How's the food on Carnival? Celebrity was fantastic, NCL was so so.

[scmona]

What cruise line has the best food?

[riffatsea]

Food is very subjective as everyone has different taste buds! We thought the food on NCL in the normal MDR was boring and the buffet was horrible!

I thought the buffet on Royal Caribbean was great and so was the MDR.

I think that Carnival has a great buffet for breakfast and lunch but the dinner offerings are meager.

The MDR on Carnival is great for all the meals.

I am sure that others will have many different ideas!

[seannyice81]

I've found that with Carnival the food is good, just good. The great food you usually pay the extra cost for. Pretty much the same with RCI, though I felt it was a little disappointing. Granted RCI has updated their menu since. Carnival's breakfast buffet tended to have limited variety day-to-day, though MDR food was always different. Seaday Brunch was great, although Suess Brunch took over 2 hours. RCI's buffet selection was always excellent and varied. The MDR food was ok, but bland.

 

I had initially planned a Celebrity cruise a little while ago and heard/read nothing but praise for the line's food, no matter the dining venue. Not one bad thing. I have a feeling you should probably lower standards slightly from Celebrity for either Carnival or RCI.

[Runaway Parent]

Here is my vote on MDR:

1. RCCL

2. Carnivsl

3. NCL

 

Haven't sailed other lines, so I can't contribute there.

[xeroxme]

I like RCI MDR and Princess better than Carnival.

I like breakfast on Carnival the best simply because I like how they do their Eggs Benedict the best. That's why I sail her the most. For lunch I have found them all the same if you eat MDR.

Buffet was best on Princess as was room service on Princess.

Guys Burger's on Carnival are hands down the best if you want a Burger.

I haven't ate on Celebrity to compare but I would expect celebrity to be upscale to RCI. With that in mind I doubt you will find better food than you do on Celebrity elsewhere but of course that depends on your taste.

[OCruisers]

scmona (the OP) .... Seems your question is MDR food on Celebrity, Carnival, and NCL.

Celebrity MDR food is lots better than it is on either Carnival or NCL. ;)

LuLu

[flahagan]

scmona (the OP) .... Seems your question is MDR food on Celebrity, Carnival, and NCL.

Cel. rity MDR food is lots better than it is on either Carnival or NCL. ;)

LuLu

 

Have to say 9 of us did a Solstice 12-nt Med cruise and there were several nights none of us could find anything that looked or sounded appealing. Their evening buffet was downright awful. The MDR lobster came without drawn butter but with a very strange sauce. Guess I'm just not froo-froo enough for Celebrity. I like Carnival or HAL for food. Totally unimpressed with RCL or Princess food.

[Dirkgun]

When we first cruised with Celebrity (our first cruise) food was top notch. THe last time we sailed on Celebrity (in 2009) It was not nearly as good, in fact in between we had saild a short cruise on Carnival and thought all but their buffet was better. If I had to vote on the 3 different lines we have experienced. The order would be.....

 

1. Carnival

2. Celebrity

3. NCL

 

Opinions will vary greatly on this though.

[VASOXFANN]

The food on Carnival is good, some items great. It's on par with RCI and Princess, IMHO. Food is subjective, and Carnival's value gives them our business.

 

I HATED the food on NCL, but that was a long time ago and a Hawaii cruise. I'd consider giving them another shot for the right price and itinerary.

[Flatbush Flyer]

What cruise line has the best food?

 

 

I think you'll find that most cruisers who have been on a wide range of lines would agree that the best overall cuisine is served on Oceania.

[Thecat3902]

I agree food is in the taste buds of the water but I have alway found something edible on all the cruise lines I have sailed. I do love carnival's food in the mdr and the buffet. We loved the comedy brunches the breeze but found guy's burgers not to what I expected them to be. I sailed MSC back in September and people trash their food and personally I found the dining room food still good. I wish the breakfast buffet had more options since I felt all they served was bacon, eggs, sausage, and breads but I still looked for the positives. I say your on a boat order several small items like an appetizer, soup, maybe even two appetizers and your meal to get a taste of what they have to offer. Hopefully something out of several items should strike your fancy.

[VASOXFANN]

I agree food is in the taste buds of the water but I have alway found something edible on all the cruise lines I have sailed. I do love carnival's food in the mdr and the buffet. We loved the comedy brunches the breeze but found guy's burgers not to what I expected them to be. I sailed MSC back in September and people trash their food and personally I found the dining room food still good. I wish the breakfast buffet had more options since I felt all they served was bacon, eggs, sausage, and breads but I still looked for the positives. I say your on a boat order several small items like an appetizer, soup, maybe even two appetizers and your meal to get a taste of what they have to offer. Hopefully something out of several items should strike your fancy.

 

I love Italian food, and DH and I very much enjoyed the food on MSC. DH likes them better than Carnival.

[Thecat3902]

I love Italian food, and DH and I very much enjoyed the food on MSC. DH likes them better than Carnival.

 

I loved the pizza everyone is definitely right about that. I would even say that they may have had the best shrimp cocktail we have had at sea. I definitely didn't think it was horrible like some of the reviews. I definitely think people were not used to the European style but the food was by no means what other people say in their reviews about MSC. Again definitely subjective and I love food so we are always happy and will find something good.

[tvlworm]

I've only been on Carnival and NCL and agree with other people that food is subjective but in my opinion both were pretty similar.

 

Breakfast buffet I give a slight edge to NCL because the French Toast is so good and that's my favorite breakfast food. Everything else very comparable scrambled and cooked to order eggs/omelets, pastries, sausage, bacon, hot and cold cereals, fruit, yogurt etc.

 

Lunch, Carnival had the largest variety of options from burgers to burritos, salads, Mongolian wok style, pizza, Indian, deli sandwiches it seemed endless. Quality in my opinion for both was the same just liked the variety better on Carnival.

 

Dinner, MDR winner was Carnival but buffet dinner would be NCL. Carnival buffet dinner was very limited and worst in quality for me. Not horrible but after decent breakfast and lunch just disappointing.

 

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[VASOXFANN]

I loved the pizza everyone is definitely right about that. I would even say that they may have had the best shrimp cocktail we have had at sea. I definitely didn't think it was horrible like some of the reviews. I definitely think people were not used to the European style but the food was by no means what other people say in their reviews about MSC. Again definitely subjective and I love food so we are always happy and will find something good.

 

The pastas and desserts were also excellent. The cheesecakes were all thick and delicious. DH loved the cheesecake on MSC, and he's always looking for "that perfect piece of cheesecake" that will taste like those we had on MSC. Maybe it's time to check out Divina.....we had a cruise scheduled on her that we had to cancel due to a medical emergency :(

[Thecat3902]

Definitely don't want to hijack but I have to say we enjoyed it. The show wonderland is hands down the best show we've seen at sea. Everyone left that theatre talking about how good it was. Divina is a beautiful ship. The staircase is impressive. People also complain about service but we had just as good if service on MSC. Our waiter brought out extra lobster without us asking. He made origami birds for our kids. So overall a great value for how little we spent.

I definitely love carnival but definitely can appreciate what other lines have to offer.

[ldlewis45]

For me, it depends on whether we're talking MDR food, buffet, or specialty restaurants. I've only sailed with Carnival and NCL, but I found Carnival's MDR to be better overall (the Indian food is good). Even it, though, ranges from mediocre to good, generally. I've never had anything in the Carnival MDR that blew me away in terms of taste or quality. That said, the MDR on the NCL Breakaway was so mediocre that I never even ate there when I sailed on the Epic. I bought the dining package and ate in a different specialty restaurant every night, lol.

 

In terms of buffet, the buffet on the NCL Epic and Breakaway are so much better than the Carnival buffets I've tried, with the exception of the made-to-order omelets. Those, Carnival wins. Otherwise, the variety and quality that NCL has offered just absolutely crushes Carnivals 3-4 entrees, a couple of sides, salad bar, and burgers. NCL had made-to-order soups, made-to-order pastas, Asian and Indian sections, great breads and several different cheeses every day, meat carving stations, and the list goes on. Even the pickiest eater should be able to find something that they like, whereas I was stuck several times thinking that there was nothing on Carnival's buffet that I wanted to even try.

 

With specialty restaurants, the steakhouses on both lines are generally excellent, but NCL has the upper hand because of the greater variety of extra fee restaurants (very tolerably priced, too).

[cmptrwiz]

We have been only on Carnival and NCL I thought food was good on both. You are never going to go hungry.

[kelkel2]

Honestly, I think food is very very subjective. But here's my thoughts. I have sailed Carnival and Princess and I will give a brief comparison of the 2.

 

Personally, I liked Carnival's breakfast buffet Vs. Princess'. Although there were a decent amount of choices on the buffet, Carnival has really stepped up their game with the made to order omelets and breakfast burritos (blue iguana). Princess had the doughnuts in the international cafe. They were great for a grab and go breakfast. I give the edge to carnival. I love their breakfast.

 

Lunch goes to Carnival hands down. Between your choice of a guys burger, a buffet lunch, tacos at blue iguana, pizza, room service, or the Deli, you can't go wrong. Sorry but Carnival wins hands down. Princess had a buffet lunch and the international cafe for chicken salad and such, but the choices are far less than Carnival's.

 

For dinner in the MDR, I give a slight edge to Princess. Although I have never had a bad meal on either cruise line, Princess' quality of meals just seemed to be a tad higher and their dessert offerings were better as well. They offered a different type of Suflee every night which is my favorite desert to get on a cruise. But again, Carnival's dinner's are good as well. In fact I always look forward to the MDR because I really do enjoy the meals we have there. Often I have a hard time choosing which entree I want to order.

[Honolulu Blue]

I've only sailed on Carnival and I'm not a foodie, so take what I have to say with a grain of salt.

 

I thought the buffet was good for all meals. Guy's and BlueIguana, for those ships that have those, were also good.

 

The MDR's food was better for dinner. I haven't tried the breakfast or brunch there.

 

The steakhouse is the best, if you like steak.

 

Celebrity's reputation for food is great, and Norwegian's is not so hot (outside their specialty restaurants). I would expect Carnival to fit somewhere between the two.

[PEB]

I have been on many different ships and cruise lines. I have found that I find favorite foods on every ship and cruise line. I also find foods that are not t my liking on every ship and cruise line. I have not had a bad meal on Carnival yet. You like Celebrity food and the worst meals I have had have been on Celebrity. It just shows likes and dislikes are different for everyone. I am sure you can find something you like on Carnival.

[tgmtgm]

What cruise line has the best food?

 

Looking at your signature, it appears your last Celebrity cruise was over ten years ago. Sorry to say, but like all cruise lines, Celebrity has cut back on food quality and variety. It's still a bit higher standard than most of the others, but not by much.

 

I just returned from sailing on the Dream, and found the MDR meals to be excellent, as well as the sea day brunch. The buffet on the other hand could use a bit of help.

 

Tony

[hbrote]

Carnival's food has gone down hill with the "American Table" menu's being added. Now Celebrity, in my opinion, has much better food and I am looking forward to my next cruise with them.

[Kristi Williamson]

Everyone's taste is food is so subjective, it's impossible to really answer this question.

 

The worst food we've ever eaten on a cruise was RCCL's Mariner of the Seas. I lost 5lbs that week. It. Was. Awful! RCI is usually much better than that, though.

 

Carnival has a great steakhouse and we enjoy their breakfast buffet and Sea Day Brunch better than any line.

 

NCL has fabulous pay restaurants, but their MDR food is awful.

 

And desserts...let's talk about desserts: RCCI and NCL need to just start over. Stop with the flan, already. Carnival's WCMC, Bitter and Blanc and their cookies are great, otherwise, they need a re-do on desserts, too.

 

And really, if we're all being real, no cruise line has fabulous food anymore. When I first started cruising twenty years ago, the food was great. Now, it's barely cafeteria fare. We don't cruise to eat, though. :D:p;)

Edited March 8, 2015 by Kristi Williamson

[Flatbush Flyer]

Everyone's taste is food is so subjective, it's impossible to really answer this question.

 

The worst food we've ever eaten on a cruise was RCCL's Mariner of the Seas. I lost 5lbs that week. It. Was. Awful! RCI is usually much better than that, though.

 

Carnival has a great steakhouse and we enjoy their breakfast buffet and Sea Day Brunch better than any line.

 

NCL has fabulous pay restaurants, but their MDR food is awful.

 

And desserts...let's talk about desserts: RCCI and NCL need to just start over. Stop with the flan, already. Carnival's WCMC, Bitter and Blanc and their cookies are great, otherwise, they need a re-do on desserts, too.

 

And really, if we're all being real, no cruise line has fabulous food anymore. When I first started cruising twenty years ago, the food was great. Now, it's barely cafeteria fare. We don't cruise to eat, though. :D:p;)

 

 

You might be really surprised about the food, if you turned it up a notch and tried Oceania.