Carnival's new menu's put Celebrity's to shame

[Cruisegoer]

I just can't believe what I'm reading!

https://profcruise.com/carnivals-new-dinner-menus/

[NutsAboutGolf]

I totally agree.  While many will shame Carnival, it isn't like Celebrity's food is anything special especially after the cutbacks.  In fact, we only think X's MDR is a tick or two above Carnivals; good thing we came to the conclusion that we no longer cruise for the food and try to eat off ship whenever possible

[lv2cruisgrl]

12 minutes ago, Cruisegoer said:

I just can't believe what I'm reading!

https://profcruise.com/carnivals-new-dinner-menus/

Wow looks good! Maybe Carnival is reading our boards!  Celebrity better step it up!

[hankandteri]

Wow. Just wow. Sign me up.
 

Celebrity’s MDR menus are the biggest misstep the current management team has made. Bigger than cookiegate, bigger than the butler kerfuffle, bigger than the AI takeaway.

 

There are actual (and varied) appetizers in the app section of the menus every night. Imagine that!

 

I can forgive price hikes bordering on price gouging in the present environment, but not serving bland lunch room food and disguising it as an elevated dining experience. 
 

Good and interesting food is a basic expectation when it comes to cruising, even on mass market lines. Clearly Carnival understands that. It’s been many years since my last Carnival cruise, but I’ve been on five of them, and I never came away dissatisfied with the cuisine in their MDRs. 

 

I’m prepared to be disappointed by the dining experience in a few weeks when I take my next Celebrity cruise. Dinners in the MDR are fundamental to the cruise experience. It boggles my mind that management messed up something so basic.  

[wanderlust58]

OMG! Please tell me I don't have to go back to Carnival for a good meal.  Our first cruise, about 15 years ago, was with Carnival.  I swore it off when I saw guys on the pool deck with a bucket of beers half finished before 10 am, followed by the pool waiter offering my 12 year old a drink!  We compromised and I got him a non-alcoholic version.  He was happy, I was happy.

[Lena11033]

I've not even got through most of the menu listings for Carnival and there are WAY more options and better looking food than what I see on X's MDR

[Duanerice1]

Ha ha. We sail Carnival too. They are not bad. Just have a bad reputation. And yea, a bit livelier but it’s fun 

[PTC DAWG]

I see a menu full of uncharges for the good stuff.  I'm sure Carnival is fine for many....I'm also sure they would gladly take your reservation.  Happy Sailing.  

[horseymike]

Money is mobile. 

[dcbiker97]

Even though we pretty much sail Celebrity exclusively, I love following Carnival’s brand ambassador John Heald on FB.  When he began posting the menus, I was quite surprised and impressed with their new menus.  Feels like they are going in the opposite direction of Celebrity. Most of those menus looks way better than what Celebrity has as of late. 

[doghog]

I wonder if Carnival does door dash and what the service fee would be?

Edited September 6, 2023 by doghog

[CulverCityCruisers]

Have to say that after sailing on Summit earlier this year, the selections were reduced and missing that special X quality .  Should be interesting to see what happens in October while on Eclipse.  Compared to the new Carnival menu and our most recent trip on Princess, which was definitely  a step up in the MDR compared to X, we will have to make some decisions about our continued loyalty to X.  The MDR has always been a haven for selection, quality and inspired meals, but now that is all in question.  Starting to branch out to other lines as it seems that Royal has taken the hatchet to X food for the bottom line of $$$$.  I am a shareholder and it's good for the stock, but I prefer my vacations to be quality which X WAS.

[hankandteri]

10 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I see a menu full of uncharges for the good stuff.  I'm sure Carnival is fine for many....I'm also sure they would gladly take your reservation.  Happy Sailing.  

And I also see plenty of appealing options on their menus every night that don’t include a surcharge. Not the case for X’s current bland menus (on which you will also find upcharges for things like a decent cut of beef). Oh, and Carnival has apps beyond the daily snails and shrimp cocktail on X. 

Edited September 6, 2023 by hankandteri

[C-Dragons]

3 minutes ago, dcbiker97 said:

Even though we pretty much sail Celebrity exclusively, I love following Carnival’s brand ambassador John Heald on FB.  When he began posting the menus, I was quite surprised and impressed with their new menus.  Feels like they are going in the opposite direction of Celebrity. Most of those menus looks way better than what Celebrity has as of late. 

True, the menus look better, but Carnival is still CARNIVAL.

Not our cup of tea.

[Charles4515]

Writing a good sounding menu does not mean the food is good. You can make crap sound good on a menu. That said I thought the food was good when I sailed Carnival. The same quality as Celebrity. But the dining experience was fun and games in the MDR which I don’t want at dinner. Do they still do that? And the general cruise ambience was not to my taste either.

[miched]

The menu at Golden Coral looks impressive but it doesn’t mean that it is high quality or good. 

It does appear as if Celebrity menu  is no longer as good as it once was.   
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[terrydtx]

9 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Writing a good sounding menu does not mean the food is good. You can make crap sound good on a menu. That said I thought the food was good when I sailed Carnival. The same quality as Celebrity. But the dining experience was fun and games in the MDR which I don’t want at dinner. Do they still do that? And the general cruise ambience was not to my taste either.

I agree, the menu looks much better than current Celebrity MDR menus, but can they make them taste and presentations better than Celebrity?  We are on the Apex next week in Luminae and in November we will do a cruise with HAL.  I have been monitoring the Menus on the HAL Koingsdam and they consistently have 6 or more entree selections and at least 5 starter choices. Last year we cruised on the HAL Oosterdam following a cruise in the Retreat on the Reflection.  We were a group of 4 on both cruises. The general consensus was that the food in the MDR of the Oosterdam was overall better than the meals in Luminae on the Reflection. However we all agreed the service in Luminae was heads and shoulders above the MDR service on the Oosterdam.

 

HAL is part of the Carnival family.

Edited September 6, 2023 by terrydtx

[terrydtx]

1 minute ago, miched said:

The menu at Golden Coral looks impressive but it doesn’t mean that it is high quality or good. 

It does appear as if Celebrity menu  is no longer as good as it once was.   
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

I have to laugh at the Golden Coral TV commercials where they depict the food as fine dining.

[paulh84]

I was downtown Miami working last week when the Carnival Sunrise? Sunshine? was in port. Emeril could offer to make my dinner tableside himself and I’m still not booking a Carnival cruise.

[floridatravelersforlife]

If you read between the lines, the Filet is graded as Premium, not a USDA grade such as Prime or Choice.  The Dessert menu is sparse.  Not trying to be negative but actual reviews will be the final determination.  

 

Nevertheless, I am concerned about our next Celebrity Cruise

[Charles4515]

2 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

The general consensus was that the food in the MDR of the Oosterdam was overall better than the meals in Luminae on the Reflection. HAL is part of the Carnival family.

In the past I always felt the meals on HAL and Princess in the MDR were a tick above Celebrity. Celebrity specialty restaurants were better. 

[carolyn22]

Just now, floridatravelersforlife said:

If you read between the lines, the Filet is graded as Premium, not a USDA grade such as Prime or Choice.  The Dessert menu is sparse.  Not trying to be negative but actual reviews will be the final determination.  

 

Nevertheless, I am concerned about our next Celebrity Cruise

I also thought the dessert menu was sparse. Two, sometimes only one, new items each night then a repeat of 3-4 items every single night. That would get old fast for me. 

[sunkey1]

Anyone slamming Carnival who has not sailed on them recently should just check them out. The newer ship, the Mardi Gras is absolutely beautiful and unlike anything Carnival has done previously. The meals we had were ALL excellent, even in the main dining room and the service was also excellent. The bars, lounges and entertainment were all very good as well. Yes, there are some "party" people onboard but I don't think it's nearly as bad as it used to be.  To be honest, the big reason we strayed from Celebrity many years back WAS the food. We were just not that impressed. But we are always willing to give it another shot and will in October, although recent reviews of the Equinox have me at least a little hesitant. Not because of the food or entertainment, but rather because I've gotten spoiled and really enjoy sailing on newer ships. I'm going to go in with a positive attitude, after all, I'm on vacation and not at work - right there that's a win!

 

[kwokpot]

9 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Writing a good sounding menu does not mean the food is good. You can make crap sound good on a menu. That said I thought the food was good when I sailed Carnival. The same quality as Celebrity. But the dining experience was fun and games in the MDR which I don’t want at dinner. Do they still do that? And the general cruise ambience was not to my taste either.

Yes, unfortunately they still do the singing and dancing waiters. We sail Carnival and have top status on there (Will be on a Carnival ship next week for 30 days, Seattle to Brisbane!!!) but you are 100% correct, even on there newest ships the ambiance is totally different. The Excel Class ships are getting closer to a more upscale ambiance but honestly it's nothing like the Edge Class and more like a nicer Royal ship. The  Carnival cabins aren't compatible in design and amenities to the Edge Class ships either. What Carnival excels at is the amount of complementary food venues. 

[Charles4515]

4 minutes ago, sunkey1 said:

Anyone slamming Carnival who has not sailed on them recently should just check them out. 

 

I have not sailed Carnival recently but every time I sailed them it was because I was told they had changed on a newer ship blah, blah and then was disappointed. I won’t make that mistake again.