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

[C-Dragons]

59 minutes ago, Lena11033 said:

 

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

Speaking from experience that shouldn’t be a problem.

It helps to have the same table and wait staff during the cruise so talk to the Maitre' D on the first day. Your waiter should then let you know what you should be able to eat on each day’s menu. 

Trust me, they don’t want their guests to have any problems!

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 minute ago, Charles4515 said:

I mentioned in post #25 that I had not been on Carnival recently. It was an number of years ago and having tried Carnival twice several years ago, several years apart 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. 

 

Like X, I'm sure things on carnival should be fleet wide but some ships go rouge.  Was simply sharing my most recent datapoints to more or less share with others that there isn't a stop of service to perform a show every 20mins

[Charles4515]

5 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Was simply sharing my most recent datapoints to more or less share with others that there isn't a stop of service to perform a show every 20mins

That is good information. My cruises were in 2005 and 2010. I expect there would be changes since then. As I said I personally have moved on from budget cruise lines.

[Pinboy]

2 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

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.

I'll bet there were many fire " incidents " onboard cruise ships.

I'll also bet he forgot to tell you that he was the one who caused the fire when an old fart waving his napkin hit him in the face and he lost his balance causing the baked Alaska to drop on " someone's " head.

Guess who was at GR as soon as he/she finished eating , even with the baked Alaska still on their clothes ? ( Nope, no free cruise -- only the " standard ",  "Sorry for the inconvenience blah, blah---Please enjoy the chocolate covered strawberries compliments of the  Hotel Manager ".

 

 

 

[tigervixxxen]

I’ve sailed enough on Carnival to be Platinum with them, that said I haven’t been on one of their ships since 2019 but I won’t hesitate to make that change if need be. 
 

I never expect food from the galley to be fantastic, I’ve always been cautious about what could be prepared well there. I never found Carnival food to be bad and their casual offerings like their burgers and tacos are pretty good. We actually preferred their food to Princess. 17 days of Celebrity’s “new” menus might push us over the edge though . I’m already trying to eat as much non chicken, fish and steak in preparation so I’m not burned out by day 5. 

[clskinsfan]

We are going back to Carnival, on the Magic in 2 weeks out of Norfolk, after 15 years of Cruising X. Our last two cruises on X were no better than a carnival cruise was 15 years ago. They just werent. And there is no justification in our mind for paying almost double to go to the same ports. Now we may get to the Magic and find out that it is awful. But it was worth a try for us. Would love to try Viking. But it is so expensive that we can take 3 cruises on Carnival or Royal for the same price. And 2 on X. Post pandemic cruising is an entirely different ball game than it was pre. And if the product is going to be poor on all lines I may as well spend the least I can for the experience. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

All I can say is, WOW!  The menus look amazing....with so many options!  Also noticed that the upcharge for steak is more reasonable than Celebrity at $23.  Guess a new series of e-mails need to hit the executive office.  Compared to the menus currently being posted by @Stockjock on his Infinity cruise, Celebrity should just be embarrassed....this doesn't hold a candle to what Carnival is putting forward.  Good on them, shame on Celebrity!

[Charles4515]

10 minutes ago, clskinsfan said:

But it is so expensive that we can take 3 cruises on Carnival or Royal for the same price.

I would rather take one excellent cruise on a line like for example Oceania than two or three meh cruises for the same price. These days I believe in quality over quantity. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

3 hours ago, MISTER 67 said:

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

So true...but at least they are making the effort with their menus...I won't ever know how they taste, though...

[clskinsfan]

7 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

I would rather take one excellent cruise on a line like for example Oceania than two or three meh cruises for the same price. These days I believe in quality over quantity. 

I would be with you if the experience was 3 times better. I am going to find out if thats the case in two weeks. 

[Charles4515]

9 minutes ago, clskinsfan said:

I would be with you if the experience was 3 times better. I am going to find out if thats the case in two weeks. 

I would not say it is 3 times better.  

[hubofhockey]

5 hours ago, Cruisegoer said:

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.

 

Food itself is not very subjective.  Some ingredients are unhealthy and substandard, especially if those ingredients aren’t fresh, contain transfats, or bad oils (or even comes out of a can!).  Chefs can make food taste good with flavors, but I don’t believe the quality of ingredients you get on certain lines are acceptable.  If your palate is used to burgers and pizza, then it wouldn’t make a difference.  

[hubofhockey]

4 hours ago, hcat said:

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

Emeril will sell anything and his star took a dip when his tv show was canceled in 2007.  He sold much of his business to Martha Stewart for $45 million and now has a few restaurants and sells air fryers on QVC. Carnival can do deals with Guy Fierri and Emeril LaGasse and also have the best cat fights at sea, but no thanks.

[SRQbeachgirl]

We sailed one of Carnival's newest ships, the Mardi Gras, 3 months ago and last year. We did not eat in the MDR either time but instead ate at the many specialty dining venues, some additional cost and some included in the base cruise fare. The food was as good or better than what we had on the Reflection in January for every venue except the buffet, which Celebrity definitely wins. We ate at Emeril's Bistro and if it is representative of what will be offered as his signature dishes on these new menus, they should be very good.

 

We prefer the quieter atmosphere we experienced on the Reflection, but we had a great time on Carnival as well. The new ships have beautiful adults-only pool areas that are calm and quiet. And the variety of bars and food venues are hard to beat.

 

We will sail both Celebrity and Carnival for the foreseeable future depending on what we're in the mood for. People can put Carnival down all they want, but they're doing a lot of things right and in some areas doing it much better than their competitors.

[sunkey1]

12 hours ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

We sailed one of Carnival's newest ships, the Mardi Gras, 3 months ago and last year. We did not eat in the MDR either time but instead ate at the many specialty dining venues, some additional cost and some included in the base cruise fare. The food was as good or better than what we had on the Reflection in January for every venue except the buffet, which Celebrity definitely wins. We ate at Emeril's Bistro and if it is representative of what will be offered as his signature dishes on these new menus, they should be very good.

 

We prefer the quieter atmosphere we experienced on the Reflection, but we had a great time on Carnival as well. The new ships have beautiful adults-only pool areas that are calm and quiet. And the variety of bars and food venues are hard to beat.

 

We will sail both Celebrity and Carnival for the foreseeable future depending on what we're in the mood for. People can put Carnival down all they want, but they're doing a lot of things right and in some areas doing it much better than their competitors.

Yup, the adults only area on Mardi Gras was the primary reason we went back! Amazing space, adults only, cushioned loungers, sun and shade, dedicated bar, salad bar setup at lunch and pool area. Hard to beat that on a sea day for sure. Oh, and NO EXTRA CHARGE. Hard to find that anywhere anymore. 

 

[SRQbeachgirl]

1 hour ago, sunkey1 said:

Yup, the adults only area on Mardi Gras was the primary reason we went back! Amazing space, adults only, cushioned loungers, sun and shade, dedicated bar, salad bar setup at lunch and pool area. Hard to beat that on a sea day for sure. Oh, and NO EXTRA CHARGE. Hard to find that anywhere anymore. 

 

 

Carnival stepped up big time with their new ships. I won't sail their older ships anymore, but the new ones are pretty amazing. They aren't for everyone and that's fine, but comparing the experience on the new ships to the experience on the older ships is night and day.

[doghog]

Anyone Email a copy of the Carnival menu in this thread to executiveoffice@celebrity.com ?

[Cruisegoer]

15 hours ago, hubofhockey said:

 

Food itself is not very subjective.  Some ingredients are unhealthy and substandard, especially if those ingredients aren’t fresh, contain transfats, or bad oils (or even comes out of a can!).  Chefs can make food taste good with flavors, but I don’t believe the quality of ingredients you get on certain lines are acceptable.  If your palate is used to burgers and pizza, then it wouldn’t make a difference.  

LOL, unless you're in the kitchen or the food supplier of any cruise lines you really don't know what you're talking about.  You have no basis to believe ingredients on one are any more healthy than on another.  Food is a matter of taste, some people have none and to most flavor is absolutely what matters.

[Cruisegoer]

16 hours ago, clskinsfan said:

16 hours ago, Charles4515 said:

I would rather take one excellent cruise on a line like for example Oceania than two or three meh cruises for the same price. These days I believe in quality over quantity. 

 

How old are you exactly? Most people vacation based on affordability.

[Cruisegoer]

18 hours ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

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....

Haha, I need to eat at your local TGIF/Applebees because I haven't found much papperdelle with braised lamb, beef carpaccio, grilled swordfish or beef wellington on their menus.  Unimaginative perhaps in that 95% of cruise lines have or have had the same type of offerings in their MDRs but still sounds like a thoughtful, upscale meal to me.  Now, since you evidently don't understand cultural/societal differences.  It's quite common in for the pasta dish to also be offered as a smaller appetizer portion, at least that's what your noted oddity referred to. 

[PH2]

We've only done 1 cruise, on Carnival this past February, and tomorrow with be cruise #2, on Celebrity. I went in not knowing a lot about the cruise experience in general and basically thinking Carnival was the Wal-Mart of cruising and came away impressed. Maybe it was low expectations? We booked one of the Havana Cabana rooms which have their own bar and pool area, so we didn't have to compete with the entire ship for space and deal with the crowds in the rest of the ship. We took my wife's parents so that room made a ton of sense given their age, but I also enjoyed the exclusivity, such as it is on Carnival, and if we do another Carnival, would book something similar. 

 

We thought the buffet and MDR were good, the hibachi restaurant was really good, and the burger and pizza stations excellent (as was the upcharge seafood station).

 

There wasn't much in the way of entertainment but the comedians we saw were good (and switched up with at least 1 new one halfway through the sailing). Wife enjoyed throwing away money on bingo. It was definitely a party atmosphere (we sailed on Super Bowl Sunday), but it wasn't difficult with the Havana section to avoid the partiers. Service was perfectly fine.

 

This time, instead of Carnival in the Caribbean with in-laws, it's Alaska on Celebrity just the two of us. That alone will make for a different experience, but I'm curious to see what the cruising experience is like on Celebrity compared with Carnival. We'll be in a SS. 

Edited September 7, 2023 by PH2

[C-Dragons]

1 hour ago, Cruisegoer said:

How old are you exactly? Most people vacation based on affordability.

Why do you think age is a factor in their choice of cruise lines?

Starting with our very first cruise and continuing to the present, the criteria has always been the same - Quality over Quantity.

Once we sailed with X we found that it was the perfect fit for us.

YMMV.

[hubofhockey]

55 minutes ago, Cruisegoer said:

How old are you exactly? Most people vacation based on affordability.

 

This is an interested thread. Oceania, especially with the new simply more fares, is pretty all inclusive and really not that much more than Celebrity and more than Carnival.  Not sure what you mean by affordability.  If you get less out of a more affordable vacation, that's not real value.  

[drakes2]

On 9/6/2023 at 9:14 AM, NutsAboutGolf said:

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

I don't cruise for the food either, however, I do cruise for the alcohol. 😆 

[Cruisegoer]

25 minutes ago, hubofhockey said:

 

This is an interested thread. Oceania, especially with the new simply more fares, is pretty all inclusive and really not that much more than Celebrity and more than Carnival.  Not sure what you mean by affordability.  If you get less out of a more affordable vacation, that's not real value.  

Well it's pretty simple, a person making $250,000 a year can afford a much different level of vacation than someone making $50,000.  I mean sure both could potentially be on the Apex but one would realistically be in an interior while the other is in the Retreat.  I highly doubt someone on a lesser income would consider spending on an Oceania cruise line sailing.  Seems kind of obvious to me, weird this doesn't register to you?