"I think expecting gourmet quality food on a mass market cruise, even if you pay for upgrades, is a dream. The best you can hope for is hotel quality."

Food is always subjective IMHO. As for cruise food on mass market lines you can't really expect gourmet meals when the chefs have to cook for so many, thousands really.

We have been on Princess, Celebrity, Royal, NCL and RCI and the food has always been fine for us. Then again we don't expect it to be like dining out at home in a nice restaurant in Chicago.

We have a plan for our 16th cruise in Dec. Honestly We've never had a bad cruise. That's why we go. Have there been some problems? Yes, life isn't perfect but overall even though it's not what it usd to be it's still very good.

mlgb, we were lucky enough to cruise on Celebrity Aqua class to New Zealand a couple of years ago. The Aqua class passengers have their own separate dining room which may have 150 to 200 seats. Staff service level is high, we had 3 to 4 people serving us at our table. Menu is different from the MDR and is an "upgrade".

Still, I have seen and heard complaints. The caliber is definitely a step up from the usual MDR fare, but we found the food too "rich" and sauce heavy. We asked for all sauces on the side after a couple of days and it worked well. It is not 5 stars quality like the Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton but it is definitely better than most hotel/conference center fare.

I have always compared cruise food to conference center food. When you feed so many people all at once, it is what it is. And the cruise line added the complexity of a menu where a conference center only offers you two or three entree choices at the most, and they charge $35 to $50 a plate. Giving that comparison, I wouldn't complaint about any cruise line food.

We have done close to 30 cruises by now and we have yet had a bad time once. Set your expectation low and you will always be surprised how great things were.

Last but not least, don't let the small stuff ruin your vacation.

Eschew,

You found the food in Blu richer and "saucier"? We found it marginally the opposite, more healthy entrees, smaller portions, clear soups, etc. Well, it's all in the eye of the beholder.

On another note, I don't know why people take umbrage at first time posters or seem to be annoyed at critical posts. Everyone was a first-time poster once.

Continued criticism and snark just discourages posting, something this site can ill-afford unless you all enjoy breathing the same exhaust over and over again--and I will include myself in that comment.

If you want a more friendly forum to attract more members the mods need to be far more involved than they are now. I have triangled many posts with offensive content even direct insults and in one case a link to a witch doctor. Yes a witch doctor that was left up for several months before they got it. I have also emailed them too. No reply, no results.

As for snarky comments you can make that case for the initial post and the follow up, at least to a degree.

JM2C.

Cathinjoetown, interesting comment on Blu. It was billed as healthier, lighter, etc. What we found was that the soup was extremely salty. The sauce heavy and thick with the entrees. The desserts are much lighter. Could it be the chef in charge of the particular Blu that would make the difference?

We saw the chef came out and spoke to different passengers on different days. We said next to a couple who spoke to the chef earlier and they echoed our comment that the soup was way too salty. Interesting enough, when we mentioned the salty soup to the staff on the first night, they sort gave us the impression that they knew about it and it was a "common" complaint. We skipped soup after a few days and stick to salad with dressing on the side.

Larry, I must have missed the witch doctor. I had a post that was deleted by the moderator. It was a link to a parody article on a pirate hunting cruise off the coast of Somalia.

It was either a lack of sense of humor or they may think it was an ad for a real "adventure". LOL

I vaguely recall that.

Maybe it was the chef, who knows. Its unfortunate that whoever it is has not taken heed of customer comments. Thats frustrating. That sort of thing happened to us once too.

Eschew

You're right, some of the soups were too salty. My husband had them more often than I and I remember now he commented on it. Odd, isn't it, easy enough to fix.

We're on Celebrity transatlantic crossing in 2 1/2 months, I'll try to do a brief trip report.