Carnival Food Quality Very Subpar

[wesorbeth]

3 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

You can order a salad, a soup, an app, an entree and a dessert per person with no problem at all.  And you can also make a surf n turf on lobster tail night if so desired.  If you leave the MDR hungry, you have nobody to blame but yourself.  And don't say that there are no entrees that you like since you can get a grilled chicken breast or a flat iron steak any night.

I am aware, an entree should not be 4 small shrimp and a single piece of whatever veg they toss on the plate,

[jetsfan58]

On 1/15/2022 at 7:01 PM, Joe817 said:

Quote of the  day! 👍

Amen!

[Tiger0613]

5 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

And don't say that there are no entrees that you like since you can get a grilled chicken breast or a flat iron steak any night.

You have to actually like those things.  In my case, I don't like any steak.  I'm also not a fan of most non-breaded/battered chicken after having a dry baked chicken breast at a restaurant I used to go to.

 

I often have to get multiple appetizers because I don't like any of the entrees or they have onions and peppers that are already mixed in.  I can't tolerate the texture of onions.  They frequently don't have any desserts that I like, so I end up ordering a banana split off the kids menu.

[jetsfan58]

2 minutes ago, Tiger0613 said:

You have to actually like those things.  In my case, I don't like any steak.  I'm also not a fan of most non-breaded/battered chicken after having a dry baked chicken breast at a restaurant I used to go to.

 

I often have to get multiple appetizers because I don't like any of the entrees or they have onions and peppers that are already mixed in.  I can't tolerate the texture of onions.  They frequently don't have any desserts that I like, so I end up ordering a banana split off the kids menu.

Bingo! And I bet you still enjoy your Cruises. We gotta learn to let Carnival do their jobs so that we can enjoy every sailing!

[Roger88]

3 minutes ago, Tiger0613 said:

You have to actually like those things.  In my case, I don't like any steak.  I'm also not a fan of most non-breaded/battered chicken after having a dry baked chicken breast at a restaurant I used to go to.

 

I often have to get multiple appetizers because I don't like any of the entrees or they have onions and peppers that are already mixed in.  I can't tolerate the texture of onions.  They frequently don't have any desserts that I like, so I end up ordering a banana split off the kids menu.

I wouldnt expect something fabulous in restaurants on board the ship. In any case, they cook for an average customer, there is no reason to expect something super delicious or close to perfect. To me, as long as its edible - its totally fine with me 

[jetsfan58]

4 minutes ago, Roger88 said:

I wouldnt expect something fabulous in restaurants on board the ship. In any case, they cook for an average customer, there is no reason to expect something super delicious or close to perfect. To me, as long as its edible - its totally fine with me 

You absolutely nailed it! I learned to be thankful for being able to Cruise. I still know many people that have never Cruised, can't afford to Cruise and/or because of a Medical condition can't ever Cruise. There is no way I am going to allow food choices to hamper my cruise experience. 

 

I always encourage passengers to just enjoy the dinner companions and forget about the food choices as we again have zero say in Carnival's menu planning. 

 

Cruise Nuts United!!!     

[BlerkOne]

7 hours ago, BasicSailor said:

 I think I confused the sweet and sour shrimp with the Coconut shrimp.😖

Yes, I don't care for those much. That is a generous portion compared to what I recently received and looks a whole lot better. I think those are cooked tempura style. Most of Carnival's shrimp probably still come from China. The calamari that night was much better.

 

 

 

 

 

[ilovesparky13]

12 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

The ones on Carnival?   You need about 2 dozen plates to make up a good sized 

12 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

The ones on Carnival?   You need about 2 dozen plates to make up a good sized portion.

*****? Why would you make an entire meal out of one appetizer? You seriously didn’t like ANYTHING on the menu? Fruit? Salad? Cheese plate? Bread and butter?

[sanmarcosman]

I have to say with as many cruises I've been taking lately I only go to the MDR for breakfast and brunch. The Port Day Menu has a good selection and I think most people, even some grudgingly, will admit that the Sea Day Brunch menu is bold and eclectic and offers a smorgasbord of international fare.

In the evenings I stay casual all week and enjoy my dinner in the Lido Marketplace. Just last Friday night the carved roast turkey was succulent and so juicy it almost melted in my mouth. It was a wonderful meal and the service attentive.

 

[SNJCruisers]

On 1/16/2022 at 8:53 AM, wesorbeth said:

Dinner portions were tiny on the Pride in October. My husband and I don't waste food, we order one app, an entree and usually share a dessert.  A few nights I left still hungry.

 

 

9 hours ago, wesorbeth said:

I am aware, an entree should not be 4 small shrimp and a single piece of whatever veg they toss on the plate,

If you're so aware, you have nobody to blame but yourself for being hungry.  Even when they present you with 4 small shrimp and a piece of broccoli, all you need to do is communicate with your server to get something else to eat.  You don't have any jurisdiction as to the size of the entrees, but you do have jurisdiction as to how many you order and consume.

[SNJCruisers]

8 hours ago, Tiger0613 said:

You have to actually like those things.  In my case, I don't like any steak.  I'm also not a fan of most non-breaded/battered chicken after having a dry baked chicken breast at a restaurant I used to go to.

 

I often have to get multiple appetizers because I don't like any of the entrees or they have onions and peppers that are already mixed in.  I can't tolerate the texture of onions.  They frequently don't have any desserts that I like, so I end up ordering a banana split off the kids menu.

I would suggest that you cruise on the Mardi Gras, since it is impossible to go hungry on that ship, even for the most finicky of eaters.  Another option since you don't like the MDR is to eat at the buffet where you have more choices.  If you don't like steak or basic chicken because you got a dry one served to you years ago that now has turned you off to it, you have to learn to pivot and give yourself other options.  1. Buffet, 2. Specialty dining 3. Other cruise lines.

[SNJCruisers]

1 hour ago, ilovesparky13 said:

Why would you make an entire meal out of one appetizer?  You seriously didn't like ANYTHING on the menu? Fruit? Salad? Cheese plate? Bread and butter?

You are inferring something totally out of left field.  I was making a comment based on the fact that the shrimp cocktails that Carnival serves uses small (51-60 ct) shrimp and in order to make up in volume to what a decent shrimp cocktail has with XL (26-30 ct), or a better shrimp cocktail has with Jumbo (21-25 ct), you need to consume many many plates.  You get five small shrimp that is two bites worth.  I remember a few years ago when shrimp-gate came into play and everybody was up in arms till the beards decided to bring them back.  A lot of hot air over nothing.

[htkodiak]

We just got off a B2B on the Mardi Gras and have to say the the food was some of the best I've ever had on Carnival.One of the ways I judge this is by how hot the meal is when it gets to the table , I never had a meal in the MDR that wasn't hot.There were many different options if we didn't care for the menu choices in the MDR.We have done about four B2B , and our usual routine is MDR on first leg and buffet or alternative dining on second,and the Mardi Gras had multple dining options.On another note " mean people ". Many times I saw people talking down to wait staff , one incident was an older person yelling at an lido deck waiter in front of her grandchild ,someone in their 20's ,who was clearly very embarrassed.Elevator etiquette is another, people walking in front of wheelchair bound people.

[TravelBluebird]

Good to hear (about the hot food; not about the rude people)! Did you have YTD or a set time for the MDR?

[deliver42]

While Carnival isn't my favorite line, mostly because of their ships, I don't remember ever having a bad meal in the MDR. While I'm not crazy about their fleet, I am booked on the Mardi Gras for 2023 because it's so different than the blahs they have been sailing in my opinion.

[cruisingberger]

I agree with you 100% We love Guys, Blue Iguana and the pizza and other small food venues around the ship. The MDR and Buffet are not as good in our opinion. We have the biggest issue with the bread products overall. Just not a fan. That being said, there is always plenty to eat, and I can always find an enjoyable meal.

[Knights on the Beach]

While I think the MDR has been the weak link during our past two Carnival cruises, Mardi Gras has some great dining options so we were very happy with most of the food.  We only went to the MDR twice on MG - the first time (first elegant night), we had a terrible table location but great servers and the food was good.  The other time we ate in MDR, it was a complete miss - great table but not so great service or food.  Cucina, Emeril's and Pig & Anchor more than made up for the MDR shortcomings.  Throw in Blue Iguana, Big Chicken and Street Eats and I'd say the food was amazing for the most part.

Edited January 18, 2022 by cruisemom2

[vwrestler171]

I have not been impressed with the MDR food for quite some time, maybe I just go on the bad nights, but we usually do specialty dining for every night.  We will see how my cruise next month goes and only 1 specialty restaurant.

[NutsAboutGolf]

  

9 hours ago, sanmarcosman said:

I think most people, even some grudgingly, will admit that the Sea Day Brunch menu is bold and eclectic and offers a smorgasbord of international fare.

 

I would not call it bold, eclectic or international but did enjoy it; on the 14 night sailing I was on, it was offered on most sea days, we certainly missed it when it wasn't offered

[Gumbo4Life]

On our November cruise on the Vista we were very impressed with the food in the MDR, not so much with the steak house.  The MDR wasn't that crowded (we use my time dining), servers were great, food came out hot, was tasty and most different than past cruises the meal duration was quicker.  Not rushed, but noticeably quicker, which we liked.  I hate sitting in the MDR for 20 min waiting on the next item, on that cruise it wasn't the case. 

[Canadian_J]

We've always found the food to exceed expectations on Carnival. What we found starting to noticeably and consistently be slipping (pre-pandemic) was dining room service levels. We're not normally in a rush for dinner, but the pace was becoming brutally slow. It became apparent that the staff were trying to do more with less, and we truly felt for them in that regard. The contrast was crystal clear when we sailed Royal Caribbean (Feb 2020), where service was incredibly efficient every seating. Even with that said, we still felt Carnival had the edge for menus and food quality in the MDR. I'll be eager to see how things develop post-pandemic, but I have a gut feeling that these service standards might not be increasing again. And that's something we'll weigh and consider when we book, and set our expectations appropriately for.

[CruiserLucas]

I wouldn't say I've had bad or awful food (made me sick) on any of our Carnival cruises, but I've had meh food that wasn't quality. Undercooked potatoes at breakfast, food that had been waiting too long before being served in the MDR, overcooked and tough prime rib... But we have always had amazing staff and service at any of the dining venues. They try their hardest in my experiences to deliver a quality experience, and it's not the server's fault if the food wasn't good. 

[DrSea]

On 1/17/2022 at 8:21 AM, jetsfan58 said:

You absolutely nailed it! I learned to be thankful for being able to Cruise. I still know many people that have never Cruised, can't afford to Cruise and/or because of a Medical condition can't ever Cruise. There is no way I am going to allow food choices to hamper my cruise experience. 

 

I always encourage passengers to just enjoy the dinner companions and forget about the food choices as we again have zero say in Carnival's menu planning. 

 

Cruise Nuts United!!!     

I agree with 50% of what you said. Yes you should enjoy your companions' company as that is the point of cruising with others. But you should pick a line where you moderately enjoy the food imo. I don't feel like that is asking for too much and that is a low bar tbh. There are other cruise lines with different food options if you can afford it. 

 

If you are a sometimes solo traveler like me, then food is a little more important. 

[JT1962]

We have been multiple cruise lines in the past 35 years, including many cruises with Carnival, and have never had anything we would consider terrible or inedible on any of them. Food is obviously subjective, but I wonder what those that post complaints about the food on a cruise actually eat when not cruising? It must be incredible to find nothing they like or can eat on a cruise ship.

[DrSea]

On 1/16/2022 at 12:49 AM, RockHoundTX said:

LOL. You realize that this is a thread in the Carnival forum, correct? As I mentioned in my post, this was on the Christmas cruise on the Carnival Vista out of Galveston.

 

As for the other comments about "not holding restaurants to the same pre-covid standard", that is just insane. Of course they should be held to the same standard. My favorite Mexican restaurant had to raise prices a little but the quality is still the same. If it wasn't, people would stop going and they would go out of business (and I have seen that happen as well). Kind of works the same on cruise-ships. As noted in this thread, I have told several of my friends to NOT book with Carnival until they get their act together. Having done RCL the week before Carnival, the difference in food quality was pretty evident. Now was everything perfect with RCL? No. They had some supply-chain issues and were missing my favorite cookies as well as lamb being limited. However, the food they did serve was great (this particular RCL cruise has the second-best food I had eaten on a cruise in the last 20 years). So if RCL can get it right post-covid, why can't Carnival?   

agreed that they should be held to the same standard. 

 

On 1/16/2022 at 8:13 PM, sfaaa said:

Especially on lobster night. Supersize everything from start to finish. 

When is lobster night? Is it on 5+ night cruises? I mostly do 3 night cruises due to work.