Thoughts on lines and food - from one Foodie to others !

Hi there All!

I'm a Foodie, and a FATTIE and wondering what would you guys recommend, and your likes a dislikes when it comes to eating on a ship .... I like good food, but i'm not a food snob! I can enjoy a good burger or pizza, as well as Filet Mignon and Escargot!

Here's my experiences ....

First of all, I'm not an avid cruiser - but would love to be! ... I've been on the Destiny, Breeze, Glory, and the Norwegian Epic

Food on the Carnival ships were ok .. MDR was nice .... buffets were well, Buffets! The Steakhouse was Superb!!

Food on the Epic was EPIC FAIL - in my opinion - except for the specialty restaurants and the bacon at breakfast!

Being a Weight Loss surgery Patient, I'm not at all about Quantity! Carnival has really pissed me off a bit on the last few occasions, and thought that I would try a different line - even though I'm still on a Carnival kinda budget ....

I had read review on MSC's Food and it's either a love it or hate it type of deal.

Thinking about a cruise on Celebrity in Late Oct....

So, to bring all of this to a close, What line would you experienced guys recommend?? Tips? secrets? ...

Thanks!

I love food so much too and cruises are a perfect way to try so many different dishes.

For me, I always get multiple appetizer dishes rather than getting a main course since they tend to be meat, which makes me feel really bloated and heavy. :( If I do see a main course I like (usually pasta), I'll ask for it in an appetizer size so it's a LOT smaller and more manageable.

Celebrity cruise lines are a GREAT idea for foodies, their food quality always ranks very highly and they seem to crave quality over quantity. :)

Cruise line food seems to vary, even day to day. I recently went on a HAL cruise, and the food was quite good. I wish it had been more days, as it was only 3... but my waistline is glad it wasn't

Video Below....

Food on cruise lines: (cost of cruise)

#1 Oceania -- outstanding food all over the ship ($$$)

#2 Azamara -- almost as good as Oceania ($$$)

#3 Celebrity -- dollar for dollar, the best main stream food at sea ($$)

#4 Cunard -- Main dinning room only (or Grills); avoid the buffet ($$ 1/2$)

#5 NCL -- With UDP (ultimate dining package) and eat all evening meals in the alternative restaurants; MDR for lunch and stay out of the buffet ($)

#6 Holland America -- Pretty good food all over the ship ($$)

So so food:

#7 Royal Caribbean -- some ships are better than others ($$)

#8 Princess -- never cared for their food; not bad, just not great ($$)

No experience with Carnival, MSC, Costa, SilverSea, Seabourne, Crystal…,

Only one that is close to foodie outside of luxury lines is Celebrity.I still maintain a well priced X cruise is the best buy at sea. Think Insides.

The dining experience varies quite a bit on cruise lines.

There are many factors for this including the cost and the number of guests being served.

Keith

We have found cruise line food to vary greatly by cruise line/ship/ phases of the moon, etc. But as one who routinely cruises on many different lines (14 to date) we have been somewhat depressed by the cut-backs we have found on nearly all the mass market lines. RCI seems to have other priorities (build large ships, good entertainment) and the quality of their food drove us away from this line. HAL has made so many food cut-backs (and other cut backs) in the past 3 years and is now just ordinary at best. Celebrity, often known for very good cuisine, has also made some cut-backs in terms of product....although their preparation is still pretty good. Princess, on the other hand, seems to have seen the error of their ways and have really improved their cuisine in the past couple of years. This is especially true on their newest ships (Royal and Regal) where the Lido buffet is among the best we have seen on any ship.

Hank

Alright, I've been on a few of the mainstream lines so I'll try to give you my thoughts on their food:

Carnival: Loved the food in Blue Iguana Cantina and Guy's Burger Joint, but found the food at the buffet to be extremely subpar and main dining room food, franctly, was super disappointing compared to some of the other lines with comparable prices out there.

Norwegian: I had a similar experience to you with Norwegian, also on the Epic. Food was a letdown, with two exceptions. At one point they set up a taco table on the pool deck which was phenomenal. The other is the Churrascaria, which was AMAZING.

Royal Caribbean: This is the line we keep coming back to for its balance of quality and more affordable prices. Although I've heard mixed reviews from others, I've always loved the Windjammer buffet and found the main dining room food to be very good. They also have "Johnny Rockets" on some ships which is great, only a small cover charge. There is also Cafe Promenade, a complimentary casual option with pizza and deli sandwiches 24/7. Specialty restaurants aren't bad either, with Sabor (great mexican food) and Giovanni's Table (italian) on most ships now.

Celebrity: Only cruised with them once mainly because of the price, but I LOVED the food on Celebrity. Main dining room food was a notch above Royal Caribbean and the Oceanview Cafe (buffet) was excellent. Qsine was and will always be the best food I have had on any mainstream line. For foodies, this restaurant is not to be missed (although there is a steep cover charge). Look up the menu for this place. It was fantastic. There is also a crêperie for a small (I think 5$) cover charge, which was ok.

Re the prior post, one needs to keep current :). Yes, Celebrity has a Creperie (on some of their ships) often called the Cafe on 5. There charge has increased to $10 (maybe more since last month) and their menu has been totally revamped. As to Qsine (we really enjoy this venue) it is somewhat like a super Tapas concept...but the cost has now increased to $40 per person. It is a neat concept (especially for adventurous diners) but at $80 a couple (over the normal cruise price) one needs to factor in the cost.

Hank

Hi there All!

I'm a Foodie, and a FATTIE and wondering what would you guys recommend, and your likes a dislikes when it comes to eating on a ship .... I like good food, but i'm not a food snob! I can enjoy a good burger or pizza, as well as Filet Mignon and Escargot!

Here's my experiences ....

First of all, I'm not an avid cruiser - but would love to be! ... I've been on the Destiny, Breeze, Glory, and the Norwegian Epic

Food on the Carnival ships were ok .. MDR was nice .... buffets were well, Buffets! The Steakhouse was Superb!!

Food on the Epic was EPIC FAIL - in my opinion - except for the specialty restaurants and the bacon at breakfast!

Being a Weight Loss surgery Patient, I'm not at all about Quantity! Carnival has really pissed me off a bit on the last few occasions, and thought that I would try a different line - even though I'm still on a Carnival kinda budget ....

I had read review on MSC's Food and it's either a love it or hate it type of deal.

Thinking about a cruise on Celebrity in Late Oct....

So, to bring all of this to a close, What line would you experienced guys recommend?? Tips? secrets? ...

Thanks!

If you've had bariatric surgery I'd encourage you to use the wonderful variety of foods available on board as a resource remain compliant to the diet your surgeon has instructed you to follow during your aftercare. I have a close relative who has had bariatric surgery and while the aftercare diets differ according to the type of surgery one has received, I do know that items like pizza, fries and sugary desserts universally off-limits (or severely restricted) no matter what barbaric procedure was performed. On the bright side, there's so much variety on cruise ships that will be incredibly easy to avoid any prohibited (sugary/carby) foods, picking escargot over a plate of fries is easy. There TONS of wonderful, high-quality choices. And on quality vs. quantity I'd cast my vote in for Celebrity. You can also call ahead if you have special dining needs, with enough advance notice I believe they can arrange specially prepared meals for you at the MDR if you have any serious allergies or dietary constraints.

Celebrity's MDR is better than RCCL, and their specialty restaurants were excellent wherever I went. Meal sizes for the MDR and specialty restaurants tend to be large (you can ask for them to give you smaller portions or opt for appetizers instead of a main course- I can't see how they'd say no to that), but a ship with a restaurant or two with tapas-style food might be a good way for you to get variety in without the portions being too large. The buffet had a lot of good options for breakfast if you want variety, I always saw salmon Benedict and congee (along with great and exotic toppings) available. It also seemed like the buffet was a good place to control quanity, if you only wanted a single salmon egg Benedict (or egg florentine with spinach) you could serve yourself one from the hot food section rather than being served two, by default, at the MDR breakfast, etc.

A caveat: it's been a long time since my last celebrity cruise, and I have heard that dining quality has gone down across the board for buffets and MDR no matter which cruise line you're on. I always saw one sugar free or fresh fruit desserts available on the MDR menu, while I never ordered them myself it was nice to know the option was there.

Enjoy your cruise!

Just shows how person food is.

I think Princess is streets ahead of Celebrity.

It may just be that they adapt to Australian tastes better.

Just shows how person food is.

 

I think Princess is streets ahead of Celebrity.

 

It may just be that they adapt to Australian tastes better.

Yes, it depends on a lot of things. I've never cruised Princess so naturally I wouldn't know what the food is like there. I've only cruised on RCCL and Celebrity and found Celebrity to be MUCH better than RCCL; I used the specialty dining restaurants often (at least 3-4 nights out of the cruse instead of the MDR) on Celeb and found them to be excellent and well worth the extra charge- way better than the MDR if you're looking for higher-quality leaning more towards a fine-dining experience.

How are the specialty dining restaurants on Princess? I'd love to hear about them! :) There is a Princess ship with a great itinerary for Japan that I'd love to go on, so if you had more info on how the buffet, MDR and specialty restaurants differ on Celeb vs. Princess that would be great.

The food on the Celebrity Silhouette is to die for, and the banquet room is gorgeous. Their 24 hour buffet has quality food and there are several top notch restaurants, but what's really special on this ship is the Lawn Club Grill. You essentially get a cooking lesson and grill you own steak. If you want to have a more interactive experience with your food, you'll love this!

Just shows how person food is.

 

I think Princess is streets ahead of Celebrity.

 

It may just be that they adapt to Australian tastes better.

OMG! You mean they are serving Vegemite :)

Hank

I am in agreement with 505 kelmac with regards to the mainstream cruise lines. We have not cruised on the higher end lines such as Oceania. However keep in mind any cruise company can put out a poor meal or have a poor cruise when it comes to food. We have found Princess to be fine but the buffet in Lido tends to have long lines and become a push and shove contest at times. Celebrity has the best flow in their buffet restaurants and perhaps has a slight edge. Celebrity and Cunard have the best dinning room food, with Cunard winning at both lunch and breakfast with it being an almost tie at dinner. RCI was fine at dinner but not so good at the buffet.

All go on sale from time to time so keep watching your web sites and papers for sales.

Just got off 8 nights on RCI Grandeur of the Seas and was pretty disappointed in the food. We had sailed on Celebrity Silhouette in December 2014 and all the food was excellent. I kept finding myself comparing the food on Grandeur to the Silhouette, but it wasn't just disappointing in comparison - there were several things on Grandeur that were just BAD. Standouts include fake "butter" being poured over my lobster tail, quesadillas made with disgusting American cheese, all commercial (rather than freshly made) salad dressings, and "creme anglaise" that was watery and slightly thickened with corn starch rather than egg yolks. I like REAL food, not processed crap, and it's clear that RCI cuts corners to save money by using crappy cheap food products. We did have a very good meal at the Chef's Table, and decent food at Giovanni's and Izumi, but the MDR and Windjammer left so much to be desired. Even the food on Carnival back in 2010 was better, and for some reason I expected RCI to be a step up from that.

I am interested in trying MSC, especially since I have read that they cater more to European palates, but other than that I plan to stick to Celebrity from here on out!

Just got off 8 nights on RCI Grandeur of the Seas and was pretty disappointed in the food. We had sailed on Celebrity Silhouette in December 2014 and all the food was excellent. I kept finding myself comparing the food on Grandeur to the Silhouette, but it wasn't just disappointing in comparison - there were several things on Grandeur that were just BAD. Standouts include fake "butter" being poured over my lobster tail, quesadillas made with disgusting American cheese, all commercial (rather than freshly made) salad dressings, and "creme anglaise" that was watery and slightly thickened with corn starch rather than egg yolks. I like REAL food, not processed crap, and it's clear that RCI cuts corners to save money by using crappy cheap food products. We did have a very good meal at the Chef's Table, and decent food at Giovanni's and Izumi, but the MDR and Windjammer left so much to be desired. Even the food on Carnival back in 2010 was better, and for some reason I expected RCI to be a step up from that.

 

I am interested in trying MSC, especially since I have read that they cater more to European palates, but other than that I plan to stick to Celebrity from here on out!

We started cruising on RCI (than RCCL) in the 70s, and food was really good. In those days your main course would come plated and then the assistant waiters would come around serving the sides/veggies from serving bowls. If you wanted sour cream in a baked potato the waiter would usually cut open your potato and spoon in the goodies. Every night they had a midnight buffet which was also excellent.

Then, over the years they (and most other mass market lines) cut back the quality/quality of food, reduced the menu options, and reduced the number of waiters/assistant waiters. Once RCI decided to change their business plan and focus on the huge Mega ships (designed to maximize onboard revenue) we noticed an even faster decline. Although we increased our cruising to over 70 days a year, we dropped RCI to the bottom of our list (even below Carnival) and have not bothered to cruise with them in more than 6 years.

Their Celebrity brand now seems to be heading in the same downward spiral of RCI (time will tell). Ironically, we recently cruised on the Regal Princess and thought that Princess was actually improving many facets including food...so perhaps the "worm is turning" for the mass market lines.

Hank

Celebrity is still our line of choice (great food and affordable prices). Royal Caribbean and Princess just doesn't do it for us anymore in the food department, however, NCL using their UDP (ultimate dining package) and avoiding the buffet was a very pleasant surprise. We will continue to sail Cunard, which has wonderful MDR cuisine, even though their buffet is as bad as NCL's.

We are going to try the Jade next month to see if this is true on multiple ships (we were on the Jewel last spring). NCL has many alternative restaurants and all are excellent. We plan to eat in Le Bistro (3 nights), Cagney's (2 nights), La Cucina (1 night) and Moderno (1 night). Lunch and Breakfast will be in the MDR or in one of the smaller venues.

Can't afford Oceania, Azamara, Crystal, Seabourne…, Always looking for a deal however!

Kel:)

OMG! You mean they are serving Vegemite :)

 

Hank

I have a small bottle of it in my pantry, a gift from an Aussie mate. It will last for the rest of my life. Lol

I am a real foodie and throwing DCL into the mix, Disney food in the MDR and buffet is OK, some not too bad and some bland offerings.

The best meal I have had at sea was in Remy, Palo was pretty decent too but both have the upcharge of course, Remy the highest at sea, but on land it would be Michelin starred IMO.

We started looking for another favorite line as Celebrity went toward food for the "non-adverturesome" eaters who have 2 main tastes, sweet and salty. We loved the European service specialty restaurants on the M Class ships. Quiet and subdued with enough space between tables that real conversations were possible and yet very elegant. The food and service was equal to Michelin starred restaurants we've dined at. On a 14 day cruise we normally ate there 4 or 5 times on average. We were totally underwhelmed by the Reflection's Italian restaurant that reminded us of a slightly upscale Olive Garden that now costs more than an OG on land to go to so trading down to that to be "Solstisized" was hugely disappointing to read about. We like late seating so having a late afternoon snack of sushi we would take out to the Sunset Bar to have with a glass of wine or a Corona fit our schedule and was the perfect size portion. Now that reasonable quality free sushi will cost as much as really good sushi on land so I hope the quality and variety is lifted as much as the price.

So far I'd say Azamara is a decent blend of good food and casual resort wear. We enjoyed their rotating cuisines in the buffet. Their Mediterranean restaurant has held up over 10 years while most venues are cutting everywhere. The only unfortunate thing we have found on all our cruises has been the dumbing down of spices in anything "ethnic". Curries are supposed to be hot and chutneys and yogurt are meant to be cooling condiments. Amazingly Holland America is the worst at this one so I make friends with waiters and find out where the red pepper sauce is. We are hoping that Crystal is everything we have heard it to be in the culinary area.

Re the prior post, one needs to keep current :). Yes, Celebrity has a Creperie (on some of their ships) often called the Cafe on 5. There charge has increased to $10 (maybe more since last month) and their menu has been totally revamped. As to Qsine (we really enjoy this venue) it is somewhat like a super Tapas concept...but the cost has now increased to $40 per person. It is a neat concept (especially for adventurous diners) but at $80 a couple (over the normal cruise price) one needs to factor in the cost.

 

Hank

Actually, it has been replaced with an sushi cafe

So far I've cruised on Princess, RCI and Celebrity.

Overall I prefer Princess. Dinner in the MDR is four courses and there seems to be more variety. Quality differs from ship to ship. On Sun Princess (Dec 2014) it was excellent, it actually surprised me. On Dawn Princess (Aug 2015) it was very mediocre, and on Golden Princess (Apr 2016) it was mostly good but there were no stand-out dishes. Princess does the best escargot and lobster. Sabatinis was great, the Stirling Steakhouse was meh, Kai Sushi had good appetisers but I get better sushi and sashimi at my local supermarket, and the Crab Shack was dreadful. The Ultimate Balcony Sinner was wonderful.

On Rhapsody of the Seas (Mar 2015) the quality varied immensely but there were a few stand-out dishes. The escargot was dreadful, in my opinion, and there was no lobster unless you wanted to pay extra. We didn't try any speciality restaurants on this cruise.

I was disappointed with Celebrity Solstice (Dec 2015). The food was mediocre to poor, and in a 12 night cruise there seemed to be a fair bit of repetition in appetisers. The escargot were similar to Rhapsody and the lobster was tough. The Christmas turkey was very nice though, as were the two Chrismas puddings I tried. Oddly enough, they tasted different and had slightly different textures - I had one for lunch and one at dinner. Murano was just OK, I wouldn't rave over it. We had a lovely lunch in Silk Harvest including some awesome Asian-style duck.

On Rhapsody of the Seas (Mar 2015) the quality varied immensely but there were a few stand-out dishes. The escargot was dreadful, in my opinion, and there was no lobster unless you wanted to pay extra. We didn't try any speciality restaurants on this cruise.

If you were on a cruise less than 7 days they did away with lobster nights. On our last cruise with RCI we discovered that they switched things up though and it was not served on a formal night. They had lobster on a night following it. [emoji4] My guess is they saved money that way because people were less likely to dine in the formal dining rooms on those nights.

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