The points guy says carnival among 6 top cruise lines for food

[mfs2k]

On 2/24/2024 at 6:30 PM, jimbo5544 said:

While I cannot compare 40 years ago, I go back 30+.

Scary to think I go back 38 years to Tropicale and the first Jubilee. It feels like yesterday. I don’t remember the food but I remember the people and having fun. 

[jimbo5544]

5 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

Scary to think I go back 38 years to Tropicale and the first Jubilee. It feels like yesterday. I don’t remember the food but I remember the people and having fun. 

When were in awe at her size. 38K tons.  Totally wowed with the ship, the experience and the trip.  Hooked us.

[BlerkOne]

8 hours ago, mfs2k said:

Scary to think I go back 38 years to Tropicale and the first Jubilee. It feels like yesterday. I don’t remember the food but I remember the people and having fun. 

That's what the rum swizzles were for.

[firefly333]

I did notice he mentioned the fast food places by name so maybe he is like me and likes fast food. .. though I havent had big chicken yet, I'm sure I'd like it if it's anything like popeyes here. 

 

He didnt really get into the Mdr thing. Everyone likes something different, just his tastes like mine seem to run to fast food. .. or he wouldnt have mentioned them by name. I also did the deli 3 times for blt and fries. 

[Paelos]

One of the reasons I pick Carnival is the food relative to the price. I do think they have the best complementary options on a cruise ship of the four major lines CCL, NCL, RCL, MSC.

 

My biggest takeaway from every fan of every major line is that food took a hit in quality post covid. The difference I've found in carnival is the complementary variety has increased, while other lines pushed to higher cost specialty options.

[TravelBluebird]

I agree with the Points Guy—Carnival’s MDR and other included food cannot be beat on the major lines!  

That said, I was very impressed with the food on Holland America in January (Oosterdam). However, I missed Carnival’s pizza, Guy’s, Big Chicken, etc. and other varied included food options, but to make up for it somewhat, HAL’s buffet food was quite good (except the pizza. Blech).

 

Interesting to see that the Points Guy site is doing more cruising coverage; thanks for highlighting the article!

[bdeluca03]

On 2/21/2024 at 3:45 PM, firefly333 said:

He mostly writes about how to upgrade flying on points, but this is about cruising food. I was very happy with the food on dream as I've said. 

 

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/best-cruise-food/

 

Warning: I'm about to make a lofty and controversial claim. Carnival Cruise Line has the best all-around food of any mainstream cruise line. The food quality is even more surprising because its fares are some of the industry's lowest.

In addition to a pleasant variety of cuisine in its ships' onboard buffets, passengers will find delicious options on the main dining room menus daily. (One of the best-kept secrets is the line's Indian cuisine. If you don't see it on the menu, ask.)

Sure, Carnival has added-fee dining in the way of steak and seafood, but in terms of free fare, Carnival has the most impressive array of alternative dining options for which you won't have to shell out anything extra. In particular, I give special nods to Guy's Burger Joint by Guy Fieri; the BlueIguana Cantina, which offers Mexican food; Big Chicken, Shaquille O'Neal's chicken eatery; and Pizza Pirate or Pizzeria del Capitano (depending on the ship), which are renowned for their simply drool-worthy pies.

Personally, I enjoy the breakfasts (omelette station), Blue Iguana for Breakfast Burritos/Tacos and the Lunches at Pig & Anchor, Blue Iguana, Guy's Burgers, Cucina Del Capitano, Pizza, and Salad Bar by Serenity. Personally, I could pass on the deli.

As for dinner - I'll usually go speciality vs. MDR unless it's Elegant Night #2 Lobster as I personally find the dining room options to be subpar vs. land based cuisine. Lastly, I always book the steakhouse at least once for dinner.

[Youyoyotoo]

On 2/27/2024 at 4:01 AM, Paelos said:

One of the reasons I pick Carnival is the food relative to the price. I do think they have the best complementary options on a cruise ship of the four major lines CCL, NCL, RCL, MSC.

 

My biggest takeaway from every fan of every major line is that food took a hit in quality post covid. The difference I've found in carnival is the complementary variety has increased, while other lines pushed to higher cost specialty options.

Well, if that is true then why after years of non COVID recovery, hasn't the quality of food returned to "normal". Who is getting all that better quality food, especially the "meats" now instead???

[IntrepidFromDC]

This was fun and interesting to read.  I agree with most of what you all say, and I'll add my 2 cents...

 

The food on Carnival has always been sub-standard IMO but I've only been on Carnival and MSC.  I think the quality of steaks, both MDR and Steakhouse, has diminished since covid.  I KNOW the pizza is not as great as it used to be but it's still good.  Pre-covid they used fresh, olive-oily mozarella balls they would slice to add to the pizza, now they use cheese pellets like everyone else.  On the other hand, Mardi Gras has much-needed improvements on both variety and quality of food, like Shaq's chicken and shwarama.  Glad to see others have experienced improvements in food too and I'm hoping to experience some that you guys talked about that I haven't had a chance to enjoy yet.  Sorry to end on a sour note, but guy's burgers are crap-at-sea.  It blows my mind that anyone thinks they're just moderately good.  The quality at the fixings bar is also lacking.  Don't get me started on donkey sauce.  Cruise on!

[jimbo5544]

30 minutes ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

This was fun and interesting to read.  I agree with most of what you all say, and I'll add my 2 cents...

 

The food on Carnival has always been sub-standard IMO but I've only been on Carnival and MSC.  I think the quality of steaks, both MDR and Steakhouse, has diminished since covid.  I KNOW the pizza is not as great as it used to be but it's still good.  Pre-covid they used fresh, olive-oily mozarella balls they would slice to add to the pizza, now they use cheese pellets like everyone else.  On the other hand, Mardi Gras has much-needed improvements on both variety and quality of food, like Shaq's chicken and shwarama.  Glad to see others have experienced improvements in food too and I'm hoping to experience some that you guys talked about that I haven't had a chance to enjoy yet.  Sorry to end on a sour note, but guy's burgers are crap-at-sea.  It blows my mind that anyone thinks they're just moderately good.  The quality at the fixings bar is also lacking.  Don't get me started on donkey sauce.  Cruise on!

1.5 cents

[sparks1093]

11 hours ago, Youyoyotoo said:

Well, if that is true then why after years of non COVID recovery, hasn't the quality of food returned to "normal". Who is getting all that better quality food, especially the "meats" now instead???

We've sailed several times since re-start and I've not seen the decline in food quality that others have seen. On our last couple of sailings the quality seemed to be a bit better. Looking forward to giving the new Emeril's menus a try in 29 days. 

Edited March 22 by sparks1093

[sparks1093]

9 hours ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

This was fun and interesting to read.  I agree with most of what you all say, and I'll add my 2 cents...

 

The food on Carnival has always been sub-standard IMO but I've only been on Carnival and MSC.  I think the quality of steaks, both MDR and Steakhouse, has diminished since covid.  I KNOW the pizza is not as great as it used to be but it's still good.  Pre-covid they used fresh, olive-oily mozarella balls they would slice to add to the pizza, now they use cheese pellets like everyone else.  On the other hand, Mardi Gras has much-needed improvements on both variety and quality of food, like Shaq's chicken and shwarama.  Glad to see others have experienced improvements in food too and I'm hoping to experience some that you guys talked about that I haven't had a chance to enjoy yet.  Sorry to end on a sour note, but guy's burgers are crap-at-sea.  It blows my mind that anyone thinks they're just moderately good.  The quality at the fixings bar is also lacking.  Don't get me started on donkey sauce.  Cruise on!

We've sailed on NCL, Royal and CCL and have found the food quality to be very similar across the three lines. If I had to rate them I probably would put CCL last, but it isn't by a wide margin at all and when I consider what I'm paying to cruise CCL it takes a leap forward. Whenever we book we do look at the other lines and they are always substantially more than CCL (sometimes by thousands) and given that price differential one would expect their food to be miles ahead, and it isn't. I think Guy's is a good burger, but only because I'm not paying for it and I probably wouldn't pay any extra for it if they started charging for it. I've read a lot of good things about Shaq's and look forward to trying it soon.

[jimbo5544]

WE HAVE A DOUBLE BINGO winner.

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, sparks1093 said:

We've sailed on NCL, Royal and CCL and have found the food quality to be very similar across the three lines. If I had to rate them I probably would put CCL last, but it isn't by a wide margin at all and when I consider what I'm paying to cruise CCL it takes a leap forward. Whenever we book we do look at the other lines and they are always substantially more than CCL (sometimes by thousands) and given that price differential one would expect their food to be miles ahead, and it isn't. I think Guy's is a good burger, but only because I'm not paying for it and I probably wouldn't pay any extra for it if they started charging for it. I've read a lot of good things about Shaq's and look forward to trying it soon.

Shaq’s is another good free food alternative.  Excel class ships offer a myriad of food options, including street eats.  Not worth discussing further, but we would have given am edge in MDR food at Carnival over Celebrity (service is another story).

Edited March 22 by jimbo5544

[AllgoodOnTheRoad]

I have been on three other lines in the past year and I kind of agree with him. Certainly, food quality has seriously diminished in recent years on Carnival, but it also has on all the other lines and Carnival is really stepping it up with the food on Excel class ships. That most of these options are still free is also impressive compared to other lines. Royal food was not better this year and the options were fewer. Also, food does not have to be good to be the best in cruising, it just has to be better than the other guy. 

Edited March 22 by AllgoodOnTheRoad

[jimbo5544]

5 minutes ago, AllgoodOnTheRoad said:

I have been on three other lines in the past year and I kind of agree with him. Certainly, food quality has seriously diminished in recent years on Carnival, but it also has on all the other lines and Carnival is really stepping it up with the food on Excel class ships. That most of these options are still free is also impressive compared to other lines. Royal food was not better this year and the options were fewer. Also, food does not have to be good to be the best in cruising, it just has to be better than the other guy. 

We all know the reason for decline (poor choice of words) in quality. The travel industry is trying to recover from the hardest hit (specifically cruise lines) in history.  My view is to give them leeway on all fronts, but that is just me.

[sparks1093]

53 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

We all know the reason for decline (poor choice of words) in quality. The travel industry is trying to recover from the hardest hit (specifically cruise lines) in history.  My view is to give them leeway on all fronts, but that is just me.

The supply chain also has something to do with it. I noticed a decline in food quality at the grocery store when COVID started and that decline is still there. Even name brand foods don't have the same quality level that they had before. But even given that I still haven't noticed a decline (maybe I would notice if I cruised more often than once per year).

[jimbo5544]

18 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

The supply chain also has something to do with it. I noticed a decline in food quality at the grocery store when COVID started and that decline is still there. Even name brand foods don't have the same quality level that they had before. But even given that I still haven't noticed a decline (maybe I would notice if I cruised more often than once per year).

Supply chain is def a part of the problem.

[elcuchio24]

On 2/24/2024 at 1:18 PM, jimbo5544 said:

Food is def a subjective topic.  I can even have the same thing on different ships and it taste and look different.  

 

Absolutely. Had two CCL cruises last year, food on Celebration was sub par in general, but went on Horizon and it was quite good...

[elcuchio24]

4 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

We've sailed on NCL, Royal and CCL and have found the food quality to be very similar across the three lines. If I had to rate them I probably would put CCL last, but it isn't by a wide margin at all and when I consider what I'm paying to cruise CCL it takes a leap forward. Whenever we book we do look at the other lines and they are always substantially more than CCL (sometimes by thousands) and given that price differential one would expect their food to be miles ahead, and it isn't. I think Guy's is a good burger, but only because I'm not paying for it and I probably wouldn't pay any extra for it if they started charging for it. I've read a lot of good things about Shaq's and look forward to trying it soon.

 

Shaq's and Guys are two of my favorite spots on any cruise line, anywhere. High class/fancy? No. Delicious--100%

[jimbo5544]

56 minutes ago, elcuchio24 said:

 

Shaq's and Guys are two of my favorite spots on any cruise line, anywhere. High class/fancy? No. Delicious--100%

Yup, sometimes easy and simple beats elegant.  Totally agree.

[Oceansaway17]

5 hours ago, elcuchio24 said:

 

Absolutely. Had two CCL cruises last year, food on Celebration was sub par in general, but went on Horizon and it was quite good...

yes I agree as I liked the Horizon much better. I liked the french toast better as they use the grill from Guys right around the corner.

[ontheweb]

4 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

Yup, sometimes easy and simple beats elegant.  Totally agree.

Also, agree.

 

DW and I sailed the NCL Prima last summer. They have a no extra charge restaurant called The Local that specializes in comfort food. I only wish we had discovered it before our last dinner.

 

My dessert was a hot fudge sundae which was incredibly good! 😊😊😊😊😊

 

For our main course, we both had fish and chips, a true comfort food.

[Captain Zippyjet]

I've been on 11 Carnival cruises and never went hungry. I was just on the Celebration this past October and enjoyed the food, And, this wasn't for fee dining. I'm planning to be on MSC or Carnival this September. The only negative was their late night snack. Also referred to as Midnight Buffet. Check out my thread on this topic. I've taken one Royal and two MSC cruises and I enjoyed their food. One of the best food choices is Guy's Burgers and on the Celebration Shaques Chicken. My mouth is watering now. As mentioned in my thread the late night snaks so far DO NOT reflect on Carnival's mainline food. And I hope this continues. The jury's out on the Omlete protocal but, if I cruise on a fun ship I'll try it and share here on Cruise Critic. I've never been on the up market cruise lines such as Princess or Celebrity so, I can't compare.With the ecception of the late night fare because the cruises are busy sold out, the food doesn't get a chance to be "leftover" quality. Same with MSC 2021/2022 and Royal 2022. My sage advice to Carnival keep the late night snacks on late night.

 

 

[Joebucks]

I just recently returned from a Royal Caribbean cruise. I can unequivocally say that the food was way better on Carnival.