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What restaurant chains would you compare Celebrity food to?

FolsomMike

By FolsomMike,
in Celebrity Cruises

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specialdiet

specialdiet

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You're certainly spot on thinking about chain restaurants as the point of comparison.

 

Run away from anything considered "ethnic" by American tastes. Anytime I see a promising ethnic dish on the MDR menu, I remember to put the words "Inspired by" before the name so I won't be disappointed!

 

On Millenium's "last" cruise, several of us at our table ordered an Indian dish (some of my table-mates were Indian), which came out bland and generic. A few people teased the waiter about it. That got back to the kitchen, and the executive chef (who is Indian) made sure they got a fantastic and authentic Indian dish by special order at the next night's dinner. :)

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Sapphire723

Sapphire723

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On Millenium's "last" cruise, several of us at our table ordered an Indian dish (some of my table-mates were Indian), which came out bland and generic. A few people teased the waiter about it. That got back to the kitchen, and the executive chef (who is Indian) made sure they got a fantastic and authentic Indian dish by special order at the next night's dinner. :)

I love this. Our Maitre d' on a Princess cruise brought us out some of his favorites from his town in Italy. It was very special and delicious.

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kimanjo

kimanjo

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You're certainly spot on thinking about chain restaurants as the point of comparison.

 

Run away from anything considered "ethnic" by American tastes. Anytime I see a promising ethnic dish on the MDR menu, I remember to put the words "Inspired by" before the name so I won't be disappointed!

 

On Millenium's "last" cruise, several of us at our table ordered an Indian dish (some of my table-mates were Indian), which came out bland and generic. A few people teased the waiter about it. That got back to the kitchen, and the executive chef (who is Indian) made sure they got a fantastic and authentic Indian dish by special order at the next night's dinner. :)

 

 

We also, had a special dish made for us on the Equinox by the Indian chef, and it was FANTASTIC!!

 

I think they like it when they get a chance to go "off menu" and show their skills to passengers who are willing to try the unusual. One of the best meals ever!!

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carolslc

carolslc

Posted
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On Millenium's "last" cruise, several of us at our table ordered an Indian dish (some of my table-mates were Indian), which came out bland and generic. A few people teased the waiter about it. That got back to the kitchen, and the executive chef (who is Indian) made sure they got a fantastic and authentic Indian dish by special order at the next night's dinner. :)

 

I love Indian food! I'm lucky to have had Indian friends take me to the more authentic restaurants, and to their homes. Maybe I'll try this on the Summit. :)

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specialdiet

specialdiet

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I think they like it when they get a chance to go "off menu" and show their skills to passengers who are willing to try the unusual.

 

Many of them certainly do. Because of multiple dietary restrictions, both my wife and I always do the "pre-order" thing. We often try to leave as much as possible to chef's discretion, and many times are pleasantly surprised what they come up with.

 

Of course, sometimes you also get the regular meal with things simply taken away until it fits the restrictions.

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hansolosmom

hansolosmom

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I find this interesting because I was going to say Applebee's or Ruby Tuesdays because those are really good by us, sadly both Red Lobster & Outback are the 2 worst places nearby so I'd never use them for comparison.

 

To us the dining room was good, not spectacular but good. One of the men at our table learned by the 3rd night that he needed to order his meat one level rarer than he wanted it because the first 2 nights he send it back for being too done. Other than that really there were no issues.

 

Breakfast in the buffet according to my husband & teens was excellent. They did the made to order eggs/omlets. For me it was fine, but I only do a bagel or oatmeal. The one day I tried the. Waffles which were hard & dry.

 

Biggest disappointments the pizza & the pool grill. Mediocre at best.

 

Biggest surprise the coffee bar. I thought it was better than Starbucks.

 

Also wanted to add about food/dietary requirements. My son & I did the galley tour & they were taking questions as they were getting the groups worked out. An Indian gentleman asked why they didn't salt & spice up their Indian food more because it was too bland. The executive chef nicely tried to say that they need to kind of make the food appeal to a large number of people with different dietary needs.

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pris993

pris993

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We all know that food reviews are very subjective and that comments like "delicious", "sub-par", and "out of this world" mean different things to different people. However, we've all dined in chain restaurants (Olive Garden, Ruths Chris, Red Lobster, etc.) which are usually pretty consistent. As such, I think that such comparisons might be more helpful. Who wants to start? ;)

 

Denny's - MDR on most ships today similar to Denny's...

 

Buffet - Sizzler on Celebrity.

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SSFrance69

SSFrance69

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If you are happy with Red Lobster and Outback, then I believe you will be very happy with Celebrity's food. :)

 

Ed, you can't get waffles at Red Lobster or Outback. I think I was channeling you on our last cruise. I could not get enough of those succulent waffles. They were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. OMG...I want more. Do they put crack in those waffles????? I drenched them in the melted butter and syrup!

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happy cruzer

happy cruzer

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Love the discussion.

 

I don't think the MDR can be compared to a chain restaurant at all because of the Menu offerings changing each night. A chain restaurant has a very limited menu by comparision. I'm not sure how many folks would be happy eating at Applebee's, etc for 7 nights or so with a few breakfasts, lunch, and brunchs thrown in. To me that is what is overlooked when people want to criticize the MDR, is that it serving a very wide variety of tastes at each meal, they don't get to just target a niche market like a chain restaurant. The MDR gets to try to please all ages and nationalities at one time.

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Sail Girl

Sail Girl

Posted
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Love the discussion.

 

I don't think the MDR can be compared to a chain restaurant at all because of the Menu offerings changing each night. A chain restaurant has a very limited menu by comparision. I'm not sure how many folks would be happy eating at Applebee's, etc for 7 nights or so with a few breakfasts, lunch, and brunchs thrown in. To me that is what is overlooked when people want to criticize the MDR, is that it serving a very wide variety of tastes at each meal, they don't get to just target a niche market like a chain restaurant. The MDR gets to try to please all ages and nationalities at one time.

 

 

A very different perspective on this discussion!

DH and I eat at chain restaurants, especially when traveling by car, as we know what to expect and can have a usually affordable, quick sit down meal rather than fast food.

However, 7 days of such meals gets tiresome.

 

We've never gotten tired of eating in the MDR on X and enjoy the food so much, we rarely eat in the specialty restaurants.

Granted, we aren't gourmands, but nor are we "meat and potatoes" only people.

For me the bottom line is that tastes in food vary widely. That is why it is great that cruise lines have found it profitable to have alternative dining venues for which they can charge.

 

I agree with you that it is impossible (for me at least) to compare the MDR food with that of chain restaurants.

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cruzinlisa

cruzinlisa

Posted
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It sounds like there are varying opinions. Has anyone been on both celebrity and Carnival (recently) and if so, is the food better on Celebrity. My first two cruises with Carnival, the MDR food was very good. Last two cruises (2012 and 2013) food has MOSTLY been between good and pretty good. (As an aside, I can say that Carnival's non MDR options have improved significantly with the 2.0 upgrades and Carnival's food is not bad). But we are paying more for this cruise than Carnival, so the food hopefully is better.

 

We will be dining at Blu for dinner, so hopefully the food suits us okay. DH likes his food pretty simple (he is a meat and potato type of guy). I like things a little more complex with sauces and spices, but I am not into more "exotic" things (like goat cheese, liver). :eek:

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yknot13

yknot13

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The portions aren't big and the food is a little on the bland side, though getting better...I think Seasons52 is a decent comparison. The quality in the MDR is pretty good but not exquisite, kinda like Bonefish Grill. I sure wish there was a buffet on land that came close to Oceanview Cafe or a chain restaurant that was as elegant and as good as Murano.

 

I would agree that the MDR on our Silhoutte was very similar to Bonefish quality and preperation,

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galleycook

galleycook

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"The food",no such thing as "The food". Every food venue serves a different menu and has a different theme. If anyone really wants to tackle this meaningless topic they really need to list each dining venue and relate them individually to what may be found on land. I don't have the time to do this since I'm so occupied reading and posting on really crucial topics such as the Loyalty program and increasing the compensation of the poor, underpaid staff.

 

Thanks for telling us you have no time for these types of threads....but posting anyway :rolleyes:

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Texed Holiday Sharing Rare

Texed

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Ed, you can't get waffles at Red Lobster or Outback. I think I was channeling you on our last cruise. I could not get enough of those succulent waffles. They were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. OMG...I want more. Do they put crack in those waffles????? I drenched them in the melted butter and syrup!

 

Possibly! I know I am addicted. :D

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