Food on HAL vs RCI

[ptcgal]

I went on HAL in 2012 to Alaska and really enjoyed the trip, especially the food. The next cruise was in 2014 on RCI's Allure of the seas. Really disappointed in the food. The food in the specialty restaurants was better than the dining room and the Lido but overall I felt the food was low quality. I chalked it up to being on a ship with 6000 people. How can you do a great job trying to feed that many people. Next cruise was on RCI Legend of the seas and found the same quality food. I just remember the Zuiderdam and how I loved the food even in the Lido, especially at breakfast. Thinking of booking with HAL again this time mainly because of the difference in quality. Am I just imagining this because I enjoyed the cruise on HAL so much?

[Aquahound]

I went on HAL in 2012 to Alaska and really enjoyed the trip, especially the food. The next cruise was in 2014 on RCI's Allure of the seas. Really disappointed in the food. The food in the specialty restaurants was better than the dining room and the Lido but overall I felt the food was low quality. I chalked it up to being on a ship with 6000 people. How can you do a great job trying to feed that many people. Next cruise was on RCI Legend of the seas and found the same quality food. I just remember the Zuiderdam and how I loved the food even in the Lido, especially at breakfast. Thinking of booking with HAL again this time mainly because of the difference in quality. Am I just imagining this because I enjoyed the cruise on HAL so much?

 

It could just be your individual tastes. I have no recent food complaints from both RCI and HAL. My 2 most recent cruises on those 2 lines were Liberty of the Seas and Zuiderdam and I was really happy with the food on both.

 

That said, I've had bad experiences on both as well. In 2012, I thought the food on Nieuw Amsterdam was so bad, we actually ate room service dinner for the first time ever. Likewise, around that same time frame, we had almost an equally bad experience on Oasis of the Seas.

 

All in all though, I'd say it's the same.

[qsuzi]

My friends who primarily sail RCL said they had issues with the lack of food quality in the MDR but good food in the speciality restaurants. In fact, one friend had such a bad experience in the MDR the first night they ate at speciality restaurants for the remainder of the cruise.

[ptcgal]

I guess it could be my own preference about food quality. I think I might try HAL again just for something different. I'll keep looking for the right price and destination.

[POA1]

Holland America spends more per passenger on food than Royal Caribbean does. On the flip side, Royal spends more on entertainment. The higher expenditure generally shows.

[Friend100]

We sailed Liberty of the Seas just two and a half months ago, and HAL Eurodam a month after that, so our perspective is still relatively fresh in our mind. We think food on HAL is better.

 

We felt Lido was much much better than Windjammer, both in terms of quality of food and atmosphere of the restaurant. Excellent pasta!

 

HAL's pizza was also much better than what we got at Cafe Promenade.

 

We like the MDR lunch on RCI though ... especially the salad!

 

Quality of food at MDR between the two are comparable ... although size of lobsters on HAL was much bigger than on RCI.

 

Service on RCI MDR was better though ... the server and assistant server really worked as a team and the ones we had were excellent ... quick and smart, whereas service on HAL MDR was a bit slow at the beginning but improved a bit later.

 

We also loved DiveiIn at the Terrace Grill. Excellent burgers, hotdogs and fries.

[PathfinderEss]

My opinion ofcourse, I think Hal's food is better then RC.

[George C]

I did 4 Hal cruises and now switched back to RCCL, I find food in MDR about the same on both lines, entertainment is not even close big edge to RCCL. but favorite specialty restaurant is still Pinnacle on Hal. Suite perks is a big edge to RCCL, wine list is also better on RCCL , hated prices on Hal wine list

[sppunk]

To date, RCCL has had the worst food overall we've had on a cruise. We sailed them four times and have given up basically. YMMV.

[lazey1]

My opinion ofcourse, I think Hal's food is better then RC.

 

Same here, in our opinion the food on any HAL ship is so much better than RCI's Allure of the Seas there is no comparrison.

[CowPrincess]

A very dear (though somewhat "high maintenance") friend of mine sails both HAL and RCI. He feels that HAL's food is superior to RCI's.

[shandryl]

Holland America spends more per passenger on food than Royal Caribbean does. On the flip side, Royal spends more on entertainment. The higher expenditure generally shows.

 

Very good point POA1 I have cruised Both lines and you are absolutely right :D I still like HAl better even though entertainment lacks :D

[Sam.Seattle]

Holland America spends more per passenger on food than Royal Caribbean does. On the flip side, Royal spends more on entertainment. The higher expenditure generally shows.

And where did you acquire that tid bit of knowlege?

Edited January 24, 2015 by Sam.Seattle

[nb125]

We found the exact opposite. After our one and only cruise on HAL we came home really appreciating our own cooking which has never happened to us before on any holiday. The meals in the MDR sounded wonderful on the description, looked good on the plate but where is the taste. Not only was it always lukewarm but the only discernible taste was either salt or sugar and far too much of it.

[POA1]

And where did you acquire that tid bit of knowlege?

From the CLIAA annual stats report.

[take us away]

My DIL often sails RCI (her family's preference) and has shared that she thinks the food in the MDR is not all that great to try to get passengers to use the specialty restaurants more often - for a price of course.

[jbhcw]

My son...dil and her family are currently on RCI...it's been several years since we have sailed them...son does not like Carnival...is okay with Hal...but not so much for the kids to do...I have a feeling if the food is good we will be doing another cruise on RCI:eek: in the near future..hopefully on one of their smaller ships...

 

He did say lunch was good yesterday in the Lido...we'll see about the MDR....I tend to think Hal food is a bit nicer than Carnival's...it's been many years since we sailed RCI...but I remember the Lido being a bit lacking in choices..but this was on an older ship.

[Folk Singer]

My friends who primarily sail RCL said they had issues with the lack of food quality in the MDR but good food in the speciality restaurants. In fact, one friend had such a bad experience in the MDR the first night they ate at speciality restaurants for the remainder of the cruise.

 

 

We had friends who said the same lately.

[jhannah]

We have sailed Royal Caribbean ships just twice, but it has been in recent years. I'd certainly give the nod to Holland America's food. RCI did a decent job, and I would not say the food was bad in any way. It was just not quite as good, IMO.

 

Food is such a subjective experience. What I find great you may find marginal. One thing's for sure; we won't be starving in either venue!

[Sam.Seattle]

From the CLIAA annual stats report.

Do you have a link to share? Would love to see that report.

The entertainment is obvious, but the food is curious... wondering if the addtional number of RCI up charge resturants makes a difference?

Thanks

Edited January 24, 2015 by Sam.Seattle

[kalliekae]

Having sailed both lines many times, we give high marks to RCCL's specialty restaurants and to HAL's Pinnacle Grill. MDR food on both lines leaves a lot to be desired. Windjammer gets an edge over the Lido simply because it has a larger selection. However, food is so subjective. What we like, others will not like.

 

Fir our needs, HAL is great for port intensive cruises, but we much prefer RCCL when the ship is our destination especially in the Caribbean since we've been there so many times. There is so much more to do on an RCCL ship than on a HAL ship. The entertainment beats HAL hands down.

 

 

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[Folk Singer]

Having sailed both lines many times, we give high marks to RCCL's specialty restaurants and to HAL's Pinnacle Grill. MDR food on both lines leaves a lot to be desired. Windjammer gets an edge over the Lido simply because it has a larger selection. However, food is so subjective. What we like, others will not like.

 

Fir our needs, HAL is great for port intensive cruises, but we much prefer RCCL when the ship is our destination especially in the Caribbean since we've been there so many times. There is so much more to do on an RCCL ship than on a HAL ship. The entertainment beats HAL hands down.

 

 

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Well stated. Agree.

[Tante Amalie]

It's probably safe to say that HAL food is slightly better than RCCI, but if you read the reviews of HAL, you'll see that the food has really gone downhill. If food is important to you, you might check into a premium line. HAL has made MAJOR cutbacks in food spending and it really shows. Their food is bland and pedestrian. I think of it as banquet/cafeteria food. It is usually served in a tepid and lukewarm presentation. It is high calorie and low quality.

 

If food is not important to your cruising experience, then it's no big deal. You won't starve, that's for sure. But if you enjoy fine dining, you will probably be very disappointed.

[JanDom]

We sailed three Times with RCCL. The food was ok not more. One time in Alaska with the Radiance it was good!

We now went with HAL one time in November and we loved the food.

We never had such good beef before on any cruise line, even if we did not went to a speciality restaurant.

 

We had very Different food with Celebrity. One time it was great!! One Time it was ok but the Food at the blu was overcooked the whole 14 days and one Time we did not have Fun going to eat something and had salad most the Time because the Food was that Bad! So here it differs between the Ships in only one cruiseline.

 

Greets from Germany

Janine

[POA1]

Do you have a link to share? Would love to see that report.

The entertainment is obvious, but the food is curious... wondering if the addtional number of RCI up charge resturants makes a difference?

Thanks

Our TA sent it to us a while back. I looked to see if I still had it, but I don't know that I do.

 

We were planning a three generation family trip, and our TA sent us an article with comparisons of food, entertainment, enrichment, kids programs, and other expenditures, on a per passenger basis. It wasn't anything particularly new and unexpected. Lines like Holland America and Celebrity spent more on food than did Carnival & Royal. Carnival and Royal spend more on entertainment. The higher end lines spent more on enrichment (lectures, etc.) At the time - and this was a few years ago - Celebrity spent more $ on food as a percentage than HAL did.

 

If I can figure out where I saved the attachment, I'll upload it. It can give us something new to fight about. :D

Edited January 25, 2015 by POA1