Food in the main dining

[TheGinBoy]

Oh I agree. The food in the MDR is no better than McDonalds or a soup kitchen. I often return to my cabin to weep for hours at the fact that all I have is shrimp cocktail, lobster, filet steak.

 

Being forced to go on these holidays is the bane of my life. If only I could go to Disneyland or Dollyworld.

[LMaxwell]

I find the MDR food to be good to very good. Never have had complaints over the quality of the food. If I make a selection and I don't like the food, I ask for a different dish.

 

Yes, quality has dropped markedly over time. This is to drive people to specialty restaurants.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

Oh I agree. The food in the MDR is no better than McDonalds or a soup kitchen. I often return to my cabin to weep for hours at the fact that all I have is shrimp cocktail, lobster, filet steak.

 

Being forced to go on these holidays is the bane of my life. If only I could go to Disneyland or Dollyworld.

 

For a second, after reading the first sentence, I was going to post something along the lines of "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME?!", but then I continued reading and realized the sarcasm... :o

 

P.S. I agree with you.

Edited July 9, 2015 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[Big_G]

Can someone please post the location of these cafeterias that they are comparing with the MDR? I must be going to the wrong ones.

 

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[George C]

I find the food in MDR very hit or miss, can get a decent meal, also service is also hit and miss, but no better or worse than all the other major lines.

[spookwife]

On my upcoming cruise on Allure I'm eating one dinner in main dining room.I find the food in the main dining room a step above cafeteria food. I don't understand that RC can't get the main dining food better. It is usually served cold and lacks flavor, maybe it's a cheaper grade of beef, fish and veal.

 

and your point is? if they raise the price of the cruise in order to provide better cuts of beef you'd be on here griping that they are greedy.

 

the only 'cold' food I have ever been served is that yummy watermelon soup. I could eat that every day. lacking of flavor? again, never been a huge issue for me.

 

is it fine dining? of course not. is it banquet food? well d'Uh. when did you ever have magnificent food at a wedding or convention?!

 

Is it well rounded, appealing to a wide variety of plates? yes. I have always found SOMETHING that appeals to me on every menu.

[ryano]

Can someone please post the location of these cafeterias that they are comparing with the MDR? I must be going to the wrong ones.

 

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IMHO, Piccadilly is better than MDR food if for no other reason than they are not preparing for and serving 2000 people per sitting and the food is kept at right temps until its on the plate.

 

I was pretty underwhelmed with the "new" MDR menus but still found plenty to eat. I will say that the Rosemary lambshank is still delicious and remains one of the best meals Ive had anywhere. The lasagna on the MDR menu is some of the worst food ive ever put in my mouth. :o Never again :)

 

Most every land based, non fast food place I frequent is better than MDR food to me though. I try and remember that MDR food is massed prepared and served to thousands so its still pretty good considering.

Edited July 9, 2015 by ryano

[soccerdad72]

We ate dinner in the MDR every night on our Western Med. cruise a couple weeks ago. I can somewhat understand where the OP is coming from.

 

Overall, while I thought the food was fine, it seemed to lack something compared to our previous cruise (Thanksgiving 2013 on Freedom of the Seas). I can't pinpoint one particular thing, just that it all seemed kind of generic in general.

 

The worst of the cruise (and again, this is a minor rant) is our final night, when we had a duplicate menu from a couple nights earlier (and not one we were that enthralled with in the first place :p ).

[ckfred]

I think MDR food is quite good, and it's better than the food I've had at wedding receptions at a lot of banquet halls.

 

Now, is it going to get 4 stars from Michelin? No. Restaurants that serve thousands of meals a night in 2 seatings can't compare to a restaurant that, over the course of 5pm to 11pm, serves a few hundred diners in multiple seatings.

 

Let's also remember that the MDR is serving a varied menu. Most restaurants that get good reviews from dining critics tend to specialize, such as steak, seafood, Italian, French, Creole, etc.

 

And, whereas a 4-star restaurant often has a chef who goes shopping for produce in the morning and has fresh seafood delivered daily, sometimes shipped by air freight, a ship loads its provisions on the day of departure from its home port.

 

Finally, this is RC. You expect the food to be better than Carnival, but but maybe a step or two down from Celebrity, Holland-America, or Cunard, who cater to a different demographic.

[looking4info]

Used to be MUCH higher quality...but it's still better than the buffet, IMO....and I don't relish paying for dinners nightly...so....

 

Can you clarify when was "used to be" and how recent is your comparison to "used to be" ?

[ryano]

Can you clarify when was "used to be" and how recent is your comparison to "used to be" ?

 

You are wasting your time if you plan on waiting on a reply from her. Wont happen. :o

[tinkr2]

We have been disappointed with MDR food. It's fine, it's not great. Your opinion of the food is going to depend on where you're coming from. If you eat chef menus at fine dining at home, you're going to be pretty unimpressed . I love some of the chef menus at the specialty restaurants. The Chefs Table on Allure and Oasis was amazing. But spend your money on what makes you happy.., I think even one cent in the casino is a waste but that doesn't mean other people don't value it.

[looking4info]

You are wasting your time if you plan on waiting on a reply from her. Wont happen. :o

 

Knew that when I posted. ;):D

[soccerdad72]

You are wasting your time if you plan on waiting on a reply from her. Wont happen. :o

 

That's a "her"??

 

Why do I have this mental picture?

 

[bigque]

I think MDR food is quite good, and it's better than the food I've had at wedding receptions at a lot of banquet halls.

 

Now, is it going to get 4 stars from Michelin? No. Restaurants that serve thousands of meals a night in 2 seatings can't compare to a restaurant that, over the course of 5pm to 11pm, serves a few hundred diners in multiple seatings.

 

Let's also remember that the MDR is serving a varied menu. Most restaurants that get good reviews from dining critics tend to specialize, such as steak, seafood, Italian, French, Creole, etc.

 

And, whereas a 4-star restaurant often has a chef who goes shopping for produce in the morning and has fresh seafood delivered daily, sometimes shipped by air freight, a ship loads its provisions on the day of departure from its home port.

 

Finally, this is RC. You expect the food to be better than Carnival, but but maybe a step or two down from Celebrity, Holland-America, or Cunard, who cater to a different demographic.

 

Exactly! People don't understand that they are not in the kitchen preparing you meal when ordered but these meals are prepared hours in advance of them being served and then have to be kept to a serving temperature until served! I managed military dining facilities in the Air Force while in the military and it was constant food preparation for a large scale amount of people. While serving breakfast, food was being prepared for lunch. while lunch was being served food was being prepared for dinner and I am sure it is the same on the ship but on a much larger scale.

I have said it before that for what they prepare for the amount of people they prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner and meals in between for....they do a hell of a job. If Ruth Chris, Morton's or any other upscale place had to serve meals in this quantity and for as many people, I guaranty you the quality will go down also!

[Bobal]

I think the MDR food has declined in quality and choice over the years. We were disappointed with a number of dishes on our recent trip on Allure but we felt the menus got better as the week went on. It's the choices that I have most issue with, such bland unimaginative choices which is why I would have loved to have had Dynamic Dining on Allure........but I realise that's another discussion which I probably shouldn't raise :p

 

To the OP, however, if you are booked into a suite on Allure you will be able to eat in Coastal Kitchen for free which, by all accounts, is very good indeed.

[BillNY]

I'm about to take my first cruise with RCL, so I can't comment on the MDR food on there, but I do intend to eat in the MDR almost every night of our 15 day transatlantic.

Thats because I have found the MDR offerings on the cruise lines I have sailed (Princess, Cunard, NCL, even the "dreaded" Carnival, whose MDR offerings I find better than NCL's by far BTW), to be better than the average banquet food. I am NYC born and bred, and I've probably been to and enjoyed every noted and trendy restaurant there is or was, and while I know the MDR food doesn't hold a candle to what's served there, they aren't so far off the mark as to be ridiculed. As has been said repeatedly, serving 2000 guests is a much different task than catering to a hundred or so in an upscale establishment.

Maybe I just have pedestrian taste? :)

Edited July 9, 2015 by BillNY

[BillOh]

I enjoy the food in the MDR.

 

I mostly do too, but it does seemed to have taken a step back over the past 10 years. I would take exception to the OPs ALWAYS COLD. That is a function of the wait/team.

[yellosno]

I would NEVER use the word VERY GOOD to rate the food in the main dining room. It like saying Sizzler or Outback is as good as Mastro's or Morton's.

Everybody has there own taste.

RC lovers always bash you when you state your opinion.

If I spend the mney for a Owners Suite, which Ialways do, I don't mind spending the extra money for the speciality restaurants.

 

HaHaHa, this is a mass market cruise line, they do a pretty good job with the food. I also spend the "mney" in specialty restaurants, but still enjoy the MDR.

[yellosno]

Oh I agree. The food in the MDR is no better than McDonalds or a soup kitchen. I often return to my cabin to weep for hours at the fact that all I have is shrimp cocktail, lobster, filet steak.

 

Being forced to go on these holidays is the bane of my life. If only I could go to Disneyland or Dollyworld.

 

Love this ! and love the UK by the way, wish the airfare wasn't so much now:(