After further consideration....the American Table is not good.

[jimbo5544]

Let me give your quiries some thoughtful consideration...

 

 

 

YES

 

 

Lol, well thanks for the thoughtful consideration.

 

Some additional things for you to think about. On every ship that ends up converting to AT, they must at some time not at sea, remove all the table tops and replace with finished tops. Think about it removing padded cheaper tops, replacing with much more expensive finished tops.... Also have to add new accoutrements for serving. Sounds like a cut to me as well. The word cutback here has taken on a true conspiracy theory equivalent as the grassy knoll and Area 51 aliens (do you believe in those also?). To each their own... I do have to laugh when I see people post that due to this, they will move elsewhere. Happy cruising.

[RFNHRA]

We are on the Breeze now and yes we don't like the American Table menus just not as good as the old menus we feel. As for the tablecloth we don't miss them at all and like the new look but yes the bread plate and bottle of wine with bread basket clutters the table. So this is our first experience with the new Menu so just our two cents

[carolslc]

I was on the Magic last month and I was the opposite. I thought the food was great, and loved having the bread basket and water on the table. I couldn't care less if someone puts a napkin in my lap. Actually I think it's awkward. Service overall was great. But I missed the tablecloths. Our table too was a "hot mess" with water drips and crumbs. The new tabletops are nice and expensive though so I doubt they'll go back unfortunately.

[rg24601]

I absolutely was a doubter initially too. But we had a week of good service, generally good to excellent food and no real issues with the American Table on the Breeze.

 

Some nights were more inspiring than others.

 

Didn't miss the table cloths.

 

So I am OK with it.

 

Not sure I'm a "fan" but it was better than I expected. Certainly won't be skipping the MDR for the buffet for dinner.

[timhoke]

We were on the Breeze in early November, I critiqued the food on Carnivals FB page & on JH FB page also. The MDR has gotten so mediocre that we have gotten to the point that we will only eat at the pay restaurants. I did recieve a comment from Carnival regarding my post asking me to write to Customer Service. The response was what you would expect, "thank you for your comments.. Carnival appreciates your input... " and that is all I have heard from Carnival.

I really miss the old days of 5 star dining every night, Baked Alaska presented en mass & carried around the MDR on fire etc. It used to be that dining was one of the best parts of the cruise now it is more of "well we have to eat something..." I am still a huge fan of Carnival but having been on NCL Epic where every place we ate had amazing food, even the pub food was great, I am starting think it may be time to change cruise lines.

[jimbo5544]

We were on the Breeze in early November, I critiqued the food on Carnivals FB page & on JH FB page also. The MDR has gotten so mediocre that we have gotten to the point that we will only eat at the pay restaurants. I did recieve a comment from Carnival regarding my post asking me to write to Customer Service. The response was what you would expect, "thank you for your comments.. Carnival appreciates your input... " and that is all I have heard from Carnival.

I really miss the old days of 5 star dining every night, Baked Alaska presented en mass & carried around the MDR on fire etc. It used to be that dining was one of the best parts of the cruise now it is more of "well we have to eat something..." I am still a huge fan of Carnival but having been on NCL Epic where every place we ate had amazing food, even the pub food was great, I am starting think it may be time to change cruise lines.

 

Having sampled NCL food, I am somewhat surprised at your comments (Cagney's does not hold a candle to Carnival's steakhouse IMHO and the MDR there pales in comparison), but to each their own. The real reason for my post is in you sending in your "critique" you got a thank you reply, what is it you would have wanted them to say?

For what it is worth, I thought the baked Alaska march in was over the top and much prefer today's MDR food and experience to the "old days".

[JohnSpo]

I experienced the new American Table on Conquest last month. I wasn't expecting to like it but I actually did.

 

I thought the tables looked great. I liked having the water on the table. I have been on prior cruises with the bread basket on the table so that was not new. I thought the table looked just fine without the table cloths.

 

I thought the food was very good and I liked that they had the new options on the menu and also kept many of the options from the old menu. The port entree options were a nice addition. I enjoyed the fruit pies with ice cream for dessert.

 

The service was a bit awkward but hopefully that will improve with time.:cool:

[marimojo]

I hope this is not offensive, but if you want to get your point across - you need to edit your letter. It is just too long and maybe too descriptive. I would do it in bullet points - short and simple - and more people would most likely read it.

[leedm]

I experienced the new American Table on Conquest last month. I wasn't expecting to like it but I actually did.

 

I thought the tables looked great. I liked having the water on the table. I have been on prior cruises with the bread basket on the table so that was not new. I thought the table looked just fine without the table cloths.

 

I thought the food was very good and I liked that they had the new options on the menu and also kept many of the options from the old menu. The port entree options were a nice addition. I enjoyed the fruit pies with ice cream for dessert.

 

The service was a bit awkward but hopefully that will improve with time.:cool:

 

We sail on the Conquest Jan 2016. Is there a place (web site) where we can see the nightly American Table menu options.

Thanks

[jimbo5544]

We sail on the Conquest Jan 2016. Is there a place (web site) where we can see the nightly American Table menu options.

 

Thanks

 

 

If you go to John Heald's site there is a link there. Might be a bit dates but it is more than representative.

[BeachChik]

Sure because it's so appetizing to watch your water glass slide around in the condensation off of it! :rolleyes:

It's actually the absence of the table cloths that bothers me more than anything else. I don't mind having a bread basket or a picture of water as long as the table is large enough to fit these items plus the dinner plates with ease as opposed to risking the plate ending up in my lap.

 

Most land based restaurants don't have tablecloths. Does your glass and plate slide off the table into your lap?

 

Most just use a small napkin under your glass that after a few minutes of a glass sitting on it is falling apart.

 

I don't know if the op complaints are legitimate or not but I think in general people don't like change and when something changes its looked at in a negative way. Not because it's bad but because it's different than what they are use to.

[CRJ700]

Most land based restaurants don't have tablecloths. Does your glass and plate slide off the table into your lap?

 

Most just use a small napkin under your glass that after a few minutes of a glass sitting on it is falling apart.

 

I don't know if the op complaints are legitimate or not but I think in general people don't like change and when something changes its looked at in a negative way. Not because it's bad but because it's different than what they are use to.

 

Most land based restaurants don't move when the weather is bad. Where do I get a small napkin from, the number n existent dispenser on the table?

Edited December 12, 2015 by CRJ700

[PAPERBKWRITER]

They'd never read the whole thing, it's too long.

[Shipbound]

I was on the Glory 10/24/15 and I did not miss the table cloths, however I thought the American Table menu's food choices were not good. I do not know what Carnival is trying to do maybe because the selections were so bad guests would rather pay the extra twenty dollars for better choices and that is what carnival is counting on.

 

Gary

[BeachChik]

Most land based restaurants don't move when the weather is bad. Where do I get a small napkin from, the number n existent dispenser on the table?

 

And how often is the weather so bad that tableware is falling off the tables.

 

Complaining that a plate is now square instead of round is petty and will not be taken seriously when read by someone at carnival. As I said people just want to complain about change.

[Boozebabe]

The point what missing is. THERE LESS PEOPLE IN DINING ROOM. TO served you. So they make you do self service. No table cloths to clean. No one to fill water glasses. No one to serve bread. Ect.ect.ect. Last cruise old menu. The staff was like just like serving two things at the same time. They could not keep up. Carnival answer to your letter is going to be. Suck it up. That the new way

 

I agree. When we started cruising with Carnival we had a waiter, asst waiter and a busboy (thats what they called them back then). On our last cruise in January 2015 all I ever saw was a frantic, hurried waiter. Running his ass off trying to wait on too many tables. A lot was lost in the dining experience. Courses were slow to come out. That wasn't his fault, it was the fault of management. I am NOT looking forward to the American Table.

[Jana60]

I agree. When we started cruising with Carnival we had a waiter, asst waiter and a busboy (thats what they called them back then). On our last cruise in January 2015 all I ever saw was a frantic, hurried waiter. Running his ass off trying to wait on too many tables. A lot was lost in the dining experience. Courses were slow to come out. That wasn't his fault, it was the fault of management. I am NOT looking forward to the American Table.

 

Actually on my last cruise they had the American tables and the waiter was the best one I've ever had. When I told her I wanted to try to make it to the show she put a rush on dinner for us and got us out in time for the show. She did have an assistant also. The assistant mainly helped fetch stuff from the kitchen. She served the dinner herself and also even chatted with us and when I asked showed pictures of her daughter.

Edited December 12, 2015 by Jana60

[leedm]

Can some one post the daily menu. Is the American table menu the same on all the ships :):);););)

 

Thanks

[Joeychgo]

My wife and I have been on the breeze twice in the last 6 months and had American Table both times. We both agree we don't like it and that it is a downgrade. The OP put it well so I wont try to compete with them, and just agree.

[MikeMA]

I agree with the OP. I always considered the MDR to be fine dining. An experience for family and friends to come together. The new American Table style takes away from the elegance and pampered feeling. I hope you get a favorable response from Carnival.

[Timsierramist]

and remember - Carnival is one of the most, if not THE most, cost-effective lines out there... something like $50/day per person for an inside cabin during non-peak times is the norm pretty much. So to expect Morton's-level dining quality might be a bit optimistic, when you consider everything else that comes with the cruise also for those prices.

 

 

^This. Carnival is definitely king of the Value/Budget line! And that suits me just fine. I am not a big/picky eater. I eat the same stuff just fine.

 

But that's just me. I do however like your points on table clothes. Something so simple yet pretty important.

 

Couldn't you also ask the waiter to take your bread plate away if it was that big of a deal?

 

To be fair, I haven't eaten at the American table yet. But for a first timer, I'm sure I'll be more than thrilled. Heh, at work, jail inmates cook for me everyday and I'm content. How much worse could this be. ;-)

[mitsugirly]

I have seen other posting "American Table" rolling out with Carnival, but I have yet to experience it. I guess I assumed this was a "new" menu and not about table cloths or napkins being placed in your lap. :confused: So it's the "experience"? Because I'm confused. I love the "relaxed" feel of dining, which is why we always do the anytime/my dining. It's one of the main reasons why it took me so long to cruise with Carnival to begin with (because I thought you HAD to have a set time to dine with a set table and people and back in the 80's-90's I absolutely HATED that.

 

Everyone has their right to opinion and my personal opinion is that having the table cloth there does not alter the way the food taste or my thoughts of dining. As for the napkins being placed on my lap, I absolutely hate that and the minute the waiter walks away I remove it and put it back on the table (and I have yet to ever drop food on my lap lol). I don't put my napkin on my lap when eating at home or anywhere else, so I don't do it in restaurants either. When they put it on my young daughter, it will end up on the floor and she'll have no napkin from moving around...same has happened to me as well.

 

I'm there to eat and as long as the food is good...:p

[skyeman27]

I like having a napkin on my lap, when in the MDR, as it is a convenient place to hold it, does not take up table space and easily accessible. When in the buffet I just put it between buttons of my shirt and find this location as the most convenient, probably not acceptable to some people, but being a Walmart kinda person it works for me...

[davy jones]

Just off the Breeze. Here are my feelings after 7 nights in the MDR with our first American Table experience.

 

Summary: I believe that the problem with American Table is not the menus, it is the reduction in service.

 

Food: Variety seemed to me to be a bit limited, but I did manage to find something eat without resorting to the everyday dishes. Quality was generally good with a couple of notable misses, mostly in the dessert area. "Key Lime Mousse" was jello chunks in whipped cream. The MDR "ice cream" was the worst ice cream that I have ever tasted.

 

Bread basket and water carafe: Doesn't bother me at all. In most cases, the waiters refilled water glasses anyway.

 

Tablecloths: The lack of tablecloths on non formal nights does not bother me very much, if at all. Land restaurant trends today are toward tables without table cloths.

 

We dined one evening in the steak house. The tables there were almost identical to the MDR tables and did not have a table cloth. Yet people say that the steakhouse is an elegant dining experience. From this, I conclude that elegant is defined by service, and that a table cloth is not necessary.

 

Service: The OP is spot on here. The overall MDR service had diminished significantly. We dined 7 nights in the Sapphire dining room on YTD. Over these 7 nights, we had 6 different wait teams. On 3 of the nights, service was poor. There were 30+ minute waits between courses. On two nights, we left after 2+ hours to get to a show when our coffee and dessert had not yet been served. They would serve all of the appetizers, soups, and salad at the same time, instead of serving them as separate courses.

[tkportersat]

Are they doing American Table on the Dream?