Has the QUALITY of the food "Slipped A Little" in the Main Dining Room? - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

LuLu · 11-14-2008, 10:53 PM

On the most popular Mass Market Cruise Lines -- RCCL, Princess, HAL, Celebrity, Carnival, NCL, etc. -- Do you feel the quality of the food has "Slipped a Little" in the past few years in the Main Dining Rooms?

nanabanana · 11-14-2008, 11:06 PM

My first Celebrity cruise was in 1998 and my most recent one was in 2007. Honestly I don't see what others are seeing as a decline in food quality.

With Princess however I think it depends on what ship you're on. Sapphire had awesome food both in the dining room and Horizon Court but on the Sea Princess their food was OK and the desserts weren't as tasty as they looked.

hanna · 11-14-2008, 11:58 PM

We have noticed that on RC that the choices aren't what they used to be.
The quality is still good IMHO. Certainly better than what I can whip up at home

cruisin' chick · 11-15-2008, 01:33 AM

Since I'm not a foodie, and I rather eat someone else's cooking... I'll have to see on my next cruise, whenever that is. My concern is if there's fewer choices offered on the menu as I'm a picky eater.

bgsimp · 11-15-2008, 10:24 AM

First of all, if I don't have to cook it, it's all good.

I have noticed the choices are not as good on RCL as they used to be. The food is good, but I think they are offering less expensive meals. More turkey & chicken.
We haven't been on Celebrity in 2 years & I keep hearing everyone talking about how bad the food is now compared to what it used to be. We have been on 17 Celebrity cruises & I was never disappointed. We are booked on the Solstice Inaugural so I shall see.

Blizzard · 11-15-2008, 01:00 PM

I think that overall there has been a switch to lower cost meals.

Are we judging it by what is being served or the quality of how it is being served?

There have been a lot of changes since we started cruising but I am not sure when much of it happened.

smitty · 11-15-2008, 01:15 PM

it's difficult for me to answer this question. i would personally say that the overall food standard was good rather than very good or excellent.

LuLu · 11-18-2008, 10:23 PM

Actually, in the main dining rooms it's the quality of the BEEF that seems to "Slipped" and more than a little!

Cruise Planner · 11-19-2008, 02:35 AM

Personally, I've noticed a slip in the quality on RCCL more than others - this has been confirmed by several of my clients who have commented about the decline. I think Carnival has actually improved slightly over the last several years, while the "upscale" lines of Holland America and Celebrity have also decline somewhat.

We're going on the Disney Magic in December, so we're looking forward to trying them and seeing how they fare compare to the others.

I think the economy has had an impact on the cruise industry and this is reflected in the declining quality of food - of course, this is just my personal opinion, but it's reinforced by the comments I've been receiving from my clients.

It also appears that at least in the case of RCCL, they are spending so much time and energy building the latest and greatest ships, that they are not paying attention to what got them there in the first place; good food and good service. Unfortunately, they seem to be slipping in the food quality.

Pete

tipsyq · 11-19-2008, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bgsimp

First of all, if I don't have to cook it, it's all good.

I have noticed the choices are not as good on RCL as they used to be. The food is good, but I think they are offering less expensive meals. More turkey & chicken.
We haven't been on Celebrity in 2 years & I keep hearing everyone talking about how bad the food is now compared to what it used to be. We have been on 17 Celebrity cruises & I was never disappointed. We are booked on the Solstice Inaugural so I shall see.

Have a wonderful cruise next week and happy anniversary !!