How is the Food on RCL vs Celebrity ?

[Tatka]

22 minutes ago, Longford said:

What?  Quality is subjective ... and determined in the mind of the traveler as the result of likes/dislikes.

 

  When one restaurant charges $20 for dinner and another $40 quality is usually different. Anything may happen, but generally difference is pretty visible. Same with ratio space vs number of passengers.

You cannot miss it. Or when you enter Solarium and towels are waiting for you on loungers rather than you need to go get them from stuff and then return.

 

Royal spends more on entertainment and on various equipment for activities.

 

I love both lines and happy to be on either. And we are much more often on Royal.

Edited November 17, 2022 by Tatka

[Longford]

4 hours ago, Tatka said:

  When one restaurant charges $20 for dinner and another $40 quality is usually different.

No.  That's not a certainty.  

[Tatka]

50 minutes ago, Longford said:

No.  That's not a certainty.  

 

It is. Especially because this is one umbrella with the same suppliers and similar logistics, but different spending on food.  Anyways, it is for these two lines.

 

Same goes for Carnival umbrella which includes Seabourn and Carnival, Holland, Princess and Costa etc. Quality is very different.

 

[Ret MP]

14 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I don’t think your Whopper vs Big Mac analogy is very accurate. I think a better analogy would be comparing a steak at Applebee’s to a steak at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. 
 

I like the food on RCI ships, but in general it doesn’t compare to the food on Celebrity. Actually, the food quality on Celebrity is one of the main reasons I try to do 2-3 cruises a year on Celebrity, although I still cruise on RCI far more regularly. 

I'd like to have been able to compare a Steamboat Round Roast on X to a Steamboat Round Roast on Royal.   But, I can't.  And it really gets back to personal preference.  Which is what my original premise is all about.  Just because you/someone prefers the MDR on X more than on Royal, doesn't mean that everybody else does.  It's not a fault, it just a preference.  Someone used the word that I was trying to find in  my aging brain, "SUBJECTIVE".    

 

AND, if I could make a comparison between X and Royal, which I can't, I'd guess that comparing Ruth's to Applee's is a bit of a stretch.  But, that's my opinion based upon having been to both, Ruth's and Applebee's several times.  The best I can do is compare Applebee's and Ruth's  is to put Ruth's somewhere a little above Chops and Applebee's somewhere between the WJ and Chops, at least Applebee's doesn't let their steaks sit on a steam table for who knows how long.  Again, JMHO, my preference, a subjective opinion, my experience.  One day I may sail on X and then I can give an informed "opinion" that nobody else cares about but will comment upon anyway.  

 

Lastly:  I prefer Royal, not just because of the food, although that is a big part of the experience.  I prefer Royal because of the whole package, the entertainment, the casino, the selection of various restaurants, the crew, the activities for the gkids and adults, and top of the list, for us, is the Star Class experience (although we don't always go Star Class, we have to save up for that experience) and what it includes.   

[Tatka]

Prefer - like (one thing or person) better than another or others; tend to choose.

"I prefer Venice to Rome"

 

Topic is food.

[PhillyFan33579]

52 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

I'd like to have been able to compare a Steamboat Round Roast on X to a Steamboat Round Roast on Royal.   But, I can't.  And it really gets back to personal preference.  Which is what my original premise is all about.  Just because you/someone prefers the MDR on X more than on Royal, doesn't mean that everybody else does.  It's not a fault, it just a preference.  Someone used the word that I was trying to find in  my aging brain, "SUBJECTIVE".    

 

AND, if I could make a comparison between X and Royal, which I can't, I'd guess that comparing Ruth's to Applee's is a bit of a stretch.  But, that's my opinion based upon having been to both, Ruth's and Applebee's several times.  The best I can do is compare Applebee's and Ruth's  is to put Ruth's somewhere a little above Chops and Applebee's somewhere between the WJ and Chops, at least Applebee's doesn't let their steaks sit on a steam table for who knows how long.  Again, JMHO, my preference, a subjective opinion, my experience.  One day I may sail on X and then I can give an informed "opinion" that nobody else cares about but will comment upon anyway.  

 

Lastly:  I prefer Royal, not just because of the food, although that is a big part of the experience.  I prefer Royal because of the whole package, the entertainment, the casino, the selection of various restaurants, the crew, the activities for the gkids and adults, and top of the list, for us, is the Star Class experience (although we don't always go Star Class, we have to save up for that experience) and what it includes.   

I agree 100 percent that food is very subjective. I have used that exact word in posts on this and other sites when discussing food on ships. Having said that, I think in general more people would prefer the food quality on Celebrity over RCI just like more people would prefer the food quality at Ruth’s Chris over Applebee’s. But that doesn’t mean everyone will feel that way. 
 

Interesting that you mentioned the casino. I have friends who spend far more time than I do in the casino, who only cruise on Celebrity because their casinos are smoke free. While I prefer the casinos on Celebrity ships for the same reason, I still spend enough time in casinos on RCI ships to reach Prime every year. 

[Ret MP]

15 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I agree 100 percent that food is very subjective. I have used that exact word in posts on this and other sites when discussing food on ships. Having said that, I think in general more people would prefer the food quality on Celebrity over RCI just like more people would prefer the food quality at Ruth’s Chris over Applebee’s. But that doesn’t mean everyone will feel that way. 
 

Interesting that you mentioned the casino. I have friends who spend far more time than I do in the casino, who only cruise on Celebrity because their casinos are smoke free. While I prefer the casinos on Celebrity ships for the same reason, I still spend enough time in casinos on RCI ships to reach Prime every year. 

I quite smoking a couple decades ago.  But, I don't have an aversion to it.  In fact, I kind of enjoy being around smokers (BUT, I DON'T FIND FAULT WITH THOSE THAT DO, I just don't like the nastiness of some peoples comments about "smokers".  But, that's just me. ).  It took about 12 to 15 years for me to stop the daily craving for a cigarette, especially after eating and during drinking adult beverages.  I'm completely over it now.  But, like I said, it doesn't bother me to be in smoking areas.  

 

 

[davekathy]

5 hours ago, Ret MP said:

I quite smoking a couple decades ago.  But, I don't have an aversion to it.  In fact, I kind of enjoy being around smokers (BUT, I DON'T FIND FAULT WITH THOSE THAT DO, I just don't like the nastiness of some peoples comments about "smokers".  But, that's just me. ).  It took about 12 to 15 years for me to stop the daily craving for a cigarette, especially after eating and during drinking adult beverages.  I'm completely over it now.  But, like I said, it doesn't bother me to be in smoking areas.  

Kinde agree. As it goes both ways. I (we) avoid the smoking areas as that is there assigned area(s) and if we need to pass thru we aren't the ones to wave our arms around and fake cough. I blame RC for the smoking lounge, AKA casino that allows gambling at certain times during the cruise. Not the smokers. The only time we go in the casino is to use /lose our CAS free spins. And believe me that doesn't take long to do. We detour around the casino other than that.  I quit (cold turkey) over 31 years ago after smoking for 26 years. I soon realized what non smokers were talking about, the stench. If a smoker is smoking in a published no smoking area(s) I'll rat them out in a New York minute. Zero tolerance for that. Done it due to balcony smokers. 

[Ret MP]

3 minutes ago, davekathy said:

 If a smoker is smoking in a published no smoking area(s) I'll rat them out in a New York minute. Zero tolerance for that. Done it due to balcony smokers. 

As a retired LEO and a rule follower, I'd do the same!  No tolerance for rule, law, policy breakers, not one bit.  Also being retired from the Customer Service/Hospitality Industry I don't have patients for complainers either.  At least not the ones that complain just to complain or to get something for nothing.  

[taglovestocruise]

We were on Ovation end of Sep. MDR, Buffet and Two70 were awesome. Chops and Jamies likewise a real treat.  We were then on Quantum first week of Oct. MDR, buffet and two seventy had the worse food of any cruise i have ever been on, and that was everyday for ten days. Chop's and Jamies were both exceptional.  Got off Disney Wonder two days ago and the food was Blah at best.  Ribs in buffet and burger by pool was better then anything else on the ship.

[davekathy]

We'd like to see RC put pool side type grills fleetwide. Works great on Celebrity and you can ask to have them cooked your way. Not overdone hockey pucks like in the WJ. 

[TeeRick]

13 hours ago, davekathy said:

We'd like to see RC put pool side type grills fleetwide. Works great on Celebrity and you can ask to have them cooked your way. Not overdone hockey pucks like in the WJ. 

Yes agree.  Not sure why they have not done this yet.  People love the Mast/Pool Grill on Celebrity,  although I happen to think the burgers are of lower quality.  And of course there is Guy's Burger Joint on Carnival.  I have not tried it (or Carnival for that matter) but the burgers get near universal acclaim.  I do enjoy Johnny Rockets burgers on RCCL but they are neither free or by the pool.

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Yes agree.  Not sure why they have not done this yet.  People love the Mast/Pool Grill on Celebrity,  although I happen to think the burgers are of lower quality.  And of course there is Guy's Burger Joint on Carnival.  I have not tried it (or Carnival for that matter) but the burgers get near universal acclaim.  I do enjoy Johnny Rockets burgers on RCCL but they are neither free or by the pool.

But worth the price. 😉🍔

[Husky1987]

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

And of course there is Guy's Burger Joint on Carnival.  I have not tried it (or Carnival for that matter) but the burgers get near universal acclaim.  I do enjoy Johnny Rockets burgers on RCCL but they are neither free or by the pool.

 

The two things Carnival definitely does better than Royal are burgers and pizza.

[as3369]

Food is better on Celebrity and entertainment is generally better on RCCL.  Having done 4 cruises since the reset (3 Celebrity and 1 RCCL), I can attest that this is still the case.  However, I don't think Celebrity food is as good as it used to be.  We had our first Celebrity sailing in 1992 and were WOWED by the dining and this continued until our last Celebrity sailing before the Pandemic.

 

We have never been on a "Luxury" cruise line, but after noticing the difference in service and food quality in both RCCL and Celebrity, we have booked Regent Seven Seas Splendor for Northern Europe in the Summer.  Not sure our budget can do that all the time, but curious to see the difference in Cruise Experiences.

[Ret MP]

On 11/19/2022 at 10:19 AM, Husky1987 said:

 

The two things Carnival definitely does better than Royal are burgers and pizza.

Subjective, for sure.  But, that's your preference.  Can't/won't argue that.  I happen to enjoy Johnny Rocket's better, for a lot of reasons, not just for the quality of the burgers.  Guy's burgers, assuming that you are talking about Guy's on Carnival, are good, but I like Johnny's better even though Johnny's are at a cost.

[Ret MP]

On 11/19/2022 at 11:03 AM, as3369 said:

Food is better on Celebrity and entertainment is generally better on RCCL.  Having done 4 cruises since the reset (3 Celebrity and 1 RCCL), I can attest that this is still the case.  However, I don't think Celebrity food is as good as it used to be.  We had our first Celebrity sailing in 1992 and were WOWED by the dining and this continued until our last Celebrity sailing before the Pandemic.

 

We have never been on a "Luxury" cruise line, but after noticing the difference in service and food quality in both RCCL and Celebrity, we have booked Regent Seven Seas Splendor for Northern Europe in the Summer.  Not sure our budget can do that all the time, but curious to see the difference in Cruise Experiences.

It would be interesting, at least to me, to read your review of that cruise.  Good luck!