Disappointed with food on Liberty

[Azure Moon]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=purple]On our recent Liberty cruise we had a few dining room items that could have been better - 1 beef entree wasn't cooked enough, 1 beef entree was too grisly, and 1 lobster that was overcooked/tough/rubbery. Otherwise all of the other entrees, starters, desserts, etc. was delicious and lived up to our memories of the previous 2 Carnival cruises we've taken.[/COLOR][/FONT]
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[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#800080]Buffet was great on variety, better than past Carnival cruises, I thought. [/COLOR][/FONT]
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[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#800080]The buffet food isn't to die for great, but it's certainly not dog food. I went from station to station to put together what I thought looked and sounded the best. If I didn't see something interesting, I went and got a hamburger (very good) at the Lido grill or went to the Fish and Chips restaurant (lived up to the rave reviews I'd read on the boards). No one that I dined with went hungry, lol![/COLOR][/FONT]
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[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#800080]My mother tried the Asian cook to order station by accident and came away surprised to find the food very tasty. I thought I'd see her standing in line for another bowl of it on subsequent days :D . [/COLOR][/FONT]
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[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#800080]I look at it this way, they cook better than I do (I could ruin a $$$$$ cut of meat in a heartbeat :o ) and, sadly, at home we tend to eat at chain restaurants, so the food on cruises is, in our opinion, the best stuff we've had when dining out.[/COLOR][/FONT]
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[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#800080]In my opinion, it's a huge mistake that Carnival doesn't have live music playing in the background during evening meals in the main dining rooms. As it is now, only a small minority of guests get the special treatment. There are band areas in both dining rooms on the Liberty, they should be used, especially on formal (elegant) evenings. Happy experiences = happy memories = return guests.[/COLOR][/FONT]
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[Wants to be rich]

I have to ask....Am I the only one who actually liked my food on the Liberty? :) I guess to each his own, but I enjoyed every meal in the dining room. Both the hot and cold soups were delicious; the ceasar salad was fresh, crisp and quite tasty; the main courses from prime rib to duck to the turkey with stuffing were great. My friend also had good results with everything she ordered and enjoyed each meal. There was one meal I was not crazy about, veal something or other, but it was not because it was not done correctly, just a little rich for my taste. A consistent theme from those at our table was that the steaks were overdone - if it was ordered rare, it came out medium, if ordered medium, it came out well done.

We also ate at the buffet for breakfast and lunch. Had everything from pancakes to freshly made omelettes for breakfast and enjoyed every bite. The only issue I may have had was the bacon was not crisp enough for my taste. :( The luncheon buffet food was hot/cold as it should have been and very tasty and other than the standards, varied each day. We found the pizza to be competely cooked, hot from the oven, with a crispy crust. The fish and chips I had from the upper level were not greasy as others have mentioned.

Cori - enjoy everything. I really don't think you will be dissapointed!

Linda H.

[Azure Moon]

[quote name='Wants to be rich']I have to ask....Am I the only one who actually liked my food on the Liberty? :) ...

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=darkorchid]Nope, you're not alone. Soccerfan, Cruiseforfun1 liked the food. I also liked it, except for the three items I mentioned.[/COLOR][/FONT]

...A consistent theme from those at our table was that the steaks were overdone - if it was ordered rare, it came out medium, if ordered medium, it came out well done.

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=darkorchid]This is what happened to my medium beef, it came to the table rare. Perhaps the dining room cooks need a refresher in timing for cooking meats.[/COLOR][/FONT]

We also ate at the buffet for breakfast and lunch. Had everything from pancakes to freshly made omelettes for breakfast and enjoyed every bite. The only issue I may have had was the bacon was not crisp enough for my taste. :( The luncheon buffet food was hot/cold as it should have been and very tasty and other than the standards, varied each day. We found the pizza to be competely cooked, hot from the oven, with a crispy crust. The fish and chips I had from the upper level were not greasy as others have mentioned....

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=darkorchid]I agree with you, the hots were hot and the colds were cold. The pizza we had was completely cooked, but I would have preferred being able to get extra sauce, warmed on the slice of pizza I ordered (not doable, according to the attendant). Our fish and chips weren't greasy, either. [/COLOR][/FONT]

Linda H.[/quote]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=darkorchid]Yep, Cori, you will eat well on your cruise. There is so much good food available, it's hard not to find something to like.[/COLOR][/FONT]
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[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#9932cc]And if you don't like something, your dining room waiter is more than happy to bring you something else.[/COLOR][/FONT]
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[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#9932cc]Our waiter insisted on our trying more dishes, and this was while we were still ordering! Either the kitchen had prepared too much, people were ordering the same items so some were going to be leftover or going in the trash if not eaten, or because some guests ate in other venues so the food they would have eaten was still in the kitchen, I don't know for sure, but our table made out like bandits :D .[/COLOR][/FONT]

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[4nlalaland]

We are cruising on the Liberty in June.... this will be our first time on Carnival and after reading this, I am a little worried about the quality of the food.
Last summer we sailed on Celebrity on a 12 day cruise of the mediterranean:) It was awesome.... and the food was great. We all looked forward to dinner everynight. The buffet was so-so but they had other food stations that were great!!!Aqua Spa Cafe!!!! Anything like this on Liberty?
Someone mentioned that the food at the last dinner serving might not be as good:eek: I hope that is not the case since that is when we are having dinner......

[truecruiser]

[quote name='Wants to be rich']I have to ask....Am I the only one who actually liked my food on the Liberty? :)...[/quote]

probably not. and crews rotate too. i wld think rotation would also apply to food service crew, and more importantly, those who are in charge of them. maybe that has something to do with it.:confused:

[gotsand]

I swore off booking a cruise, because of my last Carnival ride. That was 3 years ago. I have sinced booked an Alaskan cruise. (not with Carnival)
I felt that most of the food was disgusting, mainly the buffet. I, like the other post, before mine, ate mostly salad and fruit. Carnival should not advertise fine dining, when it is not. I do not care if anyone flames me or not. We spent alot of money, no different than a land vacation, and could not wait to get to the airport and eat something we could recognize. When we take a land based vacation, we eat at nice restaurants and have good food. Cruises should live up to what they advertise. I thought the desserts were of poor quality and tasteless. The lobster was a joke and steak even worse. The buffet dishes had unidentifible gravy on almost everything. Yuck. The burgers were so dry, like a hockey puck. Bread seemed old. I could go on and on. :( :( :(

[MISSSNOOPYGIRL]

[quote name='Wants to be rich']the ceasar salad was fresh, crisp and quite tasty; the main courses from prime rib to duck to the turkey with stuffing were great.
Linda H.[/quote]


I found the caesar salad always room temperature when I expect it cold, and the turkey to me tasted like a TV dinner. In fact I've had better turkey IN a tv dinner! I barely touched a pork dish, it was tough and flavorless. Yes, I too saw a lot of food go to waste on my cruise.

[crosj]

Now on a lighter note... PIZZA PIZZA PIZZA.. IMHO Carinval has the very best pizza and calzone and their deli is pretty good also. Sure its not gourmet but neither is carnival. One of these days I am going to try HAL or Celebrity and then I can have a true comparison of all the lines or at least all the lines I can afford to cruise on. Until then I will order my lunch/diiner and if I don't like it I will send it back until I do find something that I can eat.
I know that years ago (I just started cruising in 2001) the food was really something to talk about but then again from what I understand the cost of cruising was alot more. I think I like this better where the average person can take a 7 day cruise without going into debt.

[dclark]

[quote name='tropical.dreams']Carnival is the only place I know that has been able to ruin broccoli and cheese soup.

I was really looking forward to it in December, but when I got it, I couldn't even identify it as B&C soup. McDonald's serves it better, IMO.[/quote]

Since when has broccoli and cheese soup been available at McDonalds?

[4nlalaland]

[quote name='crosj']Now on a lighter note... PIZZA PIZZA PIZZA.. IMHO Carinval has the very best pizza and calzone and their deli is pretty good also. Sure its not gourmet but neither is carnival. One of these days I am going to try HAL or Celebrity and then I can have a true comparison of all the lines or at least all the lines I can afford to cruise on. Until then I will order my lunch/diiner and if I don't like it I will send it back until I do find something that I can eat. [/quote]


I guess my kids will be happy if the pizza is as good as you say:) .........
by the way..... if your dinner is not satisfactory and you send it back...does the next thing you order taste/look any better???
sometimes I am afraid to do this because I do not want to get the chef upset and you know......you hear those kitchen horror stories!

[crosj]

Your kids (and you 2) are going to love the pizza. We all have likes and dislikes and on a cruise I will try something that I wouldn't normally try on land that I would have to pay for. I know better then to order steak on a cruise. Bad idea unless you order the steak in a speciality rest. I don't order pasta because normally its over cooked. I believe that ordering is a learned experience. But thats just me.