Which line recommended for great complimentary food, not so dressy, 2 seniors?

We have cruised with Carnival and were not so happy with the treatment of the passengers. We cruised with Norwegian, and although staff was wonderful, we found the food to be good on embarkation day, but it got worse and tasteless throughout the cruise. Very strange.

We're looking for great food, but don't want to go to a specialty restaurant and be charged extra every night. We really love the complimentary dining room experiences. My husband doesn't want to wear a tux or suit and I don't want to wear heels while on vacation. We enjoy being treated special and don't mind paying more for a well-appointed balcony cabin. We aren't drinkers really. We love the comedy shows and dance shows. Can someone recommend a cruise line that you think we might enjoy? We appreciate any help. Thanks so very much.

That's easy. Celebrity. We really like the food in the MDR, although the specialty restaurants are there if you want them. No formal nights, although there are usually a couple of " elegant chic" nights. But tuxes and high heels are strictly optional. Just no t-shirts or shorts for dinner.

river cruises

Viking ocean

any Windstar

I second the Celebrity recommendation. Their crew is beyond compare and everyone treats you like a special guest. We also very much enjoy the food in the MDR and the buffet. We don't do specialty restaurants. We enjoy the shows as well and my husband goes out dancing at night, if you are into late-night stuff. You don't have to wear heels and tuxes and gowns. Dress pants and a nice shirt/top works for Chic night. We find it very relaxing.

Thank you MOM!

We will definitely look into Celebrity. You thought the food was really good? My husband doesn't mind wearing long pants for dinner and I usually wear a skirt and nice top. But we both still like to wear comfortable tennis shoes. Thank you so much for your help. Mom always knows what's best! :p

Thank you so much Amber! That's exactly what I wanted to know about the food.

And Captain: We are very interested in Viking Cruises because it seems to be educational besides maybe catering to Seniors? At least that's how the commercials and brochures look. I'm a retired teacher, and we both love history. They also looked a little fancy and formal for our taste, so I was concerned about that. We'll also look into all 3 you mentioned. Thank you so very much!

Another vote for Celebrity, with Princess in second place. Celebrity is great if you like to be pampered. Princess is great if you like a friendly, laid back atmosphere. If you want to avoid lots of noise, high octane activities, and swarms of kids and teens, stay away from Carnival, Disney, NCL and Royal Caribbean.

if you want a premium line look at Oceania

no formal nights no charge for Specialties (except the wine pairing dinner)

Casual dress code = long pants & collared shirt for men

nice skirt, slacks + nice top or dress for ladies

We have taken two Viking River Cruises and the demographic is older- although we took our twenty something kids on a Christmas German River Cruise and they had a good time. It is not overly formal- there are no formal nights at dinner- but no shorts either. We also enjoyed our Celebrity cruise- the food was a notch better than Royal Caribbean.

Dinner dress on a Viking - river or ocean - is long pants and a shirt with a collar for men - no jacket is ever required. Topsiders is about as fancy as my footwear gets ....

This is some folks hangin' after dinner on a recent V-river. We've experienced similar dress on Windstar

**********

Come join the world of small ships!!!

final point .... after years of small ship we took a last minute decision on OASIS over Thanksgiving this past year .... had a suite and everything ..... and I can say that were it not for the fact that we live 20 minutes from Port Canaveral and might decide on another last minute getaway, I'd NEVER book RCL again ..... We got home and booked our first Viking Ocean to get the taste out of our mouth and dust out of our hair .....

Dear Captain:

Oh my Goodness! What a wealth of information! That may be exactly what we're looking for. And the people enjoying the deck look just like us. Our style of dress and our age. Thank you sooo much! I actually copied and printed out all your wonderful info., so I can refer to it.

Bless YOU!

Personally I’m yet to find a line with what I’d call great food.

Good banquet type food, yes, great no.

Unless you're dong a "luxury" line, don't expect 4-5 star food. Not even in the "specialty" restaurants...I would say most of the mass-market lines are on par with Chili's or Applebees....sufficient, but not particularly memorable.

Dear Captain:

Oh my Goodness! What a wealth of information! That may be exactly what we're looking for. And the people enjoying the deck look just like us. Our style of dress and our age. Thank you sooo much! I actually copied and printed out all your wonderful info., so I can refer to it.

Bless YOU!

most happy to help

and maybe share a drink on a cruise soon .....

I think OP defined a balcony cabin on Celebrity - which seems to have resisted downgrading better than our previous favorite: HAL.

Thank you MOM!

 

We will definitely look into Celebrity. You thought the food was really good? My husband doesn't mind wearing long pants for dinner and I usually wear a skirt and nice top. But we both still like to wear comfortable tennis shoes. Thank you so much for your help. Mom always knows what's best! [emoji14]

If you want truly great food (i.e., a cruise line built on its reputation for the "best food at sea") and no "prom nights," join the many former Celebrity cruisers who have joined the Oceania family. Never a charge for specialty restaurants (eat there as often as you like - if flexible on time by and willingness to share). Add minimum menu repetitions on longer cruises, steak and lobster options nightly in the Terrace Grill with "a la minute" food prep and "al fresco" dining (with passengers never allowed to self-serve buffet food) and few other lines come close to the experience on Oceania.

Enjoy cooking? O's Marina and Riviera ships have modern dedicated cooking labs with ever-changing hands-on lessons by expert instructional staff under the general guidance provided by Jacques Pepin.

We have cruised with Carnival and were not so happy with the treatment of the passengers. We cruised with Norwegian, and although staff was wonderful, we found the food to be good on embarkation day, but it got worse and tasteless throughout the cruise. Very strange.

We're looking for great food, but don't want to go to a specialty restaurant and be charged extra every night. We really love the complimentary dining room experiences. My husband doesn't want to wear a tux or suit and I don't want to wear heels while on vacation. We enjoy being treated special and don't mind paying more for a well-appointed balcony cabin. We aren't drinkers really. We love the comedy shows and dance shows. Can someone recommend a cruise line that you think we might enjoy? We appreciate any help. Thanks so very much.

We are senior too, well over 60 cruises, on 9 different lines. Today most likes would work for you, dress code very relaxed, no one is turned away as long as they are neat and clean and wear shoes at least of some sort. We cruise mostly on Princess, have cruised on Celebrity, Holland America, Cunard and NCL in recent years. Agree food on NCL does not measure up to the others. We also find we enjoy the buffet on Princess and Celebrity for nights we want to be very informal.

Food on most lines has gone down hill somewhat. When we are on Princess we often pay extra for the Crown Grill (steak House) or do the buffet. When we are on Celebrity we skip the MDR and do the buffet all the time. HAL, we special order in the MDR, with a lot of effort. Princess is the most accommodating to off menu requests in the MDR but one needs to order from the head waiter the night before. NCL on our last trip we eat in the MDR the first day for lunch and dinner and that was the last time on an 11 day trip. We made sandwiches and salad out of the buffet salad bar the rest trip because we were not into the comfort foods they served and did not like freestyle in the MDR. Cunard food is about the same as the others, but dress is more formal We like formal, dress every night no matter where we eat or what line we are on... but today that is not required if you don't like to do so. No problem. Many say Celebrity is better than Princess, has not been our experience... we are elite on both lines. Obviously we don't cruise for food. I would suggest you try out Princess or any of these other lines except Cunard.

Entertainment, is about the same on all of these lines. Happy cruising.

As always, I'm amazed at the amount of help I've received from all of you! Just so wonderful!

We did look at Cunard and saw that it's too formal for us. We will definitely look at Oceania, Celebrity, and Viking Ocean and River Cruises. I don't know much about Windstar, so will have to study up on that. We'll keep in mind Crystal too.

I know the food isn't expected to be gourmet on a cruise ship. But we do expect it to have taste. And we don't expect people to bow to us, but civil and polite is a requirement for us anywhere we go, even the grocery store.

Thank you everyone for helping us narrow down our search. I can't wait to have a memorable cruise!

You're all wonderful!

Original Poster: Pomcoach

Enjoy whatever cruise you choose

https://www.windstarcruises.com/Yachts/Wind-Star/Overview/

 

I know the food isn't expected to be gourmet on a cruise ship.

Not true. There are plenty of folks who expect the food to be "gourmet" on a cruise. And not being disappointed in that respect is one of the main reasons people choose Oceania.

Oceania is sounding better all the time!

And yes, we enjoy every cruise, even if there are things that are irksome. We always have a good time, no matter what.

We're just looking for a BETTER time :cool:, and benefitting greatly from all of you with so much experience and super suggestions!

Celebrity great food at the MDR and specialty restaurants, no more formal nights now are chic nights.

We have cruised with Carnival and were not so happy with the treatment of the passengers. We cruised with Norwegian, and although staff was wonderful, we found the food to be good on embarkation day, but it got worse and tasteless throughout the cruise. Very strange.

We're looking for great food, but don't want to go to a specialty restaurant and be charged extra every night. We really love the complimentary dining room experiences. My husband doesn't want to wear a tux or suit and I don't want to wear heels while on vacation. We enjoy being treated special and don't mind paying more for a well-appointed balcony cabin. We aren't drinkers really. We love the comedy shows and dance shows. Can someone recommend a cruise line that you think we might enjoy? We appreciate any help. Thanks so very much.

Celebrity or RCI

Oceania is sounding better all the time!

And yes, we enjoy every cruise, even if there are things that are irksome. We always have a good time, no matter what.

We're just looking for a BETTER time :cool:, and benefitting greatly from all of you with so much experience and super suggestions!

Oceania will certainly give you a higher quality experience than mass market lines. You will, of course, pay a premium price for that level. But almost everything about selecting a cruise involves cost/benefit analysis. On a given ship, will you be comfortable with an inside cabin, is an ocean view your minimum, will a balcony's space and closer feel to the sea be of value to you, or will the added space of a suite be worth the cost.

Personally, we prefer having a balcony, we are satisfied with the level of service on HAL (though miss the music and entertainment) we like much about Celebrity --- but all this has to be considered with an eye to other forms of travel and other leisure options - as well as frequency.

Yes, I'd book Oceania before Celebrity or HAL if I were just thinking about one trip - but cranking it all in leads me to "settle" for a balcony on Celebrity or HAL.