Similar food on RCL and Celebrity?

[shofer]

Since Aug 2017 we have cruised 35 nights with RCL and 42 nights on Celebrity on 6 different ships of various classes.

 

Celebrity food service is much better in pretty much every respect except for the bread which has already been noted.

 

The MDR is a much higher consistent quality on the main course.

 

In my opinion, the Oceanview Cafe beats the Windjammer in every category (except RCL has bread pudding at every meal [emoji3]).

 

Interestingly, we were on the Vision in 2015 for a Med cruise and found the food to be horrible. Must not have been just me as two years later, same ship, different itinerary, and the food was wonderful. Bread pudding with vanilla sauce! I ate it every day.

 

On Silhouette in 2013, first time on X in several years, found some things good but mostly MDR bland. Celebrity still tops on dining service which is more formal. Loved the Windjammer food stations and all the options. Taking the Silhouette later this year for a TA and looking forward to making comparisons. The posted MDR menus look tantalizing.

 

Sue

[TeeRick]

I have sailed quite a bit on both lines. My opinion (food is very subjective!).

Suites Dining- the dining experience in Luminae is overall superior to Coastal Kitchen.

MDR - Overall food and service on Celebrity is better - but some ships outperform others on both lines.

Buffet- The Windjammer of RCCL's larger ships is frequently packed and hard to find a table. Food is OK but sometimes cold. The Oceanview Cafe on Celebrity's ships is less crowded and is a different design for M-Class vs S-Class. But both are a step above RCCL in variety of offerings and service. On Celebrity we enjoy the poached egg stations and the fresh grilling station (for steak, chicken or fish).

Other free offerings - Celebrity has decent free burgers and hot dogs by the pool (Mast Grill or Pool Grill). RCCL does not. But on some ships RCCL has other venues like the Dog House and of course the offerings in the Royal Promenade like Sorrento's for pizza. The larger RCCL ships have a number of other food offerings for free or a surcharge (like Johnny Rockets), and Starbucks and Ben & Jerry's. Celebrity ships have good free ice cream in the buffet and specialty coffees and gelato in Cafe Al Bacio (not free).

Specialty Dining- Highly ship dependent. In general RCCL has more Specialty restaurants in particular on larger ships. Food quality is high on both lines in Specialty Restaurants.

[TargetsMom]

The Windjammer of RCCL's larger ships is frequently packed and hard to find a table. ... The Oceanview Cafe on Celebrity's ships is less crowded and is a different design for M-Class vs S-Class.

 

We frequently had trouble finding a table in the Oceanview Cafe on Eclipse for breakfast or lunch. (Never ate dinner there.) Sometimes there were two of us, sometimes four or five. I give Celebrity extra points, though, for having good steak fries in Oceanview instead of the lousy fries that everyone else serves with their burgers.

 

k.

[keithm]

On Celebrity, you will get beef tenderloin, but not Grand Marnier souffle.

Not sure about escargot.

The Escargots are served nightly under the timeless classics. The little "slugs" are pretty small, however. The beef tenderloin is usually reserved for one of the "chic" nights, likely closer to the end of the trip.

[TeeRick]

On Celebrity the escargot is available every night on the main menu and my wife orders it every night!

[Mustang93!]

I prefer celebrity food, especially in the buffet. Also, more free room service options I believe. However, I do miss the dessert soufflés.

Edited May 27, 2018 by Mustang93!
spelling

[peter1975]

I have sailed quite a bit on both lines. My opinion (food is very subjective!).

Suites Dining- the dining experience in Luminae is overall superior to Coastal Kitchen.

MDR - Overall food and service on Celebrity is better - but some ships outperform others on both lines.

Buffet- The Windjammer of RCCL's larger ships is frequently packed and hard to find a table. Food is OK but sometimes cold. The Oceanview Cafe on Celebrity's ships is less crowded and is a different design for M-Class vs S-Class. But both are a step above RCCL in variety of offerings and service. On Celebrity we enjoy the poached egg stations and the fresh grilling station (for steak, chicken or fish).

Other free offerings - Celebrity has decent free burgers and hot dogs by the pool (Mast Grill or Pool Grill). RCCL does not. But on some ships RCCL has other venues like the Dog House and of course the offerings in the Royal Promenade like Sorrento's for pizza. The larger RCCL ships have a number of other food offerings for free or a surcharge (like Johnny Rockets), and Starbucks and Ben & Jerry's. Celebrity ships have good free ice cream in the buffet and specialty coffees and gelato in Cafe Al Bacio (not free).

Specialty Dining- Highly ship dependent. In general RCCL has more Specialty restaurants in particular on larger ships. Food quality is high on both lines in Specialty Restaurants.

 

Thanks for taking the time to type out all of this information! This is very helpful and answered a lot of other questions I had!

[peter1975]

The Escargots are served nightly under the timeless classics. The little "slugs" are pretty small, however. The beef tenderloin is usually reserved for one of the "chic" nights, likely closer to the end of the trip.

 

LOL @ "The little slugs ..." They are sooo yummy tho!

[peter1975]

We frequently had trouble finding a table in the Oceanview Cafe on Eclipse for breakfast or lunch. (Never ate dinner there.) Sometimes there were two of us, sometimes four or five. I give Celebrity extra points, though, for having good steak fries in Oceanview instead of the lousy fries that everyone else serves with their burgers.

 

k.

 

I don't understand how decisions are made concerning the fries onboard Royal's ships. Two cruises ago on the Freedom of the Seas (March 2017) the fries in the Windjammer were awesome! They had that crispy outer shell and tasted great! They were not limp and soggy. My next cruise on the same ship (Oct 2018) the fries were horrible -- back to the same limp, greasy fries I was used do. What happened? Did someone complain about delicious fries and they want back to the old ones? Or, were too many people eating the delicious fries and they decided they couldn't afford to keep serving them and went back to the terrible ones?? Ugh. I just don't get it. I hope the Celebrity fries do not disappoint! :D