Carnival has better food compared to RCCL recently!

[CapsR1]

Just returned from our second time on RCCL's Liberty of the Seas out of Barcelona.

 

FYI, we have sailed on Carnival 3 times and RCCL three times. It was our second time on RCCL Liberty of the Seas.

 

The food in the MDR was atrocious! I am not difficult to please and do not expect gourmet food on any cruise I book. However the food in the MDR on LOS was horrible!

 

First off, they do NOT have lobster on formal nights. On one of the formal nights they offered their "special Jumbo Shrimp." Three out of five of us ordered this "special," and the shrimp were mushy, overcooked and horrible. We didn't even eat them.

 

Other nights: chicken breast was dry; pasta overcooked, food mushy and/or flavorless. Deserts were sub par at best! My son's kid's menu actually had the best options and we were tempted to order from his menu.

 

We only ended up eating in the MDR three times, and at their specialty (can you say $20 per person up charge) Italian Rest. twice and their steak house ($30 per person up charge) once. Of course the food in the specialtie restaurants was very good.

 

Our wait staff noticed that our party was not very happy with the food and encouraged us to write our opinions on the comment cards at the end of the ship which we did.

 

When I told my travelling companions that the food in the MDR on all three of our Carnival cruises was far superior, they didn't believe me.

 

Oh well, just my opinion and you know what they say about everyone who has one . . .

[swimmom32]

Our Friends sailed on the Navigator of the Seas recently and they too share the same Sentiments as you about their experience with the food and overall they weren't happy with their experience ...Now these people always cruised RCCL and sailed on Carnival recently as well and now have a comparison and they said the food was excellent on their carnival cruise and they swore they wouldn't sail Carnival again and well they have decided to book another Carnival...

[joeyancho]

The food comes from european sources. Probably is quite a bit more expensive. So they have to cut. Sorry it was so bad. I would have been really bummed as food is one of the reasons I cruise.

[firefly333]

A TA in the UK that I use said he actually went to talk to the chef on a RCL European cruise, the food was so bad.

 

I dont know what is up with that either.

 

I have been on that same ship and the food seemed fine to me.

[CapsR1]

A TA in the UK that I use said he actually went to talk to the chef on a RCL European cruise, the food was so bad.

 

I dont know what is up with that either.

 

I have been on that same ship and the food seemed fine to me.

 

Interesting that you should say that . . . when we sailed this same ship out of the U.S. four years ago out of Miami (home port is now FLL), the food was edible, but this time it was HORRIBLE!!!

 

Considering the price of the cruise, it really was unacceptable.

[firefly333]

I was on Liberty OTS and got off Halloween day last fall, so not that long ago. Really loved the BBQ at private island, enjoyed the ice cream sundaes and chips and cheese in the afternoons.

 

We did eat in both Chops and Portofinos, so didnt eat in the MDR that often and I never order beef hardly anyway. I thought the food all cruise was just fine.

[readytotravel44]

The food comes from european sources. Probably is quite a bit more expensive. So they have to cut. Sorry it was so bad. I would have been really bummed as food is one of the reasons I cruise.

 

That may well be true, however I was on Carnival Cruise out of Italy a few years ago and the food was completely fantastic. In fact, I've always found the food on the Carnival Freedom to be fabulous and I've been on the ship 3 times. I have never been on RCCL, so I can't compare, but I know the food is much, much better on Carnival than NCL.

[nonna5]

I was on the Majesty of the Seas a few months ago and the food was not very good on that ship either.

[*Mach*]

Recently???

:confused:

[terisu10]

I was on the Liberty of the Seas last summer, my first time on RCI,and was quite disappointed with the food. We had waited so long to go RCI, I was really shocked at how mediocre the food was. I went back to Carnival this summer, going on the Freedom and the food was outstanding. We never even ate at port, the food on the ship was so good. The MDR was gourmet. We were traveling with friends who have been on many of the upscale lines and they said they were pleasantly surprised and vowed to travel Carnival again.

[hfweather]

My 14 year old daughter just got off the Allure of the Seas this past Sunday. She was disappointed by the taste of the food in the MDR and also the fact that she couldn't get shrimp cocktail every night in the MDR like on Carnival. She told me she thought the food in the windjammer was better than in the MDR. So she only ate MDR 2 nights, the rest of the nights in the windjammer. Just a teenagers point of view here.

[houstoncruisers2001]

I don't know, we've really never had a problem with food on any of the three cruise lines we've been on. Naturally, some things are better than others, but we've never gone to bed hungry yet. We did laugh a lot on our Carnival cruise due to the mini-portions they seemed to serve in the MDR. I think our shrimp cocktails had ONE shrimp and our dinner salads had ONE leaf of lettuce. We laughed every night, but just ordered more.

[sunshine002]

I was on the Liberty of the Seas last Dec, and told my tablemates that the food was better on Carnival. With about 10 people at my table I was the only one to feel that way. It good to see I have some company.

[joeyancho]

That may well be true, however I was on Carnival Cruise out of Italy a few years ago and the food was completely fantastic. In fact, I've always found the food on the Carnival Freedom to be fabulous and I've been on the ship 3 times. I have never been on RCCL, so I can't compare, but I know the food is much, much better on Carnival than NCL.

 

Perhaps the dollar was much stronger back then. Still no excuse for lousy food. I find the food to be about the same on both lines. I have sailed CCL ten times and RCCL sixteen times. The food has varied from cruise to cruise but all in all they are about the same. I do think the Windjammer is superior to the Lido.

[dasmonkey]

Perhaps the dollar was much stronger back then. Still no excuse for lousy food. I find the food to be about the same on both lines. I have sailed CCL ten times and RCCL sixteen times. The food has varied from cruise to cruise but all in all they are about the same. I do think the Windjammer is superior to the Lido.

 

Agreed, I have done about half a dozen on each line and they were both good. When I typically see someone with a strong opinion they usually have a ratio of 10 to 1 cruises on one particular line.

 

Those are the ones that are all OMG! The food was garbage, blah, blah, blah.

 

None of the major cruise lines are serving garbage or markedly different food in their MDR's. No cruise line is selling you the same $700 a head cruise with major differences in the MDR’s.

[cruise_girl2002]

agreed. i was on RCLS freedom of the seas and the food was terrible. the hamburgers were cold, fries were mushy, salads were brown....awful. i can be somewhat of a picky eater, however my mom isnt and even she didnt like the food. we were both unhappy with the food...i was surprised the food was so bad on RCL

[Jolimont]

I you sailed on July 9th the Carnival Magic was docked really close to you in Naples.

 

I do find the food better on Carnival, but I wouldn't say it was horrible on RCI last summer. Not as good, but good anyway, at least on the Adventure last summer out of Malaga.

[readytotravel44]

Perhaps the dollar was much stronger back then. Still no excuse for lousy food. I find the food to be about the same on both lines. I have sailed CCL ten times and RCCL sixteen times. The food has varied from cruise to cruise but all in all they are about the same. I do think the Windjammer is superior to the Lido.

 

The dollar was weak when we were there. My point was that our ship, which happened to be Carnival, went out of Italy and was fantastic. Frankly we have had wonderful food on every cruise - Disney or Carnival (including the Carnivale in 1987!) with the exception of our NCL cruise in Hawaii.

 

 

My family and I do not have any particular loyalty to ANY cruise line. We base our cruise decisions on the ports of calls, time period, and price. I'm hoping a good RCCL cruise comes up so that we can make a comparison. I do think it is funny how the Carnival folks and RCCL folks seem to battle which is the best;)

 

One couple who shared the Freedom with us last week has an enviable list of cruises - all over the word - multiple cruise lines. Interestingly enough, they just posted on our roll call that Carnival's food was the best and warned RCCL and Princess to watch out! They did point out some things Carnival was missing like classes and lectures, but they felt the food was, hands down, best on Carnival.

[jakesnana]

My 14 year old daughter just got off the Allure of the Seas this past Sunday. She was disappointed by the taste of the food in the MDR and also the fact that she couldn't get shrimp cocktail every night in the MDR like on Carnival. She told me she thought the food in the windjammer was better than in the MDR. So she only ate MDR 2 nights, the rest of the nights in the windjammer. Just a teenagers point of view here.

 

Your daughter will be disappointed to find out that the shrimp cocktail is not available on the everyday menu with Carnival any longer. We just sailed the Liberty, which had the new menu, and no shrimp cocktail every night. DH and DGS were extremely disappointed. On the flip side, they did offer fried and/or grilled shrimp several times during the week. They both LOVED the fried shrimp.

[halos]

I only sailed RCI once a few years back and I thought then, that the food was NOWHERE near as good as CCL's.

The only mdr food that was equally as good, was food I had on Celebrity. But I have heard that the food on X ain't what it used to be either lately.

 

Even with what I consider a slight decline in the food in the mdr on CCL, it is still better than Royal Caribbean.

 

I'd still sail RCI if the price was right. The ships are pretty gorgeous and food is not what I cruise for, but that's just me.

[Vanessa L]

Just returned from our second time on RCCL's Liberty of the Seas out of Barcelona.

 

FYI, we have sailed on Carnival 3 times and RCCL three times. It was our second time on RCCL Liberty of the Seas.

 

The food in the MDR was atrocious! I am not difficult to please and do not expect gourmet food on any cruise I book. However the food in the MDR on LOS was horrible!

 

First off, they do NOT have lobster on formal nights. On one of the formal nights they offered their "special Jumbo Shrimp." Three out of five of us ordered this "special," and the shrimp were mushy, overcooked and horrible. We didn't even eat them.

 

Other nights: chicken breast was dry; pasta overcooked, food mushy and/or flavorless. Deserts were sub par at best! My son's kid's menu actually had the best options and we were tempted to order from his menu.

 

We only ended up eating in the MDR three times, and at their specialty (can you say $20 per person up charge) Italian Rest. twice and their steak house ($30 per person up charge) once. Of course the food in the specialtie restaurants was very good.

 

Our wait staff noticed that our party was not very happy with the food and encouraged us to write our opinions on the comment cards at the end of the ship which we did.

 

When I told my travelling companions that the food in the MDR on all three of our Carnival cruises was far superior, they didn't believe me.

 

Oh well, just my opinion and you know what they say about everyone who has one . . .

 

Based on what I'm reading here, the food issue has nothing to do with "sub par food products", rather, the cooking of those products. As anyone who knows how to cook knows, it is possible to make lesser cuts of steak tender and delicious. It's all in the cooking method. There is never an excuse for dry chicken, even breasts. It simply means it was overcooked. Similarly with pasta, overcooking turns it to mush. Glad I've never spent the extra to go on RCI lately. This is no different than the NCL argument--that you shouldn't HAVE to use the pay venues to get a decent meal. Just MHO.

[hfweather]

Your daughter will be disappointed to find out that the shrimp cocktail is not available on the everyday menu with Carnival any longer. We just sailed the Liberty, which had the new menu, and no shrimp cocktail every night. DH and DGS were extremely disappointed. On the flip side, they did offer fried and/or grilled shrimp several times during the week. They both LOVED the fried shrimp.

 

 

Oh no, she will be ver disappointed we sailed in Jan. when it was still available. Thanks for the heads up were sailing again in Sept, atleast I can let her know now. Maybe she will like the grilled shrimp, for some reason she doesn't like them fried.

[Twibbs]

Oh no, she will be ver disappointed we sailed in Jan. when it was still available. Thanks for the heads up were sailing again in Sept, atleast I can let her know now. Maybe she will like the grilled shrimp, for some reason she doesn't like them fried.

 

Last September, I was able to get it every night, but I cannot remember if it was actually on the menu. I'm gluten-free, so they always took my order the night before. Even if it's not on the menu, you might still ask the waiter the first night if it can be arranged for her to have one every night.

[Mikew0805]

Recently???

:confused:

 

 

HAHAHA This is what I was thinking!! I enjoy RCI for a couple reason, however the food is not one of them. CCL has the best food out of the big 3, by a long shot IMO!

[bougiet]

Oh no, she will be ver disappointed we sailed in Jan. when it was still available. Thanks for the heads up were sailing again in Sept, atleast I can let her know now. Maybe she will like the grilled shrimp, for some reason she doesn't like them fried.

 

Do not worry, just ask your waiter for the shrimp cocktail and you should get it no problem. My friend did this last cruise in May. Have fun!! PS. I don't like fried shrimp either :confused: