All right, here is my problem with cruises!

[Texed]

Doing great, heading off on Silhouette next month and have Alaska booked in August. Finally, going to Alaska, yea....Best wishes.

 

Don,

 

Glad you are doing well. Have a great time on your cruises. :)

[OCruisers]

We've been cruising for a long time and on quite a few different ships.

There have only been a few times when our service in the MDR has been very slow. Mostly, we've had no problem. :)

 

Do agree that food in the MDR "ain't what it use to be" so we are very happy we have the option of specialty restaurants -- both for the quality of the food and the atmosphere.

 

LuLu

~~~~

[dkjretired]

Glad you are doing well; Alaska is amazing! Enjoy your trips. :)

 

Thanks, the thing with Alaska was I could never get the wife to go but finally convinced her. I wanted to go 15 yrs ago.

[dkjretired]

Don,

 

Glad you are doing well. Have a great time on your cruises. :)

 

Thanks Ed, I'll have a couple of waffles on you but have to go easy on the butter. Had heart valve replacement so eating is different now.

[Lois R]

Thanks Ed, I'll have a couple of waffles on you but have to go easy on the butter. Had heart valve replacement so eating is different now.

 

Hey Don, so you and John Fox had the same procedures!

[dkjretired]

Hey Don, so you reand John Fox had the same procedures!

 

Yup, the same. I had mine a couple of weeks before, not fun

[Andy]

Love Ruth Chris Porterhouse for two and the sweet potatoes. Went to Cagneys on NCL, no comparison, really about the same as Outback. Just had open heart surgery a couple of weeks ago, looking forward to a nice steak.

 

Hi Don,

 

I hope you are doing well. and I wanted to wish you a wonderful time on Silhouette. We always apreciate your contributions to our community.

[Andy]

I am going to have to "suffer" through another cruise in two weeks. Let the suffering begin. ;) :D

 

As long as you dont "waffle" over it Ed ! Wishing you a wonderful time. I hope we will meet again, on a future cruise.

[Hlitner]

It sounds as though the OP prefers to eat "fast food" for their dining experience and nearly all the cruise lines accommodate this in their Lido buffets. Dining rooms are called "dining rooms" because it is where folks are supposed to "dine" and not gulp down food in a fast food style. For many of us, having a relaxing slow paced dinner is one highlight of the cruise day. On our recent 28 day Veendam Cruise (just back yesterday) we quickly found ourselves forming a table with 6 other like-minded passengers (we eat Open dining schemes so we have the freedom to choose our own table mates). Every evening we would sit down to eat at about 7:30 and generally were among the last to leave the dining room at about 9:45 (in time for the 10 pm shows). Other passengers, overhearing all the laughter and seeing the animated smiles at our table, would stop-over and say they wish they were at our table. As we looked at nearby tables we would often see people quietly gulping down their food, seldom smiling, and just trying to get in and out of the dining room as quickly as possible. The OP should understand that not everyone wants fast food service and there are still many of us who enjoy dining. At our tables it is not uncommon for somebody to ask the waiter to "slow down" since we are not in a hurry. In fact, during a few meals on the Veendam we would not even order our dinner until after the wine stewards had delivered our wine (which sometimes meant sitting for 15 min before ordering).

 

Hank

[SuperTrooper00]

Love Ruth Chris Porterhouse for two and the sweet potatoes. Went to Cagneys on NCL, no comparison, really about the same as Outback. Just had open heart surgery a couple of weeks ago, looking forward to a nice steak.

 

My experience was very different. We eat at Ruth's Chris, Fleming's and Mortons several times a year. I thought Cagney's was very, very similar to those. In fact, I thought it was better than Fleming's (which is the worst of those three). It was FAR better than Outback in my experience. Not even close.

[dkjretired]

My experience was very different. We eat at Ruth's Chris, Fleming's and Mortons several times a year. I thought Cagney's was very, very similar to those. In fact, I thought it was better than Fleming's (which is the worst of those three). It was FAR better than Outback in my experience. Not even close.

 

Could be that the one on the NCL ship that we went to was not up to par.

[MisterBill99]

It sounds as though the OP prefers to eat "fast food" for their dining experience and nearly all the cruise lines accommodate this in their Lido buffets.

I disagree. I think OP would be happy to have an extended meal, if the food and service were at a level he considered worthy of such. He doesn't think that they are, and that is always a matter of personal opinion. And he certainly doesn't want anything resembling fast food.

 

Like you (and many others, I am sure), we had a great table on our most recent cruise and often spent two hours at dinner. Of course, in some cases (because we were Select and did not end up at the same waiter's table each night, even though we wanted to) it was because of poor service. Also, the fact is that if you're at a large table, your meal is going to take longer than if you're at a table for 2. It happens in normal restaurants on land, and it happens on cruise ships.

Edited November 11, 2013 by MisterBill99

[dcguy9]

I disagree. I think OP would be happy to have an extended meal, if the food and service were at a level he considered worthy of such. He doesn't think that they are, and that is always a matter of personal opinion. And he certainly doesn't want anything resembling fast food.

 

Like you (and many others, I am sure), we had a great table on our most recent cruise and often spent two hours at dinner. Of course, in some cases (because we were Select and did not end up at the same waiter's table each night, even though we wanted to) it was because of poor service. Also, the fact is that if you're at a large table, your meal is going to take longer than if you're at a table for 2. It happens in normal restaurants on land, and it happens on cruise ships.

 

Thank you, your response sums it up beautifully!

[BruinsFan08]

Dinner on a cruise ship these days is not "The Event" it was even a few years ago: food isn't as good, waitstaff is spread thinner, dress code is more casual, many traditional dining tables sit half empty due to multiple dining options. Some cruisers still want the traditional experience of a leisurely dinner in an elegant atmosphere, but many don't. The world is changing and overall is moving at a faster, more casual pace. To the OP, there are options out there that will allow you a quicker, more casual dining experience and NCL certainly does this (I don't mean this in a totally negative way as some posters here do.) It doesn't mean you need to give up cruising, just make an educated decision about the kind of cruise you are buying. I do wish, however, that the food in the MDRs on most of the ships these days would improve, it really seems as if we are getting pushed to a specialty restaurant for the kind of meal we used to get nightly for no extra charge.

 

I'm no cheerleader here. But I will say in defense of the cruise lines that while it seems that quality may have gone down and customers are being "nickel and dimed to death", cruise prices have remained nearly the same for the past 25 years or so. The price of goods, salaries and fuel have obviously increased significantly. While larger ships with the increased pax numbers obviously provide more revenue, they also incur more expenses (e.g. more employees, more food, more fuel to push these ships). I think that cruise lines have adapted by keeping prices relatively even and cut from luxury to "nice" in most areas (which is more in line with the prices in today's market as opposed to similar prices in the 80's). They then allow you to "pay up" to the formerly luxurious experience which would be where the prices would have had to climb to keep that level of quality consistent.

 

I haven't had a chance to proof read my jumbled thoughts, and it is time to enjoy New Years, so I hope that I made sense....

[ozmarlene]

We agree with original opinion. We do not like all the fuss in MDR. This is why we always pick aqua cabins so we can eat in Blu. We love the quietness , special attention, the food is best on ship!

[dodger1964]

We agree with original opinion. We do not like all the fuss in MDR. This is why we always pick aqua cabins so we can eat in Blu. We love the quietness , special attention, the food is best on ship!

 

We have never eaten in mdr for dinner, but did one cruise dine in blu. I wouldn't call that "quiet". If it is "quiet" I would hate to experience the noise level in mdr.

[hulamoon]

The reason I stopped booking HAL and began with celebrity are smoking policy and those crazy long two and three hour dinners.

 

For us the pace at celebrity is good! If I inform a waiter I have a certain amount of time it works out just fine.

 

Although this is true for us, I imagine all things happen to all people. And I know many HAL fans claim to never have experienced long dinners.

[rjrpar]

So, I have been on about 8 cruises including RCCL, Celebrity, HAL, and Carnival. We have an upcoming cruise on Celebrity.

 

Here is my problem: In the last year or so, dining in the MDR takes absolutely forever with pretty mediocre food. We wait twenty minutes for appetizers and they are just so-so. Then another thirty for the main entree and it is also just fair. It is like eating at a decent medium priced restaurant in any big city. But, it takes over an hour and a half to 2 hours to complete your meal.

 

This just seems fake to me. The cruise lines are still acting as though dining in their beautiful dining rooms is still elegant, yet they are serving fairly cheap food. So, then they have pay restaurants that used to be a nominal charge up to $45 a head on Celebrity. That is lame.

 

I still enjoy cruising but the dining is pretty fake and weak.

 

 

Good Post. I agree with your comment that average food in a beautiful dining room doesn't equate to elegant dining. It may fool some but most cruisers are aware of the decreasing quality in the food. However, in our experience the speed of service in the MDR has always been at a nice pace to enjoy the meal and the company of table mates.

[7leagueboots]

Like others, we usually don't mind the wait. Often, however, we excuse ourselves after the main course and before desert. If we do feel like a bit of desert we go up to the buffet later. By so doing we knock off 20-30 minutes from the MDR.

[phoenix_dream]

I compare dining in the Specialty restaurants now to what Celebrity's MDR experience was 20 years ago.

 

With that being said however, I still find it an enjoyable experience, the food excellent, neither my wife or I have to cook it and we are on a cruise, what could be better.

 

Completely agree! And depending on the particular ship/cruise sometimes the MDR even reaches close to the levels of yesteryear. But overall still more than acceptable and a nice experience. I second someone's recommendation to chose a two-top if you want a quick experience, and let the waiter know your preference.

[C Cruise Dude]

Some of the food on Celebrity (and all lines) is certainly better than others and it is unfortunate that you need to pay specialty dining prices to get top quality food. Are you sitting at large or small tables? If you sit at a small table and tell your server that you want to eat quickly, they might be able to get you served faster. The server is not going to the kitchen just to get your food, they get for a dozen people at a time, and that takes time to get ready. So you're generally not going to have stuff coming out just for you as you might at a normal restaurant. Eat at the buffet if you don't want the dining room experience and are in a hurry.

 

Personally, unless I'm in a hurry to get somewhere (which is rare, especially if I'm at a normal seating), I don't mind having a leisurely diner, even if the food isn't all that spectacular.

 

Oh, and I see you have an NCL cruise coming up. They're the kings of mediocre food unless you pay.

 

dcguy9, for the most part, I understand what your saying about the long waits but agree with MisterBill. When I'm in a hurry (usually breakfast) I eat in the buffet and appreciate the variety and quickness of the process but I also like being catered to in the MDR. I agree that some meals are better than others but I'm not sure what your solution would be. A smaller table might help. Hang in there.

 

I like the food that I have had on NCL, I thought that it was pretty good except for one buffet experience for dinner. :D:D

[X-elite]

I agree with the OP. We enjoy the speciality restaurants or buffet more than the MDR. Quite happy to pay the specialty restaurant fees to avoid formal night attire also! The MDR food quality is just ok to us. If you dine at your own table, you can ask the waiter for a condensed dining time for a shorter meal, since there are other things to do on the ship than wait for mediocre food.

 

[One person replied that he has "eaten in five star Michelin restaurants" -- that must be so humbling to restauranteurs that have only achieved three-star ratings.] :confused:

[wpgcycler]

[One person replied that he has "eaten in five star Michelin restaurants" -- that must be so humbling to restauranteurs that have only achieved three-star ratings.] :confused:

 

:D like!

[huskerc]

After our most recent cruise on Celebrity, this is our assessment as well. Service and quality have simply declined to the point that the MDR is no longer enjoyable for us.

 

At this point we consider the minimum we can book and really be satisfied to be Aqua, or a veranda with the Ultimate Dining Package, whichever is cheaper.

[kathynorth]

So, I have been on about 8 cruises including RCCL, Celebrity, HAL, and Carnival. We have an upcoming cruise on Celebrity.

 

Here is my problem: In the last year or so, dining in the MDR takes absolutely forever with pretty mediocre food. We wait twenty minutes for appetizers and they are just so-so. Then another thirty for the main entree and it is also just fair. It is like eating at a decent medium priced restaurant in any big city. But, it takes over an hour and a half to 2 hours to complete your meal.

 

This just seems fake to me. The cruise lines are still acting as though dining in their beautiful dining rooms is still elegant, yet they are serving fairly cheap food. So, then they have pay restaurants that used to be a nominal charge up to $45 a head on Celebrity. That is lame.

 

I still enjoy cruising but the dining is pretty fake and weak.

 

We also have grown tired of long MDR meals. We find the food to be fine, but there has been a few times when someone at our table had a problem with their order, which then threw off the timelines for all of our meals. There have also been times when the meal ran so long that we had to rush to make it to the show and times when we were so late that we had to skip the show entirely. We've tried select dining, but felt we were rushed with our meal. When we sailed on NCL we experienced long waits for tables. We've now found our balance by booking in a Celebrity Aqua cabin so we can eat in Blu. This allows us to choose our dinner time and we enjoy our meals in as long or short a time as we like. We also like to dine in at least one pay restaurant each cruise. We had the best meal ever at Murano on Reflection last August and thought it was well worth the extra $. I just wish the pay restaurants were a bit lower cost so we could eat there more often.