The food was disappointing

All I have heard about cruises is how good the food is. I thought it was one step above cafeteria food. Very disappointing. I didn't go hungry, but I certainly was not impressed. Except for Guys Burgers :-)

Can you elaborate?

Not really. Just seemed like reheated microwave food. The ravioli was ok. Just ok. My daughter ordered off the steakhouse menu and she enjoyed it, but I didn't want to pay extra.

All I have heard about cruises is how good the food is. I thought it was one step above cafeteria food. Very disappointing. I didn't go hungry, but I certainly was not impressed. Except for Guys Burgers :-)

You do have to admit

The names of and how they describe the food is way better than in a cafeteria

I just got off the Victory and, sadly, I have to agree. Part of the problem is that I am just tired of the same items. But part of it was the lukewarm food; the crab cakes would have been good if they had not been barely heated to room temperature, for instance. We didn't think the buffet had as many choices as in the past, and what there was seemed like leftovers from the previous night's dinner. The corn chowder had very little corn but was full of shredded potatoes. The next day, the double cheese soup would have been very good but it also had more of those shredded potatoes. All small things, but added together, disappointing.

We are hoping the Glory in September will be better. I expect to enjoy it more because of the menu change to the American Table, Guy's Burgers, the Blue Iguana Cantina, and the seafood part of the buffet. And we are planning on two nights at the steakhouse.

I just got off the Glory. :-(. It didn't make or break the trip. We had great weather and the staff was excellent. It just would have been nice to have enjoyed dinner.

I just got off the Glory. :-(. It didn't make or break the trip. We had great weather and the staff was excellent. It just would have been nice to have enjoyed dinner.

So you did have The American Table menu. Hope they improve the food before we cruise her next January.

Pride has American Table, correct?

Food and taste buds are a very personal thing!

IF the only thing you liked was a burger restaurant then your taste buds are quite different than mine!

Some nights we liked the MDR menu and some nights we didn't but whatever we actually ordered was quite good!

It certainly was not like any cafeteria I've ever visited!

Food is soooo subjective.

Overall we've liked the MDR food on Carnival and have learnt to pick and choose what to eat on the buffet. Found Guys to be way overrated.

We've been sailing Princess lately and mainly eat in the buffet as we find their MDR food to be dreck.

If you didn't like something it could have been replaced.

No microwaves used but it can be inconsistent. The past few years have sailed twice on the same ship a week apart. Sometimes food is good sometimes it's not. Sometimes one plate will be excellent and the neighbor's will be horrid.

When serving 2,000 it becomes banquet quality food. Need to do the steakhouse, Chefs Table or other specialty restaurant for individual attention. This is true no matter the mass market line.

Best onboard food we had was HAL in 2003 for two reasons. First, it was before the current cost cutting measures and secondly, there were only 188 pax onboard.

So you did have The American Table menu. Hope they improve the food before we cruise her next January.

I wouldn't worry. I just got off Glory last week and never had a bad meal. It was MUCH better than cafeteria food.

Just remember that if something isn't right, let your wait staff know and they will fix it for you.

We have been on Glory and Liberty with American table and enjoyed it both times.

sorry you didnt like it.

We did the buffet only one night because I wanted the MDR to impress me at least once. Didn't happen. And I am far from a food snob. My daughter, who is not that picky, agrees with me. But I have to admit her boyfriend seemed to enjoy his meals. To each his own I guess. Just posting my personal opinion.

All I have heard about cruises is how good the food is. I thought it was one step above cafeteria food. Very disappointing. I didn't go hungry, but I certainly was not impressed. Except for Guys Burgers :-)

It all has to do with expectations. A few years back you would have heard me say how great the food was (can't say regarding Carnival, because at that time I was only sailing Celebrity and RCCL), but in recent years, the food has declined across all lines, IMHO. With that said, considering the number of pax they have to serve, they do a pretty good job and it makes cruising a very good vacation value.

It all has to do with expectations. A few years back you would have heard me say how great the food was (can't say regarding Carnival, because at that time I was only sailing Celebrity and RCCL), but in recent years, the food has declined across all lines, IMHO. With that said, considering the number of pax they have to serve, they do a pretty good job and it makes cruising a very good vacation value.

Exactly! I Am going on the Fascination in October, I got an OV for less than 300 for 5 days. For the amount of money I am paying, I don't expect the food to be much above edible. If I don't starve I am good. On a normal vaca my room would cost well above that on its own.

I wouldn't worry. I just got off Glory last week and never had a bad meal. It was MUCH better than cafeteria food.

 

Just remember that if something isn't right, let your wait staff know and they will fix it for you.

The wait staff really does want you to be happy. I don't understand why people are willing to eat cold food. Send it back. They can't tell by looking at it that it's not hot. Just politely tell them and they will be happy to fix it.

I just did my first cruise in March. My husband and I have been known to plan entire vacations around food. I went in with very low expectations and found the food to be anywhere from inedible (buffet) to hit or miss (MDR) to pretty good (Tandoori and steakhouse). Nothing was great but I really didn't expect it to be and would rate several of my meals a solid pretty good. I won't sail another Carnival ship though without Guy's and Blue Iguana just so I have more choices. Hubby is convinced the food is better on RCL so we are trying that next. I guess we will see. At any rate, I know what to expect now.

I will be sad if they totally take away the tablecloths though. The MDR just won't look as pretty without them.

When we cruise on Carnival we don't cruise for the food because we know its not good. I am a huge foodie, when I go away I dine at 4/5 star restaurants, but Carnival is generally an extra trip or two in a year for us so we go knowing we have a couple of extra vacations a year and know we aren't going to get decent food. Carnivals food is just "ok" nothing more. We just got off the Valor a week ago, although I have to admit the larger ships do give better food in the buffets than the smaller ships but its just ok...the Fascination buffets really were not good at all, the meat carving was always good as so was the mongolian wok other than that there really isn't much to eat. The salad bar even has gotten to the point offering the least variety/selection. On the Valor the burrito bar was inedible totally! I tasted what they call the "steak" and it was one of the nastiest things I ever eaten next to trying seaweed, the steak tasted old and rotten, gross me out, I could not even swallow the first bite, it went into my napkin, that was surely inedible stuff. The pizza on the Valor was better than the pizza on the Fascination surely a different recipe.

On the Valor we booked the steakhouse for 7 out of the 8 nights, we could not get reservations for mothers day, so that day we ate at the MDR, we had my time dining, we had a 45 minute wait for a table and all 5 of us left our main course on the plate, it was not good. The Steakhouse was very good enjoyed eating there all 7 nights!

, but I didn't want to pay extra.

Isn't this the whole point? You can't have it both ways.

I find this fascinating as we were on the Glory 2 weeks ago and found the food to be fine. sure, there were things we didn't like but found plenty that we did. I eat a lot of fish and seafood, could care less if I ever have meat again, and find Carnival does a good job with those things. they also don't cook the veggies to death but are still crisp. As others have said, to each their own!

Pat

All I have heard about cruises is how good the food is. I thought it was one step above cafeteria food. Very disappointing. I didn't go hungry, but I certainly was not impressed. Except for Guys Burgers :-)

Well, your entitled to an opinion. There is no way ANY cruise line dining room can make 3000+ people happy. Everyone likes different dishes and spices.

I feel there is always something available for everyone.

I am not real picky when it comes to food choices, but, I am picky when it comes to food quality.

I detest buffets. I don't like them no matter where they are. Much of that doesn't really have much to do with the food, rather, it has to do with watching people with their fingers in their mouths, picking their noses, sneezing, picking up food and putting it down. You get the idea.

I have been on 7 Carnival cruises without eating a buffet lunch or dinner.

When it comes to the dining room, I can find food I enjoy. I think the quality of the steaks has gone down over the past few years, but, I have never tried a pasta dish I did not think was excellent.

My expectation is bedded in reality, they are preparing food for 2500 people in the MDR. If you are expecting something MUCH better than wedding reception food chances are your expectations are too high.

Though I go into it with the expectation of mass produced food I am frequently suprised.

I have had the turkey and dressing dinner and thought it was as good as I could do at home. I have had the Carbonara and thought it was rated up in the top of similar dishes I have had elsewhere.

I have had a great pork chop meal, and probably more other good meals than I can remember.

The folks that have an issue with the food are usually expecting 5 star dining and I honestly can't figure out why they are expecting that.

Perhaps it is the particular ship. I, too, am a foodie, an accomplished home cook who has yet to have a bad meal on Carnival. I have only sailed on the Magic and the Triumph, been to the Magic steakhouse and LaCucina, chef's table on all of my Carnival sailings, Blue Iguana and Guy's burgers. Found something great about each of these meals, I spoke with the waitstaff if I felt something was served at the wrong temperature and it was promptly fixed - they were all a delight to work with. Now, Norwegian - different story entirely - have sailed to Alaska twice on NOrwegian - first time, 14 years ago was wonderful - food was all delightful. Last summer, food was mundane and tasteless. Every night one of the MDR was taken up with a large corporate group and was closed to the rest of us - making the other dining room impossible to get into. Ate every meal at the buffet - edible, plain, not seasoned, boring - and always the same.

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When serving 2,000 it becomes banquet quality food.

It simply was not that way in the past on cruises we have taken. The food quality and serving temperatures used to be good to very good in MDR's across the industry - even when serving 2,000 people. That is supposed to be their developed expertise on their custom designed hospitality ships.

I am a foodie when I travel on land. At home not so much as DH is a very down to earth guy.

On the ship he is more apt to try new things and we've used the MDR as a place where he can be comfy in a nice setting but have recognizable things for him on the menu (plain grilled salmon) if the daily menu is not to his taste.

My comment about the burger was because we rarely eat red meat and hamburgers don't ever excite me.

We do have a nice steak or roast beef once in a while and so those items on the menu make a change for us.

I am much more interested in dishes that are not just every day at home sort of cooking.

That's really what I meant about taste buds being different. I love the Indian food offered in the MDR and I love many of the appetizers. I can make a meal of 3 of them sometimes. With sooo many passengers it is impossible to please everyone!

We've been on Royal Caribbean and think their buffet is nicer but don't see that the MDR is really better. We like them both. NCL is the only line where I decided I'd never go back until they improve both the MDR and buffet. The only decent places to eat were the extra pay restaurants!!(IMO)