Quality of food vs Carnival

[oyme]

Ok we are planning our next 2 cruises for 2011 and my husband's favorite part of a cruise is the food, esp. in the MDR but in all of the ships dining areas. We've only been on 3 cruises so far so we are still less experienced than a lot of you guys, especially since we haven't cruised the same cruise line twice yet... hopefully that will be changing in 2011.

 

Anyways, we loved NCL's and Princess' food but Carnival just wasn't as good food-wise in our opinion. However, we haven't sailed NCL since 2005! Is the food still great? I'm sure it's gone downhill a tad in the past few years. I see so many Carnival groupies saying that the food (specifically on Norwegian's Spirit, that's the ship I'm reading reviews on but I'm asking about all NCL ships really) doesn't stack up to Carnival. Is this true, in your opinion?

Thanks in advance! :o

[Planer's Edge]

I found the food to very similar on NCL and Carnival, although Carnival's pizza is much better.

 

PE

[oyme]

I didn't even try Carnival's Pizza, I was too busy eating their Reuben's mmm. Thanks for your reply! :) I can handle "similar." I tried telling my husband on a land based vaca we'd probably be eating $7.00 hot dogs at some amusement park so any cruise line can beat that. (He doesn't agree). :)

[salty dingo]

Food quality is very similar. I have read more comments that give the edge to Carnival but really, to me it is a toss-up.

[98Charlie]

We are platinum on NCL and about to embark on our 7th Carnival cruise. We feel the food on both lines to be very similar but have our favorites on both lines.

 

NCL's pizza is not so hot. Carnival's is very good.

 

NCL has better ice cream.

 

Carnival's deli is to die for. Got to love those reubens.

 

NCL to a fantastic job with their alternative restaurants. We're farm kids and the best lamb we have ever had in our lives was ln Le Bistro on NCL. Have never eaten in Cagney's on NCL or steak houses on Carnival ships but we enjoy the less pricey options in alternative dining on NCL like Soho on Star, Shogun on Spirit and the yummy free bites at Blue Lagoon.

 

Carnival's fish & chips venues on the larger class ships is good.

 

NCL has a better selection of homemade pastries but Carnival serves guava jelly (one of my favorites). NCL has Bier Garten venues on a few ships. Love the view from the patio areas.

 

All in all, it's a toss up. Both cruiselines do their own thing but they pull up pretty even in the end.

 

Dianne

[PlayTheAces]

We just returned from our first ever Carnival cruise. We've been cruising with NCL for many years.

 

Food is subjective as heck, but here's what we found.

 

MDR breakfast - we vote for NCL. Carnival has absolutely horrible Eggs Benedict, and their Lox & Bagel is far below what NCL offers.

 

MDR Lunch - pretty much a push here.

 

MDR Dinner - on appetizers and soups we felt NCL does a better job. Maybe they just offer more of what we like, but we really like NCL's soups. Entrees go to Carnival by a wide margin. Not only a much better selection, but better food. Carnival offers a full rack of lamb - on our last NCL cruise a few months ago we got a lamb slice. Carnival serves Fillet Mignon. NCL stopped that long ago - you have to go to one of their pay restaurants for that. Desserts are about the same on both lines. Carnival includes cappuccino and espresso with dessert. NCL now charges you extra for these.

 

As stated above, Carnival's pizza is quite good. Carnival also has a made-to-order deli sandwich bar which isn't bad at all.

 

We didn't hit the buffet so can't comment on that.

 

As a side note while Carnival does offer "Anytime" dining similar to NCL's "Freestyle", they have a long way to go to catch NCL. We found it very difficult to get a table for two. Carnival always tries to seat you at a group table.

[kcwingwalker]

We were on the Carnival Triumph out of NOLA last March and honestly did not like the food. And, there were no alternate restaurants.....just the MDRs and buffet, pizza, ice cream, etc. No pay restaurants for a special evening.

 

We have sailed twice on the Spirit and sailing again in December. For us, the Spirit is a nicer ship all around and we love the food. And, we can go to a specialty restaurant if we wish.

 

[shof515]

does ncl have ice cream like what carnival has?

[CanadianTwosome]

There has been free ice cream on every NCL ship I've ever been on (4).

 

We love the food on NCL, both in the included restaurants and in the specialty restaurants. When I compare pricing for cruises, I always keep specialty dining in the back of my mind, also, because I know none of us can resist the call of the prime rib at Cagney's or the sound of the blades at Teppanyaki... *sigh* ha ha ha Even with the surcharges, we still always end up paying less for the cruise overall - otherwise I would have no problem booking another line. I only mention it because I think it's important to realize that paying a surcharge for a specialty meal doesn't necessarily equate to paying more than you would on another line, if you see what I mean. I basically consider the specialty dining part of our fare, as if they had a tiered system for different meal plans...

 

I should mention also, that we would be very happy with the food in the included venues. As I said, we love it... we're just really self indulgent, so we partake in the specialties that appeal to us. :)

[lambs2]

We just took our very first Carnival cruise and have been on six NCL ones. Agree that the food quality is similar. Both lines have EXCELLENT ribs (one of my favortite dishes) and nice sugar-free desserts, although I give the edge to NCL on those SF desserts. DH says NCL's ice cream is better, and on several NCL ships (like the Star) he has enjoyed regular ice cream as opposed to just soft serve during the day at the buffet on Carnival. Both lines have regular scooped ice cream available in the main dining rooms at dinner. Carnival definitely wins in the pizza department.

[msublonde1]

I hate to ask, but what is the deal about all the questions about the ice cream and the pizza? Those thing just don't come into my mind when I think about cruising. I love being able to try new things and order multiple entrees and appetizers, just to try them all. I try not to munch on stuff that I can easily get at home. The food isn't a huge deal for me. The best part about the food is that you don't have to prepare, cook, or clean up afterwards. If you don't like it, you can always order something else or venture to a different area or order room service. What I love the most is the options!

[Sundiego]

I hate to ask, but what is the deal about all the questions about the ice cream and the pizza? Those thing just don't come into my mind when I think about cruising.

 

I gotta confess, I've never eaten pizza on a cruise ship either! But the ice cream... there's something about being on a hot weather cruise and being able to get an ice cream cone anytime you want. Yum.

 

We took our first NCL cruise (Pearl) last month and thought the food was good. I loved the French toast at breakfast (in the MDR and in the buffet... same stuff). And as much as we enjoyed the food on Carnival, we loved Freestyle and really liked eating breakfast in the MDR. We always got a table for two and asked for and got a coffee pot left on the table. Breakfast and lunch in the Carnival MDR's was not relaxing at all and we never got a table for 2, ever.

[DMH15]

I agree with PlayTheAces... My mom loves eggs benedict and the ones we were served on Carny were the worst we have ever received. When my mom asked the server where was the hollandaise, he replied "there"... It was caked on and dry. My mom said she'd had better Eggs McMuffins than that meal.

 

So, although we have had some so-so meals on NCL, most have ranged good to very good...

 

And even though you didn't ask, my favorite meal at sea was in The Normandie on Celebrity Summit.

 

But, these are MY (and my mom's) OPINION(S)... Yours may be different.

[gatorsfam]

I also want to add my disdain for the Carnival eggs benedict... disgusting indeed... don't waste your emotions .. order something else

[98Charlie]

When ordering Eggs Benedict ask for the Hollandaise on the side. It will require a few minutes longer. But it will be made fresh, no dried sauce.

 

I've had good and bad EB on all lines that we've sailed.

 

Charlie

[steviek49]

Although food is subjective, we have found food quality and taste in MDR to be generally the same on board Princess, NCL, Carnival and HAL.

What we like about NCl is that we generally visit the MDR during the day and see the menu.

If the menu isn't to our liking, we like that we have many options that we can book or go to for that evening.

BTW, When we were last on NCL (Gem in 8/09), the menu always had a steak or chicken dish available in addition to the daily menu choices.

[MotherofTrips]

I just got off the Jewel today. In my family's opinion, if you compare main dining room to main dining room, Carnival blows it away. We were very disappointed in the main dining room. So much that we ate at Tsars on the first night and didn't want to go back. We actually went to the buffet for dinner (something that we have never done on previous cruise ships). We then tried Azura's. We had a really nice waitress which made the experience better, but still the food selection does not come close to previous cruise lines. They didn't even sound good on paper. I ordered from the alternative menu (steak), just to be safe.

[Dr. Jack Daniels]

Since you mentioned the MDR as being important I will address that aspect.

 

I have been on 10 Carnival Cruises and for the first 8 I would say the food in the MDR was superior to NCL. However, there was a noticable decrease in the quality of food in the MDR on my last two Carnival cruises. So I would say the quality in the MDR between Carnival and NCL is about even now.

 

At least with NCL you have several other options for dinner instead of the MDR

[ringram]

We've been on 3 NCL and 4 Carnival cruises and IMO the food varies from ship to ship regardless of the cruise line. Maybe even week to week. So good luck during your week.

 

I will add one thing concerning the ice cream. On each cruise I have have a personal goal (and limit) of eating 7 of those little soft serve ice cream cones per day. I'm not a big person, but I love ice cream of any kind. On the NCL cruises we've been on, they don't leave the soft serve ice cream machine on or available 24/7, just 11am-3:30 and 4:30pm - 9pm. I found it very hard to reach my 7 cone goal while on the NCL cruises. I will say that on the Epic, in addition to the soft serve machines, they also have the hand dipped ice cream available in about 12 flavors each day.

 

Carnival is a much more ice cream friendly cruise line.

[GORDONCHICK]

does ncl have ice cream like what carnival has?

 

 

I don't know exactly what you mean, but I haven't found soft-serve ice cream and frozen yogurt availalbe almost 24/7 on NCL (and I only saw soft-serve on the Spirit must have missed it on the Pearl). However, there are many different and rotating flavors of dipped ice cream available in the buffet for free.

[98Charlie]

One thing people tend to forget is that each cruise experience is really a "snapshot". Things, including food quality, can and do change from cruise to cruise.

 

We were on the Carnival Triumph in January and April last year. In April we felt the the food (including plating and presentation) was much better than we had experienced just a few months earlier.

 

We were talking to the Maitre d' (same on on both cruises) and he said that the Head Chef had changed since our January sailing. He went on to say that the current Chef was considered by most to be the best of the fleet.

 

Now the January food was great. The April offerings were better. If we had not had the conversation with the Maitre d' we would have come away feeling that Carnival's food was on the upswing. If the Chef's had been switched with the better Chef sailing in January we would have thought that the Carnival MDR was headed south.

 

Charlie

[blonde55]

I just got off the Jewel today. In my family's opinion, if you compare main dining room to main dining room, Carnival blows it away. We were very disappointed in the main dining room. So much that we ate at Tsars on the first night and didn't want to go back. We actually went to the buffet for dinner (something that we have never done on previous cruise ships). We then tried Azura's. We had a really nice waitress which made the experience better, but still the food selection does not come close to previous cruise lines. They didn't even sound good on paper. I ordered from the alternative menu (steak), just to be safe.

I agree with motheroftrips. I remember Carnival's food vividly and it was far better than the food on the Jewel! The Jewel's appetizers in the MDR were great, but I didn't care for the entree choices at all! The lobster tail was overcooked and tiny!!!! The buffet on Carnival was much better! They varied the menu daily. On NCL you saw basically the same food on the buffet line everyday and it was pretty much tastleless except for the Indian food. We ate at Azura only on the last morning. We could never get seated there because the lines were too long. We liked Blue Lagoon for breakfast. No lines and a smaller menu. Carnival's staff was also much friendlier. All in all we would book our next cruise with Carnival vs. NCL.

[GigCrusier]

If you are only comparing the MDR on NCL and Carnival, then Canrival wins hands down.

[NJCONVCRS]

I just got off the Jewel yesterday and if that ship is representative of the NCL fleet, then go on NCL if you are trying to lose weight. The food in the main dining room is just plain bland with uninspired selections. The food in the buffet is just plain inedible, and to top it all off, the hot foods aren't even hot, they are like warm at best. I spoke to many (and I mean a boat load) people who agreed. More than one person said this was the first cruise they went on and actually lost weight. I personally left every meal still hungry. Thankfully we were able to eat off the ship in Florida and Nassau.

[newmexicoNita]

We just returned from our first ever Carnival cruise. We've been cruising with NCL for many years.

 

Food is subjective as heck, but here's what we found.

 

MDR breakfast - we vote for NCL. Carnival has absolutely horrible Eggs Benedict, and their Lox & Bagel is far below what NCL offers.

 

MDR Lunch - pretty much a push here.

 

MDR Dinner - on appetizers and soups we felt NCL does a better job. Maybe they just offer more of what we like, but we really like NCL's soups. Entrees go to Carnival by a wide margin. Not only a much better selection, but better food. Carnival offers a full rack of lamb - on our last NCL cruise a few months ago we got a lamb slice. Carnival serves Fillet Mignon. NCL stopped that long ago - you have to go to one of their pay restaurants for that. Desserts are about the same on both lines. Carnival includes cappuccino and espresso with dessert. NCL now charges you extra for these.

 

As stated above, Carnival's pizza is quite good. Carnival also has a made-to-order deli sandwich bar which isn't bad at all.

 

We didn't hit the buffet so can't comment on that.

 

As a side note while Carnival does offer "Anytime" dining similar to NCL's "Freestyle", they have a long way to go to catch NCL. We found it very difficult to get a table for two. Carnival always tries to seat you at a group table.

 

We haven't cruised Carnival for quite awhile, so any comparison I would give would really be unfair, but I would pretty much agree with what you are saying. NCL does a great job with lox and bagels and eggs bene. I know some people prefer Carnival, most of my clients lean toward NCL.

 

Nita