Food Quality

[A and M]

I am hearing a lot about bad food in MDR and specialty restaurants.    Cruise with Ben and David gave a brutal review of food in MDR.   I had a friend return last month from a Panama cruise and said the food in MDR and Chops was horrible.    I am heading on a cruise in September on Oasis and really hope this was just a fluke and not trending.    If food is horrible,  they may lose a Diamond member to other cruise lines.    What is everyone seeing or Hearing?    Have you had a recent cruise within last couple of months and encountered the same thing?

[Xaa]

I cruised first week of March and the MDR was great.  Service fantastic, food fast and hot.

There are several reports from that specific cruise sharing the experience of Ben and David.  I can't say what you will experience, there seems to be some inconsistency, but there isn't currently a swell of complaints like those from the video outside of that sailing.  Stick around the forum and read the dining section and you'll get a feel for how prevalent it is as your cruise approaches.

[DoomSlayer]

My MDR experience in March was defiantly below the standards I had experienced previously.  With that said, it was not a terrible experience, food was mostly ok, and it still provides a good service for being waited on rather than trying to fight the crowds in the windjammer.  However, with the change in menu, limiting of choices, and some lowering in food quality, I did buy 3 specialty dining dinners for our upcoming cruise in two weeks.  This is something I previously did not do often as the MDR provided a good experience and I did not feel I needed to go elsewhere.

[Biaggio]

Cruise in March and the MDR food was terrible. So bad we spent the remaining dinners in the windjammer.

[KevinK]

Just got off Anthem this past Monday,  Food is not as good as before, it went downhill ever since the new menu.  First nite, I had Prime Ribs, I asked for Medium, it came out well done, and it was hot.  It taste like microwave food...  Second and third nite, it was the samething.  So the rest of the cruise I ate at windjammer.  Was talking to someone at the bar, he said the MDR went downhill also..  Food was horrible..  but service was still good..

[steverk]

On a cruise right now. Mdr service is excellent,  but food is so so. I haven't complained,  but the servers know it is not as good as it should be. I really feel bad for the servers. They are working so hard,  but they are graded on mdr service AND food quality,  even though there's nothing they can do. 

[CanHardlyWait]

16 minutes ago, steverk said:

On a cruise right now. Mdr service is excellent,  but food is so so. I haven't complained,  but the servers know it is not as good as it should be. I really feel bad for the servers. They are working so hard,  but they are graded on mdr service AND food quality,  even though there's nothing they can do. 

Nothing can change if folks don't speak up.

[Jill]

The one thing they can control is food cost.  From a VERY reliable source, they are using “no roll” beef. You can Google that. 
 

They are BILLIONS in debt. Honestly, the food on the mega ships has never been mind blowing. How can it be with 6,000 passengers? 

Every other cruise line in this market is having the same issues. 

Adjust your expectations and be happy you won’t gain 10 lbs

[CruiseGus]

As I've said before, I can understand a slight drop in food quality, but bad service is unforgivable.

Unlike most I have not been experiencing the really bad experiences described in this and other threads.

I do find the quality in Windjammer has dropped much more than in the MDR.  What I occasionally (diamond + BOGO) experience in specialty restaurants has not changed

[Traveling Mike]

April 2023 on Allure of the Seas = Only ate specialty restaurants and all food was very good.

November 2022 on Navigator of the Seas and both specialty restaurants and buffet were good.

September 2022 on Voyager of the Seas and specialty restaurants were great.  Was told MDR was bad but that had short staff and food from Europe.

July 2022 on Ovation of the Seas and specialty restaurants were great.  Buffett was not good.

April 2022 on Vision of the Seas and MDR was very good with great service.

*** My question is what expectations do you have?  5 start restaurant or local restaurant or better than you can cook.

[Pattycruise]

I was on the “Ben and David sailing”.  I can attest what they said was factual.  I’ve also sailed monthly since the restart and will say not every sailing could compare to that-thank God.    On some ships there has been food I felt was not edible like that chicken parm in Ben and Dave video, or have had food served cold/barely warm.   Obviously I’ve not ordered every dish so I can’t speak to all meals on the ship.  Some sailings its multiple meals that aren’t so great.  Some sailings it’s most all, if not all meals that have been good.  Service has been hit or miss on some sailings.  It’s not every sailing with inedible food, cold food, or bad service.  Hopefully your sailing will have few or no issues in the MDR.  I’m on Oasis next week, last August their food was fantastic, fingers crossed it’s as good this time around.

 

[Pattycruise]

2 hours ago, Jill said:

The one thing they can control is food cost.  From a VERY reliable source, they are using “no roll” beef. You can Google that. 
 

 

Eeew.  Glad I don’t eat the beef in the MDR, but if there’s a low grade (No grade) chicken cutlet that would explain things. 

[A and M]

Traveling Mike

      My question is what expectations do you have?  5 start restaurant or local restaurant or better than you can cook.

 

     what I am expecting is food that should be hot is hot and food that is cold should be cold.   I expect service to be good but understand the staff is overwhelmed.  I expect to be served in a reasonable time frame ..meaning not waiting hours for dishes but not feeling rushed either.   I want to come away feeling satisfied that the meal was delicious and relaxing and it was a good time had by all.   I have cruised with Royal Caribbean primarily and have enjoyed the service and food in all areas across the fleet in the past.  I don't expect 5 star dining in the MDR..but I expect that whatever I order to be good and hot.  Now, whether I personally like the type of  dish (meaning I am trying something out of my usual comfort zone) then that is on me and not the MDR, and I would just order something else.     I don't think that is an  unreasonable request.    I will see what happens on my September cruise and post after.   

[A and M]

Thanks everyone for the response.   I will just have to see for myself in September.     It could just be a hit or miss thing which is normal when food is being prepared on such a large scale.

[HeWhoWaits]

53 minutes ago, A and M said:

Traveling Mike

      My question is what expectations do you have?  5 start restaurant or local restaurant or better than you can cook.

I can't answer for @Traveling Mike, but my expectations for food on a cruise are better than a typical local restaurant but not necessarily 5 star. If it was better than I can cook, it would require expecting 5 star quality.

The lesser quality isn't just a Royal Caribbean thing. We were recently on Holland America for a 17-night cruise and the offerings were frequently disappointing. Thankfully, if still hungry the pizza was far superior to Sorrento's.

[djandyb]

Sep 2022 - Oasis

Food was great in MDR (bar Lobster Tail; can't blame them; should never be done en masse imo)

Service incredible.

Hoping for similar on Anthem in Sep this year.

[tjcruisers]

For those have had a bad experience is it it just the quality of the food or with a combination bad/slow wait staff? What ship did you experience it? Trying to see if this is a handful of ships or fleet wide or if it's even just one or two particular sailings. My wife is seeing a lot of comments about this on her FB. Many comments seem to point to the new menu, but from what I can tell most of the stuff that is on the new menu was already being served before, just less options per night.I figure that would allow them to improve quality control and food temp more easily. Even with new items a chef should be able to pick them up pretty quick. Wondering if they're having a staffing shortage in the back of house

[steverk]

1 hour ago, tjcruisers said:

For those have had a bad experience is it it just the quality of the food or with a combination bad/slow wait staff? What ship did you experience it? Trying to see if this is a handful of ships or fleet wide or if it's even just one or two particular sailings. My wife is seeing a lot of comments about this on her FB. Many comments seem to point to the new menu, but from what I can tell most of the stuff that is on the new menu was already being served before, just less options per night.I figure that would allow them to improve quality control and food temp more easily. Even with new items a chef should be able to pick them up pretty quick. Wondering if they're having a staffing shortage in the back of house

On my voyager sailing,  the service is great.  I really like the wait staff.

Food quality I noticeably lower. For some examples

1. Prime rib in mdr has always been great. On this one, it was 1/2 the normal thicness and tough

2. I had pepperoni pizza.  Two slices. Between them it had 1 slice of pepperoni 

3. The shrimp in mdr was overcooked.  It was like eating cold cheese sticks.

4. Breakfast in Windjammer only has French toast every other day. Seems like an odd place to cut cost

5. Windjammer doesn't have a fresh cooked food station.  No stir fry. No omlettes.

Taken individually,  these are minor. Taken together and it does effect your experience. 

[Ampurp85]

Typically, I do the UDP, so for larger ships (Oasis and Quantum class usually have more specialty restaurants) I cannot say whether the MDR is bad. However, I have done Freedom and Voyager class and the MDR food was pretty good. The worst dining experience I had was on Grandeur in Jan of this year. It was the first week of the new menu. The quality was bad, the portions were small and most of the items were prepared incorrectly. The service was also lackluster. The review of the MDR on the Symphony sailing seem to have to do with that particular sailing as it was transatlantic. I believe it was a lot of transitioning crew members as well.  So, I would say do not go into any sailing expecting the worst; lots of things are subjective. 

[Justneedtocruise]

On Vision in Feb for 11 nights the food was not good on either windjammer or MDR. Prime rib was so thin I don't know how they even sliced it that thin, another night I ordered New York strip steak it was full of fat. Cold food like chicken in the Windjammer, same menu over and over. We have been on 36 cruises and never complained till now. We emailed RCL basically received a generic response. Selection is terrible in both areas, they took away variety and options 

We are Diamond our next cruise  we would be Diamond plus, opted not to do an on board  booking as we always do because of the food. everyone we talked to on that cruise was angry about the food. The only way to get RCL managements attention is to talk with our wallets and go on other lines.  This past weekend we went to Applebees and I had a sirloin steak my husband had chicken both of our dinners put RCL to shame. That is pretty bad when a franchise has better food then a cruise line

We had cruised on Vision two previous times and everything was excellent. So disappointed hoping they listen to their seasoned cruisers and  correct this issue. I understand they were  down during the pandemic but that is why it is more important that they go above and beyond to fill their ships.  We have a group of five, sometimes 6 couples, that vacation together. That is a lot of revenue to lose.

 We heading to a different cruise line in October that will be five couples, anxious to see how the food is there.

One thing I learned is bad news travels faster then good news!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gilley]

Are all these reviews reaching the decision makers and do we think they will change the menus back since there are many negative reviews and unhappy cruisers?

[Ampurp85]

6 minutes ago, Gilley said:

Are all these reviews reaching the decision makers and do we think they will change the menus back since there are many negative reviews and unhappy cruisers?

Don't hold out hope for the menus to be changed back. I recall hearing that they will be tweaked. But remember that over 50% of cruisers are new cruisers. This blog represents such a small percentage of cruisers. So the overall response is positive towards the menus. Plus food waste and times are down.

[WAYNO]

When one couple rates a meal as wonderful, and the couple at the next table rates the same meal as horrible, who should Royal listen to or take seriously? 

[Leroyr55]

We were just on Harmony last week. As for MDR we had good meals. All food was hot and we were no longer than 1hr 10 mins which was pretty much in line with last years cruise. We ate lunch and breakfast twice in the Solarium Bistro and had no complaints. We ate in Chops one night which was the Mexican night which is food I really don’t have an appetite for. 
My wife’s pork chop on Carribean night she said was tender and delicious but she couldn’t finish it.

Overall we were quite happy surprisingly with the food on this cruise. 

[steverk]

20 hours ago, Gilley said:

Are all these reviews reaching the decision makers and do we think they will change the menus back since there are many negative reviews and unhappy cruisers?

On my experience that I mentioned above, I spoke to the MDR manager and the Windjammer manager about them.  The change was immediate.

Food on the last few days of the cruise was hot and delicious.  

I've since had another cruise on Navigator and thought the food and service were both excellent.

[Gilley]

7 hours ago, steverk said:

On my experience that I mentioned above, I spoke to the MDR manager and the Windjammer manager about them.  The change was immediate.

Food on the last few days of the cruise was hot and delicious.  

I've since had another cruise on Navigator and thought the food and service were both excellent.

That is good to hear.  It sounds like somebody is listening.  I have 4 upcoming cruises and will do the same if I am unhappy with my dining experience.

[steverk]

1 hour ago, Gilley said:

That is good to hear.  It sounds like somebody is listening.  I have 4 upcoming cruises and will do the same if I am unhappy with my dining experience.

Very good. A couple things to note.

I reached these two managers by discussing the issue with the Diamond Concierge in the Diamond lounge. If you're not a Diamond C&A member, then you can certainly reach them by talking to guest services.

They listened well and took notes.  One thing they asked was how much had I seen the head waiter.  I replied that I saw him a couple times that week.  That wasn't enough for the managers, who must have talked with the head waiter.  The head waiter hung over our table for the rest of the cruise.

It was good to see that they had taken action, but it was rather oppresive!

[Pooch]

We had good to great meals on Harmony last month.  Only night I had issues was Mexican night.  Sent 2 different entrees back.  But everything else all week was fine.  Service was terrific (thanks Nitesh & Akhmad!).   Maybe I have pedestrian taste but we had delicious, well prepared food every night.

[JayMakinGwaVez]

On 5/4/2023 at 12:01 AM, Pattycruise said:

I was on the “Ben and David sailing”.  I can attest what they said was factual.  I’ve also sailed monthly since the restart and will say not every sailing could compare to that-thank God.    On some ships there has been food I felt was not edible like that chicken parm in Ben and Dave video, or have had food served cold/barely warm.   Obviously I’ve not ordered every dish so I can’t speak to all meals on the ship.  Some sailings its multiple meals that aren’t so great.  Some sailings it’s most all, if not all meals that have been good.  Service has been hit or miss on some sailings.  It’s not every sailing with inedible food, cold food, or bad service.  Hopefully your sailing will have few or no issues in the MDR.  I’m on Oasis next week, last August their food was fantastic, fingers crossed it’s as good this time around.

 

Please keep us posted on your experience on Oasis.  I'm on her in July and would love to know your thoughts

[FionaMG]

I just noticed yesterday that the artisan cheese plate has reappeared in the dessert section of the MDR menu so there is definitely still some tweaking going on. All the more reason to add those comments to the post-cruise survey.

[MaryCS62]

6 hours ago, FionaMG said:

I just noticed yesterday that the artisan cheese plate has reappeared in the dessert section of the MDR menu so there is definitely still some tweaking going on. All the more reason to add those comments to the post-cruise survey.

Oh, good - I loved that, and of the meals I had on Anthem in March, I was actually most disappointed with the desserts - nothing to write home about.  With that said - I avoided the overly rich and sweet dessert options by choice - type 2 diabetic, and I also couldn't really eat a heavy dessert right after dinner.  I would take the artisan cheese plate to go for a late snack 

[OCSC Mike]

5 minutes ago, MaryCS62 said:

I would take the artisan cheese plate to go for a late snack

I've made my own cheese plate in WJ (to-go) before. Also always a nice snack option if you have access to the DL or SL. No matter what you think of the food onboard, tough to go wrong with cheese.

[FionaMG]

15 minutes ago, MaryCS62 said:

Oh, good - I loved that, and of the meals I had on Anthem in March, I was actually most disappointed with the desserts - nothing to write home about.  With that said - I avoided the overly rich and sweet dessert options by choice - type 2 diabetic, and I also couldn't really eat a heavy dessert right after dinner.  I would take the artisan cheese plate to go for a late snack 

It's SIL's favourite too. I prefer my cheese at breakfast. For me, dessert = chocolate.

[RCVoyager]

On 6/1/2023 at 8:45 AM, steverk said:

On my experience that I mentioned above, I spoke to the MDR manager and the Windjammer manager about them.  The change was immediate.

Food on the last few days of the cruise was hot and delicious.  

I've since had another cruise on Navigator and thought the food and service were both excellent.

Dude, you get results.  One word with the Manager, and boom everything changes for the good fleet wide.

Just yankin your chain.  Couldn't resist.  

This situation needs to be fixed and with the recent price increases RCCL should be able to do so.  If not, people will jump the fence.  We just booked the Carnival Mardi Gras for October.

[Pooch]

9 hours ago, MaryCS62 said:

Oh, good - I loved that, and of the meals I had on Anthem in March, I was actually most disappointed with the desserts - nothing to write home about.  With that said - I avoided the overly rich and sweet dessert options by choice - type 2 diabetic, and I also couldn't really eat a heavy dessert right after dinner.  I would take the artisan cheese plate to go for a late snack 

We found the no sugar added desserts to be some of the best.

[asquared17]

On 6/1/2023 at 5:52 PM, Pooch said:

We had good to great meals on Harmony last month.  […] Maybe I have pedestrian taste but we had delicious, well prepared food every night.

i echo @Pooch — we sailed on harmony the week prior to her group and were pleasantly surprised at the food quality. service was great in MDR, too, and we were always dining during peak times around 6:30-7:45. we are almost always out in 60 mins — sometimes faster if the dessert does not appeal.

i am a big fan of extra pasta/cheese/bread so that is usually my dessert up front hahaha

11 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

No matter what you think of the food onboard, tough to go wrong with cheese.

AMEN. cheese is life.

[WhoCruiser]

Yay for the apparent return of the cheese plate, I often order it for the table and would have seriously missed not having it available.

[Geezer Of The Seas]

Most recent trip on Wonder in late April:

MDR: Didn't eat there at all but didn't plan to.

Windjammer: Two meals. Depended on what you were eating as to good or not so good. Salad bar plate I constructed was great. Wife had an alleged pork chop one night that should have been sent out for lab analysis for confirmation of what it was. There was a chocolate/chocolate cookie at the kids dessert bar this 69 y/o kid went back for.........twice. Mostly we didn't enjoy the zoo/stampede atmosphere, but that's an Oasis ship thing.

Giovanni's: An excellent lunch.

Hooked: an ok lunch, the messy fish sandwich was, and entirely forgettable. Frozen cod is frozen cod when it's deep fried, land or sea.

Sorrento's: It isn't Pizza 1905 in Lake Mary Fl.

Playmakers: Ate there one night to beat the lines for 'InTense'. Wife's wings were great. My chicken sandwich was not. 

Johnny Rockets: More than adequate burgers, fries & shake, which was in a considerably downsized glass compared to the shake I had on Mariner.

150 Central Park: That wasn't dining, that was an EXPERIENCE! Tenderloin for 2 was incredible. We could have eaten an entire day's production of the Parkerhouse roll served with dinner. All 3 courses were incredible as was the service.

Room Service: Contintental and American breakfast orders were OK, on par with the local Hampton Inn breakfast bar. Orders not filled correctly a couple times but what the hell, it's happened in hotels too. We lived.

The  wine cheese/fruit platter was definitely smaller than our first cruise on Mariner. "Shrinkflation of the Seas", like packaged food and snacks on land; less food, same great price. 

Overall, we grazed well, food was decent except as noted and as far as we could see on the horizon, there were no alternatives.

PS: 3 hours later and I just remembered I forgot:

El Loco Fresh: Loved the concept but the wave of humanity made the grab n' go burrito and tacos the thing to do. Couldn't get close to the fixins'.

Park Cafe: Had 2 of the vaunted Kummelweck sandwiches. Apologies to Royal, but I've made those out of leftover London Broil on a Kaiser roll with horseradish, mustard, and sliced onion. Mine are better, but again, the only game in town. 

[Elisag]

On 6/2/2023 at 9:51 AM, OCSC Mike said:

I've made my own cheese plate in WJ (to-go) before. Also always a nice snack option if you have access to the DL or SL. No matter what you think of the food onboard, tough to go wrong with cheese.

This is exactly what I was hoping to do. I wanted to take some back to my cabin for some late night snacking  

[D Alt]

I've had different experiences on different ships.  Mostly with the service, but the food has been pretty consistent.  I did not care for the Oasis windjammer but had great food in the MDR. You have to remember that food is a very subjective thing. We all have different taste buds and preferences. I stick to the menu items I like. I've never had a bad experience in any of them, nor in any specialty restaurant.  So good luck. Hope it's above your expectations.