In relation to food on board .......

[Sue's Mom]

Is the quality the same no matter where in the world the ship is sailing? Or, for instance, is beef sourced for ships in the Caribbean the same quality as that sourced for ships sailing in the Med?

 

The reason for my question is that we sailed to Hawaii on a Princess ship in 2009 and we sailed on a Princess ship last month in the Caribbean. The food in 2009 seemed far superior to that served in the Caribbean.

[Potstech]

There are many reasons for the change but I do not think it has so much to do with locality so much. Staff and when the food was obtained. Menus change and how things are prepared would have much more to do with it than where it was obtained. Even different cruises on the same ship may have a different taste for the same item.

[Colo Cruiser]

Princess is fairly uniform about food throughout the fleet.

Of course one ship on one side of the world can't use the same supplier so of course there may be differences. They are very careful where they source their food from and its ordered months in advance. I think they have it down to a science.

As stated food is very subjective anyway.

[Coral]

Is the quality the same no matter where in the world the ship is sailing? Or' date=' for instance, is beef sourced for ships in the Caribbean the same quality as that sourced for ships sailing in the Med?

 

The reason for my question is that we sailed to Hawaii on a Princess ship in 2009 and we sailed on a Princess ship last month in the Caribbean. The food in 2009 seemed far superior to that served in the Caribbean.[/quote']

 

IMO - Princess has reduced the quality of beef (and other food) brought on the ship as a cost savings measure.

Edited March 14, 2014 by Coral

[Sue's Mom]

IMO - Princess has reduced the quality of beef (and other food) brought on the ship as a cost savings measure.

 

Considering what we paid for our cruise in February, the whole experience was great value. However, when I make coq au vin I would always use chicken breast - never boned chicken wings, (or may be it was boned chicken thighs but I do not think so) which felt and tasted distinctly "wrong".

[Mom33]

On the subject of beef, I have eaten in the Crown Grill In the Med, the British Isles, Northern Europe and the Caribbean. I never noticed a difference in the filet except once when it was cooked well and I prefer medium.

 

That said, we have occasionally found dishes on a ship that were not to our standards, but found it sometimes to be the chef as well as the quality of the food. We have never walked off a ship hungry however, as there are so many choices of places to eat. We are not afraid to send things back to the galley.

If we have a complaint, it is swiftly taken care of and we are satisfied with the results. Of course, we do so politely.

 

Food complaints are found on all cruiseline review threads. The only way to know whether or not you will enjoy the food on your cruise is to try it. Try the different venues. Bon Voyage! :D

[Nan_Sea]

I ordered cow au vin on our last Princess cruise and the waiter insisted on bringing another entree as well. He was right. I ate the other entree and left the chicken.

[Mom33]

Considering what we paid for our cruise in February' date=' the whole experience was great value. [b']However, when I make coq au vin I would always use chicken breast - never boned chicken wings, (or may be it was boned chicken thighs but I do not think so) which felt and tasted distinctly "wrong".[/b]

 

I have eaten Coq au vin in Paris that was made with the thighs . It actually is a commom way to make it. I didn't like it either. I prefer cutting up a whole chicken.:)

[Colo Cruiser]

I ordered cow au vin on our last Princess cruise and the waiter insisted on bringing another entree as well. He was right. I ate the other entree and left the chicken.

 

 

Made with cow eh?

[AKman2495]

cow au vin

 

Don't you just love auto correct?:D

Edited March 14, 2014 by AKman2495

[Nan_Sea]

Auto correct can make you crazy. But, then again, maybe it was made from cow and that was the problem :)

Edited March 14, 2014 by Nan_Sea

[Pam in CA]

Princess, and other cruise lines, source most produce, fish and meat from major suppliers that can guarantee quality and quantity. Which means that most food is from the same sources regardless of where the ship sails. Most menus are standard and pre-arranged whether it's a 3-day or a 31-day cruise.

 

IMHO, the biggest difference in food quality on a Princess ship depends on the Head Chef and sous-chefs. You can have the exact same menu and product source on two different ships and the preparation and taste can be different.

 

Several years ago, we were on a 15-day cruise to HI and the first week, the food was blah... cuts seemed odd, taste was bland, the food was just plain "off." For instance, the French onion soup was watery, the onions tasteless and the bread too thick. The second week of the cruise, the food and preparation was noticeably better. Cuts of meat were better, flavors were better, soups weren't as watery. Turns out the head chef had been on vacation and returned to the ship in Honolulu. :)

[shredie]

I ordered cow au vin on our last Princess cruise and the waiter insisted on bringing another entree as well. He was right. I ate the other entree and left the chicken.

LOL! That stuff is foul (no pun intended.) DH says it looks like no coq au vin his grandma would make. I haven't talked to anyone who could eat the dish. I guess someone likes it since it stays on the menu. I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do where the chicken was sourced.

[Thrak]

I had wonderful beef in Crown Grill on Star Princess. I had the absolute worst Prime rib of my life in MDR on Sea Princess. I sent it back and got the same bad beef again. Not only was it not hot, it tasted like it had been boiled. It made me afraid to order beef in MDR.

[SteveH2508]

I read somewhere on CC that the meat used by most cruise lines (US anyway) is frozen and air freighted from the US to wherever the ship victuals. (something to do with CDC regulations and American tastes.)

 

Fruit and Veg is probably more locally sourced but you never know.

[Jetswdo]

Have sailed twice on Princess, 1st on the Island, second on the Sapphire--

The Island 15 day Hawaii, the food was ok, not special, but decent, no complaints. I was on the Sapphire around Alaska (6 years ago) and the food was inedible.---Yet many people on other sailings on Sapphire had no problems with the food at- (On my sailings many others also commented on how dreadful the food was) I am giving Princess another chance, on the Royal-- have not read of any food complaints. (Not referring to just not liking an item, but overall people seemed happily satisfied.) I have a friend who only sails on Princess. She said she would have sailings with excellent food, ok food, and once in a while dreadful food, as I described. And this is even on the same ship! So maybe it does depend on who the head cook is on your sailing.....

[Happy ks]

Coq au vin is typically made with chicken thighs and legs, sometimes whole cut up chicken. I can't imagine it made only with chicken breasts. Chicken breasts don't have as much flavor.

 

However, I have avoided poultry on cruise ships for years. It always tastes re-heated to me. My husband will order poultry at least once on every cruise, no matter the line, and he's always disappointed. I have no idea why he keeps trying. We do not cruise for the food. I keep reading how food has degraded over the years...it's never been all that great to me.

 

Although, we never go hungry ;) We cruise for the overall experience, especially being on the ocean.

[AKman2495]

I've eaten the Chicken Cacciatore on one Italian night and found it very good. It too was a thigh and drumstick, which is not unusual.

 

I've had the pheasant an found it to be great-and a new alternative on formal nights.

 

So far the fowl had not been foul at all for me. :)

[caribill]

I was on a Princess TA followed by a Med cruise a couple of years ago.

 

Beef (main dining room) on the TA portion was horrid.

 

Beef (main dining room) on the Med portion (after resupply in Barcelona) was better than average.

 

Same Executive chef.

 

I have found that tomatoes on European Med cruises are extremely tasty vs. the pretty but tasteless ones on Caribbean cruises.

[skf]

IMHO, the biggest difference in food quality on a Princess ship depends on the Head Chef and sous-chefs.

On one cruise we had an Exec chef from Scotland (forgot his name). The food was not nearly as good as usual, so we blame him.

Steve

[GweninTX]

I think the executive chef makes all the difference in the quality of food. We were on the Crown for a Transatlantic and the food was very bland. Took the same ship (different executive chef) two months later and the food was wonderful! Same dishes - prepared under a different chef! YMMV

[bigblue2]

I totally agree with this assessment! Sometimes the food is excellent, sometimes only average, sometimes too salty, and each time it had to do with the personnel supervising food preparation. The same dish is prepared differently on each ship!

[Gimer]

Just off Grand Princess and did the Ultimate Ships Tour. As per Executive Chef Greves and Food Storage Manager, Princess gets ALL it food products from the US. It's shipped and pre-positioned in freezer/refrigerator containers around the world. That's how they keep consistent. Only time they buy locally is in Hawaii, pineapple, mango and papyas and in Alaska, it's salmon. Because its in the US. All produces in storage are inspected daily. Hell of a tour and you learn alot.

Edited March 16, 2014 by Gimer

[caribill]

Just off Grand Princess and did the Ultimate Ships Tour. As per Executive Chef Greves and Food Storage Manager, Princess gets ALL it food products from the US. It's shipped and pre-positioned in freezer/refrigerator containers around the world. That's how they keep consistent. Only time they buy locally is in Hawaii, pineapple, mango and papyas and in Alaska, it's salmon. Because its in the US. All produces in storage are inspected daily. Hell of a tour and you learn alot.

 

On European cruises the milk cartons from various European countries and the butter and margarine from the Netherlands say otherwise.

[Gimer]

Sorry, your have to take it up with the Executive Chef Greves, those were his quotes. I believe you, because on Emerald's TA cruise, the butter was foreign.