Decline in food quality?

[oncruisecontrol]

Food palatability is subjective and no one really has been specific with what they consider good or bad quality other than menu options. If someone is comparing cruise food from the 80s to today then you must consider that the cost of cruising now relative to then is very inexpensive. You have economic classes that can afford to cruise now for whom it would never have been an option back in the glory days. There are varying price points in cruise lines just as there is a difference between Neiman Marcus and Walmart ( not calling any particular cruise lines Walmart of the seas ) and many levels in between. You don't expect Neiman Marcus quality at Walmart prices, so what it comes down to is are you getting value. Though CCL, RCI and NCL are more budget oriented lines I feel that the food offerings are of good value all things considered, but that is just my opinion based on expectations and my own opinion, doesn't mean anyone else will like or dislike what I do.

You make valid points. But with regard to the sentence I highlighted in red: I am comparing the Carnival food offerings of today with the Carnival food offerings of 10 to 20 years ago. The price in that time frame was similar to what it is today (if not cheaper) and the food quality both in the buffet and the MDR was leaps and bounds better than what they offer today, in my opinion.

[scpirate]

I think it's good to have an open discussion with the decline in food quality. Any negative discussion is a good discussion on the Carnival forum. One of the biggest selling points on going on a cruise is the food. I'm not a buffet eater, but in the random ones I have been to, there always seems to be a meat carver. So removing it on the ship, is a huge cutback. Although I won't deny that I think all cruise lines have made cut backs in the food choices, it does seem that Carnival is the leader in cutting back. But that is the price you pay. So I encourage as many people as possible, to make the negative comments and keep the posting strong!

I'm one that agrees with you.i only sail carnival because my wife likes it .so I do carnival every other cruise.she got carnival next year because I chose msc this year..yes everybody is cutting corners but I think carnival is the worse.

[declansdad]

Hi

 

Your quote "Any negative discussion is is a good discussion on the Carnival forum." Really? Are you a joker of some kind? What is the point?

 

 

The person you quoted doesn't cruise with Carnival, hasn't for years. He just comes here to complain about things he doesn't know anything about.

[jimbo5544]

Hi

 

 

 

Your quote "Any negative discussion is is a good discussion on the Carnival forum." Really? Are you a joker of some kind? What is the point?

 

 

 

If this was something new or something specific to Carnival, maybe you could start another thread that starts with "another cutback", but get real, this has been voiced over and over and over again since I joined this site.

 

 

 

If you feel that this product is no longer for you, then you shouldn't support it. Talk with your money, buy a different product. Call the company, write to them, tell them that you are tired with eating their crap. Please, you don't need to tell me again, that this is the last straw and you won't sail with them again. It keeps sounding like a joke.

 

 

 

hope this helps

 

 

 

This poster has an open dislike (actually to soft a word) for Carnival and expresses it whenever a negative thread appears.

 

 

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[jimbo5544]

I have found the food in the MDR on. Carnival the past years to be horrible actually, with a handful of exceptions such as the chilled soups and desserts. When I cruise, we go to the specialty restaurants every night and avoid the MDR. Unfortunately my next Carnival cruise on the Elation does not have a steakhouse which means I will be eating unhealthy and low quality type foods, its ok, I loose some weight that I will gain from all the booze lol. Also, any cruise is better than no cruise.

 

 

 

Horrible.....hahahaha. If it is so bad,why book it? There are other fish in the sea. Were you unaware that the Elation did not have a Steakhouse when you booked? Was the plan to bring pb&j so you would not have to eat all the horrible food? Gotta love cruisecritic.

 

 

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[sanmarcosman]

20 or more years ago eating in the MDR was a 5 star experience.

More like 60 or more years ago and even then ocean liners like the Queen Mary and the s/s United States still had separate restaurants apart from the MDR with more upscale offerings for an additional cost over the full fare. Of course then these a la carte private dining rooms were available for reservations from First Class passengers only.

 

As I said earlier in this thread the MDR entrees are meh today but the Sunday Brunch and the new port day MDR breakfast menus are much better today than they were 30 years ago on Carnival. There was no brunch then and there was no filet mignon on the breakfast menus in 1988.

[jimbo5544]

More like 60 or more years ago and even then ocean liners like the Queen Mary and the s/s United States still had separate restaurants apart from the MDR with more upscale offerings for an additional cost over the full fare. Of course then these a la carte private dining rooms were available for reservations from First Class passengers only.

 

As I said earlier in this thread the MDR entrees are meh today but the Sunday Brunch and the new port day MDR breakfast menus are much better today than they were 30 years ago on Carnival. There was no brunch then and there was no filet mignon on the breakfast menus in 1988.

 

 

 

Interesting post, made me think of the QM2 where the dining room you eat in is determined by the cabin type you book.

 

 

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[BlerkOne]

Can't live in the past, flux capacitor or not.

 

 

 

How about the really good old days of no/ineffective stabilizers? Bring back conga lines in the MDR - okay they did exist this century. Glass hurricane glasses?

 

 

Where did I leave my pet dinosaur?

[sanmarcosman]

Interesting post, made me think of the QM2 where the dining room you eat in is determined by the cabin type you book.

Thank you, Jim. It was the same on the QE2 where the maxim I heard was " Where you dine on this ship says who you are. " Oddly enough the regular passengers preferred booking cabins assigned to the Princess Grill. This was because those in the know often found the Queens Grill too stuffy and overpopulated with wealthy non-English speakers. I knew my station in those early days as I was dining in the Transatlantic Dining Room deep in the belly of the beast :)

 

As you know Cunard is part of the Carnival Corporation and I think that's just fine.

Edited August 22, 2018 by sanmarcosman

[SS Exeter]

Just off the Vista and this was my 23rd Carnival cruise over the years, and will be my last. I had many issues, the food being one of them. There are no carved meats on Lido anymore for lunch or dinner, but now they offer a baked potato bar in its place :rolleyes:. Seriously??

 

The fresh made sandwiches at The Deli are rather good. They will change up the listed ingredients if you ask. Hubby loves the pastrami.

[sanmarcosman]

Can't live in the past, flux capacitor or not.

How about the really good old days of no/ineffective stabilizers? Bring back conga lines in the MDR - okay they did exist this century. Glass hurricane glasses?Where did I leave my pet dinosaur?

 

What a pity you have nothing to offer but sarcasm here about the cruise line you profess to love. History is more than mere nostalgia, you could learn from your elders who have sailed Carnival for 30 years and still prefer Carnival over the other main stream lines. The arrogance of youth is boring.

[gotscrapz]

I loved my cruise on the Vista 2 weeks ago but the food is inedible to me at this point. I could get by at breakfast with fruit and cereal, maybe a waffle or pancake. Lunch I could get a salad or pasta at the Italian place. unannounced lunch pasta options but when I at the Italian place at dinner it wasn't good and less options for me. Dinner - super hard to find anything short o f a salad and dinner rolls. At home I eat vegan but out and on trips vegetarian is easier but I find it I want a cheese pizza it's cut with same knife as the meat pizza and often has pepperoni sticking to it and I can't eat pork due to an allergy. Sometimes I would get a plain baked potato in the MDR but sometimes even that was bad. I tried upcharge places but most didn't offer much in the way of vegetarian. I did see the maitre'd and waiter etc but even what I could get was poor quality and not cooked well or a bare bones green salad in the mdr. My teenagers find the food decent mostly. The adults I sail with - non picky eaters agree that often we'd rather just skip dinner.

[Cruisegirl6]

Jimboo5544- Our next Carnival cruise is a casino offer my other half is getting 1k in casino cash, why waste it? The price of the cruise is less than 1k its like a free cruise. The Elation is only 35 minutes from us easy to get and only 5 nights a short getaway, which we can tolerate not eating well. We cruise RC 2-3 times a year so a carnival cruise is just giving us a change, it will be fun and nice even without the steakhouse which we will miss but we will be all good. :D

[gotscrapz]

I should add I would gladly pay a higher fare for better food. I am not a foodie by any means, but I think I'd like the food to be On par with hospital food at the hospital in work at, or even Subway.

 

i would have more options if thriving cross contaminate. I would love to make a raw veggi e taco or nutritionist Iguana - the have the stuff I like but meat slop ped everywhere.

or fries at Guy's but Grab raw meat patties and then grab the fries with the same gloves.

 

I could a little better if this wasn't a constant issue.bar a

 

sorry for the typos and formatting issues - my kindle is acting up last few days.

 

i love carnjval, we have fun - but the good is now a deal breaker when we often pay $3-5000 for a balcony cabin for 2 in summer, only time we can travel right now.

[riclop]

Definetly it has gone downhill.

[BlerkOne]

What a pity you have nothing to offer but sarcasm here about the cruise line you profess to love. History is more than mere nostalgia, you could learn from your elders who have sailed Carnival for 30 years and still prefer Carnival over the other main stream lines. The arrogance of youth is boring.

 

Dripping with sarcasm he said. Where did I leave my umbrella?

 

 

We learn to do by doing.

[sanmarcosman]

Dripping with sarcasm he said. Where did I leave my umbrella?

Nope, that cliche is all yours.

[BlerkOne]

Nope, that cliche is all yours.

[PhillyFan33579]

I loved my cruise on the Vista 2 weeks ago but the food is inedible to me at this point. I could get by at breakfast with fruit and cereal, maybe a waffle or pancake. Lunch I could get a salad or pasta at the Italian place. unannounced lunch pasta options but when I at the Italian place at dinner it wasn't good and less options for me. Dinner - super hard to find anything short o f a salad and dinner rolls. At home I eat vegan but out and on trips vegetarian is easier but I find it I want a cheese pizza it's cut with same knife as the meat pizza and often has pepperoni sticking to it and I can't eat pork due to an allergy. Sometimes I would get a plain baked potato in the MDR but sometimes even that was bad. I tried upcharge places but most didn't offer much in the way of vegetarian. I did see the maitre'd and waiter etc but even what I could get was poor quality and not cooked well or a bare bones green salad in the mdr. My teenagers find the food decent mostly. The adults I sail with - non picky eaters agree that often we'd rather just skip dinner.

 

If you find the food inedible, it seems foolish to me to spend money on a cruise.

[sparks1093]

Jimboo5544- Our next Carnival cruise is a casino offer my other half is getting 1k in casino cash, why waste it? The price of the cruise is less than 1k its like a free cruise. The Elation is only 35 minutes from us easy to get and only 5 nights a short getaway, which we can tolerate not eating well. We cruise RC 2-3 times a year so a carnival cruise is just giving us a change, it will be fun and nice even without the steakhouse which we will miss but we will be all good. :D

 

If Elation is like Glory, Fascination and Pride it will have a few steakhouse items available for a $20 surcharge. I've never eaten in the steakhouse but one of our tablemates ordered one of the steaks on Glory and said it was as good as the ones in the steakhouse. I tried the Filet last time out on Pride and it was very nicely done. (Just don't forget to order your sides from the regular menu.)

[sparks1093]

I should add I would gladly pay a higher fare for better food.

 

Then the answer is simple, cruise with a cruise line that offers better food and pay a higher fare. I don't say that to be mean, but it is the reality. If one is dissatisfied with the food on one line there are many more lines available to choose from. One thing I've noticed is that while people will complain about the food quality they continue to sail Carnival and as long as that continues Carnival has no stake in increasing the quality. They have to reason that people don't care enough about food quality to sail with someone else.

[Nic6318]

I should add I would gladly pay a higher fare for better food. I am not a foodie by any means, but I think I'd like the food to be On par with hospital food at the hospital in work at, or even Subway.

 

i would have more options if thriving cross contaminate. I would love to make a raw veggi e taco or nutritionist Iguana - the have the stuff I like but meat slop ped everywhere.

or fries at Guy's but Grab raw meat patties and then grab the fries with the same gloves.

 

I could a little better if this wasn't a constant issue.bar a

 

sorry for the typos and formatting issues - my kindle is acting up last few days.

 

i love carnjval, we have fun - but the good is now a deal breaker when we often pay $3-5000 for a balcony cabin for 2 in summer, only time we can travel right now.

 

 

Hi there

 

Have you tried other cruise lines?

 

I don't know if that would help, but you certainly don't need to be repeatedly disappointed if you can't find something to your "taste". You see, personally, I have found most every cruise that I have been on to be generally very satisfying and often I am spending only a few hundred dollars. You might find it's not the cruise line or how much you spend that's the issue, but that the vacation type is not the best fit to your lifestyle, but you have to try something else or you will never know.

 

hope this helps

Edited August 22, 2018 by Nic6318

[Cruisegirl6]

Sparks1093- Yes, I know that and will be ordering that only it isn't the same quality as the steakhouse but much better than what is offered on the MDR menu....steak and lobster each night sounds so good and I definitely order veggies too. lol. I find the filet in the brunch to be much better than what you get on the MDR regular menu. Thank you.

 

I would love to pay higher prices and get decent food on cruises, after all, I am already paying more for the cruise for nightly specialty dining. We cruise mostly RC for the variety of specialty dining but always throw in a Carnival cruise because it inexpensive and allows us to take a third cruise each year. I do have to admit, we love Carnivals Steakhouse very much, going to miss that on the Elation.

[Diggerof4]

I am a newbie at cruising. So to my disclaimer, we have not been on any other ship beside Carnival, so my evaluation is only to my "foodie" side. First, our family prefers hole in the wall restaurants over 5 star. NOT that we don't enjoy 5 stars, we just like the simplicity of the HITW restaurants.

Last cruise, went to MDR for our meals and we were not happy with about 80% of the food. My kids at almost every meal said, Mom I like yours better. I kept encouraging them that are different flavors in the world, but actually who could argue with that statement. My son ordered a steak, it came so salty (and I love salt) that you can barely eat it.It tasted almost like the ocean. Didn't want to order another one, as it took an hour just for that one to come out. The presentation was very nice, the flavor - horrible! DH said next time - buffet. #2 Our good friends who have been cruising for 20 something years with Carnival. I think it is funny how we can talk about the same food and we were on different ships to different locations. Thank you for this forum, it is good to see other people share the same thoughts and concerns. Maybe quality went down because food is costing more and they are trying to keep the fares low, have to cut back somewhere.

[tallnthensome]

I Maybe quality went down because food is costing more and they are trying to keep the fares low, have to cut back somewhere.

..... yea but fares keep rising, ship tour prices keep rising, soda and liquor prices keep rising, pay restaurants , once a day service from steward, etc.

I am can deal with most of it but not when they go after food quality.