Carnival, NCL and Princess Food

[lovesublime]

I consider myself a serious foodie and have recently had CCL and RCI food....it doesn't "suck". It's not high-caliber restaurant food, but it's decent and passable mid-level food. Like, above an Applebee's or Chili's but below a nice restaurant on land.

 

If you dislike cruise food so much, and food is such an important part of cruises....why are you going on all these cruises?

 

 

 

Unlike many who post here on these forums, we don't "cruise for the food". We cruise for many other aspects of cruising we find enjoyable. And yes, IMO, cruise line food does suck. You're entitled to your opinion and I am to mind.

[lovesublime]

Or maybe you are eating garbage at home' date=' so when you actually taste something good, it upsets your "superior" palate.[/quote']

 

 

The only thing "good" I had on my most recent cruise was the Greek salad in the dining room. Everything else DID suck. Did you ever try the basic white lukewarm rice which butter wouldn't melt on? Did you ever try the soggy baked potato (burned on the bottom) that butter wouldn't melt on? How about the nasty tiger pawns from Asia that are pencil sized in diameter, but coated in half an inch of greasy bread crumbs? Yummy, huh?

Edited February 8, 2014 by lovesublime

[Atlantian]

Couldn't agree more. I was incredibly disappointed in the food on Carnival Dream. I found the food in the MDR got better with each day (or my tolerance for substandard food increased). The Lido buffet was almost intolerable. What I did like: the staff was incredible, the bread was delicious, the salads were decent, the bitter and blanc was great, the tempura shrimp was good, pasta was better than most dishes, veggies were n ot enough but good as well.

 

However, this did not stop me from booking again...going on my second Carnival cruise in 3 months in just a few days.

 

We've been on all those lines and our consensus is that cruise line food in general sucks. On ALL the lines. Yes, we've found a few things here and there that were OK or maybe pretty good, but there is just no understanding all the raving on so many threads on these forums on how "yummy" things are. Sorry, just don't get it. We figure that most of these folks must be eating garbage at home to go on and on about how great cruise line food is.

 

Here are a few things that we've found ok

 

-Carnival's steakhouses are pretty good

-Cagney's on NCL is also pretty good

-Blue Lagoon on NCL has good tomato soup

-Pizza on Princess is very good

-Cucina del Capitano on Carnival is also pretty good (for dinner)

[Regrim]

Hi Just returned Thurs from Back to back cruises NCL Newest Ship Getaway - Food was superb both Served & Buffett,Then we came down to Earth with Carnival Splendor Both Served & Buffett very poor Quality and mostly luke warm our 15th Cruise and Defo the worst!

Food

1)NCL

2) P&O

3) Thomson (Celebration)

15th Carnival Splendor

Staff

1)NCL

2Thomson

3P&O

15th Carnival Splendor

Entertainment

1 NCL

2 Thomsons Clebration

3 P&O

15th Carnival Splendor

 

 

Sorry to anyone who has booked Carnival

[Jimmy Geegitz]

I think the food on carnival is decent. The steakhouse is fabulous. I have heard NCL free venues are horrible but the pay venues are good.

[klct39lg]

Truthfully, cruise line food is just okay. I've sailed on Disney, Princess, NCL, and Carnival, and always found a thing or two that I liked, but nothing great. As someone else said, I didn't I have to shop for it, prepare it, or clean up afterward, which makes me happy.

[Skywench]

Unlike many who post here on these forums, we don't "cruise for the food". We cruise for many other aspects of cruising we find enjoyable. And yes, IMO, cruise line food does suck. You're entitled to your opinion and I am to mind.

 

I don't cruise for the dining experience either. As long as I don't go hungry, I'm fine lol. I'm a very picky eater and have to say I've never had any issues with finding something I like on Carnival. Certainly haven't had anything that I would say "sucked".

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I think the food on carnival is decent. The steakhouse is fabulous. I have heard NCL free venues are horrible but the pay venues are good.

 

That's the second where "you heard" about NCL that i read tonight.

 

Maybe you should give them a try for yourself instead of passing on hearsay.:)

 

While NCL's main dining rooms aren't 5 star you certainly won't go hungry.

 

Bill

[Midwestgal]

A friend just returned from an NCL cruise in Hawaii. They have been on Princess and recently they cruised with us on Carnival. Her opinion of the food was that Carnival had the best. Now Carnival is changing their food and from what I am seeing, it is going down hill with the new menus.

 

I was looking at the new menu and its really not new. I see most of the same stuff, beside the plate to share there's not much difference . Also as most lines food quality seems to vary from ship to ship.

[JustCruiseMe]

Hi Just returned Thurs from Back to back cruises NCL Newest Ship Getaway - Food was superb both Served & Buffett,Then we came down to Earth with Carnival Splendor Both Served & Buffett very poor Quality and mostly luke warm our 15th Cruise and Defo the worst!

Food

1)NCL

2) P&O

3) Thomson (Celebration)

15th Carnival Splendor

Staff

1)NCL

2Thomson

3P&O

15th Carnival Splendor

Entertainment

1 NCL

2 Thomsons Clebration

3 P&O

15th Carnival Splendor

 

 

Sorry to anyone who has booked Carnival

Don't be sorry, we're happy for you and us. We are having a great time and you aren't there!

[Tantra1]

I've sailed all 3 lines mentioned, and would rank Princess #1, NCL #2, and Carnival #3 for MDR food.

 

But Celebrity tops them all.

 

+1 re Celebrity.

 

Carnival dining (as well as entertainment and over all atmosphere) is no competition based on what we have experienced on our Celebrity cruises. Carnival is not even close.

 

The best dining on any of our Carnival cruises was a Med cruise on the Breeze before she came over to the US. However, the rest of the Carnival cruises over the years have just been OK with the quality in the dining room declining each year to date. This is not a criticism but an observation based on my experiences. I expect this since they are focusing on affordable cruises for the masses and are cutting expenses where ever they can.

 

Carnival is an inexpensive cruise with a quality to match so you get what you pay for. If the cost was to go up then they would lose market share to other cruise lines and have a problem with their bottom line.

 

They need to make their money and pay their stock holders. So all you cruisers are NOT doing you job. A large part of their revenue comes from the bar and the casino. You all need to start drinking more and gambling more if you expect to keep the prices down. :D

 

Cheers!