Disappointment on the Ruby.

[lovey1103]

Seeing a pattern here.

Food on the Royal in October was the pits. The Horizan Court is roomy and nicely done. The food not so much. Boring and repeats. I always felt like I was eating left overs.

[goofy559]

I hope so, but my friend just got off the Caribbean Princess a few days ago and they were unhappy with the food too.:eek:

We just got off the Caribbean and thought the food was quite good. There were one or two duds but overall quite tasty.

[Sillyjilly]

Seeing a pattern here.

Food on the Royal in October was the pits. The Horizan Court is roomy and nicely done. The food not so much. Boring and repeats. I always felt like I was eating left overs.

 

That's exactly how I felt. Like I was eating yesterday's leftovers, over and over again. :eek:

[shredie]

Probably a new chef.

 

Or maybe a temporary one? The executive Chef really does make a difference, I've found.

[Sillyjilly]

Or maybe a temporary one? The executive Chef really does make a difference, I've found.

 

I hope that's what it was.

 

They have gone from steamers to ?electric warmers? in the buffet. Food was cold 90% of the time. Soup too. So unlike Princess. :(

[XBGuy]

If the chef has changed, then I agree that might be the difference. Leadership from management is important. The Executive Chef must set the standards for all the venues.

[Lanwood]

Golden Princess - 9 weeks ago = Food, Terrible. Service, Terrible.

A few inquiries into the cruise revealed a large % of the crew just starting on their 1st contracts.

 

Emerald Princess - 3 weeks ago = Food Brilliant. All venues. Service Brilliant.

Couldn't find fault anywhere (except Xmas lunch was nothing special in MDR)

[Sillyjilly]

Golden Princess - 9 weeks ago = Food, Terrible. Service, Terrible.

A few inquiries into the cruise revealed a large % of the crew just starting on their 1st contracts.

 

Emerald Princess - 3 weeks ago = Food Brilliant. All venues. Service Brilliant.

Couldn't find fault anywhere (except Xmas lunch was nothing special in MDR)

 

This is good to hear. Thanks for sharing.

 

I'll hang on to my Star Princess cruise for now and hope for the best. Mostly worried as it's a 15 day cruise and I was at my wits end by the end of 10 on the Ruby.:eek::eek::eek:

[ano]

Was on the Crown in November. Couldn't believe how bad the food was. Carnival is now more upscale than Princess.

[caribill]

Fish and Chips were never served in the buffet and are now in the Salty Dog for 12 bucks.

 

 

Just to confirm:

 

You are saying that what used to be the free Pub Lunch held on some sea days is now called a Salty Dog lunch with a menu different than the evening Salty Dog one, with the menu being part or all of what used to be the Pub Lunch menu?

[Sillyjilly]

Just to confirm:

 

You are saying that what used to be the free Pub Lunch held on some sea days is now called a Salty Dog lunch with a menu different than the evening Salty Dog one, with the menu being part or all of what used to be the Pub Lunch menu?

 

If there was a Pub lunch I never saw it.

 

Fish and Chips are a part of the Salty Dog Menu. (Not sure if they were before.) Never did check to see the hours of the Salty Dog. Just spoke with someone who had Fish and Chips there and paid 12 bucks.

 

That, and the fact I never saw the Pub Lunch in the patters, nor did I see fish and chips in the buffet, led me to believe my beloved fish and chips can only be purchase for 12 bucks. I hope I am wrong.

[Sillyjilly]

Was on the Crown in November. Couldn't believe how bad the food was. Carnival is now more upscale than Princess.

 

I never thought I would agree with this statement, but if this is the new Princess, then you are 100% correct.

[antsp]

If there was a Pub lunch I never saw it.

 

Fish and Chips are a part of the Salty Dog Menu. (Not sure if they were before.) Never did check to see the hours of the Salty Dog. Just spoke with someone who had Fish and Chips there and paid 12 bucks.

 

That, and the fact I never saw the Pub Lunch in the patters, nor did I see fish and chips in the buffet, led me to believe my beloved fish and chips can only be purchase for 12 bucks. I hope I am wrong.

 

No free pub lunch, went and had a look at wheelhouse during day whilst salty dog was on, place had 1 or 2 table in use, more staff than customers

[Sillyjilly]

No free pub lunch, went and had a look at wheelhouse during day whilst salty dog was on, place had 1 or 2 table in use, more staff than customers

 

So the Salty dog is day time too? I honestly thought that is when my cc friend ate there.

[nomadguy]

on Ruby last Dec 17-22. Food was edible but nothing memorable from MDR. Didn't do the buffets (noro joined that sailing). I'm a dessert person and there wasn't one dessert that was so great I'd order it a second time! Now that was disappointing. DH had pizza said it wasn't bad (considering it's west of the Mississippi). At pub lunch one day with another couple - 4 of us with big platters of fish & chips on a small cocktail table, ketchup, vinegar, and 4 beverages! Now that was a sight to behold. The fish I gave to DH as he will eat anything - it was too soggy for me.

 

Headed for the Caribbean Princess on 1/28 - sure hope the food is a big improvement over what we had on the Ruby or we'll be cancelling our future deposit holds!

[capriccio]

Was on the Crown in November. Couldn't believe how bad the food was. Carnival is now more upscale than Princess.

 

And we were on the Crown for 31 days from early December to early January. All 4 of us thought the MDR food and presentation was the best we have had on Princess. Just differences in taste? Possibly a new executive chef? Longer cruises (a 17 day followed by a 14) so therefore a wider variety of menus? Who knows?

[GOODIES]

I am on the Ruby end of Feb, I hear they will be serving top shelf food

fresh sushi, good omelets in buffet, great scenery and good cocktails

but personally I like the international cafe

my last 4 cruises have been on royal or regal and they have the nicest buffet

I am certain princess food is still better than most cruise line,

sorry for your experience, give them another try

Rick

[dickinson]

And we were on the Crown for 31 days from early December to early January. All 4 of us thought the MDR food and presentation was the best we have had on Princess. Just differences in taste? Possibly a new executive chef? Longer cruises (a 17 day followed by a 14) so therefore a wider variety of menus? Who knows?

 

We were on the Crown for 28 days Oct/Nov. Buffet food was boring and repetitive. MDR was much better. Maybe that person you quoted was talking about the buffet because after that cruise there was a thread here on CC that talked about the buffet having the same foods over and over. Either a new chef or orders from Princess.

[Clownfish Cruiser]

I hope so, but my friend just got off the Caribbean Princess a few days ago and they were unhappy with the food too.:eek:

 

We just got off the Caribbean Princess, too. We thought the food was good for the most part. We skipped the MDR a few times because the menu didn't look too appealing (and mostly because we didn't want to make the effort to get fixed up after a day in port), but overall, no complaints.

[vmom]

Just to confirm:

 

You are saying that what used to be the free Pub Lunch held on some sea days is now called a Salty Dog lunch with a menu different than the evening Salty Dog one, with the menu being part or all of what used to be the Pub Lunch menu?

 

Yes. I was on this sailing also. There was no pub lunch. I looked for it daily. Its been replaced at both lunch and dinner by another extra fee venue Gastropub for $12.

 

This extra fee to get a good meal is really getting out of hand. 4 extra fee venues now .

[HawksFan74]

Well, this is discouraging. We board Ruby in 3 days. It will be our first cruise on Princess after two previously with Carnival. Never had any complaints with Carnival but decided to try something else to see what we were missing lol! That, and Ruby was the only ship going to Mexico the week that we wanted to go.

 

This cruise is costing us significantly more that either of our previous cruises, and we are expecting to be "wowed". Hopefully, we won't be disappointed.

[west coast cruiser]

Well, this is discouraging. We board Ruby in 3 days. It will be our first cruise on Princess after two previously with Carnival. Never had any complaints with Carnival but decided to try something else to see what we were missing lol! That, and Ruby was the only ship going to Mexico the week that we wanted to go.

 

This cruise is costing us significantly more that either of our previous cruises, and we are expecting to be "wowed". Hopefully, we won't be disappointed.

 

Got off the Ruby yesterday and thought everything was great I cruise Princess a lot and I thought the MDR food was much improved. The Crew was great. Enjoy your cruise. I know you will.

[smf81]

I also returned yesterday from the 10-day Ruby cruise. In general, I though the food was fine.

 

I'm not much of a buffet person, but I was always able to find something to eat when we did go there. We never tried dinner there, though.

 

The main dining room was just fine. I did order the always available salmon twice when I didn't see anything more appealing that day, but never had anything I didn't enjoy. We also had lunch in the MDR a few times. We did learn after the first time not to go right at noon when they are busiest, but otherwise the service and food were fine.

 

We ate at the Crown Grill one night, that was as good as usual. I asked for a lobster tail on the side of my lamb chops, and was served six of them!

 

I did notice the lack of the British Pub lunch, that was a disappointment. I never did check out the Salty Dog lunch menu since there were plenty of other choices available.

 

The Lido deck grill and pizza venues seemed as good as usual to me.

 

But for me, the absolute highlight was the Ultimate Balcony Dinner the evening we sailed out of Loreto. Perfectly cooked filet and lobster, dedicated waiters just outside seeing to our every need, and a romantic moonlit dinner on our balcony in warm weather! Heaven!

Edited January 18, 2017 by smf81

[3kidsncats]

Smf81 -- thanks for adding your recent experience. Due to some dietary restrictions (and personal preference for a more fine dining experience), we will be eating more meals in the MDR than the buffet. And I'm especially happy to hear your great report on the UBD since we have that booked :-)

[sassyredhat]

Hi Jill. I remember you from a past cruise. :)

 

We are booked on the Star in March, before the dry dock. It's only a 5 dayer, but I can check it out.

 

We sailed Ruby to Hawaii, and it is my least favorite ship ONLY because getting to the MDR for early seating was a nightmare every single night. They closed one elevator and we had a lot of scooters which took up a lot of elevator room.

 

We thought the MDR food was good, Sabatini's was excellent, loved the IC, pizza, and pool area food was pretty good. Friends said the Salty Dog was good, but I won't pay for that either. :)

 

There were several issues with plumbing on Emerald deck that annoyed me.

For the most part, PCL is our line of choice. but we are branching out a bit.

 

Patti