Best Food in the MDR - which cruise line/ ship?

I hear you but which cruise line does the BEST at feeding thousands at a time?......In YOUR opinion. I realize that the food is not the reason to cruise but if everything thing else is more or less equal, why not let the MDR food service help decide which cruise to take.

 

 

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Our personal experience with the best food was on Oceania cruise line.

We have never cruised on the "luxury" lines.

Our personal experience with the best food was on Oceania cruise line.

 

We have never cruised on the "luxury" lines.

Some would consider Oceania and former Radisson as "luxury lines", or at least a large step upscale from "mainstream" lines, don't you agree?;)

I believe Celebrity and HAL provide the best overall MDR service and food, followed closely by Cunard. Princess, then Royal Caribbean were alright (some time ago, so perhaps not too relevant now). NCL's MDRs seem to be consistently abysmal - as to food quality, preparation and service.

You would expect premium lines to provide better than average service and quality -- and Queens Grill on Cunard as well as specialty restaurants across the board should obviously be better than the MDR anywhere.

Some would consider Oceania and former Radisson as "luxury lines", or at least a large step upscale from "mainstream" lines, don't you agree?;)

Oceania bills itself as "ultra premium." Basically, it is the somewhat "a la carte" version of sister (luxury) line Regent while providing a far more luxurious experience than budget sister, Norwegian.

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We have cruised on nearly all the mass market lines and several ultra luxury lines. At one time we would have rated Celebrity's MDR the best....but they have badly regressed under the leadership of their current CEO....and we are no longer impressed. HAL really seems to vary from pretty darn good to awful....with a lot in between. Princess is also hit and miss....although we actually think they have improved in the past 5 years. And we would add (since it has been mentioned) that the buffets on the Royal Class (Royal and Regal) ships is the best we have experienced on any ship.

But if you want really good cuisine you must opt for the smaller ultra luxury ships such as Regent, Sea Dream, Seabourn. Azamara and Oceania (something less then ultra-luxury) also have their fans.

Hank

In all my cruises, I think Crystal has the best food in the MDR.

Thanks. I realize that MDR evaluations are subjective. By asking this great CC community, if I see a trend that would mean something.

Very diplomatic reply. :) However, you said it yourself - it's subjective. We have sailed four lines and, frankly, we choose a ship for the itinerary, not the food. We have always found something tasty and satisfying. :)

Even within a cruise line such as Carnival or Royal Caribbean, the food quality can vary among ships.

Both times on my Splendor of the Seas cruise, the lobster bisque was horrible.

But it was great both times on the Rhapsody of the Seas.

It's been good (not great) on my other RCI cruises.

It (lobster bisque) was horrible on one my Carnival Ecstasy cruises, but good on another one.

Also I'm paying less for cruises today than I did 20 years ago.

Somethings gotta give, and I think food quality is part of that "something" -- especially with specialty pay-extra restaurants on ships.

One more point: RCI (especially voyager and freedom class) have really elegant dining rooms -- much better than Carnival IMO.

I prefer RCI for that reason.

Here is my list*, as of today (this is a moving target):

#1 -- Oceania; MDR is so good you really don't need the alternatives.

#2 -- Azamara: close second to Oceania; buffet not as good.

#3 -- Celebrity; dollar for dollar, the best deal w/great food and nice alternatives;

Blu is a great experience.

#4 -- NCL(); pick up the UDP and eat every evening meal in an alternative;

eat breakfast/lunch in the MDR; avoid the buffet completely.

#5 -- Cunard; great MDR; buffet one of the worst at sea.

#6 -- Holland America; MDR is very good; maybe one visit to the P.Grill.

#7 -- Tie between Princess and Royal Caribbean; Princess is better in the MDR,

but RCL has better alternatives. Both buffets are so so.

*only ships I've cruised

Going to try MSC down the road in the Yacht Club. Crystal, Seaborne, Silversea...., some day!

Enjoy!

Kel

I don't have much basis for comparison as most of my cruises have been on Windstar ships plus one trip on Crystal. The food on all these was excellent. For MDR, I slightly prefer Windstar - the small size of the ship allows the cook to shop in local markets to pick up local foods in the Mediterranean. Having a fresh local fish option each night and the local cheeses was wonderful. I'm hoping that they will be able to get fresh fish again when I sail them in Alaska next summer.

The buffet on Oceania is better than the MDR on most other ships I have been on - lobster tails, filet mignon, lamb chops etc every night; and including their alternative dining venues in the price makes a good value.

I have not been on the any of the luxury lines...

For us...Princess.

Regal/Royal

They also have the best buffet!! :)

amen.

1) SS France (tourist class dining room) long gone

2) Cunard Queens Grill

3) Seabourn

4) Crystal

I've only cruised 3 mass market lines recently. The most recent was Celebrity and I found the food to be the worst (e.g., headline ingredients substituted due to corporate-dictated menus?) of the three. Service was also very rushed for Celebrity Select ("any time") dining: The appetisers/entrées would rarely come in the order that you requested. Most nights (15) we could get out of the MDR in just over an hour for a 4 course dinner.

I found Princess and Holland America much better, HAL especially for the service but my last HAL cruise was also 3 years ago and things may have changed.

From experience, and what I've read questioning the boards: MDR Mass Market only

#1 Celebrity

#2 Holland America

#3 Princess

#4 Carnival

#5 Royal Caribbean

#6 Norwegian

1) SS France (tourist class dining room) long gone

2) Cunard Queens Grill

3) Seabourn

4) Crystal

I do not doubt your memory, but the France is long gone and Queens Grill is not an MDR, but a sailing-long specialty restaurant.

I do not doubt your memory, but the France is long gone and Queens Grill is not an MDR, but a sailing-long specialty restaurant.

I can see why you would say that but the Queens Grill is the MDR for those in Queens Grill accommodation. It's not like you really have the option to dine in Britannia (I guess you could if you really made a stink about it). But that is your dedicated dining room that you aren't paying a specialty restaurant fee for nightly.

I can see why you would say that but the Queens Grill is the MDR for those in Queens Grill accommodation. It's not like you really have the option to dine in Britannia (I guess you could if you really made a stink about it). But that is your dedicated dining room that you aren't paying a specialty restaurant fee for nightly.

No. But you are paying the big bucks (as part of your cruise fare) to get access. But since the Grill is not open to most passengers it is not the MDR. Or consider Celebrity which sells dining packages which include a certain number of meals in one of their alternative restaurants. One could buy a package that covers every night (or have a generous cruise agency that gives them that as part of their fare)...and dine in 4 or 5 places over the entire cruise. By your reckoning....every one of those restaurants would be the MDR? I think most of us are aware of what MDR means....when it comes to cruise ships :). And if a passenger in a "Grill Suite" wants to dine in Britannia...it can be done (we know this from first hand experience).

Hank

So subjective.....you're going to get lots different opinions. One thing we have noticed is the dining experience varies on ships within the same line. We've recently sailed o both the Celebrity Summit and Equinox. We thought the dining experience on the Summit was better than on the Equinox. Though both were good, we thought the Summit better. Was it because of the chefs in the kitchen? Was it because one was provisioned in NY/NJ and one in Fla?

So subjective.....you're going to get lots different opinions. One thing we have noticed is the dining experience varies on ships within the same line. We've recently sailed o both the Celebrity Summit and Equinox. We thought the dining experience on the Summit was better than on the Equinox. Though both were good, we thought the Summit better. Was it because of the chefs in the kitchen? Was it because one was provisioned in NY/NJ and one in Fla?

More likely Summit was much smaller than the Equinox. That's why lines like Seabourn, Regent, and Sea Dream will always have the upper hand- cooking for 300-400 people can be done to order and cooking for 3000-4000 has to be done en mass ahead of time. It's the same reason that people rave about Oceania- smaller ships equal better food (with a few exceptions such as expedition ships).

More likely Summit was much smaller than the Equinox. That's why lines like Seabourn, Regent, and Sea Dream will always have the upper hand- cooking for 300-400 people can be done to order and cooking for 3000-4000 has to be done en mass ahead of time. It's the same reason that people rave about Oceania- smaller ships equal better food (with a few exceptions such as expedition ships).

While I have extremely limited experience, I can say that Blu on the Summit was our best dining experience so far. Though unfair to compare it to the MDR on the Millennium, or Royal Caribbean and Carnival. It will be interesting to compare it to HAL, and eventually Windstar.

I am looking for the best overall food quality in

The Main Dining Room - not talking about specialty restaurants. What has been your experience??

Have you been told enough times that this topic is subjective? ;):D

Of the lines I've sailed, I think Celebrity has the best MDR food.

While taste is subjective, it's undeniable that the premium (like Oceania) and luxury lines spend more per person on food -- and for the most part it shows: better quality ingredients make for better dining.

Secondarily, I think smaller ships generally turn out better food. It only makes sense that preparing meals for 300 is a lot different from preparing them for 4,000.

From experience, and what I've read questioning the boards: MDR Mass Market only

 

#1 Celebrity

#2 Holland America

#3 Princess

#4 Carnival

#5 Royal Caribbean

#6 Norwegian

Will have to agree with this listing even though yes, it is subjective indeed. Then I stepped out of the box last August and cruised with Windstar and their meals and presentation was superior to any of these but of course, I paid more to cruise with Windstar. :)

Will have to agree with this listing even though yes, it is subjective indeed. Then I stepped out of the box last August and cruised with Windstar and their meals and presentation was superior to any of these but of course, I paid more to cruise with Windstar. :)

I don't have much interest in Windstar for normal ports, but they do Tahiti, Asia, and Iceland well. Probably quite a few more. Next Spring, 13 night repo: Japan to Alaska, a suite for $1699... that's mass market territory. I plan to at least cherry pick the deals.