wrote:
tion of the food was not as nice
2) Dishes were "simpler" - for example, the Prime Rib was simply a slab
of meat with no vegetables, rice or potatoes included

No veggie or carby side dish offered with the prime rib? That's just
odd.

Is my experience unique or have you seen the same thing on the short
cruises you've taken?

Well, here's my impression of what's going on...but it extends farther
than the dining room. It seems that the cruiselines use their oldest
and most outdated ships on the shorter 3 and 4 day cruises. And, imho,
it seems the cruiselines tend to neglect their older builds, not
instituting the same level of service, food...overall product, that one
would experience on the newer ships. Carnival, especially, seems to do
this. Everyone says, "you haven't tried Carnival until you've tried the
'new" Carnival" which to me implies that you will get a very different
cruise on the newer ships (all, btw, doing the 7+ day itineraries) than
what you'll get on their older ships, doing the shorter cruises. RCI
also uses their older ships for the shorter cruises. Personally, I
think the quality should be consistent, fleet-wide. If someone's just
trying cruising, opting for a short 3 or 4 day cruise, and they end up
on one of the neglected (because it's old) ships, and they experience
what you did, regarding food, why would they repeat on the same line?

Anyway, just my thoughts and observations. I'm curious to see what
other folks have to say on this topic.

Lee


Gary