FOOD ON THE ROYAL PRINCESS

[Boiler Cruiser]

My DW and I were on the Royal Princess for a Caribbean cruise pre-covid.  We are taking the Royal to Hawaii next month, and looking forward to it (it's on my wife's bucket list).

 

I'd be interested in hearing from those who were on the Royal Princess recently, what you though about the food.  Has the menu changed much in the last 2 years?  I remember the Horizon Court (especially the pastries) being quite good.  How about the food in the dining rooms?

 

For those who cruised to Hawaii, what about special Hawaiian food items?

 

Thanks.

Edited February 16, 2023 by Boiler Cruiser
missing word

[_rusty_shackleford]

My wife and I were on the Royal last fall at the tail-end of Alaska season. It was our first Princess cruise and we both thought the food was very good overall. The buffets in Horizon were every bit as good and sometimes better than Carnival's MDR. Things like smoked salmon were on the buffet every morning. It's almost funny because we thought our meal at the Crown Grill was one of the lower ranked ones all week. Sabbatini's was very good. I'd say you're good to go!

[Shelly97060]

I was on Royal for a round trip Hawaii last month.  We had most of our meals in the Buffet and thought the food overall was very good.  As far as special Hawaiian food…on the last four days they had tropical fruits - Star fruit, passion fruit, dragon fruit, lychee, longan, fingerling bananas.  

Edited February 17, 2023 by Shelly97060

[cruisepoor]

Currently on the Royal princess food in the main dining room has been good and exceptional in both specialty restaurants. Have used the lido very little except for salads at lunch but it seems what they offer up looks  good. Can't attest to any kind of Hawaiian food but everything else has been very good. Service has been exceptional in all restaurant venues, bars and everywhere else. Crew seems very happy overcast skies and rain have followed us from San Francisco to Honolulu. Hope this helps

[MissP22]

The last time we were on the ship (prior to Covid shutdown) their quality & prep was outstanding. I wouldn't hesitate to sail on the Royal again. 

[justafem]

12 hours ago, Boiler Cruiser said:

My DW and I were on the Royal Princess for a Caribbean cruise pre-covid.  We are taking the Royal to Hawaii next month, and looking forward to it (it's on my wife's bucket list).

 

I'd be interested in hearing from those who were on the Royal Princess recently, what you though about the food.  Has the menu changed much in the last 2 years?  I remember the Horizon Court (especially the pastries) being quite good.  How about the food in the dining rooms?

 

For those who cruised to Hawaii, what about special Hawaiian food items?

 

Thanks.

Just got off the Royal last week and will be back on her in 3 weeks for the March 12 Hawaiian. 

 

Horizon court and Horizon bistro were the best buffet we've ever experienced on a princess ship.  Small batches, made according to need, instead of huge industrial pans.  3-4 bite sautéed shrimp compared to the 2 bite shrimp cocktails in the MDR, replenished frequently in small fresh batches. All the food seemed fresh, well seasoned and cooked by people who truly know how to cook. 

 

All the food in the buffet was made in small batches, directly in front of us.  Cooked onsite, instead of some hidden location. 

Portion sizes in the MDR are much smaller, which I appreciate.  I can try more things without feeling like I'm wasting food.  Desserts have changed, there's no more Norman Love, so the desserts are different, not bad, just not what was expected.

 

Hubs enjoyed the international cafe enough to keep going back.  

 

Haven't been on the Royal for Hawaii, so it's going to be a treat when they serve Hawaiian foods.  Looking forward!

 

There are 4 places to get specialty coffee on the ship.  New grounds on deck 5, attached to international cafe and good spirits bar.  Deck 7 bar, on the way to the princess theater. Deck 16 in horizon bistro and, great, I've already forgotten.  Oh, room service.  There is no coffee and cones, it's just cones. 

 

Alfredo's has the expanded menu.  Salads, pasta, pizza and dessert, with beverage service that's missing on the grand class ships.  So good, we ate there 3 times.

 

Sabatini's was disappointing to me.  I know I misread the description, but I expected a better taste when I ordered the prosciutto wrapped pork.  My fault for thinking it would be a bone-in pork chop.  But it was overcooked, stringy and bland.  The lamb is now in smaller, flatter pieces, so it's overcooked, with none of that rare center that was so enjoyable previously.  But the beef cheek pasta and zabaione were outrageously delicious. 

 

We didn't get a chance to go to crown as we also did chefs table, captains table and wine makers.  

[gerig]

10 hours ago, _rusty_shackleford said:

My wife and I were on the Royal last fall at the tail-end of Alaska season. It was our first Princess cruise and we both thought the food was very good overall. The buffets in Horizon were every bit as good and sometimes better than Carnival's MDR. Things like smoked salmon were on the buffet every morning. It's almost funny because we thought our meal at the Crown Grill was one of the lower ranked ones all week. Sabbatini's was very good. I'd say you're good to go!

I was on the Royal in September and loved the crown grill.  the filet and lobster tail was delicious.

[trvlwrld]

Was on the Royal over Christmas…servers were amazing, cabin steward was great…food in buffet was good, dining room portions were smaller than they used to be, but very adequate…Crown Grill was not good—tough, flavorless steak, main dining room food was mediocre at best…winemakers dinner was fabulous…the quality of the Princess brand overall has definitely slipped!

[CruzeQueen2]

5 hours ago, justafem said:

Just got off the Royal last week and will be back on her in 3 weeks for the March 12 Hawaiian. 

 

Horizon court and Horizon bistro were the best buffet we've ever experienced on a princess ship.  Small batches, made according to need, instead of huge industrial pans.  3-4 bite sautéed shrimp compared to the 2 bite shrimp cocktails in the MDR, replenished frequently in small fresh batches. All the food seemed fresh, well seasoned and cooked by people who truly know how to cook. 

 

All the food in the buffet was made in small batches, directly in front of us.  Cooked onsite, instead of some hidden location. 

Portion sizes in the MDR are much smaller, which I appreciate.  I can try more things without feeling like I'm wasting food.  Desserts have changed, there's no more Norman Love, so the desserts are different, not bad, just not what was expected.

 

Hubs enjoyed the international cafe enough to keep going back.  

 

Haven't been on the Royal for Hawaii, so it's going to be a treat when they serve Hawaiian foods.  Looking forward!

 

There are 4 places to get specialty coffee on the ship.  New grounds on deck 5, attached to international cafe and good spirits bar.  Deck 7 bar, on the way to the princess theater. Deck 16 in horizon bistro and, great, I've already forgotten.  Oh, room service.  There is no coffee and cones, it's just cones. 

 

Alfredo's has the expanded menu.  Salads, pasta, pizza and dessert, with beverage service that's missing on the grand class ships.  So good, we ate there 3 times.

 

Sabatini's was disappointing to me.  I know I misread the description, but I expected a better taste when I ordered the prosciutto wrapped pork.  My fault for thinking it would be a bone-in pork chop.  But it was overcooked, stringy and bland.  The lamb is now in smaller, flatter pieces, so it's overcooked, with none of that rare center that was so enjoyable previously.  But the beef cheek pasta and zabaione were outrageously delicious. 

 

We didn't get a chance to go to crown as we also did chefs table, captains table and wine makers.  

@justafemTotally agree about the beef cheek pasta at Sabatini. The best!

[spookyfudge]

We were on her in December, food quality ok, not like pre-Covid.  I am surprised at the quality of the food now.  We are trying a Virgin Voyages cruise because we are told they have great food! I will let you know.

[cnd crsr]

We were on the Royal for a month in the fall.

I can't comment on the buffet as we didn't eat there. Everywhere else the food was very good. We occasionally ate lunch  at the IC or Alfredo's- both very good.  We had dinner once at Crown Grill (very good) and once at Sabatini's (excellent). The MDR for all meals was great and the highlight was the Wine Makers Dinner which was one oft he best we have had.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Over Christmas and New Years, the food was not the best and not the worst we’ve had on Princess. Crown Grill was just as good as always. The ice cream sucked; was grainy and ice milk. The specialty coffee drinks, mocktails, and cocktails were as a good as always. Prego and the Grill were both as good as always. The MDR was actually better than our last few Pre-Covid experiences, for the most part, including the lobster. The fettuccini alfredo was a sad representation of its former self. Breakfast in Horizon Court was mainly the same as before, except the fried eggs weren’t quite as good. Lunch and dinner in Horizon Court were similar to before with just a little less variety. Alfredo’s was the same. The Intl Cafe didn’t have any of the yummy salads they used to offer, and over half the desserts were GF; the sandwiches were good, though. 

As for Hawaiian food, there wasn’t much, and that was a complaint of DH. They did make your own poke bowl on the sail back, but neither of us cared for it. They had some Hawaiian twists on items in the MDR, but then you’d go to the MDR, and those twists wouldn’t occur, presumably from sourcing issues? The main thing they did do was offer pineapple brûlée a lot.

We learned that our sailing had a lot of new crew, and I think that accounted for a lot of what we experienced. 

Hope that helps!