Poor quality food

[molly1995]

I keep reading reviews on how terrible the food is on the Ruby Princess and now I'm getting cold feet and buyers remorse.   The pictures of food don't look good either. Any have anything good to report. Also heard the pickle ball court was too small to play on.

[Potstech]

All that is just other cruisers opinions. Go and form your own and don't worry about what others say subjectively.

[warthog2608]

We were last on the Ruby July '23. We had very good meals in all the different restaurants. Right now the Ruby is our favorite ship, hoping to sail on her again soon. 

[Kay S]

1 hour ago, molly1995 said:

I keep reading reviews on how terrible the food is on the Ruby Princess and now I'm getting cold feet and buyers remorse.   The pictures of food don't look good either. Any have anything good to report. Also heard the pickle ball court was too small to play on.

The food is pretty much same on all the ships.  If you look at pictures of the food on any Princess ship, it will be the same thing.  I'm not certain about pickle ball, but any court on any ship will be constrained by the size of the ship.  Why don't you wait until after your cruise to make these judgments?

[Gretchendz]

I have not sailed the Rudy lately, but I did recently come off the Emerald. The food was the best I have ever had on Princess in 30 years.  I spoke to a maitre d and told him that. He said that right after Covid, they had cheaped out (my words not his) and the customer complaints were huge. So, in recent months, they have upped their game. I would seriously discount complaints that are more than 6 month's old. Not saying they were wrong, just saying things may have improved.

 

We though the MDR food was so good, that the specialty dining did not seem to be much of an upgarde.

 

Full disclosure, we almost never go to the buffet, so these comments are for the dining rooms.

 

I will say that MDR breakfast was weak, but lunch and dinner were great.

 

By the way, as a certifiable coffee snob, they did away with the coffee made of syrup that Princess customers had complained about for years. It was actually drinkable now!

 

Hoping your experience was like ours!

[nhraformula00]

4 minutes ago, Gretchendz said:

I have not sailed the Rudy lately, but I did recently come off the Emerald. The food was the best I have ever had on Princess in 30 years.  I spoke to a maitre d and told him that. He said that right after Covid, they had cheaped out (my words not his) and the customer complaints were huge. So, in recent months, they have upped their game. I would seriously discount complaints that are more than 6 month's old. Not saying they were wrong, just saying things may have improved.

 

We though the MDR food was so good, that the specialty dining did not seem to be much of an upgarde.

 

Full disclosure, we almost never go to the buffet, so these comments are for the dining rooms.

 

I will say that MDR breakfast was weak, but lunch and dinner were great.

 

By the way, as a certifiable coffee snob, they did away with the coffee made of syrup that Princess customers had complained about for years. It was actually drinkable now!

 

Hoping your experience was like ours!

Going on the Emerald in 11 days for our 1st. Princess and our 23rd cruise over all. This is good to hear. ????? Are the beds comfortable. Hope they are not hard.

[Gretchendz]

5 minutes ago, nhraformula00 said:

Going on the Emerald in 11 days for our 1st. Princess and our 23rd cruise over all. This is good to hear. ????? Are the beds comfortable. Hope they are not hard.

 

I love their beds and we like soft mattresses.

[TRLD]

26 minutes ago, Gretchendz said:

I have not sailed the Rudy lately, but I did recently come off the Emerald. The food was the best I have ever had on Princess in 30 years.  I spoke to a maitre d and told him that. He said that right after Covid, they had cheaped out (my words not his) and the customer complaints were huge. So, in recent months, they have upped their game. I would seriously discount complaints that are more than 6 month's old. Not saying they were wrong, just saying things may have improved.

 

We though the MDR food was so good, that the specialty dining did not seem to be much of an upgarde.

 

Full disclosure, we almost never go to the buffet, so these comments are for the dining rooms.

 

I will say that MDR breakfast was weak, but lunch and dinner were great.

 

By the way, as a certifiable coffee snob, they did away with the coffee made of syrup that Princess customers had complained about for years. It was actually drinkable now!

 

Hoping your experience was like ours!

More a matter that right after Covid all of the cruise linws had the same issues. Their supply chains were in shambled. Crew training and staffing levels were a mess. Lots of substitutions and shortages.

 

Now things are back to normal. Supply chains are mostly back in place. Crew staffing and training levels back in place.

[Teechur]

I think it's fair to say that the food on Princess ships is better than you would get at Applebee's, Chili's, TGIF, Outback Steakhouse, etc. It isn't gourmet quality, but it is still very good. Where they have the aforementioned restaurants beat is in presentation. The dining room experience is first class even if the food is not quite. 👌

[SCX22]

Cruise ship food, not just Princess food, is glorified banquet hall food and is prepared as such.  It's sustenance.  Lots of okay stuff, but lots of misses as well.  You start miss food from home especially if you cruise for more than 14 days.

 

I make it a habit to eat out/drink when I'm in port, not only to support the local economy, but to change up the food situation.

[Teechur]

8 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

Cruise ship food, not just Princess food, is glorified banquet hall food and is prepared as such.  It's sustenance.  Lots of okay stuff, but lots of misses as well.  You start miss food from home especially if you cruise for more than 14 days.

 

I make it a habit to eat out/drink when I'm in port, not only to support the local economy, but to change up the food situation.

For us it depends on prices at the ports. In Finland, a single can of beer was $10 dollars at a liquor store near the port. 😮 We each had one beer and then went back to the ship for lunch. 

In reasonably priced ports, we eat off of the ship as well.

[happy42cruise]

I would add that if you order something & you do not care for it you can ask for something else & it will be graciously replaced.  You may also order more than 1 entree (in the MDR) if you are undecided on what you want.  You can always find something to eat on a cruise ship!

[EDVM96]

4 hours ago, SCX22 said:

You start miss food from home especially if you cruise for more than 14 days.

Well, I miss food from cruise when being back home more than 14 days.

[Coral]

Don't cruise Princess (or most main stream lines) for food. You won't go hungry but it isn't the quality of food that we got in the 90's. Cruise for the ports and other things you may end up doing.

[1965]

Food is so very subjective. My husband & I often have different opinions of food on the ship. I like it all, he's picky. I like the buffet. He doesn't.. As others have said take the cruise & decide for yourself. Enjoy the ports. Don't let food, good or bad, be the focus. 😊

Edited May 9 by 1965

[skynight]

7 hours ago, molly1995 said:

I keep reading reviews on how terrible the food is on the Ruby Princess and now I'm getting cold feet and buyers remorse.   The pictures of food don't look good either. Any have anything good to report. Also heard the pickle ball court was too small to play on.

Food is very subjective. Maybe the most subjective part of any cruise vacation. Those that don't like the meals seem to complain about it more than the reverse. I was on the Ruby a few months ago. I found the food to be good to excellent. There are lots of selections, some very good, some not so appealing. What's not so appealing to me, can be very appealing to someone else.  If you are looking for DR dinners to be cooked to order you will be disappointed. It's not possible to cook individual dinners every night for 3,000 people. I ate specialty meals in the Crown Grill and Sabatini's and both were very good. I enjoyed all the casual food from cereal & fruit in the Horizon Ct., burgers, fries and pizza by the pools, and the offerings throughout the day at the International Cafe. If you have special diet restrictions Princess will take care of them. 

When I look at a cruise I see food as maybe 10/20% of the total enjoyment. Other activities and relaxation fill the other 80%.  

[555]

We were on the Ruby in Nov and didn't have any complaints about the food other than the buffet selections being rather limited compared to any Royal class ships. The DR was pretty good, similar to Princess quality on any of their ships.

[Coral]

6 hours ago, nhraformula00 said:

Going on the Emerald in 11 days for our 1st. Princess and our 23rd cruise over all. This is good to hear. ????? Are the beds comfortable. Hope they are not hard.

I think you will find them too soft, if anything. And I like softer beds.

[skynight]

6 hours ago, nhraformula00 said:

Going on the Emerald in 11 days for our 1st. Princess and our 23rd cruise over all. This is good to hear. ????? Are the beds comfortable. Hope they are not hard.

Very comfortable, nicer than my bed at home.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

Don't cruise Princess (or most main stream lines) for food.

lol, that's exactly WHY we cruise on Princess. Food is very subjective. We only sail in newer (Royal Class and up) Princess ships, and we find their food to be great.

[555]

39 minutes ago, Coral said:

I think you will find them too soft, if anything. And I like softer beds.

Sounds like Goldilocks And The 3 Bears. 😄

[Mark_K]

9 hours ago, molly1995 said:

I keep reading reviews on how terrible the food is on the Ruby Princess and now I'm getting cold feet and buyers remorse.   The pictures of food don't look good either. Any have anything good to report. Also heard the pickle ball court was too small to play on.

The pickleball court looks like it’s a full size court, although without much room on the sides and back.

 

Ruby Pickleball

[Gretchendz]

4 hours ago, happy42cruise said:

I would add that if you order something & you do not care for it you can ask for something else & it will be graciously replaced.  You may also order more than 1 entree (in the MDR) if you are undecided on what you want.  You can always find something to eat on a cruise ship!

 

We have a family member addicted to pasta. Every night she ordered an entree and an order of the fetuccine alfredo. Several times, more than once, we would order one for the table to share as a side.

 

My husband and I picked up on the idea of ordering it as a side to share years ago when our table was near an Italian family. Every night they had the fettucini as a side.

Edited May 9 by Gretchendz
typos

[Gretchendz]

1 hour ago, skynight said:

Very comfortable, nicer than my bed at home.

 

Me too. When I have trouble falling asleep at home, I imagine I am in a Princess bed.  

[Cruise Raider]

8 hours ago, Gretchendz said:

I have not sailed the Rudy lately, but I did recently come off the Emerald. The food was the best I have ever had on Princess in 30 years.  I spoke to a maitre d and told him that. He said that right after Covid, they had cheaped out (my words not his) and the customer complaints were huge. So, in recent months, they have upped their game. I would seriously discount complaints that are more than 6 month's old. Not saying they were wrong, just saying things may have improved.

 

We though the MDR food was so good, that the specialty dining did not seem to be much of an upgarde.

 

Full disclosure, we almost never go to the buffet, so these comments are for the dining rooms.

 

I will say that MDR breakfast was weak, but lunch and dinner were great.

 

By the way, as a certifiable coffee snob, they did away with the coffee made of syrup that Princess customers had complained about for years. It was actually drinkable now!

 

Hoping your experience was like ours!

I agree with all your points (can’t speak to breakfast in the MDR because we never go there lately). The coffee is the best we’ve had (we only get espresso based coffees) and the food has been great.  I try to never eat French fries and not sure what happened, but they are simply irresistible now.  
Even the food in the buffet was so good and seasoned perfectly.  And the food we order over the app is not only great but it is delivered in a very timely manner and always at the right temperature.  Not one disappointing meal to be had!  I can tell they have gone to great lengths to reverse people’s opinions about the food over the last year.