Carnival MDR food quality going down?

[sparks1093]

Portion get smaller, quality of meats goes down, number of options decreases, staff gets cut back. Sometimes management get over ambitious worrying about the bottom line. Carnival MDR is a nice place to eat, is included, and gives you choices. Ships get so big they could never feed everyone in specialty restaurants. I always enjoy a couple of shrimp cocktails and 2 desserts, so the MDR works for me. Steakhouse is a steakhouse, can get that at home. Guy's burgers I think is great.

 

As far as smaller portions go one need only order multiple items to compensate. I like my food but find that after an appetizer, entrée and desert I'm usually full.

[Keys2Heaven]

As far as smaller portions go one need only order multiple items to compensate. I like my food but find that after an appetizer, entrée and desert I'm usually full.

 

Have always ordered a couple of apps to try them. Never had a problem. Love the variety we can't get back home. Actually tried the Indian vegetarian dish one night on Vista. It was awesome and I couldn't finish there was so much food. The rice was to die for.

[Je Souhaite]

As far as smaller portions go one need only order multiple items to compensate. I like my food but find that after an appetizer, entrée and desert I'm usually full.

 

As the course count and portion size decreased, I have increased the amount of entrees I order.

 

And after the first time I do that, I find others at my table join in at subsequent meals. Some are a little inquisitive.

 

And how it's served varied. Some servers place two plates in front of me at once. Others give me one plate at a time.

[jimbo5544]

As the course count and portion size decreased, I have increased the amount of entrees I order.

 

 

 

And after the first time I do that, I find others at my table join in at subsequent meals. Some are a little inquisitive.

 

 

 

And how it's served varied. Some servers place two plates in front of me at once. Others give me one plate at a time.

 

 

I think the reduction of portion size is one of the better moves they have done. Way to much food waste, and more importantly, on Carnival, when you want more, you get it with a smile (unlike some other lines. I would agree on the variety of how it is served.

 

 

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[crusinpsychRN]

Our waiter would put my drink order in, but would not get it. He left that to the bar steward. I think our bar steward got ticked off that our waiter had already asked for my drink order and put it in instead of him.

 

They changed this.

[crusinpsychRN]

Wish they served salad chilled. It's room temp now.

[dverzic]

We went on the Miracle for the third time at the end of March and actually thought the food was better than in the past. It tasted better and seemed fresher. The other people i was traveling with thought so too.

 

 

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[Thorncroft]

We went on the Miracle for the third time at the end of March and actually thought the food was better than in the past. It tasted better and seemed fresher. The other people i was traveling with thought so too.

 

 

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You must've been mistaken. Your experience is contrary to the premise of this thread. :'):'):')

[dverzic]

You must've been mistaken. Your experience is contrary to the premise of this thread. :'):'):')

 

 

I didn't say it was great, just better. Last year when we went, it was awful. Pastries were stale. Sauces were dried out, like they'd been sitting for a while under heat lamps, eggs Benedict was overcooked, etc.

 

 

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[isaiahsnana]

I haven't been cruising 20 years but I highly doubt that. I wonder if people who make this type of remark truly knows what goes into preparing "gourmet meals". There is simply no possible way to serve gourmet food when cooking for thousands of people at a time. I wont doubt that the meat quality has gone downhill. Ive seen that on two lines in just 9 years but no way will I ever believe that a mass market cruise line has ever served what I would consider gourmet meals. Its massed produced banquet type food at best in my honest opinion.

 

Gourmet is what you would find on the small boutique lines that cost upwards of 5K per person and only have about 800 guests onboard. Crystal, Regents, etc.

 

I Agree with you, I have been cruising for about 18 years - and folks are good at remembering the good old days - but ships were much smaller - and there were so many less requests for special diet requests - that now, the kitchen has to be prepared for a multitude of differently prepared items and serve on time to 4000+ guests three meals a day with other food available all day long! It can't be the same. I, too, loved the old menus - i found things I really liked - I have only sailed three times with the new menus and I am still trying things to become my favorites. I am somewhat of a foodie and an excellent home cook - so I always look at meals thinking "I can make this better!" but then I remember that I don't have to cook, serve or clean it up so it is all good!

[K.T.B.]

Food is subjective. Everyone likes something different. :)

 

I'll say this though, I've been a member of this board since 2003 and complaints about the quality of the food (or product in general) have always been a part of this community. So if, after 14 years of "lowing food quality", they're not serving us gruel by now, then I think the complaints about the food need to be, well, taken with a grain of salt! ;)

[ryano]

Food is subjective. Everyone likes something different. :)

 

I'll say this though, I've been a member of this board since 2003 and complaints about the quality of the food (or product in general) have always been a part of this community. So if, after 14 years of "lowing food quality", they're not serving us gruel by now, then I think the complaints about the food need to be, well, taken with a grain of salt! ;)

 

Ive been here 9 years now and I agree.

[DreadPirateRobert]

Since both my wife and I have had gastric bypass surgery and share one entree with plenty left over, food is no longer an attraction to us on cruises. Having said that I have noticed changes over the last 15 years that make me feel that maybe the food isn't as good as it was. I still enjoy what little I eat so I'm not complaining about food quality, just observing some changes.

[meatloafsfan]

Food is subjective. Everyone likes something different. :)

 

I'll say this though, I've been a member of this board since 2003 and complaints about the quality of the food (or product in general) have always been a part of this community. So if, after 14 years of "lowing food quality", they're not serving us gruel by now, then I think the complaints about the food need to be, well, taken with a grain of salt! ;)

 

I remember the controversy over the last "new menus" (the ones before the American table). The sky was falling, the sky was falling!

 

Fried chicken!?!

Hamburger!?!

Meatloaf!?!

Bacon Mac n Cheese!?!

And of course those awful "Didja ever..." dishes!?!

 

The menu's were pared down to the absolute basics and many people couldn't find *anything* to eat on those menus.

[sanmarcosman]

We went on the Miracle for the third time at the end of March and actually thought the food was better than in the past. It tasted better and seemed fresher. The other people i was traveling with thought so too.

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We sailed Miracle in February for the third time and we also thought the MDR food was better than in previous years. I only had one item, the mushroom appetizer, over the whole week that I didn't care for. The Portobello Mushroom entree was excellent and all entrees were served HOT for a nice change.

 

I agree with a previous poster that the salads should be served chilled and not room temp but overall we were delighted with the MDR experience.

[louanne93]

We went on the Miracle for the third time at the end of March and actually thought the food was better than in the past. It tasted better and seemed fresher. The other people i was traveling with thought so too.

 

 

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We were on the Miracle at the end of March as well and the food and service were superb! Waiter did get our drinks, service was fast and food was hot and delicious!

[bobbismith]

What is main difference between old menu and AT?

 

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[sfaaa]

 

Fried chicken!?!

Hamburger!?!

Meatloaf!?!

Bacon Mac n Cheese!?!

 

.

 

All good stuff. Love them all.

[Keys2Heaven]

What is main difference between old menu and AT?

 

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Here's the thing, I don't remember what I had on our first Carnival cruise in 2005, other than it was good.

 

I find the food from our 2017 cruise to be just as edible!

[TYinPalmSprings]

I have heard the comment that the food on the Carnival Vista is "too fancy" . So, to make the bargain Walmart crowd happy, they serve them hot dogs and beans, tacos, . Just saw that "too fancy" comment again today as a "con" on a mail from Cruise Critic. After sitting down to a cake-like dessert on a large ship, on another cruise line, I was shocked to discover my cake was still frozen. After a lot of questions to a lot of food staff, I learned from the head food person that a lot of the desserts, as well as other food items, are prepared off-ship in advance, then frozen, later to be defrosted and/or reheated if it applies. I was told that it would be impossible to make all that from scratch, for thousands of people, so it cannot be done anymore. Just look, and select your food items wisely...or jump to Crystal,   Azamara, Viking, or some other high-ended, high price, cruise line

[Stateroom_Sailor]

3 hours ago, TYinPalmSprings said:

I have heard the comment that the food on the Carnival Vista is "too fancy" . So, to make the bargain Walmart crowd happy, they serve them hot dogs and beans, tacos, . Just saw that "too fancy" comment again today as a "con" on a mail from Cruise Critic. After sitting down to a cake-like dessert on a large ship, on another cruise line, I was shocked to discover my cake was still frozen. After a lot of questions to a lot of food staff, I learned from the head food person that a lot of the desserts, as well as other food items, are prepared off-ship in advance, then frozen, later to be defrosted and/or reheated if it applies. I was told that it would be impossible to make all that from scratch, for thousands of people, so it cannot be done anymore. Just look, and select your food items wisely...or jump to Crystal,   Azamara, Viking, or some other high-ended, high price, cruise line

 

May I ask which cruise line you are talking about?  Otherwise people will get the impression...

 

Frozen Food = NCL, RCL, PCL, HAL, X, MSC

Fancy Food = Carnival

Fancier Food = Crystal, Azamara, Viking

 

[mredandchis]

On 4/28/2017 at 12:53 PM, funkidd said:

I have a theory I want to pose to everyone and see what yall think. From what I have heard on reviews on here and from what I have seen in the past several years, the food quality in the MDR is on the decline. It seems variety selection and quality are declining. Is that a fair statement? If it is true, why do you think?

 

My theory is that cruise lines, Carnival specifically (maybe others) are trying to get passengers to switch to the pay for restaurants by lessoning the quality and variety in the main dining room. I think they are doing this gradually to eventually make the change to a pay for all of your food cruise system. I think if they just starting charging for all food on the cruise, they would see big declines in ridership so they have decided to get customers to slowly pay for better food, comparable to what you used to get in the mdr.

 

What do yall think?

well it is a simple question and a simple theory and has merit.   Not sure about the idea it will be all pay for food thing someday but yes the quality and choices have declined over the past 2 decades  and as the pay resturants came into existance.  They still have some good food now but it is changing and maybe a little to cut costs and keep the overall price down.   Like the great idea of the " American Table' . Save on linen wear and washing.  that is a huge cost savings.  So they are cutting costs over alll slow but sure.  

[simplelife]

Carnival does not and has not ever purported to serve "gourmet" food. I remember being told that on my first Carnival Cruise nearly 20 years ago.

Carnival is a budget line and has made many changes over the years to balance affordability and customer satisfaction. They have taken away some things and added others. 

Those who expect  gourmet food, can book (and pay for) a more upscale line.

 

[TYinPalmSprings]

5 hours ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

May I ask which cruise line you are talking about?  Otherwise people will get the impression...

 

Frozen Food = NCL, RCL, PCL, HAL, X, MSC

Fancy Food = Carnival

Fancier Food = Crystal, Azamara, Viking

 

The frozen dessert was on RCCL. I was on the LIberty of the Seas. Every piece of red  meat on that ship was dry, and had the taste of previously frozen meat. I thought something was fishy when they could not properly prepare a steak medium-rare. It came out gray, or still cold (like part frozen cold, or well done. I was clued in, later in the cruise, by a food service manager, certain foods I should avoid.  Surprisingly, I sailed on the Carnival Freedom just a few months later, and was delighted with not only the meats, but with the desserts, and quality of the food overall. I was delightfully surprised. I have been cruising since 1976, over 30 cruises, and have watched as the nature of cruising has changed. Overall, it is still a great  value for the money.

 

[TYinPalmSprings]

7 minutes ago, simplelife said:

Carnival does not and has not ever purported to serve "gourmet" food. I remember being told that on my first Carnival Cruise nearly 20 years ago.

Carnival is a budget line and has made many changes over the years to balance affordability and customer satisfaction. They have taken away some things and added others. 

Those who expect  gourmet food, can book (and pay for) a more upscale line.

 

"Gourmet" is such a misused term. Even the higher-end lines do not serve "gourmet" food. in their MDR...better grades of food, maybe,  and maybe better prepared, and served, but not "gourmet". I sailed Carnival when they were a mac-and-cheese level cruise, and I have to note that yes, their food has gotten much better You get what you pay for, but, my point is that it seems weird that Cruise Critic reports that reviews from cruisers on Carnival rate as a  "con" about Carnival that the food is too fancy.