Preservatives in food

[herrklaus]

Does anybody know if Royal Caribbean uses preservatives in food?

[not-enough-cruising]

I am sure there are preservatives in many of the foods onboard, as the items used are the same as what are used in land based restaurants 

[Hogbay]

They sure do , salt , sugar , alcohol , vinegar , citrus acid and ascorbic acid are all used.

[Iamcruzin]

I’m sure the desserts that come from Sysco or whatever catering company is loaded with preservatives that we can’t even pronounce. The creme brûlée tasted like it was made at a pharmacy.

[cb at sea]

However the food comes from the supplier, is how it's served.  Of course, veggies/fruits will be in their natural states.....meats/fish are all frozen, just like you buy anywhere.  It's regular food.

 

[BNBR]

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

I’m sure the desserts that come from Sysco or whatever catering company is loaded with preservatives that we can’t even pronounce. The creme brûlée tasted like it was made at a pharmacy.

 

Have you confirmed that they serve sysco desserts?  I've been in the kitchen and seen them making desserts from scratch.... 

[Iamcruzin]

19 minutes ago, BNBR said:

 

Have you confirmed that they serve sysco desserts?  I've been in the kitchen and seen them making desserts from scratch.... 

Some are scratch.  The buffet pastry, mousses, tarts are commercial. Princess, Celebrity, Hilton, Marriott , Golden Coral all have the same. The donuts were the same dry stale donuts you buy from the street vendors in Manhattan.  The carrot cake and double chocolate cake were dry like they were thawed out. They don’t have the properties of fresh baked. As far as the kitchen tour, they show you what they want you to see. I’ve been on a few.

Edited October 12, 2019 by Iamcruzin

[tomservo]

12 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

Some are scratch.  The buffet pastry, mousses, tarts are commercial. Princess, Celebrity, Hilton, Marriott , Golden Coral all have the same. The donuts were the same dry stale donuts you buy from the street vendors in Manhattan.  The carrot cake and double chocolate cake were dry like they were thawed out. They don’t have the properties of fresh baked. As far as the kitchen tour, they show you what they want you to see. I’ve been on a few.

 

That’s disappointing, that even simple things like mousse aren’t made onboard. Being made fresh is no guarantee of quality. I always thought the bread from Quiznos (shipped to stores frozen) was better than Subway’s fresh baked bread. I don’t expect pastry chefs to wake up at the crack of dawn to laminate dough for fresh croissants, but many desserts are still better fresh. No wonder most of the buffet desserts are terrible. If I wanted thawed out grocery store cake, that’s what I would eat. I was under the impression that the vast majority of food on cruise ships was made in house, except for a few specific things (hamburger and hotdog buns come to mind). 

 

So which baked items/desserts are made onboard? My digestive system does much better with food made with regular ingredients. Commercially made food that is made from highly processed ingredients makes me feel terrible and does a number on my stomach. 

[chengkp75]

It may vary by line.  When I worked for NCL, virtually all bakery goods and desserts were made onboard.  I had to maintain and repair the "baguette roller", the "dough sheeter" (folded and rolled the pastry dough for napoleons and croissants), the "tart press" (forms the little fluted crusts), and on and on.  As noted, things like burger buns, hotdog rolls, and bagels were purchased due to the specialty equipment needed to produce consistent quality.  Mousses and creme brulee were made onboard in the pastry galley.

 

As for other foods, they don't use things like canned soups or sauces, these are produced onboard, so the amount of preservatives is limited to those in the basic ingredients (canned tomatoes, etc).

Edited October 12, 2019 by chengkp75

[vettegal99]

I have big time food issues with sulfates, sulfites, nitrates.  Just back from 14 Med cruise .  The bulk of our cruises have been on Royal Caribbean but I've done well on Celebrity and Princess as well.  .  I can eat the breads, rolls,  most desserts etc with no problems.  If something is questionable I will always ask our waiter.  And our Waiter has gone back to the Kitchen to confer with the Chef!  On this cruise I ordered a chicken dish that was questionable and should have avoided it.  I should have known better on this one.  It had a sauce and topping with a strong spice that bothered me a bit.  I did the galley tour 3 years ago on Oasis and it was impressive just how much is made from scratch.  

[ONECRUISER]

19 hours ago, Hogbay said:

They sure do , salt , sugar , alcohol , vinegar , citrus acid and ascorbic acid are all used.

Yes, LOTS of Alcohol consumed onboard... Many us are pickled though dont look preserved

Edited October 12, 2019 by ONECRUISER

[AmazedByCruising]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

It may vary by line.  When I worked for NCL, virtually all bakery goods and desserts were made onboard.  I had to maintain and repair the "baguette roller", the "dough sheeter" (folded and rolled the pastry dough for napoleons and croissants), the "tart press" (forms the little fluted crusts), and on and on.  As noted, things like burger buns, hotdog rolls, and bagels were purchased due to the specialty equipment needed to produce consistent quality.  Mousses and creme brulee were made onboard in the pastry galley.

 

As for other foods, they don't use things like canned soups or sauces, these are produced onboard, so the amount of preservatives is limited to those in the basic ingredients (canned tomatoes, etc).

 

What was most impressive during a tour was the precise order I saw for a kid's facility. Literally "We need 14 cookies such and such". On a ship that has 2500+ pax, where the galley produces thousands and thousands of courses each day like a machine, someone must have taken that order and made sure the kids got a cookie.  

[voyager70]

I cruise 4-6 weeks a year.  The 46-48 weeks I'm home I eat healthy (or try to).  The few weeks I cruise I eat what I want and don't worry about it.

 

[Tatka]

3 hours ago, voyager70 said:

I cruise 4-6 weeks a year.  The 46-48 weeks I'm home I eat healthy (or try to).  The few weeks I cruise I eat what I want and don't worry about it.

 

Same here.

 

I do try to pick somewhat healthier options (not fat or sugar free, but more natural), but we do drink alcohol... cocktails onboard, so it probably negates all our health approach. )))) 

 

We don’t have food allergies, I think some people worry about preservatives because of allergy or some other conditions 

[tomservo]

11 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

It may vary by line.  When I worked for NCL, virtually all bakery goods and desserts were made onboard.

 

Thanks Chief. I think that fact that the quality of the food onboard is not extremely consistent probably lends some credence to it being made onboard. Commercially made food is incredibly consistent, whether it’s good, bad, or mediocre. 

[123funcruiser]

Most of the Food is made OnBoard. This is especially true for the baked goods. Breads, Rolls, Pastries are made from Scratch. 

They wouldn´t have all the expensive Equipment for just showing off during a few minutes every week for a Galley tour. 😉

For the know it all who has been on a few Galley tours. No These are not just backdrops for the Galley tours. Sure the Galley tour will only Show what they want you to see, but what they Show you is not like a Play on stage.