Food on Disney compared to other lines?

[Ex techie]

perditax,

 

i honestly do not think you will every get the answer you want from a discussion board regarding is the food good, better or worse than XYZ line.

There are too many variables in each and every persons palate and what they are used to.

 

The post by BullDawg91 is a good example.

I do not know them, their ethnicity, their taste in food, so while they feel the MDR food is bland, I may say it is nice and to my palate. Regional differences also can play a part in your taste. I like a medium strength Indian curry. Someone else may say that is too strong or powerful for them. I really dislike salt, so I may say I think the food is over seasoned, you may think it is just perfect. Would a rib eye in NY compare to a rib eye in Texasto a rib eye in Montana, to a rib eye in LA?

 

I smoke so I know that desensitises my taste buds. That also effects my view on food taste.

 

Good wine can make a meal, poor wine can ruin it. What were the people drinking before the meal or with their meal?

 

I think your best bet is to try the different lines you have coming up and compare them for yourself, because only you know your palate and personal tastes.

I think DCL will be on the bland side for you since you LOVE Cuban food! (Loved your trip report BTW!)

 

ex techie

[meatloafsfan]

I've only cruised DCL and CCL. I found DCL ho-hum in the MDR where I want them to shine. There were plenty of tasty things for breakfast, lunch and snacks. Dinner tended to be bland and not as good as it sounded on the menu. Palo was another story. That was excellent, but I had to pay extra for it.

 

We just cruised CCL's Breeze. We really liked all of the meals and snacks on the Breeze. I have to give the edge to CCL. We didn't go to any for fee restaurants. Brunch was awesome, Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana were great, and the pizza place was awesome. There were other free places that we didn't even get to. Dinner was always an adventure and we found lots of interesting things to try and were happy with the presentation and taste of all of them.

 

I don't know if all CCL food would compare since not all ships have the variety of the Breeze, but we were very happy and would sail the Breeze again in a minute.

 

I agree about the variety on CCL's newer ships and their ships that have had the Funship 2.0 added (Guy's, Blue Iguana, Pizza Pirate).

 

I used to give DCL the nod for quick service options. They were one of the few lines that had more than just a burger grill available outside of the MDR and the Buffet. I loved getting wraps, tacos, fruit plates, etc. and really felt that this set them differently in the food category.

 

However, while they have great availability, I found on my last Fantasy cruise that the quality wasn't as good as the quality I found on my last Carnival cruise. I think one of the main separators is that much of the new additions on Carnival provide "made-for-you" options versus pre-made food on Disney.

 

On my first sailing in 2010, I found the food on DCL to be overall very good. Since then, I've seen a decline in the quality and preparation. I always point back to the vegetarian lasagna. They've taken what used to be an awesome, special dish and changed it to a very mundane preparation, no better than an average, frozen vegetable lasagna, and certainly not better than what I can make at home (which is how I viewed it in 2010).

 

2010 version:

 

 

2013 version:

 

[Loonbeam]

The reason I say subjective is that even the same dish can be prepared different ways - a simple example is chicken parm. On Princess the sauce was a lot more acidic than on NCL where it tended to the sweet side. Neither is a 'wrong' way to prepare tomato sauce, but if you prefer one (as I do) to the other, you may find one subjectively better than the other.

 

Then of course, again for example, a dish I might find to be a bit peppery someone else might find bland, and that again has nothing to do with preparation issues, just taste buds.

 

I've rarely found glaring cooking errors on most cruise lines (it happens of course, but as a matter of frequency not much at all) The biggest issue I ever hit is food temp and I have hit that everywhere which brings me to my last point..

 

The two most important factors to food quality on any line/ship are the Executive Chef and the MD.

 

The best example I can give of this is on Princess. We cruised on the Island and the Coral. The two ships are structurally identical. Same galleys. Same menus. The food on the Coral was...ok... The food on the Island was a delight every meal. Again, same exact menus, not that far apart in time. Doing the backstage tour, the reason was obvious. On the Coral, the EC ran his kitchen like a military operation, but I never saw him once engage his crew or offer suggestions. On the Island, the EC actually stopped talking to us to gently correct something he noticed mid sentence and as we toured the food areas it was clear his team both liked and respected him. On the Coral, could not tell you who the MD was. On the Island, he was everywhere including the buffet and specialty restaurants and would help his team set tables, get drinks. One assistant waiter said that when he tripped in the kitchen on a prior cruise, the MD took over as the assistant waiter until he recovered. Guess which ship has vastly better pride in service?

 

That's important because someone could say the food is great one week, and the next week, horrid. Very possible because the EC could have swapped out.

[Ex techie]

I agree Loonbeam.

 

You could take a survey of every Guest and even if the food were constantly consistent, the demographic make up and home location would effect the result.

 

It sounds horrible, but Guests from some states are better behaved, better mannered than others. That can also be noticed cruise to cruise when one state vacations during their break period and they make up a large proportion of the Guests and influence a survey.

 

I LOVE people from Jersey.... but they can be a lot more vocal and shall we say more obviously present than some other states, but NICE and GREAT FUN people!

 

It isn't a bad thing, it just means the crew do notice a change sometimes and so reviews are subjectional unfortunately!

 

ex techie

[LittleMissMagic]

I might be one of the few people who actually prefers food on DCL over other cruise lines (most recently, Royal Caribbean and Carnival). My sister and I actually reminisce often on how great the food was on our 2014 Disney Fantasy cruise.

 

I enjoy simple, basic food... not that I don't like trying new food or going a little "wild"... but I have a great appreciation for burgers, pizza, and chicken nuggets. And Disney does a great job at always providing the basics. I really liked the daily eats offered on the pool deck... soft pretzels, chicken tenders, etc. I also think it's really cool that Disney offers some of their iconic theme park treats - turkey legs, Mickey soft pretzels, and Mickey Mouse ice cream - complimentary on their cruise ships.

 

As for the dining room food, I haven't been more pleased with the nightly offerings on a cruise ship in a long time. Maybe it's because the menu was new and fresh to me since I hadn't sailed Disney in so long (the menus on Royal Caribbean and Princess have become very repetitive to me). In fact, the only time that someone in my party (5 adults) was unhappy with their meal was ironically the night we dined in Palo.

 

Here's a few food photos to prove that it can actually be quite lovely in presentation....

 

Ahi Tuna and Avocado Tower by Victoria Shingleton, on Flickr

 

Pork Medallions by Victoria Shingleton, on Flickr

 

And from Palo...

 

Beef Tenderloin "Palo" by Victoria Shingleton, on Flickr

[CELTICGIRLCRUISER]

I might be one of the few people who actually prefers food on DCL over other cruise lines (most recently, Royal Caribbean and Carnival). My sister and I actually reminisce often on how great the food was on our 2014 Disney Fantasy cruise.

 

I enjoy simple, basic food... not that I don't like trying new food or going a little "wild"... but I have a great appreciation for burgers, pizza, and chicken nuggets. And Disney does a great job at always providing the basics. I really liked the daily eats offered on the pool deck... soft pretzels, chicken tenders, etc. I also think it's really cool that Disney offers some of their iconic theme park treats - turkey legs, Mickey soft pretzels, and Mickey Mouse ice cream - complimentary on their cruise ships.

 

As for the dining room food, I haven't been more pleased with the nightly offerings on a cruise ship in a long time. Maybe it's because the menu was new and fresh to me since I hadn't sailed Disney in so long (the menus on Royal Caribbean and Princess have become very repetitive to me). In fact, the only time that someone in my party (5 adults) was unhappy with their meal was ironically the night we dined in Palo.

 

Here's a few food photos to prove that it can actually be quite lovely in presentation....

 

Ahi Tuna and Avocado Tower by Victoria Shingleton, on Flickr

 

 

 

I will caveat this with I am a huge foodie and well versed in many cuisines so my opinion is based on that. Nuggets, chicken tenders, pizza, pretzels and fast food burgers and the likes of Chili's and Applebees don't figure in my life. We eat in places akin to Palo most weekends. I will try anything once and have eaten all sorts of things especially when I lived in Asia.

When I first sailed on DCL I truthfully expected better meals but now I am used to the standard, let's say I don't book for the food!

 

When I tried the tuna/avocado tower it still sticks out as one of the most tasteless things I have eaten in the MDR. It certainly looked the part but had no taste whatsoever.

 

Nothing we had on the pirate night menu was good at all, and we skip that now.

 

Somebody else mentioned the Bratwurst, I think they are so anemic looking and not always great, I ask for mine with lots of colour on them but I lived in Germany for the best part of 10 years. (As an aside Publix deli/Boars Head do the nearest we can find in a packet of 4, circa $8)

 

I do think the food on DCL is the biggest let down, of course Remy/Palo generally deliver on taste and presentation (I had a fraction of loose bone in one of my dishes in Remy) but I have had better generic MDR/buffet meals on other lines which for me is a bit of a shame as they get so may things right.

Edited August 11, 2015 by CELTICGIRLCRUISER

[LittleMissMagic]

When I tried the tuna/avocado tower it still sticks out as one of the most tasteless things I have eaten in the MDR. It certainly looked the part but had no taste whatsoever.

 

Really? I remember mine being pretty flavorful. Maybe I got lucky, or my memory is just lacking. I also really like avocado.

 

I'm not a foodie, so I guess I don't really have any business commenting on a food thread. I don't have really strong opinions about food, which is a blessing and a curse. Just wanted to speak up that some weirdos like me actually prefer the food on DCL better than other cruise lines, namely Princess which everyone else seems to love (I love Princess, but like others with DCL, I don't book for the food).

[amscene1]

MDR food is above most a notch below celebrity

 

Adult venues (palo and rely) as good as or better then specialty restaurants on celebrity.