Princess vs Celebrity food in MDR

[Coterotie]

Hi, we have just returned from our first Celebrity cruise (Southeast Asia - Celebrity Millennium), having cruised 5 times before with Princess. We were really disappointed with the food in the main dining room (MDR) on Celebrity, and didn't find one meal in the whole cruise that was as good as the Princess food from our previous cruises. The portions were a bit larger on Celebrity, (which in fact we didn't need or want), but the presentation was poor, the quality and choice of food was not as good and the description of the dishes just didn't seem very appetising - the fish / seafood options particularly were very limited. We ended up eating in the buffet restaurant instead on quite a few occasions. We thought that Princess was much more like a 'Fine Dining' experience, which surprised us. I'm interested to know whether other people have had the same experience recently ? Is the food in the MDR on the Celebrity Solstice ships better than in the older ones like the Millennium ? It has really put us off trying Celebrity again !

[marco]

Our experience has been that the specific ship (and I guess the head chef) even within the same line makes a BIG difference.

[mizLORInj]

We've enjoyed the food on both lines. As far as Celebrity, I much prefer the Solstice class ships in general.

 

I wouldn't let one "eh" cruise on Celebrity ruin it. They are worth another try IMO!

Edited March 14, 2014 by mizlorinj

[TipsyT]

We had the same experience on the Celebrity Eclipse. Very disappointed with the food in the MDR, especially compared to the food we've had on Princess ships.

 

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[OCruisers]

At one time we liked MDR food on Celebrity better. Now, we like MDR food on Princess better. Both have good Specialty Restaurants.

LuLu

~~~

[boogs]

I have never been on a Princess ship, so I can only relay what our friends think. After three Celebrity cruises and five Princess cruises, they much prefer Celebrity in many areas, including the MDR. The are again booked on another Celebrity cruise, but currently have no plans for a future Princess cruise. They were blown away with their cruise on Reflection, and a few months later went on Grand Princess and were disappointed.

[dread_pirate]

We loved the food in the MDR on Celebrity Reflection, and were not impressed with the food in Blu on the Celebrity Constellation (same class as the Millenium). Reflection compared favorably to the Coral Princess and the Caribbean Princess MDRs.

[pris993]

We cruise both lines. We are infact elite on both.

 

Even so, we find food and service more consistent on Princess.

 

Celebrity food and service is so inconsistent we have skipped the MDR on the newer Celebrity Equinox, after 5 nights on an 11 night cruise, tried BLU on the Eclipse as a result, still not impressed; plan to skip the MDR on the Silhouette when we cruise in October. We actually prefer the Lido on these newer ships.

[Essiesmom]

We have cruised on both lines, and prefer the food on Celebrity. I really don't find much to inspire me on the Princess menu, and like that Celebrity has more salad options on the menu. EM

[kelmac]

We have cruised on both lines, and prefer the food on Celebrity. I really don't find much to inspire me on the Princess menu, and like that Celebrity has more salad options on the menu. EM

 

I agree, the food on Celebrity seems a step up from anything we have experienced on Princess.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[Coterotie]

Thanks for your views everybody. Princess would definitely be my preference, but maybe I'll give Celebrity another go on one of the newer ships if the itinerary fits.

[zoncom]

Remember, Princess has a British background so you may prefer the food. Did TA on Ruby when Celebrity was sold out. Really disliked its food. My BF would not return to Princess; he disliked MDR totally. Liken Celebrity more to French I guess. All a matter of tastes.

[Coterotie]

Actually, we spend a lot of time in our apartment in France and are very keen on French food - in fact we don't really like British food much - maybe we had an unfortunate experience on Celebrity, but will return to Princess if possible as we haven't had any reason to fault it yet !

[Hlitner]

Interesting thread. We cruise on both lines (Elite on Princess and Elite Plus on Celebrity) among other lines and agree with many of the comments. Yes, we do think that the food varies from ship to ship. We also think that cruise line food changes "with the wind" as there are changes in the Executive Chef on each ship. The Chefs are also forced to live with the quality of the supplies that come to their ship and that also can vary greatly over a period of time. Have to smile about Coterotie's posts since we will soon be taking a long Princess cruise the deposits us in France where we can also spend a few weeks enjoying real French cuisine. The food on Celebrity is nothing like real French cooking except for some dishes served on Murano.

 

Hank

[momofmeg]

I have done 4 Celebrity cruises-33 days total and 3 Princess cruises-21 days total and I can't say that one line has better food than the other in my experience. I can say both lines had better food than the NCL or RCI cruises I have taken. I also thought HAL's food as as good as Celebrity and Princess. All 3 lines I feel the specialty restaurants are more for ambiance than that the food is better.

 

I have to add though, a cruise is about much more than food to me. If it wasn't, I would be happy to save my money and go with Carnival as they also have very good food, (or at least they did 10 years ago when I took my last Carnival cruise) but there are other things about Carnival that makes Carnival my last choice.

 

I also haven't cruised HAL is a few years because my last cruise was so smoky.