Food? Who is better at it?

[Sooner61]

I have cruised Princess, RCL, and Carnival. I am looking at cruising with a friend that is a food snob. I just like being away and don't really care that much about the food. Any suggestions as far as what line does the best job? Thanks:)

[Gunner22aa]

By far the best ever was on Cunard but you are paying a hefty premium for what you get in the Queens Grill. As far as the mainstream lines go I have only sailed Celebrity, Princess and NCL (once and only once). As far as selection goes Celebrity gets the nod. The wife thinks their deserts are the best as well. I don't eat them so I can't comment here. As for quality I found Princess and Celebrity even. Each would get the nod for a particular dish but overall same same in my books. NCL had some great food in their speciality restaurants. As to the buffet and MDR I personally think they need to pay way more attention to quality. Think an Applybees. Remember this is my opinion based upon my tastes and preferences. There will be a hunderd others that dispute what I say based upon their own likes and opinions. Food quality is probably the single most debated subject on these boards and hugely subjective.

[ColS2013]

Holland America has a Signature of Excellence Dining. They do a wonderful job at raising the bar as far as quality of food choices. Of course, there is the stigma attached to Holland America, that it is only for more mature cruisers, but I just don't find this to be the case. I have been on 3 different Holland America cruises, and they are amazing. If it is a 'party' ship you are looking for - then it is probably not for you. Norweigan has many different choices for dining - you are not just eating at one location - that could be a nice option as well.

[LHT28]

Oceania the best at sea

 

But food is subjective ;)

[Beachdude]

There isn't enough difference between RCL, Carnival or Princess to suggest one over the other. I think like anything, you get what you pay for. So you can consider paying a little more for a higher end cruise line or going to the specialty restuarants.

 

Burt

[kitty9]

Anytime you have to prepare food for thousands of passengers, you're not going to get gourmet. While food on cruise ships is highly subjective, you'll find those who think Red Lobster or Olive Garden is high end, and others who wouldn't walk into those places (for the record, I have no problem with either place). What you do get on a mass market line is decent banquet food. If you want really high end food, made to order with excellent ingredients you'll have to go to one of the luxury lines.

[bbwex]

Food quality is, of course, subjective, but I have found the food on Oceania to be wonderful. The specialty restaurants, which are free, are exceptional, and the MDR is well above any of the mass market lines. I have found the food on HAL, for instance, to be mediocre at best in the MDR and the specialty restaurants were not any better, just smaller.

 

Oceania prides itself on its food, and it shows!

[skandls]

I like Aqua Class on Celebrity because of the food in Blu.

 

If you like Royal Caribbean why not cruise on the Oasis or Allure and plan on one of the restaurant packages. With Giovannis, Chops, 150 Park, Chefs Table, Tapas in Vintages, Izumi, Samba Grill, you would only have dinner in the MDR a couple of nights. The lunch in the MDR is quite good - I like the chopped salad bar. Johnny Rockets for breakfast or a quick bite from the Park Cafe.

 

The food on Oceania is better - but you will pay more for the cruise.

[Riana]

Food may be subjective, but Oceania definitely gets the nod from many cruisers. Crystal, too, if you're looking for a luxury line.

[chipq]

I have found that even withing a cruise line, the food quality differs from ship to ship. In general RCI, NCL and CCL are good with HAL and Princess slightly better but I give the nod to Celebrity. I have not had the pleasure to sail Oceana or Crystal though.

 

That said, last June I sailed on CCL Valor and was very surprised at the MDR quality. So much better than expected for CCL and was near my Celebrity experiences. I am by no means a foodie but I enjoy great tasting, hot and properly portioned meals.

 

http://luv2cruise.blogspot.com

[cb at sea]

You will not satisfy a true "foodie" on any mass-market line. Can't be done. Go to Vegas and check out some of the high-end restautants!

[JimAOk1945]

I like them all. DW says the food on Princess is better. But as others have said food is subjective.

 

Happy sailing!

[NMLady]

I have cruised Princess, RCL, and Carnival. I am looking at cruising with a friend that is a food snob. I just like being away and don't really care that much about the food. Any suggestions as far as what line does the best job? Thanks:)

 

Food is very subjective. Also, it will vary from chef to chef.

A cruise line or cruise ship that's good today might be lousy tomorrow if the chef changes.

 

HAL and Celebrity I used to think were excellent for food, but with budget cuts the food choices seem to have gone down.

 

Oceania imo is excellent for gourmet food, but their cruises are expensive.

 

Personally, if your friend is that much of a food snob I think she'd be disappointed by most of today's cruise lines.

[Liz54]

I travel with a real foodie and we have done several Princess cruises. Because she has opened and operated top retaurants in our city of 1,000,000 people, as well as catered and had every concievable job in food service I consider her the BEST kind of foodie. She puts cruise ship food in context = the kitchen prepping 3000+ meals a night. She lowers her expectations accordingly. Then she reads the menu carefully and selects the items that are most likely to succeed in the context of a banquet for 3000. Then she brings the right atitude to the table. She is delighted to be on a break from cooking and cleaning, having a choice of dishes, and good company. She is ALWAYS happy with her cruise meals. Some are better than others but she rarely has a complaint.

[Sooner61]

I have cruised Princess, RCL, and Carnival. I am looking at cruising with a friend that is a food snob. I just like being away and don't really care that much about the food. Any suggestions as far as what line does the best job? Thanks:)

Thanks everyone. My friend sailed the Carnival Breeze for 8 days and said the food was awesome! I have high hopes for the Epic! I just don't want the food to be a blemish on our trip. I think I am easy to please. I don't care as long as I'm on a cruise.

[navybankerteacher]

Among mass-market lines (which category probably should not include Oceania), I would say HAL, Cunard and Celebrity are best, then Princess and Royal Caribbean on a par, followed by Carnival, then NCL in dead last . Of course, the speciality restaurants on all lines are generally better than MDR's.

[Keith1010]

Food is always subjective.

 

Remember some people like food that is not very hard to prepare or costly as much as those who prefer a gourmet meal.

 

Keith

[cruiserking]

Cunard Line far and away the most beautifully prepared and delicious meals we have enjoyed cruising. Holland America also gets high marks for taste and preparation.

 

Jonathan

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Find one that charges a lot and maybe they will be happy...

[boogs]

For a ranking based on Cruise Critic member's reviews on cruise dining, check out the Cruise Critic 2013 Cruiser's Choice awards:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/cruiserschoice_index.cfm?category=Dining&sort=large

 

Celebrity had six of the top ten in the large ship category, including 1st, 2nd, and 4th places, and two of the top ten in ship mid-size ship category.

 

These rankings are based on the reviews of your fellow Cruise Critic members, not some magazine who may favor its biggest advertisers.

Edited October 2, 2013 by boogs

[kcwingwalker]

For a ranking based on Cruise Critic member's reviews on cruise dining, check out the Cruise Critic 2013 Cruiser's Choice awards:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/cruiserschoice_index.cfm?category=Dining&sort=large

 

Celebrity had six of the top ten in the large ship category, including 1st, 2nd, and 4th places, and two of the top ten in ship mid-size ship category.

 

These rankings are based on the reviews of your fellow Cruise Critic members, not some magazine who may favor its biggest advertisers.

 

Celebrity is on my list, but not for now. Thanks for sharing the good info!

[NoobCruise]

Holland America has a Signature of Excellence Dining. They do a wonderful job at raising the bar as far as quality of food choices. Of course, there is the stigma attached to Holland America, that it is only for more mature cruisers, but I just don't find this to be the case. I have been on 3 different Holland America cruises, and they are amazing. If it is a 'party' ship you are looking for - then it is probably not for you. Norweigan has many different choices for dining - you are not just eating at one location - that could be a nice option as well.

 

The desserts on HAL are very disappointing, especially the cakes. This is a common opinion over on the HAL board. By the 2nd half of our cruise, we skipped dessert and headed for the Lido for an ice cream instead.

[desertr0se]

Holland America has a Signature of Excellence Dining. They do a wonderful job at raising the bar as far as quality of food choices. Of course, there is the stigma attached to Holland America, that it is only for more mature cruisers, but I just don't find this to be the case. I have been on 3 different Holland America cruises, and they are amazing. If it is a 'party' ship you are looking for - then it is probably not for you. Norweigan has many different choices for dining - you are not just eating at one location - that could be a nice option as well.

 

I have stuck with HAL because I've been disappointed with the food on other lines. However, this last cruise I took with HAL was a huge disappointment in the food department. I'm trying to decide if I want to stick with them now or not. Could it be that they are cutting back on quality because of the economy?

[desertr0se]

The desserts on HAL are very disappointing, especially the cakes. This is a common opinion over on the HAL board. By the 2nd half of our cruise, we skipped dessert and headed for the Lido for an ice cream instead.

 

That's exactly what we did also.

[marco]

If you're going to go "mass market", I'd go with HAL. If you want to go a step up, but not break the bank with something very high end like SiverSea, try Crystal. They also now are beverage inclusive.