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Anyone else dissapointed with Carnival's food quality?

rmartin1286

By rmartin1286,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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rmartin1286

rmartin1286

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Last year I sailed on the Carnival Imagination, which was my first cruise since December 2005. I would have to say the quality of the food was far less satisfactory on the Imagination than all my previous cruising experiences, Carnival or not.

 

Has anyone else felt this way? I have sailed on several Carnival boats in the past, and I don't really remember them being nearly as bad as the food was on the Imagination. The courses were boring, the food quality subpar, and also, I was dissapointed in the changes made to the course layout on the menu. I'm used to the old five-course meals, but on the menu on the Imagination, it was layed out to look like you only got three courses. Not to be a glutton or anything, but I go on the cruises to feel special and be pampered and all that, and I definetly didn't feel like that with the meals on my last cruise. Perhaps it's just this one ship? I hope so, my husband and I are sailing on the Valor in a little over a month and I would hate to be dissapointed again. I can say this for sure, if the food quality is as bad as it was last year, this will probably be our last Carnival cruise.

 

Please share your thoughts, I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks on the subject.

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Cigar Dude

Cigar Dude

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Good gosh no! We have always had great food on Carnival, and that includes the most recent Victory cruise out of San Juan. Every night the dinners were amazingly good. The staff was prompt and friendly. I have no complaints about the food on Carnival.

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snufman

snufman

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I do have to say that years ago when we were on the Inspiriation the food was terrible. Sorry, I was posting the Imagination but it was the Inspiration. I have been on several Carnival cruises since that time and have always been very satisified with all of the food. There were also other issues with the Inspiration that makes me not want to ever sail on her again. However Carnival itself has my total loyalty. They are great.

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mouche

mouche

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Oh my, I love the food, I was on the Destiny this past March and I can still taste the Braise Short Ribs. We wanted to go on the Destiny again, but only if the chef was the same on the ship. Everything in the dining room and I mean everything was excellent and served hot.:D

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Frick_&_Frack

Frick_&_Frack

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Overall, we have found the food to be of good quality (with some exceptions from time-to-time - and that can vary on the particular meat or the chef).

 

As for menu layout, most cruiselines these days utilize the same format; although, if you want, order it by the course and it will be served with a smile.

 

Actually, over the last two years, I thought that the quality was slightly better than my cruises on Carnival from years past - but, that can be subjective.

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rmartin1286

rmartin1286

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I'm glad everyone has been satisfied with the food, that equals great vacations! I guess what my main complaint was that the food (to me anyhow) seemed not as good as I had remembered it being in years past. For instance, I had a piece of baked alaska on my cruise last year, and it was terrible compared to what I've had in the past. By "Supbar" I meant that it hadn't lived up to my expectations from the past cruising experiences I've had.

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Artemus

Artemus

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On my most recent cruise on The Pride, I found the food quality to be not up to the quality of previous cruises. DW and I always look forward to dinner in the DR, but on our cruise in August we were overall not pleased with the food in the DR.

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notme1955

notme1955

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We just returned from the Valor. The food was o.k. Not bad, but it certainly wasn't anything special. If I'd received the same at one of the "better" restaurants at home I would have been disappointed. But, it was cruise food and I don't expect it to be great.

 

Actually, that describes the entire cruise for us. It was o.k. We had a good time, but we weren't "wowed." I've been on five Carnival cruises and have learned that, while Carnival has a great product, each ship can be very different. Just like hotels. The Valor just wasn't our cup of tea and we most likely won't sail her again.

 

Maybe we just hit a time when they were training new staff or something. I don't know. The shows seemed sloppy to me. Many of the dancers were out of synch. I don't expect perfection--especially when performing on a cruise ship--but I don't expect three or more dancers to be completelly out of step, either.

 

I did expect to meet our room steward. It never happened. We saw him in the hall once--at least I think it was him. He was more interested in talking to the large group that had the four rooms surrounding ours than in meeting us. We never learned his name. It was fine, though. He did an acceptable job and it saved me the extra $40 I normally tip the room steward.

 

There were a number of little hiccups that we noticed--service in the MDR was fine, but again, nothing special. We missed the entire Captains cocktail party--actually we never really knew where it was supposed to be. We also missed the farewell party at the end. We did go to the past guest party, though. It was held in the main theater and was packed. We'll skip that next time. We'll also not dress for elegant night any more. At least not like we have in the past. DH will be fine in pants and dress shirt, and I'll be fine in slacks and evening top.

 

To be honest, I'm not sure I like the direction Carnival is going. I like the casual days--Carnival packs a lot of fun into the daytime hours. But, I also liked the more formal evenings. It made things feel special. Not any more. They're pretty much a thing of the past--on the Valor, anyway.

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G'ma

G'ma

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It's been my personal experience that the food quality and quantity is as good as ever - and, in some areas, has increased.

 

I've always enjoyed my meals onboard and find the selection to be varied and the choices many.

 

I've seen some smaller portions in the last few years .... probably to help cut down waste and to compensate for the gluttons among us who order everything on the menu...and leave half of it.

 

However, considering you can still order as much as you want, I don't see smaller portions being a problem.

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balcony bound

balcony bound

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We've been very happy with our meals in the main dining room, with the exception of some undercooked creme brule...yuk! Quality, choices, and service have always been outstanding.

 

I'm not a huge fan of the lido buffets, but can almost always find something good to eat there also.

 

Room service food has also been outstanding.

 

And, best of all, I don't have to cook it OR do the dishes:D

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