Food on Island Princess

[teddie2]

HI all more questions from me:)  So I have been reading about the island princess not having such great food.. friends we are going with are looking forward to the specialty restaurants.  They are from Italy so I would say fussy about any italian food they eat.  I read somewhere the fettichini alfredo tasted like it was from olive garden.. Oh dear!  Anyway interested in hearing any all experiences of the food on this ship ..I am guessing to some degree it depends on when you go and the chef that is on the ship at that time??  This reviewer said that pub night was the best food the whole trip.  
Just to clarify, my H and I are not big eaters.  We have some breakfast in the AM.. we can be fine with just about anything.. I wont do eggs everyday.. Normally i have yogurt and fruit.  We generally get lunch while out and about when away as we want to try the local food and will do a big meal mid day.  Then in the evening we eat light.. sometimes just a sandwhich or some tapas (cheese, bread, salami) or soup.. again light dinner.  So I am guessing we will be better off at the buffet in the evening.  Days at sea may be different.  

If we wanted to eat light in the other restaurants or just wanted to join our friends and not eat.. is that possible or will they require us to order?  
We were on a small ship, 28 people, in Croatia and they fed us way too much... we were at a point where we told them we would share a meal and that worked out well.. so wondering if they would allow that here.. this is not about being cheap or saving money its really about not wasting food that we just wont finish.. 
Thanks in advance .. wondering if there is anyone out there like us!

[sultan_sfo]

44 minutes ago, teddie2 said:

  ...

They are from Italy so I would say fussy about any italian food they eat.  I read somewhere the fettichini alfredo tasted like it was from olive garden..

...

1. I cannot imagine anyone being "fussy" about "Italian" food would want to eat Fettuccini Alfredo in any restaurant! Just my opinion.

2. Please let them know that the Maitre D' (or DORO) on Island P. is Italian so they need not worry.

Edited November 7, 2023 by sultan_sfo

[Rick&Jeannie]

2 hours ago, teddie2 said:

 

If we wanted to eat light in the other restaurants or just wanted to join our friends and not eat.. is that possible or will they require us to order?  

Are you speaking of dining in a specialty restaurant or the main dining room? I can't say for certain but if you are talking about specialty dining then I would *think* (don't know for sure) that you would still have to pay the "cover" charge. You would be "taking" seats from other "paying" guests. 

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, sultan_sfo said:

1. I cannot imagine anyone being "fussy" about "Italian" food would want to eat Fettuccini Alfredo in any restaurant! Just my opinion.

2. Please let them know that the Maitre D' (or DORO) on Island P. is Italian so they need not worry.

We were on Island a year ago and the food was good.  It was better than our experience on Regal the month before.  I doubt the DRO who runs "front of house" has anything much to do with the quality coming from "back of house".  IMO, it has to do with the head and senior chefs and the skills of the key individuals who prepare and cook the meals.  Another factor is the quality of ingredients and that should be pretty consistent across all ships.

[SargassoPirate]

There was a thread about the 2023 world cruise on the island, and the OP had good things to say about the food and even posted some photos of the food in the MDR.

 

Scroll down and you'll find it.

[Catchum]

We did Iceland and UK on the island princess this year. We tried the MDR a couple of times and were unimpressed- not unhappy but not amazing. Generally the buffet was excellent in the evening, not crowded easy to get a window seat, excellent drinks service (proper glasses in an evening) and the offer of decadent boozy desserts brought around. Also on formal nights far more opportunities to be seen than the MDR - vanity is a lifestyle.

[DCThunder]

I did 28 days on Island this summer and the food was fine, if a bit unimaginative, especially in the buffet.  The cruise was from Southampton and we had a lot of Brits aboard, so some of the food was designed for the British palate.  I didn't eat in Sabatini's so can't speak to that, but the Bayou Cafe (steakhouse) was very good.  Island doesn't have the same selection of specialty restaurants as the bigger ships.

[teddie2]

Thanks for the insight.  I feel that given our eating habits, the buffet might be the best most nights after touring. On days we are at sea we can try out the specialty dining. I know we won't be eating with the friends much.

 

BtW  Those of you who were on the ship for more than 1 week if you bought the package where you get  Specialty dining included 2 nights was it 2 nights for the whole trip or 2 nights every week

 I ask because one of the couples we're going with was on a princess trip last year and there was some confusion about that someone told them they were entitled to 2 per week and someone else said no to per trip but they managed to get to per week

 Everyone have asked from princess says no to per trip

 But in a way if you think about it this trip is 20 days and it's actually too different trips

 A boat is picking people up in Southampton and some people are getting off 10 days later in Barcelona and a new group is coming on and going from Barcelona to Rome for 10 days

 That's 2 separate trips back to back.

 But we are staying on for the full 20 days

 In a way you would think that they should be able to get at least another 2 specialty dining included in their package anyway just wondering others experience regarding that who've been on longer than a week

[DCThunder]

I did two B2B trips on Island this summer (Norway, then Iceland/Greenland).  The menu in the MDR repeated on the leg somewhat, although not totally.  Same with the buffet.  I did not have a package.

 

Just realize that if you eat in the MDR, you can order whatever you want.  By this I mean if you just want a salad and an appetizer as your main?  The waiter will bring you that.  No app, just an entree?  Same thing.  You don't have to "clean your plate", no one will care.  Want fruit for dessert?  They'll bring you something.  

 

There's nothing wrong with eating in the buffet all the time, but you aren't committed to huge meals just by eating in the MDR.