On Jewel now. MDR menu has changed - no shrimp cocktail

[critterchick]

Hmmmm, will be on Serenade in a few weeks so will be interesting to see if the menus changed. (I think I'll print a press packet of the menus and order off that each night, lol) Since I live on the gulf coast, not having shrimp onboard isn't a big deal for me but I know it is for others. You know it is crawfish season now, so maybe they will replace the shrimp cocktails with a plate full of mudbugs! YUM! (Seriously!) Doubtful though--no elegant way to eat crawfish, plus they are scarce this year and last check costly at $150.00 for a sack. Just bring back the scallop risotto and I'll be happy!

 

We board the Serenade on Saturday for a B2B. If there is no shrimp cocktail it will be an unpleasant surprise for DH. Will it "ruin" the cruise? No way!

 

But, when I go to book another cruise DH will mention it. :rolleyes: Higher prices and no shrimp cocktail. . . . sorry if you all think that is petty.

 

Shrimp cocktal was available on the 2/21 cruise on a couple of nights, not on the "always available" menu. The fisherman's plate was one tough little lobster tail, a struggle to de-shell (our waiters were slammed and our headwaitress completely invisible for the entire cruise) and not worth the effort.

[skiiergirl]

Is it still listed on the menu and they told you it was. It available? Or have they reprinted the menus? If reprinted, did they add anything in its place?

[papaflamingo]

Well, you see, when a mommy shrimp and a daddy shrimp love each other very much...

 

Good one! :)

[cruise wizard]

We were on the Adventure of the Seas for 21 days 2/15 - 3/8 and shrimp cocktail was only on the menu the last 4 days of each cruise and no shrimp on the fisherman's plate. There was a substitution on the first night which has traditionally been prime rib - now strip sirloin roast which was nowhere near as good. We were told that these changes were an "experiment"..............we will see!!!!!!

[racerxspeedy]

Thanks Gary - great input

 

I took a picture of the last nights menu to determine what had changed.

I looked back at previous MDR thread and found this and added comments in (......) .

 

 

POMODORO

 

Eggplant and Kalamata Olive Tartare

Pan Seared Sea Scollops and Chorizo

Spanish Tapas Plate

Lentil and Rosemary Soup

French Onion Soup

Chilled Pineapple and Lychee Soup

Tomato and Baked Feta Cheese Salad

 

Main Courses

Tandoori Chicken Salad

Rigatoni Pasta

Fish, Seafood and Chips

Roasted Turkey

Rosemary Lamb Shank

Sweet and Sour Premium Vegetarian Chicken Chunks

 

 

There were some menu items that were always available:

 

Shrimp Cocktail (GONE )

Escargot

Caprese Salad (NOT SHOWN)

Arancini (NOT SHOWN)

Antipasti (NOT SHOWN)

Creamy Roasted Garlic Soup (NOT SHOWN)

Minestrone (NOT SHOWN)

Chilled Strawberry bisque (NOT SHOWN)

Insalata Mista (NOT SHOWN)

 

Main Courses

Lasagna Al Forno (NOW LINGUINI WITH POMODORO SAUCE)

Tiger Shrimp (GONE) BROILED SALMON ADDED

Chicken Marsala (NOW MARINATED CHICKEN BREAST)

Grilled Veal T Bone Steak Al Pepe Verde (NOW STRIP STEAK)

Eggplant Parmigiana (GONE) ADDED PREMIUM BEEF SLIDERS

[tip]

I have always ordered the shrimp cocktail because I enjoy it and hey, I think that most of us do not have an appetizer when we dine at home each night!

 

We are going on the Serenade next month and while it certainly won't "ruin" my cruise if it is no longer available, it is one of the items that I look forward to in the MDR. I guess that I can always ask.

[Firefighterhoop]

For those saying making shrimp cocktail is easy... well that just depends where you live on the globe. For those of us where there isn't a fresh supply of shrimp nearby, it tends to get pretty expensive to get not that many shrimp at the store. (Just a thought)

 

I just got off the Serenade (and was on the Legend in Feb) and on Serenade it was never listed in the MDR (That I saw), and on Legend it was only 2 Nights per 10/11 day Cruise. However, I did see and hear of folks getting it at dinner on the Serenade, so maybe all it took was to ask.

[ryano]

 

Shrimp is so incredibly easy to make (as well as the cocktail sauce), I really don't see why folks are so into it, when eating out!

 

Now that sure was helpful :rolleyes:

[cruise wizard]

For those saying making shrimp cocktail is easy... well that just depends where you live on the globe. For those of us where there isn't a fresh supply of shrimp nearby, it tends to get pretty expensive to get not that many shrimp at the store. (Just a thought)

 

I just got off the Serenade (and was on the Legend in Feb) and on Serenade it was never listed in the MDR (That I saw), and on Legend it was only 2 Nights per 10/11 day Cruise. However, I did see and hear of folks getting it at dinner on the Serenade, so maybe all it took was to ask.

 

We asked on the AOS for the shrimp cocktail and was told to us by our regular waiter and the head waiter that it was not available until day 4.

[skiiergirl]

Thanks Gary - great input

 

I took a picture of the last nights menu to determine what had changed.

I looked back at previous MDR thread and found this and added comments in (......) .

 

 

POMODORO

 

Eggplant and Kalamata Olive Tartare

Pan Seared Sea Scollops and Chorizo

Spanish Tapas Plate

Lentil and Rosemary Soup

French Onion Soup

Chilled Pineapple and Lychee Soup

Tomato and Baked Feta Cheese Salad

 

Main Courses

Tandoori Chicken Salad

Rigatoni Pasta

Fish, Seafood and Chips

Roasted Turkey

Rosemary Lamb Shank

Sweet and Sour Premium Vegetarian Chicken Chunks

 

 

There were some menu items that were always available:

 

Shrimp Cocktail (GONE )

Escargot

Caprese Salad (NOT SHOWN)

Arancini (NOT SHOWN)

Antipasti (NOT SHOWN)

Creamy Roasted Garlic Soup (NOT SHOWN)

Minestrone (NOT SHOWN)

Chilled Strawberry bisque (NOT SHOWN)

Insalata Mista (NOT SHOWN)

 

Main Courses

Lasagna Al Forno (NOW LINGUINI WITH POMODORO SAUCE)

Tiger Shrimp (GONE) BROILED SALMON ADDED

Chicken Marsala (NOW MARINATED CHICKEN BREAST)

Grilled Veal T Bone Steak Al Pepe Verde (NOW STRIP STEAK)

Eggplant Parmigiana (GONE) ADDED PREMIUM BEEF SLIDERS

 

 

The items you have listed as gone were formerly on the "Pimiento" menu...not the Pomodoro menu.

[uksimonusa]

Just off Allure and both the Shrimp cocktail and Escargot were listed on the everyday menu on the TV, but were not on the actual menu in the MDR, our waiter told us that they would be on the normal menu after day 4, they were, but not on the every day menu. Also on Vision in September, the Strip steak on the everyday menu was a good half inch or more thick, a nice steak, on Allure it was so thin that the only way it came, no matter how you ordered it, was well done. :(

[cnybob]

We just returned yesterday from the Jewel.

Shrimp cocktail is not listed on the menu but I asked our waiter for it. He was great..Brought us one every night.

Escargot is on the menu. Lobster night was okay...tails are a bit small and a bit on the soft side as compared to Maine lobsters which I think are a firmer meat. But overall the menu was fine.

[ehfl]

As they move away from the banquet food model to a more made to order model, you'll likely see a lot of banquet type food disappear from the menu. I guess if you want banquet food, you'll have to crash a bar mitzva or sales conference.

[Nan59]

We are just off the 3/22 sailing of the Independence. No shrimp on the menu at all in the main dining room. This is one of the items that my DH enjoys having every night on a cruise. We had a great waiter and on night 3 he was able to bring it to my DH and one other gentleman at our table who had also asked about it. He too said there was a shortage...really? Cases of it at my local Costco. On the last night our special waiter brought it to our entire table as we had asked if it would ever be on the menu. Overall, we felt the MDR food had gone downhill. It wasn't bad just not great. An upcharge for a "good" steak appears on the MDR menu....something we had seen before, but it has been a couple years since we cruised on Royal.

[SeaPeaInn]

No shrimp cocktail! I may have to quit cruising. Where else could you get it? Certainly not at home.:p

[LeesSummitCruiser1]

Shrimp was not on the menu the first 3 nights but was on the menu the last 4 nights. Lobster did not have shrimp but I preordered 2 lobster tails and got them so I did not miss the shrimp.

[racerxspeedy]

Thanks for the follow up. Did the portions seem smaller than expected? I was hearing complaints that the prime rib and tenderloin was cut very thin.

 

Was Seaview still charging a nightly fee aka "burgers and brews"

[awhcruiser]

$39 for shrimp? No thanks...

We were on Enchantment last week and had the Shrimp Cocktail on the MDR menu for dinner.

 

I honestly don't see the big deal about the MDR shrimp ... its just 4 or 5 of those small slimy little shrimp laying in a puddle of water on some limp lettuce ... nothing special.

 

Now ... the Shrimp Cocktail in CHOPS, on the other hand ... OMG !! Amazing stuff !!

[Homosassa]

We were on the Vision 2/7/15 and there was not any shrimp cocktail on the menu until the third night I think. When I asked about it, was told I could get it if I really wanted it. Also, the first nights menu had no formal name and no prime rib as was the case in past cruisers on this ship. Seems like Royal is quick to tell us about changes to the menus that they believe are good, but not when changes like this happen. And as someone has mentioned, no shrimp with the lobster on the second formal night, not that I miss it since I usually ate only the lobster.

 

We were on the same Vision cruise departing on 2/7/15. Shrimp cocktail was on the menu every night (the gentleman next to me had it every night) and we both had prime rib the first night as did others around us in the MDR. Our menu was headed "Welcome Aboard."

 

We had an early traditional seating. Did you eat somewhere where the menu was different?

[jamon]

No we didn't eat somewhere else. We had early traditional dining. And as others have reported it seems that the shrimp was not on their menus either on the ships they went on for the first couple of days...so there must be something to it.

[atb]

We were on the 8-day Bahamas cruise, March 13-21. The shrimp cocktail was not on the menu on most days - maybe 2 or 3 days, I don't remember. But DH asked our waiter the first day about shrimp cocktail - and he did get 1 every night. Some nights he got 2.

Even if it's not on the menu - you can always ask. Although the wait staff hates to say no - sometimes it just isn't available.

[Rala]

nice one.

Beat me to it.

Why don't they replace portofino with bubba gumps. He always has loads

 

:d:d:d

 

The above were supposed to be grin faces !??

Edited April 1, 2015 by Rala
more info

[DirtyDawg]

Sorry folks, I hear that there will be a shortage of fresh shrimp for a long time for cruises out of North America.:(

 

Seems that all those American shrimp have migrated to Asia in preparation for all those new ships. It's a long swim for those little guys.:p

 

BTW I'm sitting at my desk having a shrimp and scallops salad. I don't know when I'll be able to enjoy this simple pleasure again.;(

Edited April 1, 2015 by DirtyDawg

[American Bear]

Shrimp cocktail was pulled from the menu this cruise. I asked the waiter and he said this was new, but would bring me a cocktail after he checked with the head waiter. The waiter believes this comes from the head office.

 

Shrimp was also pulled of the lobster dinner plate. The portions were smaller overall (prime rib, tenderloin), so you may need to order multiple entrees or appetizers. I did get two fried shrimp with my fish dinner from the pomodoro menu.

 

Interesting. Any one else seeing this?

 

 

 

Sad to say we haven't been impressed with any shrimp cocktail, the size has certainly gotten smaller.:mad:

[katrina915]

The shrimp that came with our last "lobster tail" were, indeed, shrimpy....so small and so tough.

 

Shrimp is so incredibly easy to make (as well as the cocktail sauce), I really don't see why folks are so into it, when eating out!

 

For me, because it is low in calories. One of the things I use to maintain/lose weight on cruise.