Has anyone noticed a decline in quality of Princess food?

[EDVM96]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

It is convention food at best.

Come on, scallops, lobster, Wellington & filet mignon is not really convention food.
 

[Guest ldtr]

15 minutes ago, EDVM96 said:

Come on, scallops, lobster, Wellington & filet mignon is not really convention food.
 

It is if you attend the right conventions.

 

I would use the term hotel banquet quality, though with a larger menu.

 

Especially with what the ship provides as lobster (warm water spiny instead of cold water), and similar compromises on quality on the other item you listed.

Edited July 16, 2023 by ldtr

[DallasGuy75219]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

Well - at one point, Princess used to say that they made everything from scratch except for the sugar free ice cream. I wasn't going to speculate if they make the pies or not.

On Island this week they were still saying that all bread and desserts are baked from scratch onboard daily.

[Coral]

15 minutes ago, ldtr said:

It is if you attend the right conventions.

 

I would use the term hotel banquet quality, though with a larger menu.

 

Hotel banquet quality is probably a better term.

 

I work at a college and the buffet reminds me of college food. Some of it looks good but when you try it, it doesn't really have a taste.

Edited July 16, 2023 by Coral

[Coral]

16 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

On Island this week they were still saying that all bread and desserts are baked from scratch onboard daily.

So if we go one step further - what would not be made from scratch?

 

Bread and desserts would probably be the easiest to buy frozen and then pop in the oven. If it is fresh (and I believe it is) - what is and what isn't?

[EDVM96]

24 minutes ago, ldtr said:

It is if you attend the right conventions.

 

Ok. 😄

[Coral]

45 minutes ago, EDVM96 said:

Come on, scallops, lobster, Wellington & filet mignon is not really convention food.
 

Before COVID - I attended a rather large convention a few times at Penn State (a large US university with a culinary school). While Lobster and Beef Wellington was not on the menu - their food was outstanding. Their food was much higher quality than anything I have had on Princess. It blew me away. I would take their chicken over Princess's Lobster or Beef Wellington in a heart beat!

[EDVM96]

I must have been on the wrong conventions so far. 😄

[MissP22]

32 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

On Island this week they were still saying that all bread and desserts are baked from scratch onboard daily.

 

Not according to a friend of mine who's a dessert chef aboard the Enchanted. 

Princess likes to brag about making everything from scratch. 

There's something distasteful about saying your being served a portion of frozen pie. No pun intended.

 

14 minutes ago, Coral said:

So if we go one step further - what would not be made from scratch?

 

Bread and desserts would probably be the easiest to buy frozen and then pop in the oven. If it is fresh (and I believe it is) - what is and what isn't?

I didn't inquire about the bread and rolls but I will next cruise. 

Somehow I doubt if they're bought frozen, but who knows?

I do wonder about the key lime pie and flan served in the glass terrines?  They're always iced cold so they could have easily been shipped frozen.  They could add the whipped cream and garnish just before being served. 

[startedwithamouse]

1 hour ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

On Island this week they were still saying that all bread and desserts are baked from scratch onboard daily.

If they count baking from scratch using cake mixes...

[Sunwanabe]

4 Princess cruises. 3 post covid. Another PC coming up in August. No complaints on the food and service. We wouldn't be repeat customers if the food wasn't to our liking. Only complaint is the lack of snack/ casual food. Would love to taste a plate of nachos and wings. 

[startedwithamouse]

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

 

Not according to a friend of mine who's a dessert chef aboard the Enchanted. 

Princess likes to brag about making everything from scratch. 

There's something distasteful about saying your being served a portion of frozen pie. No pun intended.

 

I didn't inquire about the bread and rolls but I will next cruise. 

Somehow I doubt if they're bought frozen, but who knows?

I do wonder about the key lime pie and flan served in the glass terrines?  They're always iced cold so they could have easily been shipped frozen.  They could add the whipped cream and garnish just before being served. 

Bread is made onboard in the ship's bakery. It's the cheapest to make.

[GoHuskies!]

16 hours ago, capriccio said:

In my 15 years sailing on Princess the crews and officers have always been overwhelmingly non-American.

Yes, as has also been my experience.  But in the past the chefs' seasonings have always been oriented toward the passengers, overwhelmingly US, Canadian or UK, not toward the crew's tastes, wherever they originate.  (I am not advocating preparing haggis, however!)

[Coral]

1 hour ago, Sunwanabe said:

4 Princess cruises. 3 post covid. Another PC coming up in August. No complaints on the food and service. We wouldn't be repeat customers if the food wasn't to our liking. Only complaint is the lack of snack/ casual food. Would love to taste a plate of nachos and wings. 

I cruise for the ports, obviously not for the food.

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

So if we go one step further - what would not be made from scratch?

 

Bread and desserts would probably be the easiest to buy frozen and then pop in the oven. If it is fresh (and I believe it is) - what is and what isn't?

The main drivers for making from scratch would be 1. cost 2. supply chain complexity 3. storage requirements 4. shelf life

 

 

[Teechur]

2 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

On Island this week they were still saying that all bread and desserts are baked from scratch onboard daily.

Can you tell me if the Island offered a Super Tuscan dinner (or lunch) in Sabatini's? Also was there a winemaker's dinner, or any other specialty meals? Pub lunches?

 

Did you enjoy the Island? We will be on her in 2 months.

[startedwithamouse]

2 hours ago, MissP22 said:

 

Not according to a friend of mine who's a dessert chef aboard the Enchanted. 

Princess likes to brag about making everything from scratch. 

There's something distasteful about saying your being served a portion of frozen pie. No pun intended.

 

I didn't inquire about the bread and rolls but I will next cruise. 

Somehow I doubt if they're bought frozen, but who knows?

I do wonder about the key lime pie and flan served in the glass terrines?  They're always iced cold so they could have easily been shipped frozen.  They could add the whipped cream and garnish just before being served. 

No, they're made onboard and stored frozen.

Bakery items never are stored in the refrigerator as they dry out. 

I bake goods at home from scratch then freeze and thaw to serve.

[Teechur]

1 minute ago, startedwithamouse said:

No, they're made onboard and stored frozen.

Bakery items never are stored in the refrigerator as they dry out. 

I bake goods at home from scratch then freeze and thaw to serve.

Good to know. 👍 Thanks!

[Sea Hag]

17 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Mine never run - I use clear gel and make filling one day ahead of time. Always use fresh fruit too.

When making pies, clear gel is definitely your friend. Also great for canning pie filling.

[ldubs]

21 hours ago, GoHuskies! said:

On our recent RT to Hawaii out of Los Angeles, I was expecting the great food onboard the Sapphire Princess that we have always experienced in the past.  I was sadly mistaken.  I'm not sure why it is, but across the board nearly all the dishes were flavored in a way that was disappointing.  My theory is that the crew and the officers were all non-Americans who brought foreign tastes aboard.  I'm not talking about foreign dishes--I love cuisines from around the world.  But it seemed that normally American dishes were seasoned in unusual ways, and not to the good.

 

I have always found the west coast cruises to compare unfavorably with Princess cruises from other parts of the world.  I can't speculate about why that would be, but I do feel comfortable making the generalization.   I doubt that it has anything to do with non-American chefs.  That would be common I think across the board, not just for West coast cruises.  

[Guest ldtr]

3 hours ago, EDVM96 said:

I must have been on the wrong conventions so far. 😄

Try medical meetings, such as the Oncology meeting generally held in Whistler each year.

[Incognito1]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

I cruise for the ports, obviously not for the food.

Depends on the cruise.  On a TA, the food is a MAJOR factor.  A quickie around Europe, not so much.

[beg3yrs]

I for one had stopped ordering steak (especially the Cowboy Steak) in the MDR as I found the cuts I received to be of poor quality and tough.

 

On our last two cruises (June 2023 Caribbean and Jan 2023 Sapphire) though, I saw DW's steaks and they looked great. I broke my rule and was happy to find that the quality had improved immensely.

Edited July 16, 2023 by beg3yrs
added dates

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

No, they're made onboard and stored frozen.

Bakery items never are stored in the refrigerator as they dry out. 

I bake goods at home from scratch then freeze and thaw to serve.

If you say so. 

[Crown Vic]

3 hours ago, GoHuskies! said:

Yes, as has also been my experience.  But in the past the chefs' seasonings have always been oriented toward the passengers, overwhelmingly US, Canadian or UK, not toward the crew's tastes, wherever they originate.  (I am not advocating preparing haggis, however!)

Gracious! What’s wrong with haggis? No need to comment as long as you leave bagpipes outta the conversation. Och aye! Cheers…