Good and Slow Pizza!

[denrusk]

Just came back from our 5th Carnival cruise, have another booked for July, so I don't want anyone to feel I am bashing Carnival, but why do they have such a poor crew working in the pizza area? We love to have a late night pizza snack and have yet to get good service getting it. They have one, or maybe 2, people making one 4 slice pizza at a time. The line is long, the pizza is gone, then they tell you, when you finally get to the front of the line, 5 minutes! If you want a specific type of pizza...good luck! We get such good service on the ship from almost everyone, the pizza crew is definitely the exception. This has happened on all of our cruises and every time we have gotten pizza. What does everyone think of the service they get?

[golfadj]

Service has been ok just think the pizza leaves a lot to be desired.

[put me on a ship]

Service is usually pretty slow, pizza okay. Often there is a long line, so I don't bother!

[poison7fl]

It has ALWAYS been this way for some reason... And, I hate all the cornmeal on the bottom.

[9876]

I agree, the pizza station ALWAYS seems undermanned. I wish they would always have no less than two people working that station so that the front guy does not have to go back and make the pizza too.

[richstowe]

Recently returned from a Celebrity cruise. The pizza was good, let's say a 7 to Carnivals 6 with the old Carnival pizza being a 5.

The strange thing is having been on Celebrity , Carnival and RC (also a 6)in the last 28 months, is the pizza staff are by and large

the least friendly and accommodating members on the entire ship.

Didn't matter which cruise or cruise line, the pizza people were generally not nice when staffers are otherwise very nice.

They all had the same routine where they would turn their backs and pretend you weren't there.

That and not acknowledging your questions with actual words.

Weird.:confused:

[terryinal]

I think the pizza has gone south in the last two yrs.. Yrs ago you could walk up and they would have them in the back made up already. Seems like they wait till you order now

[bartrise]

I agree 100%. I even put this in my last survey. We gave up this last cruise now I love room service every night shrimp salad :D

[MickCruiser]

Enjoyed the new pizza on Breeze. Agree tho that they need to be more aggressive (?) with their making. Every night after the last comedy show there was always a line. Why not just make 'em at that time and be prepared.

 

On the flip side.....if they had pieces waiting for you, some may ask way the old pizza. :-)

[cruiser2053]

We were on the Liberty in August 2011 and We thought the pizza was good but the service was lousy the people behind the counter were rude and the really bad part as we always were going ther at around 10ish so there were not alot of options available

[Sargent_Schultz]

5 minutes is nothing to wait for fresh pizza.

[Aoumd]

Having seen the slow pizza and lines recently on the Breeze, I think this is something CCL can do something about without adding manpower or cost. Certain times of day or night cause spikes in demand, like at night when the club closes and no other food service is open. In those specific scheduled and known-ahead-of-time situations, I think existing staff making a pizza or two of each flavor just before the demand surge would make sense. Other times the make-to-order is fine.

 

At 4 AM when the club closes, or 1 AM when the comedy show lets out, I think people are going to care more about not waiting 15 minutes in line for pizza versus having a pizza that was made ten minutes ago instead of now (Dominos never even promised ten minutes back when they made such promises!). I know that's how this cruiser feels at least.

[Spaniel Lover]

Here on the west coast of the USA we have a 500-store chain of pizza restaurants called Round Table Pizza. I've been a fan since about 1972.

 

When you go in to a Round Table Pizza restaurant between 11 AM and 2 PM they have a lunch buffet. It is perfect for people on a 30 minute lunch because you can go in and be eating food within a couple of minutes of entering the restaurant. They just keep making pizzas and putting them out where the customers can take as many slices as they want. They sit under heat lamps to keep them warm... and because the restaurant does an excellent volume of business, any one particular pizza is typically only sitting out for 10 or 15 minutes max before all the pieces are gone and another pizza is brought out to replace it. They would typically have 5 or 6 different pizzas of different varieties available at any particular time.

 

After 2 PM, the buffet goes away and it's done like a regular pizza restaurant where each pizza is made to order.

 

I have often thought that this model would work extremely well for Carnival. Make it buffet style during the hours of peak demand, and then during the slower hours go to made-to-order like they do it now.

 

I wish I could take John Heald or Gerry Cahill or some other influential Carnival person to a Round Table Pizza restaurant for lunch some day and show them how this model could work for them!

 

I agree with the OP that the current method of operation is screwed up!

[nodogkisses]

It has ALWAYS been this way for some reason... And, I hate all the cornmeal on the bottom.

 

Poison, you'll be happy to know that there is no more cornmeal on the bottom of the pizza. The pizza is totally different now and it's actually very good. I cruised on the Pride last week and the Pizza guys were wonderful. Always a couple of them working and never longer than a five minute wait. They pretty much give you the entire four cut pizza, so your pizza is made fresh. Love the new Carnival pizza.

[CruiseVille]

Guess I'm a bit different than most....

 

I'd rather have fresh/hot pizza instead of pizza that has been sitting, therefore waiting 5-10 mins does not bother me.

[rhinomike]

Same on the Glory. Stood in line for 15 minutes just for a slice of pepperoni. After 9 there is nothing to eat but pizza and the deli. Deli closes at 11 and your left with pizza. Long line and very slow. Lots of complaints in the line.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Room service is 24 hours and there is a late night buffet, also.

[sanmarcosman]

The way the pizza cooks behave I suspect the chef puts cooks who are in the doghouse on pizza duty. The cook is usually in the back alone and when they look up through the window of the door and see customers waiting their face falls with a look of disdain. :mad:

[Tbay-eh]

I guess I am really dense here - 1. it is the only food venue open at that time so why is everyone surprise you have to wait (go order room service if it is a big deal) 2. when I get to the front I order a pizza I want - mushroom, black olives, purple onion, feta cheese and I have to wait a whole 10-15 minutes (where am I going to go in a fired up big hurry - bed) I step aside and you can get you pepperoni etc. It is free - no, it is not the greatest but at 2:30 AM I would eat pop on a stick KIDDING. It is not going to be the $20 pizza you order back home and just a question here - how many of you tip them or even thank them

[sanmarcosman]

Canoes tip, not Canadians ;) j/k

[Bitburg7]

That's my guess. If people decide to just grab something off the buffet, or just go back to the room and eat a snack, or just go to bed without getting pizza due to the line or wait, then they have to buy less pizza ingredients. When you figure they are using pizza ingredients 24/7 on all their ships, the "slow service" policy probably adds up to tens, or perhaps hundreds of thousands per year in lower costs. And while it might be inconvenient, I've never heard anyone say, "I'm never going on a cruise again with Carnival, because I had to wait 5 minutes for pizza."

 

The answer to most questions is money, and that is probably the answer here as well.

[rhinomike]

Room service is 24 hours and there is a late night buffet, also.

 

Room service is a yes. But there wasn't a late night buffet.

[poison7fl]

Poison, you'll be happy to know that there is no more cornmeal on the bottom of the pizza. The pizza is totally different now and it's actually very good. I cruised on the Pride last week and the Pizza guys were wonderful. Always a couple of them working and never longer than a five minute wait. They pretty much give you the entire four cut pizza, so your pizza is made fresh. Love the new Carnival pizza.

 

GREAT! I'll check it out in a couple of weeks. Thanks

 

Also, I think the employees are grumpy because the kids are always there dinging the bell over and over... it really is funny though..

[ERNLYN]

Ok,I'll probably ruffle a few feathers but, yeah the quality is not quiet as good as times past. But its hot and fresh....and come on fellow cruisers whats 5-10 minutes? your sailing in the middle of the beautiful ocean with a cool breeze. Sit back with your favorite beverage, chat with your friends and or family and relax while your favorite personal, piping hot pizza is delivered....love that ceasar salad too!

[FLCruisinMom]

I was on the Dream last week and had the same experience.