Royal Caribbean Makes a Dining Change That's More Severe Than Carnival's

[Kennywood]

Royal Caribbean Makes a Dining Change That's More Severe Than Carnival's​

by Daniel Kline

The cruise line has changed all its main dining room menus, but that's not the move that Royal Caribbean passengers will be the most upset about.

Royal Caribbean began rolling out its new main dining room (MDR) menus at the start of the year. The changes include making every night follow a theme (including Welcome Aboard, American, Italian, Mexican, Caribbean, and Mediterranean) and getting rid of the "classics" section of the menu.

That change might be even bigger than moving to theme nights as staples that used to be offered every night now only appear once or twice during a seven-night cruise. Diners will feel that impact in two ways. First, some passengers had a favorite appetizer on the "classics" list -- escargot and French onion soup, for example.

Second, the "classics" section offered basic items including New York strip steak, spaghetti bolognese, salmon and a basic chicken. That was a comfort for picky eaters or parents of teenagers who might not be culinary adventurers. Those items do still pop up, but not every night, and that could push some passengers to opt for a specialty restaurant or the Windjammer buffet on nights the menu does not meet their liking.

But while the new menus have received most of the media (and social media) attention, that's not the only change the company has made. Royal Caribbean has also changed its lobster tail policy and many passengers are not going to be happy.

Royal Caribbean and Carnival Both Make Lobster Changes​

Royal Caribbean ships on 6-night trips or longer offer a formal night (actually called "Dress Your Best" night where lobster tails are served in the main dining room on the free menu. It's always possible to purchase a lobster tail in MDR from the small list of items from the Chops steakhouse menu every night, but on formal night, they are included.

Previously, Royal Caribbean offered passengers as many lobster tails as they wanted (and actually ate). Servers would sometimes even go around the dining room bringing them to passengers before they even asked for one.

Now, under the new rules, passengers who want a second lobster tail (and any after that) will pay $16.99 plus an 18% gratuity for each one they ask for.

Passengers, it should be noted, can still order a second entree along with their lobster tail (and many opt for a steak to make it surf and turf) free of charge. You can also have seconds, or even more portions of any other entree, but lobster tails are being limited to one complimentary tail per seating.

Carnival Cruise Line has enacted its own entree policy which impacts lobster lovers as well. It is now charging $5 per entree after a passenger has had two entrees. That counts for lobster tails as well, meaning that a Carnival cruiser could have 5 lobster tails (two free and three at $5 each) for a little less than Royal Caribbean's charge for a second tail.

Royal Caribbean, Carnival Changes Are Not All About Money​

While passengers quickly blame any change on financial cutbacks, that's not the only thing motivating Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Both want to cut down on food waste and having a slimmer menu does that as does making people think twice before ordering an entree they may not really want.

In addition, Royal Caribbean Group President Michael Bayley has said that many passengers have said that dinner takes too long. In the past, dinner could be a two-hour affair. Now, the cruise line is shooting for 75 minutes for the evening meal.

The new menus are already beginning to appear on some Royal Caribbean ships. Fully rolling them out is expected to be completed at some point in February. Bayley has said that the cruise line may continue to make tweaks based on customer feedback as the changes roll out around the Royal Caribbean fleet.

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/royal-caribbean-makes-a-dining-change-that-s-more-severe-than-carnival-s/ar-AA16pH6b?ocid=BingHp01&cvid=f7d784b076194b029d144c2a58032487

 

[Magical2017]

I actually like this idea. I don't eat seafood so can see why people would get upset about their lobster, but the theming sounds interesting. We have not cruised since right before COVID but I do remember cruising as a child. I specifically remember the theme nights. I was super picky myself and they made something special for me on nights I did not want to try what was offered. I do think Royal will be able to accommodate at least some special requests as well as those with allergies/vegan/gluten free, etc. I would want to sail and try the changes before determining how much I like them or not.

 

[sam_gordon]

While passengers quickly blame any change on financial cutbacks, that's not the only thing motivating Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Both want to cut down on food waste and having a slimmer menu does that as does making people think twice before ordering an entree they may not really want.

But doesn't "food waste" = "money"? I mean, I understand their reasoning, but people don't like change that affects them.

 

[PrincessBelle39]

I'm not bothered by one lobster tail. One is enough. More than one seems wasteful to me. I never understood people eating multiple. One more maybe but 5 or 6 seems really over the top. I am a little disappointed in the lack of variety on the menu now the classics have gone. I'm not picky but I am pescatarian so the classics gave an option if I wasn't feeling the option on the main menu.

 

[mom2missmous]

One lobster tail? Not good for my hubby since they are his special cruise treat, often very small and he does like two . No standard food fall-backs? That might be a deal breaker for us! We just
booked on the Wonder for my adult daughter's special birthday celebration but she is a very picky eater (and LOVES french onion soup!) so we may have to cancel and look at another line that is more accommodating .

 

[Sleepy425]

I admit to knowing nothing about lobster. But when this news hit a couple months ago the RC blog message board reported that the unlimited option was warm water Caribbean lobster, whereas now it will be cold water lobster. My husband likes lobster and says there's a difference and cold water is better, so maybe people will ultimately be pleased about this? 2 out of 6 of us in my family don't eat lobster, so I guess that means we will still order it and everyone else can split ours. We all eat plenty while cruising, so having a limit on one food item isn't a big deal to us.
As far as the classics being gone - that is also something we will just roll with. I'm not concerned, even with a picky eater. There will certainly be enough options he will find something to eat. And if he doesn't (heck, even if he does) he will head to Sorrento's after and grab his 12th slice of pizza for the day.

 

[Meriweather]

I don't care about the lobster....I don't eat it.
But I do care about the classics. Being on a restrictive diet, often that is the menu I would eat off of.

 

[sam_gordon]

I'm not bothered by one lobster tail. One is enough. More than one seems wasteful to me. I never understood people eating multiple. One more maybe but 5 or 6 seems really over the top. I am a little disappointed in the lack of variety on the menu now the classics have gone. I'm not picky but I am pescatarian so the classics gave an option if I wasn't feeling the option on the main menu.

If people eat it, why is it "wasteful"? And I agree, I remember them being fairly small.

 

[DVC-Don]

Just got off the Brilliance of the Seas with the new menu. One thing we noticed as no offer of coffee after the meal and there were not even coffee cups on the table. The servers will bring cups and coffee if asked to. Meals are shorter, the two main meals we did took a max of 70 minutes. Food quality? After two meals with dishes being sent back (there were 6 of us) we opted for the Windjammers buffet for dinner although we did do one specialty meal at Chops which was rated excellent by all 6 of us.

 

[Tinknalli]

I don't see this as more severe than Carnival. Just different. The only thing that Royal charges extra for is more than one lobster. Everything else is still as many entrees as you like. Carnival has chosen to limit all entrees to 2 and charge for any additional entree after 2. Royal's change upcharge on entrees affects one night on cruises that are 6 nights or longer. Carnival's change affects every night. As far as menu changes, I am glad for it. Old menus were tired. Happy to have some new items to choose from.

 

[bobbiwoz]

On our Pixar cruise in January, I skipped the lobster tail and went for the lamb and no regrets. At out table, two went with the two lobster tails. My DH could barely eat the second one, he was sorry he ordered it, our friend finished hers and so was happy.

This won’t affect me, but I enjoy French Onion soup, and our traveling companions have often had the escargot nightly. They are disappointed. We’re on an 8 night RCCL cruise later this month.

We all will be disappointed if we feel we have to resort to Windjammers at night.

This will be our First RCCL cruise since Radiance of the Seas to Hawaii in 2018. That cruise was just about perfect.

 

[nikem3]

But I do care about the classics. Being on a restrictive diet, often that is the menu I would eat off of.

It still seems like for the most part that there is one or two classics each night on the menu. New York Strip Steak on about 5 of the days and Spaghetti Bolognese on about 3 or 4 of the days. 3 days of French Onion Soup. Caesar Salad every night. Shrimp Cocktail on most nights. And of course, most cruises are always accommodating so I'm sure you could ask for any chicken meal to be plain or without whatever sauces are available or same with fish meals. The least accommodating night seems to be the French night. On the Wonder or newer ships you obviously have options of all the specialty restaurants and then the Windjammer or pizza/sandwiches for dinner. I'm not a very adventurous eater, but I don't think this will be that bad for me.

 

[peacefrogdog]

If people eat it, why is it "wasteful"? And I agree, I remember them being fairly small.

Maybe not lobster specifically, but I've seen tables of people in the MDR each order multiple entrees in the MDR (e.g. 3-4!) and eat one bite of each or sometimes none at all. Who knows what is common, but suspect if wastage was a reason for this change, it relates to this behavior.

Having grown up in the east coast of Canada, the previous lobster offerings are no where to close to what I grew up eating. The size of the tail of Caribbean lobster they used to serve approximates the size of a jumbo hotdog. The size of a Maritime (cold water) lobster is larger, like the diameter of a toilet paper or paper towel roll.

 

[jimmymc]

Heard from a recent review that the lobster tails are much better quality on RC than in the past now that they're limiting them.

 

[Wreckem]

I was on a Royal cruise over spring break.

The classic grilled chicken is now a avalible every night upon request. There is also a vegetarian Indian dish offers every night as well. As others have said a lot of the classic are still offers multiple nights just not every night.

The lobster tails are now Maine lobsters so quality went up.

 

[KeroKero]

We were on Symphony in April and MDR food wasn't great. Can't comment on the lobster, but the regular offerings on the various themed menus that we tried were very lackluster. We opted not to do any specialty dining this cruise as we were looking forward to seeing what the new menus were all about. While there are more than enough options for people to be able to find something they would like to eat, almost every we ordered (yes, some days multiple apps and multiple mains for people at our table), wasn't great. Food was always edible, not disgusting, but nothing to brag about.

 

[Dr. M]

I've been on 3 RCCL cruises (south Caribbean, western Caribbean and mediterranean) and was never offered a free lobster tail????

 

[Princesca]

I just watched some scathing reviews of RC food since the menu revisions and now I'm nervous about the cruise we are considering. I'd love to hear from anyone who's gone recently.

 

[peacefrogdog]

I just watched some scathing reviews of RC food since the menu revisions and now I'm nervous about the cruise we are considering. I'd love to hear from anyone who's gone recently.

I don't know what you've watched specifically, but i get the sense that people who post video reviews of "the new menu" are: 1. frequent cruisers (with generally high standards), 2. tend to have a bit of a bias against change (just my opinion). People who do NOT have problems with the new menus are less likely to post a video describing how they enjoyed it or think it is fine.

I last cruised late Dec 2022, so right before the changes. However the options in the new menus look to be the same as what was on the previous menus. They now look to be organized under different themes for each night. The MDR meals are decent but not adventurous nor imaginative in any way. I would compare them to what is offered at a non-signature restaurant in a Disney hotel : some really good options (anything slow cooked or roasted like red meat dishes were generally good) and some stinkers (e.g. Beef stroganoff - but this many not be offered anymore fortunately!).

 

[supersnoop]

I don't know what you've watched specifically, but i get the sense that people who post video reviews of "the new menu" are: 1. frequent cruisers (with generally high standards), 2. tend to have a bit of a bias against change (just my opinion). People who do NOT have problems with the new menus are less likely to post a video describing how they enjoyed it or think it is fine.

I last cruised late Dec 2022, so right before the changes. However the options in the new menus look to be the same as what was on the previous menus. They now look to be organized under different themes for each night. The MDR meals are decent but not adventurous nor imaginative in any way. I would compare them to what is offered at a non-signature restaurant in a Disney hotel : some really good options (anything slow cooked or roasted like red meat dishes were generally good) and some stinkers (e.g. Beef stroganoff - but this many not be offered anymore fortunately!).

I think you're spot on when it comes to a bias towards complaints. My very first cruise was after the dining changes and I didn't have anything to complain about, but I didn't have anything to compare against. The food was fine, and pretty good most nights.