Food on Coral

[pondhome]

What's with the food on Coral?  I have been reading many negative comments .

.

[Colo Cruiser]

Just now, pondhome said:

What's with the food on Coral?  I have been reading many negative comments .

.

Details please.

[pondhome]

I have been reading the reviews about the Coral in  Alaska. A number of people have mentioned that the food was not good, and very disappointing. Desserts were bland, and the only good meals were in the specialty restaurants. 

[pris993]

We are going on the Coral, so this is of interest to me, read some nice reviews on Coral, don't recall any mention of food.

 

No Crown Grill ... the steak house menu on board does no appeal to me but I am sure we will survive... maybe would should ask what folks like on the Coral??  

[Thrak]

We did 19 days on Coral in November. The food was fine - regular Princess food. Nothing spectacular but nothing blah or bland or poor. I just asked my wife and she said she had no complaints about the food on that cruise. I know I didn't have any complaints. There are always people who love to complain about all sorts of things. I usually ignore the complaints here and, when I sail the ship being complained about, have no issues at all.

[RMMariner]

If you listened to the complainers, you would stop cruising completely. Go to any of the cruise lines here on CC, and it is the same massive amount of complaining. There are people leaving their current line to go to some other line. If it is not the food, it is something else.

 

You will find the food fine most of the time unless you are looking to complain. If you do not like one thing, you are almost sure to find something else to your taste.

 

Our experience has been that cruising is good value, and if you are not looking for problems, you probably will find very little to complain about. There is certainly things that Princess could improve, but we have always greatly enjoyed our cruises with them.

Edited March 11, 2019 by RMMariner

[Kingofcool1947]

3 hours ago, pondhome said:

What's with the food on Coral?  I have been reading many negative comments .

.

Food reviews are always subjective.

One persons “best  food ever” is another person’s “worst food ever”.

Don’t trust anything you read on CC to be true.

King

 

 

[coopco]

Our first cruise on Princess I ordered what I wanted off the MDR menu. The food was fine but I'd say "good enough". I noticed our waiter kept making recommendations. Then about the 3rd day, I started ordering what he recommended unless it was something I knew I wouldn't enjoy. Problem solved. The dinner was much better once I started listening to him. When in doubt, ask your waiter/waitress. They have heard all the complaints and know what to recommend. Then tip them extra at the end of the cruise for their excellent service! That's what I recommend.

 

I agree with RMMariner. Complainers will never stop complaining no matter what they are served. Expect restaurant quality food. If you expect it to be a Michelin restaurant, you may be disappointed but it's certainly of the quality of a restaurant I'd return to. Cruising is a good value and we enjoy cruising with Princess. I'm 100% with RMMariner!

[WisCruiser2]

We were on the Coral last June in Alaska and had no problem with the food in the dining rooms or buffet.

The Bayou Cafe offered "Alaska themed" dishes besides their usual menu. I had a wonderful halibut filet there.

I've also read some people complaining about the food being very salty - we restrict our sodium at home and have not found things to be oversalted.

[crawford]

6 hours ago, coopco said:

Our first cruise on Princess I ordered what I wanted off the MDR menu. The food was fine but I'd say "good enough". I noticed our waiter kept making recommendations. Then about the 3rd day, I started ordering what he recommended unless it was something I knew I wouldn't enjoy. Problem solved. The dinner was much better once I started listening to him. When in doubt, ask your waiter/waitress. They have heard all the complaints and know what to recommend. Then tip them extra at the end of the cruise for their excellent service! That's what I recommend.

 

I agree with RMMariner. Complainers will never stop complaining no matter what they are served. Expect restaurant quality food. If you expect it to be a Michelin restaurant, you may be disappointed but it's certainly of the quality of a restaurant I'd return to. Cruising is a good value and we enjoy cruising with Princess. I'm 100% with RMMariner!

Wholeheartedly agree with you. Was on the Coral twice last year (Panama Canal and West Coast CA) and found wait staff recommendations to be the best bets, unless I wasn't fond of what was being served. Never hurts to try something different either; another benefit to cruising.

[MissP22]

5 hours ago, WisCruiser2 said:

We were on the Coral last June in Alaska and had no problem with the food in the dining rooms or buffet.

The Bayou Cafe offered "Alaska themed" dishes besides their usual menu. I had a wonderful halibut filet there.

I've also read some people complaining about the food being very salty - we restrict our sodium at home and have not found things to be oversalted.

We don't use much additional salt at home either & find many items on Princess to be over-salted. 

[ShyannDay]

I never posted anything negative about my experience late last year on the Coral, but my husband and I and our traveling companions - another couple - were VERY disappointed with the food in the MDR.   The choices were lackluster and the taste was average at best.  Everything was edible of course, but not "tasty".  The dining room service also was not up to a high standard.  The afternoon tea was serviced by staff who acted as though they were being punished by having to do "Tea Duty".  I, and my companions, felt that the Hotel Manager (I believe that's who runs the MDR), should be retrained and that there needs to be a shake-up on that ship with the rest of the staff.  

I'm sure your question/post and any negative reply about the food will bring out all the regular Princess zealots who will make comments such  "I don't cruise to eat", "You'll never starve on a cruise", "Go eat somewhere else if you don't like it", etc.  which is tiresome to anyone trying to give their honest opinion.  I will never cruise on the Coral again for this reason even though I really enjoyed that wide Promenade deck.  In contrast, I've sailed the Ruby twice and will be on her again in early May. What a difference!  The food is much better prepared and the wait staff are better trained and attentive to detail. 
Good luck on your cruise - I hope you enjoy it!!

[hobbyfarmer2]

We were on Coral in January for 15 days.  The food was just fine.  I can't even imagine a cruise ship in this cruise class where a person could not find something great to eat let alone go hungry.

[cheezenip]

8 hours ago, ShyannDay said:

I never posted anything negative about my experience late last year on the Coral, but my husband and I and our traveling companions - another couple - were VERY disappointed with the food in the MDR.   The choices were lackluster and the taste was average at best.  Everything was edible of course, but not "tasty".  The dining room service also was not up to a high standard......  I, and my companions, felt that the Hotel Manager (I believe that's who runs the MDR), should be retrained and that there needs to be a shake-up on that ship with the rest of the staff.  

I'm sure your question/post and any negative reply about the food will bring out all the regular Princess zealots who will make comments such  "I don't cruise to eat", "You'll never starve on a cruise", "Go eat somewhere else if you don't like it", etc.  which is tiresome to anyone trying to give their honest opinion.  I will never cruise on the Coral again for this reason even though I really enjoyed that wide Promenade deck. 

 

I sailed on Coral in May 2018 to Alaska and share the same sentiments with the added complaint that I found the buffet poor compared to the other Princess ships. I too will NOT cruise on Coral in the future.

[mevs904]

We sailed on the Coral to Alaska and enjoyed it so much that we later booked her for a Panama Canal Cruise.  We are fairly discriminating about food and we had no issues with the food on the Coral.  I suspect that some of the food complaints on the Coral may be from buffet fans who prefer the more extensive buffets on the Royal and Regal.  While we’ve enjoyed the buffet on the Royal it would in no way sway us to forego the wonderful promenade, viewing areas, and larger balconies on the Coral.

[bemis12]

On 3/10/2019 at 9:18 PM, pondhome said:

What's with the food on Coral?  I have been reading many negative comments .

.

 

There is a whole class of people that love to complain, and they are happiest when they are unhappy.  Pay them no heed.

[MissP22]

I've got no problem with people stating their dislike for food on certain ships as we're all entitled to our opinions. 

I keep a list of certain posters that are in line with my preferences and I follow their comments about certain ships. To me this is more meaningful than just any poster that takes a cruise once in 5 years & thinks everything was wonderful.  

[Coral]

I have no doubt there will be a different Chef on the Coral Princess than last summer, for better or for worse.

[hobbyfarmer2]

DW & I both found the food just fine on the Coral in January.  That being said, the food is generally a lot blander than we both eat at home.  We use a lot of herbs, zest, garlic, olive oil and heat in our dishes.  Our food is very tasty to us, but not to all of our guests some of the time.  The ship's kitchen will not do the same as we do because far too many passengers would complain, "......I don't like garlic", "...….rosemary is a girl's name and does not belong in food", "......it's too hot" and so on.  Many passengers have pedestrian tastes.  Many can also be found every day eating burgers and fries.  What people eat is their business, not mine, but it is also the business of the chefs who plan and cook the meals for a few thousand passengers every day.

 

Go to chef's table or a small classy restaurant if you are looking for novel or beautifully flavoured complex food.   You generally won't find it in the large MDR of a cruise ship, that's for sure.  DW and I know what to expect and we are generally pleased and sometimes surprised. 

[elliair]

On 3/10/2019 at 8:31 PM, Thrak said:

We did 19 days on Coral in November. The food was fine - regular Princess food. Nothing spectacular but nothing blah or bland or poor. I just asked my wife and she said she had no complaints about the food on that cruise. I know I didn't have any complaints. There are always people who love to complain about all sorts of things. I usually ignore the complaints here and, when I sail the ship being complained about, have no issues at all.

We were on the same cruise as you, and I agree, the food was fine - better than most Princess ships we've been on.  We ate once in the Steakhouse (for my birthday), and we were the only people in there the whole time!  The dinner was fine.  People should just go and experience it for themselves.  Food is subjective, my experience may not be another's experience.  I agree, ignore the complaints, see for yourself.

Edited March 12, 2019 by elliair

[floridalover5623]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

I have no doubt there will be a different Chef on the Coral Princess than last summer, for better or for worse.

That can make a hugh difference. I wish there was a way to choose a ship based upon the head Chef but that doesn't seem to be of interest on this board.

The people are only interested in who will be the CD or Captain. 😉

[c-boy]

5 hours ago, bemis12 said:

 

There is a whole class of people that love to complain, and they are happiest when they are unhappy.  Pay them no heed.

there is truth to this but; what about the head scratching untruths / spin?

Edited March 12, 2019 by c-boy

[sfpd3000]

We were on the Coral a year ago on the Panama Canal.  Our executive chef was Antonino.  Best food we've ever had on a cruise.  Who is the executive chef these days?

[RMMariner]

1 hour ago, floridalover5623 said:

That can make a hugh difference. I wish there was a way to choose a ship based upon the head Chef

 

Entirely agree. We were on the Star a couple times in a short period. The head chef changed, and the food changed completely.

[Alaskanb]

9 minutes ago, sfpd3000 said:

We were on the Coral a year ago on the Panama Canal.  Our executive chef was Antonino.  Best food we've ever had on a cruise.  Who is the executive chef these days?

We thoroughly enjoyed the food on the Coral in early January this year. We request low sodium meals and order a day early -- the sauces that were made for us were fabulous.