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

[vjmatty]

3 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

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

And it’s not even every night, from what I recall 

[vjmatty]

I’ve always found Carnival’s MDR meals to be better quality than the RCI brands, but the buffets are subpar. 

[doghog]

Looks like we won't be cruising with Carnival. No escargot. 😇

Edited September 6, 2023 by doghog

[Charles4515]

53 minutes ago, webecruzin2 said:

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. 

They had metal detectors at the exits from all the shops. That is a negative to the ambience in my opinion. 
 

The only rowdiness I saw was at the show was when a bunch of teenagers who were there without their parents heckled a singer very loudly because they didn’t like her repertoire. They could have just left if they didn’t like her. If I don’t like a show I just walk out. I don’t scream at the performer. 

[Charles4515]

34 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

And it’s not even every night, from what I recall 

The two sailings I did it was every night and more than five minutes on traditional seating. Also the Maitre D divided the dining room into teams on one of the sailings and we had to cheer against the other team or something like that. 

[PTC DAWG]

4 hours ago, hankandteri said:

 

4 hours ago, paulh84 said:

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.

LOL..I resemble this comment. 

Edited September 6, 2023 by PTC DAWG

[hcat]

1 hour 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?

His restaurants are excellent but he also hawks stuff on TV!

[hcat]

31 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

The two sailings I did it was every night and more than five minutes on traditional seating. Also the Maitre D divided the dining room into teams on one of the sailings and we had to cheer against the other team or something like that. 

like summer camp?  

[deliver42]

I've only been on 2 Carnival sailings, and won't go back, but looking a the menu makes me wonder, compared to Celebrity's, which is the premium brand.

[Cruisegoer]

1 hour ago, doghog said:

Looks like we won't be cruising with Carnival. No escargot. 😇

I'll take frog's legs over escargot any day!

[MISTER 67]

5 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

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

Not our cup of tea.

Exactly plus menu selection are one thing and quality is another.

[odyssyus]

2 minutes ago, Cruisegoer said:

I'll take frog's legs over escargot any day!

froglegfestival.com  .. I go every yr.  Truth be told i'd eat the escargot as well.

[mahdnc]

2 hours ago, Pinboy said:

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.

 

 

 

 

Our waiter during our Solstice New Zealand cruise in 2019 told us that the Baked Alaska parade was removed because of a fire incident involving Baked Alaska on Infinity.  Apparently he was on board for that.

[Cap_D]

5 hours 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. 

 

Paging Cornelius Gallagher......

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/mx/things-to-do-onboard/the-crew/crew-cornelius-gallagher

 

.  .  .

 

Never had a bad meal at an Emeril restaurant, before, during, and after his heyday, including the mega restaurants in Vegas.  Can't say that about Daniel Boulud (not even counting the not well reviewed sous vide Moroccan chicken that was available in Luminae).

 

I had been skeptical that a brand ambassador was needed, but it might help if Celebrity actually had someone from corporate out front explaining, listening, and taking back criticism.  Just the appearance of caring could be a start. 

 

For a cruise line that has seemingly made it part of their pitch that ship officers mingle, are the entertainment, etc., it is astonishing how their new President is hiding behind her spreadsheets in Miami.  She even used Captain Kate as a human shield in Alaska on the so called President's Cruise, which was more of a funeral than a celebration. 

 

And, interestingly, Captain Kate on social medial rarely if ever gushes over the onboard food other than a macaroon or occasional treat given to her by her subjects / crew.  And, Celebrity appears to use generic pictures of wine and styled food that they probably pay someone to take. 

 

But, would settle for Cornelius to step up and do something other than trim quality, and buy commercial cookie dough for experiments.  

 

[michaelwh]

I think there are two separate issues here...

 

Carnival's menus read like contemporary restaurant menus, with an international influence. Celebrity's, unfortunately, don't. I was on the Reflection in July, and the menu was boring. Bluntly, I wouldn't go to a restaurant at home with such a lack of creativity (and no real starters).

 

Then there's the quality of the food. Celebrity is possibly historically better - I have no personal experience of Carnival, but that seems an accepted fact. But there is no reason why Celebrity couldn't produce good quality dishes similar to the options on the Carnival menus. 

 

As it stands, however, the food on Reflection was both boring and (in my opinion, and that of my family's) of a standard far below what I've been used to on Celebrity over many years.

[doghog]

18 minutes ago, Cruisegoer said:

I'll take frog's legs over escargot any day!

My wife likes both. Me, take or leave 'em. My go to is double shrimp cocktail if nothing else appeals to me. 

[Lena11033]

I mean, I like soup but I don't want it every day. 

 

I mean sure have soup/salad as options but there should be other appetizers. It's just really boring their offerings and quite honestly looking at the mains they aren't great either. If you are struggling to find something on the menu, there is a problem with the menu. I know it's not a luxury line but the food offerings should be better for something midrange, especially with what X are charging

 

 

 

[Cap_D]

Does anyone know if the Carnival fast food and buffet options are open and stocked during dinner?  On Celebrity there only the sometimes reduced OVC available (which seems inconsistent), and the speciality options.  No burger bar, chicken shack, tex mex, etc. like Carnival.  So, the menu has to also be considered in the context of what is also available, and the environment it's available in.  

[goofysmom99]

Celebrity's new, current (cheap) menus are now a gluten-free minefield (a whole lot of pasta, breading, couscous, semolina, etc.).  I just looked at MDR Night 7 of a current M-class cruise = Turkey Parmesan (spaghetti w/marinara sauce), Rigatoni Boscaiola, Toasted Israeli Couscous Cake, Steak Dianne, and the three classics (BTW, the beef classic is now Grilled Flank Steak).  Carnival's menu certainly looks to be many steps above.

[Lena11033]

19 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

Celebrity's new, current (cheap) menus are now a gluten-free minefield (a whole lot of pasta, breading, couscous, semolina, etc.).  I just looked at MDR Night 7 of a current M-class cruise = Turkey Parmesan (spaghetti w/marinara sauce), Rigatoni Boscaiola, Toasted Israeli Couscous Cake, Steak Dianne, and the three classics (BTW, the beef classic is now Grilled Flank Steak).  Carnival's menu certainly looks to be many steps above.

 

I'm lactose intolerant, most of the items have dairy from what I have seen of the most recent menu

[Jeremiah1212]

1 hour ago, michaelwh said:

I think there are two separate issues here...

 

Carnival's menus read like contemporary restaurant menus, with an international influence. Celebrity's, unfortunately, don't. I was on the Reflection in July, and the menu was boring. Bluntly, I wouldn't go to a restaurant at home with such a lack of creativity (and no real starters).

 

The first thing that came to mind for me was it sound very American. Like what you would find at TGI Friday's or Applebees. Not a dig at them, but that's probably inline with what most Carnival cruisers want. 

 

The first menu appetizers are:

Pasta with lamb (odd for an appetizer - definitely not Italian)

Duck rolls (?)

Shrimp cocktail a la 1961 (Celebrity is guilty of this too)

Mixed green salad

Ceasar salad 

Tomato soup 

Wild rice soup with chicken 

 

Hardly imaginative items here....

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

The two sailings I did it was every night and more than five minutes on traditional seating. Also the Maitre D divided the dining room into teams on one of the sailings and we had to cheer against the other team or something like that. 

 

Not doubting you, just sharing on my last three CCL sailings which were all on different ships, they just had music/singing and it lasted around 5mins.  On my last sailing this past July, the waitstaff provided service while the show was happened; first time I've noticed that

[Brehede]

7 hours ago, hankandteri said:

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.  

On Reflection at the moment, MDR is not great with little choice. Choosing to go mainly to Buffet and specialty dining and not let it spoil the cruise! I was on Royal Enchantment of the Seas in May and thought food was quite poor compared to last pre Covid cruise on Infinity (food was excellent back then), but choice was better than Reflection. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

It should also be noted that Carnival and RCI both have the superior MAINE lobster while X continues to serve the inferior SPINY lobster.  I have reached out to X including the Exec Team on this and am always told they have no plans for changing

[Charles4515]

36 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Not doubting you, just sharing on my last three CCL sailings which were all on different ships, they just had music/singing and it lasted around 5mins.  On my last sailing this past July, the waitstaff provided service while the show was happened; first time I've noticed Athat

I mentioned in post #25 that I had not been on Carnival recently. It was an number of years ago, 2005 and 2010  so several years apart, after being told that they had changed and  finding out not enough I am not about to be burned a third time. Plus I have moved on from budget cruise lines since then. 

Edited September 6, 2023 by Charles4515