Thanks to OP for opening up a great discussion. I love
DCL but do think there is room for improvement with the food. I sometimes feel while reading this board that I'm the only person in the world who doesn't "love" the food on the cruises. It's nice to see I'm not alone. I've cruised on the Magic twice (including once in Europe), the Fantasy last June, the Wonder a few weeks ago, and I'm about to hop on a plane again in a few hours to catch the Magic in NYC (hopefully avoiding Leslie!).
Anyway, for the most part, I think the food in the main dining rooms has been of similar quality among the different ships. Overall, it's fine---not great, but considering the number of people they are serving it's okay. My biggest complaint is the abysmal selection and quantity of vegetables offered (especially those that are not swimming in oil and butter). I usually ask for extra, and by the end of 7 nights, I have frozen broccoli, carrots and cauliflower mix coming out of my ears
I wish they'd improve the simple/standard offerings on the menu. Every time i've ordered the plain salmon, chicken or steak, it's been way overdone and obviously reheated.
I haven't been to Remy yet (next April), but I've dined at Palo all four cruises. This is where I probably have diverge from most people, in that I don't think it's all "that." Is it better than the MDRs? Definitely. Is it fine dining? Eh. It reminds me of a restaurant in a nice hotel, but it's no French Laundry, Chez Panisse or Masa's (can you tell where I'm from
. I prefer brunch as the food doesn't seem to be quite as heavy. The funny thing is that my favorite items on the brunch are the things they don't cook: the cheese and salumi. The thing that bugs me the most about Palo is how much the waiters overdo it about the food--as if this is the greatest meal I will ever eat--but that's probably a personal pet peeve. I do think it is "worth" the upcharge, mostly to have something different from the MDRs, but I don't rave.
Where I have seen the most variance among the ships, and where I have been most disappointed, are the food offerings outside of the MDRs--i.e. cabanas, goofy's galley, etc. On the Fantasy in June, Cabanas was great for breakfast, the similar restaurant on the Wonder a few weeks ago . . . very disappointing. The Magic wasn't that great either. The Fantasy seemed to be better prepared and have a ton more options, including poached eggs with spinach(yeah!), which I loved (without the sauce). You should have seen the made to order eggs I had on the wonder in Alaska--they were brown and hard as a rock every day. When I saw the amount of grease they were using to cook, I asked for Pam. Big mistake, LOL. I would have been much happier with hard boiled eggs, but unlike the Fantasy, the Wonder only had them one or two days. I noticed the same problems with selection and quality on the wonder compared to the fantasy at lunch.
The worst food I've ever had on the ships though was the Pizza on the Wonder a few weeks ago. The cheap, plastic-like cheese was inedible. Even DH and DS who eat just about anything put it down.
I would really love to see them expand the food offerings beyond the MDRs and concentrate more on the quality.
About our eating habits: I pretty much ascribe to the Alice Waters school of thoughts: fresh and local, simply prepared, but cooked to perfection. I tend to prefer rustic to classic cooking styles. The entire family has very broad palates and we try to avoid processed foods as much as possible. We don't eat at chain or fast food restaurants. The kids eat what we do--I've never made them a nugget or mac 'n' cheese, LOL.