Food on Celebrity vs Other Cruise Lines

[quivet c]

Having only cruised on Oceania, Princess and Carnival in the past what should I expect from the food on Celebrity Solstice in a couple of weeks? How does it compare to Oceania's food, Carnival's food and the food on Princess?

 

I do not expect the food to be as good or sophisticated as the food on Oceania (given the difference in cost) but I do expect it to be better than Carnival or Princess is that realistic? What are the must have dishes on Celebrity?

[denims]

We have sailed on Celebrity, Azamara, Princess, Holland and NCL.

"IMHO": the food in the last 5 years, on our cruises, has been about to same.....mostly very good food, but on occasion, a miss!

[jd1966]

We thought the food on the Solstice was the best we have experienced. It's slightly better than RCCL and considerably better than Princess. But it's all a matter of opinion. I read a review of the same Solstice cruise we were on and the reviewer hated the food! We have not experienced any bad experiences with the food and have only sent one meal back. That was quickly replaced with something else.

[ISLANDFAN]

My wife and I sailed on The Solstice last week and thought the food and menu selections to be very good. Sailed on RCCL Independence of the Seas in November and was dissapointed with both the food quality and selection. We have saled numerours times with Princess and have enjoyed the food and selection onboard, however I think our dining experience in both the MDR and all three specialty restuarants to be superior on the Solstice. Service on the Solstice was outstanding as well.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Bryan

[cobalt206]

We recently sailed the Solstice and it was our first cruise with Celebrity and we were not impressed at all with the MDR food. We did not expect the quality we experienced on Windstar but we expected better than RCCL, Princess and Carnival. The MDR dinners were consistently below average. Nothing seems cooked to order, tastes are bland and food quality is just not as good as the other cruises mentioned.

 

We did dine at Tuscan Grille twice and both meals were excellent. They use "Prime" beef at Tuscan while the MDR uses "Choice". I don't expect the MDR to use "Prime", but I question their quality of "Choice". The Tuscan was able to cook meats to order perfectly while the MDR had trouble executing anything properly.

 

We appreciate gourmet cooking and my wife is an incredible cook and we enjoy the finer restaurants in our area. I don't expect the same caliber of cuisine on a large crusie ship but I can honestly say that our dining experience on Solstice was of lower quality than our lone Carnival experience. While we had a fantastic time on our recent cruise, we were extremely disappointed about how inferior the food was in the MDR. I would suggest going to Tuscan Grille and Murano for all 7 dinners; it will cost you a fair amount more but you won't be disappointed.

[jd1966]

I would suggest TRYING the MDR before you blow all that money.........

[quivet c]

I would suggest TRYING the MDR before you blow all that money.........

 

We do plan to try Murano one night, but will most likely be eating in the MDR the other nights unless its dissapoints.

[kelmac]

Having only cruised on Oceania, Princess and Carnival in the past what should I expect from the food on Celebrity Solstice in a couple of weeks? How does it compare to Oceania's food, Carnival's food and the food on Princess?

 

I do not expect the food to be as good or sophisticated as the food on Oceania (given the difference in cost) but I do expect it to be better than Carnival or Princess is that realistic? What are the must have dishes on Celebrity?

 

Hi quivet,

 

Food on the Solstice will be better than Princess (never sail Carnival??) but the dining room food on Oceania is better than the dining room food on Celebrity. The alternative restaurants are as good, if not better, than those found on Oceania. In the large ship catagory, the Solstice class ships are much better than the competition.

We have the Solstice coming up again this summer and we will alternate between the main dining room and Murano's and the Tuscan Grill.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Kel:)

[Softball20]

These posts make me nervous, as between these and some of the Equinox reviews I've read, I'm not getting the impression that the food is excellent. We've only been on one other Celebrity cruise, and that was the Century in 2004. I recall the food then as being quite good -- not quite, but almost as good as HAL, which, IMO, has some very good food. We were recently on Princess, and I was really disappointed with the food, which I had also recalled as being pretty good on past cruises. I am a big foodie - I am a really good cook and we like good restaurants. IMO all the food on cruise ships' MDRs should be as good as their specialty restaurants (Pinnacle on HAL; Sabatini on Princess), but that's a fantasy; I understand......

 

In any event, should I be going in with low expectations and hope to be surprised? We are cruising in Europe - I'm assuming that there will be a difference in the menu, as well.

[eandj]

We have done Oceania twice and think their food is better than X. It is very French influenced and includes caviar, fine sauces/gravies, higher quality meats and seafood etc. All of course our opinion and what we enjoy. We think the specialties on X are as good as or better than O's ala carte restaurants. Of course, you don't pay extra for them on O.

 

Buffet on the Solstice was varied and very good.

[JRT5000]

It's funny to hear all the different opinions. We were on the Solstice a few weeks back and in general were happy with the food (even though our table mates were not impressed). What we did find disappointing though were the desserts and soups.

 

We were on the Crown Princess 8 months earlier and thought the food was better.

 

All in all we have been on many cruises, including 7 on Celebrity and 5 on Princess. I still find food varies as much on a ship to ship basis as it does on a cruise line to cruise line basis.

 

So when someone states that one line has better food and has only cruised once with a particular brand, take his/her statement with a grain of salt.

[eandj]

These posts make me nervous, as between these and some of the Equinox reviews I've read, I'm not getting the impression that the food is excellent. We've only been on one other Celebrity cruise, and that was the Century in 2004. I recall the food then as being quite good -- not quite, but almost as good as HAL, which, IMO, has some very good food. We were recently on Princess, and I was really disappointed with the food, which I had also recalled as being pretty good on past cruises. I am a big foodie - I am a really good cook and we like good restaurants. IMO all the food on cruise ships' MDRs should be as good as their specialty restaurants (Pinnacle on HAL; Sabatini on Princess), but that's a fantasy; I understand......

 

In any event, should I be going in with low expectations and hope to be surprised? We are cruising in Europe - I'm assuming that there will be a difference in the menu, as well.

 

Most would compare HAL and X as comparable in food. I have heard criticism of Princess food as of late, but haven't been on one for many years.

No, the menus do not change if you sail the Med or Europe or Alaska. We had the same food in the Carib as we did docked in Venice. ;)

 

Your tastes could be totally different than someone else. So to worry about food, is sort of a waste. The menus have many options and if you don't like something or how it is prepared return it and pick something else. You WILL find the lunch buffets a big improvement.