RCL food has gone downhill fast

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

So in your opinion if someone doesnt like one thing, the food they are wrong to cruise again with royal. I'm not a big fan and been doing more pay restaurants to get around this. Im a very picky eater. I disagree that if someone dosnt think royal has great food they need to stop cruising royal. There are other considerations. .. like no other line gives solos a discount imo. Food isnt the only consideration. No one line is perfect in all aspects.

 

Just my opinion,,there are other things than food to consider before someone says if you arent a fan then you should never cruise royal again. ..again that's why I do more and more pay options. I'm not a fan. And I dont do italian on any line. Ugggh. I dont eat pasta or red sauce. So to you that means quit cruising instead of getting around it. 

I was referring to people who say things similar to none of the food was edible on the ship. Based on your comment I assume you enjoy the food in speciality restaurants. I would never go on a ship if I didn’t like any of the food they served. I have never been on MSC, but I have friends who have who won’t cruise on MSC again because they didn’t like the food on the ship, even though they liked a lot of things about MSC including the ship itself. 

[parrotfeathers]

When I cruise (which hasn't been since fall 2019) I use the opportunity to try things I don't usually get at home (like Indian food).  For some reason I am surprised (?) by cruisers who go straight to the hamburger stand.  But that's them and it is fine with me.  

 

I've never found desserts on RCL to be anything to rave about.

 

[OCSC Mike]

16 minutes ago, parrotfeathers said:

I use the opportunity to try things I don't usually get at home (like Indian food)

 

Same here. That's actually the only time I eat Indian food and has always been quite good. It's one of my WJ go-to's and I was ordering it in the MDR until I realized the exact same dish will almost definitely be in WJ (we have early MDR seating and usually check out the WJ after if we eat in the MDR that night) so I started trying other stuff in the MDR and then having some Indian after (I like to to eat, lol).

 

19 minutes ago, parrotfeathers said:

I've never found desserts on RCL to be anything to rave about.

 

Besides the cookies, same here, although we've recently found a few we liked. It's never really bothered me though. I eat so much off and on during the day, I don't care much about dessert. There are always the cookies (of which I keep a ziploc full in our cabin at all times).

[time4u2go]

28 minutes ago, parrotfeathers said:

I've never found desserts on RCL to be anything to rave about.

 

That is so true!  Many of them look amazing, but they just have little or no flavor.  If only they would put as much effort into how they taste as they do in how they look!

[pcur]

15 hours ago, firefly333 said:

So in your opinion if someone doesnt like one thing, the food they are wrong to cruise again with royal. I'm not a big fan and been doing more pay restaurants to get around this. Im a very picky eater. I disagree that if someone dosnt think royal has great food they need to stop cruising royal. There are other considerations. .. like no other line gives solos a discount imo. Food isnt the only consideration. No one line is perfect in all aspects.

 

Just my opinion,,there are other things than food to consider before someone says if you arent a fan then you should never cruise royal again. ..again that's why I do more and more pay options. I'm not a fan. And I dont do italian on any line. Ugggh. I dont eat pasta or red sauce. So to you that means quit cruising instead of getting around it. 

 

Agree. Well, except for the whole Italian/pasta thing:  I really like some of the pasta dishes.

 

If I reply to a specific question about the Coastal Kitchen, I do so.  But, I leave it out of threads discussing the complimentary food.  It's like apples and oranges:  specialty dining and CK are not complimentary.  Of course, I prefer the food in the CK and specialty dining, but I truly found the food on the Jewel Transatlantic in the MDR to be very good. I mix and match my appetizers and entrees, so I always have something good to eat.  Sometimes it's all appetizers, sometimes it's a second entree as an appetizer-sized side dish. (See above about pasta dishes......😁.)

 

Oh, and I'm not in the Loyal to Royal "food basket": I really like Princess' food, too!

Edited April 29 by pcur

[nferr]

On 4/24/2024 at 8:28 AM, 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. 

 

Drinks aren't watered down. It's just a matter of how many shots the bartender is putting in. From watching most of the bartenders they're putting in a shot and a half or so. 

[pepele]

1 hour ago, nferr said:

 

Drinks aren't watered down. It's just a matter of how many shots the bartender is putting in. From watching most of the bartenders they're putting in a shot and a half or so. 

I almost wonder if they are adding water to the bottles themselves. I watched them make the drinks and it looks like they are making a normal drink but it doesn’t taste like a normal drink. I order a vodka martini so other than the olive brine there is no mixer but it still tasted watered down. 

[Engineroom Snipe]

52 minutes ago, nferr said:

 

Drinks aren't watered down. It's just a matter of how many shots the bartender is putting in. From watching most of the bartenders they're putting in a shot and a half or so. 

European shot (1 fluid ounce), American shot (1 1/2 fluid ounce), American 'double shot' (2 ounces), from my observations, they are using European shot measuring devices (a jigger has two ends for measurement, one ounce and one and one-half ounce, I see the small one being used onboard ship).

 

When I see them using a pourer, it takes a full four second count for 1.5 ounces. I have never seen a four second pour onboard. Four seconds is an eternity when you are a proficient bartender which is why Royal hires them in the first place.

 

I do not think they intentionally pour "weak drinks", I think this is the way they are instructed to pour them.

 

I have cut back my drinking for many years for health reasons but I still am quite observant when they make a drink for my wife. I find my favorite bartender and make sure they get "appreciation" when I see them make a proper drink. 

[Tatka]

On 4/23/2024 at 10:25 AM, 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 !

 

I find it better than NCL.

[loman]

On 4/28/2024 at 9:00 PM, Sizzlechest said:

And hard ice cream, not just soft serve.

There was hard ice cream available at the buffet on the Harmony . 

[Sizzlechest]

5 minutes ago, loman said:

There was hard ice cream available at the buffet on the Harmony . 

Yeah. They have very generic vanilla in the MDR (sometimes), too But NCL has a whole sundae station in their buffet.

[loman]

3 minutes ago, Sizzlechest said:

Yeah. They have very generic vanilla in the MDR (sometimes), too But NCL has a whole sundae station in their buffet.

I gotta lay off the sugar and rarely eat anything sweet , so anything sweet tastes ok to me ,  lol 

 

[time4u2go]

50 minutes ago, Sizzlechest said:

Yeah. They have very generic vanilla in the MDR (sometimes), too But NCL has a whole sundae station in their buffet.

RC has some of the most tasteless ice cream I've ever eaten. 

[Sizzlechest]

5 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

RC has some of the most tasteless ice cream I've ever eaten. 

Yes, but the ice cream you have to pay for is excellent. I'm GLAD the contract with Ben and Jerry's expired. The Sugar Shack stuff on the Oasis class ships is now on the Freedom class (from what I heard.)

 

BTW, if you are on an Oasis-class ship and have the UDP, don't pay for ice cream at Sugar Shack. Go to Playmakers and get it for free (but without the cone). And yes, they have all the same flavors as what's in Sugar Shack. You don't have to stick with the Tahitian Vanilla just because that's what's on the menu at Playmakers.

[time4u2go]

53 minutes ago, Sizzlechest said:

Yes, but the ice cream you have to pay for is excellent. I'm GLAD the contract with Ben and Jerry's expired. The Sugar Shack stuff on the Oasis class ships is now on the Freedom class (from what I heard.)

 

BTW, if you are on an Oasis-class ship and have the UDP, don't pay for ice cream at Sugar Shack. Go to Playmakers and get it for free (but without the cone). And yes, they have all the same flavors as what's in Sugar Shack. You don't have to stick with the Tahitian Vanilla just because that's what's on the menu at Playmakers.

It's a shame we have to pay extra for decent ice cream. 

[Sizzlechest]

4 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

It's a shame we have to pay extra for decent ice cream. 

I get it, but every cruise line has its pluses and minuses. RCL: Pay for popcorn. Free pizza. NCL: Pay for pizza. Free popcorn. 🤷‍♀️

[JamesEM]

On my last cruise onboard the Harmony, the food in the MDR was poor, twice I got up and left and went to the Windjammer, and RCL is raising prices.

[sowhat]

We just returned from a cruise on Marella Explorer, their food and service was much better than RCI.

In the main dining room, bar service was excellent, had drinks and menus within a couple minutes of sitting at the table in the main dining room 

Also twice a day cabin service plus turn down chocolates every night.

For the price paid marella wins hands down over RCI

 

[travelberlin]

I can confirm that food has definitely gone down hill. Formal night was a joke. No lobster tail, meat which has seen better days. Nothing really worth mentioning. The best food is the Indian food, but it is quite spicy and not really to eat it every night.  

[smokeybandit]

2 hours ago, travelberlin said:

I can confirm that food has definitely gone down hill. Formal night was a joke. No lobster tail, meat which has seen better days. Nothing really worth mentioning. The best food is the Indian food, but it is quite spicy and not really to eat it every night.  

No worries. You can go to walmart and get a lobster tail for $7-8 when you get home.

[travelberlin]

2 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

No worries. You can go to walmart and get a lobster tail for $7-8 when you get home.

Why should I do that? It used to be part of the cruising experience on a formal night. Of course every one could go to their supermarket of their preference to buy their food. But this is not the point. We are talking about changes on the cruising experience which are diminishing in quality despite increasing prices 

[Jenzshoppin]

I am currently on the Navigator and the MDR entrees are nearly inedible. The steaks just gross. I compare this to Carnival where the MDR was not excellent but much better than this RC sailing. I am gluten intolerant. Carnival was extremely accommodating and had great options at each meal. Dessert was great. All RC can offer me is a mousse. Just boring. 

[Pratique]

Both Royal and Carnival are reporting very strong customer demand levels. Additionally, building out private destinations captures more spending. As long as this continues, they can increase profitability by cutting corners on complementary soft products such as food and housekeeping. IMHO the smaller cruise lines will need to compete on quality because it is very expensive for them to build new ships and private beaches.

[The Fun Researcher]

Interesting how, after 35 cruises, ONE bad experience draws the broad conclusion that food "has gone downhill fast".  There's always the chance that things aren't going to be up to norm.

 

Even within all our Royal sailings, some have been noticeably better than others, some below average.  I wouldn't draw conclusions from one bad experience and am always willing to give it another try.

 

I will say that there are a few things that have been removed or scaled back on recently that bother me in particular.  The sandwiches in Café Promenade used to have more quality/costly fillings like roast beef, salmon, etc... on the last two cruises on Anthem and Quantum if was either veggies,  bologna, or tuna salad.  ...and I do miss the lamb chops in the MDR.

 

[Sonic2012]

I’m on Grandeur right now and the food has been good. The desserts are a little bland, other than the red velvet cake at Chops Grill. I have no complaints.