A Poll on Carnival's Food Quality........

[Melismass]

Personally, I love the food on Carnival! With all the choices available, how can you possibly not find something you like? Ive been cruising Carnival since 2002 and honestly, I was just as happy with the food on cruise #9 as I was on Cruise #1. Its insane to me that people get so bent out of shape over all that food. So many selections and venues! Sheeesh! In fact, I wish I was eating some of that Carnival food right now!

[crusinpsychRN]

I sure hope the Beards read this thread.

[H82seaUgo]

I sure hope the Beards read this thread.

 

and the brand ambassador is trying to make people think they no longer read or visit what he calls "conspiracy critic".

 

and they'd be fools not to.

 

i don't beleive it.

[elcuchio24]

I sure hope the Beards read this thread.

 

don't worry, they wont.

[crusinpsychRN]

don't worry, they wont.

 

Or they won't care.

[buddylover]

"Hopefully Carnival will get the message that the majority of passengers realized the food is a major problem."

 

Personally I like the food just fine. The new menu is a good change. I don't have to cook or clean up afterwards.

 

Most folks vacation to get a rest from cooking and cleaning....so what does that have to do with food quality on board CCL today????? The cheerleading on these boards is insane...does CCL pay you for these comments?

[mckenna]

Please tell me where else you can go to get consistant, HIGH quality, all you can eat food, entertainment, transportation to exotic places, room with room service and twice daily cleaning and turn down for just $200 a day for 2 people.

 

I think you are setting your expectations a little too HIGH for the amount you are paying. Carnival is a value cruise, you pay value price. Why on Earth do you expect HIGH QUALITY food for a value price? If anything you should be expecting Applebees, Chilis, Olive Garden, Red Lobster type food. That is basically what you are paying for. That is what I expect and that is what I normally receive. If I end up with better then bonus...I got an even better deal for my money. If you go on expecting HIGH Quality all the time, I expect you will be spending a lot of time at guest services and not enjoying your cruise.

 

If you don't like something...send it back and ask for something else. It's not that difficult. In all of our cruises we have never had an issue with cold food...if I did I would send it back and request something hotter. Were there things I didn't like? Of course. Then I ask for something else. I have never really had to ask because every time there was something I really didn't like, my waiter picked up on it right away and would ask if I wanted to try something else (sometimes they just brought something else that they thought I would enjoy better). It doesn't mean the food was bad....it just wasn't to my tastes and I can't blame the ship for that.

 

 

We are talking about hot food that we would like to receive and Steaks (cheap or not) not to be heated in the Microwave!!!! Never had Issues with Staff. I always tip well on top of the Prepaid Gratuities! The Quality of Food has gone down on Carnival just to make a Point !!!!!! I can survive on Sandwiches or Salad. I am not a big eater either. I just think that it is a shame that they are cutting corners and $200.00 Bucks a day is a lot of Money. Where else could People go you ask for 200 bucks. All inclusive Resorts!!! But I still like cruising! You are so totally not getting the Point. I am still going to enjoy my Cruise and hope that the Food will be better this time around. I have been cruising for years and I am not the only one who is dissatisfied with the food that we had on our last Cruise. Just because I have not posted every Cruise that I have been on, does not mean that I don't know what I am talking about. Still love Carnival but not crazy about the Quality of their Food! End of Story!! Happy Cruising!

[mckenna]

Most folks vacation to get a rest from cooking and cleaning....so what does that have to do with food quality on board CCL today????? The cheerleading on these boards is insane...does CCL pay you for these comments?

 

 

Thank you Buddylover for voicing your Opinion !!! I bet he does get either OBC a free upgrade or even a free Cruise!! I will still have a blast on my Cruise and just hope that the food will be better this time. Again, thanks for voicing your Opinion on this touchy matter. Happy Cruising to you!!

[gardengirl2011]

The last two cruise's we have been on (Freedom Oct 11 & Dream Nov 11) the food quality has gone down! The beef selections are very tough and have a lot of grissle in them. The food also never came out hot, was always lukewarm if not cold. The service has really gotten bad, better plan on at least two hours int MDR. With all of that said, I love Carnival, and sail with them a lot. Still have one more cruise this year, 12-11. Will I change cruise lines because of the food? Not sure. I do know that these last two cruise's, I had stomach issues, that I have NEVER had on a cruise. No, it wasn't sea sickness, lol.

[cruzn buckeye]

I agree that the food quality and MDR service has gone down. I always looked forward to going to dinner but the entrees dont excite me... not the same as it used to be. New cruisers argue that point by saying you get what you pay for... well, I have paid for Carnival cruises in the past many times, service and food quality was always good to excellent.... I know the new 2.0 is a good thing... but seriously, I wish they would invest more in keeping the mdr food and service the way it was before... it was so much better then...

[ImmortalxKiss]

I'd say it's stayed the same.. which to me, is very good :D Don't have many complaints with the food, I'm just a picky eater and normally only consume chicken :D

[mckenna]

The last two cruise's we have been on (Freedom Oct 11 & Dream Nov 11) the food quality has gone down! The beef selections are very tough and have a lot of grissle in them. The food also never came out hot, was always lukewarm if not cold. The service has really gotten bad, better plan on at least two hours int MDR. With all of that said, I love Carnival, and sail with them a lot. Still have one more cruise this year, 12-11. Will I change cruise lines because of the food? Not sure. I do know that these last two cruise's, I had stomach issues, that I have NEVER had on a cruise. No, it wasn't sea sickness, lol.

 

 

Hi,

Bacteria grows if the food is not being kept at a certain Temp. I can I definitely say that Carnival is not abiding by the Guidelines as far as temp goes. I am sure you had Stomach troubles because of it.

Happy Cruising!!

[CrusieToy]

Would like to hear from anyone who has taken a Carnival Cruise in the past year or two, what you think of the food quality when compared to your earlier Carnival Cruises.

 

We thought the food quality was seriously lacking (particularly the Lido) on our recent Magic cruise as compared to our 2008 cruise on the Freedom and 2009 cruise on the Dream.

 

We like it. our experience is that on Carnival we like the sit down more than the buffet and on RC we like the buffet better.

[CrusieToy]

"..

I do not think that this poll will prove anything to Carnival. Less than 1% of passangers post here (my opinion).

Personally I like the food just fine. The new menu is a good change. I don't have to cook or clean up afterwards.

 

I was amazed how many people never read these message boards.

[mckenna]

The last two cruise's we have been on (Freedom Oct 11 & Dream Nov 11) the food quality has gone down! The beef selections are very tough and have a lot of grissle in them. The food also never came out hot, was always lukewarm if not cold. The service has really gotten bad, better plan on at least two hours int MDR. With all of that said, I love Carnival, and sail with them a lot. Still have one more cruise this year, 12-11. Will I change cruise lines because of the food? Not sure. I do know that these last two cruise's, I had stomach issues, that I have NEVER had on a cruise. No, it wasn't sea sickness, lol.

 

I found this on another Board!!!

 

I'm not even sure where to begin so bear with me as I express my thoughts.

 

My neighbors, my wife, and I cruised on the Legend about 3 weeks ago. As avid cruisers with a combined 27 Carnival cruises between us, we were very excited to be on another beautiful ship from Carnival.

 

The first night out, my neighbor and I got violently ill and ended up in the infirmary. The symptomatology matched directly with food poisoning so the nurse had us trace back everything we had eaten for the past 3 days. After doing so, the only thing in common were the Tiger shrimp we had for dinner.

 

We were in quarantine for 4 days (not that we felt like going anywhere). My neighbor had to get an IV, both of us received shots, and several other meds to calm our systems. My neighbor was so dehydrated from the episode that he was probably near a cardiac event. He immediately was given fluids via IV. Plus, bland food only from room service complete with bio-hazard bags.

 

(many more details and infirmary reports are available but I chose not to share the entire gruesome story with y'all)

 

The infirmary staff were great and I have no complaints for them. In fact, I praise them for their reactions, sense of urgency, and how the handled the situation overall.

 

When we returned home, I thought I'd be able to call Carnival, share with them what happened plus they could verify the records from the infirmary, and Carnival would offer some type of compensation and apology. It seemed fair to me to ask for a voucher toward a future cruise or even an on-board credit the next time we cruised. I do not believe that is asking for to much considering the events and traceability to food on ship. Instead, I received a very cold "not our fault, so sorry you didn't enjoy yourself". What! I couldn't believe this was the response. I formulated a letter and sent it directly to the president of Carnival's office. After 3 weeks and no response, I called his office. Again, the same response "not our fault, so sorry you didn't enjoy yourself".

 

I find it very hard to believe that a corporation like Carnival feels no responsibility. It's not that I'm complaining about something trivial. I am very shocked that Carnival has such a rigid policy in place. I know that what happened could have happened on any cruise line, any restaurant, and so forth. I do feel there is some corporate responsibility for circumstances like this.

 

I also do not understand how Carnival would choose to risk losing avid Carnival cruisers over something that could have been averted with a simple acknowledgment and some type of reimbursement.

 

I am truly shocked and appalled with Carnival.

[Skywench]

I cruise a couple of times each year. Just got home from my last Carnival cruise Friday. Found the food to be very good. Neither of us had any complaints about it at all. I am a very picky eater in general, but have never had any issues on Carnival.

[suezyq50]

Our biggest frustration was the temp of the food. The first two nights in the MDR, it was room temp or cold until we said something. We talked to the maitred', the hotel director talked to us at the return party and we shared with him. One of the two must had shared with the food director, can't recall specific title, because he came and talk to us. Moving forward, we were constantly asked if food was to our satisfaction, which it was. Carnival made an excellent effort to correct the problem.

[farler05]

I know that my standards have gone up over the years, but don't think that accounts for my disappointment in the quality of the food. On my first cruise, I thought the food was great! Not 5 star, I've never made that comparison but still great! As we've continued to cruise, the offerings have changed and not for the better. The quality of the food has decreased. No more beef Wellington, now we get a flat iron steak. Trading filet for flat iron...can't exactly say that's not a downgrade. On their best day, I'd compare the food to TGI Fridays quality. The presentation is more creative, but the quality is the same. Now if you want a great meal, you have to pay & go to the steakhouse. We do eat in the dining room most nights & I always find things to enjoy. I'm not going hungry. But there is no denying that the quality of food has decreased.

 

For those who want to use the argument of costs increasing...blah blah blah...that is irrelevant. The question is, has the qualify of food decreased? Yes, the quality has decreased over the years. If you'd like to debate why the quality has decreased, then start another thread. You can also discuss the decline in the quality of entertainment.

[Slacktide]

I thought it was just me. I'm recently off the Pride and also found the food to me luke warm to cold. I'm sure there were no vampires aboard because most everything was loaded with garlic. Almost like someone was covering something up with it.

[rainbowflag]

Our biggest frustration was the temp of the food. The first two nights in the MDR, it was room temp or cold until we said something. We talked to the maitred', the hotel director talked to us at the return party and we shared with him. One of the two must had shared with the food director, can't recall specific title, because he came and talk to us. Moving forward, we were constantly asked if food was to our satisfaction, which it was. Carnival made an excellent effort to correct the problem.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. Cold entrees on Carnival in the MDR has been my only concern on past cruises.

[crusinpsychRN]

Another review on Glory noted food in MDR was served cold.

[Peddler&Tass]

Most problems can't be altered if the situation isn't brought to someone's attention ... complaining on the boards is like whizzing in the wind.

 

BTW has anyone eaten at a McDonald's or Burger King lately... the ship food is great.

[crusinpsychRN]

People DO complain and send cold food back. Why do you assume they don't? On one cruise I asked the pasta dish be heated and it was much better. The problem was the next night to ensure food was hot lamb was overcooked and inedible. So sometimes telling them is a double edged sword.

[Clamshell]

It's long been my contention that if they gave away the drinks and charged for the food they'd be better off. Not all eaters drink, but all drinkers eat.

 

It's criminal how people load up their plates at the buffet and then leave most of it to be tossed while they go load up on 'different' plates, only to leave most to be tossed as well.

 

I was astounded to see that the Legend has gone from trays with normal sized plates to PLATTERS!! Of course there will be a lot of wasted food, so they have to budget that in. Lots more food gets tossed than alcohol (which is a LOT cheaper!)

 

That said, having been on the Carnival Legend a bunch of times, the buffet has definitely improved! There's more variety and the beef was actually tender this last time! I don't do the dining room much because I don't like to sit around and wait, but did go for lobster night (not very impressed) and the shrimp cocktail was actually disappointing.

 

On Escargot night, I asked one of the buffet waiters (the dude in the tux) if I could get some escargot sauce (It's all in the bread and garlic sauce anyway) and he got me some, so I am one that is quite content to do the buffet all the time.

 

The thing about all the "fine food" you get on a ship is just that it's not that great, it's just different than what you eat at home! Heck, I'd bet half the people that go for something other than the pasta dishes wouldn't have a clue what some of these dishes are supposed to taste like anyway, so they say how "wonderful" it was just because it had a pretty presentation.

 

Happy cruising!

[RMM34667]

Try Princess, Celebrity or HAL and let me know if there is a difference! I agree the food on RCCL was never up to Carnival in the past, can't comment currently. As for NCL, from my experience their food is now better than what Carnival has to offer, that didn't use to be the case.

 

I think the food is much better on Princess. In March while I was sailing the Star Princess the first night my Filet was over cooked. But instead of saying anything I just didn't eat much of it. When the server noticed he questioned. He was truely upset I would not allow him to replace it. (I didn't want to slow down dinner for everyone else. I'm a slow eater.) He made me promise that I would let him know immediately if anything was not to my liking and checked many times that my meat was cooked as requested. I just got off the Destiny yesterday and more than once my table mates found their dinner unappealing and left it untouched on the plate. No one ever questioned why or asked if they would like something else. THAT is the difference (in my opinion).

 

I have only cruised NCL once, and that is because the food was so bad.