How does Celebrity compare to Carnival?

[bigAWL]

2 hours ago, retired dude said:

burgers on rccl and celebrity are inedible....but then who goes on a cruise to eat burgers??????

I don't cruise for burgers, no.  I also don't cruise for mashed potatoes, stir fry, pizza, scrambled eggs, toast, and jam.  But on a 7-night sailing, I won't be surprised if I ingest some of them along the way.  And I do welcome a simple burger and fries once in a while for lunch, even on a cruise.  It's still part of the whole experience, and I like the options to be edible... if not tasty.

 

I understand the general opinion on these boards of the burgers on X, which is why I responded to the previous poster's positive review of "casual food" for clarification.

[Mike981]

20+ years ago I would say that Celebrity kicked Carnivals butt on food. Today, not so much and probably closer to the same than anything. I know some won't like hearing this, but it is just my opinion.

 

I was very close to booking our next cruise on Carnival, but found a decent deal on an Aqua room with the included items that we like on Celebrity. FYI we currently go on 10 day cruises so that changes the vibe on both lines. 

[palmsandpines]

We found Carnival okay, no major issues. The food and service do not compare to Celebrity. If you're in your 20s and 30s, you might prefer Carnival and it's relaxed atmosphere. You might also find more adventuresome things to do on Carnival. Celebrity is more of an upscale and older crowd. Something that I think is maybe even more important and that is getting a newer ship. 

Edited June 10, 2023 by palmsandpines

[Luvtoeat]

We have been on about 40 cruises and on Carnival at least 10 times and never had a bad cruise. Our last 4-5 cruises have been on Celebrity and for sure it's more upscale and also had great cruises especially if getting a free BCC balcony. We have also been on some cruise lines that are long out of business and best forgotten. Our next cruise will be first time on MSC and that should give us an interesting comparison with any of the lines we have been on. 

[med2cruise]

1 hour ago, Luvtoeat said:

We have been on about 40 cruises and on Carnival at least 10 times and never had a bad cruise. Our last 4-5 cruises have been on Celebrity and for sure it's more upscale and also had great cruises especially if getting a free BCC balcony. We have also been on some cruise lines that are long out of business and best forgotten. Our next cruise will be first time on MSC and that should give us an interesting comparison with any of the lines we have been on. 

We have been on 6 Carnival, 1 Royal Carribean, 1 MSC and 2 Celebrity plus 1 more this November.  We tried MSC last year for Labor Day weekend on a whim out of Port Canaveral.  It was actually one of the best cruises we were on.  Everything was very good, a lot of people seemed to have the drink package so there was a lot of drinking.  I would definitely go on MSC again!

[miched]

10 hours ago, retired dude said:

burgers on rccl and celebrity are inedible....but then who goes on a cruise to eat burgers??????

Doesn’t everyone pay a lot of money for the fine dining on a cruise ship to be able to eat the burgers, hot dogs, fries,  and pizza?  😱🤗

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[miched]

10 hours ago, retired dude said:

burgers on rccl and celebrity are inedible....but then who goes on a cruise to eat burgers??????

Doesn’t everyone pay a lot of money for a cruise to get  the fine dining of the burgers, hot dogs, fries,  and pizza?  😱🤗

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[upwarduk]

Let’s say that we have cruised once on Carnival, but are now Elite Plus on Celebrity.

[NutsAboutGolf]

10 hours ago, miched said:

Doesn’t everyone pay a lot of money for the fine dining on a cruise ship to be able to eat the burgers, hot dogs, fries,  and pizza?  😱🤗

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Cruise food is NOT fine dining, not even X marketing dares to try to say that…lol. With that being said, the service is usually on par with upscale restaurant such as mid-range steakhouses like Ruth Chris, capitol grill, flemings, etc

[miched]

44 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Cruise food is NOT fine dining, not even X marketing dares to try to say that…lol. With that being said, the service is usually on par with upscale restaurant such as mid-range steakhouses like Ruth Chris, capitol grill, flemings, etc

Where did I claim that food on the  cruise food  is fine dining?  I was referring to the post that I quoted. It is the fine dining of burgers, dogs, fries and pizza. 
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[MISTER 67]

15 hours ago, med2cruise said:

We have been on 6 Carnival, 1 Royal Carribean, 1 MSC and 2 Celebrity plus 1 more this November.  We tried MSC last year for Labor Day weekend on a whim out of Port Canaveral.  It was actually one of the best cruises we were on.  Everything was very good, a lot of people seemed to have the drink package so there was a lot of drinking.  I would definitely go on MSC again!

Agree on MSC, I would take them over Carnival in a heartbeat.

To others don’t believe some of the bad reviews in regards to MSC, sailed with them 5 times and never a bad cruise, entertainment is super with an afternoon when you can go to shortened version of an Opera, we’ve seen Madame Butterfly and La Traviata, they were outstanding and brought tears to my eyes.

We’ve been on 70 cruises and tried Carnival 1 time but never again. If it’s Celebrity or Carnival, it’s no contest, go with X.

Edited June 11, 2023 by MISTER 67

[K&RCurt]

On 6/10/2023 at 6:06 AM, bigAWL said:

What do you include in the Casual Food category?  I haven't experienced any of the lines you are rating, but have read thread after thread here that seem to have a consensus that X burgers (in particular) are consistently inferior to the others.

 

I know my teens would love to hear about any good casual food recommendations on X.

Sorry for the delay, I had a busy weekend!

 

I think at this point every Carnival ship has both a "Guy's Burger Joint" and "Blue Iguana Cantina" and these, IMO are far and away the best burgers and Burritos, tacos on cruise ships.   The newer "Excel class" ships also have 3 different "Street Eats" walk up windows on the pool deck with a rotating menu of steamed goodies like pot stickers, etc, Various specialty fires and grilled kabobs and satays.  Additionally they have "Shaq's Chicken Shack" which has fried chicken sandwiches. 

 

HAL used to have great burgers, including Lamb Burgers but they revamped the burger venue on the Lido and now they are just "meh" and X had pretty much the same burger quality.  RCs were better than X or RC but a far cry from Guy's on Carnival.  RC did have very good Hot Dogs and Sausages on the Oasis, but I am not a big hot dog fan.

[bigAWL]

1 hour ago, K&RCurt said:

Sorry for the delay, I had a busy weekend!

 

I think at this point every Carnival ship has both a "Guy's Burger Joint" and "Blue Iguana Cantina" and these, IMO are far and away the best burgers and Burritos, tacos on cruise ships.   The newer "Excel class" ships also have 3 different "Street Eats" walk up windows on the pool deck with a rotating menu of steamed goodies like pot stickers, etc, Various specialty fires and grilled kabobs and satays.  Additionally they have "Shaq's Chicken Shack" which has fried chicken sandwiches. 

 

HAL used to have great burgers, including Lamb Burgers but they revamped the burger venue on the Lido and now they are just "meh" and X had pretty much the same burger quality.  RCs were better than X or RC but a far cry from Guy's on Carnival.  RC did have very good Hot Dogs and Sausages on the Oasis, but I am not a big hot dog fan.

Ok.  I guess I was confused then.  You said in your post from Friday that you considered Celebrity to have the best "casual food" far above the others, including Carnival.

[K&RCurt]

On 6/12/2023 at 11:56 AM, bigAWL said:

Ok.  I guess I was confused then.  You said in your post from Friday that you considered Celebrity to have the best "casual food" far above the others, including Carnival.

My bad, I was typing too fast I guess.  Can't seem to fix it now.

[neverlaysup]

Two things from Carnival that I would love to see on Celebrity...Comedy club and Piano Bar. The Celebrity crowd would love these two venues if they had some sort of activity every night or every other night. JMHO!

[BridgeMates]

1 hour ago, neverlaysup said:

Two things from Carnival that I would love to see on Celebrity...Comedy club and Piano Bar. The Celebrity crowd would love these two venues if they had some sort of activity every night or every other night. JMHO!

 

Great suggestions.  Celebrity really needs to update their entertainment.  

[soapbxking]

On 6/7/2023 at 3:42 PM, bigAWL said:

Have you been on multiple Carnival sailings?  Were they all like this, or some less rowdy?

I have bene on numerous Carnival sailing and have loved each and every one.  Issues with rowdiness, are subject to any cruise and cruise line for sure.  There is always an Ahole every.  Carnival tends to be more lively for sure, however, it all depends on where you are sailing and how long.  The short short 4 night sailings due tend to draw a more partying crowd no matter the line for sure, Carnival is certainly no exception.  if you are doing a longer cruise that normally isnt the case.  I have found RCI more subdued with a older crowd(not old)  I would sail Carnival without hesitation.  That being said i am going Celebrity Reflection in January for my retirement cruise 🙂