Can we STOP complaining about the MDR food?

[sparks1093]

Yes but that's not the point. They just repeat the same kinds of dishes over and over again. Honestly how different is salmon from tilapia? It's still fish and they're serving it every night. It varies a little but after a week it gets monotonous.

 

There is a big difference between the two and yes, they count as two different dishes. Just as sirloin steak one night is different than prime rib the next or grilled chicken is different than chicken alfredo.

[goingplaces1132]

I really like Carnival food. I sailed on another line a few times and really was it impressed with the food. No complaints t anyone was needed...I just stopped cruising on a line I didn't care really like. This is like not liking Perkins and liking Bob Evans. Just don't go to Perkins anymore, you wouldn't call Perkins and make complaints. You simply wouldn't eat there. Find a cruise line you like and that's where you spend your money

 

 

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[tennboy1981]

Ive never had a bad meal on the cruise, and i totally agree. People think Carnival is supposed to be "fine dining". If you expect it to be, then you better book your cruise on Crystal cruises next time. Go ahead and look up their itineraries and prices. Id expect fine dining there. Not carnival.

 

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[zekekelso]

I love a thread that complains about complaining.

 

I like the posts in the thread where people complain about the guy complaining about complaining.

[B4RK3R]

I love the MDR food, especially the lava cake. Idk why people complain on cruises.. You're on vacation, relax!!!

[krehberg]

Yes but that's not the point. They just repeat the same kinds of dishes over and over again. Honestly how different is salmon from tilapia? It's still fish and they're serving it every night. It varies a little but after a week it gets monotonous.

 

Salmon and Tilapia are night and day different so bad example.

[jimbo5544]

No. We can't. Because once we accept lower quality, then we have given up.

Once we accept lower quality, Carnival will lower the quality yet again.

Once we accept lower quality, then the standards will never rise.

 

Do not accept. Complain about the food. Complain about the lack of tablecloths. Complain about cold entrees Complain about the lack of service. Be heard.

 

I will not be complacent with my money. :)

 

 

Well we can sure tell your not on the fence with this topic

 

 

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[Pellaz]

I reserve to myself the absolute right to complain about food on Carnival....except that I won't, because in my recent experiences the food on Carnival (Conquest) has been significantly better than on Royal (Independence).

 

I didnt have a problem with ANY of the food on Carnival. I found it all to be better than what i was use to on Royal Caribbean lately in every aspect and thats the only two cruise lines I have to judge by. Including the steakhouse. If you think Carnivals steakhouses are overrated dont ever waste 39.00 on Chops on RC! Ive had better steaks at the Sizzler!

 

Ouch. And a friend on my last Royal cruise was invited to eat at their Italian place for dinner by a waiter outside...and then was surprised by the $30/pp bill! :o

 

 

MDR was significantly better on Carnival -- especially the choices, the breakfast was MUCH better on Carnival, and the included eateries are both better and more numerous on Carnival.

[bnorris10]

Complain about the food. Complain about the lack of tablecloths. Complain about cold entrees Complain about the lack of service. Be heard.

 

I will not be complacent with my money. :)

 

I rarely have a bad meal and if I do I simply don't eat it and get something else that is good

 

I could care less about the tablecloths in fact no tablecloths keeps me from accidently pulling the table and all its belongings off the table because I accidently snagged or pulled the cloth

 

Never had a cold entree

 

So far my service has always been good on Carnival

 

 

 

I like the food on carnival far more than any other cruise line I have been on

[Sitzmark]

So it's a bit of hyperbole on the part of the previous poster

 

Maybe, maybe not. I've seen this sentiment over and over and it just always strikes me as dumb. I've seen it used to excuse all kinds of poor product and as a retort to people that feel they got stuck with something less than they bargained for. It just strikes me that if people express that they'll accept whatever the corporation pushes at them without ever pushing back, then why would the corporation do anything to improve?

 

Now if you do like the product, of course you shouldn't complain about it, I'm only talking about this notion of what the level of expectation is.

[Computer Nerd]

Love reading these boards but so tired of people complaining about the "quality" of the MDR food on Carnival. THIS IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE FINE DINING FOOD, people .... Perhaps some people just need to adjust their expectations? I consider the MDR food to be "Banquet Quality" ... which is as good as anyone should expect ... its not possible to push out thousands of "fine dining" meals in such a short amount of time. With my "Banquet Quality" expectations ... I am rarely disappointed with anything I get in the MDR, and If I am, I just order something else. Better yet I typically order multiple entrees and starters anyway and usually like at least one thing they bring. :)

 

If you truly want an elevated food experience ... then simply factor an extra $245 into your cruise fare and book the Steakhouse every night for your 7 night carnival cruise -

 

.....And before you start saying that "This line or that line has better food than CCL" ... consider that "those lines" also charge significantly MORE to book your cruise than carnivals fare + $35/day for the steakhouse.

 

Thank you for letting me rant. :)

 

Personally, I love the food in the MDR on Carnival. Probably the best at sea that is not in a specialty restaurant.

[Yvonne]

OP, if you're tired of people complaining about the main dining room food, a simple solution would be for you to stop reading those threads.

 

Food is a big part of a cruise, and it's going to be discussed. Yes it will be discussed over and over if you're a long time poster here, but for new people they want to give their opinions about it, as they should.

 

We were on the Dream in January and I was less than impressed over much of the food. It wasn't bad, but much of it was just kind of underwhelming. And the buffet was even worse, with many dishes staying the same all week long (like potato salad at lunch, and baked potatoes at dinner). It seems like they don't have as much variety as they used to. And maybe all cruise lines are going that route, I don't know. But I actually lost 3 pounds on our cruise, and that is unheard of for me usually. :)

[kroozers]

I think the food in the MDR is amazing!! If being a foodie means disliking good food...I'm thrilled not to be one!!

[DebJ14]

Now that Carnival lowered the quality, people forget that it was once good and better than a banquet. Soon however, I hear a rumor that the MDR will become a large buffet. It's the next step in their downgrades. :cool:

 

Yes, it once was very good. I used to so look forward to the Beef Wellington on every cruise.

 

We started sailing with Carnival 30 years ago on the Carnivale. We had an outside cabin where the sink was in the cabin and the kids had to climb in the sink to look out the porthole. It was not so good and neither was the food. Then we had some great cruises on the Tropicale, Holiday, Celebration and Jubilee. When they first launched the Ecstasy they had no idea how to handle so many people and cruising on Carnival meant standing in long lines for everything. We stayed off Carnival for quite a while and went to other cruise lines because that experience was so horrible.

 

Then, got an offer we couldn't refuse and went on the Inspiration out of San Juan. They had solved their issues with crowd control. We saw Carnival steadily improve throughout the 90's. And, we had some excellent food on our Carnival cruises. When the Conquest came out in 2002 we thought we had died and gone to heaven. We loved the ship, the crew and the food. We sailed her 4 times, and it was in 2008 that we noticed the cutbacks with stewards having 25 cabins instead of 17, and waiters having more tables and one waiter sharing 2 busboys with another waiter. Service was starting to slip. Then the food quality started to slip too.

 

Personally, I think the big decline started after Bob Dickinson retired in 2007. Things steadily declined under Gerry Cahill. He was a bean counter, whereas Bob Dickinson was a cruise guy. Bob seemed to be trying to keep the quality there, but Cahill was all about the bottom line, quality be damned.

 

I really miss the good wines that Carnival used to stock on board, but then Bob Dickinson was known as an oenophile. They stocked some of the President's wine club vintages at the bars. Also, the MDR recommended wine and food pairings were very good. Now, it just seems like they are pushing whatever wines they have too much of in stock.'

 

How embarrassing for Carnival that they hired Bob Dickinson back as a consultant in 2013 because things had gotten so bad.

 

Carnival went after a different demographic and those people seem to think the food is fine and that those of us who know how good it once was should not complain. I remember a conversation 2 cruises ago with a couple who didn't eat in the dining room because they thought the food was too fancy for them. I asked how they knew. Oh, they just knew, but I found that foolhardy since they admitted they never even tried it once. They said their favorite restaurants were the Golden Corral and Denny's so they were very happy with the buffet. To me that said it all.

 

I find it sad that we find our largest outlay on onboard expenses on a Carnival cruise is for the paid food venues like the Steakhouse and Cucina del Capitano. I can remember the day when a steak in the MDR on Carnival was as good as the NY Strip served in the steakhouses and when the desserts in the MDR were as good as those in the steakhouse.

 

I know some of you will tell me to sail other lines. Don't worry, we do. We sail Princess, HAL, Celebrity, MSC and RCCL. But, sometimes we need a quick, cheap getaway and there is are 3 Carnival ships 60 miles from the house so we will throw in a Carnival cruise. We are Diamond on Carnival and RCCL, Elite on Celebrity, 3 star Mariners on HAL and MSC matches our highest status on the other lines.

 

The best thing about Carnival are the crew members. They are as good or better than those we have encountered on much more expensive cruises. It is such a shame that Carnival latest rounds of cuts have hit them hard. On our cruise 6 weeks ago we were told that the number of stewards onboard had been slashed from 46 to 22 and that they each now had 37 cabins. The lack of bar waiters both by the pools and indoors is obvious. DH had to stand in line at the piano bar, Red Frog pub and at Ocean Plaza since there were no bar waiters during the cocktail hour.

 

I think they are using the environment as an excuse to stop putting robes in cabins unless requested and not providing ice unless it is requested. It is just less work for their already overworked stewards. I also think their big mistake was to roll out the once a day service option on the heels of another increase in gratuities.

 

Make no mistake, we still get good service, but I really think it is more related to being Diamond than anything else. As long as everyone accepts the lower standards, then they will continue to see how many cuts they can get away with before they start to lose passengers. But, since they seem focused on bringing in the newbies who don't know how it used to be, they will continue to make cuts.

 

At some point we will say enough is enough and bid a sad adieu to Carnival for good. We have found great deals on out there on all the other cruise lines and many throw in things like free They are there if you can be flexible.

[sparks1093]

We hardly ever book last minute but we wanted a quick vacation. It's not just last minute cruises. Perfect example the week of July 8th on E. Caribbean on NCL Escape is $1225pp/balcony. Carnival Glory to the E. Caribbean the exact same week is $1134pp. Less than $100 difference to sail one line's flagship and the others 10 yr old ship. Thats not a bash on Carnival, just showing the other lines can be as affordable as Carnival. The true industry leader in terms of pricing right now is MSC and it's not even close.

 

Even at that price I'd still choose CCL (and to me anything booked earlier than a year is last minute;)).

[sparks1093]

Maybe, maybe not. I've seen this sentiment over and over and it just always strikes me as dumb. I've seen it used to excuse all kinds of poor product and as a retort to people that feel they got stuck with something less than they bargained for. It just strikes me that if people express that they'll accept whatever the corporation pushes at them without ever pushing back, then why would the corporation do anything to improve?

 

Now if you do like the product, of course you shouldn't complain about it, I'm only talking about this notion of what the level of expectation is.

 

I put it in the same category as "a bad day at sea is better than a good day at work", "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse", and "there's nothing to eat in the house" (typically said by a teenager while looking into a full fridge.

 

As long as the Corporation is making money doing it the way they are doing it then customer complaints are relatively pointless.

[vamartha]

I think the MDR food is adequate. I don't think it is anything to write home about. I think it was much, much better fifteen years ago when we first started cruising. And some of that might just be perception as they have cut back on staff. (I mean could you imagine having your crumbs removed between courses in real life in 2017 on Carnival?)

 

Having said that, I'd really prefer a Guy's burger and fries over a MDR meal. The exception for me is Lobster night and the Lobster really isn't that spectacular - its just for me I'd prefer something "seafoody" as opposed to something "not seafoody" and that really isn't any different for me on a cruise than it would be here on dry land.

 

I'd also prefer the food in the Steakhouse (limit, once a cruise - DH really doesn't prefer it) or JiJi's or even Cucina over the MDR.

 

I'm not a fan of large tables, we mostly ask for two-tops (in a booth so we can have room to breathe) and use YTD. So the nightly meal really isn't a social event for me and I think that also can have an effect on someone's perception of the MDR.

[hotsauce126]

Am I the only one who thinks the AT menu isn't very different than the old menus? Seriously, the only differences I've noticed are the Port of Call options (which I love) and the huge, almost wasteful, portion sizes. Otherwise it still seems like most of the same food they had before.

 

And again, in 2017 tablecloths do not equal fine dining. I've been to restaurants that are $50-$100/plate with no tablecloths, and cheap italian chains that have them

[DebbieMo]

I think people have a right to complain if they feel the quality of food is declining. I've only been on 1 Carnival cruise and thought the dining room food was ok.

 

Don't you think though that if the food was better quality there would be less waste (cost)? You said yourself that your order multiple things and don't eat them all.

Edited March 10, 2017 by DebbieMo

[Micahs Grandad]

Food basically is ok but steaks are generally not as good as they used to be as they are using cheaper cuts.

 

Service is still ok but not nearly as good as it used to be.

[LMaxwell]

I rather like Carnivals MDR food. I think they do a nice job with it. Seaday Brunch and Tea Time are nice things that not a lot of other lines do either. I do think Lido buffet quality could be much better; seems they have decided to add more alternative venues instead though. Would like to see some of those venues have later hours so that you could have dinner there if you wanted. Overall, to me, food is actually a plus area on Carnival and I hope they maintain their quality.

 

I would like one "real" Midnight Buffet per cruise though. Not the mexican night in the lido thing, but a real midnight buffet. if you cruised 10+ years ago you know what I mean.

[riclop]

People just love to complain !!!!!!!

[easyboy]

I don't see any reason to complain about MDR food.

[Computer Nerd]

I rather like Carnivals MDR food. I think they do a nice job with it. Seaday Brunch and Tea Time are nice things that not a lot of other lines do either. I do think Lido buffet quality could be much better; seems they have decided to add more alternative venues instead though. Would like to see some of those venues have later hours so that you could have dinner there if you wanted. Overall, to me, food is actually a plus area on Carnival and I hope they maintain their quality.

 

I would like one "real" Midnight Buffet per cruise though. Not the mexican night in the lido thing, but a real midnight buffet. if you cruised 10+ years ago you know what I mean.

 

The old "Midnight buffet" was a huge waste of money and manpower. Yes, it looked pretty and hundreds of people showed up to take pictures but most of the food went uneaten and was wasted.

[rtw68]

No. We can't. Because once we accept lower quality, then we have given up.

Once we accept lower quality, Carnival will lower the quality yet again.

Once we accept lower quality, then the standards will never rise.

 

Do not accept. Complain about the food. Complain about the lack of tablecloths. Complain about cold entrees Complain about the lack of service. Be heard.

 

I will not be complacent with my money. :)

 

Posts and complaints about food are so subjective. The best thing that people can do if they have a huge problem with the food is cruise another line. We branched out to Royal last year and to be honest, the food was about the same.

 

I have never had a bad meal on a cruise, so I personally don't have an issue with either cruise line. I'm not expecting 5 star cuisine on a cruise ship that feeds thousands of people. I think they do a pretty good job of it overall. Perfect? No, but I'm not going to pay thousands for a cruise to complain the whole time, I will stay home instead if it gets to that point for me personally.