Royal Caribbean vs Carnival FOOD?

[mtchg]

Sounds like a great time. How many ports?

 

9 ports counting Southampton; fairly intensive...but then again it's a two weeker, so still 5 sea days.

 

Ports include: Gibraltor, Corsica, Cannes/Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Ibiza, Malaga, Lisbon and Vigo in that order.

 

Mitch

[ltbw038]

Very nice! I am going to try to do a Med cruise in 2011.

[dave_gfu]

I personally believe the food on RCI is much better than Carnival...

[katiel53]

We sail both lines and I am divided about the food. For breakfast from room service, Royal Caribbean is far better. For lunch in the buffet, Royal Caribbean is better in that it has stations rather than a long line. The grill, deli, Mongolian Wok, pasta bar, burrito bar and pizza are tons better than anything Royal Caribbean has for lunch.

 

I like the food in the MDR better on Carnival. Lunch on Royal Caribbean in the MDR is the same every day, but the salad bar can't be beat! I think Carnival's desserts have flavor whereas Royal Caribbean's are not that great.

 

I would prefer the ships of Royal Caribbean. I don't use the flow-rider, the rock climbing wall or ice skating, but the ships are beautiful--not gaudy like Carnival. I think the comedy shows on Carnival beat any of the entertainment Royal Caribbean has to offer.

 

I have had better luck in the casino on Carnival and with being Platinum on there, I get a free entry into the slot tournament. I didn't get that any time on Royal Caribbean.

 

We will continue to sail both lines. There are so many positives to each line, that we just decide on the ports as well as price and go from there.

Edited June 17, 2010 by katiel53

[ltbw038]

We sail both lines and I am divided about the food. For breakfast from room service, Royal Caribbean is far better. For lunch in the buffet, Royal Caribbean is better in that it has stations rather than a long line. The grill, deli, Mongolian Wok, pasta bar, burrito bar and pizza are tons better than anything Royal Caribbean has for lunch.

 

I like the food in the MDR better on Carnival. Lunch on Royal Caribbean in the MDR is the same every day, but the salad bar can't be beat! I think Carnival's desserts have flavor whereas Royal Caribbean's are not that great.

 

I would prefer the ships of Royal Caribbean. I don't use the flow-rider, the rock climbing wall or ice skating, but the ships are beautiful--not gaudy like Carnival. I think the comedy shows on Carnival beat any of the entertainment Royal Caribbean has to offer.

 

I have had better luck in the casino on Carnival and with being Platinum on there, I get a free entry into the slot tournament. I didn't get that any time on Royal Caribbean.

 

We will continue to sail both lines. There are so many positives to each line, that we just decide on the ports as well as price and go from there.

 

Well said!

[mtchg]

We sail both lines and I am divided about the food. For breakfast from room service, Royal Caribbean is far better. For lunch in the buffet, Royal Caribbean is better in that it has stations rather than a long line. The grill, deli, Mongolian Wok, pasta bar, burrito bar and pizza are tons better than anything Royal Caribbean has for lunch.

 

I like the food in the MDR better on Carnival. Lunch on Royal Caribbean in the MDR is the same every day, but the salad bar can't be beat! I think Carnival's desserts have flavor whereas Royal Caribbean's are not that great.

 

I would prefer the ships of Royal Caribbean. I don't use the flow-rider, the rock climbing wall or ice skating, but the ships are beautiful--not gaudy like Carnival. I think the comedy shows on Carnival beat any of the entertainment Royal Caribbean has to offer.

 

I have had better luck in the casino on Carnival and with being Platinum on there, I get a free entry into the slot tournament. I didn't get that any time on Royal Caribbean.

 

We will continue to sail both lines. There are so many positives to each line, that we just decide on the ports as well as price and go from there.

 

 

The above I think, when you throw away all cheerleading biases is the closest to real truth in admittedly a very subjective situation. Both lines have their strengths and a few weaknesses...and neither is near as "superior" as some proponents would have you believe.

 

I think there are two items that can be pretty objectively stated.

 

Royal Caribbean surpasses Carnival in ship design/ship activities...

Royal Caribbean is almost always more expensive for similar itineraries; sometimes considerably so..

 

Mitch

[don24]

I was just on ccl Spirit and found food to be very blah .It was an Alaska cruise and i wonder if seasoning is adjusted to the uh how do i say um, youth challenged:D.A majority was older

[CRZRDaveinNC]

We have been on several cruises on both Carnival and RCCL. We usually go with RCCL because of the ships, even though they are a little pricier. Also, the cruise directors on RCCL are much better (DJ Mike is the best!). Two area that Carnival does exceed RCCL is in standard room size and all food venues.

 

Carnival's pizza is slightly better than RCCL, and also offers calzones.

 

Self serve ice cream open more hours on CCL(due to Ben & Jerry's?)

 

Desserts - hands down, Carnival wins. Chocolate melting cake is the best. Their other desserts are also very good. RCCL desserts are average at best.

 

Main Dining Room - Carnival had better selections and better taste. Nothing wrong with RCCL, just more average.

 

Buffet - Carinval has better selections (mongolian grill, Asian, deli, burger grill at pool). I would rate the RCCL buffets about the same in quality and taste, except for the cruise we just completed on the Liberty. Food quality and service in the Windjammer was horrible. On four separate occasions, we got cold items from the buffet. By the midway point in our cruise, we had renamed it the "coldjammer". At peak hours, they were not cleaning off tables. On those occasions, we found the Windjammer managers (who tended to congregate at the stairs at the back of the buffet) to see if they could get someone to clean off tables for us. We saw a kid drop a plate of food in front of the JADE area of the Windjammer. We watched five different RCCL employees step over it and keep on going. We brought it to the manager's attention and he got one of them to clean it up.

 

Specialty Restaurants - both lines are excellent. RCCL has two choices.

 

Room Service - Both do a fine job. RCCL Chili Chirizo dip is awesome.

[BamaEagle]

We have been on several cruises on both Carnival and RCCL. We usually go with RCCL because of the ships, even though they are a little pricier. Also, the cruise directors on RCCL are much better (DJ Mike is the best!). Two area that Carnival does exceed RCCL is in standard room size and all food venues.

 

Carnival's pizza is slightly better than RCCL, and also offers calzones.

 

Self serve ice cream open more hours on CCL(due to Ben & Jerry's?)

 

Desserts - hands down, Carnival wins. Chocolate melting cake is the best. Their other desserts are also very good. RCCL desserts are average at best.

 

Main Dining Room - Carnival had better selections and better taste. Nothing wrong with RCCL, just more average.

 

Buffet - Carinval has better selections (mongolian grill, Asian, deli, burger grill at pool). I would rate the RCCL buffets about the same in quality and taste, except for the cruise we just completed on the Liberty. Food quality and service in the Windjammer was horrible. On four separate occasions, we got cold items from the buffet. By the midway point in our cruise, we had renamed it the "coldjammer". At peak hours, they were not cleaning off tables. On those occasions, we found the Windjammer managers (who tended to congregate at the stairs at the back of the buffet) to see if they could get someone to clean off tables for us. We saw a kid drop a plate of food in front of the JADE area of the Windjammer. We watched five different RCCL employees step over it and keep on going. We brought it to the manager's attention and he got one of them to clean it up.

 

Specialty Restaurants - both lines are excellent. RCCL has two choices.

 

Room Service - Both do a fine job. RCCL Chili Chirizo dip is awesome.

 

The Chili Chorizo Dip is no longer available, although it was still printed on the menu on FOS a couple of weeks ago. They said it has been replaced with an artichoke dip. We tried it and it was pretty good.

 

We felt that room service food was far better on RCCL, but food in the MDR was better on Carnival (although service in MDR was FAR better on RCCL). Buffet food was better on RCCL. Pizza was better on Carnival.

[ccruisequeen]

don't forget carnival's pizza.

or the warm chocolate melting cake!:d:);)

[ms.sunburn]

Wow! We cruisers take our food pretty seriously, judging by the number of posts this is getting!!

 

My husband and I are just back from a med. cruise on the Splendour of the Seas. After experiencing Carnival's offerings, the food choices on RCI were very disappointing to us. It was the one thing that stood out as being the big difference between the two lines.

 

I guess choosing a cruise is all about what's the most important to you. I cruise for 3 reasons: the food, the itinerary and the convenience. The rest is just fluff!

[csoud]

i have done 3 carnivals and just completed a rci. the food was about the same in the dining room. rci killed them when it comes to casual dining. food is better and the spaces are larger

[richstowe]

"In my opinion (and I'm no foodie) the food on Carnival is a little bit better than the food on Royal Caribbean. I've been on five Carnival cruises and six Royal Caribbean cruises"

 

"I have eaten in the lunch buffets of every major cruise line countless times"

 

"I've been on five Carnival cruises and six Royal Caribbean cruises"

 

In reading all these great posts, I am so impressed and a bit envious of all the

great cruise so many members of C.C. have gone on. Greatly looking forward to my first real cruise with DW in Jan/11 on the Pride. Good on all of you and thanx for all the great

opinions.To state the obvious, although food is very important (and the subject of these

posts) it is only one of many reasons for choosing a particular Cruise Line,or cruise

 

thanx

[Aquahound]

or the warm chocolate melting cake!:d:);)

 

Does anyone have a picture of this warm chocolate melting cake on Carnival? Royal Caribbean has been serving this for years. They call it Warm Chocolate Cake, and it is fantastic. I'm wondering what makes Carnival's soooooo much better. :confused:

[MrPete]

Does anyone have a picture of this warm chocolate melting cake on Carnival? Royal Caribbean has been serving this for years. They call it Warm Chocolate Cake, and it is fantastic. I'm wondering what makes Carnival's soooooo much better. :confused:

 

[wolv4life]

Does anyone have a picture of this warm chocolate melting cake on Carnival? Royal Caribbean has been serving this for years. They call it Warm Chocolate Cake, and it is fantastic. I'm wondering what makes Carnival's soooooo much better. :confused:

 

Carnival's warm chocolate melting cake is light years better than the RCCL warm chocolate cake. There is no comparison.

 

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.zydecocruiser.com/pride_08/ship/shp_6/IMG_1605.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.zydecocruiser.com/WarmChocolateMeltingCake.htm&usg=__l2Mu10r6irAlYsMFuGlXkfv8w3k=&h=576&w=768&sz=74&hl=en&start=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=_y6m311Zxt7DdM:&tbnh=107&tbnw=142&prev=/images%3Fq%3DCarnival%2Bwarm%2Bchocolate%2Bmelting%2Bcake%2Bpicture%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26channel%3Ds%26tbs%3Disch:1

[Aquahound]

Thank you, sir. The difference I see is that Carnival's is served in a bowl, while RCI's is served on a plate. With RCI's, when you cut in to it, the chocolate comes oozing out. I would imagine they taste quite similar. Maybe someone who has tried both can comment.

 

Either way, that picture, and the thought of chocolate lava cake makes my mouth water. ;)

[wolv4life]

Thank you, sir. The difference I see is that Carnival's is served in a bowl, while RCI's is served on a plate. With RCI's, when you cut in to it, the chocolate comes oozing out. I would imagine they taste quite similar. Maybe someone who has tried both can comment.

 

Either way, that picture, and the thought of chocolate lava cake makes my mouth water. ;)

 

My DW, a confessed choco-holic, adores the Carnival version of the warm chocolate melting cake, but was disappointed with the RCCL equivalent. She says the chocolate taste is too subdued with the RCCL cake, but its much more intense in the Carnival version.

[socrmom3]

We have been on both Carnival and RCLL. We felt the food on Carnival became a joke by week's end. How many ways CAN you use the same green beans over and over? But that was about 10 years ago and we were so disappointed int eh whole experience on that particular ship, we have not gone back to Carnival.

 

With that said, we just returned yesterday from our thrid RCCL cruise and we we very disappointed in the food this time around. We started seeing the same things "reinvented" into other things, just as we had on Carnival several years ago.

 

We had 8 people in our party from age 17-78 so we tried most everything.

 

I think it's a personal preference on what you like. This time, there was daily sushi on RCCL which I could have cared less for but my daughter loved. I thought the pizza was terrible (but then I am from Chicago where we know how to make REAL pizza) but my 18 year old thought it was fine. I don't like the "specialty" venues like Ben and Jerry's simply because I have already paid enough and so we only had the frozen yogurt by the pool and the hand scooped in the Windjammer. Both were OK. Not great, only ok.

 

I was certain that there was food being served poolside the last time we cruised but we only found ice cream this time. I found this disappointing as if you were hungry, you had to cover up your (maybe wet) swimsuit and head into Windjamer where it was freezing. I really like having burgers, fries, snacks poolside.

 

We dined in the formal dining room a couple nights and the food was again..ok. I had fish and pasta dishes, my husband had mostly meat. None was too creative and the portions were small. My mother-in-law thought everything was outstanding but she does not dine out frequently so just being waited on was a treat. The desserts were nothing I couldn't prepare at home.

 

We did not dine in any of the specialty restaurants because again, I've already paid enough for the cruise, IMO.

 

The last thing I would remark on was the buffet that was held on the Promenade, complete with ice sculptures and food carvings. Having this buffet set up in a non-food area seemed....dirty. Too many people milling around in an uncontrolled area...too many little kid hands on everything...yuk.

[ryano]

I guess you have to really be a HUGE chocolate fan to love Carnivals melting chocolate cake. I personally thought it was way too rich and didnt care for it at all.

 

People rave about Royal Carribeans cold fruit soups........Now that I DO agree with! The strawberry soup was very delish!

 

The first piece of honey stung chicken I had in the windjammer on embarkation day was excellent...it was hot and fresh and just put out........I went back for seconds and it was dry and cold and not good at all.

 

I honestly loved everything I tried in both lines MDR with a HUGE kudos given to Royal's escargot. I LOVED that stuff!

[BobbyD]

Recently was on the Serenade and, like always, found the food to be very good to excellent. Service was similar. No complaints (ok, maybe one. I didn't like the antipasti that I had in the MDR on the last night). Aside from that, I felt the food was wonderful. Food is such a subjective topic. There are people who hate Morton's steak house and love HomeTown Buffet. And there's no problem in that!

 

Secretly, I am hoping that CCL's food is far superior to RCL. I will then have a GREAT trip on the Magic next summer!! Somehow, I would imagine they are all roughly the same, but we shall see!

[mo&fran]

after many years of Celebrrity and RCL cruising, We did a transatlantic on Carnival Dream last year. Since the previous year we did a TA on Navigator, I had something to compare to. MDR was nothing special in either case, although the service wasn't as good on Carnival. To be fair, this was a new ship, so that could be a factor. The buffet on Carnival was IMHO , was the worst I have ever experienced on any ship I have been on, breakfast or lunch. Basically the same thing ever day and not what I would expect. Since both ships are somewhat similar in size, seating at meals is an issue on both ships. I believe the room service at breakfast was a continental menu, so DW would order from room service and I would try the buffet. Not a happy camper though. Totally gave up on lunch and ordered BLT's for lunch from room service. At least at lunch on RCL, there was enough of a selection in the buffet to make it worth trying to find a table.

RCI had just adopted the no food trays policy, and that was a pain. I ended up taking 2 utensil sets to get an extra napkin to lay on the table to butter my bread on. On the other hand , Carnival pointed out that they had food trays, which they said was more sanitary, and I do agree there. I did think it was funny that they would even think to mention the trays.

Edited June 29, 2010 by mo&fran

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Does anyone have a picture of this warm chocolate melting cake on Carnival? Royal Caribbean has been serving this for years. They call it Warm Chocolate Cake, and it is fantastic. I'm wondering what makes Carnival's soooooo much better. :confused:

 

Carnival's warm chocolate melting cake is light years better than the RCCL warm chocolate cake. There is no comparison.

 

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.zydecocruiser.com/pride_08/ship/shp_6/IMG_1605.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.zydecocruiser.com/WarmChocolateMeltingCake.htm&usg=__l2Mu10r6irAlYsMFuGlXkfv8w3k=&h=576&w=768&sz=74&hl=en&start=1&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=_y6m311Zxt7DdM:&tbnh=107&tbnw=142&prev=/images%3Fq%3DCarnival%2Bwarm%2Bchocolate%2Bmelting%2Bcake%2Bpicture%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DX%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26channel%3Ds%26tbs%3Disch:1

 

 

Food is very subjective as you can tell by the replies on here. I have had both versions of chocolate melting cake and can tell you that I don't care for the RCI version but absolutely love CCL version. All a matter of preference. CCL version is more like hot fudge batter and less like cake. The entire cup is more like the oozing stuff out of RCI cake. Way better in my opinion. The top 1/4 inch or so is firm like cake but everything under it is more like hot fudge & very rich. As for chilled soups, I personally prefer them on CCL but both were yummy.

[ltbw038]

My DW, a confessed choco-holic, adores the Carnival version of the warm chocolate melting cake, but was disappointed with the RCCL equivalent. She says the chocolate taste is too subdued with the RCCL cake, but its much more intense in the Carnival version.

 

I will admit the only food item I have ever had on Carnival that was better than RCL was the chocolate melting cake. It is very, very good.

Edited June 29, 2010 by ltbw038

[Barbiegator]

We have been on several cruises on both Carnival and RCCL. We usually go with RCCL because of the ships, even though they are a little pricier. Also, the cruise directors on RCCL are much better (DJ Mike is the best!). Two area that Carnival does exceed RCCL is in standard room size and all food venues.

 

Carnival's pizza is slightly better than RCCL, and also offers calzones.

 

Self serve ice cream open more hours on CCL(due to Ben & Jerry's?)

 

Desserts - hands down, Carnival wins. Chocolate melting cake is the best. Their other desserts are also very good. RCCL desserts are average at best.

 

Main Dining Room - Carnival had better selections and better taste. Nothing wrong with RCCL, just more average.

 

Buffet - Carinval has better selections (mongolian grill, Asian, deli, burger grill at pool). I would rate the RCCL buffets about the same in quality and taste, except for the cruise we just completed on the Liberty. Food quality and service in the Windjammer was horrible. On four separate occasions, we got cold items from the buffet. By the midway point in our cruise, we had renamed it the "coldjammer". At peak hours, they were not cleaning off tables. On those occasions, we found the Windjammer managers (who tended to congregate at the stairs at the back of the buffet) to see if they could get someone to clean off tables for us. We saw a kid drop a plate of food in front of the JADE area of the Windjammer. We watched five different RCCL employees step over it and keep on going. We brought it to the manager's attention and he got one of them to clean it up.

 

Specialty Restaurants - both lines are excellent. RCCL has two choices.

 

Room Service - Both do a fine job. RCCL Chili Chirizo dip is awesome.

 

I love the Chocolate melting cake on Carnival and think their desserts are much better than RC.