Food on Royal Caribbean

[k8ster72]

As most people on here will say, food is subjective. I, honestly, do not cruise primarily for the food. If I did, I'd stick with other lines. I like Celebrity better for sure. I enjoy Royal mainly for the highly innovative ships. Indoor skydiving, and ice skating at sea? Yes, please! I also enjoy the Solarium.

 

That being said, I have never gone hungry. I find that the MDR to be fairly hit or miss. Always ask the waiters about the food. They have to try everything.

 

I find the Windjammer to be best at dinner. Breakfast is like a mid-ranged hotel buffet. Pretty mass-produced. Lunch has plenty of variety some good, some bad. I happen to like the Indian dishes. They seem to step it up a bit for dinner, but really about the same as what you can get in the MDR.

 

I have rarely been disappointed with a specialty restaurant. If anything, they just take too long sometimes. The food is usually very good. I feel like they are worth paying for.

[Diver2014]

We thought the food in the Windjammer and MDR on Oasis was quite good except for breakfast in the Windjammer. We ended up going to MDR for the rest of the week. The best food we've had on RCI was in the Windjammer on the Radiance of the Seas in Australia. We ate in the MDR only once because there was such a huge selection of food in the Windjammer that was always excellent in taste and presentation. We don't bother with specialty restaurants, not had good experiences that warranted the extra charges.

[ksuds]

I've never starved while on a cruise. However, over the years I have noticed decline in the quality of food. Yes, the food is prepared for the masses way ahead of dinner time. If anyone has ever done a kitchen tour, you will see them cooking the chicken breasts at 10:00 in the morning.

 

I usually rank the quality about the same as one of the buffet chains you can find on land. The specialty rest are usually better, but I feel their quality has also gone downhill also.

 

For those that remember the honey stung chicken back in the day. On any thread that talked about food, that used to be the crowd favorite. Look at what they've done to it now.

[Paul65]

For those that remember the honey stung chicken back in the day. On any thread that talked about food, that used to be the crowd favorite. Look at what they've done to it now.

 

I always wondered why there was so much hype about the honey-stung chicken "back in the day." It was basically a pan-fried chicken cutlet - not bad, with a fairly tasty breading, but nothing special. What have they done to it now?

[Sherri914]

I always wonder what people that say the food is awesome eat when they are home.

 

Yes... TRUE! I should've expanded on that. To me, it's food. It's not gourmet, and certainly not 5-star. Nor is it horrible, awful, or inedible. It's hotel-style, banquet-quality food. I eat to live. I don't live to eat. But I know for some, food is a huge part of their vacation, and for them, this style of food may fall short. But I wouldn't call that inedible.

[Sherri914]

I always wondered why there was so much hype about the honey-stung chicken "back in the day." It was basically a pan-fried chicken cutlet - not bad, with a fairly tasty breading, but nothing special. What have they done to it now?

 

This is so true! Before our first RC cruise, I remember reading on CC over and over the raves about the honey stung chicken in the Windjammer. I sought it out. Made mental notes and actually went looking for it every day on our cruise. It was just a fried chicken cutlet. I remember thinking "what was all the hype"?

[ryano]

Yes... TRUE! I should've expanded on that. To me, it's food. It's not gourmet, and certainly not 5-star. Nor is it horrible, awful, or inedible. It's hotel-style, banquet-quality food. I eat to live. I don't live to eat. But I know for some, food is a huge part of their vacation, and for them, this style of food may fall short. But I wouldn't call that inedible.

 

Totally agree :)

[ryano]

I always wondered why there was so much hype about the honey-stung chicken "back in the day." It was basically a pan-fried chicken cutlet - not bad, with a fairly tasty breading, but nothing special. What have they done to it now?

 

I think most of the hype came from the fact that it was only served in the WJ on boarding day. Plus, from what I understand, way "back in the day" it was an actual non processed chicken breast and was very tasty. It later wound up being a frozen, processed chicken "pattie" from Tysons and was just "meh" to me.

 

As far as what they have done to it now, they totally got rid of it fleetwide. its still on some room service menus but they bring chicken tenders instead

[bigque]

Is every meal in the MDR outstanding.......No! Is every meal in the MDR lousy.........No! Is everything in the Windjammer good.........No! Is everything in the Windjammer bad.........No! But those who say that the food is just lousy in every venue on the ship.....come on really!??? After every cruise I notice the line of ambulances waiting to take the people off that are suffering from malnutrition from not having ate all week. But seriously....why keep coming back to a cruise line that serves inedible food in every venue on the ship?????? I am so glad that I eat in more than 5 star restaurants on land but also eat at fast food places, food courts in malls, Golden Coral, Chili's, Applebee's, Diners, Dive Joints, Food Trucks, etc., so when I am on a cruise I am always able to find something I am going to like no matter what the venue!

 

I think that they do a hell of a good job for feeding 2,500 to 5,000 or more people (depending on the ship) breakfast, lunch and dinner and meals in between in multiple venues every day of the cruise! I think some people don't have a clue as to what that entails!

 

:cool:

Edited June 29, 2015 by bigque

[TravelinGert]

My experience of Royal Caribbean thus far has only been a transatlantic where the ship was new, and stocked in Europe. I know some of the food choices such as Wheatabix in the Windjammer probably aren't what is found on every cruise. I'm not terrifically picky and evidently not much of a foodie I guess, because I found the food generally pretty decent.

 

They replaced the food on the buffet quite frequently, and had a lot of fresh fruit and salad veggie options there. The ship we were on did not have an MDR, so no idea there, but the several included specialty dining rooms were similar in quality to a chain restaurant. Just like chain restaurants at home, some are better than others. Our experience was one of them was extremely bad, one was extremely good, and the rest were decent enough. The for fee specialty restaurants definitely had less of an assembly line prep feel.

[LeeBe]

Although I may be in a minority, I think a few years back when they went to the present menu it was a step back. While I was bored with the "old" menu, I would go back to it in a New York minute. That being said I still can find things I am satisfied with and do thoroughly enjoy the foods being brought to me me in very nice surroundings. Guess I like being waited on!

[dacsmom]

Food is so subjective. You can get a range of opinions from totally inedible to fantastic from people on the same cruise. I like the food in the MDR. Love Chops, and Giovanni's Table.

[thejewgernaut]

I think the food in the MDR is pretty solid, although there can be some frightening variances some nights. I have in general found the specialty restaurants to be worth the up charge, although the "value" varies. Note these reviews are largely based on Oasis class experiences the past few years.

 

For example -- I have really enjoyed the chef's table and Park 150. They were pricey, but excellent value to me and wonderful food and experiences. I think hands down the best value is Giovanni's table, which I have found consistently excellent, particularly for the price. Interestingly while I think Chops is a good meal, I don't think it is worth the price. That said, I am clearly in the minority, because it is always packed there and Royal has been able to raise the prices over and over. Go figure.

 

Windjammer -- really depends. As buffets go, it is decent, but people have accurately pointed out some of the bad dishes (the burgers really are mediocre in my opinion) and the bacon is hit or miss. I actually love indian food myself, and am usually pretty excited for the daily dish(es) offered.

 

Bottom line as all others have said - it is pretty subjective. Purely my opinion, but I will note there has been a bit of a drop off in ingredient quality in the MDR, but I do think they stock good ingredients in the specialty dining - the up charge model has taken root, for good or for ill. That debate is one that can be had in other threads :eek:

[OCruisers]

For dinner the Specialty Restaurants are very good. :)

 

MDR food for dinner doesn't work for us. :rolleyes:

 

Easy ... just book a Specialty Restaurant every night! :D

 

LuLu

[John&LaLa]

If I was cruising mainly for the food, I would cruise on Holland America. They have the best food.

 

We gave up eating in the main dining room a long time ago. We do not choose to spend 2 hours eating a meal and had rather see the food we are going to eat. My DH calls it "foo foo food".

 

We cruise on Royal Caribbean for the ship and the entertainment, not the food. We find the food to be quite tasteless and not as fresh. They don't cook anything in front of you i.e. hamburgers and eggs are already cooked and waiting for you. HAL cooks fresh omelets and eggs (fried, eggs benedict, etc.). They also have an oriental station for lunch every day that has wonderful and different selections everyday.

 

If you love good food, try HAL.

 

WJ on most ships have fabulous cooked to order eggs. They also have decent pre made eggs if you can't wait 6 minutes

[kalliekae]

If I was cruising mainly for the food, I would cruise on Holland America. They have the best food.

 

Totally agree with you. We don't cruise RCCL for the food. The ship's entertainment and other amenities is the destination for us. We have always enjoyed the specialty restaurants more than the dining room. We might eat in the MDR once. It's basically banquet food and it just doesn't appeal to us. Windjammer or Park Cafe fits the bill for breakfast. We've only cruised on HAL and RCCL, but of the two, we prefer HAL's food.

[John&LaLa]

I too have only sailed with Royal Caribbean once and the food was truly awful in the MDR. The buffet was quite well organised and had sone reasonable choices, but I tend to avoid buffets.

 

On the speciality restaurant scene, Splendour OTS had Chops Grille and Izumi (sushi). Chops was pretty good, and well worth the money for the upgrade from the MDR. Izumi was not so good and not particularly worth the money IMO.

 

I am also a foodie so I'm pleased to hear that some of the reviews of Anthem have been much better, as I'm sailing on her in September! If I have to pay for speciality restaurants this doesn't bother me - I already have a pre-paid reservation once in all of them.

 

To be truthful, you've only done one Royal cruise, and on one of the older soon to be sold off ships. Did you try Chef's Table? We did on Legend and it may be one of the best meals I ever had on land or sea. We eagerly await your review on Anthem ;)

[time4u2go]

I always wonder what the people who say, "The food was awful" normally eat when they are at home.

...

 

Not sure why it matters, but since you're wondering, we eat good food at home.

Edited June 30, 2015 by time4u2go

[CruisingSince2012]

To be truthful, you've only done one Royal cruise, and on one of the older soon to be sold off ships.

 

Which ship is going to be sold off soon?

[John&LaLa]

Which ship is going to be sold off soon?

 

Majesty and then Splendour I believe

[Clarea]

Which ship is going to be sold off soon?

Splendour, early next year.

[John&LaLa]

Splendour, early next year.

 

It's because the food is bad. :p;):eek:

[Markmom18]

I'm reading the comments here and am SO excited to be on Royal again. I just wanted to ask about the desserts.

 

On Carnival we tend to see a lot of a mousse-like texture in far too many dessert options. It seemed that the only difference was the color .....brown,yellow, red.:p

 

I will add that my husband and I liked the option of choosing a steak in Carnivals MDR. YES, it cost $20. It was worth it for us to upgrade in the MDR, rather than spending a few hours & more money in the Speciality Restaurant. Their Flank steak was a hit n miss deal.

 

Thank you all for sharing your experiences.

Bobbi

[John&LaLa]

I'm reading the comments here and am SO excited to be on Royal again. I just wanted to ask about the desserts.

 

On Carnival we tend to see a lot of a mousse-like texture in far too many dessert options. It seemed that the only difference was the color .....brown,yellow, red.:p

 

I will add that my husband and I liked the option of choosing a steak in Carnivals MDR. YES, it cost $20. It was worth it for us to upgrade in the MDR, rather than spending a few hours & more money in the Speciality Restaurant. Their Flank steak was a hit n miss deal.

 

Thank you all for sharing your experiences.

Bobbi

 

Key lime pie on last night is a ways a winner

[CruisingSince2012]

I'm reading the comments here and am SO excited to be on Royal again. I just wanted to ask about the desserts.

 

On Carnival we tend to see a lot of a mousse-like texture in far too many dessert options. It seemed that the only difference was the color - brown, yellow, red.

 

I will add that my husband and I liked the option of choosing a steak in Carnivals MDR. YES, it cost $20. It was worth it for us to upgrade in the MDR, rather than spending a few hours & more money in the Speciality Restaurant. Their Flank steak was a hit n miss deal.

 

Thank you all for sharing your experiences.

 

It did not matter where we ate on the Sensation. Mom called what she ordered in the MDR for lunch the worst thing she ever ate. In the buffet, she complained a couple things were cold and my pumpkin bread was stale. We did not eat at any specialty restaurants, however. So I am really hoping RCI has better quality food (not just better tasting) if I ever sail on an Oasis class ship.