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New menus to be rolled out in early 2023


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The wife and I just reviewed the menus posted in the blog today. Needless to say we were not impressed and are now debating on buying the UDP or spending more nights in the buffet possibly. 
Our previous dining experiences in the MDR were always pleasant and very timely no longer than 80 minutes. 

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Wow the new menus are very disheartening.  I don’t see the Beef Tenderloin that was always available on the 2nd night menu.  I’m not ready to try specialty dining yet but the new menu is leaving a lot to be desired!  There is going to be a lot of disappointed diners when my family group of 17 set sail at the end of July!

Looks like I won’t need to worry about gaining weight on a Royal cruise anymore!  😂 

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5 hours ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

Wow the new menus are very disheartening.  I don’t see the Beef Tenderloin that was always available on the 2nd night menu.  I’m not ready to try specialty dining yet but the new menu is leaving a lot to be desired!  There is going to be a lot of disappointed diners when my family group of 17 set sail at the end of July!

Looks like I won’t need to worry about gaining weight on a Royal cruise anymore!  😂 

 

5 hours ago, CGTLH said:

Beef tenderlion is listed on the "French" menu at the top as the "Chef's Recommendation".

BUT, instead of coming with morel mushroom sauce it comes with "creamy peppercorn" sauce. That was always one of DH's favourites but he can't eat anything that's in any way spicy.

I'm pretty disappointed in the new menus too. There are several nights when one or both of us are going to be struggling to find something we'd like and we don't really consider ourselves to be picky eaters. I think they really should have kept a couple of the plain always-available classics.

And I'm devastated that my all-time favourite royal chocolate cake is only available on one night. 😭

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I've been sitting on this opinion until the final revision of the menus came out, and have two thoughts:

  1. The greatest travesty is there's no sign of the Apple Blossom a la Mode in the desserts on any evening. This is criminal. Everyone i've spoken with has raved about this. 
  2. WHY are the Chef's Recommendations only at the top? The Chef's Recommendation entree should also be listed with the rest of the entrees, the Chef's Recommendation dessert should also be listed with the rest of the desserts. The Night 1 menu does this, but the rest do not. Now my eyes are bouncing back and forth across the menu to figure out what I want for each course. 

For #2, what they should have done is deleted the "Chef's Recommendation" section at the top, and added that item in bold/outlined in the proper course section of the menu as "Chef's Recommendation". That way it gets highlighted, but isn't segregated at the top. 

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12 minutes ago, MattG said:

I've been sitting on this opinion until the final revision of the menus came out, and have two thoughts:

  1. The greatest travesty is there's no sign of the Apple Blossom a la Mode in the desserts on any evening. This is criminal. Everyone i've spoken with has raved about this. 
  2. WHY are the Chef's Recommendations only at the top? The Chef's Recommendation entree should also be listed with the rest of the entrees, the Chef's Recommendation dessert should also be listed with the rest of the desserts. The Night 1 menu does this, but the rest do not. Now my eyes are bouncing back and forth across the menu to figure out what I want for each course. 

For #2, what they should have done is deleted the "Chef's Recommendation" section at the top, and added that item in bold/outlined in the proper course section of the menu as "Chef's Recommendation". That way it gets highlighted, but isn't segregated at the top. 

YES! that is the first thing I noticed- that the chefs recommendations were listed twice on the first night and that was it. 

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21 minutes ago, MattG said:

WHY are the Chef's Recommendations only at the top? The Chef's Recommendation entree should also be listed with the rest of the entrees, the Chef's Recommendation dessert should also be listed with the rest of the desserts. The Night 1 menu does this, but the rest do not. Now my eyes are bouncing back and forth across the menu to figure out what I want for each course. 

I agree with this. In fact some may not even notice the chef's recommendations. 

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As any changes , there are some good things , some bad things (depends what you like) and some things which are the same. In general,  people do not like changes (including me) but they get use to many things quickly  , in few months or a  years if Royal will say they want to change back to the old menus I am sure we will have same complains (and yes , maybe including me :-)).

For the big ships were you have so many options (free options I means) it really not that important for us, On the smaller ships were its or the MDR or the  WJ its might be more important. Either way not a deal breaker for us. We will first taste it on our next Symphony cruise, see if we like or not and only then we will decide were to eat next time 🙂 

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2 hours ago, MattG said:

WHY are the Chef's Recommendations only at the top? The Chef's Recommendation entree should also be listed with the rest of the entrees, the Chef's Recommendation dessert should also be listed with the rest of the desserts. The Night 1 menu does this, but the rest do not. Now my eyes are bouncing back and forth across the menu to figure out what I want for each course. 

LOL I also thought this design was bad!! On some menus, the Chef's Recommendations are only at the top and on others it's on the top and bottom. 

The new menu looks good to me, but my only complaint is that they grouped vegetarian and vegan together on several nights, leaving only 1 non-meat option for main courses. I'm vegetarian (occasionally pescatarian) but that doesn't mean I only want vegan entrees! Most of the vegan main courses on the previous menu were not that good. However there's definitely something I'll eat every night on the menu.

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I don't think the changes are to bad. A little change is a good thing (I hope)

The only thing for us is some nights include a lot of spicy food and we are not spicy food eaters. 

As for times in the mdr we went on a back to back and the first week it averaged 75 mins the 2nd week at the same table we had new servers and we found we were waiting longer in-between courses.

People talk about options and yes there are some but we go on a cruise for the mdr experience. Not the buffet for dinner. If Royals Specialty prices were more in line With Carnival or Princess we might be tempted to go more.

Even Princess specialty dining is a lot Cheaper than Royals and just as good. We usually go to one specialty restaurant  per cruise and mostly Chops. 

We are 115 point Diamond and mostly go on Royal but lately we have gone on other lines. Didn't particularly like Carnival but their fast venues were better than Royal. Princess was as good as Royal. NCL was in between Carnival and Princess. We are still loyal to Royal and love the Oasis class and Quantum class.

 

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36 minutes ago, Capitono3 said:

I don't think the changes are to bad. A little change is a good thing (I hope)

The only thing for us is some nights include a lot of spicy food and we are not spicy food eaters. 

As for times in the mdr we went on a back to back and the first week it averaged 75 mins the 2nd week at the same table we had new servers and we found we were waiting longer in-between courses.

People talk about options and yes there are some but we go on a cruise for the mdr experience. Not the buffet for dinner. If Royals Specialty prices were more in line With Carnival or Princess we might be tempted to go more.

Even Princess specialty dining is a lot Cheaper than Royals and just as good. We usually go to one specialty restaurant  per cruise and mostly Chops. 

We are 115 point Diamond and mostly go on Royal but lately we have gone on other lines. Didn't particularly like Carnival but their fast venues were better than Royal. Princess was as good as Royal. NCL was in between Carnival and Princess. We are still loyal to Royal and love the Oasis class and Quantum class.

 

Welcome to the boards!

We also cruise for the MDR experience. We will try out the new menu this summer. Judgement reserved until then.  

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@nate91- sorry, for some reason quoting your post isn't working for me, so I hope you see this.  When you mention your wife's restrictions, how exactly did they handle them? There are no longer gluten free options specifically listed, so did they just address them on the fly, or did she have to do the "choose the night before" to see what they could do? Traveling w/ DD in August, and gluten free is a must - dairy free is nice, but can be handled with lactaid tablets for the most part.  

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1 hour ago, Capitono3 said:

If Royals Specialty prices were more in line With Carnival or Princess we might be tempted to go more.

I haven't sailed with either Carnival or Princess so don't know how their prices compare but I'm guessing from the way you worded your post that their pricing is more (shall we say?) sensible.

I would have to agree with this. We would definitely be willing to book some speciality dining if the prices weren't so stupidly expensive. I remember when Chops first made its appearance the upcharge was about $25. Of course back then, the MDR was really decent so at the time I thought that was too much too. 😂

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I sail in about 6 days on Oasis, I have the UDP so no plans to try the MDR. However, I board Grandeur right after on the 22nd and will try 3 nights of the MDR. I wish the app had updated so I could see what the nights will be like and then I could adjust my specialty dinners accordingly.

Hopefully the new apple cobbler taste amazing and puts the apple pie blossom to shame.

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Remembering back a few iterations of the menus, Royal did the same thing where each night's menu was themed (Caribbean, Italian...) at that time the wait staff had different uniforms to match the evening's theme and most nights they would sing and dance (much more elaborate than the half hearted laughable effort they have now on one evening).  I'm fairly certain I know the answer, but is there any chance they may bring that back?  That was back in the era where they also put white table clothes on the tables in the Windjammer for dinner (I suppose they discontinued that because washing all those uniforms and table clothes was not environmentally friendly LOL).

I'm a CPA and a shareholder since the original IPO.  I understand all of the debt that Royal had to issue to survive COVID (some of which will need to be refinanced someday at much higher rates) so I get it.  I just hate to say, Richard Fain was a visionary and built Royal into what it is today, now that Jason Liberty is CEO, this is just the start of the cost cutting, he's a bean counter at heart.  I just hope he doesn't turn Royal into a sorry image of it's former self, almost like Carnival is today compared to it's heyday.

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6 hours ago, MaryCS62 said:

@nate91- sorry, for some reason quoting your post isn't working for me, so I hope you see this.  When you mention your wife's restrictions, how exactly did they handle them? There are no longer gluten free options specifically listed, so did they just address them on the fly, or did she have to do the "choose the night before" to see what they could do? Traveling w/ DD in August, and gluten free is a must - dairy free is nice, but can be handled with lactaid tablets for the most part.  

No worries! Royal has always been excellent at this. For the MDR, they would allow her to order the night before, and they will make her a modified version of ANYTHING on the menu, modified to meet her specific allergies. We get to know the head waiter as he comes out during our meal each night and brings the next night's menu for her to peruse, she gets a sneak peak which she loves. They also would bring out gluten free bread with balsamic and olive oil each night for her. If we have specialty dining booked, we will typically visit the restaurant the day before to let them know about the allergies and usually they will handle on the fly. Buffet is pretty simple as most things are obviously safe and unsafe, we eat pretty clean at the buffet but you can always ask the staff about allergens. 

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Unfortunately, this will no longer be a problem going forward, but my late daughter (was an adult, but multiply handicapped and more like a 7 year old in her comprehension) always had the shrimp cocktail for appetizer, and cheesecake with chocolate sauce for dessert - if we found something else she liked, we could offer it, but she really enjoyed those options.  As long as there was either fish or macaroni available, dinners were pretty easy, although she also had Crohn's disease, so there were certain textures and spices that we tried to avoid as well.  The listed menus seem to all have something I would enjoy, but I guess I'll see in March, and hopefully will be able to scope out the gluten free options for when my younger DD joins us in August.

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My experience in the MDR on the Anthem…this includes my last back to back during the holidays which had full occupancy. During the New Year cruise we had 4700 passengers…well over full capacity with double occupancy. Lots of families with kiddos…which indicates lots of picky eaters.

I usually sail solo and always go to the MDR host after boarding and ask for a single table…never been an issue.

I always do early traditional and walk right to my table as soon as it opens. I’m guessing this is the main reason why I never had any problem with my choices/substitutions/drinks/timing of my meal.

On the Anthem, my drinks were served by dedicated bar servers. For example…Sagar, who is a bar server by day in the Solarium…and Upendra, who is a bar server in the Diamond Lounge and the Theater…have been delivering my wine as soon as I sat down. Sometimes, both my waiter and assistant would get my wine right before the bar server could come over.

My waiter and his/her assistant have always been great. I usually order meals with substitutions…I love some vegetables but detest others, so I ask for changes. Never a problem nor a delay.

I usually order soup and salad, my entree (with changes) and my dessert all at once. Everything is delivered timely, perfect temperature and presentation. Always correct. My experience is usually less than an hour.

JMO…I never had an issue with the MDR on the Anthem. I think that’s primarily because I go as soon as it opens, I’m usually solo, I’m easily pleased and don’t have to work around other family members, friends, kids or entertainment. I understand how difficult it can be to try and arrange schedules and preferences for a group…especially when dining during the busiest times. I sympathize.

I’m excited to try the new menus. I really appreciate getting a preview here and thank my lucky stars…again…that I found these boards! Thank you all! The new menus look enticing! I’ll wait to make a judgement until after I have tried them. I leave Friday on the Anthem for an eleven day Caribbean cruise. Hopefully, they will be in place during that time. 
 

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2 hours ago, MaryCS62 said:

Unfortunately, this will no longer be a problem going forward, but my late daughter (was an adult, but multiply handicapped and more like a 7 year old in her comprehension) always had the shrimp cocktail for appetizer, and cheesecake with chocolate sauce for dessert - if we found something else she liked, we could offer it, but she really enjoyed those options.  As long as there was either fish or macaroni available, dinners were pretty easy, although she also had Crohn's disease, so there were certain textures and spices that we tried to avoid as well.  The listed menus seem to all have something I would enjoy, but I guess I'll see in March, and hopefully will be able to scope out the gluten free options for when my younger DD joins us in August.

@MaryCS62I am very sorry to hear that your daughter has passed.  I recall reading your posts with reference to her special needs and I always found them to be thoughtful and extremely helpful.  Please accept my sincere condolences.

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20 hours ago, PG Cruiser said:

In loving memory of the Apple Blossom…

BA8759FC-212D-46E6-A3A2-10BA7D42896A.thumb.jpeg.bdf2122b5780eb64b1c80ea50da65730.jpeg

I’ve never been impressed with this apple blossom because it’s almost the same as the we get from Trader Joe’s.  Give it a shot!

https://www.thekitchn.com/trader-joes-apple-blossoms-review-23404886

The removal of the soufflés (grand marnier and chocolate) are a bummer tho 😞 

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23 hours ago, barjpoe said:

The loss of the soufflés both Grand Marnier & Chocolate.  Not sure if it was this thread or another the famous Royal chocolate cake was the best. 

This was me when I saw that there was no more Grand Marnier souffle. I always had two of them, it was so good.

crying-sad.gif

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Let's wait and see.  The change might encourage some to bump up to a specialty restaurants.   Some will stay put.   Others may move to other lines.   The cruise veterans will reminisce  about the good old days.   (How many remember midnight buffets (do miss them)?)  As the new generation moves in, they won't even question it.   If surveys matter, and people provide input, we'll see some tweaking.

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I like the themed nights but also liked having the 'classics' as go-to's just in case nothing from the main features was appealing. Change is never easy but I'm sure they will make adjustments as they roll out updates across the fleet. Before this was released I did fill out a survey and mentioned a few times that the dinners were taking close to 2 hours which IMO was a bit too long. I definitely don't want to feel rushed but unlike when I lived in Spain, I don't prefer to still be eating at 10pm...more changes to come but I'm hopeful we'll all find a happy medium eventually!

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1 hour ago, cruisellama said:

Let's wait and see.  The change might encourage some to bump up to a specialty restaurants.   Some will stay put.   Others may move to other lines.   The cruise veterans will reminisce  about the good old days.   (How many remember midnight buffets (do miss them)?)  As the new generation moves in, they won't even question it.   If surveys matter, and people provide input, we'll see some tweaking.

Honestly I doubt the new menus change the dinner approach for very many at all. People hate change, even if they end up embracing the changes.

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