Current Celebrity (Edge Class) vs. Princess Food?

[roxannex]

I just returned from a cruise on the Sky Princess, and I planned another cruise later this year on the Celebrity Ascent. I used to cruise about once a year on Royal, Disney, and NCL from around 2008-2013, but I stopped for a long time (almost 10 years) because I had a chronic illness that made me nervous to manage at sea. But I am better right now. 

 

I learned quickly on Royal and NCL that I preferred specialty restaurants to the MDR, and the quality on them was good. Not fine dining but equivalent to pretty good chain restaurants on land.  For this cruise I chose Princess because my child is grown, and I'd heard that the food was supposed to be good. But I found it bad--not only in the MDR, but in specialty restaurants. The Italian restaurant was really bad, and I couldn't even eat at the seafood restaurant because it smelled so bad. The only good restaurant was the steakhouse. We at there twice and would have gone a third time if we could have gotten in. My husband got sick from the buffet one day. I was basically ordering grilled cheese sandwiches off the kids menu for lunches, and sometimes those didn't even come grilled! LOL. Everyone talked about this amazing pizza, and I wondered if they'd ever had Dominos. I lost 2 pounds on my cruise! Not complaining about that. 

 

Now I am kind of worried about Celebrity because supposedly Celebrity has good food. I have a lot of specialty restaurants booked, and I have a move up bid so I might get into Luminae (although I've heard some mixed things about that). I resolved to pack some snacks with me. For those who have been on the newer Princess ships vs. the Edge class ships, should I expect more of the same? Has quality just declined overall since I used to cruise? (I know some will say yes.) Or did I just get unlucky on Princess?

[CruiseRQA]

I am always amazed by people that say ALL of the food was bad on a cruise ship.  Everything from the MDR to the buffet to a specialty restaurant.   I have cruised yearly since the late 1980s.   Earlier on RCCL then HAL and now mostly Celebrity.   I have always found the food to be good to excellent no matter the ship.  At home we dine out often and generally at good (not usually chain) restaurants and find cruise dining generally on par.  Not everything.  Generally not getting a good steak on a cruise ship in my opinion.

 

For whatever reason we have not been on Princess and so I can't directly compare.  But no matter what you read here you will find the food on Celebrity to be just fine no matter the venue.

 

 

[roxannex]

Thank you. While I sometimes like fine dining, I'm also just happy with basic good food. Give me a plate of Maggianos spaghetti and I'm fine. Actually, the steak was the thing I thought was the best in the specialty restaurant. The first night we went, it was actually great. 

 

So, I would not say ALL of the food was bad. It was just that I didn't feel there were enough places to get food I liked or to ask to customize it in a way that was appetizing. They had several different little "grab and go" spots that had sandwiches, but I admit I am picky and didn't find the few combos of the sandwiches to be appetizing. Or like I don't want to eat chicken salad sandwiches or seafood sandwiches that have been sitting out in a case. If I could have said, can I have a turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato and mayo, that would be fine. 

 

I remember a long time ago when I went on Royal they had this little place that would make fresh salads for you. That was great. You could go and choose what you wanted in your salad, and they would make it fresh for you--kind of like Chopt. I liked that it was not at a buffet. I feel like if RCL could offer that amount of customization, I don't know why a slightly higher end cruise couldn't. Maybe I should have stuck with RCL because I like all the options and entertainment. It's just that I like luxury too and not that many kids. 

 

Anyway, it doesn't matter. I already paid the money. The ship looks fabulous. I will bring snacks for my picky self. Food is subjective, and I don't mind not gaining weight. 

Edited December 24, 2023 by roxannex

[CruiseRQA]

Edge class has a fabulous buffet with an amazing variety of foods from ethnic choices to simple sandwiches, fruit, cheese.

 

Edge class has several small venues for "treats" like ice cream (just off the buffet), Eden for some healthy breakfast things, a pastry cafe for great cookies and pastry treats.

 

We have not eaten in the MDR of E-class but Blu has been great and Luminae terrific.

 

No reason not to find something you like to eat on E-class. 

[asctony]

Food is very subjective as you are expressing  your disappointment.

Read some of the postings on here. Some people have complained about Blu and went to the MDR.

Lucky you, you have a choice of Cruise lines to cruise on. 

Edited December 24, 2023 by asctony

[kathynorth]

Thanks for posting your experience with food on Princess. I’m interested to see you comparisons when you post about the food on Ascent. 

[CardowMD]

I was on Celebrity Ascent last month, in a Concierge cabin. The food everywhere was unbelievably fantastic. My only complaint was some heavily salted sauce on the Mediterranean lamb first night. I usually request sauce on the side so I can control my sodium intake. 
 

All the MDR entrees were wonderful, we ate in Cyprus every night, but ordered from the other MDR dining rooms. OV cafe had tons of choices, Elite breakfast was perfect in the French bistro. We didn’t have time for specialty dining.

 

Food on Celebrity last few cruises exceeded Princess club class dining.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 12/24/2023 at 11:13 AM, roxannex said:

For this cruise I chose Princess because my child is grown, and I'd heard that the food was supposed to be good. But I found it bad--not only in the MDR, but in specialty restaurants.

oh, no, I am so sorry it was bad!

 

We have always enjoyed Princess food to the max - MDR and buffet only since we don't do specialty (with the exception of the children's menu on Caribbean Princess back in 2016). We've been on Regal pre-pandemic and on Enchanted post-pandemic, and the food was great in its majority (if one wants to see pics and opinions, you can click on the links in my signature). We are going on Enchanted in 6 months again. I am so sorry to hear that you didn't like anything on Sky. That's a disappointment.

 

So far I have no opinion of my own to offer on Celebrity food, but I will in April.  Our friends cruise exclusively on Princess because of the food, but tried Celebrity once about 5-6 years ago. They said - never again, because the food was MDR and buffet food was cafeteria quality.

 

P.S. based on your second post, I think that you may be a bit on a picky side. Nothing wrong with that, especially when paying a lot of money for the cruise, but it may explain why you were so disappointed in Princess food. Although, different ships may offer different quality food. However, I would like to think that Princess ships of the same class would offer similar quality, at least at MDR and buffet.

Edited December 25, 2023 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Itchy&Scratchy]

23 hours ago, roxannex said:

I remember a long time ago when I went on Royal they had this little place that would make fresh salads for you.

Park Cafe. Pre-pandemic my DH loved going there for lunch and getting a custom salad with all sorts of interesting toppings. It was the highlight of his Oasis class casual dining.

 

Well, you'll be disappointed to know that post-pandemic, the choices for salad at the Park Cafe have been cut drastically. It's down to a few very basic ingredients. My DH was very upset.

[roxannex]

(I think some were removed. But it wasn't because of me.)

 

Yes! I am picky, although not in a "fine dining" kind of way. I'm also kind of afraid of buffets. I admit it! I will eat at them, but only as a last resort because I worry about all the people standing over them and touching things. 

 

Yes! That was it. The Park Cafe. That's a bummer. It was really good and healthy. 

That was really what I was wondering--because I hadn't cruised in so long. I keep hearing people say there have been all of these cutbacks, so I wondered if that was why.

 

I found these really great videos that a young couple did of their Thanksgiving trip on the Ascent, and they went through almost all of the specialty restaurants. And they looked very good. I pretty much booked specialty restaurants for every dinner night. (I bought one of the 3 night packages, so I do have to make a few reservations when I get on the ship.) I also saw that there are more casual specialty restaurants on the ship like Le Grande Bistro and Craft Social for lunches. I don't really drink, so I'd rather put the money into food. 

 

Thank you. I will report back after my trip, and then judge whether I am just totally picky or if I thought the food was really better. 

 

[jlawrence01]

I have cruised HAL, Princess and Celebrity in the past year.  Yes, I am a foodie and have worked in commercial kitchens.  I have also worked as a professional taste tester evaluating a wide variety of condiments.

 

If someone says that all the food on a particular ship is bad,  I would find it very difficult to believe.  There are so many different kitchens and methods of preparation and the like.

 

My experience on Celebrity is the the MDR was quite excellent with great service.  The menu was acceptable but not remarkable for a premium cruise line.  In general, the food was well executed but with several significant flaws (undercooked risotto, raw bananas in Bananas Foster and half cooked chili in their lentils) that should have been caught by the head chef.  Our servers anticipated every need.  The buffet was generally very good and offered great selections.  The burger place was poor with the staff unable to properly cook a french fry.

 

HAL had the most creative menu in the MDR and found dishes to be nearly flawless.  Their international selections on the breakfast menu keeps me coming back.  The buffet was good with a more limited selection.  I did not like it as much as I prefer to try dabs of 25 dishes and the staff only seemed to want to give full portions.  The grill by the pool was very excellent and had some of the best burgers I have had.  The New York Pizza was a weak point especially at night.  If they ran out of something, you were out of luck.  The cafe was also very good when they had the items in stock.

 

Princess Had the best buffet in terms of quality and great selection.  It was confusing at times as to which station was open and when.  The food in the MDR was very good and the menu was fairly broad with a good number of the favorites.  I was generally impressed with the overall experience.

 

Personally, I would go back to those three lines on the basis of their food alone.

[KKB]

On 12/25/2023 at 11:04 AM, roxannex said:

 

 

I found these really great videos that a young couple did of their Thanksgiving trip on the Ascent, and they went through almost all of the specialty restaurants. And they looked very good. I pretty much booked specialty restaurants for every dinner night. (I bought one of the 3 night packages, so I do have to make a few reservations when I get on the ship.) I also saw that there are more casual specialty restaurants on the ship like Le Grande Bistro and Craft Social for lunches. I don't really drink, so I'd rather put the money into food. 

 

 

 

Craft Social & Le Grand Bistro do charge, FYI.

 

We have sailed Eclass 5x total on the 3 ships sailing. We LOVE Eclass.

I still find MDR food to be pretty good but not exactly memorable.

We normally do not eat specialty dining when sailing (MDR is fine) but Eclass specialty dining is the best at sea, imo (well, among mainstream lines).

Eden was very good on every ship.

We did both Le Voyage & Chef's Table (in Voyage--not included in a dining plan; costs extra).

Absolutely terrific. 

Tried Le Petite & Rooftop on Equinox. Both good, but not good enough to go again. Both are more about the experience.

 

Buffet on Eclass has someone who makes the salad for you. There are many stations where they will make things--pasta, grilled items.

You may also like Eden Cafe (upstairs from Eden restaurant; only open sea days) for breakfast & lunch. They make most items--sandwiches, soups, salads--another you can choose your items.

El Bacio has desserts that are served to you, not picked up by passengers.

Pizza is in the back of the buffet but self-serve.

Mast Grill serves burgers poolside.

 

It does sound as though you are very picky (no offense, just an observation).

I mention this, because you may not enjoy the restaurants that we did, as we are foodies & not picky.

 

 

 

[Rod&Deb]

Oh dear you may be better booking into the Ritz for a couple of weeks. Cruise ships are not 5 star food as they are cooking for 3 to 5 thousand people and it’s not possible. I have found food great on both lines and if you couldn’t find anything to eat then you won’t now either

[Cruise a holic]

I loved the choices on the Celebrity Edge class ships.  Our favorite restaurant was Eden.  The S class we enjoy the lawn club grill.  We also typically dine once in each specialty restaurant, except not sushi lovers.  We found the food on princess, not nearly as good as Celebrity- or Royal-  Honestly, we are foodies and IMO  we have the best restaurants available at home- so if it is just food you want, no cruise ship typically can beat a 5 star land based restaurant.  We don't go on a cruise just for the food-

 

You will enjoy the Edge class ships.

Edited December 30, 2023 by Cruise a holic

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Have been blessed to cruise since the 1970s on many lines and many ships of all categories. The food has certainly changed from gourmet to mass market catering. Born and raised in Manhattan the restaurants are incomparable although France and Italy certainly are up there. When I cruise nowadays I have a high tolerance level for the food. For my purposes as I get older the huge ships just don’t cut it anymore. Been there done that so we are gravitating towards the smaller luxury lines and even they are not truly gourmet. I no longer compare the different lines and ships etc and go with an open mind and hungry stomach lol!

[deliver42]

I've been on 2 Princess cruises and the food never excited me. Nothing special, not including the specialties, which were very good.

[rj59]

Every line has strengths and weaknesses, and food is entirely subjective. My parents think that prime rib and lobster are some rare delight that are only available on cruise ships, and would never even contemplate anything exotic or unusual, and never tried sushi in their lives. I get sick of the same old thing, so I enjoy trying Indian or Asian dishes. Quality can vary by ship and even by time--if a dining room is packed, then the food might not be the best, and food sitting in a buffet for some time can be awful. Making blanket judgements about a line is foolish, unless you've eaten everything. For instance, as another poster said, HAL has a great variety of breakfast MDR options, but they didn't mention there's only one lunch menu for every day of a cruise, with really poor choices, and they've made other cutbacks like eliminating creme brulee from all menus, unless asked for. I can make a case that Carnival actually has the best food at sea, since I consider Guy's burgers and Blue Iguana Mexican food better than any other deck food I've found, and no other line has Indian vegetarian as a nightly menu option. Their MDR breakfast also has a lot of interesting options, like avocado toast and good granola. Personally, I'm kind of bored by the regular MDR Celebrity options, but on one cruise I skipped it and had everything on the menu of the Sushi restaurant, and I'm sure other specialty dining would also be more enticing, which I suspect is a reason to limit options and quality in the MDR. So for any line, there's great food available, you just have to find a line's strengths and weaknesses, and be adventurous enough to look for the best dining experiences, even if it's out of your culinary comfort zone. 

[MISTER 67]

We sail mainly with Celebrity and Princess, we don’t do specialty restaurants so IMHO Celebrity has a slight edge in both the MDR and the buffets but not that much of a difference that it will keep us away from Princess, everything else from service to entertainment is equal except X still gives us the mints on the pillows but X charges more for the same cruises. 

[MISTER 67]

5 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

We sail mainly with Celebrity and Princess, we don’t do specialty restaurants so IMHO Celebrity has a slight edge in both the MDR and the buffets but not that much of a difference that it will keep us away from Princess, everything else from service to entertainment is equal except X still gives us the mints on the pillows but X charges more for the same cruises.

BTW we have also sailed quite a lot with HAL and are very disappointed with them, the food and entertainment budget cuts after the pandemic have made a big difference along with cuts in service, we have stopped sailing with them until I hear things are changing for the better.

 

 

Edited December 30, 2023 by MISTER 67