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Which line has the best food overall?


MFamilytravels
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Luxury line Regent has the best food, for mass market line it's Celebrity, worst food we ever had was on a 21day river cruise on the Viking Embla just horrible!

 

 

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I've never heard of Regent and will see what they offer. But I am wondering how can you say Celebrity is good? Can you give me some examples of exemplary buffet offerings? I would have been satisfied with the crispy french fries they serve on RCCL. Did you see my photos? Have you ever experienced anything like those big pots on a cruise before? They had french toast stuffed into them, and this awful syrup that had no flavor, not maple, just sweet. Awful! Big hunks of meat looked okay for lunch if that was your thing, I just wanted a decent sandwich or some pizza that was actually browned on top.

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  • 3 months later...

WOW! Talking about comparing apples to kumquats :). The food on most of the ultra luxury lines such as Regent, Seabourn, Sea Dream, etc. is in a different class from the mass market lines such as Celebrity. And while we used to think that Celebrity had just about the best overall food of the mass market lines....constant cut-backs in the past 3 years (some of us think its related to the current CEO) has now dropped Celebrity (in our estimation) below other mass market lines such as HAL...and even Princess.

 

But consider that we can cruise on Celebrity, in a balcony cabin....for less then $150 per passenger day (sometimes a lot less). But a line like Regent is going to cost $600 - $1000 per passenger day! We have cruised on 14 different cruise lines (including many of the mass market lines) and are no longer impressed by any of the Main Dining Room/Lido food on any of the mass market lines. If one is cruising on Celebrity and are on an S Class ship....they could certainly purchase a discounted deal for alternative restaurants and eat many of their dinners in Murano (which does have excellent food) or perhaps Qsine.

 

Hank.

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  • 1 month later...
Problem is even within a cruise line food can vary widely depending on the ship. I was on Royal's Jewel of the Seas & the food was amazing with lots of good choices in the buffet every meal & the MDR was always excellent. Then six months later I was on Royal's Navigator of the Seas & the food was mediocre at best with few repetitive choices in the buffet & lackluster nightly in the MDR. So I don't know that you could ever say one line consistently had the best food overall unless you had been on ALL of their ships to compare. I suspect it has a lot to do with whoever is executive chef for the ship but that's just speculation

 

 

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I agree with you. I cruised on RC Navigator of the Seas and feel the same as you about the food. Now the salad was good. Cruised with Carnival and some ships were better than others. But like others said, it’s very subjective. I’m from New Orleans, so I like things with a lot of seasonings.

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
WOW! Talking about comparing apples to kumquats :). The food on most of the ultra luxury lines such as Regent, Seabourn, Sea Dream, etc. is in a different class from the mass market lines such as Celebrity. And while we used to think that Celebrity had just about the best overall food of the mass market lines....constant cut-backs in the past 3 years (some of us think its related to the current CEO) has now dropped Celebrity (in our estimation) below other mass market lines such as HAL...and even Princess.

 

But consider that we can cruise on Celebrity, in a balcony cabin....for less then $150 per passenger day (sometimes a lot less). But a line like Regent is going to cost $600 - $1000 per passenger day! We have cruised on 14 different cruise lines (including many of the mass market lines) and are no longer impressed by any of the Main Dining Room/Lido food on any of the mass market lines. If one is cruising on Celebrity and are on an S Class ship....they could certainly purchase a discounted deal for alternative restaurants and eat many of their dinners in Murano (which does have excellent food) or perhaps Qsine.

 

Hank.

 

Thanks for this post, Hank. This is exactly the conclusion I was coming to. Sadly though, I was thinking that trying Celebrity might be the next best cruiseline for me to try, because of their food reputation being better than HAL, but them still not being as expensive as the luxury lines. I mostly cruise HAL for less then $150 pp/day, but do know that the 'level' of food I really want is on the luxury lines. I am choosing HAL for the great itineraries and value, not specifically the food. We think we get the best out of it, by paying the upcharge to Pinnacle Grill (which even at $70 per night for two, puts us at a way lower overall cost than the luxury lines). Sounds like I could even use this strategy with Celebrity perhaps? I know I will cruise those luxury lines in the not too distant future, but need to get some of those longer itineraries under my belt at a better price point. And for the OP mentioning Disney, I agree the food was very good on the Disney cruises I have been on, but I did pay more per person for those cruises in comparison to HAL or Princess.

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Thanks for this post, Hank. This is exactly the conclusion I was coming to. Sadly though, I was thinking that trying Celebrity might be the next best cruiseline for me to try, because of their food reputation being better than HAL, but them still not being as expensive as the luxury lines. I mostly cruise HAL for less then $150 pp/day, but do know that the 'level' of food I really want is on the luxury lines. I am choosing HAL for the great itineraries and value, not specifically the food. We think we get the best out of it, by paying the upcharge to Pinnacle Grill (which even at $70 per night for two, puts us at a way lower overall cost than the luxury lines). Sounds like I could even use this strategy with Celebrity perhaps? I know I will cruise those luxury lines in the not too distant future, but need to get some of those longer itineraries under my belt at a better price point. And for the OP mentioning Disney, I agree the food was very good on the Disney cruises I have been on, but I did pay more per person for those cruises in comparison to HAL or Princess.

 

 

 

If you want truly excellent food without "breaking the bank," no other cruise line will come close to Oceania.

I had an opportunity to ask the CEO of Azamara about the difference between O and A. His answer: "Oceania is food. We are overnights in port."

 

 

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If you want truly excellent food without "breaking the bank," no other cruise line will come close to Oceania.

I had an opportunity to ask the CEO of Azamara about the difference between O and A. His answer: "Oceania is food. We are overnights in port."

 

That is a great quote, but one that will ultimately make me book Oceania before Azamara. I'm going to take a closer look at Oceania! Thanks for your post.

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  • 1 month later...

I found Regent’s food to be good but not great.

Surprisingly Ponant’s l’Austral was the same, even though it is a French ship.

I have been very satisfied with the food on SeaDream, mainly because the chef is adventurous, but also takes care to put more traditional dishes on the menu. Also if you give him some notice he will cook you something not on the menu. So my wife ordered a special degustation dinner for my birthday when were sailing on SeaDream II in the Med.

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Hi burm,

 

I agree with your observations on Oceania. The best out there!

 

My wife and I gave up on NCL when they first went to their FreeStyle thing, as the food was really very basic. A friend, who had just completed a few NCL cruises, thought I should give them another try. To hedge our bets we picked up the UDP (ultimate dining package), and after two NCL cruises in the past two years, I must say the food is wonderful. We have not eaten in the MDR for an evening meal --- all our meals are spread out over their alternatives. We do visit the MDR for breakfast and lunch, and avoid the buffet at all times.

 

With five or six great alternative restaurants you can mix it up a bit and avoid getting menu fatigue. There are other speciality locations for snacks, lunches..., so loads of options.

 

This is why I now rate NCL highly for food quality.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

Our very first cruse in 2003 was on the NCL Sun and the service and quality of food in the MDR was terrible, although the free specialty restaurants were good and the for fee were excellent. They lost our business for the next 15 years and we still have no desire to go back to them.

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We recently got off the Emerald Princess after a 31 day cruise we had the new Club Class dining which was great with immediate seating and great service but the food was a 6 out of 10 at best the best meal of the day was breakfast in the Crown grill for Suite passengers only. We were disappointed with the lunch and dinners. Just curious has anyone been on Viking ocean cruise ships and how is the food?

 

 

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We recently got off the Emerald Princess after a 31 day cruise we had the new Club Class dining which was great with immediate seating and great service but the food was a 6 out of 10 at best the best meal of the day was breakfast in the Crown grill for Suite passengers only. We were disappointed with the lunch and dinners. Just curious has anyone been on Viking ocean cruise ships and how is the food?

 

I have been 'researching' on the Viking Ocean part of the forum, and hear that the food has really top-end ingredients. But I still need to find a thread on HAL vs. Viking etc.

 

I was reluctant to post there asking about food quality on Hal vs. Viking... I'm pretty sure they'd tell me Viking is in a different class so there really is no comparison at all! :o

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  • 2 months later...

I cruised on Ruby Princess a year ago (4/17)..and booked the mini suite they're offering with special food service.

Tho they stated in the advertising..that food was "prepared at the table" and "additional items were offered..not

in the Main Dining Room"...we found the food and location to be exactly the same. No value in booking this class.

The first night we had prime rib. It was tough as shoe leather...and FULL of fat! I complained to the Maitre 'D.

After that we had excellent service (our own waiter!)..but the mediocre food continued. I've been on Princess 12

times. But what a disappointment the "special" food was! The "special" restaurant area was just a section of

the Main Dining Room (nothing more private..elegant..or anything). Save your $$$$$$$$$$.

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  • 4 weeks later...
The best answer is "whichever one you like best". Taste is so subjective that you can really only rely on your own experience.

 

 

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Taste is subjective but quality and presentation are not , sit and savour and try something new

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When we cruised Disney the dinners felt like very gourmet meals. I would order things I would normally NEVER eat because I knew it would taste amazing! They even had Alaskan crab legs at the buffet.

We just did Royal Caribbean and I found the food bland. Our Chops Grille steak was just about on par with Disney but it cost extra!

Do any lines even touch Disney's food? Are they at least better that RCCL?

 

 

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Cunard in my opinion has the best food.

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  • 1 month later...

Oceania gets my vote, based on two cruises with them, as well as others with Carnival, RCCL, Celebrity and Princess. We are trying HAL/N Amsterdam to Alaska for the first time in a few weeks: DH had specific requirements for the land tour and they have it, We are booked on Oceania/Marina in Jan 2020, through the Panama Canal and I'm a bit concerned based on reports here since the NCL acquisition. When did that happen? NCL needs to leave Oceania 'untouched'!!!!

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  • 10 months later...
On 12/31/2017 at 11:08 PM, BarbarianPaul said:

 

 

 

Agreed. Regent is the best. It’s of course also the priciest, but the food is phenomenal.

 

 

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How does it compare to the food on crystal?

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3 hours ago, Lmm79 said:

How does it compare to the food on crystal?

 

Regent’s food was definitely better than Crystal’s. But we’ve only sailed once on Crystal, about 4 years ago, and I think they might have reimagined all their dining after both ships were refurbed.

 

And as good as Regent’s food was, we haven’t sailed on them since. As new cruisers to Regent, we felt as if the line catered mostly to returning cruisers, and just didn’t feel particularly welcomed.  

 

When we began cruising, I made the mistake of thinking that the more expensive the line, the better a cruise we’d have. Since then, we’ve sailed almost all the lines, and in many cases have enjoyed it more.

 

We love both Celebrity and Holland America. The food in Aqua Class on Celebrity I’d say is about 80% as good as a Regent, which is pretty darn good, and the itineraries on HA are unique and different, with the dining almost as good as Celebrity. That said, we just booked a Dubai-Capetown cruise on Norwegian...a particularly rare itinerary. 

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11 hours ago, BarbarianPaul said:

 

Regent’s food was definitely better than Crystal’s. But we’ve only sailed once on Crystal, about 4 years ago, and I think they might have reimagined all their dining after both ships were refurbed.

 

And as good as Regent’s food was, we haven’t sailed on them since. As new cruisers to Regent, we felt as if the line catered mostly to returning cruisers, and just didn’t feel particularly welcomed.  

 

When we began cruising, I made the mistake of thinking that the more expensive the line, the better a cruise we’d have. Since then, we’ve sailed almost all the lines, and in many cases have enjoyed it more.

 

We love both Celebrity and Holland America. The food in Aqua Class on Celebrity I’d say is about 80% as good as a Regent, which is pretty darn good, and the itineraries on HA are unique and different, with the dining almost as good as Celebrity. That said, we just booked a Dubai-Capetown cruise on Norwegian...a particularly rare itinerary. 

My wife and I found the food on Regent to be good, but a bit bland and less than adventurous because the line was catering to the tastes of the predominantly American clientele. The best meal we had was on an excursion in Morocco where they served delicious tajines, much to the bewilderment of many of our fellow cruisers.

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On 7/22/2018 at 1:26 PM, catsngoats said:

Oceania gets my vote, based on two cruises with them, as well as others with Carnival, RCCL, Celebrity and Princess. We are trying HAL/N Amsterdam to Alaska for the first time in a few weeks: DH had specific requirements for the land tour and they have it, We are booked on Oceania/Marina in Jan 2020, through the Panama Canal and I'm a bit concerned based on reports here since the NCL acquisition. When did that happen? NCL needs to leave Oceania 'untouched'!!!!

If you look upthread there's another one about food and one person in particular thinks Oceania is the best with "no close second."

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