Carnival MDR food

[cruiseonthebrain]

I hate to say this- but the MDR food on our recent Fantasy cruise was really really bad. As in- left the food on the plate because it was inedible kind of bad. I am a bit thankful because- even though I could not navigate stairs- I still lost weight on this cruise. But I do think food on a cruise should at least be something people can eat- an I wrong?

 

For comparison of food only- illness had nothing to do with the cruise- I spent the week after the cruise in the hospital and the hospital food was better than the cruise food. I was feeling crummy and didn't notice until my DH pointed it out. He was like- oh my gosh- your food here is ten times better than on the cruise.

 

I think it is pretty sad when hospital food looks, smells and tastes better that the MDR dinner.

[jimbo5544]

I have cruised Carnival over 30 times and have never had inedible food.....every meal?

[Retired_to_Cruise]

20 cruises and the food, no matter which menu, has always been very good with several excellent choices I could have made every single night. Were some dishes better than others? Absolutely, but show me a restaurant that doesn't have the same situation.

[SadieN]

For several years we've sailed the same ship several weeks apart. At times the food is good, other times it was dreck.

One cruise we had 13 at the table. 4 ordered the same entree. 2 were excellent, 2 were beyond dreck.

 

Don't know if it was change of chef or what.

[riffatsea]

We have always enjoyed the MDR food!

Sometimes there aren't things on the menu that excite us but we've always had good meals once we decide what to eat.

[firemanbobswife]

Wow that's not good. Did you order something else? They will always try and make it right if you let them know. I might have tried the pizza place or buffet if it was inedible. I would not be a happy camper if everything in the MDR was horrible.

 

I had surgery in August and I can assure you that the Carnival food was WAY better than that garbage in the hospital and I even got the "hook up" because I used to work there and knew my nurse :)

[emod20]

6 carnival cruises number 7 on valor this April . We have never lost weight on any of them . It's ashamed some people can't find food on any cruise

[kona_wahine]

I've never ordered something where I would say it was too bad to eat. Can you give examples?

[audcc77]

I hate to say this- but the MDR food on our recent Fantasy cruise was really really bad. As in- left the food on the plate because it was inedible kind of bad. I am a bit thankful because- even though I could not navigate stairs- I still lost weight on this cruise. But I do think food on a cruise should at least be something people can eat- an I wrong?

 

For comparison of food only- illness had nothing to do with the cruise- I spent the week after the cruise in the hospital and the hospital food was better than the cruise food. I was feeling crummy and didn't notice until my DH pointed it out. He was like- oh my gosh- your food here is ten times better than on the cruise.

 

I think it is pretty sad when hospital food looks, smells and tastes better that the MDR dinner.

 

I was on the same sailing. This was my 6th time on the Fantasy & I agree that food was a little …. meh. I think the bread changed from last time. The filet at the sea brunch was full of gristle so that was a turn off.

 

One evening, nothing even looked good so I just ordered mashed potatoes for dinner. Carnival’s mashed potatoes are the BEST. Unfortunately even that fell flat so I was pretty disappointed.

 

On another night I ordered crème brulee. I may be wrong but I thought this was supposed to be served room temp. Also, usually it has a nice thin crispy film of sugar on top. I thought they used to serve it w/ a few berries on top?

 

At any rate, when it was served, it was freezing cold, with a very thick rock hard sugar top that I couldn’t even break w/ my spoon. The custard just squirted out of all the sides.

 

Where I found the food was not very good was the buffet. The chicken fingers were changed to these little many sized pieces, almost like grocery store frozen chicken pieces, not the nice chicken fingers like last time.

 

I certainly didn’t starve and found enough to eat. The bright side is that I didn’t gain any weight on this one like I normally do. I’m going on the Liberty in two weeks so I’m hoping to get some decent crème brulee over there. :)

[sanmarcosman]

So we have two unrelated guests on the same sailing with similar opinions about the food being below average. The proof is in the pudding, or the creme brulee as the case may be. Thank you both for sharing your honest opinion.

[erinmarie424]

Was it the American Table menu?

[Micahs Grandad]

So we have two unrelated guests on the same sailing with similar opinions about the food being below average. The proof is in the pudding, or the creme brulee as the case may be. Thank you both for sharing your honest opinion.

 

One is below average and that I can believe but inedible at every meal? That is a bit much.

[cruiseonthebrain]

I never said I starved- that is a bit dramatic. But the food was bad enough that I managed to lose about 5 lbs. The worst was the "flat iron steak". It was barely warm, the consistency of a fatty roast and tasted like Salisbury steak from a frozen dinner. Had the short ribs- the first piece was decent- after that just straight up fat. Prime rib- cold and rubbery. I will try to remember the rest. But it was seriously bad.

[cruiseonthebrain]

One is below average and that I can believe but inedible at every meal? That is a bit much.

 

I wish I had brought a left over bag so you could try it. Ten cruises with Carnival, 27 cruises over all- 5 of which on a Navy vessel- and yes this is the first time with inedible meals.

[cruiseonthebrain]

Wow that's not good. Did you order something else? They will always try and make it right if you let them know. I might have tried the pizza place or buffet if it was inedible. I would not be a happy camper if everything in the MDR was horrible.

 

I had surgery in August and I can assure you that the Carnival food was WAY better than that garbage in the hospital and I even got the "hook up" because I used to work there and knew my nurse :)

 

We did ATD and everything took so long that we didn't want to re-order. Luckily the in room dining was decent. I ate a lot of tuna salad and it was very good.

[firemanbobswife]

We did ATD and everything took so long that we didn't want to re-order. Luckily the in room dining was decent. I ate a lot of tuna salad and it was very good.

 

Aahhh. Makes sense. So do you think you will do ATD again? I like the idea of the flexibility, but then again I'm a creature of habit. I like to have "my" table with no wait and usually by the 2nd or 3rd night, our drinks are on the table for us when we arrive.

 

Glad to hear the room service was good. Do they have the new room service menus on there yet? I found the chicken wings to be delicious.

[Gallivanting Souls]

 

I think it is pretty sad when hospital food looks, smells and tastes better that the MDR dinner.

 

Not to discount what you said, the hospital where I work has a chef. The food here is pretty good! :eek: -but generally you would think that MD food should be superb!

[Palmetto Pilot]

I was last on hand fantasy in October of 2013 and I thought the food compared well to Army food, which is the lowest grade food allowed for human consumption. You get what you pay for.... Hope the breeze is better.

[Crazyrbbt]

We cruised the Dream in September and we found the MDR food bad. We only ate there for two days and both were bad. Fried chicken one night so overcooked I couldn't cut through it with a knife. Second night was formal night and prime rib was grey and unapealling. After that we did steak house or pizza. We thought it was disappointing but it didn't ruin our experience.

[Sooner-Cruisers]

Posts like this made me so nervous, but we just got off the Magic and everything we ordered was good. We even had the new American Table menus. We (group of 7) were all pleasantly surprised.

[Mytime2014]

I hate to say this- but the MDR food on our recent Fantasy cruise was really really bad. As in- left the food on the plate because it was inedible kind of bad. I am a bit thankful because- even though I could not navigate stairs- I still lost weight on this cruise. But I do think food on a cruise should at least be something people can eat- an I wrong?

 

For comparison of food only- illness had nothing to do with the cruise- I spent the week after the cruise in the hospital and the hospital food was better than the cruise food. I was feeling crummy and didn't notice until my DH pointed it out. He was like- oh my gosh- your food here is ten times better than on the cruise.

 

I think it is pretty sad when hospital food looks, smells and tastes better that the MDR dinner.

 

are you platinum?!

[Sweet Dutch Girl]

What are the expectations for MDR or buffet food on a cruise? Obviously they can't compare to a top-notch restaurant that serves a few 100 people. Its banquet food, prepared for 3000+ passengers, all with different tastes.

 

Food is so subjective. Personally, I don't expect "great" food so I'm rarely disappointed. But, honestly, I can't say I've gone hungry on a cruise. Some nights its 5 appetizers with no main course...or salad and soup...or an assortment of sides. At least there are choices and alternatives. And, I never feel guilty about eating a bite or two and then setting something aside. I just ask for something else....something that isn't easily done at a regular "land" restaurant.

[joeyancho]

Last cruise on the Miracle in November was The clincher for us deciding to switch to princess. The MDR food was hit and miss at best. The buffet was terrible. Only the pizza was good. Even the specialty restaurant was meh. Princess is definitely a cut above.

[SadieN]

I never said I starved- that is a bit dramatic. But the food was bad enough that I managed to lose about 5 lbs. The worst was the "flat iron steak". It was barely warm, the consistency of a fatty roast and tasted like Salisbury steak from a frozen dinner. Had the short ribs- the first piece was decent- after that just straight up fat. Prime rib- cold and rubbery. I will try to remember the rest. But it was seriously bad.

 

 

Ahh, the short ribs. They're like The Girl with the Curl. When they're good, they're very very good when they're bad they're horrid. Those are the entree that 2 had the 'best' and 2 had the worst.

 

**

One cruise we ordered the baby back ribs. Both (the original and replacement) were cold. Not heated up then cooled down, but taken out of the fridge and never warmed up, cold.

It's been at least 5 years. Have sailed with the same waitress at least once a year. No matter what I order, she always brings out an order of those ribs, always hot!

[funinthesun1964]

Last cruise on the Miracle in November was The clincher for us deciding to switch to princess. The MDR food was hit and miss at best. The buffet was terrible. Only the pizza was good. Even the specialty restaurant was meh. Princess is definitely a cut above.

 

Funny you say that, because I just heard someone say that when they were on Princess, the food was so bad they had to go buy snacks when in port. Conflicting reports here.