Gourmet Flyer For many vacationers, one of the main attractions of a cruise is the seemingly endless flow of fine food and drinks available at a diverse spectrum of venues that cater to a wide variety of tastes and preferences. Those who have never cruised before can’t wait to learn more about the fancy multi-course dinners that await them. Those who are familiar with a cruise adventure might be eager to explore the latest culinary creations or innovations.
In this article, I will give you a snapshot of the dinner service of a typical seven-day Princess Mexican Riviera or California Coast cruise in the Main Dining Room (MDR). As always, my promise to you is an honest and unbiased review that includes all the menus and plenty of pictures. Keep reading to discover some of my best recommendations, as well as a few items that I suggest you avoid.
There are typically three separate MDRs on a Princess ship – traditional (fixed time, fixed table every night), flexible (anytime, but reservation is required), and walk-in (just walk in and wait for a table whenever the restaurant is open). The names as well as the locations of the dining rooms vary on different ships, but the concept of the three dining preferences are mostly uniform across the board. Whatever time and format you choose, the menus and foods are mostly identical (except for the upper tier cabins like Reserve Class or Suites, where you’ll enjoy an elevated experience in separate venues.)
Table of Contents
- Day One: Sailaway Dinner
- Day Two: Captain’s Welcome (First Formal Night)
- Day Three: Princess Dinner
- Day Four: Italian Night
- Day Five: Chef’s Night
- Day Six: Gala Dinner (Second Formal Night)
- Day Seven: Farewell
Day One
Let me first explain how the menu works. The items listed on top change nightly while the bottom three appetizers with a wave logo next to them are called Princess Favorites and are available every night.
One of the most popular appetizer classics is the shrimp cocktail. Four small to medium sized shrimps are served with a tangy cocktail sauce and accompanied by a wedge of lemon. This is simple but goes well with my beer or a glass of white wine. This is one of my personal favorites and is my “comfort app” as in “comfort food”.
Another one of their simple but classic apps is Caesar salad made with the cruise line’s special dressing which I like very much. If you happen to want to grab more of this, you can find it at the Horizon Court buffet throughout the day.
Again, just a quick recap, most items on the menu rotate nightly, but the ones with a Princess logo next to them are available every night. For the main course, these are always chicken breast, salmon, and steak.
The striploin steak with fries is like the cruise ship’s version of steak frites. While beautifully presented, the quality of the steak is mediocre at best. I would not order this again. It appears to me nowadays that if you want a really good steak in the MDR, you’ll have to fork out the $24 to get a filet mignon.
Inspired by the West Coast’s culinary culture, the San Francisco style cioppino is one of the many local cuisines on the menu denoted by a “location” icon. It’s somewhat like a mini seafood jambalaya served in a tomato-based broth that is only mildly spicy but is rich in seafood flavors. All of the ingredients taste yummy and fresh, and even more importantly (to me) not one bit fishy.
The Love Boat by Cecile is vanilla shortbread topped with pistachio mousse. Almost love at first sight, it is an elegant art form with a strong focus on texture and thoughtful design – key signatures of Cécile Farkas Moritel, the celebrity pastry chef. While it is beautifully presented, the mousse lacks pistachio flavor and tastes quite bland to me.
Crème brûlée is one of the best desserts on the menu and is one of my best recommendations. The custard is smoothly creamy and rich in flavor; the sugar cane crust is torched to a slight burn, hard but crispy to the bite.
Day Two
Escargots Bourguignon is a Princess version of this French classic prepared with rich garlic butter with a touch of red wine. They are baked in a dish with six holed compartments and lightly topped with cheese. Escargot is sort of like an acquired taste, but if you like snails, this is delicious.
Another great salad that you can find in the MDR is Belgian endive and baby spinach topped with balsamic dressing and fruity garnishments.
The first formal night usually features a nicer beef entrée in the MDR and on this particular occasion it’s roasted beef tenderloin. It is much better than the steak frites from day one. The meat is quite tender and flavorful. The peppercorn sauce is also better than the generic brown gravy that comes with most meat dishes.
Duck a l’Orange is another one of my favorites. The meat is moist and tender; the sauce is fruity, slightly sweet and tangy. I particularly like the potato croquettes that come with this dish. It beats any one of the other potato sides that I’ve had in the MDR.
Another winner on the Princess dessert menu is the chocolate pistachio dome. I like this a lot more than the love boat mentioned above. The smooth and bittersweet dark chocolate mousse is paired with pistachio nougatines and garnished with finely chopped nuts. This is also one of the most beautifully presented desserts.
Day Three
One of my must-order appetizer recommendations on this cruise is the crispy golden fried mushrooms. The breading is thin, light, and not overwhelming. The mushrooms are well seasoned, fried to a perfect golden brown on the outside, while maintaining a firm and juicy texture inside.
The paper-thin slices of lime and salt-cured salmon has a slight smoky flavor but for my personal palate, a bit light on the lime. So, an extra wedge of lemon or lime would be great. The app is very tasty though and is the perfect companion for a glass of pilsner beer or white wine.
While I am on a roll, here’s another must-order recommendation (if you like fish) – the pan-seared red snapper. It’s a skin-on boneless filet perfectly grilled such that the skin is slightly burnt and crispy and separates from the meat. The well-seasoned filet is very fresh, but without one bit of fishiness smell or taste, which is important to me.
The chicken breasts on the Princess favorites menu are two small pieces of boneless grilled breasts drenched in a brown gravy. It comes with a nice blend of vegetables and a small scoop of mashed potato that is pretty much the same stuff that is served in the buffet on the Lido Deck. Not a bad dish at all, but just nothing special or particularly memorable.
Unfortunately, just shortly after I give you a must-order recommendation, I also have to hand out an “avoid” order. The chocolate souffle is just not what it’s supposed to be. Instead of being light and airy, it’s thick and dense. It also comes with a large boat of cream sauce enough for a dozen or more desserts.
Day Four
The mushroom arancini is another version of fried mushrooms that the chefs executed very well in the Princess main dining rooms. Again, the breading is light, well-seasoned and golden brown. They are accompanied by a good marinara sauce that marks a good start to Italian Night!
Another winner in this Italian-themed dinner is the classic giant meatballs made with a blend of ground beef and pork that provides a good balance in both taste and texture. They are drenched in a yummy marinara sauce, topped with melted parmesan, and accompanied by creamy polenta.
Another excellent fish entrée that I highly recommend for fish lovers is the oven-baked cod filet. I don’t know… maybe cruise ships always get plenty of seafood from the ports, but this dish is fresh and tasty. Again, the crust is light and not overwhelming. This rendition of cod also comes with a fusion of Italian and Greek flavors with a garnishment of marinated olives as well as a pool of olive oil.
You can’t showcase an Italian Night without the classic dessert tiramisu, which comes with a lady finger biscuit. Both the texture and taste of the cake are good. It has strong chocolate and cocoa flavors blended with a hint of liqueur.
The apple pie that is swimming in a pool of vanilla cream custard sauce, on the other hand, is a great disappointment and goes into my “avoid” list. The filling is like a paste that is bland and I cannot even taste any apple flavors. There are no pieces of apple in it either.
Day Five
The artichoke and spinach dip is a refreshing appetizer after days of hearty meals. It is baked with a light cheesy crust with a sprinkle of breadcrumbs. It is delicious and is among one of my favorites.
One of the very popular selection on the Princess dinner menu is beef Wellington, and this rendition is served with a truffle wine sauce that is both aromatic and flavorful. But the whole presentation of the beef is a bit awkward with the crust falling apart. The meat itself is quite good – perfectly medium rare and tender.
Another popular choice among diners is chicken Cordon Bleu which is a chicken breast stuffed with ham and Swiss cheese, coated with breadcrumbs, and deep fried. Even after deep frying, the chicken meat remains tender and moist, and the flavors of the ingredients blend well together. This is another one of my top recommendations.
Going back to the basics with a simple yet delicious dessert, the carrot cake comes to mind. It’s a more flavorful version than the one from the buffet. The plate is beautifully decorated, and a thin slice of white chocolate sits atop the cake along with a sprinkle of freshly shredded carrot.
Day Six
The shining star on the appetizer menu for the second formal night is the crab cake. It’s full of crab meat that tastes fresh and yummy. This certainly goes into my top recommendation list. My only complaint is that the portion size is too small, so I have to order another one!
The wedge salad is authentically British and looks the same as those found in the streets of London. It’s literally a wedge of an iceberg lettuce served with ranch dressing and topped with fresh bacon bits and blue cheese crumble.
The surf and turf version of the dressed-to-impress night is roasted beef tenderloin and grilled tiger prawns. The beef is fine and the sauce that carries a strong hint of wine is tasty. But the shrimps are bad. Firstly, these are small, and not really “tiger prawns”. But even worse is that they are so overcooked that they are rubbery. If I see “tiger prawns” on the menu again, I will definitely avoid this dish.
The duck leg confit is very nicely prepared. The skin is crispy and slightly separated from the meat while the meat remains moist and tender. The entire dish is sort of dry, unlike the French version that has the leg literally drenched in its own fat. But this is good and I’ll recommend it if you like duck.
The chocolate mint cake is really very light on the mint flavor. Other than the tiny mint leaf that sits atop the whipped cream on the side, there isn’t much mint on the plate. I find this dessert very ordinary and probably won’t try it again.
On the other hand, the chocoholic cheesecake is very rich in flavor and is the perfect dessert to wrap up a nice dinner. This is a sure winner, and I am sending it to my highly recommended list.
Day Seven
The delicious and refreshing jalapeño poppers are lightly breaded and deep-fried peppers stuffed with cream cheese. These are one of several appetizers that are inspired by local West Coast and Mexico cuisines and are popular on cruises along the California coast to the Mexican Riviera.
Although it is listed as crab seafood cocktail, it consists mostly of shrimps and scallops with very little crab meat. The plate comes with a fancy sauce that tastes ok, but I would rather prefer a lemon wedge and a spoonful of cocktail sauce.
The prime rib is nothing out of the ordinary, in fact not very good. The meat is undercooked and a rarer than rare cut comes out for a medium order. The jus is nothing other than a mediocre brown gravy.
The seared Mahi Mahi is another one of those local West Coast and Mexico inspired cuisines featured in most coastal and Mexican Riviera cruises. The fresh and nicely grilled fish sits atop a pile of quinoa pilaf and is topped with a fruity but tangy pineapple-mango salsa. The flavors all blend together well to create a memorable dish on this farewell night. This is one of my best recommendations.
I find the Tenderness by Cecile something like the twin sister of the Love Boat by Cecile. They both highlight the designer factor that pleases the eyes but miss the yumminess that stimulates the palate. While the presentation is certainly outstanding, I find the flavors a bit underwhelming.
The baked Alaska features Neapolitan ice cream (vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate, from top to bottom) on a sponge cake and is decorated with plenty of chocolate syrup. This is often one of the classic desserts served on the last night of a Princess cruise and I highly recommend that you try this at least once.
