RCL food has gone downhill fast

[Engineroom Snipe]

3 minutes ago, Pratique said:

We don't cruise for the salads lol.

 

That is so ironic as I really enjoyed the huge salad offerings in the Windjammer before the shut-down.

 

To each their own.

 

"Have it your way..., have it your way." (Jingle from Burger King, 1974) which seems very appropriate for this thread.

 

Everyone has their favorites and not so much favorites.

 

😉

[doghog]

21 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

 

That is so ironic as I really enjoyed the huge salad offerings in the Windjammer before the shut-down.

 

To each their own.

 

"Have it your way..., have it your way." (Jingle from Burger King, 1974) which seems very appropriate for this thread.

 

Everyone has their favorites and not so much favorites.

 

😉

We wish RC would bring back the Tutti Salad in the MDR for a lunch option on sea days. 

[BND]

1 hour ago, cargopilot said:

But it is MUCH better than airline food.

Not necessarily.  We flew first class on United to TX and back last fall.  The food we had was very good. Breakfast on the way down and lunch on the way back.  

 

[CatLadyFemme]

7 hours ago, doghog said:

We wish RC would bring back the Tutti Salad in the MDR for a lunch option on sea days. 

I loved that so much too!

[ReneeFLL]

7 hours ago, BND said:

Not necessarily.  We flew first class on United to TX and back last fall.  The food we had was very good. Breakfast on the way down and lunch on the way back.  

 

This can also vary by flight. We flew  home in first on United last Sept and the meat was cold and fatty. I don’t even remember what it was called, just that it was bad and I wouldn’t eat it. That right there says a lot. 😁

[RobInMN]

Just off 14 nights on Radiance, and overall, I think all 4 of our group thought the food was pretty good. Only a couple disappointments.

 

Good enough that I gained 11 pounds. 🙂 

Edited April 24 by RobInMN

[ReneeFLL]

11 hours ago, Bullet100 said:

Let me start by saying we've been on approximately 35 cruises. Most of them have been Azamara,NCL,Royal Caribbean, Celebrity with one MSC included. The food quality and selection on RCL borders on par with MSC which is pretty bad. The prime rib was fatty and as tough as shoe leather. The NY strip steak that the gentleman next to us looked like a door stop and he stated it was uneditable. There is no comparison to NCL whatsoever. We tried Chops hoping for a better steak experience but it was just a bit better. Definitely not with the 190 up charge. In the future it will be NCL,Azamara and Oceania only.Bye Bye RCL !

We tried Virgin Voyages last month for the first time and their food was really good. Check them out.

[Ashland]

We were recently on Celebrity Summit...Oh my goodness...so impressed with the Oceanview Cafe. I wish RCI WJ was this good. 

[chickychubs]

We have sailed on Royal since 2012 and I have to agree that food is indeed going downhill. In the past escargot and prime rib used to be extremely consistent ship to ship and have always been a staple on our cruises. Desserts on Legend (RIP) used to be so enjoyable, especially the chocolate torte. We sailed on Quantum in 2022 was still decent with standouts being the kummelweck but desserts were a far cry from the past.

 

Most recently, having sailing 5 cruises on Spectrum from 2022 to now, I can say that food quality has declined dramatically be it in the buffet with even hash browns being soggy and pancakes so stale I couldn't stab through them with a knife to the kummelweck being dried out and tough like shoe leather. Food in the MDR has become extremely disappointing with cheap cuts of sirloin devoid of flavour to the once staple prime rib being tough and tasteless and the escargot being greasy and flavourless.

 

We are extremely disappointed with the QC and coincidentally these cost cuts seem to have happened after the new CEO took over. We have currently booked 2 more royal cruises next year including a repositioning on Anthem to Japan and a Princess cruise to New Zealand. We hope that these changes aren't a sign of things to come.

[Chiliburn]

3 hours ago, Ashland said:

We were recently on Celebrity Summit...Oh my goodness...so impressed with the Oceanview Cafe. I wish RCI WJ was this good. 

Celebrity Edge last season in Australia.

Steak and eggs for breakfast in the buffet 

[3CatsInMA]

21 hours ago, Bullet100 said:

Let me start by saying we've been on approximately 35 cruises. Most of them have been Azamara,NCL,Royal Caribbean, Celebrity with one MSC included. The food quality and selection on RCL borders on par with MSC which is pretty bad. The prime rib was fatty and as tough as shoe leather. The NY strip steak that the gentleman next to us looked like a door stop and he stated it was uneditable. There is no comparison to NCL whatsoever. We tried Chops hoping for a better steak experience but it was just a bit better. Definitely not with the 190 up charge. In the future it will be NCL,Azamara and Oceania only.Bye Bye RCL !

 

 

There's nothing worse than a steak you can't edit. 😠

[Engineroom Snipe]

1 minute ago, 3CatsInMA said:

 

 

There's nothing worse than a steak you can't edit. 😠

He was trying to "delete" the experience.

 

😁

[lovesthebeach2]

It’s too bad that someone can’t voice their opinion here - even if they feel it’s not a positive one - without others feeling they have to attack that persons opinion. 
 

I also feel that the food on Royal isn’t nearly as good as it was years ago, but I havent cruised any other lines in that same time so I can’t compare. Maybe they’ve all changed too. We’ve decided to try other lines now since it looks like Royals focus has changed to the shorter what they advertise as “weekend” cruises.

But on the positive side, I haven’t gained any cruise weight in years.

[lovesthebeach2]

20 hours ago, time4u2go said:

I'm guessing the $190 is for more than one person.  OP did say "we" in the original post.

We don’t eat at chops either anymore.  I don’t eat red meat, so I can’t see spending the money, even if we use our BOGO.  We prefer a Giovanni’s .

[pepele]

My family and I felt the same way about the food.  The specialty restaurants and Coastal Kitchen are still good so now we book the unlimited dining plan if we aren’t sailing in a suite with access to a coastal kitchen. I also found the drinks watered down.  I don’t like to drink empty calories so I would rather have one strong martini vs 3 watered down drinks. 

[Kbonner]

Had the Ribeye (Ripeye?) yesterday at CK. Aweful tough and subpar meat quality. Called for the chef and he acknowledges the critique. He said for CK he tries to avoid ordering this meat for the remainder of the 14 days cruise

[lovesthebeach2]

18 hours ago, doghog said:

We wish RC would bring back the Tutti Salad in the MDR for a lunch option on sea days. 

What was Tutti Salad? Sounds good.

[BecciBoo]

We completely disagree with OP.  We've seen a definite improvement over the last year on all classes.  And...if I can see a definite quality difference in Carnival Jubilee and Voyager with Voyager getting the nod, it's got to be better.  Even Chops last September's Allure was the best meal we had since before Covid.  O well, no accounting for taste, whatever floats YOUR boat.  But we are happy with the improvement.

[BecciBoo]

50 minutes ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

without others feeling they have to attack

So just disagreeing is an attack...mmmmm  We ARE allowed to disagree aren't we?

Edited April 24 by BecciBoo

[time4u2go]

42 minutes ago, lovesthebeach2 said:

It’s too bad that someone can’t voice their opinion here - even if they feel it’s not a positive one - without others feeling they have to attack that persons opinion. 
 

I also feel that the food on Royal isn’t nearly as good as it was years ago, but I havent cruised any other lines in that same time so I can’t compare. Maybe they’ve all changed too. We’ve decided to try other lines now since it looks like Royals focus has changed to the shorter what they advertise as “weekend” cruises.

But on the positive side, I haven’t gained any cruise weight in years.

I completely agree.  I think the food has definitely gone downhill in recent years.

[time4u2go]

35 minutes ago, pepele said:

My family and I felt the same way about the food.  The specialty restaurants and Coastal Kitchen are still good so now we book the unlimited dining plan if we aren’t sailing in a suite with access to a coastal kitchen. I also found the drinks watered down.  I don’t like to drink empty calories so I would rather have one strong martini vs 3 watered down drinks. 

You sound like exactly what RC probably had in mind as they've cut the quality of the MDR...someone that has gotten fed up (pardon the pun) enough that they are now paying for the extra-charge restaurants.

[pepele]

1 minute ago, time4u2go said:

You sound like exactly what RC probably had in mind as they've cut the quality of the MDR...someone that has gotten fed up (pardon the pun) enough that they are now paying for the extra-charge restaurants.

Probably. Right now we are traveling with 2 kids and Royal has a lot to offer for kids. When they are older we will likely switch to a different cruise line.  We will try Celebrity first to try to maintain some of the loyalty perks but would start over with a new cruise line if that isn’t the right fit. Right now we are limited in how much vacation time

we have so we are willing to spend more money to make sure it’s what we want. 

[FamilyCruiserUK]

Having been on royal (Oasis), p & o (Arvia) and MSC (world Europa) within the last 12 months i can honestly say the food across all three have been hit and miss. 

 

MSC best pizza by far, worst buffet and expensive specialty restaurants.

 

P & O best steak by far, but best food overall for price, but choice is limited at times. 

 

Royal best buffet by far and included food, but expensive specialist resturants.

 

Alot is simply down to the way its been cooked. Most is mass produced in the kitchens and warmed up including the food in MDRs. 

It is subjective and i get he frustrations of the OP, but thats across the board on all companies really.

Edited April 24 by FamilyCruiserUK

[cruiselvr04]

37 minutes ago, BecciBoo said:

We completely disagree with OP.  We've seen a definite improvement over the last year on all classes.  And...if I can see a definite quality difference in Carnival Jubilee and Voyager with Voyager getting the nod, it's got to be better.  Even Chops last September's Allure was the best meal we had since before Covid.  O well, no accounting for taste, whatever floats YOUR boat.  But we are happy with the improvement.

Food on Royal took a big hit in January of 2023 when they came out with the new menu.  It was hit and miss before then but those first couple of cruises in 2023 the food was pretty bad. But since then it’s gotten better, slowly.  I do think it’s ship/chef dependent somewhat. We can still get a bad meal but then just don’t eat it. The waiters see that and will try hard to get you something else without saying a word most of the time. They want that 10 rating.
 

To the Op - Use your survey to let them know about the food if you’re disappointed.  We are not foodies.  If you are, you should pick Silver Seas or Regent or one of the other top lines who have a bigger budget for food and serve less people. 

[BND]

1 hour ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

Having been on royal (Oasis), p & o (Arvia) and MSC (world Europa) within the last 12 months i can honestly say the food across all three have been hit and miss. 

 

MSC best pizza by far, worst buffet and expensive specialty restaurants.

 

P & O best steak by far, but best food overall for price, but choice is limited at times. 

 

Royal best buffet by far and included food, but expensive specialist resturants.

 

Alot is simply down to the way its been cooked. Most is mass produced in the kitchens and warmed up including the food in MDRs. 

It is subjective and i get he frustrations of the OP, but thats across the board on all companies really.

Cooked to order would mean everyone waiting a long time for their food.  While the quality might be better, it wouldn't make for happier guests.  It works in specialty restaurants due to minimal number of guests, but wouldn't work with 1000 or more at a time.  I think people forget that back when the food was really good, the dining experience took 2.5+ hours.  Now, it's down to just about an hour.  

Edited April 24 by BND