Currently on spirit lucky the Internet is great cause the foods awful!

[Sutho]

My tone was not condesending to anyone. It was clever and witty. Kind of like something you would hear in a fawlty towers episode.

 

Though as food is so subjective any criticism of it needs to be justified by stating where they are used to eating and what budget food chains they go for. Going on a ship that serves average run of the mill food, you have no right complaining about if it is not 5 star standard.

 

If you criticise the food - name the cruise line and its demographic, make sure it fits in the demographic you eat at when you are home, compare it to similar budget places. Its no use coming on and saying the food is garbage and not justifying it.

 

To me unedible food is maggot infested, rat eaten, stinking, off, foul slops. You are not going to get food poisoning if your pancake is a 0.1 degrees cooler than you are used to at home.

[rugbypopsie]

My tone was not condesending to anyone. It was clever and witty. Kind of like something you would hear in a fawlty towers episode.

 

Clever? Witty? must of missed that bit. Fawlty Towers? From memory the show was based on Basil's character who had no idea how he was being perceived by those around him and he felt totally justified in his insane behaviour and sarcastic comments, not to mention constant put downs of those he felt superior to... which was pretty much everybody else. You could say his character was a pompous, condescending twit with grandiose ideas of his own importance and totally out of touch with reality.

 

Thank heavens Basil is not in charge of the MDR. I'm glad the waiters on our ships will just bring you something else if what you ordered was not to your liking..

 

Its a discussion folks...people are entitled to their opinion good or bad without being hammered about it.

 

Sue

[sherri3802]

I think when people have the audacity to complain that harshly about the food I think it should be justified and based on a reasonable comparisson. I would really like them to come back on here and tell us where they eat, what class of dining they go for ashore be it McDonalads or 5 star restaurants.

 

Just for the record I have never been on a ship where I have been unhappy with the food.

 

I dont know what people expect from food but when they complain about it they need to qualify it with telling us where they eat, name a few restaurants or hotels they frequent. Come on give us more information. How does it compare to Mcdonalds or Pizza Hut.

 

I can tell you a thing or two. I have eaten pizzas from pizza hut and can personally cook my own pizzas better than theirs. When I go on a Princess ship their pizzas are much better even still. I can go to McDonalds and get a quaterpounder meal and have a sloppy burger, if I was to get a similar burger from a fish and chip shop the burger would be much better quality, less greasy and better meat. The cruise ship vesrion is probably in line with the fish and chip shop version. I have often stayed at the 5 star Quay Grand and found their steak meals no better than some I have had on cruise ships.

 

So come on let us hear where you eat, who cooks your food and how it compares. Simply telling people the food is awefull does not do any good and people will never take it seriously.

 

I took her seriously.

I believe you are wrong in your comments for one main reason.

No matter what you buy, no matter what the price, the legal situation is it has to be suitable for whatever purpose it was sold for. So if you go into a store and buy a cheap as chips plastic storer and the lid doesn't fit, for example, you are entitled to a full refund. If you buy a marked down yoghurt in the supermarket and find it has mould in it (as I did once), you are still entitled to a full refund.

If I go to McDonald's (which I don't usually) and get dried up food, food not hot enough or not up to standard, I complain and ask for a replacement.

 

Yes, you do get what you pay for. This woman isn't talking about gourmet cooking requirements on gilded plates. She is talking about a warm pancake. You don't have to win a My kitchen Rules episode to be able to make an edible pancake, surely.

 

You seem to think anyone on what you class as a downmarket cruise isn't entitled to basic, edible food and you seem to think they only eat at McDonalds, when in fact a lot of people on a budget can cook for themselves. All they expect is edible, hot food, we're not talking truffles here, we're talking pancakes and eggs.:p

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Clever? Witty? must of missed that bit. Fawlty Towers? From memory the show was based on Basil's character who had no idea how he was being perceived by those around him and he felt totally justified in his insane behaviour and sarcastic comments, not to mention constant put downs of those he felt superior to... which was pretty much everybody else. You could say his character was a pompous, condescending twit with grandiose ideas of his own importance and totally out of touch with reality.

 

 

Sue

 

Well, you've just about pegged Sutho there Sue! :D

[bazzaw]

You pompous old fart.

;;

 

I think that Sutho may be the youngest here :)

 

For myself, I tend to ignore anybody who comes to a cruise forum to rant about almost anything that happened to them on a cruiseship. I have had some things that either didn't suit me, or I didn't like or I thought was downright incompetent on the part of the cruiseship -- but of course that is only my opinion, and what point would it be for me to come on here and rant about the situation?? Does it give satisfaction to express negative opinions - perhaps it does. But one would do better to express them to the staff/management onboard than here.

 

I do prefer to hear the good things about cruising -- because I understand and EXPECT that not everything will go completely to my satisfaction on any cruiseship - be it a 3 star P&O AUS ship or a 5 Star Cunard. ( and higher! :) )

 

Barry

[bazzaw]

Morning and lunch in the MDR very average to downright terrible.

 

The word "terrible" is a very abstract word - which probably has different meanings to different people.

 

Perhaps we here need to be a bit more definite - at least the OP said that the food was cold :) -- but then again, I have noticed that some people seem to have a need for very hot food ?? I am not one of those. So once again, perhaps even the word "cold" is also ambiguous?? My satisfactorily hot food is someones else's cold food. I know that I have heard people describe curries as "too hot" chili-wise -- while for me they are far too mild :)

 

Barry

[The Fox]

It is reasonable to assume due to the success of ships here and the sell out cruises that the food must be acceptable. If over 2000 passengers are getting on and off almost every two weeks and the food was that bad we would be sure to hear about it in the papers, media, and everywhere.

 

My guess is that there is nothing wrong with the food at all and I know where I would rather be right now.

 

I agree .Check my cruise profile...i have cruised on a few lines.....I persoanally found the food and servive was fine on our Spirit cruise in April 2013.....and I was was very impressed with the ship.I would sail on Spirit again without hesitation.A cool meal here and there would never give me cause to complain....i just make the most of it.....i would hate to cook for 2700 pax all eating at different times....come on give the cruise lines some support .

 

Col:)

[paulvdb1]

I thought the food was exactly as I expected it. The buffet is a buffet - all buffets have food in them from 1 second ago to a few minutes ago. I saw staff regularly removing items that were getting a little old and refreshing with new items. At lunch the buffet exceeded my expectations - particularly the chopsticks buffet. Juices in the buffet were all reconstituted Fruit Drink which was disappointing but not a deal-breaker.

 

The secret seems to be to eat breakfast in the MDR which was always very good, lunch anywhere (particularly Fat Jimmys) and Dinner in the MDR. At breakfast the buffet is pretty much identical to every hotel I've ever been in - roughly 3½ to 4 stars - which is exactly what we are paying for. The MDR was more of a 4½ star hotel experience.

 

The MDR was nearly always perfect - only ever failing when the item was too cheffy for the type of item. Delivery was always fast and food was always hot when needed to be.

 

My personal view of some of the compaints that I've read is that either the person has randomly managed to pick the wrong item/day or is simpy so unsatisfiable that they can't find any food that matches what they normally eat (someone like my dad for example - who only wants steak/vegies or schnitzel/vegies). I've also seen some comments that simply look like troll comments - just entered to bait people.

[Sandielle]

OMG, I can't believe what one simple statement has led to! :eek::D I think boredom prevails. To relieve this condition, you can find further reading here...

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_safety

 

Bearing in mind that any Tom, Dick or Harry (or even Basil) may alter the content of any Wikipedia article, Mr Google may also be consulted.

 

Happy hunting folks! :D

 

(I'd rather be searching for cruises, lol.)

[MicCanberra]

My tone was not condesending to anyone. It was clever and witty. Kind of like something you would hear in a fawlty towers episode.

 

You nailed it then. Unfortunately, sometimes sarcasm, meaning and emotion do not come through with text.:D

[Sutho]

Though the essance of my reply remains the same. Food a tad too cold is not going to kill you and I seriously doubt anyone is going to die of starvation on the Carnival Spirit just because the food is "inedible" and they cant eat anything.

 

As I said justify the complaint, clarify it and make it clear. Coming up with choice words and phrases about food is only going to put you in the firing line to clarify and be more specific.

[davethescot]

It is reasonable to assume due to the success of ships here and the sell out cruises that the food must be acceptable. If over 2000 passengers are getting on and off almost every two weeks and the food was that bad we would be sure to hear about it in the papers, media, and everywhere.

 

My guess is that there is nothing wrong with the food at all and I know where I would rather be right now.

 

Your messages have been sooo rude. I don't understand why you think that your opinion is valid but nobody else's is. I have sailed on Carnival Spirit and I have to say that the food was better than I expected. However if this particular cruiser has had a bad experience or if the food didn't meet their expectations then they are entitled to voice their opinion.

 

Maybe their expectations are too high but so what. It's not a case of what they eat on land and how dare you make assumptions that they only eat fast food.

 

Rude, patronising and unnecessary.

[NSWP]

No matter if you are on Carnival Spirit or QM2, you pay good money for a cruise, you expect good food. We were on Carnival Spirit for 3 weeks in 2005, Hawaii/Alaska, food was very good then, as it should be now, but apparently is not.

 

By the way, on Celebrity Solstice in March (same cruise Sutho was on) I sent 4 meals back at various dinner times, 2 lots of fish that were as cold as the Antarctic, one duck dish that was as dry as the Simpson Desert and 2 lots of steaks that were as tough as boot leather. Celebrity Solstice food on that cruise was overrated in my opinion, others differ. I paid good money and I expected good food on Solstice, which sometimes was not forthcoming. This is exactly what the OP on here raised.

[Sutho]

Your messages have been sooo rude. I don't understand why you think that your opinion is valid but nobody else's is. I have sailed on Carnival Spirit and I have to say that the food was better than I expected. However if this particular cruiser has had a bad experience or if the food didn't meet their expectations then they are entitled to voice their opinion.

 

Maybe their expectations are too high but so what. It's not a case of what they eat on land and how dare you make assumptions that they only eat fast food.

 

Rude, patronising and unnecessary.

 

Given it is Carnival I personally would not expect the food to be much better than something cooked up at a McDonalds, KFC or Pizza Hut.

 

I would not go on Carnival Spirit expecting the food to be as good as something served at a Hyatt Hotel.

 

Its all about putting it in the right perspective. Everyones opinion is subjective to their own views and standards.

 

By the way I thought my response was quite funny and a better way to make a point.

[kimmyandsue7673]

Thats a real shame. How does it compare to the likes of McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Subway, the local fish and chip shop and the local leagues club and bowling clubs. The fast food chains have food often prepared by teenagers so it would be good to hear comparissions. I mean Carnival is kind of in the budget of someone who would eat at all those places.

 

Also how is your home cooking these days, do you still sit down for a family meal, do you cook your own gourmet foods for breakfast or are you just satisfied with toast and cereal.

 

Also what hotel chains do you stay at to compare food to there. You have to pay for meals at hotels. If you stay at somewhere like Quay Grand you would be looking at $500 a night and paying about $50 for a steak meal. At a Holiday inn you are looking at around $150 a night and a $30 meal.

 

What price per night did you pay for Carnival and does the value for money match the quality of the food.

 

If you are prepared to go out and purchase breakfast, lunch and dinner at top restaurants from $20 to $50 per meal per person costing $1200 to $3150/week for a family of three then you might have grounds to complain about the food. So if your budget is that big I would suggest possibly trying a cruise line like Regent or Crystal where you will get your moneys worth. If your a McDonalds kind of budget person and eat three meals there a day you are probably looking at around $400 for the week for a family of three and that makes Carnival right in your market so if Carnivals food is better than McDonalds you really have no grounds to complain about the food.

 

At the end of the day you get what you pay for. You cant expect to go on a cruise ship like Carnival Spirit and expect the food to be as great as or greater than 5 star hotels and restaurants that you could not possibly afford to eat at when your at home.[/quote

 

MMMMMMM bit harsh

[kimmyandsue7673]

Thats a real shame. How does it compare to the likes of McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Subway, the local fish and chip shop and the local leagues club and bowling clubs. The fast food chains have food often prepared by teenagers so it would be good to hear comparissions. I mean Carnival is kind of in the budget of someone who would eat at all those places.

 

Also how is your home cooking these days, do you still sit down for a family meal, do you cook your own gourmet foods for breakfast or are you just satisfied with toast and cereal.

 

Also what hotel chains do you stay at to compare food to there. You have to pay for meals at hotels. If you stay at somewhere like Quay Grand you would be looking at $500 a night and paying about $50 for a steak meal. At a Holiday inn you are looking at around $150 a night and a $30 meal.

 

What price per night did you pay for Carnival and does the value for money match the quality of the food.

 

If you are prepared to go out and purchase breakfast, lunch and dinner at top restaurants from $20 to $50 per meal per person costing $1200 to $3150/week for a family of three then you might have grounds to complain about the food. So if your budget is that big I would suggest possibly trying a cruise line like Regent or Crystal where you will get your moneys worth. If your a McDonalds kind of budget person and eat three meals there a day you are probably looking at around $400 for the week for a family of three and that makes Carnival right in your market so if Carnivals food is better than McDonalds you really have no grounds to complain about the food.

 

At the end of the day you get what you pay for. You cant expect to go on a cruise ship like Carnival Spirit and expect the food to be as great as or greater than 5 star hotels and restaurants that you could not possibly afford to eat at when your at home.

 

 

 

whoops double posting

[Aus Traveller]

Perhaps we here need to be a bit more definite - at least the OP said that the food was cold :) -- but then again, I have noticed that some people seem to have a need for very hot food ?? I am not one of those. So once again, perhaps even the word "cold" is also ambiguous?? My satisfactorily hot food is someones else's cold food. I know that I have heard people describe curries as "too hot" chili-wise -- while for me they are far too mild :)

 

Barry

 

Sometimes food isn't piping hot, but that is understandable with the number of people they are serving.

 

When scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages are luke-warm (skin temperature), then they are too cold. When pizza is room temperature (even colder) then it is too cold. That was my experience of cold food in the buffet on the Celebrity Century.

 

On one ship which I prefer not to name I had a hamburger for lunch in the MDR. When I cut the meat patty it was very pink inside and it was virtually cold. Unfortunately I ate it ... then spent most of the night in the bathroom from the after-effects. Another time when I was served a hamburger undercooked and cold, I very apologetically gave it back to the waiter and said I preferred not to eat it and explained why.

 

I rarely send anything back but I am not going to spoil my day (and night) by eating undercooked food that has been probably sat for a long period of time on a hot plate - so long that it has gone nearly cold before serving.

 

I don't think it matters where I usually eat when not on a cruise ship.:) For interest, it isn't at the fast food outlets named earlier.

 

I can still reasonably expect a good standard of food hygiene. I am not asking for Cordon Bleu cooking in the MDR or buffet.

[NSWP]

Sometimes food isn't piping hot, but that is understandable with the number of people they are serving.

 

When scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages are luke-warm (skin temperature), then they are too cold. When pizza is room temperature (even colder) then it is too cold. That was my experience of cold food in the buffet on the Celebrity Century.

 

On one ship which I prefer not to name I had a hamburger for lunch in the MDR. When I cut the meat patty it was very pink inside and it was virtually cold. Unfortunately I ate it ... then spent most of the night in the bathroom from the after-effects. Another time when I was served a hamburger undercooked and cold, I very apologetically gave it back to the waiter and said I preferred not to eat it and explained why.

 

I rarely send anything back but I am not going to spoil my day (and night) by eating undercooked food that has been probably sat for a long period of time on a hot plate - so long that it has gone nearly cold before serving.

 

I don't think it matters where I usually eat when not on a cruise ship.:) For interest, it isn't at the fast food outlets named earlier.

 

I can still reasonably expect a good standard of food hygiene. I am not asking for Cordon Bleu cooking in the MDR or buffet.

Following my constructive criticism re food temperatures on Celebrity Solstice in March, fair dinkum, the Asst Maitre D and Exec Chef came to see me in the Grand Ephenay MDR one night. They quietly told me there were design problems with the bain maries in the buffet, ceramic hot plates were used to warm food, not steaming water, like you see in some ships buffets, Princess and P&O UK for one. Also they had difficulty warming plates in the MDR Kitchens, insufficient capacity.

 

I thought some of you 'hot foodies' like me would be interested in this.

[MicCanberra]

Following my constructive criticism re food temperatures on Celebrity Solstice in March, fair dinkum, the Asst Maitre D and Exec Chef came to see me in the Grand Ephenay MDR one night. They quietly told me there were design problems with the bain maries in the buffet, ceramic hot plates were used to warm food, not steaming water, like you see in some ships buffets, Princess and P&O UK for one. Also they had difficulty warming plates in the MDR Kitchens, insufficient capacity.

 

I thought some of you 'hot foodies' like me would be interested in this.

Interesting, I wonder if it is the difference between the traditional dining rushes and select dining. I was select and had no food tempature issues.:D

[Aus Traveller]

Interesting, I wonder if it is the difference between the traditional dining rushes and select dining. I was select and had no food tempature issues.:D

 

We also the food hot enough in Select Dining in the MDR on Celebrity. :) By the way, we are not people who want the food incredibly hot. If a dish that is supposed to be served hot is only luke warm, it certainly doesn't taste good and there can be health issues if the food has sat around too long before being served.

[Aus Traveller]

Following my constructive criticism re food temperatures on Celebrity Solstice in March, fair dinkum, the Asst Maitre D and Exec Chef came to see me in the Grand Ephenay MDR one night. They quietly told me there were design problems with the bain maries in the buffet, ceramic hot plates were used to warm food, not steaming water, like you see in some ships buffets, Princess and P&O UK for one. Also they had difficulty warming plates in the MDR Kitchens, insufficient capacity.

 

I thought some of you 'hot foodies' like me would be interested in this.

That might explain it.

 

Another point I found odd on Celebrity that markets itself as 'up-market' was that in the MDR at breakfast we had to keep our cutlery from one course to use on the next course. Maybe some people would think that that is OK, because I am the person who has eaten from those utensils, but I found it odd and have never had that happen on any other cruise ship. The only time we had experienced it before was in a hotel in Libya when they were overwhelmed with guests and didn't have enough cutlery.:D

[NSWP]

Interesting, I wonder if it is the difference between the traditional dining rushes and select dining. I was select and had no food tempature issues.:D

Could be the problem in the MDR, we were on fixed/traditional dining - second sitting @8.30pm.

[Aussieflyer]

The comments about Celebrity food are interesting - I am sure I have had food I did not particularly like and I do remember the odd tough steak, but on the whole I have been very satisfied with the standard of the food onboard. We have had no problems in Blu and should say we very rarely use the buffet for breakfast or dinner. The difference in Select as opposed to Traditional is also interesting as is that of NSWP about the issues the M'D identified.

 

Hope the OP is finding something to their liking now - a bit disappointing if the food remained sub-standard.

[Fozwald]

I thought the food was exactly as I expected it. The buffet is a buffet - all buffets have food in them from 1 second ago to a few minutes ago. I saw staff regularly removing items that were getting a little old and refreshing with new items. At lunch the buffet exceeded my expectations - particularly the chopsticks buffet. Juices in the buffet were all reconstituted Fruit Drink which was disappointing but not a deal-breaker.

 

The secret seems to be to eat breakfast in the MDR which was always very good, lunch anywhere (particularly Fat Jimmys) and Dinner in the MDR. At breakfast the buffet is pretty much identical to every hotel I've ever been in - roughly 3½ to 4 stars - which is exactly what we are paying for. The MDR was more of a 4½ star hotel experience.

 

The MDR was nearly always perfect - only ever failing when the item was too cheffy for the type of item. Delivery was always fast and food was always hot when needed to be.

 

My personal view of some of the compaints that I've read is that either the person has randomly managed to pick the wrong item/day or is simpy so unsatisfiable that they can't find any food that matches what they normally eat (someone like my dad for example - who only wants steak/vegies or schnitzel/vegies). I've also seen some comments that simply look like troll comments - just entered to bait people.

 

I agree .Check my cruise profile...i have cruised on a few lines.....I persoanally found the food and servive was fine on our Spirit cruise in April 2013.....and I was was very impressed with the ship.I would sail on Spirit again without hesitation.A cool meal here and there would never give me cause to complain....i just make the most of it.....i would hate to cook for 2700 pax all eating at different times....come on give the cruise lines some support .

 

Col:)

 

These are the two most sensible posts on this thread. They put a bit of common sense into the discussion. Well done fella's.

[cruise love]

The comments about Celebrity food are interesting - I am sure I have had food I did not particularly like and I do remember the odd tough steak, but on the whole I have been very satisfied with the standard of the food onboard. We have had no problems in Blu and should say we very rarely use the buffet for breakfast or dinner. The difference in Select as opposed to Traditional is also interesting as is that of NSWP about the issues the M'D identified.

 

Hope the OP is finding something to their liking now - a bit disappointing if the food remained sub-standard.

 

 

I have been on the Century and other Celebrity ships. i have been on P & O International and Australia as well as royal Caribbean All food is subjective. I have eaten in some of the best restaurants in Australia and paris and london. The meal i had in the speciality restaurant on the Century was one of the best meals I have ever had. some one said the pizza on VOS was inedible I found it Ok. If a meal on a ship is cold or not to your liking ask for another sometimes we make poor choices or something goes wrong in the kitchen or in the service. No matter if it is Mcdonalds or a 6 star restaurant if the food is undercooked or overcooked cold or whatever complain or the mistakes well never be rectified, at least on a Cruise ship one can just choose another meal if you dont like your choice, this does not happen on a land based restaurant

I will be on Carnival in a couple of weeks and I will let you know what i think

i really just like the thought of not cooking and if the odd meal is not up to scratch I can forgive

 

Cruise love