Food in the MDR on Aurora

[Rosy 2 cakes]

On 5/19/2023 at 1:57 PM, Scorpio41 said:

Very disappointed in the food on offer in the MDR. P&O catering for the cruising minority. 

Very repetitive, bland and tasteless. Too many vegan, vegetarian and GF options.

 

We found the choice very limited for us that enjoy fish and meat. My table companions also found themselves ordering the same dishes night after night. Cruisers we shared breakfast tables with passed comments too.
The deserts were lacking something, but I can’t quite say what. Maybe being all vegan options, gf made them more tasteless. Certainly less sugar.

 

What happened to the Stilton? Some nights the waiters managed to find some but not often. I would have Stilton every night instead of desert.

 

For those of you who love green beans, I am pleased to say the bean bushes are doing well and there is an abundance of possibly even a glut of them and they are harvested daily. 😁

 

This is my opinion and views, feel free to express your own findings. 🙃

Interesting, our experience was different. We were on Aurora in August for 3 weeks and we both were happy with the choices. A different main  fish dish every night was on offer for 2 weeks. The menu was repeated for week 3 but that wasn't an issue as some nights there was more than one option that I could have chosen. Hubby was pleased with the choices of curries, dhals, stir fries etc both in the MDR and the buffet. I am a fussy eater but never struggled to find something to eat. I thought the buffet was very good with a wide selection at lunch time. We are both meat / fish eaters but we're happy with the options. The steak I had one night was one of the best I have ever eaten. No mean feat given the numbers of people on the ship.

 

[terrierjohn]

2 minutes ago, Rosy 2 cakes said:

Interesting, our experience was different. We were on Aurora in August for 3 weeks and we both were happy with the choices. A different main  fish dish every night was on offer for 2 weeks. The menu was repeated for week 3 but that wasn't an issue as some nights there was more than one option that I could have chosen. Hubby was pleased with the choices of curries, dhals, stir fries etc both in the MDR and the buffet. I am a fussy eater but never struggled to find something to eat. I thought the buffet was very good with a wide selection at lunch time. We are both meat / fish eaters but we're happy with the options. The steak I had one night was one of the best I have ever eaten. No mean feat given the numbers of people on the ship.

 

I did not see many, if any,  curries in MDR and certainly no stir fries or Dahl's.

[Selbourne]

8 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

I did not see many, if any,  curries in MDR and certainly no stir fries or Dahl's.

Many years ago, there was often a daily curry in the MDR at lunchtimes. They were fabulous, prepared by the Indian, Goan and Indonesian chefs and were usually names that I’d never heard of and very tasty. Probably the same as those that were made in the crew canteens. Fast forward to the rather odd MDR lunchtime menus that were introduced around 5 years ago and there is still the odd curry (and noodle dish), but they are very disappointing in comparison. Quite bland in flavour (toned down for what they perceive to be milder British palettes?) and, of course, tiny portions. I believe that better curries can sometimes be found in the buffet, but we never dine there.

[Britboys]

10 hours ago, Rosy 2 cakes said:

Interesting, our experience was different. We were on Aurora in August for 3 weeks and we both were happy with the choices. A different main  fish dish every night was on offer for 2 weeks. The menu was repeated for week 3 but that wasn't an issue as some nights there was more than one option that I could have chosen. Hubby was pleased with the choices of curries, dhals, stir fries etc both in the MDR and the buffet. I am a fussy eater but never struggled to find something to eat. I thought the buffet was very good with a wide selection at lunch time. We are both meat / fish eaters but we're happy with the options. The steak I had one night was one of the best I have ever eaten. No mean feat given the numbers of people on the ship.

 

This really highlights how we all experience things differently. I boarded Aurora on 26th August for 19 nights and was really disappointed with the food in both the mdr and the buffet. On three nights there wasn't a starter or soup that I would eat - fortunately the waiter procured some melon for me. Several nights there was only one main course I wanted and on three occasions I left my dessert as it was tasteless. As we've already said, food is very subjective.

[Selbourne]

20 minutes ago, Britboys said:

This really highlights how we all experience things differently.

Very true. We know quite a few people who cruise with P&O. It’s interesting that most who only started cruising recently feel that the food is fine, whereas most who have cruised for decades feel that it has declined. Exceptions both ways, of course, but that’s the rule of thumb. 
 

We enjoyed our first Cunard cruise recently and due to a once in a lifetime bargain deal we managed to get into Princess Grill. We thought that the food was fabulous. There was only one meal that was a slight disappointment compared to all the others, but we felt that the only place on P&O that gets even close is Epicurean. However, reading the Cunard forums there are people saying that it’s not as good as it was!

[annieuk]

I was on Aurora for the first time since September 2019 and I wasn't sure what things were going to be like.  I've done more than 30 cruises with P&O so I've eaten many meals in the MDR.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Yes the choice was not as wide as I was used to before and there was no 'Always Available' listed.  I was only on for four nights on this cruise so it was only four evening meals and four breakfasts.  The first evening both my daughter and I thought there was a good choice.  It was her first cruise so she didn't know what to expect, I'd always cruised with my husband previously and this was my first cruise since he died.  I ordered a steak that first night and previously I've had some good and some not so good steaks.  I like mine medium rare with the emphasis on the rare and in the past if I was ordering a steak in the MDR I'd order rare as I found that if I ordered medium rare it was more medium than anything.  However, this steak was excellent, quite thick and beautifully medium rare served with Bernaise Sauce, my favourite and fries and the always expected green beans!  We were sat at a table with some other long term P&O cruisers and they thought the food was good too.  Yes things were missing, There was no Wine Line on the table, it seemed as if people were expected to look at the Wine List on line.  One thing that  I'm not sure if it was just our waiter or whether it's now the way things are done but our waiter wanted us to order our dessert at the same time as the starter and main course which I've never had to do before. The desserts were very good, the sort of things I remember from before.  We had a what's now called a Celebration Evening, what I've known as a Formal evening.  The Marco Pierre White menu was there and I had an excellent Beef Wellington.  There was no Sorbet between courses, but I know many people didn't seem to rate that anyway.  On the Celebration Evening there were Truffles served with Coffee and they were lovely.  I don't eat cheese myself but one of the women on the table ordered cheese at the end of the meal.  What came was a dinner plate with small slices of about five different cheeses, some biscuits on the side and some butter.  This bore no resemblance to the cheese boards I remember seeing with passengers choosing how many and which biscuits they wanted.  

 

Breakfasts were good in the Main Dining Room, apart from the coffee but then P&O have never managed good coffee other than years ago in Cafe Jardin on Oceana in the days when they used Villeroy and Boch china and served excellent coffee.  Toast at breakfast was crisp, and looked as if it had been properly toasted rather than just waved over the grill as often used to be the case.  In the past I often asked for Thick Toast which was always good as it was done specifically for the person who ordered it and was always thick and brown but I thought that might be going a step too far at the moment when things are still getting back to 'normal'.  The Eggs Benedict was superb and is now on the main menu daily rather than there used to be different dishes offered on different days and as far as I remember Eggs Benedict only appeared on a Monday.  My daughter had scrambled eggs and bacon and really enjoyed them in fact she enjoyed them so much she had them on two mornings and she's a scrambled egg connoisseur.  I don't remember if the Golden Triangles - fried bread - were still on the menu.  All in all I would say the food was good, not fine dining but then it doesn't claim to be.  

[Cruisemeister2002]

On 5/25/2023 at 12:25 PM, davecttr said:

Perhaps P&O have a Chick Pea farm as well as a Green Bean one 

Our recent cruise meant you had brocolli with everything. The custard was so thin I've seen thicker water and some of the desserts were described as pina colada or rum infused I think they meant refused.

[Scorpio41]

The Golden Triangles are no more 🥲 they disappeared before covid.
The trend now is Square Toast. ( whole slice with the crusts cut off. )

 

[Scorpio41]

9 minutes ago, annieuk said:

I was on Aurora for the first time since September 2019 and I wasn't sure what things were going to be like.  I've done more than 30 cruises with P&O so I've eaten many meals in the MDR.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Yes the choice was not as wide as I was used to before and there was no 'Always Available' listed.  I was only on for four nights on this cruise so it was only four evening meals and four breakfasts.  The first evening both my daughter and I thought there was a good choice.  It was her first cruise so she didn't know what to expect, I'd always cruised with my husband previously and this was my first cruise since he died.  I ordered a steak that first night and previously I've had some good and some not so good steaks.  I like mine medium rare with the emphasis on the rare and in the past if I was ordering a steak in the MDR I'd order rare as I found that if I ordered medium rare it was more medium than anything.  However, this steak was excellent, quite thick and beautifully medium rare served with Bernaise Sauce, my favourite and fries and the always expected green beans!  We were sat at a table with some other long term P&O cruisers and they thought the food was good too.  Yes things were missing, There was no Wine Line on the table, it seemed as if people were expected to look at the Wine List on line.  One thing that  I'm not sure if it was just our waiter or whether it's now the way things are done but our waiter wanted us to order our dessert at the same time as the starter and main course which I've never had to do before. The desserts were very good, the sort of things I remember from before.  We had a what's now called a Celebration Evening, what I've known as a Formal evening.  The Marco Pierre White menu was there and I had an excellent Beef Wellington.  There was no Sorbet between courses, but I know many people didn't seem to rate that anyway.  On the Celebration Evening there were Truffles served with Coffee and they were lovely.  I don't eat cheese myself but one of the women on the table ordered cheese at the end of the meal.  What came was a dinner plate with small slices of about five different cheeses, some biscuits on the side and some butter.  This bore no resemblance to the cheese boards I remember seeing with passengers choosing how many and which biscuits they wanted.  

 

Breakfasts were good in the Main Dining Room, apart from the coffee but then P&O have never managed good coffee other than years ago in Cafe Jardin on Oceana in the days when they used Villeroy and Boch china and served excellent coffee.  Toast at breakfast was crisp, and looked as if it had been properly toasted rather than just waved over the grill as often used to be the case.  In the past I often asked for Thick Toast which was always good as it was done specifically for the person who ordered it and was always thick and brown but I thought that might be going a step too far at the moment when things are still getting back to 'normal'.  The Eggs Benedict was superb and is now on the main menu daily rather than there used to be different dishes offered on different days and as far as I remember Eggs Benedict only appeared on a Monday.  My daughter had scrambled eggs and bacon and really enjoyed them in fact she enjoyed them so much she had them on two mornings and she's a scrambled egg connoisseur.  I don't remember if the Golden Triangles - fried bread - were still on the menu.  All in all I would say the food was good, not fine dining but then it doesn't claim to be.  

 There was sorbet listed every night on the ice cream section at the bottom of the menu.

 

 

[Cruisemeister2002]

1 minute ago, Scorpio41 said:

The Golden Triangles are no more 🥲 they disappeared before covid.
The trend now is Square Toast. ( whole slice with the crusts cut off. )

 

On our recent cruise the toast was so cold the waiters served it wearing thermal gloves.

[Rosy 2 cakes]

10 hours ago, Scorpio41 said:

The Golden Triangles are no more 🥲 they disappeared before covid.
The trend now is Square Toast. ( whole slice with the crusts cut off. )

 

We had fried bread on Aurora in August 2022. 

[SteveH2508]

13 hours ago, Rosy 2 cakes said:

We had fried bread on Aurora in August 2022. 

Same in September on Aurora but it was not triangular - the horror!😡

[zap99]

On 6/1/2023 at 10:44 AM, Cruisemeister2002 said:

On our recent cruise the toast was so cold the waiters served it wearing thermal gloves.

Really ?, they touched your toast with their hands ?. I bet you gave them what for.

[Red Ray]

The fried bread (circular in shape) on Arcadia last month was nearly always available at breakfast. However I was banned from having it after the first morning when my attempt to saw through it resulted in a piece nearly taking Mrs Redray's eye out....

[SteveH2508]

8 hours ago, Red Ray said:

The fried bread (circular in shape) on Arcadia last month was nearly always available at breakfast. However I was banned from having it after the first morning when my attempt to saw through it resulted in a piece nearly taking Mrs Redray's eye out....

Cover it with bacon and black pudding before cutting - a bit like the chain-link stuff they use to contain explosions.

[jeanlyon]

Just posted on FB.  Not that bad, but what on earth is a chicken breast wing bone?  Can't say there is anything on there that excites me though.  The three veg dishes sound awful 😞

 

Edited June 3, 2023 by jeanlyon

[davecttr]

Googled it, apparently it is a chicken breast with the first joint of the wing still attached. Also known as airline chicken breast.

 

I wonder when they are going to introduce the comparmentalised plastic trays of pre-cooked microwaved food

[Fionboard]

1 minute ago, davecttr said:

Googled it, apparently it is a chicken breast with the first joint of the wing still attached. Also known as airline chicken breast.

 

I wonder when they are going to introduce the comparmentalised plastic trays of pre-cooked microwaved food

Think they already have those on Iona. Was told by a waiter that a lot of the food is pre-prepared before being loaded onto the ship, then just reheated ! 

[jeanlyon]

Oh God it gets worse 😞

[Angel57]

20 minutes ago, davecttr said:

Googled it, apparently it is a chicken breast with the first joint of the wing still attached. Also known as airline chicken breast.

 

I wonder when they are going to introduce the comparmentalised plastic trays of pre-cooked microwaved food

Probably not too far away…….😢

[mercury7289]

27 minutes ago, Fionboard said:

Think they already have those on Iona. Was told by a waiter that a lot of the food is pre-prepared before being loaded onto the ship, then just reheated ! 

Told the same on Aurora ,factory produced.

[Angel57]

1 hour ago, jeanlyon said:

Just posted on FB.  Not that bad, but what on earth is a chicken breast wing bone?  Can't say there is anything on there that excites me though.  The three veg dishes sound awful 😞

 

I’d happily eat about half of those options. Often I don’t fancy what is written, but it is delicious when it comes. How it is cooked is more important as far as I am concerned. It can be a delicious menu, but if cooked badly it becomes inedible.

I am very concerned that the food is maybe only heated up as opposed to being prepared freshly by chefs. I will soon see and taste for myself!

Edited June 3, 2023 by Angel57
Spelling

[Scorpio41]

54 minutes ago, davecttr said:

Googled it, apparently it is a chicken breast with the first joint of the wing still attached. Also known as airline chicken breast.

 

I wonder when they are going to introduce the comparmentalised plastic trays of pre-cooked microwaved food

Your correct. It was a chicken breast with the wing bone attached. It was nice but it didn’t look too appealing.

[Scorpio41]

1 hour ago, jeanlyon said:

Just posted on FB.  Not that bad, but what on earth is a chicken breast wing bone?  Can't say there is anything on there that excites me though.  The three veg dishes sound awful 😞

 

On Aurora in May.
It was as bad as it reads. The deserts are flavourless and they are gf. The ice cream was good and the sorbets. Tomato soup, nice some of the others were questionable.

The food and plates were always hot. Tomato soup, chicken and sirloin steak on every night, plus one other dish and a fish dish. Rarely there was salmon on offer. 

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Fionboard said:

Think they already have those on Iona. Was told by a waiter that a lot of the food is pre-prepared before being loaded onto the ship, then just reheated ! 

If the Hunters chicken is as good as a  Sainsburys ready meal, then I would not complain.