Best food you've ever had on a cruise?

[madamegourmet]

My husband and I are planning our first cruise. We love good food - which cruise line should we choose? Thanks for your input!

[L&B Cruisers]

;) IMHO ,and we've cruised a "time or two", "you pays your money & you takes your chances"! We've been on most lines... you'll eventually get the "Good, the Bad & the Ugly". In other words there is no such thing as one line being bad all the time & another superb all the time! With that being said, memorable dinning for me was on the old Stella Solaris, and the Celebrity Galaxy, but I've enjoyed/bad-mouthed Carnival, RCI, NCL, & HAL? Best advice for me has always been, find a good waiter, & ask what's good on the menu. (Works well sometimes?). "Beauty is in the eye (mouth) of the beholder." :D

[Arwenmark]

My husband and I are planning our first cruise. We love good food - which cruise line should we choose? Thanks for your input!

 

Sorry but this one is TOTALLY subjective. Some people might have the more upscale food on some cruiselines and think it is awful because they are meat and potatoes people or good home cooking people etc.

Then there are those that are gourmets and turn their nose up at any cruise line food.

 

Most cruiselines have decent food. But it is all according to the taste of the individual.

[caviargal]

Radisson

Celebrity

[glgolfer]

Probably the best was on the Crystal Harmony and the QM2 in the Princess Grill restaurant (only 170 diners and food was prepared to order). But we've had decent to excellent on HAL, NCL and RCI.

The quality of food can vary from ship to ship on any cruise line, so saying a cruise lines food is either terrible or fantastic after being on only one ship is not really true.

And, as the other poster said, (paraphrased cliche coming) "food quality is in the taste of the diner".

[geoherb]

I think of the mass market cruiselines, Celebrity and HAL have the best food in the dining room, with Princess not far behind. We've also been on Carnival, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean. We haven't sailed on any of the premium cruiselines, such as Silversea, Crystal, and Radisson. For the amount they charge, the food should be outstanding.

[Jane110]

1. Oceania - best food at sea from my experiences.

 

2. Celebrity

 

Additionally, we were very pleasantly surprised on how good the food was on our cruise on the Grand Princess. It wasn't as outstanding as Oceania, (nor would I expect it to be) but it was really excellent. Very good choices and quality, incredible soups (hot & cold) and fabulous pizza.

 

Our biggest disappointment was on HAL's Maasdam. It was the worst food we ever had on a cruise. Dinner's were edible but mediocre, lunch in dining room was pretty good, but the buffet was a downright disaster - carved meats that were as tough as shoe leather, over ripe mushy fruit and one "dish", sauerkarut w/ russian dressing was considered a salad. On day's we missed the dining room lunch, we ate burgers at the pool and my DH doesn't eat meat. (no vegetarian burger options and no grilled chicken sandwiches).

 

However, if you're a true gourmet and used to the ultimate in outrageous cuisine, then honestly, don't go on a cruise and expect to have the same kind of experience as you'd have in a gourmet restauarant. Your ship isn't the French Laundry and never will be! For a truly gourmet vacation travel on land.

That said, we always research our ports and have as many meals off the ship as we can. We especially like cruises where the ship stays overnight in a port so we can enjoy dinner and not just lunch in a place. When we've overnighted in places in France, Spain, Portugal and Brazil, I always researched beforehand and pre- made dining reservations so we could enjoy a fabulous meal.

[SailAways]

Honestly, any time I don't have to cook - it is OK with me.

 

There is no "Best" unless you are willing to go top class as stated.

 

All of the mass market cruise lines have good food, but some much better

than others - and not necessarily the same from cruise to cruise.

 

We try to not make food be the most important part of our cruise.

If we get an outstanding meal - that is a bonus and we savor it!

 

Keep reading reviews, and perhaps you can reach a conclusion - but things do change.

 

From your screen name (madamegourmet) seems you are probably a great candidate for one of the more pricey cruise lines. They absolutely do get rave reviews about their food. The smaller the ship, the more personal service you will get.

[clementyne]

It depends on if you're a "food snob" or not.

 

My DH and I kind of ARE :D , and we thought Carnival's food was ok, at best. My brother-in-law and his wife, on the other hand, thought it was great. I think it just depends on how you classify "great".

 

JMHO.

 

Clem

[suzeyQ]

From reading the responses and from cruises I've been on in the last few years, it seems that the quality of the food has gone downhill on cruises.

 

When I was a teenager, I was on HAL and RCI and NCL and I remember the food as being INCREDIBLE. I've been on Carnival a couple of times recently and the food was good, but not spectacular. I thought maybe that was just because it was Carnival but from what I'm reading, that seems to be true across the board.

 

Has the quality of the food really gone down over the last 15 years or have I become a food snob since I grew up????

[Andros]

Really depends on how you are personally, about your food. I have only sailed on Royal Caribbean so far, but I don't think there was to much I didn't like about the food. No matter where you ate at. We did have the best experience when we ate at Chops. This was an alternate restaurant on Brilliance. They also have Portifinos which is Italian, I believe. Both have a surcharge of $20 pp but, was the best 20 bucks I ever spent. We had 10oz. filet mignons that where out of this world. Not to mention everything else that came with dinner. Such as sourdough bread with 2 choices of butter, awesome appetizers, and a good selection of vegetables. If you have room, order dessert, if not, order it to go. All of their dishes, I would say were a piece of art that we didn't want to damage. Didn't stop us though. Thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend to anyone wanting fine dining a step above the main dining room. Whatever you decide, have a great time and enjoy yourselves! Andros

[lv2crooz2]

My husband and I are planning our first cruise. We love good food - which cruise line should we choose? Thanks for your input!

Just "good food"? You're safe with any cruiseline. Now...if you're looking for a "Gastronomical Adventure", read the Radisson review on the CC home page:)

[terrytallent1]

RCCL offered it all on their 2004 Scandinavian cruise. The $20 surcharge at their Italian uspscale restuarant was well worth it. Service was incredible. They wanted your dessert order as soon as you were seated so they had time to "create" the most incredible chocolate masterpiece any restuarant has created. IMHO.

[will7260]

This will sound trivial to some, but here goes.

I am not an ice cream eater, but on Celebrity they have sorbet/sherbet at the ice cream stand every day and it is absolutely delicious. Made with fresh fruit and they have two or three flavors every day (mango, orange, all kinds). Our next cruise is RCCL and I will probably miss the sherbet.....

My husband laughs at me because I cannot walk by the ice cream stand without having just a little cup!

[Jane110]

"That said, we always research our ports and have as many meals off the ship as we can. We especially like cruises where the ship stays overnight in a port so we can enjoy dinner and not just lunch in a place. When we've overnighted in places in France, Spain, Portugal and Brazil, I always researched beforehand and pre- made dining reservations so we could enjoy a fabulous meal."

 

The food is one of the main reasons I travel, especially to foreign countries. That's why I wouldn't want to cruise there....Defeats the pupose (taste and imersion in the culture).

 

Then don't cruise to Europe. I travel all over the world by land because I prefer that kind of travel. However, I've taken a couple of cruises to Europe for a variety of reasons not relevant to this thread and don't appreciate you denigrating my experiences.

[Keith1010]

As others have said, food preference is a matter of personal taste. I have sailed many of the mass market lines over the years, and enjoyed food on Celebrity the best of those lines.

 

A step up in food would be food served on several of the luxury lines ranging from Crystal to Seabourn to Sea Dream and so forth. Of course, the cruise fare on these lines is substantially more than cruise fares for the mass market lines.

 

Keith

[breenw]

DISNEY ships

[naragonl]

Sorry but this one is TOTALLY subjective. Some people might have the more upscale food on some cruiselines and think it is awful because they are meat and potatoes people or good home cooking people etc.

Then there are those that are gourmets and turn their nose up at any cruise line food.

 

Most cruiselines have decent food. But it is all according to the taste of the individual.

 

Isn't almost everything on these boards TOTALLY subjective? Even though it is, one can still get the information they need, they just need to pay attention to the details that are important to them.

[Cotton]

I replied to your query on the Cruise Foodies board. Have you gone back to see the replies?

[airbysea]

This will sound trivial to some, but here goes.

I am not an ice cream eater, but on Celebrity they have sorbet/sherbet at the ice cream stand every day and it is absolutely delicious. Made with fresh fruit and they have two or three flavors every day (mango, orange, all kinds). Our next cruise is RCCL and I will probably miss the sherbet.....

My husband laughs at me because I cannot walk by the ice cream stand without having just a little cup!

 

thats so funny you say that. We visit St. Maarten every year for two weeks at a time, and there is this little island lady in MArigot that hand cranks coconut ice cream, I have been getting it from her for 10 years!! 2 years ago I must have driver by her "spot" every day and she wasnt to be found, I was so bummed, to the point I couldn't focus I needed tha fix!!! Last year she was back and at least every other day I had my fix!!

[2ladies]

I agree with Andros re Brilliance and Jewel of the Seas restaurants Chops and Portofinos. We eat there most of the time rather than in the dining room - worth an extra $20 each as the food is top-class. We have been on most lines and you have to bear in mind that gourmet food is not possible when catering for 1000 people per sitting!!! We were pleasantly surprised by the food in the dining room on Star Princess a few weeks ago. The worst was on the Maasdam a few years ago - dam ship!!!!

[soo z q]

I've sailed with RCCL once and on the Carnival Legend once. The food on the Legend was good -- not great. RCCL was measurably better IMHO.

[Jane110]

The worst was on the Maasdam a few years ago - dam ship!!!!

 

100% agree!

 

Don't know if you saw my post earlier in this thread, but we also experienced the worst food of any cruise on the Maasdam.

[BobBeaSea]

From reading the responses and from cruises I've been on in the last few years, it seems that the quality of the food has gone downhill on cruises.

 

When I was a teenager, I was on HAL and RCI and NCL and I remember the food as being INCREDIBLE. I've been on Carnival a couple of times recently and the food was good, but not spectacular. I thought maybe that was just because it was Carnival but from what I'm reading, that seems to be true across the board.

 

Has the quality of the food really gone down over the last 15 years or have I become a food snob since I grew up????

 

No, you are not a food snob :). We were on Voyager of the Seas last March, the food was fine. My last cruises previous to this one were in '90 & '93, both on Sovereign OTS...the food was GREAT and the whole dining room experience was "different". I think pricing has a great deal to do with it, both cruises on Sovereign were MORE expensive than last year's cruise, even without accounting for inflation. Who knows....:D

[Happy ks]

Years before we met, my husband went on a couple of cruises, late 70's, early 80's, I think they were both Royal Caribbean. When we were planning our first cruise, he told me that cruise ship food is similar to banquet food, or Marie Calendars.

 

I was very glad he told me this, as I had heard food was gourmet on cruise ships. Unless the ship is very small and very upscale, don't expect gourmet. Edible, sometimes good, but it depends on what you order. I stay away from any poultry dishes (re-heated), don't expect a real fresh salad and usually take the recommendation of the wait staff into consideration.

 

The alternative restaurants on some ships have been the exception. If you are willing to pay a little extra, you will be served food that is cooked to your order, not pre-plated and held in steam ovens.

 

I usually enjoy the apppetisers the most and will sometimes order a combination of 2, ordering the entree just because they don't understand why you don't. It's the only time I'll not eat something presented to me (I can't stand wastefulness!), but many times I'll share the entree with my son or husband.