Decline in food quality?

[sfaaa]

........ . There's no reason that Carnival couldn't serve Chateurbriand anymore ..... except for the sake of shareholder profits. Cruising isn't a cheap hobby by any means. We paid a good amount for the four of us on Vista and many aren't asking for better food for a trip that costs $150.00. When you pay $4000 for an 8 day cruise, it isn't a lot to ask ..... but then you have the Carnival sympathizers.

 

Why should Carnival shareholders take a hit in the pocket so you can get free stuff at their expense? There are plenty of satisfying Carnival cruisers happily filling up the ships with or without your $4000 business.

[AAAAmerican]

Dear tallnthensome,

Opinos are great. But since you choose not cruise on the Largest Most Cost effecitve Cruiseline in the World , maybe you should buy the coomon stock o it CCL :NYSE/LSE CUK : NYSE/LSE and express your Oinions at the Annual Meeting(s) . BTW the dividends are a lot more than your Bank gives you..

On food it is so subjective some say one way others say another.. What you may do is request what your prefer WAY Before the cruise ship fills and enbarks. That way you are able to sy YOU ASKED before..:D

 

 

........ And based on your signature you have no experience with Carnival's past food quality. There's no reason that Carnival couldn't serve Chateurbriand anymore ..... except for the sake of shareholder profits. Cruising isn't a cheap hobby by any means. We paid a good amount for the four of us on Vista and many aren't asking for better food for a trip that costs $150.00. When you pay $4000 for an 8 day cruise, it isn't a lot to ask ..... but then you have the Carnival sympathizers.

[BlerkOne]

There is no reason for Carnival to kowtow to entitled individuals. Carnival knows who the target market is and what their tastes are. The mass markets are where it is at. Those who can't fit in, need to sail on (someone else).

[IntrepidFromDC]

There is no reason for Carnival to kowtow to entitled individuals. Carnival knows who the target market is and what their tastes are. The mass markets are where it is at. Those who can't fit in, need to sail on (someone else).

 

I can think of a better solution to the substandard food than changing lines... Steakhouse, Cucina, Teppanyaki, Bonsai Sushi, Chef's Table...

[RaiderDuck]

I can think of a better solution to the substandard food than changing lines... Steakhouse, Cucina, Teppanyaki, Bonsai Sushi, Chef's Table...

I agree with you, but there are some who feel they are automatically entitled to specialty restaurant-quality food for free because.....well, because they are.

[BlerkOne]

I can think of a better solution to the substandard food than changing lines... Steakhouse, Cucina, Teppanyaki, Bonsai Sushi, Chef's Table...

 

What substandard food?

[tracedun]

LOL. Been on carnival about a dozen times in the last 15 years. The food has always been good for us, must be my simple palate, on the rare occasion that I didn't like something I ordered, the wait staff was always happy get me something else and usually very quickly at that. We almost always eat in the MDR, and frequent the other smaller venues near the pool. I think it was the Conquest that we went on that had a lunch time seafood place upstairs at the buffet, that was my favorite. Great calamari, wish they still had that place, or maybe they still do and other ships don't have it. Going on the Breeze again next week YAY!! I'm sure I'll manage to gain a few pounds again. Totally agree with posters about how good the SeaDay Brunch is, we never miss it. ; )

 

Cheers

[Stateroom_Sailor]

If you dislike Carnival's food that much, there's a simple solution. There are other major cruise lines serving North America and many smaller ones as well. Why not take your business to a cruise line that serves food you like?

 

Maybe there's other things about Carnival they still like, is that inconcevable? I don't understand some of the "Thou Shalt Not Speak" suggestions going on. New cruisers, seasoned cruisers, all have a right to know and compare to make informed decisions. It doesn't necessarily mean Carnival as a company, is wrong.

[Lottacruises]

LOL. Been on carnival about a dozen times in the last 15 years. The food has always been good for us, must be my simple palate, on the rare occasion that I didn't like something I ordered, the wait staff was always happy get me something else and usually very quickly at that. We almost always eat in the MDR, and frequent the other smaller venues near the pool. I think it was the Conquest that we went on that had a lunch time seafood place upstairs at the buffet, that was my favorite. Great calamari, wish they still had that place, or maybe they still do and other ships don't have it. Going on the Breeze again next week YAY!! I'm sure I'll manage to gain a few pounds again. Totally agree with posters about how good the SeaDay Brunch is, we never miss it. ; )

 

Cheers

 

 

I love the tandoor on the breeze! Those premade deli sandwiches suck though. Have fun!

[restasured]

I don't think it has gotten any worse, just that the more you cruise carnival, it is not a "new" as it it once was and I am just getting used to it. Time for Carnival to change up the menu and add some new recipes.

 

One of the best comments I have seen. Makes more sense than most, but a long ways.

[restasured]

That's the problem and what Carnival wants to hear! The majority would like to have carved roast beef or porkloin and then you have a few that actually think that some basic potato bar is a better alternative ...... which is absurd. If people keep accepting cheaper school cafeteria alternatives, that's what we will all get .......

 

It is not at all absurd, if you prefer a baked potato to a bunch of protein. I like both, but I know several people that are vegetarian that could care less about a hunk of beef or pork loin. So what you may like is not what everyone likes.

[restasured]

On my 1st carnival cruise in 2007, I remember being able to get some form of beef tenderloin on 4 of the 7 nights in the MDR. As a lover of steak, I thought that was amazing. On my next cruise next month, my options for the same cut of meat will be zero with the base fare that I paid.

 

Unless things have changed since 2016 Carnival has an "every evening" menu, that has a steak on it. I have ordered it many times on different cruises. Nothing spectacular and not so tender you can cut it with a fork, but quite tasty and not so tough you can't eat it.

[tallnthensome]

Why should Carnival shareholders take a hit in the pocket so you can get free stuff at their expense? There are plenty of satisfying Carnival cruisers happily filling up the ships with or without your $4000 business.

It's amazing to think you feel people can't have an opinion, even if somewhat negative, about a cruiseline. Explain how we are getting stuff for "free" as you say when paying several thousand dollars? We aren't sailing the

SS Soup Kitchen for free. I critique all lines fairly ..... I sailed the Vista last year, MSC this year, sailing NCL in March, Carnival Paradise in august 2019, and Celebrity for 2020. I sail multiple lines and have opinions on all of them, good and bad. I've never seen a larger group of defensive faithfuls as I do for Carnival. Carnival loves people that will defend their lower food quality, removing carved meats, and charging extra for this and that. People define Blue Iguana and Guys greasy burgers as their "good food" on Carnival now-a-days. If this is fine for you, that is A-Ok ..... But you have the right to be critical of any changes or lessening if you wish. I bet Carnival high fives behind closed doors reading these posts from the Carnival cheerleaders who'd insist that Carnival new bread and water buffet is great because it keeps cruise prices down and is great for vegans. :rolleyes: I want cruiselines to feel that people arent always satisfied with everything and people should demand more/better. Cruise prices are going up industry wide and that goes with cuts and extra fees everywhere .... we shouldn't just accept that, tuck our tails, and hide.

Edited August 26, 2018 by tallnthensome

[Joebucks]

It's amazing to think you feel people can't have an opinion, even if somewhat negative, about a cruiseline. Explain how we are getting stuff for "free" as you say when paying several thousand dollars? We aren't sailing the

SS Soup Kitchen for free. I critique all lines fairly ..... I sailed the Vista last year, MSC this year, sailing NCL in March, Carnival Paradise in august 2019, and Celebrity for 2020. I sail multiple lines and have opinions on all of them, good and bad. I've never seen a larger group of defensive faithfuls as I do for Carnival. Carnival loves people that will defend their lower food quality, removing carved meats, and charging extra for this and that. People define Blue Iguana and Guys greasy burgers as their "good food" on Carnival now-a-days. If this is fine for you, that is A-Ok ..... But you have the right to be critical of any changes or lessening if you wish. I bet Carnival high fives behind closed doors reading these posts from the Carnival cheerleaders who'd insist that Carnival new bread and water buffet is great because it keeps cruise prices down and is great for vegans. :rolleyes: I want cruiselines to feel that people arent always satisfied with everything and people should demand more/better. Cruise prices are going up industry wide and that goes with cuts and extra fees everywhere .... we shouldn't just accept that, tuck our tails, and hide.

 

When you compare Blue Iguana and Guys to the hot dogs, and canned cheese nachos from before, it is far better quality-wise. That's not even a comparison.

[Theosprey247]

Obviously you’ve never been on the RCI or NCL boards.....

[tallnthensome]

When you compare Blue Iguana and Guys to the hot dogs, and canned cheese nachos from before, it is far better quality-wise. That's not even a comparison.

There isn't anything wrong with Guys or the Iguna ...... We would prefer better food in the buffet with meat carvings. The buffet on the Vista was absolutely terrible with a poor selection. A burger and a burrito isn't a replacement for a quality buffet that Carnival used to have and not 15 years ago, but recently. People have become complacent in this area, allowing Carnival to lower the food quality in the buffet and try to replace it with a simple hamburger and burrito that costs pennies to cut costs and increase profits. To those saying Carnival does good enough and doesn't have to or can't afford to offer better food, I say look at MSC. The new MSC Seaside has the best pricing for a cruise right now. Their food was exellent in the MDR and the buffet was vast, delicious, and included carvings all the time. MSC is offering this with lower pricing than Carnival. Don't tell me Carnival can't .... they just won't because too many think the food is good enough and just accept it. Like I said, too Many Carnival cheerleaders would accept a can of Spam before they'd criticise and waiver from their loyalty which makes no sense. I find value in all the lines I've sailed. I've taken budget cruises and expensive ones but find serving school cafeteria food in the Lido buffet unacceptable ....... You may and that is fine.

[RaiderDuck]

Carnival loves people that will defend their lower food quality, removing carved meats, and charging extra for this and that...... But you have the right to be critical of any changes or lessening if you wish. I bet Carnival high fives behind closed doors reading these posts from the Carnival cheerleaders who'd insist that Carnival new bread and water buffet is great because it keeps cruise prices down and is great for vegans. :rolleyes: I want cruiselines to feel that people arent always satisfied with everything and people should demand more/better. Cruise prices are going up industry wide and that goes with cuts and extra fees everywhere .... we shouldn't just accept that, tuck our tails, and hide.

I seriously doubt Carnival higher-ups spend their time reading the Cruise Critic boards and "high-fiving" each other when someone says their food options are good. They probably have more important things to worry about.

 

Since we've been sailing (roughly three years), Carnival HAS made improvements in its food offerings. The biggest positive change we've noticed has been the addition of Guy's Burgers, and there have been others as well.

 

As for the change throughout the years: someone posting here earlier said "15 years ago you could order Chateaubriand every night." By all accounts, cruising cost a lot more $$$ 15 years ago, too. For the extra money, they can keep their Chateaubriand

 

It all comes down to this: vote with your wallet. If you think the food sucks, sail another cruise line. If enough people agree with you and do the same, Carnival WILL notice and will change its food offerings.

[AdGuyMG]

Carnival loves people that will defend their lower food quality .... I bet Carnival high fives behind closed doors reading these posts from the Carnival cheerleaders .

 

Why are you assigning human qualities and emotions to a corporation? Carnival is a corporate business entity on paper that neither loves nor hates ... nor does it get tired, hungry, jealous or lonesome.

 

I'd bet any high fiveing would be done out in the open.

[sanmarcosman]

If enough people agree with you and do the same, Carnival WILL notice and will change its food offerings.

So higher prices will be coming to Carnival.

[jimbo5544]

There isn't anything wrong with Guys or the Iguna ...... We would prefer better food in the buffet with meat carvings. The buffet on the Vista was absolutely terrible with a poor selection. A burger and a burrito isn't a replacement for a quality buffet that Carnival used to have and not 15 years ago, but recently. People have become complacent in this area, allowing Carnival to lower the food quality in the buffet and try to replace it with a simple hamburger and burrito that costs pennies to cut costs and increase profits. To those saying Carnival does good enough and doesn't have to or can't afford to offer better food, I say look at MSC. The new MSC Seaside has the best pricing for a cruise right now. Their food was exellent in the MDR and the buffet was vast, delicious, and included carvings all the time. MSC is offering this with lower pricing than Carnival. Don't tell me Carnival can't .... they just won't because too many think the food is good enough and just accept it. Like I said, too Many Carnival cheerleaders would accept a can of Spam before they'd criticise and waiver from their loyalty which makes no sense. I find value in all the lines I've sailed. I've taken budget cruises and expensive ones but find serving school cafeteria food in the Lido buffet unacceptable ....... You may and that is fine.

 

 

 

Just so I understand....MSC is the best, and anyone who likes anything at all on Carnival is cheerleader...oh and loves spam. Did I capture the essence? Speaking of cheerleading, your stance on MSC (which we tried on the Orchestra when she first came over and it will take a LOT for me to try again) is not MSC cheerleading?

 

 

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[Joebucks]

There isn't anything wrong with Guys or the Iguna ...... We would prefer better food in the buffet with meat carvings. The buffet on the Vista was absolutely terrible with a poor selection. A burger and a burrito isn't a replacement for a quality buffet that Carnival used to have and not 15 years ago, but recently. People have become complacent in this area, allowing Carnival to lower the food quality in the buffet and try to replace it with a simple hamburger and burrito that costs pennies to cut costs and increase profits. To those saying Carnival does good enough and doesn't have to or can't afford to offer better food, I say look at MSC. The new MSC Seaside has the best pricing for a cruise right now. Their food was exellent in the MDR and the buffet was vast, delicious, and included carvings all the time. MSC is offering this with lower pricing than Carnival. Don't tell me Carnival can't .... they just won't because too many think the food is good enough and just accept it. Like I said, too Many Carnival cheerleaders would accept a can of Spam before they'd criticise and waiver from their loyalty which makes no sense. I find value in all the lines I've sailed. I've taken budget cruises and expensive ones but find serving school cafeteria food in the Lido buffet unacceptable ....... You may and that is fine.

 

I hate to break it to you, but carved meats are not nearly as big of a deal as you are making them out to be. I'd agree that MSC is doing a great job at offering a differentiated experience for a great price. However, you have to realize that there is more to food offerings than cost control. There is also demand.

 

MSC adds a heavy european flair to their product. That is good for the snobs, but that is not what the mass market wants. If everyone wanted the MSC experience, Carnival would change their product. The sales numbers don't lie. I like a few good fancy meals here and there. However, if you don't think the average American would love a quick, quality burger or taco, you are kidding yourself.

[jetta8300]

There isn't anything wrong with Guys or the Iguna ...... We would prefer better food in the buffet with meat carvings. The buffet on the Vista was absolutely terrible with a poor selection. A burger and a burrito isn't a replacement for a quality buffet that Carnival used to have and not 15 years ago, but recently. People have become complacent in this area, allowing Carnival to lower the food quality in the buffet and try to replace it with a simple hamburger and burrito that costs pennies to cut costs and increase profits. To those saying Carnival does good enough and doesn't have to or can't afford to offer better food, I say look at MSC. The new MSC Seaside has the best pricing for a cruise right now. Their food was exellent in the MDR and the buffet was vast, delicious, and included carvings all the time. MSC is offering this with lower pricing than Carnival. Don't tell me Carnival can't .... they just won't because too many think the food is good enough and just accept it. Like I said, too Many Carnival cheerleaders would accept a can of Spam before they'd criticise and waiver from their loyalty which makes no sense. I find value in all the lines I've sailed. I've taken budget cruises and expensive ones but find serving school cafeteria food in the Lido buffet unacceptable ....... You may and that is fine.

 

The thing is, the younger population does not really care about carved meats, etc. A lot of the "fancy" items mentioned in previous posts, like chateaubriand that have been eliminated, appeals to an older crowds, and truly these food items are a bit outdated. I've sailed many lines now and Carnival's population overall is younger than the rest from what i've seen. More people sailing carnival would want blue iguana than carved beef. I do understand it's cheaper so it works in Carnival's favor, but seriously if you're under 60 the menu items carnival now offers are probably going to be more appealing.

 

I live in Cleveland and there are hundreds of chef owned restaurants nearby with AMAZING food, and not one offers prime rib or chateaubriand. If that's even spelled correctly. I had to look that up to see what it even is. And my husband and I would consider ourself foodies for sure, we know good food. But we are also 35.

Edited August 26, 2018 by jetta8300

[sanmarcosman]

However, if you don't think the average American would love a quick, quality burger or taco, you are kidding yourself.

You hit the nail on the head. The late Leroy J. Alexanderson, Commodore of U.S. Lines and last Master of the SS United States told me in answer to my question: " The food was quite good but sometimes I just wanted a good, juicy cheeseburger." Thanks for the memory from 1992.

[mzloolue]

First, let me say that I don't necessarily equate food quality with the cost of ingredients.

 

 

It is not all about expensive cuts of meat. It is that the ingredients are properly cooked so that they are good. There are many foods that were once cheap, but are now trendy, like chicken wings and short ribs.

 

I did not mind when less expensive menu options were presented.

I like pot roasty sort of dishes.

And lobster and prime rib are not my idea of good eats anyway.

 

However, on our last cruise on Dream in April, it became apparent that they were cutting corners.

 

We decided to skip dinner in the mdr one night because we had been stuck at "the captain's table" with a group of four couples who were all old friends. The captains table is really kind of an overflow table. We had been assigned to a table where the bench was broken and the table was level with my head...and I am not short. The group of friends was there because they had not been seated together.

 

We sat there being talked around and it was just really uncomfortable. Plus the maître d' hovered around them and ignored us. We did not really care. but it just made it feel more uncomfortable. But basically the whole thing was really obnoxious.

 

So, one night I did not want to deal with it and suggested we hit the buffet.

In the past we had found that the buffet was actually quite good if we got there when they first opened for dinner.

I went through the line and the offerings were grim.

Tilapia, which I don't eat unless I know where it has been sourced. (Tilapia are fresh water fish that can grow in nasty water) They also had chicken leg quarters that looked boiled in broth, some dried out looking spaghetti, and something else equally as wonderful.

I came away with salad and some spinach.

 

Then DH went and got us some hamburgers and fries (before the burger joint closed) which were cold.

I would have sent them back if I had been in a restaurant at home.

So we threw them away. I hate wasting food, but I'm not eating cold takeout on a cruise, you know?

 

By then it was time to go see a show.

After the show dh was hungry, so we got a pizza.

It was hot, but there was very little sauce and the whole thing was really dried out.

We picked out the moister sections to eat, but basically the whole thing was wasted.

 

My husband, who does not read message boards or blogs at all, said that he had been noticing that Carnival had made a lot of cut backs on food quality and service.

(oh, we have done 20+ cruises on Carnival, so we have seen changes over time. Some good and some not so good)

 

The next morning we went to the pasta place on Dream to get some actual hot food.

We were really hungry and that hot pasta was fabulous.

 

So what I am trying to say is that food ingredients do not have to be the most expensive to make us happy, but it needs to taste good and not be disgustingly cold.

 

And yeah, the cutbacks are showing a bit too much, at least on Dream in April.

 

Some will want to reply and say that it is time that we moved on, but we enjoy Carnival.

DH had to retire early for health reasons. We sail because where we live there is no ocean or beaches. We sail Carnival because they sail from New Orleans. Cost is a big factor and we can drive to New Orleans and back home on four tanks of gas.

We've got a cruise booked on Dream soon as we wanted to do one more cruise in a cove balcony, which we love, before New Orleans gets downgraded to the old Glory. Hopefully, food and service will be what they should be this trip.

We'll see anyway....

[dchurchward]

You hit the nail on the head. The late Leroy J. Alexanderson, Commodore of U.S. Lines and last Master of the SS United States told me in answer to my question: " The food was quite good but sometimes I just wanted a good, juicy cheeseburger." Thanks for the memory from 1992.

I think many enjoy hamburgers and burritos at times, while also enjoying fancier food at other times. I, for one, enjoy carved meats, but also like potato bars, and other food offerings.

 

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