch.

[Sunny AZ Girl]

I'm not sure what qualifies as "homemade" ice cream, but at least on Oasis they make their own ice cream on board. We took the kitchen tour on our last cruise and the ice cream section was one of the stops. The flavors may be basic, but they are all made from scratch.

Good to know! I know Princess did that, but did not think RCI did. I do not remember an ice cream station on the Explorer a few years ago when I did a galley tour. Maybe it is just on the larger ships?

[rkak]

I'm so glad to see that there is already a "roll call" for this cruise. There was one on Oasis that we loved. As soon as we get a RCCL booking number my husband and I will join up.

 

So look for Art and Rhoda from Tampoa, FL.

[spg112357]

hehe.. I'd eat neither of those menus actually.

 

well, maybe a twinkie....at midnight.... on the balcony under a full moon.

 

the '57 is overrated.....

 

Yes Twinkie with Caviar and glass of Bollinger (Shaken not Stirred :) ) under the full moon on a balcony railing :-)

[spg112357]

DH wants to know if it's AYCE Lobster for 24.95, lol!

Yes as much of THE lobster as you can eat :-)

[spg112357]

For those who are picky eaters or who have allergies to certain foods, you can order items without the sauce, etc. I don't like cheese or salad dressing, so I have ordered a plain salad on nights when there was cheese or dressing on any salads offered. Some nights, it might be just lettuce and tomatoes. Others, it has been mixed salad greens with other raw veggies. I have also requested to not have cheese or cream sauces on meats. They will fix items for you to your liking from the main menu.

 

I saw that someone posted there are not many Salads on the Menu. Well I saw a few, but you can make as many Salads as you want......

 

Order one of the salads and ask them to leave the meat off and substitute with something else from the menu......

 

Strawberry Soup Salad

Escargot Salad

Sticky Bread Pudding Salad

And the Creme de la creme .........

Twinkie Salad (Of course they have to adopt my Twinkie menu first)

[spg112357]

Hey there can i ask if the fishermans plate had lobster?

 

The OP said that the Fisherman's Plate was the Lobster dish.

 

****ake night........

 

That happened to me once but they gave me something in the infirmary and I was right as rain in a few hours :-)

[garyb(uk)]

Hi

 

This was from the original thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1676929

 

I wasn't able to get the full roll out schedule but here's what I do know... the new menus will be available on the following ships/dates:

 

Freedom- 7/29/2012

Oasis- 8/25/2012

Allure- 9/9/2012

Jewel- 9/23/2012

Rhapsody- 5/24/2013

 

There is a BIG gap between the Jewel and the Rhapsody so hopefully the Adventure will be in that gap.

[BoyntonBeth]

There is a BIG gap between the Jewel and the Rhapsody so hopefully the Adventure will be in that gap.

 

RH gets back to Vancouver from Australia (where the menu is somewhat different) on May 16. It's easier to provision and monitor in North America.

 

My guess is that most of the other ships will change during that big time gap, on a geographic basis. After finishing the European seasons, VI goes to FLL in Oct, LB in Nov, ID in Dec, etc. That looks like a very logical roll out schedule to me.

[maggieworkman]

I was really excited about the new menus when the info was first leaked. I really was looking forward to having a filet every night. I'm not so excited about the strip steak. I find them dry and chewy usually. (I like mine Medium Rare.)

 

DH will be excited since an entree salad is usually his entree of choice when we go out to eat at home.

 

I also feel it is heavy on the seafood, but I can deal with it. It just seems the actual menus are slightly a let down from what I was imagining from the leaked info.

 

Maggie

[dal_diva]

Thanks so much for all of your hard work. I'm hoping that the new menus are on Monarch by the end of September. Lot's of new things to try.

 

My husband loves artichokes so he'll eat my share and yours.

 

d

[sailingawaysoon]

Thanks for posting the menus. I've seen a few pics of the food, but can't wait to see more. Some of the items on the new menu I thought I wouldn't try, but after seeing the pics, I'm going to step outside the box and see how it is. Headed to the Freedom on the 26th, can't wait!

[ksmdcruisin]

After finally taking some time to pour over the new menus I have to say that I really like them! On some days it looks like there will be not just one starter to try but maybe even two...or three. No, that´s getting greedy. *sigh* I love anything to do with artichokes so any entry with them puts a smile on my face.

 

On the three cruises that I have been on nothing really stands out in my mind as being extra super delicious but it was all good. I´ve always been glad I don´t have to cook for everyone nor clean up. This time though I think I´ll hop onto the Freedom with a wee bit of expectations.

 

Thanks for sharing the link!

[lindacat]

does anyone have any idea if the schedule originally posted is still accurate or would they all be a week behind. I am sailing on 8/25 on the Oasis which was supposed to be the cruise for the new menu's.

[amickeyfriend]

Has the children's menu changed?

[smoosh21]

Thanks so much for all of your hard work. I'm hoping that the new menus are on Monarch by the end of September. Lot's of new things to try.

 

My husband loves artichokes so he'll eat my share and yours.

 

d

 

Right there with you. Would love to get a preview while on the Monarch