MDR Food - Quality Through the Week

[Cruisegirl6]

Carnival food overall is low grade, low quality and is consistent daily of being just ok with some food in the lunch buffets of being inedible and in the MDR low quality meats, the bare minimum quality that they are able to serve.

[SadieN]

Carnival food overall is low grade, low quality and is consistent daily of being just ok with some food in the lunch buffets of being inedible and in the MDR low quality meats, the bare minimum quality that they are able to serve.

 

 

Wasn't any better on our last Princess cruise.

 

 

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[Cruisegirl6]

Its been years since I been on Princess so I cannot comment on that, but Carnival owns Princess.

[beachbum6264]

Your friend sounds like someone I would not like to travel with. What a know-it-all party pooper. I wouldn't believe anything she told me after those two bits of 'advise'. :rolleyes:

[crusinpsychRN]

The first night menu is my least favorite except for creme brulee. Carnival has prime rib on first elegant night and usually once more during the week. Used to be a nice cut, went to a sliver, now back to a nice cut. Along with a loaded baked potato it's really good.

 

I was over on the Cunard board and saw their room service menu. Wow!

[jimbo5544]

Its been years since I been on Princess so I cannot comment on that, but Carnival owns Princess.

This post says a lot.....

[Cabron]

I think the food is pretty danged good in the MDR. Maybe I have low standards....?

 

:confused:

[IntrepidFromDC]

I think the food is pretty danged good in the MDR. Maybe I have low standards....?

 

:confused:

 

That's one way of stating it, "easy to please", or "easygoing" would be a nicer way. ;)

 

Carnival food in the MDR is better than Lido no doubt, but I'd put it on a par with TGIF, Applebee's and the like. I can deal with it, but seven straight days of it is disgusting to my taste buds, in fact I get nauseous just thinking of the seventh night. I break it up by ordering Steakhouse once or twice and finding wonderful, top-10 TripAdvisor rated restaurants in port for lunch where I usually order a sumptuous fresh fish dish. That helps me "survive" MDR dinners.

 

So I would say you're easy to please with respect to food - not low standards. And I think of myself as a "foodie", not high standards. It doesn't make me better, in fact it can be pretty expensive from time to time. :)

[Guy2073]

Carnival food overall is low grade, low quality and is consistent daily of being just ok with some food in the lunch buffets of being inedible and in the MDR low quality meats, the bare minimum quality that they are able to serve.

 

I just got back from the pride yesterday, i have to agree about the buffet. The quality was very poor. I did have a few good meals in the mdr but the flat iron steak was a poor quality.

[crusinpsychRN]

It has a lot to do with the chef. The lasagna on Legend was awful on the many trips I took on her. On CC everyone talked about how good it is. Went again and decided maybe it's me and ordered it again and it was delicious. Thought something was up, sure enough got a new chef.

[crusinpsychRN]

I just got back from the pride yesterday, i have to agree about the buffet. The quality was very poor. I did have a few good meals in the mdr but the flat iron steak was a poor quality.

 

That flat iron can be nasty. Most of the watery buffet stuff is nasty. Sometimes a really good soup on Lido. I get small tastes of things to see if I'll like it and go back for more if I do.

[gottaluvcruises12]

I will say that on my first cruise it was 7 days and it was that the food in the MDR was terrible but I got bored with it. I wanted something on land or something that I eat all the time. I just got bored with it after day 5.

[FloridaMommyof3]

Now my last cruise the flat iron steak was really, really good. Much better then it had been on previous cruises.

[Florings]

I have to disagree with your friend....on all of her advice!

 

We always do steakhouse the first night - why? Because it's been a hectic travel day, embarking, all the excitement and build up of the previous day or so - it's just a nice aaahhh moment. A quiet, delicious dinner - a glass of wine - impeccable service - and nice ambience. It's our start to a great week of cruising.

 

Now for Cozumel - it is awesome! There are so many things to do there. If you've never been to a tour to the far side of the island....oohh, it is so beautiful! And there is a small chocolate factory that is an enjoyable visit. Of course all of the water sports, snorkeling, lovely beaches, jet skis. And shopping is wonderful - best port for souveneirs in my opinion, for price and selection.

 

Go and have a great time....and don't ask your friend for anymore advice!:D

[E@syPe@zy]

That's one way of stating it, "easy to please", or "easygoing" would be a nicer way. ;)

 

Carnival food in the MDR is better than Lido no doubt, but I'd put it on a par with TGIF, Applebee's and the like. I can deal with it, but seven straight days of it is disgusting to my taste buds, in fact I get nauseous just thinking of the seventh night. I break it up by ordering Steakhouse once or twice and finding wonderful, top-10 TripAdvisor rated restaurants in port for lunch where I usually order a sumptuous fresh fish dish. That helps me "survive" MDR dinners.

 

So I would say you're easy to please with respect to food - not low standards. And I think of myself as a "foodie", not high standards. It doesn't make me better, in fact it can be pretty expensive from time to time. :)

I would take the MDR over Applebee's any day of the week. Stopped going there a long time ago.

The first day is the only day of the MDR that is a bit helter skelter, After that we have not seen any decline in food quality or service. We have just gotten into the habit of going to the steak house on the first night. Good way to start the cruise and it's so much more relaxed.

What I can't understand is....if you really dislike the food in the MDR that much, then why on earth are you not shopping for a new cruise line??? Since you are a self proclaimed foodie (which I don't even understand what that exactly means) then I think it would be important to cruise a line that offered food that would offer you a pleasant (hopefully memorable) experience.:confused:

[Cruisegirl6]

Jimbo5544- Yes, anything owned by Carnival does say a lot......

 

Serving us that flat iron steak which is also the lowest grade quality they can even legally serve us is such a huge waste of food as so are the other horrible items that are offered in the buffets..... I always see most of the people leave the so called "prime rib" and the flat iron steak, its just so much waste of food, if only Carnival up their quality of food there won't be a third as much waste of food as it currently is!

 

Thankfully Carnival does do one thing great, their Steakhouse is very good to excellent, during the past four Carnival cruises we chose to eat there every night and never had a bad meal ever there! You get what you pay for I guess?

[ryano]

Jimbo5544- Yes, anything owned by Carnival does say a lot......

 

Serving us that flat iron steak which is also the lowest grade quality they can even legally serve us

 

A flat iron steak is just a cut of meat taken from a the chuck part of the cow :rolleyes: It has NOTHING to do with grade. I would venture a guess that Carnival serves all "USDA Choice" cuts which is exactly what you would buy in an average grocery store.

 

Im gonna guess you had your flat iron steak cooked to death and then you were upset because its "poor grade" of meat. Anything past medium rare on a flat iron cut and you might as well just chew on a piece of shoe leather.

[Cruisegirl6]

Flat iron is not a top quality piece of beef and grade is the beef quality, there is Prime, Choice and Select, and trust me Carnival only uses the cheapest which is select.

I do not and will not eat medium to well done meat, I order my beef medium rare but I don't mind if my steak "moos" either yummm! That flat iron steak I had on carnival and I had it twice figuring I just had a bad piece of meat were both cooked medium rare, it was very chewy/tough I could not eat it.....the so called prime rib they served in the MDR is all fat, they should be ashamed of what they give passengers to eat, but its ok, if I cruise on Carnival you find us at the steakhouse every night and all is perfect! :D

[happy cruzer]

There are several reviews where the flat iron steak was enjoyed - Jamman's and one from Puerto Rico. So tastes do vary.

[Alaskan Joe]

My DW and I feel the quality of food has gone down on ALL cruise lines, but never experience it getting worst throughout the week. We always book the steakhouse once per cruise, and what we do is go to the MDR the minute we board the ship to look at the menus for the week(if they have them). Then we can see....... :confused:......... Wednesday the choices do not appeal to us, that is the night we would book. However this time we decided to go for the free bottle of wine, or shall I say the 50% off bottle because we here the free bottle is cheap and sucky.

[riclop]

We are going on our first 7 day cruise on the Dream next month. Previously have done a 5 day on the Elation. My GF was talking to a friend of ours about the cruise and how we made reservations for the steakhouse the first night for the free bottle of wine.

 

Our friend proceeded to tell us how we had made a terrible mistake. She said that the quality of the food in the MDR gets worse every day you're onboard and that we should cancel our reservation and move it to one of the last nights so we don't have to suffer the food at the end of the week.

 

My experience on the Elation was that the food quality was pretty even. I always found something tasty on the MDR menu and enjoyed it throughout.

 

Is this just a case of our friend getting burned out on the MDR food, or has anyone else experienced a decrease in quality through the week? I'd rather keep those first night reservations and get our free wine.

 

 

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That is so ridiculous, it's not good the whole week.

[Cruisegirl6]

Puerto Ricans marinate their steak and add a lot of seasonings so it would be better, actually, your suppose to marinate flat iron steak and I know from the taste of it that it isn't marinated so perhaps that is the problem?

 

Alaskan Joe- I was just saying that to my sister in law last week, all cruise lines went down hill but Carnival has cut back the most especially in the lunch buffet and the meats served in the MDR.....Yes, the free bottle of wine you get at the Steakhouse during the first night of the cruise is very cheap, we accepted a bottle on our first dining experience at the Steakhouse a few years back, and it tasted just like red wine vinegar that we didn't have the heart to tell the waiter to get rid of it, so we took it back to our cabin and dumped it in the sink....the 50% off bottles of wine is a very nice touch.