Food Selection and Quality Hits an All Time Low

[OCSC Mike]

19 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

They put on such a small spoonful of meat into your mixture, it was more like just a Vegetable stir fry.

 

Did you try asking for extra meat? I'd be disappointed too but I've always found the crew members to be pretty accommodating to reasonable requests.

[Jimbo]

1 minute ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Did you try asking for extra meat? I'd be disappointed too but I've always found the crew members to be pretty accommodating to reasonable requests.

Did that, they put a half of spoon more in. I thought it was pointless after that and never had stir fry again.

 

It was like the cook thought he was being watched and if he put a lot more meat into the stir fry he would get in trouble.

 

 

[orville99]

36 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

They put on such a small spoonful of meat into your mixture, it was more like just a Vegetable stir fry. It's like they were rationing out the meat. Back in the day you used to put on as much meat as you wanted into your stir fry dish. Very disappointing.

We simply ask them to put more meat in the mix - never a problem.

[OCSC Mike]

17 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Did that, they put a half of spoon more in. I thought it was pointless after that and never had stir fry again.

 

It was like the cook thought he was being watched and if he put a lot more meat into the stir fry he would get in trouble.

 

Yeah, that's pretty disappointing then.

[cynt]

18 hours ago, Vibe said:

I am currently on the Wonder of the Seas. As always Royal Caribbean entertainment is awesome. The ship itself is nice but is overcrowded. This was the most we ever paid for a cruise.
 

The one thing I can’t believe is how horrible the food has become.  The food budget appears to have been cut so much that the main dining room food is awful and the Windjammer is disgusting. The poor ingredients is making basic food incredibly inedible. Mystery fish, poor quality meat and chicken.  Less selection.
 

The ships are now sailing full. I overheard other guests comment about how dissatisfied they are. With high prices, poor quality food, rising gratuities, will people book a future cruise?

 

 

OP you might consider booking the ultimate dining plan. We really enjoy the specialty dining restaurants over the MDR. When my husband and I cruise alone we usually book UDP. When we cruise with family and friends we stick with MDR and do a couple of nights in specialty dining. 

 

I've also learned to order whatever the waiter recommends. I usualy add what I really wanted to that order as well.

 

What exactly are you ordering? And what about it do you not like? 

Edited November 4, 2023 by cynt

[OCSC Mike]

7 minutes ago, orville99 said:

We simply ask them to put more meat in the mix - never a problem.

 

I've never had a problem either... thinking he may have run into an unfortunate one-off situation.

Edited November 4, 2023 by OCSC Mike

[cynt]

8 minutes ago, orville99 said:

We simply ask them to put more meat in the mix - never a problem.

 

I would have said I need one with meat only and then mixed it with my other order. 

[bretts173]

These reviews really are rather pointless, all it proves is that different people have different tastes and expectations. 2 people on the exact cruise with opposite opinions.

 

When I break it down it probably costs me $20 to eat on a ship a day my expectations aren't high. I am always pleasantly surprised.

[bucfan2]

15 minutes ago, bretts173 said:

These reviews really are rather pointless, all it proves is that different people have different tastes and expectations. 2 people on the exact cruise with opposite opinions.

 

When I break it down it probably costs me $20 to eat on a ship a day my expectations aren't high. I am always pleasantly surprised.

But yours is priceless, of course.

Edited November 4, 2023 by bucfan2

[OCSC Mike]

25 minutes ago, bretts173 said:

These reviews really are rather pointless, all it proves is that different people have different tastes and expectations. 2 people on the exact cruise with opposite opinions.

 

Yes, food will always be subjective, but I still like reading about the experiences of others. Anyone who doesn't can just skip over them.

 

I've never had a problem eating and enjoying plenty of food on any cruise (as recently as last weekend) so a negative review won't ever impact my personal expectations but I don't find them pointless if they include details.

[Mum2Mercury]

We're just off Grandeur, and we enjoyed the food.  Sure, some things were better than others, but I didn't have anything bad.  Specific thoughts: 

 

- We ate in the MDR most evenings, and nothing disappointed.  The pan-seared fish was particularly good, as were the enchilada and crab cake.  The warm chocolate cake (served in a ramekin) was the best dessert.  

- The worst thing for me in the MDR was my beloved Shrimp Cocktail.  Oh, the shrimp were still good -- if small in number -- but the cocktail sauce was one tiny step up from ketchup.  

- Meat /entree portions were fine in the MDR, but vegetables were sometimes skimpy.  When I had the Beef Tenderloin, it came with two skinny pieces of asparagus.  Two!  Perhaps people don't always eat their veggies, and they're trying not to be wasteful?  

- I ordered two appetizers once.  They were delivered one at a time, which was okay because the two-top table was just too small to hold two plates at once.  I overheard a nearby table order two entrees, and they were delivered one at a time.  Again, two-top table.  No space.  

- We ate breakfast most days in the Windjammer.  Repetitive, but we like eggs and bacon.  Always plenty of fresh fruit.  I was pleased that you could get a fresh-made waffle at the egg station in the back.  

- We also ate lunch most days in the Windjammer.  My "lunch recipe" onboard is always a big salad + a bit of protein.  I was pleased with the selection and freshness of the salad fixings, and both my husband and I really enjoyed the grilled chicken thighs at lunch.  They were different each day:  BBQ, honey and garlic -- I can't remember what else, but they really excelled with those grilled thighs, and they were available every day except the last, when the chicken was fried.  

- We had dinner in the Windjammer twice (when we weren't particularly interested in the menu options), and it was good.  About half the time we skipped dessert in the MDR and instead went to the Windjammer to choose our dessert, so we saw the choices often.  They had (small) steaks most evenings -- pork chops the others.  Baked potatoes were often available -- I had a twice-baked potato with broccoli and cheese, which was good.  We had crawfish the last night of our cruise.  My husband particularly enjoyed Shrimp Etouffee.  

- We both fell in love with the Park Cafe (so conveniently located in the Solarium!)  The roast beef sandwiches were really good -- ate several of those over the week.  The pizza was kinda like the good-quality frozen stuff -- eh.  The Park Cafe salads and pre-cut fresh fruit were good.  And they had small desserts.  

 

Overall, we were very pleased with the food.  I would like to see better steaks (without additional cost) and more vegetables.  But everything I had was good and delivered at an appropriate temperature.  

[Mum2Mercury]

5 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

... but I don't find them pointless if they include details.

Yes!  I really like hearing details.  I discount anyone who throws out a blanket statement without details.  

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

We're going on the Allure next (January) - and really am only focused on the kummelweck sandwich in the Park Cafe. That will be my lunch every day -- providing it's up to par.

 

Any observations as to changes in the quality of the Coastal Kitchen experience?
 

Tom

[HxFx]

35 minutes ago, bretts173 said:

These reviews really are rather pointless, all it proves is that different people have different tastes and expectations.

I think it depends whether they describe why they were disappointed (or elated). Sometimes one person's complaint is another person's preference. I now know I won't get the stir fry because I'm more of a meat stir fry with a few veggies added in! Others may like a more veggie focused stir fry and be more likely to get it now.

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

We're going on the Allure next (January) - and really am only focused on the kummelweck sandwich in the Park Cafe. That will be my lunch every day -- providing it's up to par.

 

LOL, I like your style. I only had one on Allure last week but it tasted good to me. One thing people seem to discount about the kummelweck is that you're getting a small slice of beef off of a giant roast. If you get one that you don't like, you may have just gotten an overly fatty piece or an overly well done piece... it doesn't mean that every slice from every roast for the entire cruise will be the same.

 

I had one complaint about Park Cafe on Allure... they didn't actually press the paninis. They put them in some sort of oven for 30 seconds to melt the cheese but only one side of the bread wound up crispy. That's not a panini. The panini press was sitting right there so I found it odd but didn't care enough to bother asking about it.

 

I had tacos from Wipeout/ELF most days as either lunch or a snack. Nothing special about them but I can always eat a taco or two (especially with Tobasco Chioptle added).

[OCSC Mike]

8 minutes ago, HxFx said:

I now know I won't get the stir fry because I'm more of a meat stir fry with a few veggies added in!

 

Not telling you what to do, but I wouldn't completely skip it because of one review. It could have been a certain cook, it could have been a certain manager telling him he was using too much meat, who knows? If it's something I like, I will try anything myself no matter how bad of a review I read. If I then experience the same thing, I can easily move on and not go back. Just my 2 cents.

[Mum2Mercury]

12 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

We're going on the Allure next (January) - and really am only focused on the kummelweck sandwich in the Park Cafe. That will be my lunch every day -- providing it's up to par.

We really enjoyed the Kummelweck sandwich.  

The good:  We really enjoyed this sandwich and ate several over the course of the week.  They offer 4 toppings options:  Au Jus, Horseradish, Mustard, Mustard Ragout.  They piled on plenty of meat.  I like a touch of salt ... note that salt packets are available over by the drinks.  

The bad:  The line for the sandwiches was always long ... a staff member'd often come out and say, "If you only want pizza, please step to the left" to shorten the line; people caught on after the first or second day.  The Park Cafe and the Windjammer alternated times (so one was pretty much always open), so the sandwiches weren't usually available until after 1:00 or so (then again for late evening).  As such, we treated these sandwiches more like a snack than a lunch.  And the buns aren't huge ... you can get two at once.  

Note that Park Cafe also serves salads (good salads!), desserts, and fruit.  

10 minutes ago, HxFx said:

I think it depends whether they describe why they were disappointed (or elated). Sometimes one person's complaint is another person's preference. I now know I won't get the stir fry because I'm more of a meat stir fry with a few veggies added in! Others may like a more veggie focused stir fry and be more likely to get it now.

I think most people in Windjammer are focused on meat first, potatoes (mashed, baked, french fried) as a second ... and veggies if they'll fit on the plate.  Hamburgers and hot dogs are always available at lunch and dinner, and I don't understand why they're so popular.  They're just so ... ordinary.  

[HxFx]

7 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Not telling you what to do, but I wouldn't completely skip it because of one review.

I agree, I was more thinking of my 4 day on Allure starting Monday. Not enough time to try everything so will probably skip that. I will likely prioritize tacos as a snack so hopefully a little better experience then you had!

[travelberlin]

One of my favorite foods at lunch time is protein with a salad. I have just seen a recommendation from the Points Guy to never eat a salad out of the salad buffets on cruise ships. Apparently they are standing too long and the way that cruisers use the spoons to serve themselves is not very hygienic. The recommendation is only to eat salads at the MDR or when a crew member is behind the salad bar serving everyone. 😔

[Jimbo]

1 hour ago, orville99 said:

We simply ask them to put more meat in the mix - never a problem.

Why not put the meat out front along side the veggies. Is that asking to much to fix the issue?

[OCSC Mike]

8 minutes ago, HxFx said:

I agree, I was more thinking of my 4 day on Allure starting Monday. Not enough time to try everything so will probably skip that. I will likely prioritize tacos as a snack so hopefully a little better experience then you had!

 

You can try everything... it just takes effort, lol. My experience overall was great. The paninis were a miss and I wished they had a cook to order station in the WJ but everything else was fine to very good.

 

I even enjoyed Sorrento's. My pizza came out crispy (my preference) and given that I only go there for a late night snack, it served its purpose.

 

Have a great cruise! Allure was in very good shape, IMO.

[Mikew0805]

40 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

 

- The worst thing for me in the MDR was my beloved Shrimp Cocktail.  Oh, the shrimp were still good -- if small in number -- but the cocktail sauce was one tiny step up from ketchup.  

 

 

Overall, we were very pleased with the food.  I would like to see better steaks (without additional cost) and more vegetables.  But everything I had was good and delivered at an appropriate temperature.  

I always, always ask for a side of horseradish to add to the cocktail sauce. Makes it perfect.

[A&L_Ont]

4 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Why not put the meat out front along side the veggies. Is that asking too much to fix the issue?

I think it might come to food preparation, for food safety aspects.  
 

Anyone can serve themselves a plate raw veggies and walk away without it being cooked and eat it. If someone was foolish enough to walk away with uncooked meat and eat it that’s another story. I do not ever remember seeing uncooked meat (unprepared to eat) sitting at arms reach of patrons on a ship.

[Jimbo]

27 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

We really enjoyed the Kummelweck sandwich.  

The good:  We really enjoyed this sandwich and ate several over the course of the week.  They offer 4 toppings options:  Au Jus, Horseradish, Mustard, Mustard Ragout.  They piled on plenty of meat.  I like a touch of salt ... note that salt packets are available over by the drinks.  

The bad:  The line for the sandwiches was always long ... a staff member'd often come out and say, "If you only want pizza, please step to the left" to shorten the line; people caught on after the first or second day.  The Park Cafe and the Windjammer alternated times (so one was pretty much always open), so the sandwiches weren't usually available until after 1:00 or so (then again for late evening).  As such, we treated these sandwiches more like a snack than a lunch.  And the buns aren't huge ... you can get two at once.  

Note that Park Cafe also serves salads (good salads!), desserts, and fruit.  

I think most people in Windjammer are focused on meat first, potatoes (mashed, baked, french fried) as a second ... and veggies if they'll fit on the plate.  Hamburgers and hot dogs are always available at lunch and dinner, and I don't understand why they're so popular.  They're just so ... ordinary.  

Actually the Hamburgers were quite good, they actually had a good mixture in them to actually taste like something. Most of the other Windjammer items were rather tasteless with not much seasoning.

 

Hamburgers became our go to items(plus the darn Chicken tenders they had for both lunch and dinner times) when we couldn't find anything else. Sad but true 😞

 

No way the food is as good as it used to be overall, but I guess now a days that is expected and we better get used to it or find another form of vacations.

Edited November 4, 2023 by Jimbo

[nelblu]

43 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

We're going on the Allure next (January) - and really am only focused on the kummelweck sandwich in the Park Cafe. That will be my lunch every day -- providing it's up to par.

 

Any observations as to changes in the quality of the Coastal Kitchen experience?
 

Tom

Be careful of some of the fat on the beef.  Ask them to trim it.