Steakhouse and Cucina...

[CarnivalCruiser875]

Headed out on the Mardi Gras for the first time soon! Couple of dining questions...

 

1.) Is the steakhouse worth the upcharge? I make a great steak at home, but we haven't tried the steakhouse before.

 

2.) Is Cucina still complimentary for dinner on the Mardi Gras?

 

Will gladly take any other tips on the MG 🙂

[Drazil65]

We are back on MG in 3 weeks and the steakhouse is worth it for us on whatever ship we sail.  As far as Cucina, although we have eaten there a couple of times (including MG last December) Italian is my least favorite food and I found it just average for me.  It is still complimentary but if it was a ship where you have to pay for it then I would say its not worth it for me.  

 

MG is a huge ship, we only use the stairs when we cruise but if you need to use the elevators plan for a little extra time when using them.  They take time and are often quite crowded.  There are so many venues to eat at and DH spent alot of his time in the Hero's lounge watching the football games on the big TVs going on (and some other sports) that weekend.  The people watching with him were a great group and they had so much fun (plenty to eat and drink in the area on deck 8.  

 

Try Bolt rollercoaster at least once (reserve on the Hub app for a day and time, it cost but worth the thrill at least once).  The comedy shows were great and there were many to choose from as they switched out the comedians (plan to get in line ahead of time).  We love the Teppanyaki restaurant and always make it to dinner there at least once during the week.  Lots to do on the bigger ships, great serenity area, we do not do the pools/hot tubs locations since DS is in college and does not have any interest in those crowds (ie: kids) so aside from always being crowded like normal, cannot speak to those parts of the ship.  We love Shaq's big chicken, DS and myself like it better than Guys burgers, toss up for DH.  Lots of fun places to drink on MG and Emeril's for breakfast is really good (shrimp and grits very tasty).  

 

With some preplanning and just having a good attitude will get you a great cruise overall.  Have a blast!

 

 

 

 

Edited November 24, 2023 by Drazil65

[csm5986142]

19 hours ago, CarnivalCruiser875 said:

) Is Cucina still complimentary for dinner on the Mardi Gras?

 

In our experience the first visit was free, any additional visits were $8 per person.

 

[Sailor75]

I'd save your money and not pay for the steakhouse, it's way overhyped and overpriced; but, that is just an opinion which others I'm sure feel differently. I've walked out of a few of them without finishing my meal due to horrible service and overcooked steaks; they're not 5 star restaurants. Chibang! was far better as is Cucina but not as good as Chibang! I had a captain's dish (they called it something like that) that was very good at Cucina.

[Sailor75]

Also,  I found the shows in the promenade area far better than the usual shows in the theater. The two I watched were interrupted though by a fight in one and a serious medical emergency in the other; I usually don't like the shows but those were fantastic.

[hard_eight]

Went to the steakhouse on Elegant night on a 5 day on the Conquest last week. Had to cancel dessert as I couldn't eat anymore!

 

We usually do it once a cruise. Worth it to me, your mileage may vary!

[80sGal]

Sailed Celebration but not the MG.  If there is a Rudi's on MG, I seriously recommend it.  We usually have one night at the steakhouse where we tend to get the same meal every time -- and consider it as good as our local restaurants like Jeff Rubys -- but Rudi's on Celebration set a new standard.   It was FABULOUS.   And probably the favorite of my "new" things on an Excel ship.  

[StephPS79]

I've done the steakhouse on Magic and Glory and had a fantastic meal every time.  Of course, there are variances from ship to ship, and haven't been on Mardi Gras, but we plan to visit it on every ship.  100% the experiences so far have been worth it. 

[Oceansaway17]

12 hours ago, 80sGal said:

Sailed Celebration but not the MG.  If there is a Rudi's on MG, I seriously recommend it.  We usually have one night at the steakhouse where we tend to get the same meal every time -- and consider it as good as our local restaurants like Jeff Rubys -- but Rudi's on Celebration set a new standard.   It was FABULOUS.   And probably the favorite of my "new" things on an Excel ship.  

ah yes I liked the lobster Mac cheese and I loved the bread too.  Crab cake was rather mushy but good

[80sGal]

4 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

ah yes I liked the lobster Mac cheese and I loved the bread too.  Crab cake was rather mushy but good

YES!! I had the lobster mac n cheese too!!

[QtbuggMom]

On 11/30/2023 at 11:21 PM, 80sGal said:

Sailed Celebration but not the MG.  If there is a Rudi's on MG, I seriously recommend it.  We usually have one night at the steakhouse where we tend to get the same meal every time -- and consider it as good as our local restaurants like Jeff Rubys -- but Rudi's on Celebration set a new standard.   It was FABULOUS.   And probably the favorite of my "new" things on an Excel ship.  

This is great to know.  We are on the celebration in March and wondering about Rico’s.  Thanks!

[Knights on the Beach]

We thought the food & service at the steakhouse on Mardi Gras was just so so. We had a far better experience on Freedom that same year. We love Cucina and Chibang - no extra charge for dinner at either for the first visit, then $8 for any subsequent visits and no charge for lunch. I will say we've been on Mardi Gras 4 times and Celebration once and our experiences at both varied - sometimes we liked Chibang better and other times we liked Cucina better.

[ctlyf]

Obviously experiences differ. We had excellent food and service at the steakhouse on MG last year. I was excited to try Chibang as I'd heard such good things and honestly we were very disappointed in both food and service. Ate at Cucina twice (both were free at the time, now I hear second visits are an upcharge). The first time was unimpressive... slow service and cold pasta. We went the second time on Elegant Night... very few people there, much better service and better food, plus we got to sit outside on the deck. Rudi's was amazing and well worth the cost. And agree that Shaq's was great, Guy's is good (same as other ships), we found the pizza only ok. Last tip... check out Street Eats... menus change daily so if you don't see anything you like one day, check back next day... you never know!