FOOD ON ELATION/FANTASY CLASS

[Cruisegirl6]

Its been awhile since we been on Carnival as RC casino has been giving us complimentary Junior Suites, but we have a credit with Carnival and will loose it if we don't take a cruise by this coming March.  We decided to just take a 5 night cruise out of Jax as it is only a 30 minute drive time for us.

 

Question, when we cruise we dine nightly at specialty restaurants/steak house.  This ship does not offer a steakhouse and we just read the one evening that lobster is served that it is no longer offered on a 5 night cruise.  Is this true?  It is the only night we thought we had an enjoyable dinner.  My question, does anybody have the menu's or can comment on the MDR food on this ship?  Since we recall the MDR being just "ok" we are curious as to what the dinner buffet is like on these fantasy class ships?  Is the food better at the buffet and does anybody know what time dinner in the buffet is offered?

 

It used to be you only can get pizza after 11pm, I also heard they now offer other items (excluding room service as I don't want to sit in the cabin waiting for something to eat) late evening to eat, does anybody know what they are and what time they are served till?

 

Thank you.

Edited December 26, 2018 by Cruisegirl6

[eljd]

The pizza is now open 24/7. I have also seen that there are select snacks offered at the Lido buffet later at night, but I'm not sure if that's class specific or what kinds of snacks are offered.

[BoDidly]

Food is subjective but I have to say I agree with you that the lobster is the only thing worth visiting the MDR for. Which is no longer offered on a five day.

Everything else either arrives cold to lightly warm. The wait for food has taken its toll with us.  

 

I rate Carnivals food in the lower class of K&W.  edible if there's nothing else.

Edited December 26, 2018 by BoDidly

[Cruisegirl6]

Thats exactly what I remember the food to be in the MDR, edible, cold, poor service, never could get that beverage guy for another cocktail.  And Carnival wonders why there is so much waste in food?!

 

Just curious what they offer besides pizza, which we always found to be soggy and well not good but when its the only thing you can get to eat late at night you eat it lol.  

 

Like to hear comments on the dinner buffet...do they serve the same items as the MDR, is the food better and warmer, etc?

[LandlockedCruiser01]

2 hours ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

Just curious what they offer besides pizza, which we always found to be soggy and well not good but when its the only thing you can get to eat late at night you eat it lol.

 

They have this.  (Image courtesy of Zydeco Cruiser at http://www.zydecocruiser.net/menus.)  I wish they had more drunk foods like loaded french fries or burritos.  Then again, fries are on the paid room service menu, where Carnival doesn't want to lose the revenue, and burritos are brand-restricted by Blue Iguana Cantina.  But for Cutback 2.0, er... Fun Ship 2.0, this isn't half bad.  Pastas do an excellent job of soaking up all those mixed drinks, beers, and shots.

  

 

[blarko]

I was on Elation in September and the buffet served mostly the same menu items as what was being served in the MDR. The buffet is open for dinner until 9:30 pm.  Although there is no steakhouse, you can order the better steaks in the MDR for a $20 upcharge. The pizza is 24 hours, the deli is open until 11 and they do have “late night snacks” (sandwiches, hot dogs, chips, cookies) at one of the aft buffet stations from 11-1.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

The food on the Pride 2 years ago was fairly disgusting without a wok, for lunch.  Dried out and overly salted, low quality buffet food.  Guy's Burger is fresh, but a complete gut bomb.

 

The MDR isn't what it used to be, I would avoid the fatty/greasy beef, and dried out chicken.  The lamb and fish were decent, but then again, maybe not so much now...

[Bostwick girl]

Sounds to me like all these posters need to go on back to royal Caribbean. Amazing that thousands and thousands of people find everything just fine on carnival as they keep coming back!

 

[Cruisegirl6]

I been on 7 RC cruises the past three years.  One main reason, because the food is so so much better, more quality/selection and more options.  But we had this credit and I hate to loose it so we booked the Elation.  

 

On another note, I only dine at specialty restaurants and on the Oasis class I found the same. menu over and over and over on the RC ships with no changes, not even the vegetables, you can always count on broccolini and carrots at 150 Central Park restaurant, it gets old eating the same thing over and over!  I also found these specialty restaurants have gone down hill but Carnivals steakhouse is always our most favorite specialty restaurant at sea.  I will miss not having it on the Elation.

 

On another note, its nice to get a ham and cheese at midnight snack, and I didn't know you can get chips, but I assume out of a large bucket and not individual packages?

 

Does anybody know whether they sill offer the Caesar salad at the pizzeria late at night?

[30scruiser]

You can buy lobster in the MDR for $20 as one of the Steakhouse selections and the reviews are that it is quite good. Since you were prepared to spend money on specialty restaurants maybe you can just pay nightly for the uncharged entrees?

[MistyRo76]

We are the opposite of you as we eat in the MDR on Carnival nearly nightly. Our service has been mostly on the excellent to above-average side and the food has always been delicious. Most every night there are at least 2-3 things on the menu that I want and if there isn't I have the option to buy one of the Steakhouse selections for an upcharge (menu copied below). And if you don't like to be tied to a specific dining time, sign up for Anytime Dining. We do occasionally enjoy the specialty restaurants - we've done the Steakhouse a few times, are signed up for Chef's Table on our next cruise, absolutely enjoy Bonsai Sushi a couple times per cruise, love the free lunches at the Italian restaurants, etc. But not having these options wouldn't deter us from booking an older, smaller ship. We are cruising on the Paradise this April! 

 

[jwjax]

2 hours ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

I been on 7 RC cruises the past three years.  One main reason, because the food is so so much better, more quality/selection and more options. 

 

Hmmm.. My experience was quite the opposite!.....   RC food offerings were no where near the same as CCL in quality or flavor!!

Quote

 

 

Edited December 27, 2018 by jwjax

[Stateroom_Sailor]

55 minutes ago, jwjax said:

 

Hmmm.. My experience was quite the opposite!.....   RC food offerings were no where near the same as CCL in quality or flavor!!

 

 

Really???

 

McDonald's vs Burger King, pick your poison.

[asalligo]

I was on the Elation this year and unfortunately the food was pretty bad as cruises go, but still a great time. Here are the menus I saved. 

[Cruisegirl6]

Thank you everybody for the help, would love to see the rest of the menu's if anybody would happen to have them.  

 

Once on the fascination, I believe that was three years ago, I ordered the steakhouse selections the steak was nothing like what we had in all the times we went to the steakhouse on other ships but it sure was better than what was offered on the menu, I gather that would have to be our only option, at least we have that.

 

Yes, its a free cruise and any cruise is better than no cruise.  

[sanmarcosman]

Most evenings in the buffet there is a carvery station with an attendant slicing the meat for you. One night it may be roast leg of lamb with oven roasted potatoes on the steam table and mint jelly on the side. Another evening they carve tenderloin of beef with both au jus and horseradish sauces available nearby. The third evening perhaps a large whole turkey carved to your liking and requests for light or dark meat are accommodated. One night we did not dine at the buffet but passing through we saw a large honey glazed slow baked ham with whole cloves was being carved and the steam table had baked sweet potatoes in sauce to accompany the ham. Ham sauce and hot mustard were available alongside for self-serve.

 

As to those who mention foods not being served hot in the MDR: politely inform your lead server as they ask for your order that you require cold foods to be served cold and hot foods to be served very hot. Since doing this we have not been served one food that was not presented at the table as requested. It may help that we prefer Carnival's Your Time Dining and that once we find a wait team who provide us the service we require we ask for the pleasure of their serving us every night. We sometimes choose to wait 15-20 minutes if asked to by the host staff for a table to become available in that particular section. For a good service team it's worth the wait to us knowing we will have both pleasant service and foods served at correct temperatures. 

 

Even though it is your vacation the cruising public has a responsibility to communicate to the staff your expectations. I do think that regular cruisers should not sit in silence cruise after cruise accepting foods not at correct temperature or to tolerate indifferent service. Be polite with all working people who assist you and you'll most often find when courteously communicating your needs and wants with staff you will be well treated. This has been our experience and hope it will be for you as well.

[LPut714]

11 hours ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

I been on 7 RC cruises the past three years.  One main reason, because the food is so so much better, more quality/selection and more options.  But we had this credit and I hate to loose it so we booked the Elation.  

 

On another note, I only dine at specialty restaurants and on the Oasis class I found the same. menu over and over and over on the RC ships with no changes, not even the vegetables, you can always count on broccolini and carrots at 150 Central Park restaurant, it gets old eating the same thing over and over!  I also found these specialty restaurants have gone down hill but Carnivals steakhouse is always our most favorite specialty restaurant at sea.  I will miss not having it on the Elation.

 

On another note, its nice to get a ham and cheese at midnight snack, and I didn't know you can get chips, but I assume out of a large bucket and not individual packages?

 

Does anybody know whether they sill offer the Caesar salad at the pizzeria late at night?

We were just on the brand new Symphony of the Seas 2 weeks ago and have the same issues with NCL and Carnival-can't get meals/food delivered hot. We ran into a great duo in the main dining room (MTD table 405) Allan and Albert who took the time to put our food in the salamandar (broiler) prior to serving. We just let our waiters know we want food hot or it is going back. Done 35 cruises so agree food has gone down on NCL, RC and Carnival

[rainbowflag]

13 minutes ago, LPut714 said:

 We ran into a great duo in the main dining room (MTD table 405) Allan and Albert who took the time to put our food in the salamandar (broiler) prior to serving. 

You're saying your wait staff were also the cooks? If not I'd like to meet a chef and their staff who allow servers to come on the kitchen line and use their equipment! 

[lelder1]

We were on the Ecstasy this past August and ate dinner mostly in the MDR but the last night we ate dinner on Lido buffet and it was fantastic!  We plan to eat the buffet more frequently when we go on the Breeze in April.  

[scpirate]

14 hours ago, lelder1 said:

We were on the Ecstasy this past August and ate dinner mostly in the MDR but the last night we ate dinner on Lido buffet and it was fantastic!  We plan to eat the buffet more frequently when we go on the Breeze in April.  

We found the last night of buffet to be the best but that isn't saying much.it has gone really down hill.we lose no weight regardless.its only a few days anyway.

[Drazil65]

We just got off the Elation a week ago, true no specialty restaurants as the ship is quite small.  No more lobster on a 5 day is also true but my son (16) ordered the split lobster tail each night ($20 up charge) in the dinning room.  He enjoyed it and was happy with the food.   

 

We had a great time (amazing quality family time being off the grid completely) and our only critique would be the casino smoke seemed extra thick, more than likely because the casino bar is so large and can accommodate more smokers standing/sitting around it.  We typically stick to the larger ships but had an offer to use and this is a quick hitter for us to drive to the Jax port.  

Edited December 29, 2018 by Drazil65

[rainbowflag]

On 12/28/2018 at 6:16 AM, lelder1 said:

We were on the Ecstasy this past August and ate dinner mostly in the MDR but the last night we ate dinner on Lido buffet and it was fantastic!  We plan to eat the buffet more frequently when we go on the Breeze in April.  

This is one of the great features of cruising and Carnival in particular. Some cruises we wind up having dinner most nights in the MDR and other cruises due to port excursions or just wanting to serve ourselves we use the lido buffet for dinner mostly. 

[LPut714]

On 12/27/2018 at 9:05 PM, rainbowflag said:

You're saying your wait staff were also the cooks? If not I'd like to meet a chef and their staff who allow servers to come on the kitchen line and use their equipment! 

They just heated up food so it was hot. We have had servers before do this for us.

 

[Purvis1231]

On ‎12‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 8:21 AM, Bostwick girl said:

Sounds to me like all these posters need to go on back to royal Caribbean. Amazing that thousands and thousands of people find everything just fine on carnival as they keep coming back!

 

Right, if the food is so bad why are most of the passengers past guest? Why do people stand in line to eat in the MDR or even the buffet? 

[jaowel]

Hopefully you got the answer you were looking for. We also enjoy the Steakhouse on our cruises. We just did a 5 night on the Fantasy and they had Steakhouse offerings for $20 every night. We did the Surf & Turf and it was hot and delicious! The meat and lobster was perfectly cooked. Pizza is also 24/7. Have fun!