Quality of main dining room food

[shaggyofwv]

We just returned from the 7 day western carib cruise on the Mariner.. The cruise itself was great and we loved Chops and Portofinos, but we were disappointed in the quality and the selection of the food in the main dining room. We noticed a considerable decline in quality AND choice of food over our cruise on Mariner last year..

 

On the plus side our waiter in the dining room (Sound of Music) was excellent. His name is Budi.

 

Oh and I can see why so many of you love Danny League. We reserved our next cruise with him and he was great (and very funny).

[cb at sea]

We noticed a huge decline in both food quality and presentation on our last cruise--it's too bad--that was the major thing that makes a cruise more special than a land vacation! (for me!) Still, we never went "hungry", but the experience just wasn't quite the same!

[PhoenixCruiser]

We have noticed a slow decline over the past tenfour years.

 

When did Danny make the transfer to Mariner?

 

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[shaggyofwv]

We have noticed a slow decline over the past tenfour years.

 

When did Danny make the transfer to Mariner?

 

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I think he said that he had been on Mariner for a couple of months.. He was certainly looking forward to going back to the west coast with the ship so that he can be with his wife.

[ckrobyn]

We just returned from the 7 day western carib cruise on the Mariner.. The cruise itself was great and we loved Chops and Portofinos, but we were disappointed in the quality and the selection of the food in the main dining room. We noticed a considerable decline in quality AND choice of food over our cruise on Mariner last year..

 

On the plus side our waiter in the dining room (Sound of Music) was excellent. His name is Budi.

 

Oh and I can see why so many of you love Danny League. We reserved our next cruise with him and he was great (and very funny).

 

How has the selection changed since last year? Are there certain items you liked but are not being served anymore?

 

Just curious as I am sailing the Mariner soon.

[VASOXFANN]

We liked the food on the Jewel recently. A few blips on the radar, but overall it was excellent. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. :)

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

No complaints on the Radiance. It was a good variety and yummy.

 

Chops was excellent! Can't same the same for Portifino.

 

***

[Aubiecruiser]

We just got back from our 12 day Med cruise on the Brilliance and found the food to be very good in the main dining room, as well as in the Windjammer. Can't say so much for Portofino but maybe it was just my idea of what Veal Saltimboca is supposed to look and taste like. In general I couldn't have been more pleased with the food and I am a very strong critic of food on a cruise. Maybe it has something to do with the size of the ship that causes food quality to suffer. If that's the case, look out for the stuff they serve on the Oasis.:eek:

Aubie

[shaggyofwv]

How has the selection changed since last year? Are there certain items you liked but are not being served anymore?

 

Just curious as I am sailing the Mariner soon.

 

 

They have more seafood options and less meat and potatos type food.

 

The dining room steak was also not as good as last year, but that could just be a bad cut of meat. The appetizer options also seemed to be different this year and not as good as last year.

 

On the positive side, the desserts were still good...

 

I don't know, maybe we were spoiled by eating at Chops on the first night of the cruise.. LOL

 

 

The dining room food is my only complaint, the rest of the cruise was great.

[shaggyofwv]

No complaints on the Radiance. It was a good variety and yummy.

 

Chops was excellent! Can't same the same for Portifino.

 

***

 

 

I thought Chops was great and I rated Portofino as very good.. I had the filet mignon from both places and while both were very good, the one at Portofino was a little tough.

[CruisinManiac]

We noticed a decline on the liberty this past summer. The two RCCL cruises we took last year, the food was quite good.

[Tralynn222]

We just got off the Mariner as well and LOVED Chops (as we usually do). The food in the dining room wasn't bad, however, both my husbands and my lobster were definitely not "done". I was hoping to see new menu choices but it seemed to be the same as last year on Liberty. Other than that...we were pleased with both the service and quality in the dining room.

[gacathy]

We just got off the Mariner and I would have to agree that the food was not that great. We ate at Chops twice and Portofino's once and they were both excellent and much much better than the food in the dining room.

[twoputt.plusone]

I just got back from an 11 night Med cruise on the Navigator and have to say that I was extremely disappointed with the food in the dining room. At least three entrees were repeated the whole cruise and the remaining items were lacklustre. Lobster wasn't even offered. I didn't see creme brulle once and with the exception of the grand marnier souffle, most of the desserts were boring. I'm a dessert person and more often than not, I didn't bother with them. We've been regular RCI cruisers but this was just too much. Needless to say, I wasn't happy to see this much of a decline in quality. :mad: Our waiter was horrible but I partly attribute that to over-supervision. When I looked around the dining room, I noticed that all the wait staff seemed to be on edge, so I don't know what was going on.

 

Other than that, this was a fabulous cruise.

 

2P.P1

[Mikey2611]

I have now completed over 20 cruises spread over a number of years. The way I look at it is that I generally have a cruise vacation for less than $150 per day, accommodation, food and entertainment included. Hence I do not expect "4 or 5 Star Dining" for which a couple could easily spend $150 for Dinner. It is true that over the last few years the food in the main dining room and the buffet has deteriorated both in substance and appeal. Its hard to cook for 2,000 people and more and still meet everyone's taste and expectations. Hence food tends to lack zip and imagination but still, all in all its "OK" and still fairly good value for money. I enjoy eating good food and hence I tend to eat at the Specialty Restaurants several times during the cruise. So it costs me a few dollars more but I get superb food and service in a nice environment. I dont complain because cruising is generally great value for money but I do miss that exceptional eating experience when I am on a ship without the alternate dining experience. Smaller ships should look at adding at least one alternate Dining Room.

Just my two penny thoughts!

[twoputt.plusone]

I've cruised enough to know the difference between 5* dining and an acceptable level of quality in the dining room. IMO the food on the Navigator last week was neither. And no I'm not expecting gourmet food but I am expecting decent food that I've paid good money for.

 

2P.P1

[sailnsee]

We will be leaving at the end of the month for a 10 day cruise on the NOS-maybe the Med. cruises ,being longer have something to do with the quiality-also they are picking up xtras in diff. ports....what was good? We aren't picky but if we dress for the dining room we hope it is worth it! Did you use the Cl?The appetizers were great last time...maybe I will fill up on them....NO LOBSTER? How about esgargot? (How about the sushi at Jades?)

[VASOXFANN]

No complaints on the Radiance. It was a good variety and yummy.

 

Chops was excellent! Can't same the same for Portifino.

 

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Glad to hear that! :) The Radiance is our next ship :D

[twoputt.plusone]

We will be leaving at the end of the month for a 10 day cruise on the NOS-maybe the Med. cruises ,being longer have something to do with the quiality-also they are picking up xtras in diff. ports....what was good? We aren't picky but if we dress for the dining room we hope it is worth it! Did you use the Cl?The appetizers were great last time...maybe I will fill up on them....NO LOBSTER? How about esgargot? (How about the sushi at Jades?)

 

I've heard various reasons why there's no lobster on the Med cruises. But no there was no lobster. If we were re-supplied in the various ports, I don't know. I'm not sure what you mean by CI. Yes there was sushi from Jade and escargot was only offered the first night. But it was good.

 

2P.P1

[Hypo]

We sailed Liberty the week of Sept 27. Ate at both Portofino and Chop's.

 

Portofino was very good, Chops was not. I have gotten a better steak at Western Sizzlin.

 

DW ordered the filet and it was very good. I ordered the T-Bone and it was literally a 1/2 inch thick cut of very tough meat. I did not send it back as we wanted to go to the show that evening. It was definitely not comparable with our previous Chop's experiences on other cruises.

 

Both of our baked potato's were weird. We thought that they had set on a steam table or under a heat lamp for a long time, texture of the potato's was "off". Service was uneven, as some that were seated long after us got their meals and were on dessert before we got our steaks.

 

Hypo

[negc]

I've heard various reasons why there's no lobster on the Med cruises. But no there was no lobster. If we were re-supplied in the various ports, I don't know. I'm not sure what you mean by CI. Yes there was sushi from Jade and escargot was only offered the first night. But it was good.

 

2P.P1

 

I believe the poster was referring to the Concierge Lounge. We found most of the food in the main dining room, especially the beef items, to be better than we have experienced on other cruises, but that may just have been the luck of the draw.:)

[cruisenfever]

No complaints on the Radiance. It was a good variety and yummy.

 

Chops was excellent! Can't same the same for Portifino.

 

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I was on the Radiance cruise with Linda and I agree............the entrees offered on the menu in the main DR were more than on previous cruises, and this was our 9th cruise on Radiance. You also had at least 3 choices of appetizers, soups and 2 types of salad nightly. Executive Chef Sammy from Jamaica did an outstanding job.

 

We also enjoyed Chops and Portofino.

[ckrobyn]

They have more seafood options and less meat and potatos type food.

 

The dining room steak was also not as good as last year, but that could just be a bad cut of meat. The appetizer options also seemed to be different this year and not as good as last year.

 

On the positive side, the desserts were still good...

 

I don't know, maybe we were spoiled by eating at Chops on the first night of the cruise.. LOL

 

 

The dining room food is my only complaint, the rest of the cruise was great.

 

I am definitely a seafood lover - so less meat and potatoes works just fine for me ;)

 

I've booked Chops for the first time (have eaten at Portofino many times). Is it mainly meat at Chops, or do they have seafood too?

[shaggyofwv]

I am definitely a seafood lover - so less meat and potatoes works just fine for me ;)

 

I've booked Chops for the first time (have eaten at Portofino many times). Is it mainly meat at Chops, or do they have seafood too?

 

 

 

I don't remember even looking at a menu at Chops except for dessert.. They had a waiter bring out the different cuts of meat that were available and we selected the filet mignon.

I didn't even see anything other than steak, so I don't know if anything else is available. I went into Chops with my mind set on getting the filet mignon (my favorite cut of steak) and my wife had the same.

It was very good, probably as good as the filet mignon that my wife and I get at our local 5 star restuarant where the filet mignon is around $50 per steak.

[Honey's Gal]

Another happy cruiser on the Radiance. We were 8 people and we all enjoyed the food immensely. We had very little to complain about.

We all thought the food in the dining room was very good. The menu had enough of a variety for us, and the taste and presentation was great. We also found the desserts to be very good.

 

We only went to Chops on this cruise and that was also an enjoyable experience. Everything was to our expectations