Carnival MDR food quality going down?

[sparks1093]

I adopted the south almost 40 years ago and still haven't learned to love grits. Can I still be an Asian redneck? LOL

 

I've only tried grits once in my life- in Navy boot camp and I thought it was Cream of Wheat. I'm told that the look on my face was quite priceless.:o

[Cruisegirl6]

LOL LOL actually they do look similar and funny thing, the first time I saw grits on Carnival I thought it was cream of wheat! hahahaha. Grits is more of a thicker gritty grain but I do like both.

[ryano]

I was born and raised in the south and I absolutely HATE grits. Nothing but filler food that needs too many other ingredients in them to make them taste good. ;p

[MandyMooToo]

I love grits but I cannot recall ever eating them on a cruise...it brings to mind the scene in My Cousin Vinny:

Vincent La Guardia Gambini: "Well, I guess the laws of physics cease to exist on top of your stove. Were these magic grits? Did you buy them from the same guy who sold Jack his beanstalk beans?"

[billfish]

Food is OK. What has really happened is the lack of service is awful. They have a captive customers. Service does not exist. I feel bad for the MDR staff they are way under staffed. Any restaurant on shore would go under quick with the level of service on Carnival

[Gypsywych]

Food is OK. What has really happened is the lack of service is awful. They have a captive customers. Service does not exist. I feel bad for the MDR staff they are way under staffed. Any restaurant on shore would go under quick with the level of service on Carnival

 

 

Yes!

[Cruisegirl6]

Agree, they cut back staff and the current staff is working a lot harder, more tables, etc. Rumor has it they also cut back on bartenders.

[sparks1093]

Food is OK. What has really happened is the lack of service is awful. They have a captive customers. Service does not exist. I feel bad for the MDR staff they are way under staffed. Any restaurant on shore would go under quick with the level of service on Carnival

 

I wonder if this is related to what ship one is on? There were plenty of staff on Fascination and the MDR service while not impeccable was certainly acceptable (plenty of bar waiters and staff also).

[summersigh]

Is mixing jelly or jam in your grits acceptable? Aside from cheesy shrimp and grits, it's the only way I'll eat them. ;p

My born in the South DH would be horrified !! :') A bit of butter and pepper is all he'd agree to

[Kanyon71]

Personally I think the food itself is fine. What I do thing has changed over time is what you can get and the size you get. Overall though if you look at the cost of things like beef in the grocery store and other things I can see why it has changed. It's not cheap to buy all this food, it's not cheap to cook it all, store it all and so forth. I still think the food is on par or above average from many restaurants I have been in, all in all you can get a bad meal at any restaurants and opinions on restaurants vary from person to person, day to day and depending on who is cooking.

[Gypsywych]

I wonder if this is related to what ship one is on? There were plenty of staff on Fascination and the MDR service while not impeccable was certainly acceptable (plenty of bar waiters and staff also).

 

 

I'd be willing to bet on that. We've always had excellent service on our cruises. However, our last cruise was on the Vista, and the dining room service was abysmal. I blamed it on American Table, but cut backs in personnel was obvious.

We didn't spend a lot of time on the Lido, so I can't vouch for the really crowded areas, but lines and waiting were common everywhere we went.

[Jjzbl]

To me the food quality has remained the same, it's the service that has drastically declined.

 

On our first cruise our waitstaff had plenty of time to interact with their tables and to offer outstanding, attentive service. On this last cruise (5 years later) our waitstaff was clearly stretched very thin, running from table to table. When we'd ask for something (more ketchup, more bread, etc.) it would take forever to get it. The team was constantly working, so the delay wasn't from a lack of effort, it was simply from them having more tables than they could effectively wait on.

 

We enjoy eating in the dining room and have eaten every dinner on every cruise in the MDR but the lack of good attentive service was a real disappointment and took away from the enjoyment of our meals. On our first cruise we really looked forward to dinner, it was a fun part of the cruise, on this last one, it was just dinner, it wasn't a particularly enjoyable part of the day.

[tallnthensome]

On the Vista last week, the MDR food was fair at best and service was slow. It was NOT fine dining by any means.

[bobbismith]

If I was on a brand new ship, I would have higher expectations. I have very reasonable expectations for the Fantasy going out of Mobile. The cost of the trip is very low! I am going to enjoy every minute of the cruise on May 11th!

[Keys2Heaven]

On the Vista last week, the MDR food was fair at best and service was slow. It was NOT fine dining by any means.

 

Same cruise, different result. Had Reflections dining at 6:00 p.m.

 

Service was prompt, efficient and food was good. My wife and I went through dinner/desert and were out by 7:00 p.m. (or before) most nights.

 

Did not see lack of staff. Saw quite a few people with YTD that had no idea where to go though. Same 3 ladies came into the Reflections dining room 3 nights in a row asking for directions to their table, which was in Horizons.

 

I'm truly sorry that your experience was less than what you expect, but for the two of us, it was the same exceptional service that we've always had.

[steveg49]

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.

[Warm Breezes]

If I was on a brand new ship, I would have higher expectations. I have very reasonable expectations for the Fantasy going out of Mobile. The cost of the trip is very low! I am going to enjoy every minute of the cruise on May 11th!

 

 

This. We are going on NCL Escape in September and Carnival Fantasy in October. My expectations for NCL Escape are higher because it is a newer ship with a much higher cost. My expectations for CCL Fantasy are lower because it is an older ship and the cost of the cruise was extremely low. I fully intend to enjoy every minute of both cruises.

[buddylover]

[quote=Cyber Kat;52960501

One of the reasons Carnival is so large is because it's a cheap vacation - not because they deliver a high quality product.

 

But this is not the point that the OP is trying to convey......Everyone needs to compare CARNIVAL TO CARNIVAL....yes it is a "value" vacation,(and that too has changed and not such a 'value anymore - it too has gone WAY up recently in cost)....not so 'cheap' anymore....but none of this is the point.

 

Has CARNIVAL's food declined and going the way of 'for fee' in order to get the quality of food that CARNIVAL used to offer for FREE??? IMHO, the answer is a resounding YES....food on Carnival has greatly declined in quality, number of choices on each menu, and service over the years. To say it hasn't, if one has cruised for any length of time, is to deceive oneself. Is CCL increasing their 'bottom line' with people who will pay for what used to be FREE - of course! Yes it has changed, yes they are offering different menu options....but also YES , CCL now offers lesser choices per menu, lower cost items, and inferior quality over the years that we have been cruising. Don't bring in RCI, NCL and compare, that isn't the question!!

[crusinpsychRN]

Agree, they cut back staff and the current staff is working a lot harder, more tables, etc. Rumor has it they also cut back on bartenders.

 

Waiters in MDR are now getting your alcohol drinks from the bar which is not close by.

[crusinpsychRN]

A person from Indian didn't know how to make lasagna on Magic. Had a drop of tomato sauce, meat had a funny taste.

 

I was on Legend many times and the food was gross. Decided maybe it's me as CC folks kept saying how good the lasagna was so I tried it again and it was delicious! I thought something was up and sure enough they got a new chef. Made all the difference.

 

With no tablecloth as I was trying to cut steak the plate went all over. I had to put a napkin under the plate. Waiter smiled and said he knew about the issue.

[Keys2Heaven]

Waiters in MDR are now getting your alcohol drinks from the bar which is not close by.

 

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.

[Je Souhaite]

No Carnival doesn't have "a plan" to get us to the Steakhouse because if they did, the Steakhouse would be a lot larger than what it is, they just give people another option and I must say its my favorite specialty restaurant of all.

 

If memory serves, they are actually making the size of the steakhouses on the new builds smaller. Not sure if that is true on the Vista class.

[jimbo5544]

If memory serves, they are actually making the size of the steakhouses on the new builds smaller. Not sure if that is true on the Vista class.

 

 

The steakhouse on the Vista is actually pretty large, significantly more so than the dream class.

 

 

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[Cyber Kat]

Agree, they cut back staff and the current staff is working a lot harder, more tables, etc. Rumor has it they also cut back on bartenders.

 

 

We noticed that on our last cruise. We generally chat with one or two bartenders all cruise long. The last one confirmed that they were working with one less on each shift. She was going nuts before dinner filling orders from MDR waiters plus those seated at the bar. She said the staff felt it was because of Cheers. People have already paid for the drinks so they are not in a hurry to serve them - Carnival management, not the bartenders.

 

If you want a drink whether you have Cheers or not you're screwed. They don't seem to realize or care that not everyone gets Cheers so they are screwing themselves as well

 

 

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[jimbo5544]

We noticed that on our last cruise. We generally chat with one or two bartenders all cruise long. The last one confirmed that they were working with one less on each shift. She was going nuts before dinner filling orders from MDR waiters plus those seated at the bar. She said the staff felt it was because of Cheers. People have already paid for the drinks so they are not in a hurry to serve them - Carnival management, not the bartenders.

 

If you want a drink whether you have Cheers or not you're screwed. They don't seem to realize or care that not everyone gets Cheers so they are screwing themselves as well

 

 

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It is noticeable, but mainly during those peaks times (sail away and before dinner). I also had a discussion with one of the bartenders during a slow period on the Vista and she confirmed as much. That said, except during those prime times (I am specifically talking the Vista right now) it seems there are certainly more bars around the ship, and with a couple of exceptions, not overly crowded. I have no fears that if booze revenue goes down, Carnival management will rectify that.