complaints about food

[amyh13]

I hope that you're not seriously suggesting that Carnival has better food than Celebrity or HAL, much less any of the so-called luxury lines such as Seabourn or Crystal.

 

 

 

I really like Carnival's product (I was on Glory 3 weeks ago and am going back on her this Saturday), but food just is not Carnival's strong point. In fact, I've been sailing on Carnival for exactly 30 years now (my first CCL cruise was on Mardi Gras in 1984), and food has never been Carnival's strong suit.

 

 

No I have not cruised any of the luxury lines but have cruised RCCL, NCL, And Disney. And I have seen MANY reviews and comments that give Carnival better ratings on food. The buffet LOOKED a better on Disney, but didn't taste any better.

 

 

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[Surfwench]

Of course the eggs are powdered! As anyone who has cooked for church events can attest, real scrambled eggs turn green in a steam tray.

 

I use to travel extensively for business and over the years became fond of the steamer tray scrambled eggs ubiquitious to all hotel breakfast buffets.

 

If you are cruising specifically for the cuisine, you need to choose a different line, (and pay the premium). Celebrity, Crystal, Cunard have great reputations. The small ship lines, uber expensive, also have 5 star dining.

 

I've only one RCCL cruise to compare, but Carnival was a smidge better than Royal, especially in the MDR.

 

Between 1999 and 2014 there was a change in the Carnival MDR offering. The MDR then was more like the steakhouse today. Today's MDR is, in my opinion, very nice wedding reception food with a wide variety so there is something for everyone.

 

I miss the smoked whitefish for breakfast in the MDR. :)

[Orison]

So not at all of fond of the food on Carnival ships. :(

LuLu

 

First I watched the portion size cut back.

 

Then I watched the number of courses cut back.

 

Then finally we saw the quality cut, as well as standard CCL fare removed from the menues.

 

When they cut back on service, by adding more tables covered by a 3 man team, as well as our orders only processed correctly once on a 5 night cruise, they finally pushed us away.

[michaelandjoanne]

I agree the breakfast buffet in general lacks the quality and variety compared with the lunch and dinner choices, but there are a few gems. My last cruise on the Splendor had smoked salmon eggs Benedict. I had them when i was not have breakfast in the mdr.

 

 

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[elliair]

Been on Carnival and Princess many times and Carnival has Princess beat for taste and variety. Our last two experiences on Princess left a foul taste in my mouth. I mentioned on another threads all the sausage dishes Princess offered on their lido lunch venue. Horrible! We have to endure that for 15 days on our next cruise with Princess. We'll probably cruise on Carnival the next time to Alaska.

 

The chocolate buffet on Carnival doesn't appeal to me. I have to watch my blood sugar and carbs so the chocolate buffet is out for me. I don't really miss it so no biggie for me.

Edited November 11, 2014 by elliair

[jerrymac]

I just got off Celebrity Infinity last week and the food is about the same, no better than Carnival!

[Badfinger]

I think some people mistake food they do not like for bad food. I dislike BBQ. You could give me a plate of the best BBQ in the world and I probably would not like it. Is it bad food? No. Do I like it? No Big difference.

 

That said, there is some pretty bad quality food on the cruise ship and there is some really good food on the cruise ship. I found the salmon in the MDR at dinner to be excellent. I ordered it four nights. The golden potato soup was superb. Ordered two bowls!

[irishnyc]

it depends what you think is good food. I don't think the food is very good but it is exactly what I expect it to be so I don't complain. Don't know how long you have cruised for but the food and selection was better 10 years ago.

 

 

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That's what I've always said - the good is exactly what I expect of mass produced, banquet quality food. I don't expect to have fine dining on a Carnival (or any mass market) cruise, and with those expectations, I'm never disappointed. There may be dishes that I don't like, but even that considered, it's the quality I expect.

[dabear99211]

On our last cruise we were basically happy with the MDR selections, the Steakhouse, and the brunch. I loved Tandoor as well. But the breakfast buffet was pretty bland and the scrambled eggs were so awful my husband became convinced that they were powdered eggs. I am glad to hear about the hard boiled eggs. I will look for those this time. I think the food is good, as long as you steer clear of the main buffet...

 

The egg stuff they use for the omelets and scrabbled eggs is not powdered eggs, it is a combination mixture of liquid egg substitute and real eggs

[dabear99211]

I think some people mistake food they do not like for bad food. I dislike BBQ. You could give me a plate of the best BBQ in the world and I probably would not like it. Is it bad food? No. Do I like it? No Big difference.

 

That said, there is some pretty bad quality food on the cruise ship and there is some really good food on the cruise ship. I found the salmon in the MDR at dinner to be excellent. I ordered it four nights. The golden potato soup was superb. Ordered two bowls!

 

Very well stated, many of the comments about bad food is really more about personnel tastes.

[sanmarcosman]

The egg stuff they use for the omelets and scrabbled eggs is not powdered eggs, it is a combination mixture of liquid egg substitute and real eggs

Almost, they are pasteurized liquid eggs.

[Viklynn]

I agree with the fact i love to cruise and can always fend off hunger onboard LOL, but also the overall quality and variety mostly on the buffets isn't as good as it was when we began cruising. And for health reasons food temp for hot should be hot and cold should be cold. But it is a buffet, so it is what it is. There's always ice cream :) ;) :)

[42CruiseCrazy]

The great thing about a cruise is this. If you don't like it. Don't eat it. Order or go back for something else. My experience on Carnival is that it doesn't happen that often.

 

 

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[amyh13]

I will also say that the lobster tail on Disney was ENORMOUS and the room service menu was better. But 3 times the price better? Nope.

 

 

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Edited November 12, 2014 by amyh13

[rferr]

They cook multiple meals a day for 2500 people. Its good. Better than what I generally eat at home. Is it Michelin 4 star food? No. But a meal at one of those restaurants would cost what you paid for the whole cruise. People have insane expectations. Last time I went to Morton's Steakhouse the bill was 1000 dollars for six people for one dinner.

Edited November 12, 2014 by rferr

[Cruise life]

We enjoy the food choices for the most part...sometimes we will look ahead at the menu and say we aren't thrilled about any of it, but that is rare. The salmon and flat iron steak are always very good to us as options, but we may only "resort" to those once on a 7 night cruise. On the buffet, I personally look for the fish options and sometimes the salad bar, while the rest of the family often get chicken or beef items. I think Guys burgers are too greasy (remove the heavily buttered bun), but love the burrito bar. As others have pointed out, it really does depend on what you are hungry for and whether or not it's available at that time! I could eat at the wok every day if I didn't have to wait 45 minutes on average. Love the Rueben's and all the pizzas. New cruisers have so much to sift thru to figure out how to get the meal they need at any given time on any particular ship.

 

 

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[pjhootch]

Everyone has such different tastes it is hard to compare what one person likes or doesn't like, to my idea of "good quality" or bad taste.

 

Our last cruise, we weren't as impressed with the food as our first cruise. We still found things we really enjoyed. I wouldn't compare it to a "fine dining" experience- but realistically, I am WAY too cheap to pay for fine dining most of the time. ;)

 

This is how I categorize Carnival's food (and the way I compare most restaurant experiences):

 

It isn't disgusting like hospital food- except the scrambled eggs and as others pointed out- scrambled eggs for 2500 people could be nothing beyond what they are.

It doesn't gross me out like fast food does.

The buffet can taste like fairly average buffet restaurant food- or average banquet catering.

The MDR rarely tastes as bad as fairly average buffet restaurant food. :D

The MDR generally strikes me as on par with a solid chain restaurant- BUT sometimes there are very nice surprises that rise above that level. Sometimes there are big misses that I put on the"don't ever try that again" list.

 

I never have trouble finding something I can enjoy in the MDR. Same goes for my whole family. We aren't picky although we recognize good food, but when on a cruise we don't expect steakhouse meals.

 

To have my family of 5 adults spend 7 days in 2 hotel rooms, eating comparable restaurant meals- would cost me more for the hotel than we spend on the total cruise cost. So I am happy enough with the food we've had so far, even though it isn't what it used to be. I really would hate to see more skimping and cutbacks though.

[jakeT]

The food is ok. " good" could be pushing it. Yes I eat it. I know they are,cooking for thousands of people with different ideas of what certain food is to tast like and they can't make everyone happy but I think they could do better

[mgoose1]

When we were on the Glory last spring, the fish station on the upper level of the Lido had excellent fish soup and very fresh fried fish. The Blue Iguana was excellent, and the MDR was perfectly adequate. And not having to cook or clean up for 7 days was very relaxing :).

[tothemax31]

I will also say that the lobster tail on Disney was ENORMOUS and the room service menu was better. But 3 times the price better? Nope.

 

 

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What's funny is that I've been on Disney twice and both times the food was so bad.. I mean even the chicken fingers sucked. But like you said, 3X the worth? Heck nah

[tothemax31]

Everyone has such different tastes it is hard to compare what one person likes or doesn't like, to my idea of "good quality" or bad taste.

 

Our last cruise, we weren't as impressed with the food as our first cruise. We still found things we really enjoyed. I wouldn't compare it to a "fine dining" experience- but realistically, I am WAY too cheap to pay for fine dining most of the time. ;)

 

This is how I categorize Carnival's food (and the way I compare most restaurant experiences):

 

It isn't disgusting like hospital food- except the scrambled eggs and as others pointed out- scrambled eggs for 2500 people could be nothing beyond what they are.

It doesn't gross me out like fast food does.

The buffet can taste like fairly average buffet restaurant food- or average banquet catering.

The MDR rarely tastes as bad as fairly average buffet restaurant food. :D

The MDR generally strikes me as on par with a solid chain restaurant- BUT sometimes there are very nice surprises that rise above that level. Sometimes there are big misses that I put on the"don't ever try that again" list.

 

I never have trouble finding something I can enjoy in the MDR. Same goes for my whole family. We aren't picky although we recognize good food, but when on a cruise we don't expect steakhouse meals.

 

To have my family of 5 adults spend 7 days in 2 hotel rooms, eating comparable restaurant meals- would cost me more for the hotel than we spend on the total cruise cost. So I am happy enough with the food we've had so far, even though it isn't what it used to be. I really would hate to see more skimping and cutbacks though.

 

DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! We have a winner folks. Shut the thread down here because there's every answer you ever wanted... You want 5 star food? Expect to pays thousands.. you aint getting 5 stars for a vacation that costs less than a coach class flight on a cheap airline. What you will get is a great deal on a 7 night cruise with good food and lots of fun. Carnival isnt here to wine and dine the rich and famous, they are here to serve the middle class family and help them get away from their everyday stress with a good vacation. Feel free to disagree.. just my 2 cents as a middle class american who works 40+ hours, on-call way too much, and taking too many graduate classes all at once and just looking for a vacation. :)

[Davey Wavey]

My biggest complaint on my last cruise was there was NO SALSA on the breakfast buffet. Every other cruise had it...where's my SALSA?? It is absolutely necessary for those powdered eggs.

[Orison]

What's funny is that I've been on Disney twice and both times the food was so bad.. I mean even the chicken fingers sucked. But like you said, 3X the worth? Heck nah

 

Gotta agree, the food of Disney is disappointing. Never tried Paola's though.

[TennesseeTater]

Gotta agree, the food of Disney is disappointing. Never tried Paola's though.

 

I agree as well. Cruised on the Disney Magic a few years ago for a family members wedding. The food in the Dining Room was not good. Maybe we just had an off week because everybody always tells me Disney has the best, but I just didn't experience it. I guess I should try a Disney cruise again though, just for research of course. :D

 

The buffet was probably the best buffet I've had on a cruise though. I just expected more for the price.

[Shipbound]

I all ways thought the food on Carnival is better compared to when I first started cruising in

1992( the food really sucked)selection of healthy choices keep getting better also.

 

 

Gary

Edited November 13, 2014 by Shipbound