Strange how RCI have never seemed to emphasize the food aspect of their cruises, even Carnival have their expert chef nowadays, Celebrity is well known for their food etc, RCI doesn't seem to make much of it except to advertise the dining room itself.

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Originally posted by mike sa:
5 years ago Brilliance of the Seas, the main restaurant was in fact so bad both in terms of service and quality we gave up .

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It's strage how standards can vary over time, even from week to week. I had a good experince on board BOTS: See Here.

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Originally posted by eroller:
Actually the worst food and service I can recall on any ship was the QE2 a couple years ago..

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I was there too with Ernie. Cunard 'M' grade represented the worst food and service I've had afloat, yet a higher fare than any mass market line and a mediocre cabin. In fact I had the worst steak of my life that week. The Life Vest would have been more tender and tasty.

And before the Cunard fans explode in a "how dare you say anything bad about Cunard again" , I'm not saying 'M' grade is always poor, but it was for our week - trust us.

[ 05-20-2007: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:

I was there too with Ernie. Cunard 'M' grade represented the worst food and service I've had afloat, yet a higher fare than any mass market line and a modiocre cabin. In fact I had the worst steak of my life that week. The Life Vest would have been more tender and tasty.

And before the Cunard fans explode in a "how dare you say anything bad about Cunard again" , I'm not saying 'M' grade is always poor, but it was for our week - trust us.

[ 05-19-2007: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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HOW DARE YOU SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT CUNARD AGAIN!!!!
lol jk

Did you ever try the QE2 again?

[ 05-19-2007: Message edited by: Cunard Fan ]

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Originally posted by Cunard Fan:
Did you ever try the QE2 again?

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No mainly because I do not tend to cruise on ships twice.

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage: I was there too with Ernie. Cunard 'M' grade represented the worst food and service I've had afloat, yet a higher fare than any mass market line and a modiocre cabin. In fact I had the worst steak of my life that week. The Life Vest would have been more tender and tasty.

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I think I had the same steak. Lost a tooth as I recall.

Really the food and service levels that we experienced on QE2 were unacceptable. Not only for Cunard but for any cruise ship. I've never experienced such poor food and service even on mass-market lines such as Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and even Premier. It was pathetic.

Also, you should not have to pay out of your ass on QE2 with an upgrade to Princess or Queens Grill just to experience decent food and service. The minimum standard and QE2 should be equal to or better than other Premium lines such as Holland America and Celebrity.

Personally I'm not in any rush to return to QE2. My last experience on her was excellent but to be honest she was never a favorite of mine even 20+ years ago. She just stands out more now as a classic because there are far fewer classic ships to choose from.

[ 05-20-2007: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Originally posted by lasuvidaboy: Cruise ship dining rooms can be like restaurants onshore. There is always a chance that an excellent restaurant will have an 'off' night when things just don't come together as planned. The problem could be in the kitchen or the wait staff or a combination of both.

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I agree 100%, but I even expand your thoughts to include the entire cruise experience. I think every ship and cruise line can have an "off" cruise so to speak. Mine on QE2 was definitely an example and when I returned I experienced something completely different. Likewise with NCL and a few other lines where I have experienced this. I will always give a cruise line a second chance, but if the experience is not better the second time around then I will not return. Thankfully this has not happened yet and I have already sailed all the major lines so I know how excellent they all can be.

I think the staff, crew, chef, CD, entertainers, passengers, weather, ports, etc. are all variables that can change from one cruise to the next and have a real impact (positive or negative) on the overall cruise experience. This is one reason consistency is so difficult for cruise lines to maintain.

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Originally posted by lasuvidaboy:
There is always a chance that an excellent restaurant will have an 'off' night when things just don't come together as planned.

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In the case of my QE2 cruise it was 5 'off' nights.

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Originally posted by Ernst:
Combine it with sometimes excessively high expectations and a not too bad cruise easily ends as 'disaster'.

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High expectations are not surprising in the case of the QE2. After all Cunard called her "the most famous ship in the world" (which I don't doubt) and charge a relatively high fare, even for steerage.

However passengers like Ernie who have been around a bit know poor food and service when they experience it.

[ 05-20-2007: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

The reverse can be said for CCL, on our last cruise, on the Legend, we had great food and a wait team that was second only to those at Prime in the Bellagio, I was amazed.

It's really a matter of what one is used to.

On all lines/ships I've had excellent, good and not so good meals [warm not hot]. QE2 was consistently not so good but it was only Mauretania and 3 nights, the service was lousy, however on QM2 everything was reversed. I've only ever had to return one dish, where the chicken was still frozen [HAL], but the rest of the food on that trip was very good. P&O dished up slops at lunchtime in the lido, yet dining room food was great. Often descriptions have caused a few laughs but it's all part of the experience as I don't want gourmet meals that I can have any time back home in a restaurant. It's nice to experience different dishes.

How much is spent per day per pax on say food, how much each line pays its staff etc. Ones expectation of the cruise could then be more realistic.

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Originally posted by Matts:
[...] But the only cruise I've had where the food was rubbish quality for each and every meal was Fred Olsen. [...]

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