American Table & American Feast Menu

[firemanbobswife]

Well we are about to ride the Glory again. (It was a "last minute" extended family vacation idea.) So I will let you all know if the following reduction in choices still holds true or not. To me, this is the bottom line. Table clothes, water carafes, bread on the table, etc. that's all individual preferences. But when the actual menu choices are reduced then everybody is impacted. Of course as I have said before, if the items that you really like are still on the menu then you are good. But if the items that you were craving were removed, then you are not so good.

 

And I will see if I can provide some pictures as well.

 

I didn't count, but there was never only 1 or 2 dessert choices. So I'm thinking these figures are flawed.

 

It seems that if they have less choices for entrees, than they should be able to concentrate on making the ones they do have better, and I think they did just that. I will say that the ribs were DELICIOUS and they were so tender, I couldn't even eat them on the bone. The food was prepared better than my 2 previous times on Glory last year and Conquest in January. The prime rib (which I had twice) was a bigger, juicier piece than I have ever had on Carnival. Being able to order my own sides was a bonus as well. Really liked the bread on the table. I've been saying they needed to do that for years!

 

Huge fan of the new menus. The old ones were getting, well, old. And I like the port specific additions.

[Crunchyfrog]

Note that my list (posted earlier) of the % reduction for each food category was at the initial roll out of the American Table.

 

Carnival took a LOT of flack the first couple of weeks, especially with NO soup or desert choice on formal night (everyone got the same piece of cake). So they have been adding things back to the menu (but not the expensive stuff like Bitter & Blanc or Cherries Jubilee).

 

Soups appear to have increased from 1 to 2 choices per night.

 

Still a single page menu (with drink choices added to fill the page).

 

My major dislike is that this 'new' menu is actually (mostly) the 'old' menu with the most expensive items removed. And the new items (like the per-port appetizer, entrée, and soup) are all low food cost items (like soft tacos).

 

There is a very good reason that Carnival hired a consultant team to design this menu that was headed by Accountants instead of Chefs... this is not about giving the customer a new experience, it's (about putting that marketing spin on) a budget reduction. When Carnival already had the lowest food cost per guest except for NCL. With this new menu I expect they are now spending less than NCL.

 

2009 food cost per guest cruise line comparison:

Seabourn, Silver Sea - $24 - 26 per day

Oceania, Regent - $18 - 20 per day

Celebrity, Princess - $12 - 15 per day

RCCL, HAL - $12 - 13 per day

Carnival - $8 - 10 per day

NCL - $7.50 - 8.50 per day

 

Yes... I am still going on a Carnival cruise... the ship has a Guy Fieri Burger Bar.

Edited May 29, 2014 by Crunchyfrog

[kgriff]

I didn't count, but there was never only 1 or 2 dessert choices. So I'm thinking these figures are flawed.

 

Nope! We were on the Glory for the second week of the new menu. It was bad, truly bad in our humble opinion. The desserts were gone (or at least the ones we liked). And for the first time ever we actually skipped the MDR a few nights because we didn't see anything on the menu worth going for. Yep, the choices were drastically reduced.

 

 

It seems that if they have less choices for entrees, than they should be able to concentrate on making the ones they do have better, and I think they did just that.

 

I can't say that we noticed a difference. What they had that we liked we thought was as good as it has always been. It's just that they had way fewer options to choose from.

 

 

Being able to order my own sides was a bonus as well. Really liked the bread on the table.

 

Yep that's good. As well as having water on the table so you don't have to what for your server to bring you more.

 

 

Huge fan of the new menus. The old ones were getting, well, old.

 

I'm glad you like it. But our experience was less than thrilling to say the least. Let's see if 6 months later it has improved.

 

 

2009 food cost per guest cruise line comparison:

Seabourn, Silver Sea - $24 - 26 per day

Oceania, Regent - $18 - 20 per day

Celebrity, Princess - $12 - 15 per day

RCCL, HAL - $12 - 13 per day

Carnival - $8 - 10 per day

NCL - $7.50 - 8.50 per day

 

Crunchyfrog I love all the facts and logic you bring to this discussion. Keep them coming! :)

 

 

Yes... I am still going on a Carnival cruise... the ship has a Guy Fieri Burger Bar.

 

You got that right!!! Now if we can just get them to extend the hours all through dinner then we would just skip the MDR all together! :D

 

The same goes for the Blue Iguana Cantina. They need to extend those hours big time. They are only open for 2.5 for lunch! That's just silly.

[ccruisequeen]

Oh I forgot to say that someone mentioned that they only used tablecloths on the formal nights. I don't care about tablecloths so that really meant nothing to me other than to confirm their observation.

 

On imagination they didn't even use them for elegant night.

 

I was disappointed in the menu and on the third night I just got a pbj from room service. Later I ran into a ships officer who wondered why I wasn't at dinner. I just told him I preferred the old menu and nothing appealed to me that night. He said he'd make note of it, looked at my SS card and thanked me for talking to him.

 

 

[SadieN]

On imagination they didn't even use them for elegant night.

 

I was disappointed in the menu and on the third night I just got a pbj from room service. Later I ran into a ships officer who wondered why I wasn't at dinner. I just told him I preferred the old menu and nothing appealed to me that night. He said he'd make note of it, looked at my SS card and thanked me for talking to him.

 

 

 

 

Did you take your RS to the Lido? Mom and Sis do that. Lol

[janewe]

Note that my list (posted earlier) of the % reduction for each food category was at the initial roll out of the American Table.

 

Carnival took a LOT of flack the first couple of weeks, especially with NO soup or desert choice on formal night (everyone got the same piece of cake). So they have been adding things back to the menu (but not the expensive stuff like Bitter & Blanc or Cherries Jubilee).

 

Soups appear to have increased from 1 to 2 choices per night.

 

Still a single page menu (with drink choices added to fill the page).

 

My major dislike is that this 'new' menu is actually (mostly) the 'old' menu with the most expensive items removed. And the new items (like the per-port appetizer, entrée, and soup) are all low food cost items (like soft tacos).

 

There is a very good reason that Carnival hired a consultant team to design this menu that was headed by Accountants instead of Chefs... this is not about giving the customer a new experience, it's (about putting that marketing spin on) a budget reduction. When Carnival already had the lowest food cost per guest except for NCL. With this new menu I expect they are now spending less than NCL.

 

2009 food cost per guest cruise line comparison:

Seabourn, Silver Sea - $24 - 26 per day

Oceania, Regent - $18 - 20 per day

Celebrity, Princess - $12 - 15 per day

RCCL, HAL - $12 - 13 per day

Carnival - $8 - 10 per day

NCL - $7.50 - 8.50 per day

 

Yes... I am still going on a Carnival cruise... the ship has a Guy Fieri Burger Bar.

I didn't like them, they seemed to have a lot of filler in the meat, I could be wrong but that's what I thought. Perhaps another way to cut costs?

[VASOXFANN]

I was perfectly happy with the MDR food. We never had a bad meal or anything we didn't like. The lobster was to die for. My fiancé enjoyed his steaks. As for desserts, it was always the warm melting chocolate cake for me.....one taste of that and it was love!

 

Only one lady sent any food back and that was the shrimp on the last night. She thought the sauce was too spicy. She immediately received a steak and enjoyed that. Everyone else really enjoyed their food.

 

I heard a few grumblings (not at our table) about the lack of table cloths, but I liked the look of the tables. They are a very polished wood. Of course, the water pitchers were most welcome after a day of fun in the sun.

[Writerfl]

It's my understanding that Carnival has stopped rolling out American Table/Feast to any additional ships while (officially) they 'tweak' the menu to make it more appealing to more people.

 

After speaking to a ship's officer on Ecstasy I understand that unofficially there is a HUGE debate at Corporate over whether to tank the the entire program and start over and it's UGLY, with some people's careers in jeopardy depending on the result.

 

Jeff

[Kristi Williamson]

Why not stop spending lots of money on a "new thing" and just up the stinkin' quality to what it used to be? I don't remember hearing people complain about the food back in the early 90's when we first started cruising. Everyone LOVED the food and couldn't wait until dinner. Stop serving prime rib that is thinner than paint and you'll see people flock to the MDR and rave about it again. (prime rib was only one example...)

 

Back in the day, the MDR was as wonderful as the pay restaurants. I like the pay restaurants and we use them, but the MDR food has fallen so far below what it used to be that it really does seem like Denny's. It's not awful, but it's not really good, either. There would be zero need for so many crazy changes if they'd fix that. (they don't have to serve Angus beef or Maine lobster to be good!)

[ccruisequeen]

Did you take your RS to the Lido? Mom and Sis do that. Lol

 

No had RS in my cabin and then took off. If I'd wanted Lido food, I would have gone there. It's too hard to balance trays in crowds.

 

[Georgiagolfer]

Just off the Glory, and the MDR food options for us that we like were almost non-existent. We ate in MDR 1 night, 1st cruise elegant night, steakhouse 2 nights, and Lido the other 4 nights. Worst menu I have ever seen, and this was cruise 19 on CCL, and 24 overall.:(

[HappyHappy1]

Which ships have the new menus? We are going on the Miracle in November and I am hoping that the new menu/format is not on the miracle

 

Thanks in advance for your responses .

 

Dawn

[SadieN]

Which ships have the new menus? We are going on the Miracle in November and I am hoping that the new menu/format is not on the miracle

 

Thanks in advance for your responses .

 

Dawn

 

Inspiration and Imagination doing the 3 & 4 day cruises out of Long Beach.

Glory and Liberty testing the 7day menus out of Miami.

[Crunchyfrog]

On a side topic, I have been reading through the last year of the Cruise Critic Carnival Liberty reviews, to see how the American Table has impacted the Food Ratings...

(average Food Rating has gone from around 4.5 to 3.0)

 

... and I notice a LOT of VERY suspicious reviews in the last 12 months.

 

- There are repeated reviews from a people who have never posted anything else on Cruise Critic, never posted in the forums, that give every ship option a 5+ rating, and (often) the shore excursions a 4.0

 

- These 5+ reviews mostly use either a female ID (like "winegal" or "cruisegal#"), or a mishmash of random letters.

 

- The female posters frequently start with "my 8th cruise on Carnival", but have no posting history that I can find anywhere. Amazing how many 5+ female reviewers have done exactly 8 cruises on Carnival...

 

- The reviews always know and mention the FULL name, nickname (and often the history) of the cruise director, but do not mention any other crew names on the ship

 

- They almost ALL suggest the FTTF package, in glowing terms

 

- If they mention anything negative... its not about the ship, like "shore vendors were pushy"

 

- The reviews read like advertising brouchures, with phrases like "Cruise director and his team really know how to get the passengers motivated with fun activities", and "So many options of fun things to do"...

 

- The reviews sometimes include rebuttals to one month old complaints, like if a reviewer posts "lot of smoke on balconies" they post "there was no smoke on balconies like others have complained"

 

- They sometimes mention wrong facts that they should have known if they had actually gone on the ship (like cruisegal mentions cruise was first week of March 2014 out of Port Everglades (all cruises in Jan-May were from Miami, ship does not sail from Everglades again until 2015), and another mentioned beautiful beaches at Half Moon Cay when that cruise actually skipped HMC because of high winds)

 

I don't want to point fingers at Carnival or their employees, but I cannot logically see who else would benefit, and note that these (most likely) fake reviews pushed the Liberty's Rating so high on Cruise Critic that it was listed as tied for 4th place in Cruise Critics 'Best Large Ships of 2013'. This rating appears to have been unwarranted.

 

I have not (yet) browsed other Carnival ships, or other lines, so do not know if this trend of fake 5+ reviews is as common to cruise industry as it is to the restaurant industry (where owners and employees are often caught posting good reviews to draw customers).

Edited June 10, 2014 by Crunchyfrog

[craftykitty]

On a side topic, I have been reading through the last year of the Cruise Critic Carnival Liberty reviews, to see how the American Table has impacted the Food Ratings...

(average Food Rating has gone from around 4.5 to 3.0)

 

... and I notice a LOT of VERY suspicious reviews in the last 12 months.

 

- There are repeated reviews from a people who have never posted anything else on Cruise Critic, never posted in the forums, that give every ship option a 5+ rating, and (often) the shore excursions a 4.0

 

- These 5+ reviews mostly use either a female ID (like "winegal" or "cruisegal#"), or a mishmash of random letters.

 

- The female posters frequently start with "my 8th cruise on Carnival", but have no posting history that I can find anywhere. Amazing how many 5+ female reviewers have done exactly 8 cruises on Carnival...

 

- The reviews always know and mention the FULL name, nickname (and often the history) of the cruise director, but do not mention any other crew names on the ship

 

- They almost ALL suggest the FTTF package, in glowing terms

 

- If they mention anything negative... its not about the ship, like "shore vendors were pushy"

 

- The reviews read like advertising brouchures, with phrases like "Cruise director and his team really know how to get the passengers motivated with fun activities", and "So many options of fun things to do"...

 

- The reviews sometimes include rebuttals to one month old complaints, like if a reviewer posts "lot of smoke on balconies" they post "there was no smoke on balconies like others have complained"

 

- They sometimes mention wrong facts that they should have known if they had actually gone on the ship (like cruisegal mentions cruise was first week of March 2014 out of Port Everglades (all cruises in Jan-May were from Miami, ship does not sail from Everglades again until 2015), and another mentioned beautiful beaches at Half Moon Cay when that cruise actually skipped HMC because of high winds)

 

I don't want to point fingers at Carnival or their employees, but I cannot logically see who else would benefit, and note that these (most likely) fake reviews pushed the Liberty's Rating so high on Cruise Critic that it was listed as tied for 4th place in Cruise Critics 'Best Large Ships of 2013'. This rating appears to have been unwarranted.

 

I have not (yet) browsed other Carnival ships, or other lines, so do not know if this trend of fake 5+ reviews is as common to cruise industry as it is to the restaurant industry (where owners and employees are often caught posting good reviews to draw customers).

 

Did I miss something? What does this have to do with the food in the MDR?

[BlancaNoir]

On a side topic, I have been reading through the last year of the Cruise Critic Carnival Liberty reviews, to see how the American Table has impacted the Food Ratings...

(average Food Rating has gone from around 4.5 to 3.0)

 

... and I notice a LOT of VERY suspicious reviews in the last 12 months.

 

- There are repeated reviews from a people who have never posted anything else on Cruise Critic, never posted in the forums, that give every ship option a 5+ rating, and (often) the shore excursions a 4.0

 

- These 5+ reviews mostly use either a female ID (like "winegal" or "cruisegal#"), or a mishmash of random letters.

 

- The female posters frequently start with "my 8th cruise on Carnival", but have no posting history that I can find anywhere. Amazing how many 5+ female reviewers have done exactly 8 cruises on Carnival...

 

- The reviews always know and mention the FULL name, nickname (and often the history) of the cruise director, but do not mention any other crew names on the ship

 

- They almost ALL suggest the FTTF package, in glowing terms

 

- If they mention anything negative... its not about the ship, like "shore vendors were pushy"

 

- The reviews read like advertising brouchures, with phrases like "Cruise director and his team really know how to get the passengers motivated with fun activities", and "So many options of fun things to do"...

 

- The reviews sometimes include rebuttals to one month old complaints, like if a reviewer posts "lot of smoke on balconies" they post "there was no smoke on balconies like others have complained"

 

- They sometimes mention wrong facts that they should have known if they had actually gone on the ship (like cruisegal mentions cruise was first week of March 2014 out of Port Everglades (all cruises in Jan-May were from Miami, ship does not sail from Everglades again until 2015), and another mentioned beautiful beaches at Half Moon Cay when that cruise actually skipped HMC because of high winds)

 

I don't want to point fingers at Carnival or their employees, but I cannot logically see who else would benefit, and note that these (most likely) fake reviews pushed the Liberty's Rating so high on Cruise Critic that it was listed as tied for 4th place in Cruise Critics 'Best Large Ships of 2013'. This rating appears to have been unwarranted.

 

I have not (yet) browsed other Carnival ships, or other lines, so do not know if this trend of fake 5+ reviews is as common to cruise industry as it is to the restaurant industry (where owners and employees are often caught posting good reviews to draw customers).

 

WOW. This is sad. The thing that bothers me most is that there are so many great things about Carnival. No need to make CC sketchy with false reviews. Yeah, people have different experiences and opinions. Wish that we could get good, honest advice and experience but this is the reality of the internet I guess.

[Crunchyfrog]

Did I miss something? What does this have to do with the food in the MDR?

Only that I ran across this while compiling a list of the changes to the Food Ratings.

You are correct, it's a different topic, and I won't post about it in this thread.

[jsmac3]

If Carnival or any other cruise line is operating some sort of misinformation campaign be it as a cheerleader for the new menus or anything else, it is pertinent to any of these threads.

[flc]

Once you have experienced the new menu please let us know how you liked it.

 

we sailed on the Glory Aprill 2014, everyone in my group (4 couples) seasoned Carnival cruisers ..... did not like the American Table.

 

Keith .... you are Spot On.

 

FYI ....My PVP also does not like it. my PVP said the only way to chage this is for Carnival to hear from all us and to complain.

 

Other wise .... this will be the Dinning Future.

Edited June 11, 2014 by flc

[funmamaoftwins]

So if my husband and son want shrimp cocktails every night they are not going to be able to get them?????

[Crunchyfrog]

So if my husband and son want shrimp cocktails every night they are not going to be able to get them?????

Ask for them anyway.

I hear you can get a dessert cheese plate, and backed potato, even when not on the menu that night, by asking for them.

Edited June 12, 2014 by Crunchyfrog

[Crunchyfrog]

If Carnival or any other cruise line is operating some sort of misinformation campaign be it as a cheerleader for the new menus or anything else, it is pertinent to any of these threads.

The fake reviews were being posted LONG before American Table was planned.

Only one of them since the roll out mentioned it, using the same marketing terms that Carnival uses.

 

I am in the process of number crunching all of the 926 Liberty reviews, and if it appears the ship's CC ratings are majorly flawed I will post a new thread with results. (not in this thread).

[wantocruisemore]

Three weeks ago I'm pretty sure that shrimp cocktail was available most nights, if not all. One of my DD's alternated between salad and then next night shrimp cocktail etc.

[rlkubi]

We were on the Glory about a month ago and shrimp cocktail was offered every night.

[rlkubi]

I honestly liked the look of the tables without the tablecloths. Not a big deal for me. I liked the water and bread on the table also. I feel it gives the wait staff a little time that they can talk and joke with you. Personally I like that a lot. I can't say the menu is perfect yet but it's not bad. I feel like they take great care of us on a cruise for not a large amount of money. We used to go to Mexico for all inclusives and the food is WAY better on the ship. I figure I don't have to do anything but have fun for a week - so no complaining for me :).