MDR new menu

[Scotty34145]

Just finished a 4-night Freedom cruise from Miami. I really did not like the new menu. The food has become bland and uninspired—think college cafeteria. The Windjammer food was much, much better. I needed cow teeth to chew the tough beef curry. The Arancini had no flavor and was cold. The shrimp dish on Caribbean night was not good at all. On the other hand, Sportsmakers and the “specialty” restaurants were very nice. IDK why they can’t convert these MDRs to specialty dining areas and do away with the MDR concept. It can’t be fixed.

[ScottD]

14 hours ago, Scotty34145 said:

Just finished a 4-night Freedom cruise from Miami. I really did not like the new menu. The food has become bland and uninspired—think college cafeteria. The Windjammer food was much, much better. I needed cow teeth to chew the tough beef curry. The Arancini had no flavor and was cold. The shrimp dish on Caribbean night was not good at all. On the other hand, Sportsmakers and the “specialty” restaurants were very nice. IDK why they can’t convert these MDRs to specialty dining areas and do away with the MDR concept. It can’t be fixed.

It really does seem to vary ship to ship\person to person. We enjoyed almost every meal at MDR on Oasis a few months ago. The Italian night selection and the Mexican night were both great, the only thing I didn't enjoy was the Mediterranean night, The "Mediterranean steak" and the tapas\hummus dishes were both not very good, but overall we enjoyed MDR enough. I do agree, I loved the food at Playmakers, though!

[Xaa]

14 hours ago, Scotty34145 said:

Just finished a 4-night Freedom cruise from Miami. I really did not like the new menu. The food has become bland and uninspired—think college cafeteria. The Windjammer food was much, much better. I needed cow teeth to chew the tough beef curry. The Arancini had no flavor and was cold. The shrimp dish on Caribbean night was not good at all. On the other hand, Sportsmakers and the “specialty” restaurants were very nice. IDK why they can’t convert these MDRs to specialty dining areas and do away with the MDR concept. It can’t be fixed.

I suppose if every person was identical in taste they might accept that it can't be fixed and do away with it.  As it stands though, people are different and have different opinions on it.  Many even think that fixing is not needed in any way.

It sounds like the MDR is not for you so they do offer an Unlimited Dining Package so you can have it "fixed" exactly how you want it and only dine at specialty restaurants.

Every cruiser gets to choose.

[OCSC Mike]

2 hours ago, Xaa said:

As it stands though, people are different and have different opinions on it.  Many even think that fixing is not needed in any way.

It sounds like the MDR is not for you so they do offer an Unlimited Dining Package so you can have it "fixed" exactly how you want it and only dine at specialty restaurants.

Every cruiser gets to choose.

Yup. We were never huge MDR fans, long before the changes. Mostly personal preference as wife is picky and I always found the portions small. Some items were quite good, others not. We'll give it a try a few nights next cruise.

On the other hand, we've always enjoyed the WJ, especially the cook to order pasta/stir fry stations. Picky wife can design her own dish and I can eat as much as I want. Throw in Playmakers (a new fav) and Mason Jar brunch on Wonder (our latest fav that we loved) which leaves us pretty full and not overly concerned with dinner and that's what works for us. The UDP is both too expensive and wouldn't work anyway for picky wife.

As you said, food is subjective and always will be. Somehow I manage to gain a bunch of weight when I cruise. Different strokes...

[Jolly Ogre]

22 hours ago, Scotty34145 said:

Just finished a 4-night Freedom cruise from Miami. I really did not like the new menu. The food has become bland and uninspired—think college cafeteria. The Windjammer food was much, much better. I needed cow teeth to chew the tough beef curry. The Arancini had no flavor and was cold. The shrimp dish on Caribbean night was not good at all. On the other hand, Sportsmakers and the “specialty” restaurants were very nice. IDK why they can’t convert these MDRs to specialty dining areas and do away with the MDR concept. It can’t be fixed.

Are you sure you were on a RCL ship?? There is no such place as Sportsmakers that I know of.

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, Jolly Ogre said:

Are you sure you were on a RCL ship?? There is no such place as Sportsmakers that I know of.

Clearly he meant Playmakers.

[smokeybandit]

Another drive by

[Jolly Ogre]

1 minute ago, smokeybandit said:

Another drive by

Clearly...LOL

[Ampurp85]

I was on Freedom in April, I found the MDR to be miles better than on other ships and I say this as someone who isn't a fan. I agree the food is high school cafeteria, budget buffet. Unfortunately, it has to be this way to appeal to the thousands of different palettes it is catering to. Your idea of all dining being specialty is not conducive to the design of cruising. The MDR is set up to feed thousands of people while the specialty restaurants can only serve a hundred or less.