Royal Caribbean have ripped up the old main dining room menus and replaced them with some very controversial ones. Is the food bad as people are saying, and is this just a cost-cutting exercise? We are onboard Symphony of the Seas for 12 nights – join us as we try each menu and give our honest and brutal opinion!
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45 Comments
We’re sailing on the symphony in January. Thought at first you being a bit whiny but as the video progressed we came to agree with your assessment. Still a fan of Royal but not at all against holding them accountable for substandard food. Good job guys.
Eesh! Thanks for the warning!
I just got off of Mariner at the end of April. We only dined in the MDR one night because it was so low quality. The buffet felt the same, but at least I could go when I wanted and the food was hot. The lack of variety was driving me crazy over 5 nights. I could not imagine doing 12.
I had the same disappointment with Royal Caribbean's dining room in December '22 and decided to upgrade to Celebrity for my last cruise in April '23. There was absolutely no difference in the dining room experiences between the two lines, which surprised me because the cost difference was about $100 per night more for the "premium" Celebrity cruise. I could not find anything premium about it, so will have to keep looking for a cruise line that meets my modest standards.
I was so sad to see those menus and the plates and hear your experience. I completely understand why you turned down a free bottle of wine and just asked for hot food to be served. It has been at least ten years since we did Royal Caribbean cruises when our kids were young and I loved the dining experience.; great choices, great presentation, great portions, hot too. I had snails baked in garlic butter every day, yum! And often chose the salmon with caesar salad as a main with cheese board after. I didn't see cheese as a dessert option? Having seen what's on offer now, I would be bitterly disappointed, this is NOT the Royal Caribbean I remember. Thanks for taking one for the team, guys.
Very informative and just illustrates what we’ve all been thinking about Royal Caribbean: too much emphasis on monster-sized ships without any consideration to the impact on quality, customer service within the ship.
I noticed right away that there are a lot of people in there wearing shorts and T-shirts! The MDR should be where you dress a little bit better than shorts! Your food just doesn’t taste as good when there are people standing around with hairy legs!😂
Great review, we cruised on the Harmony and the Jewel and the MDR food was great, in 2 weeks we're on the Mariner with the NEW menu's. I hope our experience is better.
We just did Carnival Magic in which to say the food was mediocre at best. Our Specialty meals were awesome, maybe they are trying to fill up the specialty restaurants. Love watching you guys because of your honest reviews.
I leave on Royal next week……now I’m scared
Tell me the truth and I subscribe. Subscribed!
well, I'm glad the French onion soup is good at least! My favorite dish.
I appreciate honest reviews but y’all do seem miserable to travel with. Maybe it’s just me? Lol
I think cut backs are happening on all lines but I won’t be booking this one in a hurry . I’ve just got off p&o Arvia and the food was much better than this .
Two queens from the UK, which has the worst food, complaining about food. It has to taste better than what they're used to eating, each other.
They don't want you in MDR. it's all about specialty dining
Next ship: McDonalds of the sea
All of you food photos do not look from a vacation. These all look like home cooked dishes without any pizazz whatsoever. Very disappointing.
Not a fan. In my opinion, they screwed up. I went on the adventure of the seas a month ago. It was a 5 bight cruise. We only ate in the main dining room once. I don't like how they cut it up to a theme night every night.
Sorry about the food. You two are such gentleman
Thanks for your honesty!
Just got back from Wonder sailing. Main dining was quick and food hot, New menu has some good some not so much.
Do you guys ever host fun group cruises ?
This made me wonder if I should cancel our forthcoming cruise. We're sailing with 6 of our grandchildren and are counting on the MDR for good meals each night. Since our cruise isn't until June 2024, I hope Royal Caribbean can straighten out some of the snafus! Love your videos and value your opinion. Hope you can return for another report before long. xxxooo
We sailed with RC last August and the MDR was tasty and we felt pampered. We sailed in February with RC. Really disappointed in the MDR. Missed the Classics. Mexican night was blech. Portions were small. Not impressed with the food choices or the food. Come on, RC. Admit it's about you cutting costs at the expense of cruisers' sailing experience, not about improving service.
I had the same food experience as you guys did on Oasis of the Seas in 2019. I actually had a better food experiences on the Carnival ship. We are going on a Disney Cruise in November and hoping for fantastic food.
msc again
We were on Harmony last Halloween and, as you say, the food was really mediocre. We did specialty two nights and Solarium Bistro and Park Cafe as much as we could! I chalked it up to restart but it’s sad the issue is ongoing. We are on Adventure in July and booked a 3 night dining package! Our next cruise will not be on RCL.
We went on our first cruise last week..Oasis of the Seas. I absolutely loved it and am now addicted to cruising lol. We already booked 2 more…one on anthem of the seas and one on carnival celebration. However, the food overall on the entire ship was not great. My food at chopped, playmakers and the taste of royal lunch was all very good. But obviously that all costs extra money. The buffet food was almost unedible in my opinion, plus had not many choices.
agreed it is the consistency of the food.
Shocking, you should have taken those cold plates to guest services, plonked them on the desk and said this is unacceptable !😠We may consider cancelling our RCI cruise in September after watching this. Thanks for the honest review guys.
I’m so shocked as I love your videos guys. I’ve never sailed with RC…..and don’t intend to after this. 😳
Same experience here. Last royal cruise I went on this spring the line for sorrentos was the longest I’ve seen from how many people just started skipping dinner. Royal is going to think this is great short term but I know a lot of those people aren’t coming back. Giving them one more shot and then if it’s still as bad we’re switching to a different type of vacation.
Such a huge shame about the food. I hope you guys didn't get any food poisoning. They're really makes me nervous having so many dishes being that cold. I was kind of thinking of going on a Royal Caribbean cruise at some point soon, however, if they're making changes like this I think I'll be changing my mind and doing a different Cruise. Thank you for your honesty.
I had the same experience with the main dining room on Adventure of the Seas, including the lunch chicken sandwich. I tried Royal Caribbean because I had heard so many good things about Royal Caribbean food but I’m not sure where that idea came from? Bad food is right at the top of my memories from my cruise, and it’s usually one of the first things I say when people ask me about Royal now (that and the wildly inconsistent recipes their bartenders use for drinks).
For all of you that posted your disappointment with RCL's new dining approach and practices, the best way to get RCL management's attention to this food problem is to boycott their product. The only leverage passengers have with the cruise line industry is money. Withhold that and you'll gain their attention. The only way to fight a wildfire is to starve it of oxygen.
Just got off 7 day cruise on Allure of the seas and the mexican food is horrible!!! I just waited to get off on Costa Maya and Cozumel to eat real authentic mexican food.
Are you kidding me baby shrimp coctail!! I went to Cozumel and got a shrimp coctail with around 20 shrimp for 12 dollars.
If you want quality you will have to go to Chop's for steak, Jamie's for real italian and Izumi for hibachi try the lobster and filet mignon. I know the MDR is free but if you want free just go to Windjammer.
Each menu had a different theme such as French, Italian, American, but the food was always the same.
Went on Freedom of the Seas in February 2023 with the new menus and can confirm that the service is RUSHED. The make you order everything all at once. Food also wasn't as good as it was a few years ago when I last cruised on the same ship. One morning for breakfast in the MDR we ordered orange juice, it was room temperature so we asked for a replacement & they brought more but it was also warm. I really hope Royal makes some improvements.
I just disembarked on Sunday from the WOS and the MDR menu is absolutely terrible. On the 2nd formal night the lobster looked like a tiger shrimp. This is all about cost saving measures. The Windjammer was nasty and the food was of a very poor quality. Everyone we talked to hated the food. Specialty dining remains good but that means that you will have to pay extra to eat a decent meal onboard. The ship is beautiful and the staff is amazing. Again, the only negative comment has to do with the food.
The lasagna on Italian night tasted like a pre-packaged Stouffer’s lasagna and the chicken parmesan tasted like a breaded cutlet from Purdue with cheese on a lame spaghetti bead. The quality wasn’t there and it changed how I feel in terms of my loyalty to RCCL. Trust me, I still thing that cruising is still the best vacation but I might just go next time on a different cruise line.
That happened to us in the WOS. The lobster was very small and not wort it. The food was cold and the minestrone soup was also cold. RCCL food was very disappointing.
The food on this cruise alone has completely deterred me from ever wanting to sail with them. Disgusting.
We recently cruised on Rhapsody of The Seas and were shocked by the low standard of food and service in the main dining room and buffet. The portions are definitely smaller and the choice of dishes available has been reduced. The poor staff looked exhausted. It was like watching galley slaves rowing a boat at ramming speed.
One evening the management stopped all access to the main dining room. We believe they were trying to sort out the staffing issues and give staff emergency on-site training.
Cold and tasteless food is not acceptable when customers have paid lots of money for their holiday.
Desserts in the buffet were cheap and mass produced.
I appreciate that Royal Caribbean have had an extremely difficult time due to the pandemic but if this continues they will lose their customers to all inclusive hotels 🫢