I have a theory about MDR

[Newby58]

And don't over eat

 

 

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[grapau27]

I know that it is a safety issue but I think from my experience any issues I have had with the food on the ship can mostly be attributed to having to cook without any open flame in the kitchen. Go to any steak place or restaurant for that matter on land and nobody cooks without an open flame. Sometimes I'm surprised it comes out as good as it does. Before I'm too critical I try to keep that in mind. Just my opinion.

Great point.

 

43 cruises and counting.

[grab007]

Just imagine trying to feed 5000+ people three meals a day. Each wants to eat whatever they want, whenever they want and they expect it served just the way they want it!

 

Not a job I want....

[grapau27]

Just imagine trying to feed 5000+ people three meals a day. Each wants to eat whatever they want, whenever they want and they expect it served just the way they want it!

 

Not a job I want....

They are marvelous they deserve medals not critism.

 

43 cruises and counting.

[LeesSummitCruiser1]

3 examples of poor MDR food on my most recent cruise on Freedom. The mushroom puff pastry was not a puff pastry but a some thin mushroom gravy over a obvious canned biscuit. Baked Alaska was a slice of Neapolitan ice cream with some whip cream on top and a cookie on the bottom, never baked. Cherrys Jubilee was cold cherry pie filling poured over vanilla ice cream. They are using old names for deserts that don't resemble what they are serving. We cruise once a year and food has been going down hill for awhile. Members in our group that had not cruised in several years could not believe the drop in quality.

[grapau27]

3 examples of poor MDR food on my most recent cruise on Freedom. The mushroom puff pastry was not a puff pastry but a some thin mushroom gravy over a obvious canned biscuit. Baked Alaska was a slice of Neapolitan ice cream with some whip cream on top and a cookie on the bottom, never baked. Cherrys Jubilee was cold cherry pie filling poured over vanilla ice cream. They are using old names for deserts that don't resemble what they are serving. We cruise once a year and food has been going down hill for awhile. Members in our group that had not cruised in several years could not believe the drop in quality.

I think previous posters and the hard sell on the ships proves they are saving the better food for people who can be persuaded to pay extra at the specialty restaurants.

 

43 cruises and counting.

[mcatmcat]

After a long week I get tired of the breakfast selection at the windjammer not because the quality is bad but because I have been eating a lot

 

 

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[Nunagoras]

In certain ways Cruise Critic boards are becoming very interesting these days! Let me to give my humble opinion on this subject:

 

Most of the, I wonder legitimate, complains I read here are coming from those 20+ years of cruising history or those from the so called "good ole days" of cruising. Problem? Well: While their complaints are obviously legitimate at certain point, there is a fact that their are, I hope not intentionally, ignoring: That mainstream companies like RCI, Carnival, NCL or MSC had decided that they would downgrade their broad service level from what I we can call the Europpean 5 star hotel experience (the likes of current Ritz Four Seasons) in favour of the mainstream Europpean 4 star hotel experience (the likes of a nice 4 star Marriott in Europe)!... Mainstream lines will deliver a product consistent with a nece 4 star stablishment in Europe... I don't expect any more than that actually!... And I'm happy with that!... Unique exception is RCI Oasis class wich is above 4 star standards but on the 4 star selling scheme... Well: Perharps it's RCI beeing victim of itself for now, but that is another story I don't want to hijack here... :)

 

So now, want at least half of the fift star back? Well that is possible by paying to that!... Suite programs or specialty dining programs are here for some reason, aren't they?...

 

Finally: Someone minimally acquantainced with Operational Risk Management like me knows that nobody in the cruise industry will downgrade MDR service to improve specialty dining sales! Why: To have an eventual individual beeing refused specialty booking because the restaurant is full... It's manageable... So now imagin 30% of the ship beeing refused booking... That should ring a bell not only on top ship management, but also at corporate level!... It's called an Operational Risk Event and that is a no go whatever business you are in... Now imagin that repeated 2 or 3 consecutive weeks!... :)

 

...But one thing is certain: 4 star cruising industry with basic 4 star dining experience is here to stay well and alive for decades!... :) And how it will go?... Perharps for "glorified" dinner buffets like it is going on some to not say many 4 star hotel stablishments here in Europe, at least the ones that deal with big group bookings... We will see!... :)

 

Have a nice day!... :)

[FSUNole]

Interestingly, there is a thread on the Carnival board from someone who just did a carnival cruise after several RCCL and NCL cruises. From her perspective, she says the food in the MDR on Carnival was better than MDR on RCCL and NCL. Anyone else have that experience?

Please don't flame. My theory is that many people overeat during the day and don't enjoy the select offerings in the MDR at night. They may or may not be outstanding. All I am saying is that you have to be hungary for a good meal.

 

 

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[Newby58]

Forgot to mention. One night I paid for the Maine lobster in the MDR. It was absolutely delicious! Not like Aussie lobster...

 

 

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[Newby58]

3 examples of poor MDR food on my most recent cruise on Freedom. The mushroom puff pastry was not a puff pastry but a some thin mushroom gravy over a obvious canned biscuit. Baked Alaska was a slice of Neapolitan ice cream with some whip cream on top and a cookie on the bottom, never baked. Cherrys Jubilee was cold cherry pie filling poured over vanilla ice cream. They are using old names for deserts that don't resemble what they are serving. We cruise once a year and food has been going down hill for awhile. Members in our group that had not cruised in several years could not believe the drop in quality.

 

 

Three out of how many?

 

 

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[JamesEM]

3 examples of poor MDR food on my most recent cruise on Freedom. The mushroom puff pastry was not a puff pastry but a some thin mushroom gravy over a obvious canned biscuit. Baked Alaska was a slice of Neapolitan ice cream with some whip cream on top and a cookie on the bottom, never baked. Cherrys Jubilee was cold cherry pie filling poured over vanilla ice cream. They are using old names for deserts that don't resemble what they are serving. We cruise once a year and food has been going down hill for awhile. Members in our group that had not cruised in several years could not believe the drop in quality.

 

I agree 100%, the food on our Freedom cruise was less than stellar.

[FSUNole]

3.5 stars, perhaps. I wouldn't put it on the 4* level.

In certain ways Cruise Critic boards are becoming very interesting these days! Let me to give my humble opinion on this subject:

 

Most of the, I wonder legitimate, complains I read here are coming from those 20+ years of cruising history or those from the so called "good ole days" of cruising. Problem? Well: While their complaints are obviously legitimate at certain point, there is a fact that their are, I hope not intentionally, ignoring: That mainstream companies like RCI, Carnival, NCL or MSC had decided that they would downgrade their broad service level from what I we can call the Europpean 5 star hotel experience (the likes of current Ritz Four Seasons) in favour of the mainstream Europpean 4 star hotel experience (the likes of a nice 4 star Marriott in Europe)!... Mainstream lines will deliver a product consistent with a nece 4 star stablishment in Europe... I don't expect any more than that actually!... And I'm happy with that!... Unique exception is RCI Oasis class wich is above 4 star standards but on the 4 star selling scheme... Well: Perharps it's RCI beeing victim of itself for now, but that is another story I don't want to hijack here... :)

 

So now, want at least half of the fift star back? Well that is possible by paying to that!... Suite programs or specialty dining programs are here for some reason, aren't they?...

 

Finally: Someone minimally acquantainced with Operational Risk Management like me knows that nobody in the cruise industry will downgrade MDR service to improve specialty dining sales! Why: To have an eventual individual beeing refused specialty booking because the restaurant is full... It's manageable... So now imagin 30% of the ship beeing refused booking... That should ring a bell not only on top ship management, but also at corporate level!... It's called an Operational Risk Event and that is a no go whatever business you are in... Now imagin that repeated 2 or 3 consecutive weeks!... :)

 

...But one thing is certain: 4 star cruising industry with basic 4 star dining experience is here to stay well and alive for decades!... :) And how it will go?... Perharps for "glorified" dinner buffets like it is going on some to not say many 4 star hotel stablishments here in Europe, at least the ones that deal with big group bookings... We will see!... :)

 

Have a nice day!... :)

[LeesSummitCruiser1]

Three out of how many?

 

 

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My point was more to say don't use old names without expected presentation. Baked Alaska should have a meringue that has been baked. While I know there is no open flame on the ships anymore, cherries jubilee should at least be a hot cherry sauce over ice cream. A puff pastry should be a puff pastry, not gravy over a canned biscuit. If you are not going to attempt to match the expectation then change the name to something new to minimize disappointment.

[grapau27]

My point was more to say don't use old names without expected presentation. Baked Alaska should have a meringue that has been baked. While I know there is no open flame on the ships anymore, cherries jubilee should at least be a hot cherry sauce over ice cream. A puff pastry should be a puff pastry, not gravy over a canned biscuit. If you are not going to attempt to match the expectation then change the name to something new to minimize disappointment.

I agree it is disappointing

 

43 cruises and counting.

[Oppalopa]

from reading multiple forums on here i strongly believe that there appears to be a distinct co-relation between someone wearing shorts in the mdr and the food not tasting great.

lol :d

[Newby58]

There also seems to be a co-relation between if the bananas are near the ketchup or not as to how you will enjoy your cruise.

 

 

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[Thetrail]

In an affluent household the ingredients used to prepare the daily meals will normally be considerably superior to those typically used in the MDR. And, those superior ingredients combined with a normal level of cooking skill result in better meals. When these same affluent households dine out they select restaurants that will deliver a meal that is special relative to what they enjoy at home. Against this type of benchmark the food in the MDR is terrible.

 

RCL is low cost cruise line and you need to remember that this means there is quite a diversity of people on each cruise; some have barely paid $50 a head per night and some are paying more than twenty times that amount. There is a considerably gradient of expectation in terms of what will be received but RCL needs to make a profit from even those who have hardly paid anything - the "free" food thus needs to be super low cost to provide.

 

The negative reviews of the MDR are completely valid for the demographic they represent. RCL has other options for these folk and by and large they should be happy with them; they may still complain for example that Chops isn't a great streak house but on the other hand it's not a truly terrible one either - it's broadly acceptable when taken as a whole with everything else RCL offers.

 

The only issue I see is that RCL advertises in a manner that tries to create an expectation of fine dining and those who are sucked into believing that they'll get this (at such a low price point it's not really a believable claim) probably do have cause to complain.

OMG!!!...Blah, blah, blah!.......:rolleyes:

[Biker19]

Ko.

[NJ&Ozzie]

Hi,

On the Brilliance right now. Couple things - find that our servers have to be asked almost every night for fresh ground pepper and/or parmesan. Also, food is served lukewarm. Table beside us said their food is lukewarm too. Mentioned this to our server couple nights ago - she took my plate away & brought back a HOT meal. What a difference. Then the head waiter & chef came over (while I was trying to eat of course) to ask if I was happy. Yes! Then next night was served warmer lukewarm. Sigh.

 

Wondered if this is a trend on RCL now or just our experience.

 

We are doing B2B so will see if any difference with new server....

NJ

[LMaxwell]

Ko.

 

Your imposter alert went off too?