Disappointed with food on Liberty

[MISSSNOOPYGIRL]

:(

 

Was anyone else as disappointed with the food on the Liberty as I was? To me everything I ate was mediocre to below average. Also, nothing was as good as my previous 2 Carnival cruises. I mean, fish 'n chips were extremely greasy and mushy, pizza was mushy, almost under-cooked, stir fry was not as good as I remembered, and the chicken in the stir fry was chewy and horrendous tasting. The food in the main dining room was it's usual bland self (how about some garlic or seasonings?) and the buffet and deli were just that, a buffet and deli. Nothing I got excited about. I thought I would leave this cruise craving all the yummy foods and instead when I got off I was craving some "normal", tasty and well seasoned food, like at a chain restaurant. I eat just about anything and am by no means a food snob or let this ruin my cruise, but I must say this was the worst part of my cruise when I was anticipating it to be the best. Hubby was content eating greasy burgers, pizza, and fish but I expect better on a cruise, sorry! Anyone else feel this way, and it doesn't have to be limited to just the Liberty.

[truecruiser]

yes. i didn't think the food on liberty in december was as good as it usually is (compared to past sailings on ccl).

 

and my elation sailing, the feb before, wasn't the "very good" i usually find on ccl but, it was better than liberty.

[PaddleAddict]

On my cruise in October, the food on the Liberty was not as good as it was on my last two Carnival cruises (Miracle and Conquest).

 

However, I just cruised RCL and the food on the Liberty was MUCH better than the food on the Monarch, which just goes to show how wonderful I thought the food was on the Miracle and Conquest.

[Wylie Coyote]

My first cruise a couple weeks ago...and I too had high expectations for the foods I would enjoy on the ship. However, I found most Buffet items lacking in flavor...the presentation was great, everything looked so tastey...but none of the foods had any "zing". The dining room food was average and also lacking in flavors. I am not sure why everything was so bland.

 

However, the Supper Club...the food was outstanding. I would say 5 stars. I really enjoyed the food there. I ate so much that night! :D

[trock]

My first cruise a couple weeks ago...and I too had high expectations for the foods I would enjoy on the ship. However, I found most Buffet items lacking in flavor...the presentation was great, everything looked so tastey...but none of the foods had any "zing". The dining room food was average and also lacking in flavors. I am not sure why everything was so bland.

 

However, the Supper Club...the food was outstanding. I would say 5 stars. I really enjoyed the food there. I ate so much that night! :D

 

well there ya go... You pay extra for the supper club

they wanted you go again

[bills blasters]

Just got off the Liberty a month ago, and I have to agree with you. I do not go on a cruise for the food, but it seems like the quality of the food had gone down in the past 3 years. About the only thing at the buffet that I ate a lot of was salad. I had more salad in 8 days than I normally eat in a month. But, everything else just seemed so-so. Also, I don't think that there was as much to choose from as other time.

Oh well, I still will keep cruising.

[mommyto2girls]

I was on the Liberty in January and I have learned to not expect much...I thought the food (especially the buffets) was quite awful. I have noticed the last few years the food on all the ships has been so so. The only ship that had really good food was Disney.

[Cruiser from MS]

I was on the Miracle in January and I thought the very same thing. The food was not as good as on my previous cruises. It seems to me that Carnival has made some big cut backs. I was extremely disappointed with the food and overall service. I had read such great reviews of the ship and food. Makes you wonder what is Carnival thinking.....

[truecruiser]

I was on the Liberty in January and I have learned to not expect much...I thought the food (especially the buffets) was quite awful. I have noticed the last few years the food on all the ships has been so so. The only ship that had really good food was Disney.

 

YUCK! lol

 

no...all kidding aside, it is funny how things change over the years.

 

i thought the food on disney was the WORST i ever had (but then again, i sailed them many years ago, and things might have changed considerably), and i thought the food on celebrity was the BEST, but then again, i also sailed them years ago, and they have since been purchased by royal so i am certain changes were made that affected their menus and chefs, and consequently, i have a sneaking suspicion that they are no longer the "best."

.

[stompnizzles]

I guess I will lower my expectations then. I'm not picky by any means. As long as the food is hot and I have access to salt and pepper, I think I'll be fine. :)

[cruiselover999]

I hope the food isn't bad on the Valor...I look forward to the dining experience. However, having said that, I find that I have a very immature palate, and all the "exotic" dishes really don't appeal to me. I tried escargot on my first cruise, just so I could say I'd tried it..thought it tasted like the garlic butter it was soaked in and not anything else. I don't like mushrooms, so anything with the word "truffles" in it doesn't appeal to me, unless it's the chocolate variety!:D I like good old steaks, prime rib, and lobster. Give me that with a good salad and a baked potato with all the fixin's and I'm a happy girl! I'll try some of the offerings on the menu, but I usually go back to the tried and true!:)

[PaddleAddict]

I hope the food isn't bad on the Valor...I look forward to the dining experience. However, having said that, I find that I have a very immature palate, and all the "exotic" dishes really don't appeal to me. I tried escargot on my first cruise, just so I could say I'd tried it..thought it tasted like the garlic butter it was soaked in and not anything else. I don't like mushrooms, so anything with the word "truffles" in it doesn't appeal to me, unless it's the chocolate variety!:D I like good old steaks, prime rib, and lobster. Give me that with a good salad and a baked potato with all the fixin's and I'm a happy girl! I'll try some of the offerings on the menu, but I usually go back to the tried and true!:)

 

If you want a good steak, I'd head to the specialty restaurant. Steaks in the dining room were quite awful, but in the specialty restaurant they were divine!

[cruiselover999]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cruiselover999

I hope the food isn't bad on the Valor...I look forward to the dining experience. However, having said that, I find that I have a very immature palate, and all the "exotic" dishes really don't appeal to me. I tried escargot on my first cruise, just so I could say I'd tried it..thought it tasted like the garlic butter it was soaked in and not anything else. I don't like mushrooms, so anything with the word "truffles" in it doesn't appeal to me, unless it's the chocolate variety!:D I like good old steaks, prime rib, and lobster. Give me that with a good salad and a baked potato with all the fixin's and I'm a happy girl! I'll try some of the offerings on the menu, but I usually go back to the tried and true!:)

 

If you want a good steak, I'd head to the specialty restaurant. Steaks in the dining room were quite awful, but in the specialty restaurant they were divine!

 

Well, there goes the budget! So now I need to add an additional 30$pp for every meal that I want to be good? OY!:(

[disneylynn]

Misssnoopygirl

I have the same comments about the food on the Freedom

your food review is right on

[richfret]

Wow, I have never seen so many negative reports on the food and with sevaral ships. Normally, when I see a bad food review I just skip it because they can be so subjective. When you see several in a row, however, that is not a good sign. We leave on the Miracle on the 30th and now I am a bit skeptical. I'll let you know the results when I return. This will be our 11th cruise so we have past cruises to compare to.

[MISSSNOOPYGIRL]

Quote:

Well, there goes the budget! So now I need to add an additional 30$pp for every meal that I want to be good? OY!:(

 

Yes I refuse to pay the $30 pp for the supper clubs. To me it's like they're trying to scheme more money out of us, by pressuring us to go there when I think the food in the main dining rooms should be more up to par with the supper clubs. I don't expect perfection or the best meal of my life every night, but is it too much to ask that I would REALLY enjoy 2-3 meals? It almost seems like Carvival is purposely not putting as much effort into their food in an effort to better sell their supper club.

 

I too read so many reviews about how great the food was before my cruise. How disappointing!

[FrannyK]

You are not alone! The Liberty had the WORST food we've EVER had on a cruise! It was so disappointing--frankly, we were shocked. Harrys' supper club was wonderful though :) Trying the Legend this summer, hopefully the food will be better. If not, I think we'll try a new line next time to see what else is out there.

[dclark]

I suggest that you write a well detailed complaint letter to CCL- at the very least, you might get a little gift for your next CCL cruise and at best someone might read it pass it along to the Liberty and improve things.

Mind you, it has been a year and a half since I cruised CCL, but I have always thought that CCL starts off with top quality food ingredients and sometimes they do it right, sometimes they don't. We have had cream of Mushroom soup that was great, cold or tasted like ti was made with low fat milk. On our last cruise, my daughter's first filet mignon was very rare, the second was very well done (she asked for medium rare) and she simply gave up. You just never know.

Then again, they could be using lower quality ingredients because of budget cutbacks, I just don't know.

On my 12/13/06 Xmas cruise on Princess, I had the best cruise food I have had in years.A year later, on 1/08, cutbacks were everywhere, like a dearth of quality beef dishes, a limit of two lobster tails, and these were a 1/4 the size of the ones we had the year before.

So, my question is- on the liberty, do you think that the food was bad because they are using lower quality ingredients. or do you think it is because they are not doing a good job of preparing it?

[Kurbanfan]

We were on the Liberty in 2006 I don't remember it being any different then any other Carnival ship we have been on:confused:

[lauderdalebob]

I've been on RCCL, Cunard, HAL, Princess and now upcoming 2 Carnival cruises, one 12 and the other 16 nights. To tell the truth, I'm no gourmet and after sailing various lines I've found the food to be very similar. Yes, most is fairly bland, not necessarily bad, just bland and I guess when you're serving so many people that's the way it has to be. I must admit I do miss when cruising salty snacks and have been known to throw those little variety packs of chips, Fritos, etc., into the suitcase to munch on while lying in bed and watching the tv at times. People always think I'm nuts when I say I've brought food onto a cruise, but cruises don't always have what you're looking for. Anyway, it would take a whole lot to disappoint me in the food department so I guess I'll be safe with Carnival . . . I hope. No, I'm sure I will. Happy sailing to all!

[Handsome58]

Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb......and anything will be great......lol lol

[PaddleAddict]

I suggest that you write a well detailed complaint letter to CCL- at the very least, you might get a little gift for your next CCL cruise and at best someone might read it pass it along to the Liberty and improve things.

Mind you, it has been a year and a half since I cruised CCL, but I have always thought that CCL starts off with top quality food ingredients and sometimes they do it right, sometimes they don't. We have had cream of Mushroom soup that was great, cold or tasted like ti was made with low fat milk. On our last cruise, my daughter's first filet mignon was very rare, the second was very well done (she asked for medium rare) and she simply gave up. You just never know.

Then again, they could be using lower quality ingredients because of budget cutbacks, I just don't know.

On my 12/13/06 Xmas cruise on Princess, I had the best cruise food I have had in years.A year later, on 1/08, cutbacks were everywhere, like a dearth of quality beef dishes, a limit of two lobster tails, and these were a 1/4 the size of the ones we had the year before.

So, my question is- on the liberty, do you think that the food was bad because they are using lower quality ingredients. or do you think it is because they are not doing a good job of preparing it?

 

I felt like it was how the food was cooked, not the ingredients that were used. I also thought that maybe we had problems because we were the last seating at dinner. The food was never quite hot enough and WAY too salty!

[dan40]

Every cruise on every ship on every line is different. Sometimes the food is not so good on a sailing. Sometimes its pretty good. I guess I'm lucky in that I can and do eat a very wide range of foods. So if the beef is not up to par, I'll skip it and eat chicken, pork, lamb, fish, whatever. And I'll keep trying and sending food back until something arrives.

Someone said above how good the supper club was. It is very good, on a par with a good steak house. But 5 star?, not even in the neighborhood. That is not a complaint, its $30. 5 star would be way over $100.

 

Dan

[spartygrad95]

I'll be happy if the supper club was 3 stars. The dining room experience I had was on par with a chain restaurant, and the buffet, dont even get me started. Something edible, with a smidgen of class and some skill shown please.

[Terre]

Oh, no! I'll be on the Liberty in May and now I'm worried. Maybe Carnival will read this thread and pick things up a notch or two before I get there!