SFLcruiser Posted May 27, 2017 Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 I know Sabor is a site favorite which is why I'm so sad that I have to give it a negative review! ? We actually switched our Giovanni's reservation to Sabor because it looked like hubby would like more things on the menu. I don't know if they were just having an off night or if it's because we are used to more authentic Mexican flavors...but we sadly sent everything back and they comped us our meal. I will say the service was excellent as the manager came over when our waiter saw we didn't really eat anything and then offered to get us something else which we declined and then he comped both of our meals and my margarita. The food we had in actual Mexico and even in the WJ for Mexican night was so sooo much better. Hope others have a better experience! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHStoneman Posted May 27, 2017 Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 24 minutes ago, SFLcruiser said: I know Sabor is a site favorite which is why I'm so sad that I have to give it a negative review! We felt the same. The ambiance left us cold when we walked in. They could have removed the Sabor signage and opened a "continental" restaurant without a blink of the eye. The food was pedestrian at best. Being an upcharge restaurant, I was expecting to see WOW. There was no wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFLcruiser Posted May 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2017 24 minutes ago, WHStoneman said: We felt the same. The ambiance left us cold when we walked in. They could have removed the Sabor signage and opened a "continental" restaurant without a blink of the eye. The food was pedestrian at best. Being an upcharge restaurant, I was expecting to see WOW. There was no wow. On Oasis class ships I believe the ambiance is more "authentic" and that didn't bother me so much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arebee Posted May 28, 2017 Report Share Posted May 28, 2017 Been to it on two different ships, no issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DunkelBierJay Posted May 28, 2017 Report Share Posted May 28, 2017 I don't go to Sabor expecting authentic Mexican...the Freedom and Voyager class ships label it as New Mexican, so I see it as more of a Mexican fusion cuisine. I really like it, but understand when others don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 On 5/28/2017 at 6:43 PM, Spiegeje said: I really like it, but understand when others don't. Nope, cannot relate EmersonNZ, mom2mybugs, Floski and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigHouseFootball Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 Had the same experience as you when I was on Allure last year. The guacamole wasn't nearly as good as what we make at home, the bacon wrapped chicken poppers were very dry, and the tuna tacos were bland. Definitely not worth what we paid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 I have similar thoughts about Izumi. While I've enjoyed all of my meals there, especially the Ramen, I have so many excellent sushi places at home that are actually cheaper than the onboard prices. Thus, is hard to justify eating there on a cruise unless I'm on the dining package. However, for those who don't have a local option, then Izumi provides then with a great experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FManke Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 I think sometimes places rely on the fact that they are in a certain location and what they serve is good enough. I've never been to Sabor and I don't know this as a fact. Meaning if somebody is looking for "Mexican" on a cruise and Sabor is the only place offering that, what are your choices? Or maybe some people are expecting too much? If you have a great local Mexican place, that you just love, I'm not so sure any place is going to live up to that. Some people just feel that everything taste better when your cruising, like triangle hash browns for instance. The food should stand on it's own, regardless of where it is. I've had some of my best meals from food trucks and hole in the wall diners and been disappointed in meals where I've spent $100 plus a person. Maybe it was just my expectations? If your expecting ok and you get good, your excited, but if your expecting great and you get good, your disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFLcruiser Posted May 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 5 hours ago, FManke said: . Some people just feel that everything taste better when your cruising, like triangle hash browns for instance. haha I actually like the triangle hash browns! 5 hours ago, FManke said: I think sometimes places rely on the fact that they are in a certain location and what they serve is good enough. I've never been to Sabor and I don't know this as a fact. Meaning if somebody is looking for "Mexican" on a cruise and Sabor is the only place offering that, what are your choices? The food on Mexican night in the WJ was actually much better than what we had at Sabor and I would classify the WJ's interpretation of Mexican as definitely Americanized. The food in concept sounded delicious at Sabor, but it just didn't deliver IMO. I felt the same about the food in the MDR too. Sounded good, but ended up being underwhelming. Now the food in Chops...delicious!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FManke Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 1 hour ago, SFLcruiser said: haha I actually like the triangle hash browns! A lot of people actually do, that's why I said that. But my point is that they probably taste better on a cruise than any other times, because of the surroundings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCVoyager Posted May 31, 2017 Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 On 5/30/2017 at 11:51 AM, FManke said: I think sometimes places rely on the fact that they are in a certain location and what they serve is good enough. I've never been to Sabor and I don't know this as a fact. Meaning if somebody is looking for "Mexican" on a cruise and Sabor is the only place offering that, what are your choices? Or maybe some people are expecting too much? If you have a great local Mexican place, that you just love, I'm not so sure any place is going to live up to that. Some people just feel that everything taste better when your cruising, like triangle hash browns for instance. The food should stand on it's own, regardless of where it is. I've had some of my best meals from food trucks and hole in the wall diners and been disappointed in meals where I've spent $100 plus a person. Maybe it was just my expectations? If your expecting ok and you get good, your excited, but if your expecting great and you get good, your disappointed. My view is that the food in the MDR should be pretty good. If you upgrade, and pay extra, it should be an excellent experience all the way around. If I don't get that excellent experience, I would be disappointed. I've been critical of Norwegian Cruise Line because they have taken advantage of the upcharge restaurants by cutting the quality of the food in the MDR. The times I upgraded, I thought the food and service was really good. RCCL to my view, has not cut the quality in the MDR. I hope they don't. That would cause me to reevaluate the high regard in which I view RCCL as I have with NCL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruise-y Posted June 1, 2017 Report Share Posted June 1, 2017 8 hours ago, RCVoyager said: My view is that the food in the MDR should be pretty good. If you upgrade, and pay extra, it should be an excellent experience all the way around. If I don't get that excellent experience, I would be disappointed. I've been critical of Norwegian Cruise Line because they have taken advantage of the upcharge restaurants by cutting the quality of the food in the MDR. The times I upgraded, I thought the food and service was really good. RCCL to my view, has not cut the quality in the MDR. I hope they don't. That would cause me to reevaluate the high regard in which I view RCCL as I have with NCL. I agree. As I've mentioned here in the last few weeks, I'm concerned that RCCL is rolling out a new menu for its MDR that seems to be more traditional and less adventuresome. There seem to be a lot less options too. I'm hoping that doesn't happen before my cruise in mid July. Honestly, it's going to make me consider other cruise lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRC Posted June 1, 2017 Report Share Posted June 1, 2017 Personally I like Sabor. Being from Tejas until retiring this past year, I'm fairly familiar with both Mexican and Tex-Mex, and Sabor is really neither. It uses some familiar names on the menu but the textures and flavors are, to me anyways, something completely different. Very very good, just unique. My only challenge with it is that this over-indulgent American thinks the portion sizes are a little small. (however that's for my own good) :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocLC Posted June 1, 2017 Report Share Posted June 1, 2017 1 hour ago, PRC said: Personally I like Sabor. Being from Tejas until retiring this past year, I'm fairly familiar with both Mexican and Tex-Mex, and Sabor is really neither. It uses some familiar names on the menu but the textures and flavors are, to me anyways, something completely different. Very very good, just unique. My only challenge with it is that this over-indulgent American thinks the portion sizes are a little small. (however that's for my own good) :P This really does sum it up well. Sabor is a type of fusion cuisine that is inspired by Mexican fare, but really isn't. If you go in looking for authentic Mexican food, that's not what you're going to find. I really liked the flavor of the short rib barbecoa for example, but it wasn't like any barbecoa I've ever had either along the border where I used to work or in Mexico where I used to go frequently (1 x month). Thus, it didn't sit well with my expectations as it was much sweeter than I was expected. That said, I enjoyed that it was different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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