RCCL - Food Poll

[wuppis]

We started cruising in 2001 on the NCL Sun with excellent food, 2002 on the Brilliance and 2004 on the Jewel with very good food, 2005 on the Zenith only average food, 2005 on the Splendour with good food and this year on the Radiance again only good food.

 

Only dining experience in Portofinos was high cuisine and so far below average in the dining room, it was really worth the extra $15. Maybe they want more people to dine in the alternative restaurants and pay extra for the better cuisine.

I´m writing very detailled about our cruises and one thing was remarkable, on all RCCL ships the food tastes the same. I talked to several Executive Chefs and they have no chance to change something. Everythin, from the recepies to the decoration is specified by RCCL headquarter. So, when you travel often with RCCL, like we do (twice a year) it´s all the same on every ship.

And it´s not getting better and thats a shame for all their loyal guests with platinum, diamond and diamond plus status.

 

Hope RCCL will read this. Oh, I forgot one really good thing, the new concept for lunch in the dining room - Brasserie 30. Thats a good alternative for a good, quiet lunch to the Windjammer Cafe and much better than on ships without this new concept.

If you want to read more about it, look at my website: www.oppermann-wuppertal.de

You´ll find an english review about our Hawaii Cruise this year including this new, but not so well known concept.

[Giorgi-one]

I also felt that the meals on Mariner were great. I believe much of the problem with the meals is that people expect a 5 star restaurant. If you get that, wonderful............but, don't go expecting it. Expect a nice meal served by exceptional (in my opinion) waiters and I doubt you'll be dissappointed. There will be some meals that are better than others but that happens in ANY restaurant. :o

 

 

I doubt that very many people on these boards have ever dined in a 5* restaurant, so I doubt they expect 5* food. I keep seeing this line over and over again used as an excuse for bad food. Not saying you are doing it, but it happens on every review. I just want food as good as the restaurant in my local shopping center and, in many cases, cruise lines have not even been able to deliver that level of quality.

[snausman]

Our first cruise was the cruise my DH said "better enjoy this because this will be the only one of these we will ever take". He was not happy about going, and was only going to make me happy. By the third day he asked me when we were going to get around to booking the next one. Which we did for Thanksgiving week. (We have always taken land vacation to places where he could dive). Now we have our DD and SIL hooked.

 

The first cruise we would listen to our waiter for what he would suggest and would then order it. Was never disapointed with this chocie. The only thing I did not care for was any of the soups, way to salty for me but my DH would like them.

 

As for Chops and Portofino, on our Thanksgiving cruise we ate in the dining room only 2 nights(formal, DH loves to wear a tux). The other nighs we ate in Portofino 3 times and Chops 2. LOVE THEIR FOOD. If I was to said something was bad in either one it would be that Chops would serve way to much food. Thats the worse I can say, to much food. Others I am sure would not agree but for me that baked potatoe could serve at least 4, it was huge.

 

As you can see we are again going on a Thanksgiving cruise on the FREEDOM and then Radiance for the Hawaii cruise. We are trying Celebrity in just a few weeks to Alaska so will then have something to compare it to. As my DH says "If it ain't broke why fix it." So we are staying in the RCCl family.

 

 

Laura

[cruisers4ever]

I couldn't have said it better. Food has always been a "hot" topic of discussion, please remember taste is different for everyone.

[cruisers4ever]

I also felt that the meals on Mariner were great. I believe much of the problem with the meals is that people expect a 5 star restaurant. If you get that, wonderful............but, don't go expecting it. Expect a nice meal served by exceptional (in my opinion) waiters and I doubt you'll be dissappointed. There will be some meals that are better than others but that happens in ANY restaurant. :o

 

 

I agree 100% with you Reijo!

[snausman]

I doubt that very many people on these boards have ever dined in a 5* restaurant, so I doubt they expect 5* food. I keep seeing this line over and over again used as an excuse for bad food. Not saying you are doing it, but it happens on every review. I just want food as good as the restaurant in my local shopping center and, in many cases, cruise lines have not even been able to deliver that level of quality.

 

Wow what a statement, I have eaten in many 5* restaurant around the world which includes the French Laundry which was the top rated restaurant in the world. Ok now it is only rated,I think second or third. So I do have some idea on what a 5* should be. And maybe the ships I was on did not serve a 5* meal but

 

1. They were serving 3,000 people not just a couple of tables for that night. (Almost all 5* stars, are just a few tables and you have them for the night).

 

2. I did not pay for a 5* meal so why would I except to get one???? I paid a very reasonable price for my cruise. If I had paid for "THE WORLD" cruise at 1500.00 per night then yes I would except to get a 5* meal.

 

The 2 points are IMOP. It is just confussing to me why someone would think they would get a 5* meal when they didn't pay the price for one. Nothing in live is free why at least not on vacation it isn't.

 

Laura

 

(yes, I am ready for the flames and I do have on that suit)

[Nliedel]

Um, been in 5 star places, loved the food, paid through the nose for it. NEVER expect 5 star on a cruise and even though I started traveling on cruise ships over 20 years ago never had true five star food on a cruise.

 

Not knocking it at all. Love really good food, but the dining is the experience when you pay for it like that. A cruise ship is not condusive to five star dining. Never had it in a banquet room. I'm not saying it can't happen, but never had it happen.

 

I'd love to get to the French Laundry someday. No flames here.

[amarillocruisecat]

Well, I may not have eaten in a true 5 star restaurant, but my DW and I always try to eat at some of the nicer restaurants in the cities we travel to when on land vacations. And yes, eating at fine restaurants involves a willingness to spend amounts on a meal that would make some in my family choke on their grits. I also like to think I am a pretty good cook. We think we know good food when we eat it.

 

We've only been on two cruises, both on RCCL. We thought the food was OK, but not great (I voted average). Equivalent to eating in a decent chain restaurant. In other words, about what I expected. I generally agree with what others have said - we don't cruise for the food - , and I would not let the food quality or lack thereof prevent me from cruising with RCCL again. However, we have booked a cruise with Celebrity in part because we hope the food is a little better.

 

I've always heard from others about how good the food is on cruise ships so obviously many people think the food is great. Food quality is is a relative experience. Depends on what you are used to.

 

Good discussion.:)

[Li2240]

Well, I may not have eaten in a true 5 star restaurant, but my DW and I always try to eat at some of the nicer restaurants in the cities we travel to when on land vacations. And yes, eating at fine restaurants involves a willingness to spend amounts on a meal that would make some in my family choke on their grits. I also like to think I am a pretty good cook. We think we know good food when we eat it.

 

We've only been on two cruises, both on RCCL. We thought the food was OK, but not great (I voted average). Equivalent to eating in a decent chain restaurant. In other words, about what I expected. I generally agree with what others have said - we don't cruise for the food - , and I would not let the food quality or lack thereof prevent me from cruising with RCCL again. However, we have booked a cruise with Celebrity in part because we hope the food is a little better.

 

 

I've always heard from others about how good the food is on cruise ships so obviously many people think the food is great. Food quality is is a relative experience. Depends on what you are used to.

 

Good discussion.:)

 

I don't take cruises for the food either. I have eaten in 5 star restaurants and never expected to find one on a cruise ship. I compare cruise food to catering hall food - and even in catering hall food, some is better than others. Food is a relative experience and it does depend on what you are used to. I did not think the food on the Explorer of the Seas was that great. Since this was my first RCCL cruise, I was very surprised because I guess I expected it to be better than my past cruises, both of which were Carnival.

[Fran Harp]

I steer clear of the buffet on any ship, even land based buffets, too much like cafeteria food and I enjoy being served, not having to wait on myself.

 

All that said, I've never gone hungry on a cruise ship and the big plus is I'm not shopping, cooking, serving, or cleaning up after all of it:)

 

Amen to the last part:rolleyes:.

 

I had to vote excellent - but I know that two of our dinner companions were a lot pickier than I was, and didn't like some of the stuff I loved.

 

This is recalling a cruise on Enchantment five years ago, and the TA on Brilliance in April-May of this year. On both ships the food in the dining room was, for me, excellent. On Enchantment, the appetisers and cold soups were so good I made many of my dinners out of appetisers alone, and could always order as many as I wanted. We didn't eat so often in the Windjammer on that cruise, as we were travelling with friends and enjoyed the dining room experience. Key lime pie and baked alaska were absolutely superb on this ship. The chef's midnight buffet was incredible, and it turned out the chef was from Mississauga - which is the opposite side of Toronto. I don't remember when I've ever eaten so much....but perhaps part of the joy of the experience was that I didn't have to cook it or clean up!

 

Brilliance of the Seas was equally good. The salads were always fresh and crisp, the soups good, and the Vidalia onion tart was amazing. I got hooked on some very tiny bread rolls with sesame or poppy seeds on the outside. Had duck one night, and it was soft and tender, good flavouring and excellent presentation. Lobster night was all-you-can-eat....every time one lobster tail got finished, the waiters were there with another, and more butter to pour over them! DH was in heaven. We never had trouble getting more of anything.

 

Of course, the chocolate-lovers' midnight buffet was incredible. A balanced diet *is* chocolate in both hands:D.

 

Windjammer food was also good. Every day there was something yummy at the carving station, (and I got the carvers to save the outside bits a couple of times), several varieties of fish, always fresh salad materials, lots of good fruit. We noted that they cooked *real* rice the proper way (which for DH, as an Asian, is critical)...it was not Uncle Ben's:eek:. Sometimes there were Thai curries, which was a real treat. There was sushi and every day some kind of noodle dish, which also made DH very happy. I asked the chef if he could make pancit, which is my favourite Filipino noodle dish, and the very next day he had it out there. Some of the cold soups which were served in the DR were also served in the WJ. There were waiters roaming around, and we got to know two who looked for us and were right there getting drinks, or getting desserts, or even taking our plates and refilling with whatever we asked for. Desserts were really nice, and I was particularly pleased with the low-cal desserts. We had some excellent Norwegian salmon a couple of times.

 

Was it five-star? No, but I've been in five-star restaurants which were disappointing as well. I wasn't looking for five-star...once again I was happy to have someone else cooking and cleaning up - there was nothing wrong with any of the food, and I didn't eat anything I didn't like.

 

My only complaint would probably be the coffee. Next time around I'm taking a can of Tim Horton's, or some of our Cuban coffee, and a little coffee-maker for the room. Enough of brown water.....:D

 

Just a note - the Captain and one of the officers on Brilliance often ate in the WJ. I wondered if they were checking out the quality of the food or if that was just a preference for them.

 

Fran in Toronto

[star of county down]

I enjoyed my food on Grandeur of the Seas, and was pleasantly surprised by The Windjammer. Before we went, I told my family that we were NOT going to eat at a buffet; that we were going to "dine" when we ate. We did that one day! I loved going into The Windjammer for breakfast and lunch -- sarong, bathing suit and sandals. Loved it. Had a cup of tea and a bowl of pineapple every morning and ate the rest of my breakfast when the family got up. We ate all dinners in the dining room, and I, too, liked the appetizers enough at times to have those and a salad for dinner. Our servers were great, and we would even run into them at times at the buffet. Oh, and one more thing -- there was this bread at lunchtime that was awesome -- it was a whole grain bread and the crust was covered with sunflower seeds.

 

I leave on Enchantment next week. A 4-day cruise versus a 9-day but hey -- I am so excited. I can't wait!

[mgord]

4 rccl cruises 1996-2007

 

quanity-10, always somthing to eat, maybe not a good thing?

 

quality-7, personally always find somthing I like, if not first time second time.

 

service-9 these waiters and assistant waiters cannot do enough to please!

 

atmosphere-10 excellent somtimes even an oceanview......

 

overall experience-10 if we did'nt love cruising we would not be here.

 

Happy cruising

[star of county down]

I know what you mean -- always something to eat. I was so full after our late seating dinner that I never ate the midnight buffets -- only went up to look at them. I was, however, woken up by our kids and told to get up to the chocolate buffet -- begged to get there! We did...it was awesome! hahahahaha

[vermonter16]

DH and I are a little worried regarding our cruise on the Serenade in January. We haven't cruised Royal in a few years specifically because of the food. We much prefer Carnival. On the Adventure of the Seas the food was just "ok" - nothing memorable whatsoever. The food in the buffet was luke warm if not cold. On Carnival, quite the contrary. However, like I said we are sailing again on Royal and I really, really hope the food is better. If we are disappointed again then that's it...we'll just stay on Carnival.

[star of county down]

The food on our honeymoon cruise on Carnival sucked so bad we never went on Carnival again...so, I don't know what to tell you. It was so bad that our waiter told us if we wanted lobster, to grab one of them off of the display at the midnight buffet. I don't know...I'm sorry your RC experience was bad. Maybe it was just a fluke..

[vermonter16]

Wow - goodcelt - when did you go on your honeymoon cruise and what ship? Being a part time TA, I can tell you that there are ships you most certainly should not go on... But it generally tends to be the older, smaller ships.

 

I am hoping that the food is better this time and of course am willing to give Royal another shot.

[marci22]

In general, I thought the food was fine, considering they are serving thousands of people. I have only cruised RC 3x (Enchantment and Explorerx2).

 

Breakfast-I stuck to fruit and yogurt, always fine.

 

Lunch-Johnny Rockets was really good, WJ 'just ok' but I really enjoyed the Jade section which rotated international cuisines, including excellent Indian on Explorer.

 

I have eaten lunch in the dining room, I found it good, but takes too long and I don't like to be put with people who are half-way done eating, etc.

 

Dinners: breads excellent, soups I enjoyed, appetizers really good, I often ordered 2. Entree: I usually took the waiters' advice and I was happy. The few times I didn't, I thought I should have.

 

There are so many choices you are bound to find something and if not, order two apps for your dinner.

 

Desserts: Always at least one thing I liked.

 

I also really liked the Promenade Cafe on Explorer. Nice sandwiches and usually not very crowded.

 

I have been on NCL, and I thought the food was mediocre.

 

I have been on Disney, and I thought the food was a bit better than RC.

[HB Cruiser]

I have to say that the quality of the dining experience varies from ship to ship. We have been on Sovereign four times and NEVER had a bad meal. We have been on Enchantment three times, NEVER had a bad meal. We have been on Voyager, Explorer, and Majesty once each, NEVER had a bad meal. We have been on Mariner three times and only had a couple of meals that were above average. Even in Chops on Mariner, my meal was just above average. The food on the Mariner was not even up to par with our local Golden Coral.

 

We are not 5* diners, we own a bowling center and unfortunately eat from our snack bar about 5 times a week and go out the other two. The food we have eaten on cruises is better than average with the exception of the Mariner. Maybe we have just been unlucky there.

 

Even with this in mind, I (nor my wife) had to cook or clean up!!! Did it ruin our cruise, NO. Would we sail a different line because of it, NO. Will we go back on Mariner again, probably not, three times with less than average food is enough.

 

Tim

[star of county down]

vermonter, I don't remember the name of it. I'd have to pull out our pics. It was 9/22/84.

[cot427]

I've always had very good food on Royal Caribbean. There were a couple items I did not enjoy, such as some of the food in the Windjammer. But all of the food in the dining room I did enjoy except for Pesto Cod I had a couple years ago. The desserts are always very good, especially anything chocolate. I haven't expirienced any other cruise line's food, so I can't compare them to anything else, but definetly better than most restaurants I have been to.

[MakinGold]

the caesar salad was small and was mostly lettuce with very little sign of other veggies.

 

Sorry to nit-pick, but . . . . what other veggies do you expect on a Caesar salad??

 

A classic Caesar salad only has Romaine lettuce, croutons, the dressing and some shredded parmesan or similar cheese.

[triddirt]

LOS 7/28.

My experience in the Dining Room. Beef Steaks were offered at Medium Rare and Medium Well.. To my tastes the Medium Rare was very rare cold/red center. I prefer my Steaks Medium (Warm Pink Center) and neither choice was acceptable to me..

 

Portofinos: Excellent

[BobBeaSea]

We have sailed with RCCL for well over a decade. On our first cruise, when the Monarch of the Seas was still king, 5 star service and 5 star food was the norm. Eating on a cruise was an experience in itself. As the cruise lines have grown, become more popular, and more affordable, the degradation in the dinning rooms has been noticeable. I believe it is due to serving more customers at one time on the larger ships and also due to a somewhat lower expectation by today's typical cruiser. As an earlier poster said, if you want 5 or 6 star, you can still get it, but you are going to have to pay for it. The food is still good, enjoyable, and most of all, still served to me.

 

Agree, my first two were on Sovereign in '90 and '93, didn't do it again until one each the last 3 years, all with RCI. While the food etc. is OK, it is nothing compared to years ago. I don't think it's so much the number of passengers onboard, heck Sovereign and Monarch were behemoths for their time. It's money, cruising today on RCI is a heck of a lot cheaper than years ago. I suspect the food budget per passenger per day has taken a nosedive in relative dollars, hence the lower quality. No problem just the way it is.

 

Today's ships are fantastic, if you like the big ones...much better design etc. I've always thought RCI had the best ships afloat of all the mass market lines. That maybe unfair as it's the only line I've cruised but.....

[vermonter16]

vermonter, I don't remember the name of it. I'd have to pull out our pics. It was 9/22/84.

 

haha - I think that's why :) Carnival has come along way from those days of being the "party ship".

 

I do hope that I come away from the Serenade with a much better experience than last time. As the other OP mentioned - DH and I are definitely not 5* diners either.

 

I won't accept mediocre food just because they are serving thousands. This is what they do every day and this is what their kitchens are equipped for. I expect buffet food to be just that - buffet food...but not the lukewarm and sometimes cool food that I found. However, this was on AOS and it was also a few years ago.

 

I will not sail a ship or a line that has consistently bad food. Since I've only been on Royal once, I'm going to try another ship and see what happens. We all pay good $ and you should expect a certain level of quality just as you should from any other line. I work too hard for the money I make to settle for just average. If I wanted average I could stay at home and save $$ to go somewhere else.

 

Does it make or break our cruise? Absolutely not. A 'bad cruise' if you will is still a 'great cruise'.

[MrPete]

The food on our honeymoon cruise on Carnival sucked so bad we never went on Carnival again...so, I don't know what to tell you. It was so bad that our waiter told us if we wanted lobster, to grab one of them off of the display at the midnight buffet. I don't know...I'm sorry your RC experience was bad. Maybe it was just a fluke..

 

What exactly did you eat 23 years ago?