Honest opinions would be appreciated.

[The Staff Captain]

Hey there...I was on the Destiny in November, and the food was great. Pretty much the same it's been for atleast the last 10 years. It's too bad about the food on RCCL...I remember it as being adequate but nothing special, even though it has been awhile since I've been on there. Here's more about what I had to say about it all...Happy cruising!

Dining. The good: Food in the dining room - excellent - what you would expect at a "nice" restaurant. Desserts - excellent all week, even on the lido deck.

The bad: Any food (excluding the deli, pizzaria & desserts) served on the lido deck. There's enough food elsewhere than to deal with the lido deck buffet. Just poor quality. Also, forget about really knowing your waiter and busboy(girl) anymore. No longer will they be your servers for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday. We didn't even meet ours till the 2nd night at dinner. Breakfasts are open seating, and so are lunches when the ship is at sea. All lunches while at a port of call are on the lido deck, a la buffet. Six dinners with your waiter and busboy. That's it.

The underrated: Lunch in the dining room while the ship is at sea. For some reason I can't quite understand, hardly any of the 2500-3000 passengers do this. And for some other reason, some of the best food during the entire cruise (deluxe sandwiches and complex meals most everyday chefs can't figure out) is available on the menu at this time. It's worth checking out. So are the made to order calzones at the pizzaria that nobody seems to know about. Not what you'd find in chicago of course, but still great.

The surprise: Why does everyone have breakfast on the lido deck? There's always a long line and hardly any space to sit down to eat because it's so overcrowded. It's one big hassle, yet some people must have done this every day of the week. Not me. I went to the dining room, sat down immediately, ordered, got great service, ate, relaxed, enjoyed the view of the ocean and the peace and quiet, and got out of there within a half hour. No hassles, no waiting in line, perfect.

[Cuizer2]

I was on the Carnival Pride in May 2004 and the RCI Navigator of the Seas in Aug 2004. The food on both was good, but I felt the food on the Pride was better.

[Kittybork]

The underrated: Lunch in the dining room while the ship is at sea. For some reason I can't quite understand, hardly any of the 2500-3000 passengers do this. And for some other reason, some of the best food during the entire cruise (deluxe sandwiches and complex meals most everyday chefs can't figure out) is available on the menu at this time. It's worth checking out. So are the made to order calzones at the pizzaria that nobody seems to know about. Not what you'd find in chicago of course, but still great.

 

The surprise: Why does everyone have breakfast on the lido deck? There's always a long line and hardly any space to sit down to eat because it's so overcrowded. It's one big hassle, yet some people must have done this every day of the week. Not me. I went to the dining room, sat down immediately, ordered, got great service, ate, relaxed, enjoyed the view of the ocean and the peace and quiet, and got out of there within a half hour. No hassles, no waiting in line, perfect.

 

I agree. I enjoyed lunch and breakfast in the restaurant more than dinner. The food was better and the service was relaxed. At dinner, the food was not exceptional and the service was rushed.

[Grampy]

 

The underrated: Lunch in the dining room while the ship is at sea. For some reason I can't quite understand, hardly any of the 2500-3000 passengers do this. And for some other reason, some of the best food during the entire cruise (deluxe sandwiches and complex meals most everyday chefs can't figure out) is available on the menu at this time. It's worth checking out. So are the made to order calzones at the pizzaria that nobody seems to know about. Not what you'd find in chicago of course, but still great.

 

The surprise: Why does everyone have breakfast on the lido deck? There's always a long line and hardly any space to sit down to eat because it's so overcrowded. It's one big hassle, yet some people must have done this every day of the week. Not me. I went to the dining room, sat down immediately, ordered, got great service, ate, relaxed, enjoyed the view of the ocean and the peace and quiet, and got out of there within a half hour. No hassles, no waiting in line, perfect.

 

We love our sea days. We want to get up on deck with our fun drinks and our suits on by 11:00. I don't want to take a break in the fun to go back to the cabin to change for lunch. We just head over to the Lido for a burger or whatever the special is and get right back to partying. l think they should bring the chef up to the Lido on sea days and let him lay his spread out there.:D I love the baby back ribs at lunch. It's great that Carnival has options for everyone on board.

[nybumpkin]

The surprise: Why does everyone have breakfast on the lido deck? There's always a long line and hardly any space to sit down to eat because it's so overcrowded. It's one big hassle, yet some people must have done this every day of the week.

 

I'm one of the folks who has breakfast on the Lido deck (on deck - not in the restaurant) every morning. I've never minded the lines (not really that bad, in my experience) and I love open-air dining every morning. It's a great way to wake up!:)

[CJJSmith]

I love to sit on the deck and look at the ocean for breakfast as well.... just take my tray out on deck. :) Thank you all for your great opinions. I will definitely choose Carnival for my next cruies. :)

[Forchunut1]

I've been on both Carnival and RCI and I would say that the food is comparable on both, especially in the dining room. One difference I noticed on the ROS though is that the Windjammer was not open as extensively as the Lido deck buffets on Carnival. So, if you wanted something to eat at 2:00 in the afternoon you were a little more limited. That doesn't mean you'll go hungry on RCI. :D It was just something different than what I was used to on Carnival.