Royal Caribbean food quality terrible

[scopewest]

Am still waiting to read the review that states "The food was horrible, it wasn't to my taste, I lost five pounds."

 

:)

[aajacques]

As long as we eat in the dining room I'm quite happy with the food. When we're in a hurry or a quick bite we eat in the Windajammer but nothing to write home about. I'm glad that I'm not doing the cooking so that's what makes me most happy!

[fun2travel]

We just got off the SOS yesterday also. The quality of food as well as the service were not as good as past cruises. I thought maybe it was because it was just a short 4 night cruise. We will give RCCL another shot though, JOS, panama canal, and hope it will be better.

[Jtd724]

Food is absolutely fabulous. Been on 8 cruise and never had a bad meal. Oooohhh once at Portofino had a meal I wouldnt do again. But, we always felt the dining room had great food. We dine at Ruth Chris, Morimoto, Isabella's. We know good food. RCCL has always excelled with the food.

[doxie_fan19]

to the OP How long ago were you on Jewel that you make your comparison with. We have been on Jewel, Brilliance and most recently (Oct 07) Serenade and have noticed a steady decline in both quality and presentation of food. But we have also cruised HAl ships in the same time frame and notice the same deterioration of quality. I think that in order to hold the basic cruise prices in line with others in the same industry, which is what most people compare when making a choice of ship and cruise line, they are cutting corners right and left - food, number of cabins per steward, number of tables per waiters. If you have been cruising as long as we have - over 40 cruises - you are bound to notice a decline in anything related to service that can be cut - just sign of the times in business today. Just go into a department store and try to find someone willing to wait on you - you have to drag your merchandise to a desk half way across the floor!!:)

 

You think cruise quality has deteriorated? Has anyone flown lately :eek: ?

[Casey2]

We have been on 5 cruises and 3 different cruise lines. The food on RCCL was good but I think the food on Princess and Carnival was better. I know other people may have different opinions as food taste is extremely subjective. That being said I would not hesitate to cruise on RCCL because of the food. Now if they could just do something about the coffee....

[ssantow]

I suppose as long as one does not go in with the expectation of getting great meals you will be happy.

The problem I see is the cruise lines are lying to us or at the very least misleading the public. Look in any Cruise line brochure, any print ad for a cruise line or any television commercial for a cruise and check out the images we are given of food.

We see wonderful dishes presented by waiters in white gloves to guests that are always dressed in Tuxedos and evening dresses. the average Cruiser does not live on these boards and knows little of what cruising is really like. They see these ads and it raises their expectations. Is it any wonder that they are disappointed. Do your friends that are taking their first cruise a favor and gently let them down before they leave.

[katiel53]

We see wonderful dishes presented by waiters in white gloves to guests that are always dressed in Tuxedos and evening dresses. the average Cruiser does not live on these boards and knows little of what cruising is really like. They see these ads and it raises their expectations. Is it any wonder that they are disappointed. Do your friends that are taking their first cruise a favor and gently let them down before they leave.

 

Perhaps when the people cruising start dressing again with the gowns and tuxedos, the cruiselines will have better food. People go to the dining room dressed down and the food quality is down also. Wonder if there is any correlation?

 

For all those who complain about how good the food "used" to be, think about what you paid for those cruises and apply inflation to that price and compare it to what you are paying today. It's cheaper today, so you are getting what you are paying for.

 

If you feel the food should be better, go on Celebrity or Seabourne or another line that costs more. Your food will be better too. Just like everything else, better qualty costs more.

 

Enjoy.

[Knights on the Beach]

Am still waiting to read the review that states "The food was horrible, it wasn't to my taste, I lost five pounds."

 

:)

 

I've seen some reviews like that and you know they were lying. ;) I have NEVER been on ANY cruise where I couldn't find something that was good.

[Gumdrop]

I was on Liberty of the Seas last month, and to be honest, I thought the food on RCCL was better than what I experienced on HAL!

[Cruising89143]

I was on Liberty of the Seas last month, and to be honest, I thought the food on RCCL was better than what I experienced on HAL!

 

 

And the above statement just goes to show how highly subjective this subject is. Most consider HAL to be above the mass market lines.:)

 

We all have different taste buds. I have never been on a cruise line that had bad food. Yes, there have been times when I didn't like something I ordered but that was my mistake in making the wrong choice. I also do not eat the type of food that is served on a ship in my everyday life and I'm sure that most that cruise do not so when I read some of the comments regarding food I just take it with a grain of salt that they were looking for something to complain about.

[cruzincurt]

What we commoners here need is to understand what the term "presentation" means. "The presentation was poor"? What? Was the plate dirty? Was there dried gunk on the fork. Did the waiter not arrange the silverware correctly? Did the waiter have a dirty uniform? Did he serve it from the wrong side?

 

Does "presentation" affect the "taste" or "quality" of the food? Just what is at the root of the complaint? Is it because you are not being charged extra that it is comparable to cafeteria food? I think some just don't like the idea of eating with the masses.

[RetireeWannabee]

What we commoners here need is to understand what the term "presentation" means. "The presentation was poor"? What? Was the plate dirty? Was there dried gunk on the fork. Did the waiter not arrange the silverware correctly? Did the waiter have a dirty uniform? Did he serve it from the wrong side?

 

Does "presentation" affect the "taste" or "quality" of the food? Just what is at the root of the complaint? Is it because you are not being charged extra that it is comparable to cafeteria food? I think some just don't like the idea of eating with the masses.

I was wondering about this, too!

 

Was the parsley sprig wilted or the piece of kale too small? Were the chocolate spirals on the deserts misaligned or not applied with an even hand?

 

Or does presentation mean how they put it in front of you and the wait staff just isn't as "flourishy" as they used to be?? Or, are they not saying "It is my pleasure, Madame, to present the chicken"? Oh please, don't let it be "they didn't wear the white gloves."

 

We've not yet found something we don't like. Food quality is subjective and I totally agree it could have a great deal to do with the head chef (or whoever actually determines the prep, process and ingredients). Once upon a time I worked in a restaurant, one of the better ones. Food was great. Until Chef Bill started there. Chef Bill liked lots of dill in everything. blech.

 

It's unlikely we will ever complain about it unless it's cold, and I'll get a substitute plate. Even then, it's not make or break, even if it occurs every night. Only thing that could potentially ruin a cruise for me is if the weather causes us to miss every port stop and there are no replacements. Even then, shoot, we'd be on a cruise ship and get back our port fees. Beats land lubbing here in the midwest.

[rubrrick]

Yes.......the food today is not as good as it was when we first tried RCCL in 2003. However........the best food that we have ever tasted on any RCCL ship..........was on the Monarch in May of 2005. The steaks were better than Morton's, and the best meal ever on any RCCL ship.

 

The food over the past couple of years has declined in the meat department. We still get incredible veggies on European trips. But then, they get the vegetables from Europe.

 

We stay very loyal to RCCL......and Celebrity. Celebrity consistently has better food, but that is something that you pay for. And they are also going down hill....................just not as fast as RCCL.

 

Rick

[abridalmaven]

I suppose as long as one does not go in with the expectation of getting great meals you will be happy.

 

The problem I see is the cruise lines are lying to us or at the very least misleading the public. Look in any Cruise line brochure, any print ad for a cruise line or any television commercial for a cruise and check out the images we are given of food.

 

We see wonderful dishes presented by waiters in white gloves to guests that are always dressed in Tuxedos and evening dresses. the average Cruiser does not live on these boards and knows little of what cruising is really like. They see these ads and it raises their expectations. Is it any wonder that they are disappointed. Do your friends that are taking their first cruise a favor and gently let them down before they leave.

Yeah that type of food placed infront of somebody in cutofff jeans, sure makes you wonder. They want relaxed, yet upscale, somehow that does not make sense.

[madforcruising]

 

The problem I see is the cruise lines are lying to us or at the very least misleading the public. Look in any Cruise line brochure, any print ad for a cruise line or any television commercial for a cruise and check out the images we are given of food.

 

We see wonderful dishes presented by waiters in white gloves to guests that are always dressed in Tuxedos and evening dresses.

 

I don´t think I can agree here, although I admit that I´m sure not having the full picture regarding advertising and TV commercials.

 

Anyway - and I´m talking only about RCCL here as that´s the cruiseline in question on this thread - I pulled out the brochure and their focus is really on many aspects of the cruise and food is only a real small part of it. There´s only one pic of food and well it looks like food served on cruises and there´s one pic that has a waiter in it and he looks exactly dressed like our DR waiters.

Now we don´t have TV commericals from RCCL over here but the ones I´ve seen in the US focused on shore excursions, activities, Rock Climbing and all such stuff.

 

I think the problem is that people still have a picture about cruising in mind that´s long gone. While this picture is still held up in movies it´s not on mass market cruise lines but you have to go to upscale cruise lines.

 

JMHO

[jeanlyon]

I don't agree - we went on a really budget cruise on Athena with Travelscope last January and the food was superb. Depends on the chef and the staff.

[shamda]

You bring up a good point. Yes the cruise lines are all cutting back and cruising is not what it used to be. In the old days, meals on cruises were special. You got dressed up and it was a nice event with great food and great service. Now it is feeding time at the zoo. Who says you have to eat 12 lbs of bacon with breakfast? I watch what some people eat and it makes me lose my appetite. Is it a competition to see who can eat the most amount of food? Mass market cruising is what it is about today. Get as many people on the ship as possible and let them eat until they get themselves sick. The quality is not an issue. That is what the mass market want and that is what they get. I know i will get flamed for this, but look at the reality. If most of the mass market weebles could not eat 12 lbs of bacon with every meal then they would not go on cruises and that is who the cruise lines are after these days. The cruise lines react to what the people want. Seems today the weebles want to show up for dinner in sweaty t-shirts with holes in them and shorts and shove down as much low quality food as they can. Welcome to mass market cruising and hats off to the cruise lines for just giving people what they want.

 

 

 

The typical food $ allowance per passenger allocated by the cruise lines is around the $12 range. That is food cost only, not prep, served nor cleaned up.

 

I have a feeling the majority of the cruise fare is for the operation of the vessel, not the food consumed.

 

It always amuses me when people state they are going to eat as much as possible to get their moneys worth, or that small children shouldn't have to pay such a high fare because they don't eat so much. If fare was based on the total amount of food consumed (or wasted :rolleyes: ), I've seen plenty of pax who should be paying 2-3 times the amount of the average passenger.

[EGG]

Just my 2 cents - we were on the Explorer in December and the food was very good. This was our first RCL cruise and our 10th cruise overall. The food was much better than our previous HAL cruise. As with HAL, there were fewer courses than Celebrity, they put the appetizers, soup and salad all in one course. Our table just ordered one of each if we wanted along with the main dish. Maybe what happens when you do this, is that if you get one dish that you don't care for, it does not ruin your entire meal. We also did things like share a pasta main entree as a side for the entire table. This was also the first cruise where we shared desserts. We were all too full for desserts, so our waiter brought one of each to tempt us. Our tablemates were from England and Northern Ireland. They were unfamiliar with a lot of the foods and they enjoyed trying new things. No one at our table ordered lobster on seafood night, so there was no complaints. The lobster did not make or break our cruise.

 

I particularly liked the variety in the buffet. No complaints here either. If you can't find something you like, then you should sail on one of the expensive cruise lines.

[hayward]

We just got off the SOS yesterday also. The quality of food as well as the service were not as good as past cruises. I thought maybe it was because it was just a short 4 night cruise. We will give RCCL another shot though, JOS, panama canal, and hope it will be better.

 

Yes, I did complain about the food on the SOS, the last time we were on the Jewel of the Seas was February, 2006. So I do not think that was such a long time ago. Yes, you do get what you pay for...but the chef needs to redo the menu or atleast offer less with a better quality.

 

We are the type of people that actually do not use room service and try to do as much as we can for ourselves, clean up your towels and bath, etc. But the only reason I posted this concern because we have another cruise booked with a balcony on the Mariner in November...any comments, please.

[hayward]

What we commoners here need is to understand what the term "presentation" means. "The presentation was poor"? What? Was the plate dirty? Was there dried gunk on the fork. Did the waiter not arrange the silverware correctly? Did the waiter have a dirty uniform? Did he serve it from the wrong side?

 

Does "presentation" affect the "taste" or "quality" of the food? Just what is at the root of the complaint? Is it because you are not being charged extra that it is comparable to cafeteria food? I think some just don't like the idea of eating with the masses.

 

Yes, I should have qualified the word presentation. Example, my husband had an omlet in the main dining room for breakfast, the bottom was burnt. i ordered eggs benedict, they came hard boiled and the canadian bacon was a wanna be ( so thin you could see and overcooked). Ex again...Fish for lunch, the bottom of the fish was covered with that black stuff that you need to scrape off before it is served, like tilipia and salmon. The brisket on the carving station was so tough you could not even cut it with a steak knife. I ordered a sirloin steak I think it was a piece of gristle covered with a little red meat. How is that for explaining presentation.

[cruzincurt]

Thanks for your explanation. To the original poster, "Royal Caribbean food quality terrible". I guess it was pretty hard to choke it down....day after day. Must have been quite a challenge to make it through the week.

 

Maybe a better description would be "We did not find the food choices to our liking"? But "terrible"?

 

Sure, out of 23 cruises we've been on, there is always something that's barely warm, too salty, not to our particular liking, but never terrible! Now a stale piece of bread and some broth from a soup kitchen could be characterized as "terrible".

 

To those big spenders who commonly thrown down $300 for dinner, do you really expect the same, so called "quality", "presentation", and "taste" every night on a cruise you paid $800 for seven days? If I pay $300 for dinner, the cow had better been hand raised in the back and the waiter cut my meat and feed it to me.

[JSeals4316]

I was on the Adventure in January. When the Mader D , in Portifinos, asked how the food was, I told him it was absolutely wonderful in Portifinos, but the rest of the food on the ship was poor. He was very accomodating, and said he would pass the information on to the proper people. I also told him we had just gotten off the Carnival Destny and Carnival had better food for a less expensive cruise. (I am not a Carnival lover.)

 

The food had gone down hill, quite a bit, since my last cruise, one and a half years earlier, on the Adventure.

 

I really like everything else about RCI. In the Summer, out of Miami, you only have the choice of RCI or Carnival. Having the good food in the past was an enticement to cruise, over booking a resort. This could have an effect on how I plan to vacation in the future.

 

Probably RCI can't give you the really nice ship, and good food, and still be competative with the price of the other lines.

[terri23]

I don´t think I can agree here, although I admit that I´m sure not having the full picture regarding advertising and TV commercials.

 

Anyway - and I´m talking only about RCCL here as that´s the cruiseline in question on this thread - I pulled out the brochure and their focus is really on many aspects of the cruise and food is only a real small part of it. There´s only one pic of food and well it looks like food served on cruises and there´s one pic that has a waiter in it and he looks exactly dressed like our DR waiters.

Now we don´t have TV commericals from RCCL over here but the ones I´ve seen in the US focused on shore excursions, activities, Rock Climbing and all such stuff.

 

I think the problem is that people still have a picture about cruising in mind that´s long gone. While this picture is still held up in movies it´s not on mass market cruise lines but you have to go to upscale cruise lines.

 

JMHO

 

this is what the RC web site says - for a new cruiser it is a bit misleading:

 

"Dining on our cruise ships is as exciting as every other aspect of life onboard. There are so many different dishes and enticing atmospheres to experience you won't know where to start: pasta at Portofino, classic burgers from Johnny Rockets, gourmet five-course meals in the main dining room… In addition, all of our cruise ships offer low-fat Day Spa menus, kids' menus, and, if you arrange in advance, kosher menus. Specialty restaurants are not available on all ships. See below for more information."

[negc]

We just got off Legend of the Seas this morning and the food for the past week was as good as any we have had on any of our cruises since we first began cruising in 1980. I know that opinions about food are always subjective but every one of the fifteen people in our group were very satisfied with the food choices and the quality of the food provided. No alternative restaurants on Legend, but we would have found it difficult to skip a dinner in the dining room were they available.