Pictures of the VERY SAD Mast Grill / buffet burgers...

[jelayne]

So it seems if you cruise for good burgers you should book Carnival, easy solution.

 

If I want a good burger there are plenty of choices at home.

[keesar]

1 hour ago, WonderMan3 said:

I'm pretty sure the Mast Grill and buffet burgers have always been frozen first. I honestly wouldn't expect otherwise. Now a burger from Luminae or Rooftop Grill is a different story...

 

That being said, a frozen burger does not necessarily have to be a bad burger. I grill Bubba burgers at home every summer and they're great. Obviously a fresh burger would be better but they die pretty quickly in the refrigerator if you don't use them right up.

 

All the various burgers I've had at Mast Grill I would classify as average to great. Don't recall ever having one that was inedible.

Aren't the burgers already frozen and cooked   Then warmed on the grill?

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

So it seems if you cruise for good burgers you should book Carnival, easy solution.

 

If I want a good burger there are plenty of choices at home.

 

Or eat a good burger when off the ship in port

[luvthec]

I'm embarrassed to admit, my cheeseburger (w/ mushrooms!) and all of the toppings was one of my favorite meals on my recent 18 day TP on Eclipse.  I ate it while reading a wonderful book (which I took from the library) sitting in the solarium while drinking my Pina Colada (thank you premium drink package). Oh, in shorts & T-shirt w/ no mascara!  Fries were great too!   

 

[Azllama]

12 hours ago, davekathy said:

Bummer. Weight watchers cruise. 😉

Yep! Thats what we called our recent Eclipse cruise out of Sydney. B2b cruise and we lost weight! Food was subpar at best. Mast grill burger was grey before being cooked, and grey when cooked! No worries about it being red on the inside!  

[chemmo]

We have noticed the quality of burgers can vary by ship and by the day…

 

I can never get worked up about a burger…It is a quick snack, a something to fill a gap between breakfast and dinner…

 

As long as it is warm, cooked but not shrivelled and served with some nice condiments it will do for me!

 

Some people (like me) are simply not ‘real’ burger lovers. I remember going to Johny Rockets on a RC ship and everyone raving how good the burgers were…to me they were just big and fatty…

 

Edited May 19, 2023 by chemmo

[NutsAboutGolf]

19 minutes ago, chemmo said:

We have noticed the quality of burgers can vary by ship and by the day…

 

I can never get worked up about a burger…It is a quick snack, a something to fill a gap between breakfast and dinner…

 

As long as it is warm, cooked but not shrivelled and served with some nice condiments it will do for me!

 

Some people (like me) are simply not ‘real’ burger lovers. I remember going to Johny Rockets on a RC ship and everyone raving how good the burgers were…to me they were just big and fatty…

 

 

You need to try a top burger recipe; the following is an easy to make (no grinding meat) and affordable (about $2 per 8oz patty) "99% burger" or a burger that's better than 99% of the burgers you've ever had...For the meat, you generally have the best, Japanese/Australian Wagyu, second best which is what we're using here American Wagyu and third, USDA Prime.  For the patties, sams club and costo sell American Wagyu at under $7/lb, buy that and McCormick's Just 5 classic french onion, liberally sprinkle both sides of the patty with McCormick's powder, that's it...Some have called this burger "life changing", it really is that good

 

[chemmo]

5 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

You need to try a top burger recipe; the following is an easy to make (no grinding meat) and affordable (about $2 per 8oz patty) "99% burger" or a burger that's better than 99% of the burgers you've ever had...For the meat, you generally have the best, Japanese/Australian Wagyu, second best which is what we're using here American Wagyu and third, USDA Prime.  For the patties, sams club and costo sell American Wagyu at under $7/lb, buy that and McCormick's Just 5 classic french onion, liberally sprinkle both sides of the patty with McCormick's powder, that's it...Some have called this burger "life changing", it really is that good

 

Do you think they will deliver this to the UK? Next time we cruise the Caribbean and enjoy a villa stay first I will give it a go…In the meantime next time we have a bbq I will buy some quality beef and have a go! 

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 minutes ago, chemmo said:

Do you think they will deliver this to the UK? Next time we cruise the Caribbean and enjoy a villa stay first I will give it a go…In the meantime next time we have a bbq I will buy some quality beef and have a go! 

 

Missed that's where you're from but you can always go to Paris...ha ha

[gerelmx]

On 5/17/2023 at 3:45 PM, NutsAboutGolf said:

This was from the Beyond recently and I asked for a patty hot off the grill.  I've included a juicy homemade burger so you can see the texture.  X's burgers are so dry, the texture is almost mushy and it just tastes so below average, there's really no flavor and they're very industrial...

 

An empty classic hamburger

[drakes2]

1 hour ago, chemmo said:

We have noticed the quality of burgers can vary by ship and by the day…

 

I can never get worked up about a burger…It is a quick snack, a something to fill a gap between breakfast and dinner…

 

As long as it is warm, cooked but not shrivelled and served with some nice condiments it will do for me!

 

Some people (like me) are simply not ‘real’ burger lovers. I remember going to Johny Rockets on a RC ship and everyone raving how good the burgers were…to me they were just big and fatty…

 

I was never a fan of Johnny Rockets either. Much prefer my own homemade with fried onions hot pepper rings swiss cheese on a toasted Brioche bun.

[davekathy]

23 hours ago, Fly and Sail said:

I went up to Mast Grill two days ago, and the burgers were worse than dog food. The hot dog was ok (well, as ok as a basic hot dog can be), but they didn't even have relish.

Sounds like the grill masters weren't grilling your favorite dog food. 😁 

[Blackduck59]

On 5/17/2023 at 3:44 PM, mahasamatman said:

 

I'd say it looks overcooked. A proper burger should be cooked between rare and medium rare. Most restaurants won't do it for fear of foodborne illness (because they use substandard meat), but they will do it in Luminae. If it's not dripping, it's overcooked.

 

 

 

Unless you grind the meat "in house" there is a very good chance of nasty things being in that under cooked ground beef. If you want your burger rare then you're taking your chances. Or maybe buy a chunk of chuck at home and grind it yourself.

[LMHSRN]

On 5/17/2023 at 5:45 PM, NutsAboutGolf said:

This was from the Beyond recently and I asked for a patty hot off the grill.  I've included a juicy homemade burger so you can see the texture.  X's burgers are so dry, the texture is almost mushy and it just tastes so below average, there's really no flavor and they're very industrial...

 

 

 

 

According to most of your posts, you are unhappy with all the food on Celebrity.  Maybe you should try another line?

[NutsAboutGolf]

9 minutes ago, LMHSRN said:

According to most of your posts, you are unhappy with all the food on Celebrity.  Maybe you should try another line?

 

Way ahead of you, have many Carnival sailings booked; should point out like many, have never been exclusive to one line

 

With low expectations, I'm routing for X to become the foodie brand again; hoping the CEO change somehow someway improves the food quality

Edited May 20, 2023 by NutsAboutGolf

[LMHSRN]

3 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Way ahead of you, have many Carnival sailings booked; should point out like many, have never been exclusive to one line

 

With low expectations, I'm hoping the CEO change somehow someway improves the food quality

Oh wow.  How do you tolerate their lowly Suite Class Cabins.  Any special perks, etc.?

[NutsAboutGolf]

4 minutes ago, LMHSRN said:

Oh wow.  How do you tolerate their lowly Suite Class Cabins.  Any special perks, etc.?

 

Again, way ahead of you...X and CCL have two entirely different vibes yet the food CCL can be better on the newer ships...I know many will think "I don't cruise for fried chicken, burgers or BBQ" which is fine but these items are mostly for lunch/mid-day...The X MDR lunch isn't exactly upscale either; while their turkey medallions look pretty on a plate, their usually dry and bland

 

-X destroys CCL's at the buffet

-X does beat CCL in the reg MDR, however, if we include all complimentary dinner offerings, CCL would win

-CCL, on their newer ships to prevent reg MDR crowding they give you free access to some specialty restaurant which they charge for on their older ships, includes the Asian/Mex restaurant and Italian restaurant, both are better than X's MDR

-With CCL dinners on ANY NIGHT you can pay $23 +tip for a steakhouse steak or a MAINE lobster tail and petite filet; no need to make specialty reservations if you're in the mood for a good steak

-X only has TINY SPINY lobster tails generally once per sailing

-CCL has a sea day brunch where the MDR is open from early to 1pm, including steak and eggs, something X doesn't offer; X only opens the MDR for lunch for 90mins

-CCL has great chicken at Shaqs Big Chicken restaurant, beats any of X's chicken dishes like their stuffed breast, BBQ chicken, smoked breast, etc

-CCL's BBQ restaurant serves a better lunch than anything I've had for lunch in the X MDR or X buffet

-CCL destroys X with burgers

-CCL destroys X with complimentary baked desserts (melting cake anyone?)

-CCL also has a burrito restaurant

-CCL has a deli

-CCL has three street food stations with rotating items

[DaKahuna]

@NutsAboutGolf thank you for that comparison.   As I sat here reading this list, it dawned on me that most of the places where "CCL destroys X" in the food categories where the types of food I ate in my 30's, 40's, and 50's and now that I am in my 70's have been encouraged by my doctor's to avoid.   If I ever want a cruise where the focus is on the burgers, I ate two on my last 15-day cruise, fried chicken, burrito's, and BBQ I know what cruise line to book. 

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

9 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

@NutsAboutGolf thank you for that comparison.   As I sat here reading this list, it dawned on me that most of the places where "CCL destroys X" in the food categories where the types of food I ate in my 30's, 40's, and 50's and now that I am in my 70's have been encouraged by my doctor's to avoid.   If I ever want a cruise where the focus is on the burgers, I ate two on my last 15-day cruise, fried chicken, burrito's, and BBQ I know what cruise line to book. 

 

 

You left out dinner, you also know which cruise line to book if you want a free Maine lobster tail, free Italian specialty or free Asian/Mex specialty

[NMTraveller]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

@NutsAboutGolf thank you for that comparison.   As I sat here reading this list, it dawned on me that most of the places where "CCL destroys X" in the food categories where the types of food I ate in my 30's, 40's, and 50's and now that I am in my 70's have been encouraged by my doctor's to avoid.   If I ever want a cruise where the focus is on the burgers, I ate two on my last 15-day cruise, fried chicken, burrito's, and BBQ I know what cruise line to book. 

 

You would not opt for the Maine lobster.  I know I would...  I would even pay extra.  The X lobster looks more like a crawdad.

 

And the buffet is nice to go when you are in a hurry...

Edited May 20, 2023 by NMTraveller

[ldubs]

4 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

-CCL has a sea day brunch where the MDR is open from early to 1pm, including steak and eggs, something X doesn't offer; X only opens the MDR for lunch for 90mins

 

 

I have to admit I experienced that last year and it was better than any sea day menu I've had on X or for that matter, RCI & Princess too.  

[NMTraveller]

Virgin won the 2023 Cruise Critic award for food.  That was a spot that Celebrity previously had won.  Previous is the key word here.

 

The previous quality is driving our expectations.

Edited May 20, 2023 by NMTraveller

[dilbertsdaddy]

Not to make excuses for a bad burger, but I still don't understand the fascination with burgers and pizza on a cruise.  I'm looking for something I don't normally eat at home, and also to get better value for the price of the cruise.

 

I understand the convenience factor; but I looked at the menu for mast and would not even consider it.  Seems like they can add a few more options?

[Bill Miller]

Congratulations to Nuts about Golf post #69 for the first mention of lobster in this topic.

Special recognition to post #70 NMTraveler for follow up lobster mention, Maine.

[NutsAboutGolf]

25 minutes ago, dilbertsdaddy said:

Not to make excuses for a bad burger, but I still don't understand the fascination with burgers and pizza on a cruise.  I'm looking for something I don't normally eat at home, and also to get better value for the price of the cruise.

 

I understand the convenience factor; but I looked at the menu for mast and would not even consider it.  Seems like they can add a few more options?

 

As I've said a couple of times, it isn't like X's MDR lunch menu is "fascinating" anyway

 

Specifically with burgers/Mast Grill, since it's located outside you can jump out of the hot tub, walk to the hot tub dripping wet and barefoot, have a burger and return to the hot tub in no more than 10mins