Which Cruise Line Has Best Food?

[minz56]

I believe it is the dining experience rather than the food itself is what makes the difference between positive and negative results. And this consists of:

 

1. Dining room facilities- Celebrity has gorgeous dining room facilities; the

buffet is well laid-out, the MDRs are elegant and beautiful. Some of the

tables are close together (Select) which could be a negative.

 

2. The wait staff. On Celebrity, my experience is that they are

knowledgeable with excellent suggestions, well-mannered and pleasant,

eager to please. Again, a waiter could be having a bad day, be less

trained. There have been comments of the staff being over-whelmed,

untrained or cranky. That has not been my experience. I supposed

these conditions could be found on any cruise ship.

 

3. Finally, the food itself is a factor. Some items may be better than

others. I personally don't always order what is recommend4ed as

good. Perhaps my experience would be even better if I did. But I like to

try new things. Sometimes they work - sometimes they don't. But either

way, I enjoy the experience and learn something about myself.

 

When dining on Celebrity ships and all these factors are present, it is a great experience. However, the food can be wonderful and the staff attentive, but if there is a rollicking party going on at a table, as was in the Tuscan Grill on our last cruise, the meal is not as enjoyable as with a great ambiance.

 

I agree with this. I would add a fourth point - your dining companions can make a big difference to an enjoyable dining experience. I have been on some great tables, and others that I would rather forget!

[donaldsc]

This is a totally unanswerable question as food tastes vary. We all know people who eat in the buffet every meal and think that the food is great. We also know others who only eat in the MDR. Still others who eat many of their meals in the extra cost restaurants. There are the beer types, the cheap wine types and the expensive wine types.

 

On land, we have McD, Dennys, Outback Steakhouse, and high priced restaurants. Every one fills a niche. Same on a ship.

 

DON

[PROCRUISE]

Food is very subjective of course but

 

On the whole food in the MDR on any of the "Major" lines [Carnival P&O Celebrity RCI Princess HAL and the like] is in my opinion a bit like Conference food or wedding food, pretty much mass produced for a LOT of people, Would you eat at a restaurant that only offered 3 or 4 choices for each course.

 

Some of the small ships are better because they have less people to feed, some are not so good because they have less staff.

 

Azamara was good I believe Ociana and Silverseas are good.

 

If food is a deal breaker for you you might be better off with one of these.

 

I have had some lovely courses at sea, but on the whole as say conference food.

 

Agree completely that the whole topic of food is very objective.

 

Have only cruised on X, HAL, RCCL, NCL, CCL, Princess but have also never gone hungry on any ship. Best MDR food we found was on X and HAL. :)

[Vitamin_Sea]

This is a totally unanswerable question as food tastes vary.

 

DON

 

Agreed!!

 

There is no way to please 3000+ on a ship

[4774Papa]

I did a quick google search and Hapag Lloyd appears to have a fleet of container ships.

 

I have read about travel on freighters, but can't imagine gourmet food on board.

Perhaps you can enlighten us.

[Denny01]

This thread reminds me of discussions we've had with friends about local restaurants - how my favorite is one they'd Never go to again!

 

Yes, the ship is feeding 1000's so gourmet it isn't. But I disagree a bit with the comments about only a few choices and it being at wedding catering level, We get more than 4 choices a setting and it changes every night. And I've gone the 2 or 3 appetizers, salads, soups meals and loved it. At weddings and large meetings, we go buffet or get a very thin steak (well done) and chicken with an unknown sauce over it. No escargot, steak cooked as I wish, good soups, etc.

 

My main positive is the atmosphere of dining on cruise, and Celebrity is where I find the best of what I've cruised with (Carnival, Princess, RC, Cruise West). You'll notice none are the more exclusive Lines. I enjoy the MDR, although it can get a bit noisy for me; and I Love the Tuscan Grill on the Solstice Class being on the stern and watching the wake run out, and the Porch on the newer Solstice ships is one great place, being on a top deck and feeling the outside but protected. Love it. Celebrity has done a good job on the atmoshere of the Quisine and others, but I like seeing and feeling I am at sea so I like the others I mentioned more.

 

So yes, there are better dining experiences, but I find the Celebrity mix of a buffet with such wide choices, a good MDR and the special restaurants with great atmosphere is my top choice.

 

I love my very overused joke of when we are in port and someone asks where the best restaurant in town is. I pause a moment and then point back to the ship and say, "Its in that tall building and it's free!"

 

Den

[TomTN]

This thread reminds me of discussions we've had with friends about local restaurants - how my favorite is one they'd Never go to again!

Yes, the ship is feeding 1000's so gourmet it isn't. But I disagree a bit with the comments about only a few choices and it being at wedding catering level, We get more than 4 choices a setting and it changes every night. And I've gone the 2 or 3 appetizers, salads, soups meals and loved it. At weddings and large meetings, we go buffet or get a very thin steak (well done) and chicken with an unknown sauce over it. No escargot, steak cooked as I wish, good soups, etc.

 

My main positive is the atmosphere of dining on cruise, and Celebrity is where I find the best of what I've cruised with (Carnival, Princess, RC, Cruise West). You'll notice none are the more exclusive Lines. I enjoy the MDR, although it can get a bit noisy for me; and I Love the Tuscan Grill on the Solstice Class being on the stern and watching the wake run out, and the Porch on the newer Solstice ships is one great place, being on a top deck and feeling the outside but protected. Love it. Celebrity has done a good job on the atmoshere of the Quisine and others, but I like seeing and feeling I am at sea so I like the others I mentioned more.

 

So yes, there are better dining experiences, but I find the Celebrity mix of a buffet with such wide choices, a good MDR and the special restaurants with great atmosphere is my top choice.

 

I love my very overused joke of when we are in port and someone asks where the best restaurant in town is. I pause a moment and then point back to the ship and say, "Its in that tall building and it's free!"

 

Den

 

Sorry to get off topic. We had a family member who worked at the base and lived in Shalimar. That was 20 years ago. We still like to return, and of course we like to eat. Especially the seafood.

So which restaurants do you like in the area? I enjoyed Bay Café when we were there in January.

[Hlitner]

I cannot believe that no-one has discussed Hapag Lloyd lines two luxury ships Europa and Europa 2, which are universally accepted as having the finest cuisine at sea. The Berlitz cruise guide describes the Europa 2's cuisine as per below

 

You might want to read Carolyn Brown's (the CC Editor in Chief) review of the Europa. Early in our cruising life (we have been cruising for about forty years) we learned not to pay too much attention to Berlitz...but each to their own. Perhaps if we were fluent in German we might consider trying one of Hapag Lloyd's ships, but such is not the case.

 

Hank

[Texed]

Yes, the ship is feeding 1000's so gourmet it isn't. But I disagree a bit with the comments about only a few choices and it being at wedding catering level,

Den

 

Mr. Denny,

 

You always have a common sense answer. So, thanks for posting. :)

[Denny01]

Mr. Denny,

 

You always have a common sense answer. So, thanks for posting. :)

 

?...So which restaurants do you like in the area? I enjoyed Bay Café when we were there in January.

 

Thanks Texed and sorry I didn't say how Celebrity obviously has the best dining....just try the waffles!

 

Tom - Bay Cafe is great. Right near it is Cafe Italia. Great location on the Sound and food to die for.

 

My tops in our area is One Twenty Bistro in Niceville.....yes everyone we have a town actually named (groan) Niceville. Silly. But a great small, eclectic (hope I spelled it right) restaurant.

 

Best fish on the Panhandle is Triggerfish. The boat Capts would tell their customers it was a trash fish and they'd take it off their hands to use as bait -they'd then take it home to dine on.

 

OK, back to why Celebrity is the best at sea diner.....or is one step below Denny's. (Had to work that in).

 

Den

[Dylandude]

I cannot believe that no-one has discussed Hapag Lloyd lines two luxury ships Europa and Europa 2, which are universally accepted as having the finest cuisine at sea. The Berlitz cruise guide describes the Europa 2's cuisine as per below

 

You might want to read Carolyn Brown's (the CC Editor in Chief) review of the Europa. Early in our cruising life (we have been cruising for about forty years) we learned not to pay too much attention to Berlitz...but each to their own. Perhaps if we were fluent in German we might consider trying one of Hapag Lloyd's ships, but such is not the case.

 

Hank

 

 

I think you will find that the Hapag Lloyd ships are dual language, with everything being in German and English.

As far as independent cruise guides go Berlitz is probably the best

[norn iron]

I cannot believe that no-one has discussed Hapag Lloyd lines two luxury ships Europa and Europa 2, which are universally accepted as having the finest cuisine at sea. The Berlitz cruise guide describes the Europa 2's cuisine as per below

 

You might want to read Carolyn Brown's (the CC Editor in Chief) review of the Europa. Early in our cruising life (we have been cruising for about forty years) we learned not to pay too much attention to Berlitz...but each to their own. Perhaps if we were fluent in German we might consider trying one of Hapag Lloyd's ships, but such is not the case.

 

Hank

 

Hank, I have read Carolyn Brown's review of Europa as you suggested, and as this is thread is about food I will paste comments below, it vindicates my original posting.

 

"Food onboard was consistently superb; the ship's addition of Dieter Muller, a restaurant supervised by Germany's three-star Michelin chef, is one of the best -- perhaps the best -- we've encountered at sea."

[norn iron]

I did a quick google search and Hapag Lloyd appears to have a fleet of container ships.

 

I have read about travel on freighters, but can't imagine gourmet food on board.

Perhaps you can enlighten us.

 

google Hapag Lloyd Cruises

Edited April 19, 2015 by norn iron
censorship

[4774Papa]

google Hapag Lloyd Cruises

Looks great, everyone has a suite, but the prices are high.

[bamelin]

 

For those who have never been on Carnival and wonder how the food could possibly be good, no one shows up! We sat at a table for 8, alone, with no one even nearby almost every night. This was in the Spring when the age demographic is a bit higher. Still, most passengers seemed more interested in the buffet, fast food, or room service. :rolleyes:

 

I was on Carnival Magic a year ago and I can confirm the above posters comments were my impression as well. While you could see cutbacks in multiple areas on Carnival (compared to other lines), the MDR food was not one of those areas. Food quality and service were top notch in the MDR. The buffet in comparison was a zoo, packed every day breakfast lunch and dinner, with a notable lack of staff.

[Lobes1]

Windstar has fabulous food. Best deck BBQ that I have ever seen. Celebrity is very good. Food is subjective. Nothing can compare with Celebrity's cheese cake. It is my favorite dessert.

 

We were on Windstar a month ago, and the food was a big disappointment, mediocre at best. We had had three previous Windstar cruises, and the food has clearly gone downhill, big time. For that reason, we will not consider another Windstar cruise.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I cannot believe that no-one has discussed Hapag Lloyd lines two luxury ships Europa and Europa 2, which are universally accepted as having the finest cuisine at sea. The Berlitz cruise guide describes the Europa 2's cuisine as per below

 

You might want to read Carolyn Brown's (the CC Editor in Chief) review of the Europa. Early in our cruising life (we have been cruising for about forty years) we learned not to pay too much attention to Berlitz...but each to their own. Perhaps if we were fluent in German we might consider trying one of Hapag Lloyd's ships, but such is not the case.

 

Hank

 

Hapag Lloyd's Europa is German-only and very formal in dress code. Their Europa 2 is German-English and informal.

[grandpaiscruising]

I recently returned from the Ruby Princess to Alaska and got lobster in the MDR, something I only got in a specialty restaurant on Celebrity. Ate in the Crown Grill for our anniversary for $20 PP, and had elite coupon for a free bottle of wine. The food on Celebrity is better in Aqua class and above, which I am booked on for my next 3 cruises, but their specialty restaurants are far more expensive. I will continue to sail both lines as Princess goes more places.

 

Silhouette, 3/26/17, Summit, 5/8/16 Solstice, 2/14/16 HAL 56 days, RCCL 104 points, NCL 28 days, Princess Elite 228 days, Royal 14 days, Cunard 49 days, Celebrity Elite+ 757 points

[Ordinary Chef]

Because, it's a vacation and what we are paying for! If I'm going to pay $600-1000 a night, I want good food.

Some cruiselines and restaurants do a better job at it than others.

Hopefully Luminae lives up to the hype...

Here's a link to the interview I had with Celebrity's exec in charge of food...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2171955

 

We have been on 5 cruises with Celebrity and have enjoyed the food in all venues, the MDR, Buffet & Specialty Restaurants. We are booked on a February 2016 Eastern Caribbean cruise and our cost per night for a CC is under $200 per night. I can't imagine that paying $400 to $800 per night more would enhance our dining experience or a cruise line would be able to give us that increased value in our dining experience. Then again, food and dining are subjective.

Edited May 27, 2015 by Ordinary Chef

[Siora7777]

Subjective but NCL out performs royal. A good variety and at least on my recent Getaway cruise steaks in the MDR wonderful. Egg Benedict every morning prepared just how I like it. Yummy fries, evening crepe station, pasta bar, bread pudding and the list goes on. What I like the most is the variety. On Royal Caribbean 2014 sometimes I can't find anything appealing. I'm keeping my expectations low for my December cruise because I'm going for the itinerary. I found myself missing NCL on my last Royal cruise. I know at least I won't over eat. I'm expecting the same this time around.

[notsomadhatter]

Having sailed on most of the cruise lines my personal opinion is that the awards are accurate and having not sailed Disney I am willing to bet I would be impressed by their food if I did sail with them.

 

Depends greatly on your taste. It's more and more for people who like plain food. I find it boring and X's much better. It's pretty on par with Royal, except if you like vegetarian food where Royal's is much better.

[notsomadhatter]

If you are a very picky eater, vegetarian, etc. you will be disappointed in ALMOST every restaurant you ever visit on land or sea.

 

Celebrity has a separate vegetarian menu, available on request, and it's different every night. Not sure there would be any reason to be disappointed there.