Is the food better on Celebrity than on Royal Caribbean?

[A Sixth?]

Yes, but were they tasty? :eek: :D

 

LOL!!!!:D

 

I'm on a napkin free diet these days.

 

Just mentioned it as "attentional to details" is a precursor to bigger things.

 

 

VS

 

[pinkrosesdeb]

You might want to ask this same question on the Royal caribbean boards as well. It is always interesting to see the differing opinions. I think you will enjoy either cruise. We were not quite as impressed as all the others on this thread with the food on Celebrity but we certainly did not go hungry.

[sjb317]

We just got home from our Alaskan cruise on Solstice. This was our 2nd cruise on Celebrity with our first being on Century in 2012. We have over 40 cruises on Royal ships. Both my husband and I agree the food is very similar on each line with each having areas they excel in and some that need improvement.

 

Sherri:)

[aquanaut1]

Just came back from Celebrity Solstice 2 days ago. No sushi in buffet. Was told they discontinued it since Sushi on 5 started operating.

 

 

Eclipse not modified yet , so we were sushi lucky in the buffet

Shame if they lose it as its great

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Hlitner]

Our local "greasy spoon" is better then RCI....which is one (of several) reasons we stopped cruising on RCI (RCCL) about 4 years ago. RCI seemed to totally revamp their business model from quality to size. Big ships, Big shops (which overflow into their atriums), Big Advertising, etc. Somewhere along the line, quality took a minor role. It is now a line for the masses...and does that task quite well.

 

DW reminds me of our RCCL cruises (yesteryear) on the Sun Viking (the Oasis Class holds nearly as many passengers in a single lifeboat) when the waiters served all the sides from silver serving bowls, waiters would cut open your baked potato and add whatever toppings you desired, beef in the MDR was excellent quality, etc. We are now thinking the future of RCI will be a 25,000 passenger ship which will be permanently moored off a Florida port with 5000 passenger tenders running passengers to and from their resort :). Alternative restaurants will be called McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and for the discerning taste....Olive Garden.

 

Hank

[mcrcruiser]

With 77 past cruises & over 40 with Celebrity ,we know that the quality of food has not been as good as when we first cruised .It is not bad ;but ,definitely not as good . The special restaurants food is very good ;)

 

The presentation of the food also has changed .When Celebrity waiters once presented the deserts on a tray that no longer happens . The quality of the China is more like RCCL . Obviously the RCL corporation has influenced Celebrity in all aspects from when they were owned by the Greek family

[neverbeenhere]

I hate to disagree but I doubt McDonald's and Burger King would be on the same RCCL ship. McDonald's likes to have exclusive contracts. Now Warren would approve a Burger King, Dairy Queen and Tim Horton's combo. This would have the added benefit of attracting Canadian cruisers.

[Host Jazzbeau]

We are considering Liberty of the Seas for our second cruise. In a grand suite. I know there is no butler service on Freedom class ships, but there is a suite lounge with breakfast and lunch. Anyone care to weigh in on the difference between a suite class on Celebrity and a Suite on a Freedom Class RCI ship?

 

Since no one has answered your question, I'll chime in with a partial answer. Even though I have never sailed on Royal, I have sailed in a Celebrity Suite on Constellation. Suites on Celebrity (even Sky Suites which might be considered "mini-suites") get the very upscale Luminae restaurant for breakfast and dinner (and lunch on sea days), exclusive use of Michael's Club with a very classy atmosphere, a special concierge for suite passengers (located conveniently right in Michael's), invitations to many VIP events, and of course a butler. It was a wonderful experience and put that cruise on the same level for us as Azamara Quest. The food in Luminae in particular took us completely out of the mass-market cruise experience.

[reecesavage]

Since no one has answered your question, I'll chime in with a partial answer. Even though I have never sailed on Royal, I have sailed in a Celebrity Suite on Constellation. Suites on Celebrity (even Sky Suites which might be considered "mini-suites") get the very upscale Luminae restaurant for breakfast and dinner (and lunch on sea days), exclusive use of Michael's Club with a very classy atmosphere, a special concierge for suite passengers (located conveniently right in Michael's), invitations to many VIP events, and of course a butler. It was a wonderful experience and put that cruise on the same level for us as Azamara Quest. The food in Luminae in particular took us completely out of the mass-market cruise experience.

 

Thank you!

[Hlitner]

I hate to disagree but I doubt McDonald's and Burger King would be on the same RCCL ship. McDonald's likes to have exclusive contracts. Now Warren would approve a Burger King, Dairy Queen and Tim Horton's combo. This would have the added benefit of attracting Canadian cruisers.

 

Tim Horton's coffee and donuts would sure be a step up...

 

Hank

[griffy116]

We sailed exclusively on Royal and will be sailing on Celebrity for the first time in June. We were very disappointed in the food on Liberty this past July. We've never gone hungry, but we weren't happy with the food in the MDR. I HATE the idea of paying for the Specialty restaurants, even with OBC. I like the atmosphere in the MDR and like getting to know our waiter so we stuck it out. We were looking forward to the addition of the water slides on Liberty. We used it exactly once because of the wait time in lines. We have a short cruise previously booked on Royal for the week after Christmas so we'll see how it goes.

[mn1111]

I've sailed both lines and while Celebrity is not gourmet by any means even in Luminae, it is still definitely about a step and a half over Royal especially in the buffet area (though I only visit the buffet about once per cruise and never anymore on Royal).

 

I still cruise Royal once in a while due to casino offers, but will only sail port intensive itineraries and plan for main meals on shore and use the ship only for breakfast and snacks. Last Royal cruise we had the Royal suite and brought food on from shore a few times to eat in the cabin as it was so bad on that sailing (other sailings weren't as bad for some reason).

 

I've read a few times that Royal has a lower food budget per person per day than Celebrity and even Carnival as a matter of fact and it definitely shows.

 

Neda

[teecee60]

After being a dedicated fan of (and maybe even a cheerleader for) Celebrity the last 5 or 6 years... I recently did my very first cruise on Royal... 35 nights on a B2B.

 

The food in the MDR on Explorer OTS was not bad... but it was just SOOO thoroughly uninspiring. There was exactly one, and only ONE meal that made me think "Wow... that's pretty darn tasty!" It was roasted, crusted lamb chops that were a dead ringer for the ones that I absolutely LOVE on Celebrity.

 

Every other single meal in the MDR was just "OK..." not a good sign... :o

 

The two specialty restaurants I visited on Explorer, "Chops" and "Giovanni's Table" were absolutely wonderful... very similar to but still not quite, what "Murano" and "Tuscan" USED to be like... before the incredibly high quality of the food in Celebrity specialty restaurants started to erode while the prices skyrocketed.

 

After the TOTAL SATISFACTION I continually experience in the buffet on Celebrity, (I absolutely LOVE the Indian food) the counterpart on Explorer OTS was a significant disappointment. Dull, boring, bland, and utterly unsatisfying are the words that come to mind. :(

 

I have three more cruises booked on Royal over the next 7 months... if the food on those cruises is not significantly better than the last, I will once again be looking to Celebrity. ;)

Edited September 15, 2016 by teecee60

[GUT2407]

I suspect you are the only one who can really answer this question.

[sound_guy0918]

Our experience...

MDR - advantage X. Most dishes were outstanding. Only one meal all week was just fair. On RCCL, we had several disappointing meals in only 3 days and several items were inedible. Our waiter on RC always gave us the real scoop and when he said, "I don't recommend the XYZ," he was right.

Buffet - advantage RCCL. We thought the Windjammer had fresher, more interesting dishes.

Poolside - advantage X. The burgers, dogs, and fries at the grill were excellent.

In-Room Breakfast - advantage X. The pastries and fruit were superior on X.

Specialty - we did not try the steakhouse on the Enchantment, but our meal at the Normandie was a top-5 lifetime experience. We hope the Tuscan Grille is as good.