Which cruise line has the best and worst food?

[ddgg]

Since people's opinions vary so much, here are some basics about my DH and I. We both love good food, and we don't mind paying a lot if the food is worth it. I sail because I love to sail. My husband sails for the food and the itinerary--in that order.

 

Our first cruise together was on the Sitmar line in 1984 (which became part of Princess). The food was excellent beyond description. The ship was small--probably 600 people. Our last cruise was on the Grand Princess in 2007. The food was awful. I could live with it, but my husband said he would never cruise again because of it. I had to send one entree back 3 times (beef medallions) because it was like using a butter knife to cut through a hockey puck. After the 3rd time, I switched to a fish dish that was mediocre at best. However, the Sterling Steakhouse food was great.

 

Earlier in this thread, someone mentioned their waiter saying that it is impossible to prepare excellent food for more than 700 people. I hope he's right, because I convinced my DH to take one more cruise. We're going on the Royal Princess (approx 700 people) to Tahiti in October. If the food isn't great, I'll be sailing solo next time.

[jerblu]

I am very picky; I've eaten at the best in NYC, Los Angeles, Paris, and Rome. But I cant comment on a cruise line on which I have not taken a trip. So--

 

I've sailed Princess a couple of times and found their food to be fairly good. Not wonderful, not as good as an ordinary fine restaurant in NYC, say, but enjoyable, and with a lot of variety. I didnt like the Italian specialty restaurant because I felt they tried to do too much and ended up with too much food and not enough quality; I had the feeling they could have done much better.

 

Celebrity was better than Princess. And the Celebrity specialty restaurant ($30pp) was exceptionally fine, as good as most of the fine restaurants you will go to onshore. Very high marks.

 

You will see by my signature that I have switched over to Crystal. The MDRs on both of Crystal's ships are at least the equivalent of Celebrity's specialty restaurant. And for $7pp (yes seven dollars) you can go to Nobu or PIero Selvaggi and have an extraordinary dinner. But even in the MDR, Crystal is consistently superb, with multiple choices (always meat, fish, fowl, vegetarian and I dont know what else) and interestingly prepared.

 

I recently tried out Silversea (Silver Wind) and was so severely disappointed by the food that I will never book with them again. Princess beat them hands down, not even a contest. So you can see that just because it is a 6star luxury line, that may not equate with excellence.

[DandyTwister]

I've only ever sailed on Carnival so I can't compare it to other cruise lines. On our first cruise we sat with a couple that were "rich" and quite "snobby"...nice to us...but constantly complaining about everything not being "good enough". They sent back meals every night that we just loved. We are far from "rich" and don't get a lot of chances to dine out in real restaurants, so for us everything was a real "treat". I expect to be served good food and I've always found the food on Carnival "good" at worst and "really great" for many items (mmm....getting hungry just thinking about it). We're sailing on the Dream in August and hope our food experiences hold true on this ship. I'll post how it was after the trip.

I think your idea of "good" depends on your experiences and expectations...for me most anything I don't have to cook or clean up from falls into the category of "good".

[neilrr]

I am very picky; I've eaten at the best in NYC, Los Angeles, Paris, and Rome. But I cant comment on a cruise line on which I have not taken a trip. So--

 

I've sailed Princess a couple of times and found their food to be fairly good. Not wonderful, not as good as an ordinary fine restaurant in NYC, say, but enjoyable, and with a lot of variety. I didnt like the Italian specialty restaurant because I felt they tried to do too much and ended up with too much food and not enough quality; I had the feeling they could have done much better.

 

Celebrity was better than Princess. And the Celebrity specialty restaurant ($30pp) was exceptionally fine, as good as most of the fine restaurants you will go to onshore. Very high marks.

 

You will see by my signature that I have switched over to Crystal. The MDRs on both of Crystal's ships are at least the equivalent of Celebrity's specialty restaurant. And for $7pp (yes seven dollars) you can go to Nobu or PIero Selvaggi and have an extraordinary dinner. But even in the MDR, Crystal is consistently superb, with multiple choices (always meat, fish, fowl, vegetarian and I dont know what else) and interestingly prepared.

 

I recently tried out Silversea (Silver Wind) and was so severely disappointed by the food that I will never book with them again. Princess beat them hands down, not even a contest. So you can see that just because it is a 6star luxury line, that may not equate with excellence.

 

Jerblu - I also prefer Celebrity over Princess, but it is sad that Crystal is only comparable to Celebrity -- when Celebrity runs a 1/4 - 1/3 of the price PP for the trip. Personally, I would rather go on Celebrity 2 -3 times a year as we do now, rather then once a year or less on a so-called 6 star line. Now with the new Elite perks on Celebrity-- it is great!!!

 

I recently wrote a review of the Millennium from our Easter trip and we met someone who had never been on Celebrity before (only traveled on Crystal). He came with his family and stated "he was very impressed and had no complaints at all" and he also said "considering the price point of Celebrity, he was amazed at the level of service and quality of the food" in comparison to Crystal. That says a lot....

 

We are now preparing for a cruise on Solstice 6/27 and look forward another great cruise on Celebrity...

 

The only cruise line we vowed never to take again is NCL primarily due to the food.

 

Happy Cruising!!!:)

[jerblu]

You misunderstood me. The Main Dining Room on Crystal is AT LEAST the equivalent or better than the $30pp dinner at the Millenium's specialty restaurant. So, the MDR is often better, sometimes only the equivalent perhaps. But the two specialty restaurants on Crystal are beyond compare.

 

You could go to the Nobu restaurant in NYC and spend $300 on a dinner equivalent to the one onboard Crystal, or you could have gone to Valentino in LA (actually I'm thinking of the old Valentino which won all the awards 30 years ago) and spend almost as much on an exquisite Italian dinner there, OR you could go to one of those two specialty restaurants on Crystal for $7pp.

 

I dont suggest that the Crystal MDR ever rises to the level of Per Se or the Inn at Little Washington. But I never meant to suggest that it was merely the equivalent of the specialty restaurant on the Millenium, excellent tho that was.

[neilrr]

You misunderstood me. The Main Dining Room on Crystal is AT LEAST the equivalent or better than the $30pp dinner at the Millenium's specialty restaurant. So, the MDR is often better, sometimes only the equivalent perhaps. But the two specialty restaurants on Crystal are beyond compare.

 

You could go to the Nobu restaurant in NYC and spend $300 on a dinner equivalent to the one onboard Crystal, or you could have gone to Valentino in LA (actually I'm thinking of the old Valentino which won all the awards 30 years ago) and spend almost as much on an exquisite Italian dinner there, OR you could go to one of those two specialty restaurants on Crystal for $7pp.

 

I dont suggest that the Crystal MDR ever rises to the level of Per Se or the Inn at Little Washington. But I never meant to suggest that it was merely the equivalent of the specialty restaurant on the Millenium, excellent tho that was.

 

jerblu - Sorry, I did misunderstand you... You are correct... My apologies..

Neil

[cruzluvers]

After 36 cruises, here is my break down in the area of quality cuisine:

(only cruise lines I have cruised)

 

#1 -- Oceania (small ships; more expensive)

 

#2 -- Azamara (same as Oceania)

 

#3 -- Celebrity (best food in the large ship category; alternative restaurants

are outstanding)

 

#4 -- Holland America (very good food; best buffet)

 

#5 -- Royal Caribbean (Radiance class only; nice alternative restaurants)

 

#6 -- Princess (nice food; alterative restaurants not that great)

 

#7 -- Royal Caribbean (other ships; basic food)

 

#8 -- NCL

I definitely agree with your first three choices but I would put Celebrity just after Oceania.

[cruzluvers]

Jerblu - I also prefer Celebrity over Princess, but it is sad that Crystal is only comparable to Celebrity -- when Celebrity runs a 1/4 - 1/3 of the price PP for the trip. Personally, I would rather go on Celebrity 2 -3 times a year as we do now, rather then once a year or less on a so-called 6 star line. Now with the new Elite perks on Celebrity-- it is great!!!

 

I recently wrote a review of the Millennium from our Easter trip and we met someone who had never been on Celebrity before (only traveled on Crystal). He came with his family and stated "he was very impressed and had no complaints at all" and he also said "considering the price point of Celebrity, he was amazed at the level of service and quality of the food" in comparison to Crystal. That says a lot....

 

We are now preparing for a cruise on Solstice 6/27 and look forward another great cruise on Celebrity...

 

The only cruise line we vowed never to take again is NCL primarily due to the food.

 

Happy Cruising!!!:)

 

 

You will love the Solstice. We did a B2B last Nov. First the Solstice then her sister ship Equinox (maiden TA). Everything about both ships was just wonderful!!! They excelled in "crowd" management - we never saw lines at the great buffet or at dinner. They do it right. Have fun:)

[janabm81]

Royal Caribbean has the worst deserts...I'd rather eat an expired hostess cupcake than some of the stuff they try to pass off.

[andreabean0929]

5 - NCL - We will NEVER cruise with them again; the food was DISGUSTING and DISGRACEFUL!

 

Neil

 

I also agree with you on NCL. We were on the Star in 2008 and It was terrible the only good food IMO was The blue Lagoon their fast food type restaurant. Also did not like freestyle dining the waitstaff wasn't friendly and hardly smiled.

[rxlowry]

The worst is Disney. Their meats were cheap tasting and the buffet is horrible.

The best I have had is Regent. Although, I find the food on NCL not as bad as others here have.

[DWIN1050]

I have cruised on Disney, HAL, Carnival, Celebrity, and RCL. I have to say that Disney was the most disappointing. I think each line have certain foods they do well. Carnival does beef better than most. HAL does the unusual very well. We had a tenderloin of venison that was one of the best meals I have ever had. Their fish is also well prepared but can't say they do beef that well. I also liked their buffet. I enjoyed the food on RCL and Celebrity but nothing stands out in my mind for either except sitting at the Captain's table on RCL. I am looking forward to BLU on Celebrity in August.

[boating girl]

Having cruised 5 different lines, my opinion is 4 were acceptable or good but NCL is the worst food I have eaten on a cruise or in any restaurant. It's like they are throwing food out just to be providing something.

[delighted2sail]

For buffets (best in this order):

Norwegian

Holland

Royal

Princess

Carnival

 

For main dining rooms:

Princess

Holland

Carnival

Royal and Norwegian (tied for last for me, I certainly didn't go hungry, but was very unimpressed with both)

Did you find a lot of fresh fruit choices in the buffet on NCL--specifically on the Jewel? We enjoyed the fruit offerings on Princess and Celebrity but haven't yet sailed on NCL.

[psbtrvlr]

Did you find a lot of fresh fruit choices in the buffet on NCL--specifically on the Jewel? We enjoyed the fruit offerings on Princess and Celebrity but haven't yet sailed on NCL.

 

I was given a basket of fruit with wine in my cabin and I ate that fruit, but I don't remember ever eating any fruit in the buffet. I remember seeing fruit, and my teenager says she ate fruit from the buffet every day. (We were on the Jade, which I believe is a sister ship to the Jewel)

[BILLP1]

The worst was on NCL. The best was on Regent. You get what you pay for..

[Granny DI]

We have cruised 20 times. Last night my husband and I were trying to rate the food on the 20 cruises.....the best was the NCL's Norwegian Crown (3/1998)....the bottom 2......Cunard's QM2( 6/2010) and HAL's Rotterdam (10/2002). We've been on small, medium and mega ships, cheap, average and expensive cruises...but cost or size doesn't seem to have any influence on the quality of the food. Our cheapest cruise RCL-Voyager of the Seas (2/2010). VOS had some of the best food and the most expensive QM2 (6/2010) had almost the worst. You never forget the "bad" food. We think most cruise ships have average to above average food so you don't really remember most of the food.

Edited July 9, 2010 by Granny DI

[sjmarante]

I was on the carnival valor in December of 2009. I was getting sick of the food offered on the ship, or It was just not so good. Mostly for lunch, I lived off of Chinese/Japanese/Thai food in the buffet. The line at the burrito bar was to long so I never got any food from there. ( not CCL's fault)

whatever, bye:)

[DMH15]

The best was on the Celebrity Summit in the Normandie Specialty Restaurant ($30 surcharge worth every penny). Food was refined, tasty and memorable. Also loved the spa cafe breakfast and lunch and loved the afternoon sushi.

 

The worst Carnival Ecstacy. The worst eggs benedict ever. The hollandaise was caked on and crusty. Even an inquiry to the server did not yield a suitable replacement.

 

In the middle are NCL and RCI. Loved the NCL suite breakfast and lunch. A few notches above. What I like about NCL was variety. Although on our last cruise on the Sun, our party of 8 were all unhappy with dinner in Pacific Heights. No one was content with their choice. RCI was just not memorable. Very average.

 

I do not like buffets and avoid them at all costs. So my comments exclude all buffets.

 

I agree with others. If I wanted Michelin star cuisine I would have to cruise a luxury line. So, when cruising I am just looking for a nice meal. With the exception of my meal in Normandie none of the meals I have had on cruise ships can touch the fine dining I have expperienced in NYC, Chicago, San Francisco and at home in Dallas. So, I don't even try to compare.

 

Food is terribly subjective... but as a trained chef I know this: good is good and bad is bad. Basic fundamentals must be followed or it's all over anyway.

Edited July 16, 2010 by DMH15

[cruznut1111]

The worst was on NCL. The best was on Regent. You get what you pay for..

 

Perhaps. But the difference in price is huge. The difference in food, not so much. Our oceanview room on Regent was over $500 pppd. On NCL our veranda was @$150 pppd. We choose to add @$15pppd to eat in the specialty restaurants every evening because we enjoy small dining rooms. We have had many successful meals in the MDR at lunch or breakfast.

 

Omelets made while I waited on NCL and I never had to wait long. Fruit, fruit, fruit - wonderful. Boursin and Emmenthal cheeses on the evening buffet made a great early evening snack. Can also get some fresh sushi.

 

I'm not sure why NCL gets such vitriolic responses. We have found them to be comparable to most of the standard lines and a great value. Like all lines, if a meal is not to your taste they will cheerfully replace it.

[FastFreddie]

The absolutely best MDR that DW and I have experienced was on the Celebrity Zenith tied w the Celebrity Horizon.

The second best was Blu on the Celebrity Solstace.

The Carnival Valor, Liberty and Celebrity Century 3rd.

The RCCL Liberty of the Seas 4th.

 

The best buffets IMHO go to RCCL

Followed by Carnival

 

The Worst MDR was the Carnival Triumph (almost didn't sail Carnival after that one) food was not tasty, service was poor, and atmosphere aweful.

 

The second worst MDR was the Jewel of the Seas. Worst breakfast, terrible lunch. Ate at the speciality restaurants 3 times, they were very nice.

 

My conclusions are that it's difficult to get consistancy on some cruise lines. If I were to book Carnival again I'd pick the larger ships. Same for RCCL (besides there is more variety like Johnny Rockets etc.). I prefer Celebrity but have yet to recieve any MDR meals, on any other ships on any line, to compare to the Zenith class ships on Celebrity.

 

I haven't sailed Princess, HAL, MSC, COSTA, or NCL ... yet ... but I have yet to have a bad cruise, so I will most likely try to sail them if they have the right itinerary!

Edited August 7, 2010 by FastFreddie

[ECV]

Princess had the worst food. Carnival food has been consistently the BEST!

[ECV]

Based on the cruises we have taken, here are our ratings:

 

For the best would be Carnival; the food and service in the main dining room was outstanding.

 

Tied for second, is Royal Caribbean and Holland America. The Italian themed specialty restaurant on Royal Caribbean was outstanding.

 

Coming in last, is Princess. The food was quite ordinary. On the occasions when we had dinner in the buffet restaurant (Horizon Court) we were quite disappointed. The food at dinner was simply food left over from lunch. Items served that night in the main dining room were not served in the buffet restaurant as they stated. The Italian themed specialty restaurant was outstanding in both food and service.

 

I 100% agree with your review! Our experiences were very much the same! The Asian restaurant on Holland America Eurodam was some of the best food and service land or sea!

Edited August 10, 2010 by ECV

[annierie]

Perhaps. But the difference in price is huge. The difference in food, not so much. Our oceanview room on Regent was over $500 pppd. On NCL our veranda was @$150 pppd. We choose to add @$15pppd to eat in the specialty restaurants every evening because we enjoy small dining rooms. We have had many successful meals in the MDR at lunch or breakfast.

 

Omelets made while I waited on NCL and I never had to wait long. Fruit, fruit, fruit - wonderful. Boursin and Emmenthal cheeses on the evening buffet made a great early evening snack. Can also get some fresh sushi.

 

I'm not sure why NCL gets such vitriolic responses. We have found them to be comparable to most of the standard lines and a great value. Like all lines, if a meal is not to your taste they will cheerfully replace it.

 

cruznut, I was curious about your response with respect to Regent, so did a quick search and saw, what I expected, that you sailed on Paul Gauguin.

 

Ever wonder why PG is no longer part of the Regent family? Among other reasons, I think it was because so many people who were used to the luxury of Regent's other ships found PG lacking. But, it really was a different experience in a part of the world where it is difficult to get the foods many of us are used to getting on luxury ships.

 

PG was all about the place and not the food.

 

As for NCL, I watched them go downhill over 8 years. The food on our last cruise on NCL was the worst food I have ever seen on a buffet. After a late arrival back from a snorkeling trip, we found gray hamburgers sitting under a heat lamp in the Grill, or hardened Italian garbage that was supposed to be pasta in the other buffet.

 

We ate 4 of 7 nights in Le Bistro because the food had declined significantly.

 

Our list of best to worst based on cruises on many different lines (we have no favorite, we book on itinerary) is ...

 

Le Ponant

Regent

HAL

Carnival

Princess

Regency (out of business)

RCCL

NCL

 

Carnival had really good buffets, albeit limited, but the food was good that they had.

 

Le Ponant was amazing. Fresh baguettes twice a day. Fish brought onboard from ports across the Med. They made turkey for a lunch buffet because we remembered it from a prior cruise.

 

Desserts and cheeses to die for. These cruises began or ended in Provence, and included Corsica, the Amalfi coast and Sicily.

 

Food and wine were the best ever had on a ship. But, there were only 48 of us on the ship, so the dining room was smaller than the specialty restaurants on the mega monsters.

 

Dinner under the stars two nights. Desserts under an active volcano.

 

Nothing else compares to small ship cruising. The closest thing to dining at starred restaurants.

[Hlitner]

We have been on 12 different cruise lines (more then 50 different ships) over the years in all price ranges. Based on our most recent experience (we still manage 60 - 70 days a year on cruises) we think HA has the best food among the mass market lines. Princess and Celebrity would tie for 2nd place in this class. As to the more luxury lines we were blown away by the excellent food on the Azamara Journey. Not only was its main dining room excellent, one of its alternative restaurants (Aqualina) had the best food we have ever experienced on any cruise ship....and we are talking about some of the ultra-luxury lines. We have our doubts as to whether Azamara (part of the RCI/Celebrity family) will be able to maintain this level of quality, but we can sure pray.

 

Hank