Disappointed with Carnival...Will I like Holland?

[Hugh0906]

My guess is if you go on all 4 boards, the 3 you have sailed or are sailing and this one the answers will be the same. Different strokes for different folks.

 

Personally I have only sailed on HAL and CCL. Both had plenty of food and most of it was better then you'll find at the Golden Corral (as stated by the o.p.

 

I've seen it quoted here often that HAL spends about 9 and change per person per day on food. I don't know if that is true or not, but if it is, I guarantee you they are trying to reduce that amount.

 

I'd rate the HAL breakfast buffet above Carnival's solely on the variety of eggs benedict offered. If you are not an eggs benedict person, there isn't a lot of difference.

 

HAL has a superior room service menu. Including the full dinner menu for your cabin if you choose.

 

I'd rate the lunch buffets equal. Although Carnival does have superior pizza and reubens. If you don't eat reubens or pizza, it is a wash.

 

Both have good main dining rooms, but I'd give a slight edge to HAL.

 

Both have a good specialty restaurant. Although now that HAL's is 10 bucks less (not including tip) which is included on CCL.

 

HAL serves Swai, a Vietnamese farmed fish

CCL serves tilapia which they probably get from China or another Asian country. Neither should be served to discerning guests.

 

HAL now serves Brisket. CCL serves something called a flat iron steak <<shudder>> a piece of the front shoulder.

 

The cuts across all lines will continue.

 

If food is THAT big a deal, eat in the specialty restaurant every night.

 

Hugh in Dallas

[hypercafe]

You should look into Celeb. We have sailed them lots and always found them to be outstanding. We like the style and feel of the ships more then HAL. I also find the food in the MDR better while the speciality rest are legendary

[FLACRUISER99]

The Pizza is better on Carnival.

[pearliemae]

 

 

after your November cruise on Costa, especially if you are doing the TA and the Caribbean back to back.

[Roz]

I loved the Tandoor station in the Lido on the Carnival Freedom. On days when the MDR wasn't open for lunch, I did the Tandoor station or the salad bar. Also like Carnival's deli sandwiches and pizza in the Lido. MDR dinner on Carnival is good, HAL a little bit better. I'm one of the few that like the flat iron steak on Carnival.

 

HAL has more breakfast offerings in the MDR than Carnival, and a better room service menu. HAL has some Indonesian dishes I like.

 

Roz

[CtheW0rld]

after your November cruise on Costa, especially if you are doing the TA and the Caribbean back to back.

 

i expect it to be much the same as my other costa cruises - about the same as the other lines'. costa does offer a pasta or risotto course each evening (and the pastas are delicious).

[edmusic]

We just returned from our cruise on the Oosterdam and were disappointed in both the quality and quantity of the food in the MDR. Finally gave up after 4 nights and ate in the Lido which we found had better tasting food, more of it, and we weren't held 'hostage' by the slow service (2 to 2 1/2 hours for dinner) we were subject to in the MDR.

 

We'll be sailing on Carnival in a few weeks and I'll let you know how the food in the MDR was.

[jaguarstyper]

I agree with the service issues in the MDR on HAL. I have seen a steady decline in the last 10 years or so and it is worse on some ships than on others. I thought the service on Amsterdam was much better than on Oosterdam and Zuiderdam, which represents my last 3 cruises on HAL. I am now inclined to eat in the Pinnacle Grill at least 5 nights on a 7 night cruise. The service there is still top notch, IMO.

[iancal]

If HAL makes any more cuts in MDR staffing levels they will not be able to have a second sitting...... service will become so slow thatthe first sitting will overlap into half of the time desginated for the second sitting.

[peaches from georgia]

If HAL makes any more cuts in MDR staffing levels they will not be able to have a second sitting...... service will become so slow thatthe first sitting will overlap into half of the time desginated for the second sitting.

Which I still think is the reason they are trying out Early Seating at 5:15 instead of 5:45 on the Veendam this summer to see if that gives a reduced staff enough time to properly prepare for Late Seating to start on time.

 

Seems like 5:15 will hurt bar sales though. Pax will have to cut afternoon port activities off mid-afternoon in order to dress for dinner and have their pre-dinner cocktails in a lounge and be in the MDR by 5:15. Some certainly will be running late and miss going to a lounge. According to posts here there certainly isn't a demand for 5:15 dinner, so HAL must be trying this out for their own scheduling reasons.