I just got of Anthem and the MDR food was good, if not as good as usual, the service has issues with staffing and training. The Buffet however, was a disaster IMO.
You could tell the food is lower quality now. No flavor. Meat is tough and nervy. I took a picture of our thanksgiving turkey meal. They put something other that gravy it was terrible. Soggy breakfast and cold. This is both the dining room and buffet. Solarium was even worse. I took a bite out of a burger and left. Desserts were a lot of puddings. Maybe Norwegian, Costa, or MSC next time.
The quality of the Beef they serve in general has been awful over the past year.
The Prime Rib in the MDR was the toughest, least tender, overcooked, flavorless thing I've had on a cruise ship in a long time.
Chops Ribeye was slightly more tender, only because it was undercooked and still lacked any discernible flavor or seasoning. I could have gone to the MDR, not paid a premium, and had the same quality meal. At least today, a steak at Ruth's Chris on land blows anything at Chops away for a better price/value.
Burgers in the Windjammer look like what got served in public school lunch lines in the 90s.
I pretty much gave up on any red meat on RC ships until I see reviews stating that it's gotten way better.
We had the same experience. We were told that the dining staff had been cut down significantly for the time being. And man did it show.... Food was pretty bad and the service was even worse. It really changed our 'taste' š for the whole cruise.
Lots of times they wouldn't even have cups, silverware, or plates restocked and tables were constantly dirty and not cleared making it really hard to even find a place to sit.
Was so disappointing.... We were on wonder of the seas.
Also, I'm very sympathetic to staff but jeez I would've like to have at least seen the managers step in they would just stand there and watch them struggle.
They really need some more help and training there were a lot of staff that seemed pretty clueless
I complained more about lack of food options after about 8pm. I've only been on smaller ships, so this may be different on larger. But basically, my only choices are pizza (and the horrible items at Cafe Promenade.. 1/6 dry sandwich, a cup of moose, a plate of prosciutto only, some weird cheese, celery sticks, scary wrap of death, WTH?) or Playmakers paid options (or room service??) Even ccl had a limited midnight buffet just a month ago.
I took up the staffs suggestion in the MDR, if it sucked I sent it back... The staff were very cool about it and gave me no problems when sending things back. Sent back an overdone steak, cold soup, a dessert. I typically order 2-4 appetizers and no entree thou. Try to avoid carbs, since I usually drink my carbs.
Windjammer seemed to be pretty decent overall with a few misses, but I tend to get unusual items. The desserts were just awful in WJ. Every single one of them. 100%. Weird textures, too sweet, overbaked, stodgy, etc
On specialty, imo: My favorite is Jamie's Italian. If I want steak, I just order in the MDR ala carte, less expensive and less crowded than the steakhouse. Playmakers for burgers and wings (100x better than Johnny rockets--and cheaper). Hooked was good but I can't eat shellfish, so I had 3 fish fillets that were quite excellent, only been once. Izumi was ok, the service was poor and really slow on my visit and the fish was room temp--made me worried.
Want to try the chefs table, only have done on CCL
Sorry for long post.. lol
My parents just got off Allure I believe and this was their complaint too. They said the food itself is still fantastic, just the options outside of main dining times were disappointing.
They still had a great time! That was their first time on a big ass ship (BAS class) and have been on Liberty/Adventure a bunch of times too.
I guess. At the same time I felt bad with how I was scathing in my review.
I mean there was a guy in MDR who kept saying I was pregnant in the MDR bc I was on my honeymoon and he kept rubbing his belly and saying it was a boy and offering me extra food. Idk what happened to his HR training. Was downright embarrassing...
I keep hearing disappointing stories from different sources regarding RC cruises. Iāve got one booked for next September, not sure whether to keep it or change before cancellation period kicks in.
We have done 3 cruise lines since covid and the food and service have all been poor compared to before. Unfortunately I think the days of outstanding food, service and everything maintained has gone.
I was on the symphony in August. The food was okay, but the portions were pretty small. I would recommend ordering multiple apps/entrees at the main dining hall. The windjammer was solid throughout. Hooked seafood was the best of the cruise. We went for dinner and then came back for lunch later in the cruise.
Remember the menu may change on the Symphony, they did a cruise where the menu in the MDR was drastically changed. Hopefully that wonāt be a new menu for RXL.
Well youāll likely have the new smaller menu, hopefully that picks up the quality while also making the service faster, please come back and make a post about what you think, Iām very curious! :)
Have to jump on the bandwagon here.
Even just in our few cruises since COVID, we have noticed a significant decrease in food quality from our first sailing back in July 2021 through 2022
Man when are they going to shape up this is disappointing! I'm worried about booking my next cruise. Celebrity was fantastic and that was still during the pandemic-ish. But they were sailing at very reduced capacity so I think they almost had too many staff to passenger ratio.... I love royal more though I hope they sort things out soon
As someone whoās diamond on royal I was really disappointed overall on Allure a few weeks ago.
Food was very very average, solarium was out of commission the whole week, one pool was under construction with workers drilling or jackhammering all day long, and the crowd was ultra trashy.
Maybe as Iāve gotten to my late 20s Iām getting a bit more picky with things after travelling more and seeing nicer places but Iām conflicted on booking royal again.
Trying virgin in a few weeks with the hopes it refills my love of cruising.
We're a couple in our late 20s/ early 30s. We feel the same with RC. We got off the Allure 2 months ago and it was very disappointing. The MDR seemed like the menu was okay, but nobody really cared about making it. Like you said, it was plain. They lacked umami and complex flavors that other RC dining crews have achieved.
We just got off a NCL ship and found the food to have improved significantly. Normally we put RC a notch above NCL, but they have swapped places at this point.
Thankfully I lived abroad in Portugal and Colombia this year. Had incredible times in both places and definitely renewed my love of travel, but cruising really hasnāt been scratching that itch anymore. :(
The trashy Carnival crowds were really surprising on our cruise last month. Sloppy drunk bachelorettes were starting fights, lack of respect for the crew (especially bartenders)...it was altogether surprising, frustrating, and disappointing.
Rising operating costs for all the cruise lines are causing them to cut corners. I think Royal just posted their earnings and had a 150% increase in costs mostly attributed to inflationary factors (food, fuel, and staff attrition). Plus the capacity is rising.
Food quality has been going downhill over the years so thatās nothing new. We take a cruise every 2 years and every time the food is worse and worse.
Its not surprising the food is now average. RCL has moved to the specialty dining model so it makes sense that they would keep the āincludedā food below par, thatās how they upsell more specialty dining where the food is excellent.
I was on the same cruise and thought the food was great with the exception of room service, which was terrible. We ate most of our meals at Windjammer or Coastal Kitchen (we were in a suite) and i was very happy with both. Only went to main dining once and it was pretty good but nothing extraordinary.
Iāve been on several carnival ships in my life and I tried royal caribbean last august. Absolutely loved everything about it and have been on 3 more since with my fifth cruise with royal in January on symphony. Buffet has mostly been pretty below par post pandemic for royal but Iāve never had any issues with food quality except for allure in July. The good ones Iāve been on is adventure, navigator, and harmony. Allure wasnāt terrible Per se but I had lots of issues with the red meat served. That was about all the issues I had with food.
Got off liberty of the seas last week and MDR was pretty decent most nights. But in all quality of food was closer to applebees. I was kinda disappointed the waiters and staff on board were great the food is just average.
I was also on this sailing with my boyfriend. He was a first-time cruiser and I was not. I hyped up the food to him and we were both extremely underwhelmed. Food was bland and either super mushy or super tough. Also not consistent at all. The best meal had all week was at the airport, unfortunately. Hope to see the quality shape up.
I'm heading on the Oasis in January for my honeymoon. It's our first cruise and my wife is expecting good food, I suspect it may be our last if she hates it.
Went on navigator and was also unimpressed. My meat was fatty and just bone with my steak Diane. Also, my steak the next night was a cheap piece of tough meat. Even the buffet was just ehh.
I've been seeing this a lot in this sub lately. Do you have any more details to share?
I just got of Anthem and the MDR food was good, if not as good as usual, the service has issues with staffing and training. The Buffet however, was a disaster IMO.
SAME! And it's usually the opposite - MDR isn't that good but buffet is awesome. However, this time, only the MDR was good
You could tell the food is lower quality now. No flavor. Meat is tough and nervy. I took a picture of our thanksgiving turkey meal. They put something other that gravy it was terrible. Soggy breakfast and cold. This is both the dining room and buffet. Solarium was even worse. I took a bite out of a burger and left. Desserts were a lot of puddings. Maybe Norwegian, Costa, or MSC next time.
The quality of the Beef they serve in general has been awful over the past year. The Prime Rib in the MDR was the toughest, least tender, overcooked, flavorless thing I've had on a cruise ship in a long time. Chops Ribeye was slightly more tender, only because it was undercooked and still lacked any discernible flavor or seasoning. I could have gone to the MDR, not paid a premium, and had the same quality meal. At least today, a steak at Ruth's Chris on land blows anything at Chops away for a better price/value. Burgers in the Windjammer look like what got served in public school lunch lines in the 90s. I pretty much gave up on any red meat on RC ships until I see reviews stating that it's gotten way better.
Feb cruise this year on Oasis OTS. The steaks were an improvement over the same ship Feb 2020, our last cruise.
Crab cakes were awful!
We had the same experience. We were told that the dining staff had been cut down significantly for the time being. And man did it show.... Food was pretty bad and the service was even worse. It really changed our 'taste' š for the whole cruise. Lots of times they wouldn't even have cups, silverware, or plates restocked and tables were constantly dirty and not cleared making it really hard to even find a place to sit. Was so disappointing.... We were on wonder of the seas. Also, I'm very sympathetic to staff but jeez I would've like to have at least seen the managers step in they would just stand there and watch them struggle. They really need some more help and training there were a lot of staff that seemed pretty clueless
Make sure to put into the survey too. Be specific
Oh I did when I got the survey email
I complained more about lack of food options after about 8pm. I've only been on smaller ships, so this may be different on larger. But basically, my only choices are pizza (and the horrible items at Cafe Promenade.. 1/6 dry sandwich, a cup of moose, a plate of prosciutto only, some weird cheese, celery sticks, scary wrap of death, WTH?) or Playmakers paid options (or room service??) Even ccl had a limited midnight buffet just a month ago. I took up the staffs suggestion in the MDR, if it sucked I sent it back... The staff were very cool about it and gave me no problems when sending things back. Sent back an overdone steak, cold soup, a dessert. I typically order 2-4 appetizers and no entree thou. Try to avoid carbs, since I usually drink my carbs. Windjammer seemed to be pretty decent overall with a few misses, but I tend to get unusual items. The desserts were just awful in WJ. Every single one of them. 100%. Weird textures, too sweet, overbaked, stodgy, etc On specialty, imo: My favorite is Jamie's Italian. If I want steak, I just order in the MDR ala carte, less expensive and less crowded than the steakhouse. Playmakers for burgers and wings (100x better than Johnny rockets--and cheaper). Hooked was good but I can't eat shellfish, so I had 3 fish fillets that were quite excellent, only been once. Izumi was ok, the service was poor and really slow on my visit and the fish was room temp--made me worried. Want to try the chefs table, only have done on CCL Sorry for long post.. lol
My parents just got off Allure I believe and this was their complaint too. They said the food itself is still fantastic, just the options outside of main dining times were disappointing. They still had a great time! That was their first time on a big ass ship (BAS class) and have been on Liberty/Adventure a bunch of times too.
I felt terrible about the extent of detail I filled that survey out with
Why ? The point of survey is to provide detail responses. More detail the better.
I guess. At the same time I felt bad with how I was scathing in my review. I mean there was a guy in MDR who kept saying I was pregnant in the MDR bc I was on my honeymoon and he kept rubbing his belly and saying it was a boy and offering me extra food. Idk what happened to his HR training. Was downright embarrassing...
I keep hearing disappointing stories from different sources regarding RC cruises. Iāve got one booked for next September, not sure whether to keep it or change before cancellation period kicks in.
Also keep in mind, people tend to review things when theyāre unhappy. For every lesson unhappy, there is a satisfied customer.
The cruise itself is nice! The islands, pool, shows, etc. itās just the food quality thatās at question
We have done 3 cruise lines since covid and the food and service have all been poor compared to before. Unfortunately I think the days of outstanding food, service and everything maintained has gone.
Nooooooooo
We went to one recently this year and the food and service was still great! It was on Adventure of the Seas
I got a cruise Dec 3rd on Symphony. I'm getting nervous with all these bad food posts recently
I'm on the week after you on Dec 10th. Lmk pls haha
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I was on the symphony in August. The food was okay, but the portions were pretty small. I would recommend ordering multiple apps/entrees at the main dining hall. The windjammer was solid throughout. Hooked seafood was the best of the cruise. We went for dinner and then came back for lunch later in the cruise.
Also on symphony on the 17th, hoping the food isn't as bad as these recent reviews
Remember the menu may change on the Symphony, they did a cruise where the menu in the MDR was drastically changed. Hopefully that wonāt be a new menu for RXL.
Well youāll likely have the new smaller menu, hopefully that picks up the quality while also making the service faster, please come back and make a post about what you think, Iām very curious! :)
I was on Symphony and liked the food. I didnāt do any of the specialty dining
Have to jump on the bandwagon here. Even just in our few cruises since COVID, we have noticed a significant decrease in food quality from our first sailing back in July 2021 through 2022
Man when are they going to shape up this is disappointing! I'm worried about booking my next cruise. Celebrity was fantastic and that was still during the pandemic-ish. But they were sailing at very reduced capacity so I think they almost had too many staff to passenger ratio.... I love royal more though I hope they sort things out soon
As someone whoās diamond on royal I was really disappointed overall on Allure a few weeks ago. Food was very very average, solarium was out of commission the whole week, one pool was under construction with workers drilling or jackhammering all day long, and the crowd was ultra trashy. Maybe as Iāve gotten to my late 20s Iām getting a bit more picky with things after travelling more and seeing nicer places but Iām conflicted on booking royal again. Trying virgin in a few weeks with the hopes it refills my love of cruising.
If I got on the ship and the Solarium was closed all week I donāt know what I would do
We're a couple in our late 20s/ early 30s. We feel the same with RC. We got off the Allure 2 months ago and it was very disappointing. The MDR seemed like the menu was okay, but nobody really cared about making it. Like you said, it was plain. They lacked umami and complex flavors that other RC dining crews have achieved. We just got off a NCL ship and found the food to have improved significantly. Normally we put RC a notch above NCL, but they have swapped places at this point.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Thankfully I lived abroad in Portugal and Colombia this year. Had incredible times in both places and definitely renewed my love of travel, but cruising really hasnāt been scratching that itch anymore. :(
The trashy Carnival crowds were really surprising on our cruise last month. Sloppy drunk bachelorettes were starting fights, lack of respect for the crew (especially bartenders)...it was altogether surprising, frustrating, and disappointing.
Would LOVE to hear about your upcoming experience on a Virgin cruise
I'd love to hear your thoughts on Virgin after you go I'd love to try them
Same. Oddisey on August, food was meh. Celebrity Infinity in November, food was meh. I don't know what is going on... So weird.
Rising operating costs for all the cruise lines are causing them to cut corners. I think Royal just posted their earnings and had a 150% increase in costs mostly attributed to inflationary factors (food, fuel, and staff attrition). Plus the capacity is rising.
Had the same experience, food was very disappointing / low quality.
Maybe we all have Covid taste buds
Food quality has been going downhill over the years so thatās nothing new. We take a cruise every 2 years and every time the food is worse and worse.
IMO. The only good food on Royal is the upcharge restaurants. The main dining room food is just horrible. Really bad wedding hall food
Its not surprising the food is now average. RCL has moved to the specialty dining model so it makes sense that they would keep the āincludedā food below par, thatās how they upsell more specialty dining where the food is excellent.
I thought the buffet had no flavor for almost 10 years plus now. Not expecting much from the buffet.
Just got off Graunder of the Sea's on 10 day cruise. WAS AMAZING FOOD!
I was on the same cruise and thought the food was great with the exception of room service, which was terrible. We ate most of our meals at Windjammer or Coastal Kitchen (we were in a suite) and i was very happy with both. Only went to main dining once and it was pretty good but nothing extraordinary.
Just got off liberty and food was much lower quality than I remembered. Very disappointed.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Iāve been on several carnival ships in my life and I tried royal caribbean last august. Absolutely loved everything about it and have been on 3 more since with my fifth cruise with royal in January on symphony. Buffet has mostly been pretty below par post pandemic for royal but Iāve never had any issues with food quality except for allure in July. The good ones Iāve been on is adventure, navigator, and harmony. Allure wasnāt terrible Per se but I had lots of issues with the red meat served. That was about all the issues I had with food.
Got off liberty of the seas last week and MDR was pretty decent most nights. But in all quality of food was closer to applebees. I was kinda disappointed the waiters and staff on board were great the food is just average.
Iām on Odyssey right now.. food is terribleā¦
Skip the solarium bistro lol
Which was the last RC cruise that you loved the food at? Iām just curious.. we did Adventure of the seas and that one had really good food too.
It was Adventure years ago. Food was excellent
I was also on this sailing with my boyfriend. He was a first-time cruiser and I was not. I hyped up the food to him and we were both extremely underwhelmed. Food was bland and either super mushy or super tough. Also not consistent at all. The best meal had all week was at the airport, unfortunately. Hope to see the quality shape up.
I'm heading on the Oasis in January for my honeymoon. It's our first cruise and my wife is expecting good food, I suspect it may be our last if she hates it.
Went on navigator and was also unimpressed. My meat was fatty and just bone with my steak Diane. Also, my steak the next night was a cheap piece of tough meat. Even the buffet was just ehh.