Cutieredhead107 Posted June 6, 2022 Report Share Posted June 6, 2022 Hi all- I'm currently on Freedom of the Seas. First cruise in a long time. Only 2nd on Royal though. Been on several Holland, Norwegian, and one Carnival back in the 90sz when we learned that wasn't the cruise line for us :). We just left Miami a few hours ago, and just finished our first dinner in the MDR. I just ordered and attempted to eat the most bitter key lime pie in my life. A few of our entrees were subpar, as well. I've been following the discussions here for the last few months, so am I correct that the food quality has gone down since they have the speciality restaurants? Thanks Note- I'm coming back to edit this because I was a little too harsh regarding the food. I think I was tired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordell1 Posted June 7, 2022 Report Share Posted June 7, 2022 I love key lime pie and prefer it to be "tart". Usually it is if made with real key limes it will be how I like it. I did have it this week on Wonder and it was delicious. Snotarni 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaMG Posted June 7, 2022 Report Share Posted June 7, 2022 The food quality in the MDR has definitely gone down over the years. However, I am not so sure that it's because of the speciality restaurants rather than that they are part of the overall bigger picture. To start, the ships have been getting bigger to attract a different clientèle than used to be the case. Catering for such a large number of passengers all at once, many of whom are unfamiliar with the fine dining philosophy that was part of the cruise experience in the past, is bound to have an impact. It's much easier to produce better quality food in the smaller setting of the speciality restaurants. Also, in terms of cost, cruise prices have not really gone up much over the years. In the distant past, when my DH was a crew member, cruising was very expensive and only accessible to the wealthy. Nowadays, pretty much anyone can afford to cruise and that means something has to give. Food is an easy place to make the necessary savings. When we first started cruising back in 2001, the MDR was a pretty lush affair. The dinner would offer five courses and the quality was definitely better than it is today. There are probably other aspects that also come into play but either way, I can't say I've ever had a really bad meal in the MDR of any of the ships we've sailed on; some have been great, some have been adequate and some have been meh, but if I've ever really not liked something I've ordered I'll just ask for something else. We have only ever had a couple of meals in speciality restaurants because we think the upcharge is more than we want to pay and we've never gone hungry. But I do see why someone expecting a more upclass experience could be disappointed. Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cutieredhead107 Posted June 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2022 5 hours ago, wordell1 said: I love key lime pie and prefer it to be "tart". Usually it is if made with real key limes it will be how I like it. I did have it this week on Wonder and it was delicious. Hmmm...I'll give it another shot this week. It's quite possible I'm just used to having the key lime offset with a little more sweetness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cutieredhead107 Posted June 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2022 4 hours ago, FionaMG said: But I do see why someone expecting a more upclass experience could be disappointed. I did order some sort of apple blossom for dessert, as well, and that was fantastic! Thank you for explaining how cruising has changed over the years- I would never have considered any of those aspects. FionaMG 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWhoWaits Posted June 7, 2022 Report Share Posted June 7, 2022 12 hours ago, Cutieredhead107 said: I just ordered and attempted to eat the most bitter key lime pie in my life. I sincerely hope the key lime pie on Freedom in July would get this description from you @Cutieredhead107. The tarter, the better. Snotarni and wordell1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted June 7, 2022 Report Share Posted June 7, 2022 Food quality has and hasn't gone down. I think as the lines expand and specialty restaurants become more abundant, taste buds change. We also have to remember that cruise ship cooks and cater to a lot of pax, so in order to make it palatable across the board they have to season and cook things a certain way. Even before the restart I found the MDR and buffet lacking. That being said, key lime pie won't be as sweet on a cruise ship. I find that all the sweets aren't as flavorful or sweet across the board on cruise ships. Their "donuts" aren't actual donuts and most times their pies and cheesecakes aren't the right consistency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cutieredhead107 Posted June 8, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2022 10 hours ago, Ampurp85 said: I find that all the sweets aren't as flavorful or sweet across the board on cruise ships. I've definitely noticed this. I'm currently sitting on my balcony, eating some sort of adorable cup of chocolate mousse but even the cream on top doesn't seem to be sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cutieredhead107 Posted June 8, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2022 I did enjoy the funnel cake I plowed through (on my own) today at CocoCay. The Shack Crispy Chicken Sandwich was pretty good too. Ampurp85 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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