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

[NutsAboutGolf]

3 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

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. 

 

It should be noted they only do two 5min shows per night; you can time your arrival to avoid them

[sunkey1]

1 minute ago, Charles4515 said:

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. 

To each his own. 

[TheHawk1]

16 minutes ago, carolyn22 said:

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. 

Yes, that's true.  However, with Carnival in the Appetizers and Entrees section, there are 2-3 selections each that caught my attention almost every night... sometimes it would be difficult to choose. To be presented with that much variety on Celebrity would be a pleasant surprise. 

[Pinboy]

Ok--- So, lately there's been several negative threads about Celebrity ( Food, Menu selections, cut backs , upcharges, the size of the lobster tails, no friggin round tomatoes and cold onion soup ).

Wait-- forget about the cold onion soup----that one is a serious ( ?? ) complaint !!

I can't remember reading one post saying " I cancelled our upcoming cruise(s)" !

Lot's of " threats " , but not one actual cancellation.

And, to repeat --- we were on the Equinox and the Edge ( February and March ) -- never had a bad meal, poor service, or was invited to dine with an Officer--- it was all good !!

I could care less what Carnival offers in the dining " experience ". 

LOL---- Maybe if Celebrity " introduced " the bellyflop contest, the drink 14 beers through a funnel contest, the Congo line around the pool, the dancing Waiters with baked Alaska on their heads ,and the finale-- the singing of " We Are Zeee Worl " ( We are the world ) there wouldn't be such negativity ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dock]

Have been on Carnival 3 times way back in the day, usually when doing Family Reunions and have went with an open mind and all 3 cruises were great fun , wonderful entertainment and great food , with well dressed passengers on formal nights etc. 

 

Our best ever cruise was the Carnival Liberty Inaugral Med Cruise way back. The only time that a cruise we were on ,docked in the Grand Canal in Venice ( a few meters from the Doges Palace as the Captain was a home town boy and was granted special permission) .

John Heald was the CD. Our best CD to date on any ship. We all still have fond memories of him.
A fantastic personality , warm , engaging and soo humorous. 

Granted all  Carnivals top management were on board so that may have accounted for stellar service and food but if you have kids I’d have no qualms trying them. Go with an open mind. 
 

Never participated in belly flop or beer drinking but have no issues with it. 
It’s your vacay , do what you want. 
 

With all cruise lines cutting back ,to us there’s no down side to now relook at all the various lines we’ve tried in the past.

Edited September 6, 2023 by dock

[hcat]

2 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

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

Not our cup of tea.

same ships, cruise program  and clientele!  not an option for us!

[njguy_south]

Just sailed Carnival to Greenland in August. The MDR host would not even talk to you unless you used your CCL phone APP to make a reservation. And even using it, the APP would inform you that your table would be ready in 10 mins., but would keep upping the time to 45 mins., etc. (Once we put in at 5:30, told 10 mins., but it kept upping the wait time until we finally got in at 8 pm.) This happened every evening, and the ship was not completely full. And when we entered the MDR, many tables were completely empty!

 

Also, one lunch all 3 courses were served at once. When I asked why, I was told that is how they serve it. That evening, the waiter (great staff member) stated that all of our courses had come at once, but he would serve them separately. However, each course served was COLD, not even tepid. Only a few days into our 14 day cruise, we booked the Steakhouse for the rest of the cruise.

[Andrewgary]

31 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

Maybe if Celebrity " introduced " the bellyflop contest, the drink 14 beers through a funnel contest, the Congo line around the pool, the dancing Waiters with baked Alaska on their heads ,and the finale-- the singing of " We Are Zeee Worl " ( We are the world ) there wouldn't be such negativity ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would put up with a lot for a decent Baked Alaska but I think a waiter carrying it on his head is a State too far.

[hubofhockey]

1 hour ago, Charles4515 said:

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. 

 THIS ↑  

 

I always believe it is a mistake to go back to a line you left for good reason.  We also stopped cruising on Princess for what we thought was good reason.  The Carnival experience is kind of cheesy.  Even with upgraded food, it's not the atmosphere we're looking for.  I do congratulate them for being able to attract both young families and partiers at the same time.  Not sure how they pull it off, but they do.  

 

 

[goofysmom99]

18 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

I can't remember reading one post saying " I cancelled our upcoming cruise(s)" !

For now, I haven't cancelled any of my five Celebrity cruises.  My next cruise, a 16-night TA this November, is paid for.  The two immediately after that are locked in stone with friends.  The remaining two in 2024 have nonrefundable deposits (one $100, the other $450) and my upcoming, long cruise will determine whether I take/cancel one or both.  It's all up to Celebrity.

[terrydtx]

20 minutes ago, hcat said:

same ships, cruise program  and clientele!  not an option for us!

Same for us, once you own a Lexus, now way I would go back to a Toyota. That is how we feel about Carnival, RCL and NCL. Done then once or twice but never again.

[terrydtx]

2 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

For now, I haven't cancelled any of my five Celebrity cruises.  My next cruise, a 16-night TA this November, is paid for.  The two immediately after that are locked in stone with friends.  The remaining two in 2024 have nonrefundable deposits (one $100, the other $450) and my upcoming, long cruise will determine whether I take/cancel one or both.  It's all up to Celebrity.

 

43 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

I can't remember reading one post saying " I cancelled our upcoming cruise(s)" !

Lot's of " threats " , but not one actual cancellation.

By the time the latest cutback and changes were announced it was too late to cancel our Apex cruise in two weeks. It was after final payment and too late. If we were looking today for a cruise in Australia we would not have booked on the Edge in January. When we booked the B2B January Edge cruises in February 2022, we got a great deal but today it would not be a great deal. Instead of canceling our Celebrity cruises already booked and paid for we just will not book anymore after they are over. This will be the first time in 4 years will not book a future cruise while onboard a Celebrity ship.

[Charles4515]

47 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

can't remember reading one post saying " I cancelled our upcoming cruise(s)" !

I have not canceled any Celebrity cruises but I have not booked any. I am shopping for cruises on Oceania, Viking, Virgin and Azamara. Will look at HAL and Princess for an Alaska cruise we want to do next year. The only Celebrity cruise I might book next year is to Bermuda because there is hardly any choice of cruise lines I would book there. Oceania goes there at a time of the year I try to avoid. (hurricane season) 

[Pinboy]

22 minutes ago, Andrewgary said:

I would put up with a lot for a decent Baked Alaska but I think a waiter carrying it on his head is a State too far.

You are probably tooooo young to remember, but, they used to have a baked Alaska parade in the MDR on the last night of the cruise----- Until, " someone " figured it might ( ??? ) be toooo dangerous.

So far-- a few folks quoted my post--- nobody actually cancelled for various reasons ( $$ ) and that is very valid.

LOL--- I wouldn't give up $$$ because someone posted a thread that there were no , etc, etc .

In the meantime--- We just go with a positive attitude and don't waste time looking for " something " to complain about. I joke about the time I was going to " try " (??? ) and get a complimentary cruise because our Waiter forgot to bring my 3 shrimp cocktails at the same time, but the line was too long with others complaining. Mind you, maybe they would have give us a free cruise ??

 

 

[bigbenboys]

29 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

Ok--- So, lately there's been several negative threads about Celebrity ( Food, Menu selections, cut backs , upcharges, the size of the lobster tails, no friggin round tomatoes and cold onion soup ).

Wait-- forget about the cold onion soup----that one is a serious ( ?? ) complaint !!

I can't remember reading one post saying " I cancelled our upcoming cruise(s)" !

Lot's of " threats " , but not one actual cancellation.

And, to repeat --- we were on the Equinox and the Edge ( February and March ) -- never had a bad meal, poor service, or was invited to dine with an Officer--- it was all good !!

I could care less what Carnival offers in the dining " experience ". 

LOL---- Maybe if Celebrity " introduced " the bellyflop contest, the drink 14 beers through a funnel contest, the Congo line around the pool, the dancing Waiters with baked Alaska on their heads ,and the finale-- the singing of " We Are Zeee Worl " ( We are the world ) there wouldn't be such negativity ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sept of last year we were in a sky suite on Solstice. The best meal I had was from the MDR served to me in Luminae (prime rib). Then changes happened in Jan. I have canceled 2 X sailing back in Feb. The reason was removal of prime rib. The limited food in the OVC for dinner. Both sailings were in sky suites. April, Infinity in South America, May, Summit New England. I thought that I had canceled our sky suite for Dec 2023. It was a 16 nights cruise on Eclipse. Last month my TA asked for final payment. Back in Feb we decided to visit friends in England for the holidays and my 65 birthday. So I canceled a 3rd sailing with X. This month we are on Eclipse in a CS. To check out the changes on board. I booked Princess last month for Feb in a Penthouse Suite. While Princess has made changes, but not as much as X. I'm going to wait until after our sailing on Princess to decide if I'm keeping our Sept 2024 SC sailing. Is the grass greener over at Princess. I'm not done with X. June we are on Apex to Iceland in a sky suite. Hoping things are better with X by then.

[cgolf1]

2 hours ago, terrydtx said:

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.

 

I was impressed with HAL's MDR food on the Vaandam this year. The dishes were well cooked, presented, and seasoned. I would say it was pretty even overall to Celebrity MDR dishes this year. One big miss though was never got escargot on HAL, don't believe they had it. For us the HAL buffet lacked compared to Celebrity with very little change day to day, especially for me being gluten free. I ended up getting a burger or hot dog each day with sides from the buffet. Also HAL ran out of gluten free hamburger buns with I think 2 days left lol. Hal seemed to be running their provisions pretty close, as the also ran out of amaretto with a few days to go to.

Edited September 6, 2023 by cgolf1

[CruisinBanka]

3 hours ago, Cruisegoer said:

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

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

I agree the menu looks more diversified than Celebrity. That said we did one Carnival Cruise, out of our 68 sailings, and that was enough for us. Never again. 

[Silkroad]

4 hours ago, Cruisegoer said:

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

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

Nice looking menus, even without the uncharge items. I’ll wait for reports about how the food tastes. 

Edited September 6, 2023 by Silkroad

[Silkroad]

1 hour ago, Pinboy said:

I could care less what Carnival offers in the dining " experience ". 

LOL---- Maybe if Celebrity " introduced " the bellyflop contest, the drink 14 beers through a funnel contest, the Congo line around the pool, the dancing Waiters with baked Alaska on their heads ,and the finale-- the singing of " We Are Zeee Worl " ( We are the world ) there wouldn't be such negativity ?

Ok. You almost made me snort my coffee because I was laughing so hard🤣 Thanks. I needed that laugh😎

[webecruzin2]

We've always preferred Celebrity, especially early on in the 90's and early 2000's but we've also been game for checking out other cruise lines.  We've sailed Carnival twice, mostly because the Norfolk port is 10 minutes from our daughter's home and we could all drive there.  
Both times we were very impressed with the MDR food.  The Italian specialty restaurant not so much.
That being said the ambiance is not as relaxed as X or even RC.  Lots of kids, which was fine when we had our granddaughter with us. 
But both times we saw armed security walking about at night in the lounges and nightclubs.  Why do they need to do that?  I never saw any rowdiness or drunkenness on either ship.   
But  just can't relax with that in the back of my mind. 
If this next cruise in October on the Reflection is disappointing we'll just move on to other cruise lines. 
It doesn't seem like X cares about repeat cruisers or brand loyalty any more.

Edited September 6, 2023 by webecruzin2

[Silkroad]

1 hour ago, Pinboy said:

I can't remember reading one post saying " I cancelled our upcoming cruise(s)" !

Lot's of " threats " , but not one actual cancellation.

We actually did cancel one cruise, but not because we wanted to do so. We had a wonderful b2b (TA and Greece/Turkey) booked on Beyond for 2024. We were amongst those affected by “Beyond-gate”. We were able to move one booking to Ascent, but we didn’t want the subsequent Ascent cruise. We haven’t cancelled the remaining cruises, but I won’t consider booking more until I think the new management is done moving ships to different regions. 

[Cruisegoer]

20 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

Nice looking menus, even without the uncharge items. I’ll wait for reports about how the food tastes. 

So you think Emiril Lagasse is going to put his name on a poorly tasting dish? Who's to blame then, Emiril or Carnival? How many Carnival cruises (and how many nights cruise) have you taken to believe their food is so terrible?

[Silkroad]

5 minutes ago, Cruisegoer said:

So you think Emiril Lagasse is going to put his name on a poorly tasting dish? Who's to blame then, Emiril or Carnival? How many Carnival cruises (and how many nights cruise) have you taken to believe their food is so terrible?

Oh please. No chef is a god. Do you think all the chefs who lend their  names to cruise line food vet every dish on every ship? I haven’t ever sailed Carnival, nor did I say I had. I didn’t say their food was terrible. I said I’d wait to hear how the food on the new menu tastes. 

Edited September 6, 2023 by Silkroad

[Cruisegoer]

Let's face it, food is very subjective. IMHO HAL has the best food and presentation in both the MDR and buffet but overall they have very little seafood.  Celebrity can be hit or miss but has changed a lot in the last year.  When I did the Apex in Feb 2022 the food was terrific and the buffet was first class.  When I sailed the Summit (my 3rd time on her) last July the food was mediocre and the quality was subpar and this was long before the announced cutbacks. Royal has been that way for years (my last in 2015).  NCL, I've only done once in 2006 and there really wasn't anything memorable about it, the most memorable thing I recall was that the "lobster night" in the MDR was better than their french bistro specialty restaurant they used to push.  Carnival definitely has a different vibe but they have options galore.  Their steakhouse has always been excellent and tons of options to plain resort buffet style foods in the lido is impressive.  I think their MDR food is great and they don't charge $16.99 plus gratuity for a 3rd entree only $5.

[Cruisegoer]

2 hours ago, TheHawk1 said:

Yes, that's true.  However, with Carnival in the Appetizers and Entrees section, there are 2-3 selections each that caught my attention almost every night... sometimes it would be difficult to choose. To be presented with that much variety on Celebrity would be a pleasant surprise. 

Why wouldn't you get everything you like instead of having to choose?