Food can it get any more boring?

[ldlewis45]

I'm thinking you might enjoy the Indonesian dishes aboard HAL. I'm told by the largely Indonesian staff that they are quite authentic. Not sure if the rest of a HAL cruise would appeal, however, if you are used to the luxury lines.

Or the Indian food on Carnival. Every night, there's an Indian vegetarian entrée on the MDR menu. It used to be stuff that the kitchen employees would make for themselves (they're mostly Indian), but they had so many passengers that knew to ask for it that they started putting it on the menu. It's something different every night, and even the wait staff don't usually know what it is, so it's always a nice surprise to see what gets delivered. It's usually good stuff, too.

[ldlewis45]

I had a bit of an epiphany on my cruise in April - food is just food. I started thinking about it totally differently. Instead of ordering what I would typically order I chose something completely different. Instead of prime rib, which I love but I can cook, I ordered the mofungo (sp?), a Caribbean dish I had never had. After the first night it was fun looking at the menu completely differently. I didn't order anything I knew I wouldn't like (like sea bass) but chose items that I just wouldn't typically order.

 

It made going to dinner each night an adventure.

I live in Miami and have been down to Puerto Rico before, so I would be very hesitant to even try a cruise ship's mofongo, no matter which cruise ship. I've had the good stuff, so I would be upset to order something that I know I love and have my meal ruined. I think the key is definitely to order things that you've never had before, because that way you have nothing with which to compare.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I usually don't like wedding/conference food either and we very rarely go for a buffet. If we do it would be because of a particular specialisation of the buffet (for example the famous Peranakan buffet at the Stamford in Singapore which is about $60 ppax). Perhaps also though, for us, a buffet is wandering the streets of Penang, spending $2 here and $2 there 'grazing' from the different carts. Where I often live $100 could very easily feed me for a week. At home we cook, and we love to cook. Last night we had cajun-inspired chicken and a Sicilian veg dish (weird combo but it worked). Tonight we are having Burmese Chicken curry with a bean and onion stir-fry. I love food.

 

You have to be fair, lahore. What you can get for $2 in Penang would cost $12-18 in Australia at good Asian food courts or basic restaurants.

 

I consider myself a foodie, and I've eaten at some seriously good restaurants around the world and in Australia, plus I also enjoy cooking. We've also done a few luxury train trips where the cuisine has been excellent. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food in the MDR on our Sun Princess cruise over Christmas. It wasn't 5 star, some dishes were worthy of a 4 star, but in the main, most were were tasty, enjoyable but basic. There were very few fails in my opinion but perhaps my expectations weren't as high as yours. I was, however, disappointed in the food on our Royal Caribbean cruise. Apart from four excellent dishes, most of the food was very boring and lacking in variety compared with Princess.

 

I've just booked to go on Dawn Princess in August and I will be very interested to see how that compares with Sun Princess.

[cougaraz]

Princess is a mass market cruise line and has to adhere to the market. The food they prepare is dictated by Princess corporate right down to method of preparation and even how the food is displayed on the plates. In the kitchen they have pictures of the plates and how they are to appear once food is put on them. If you want gourmet food, you need to go to Sanborn or one of the upscale lines.

 

Having done four Princess cruises across four geographic locations in the last 12 months, this is only partially true. There are pictures to ensure consistency, but a fairly generous latitude is granted to each ship's Executive Chef to prepare dishes that express their own unique style and interpretation. I was actually fascinated to try the same dish on multiple cruises and come to find a unique spin applied by the team on board.

[lahore]

If you had been comparing food amongst Cruises at the same level as Princess i would understand .To compare the food with a Luxury expensive cruise line I again say very unfair.

I myself am a picky eater but my personal opinion is that Princess gives very good value and even handles the picky eaters very well.That is why I like Traditional dining the waiter gets to know your likes and dislikes I always tip him very well for his devotion to an eccentric passenger like I.:eek::;)They have loads of patience. When you think the kitchen handling food for 3000 passengers and employees:eek:The luxury cruises usually have much smaller vessels so have time for more individuality .Oh gosh I wish I had the Capital to indulge myself in such luxury;)

 

Since you've addressed me twice I'll reply twice. I also compared Princess food with cheap roadside carts in Asia - the cheap roadside carts came up trumps. You don't have to have a lot of money to have tasty imaginative food. And the waiter had nothing to do with the quality of the food. Imagine whatever you personally consider to be the worst possible food, then serve it in a formal dining environment. Did the food get any better? I expect not.

[lahore]

I doubt that. Some people just like spicier food than Princess offers.

 

So the whole of India, South East Asia, etc are smokers? Come on..... I wonder if the people who don't like spicy food are dead :D

[lahore]

T First, because I don't think Princess is the best match for a true foodie and they will have a hard time being satisfied. .

 

Yes, and I do think that's us and you are right.

[lahore]

Or the Indian food on Carnival. Every night, there's an Indian vegetarian entrée on the MDR menu. It used to be stuff that the kitchen employees would make for themselves (they're mostly Indian), but they had so many passengers that knew to ask for it that they started putting it on the menu. It's something different every night, and even the wait staff don't usually know what it is, so it's always a nice surprise to see what gets delivered. It's usually good stuff, too.

 

That sounds fabulous. I don't understand why there isn't more of this. I really just don't understand.

[lahore]

You have to be fair, lahore. What you can get for $2 in Penang would cost $12-18 in Australia at good Asian food courts or basic restaurants.

 

I consider myself a foodie, and I've eaten at some seriously good restaurants around the world and in Australia, plus I also enjoy cooking. We've also done a few luxury train trips where the cuisine has been excellent. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food in the MDR on our Sun Princess cruise over Christmas. It wasn't 5 star, some dishes were worthy of a 4 star, but in the main, most were were tasty, enjoyable but basic. There were very few fails in my opinion but perhaps my expectations weren't as high as yours. I was, however, disappointed in the food on our Royal Caribbean cruise. Apart from four excellent dishes, most of the food was very boring and lacking in variety compared with Princess.

 

I've just booked to go on Dawn Princess in August and I will be very interested to see how that compares with Sun Princess.

 

Yes you could be right about the $12-$18, but surely Princes would budget that much pp?? Anyway i just made that point because people were accusing me of being a snob, comparing Princess with Oceania, so instead I compared it with a food cart just to make a point.

 

I'll be interested to hear what you think of Dawn Princess. I sincerely hope you enjoy it more than we did.

[lahore]

I live in Miami and have been down to Puerto Rico before, so I would be very hesitant to even try a cruise ship's mofongo, no matter which cruise ship. I've had the good stuff, so I would be upset to order something that I know I love and have my meal ruined. I think the key is definitely to order things that you've never had before, because that way you have nothing with which to compare.

 

That could be risky though, it might put you off something for life that is normally great. The 'Mexican' food on Dawn Princess was 90% atrocious (exception being the guacamole which actually had some kick, I was amazed).

[OzKiwiJJ]

Yes you could be right about the $12-$18, but surely Princes would budget that much pp?? Anyway i just made that point because people were accusing me of being a snob, comparing Princess with Oceania, so instead I compared it with a food cart just to make a point.

 

I'll be interested to hear what you think of Dawn Princess. I sincerely hope you enjoy it more than we did.

 

Hard to guess what their food budget is pp, Three meals a day minimum (some people have snacks or afternoon tea), four courses at the MDR dinner, three courses at lunch, no limits on the amount of food you can have .... hmmm, I think that would be a catering nightmare.

 

I haven't cruised on Oceania so I don't know the scale of things there but, from my experiences on luxury trains including The Royal Scotsman, there is a lot less choice available and you don't get extra serves of dishes. Certainly the food quality is better but when you're only preparing six dishes, or one dish in the case of those food carts, rather than 20+ dishes on the average Princess MDR dinner menu, and you're only cooking for a small number of people (how many customers would the average food cart get in an hour for example) then, naturally the quality will be better.

 

Still, a lot does depend on the Executive Chef so that's why I'll be very interested to compare Dawn with Sun.

[Talisker92]

We were on a 32 day cruise on the Golden. The presentatiopn of the food was good, but to our taste it lack seasoning. If we go on another Princess cruise, we will take a bottle of Sriracha and some of my wife's spice rack.

[waltd]

That could be risky though, it might put you off something for life that is normally great. The 'Mexican' food on Dawn Princess was 90% atrocious (exception being the guacamole which actually had some kick, I was amazed).

 

Living in S. California we have some of the best Mexican Restaurants around. Princess really does not know how to cook Mexican dishes. I wish they did as we love Mexican food and we cruise the Pacific coast quite often. But I do like the Indian food I have tasted on some of the Princess Cruises.

[OzKiwiJJ]

We were on a 32 day cruise on the Golden. The presentatiopn of the food was good, but to our taste it lack seasoning. If we go on another Princess cruise, we will take a bottle of Sriracha and some of my wife's spice rack.

 

Seasoning is such a personal thing. You may enjoy your food spiced up, others prefer very bland food and would be outraged if all the food was hot and/or spicy. A ship catering for large numbers will always dumb down the spices to some degree, sadly.

 

Living in S. California we have some of the best Mexican Restaurants around. Princess really does not know how to cook Mexican dishes. I wish they did as we love Mexican food and we cruise the Pacific coast quite often. But I do like the Indian food I have tasted on some of the Princess Cruises.

 

They don't know how to prepare Japanese food either. ;) But realistically Princess food is what I would call traditional European/American and, on the only Princess cruise I've been on so far, it was cooked reasonably well.

[caribill]

Yes you could be right about the $12-$18, but surely Princes would budget that much pp??

 

Don't confuse the retail price in a nice restaurant with the cost of the ingredients. The cost of the ingredients to Princess might be about the same.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Yes you could be right about the $12-$18, but surely Princess would budget that much pp??...

 

As a point of reference, I've read from various sources that those figures are in the ballpark of what mainstream cruise lines spend per day, not per meal, on passenger food. I'm not sure if those numbers are for raw ingredients, or have kitchen labor factored in, but nevertheless I'm surprised the food is as good as it is at those prices.

[caribill]

I haven't cruised on Oceania so I don't know the scale of things there but, from my experiences on luxury trains including The Royal Scotsman, there is a lot less choice available and you don't get extra serves of dishes. Certainly the food quality is better but when you're only preparing six dishes, or one dish in the case of those food carts, rather than 20+ dishes on the average Princess MDR dinner menu, and you're only cooking for a small number of people (how many customers would the average food cart get in an hour for example) then, naturally the quality will be better.

 

 

 

Actually the cooking part on a Princess ship is closer to the food cart example. You do not have one counter where all the meals are prepared. You have individual cooking stations where just one or two items are prepared and the waitstaff go from station to station to pick up their orders.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Actually the cooking part on a Princess ship is closer to the food cart example. You do not have one counter where all the meals are prepared. You have individual cooking stations where just one or two items are prepared and the waitstaff go from station to station to pick up their orders.

 

But they are still churning out a few hundred of each dish, especially the popular dishes, in a relatively short period of time, although all their mise en place would have been done earlier.

 

I doubt a food cart could produce at that rate.

[sfaaa]

Yes you could be right about the $12-$18, but surely Princes would budget that much pp?? .

 

If you look at the amount of half eaten food passengers dumped out at every meal, $12-$18 is probably at the low end.

[GUT2407]

As a point of reference, I've read from various sources that those figures are in the ballpark of what mainstream cruise lines spend per day, not per meal, on passenger food. I'm not sure if those numbers are for raw ingredients, or have kitchen labor factored in, but nevertheless I'm surprised the food is as good as it is at those prices.

 

 

Princess financial statements show that they spend about $10 pp pd on food.

 

That is on ingredients.