Food

[testarc]

Ok, we like to eat. But we are far from being picky, there are tons of local restaurants we like, including many hole-in-the-wall places: $7 Sandwich, $3/slice pizza etc. We kept hearing how great Cruise food are and how Carnival has one of the best food in Mass-Market cruise line. However, our first cruise, Carnival Spirit, was a huge letdown. Most food are either too salty or too bland. I end up losing weight after 7 day cruise. (which may not be a bad thing) I am not sure whether this is just my bad luck, my expectation too high, or choosing the wrong cruise line. For those of you who love cruise food, how could you compare them to your local restaurants?

[wwinfl91]

First let me say our one experience with Carnival was our worst cruise and a lot of it was the food was bad. My wife got a steak that was so tough we couldn't even cut it. When we asked for it to be replaced the waiter asked like we were asking for his first born and then he brought back a replacement after about 15 minutes it was as tough as the first one. We then ordered a chicken breast figuring that would at least be edible. Other nights in the dining room were slightly better but not much.

 

Anyway we eat in many medium price restaurants and generally cruise food is a little better than the food we get there. The quanities are smaller than in restaurants but you can always order an extra portion if you need more.

 

Generally the food isn't very seasoned and we have to add salt so your experience with the food being too salty is unusual in our experience.

 

We have found the food on HAL, Princess, Celebrity and RCCL to be about equal with the speciality restaurants on all the lines being excellent. Costa's food was better than Carnival's but not by much.

 

Food taste is a subjective opinion and not everyone likes the same things but we have always been happy with cruise food except for the Carnival cruise.

 

I'm not sure I answered your question but I would suggest trying a different cruise line and see if you like their food better.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[cb at sea]

In the last couple of years, the food has fallen from "cuisine" to 2-3 star restaurant-syle food....think Applebee's, Chilis, TGIFridays....stuff like that. The selection and presentation isn't what it used to be. I guess they're trying to keep costs down, and the food service is the best way to do that.

You won't go hungry, but do NOT expect anything fancy!

[cruisemom42]

Many people scoffed at the thought when specialty restaurants were first introduced, but I still think that they are partly responsible for the decline. People are becoming conditioned to think that they have to pay "extra" per person to experience the same level of cuisine that used to be presented in the main dining room of most cruise lines.

 

But then again, perhaps it goes along with the fact that people refuse to dress for dinner any longer -- so it should be no surprise that the food is equivalent to a TGI Friday's when many passengers dress as if that is their destination.

[uppitycats]

Cruises plan to feed 2,000+ people at every meal. So for mass-quantity preparation, cruise food isn't bad. They do try to "dress it up" with fancy plates, sauces, "stuff" drizzled on the plate, etc...but it's still food produced in mass-quantity to feed people quickly. So I've never considered it high-quality cuisine. Adequate, sometimes surprisingly great, but not always, and not 5 star.

[RetiredandLovingit]

Many people scoffed at the thought when specialty restaurants were first introduced, but I still think that they are partly responsible for the decline. People are becoming conditioned to think that they have to pay "extra" per person to experience the same level of cuisine that used to be presented in the main dining room of most cruise lines.

 

But then again, perhaps it goes along with the fact that people refuse to dress for dinner any longer -- so it should be no surprise that the food is equivalent to a TGI Friday's when many passengers dress as if that is their destination.

 

Amen to that CruiseMom

I totally agree with both statements!

 

Jim

[Treven]

I've found the food in the dining rooms to be OK. Not great, but not too bad either. I've always found the food in the speciality restaurants, regardless of the cruiseline, to be quite good; not Morton's or Ruth Chris' steakhouse good, but better than TGI Friday or Outback, or Olive Garden.

[satxdiver]

Cruises plan to feed 2,000+ people at every meal. So for mass-quantity preparation, cruise food isn't bad. They do try to "dress it up" with fancy plates, sauces, "stuff" drizzled on the plate, etc...but it's still food produced in mass-quantity to feed people quickly. So I've never considered it high-quality cuisine. Adequate, sometimes surprisingly great, but not always, and not 5 star.

 

Well put indeed. The food aboard the cruise ship is definitely mass quantity food. It is good but certainly not as good as what a chef can produce for a dinner party of 10 to even 30. I can prepare better food at home and I am not a chef by any means. When people post that this is 5 or even 4 star food, it makes me wonder if they really know what 5 star food tastes like.

 

The food served on all the ships I have been on is good and plentiful but certainly not the quality of fine dining. White table clothes, low lights, 20 utensils at each place setting, 10 glasses and a waiter in a tux does not make 5 star dining. It makes me wonder where some of these pax eat at home.

[BroncosFan2010]

Many people scoffed at the thought when specialty restaurants were first introduced, but I still think that they are partly responsible for the decline. People are becoming conditioned to think that they have to pay "extra" per person to experience the same level of cuisine that used to be presented in the main dining room of most cruise lines.

 

But then again, perhaps it goes along with the fact that people refuse to dress for dinner any longer -- so it should be no surprise that the food is equivalent to a TGI Friday's when many passengers dress as if that is their destination.

 

Agreed!

 

I think the cruise food is better than most casual restaurants at which DH and I dine. The speciality restaurants are way better, and definitely worth the extra money. We sail RCCL, and the only thing that has been a real letdown was the desserts. I just don't like them. The only exception is the Mud Cake at Chops. I have a huge sweet tooth, so desserts on the cruise make me feel like I am missing something. The up side, is I don't gain as much weight as I would if the desserts were amazing.

[jocap]

Has anyone eaten at Marco Pierre White's on Ventura? I'm looking forward to that for our anniversary.-jocap.

[montana200024]

wow..i am amazed at the remarks here...

way to high expectations...

I for one am quite pleased with the quality , quantity, and presentative of all the dining rooms...on all ships...

but hey, i am one cruiser...

take care , stay safe and happy cruising

[ChriStephanie]

The best cruise food I've had, hands down, was on Disney Cruise Lines. Princess was good, Costa and Norwegian, as well as Premier and Big Red Boat were all pretty good too. But I think a lot of the comments about the decline of food over the years in the general dining areas is for sure. I've been on 14 different cruises over the last 15 years and seen the evolution of cruise dining change. I remember how I scoffed at the idea of open dining when my husband and I went on our Honeymoon cruise on the Caribbean Princess in May 2007 - but then I came to love it when I finally dragged my tired and sunburned butt out of bed after a long nap following a day of scuba diving and not worrying if I had "missed" dinner. When I first started cruising, the specialty restaurants meant tuxedo-clad waiters, fancy clothes and more forks than I know what to do with - also - no screaming kids running around the dining room. Now specialty restaurants mean that little extra edge of "escape", fancy food, impeccable service and a low-lit, more intimate and private dining experience. I feel like the proper point for comparison between what is and isn't "special" is the difference between that's served on the buffet during dinner hours for those who don't attend "seated" dinner, what's served in the dining room, and what's served at the specialty restaurants. To me, there's supposed to be a slight difference in quality.