We tried Royal Caribbean's new Main Dining Room Menus
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- Опубліковано 23 січ 2023
- Our team had the opportunity to try Royal Caribbean's new Main Dining Room menus to see how the new menus compared to previous dining experiences onboard Royal Caribbean ships, and here’s what you should know!
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I personally like the regular length of the meal, for someone who’s not dragging down a 6 digit income it’s nice to feel pampered and have 5 star ⭐️ quality food in a Un rushed plush atmosphere
Exactly! Agreed 🙌
So basically The MDR menu dropped higher price dishes like duck, seafood and rack of lamb for cheaper pasta, VG and GF dishes. After watching this video, we purchased the Unlimited Dining Package for our upcoming RC cruise. Now we can eat all the seafood, meat and lamb dishes we want. I am not knocking the new menu but to say it is better or the same would be a lie. I believe RC saying this new menu will shorten one dinning time is just a way to detract from the real reason which is to save the cruise line money.
Or to get people to buy the specialty dining packages…point proven!!
We must be a very lucky couple, never had any issues with our meals onboard Royal, never had a cold meal, and on Freedom of the seas, we were in and out in less than an hour, excellent service!
I had a couple. But I didn't let it get to me and get angry. Stuff happens. And to me it happens often when I eat anywhere XD
Limited choice to reduce costs. They cut some terrific dishes, like soufflés.
Souffles, specifically, take a longer time and need to be served immediately. You might be right about the costs, but your example is more about the timing.
@@BrianAlt Time is a cost. But the reason you cruise is for the different food. I can get fried chicken anywhere, so why would I order it on a cruise?
That’s exactly what’s happening! It’s a total insult as fares are higher. They’re just taking buffet items and ingredients and serving them in the MDR to cut costs, obviously.
If you are that worried about meal length, go to the buffet.
Honestly, I was at three Royal Caribbean cruises last year and yes, they needed a change. Of course that the timing excuse is a lame excuse and taking away the New York steak (al least for me) is not good at all. I did specialty dining on one of my cruises last year (unlimited) and it was amazing. I hope the new menu is not bad since I always ended up getting the New York steak and something different every night since most of the meny was kind of mediocre, so having something you liked every night was good. It'll be interesting to see what the new menu will feel like without the classics.
They still have N😊ew York strip steak! Yea
I love the long, relaxing dinners. It makes me feel pampered!
That's why we choose early dining. If we want more later on, buffet will still be open
Are the buffets clean?
We just got off Harmony on Saturday and we were the first sailing to have the new menu on that ship. The time we had to wait for our food never seemed to be an issue. Usually got there around 745pm and we’re done eating around 9pm. Some nights did seem to take a while to get our dessert, but we weren’t in a hurry. The only night we all did not enjoy any of our food was Italian night. The food was quite bland and cold. Every other night was great. My daughter has allergies to dairy and egg and every night she got a new dessert option (vegan), which was a welcomed surprise as we did not have that on Independence last year. Overall, it’s food and I’m happy to be eating on a cruise ship. 😊
The primary complaints about the length of the meal I believe came from the OASIS class ships where everyone has to schedule their entertainment. This was never a problem on the other classes. On the Oasis class, Our waiters would ask us if we had a show scheduled and we would get fed quickly if we did. Otherwise Dinner could go two hours or more. Just one MORE reason why I don't cruise on Oasis class ships anymore.
Taking away six steady choices, that are always there for you every night, is NOT an upgrade, it's a downgrade. And everyone that says the new menus look great, is missing the big picture. They used to have a great menu but always had the six additional classic choices in case it was a off night for you (menu wise) with the choices they offered. Those choices are gone. More choices and selections are always better to have. So this is a big downgrade. And it's going to cause some, not all, people to start considering other cruise lines. Their entertainment is head and shoulders above other cruise lines. If it wasn't for that, they wouldn't be getting away with what they're doing in the MDR
Agreed 100%. In practice, I didn’t like the new menus. I ❤️ my French onion soup. I look forward to it on Royal. What a disappointment.
sure did, had at least 2 more classic choices i would like
I understand those steady choices because I used them a couple of times on our cruise. However, you don't have to eat in the MDR. There are other included places. Also, a changing menu is actually very traditional to cruising as that's how it was when cruising first started when you didn't really have choices. Personally, if it means that there is less time waiting on my food then I'm fine. You can still have your soup on the night it is on the menu. After looking at the menus, I already know which nights I will find a different place to eat on my next sailing.
@@mrs.thomas-usmcwife5686 yes, you can eat at the buffet, I guess. But as a mom of four, buffets are about the least relaxing meal imaginable. 😂
Anyway, the point really isn’t that there are still other options. The point is that there was a great system in place that we came to look forward to over years and years and years and now it’s gone. That system was reliable. It was quite literally part of the reason my family chose Royal over other lines - because the dining room was guaranteed to have certain items every night in a range that would make all of my kids happy. Now they don’t. There’s no way around that, unfortunately. They used to offer something valuable to my family. Now they don’t. It’s not the end of the world. But it also wasn’t replaced with something of equal utility or value and that’s not nothing for loyal cruisers. That’s all.
@@jahbern I'm with you! And good response! I'm the one that started this particular thread months ago. And I'm glad to see people still responding to it. If you want to have your French onion soup every night, you should be able to, like it used to be! We shouldn't have to pay more money to go to the specialty restaurants. And who wants to go back to the windjammer in the evening when you've already been there for breakfast and lunch. (Although there was one night that I ended up doing just that after previewing what the next evening's new menu was going to be). I never had to look at the menu ahead of time before.
And as far as the response to the other person you were responding to, we shouldn't have to work around the new menus of the MDR to see if we want to eat there that night. Rather, we should be able to go into the MDR knowing that we will have our options just in case we don't like what's on the menu that night. They should be working to please us, not us working to please them. That's why it's called a vacation
What I have always remembered about MDR dining is that the bigger the table, the longer the service. "Earlier" in my cruise life, my wife & I, sometimes with my sister or kids/Gkids, would always sit at bigger tables to get the chance to meet other cruisers. We enjoyed this, but also noticed how quickly smaller tables were served. In our last 6 cruises, we have chosen to eat alone.
hey! i am going away on Oasis in a few months in a total of 4 people and we really want to make sure it is just us. How did you choose to sit alone?
@@user-ff3zr8ws3t First of all, I hope you have a great time. Oasis class ships are my favorite, bar none. The fact that there are four of you, you should have no issues being assigned a 4-top. Plenty of those around. When you board, go to the dining room you're assigned to, to verify the seating arrangements. If it is not a 4-top, go to wherever dinner reservations/seating assignments are being made and have them change it, if possible. It may take one night, but it should be no problem (unless every bed on the ship is full). When my wife and I last sailed RC, on Ovation OTS in Alaska May 2022, we were sat with two other women on a 4-top. They had to wait two days to be able to sit with friends because they didn't link the reservations. NO BIGGIE! The second night we found out that we were actually next-door cabin neighbors.
@@ericmanner8546 okay great, thank you so much for your help! We have anytime dining and made reservations for those nights for 4 people, do you think that should be enough to get us a table alone?
Funny .. the problem I see when table for 2 one is food regularly gets to you colder, since the weightier has your food standing there while serving other small tables.. maybe its faster but when its a big table all the food in his cart/tray is for your table so food is warmer...
@@roxhansen I can deal with that stuff later. I just want to make sure my party of 4 will be just us together, and nothing else matters lol
On the first night of MDR dinner, I ordered a second entree for my table to share. I was informed that they will bring it out AFTER I’m done with the first entree. That just prolonged dinner service and was in no way time efficient. All of the wait staff seemed to be rushing back and forth. It was a different vibe and very unenjoyable.
Also, currently on a 5-night sailing on adventure of the seas… No lobster nor braised short ribs (my favorite) are being served. Quality of the MDR foods have gone down hill and we plan to just eat at the buffet for the rest of the trip. And also look at other cruise lines.
I had the same issue on my cruise which I just returned from Sunday. When wanting to try a second entree they told me I couldn't have them at the same time. This makes no sense to me especially if they are trying to shorten the time of the meal and my eating companions didn't order a second entree so they had to wait while they brought me a second dish just to try . Just a terrible approach to thing and to top it all off after being told by the head waiter that quality was the reason they did that both dished were served luke warm.
@@koxler75 I honestly think they’re trying to discourage the practice which is fine because we never came back after the first night. Then, our waiter found us having lunch at the buffet on the 5th day and asked us why we haven’t been back lol. I don’t blame him though. It’s just not the same which is just disappointing.
@@koxler75 I had the same experience was on AOS zone week ago when my son and husband requested something else
Thanks Matt for ur take on the new MDR service. It's unfortunate that Royal has mistakenly decided to focus on dining duration at the expense of menu quality. Got off Symphony 1/21. Our party of 6 had at least one diner each nite that didn't find a menu item they liked. We missed the old options. We found items like apple cobbler a poor replacement for the apple blossom. This cheapened down prior offerings ran through the new menu. Unrelated to the new menu, many beef dishes lately have been stringy poorer quality or poorly trimmed. MDR meals had always been a leisurely experience with good food, good conversation and quality atmosphere.
Tom I feel the same, the MDR is about the experience and the food. I hope this doesn't fall back to hurt the wait staff that try so hard to make it a memorable experience for us. That is how the staff often earn extra tips that they depend on. Some loyal to Royal will move on to always booking speciality restaurants which is just another win for the big dogs. They soon hope this new dinning experience and menu will just become an accepted replacement. NOT!
No apple blossom, 😦!
Great info Matt, as always.
We just finished a 17 night b2b on Oasis OTS this past Sunday. The new MDR menus is now geared to theme nights... which is not a bad idea. My thoughts after eating in the MDR for 6 of the 17 nights and the portions are smaller. The speciality dining is still amazing and the amount of food you get is huge!
You must have done everything onboard for 17 nights! Oasis was our only cruise and loved it! Since August I’ve been craving for another cruise. We ate twice in the MDR and it took about an hour and a half to close to two hours for a group of 7. The first day the line was ridiculously long so we didn’t get in. The rest was buffet. Izumi was booked. Chops we decided not to book last minute. What was your itinerary for your b2b cruises?
Cruised on the Allure, Oasis, and Symphony. Loved the main dining room menu with the Classics. Are going on the Wonder soon and we are DEFINITELY disappointed about the new menu. There is no question that this is a cost-saving change, and not for the better. RCL has better MDR choices and quality than Norwegian and Celebrity, which we cruised on both the last 2 years. If this ends up being a disappointment we will stop cruising on RCL. Besides the entertainment, the food is a major reason to choose a ship and or a cruise line. I think that you will see RCL change back or lose devoted customers. It's really a cheap menu. Especially Caribbean and Mexican nights. Very bad.
I've seen a lot of people say that Carnival's food is better then Royal is after the change. I booked with Royal because of all the raving about the great food, only for it to change less then 2 months before our sailing. Now I wish I would have booked with Carnival. I have not read any good reviews about the new food, beside from the people that think Royal can not do wrong and even they don't say it's great. They say they understand the change and the food isn't that bad, you should just be happy you aren't cooking. I have a picky son and went through the old menu to find what he liked when we booked and now the new one has nothing he will eat.
I’m on the Harmony now, and every single passenger I’ve spoken with is disappointed with the food on this ship - especially the main dining room. The “My Time Dining” is a complete joke, as it’s chaotic and feels rushed. I’m horrified by the new menu. There is no focus on quality or creativity.
Thanks for the fantastic video. We sail RCL this coming Monday. Looking forward to the new menu.
Thanks for clarifying that the time limits are based on food service and not actually how long you're there. My group normally stays in the MDR for almost 2 hours because we like to take our time eating, drinking, and talking. How long it takes for food to come out was never an issue for us.
We will be on the Symphony in a couple weeks. We looked over the new menus already (thanks for putting them on your website) and we found interesting options each night. We expect to be in the dining room 4 nights, maybe 5.
I was there on the New Years Cruise on SOTS and I constantly missed the Chef's Recommendations.
Glad they made the change and doubled up.
I'm interested in trying some of the new menu items myself. I am always adventurous with that.
I just had the old menu on the serenade and I’m looking forward to trying the new menu.
We just got off a 12 night cruise on the Enchantment. This was the first sailing with the new menus. I agree with those who have commented that it is a challenge to find an entre that sounds good. With this length of cruise, some of the menus were repeated. The worst was Mexican. On the second Mexican night, for the second seating, the MDR had to send wait staff to the Windjammer because so many people went there for dinner and the MDR was pretty empty. The pulled pork enchilada was pretty bad. In general, we felt that something was missing, including the options offered every night on the old menu. The kids menu is also shortened. We hoped that the lobster would be bigger since they charge for additional tails. Nope, same size. Our head waiter had over a page and a half of room numbers of those who did not like that item in just his section. On the positive side, we found the steaks to be tender and tasty, I liked the pork chop and the Caribbean chicken quite a lot. The deserts were better than those in the past, but I missed the fruit plate and cheese plate options. I did not notice any improvement in dining time, but for the past several cruises we have used My Time so our meal duration was already shorter.
We just got off the Enchantment a couple days ago also. Our lobster tail as a little larger then a jumbo shrimp. We agree with the Mexican night being a fail. We were shocked when MY Time Dining was taken away for the first seating, there was no warning on that. We were dumped into a table of 8. This was not our first time on that ship from that port, but they sure failed in the MDR. Our Waiter was amazing though.
Txs so much for the info.
Looks great to me I love trying new things on vacation, my hubby on the other hand is very picky when it comes to his food. We’ll see how this goes 😆
I've taken two RC this past year and was happy with the food in the Main Dining room. In some cases, on Symphony, it was on a par with some items my family and I had in the specialty restaurants, if not served as artistically on the plate.
I didn’t know about the special dietary needs email, that’s such great info! Thank you!
We leave Monday on Brilliance of the Sea & we are looking forward to these new menus! 😊
Yes we are scheduled for the Brilliance next month and wondering how they handle the menus for a shorter 4-5 day cruise.
I just returned from Wonder of the Seas and there were many people who didn’t seem to like the changes. The food in general was subpar in my opinion. For 2 meals we chose to order a vegetable pizza from Serrentos and have a beer. The Windjammer food were plentiful but cold. Italian night was not good and people were opting for the fresh Asian food bar. The lines were long but the food smelled amazing. The bread was delicious. The food at the Park Cafe was delicious. I feel like they are down grading the food and almost forcing you to eat in the specialty restaurants! I also think the food on the smaller ships is generally better.
It would make no sense for Royal to be "pushing specialty dining" by lowering the quality of the MDR. There aren't enough spaces in specialty dining for any more people to make reservations.
I agree!❤
Exactly, the only way to get decent food is specialty restaurants
@@dianej1714 And what do you think is keeping the specialty restaurants full?
I completely agree with you. We were disappointed in how bad the food quality lowered but were very pleased with Chops grill. It’s really like being forced to go to the specialty restaurants
I look forward to dining with this new menu.👀 The obvious marking of vegetarian choices is very appreciated.
Thanks for featuring this.👍🏽
I love trying new food items, my wife not so much but she looking forward to stepping out of her comfort zone on our March 2023 Oasis cruise and try some new things👍🏾
I was on the Wonder of the Seas before and after the change (Dec 31 and Jan 7 sailings) and I'm actually a big fan of Indian food. Having all of the menus combined into this one menu certainly made it much easier the second week, as my friend and I both opted for an Indian dish 4 of the 8 nights, sometimes getting two entrees so that we could have a taste of the Indian food being offered. I was against the menu changes when I first heard of it, but the variety it offered was very nice. Also, checking the menu ahead of time and selecting a specialty restaurant on nights that we didn't feel like we had as many options that we liked was good too. During the two cruises, we had Mason Jar breakfast twice and dinner once, Izumi Hibachi dinner and Giovanni's for lunch.
One thing that went away with the changes was the banana split from the kids menu. Mason Jar had a suitable banana dessert that I took every time...
Looking forward to this in October
Just came back from Odyssey, loved the new menu
I was very sad that I didn't see the mushroom soup, cheese plate or the Grand Marnier souffle anywhere. Those were my favorite items.
Thanks Matt, this report is the reason your channel is the gold standard for RCCL information.
Not hearing good things from people with allergies & special needs.
Someone with allergies was told point blank even though they went through the process of filling out forms ahead & talking with on-board staff..... "that's how it's served, nothing we can do."
They also "made substitutions" that were unable to be eaten.
As someone with SEVERE allergies, I often order items without a specific garnish or whatever.
I'd MUCH prefer a longer meal that I can actually consume, than a quick meal I have to send back & can't eat at all!
So much for the personal service RC has always given!! Our next cruise is in about 100 days, and the new menu is causing me so much stress!
I’m allergic to onions & raspberries; RC’s MDR has always taken great care of my weird allergies.
@@ClassicallyMish I'm allergic to onions and nuts. They've always treated me wonderfully. The woman who posted last night said the refused to leave onions off her son's salad. He has a severe onion allergy too. Just ridiculous. People don't realize the damage onion oils can do just TOUCHING other good for those of us who are allergic.
I have it from a good source that Royal will increase free lobster to 3. They are going to say “ we listen to our guest and adjust our policy”. It was going to be 3 all along. This makes it seem like they are giving you more. The old bait and switch.
I recall when we got a whole lobster. Some 4 ounce tails just do not impress me. Was not impressed with last week of October sailing. Go again first week of February. We shall see.
Long time cruiser here-- we enjoyed the Theme Night menus long ago and are excited to see them return. Our next cruise is in July and we are already looking forward to it. We have always preferred MDR to the specialty ones because we develop friendships with our wait staff and have found that by day 3 or 4 they kind of know what we like in terms of bread options or drink choices. And there is nothing better than having a former waiter turned Head Waiter recognize us on a later cruise on a completely different ship and get extra special treatment as a result. Yes it really happened and we don't cruise that much.
We just got off the Enchantment of the seas on Thursday. There is also no comment on your video about them dropping "My Time Dining". You are now welcome to only do My Time Dining as long as you don't go till after 7:30pm! Then Lobster night was such a disappointment. It said they were suppose to be Maine Lobster, and the thing that showed up was a little larger then a jumbo shrimp. I am assuming (I hope) they are just getting rid of the old stock. But don't change what the menu says till the food is changed. Also I am not a picky eater, but there were a couple nights (12 night cruise) that it was tough to chose an appetizer and Main. I agree with other peoples comments this is just a push to get people to go to the specialty restaurants. And that ship only has 1 very small specialty restaurant. The service was no faster then before. There was so much complaining on the ship between passengers in the lounges after dinner about the food changes. We have traveled with a few different lines over the years, and always found the food quality in the MDR was the similar from one cruise line to the other. However we were very disappointed this time and we had been on this ship since Covid return so we know they can do better. We are taking a step back and deciding of we are done with Royal C.
Just did a 6 day cruise on the Harmony of the Seas (my first cruise ever) and ate at the MDR as a big family every night. Portions were small and my brother in law really missed the unlimited lobster, but food was decent and our service was top notch.
We just came off a 10 day cruise on Oasis of the Seas. On lobster tail night we ordered a tail as a side, not our main meal. Within in 5 minutes the server came over and placed 2, yes 2, more tails per person on our plates! No added charge. All the food in the MDR was superb. We ate in specialty restaurants 3 nights and really enjoy those too.
We loved our first experience on Royal and dining. We ate in the dining room every night of the 4-day cruise, except for the special anniversary dinner my husband treated me to at Chops (lamb chops....yum!). I'm not sure about the changes, we'll have to see in May when we do for dining.
My two RCL cruises have been transatlantic. As a non-drinker solo traveler in an inside cabin, my fares have been very reasonable and I bought the unlimited package both times. I did not enjoy the MDR the few times I dined there, and this was before the new menus. I've never had a problem getting a table at the specialty restaurants. I also found dinner at Windjammer was pretty good a few times when I didn't want a heavier meal.
Just got off a Symphony OTS cruise on Saturday (probably the one this video was on) and we thought the new menus were great and the speed of service was excellent. No complaints whatsoever.
Just returned from Harmony of the seas last week.
Last minute i found out they had the new menus, it was never updated in the app.
Very disappointed in the selections. I'm not a seafood eater. I was limited some nights to only a few entrees that were sub par.
The appetizers were limited as well. Even asked on the first night for a plain salad, as I'm not a ceasars fan, and was told they couldn't make one.
I'm not a lobster eater but my wife is. She ended up ordering two different entrees because the one lobster was not that big, and she didn't think it was worth it for 16.99 for another.
All our meals we had the early dining, and were after everything were walking out after 7 every night, so not sure how anything was any faster.
This was my first cruise in about 15 years and not sure I'll be returning to royal caribbean. May have to try and compare other cruise lines.
The refusal to make a plain salad is the most disturbing part of your review. Even fast food restaurants allow you to customize your order. Very dissapointing
Great video ❤❤❤❤
We were just on Wonder last week with the new menu. as a picky eater, I was a littler nervous. However, I had numerous options each night. to be honest, had I not developed a shellfish allergy since my last cruise (4 years ago), I would have had more options available to me. Also, the french onion soup that had been a staple on the menu every night before the change was on the menu almost every night as was the steak so they kind of kept a few of the alternatives that were available every night. the food wasn't the very best but the presentation was very nice and everything tasted good. One complaint by my wife and another woman at our table was the lack of fresh fruit available. that used to be available every night and the head waiter did provide a bowl of fruit cocktail nightly to us but we expected more than cut up melons. my wife was hoping for berries each night but there was not a strawberry to be had. I don't know if they were short on strawberries but they never said that. they just said they were not available at dinner. all in all, i think the time spent in the main dining room along with the food options and taste from the new menu are a plus and shouldn't cause anyone to not want to go.
I have to book another cruise on Royal very soon so I can try this new menu.
I think I would love the rotating theme nights.
On our Wonder of the Seas October 2022 sailing, we each only had one lobster tail because it's so rich. And there appeared to be so many leftovers that multiple waiters came by to offer us more tails even though we were full. So it seems like not as many people were eating many tails as they have in the past. I don't blame them for wanting to cut back on that waste.
Thank you so much for the information. I really love the MDR, but since I booked the Specialty Restaurants, I rarely go to the MDR. This has piqued my interest to try it again. Thanks again!
My fav on the menu is the Tagliatelle…. I wish they would serve it on the shorter cruises. Don’t think kids are going to like these selections. But I will find out how I feel about it in September. The Mediterranean night looks like a good night to do your specialty dining. 😊
My cousin and I just got off Grandeur on Monday and it had the new menu. Our cruise was 9 nights so we had 2 Mexican nights and 1 British night. It was a bit screwed up as we were asked to dress up Caribbean style on British night (day after Caribbean night) and our second formal night was the day after Royal night. My cousin has sailed many times before while it was my first time. She said that the food was not up to par with Wonder and other ships she was on last year. Plus, they had a lot of trouble cooking her steaks to medium (never cooked enough on the first try). I found ended up eating spaghetti from the kids menu because nothing on the menu sounded appetizing that night. We were also fortunate to go to Chops one night.
My wife and I tried the new menu last week. Mexican night was both of our favorites on the cruise.
Did you have the spaghetti?
Good to hear!
Never been on a RC cruise but will be in November on the Harmony. Looking forward to the food in the main dining room as well as some of the specialty dining. Will need to decide which nights we do and don't want to be in the MDR. Or maybe I'll just do both. :)
What I've done in the past is schedule my specialty dining around my regular MDR seating time so that I an get both in. LOL I am a glutton.
I sail in March. I for one am excited for the changes. I did not plan any specialty dining for dinners as I can find something I will like every night. I am however trying the Mason jar for embarkation day brunch.
Hi, Matt! Thanks so much for this information. You did a stellar job as usual! I am looking forward to some of the themed meals even though I’ll miss my second lobster. 😮We’ll be on Freedom in March going to Coco Cay; afterwards, we will become “Diamonds!”🎉
Thanks for watching!
@@RoyalCaribbeanBlog You’re welcome!🚢
On the Symphany now. Day 4. Love the themed night. Added a bunch of new items. The speed of food coming out wasn't any faster than the old menu.
This could translate to:
We got the same service with fewer staff
Devil's advocate and all that. 😁
Having sailed with RC a few months ago the new menu's look appealing but there's no mention of the taste of the food. I was thoroughly disappointed in many MDR meals and the taste. Bland, bitter, overcooked and that was my starters on day one. Then Tatar tots with prime rib????? Many around us complained about the same things. So I hope that the new food menu's also improved on the quality and taste of these meals!!
My first cruise was done during the time they were sailing at half or less capacity. I was told there were more employees than customers on the Mariner.
Food was amazing and took no time at all.
I’m kind of interested to see what it’s like at full capacity this July.
We were on symphony of the seas in december. Nothing we had was hot. Everything was luke warm at best.
The changes look good to me
Just got off voyager Sunday and they still had the old menus. I was hoping for the new ones to see the changes
I’m going on my cruise today. I will see if we have the new menu on this sailing.
I’m excited!! we can tell who is “old minded” cause change seems to put fear into some
Actually these theme nights were the norm in the 90s. What I want back is quality. Royal had a huge focus and push with food around 15 years ago, top of the line chefs, etc. Now especially after Covid I think the lost all the chefs.
I'm looking forward to the Italian and Mediterranean nights
Okay! I'm officially hungry Matt! Thanks!!! 🙂
I’m going on a RC cruise in a few days. I see some negative comments about the new menu, but it seems like the most common complaint is the difficulty in finding something you might like… But after looking over the menu every night looks like it has multiple tasty options. It all looks good I don’t see the problem.
Just got off Liberty of the Seas. They had a quasi version of the new menus with chefs recommendations at the top, but not really "themed." But they told us on day 1 that there was no more kids pizza on the kids menu, even though it was still listed on the iPhone App menu. That was a pretty big hit for out picky eater kids. Sorentos was a 30min line every dinner time so our kids ate chicken tenders and fries 3 nights in a row. And they don't really eat fries. So we had to fill them up at breakfast and lunch.
In general the was at best a C when I compare to the 5 Disney cruises I've been on. The best things I ate were the french onion soup, the beef tenderloin, and the CoCo Cay Carnitas taco bar. The MDR Cod fried fish was good, the blueberry muffin, nacho bar and MTO omelets at the buffet were good. Nothing else is worth even mentioning. Can we talk about how there is NOTHING to eat from 11-1130am? Only room service or the hand sandwiches at the Promenade cafe are available from 11-1130 while they tear down breakfast and put up lunch.
Currently on a cruise onboard Oasis of the Seas with the new menus, and I have no problem with it. My stepdad however, is not happy with the menus since he usually gets the shrimp cocktail for an appetizer and Royal Cheesecake for dessert every night at dinner and is upset that it’s only around for 2 nights of the cruise.
I have always enjoyed the main dinning room menus and then something happened. I found out that they often offer an Indian food menu on most of the sailings I have done since finding out about it at no additional cost. Apps, mains and dessert totally different than the regular menu.
I have not had the chance to sail since the start of covid, all of my sailings have been canceled for one reason or another. This May I have back to back cruises in Alaska and will be asking about the Indian menus again. Fingers crossed!
Taking my first cruise in 20 years this June. I will miss the showmanship when dessert is served. I remember the flaming baked Alaska and flaming cherries jubilee.
Oh I miss those days!
Exited to go on my first cruise this summer on Allure of the Seas. New York still included as a selection. Was bummed to see our sample menu did not have the lobster tail listed instead under Premium Selection a whole lobster is $30, also under it is Filet Mignon from Chops $17 and Surf & Turf for $35.
Our extended family got back off of wonder of the seas two weeks ago now, and we definitely had mixed reviews of the MDR. That MDR did feel faster. The SERVICE WAS FANTASTIC! Quality was about the same. I noticed many times when our group was less than pleased with the food but generally, it was pretty good. My personal biggest complaint was actually from Mexican night. Enchiladas are not made, generally, with FLOUR tortillas. There was a noted lack of salsa and spice. Most everything was bland and pretty colorless, which is the opposite of what Mexican food usually is. I have never seen tofu tacos although I do get it’s a vegetarian option. I agree the warm chocolate chip cookie was a huge hit and probably the best dessert at the cruise.
We were on Radiance OTS in early January and the entrees definitely seemed familiar. Seems like maybe they were testing them. We did order the strip steak one night and to be honest it was one of the better steaks I've had in the MDR. I'm a little disappointed they are getting away from the classics as I am one of those picky, texture-based eater and one of the reasons we pick RCCL over other lines is the traditional, assigned seating dining- I can guarantee we eat together as a family each night.
But the menus look really good and there's not really a single night I could say I wouldn't eat something from each course. Also, as you've said RCCL is fantastic about special requests or swapping out ingredients (ranch dressing on a "Caesar salad", or no mussels in the seafood linguine on our last cruise, for example).
Just off the Harmony. I cruise Royal 12/15 times a year and have always told friends about the great menu. I’m sorry to say that’s not the case now. Limited choices, change in recipes and portions. The carrot cake was decreased to 2 layers and the tiramisu was like a coffee flavored pudding. The apple tart was missing altogether. I don’t care about the limited lobsters but the tail was only 2/3 oz each. I agree the Mediterranean night was my least favorite, I’ll be in the lido for that one. I’m on vacation so the length of the meal was not a problem but when you’re sitting at a table for 10 there is no option for faster service.
OK, Enough is enough---2-3 oz lobster tails??? Shame on them.
Mine was about 2 ozs also got of AOS a week ago my least favorite nights were Mediterranean and Mexican
I am disappointed the Escargot is not offered every night...this is a cruise treat that I look forward too each cruise.
As you pointed out, if you wanted faster service, you could ask for it. People who complained about slowness have themselves to blame by not alerting their wait staff to wanting it faster and now dinner will cater to them and not people who want to relax during their meal. Guess I'll have to now take the opposite approach and tell them I /don't/ want to rush through my meal.
MDR meals are all.precooked and plated. Delays are usually server disorganisation as they just go get them and take to table. They dont wait. Itsbgrab and go.
Granted, my husband and I always sit at a private table for 2, so dinner in the MDR does not take very long at all. I think they should offer at least two complimentary lobster tails, and I really miss my favorite--the rack of lamb. Frankly, I don't see how changing the menus makes service faster. Each person will still eat the same number of dishes, regardless of what they are, so how is that any faster?
Wow. A quarter come out cold?!? That is a lot!! And the thing she liked best were a cookie, a soup, and an appetizer. No entrees.
This is our first cruise or for some of us our first cruise in forever. Our family of seven will be upgrading for specialty dining and likely will be opting for a land vacation after this.
My husband and I just got off the Harmony of the Seas a few days ago, and dined in the Main Dining room most nights. I rather enjoyed the change in menu with the theme nights My husband and I found something on the menu we enjoyed each night. Sometimes the wait for the food was a bit slow, but overall we got out pretty quick, which was great so we could get to our booked shows. The thing I did notice was that they never offered us coffee at the end of dinner on any of the nights, which might explain some of the new shortened time they save. They had sugar on the table so they obviously have it, and we could have asked, but we opted to walk around after and get one in the Promenade later, where we'd sit and watch the goings on. The one night they had surf and turf for $34.99 on the menu, but my hubby chose a lobster entree and a steak entree, making his own surf and turf for free.
I am on the Mariner of the seas with my wife for our honeymoon. We are both enjoying the food and the service.
Glad to hear it!
Just returned off an 8 day on Odessey. Excellent service but very chaotic at times. We were not worried about time but that aside, we were not big fans of the selections on new menu. Lobster tails were small on royal night and a lot of our food throughout was not hot. Definitely need another classic option besides strip steak which was hit or miss and usually low quality. All in all I think they need to polish it up a bit 6 out of 10 for us.
I don’t get the complaints about length of dinner. When we go to a nice restaurant we expect to spend that long. If we want quick in and out we go to a different type restaurant. This is the one time of day our entire group schedules time together and we always enjoy it.
We cruised on Allure a few weeks ago. Food was very good. Most memorable dish for me was a vegetable pot pie at brunch following a galley tour. I’m not a vegetarian but I fell in love with this dish and would definitely order it again.
Note: a member of our group has Celiac Disease. At every food venue we visited the staff went far beyond expectations to accommodate gluten-free requirements. What they offered was delicious.
My thoughts exactly! It's like these people don't realize they're on vacation.
We just finished up a 7 Night cruise on Wonder on 1-15-23. We did not care for the new menus at all. Overall, it felt lower quality, and the service was not as good either. Specifically after 2 nights in the main dining we cancelled our remaining two reservations and booked the rest of the cruise in specialty dining. We had booked Izumi, Chef's Table and Wonderland prior to the trip, so we added Mason Jar and went also went to Playmakers for dinner one night. All of the specialty restaurants were excellent.
I'm looking forward to the new menu being rolled out across the fleet. I've just cruised on Ovation and some of the meals served in the MDR were just awful. Something needed to be done to rejuvenate the dining experience.
I paused the menus and studied them and then studied the pictures. I am not a fan of the new MDR offers or the portion sizes. I don't want to eat in a hurry. Thanks for the heads up.
Maybe it is her ship as our sailing on Jan 9 on Freedom for a table of 6 each night took usually 2-2.5 hours as we were on the first sailing with the new menu. Food many times was ok and in the past was better (pork chop was very dry)
Just a quick Thank You note to Matt and YOU, the people in the Comments! My first cruise will be in June. (Alaska), and I have learned just about as much from the comments as from Matt. Thanks, everyone!
I’m so glad to hear that!
If the wait staff has to now be more worried about time-hurry, hurry, hurry then I hope that they aren't moving so fast we lose the fun and excitement of the dining experience. I know lots of the staff depend on their "additional tips" that we give in the MDR because we fall in love with them making us feel special.
Just an FYI- I may be old fashion but I like to get out of my pool/beach attire and change for dinner. If the food is similar and less people bother to get dressed to go to the MDR and just go to the buffet to eat does that hurt the pockets of the staff? Not saying that some don't tip in the buffet, but most do tend to give a little extra $$$ for great MDR service and food quality.
I do understand there is always other choices such as the Speciality Restaurants that are wonderful for now. Another win for the big dogs!
Im on the fence about this. Im a diabetic so my choices were easy on the old menu. I didnt want to have to go eat at the windjammer for dinner but I guess I would if necessary. I am curious to see how fresh this keeps the food because when we were on Symphony last summer we had the 8pm dining and every single night the food was like it had sat under a warmer for hours. Nothing was fresh. I loved Symphony, I hope this fixes a lot of things. Its also why we always eat at 5:30 now..
I was on Symphony of the Seas the week before Christmas. The reasoning Royal Caribbean makes for changing the menus is for speeding up the time. We (4) were able to get in and out of there in any amount of time that we requested for making a show, and there was never a problem with that. I think they are eliminating the classics simply as a cost savings measure, pure and simple.
As far as the food goes, getting rid of the classics was a huge, huge, mistake. After a few evenings in the MDR, if you're picky or tired of eating chicken and meat dishes, and wanted a pasta dish from the classics, it's no longer there anymore. After a few nights, and if you're not into eating seafood and vegetarian dishes, and you've already had the steak and some chicken dishes, you really start wishing they had the classics as a plan B.
The one thing that did change since my symphony sailing is they added (meat) lasagna to Italian night. Because when we went, they only had vegetarian lasagna. I couldn't believe that, but I see on the menus now, they added meat lasagna to the menu. Probably cuz so many people complained.
The chocolate chip cookie with the ice cream is definitely the best dessert!!! Make sure you order that on Mexican night!
I see something good on each menu. I’ll be good 👍
I am actually seeing something other then pasta for the vegetarian offering. Nice!
I have been on several cruises over the years and one of the cornerstones of my cruise experience was the haute cuisine-for lack of a better word-lobster, rack of lamb, prime rib or with Caesar salad made with anchovies. Things i Could or would not routinely get at home. I even enjoyed formal nights. Why RC would after years of such food and service suddenly decide they had to get folks out on 75 vs 95 minutes is beyond me. But for them, I don’t want to get food which I can buy at any chain restaurant in my hometown. The Dining Room was an experience just like the shows or the kitchen tour or anything else-you met new folks and it was not a rushed social interaction. I’ll probably not go on any more RC cruises.
I'm on the Wonder this week. I have to say that I'm NOT pleased with the new menu. On two nights, I had a hard time finding something that I wanted. I have no problem with the speed of service, now or on past cruises.
We just got back from Adventure of the Seas and we’re disappointed in the lower quality of the food. The new menus are great but quality went down tremendously. Not just in the main dining room but at Windjammer as well. Another couple we travelled with were also disappointed in the quality. It’s really made us consider traveling with a different line.
no it is to increase sales for dining packages when my 16 YO heard we were going to cruise this year she was excited about the food options we had heard so much. but upon watching these videos she seems a little sad that we will now have to pay for what she want in specialty dining which is sea food
We just got off the Adventure of the Seas, the sailing right after yours and felt the quality was okay at main dining but the options were lacking. Several meals we felt forced to go outside our comfort zone only to hate what was served. I am okay with themed nights, but you have to bring back the everyday meal option, especially on a smaller ship with a lot less options to choose from, outside main dining. Favorite appetizer was the French onion soup, which is no longer served each night. The Windjammer at night was bad. Like what were they thinking bad. It was mostly Indian food and if you weren't a fan, you got dollar hot dogs and heat lamp hamburgers. The speed of service was about 90 minutes each day. One thing we noticed was if we arrived on time and the other tables were 10 or so minutes late, everyone's food still came out at same time. So, if you want faster service, just be late to dinner.
Just to add one last thing. We wouldn't normally complain, but we sat next to families with kids who were up in arms, upset about the situation. All the money they paid to eat good food, only to turn to the buffet, because main dining had no good options, and to get the Windjammer and realize it didn't seem like it was catering to the wants of the cruisers who paid to be on the cruise.
I’m just bummed because I booked my first Royal cruise for august 2023 a bit ago and a big reason why was the MDR menu.. i sail on other lines normally but I was excited to have duck l’orange, cheese plate, coq Au vin, steak Diane, chicken cordon bleu, lamb chops, braised beef short rib etc
Looking at the new menu vs the old and I can’t find much on the new menu I’d eat and now I feel like I have to do the UDP
Oh......I totally agree. Was extremely disappointed with new menu. No orange duck.....so sad. The braised lamb was terrible....no flavor of lamb at all. Day 4 n 5 were the worst. We go again March 5th on Allure so will do the Brazilian steakhouse on day 4..
What we do I’d get the 3 night dining to replace the MDR for us the Mexican night and the Lobster night were the least appetizing
I definitely have mixed feelings about this change. I did like having that constant section on the menu. However based on what I have seen there are still one or two items from that section each day, they have just tried to theme the menu some. I will find out more on my cruise next week on Harmony although I am going with my son who is probably going to want to go to the buffet more than the main dining room.
Go to MDR, then buffet or Vice versa 😅
If you Hoover your food, sit at a two top, you can be in and out in an hour. If that’s the experience you want, eat at the Windjammer. Dinner in the MDR is supposed to be an experience. Talk, drink and eat, not suck down your food and then head to the jammer because you can’t get 4 lobsters for free anymore
@@cantfxstupid he or She never mentioned anything about lobster. Apparently you have an obsession with the subject.
The one or two options were their cheap options, like turkey dinner or spaghetti bolognese. No more NY strip each night.
@@karlaandbrad631 I’m on Harmony now and the NY Strip has been on the menu at least three times this week. I honestly haven’t eaten in the dining room but that’s because my son is allergic to wearing long pants unless he has to.
I was worried about the new menus since my partner is picky. I looked at them on the site and I'm very happy with the changes! I think they did a fantastic job with the new menu and I LOVE the daily Indian food instead of having to special request it.
Wow I love Indian food. We go in odyssey on the 28th. There’s a Indian option every night?
I am picky but having cruised on Harmony last year and seen the menu changes I still think on most nights there are a coupe of choices I would like. I always seem to struggle a bit with Royals appetizer choices but other than that they are good. I will know for sure in a couple of weeks as I am about to go back on Harmony again.
@@davva360 my partner always defaults to Caesar salad which I noticed was still available every night. So I'm happy they kept it as a standard option!
@@Rachel_1983 lol. I have had to resort to the cheese plate before. That shows how picky I am. Having watched this video through now and scrutinized every menu I would skip main dining on Meditteranean night. Dont like the apps and only see 1 entree I would like.
@@davva360 hey I approve of cheese plate!!