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New Dinner Menus


WayneH

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I am still trying to understand the reason RCCL changed Main Dining Room dinner menus in 2023 that I ( and assume countless others based on comments I have read on line) have enjoyed, and looked forward to,  for many past years on their cruise ships. 

RCCL's online main reason was that people were complaining that dinner took too long so they had to reduced the number of items offered.

- Old menu starters = 9 including 5 Classics vs new Menus starters = 6 , no Classics

- Old menus entrees= 9, including 4 Classics vs  New Menus entrees=6, no Classics

- Old Menu desserts = 9 including 6 Classics vs New Menus desserts= 6, no Classics

One may think that the reason dinner service took too long was that RCCL cut MDR serving and kitchen staff to save money. Then they poll the guests for consensus which of course results in negative comments. This sets up a business case for RCCL to spin to the future cruisers and to support the reduction in dishes they need to prepare and offer to guests ( brilliant?- but nice try!). If the speed of eating dinner is an issue for guests, then one could argue that there are other " fast food" options available throughout the ship, such as the Windjammer buffet, pizza, hamburger and hot dog grills . One may assume that the reason that you want to have a sit down dinner is to have it at a relaxed pace, socializing with others at the table,  not at "take-out" mode frenzy. Alternatively, if one has to hurry through dinner because they started late and would miss their theatre reservation, perhaps they could have planned their earlier activities and choices better to accommodate their schedule.  

Another possibility is that RCCL wants to drive guests to the specialty restaurants, which of course are at additional charge (more RCCL profit), assuming that the service is any faster. 

It is disappointing that RCCL may be marring their reputation for good service , quality food and a good food selection which their customers have come to rely upon over the years. Based on other cruiser comments, the aforementioned are  some of the main reasons for selecting a cruise line.

I understand that RCCL is a business and has responsibility to its shareholders,  and employees to be profitable. I understand that the pandemic was financially catastrophic for them ( and many other businesses and individuals) and I give them  credit to have survived  and to continue to offer great cruise experiences. If recovering lost income is their goal, i would prefer that they increase the price of the cruise rather that compromising quality, selection and service.

I hope that RCCL reconsiders and do not change the dinner menu.

I would be interested in hearing others' thoughts on this subject

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This wasn't mentioned in the thread header, but I do want to touch on the reduction or elimination of duck and lamb on the menu. People have complained Royal's going cheap by their removal. However, I wouldn't be shocked to learn there was plenty of food waste with both as they're notoriously difficult to cook properly and not overcook. Since Royal is plating and serving thousands in their MDR, the odds of not receiving overcooked lamb or duck (due to residual cooking while waiting to be served) meant people expecting a perfectly cooked dish sent back the entrée. Combine the sent-back dishes with those which people didn't eat, as they were trying the meat for the first time and decided it wasn't for them, and inexperienced cooks overcooking the meat at the start make lamb and duck an easy target for removal. Yes, it saves Royal money, but it also means they avoid passenger complaints from dishes not meeting expectations and can work in inexperienced cooks easier. The braised lamb on the current menus should be moist enough to withstand the rigors of platting and simple enough to withstand preparation by new staff. A duo of grilled lamb and lamb tagine is being offered nightly in the Solarium Bistro on ships which have the Bistro without an upcharge (or at least is listed as such for my sailing next week on Anthem).

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But even the WJ dinners are 'theme' the same as what is being offered in the MDR. Day 2 is French night in the MDR and in the WJ its called 'Savor La France', yes you can get a few of the original items but the same foods are being offered. The WJ was offering the theme night back in the fall even before they started the theme night is the MDR, so Royal was already trying the theme nights out.  I miss my DUCK & Grand Mainier souffle.😞

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I really enjoyed the new menus last month.  It was the first week Oasis had them, and the overall food consistency/quality was the best I could remember in a while (at least since the restart).  It also cut around 15-20 minutes off the time of the meal, getting to around an hour or so.  

Royal Caribbean has not in recent years had the reputation of the best food in their class.  Repeating the same processes over and over doesn't make sense, when they can identify methods to improve the product and the costs associated with it.  There's still lots of choice, and the classics are still there, they are just not labelled as such.  Most of them can be found on multiple nights.  I was much happier with the menus that the past ones.  They did well in my opinion.  

 

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12 hours ago, WayneH said:

I am still trying to understand the reason RCCL changed Main Dining Room dinner menus in 2023 that I ( and assume countless others based on comments I have read on line) have enjoyed, and looked forward to,  for many past years on their cruise ships. 

RCCL's online main reason was that people were complaining that dinner took too long so they had to reduced the number of items offered.

- Old menu starters = 9 including 5 Classics vs new Menus starters = 6 , no Classics

- Old menus entrees= 9, including 4 Classics vs  New Menus entrees=6, no Classics

- Old Menu desserts = 9 including 6 Classics vs New Menus desserts= 6, no Classics

One may think that the reason dinner service took too long was that RCCL cut MDR serving and kitchen staff to save money. Then they poll the guests for consensus which of course results in negative comments. This sets up a business case for RCCL to spin to the future cruisers and to support the reduction in dishes they need to prepare and offer to guests ( brilliant?- but nice try!). If the speed of eating dinner is an issue for guests, then one could argue that there are other " fast food" options available throughout the ship, such as the Windjammer buffet, pizza, hamburger and hot dog grills . One may assume that the reason that you want to have a sit down dinner is to have it at a relaxed pace, socializing with others at the table,  not at "take-out" mode frenzy. Alternatively, if one has to hurry through dinner because they started late and would miss their theatre reservation, perhaps they could have planned their earlier activities and choices better to accommodate their schedule.  

Another possibility is that RCCL wants to drive guests to the specialty restaurants, which of course are at additional charge (more RCCL profit), assuming that the service is any faster. 

It is disappointing that RCCL may be marring their reputation for good service , quality food and a good food selection which their customers have come to rely upon over the years. Based on other cruiser comments, the aforementioned are  some of the main reasons for selecting a cruise line.

I understand that RCCL is a business and has responsibility to its shareholders,  and employees to be profitable. I understand that the pandemic was financially catastrophic for them ( and many other businesses and individuals) and I give them  credit to have survived  and to continue to offer great cruise experiences. If recovering lost income is their goal, i would prefer that they increase the price of the cruise rather that compromising quality, selection and service.

I hope that RCCL reconsiders and do not change the dinner menu.

I would be interested in hearing others' thoughts on this subject

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's to understand. It's money. Royal Caribbean is going cheap on food. IMHO

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I don’t discount the cost savings aspect of this change.  Like it or not, and most here don’t, we ain’t sailing the Queen Mary anymore.  But can you imagine the amount of food waste on a ship?  The meals in the MDR aren’t fired as they are ordered, there most certainly has to be X number ready to go at any given time.  Some of the dishes that have been removed, although near and dear to someone’s heart, were probably not popular enough to make the cut.  If at the end of the day, nobody’s ordering the eggplant parmigiana, why keep it on the menu?  

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On 2/19/2023 at 4:23 PM, Biaggio said:

Because if the “themed “ menus like Jamaican, Mexican nights, I have more dinners in The Windjammer 

You should try some of the "themed" meals if you haven't before. Besides, the mexican night barely even had any mexican food.... like @Poochsaid, there are usually a few non themed items like Steak, spaghetti and shrimp.   We weren't sure about the new menus either, but we loved pretty much every thing (we split our time between MDR, Windjammer and a few smalller meals at El loco fresh and playmakers) but the service was great... full meals and desserts and we were out in 70 minutes pretty much every night.  I'd go crazy if I ate at windjammer every night...that walking around looking for a table thing would get to me if I did it nightly, 

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Just finished a B2B on Harmony. As a Diamond member with many cruises I was very disappointed with the new menu. Very clearly cheaper and lower quality. The extra charge for lobster tail is nuts and will upset many long time cruisers. Dining is important on cruise ships and as a loyal R.C. cruiser they can do much better. 

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I just got off a 4 nighter on Serenade.  Main Dining Room is a terrible waste of time and menu redesign is to blame.  Bad menu item choices along with bad recipes.  Going forward, I will only go to the MDR as a last resort (fresh bread and butter).  Windjammer and MDR are now competing with each other and the Windjammer is winning.  WJ is winning because you can complete your meal within minutes and move on to do something fun.  MDR is food that isn't quite up to Windjammer standards and you just have to sit there while they serve you slop while presenting it like it is gourmet.

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On 2/20/2023 at 12:01 PM, barjpoe said:

Pooch, Have you had the 'new' lobster tail? if so do you think it is a Northern one or still the southern 'bug'?

I am departing the Symphony today and had the lobster tail in MDR and it was definitely a northern cool water tail ... Not the biggest one but decent size. And I was able to make it a surf and turf by adding it to the steak - which was well cooked and season well. Overall it was a really good meal

 

 

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2 hours ago, TheMaxRebo said:

I am departing the Symphony today and had the lobster tail in MDR and it was definitely a northern cool water tail ... Not the biggest one but decent size. And I was able to make it a surf and turf by adding it to the steak - which was well cooked and season well. Overall it was a really good meal

 

 

PXL_20230224_010418111~2.jpg

It's sounding like Royal, or at least their servers, are working around the 1 entrée at a time limit by giving guests what they really want from that steak order. And it's not a second piece of broccoli. Allowing a surf and turf order makes sense to keep people happy, since the introduction of the additional lobster charge, if we take Royal at face value with the cost of lobster skyrocketing. 

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Pretty sure there were several factors involved with the change, as someone already mentioned removal of less popular items. Another aspect is the short staffing issues that have plagued the industry for the past three years, it's far simpler to streamline the menu in the wake of less help. A top reason possibly is the Money factor, when you figure out how much you can save by making the change it certainly is a compelling reason. If I were to put Money on the main reason for it, it's likely the time factor, due to having fewer staff it takes even longer to get meals to people and impacting the guest experience negatively isn't something they really want to do as it brings about an overall sense of dissatisfaction/disappointment. 

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46 minutes ago, RCVirgin22 said:

Pretty sure there were several factors involved with the change, as someone already mentioned removal of less popular items. Another aspect is the short staffing issues that have plagued the industry for the past three years, it's far simpler to streamline the menu in the wake of less help. A top reason possibly is the Money factor, when you figure out how much you can save by making the change it certainly is a compelling reason. If I were to put Money on the main reason for it, it's likely the time factor, due to having fewer staff it takes even longer to get meals to people and impacting the guest experience negatively isn't something they really want to do as it brings about an overall sense of dissatisfaction/disappointment. 

If I put money on the main reason, it would be money. LOL. And that goes for every change. Money first. Or profits first, happy customers second. 

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