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Which cruise line has the best and worst food?


tomchi
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I've been on HAL (Westerdam) and NCL (Jewel). On both, the food was somewhere between OK and pretty good.

 

May I call upon the collective wisdom, experience and epicurean appreciation of this board's users to ask which cruise line you think has the best and worst food, and why?

 

Please exclude the 6-star lines.

 

Thanks a lot!

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You are absolutely right jjaysonn42: My wife and I recently returned from a Princess cruise where the food was mediocre and the service was not great. We made a reservation for dinner on a particular occasion thinking perhaps we might stand a better chance at an a-la-carte. Upon sitting down, I noticed a young man serving whom had a very bad cold. I told my wife if he was to be our server, I would ask for another waiter or leave the retaurant. I really did not want to play the villain so we made an excuse and left the restaurant. The Japanese restaurant we went to afterward was excellent! So, sometime we don't always get what we may want at first, but with a little patience and understanding, things usually have a way of working out for the best.

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You are absolutely right jjaysonn42: My wife and I recently returned from a Princess cruise where the food was mediocre and the service was not great. We made a reservation for dinner on a particular occasion thinking perhaps we might stand a better chance at an a-la-carte. Upon sitting down, I noticed a young man serving whom had a very bad cold. I told my wife if he was to be our server, I would ask for another waiter or leave the retaurant. I really did not want to play the villain so we made an excuse and left the restaurant. The Japanese restaurant we went to afterward was excellent! So, sometime we don't always get what we may want at first, but with a little patience and understanding, things usually have a way of working out for the best.

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I haven't been around as much as others here on CC but I'm really curious about this.

 

I don't want to hear how the quality has gone down. I want to know, currently (past year or so) which line taste the best.

 

Sailed on the Freedom of the Seas in January and was very happy with the food options, although that was our first cruise so there was probably a reality distortion field in place.

 

Sailed on Carnival Imagination in November, food was not good. I wouldn't say terrible because I'll eat just about anything when it comes down to it. The stuff in the MDR wasn't anything better than Applebee's. The buffet reminded me of what my small rural college was like the last few days of the semester :-(

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Holland American (all of them) have the BEST food. From duck to desserts. Not a lively cruise ship like carnival but relaxing, and great food, service, people very friendly, etc. Cant wait to go on a princess (cheap/undecided) over Feb. break!!

Edited by caribb23
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Holland American (all of them) have the BEST food. From duck to desserts. Not a lively cruise ship like carnival but relaxing, and great food, service, people very friendly, etc. Cant wait to go on a princess (cheap/undecided) over Feb. break!!

 

Now that is the perfect answer I was looking for. I know there will be other opinions, but that's what I want to hear.

 

And I didn't much care for the atmosphere on the carnival boat, I was never much into the MTV spring break style of things anyway.

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Interesting question. I am looking to take my girlfriend on a shorter cruise and I'd like to go to something that is on a 3 star Michelin level.NCL to Bermuda, most of the dining room food was just awful.Knowing that the destination to port was a short one, we just hung on for local fare. Reminder: if you drink coffee-cruise java is by far the worst experience.

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I would think IMHO if you wanted anything at any Michelin level you would avoid any mainstream line. May one of the luxury lines Silversea, Cunard etc. would be more on that high-end level.

 

Personally I've never dined at any restaurant on a Michelin level, It's just never lined up in the budget that way. Not that I wouldn't spend it if I could :-)

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I haven't been around as much as others here on CC but I'm really curious about this.

 

I don't want to hear how the quality has gone down. I want to know, currently (past year or so) which line taste the best.

 

Sailed on the Freedom of the Seas in January and was very happy with the food options, although that was our first cruise so there was probably a reality distortion field in place.

 

Sailed on Carnival Imagination in November, food was not good. I wouldn't say terrible because I'll eat just about anything when it comes down to it. The stuff in the MDR wasn't anything better than Applebee's. The buffet reminded me of what my small rural college was like the last few days of the semester :-(

I agree with you on the Imagination. We said on her the first week in Dec. and I was very disappointed by the food and our waitstaff. (ribs I couldn't chew, tiny rubbery lobster, breaded shrimp that tasted like it came out the frozen food section of our grocery store) The option to the dining room = the buffet, was not appetizing at all. :( We did however enjoy the grilled hamburgers by the pool & the sushi...

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After 36 cruises, here is my break down in the area of quality cuisine:

(only cruise lines I have cruised)

 

#1 -- Oceania (small ships; more expensive)

 

#2 -- Azamara (same as Oceania)

 

#3 -- Celebrity (best food in the large ship category; alternative restaurants

are outstanding)

 

#4 -- Holland America (very good food; best buffet)

 

#5 -- Royal Caribbean (Radiance class only; nice alternative restaurants)

 

#6 -- Princess (nice food; alterative restaurants not that great)

 

#7 -- Royal Caribbean (other ships; basic food)

 

#8 -- NCL

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I've been on HAL (Westerdam) and NCL (Jewel). On both, the food was somewhere between OK and pretty good.

 

May I call upon the collective wisdom, experience and epicurean appreciation of this board's users to ask which cruise line you think has the best and worst food, and why?

 

Please exclude the 6-star lines.

 

Thanks a lot!

Since you exclude the six star lines my vote goes to Oceania for the best and HAL for the worst. Although we've never sailed on RCL or NCL I have heard that their food is not very tasty. Once a waiter told us that it was really difficult if not impossible to cook and prepare excellent food for any group over 700 people. All of this being said, I'm sure that some of the larger ships have excellent "boutique" restaurants.

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After 36 cruises, here is my break down in the area of quality cuisine:

(only cruise lines I have cruised)

 

#1 -- Oceania (small ships; more expensive)

 

#2 -- Azamara (same as Oceania)

 

#3 -- Celebrity (best food in the large ship category; alternative restaurants

are outstanding)

 

#4 -- Holland America (very good food; best buffet)

 

#5 -- Royal Caribbean (Radiance class only; nice alternative restaurants)

 

#6 -- Princess (nice food; alterative restaurants not that great)

 

#7 -- Royal Caribbean (other ships; basic food)

 

#8 -- NCL

 

Kelmac - I have to agree with you. We have been on 17 going on 18 cruises and for the mainstream mass market lines -- IMHO

 

1 - Celebrity - Best food and service for the $$$; agree - alternative restaurants are excellent;

 

2 - Holland - Excellent Food; service was very good to excellent; people on the ship tend to be "old" (and that was said to us by our 85 Y.O. friends):); great drink card packages;

 

3 - Princess - Food is very good to excellent; not a big fan of anytime dining; tough to get late seating; a bit of nickel and diming;

 

4 - Royal Caribbean - We were very disappointed with the food our last cruise and prefer smaller ships; too impersonal; quality and food choices were slim; shrimp cocktails only on "certain" nights;

 

5 - NCL - We will NEVER cruise with them again; the food was DISGUSTING and DISGRACEFUL!

 

Neil

Edited by neilrr
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Worst food in my experience was MDR on Radiance OTS. Low quality ingredients prepared unimaginatively. The Prime Rib looked awful, it appeared to have more fat than flesh. Thank goodness I didn't order it. Wait staffed informed us the first night that steaks could only be ordered medium or well - *****! (By the way worst buffet experience was also on this cruise. Bone-in chicken thighs cut in half in a dark heavy sauce - can you spell bone slivers?)

 

Good was MDR on Jewel OTS. Much better preparation and a little more imagination. Ingredient quality was about the same as Radiance and many cooks used way too much salt.

 

Best was MDR on Carnival Elation. Slightly better ingredient quality than Royal Caribbean and way more imagination. Deft preparation.

 

Two conclusions. Even though sister ships may share ingredient sources and menus the on-board staff make a huge difference. Just because Carnival ships are considered "party ships" doesn't mean that they don't know how to prepare very good meals.

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I agree with the pp who said that you're not going to get "great" food on a mass market cruise line. You may get an enjoyable dining experience, but if you want more than that, you're going to have to pay. I sailed HALs Westerdam in March of '09. The food was fine. Not great, sometimes good, but most often fine. One night I had the great pleasure of attending the Chef's Table dinner for the bargain price of $129 - it was easily one of the best meals I have ever had. Now, the same chef whose recipes were prepared that night wrote the recipes (or chose them) for all the rest of the cruise. The difference was the food was prepared for a dinner party of 20, not 2000.... It's all relative!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I went on Carnival two years ago and it was the worst food I ever had! The buffet was a dry whole turkey that they carved for you, an inedible chicken dish and spaghetti and meatballs the tasted like they poured the whole jar of basil in it. The food in the MDR wasn't much better. The waiter told us on the first night (lobster night) that this was the best night for food and for the rest of the cruise it went downhill and he was correct. I love Mexican food and when it came time for the midnight buffet it was all Mexican! I was so excited it looked great! I took a few bites and wondered how could they mess up the food so badly? We were on the Sensation on the short cruise and will never do Carnival again. We usually go on the Disney and are satisfied with the food. It is good buy not great. At least I didn't go hungry like I did on Carnival. We are going on the Liberty of the Seas 4-4-10 and I am very curious how the food will be. It is a week long cruise and I figure I will either gain the usual 5 pounds or loose 10! If you have been on Liberty of the Seas lately please let me know if you enjoyed the food. Thanks Dori

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I went on Carnival two years ago and it was the worst food I ever had! The buffet was a dry whole turkey that they carved for you, an inedible chicken dish and spaghetti and meatballs the tasted like they poured the whole jar of basil in it. The food in the MDR wasn't much better. The waiter told us on the first night (lobster night) that this was the best night for food and for the rest of the cruise it went downhill and he was correct. I love Mexican food and when it came time for the midnight buffet it was all Mexican! I was so excited it looked great! I took a few bites and wondered how could they mess up the food so badly? We were on the Sensation on the short cruise and will never do Carnival again. We usually go on the Disney and are satisfied with the food. It is good buy not great. At least I didn't go hungry like I did on Carnival. We are going on the Liberty of the Seas 4-4-10 and I am very curious how the food will be. It is a week long cruise and I figure I will either gain the usual 5 pounds or loose 10! If you have been on Liberty of the Seas lately please let me know if you enjoyed the food. Thanks Dori

 

I was quite surprised to read your post. I've cruised Carnival, week long, and found the food to be quite acceptable. Certainly not as bad as you describe. In fact quite a bit better. So I wonder if it was the length of the cruise or the ship. In my experience even with essentially the same menus some ships prepare it much better than others.

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This is a hard question to answer as the same cruise line might be better one trip over another time. Some of the things that cloud one opinions are the service, who you might be eating with, if it is a special trip (ie anniversary, bithday), if you were sick or someone was not feeling well even part of the trip. All that aside I would rank mine on average:

1. RCCL

2. Celebrity

3. NCL

4. CCL

Every trips meals varied so have an open mind and enjoy. You can not go wrong. ;)

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I was quite surprised to read your post. I've cruised Carnival, week long, and found the food to be quite acceptable. Certainly not as bad as you describe. In fact quite a bit better. So I wonder if it was the length of the cruise or the ship. In my experience even with essentially the same menus some ships prepare it much better than others.

 

I have heard form several people that the short cruise on Carnival is just for the people that like to stay up and drink and dance the night away. They also say that the food is delicious on the week long cruise. Maybe you are correct in saying it is the length of the cruise that makes all the difference. I must say that the experience on the short cruise was so bad that I am not willing to try the longer cruise. Dori

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I have heard form several people that the short cruise on Carnival is just for the people that like to stay up and drink and dance the night away. They also say that the food is delicious on the week long cruise. Maybe you are correct in saying it is the length of the cruise that makes all the difference. I must say that the experience on the short cruise was so bad that I am not willing to try the longer cruise. Dori

 

Unfortunate, but entirely understandable. Fortunately there are many other lines.

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I have heard form several people that the short cruise on Carnival is just for the people that like to stay up and drink and dance the night away. They also say that the food is delicious on the week long cruise. Maybe you are correct in saying it is the length of the cruise that makes all the difference. I must say that the experience on the short cruise was so bad that I am not willing to try the longer cruise. Dori

 

I must disagree. I just got off the Carnival Ecstasy four-nighter (Thursday-Monday) out of Galveston and the MDR food was the best by far of any of the 10 cruises I have been on (RCCL, Princess and Celebrity). Dinner was the high point of the day and everyone in our group was ordering three starters, an entree, and two desserts, just to try the different items. Can't wait to cruise Carnival again for the wonderful food!

As an aside, The Ecstasy is rated the number one ship in the Carnival fleet year after year. Does this make a difference in the food quality? I wouldn't think so, but who knows????

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