cruisingcouple83 Posted November 11, 2019 #1 Share Posted November 11, 2019 Hi! I'm new to cruising and just got back from a cruise on the Carnival Valor. I'm really into great food and beautiful ports. Which ships would you reccomend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiser_1977 Posted November 11, 2019 #2 Share Posted November 11, 2019 Food is subjective. I consider Ruth Chris a good steak, not a great steak. Could you provide some reference? For the ports, you simply want beauty? You're not interested in history, activities (e.g. snorkeling)? Are we talking Caribbean, Alaska, anywhere? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic6318 Posted November 11, 2019 #3 Share Posted November 11, 2019 Hi Welcome to cruise critic. Your question is very broad. Were you happy with your experience on a Carnival ship, or are you looking for something different? Generally the first thought in picking a ship is deciding where you want to go. Then you figure out when you want to go. That's the start. Then you can see which ships will be going where you want to go when you want to go there. That eliminates a lot of ships. Then it's just a decision on how much you want to spend. The actual accommodations you opt for will be a determining factor in cost. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marco Posted November 11, 2019 #4 Share Posted November 11, 2019 (edited) As far as ports, you just have to compare different sailings and different itineraries and decide based on where you want to go based on what interests you the most. Keep in mind, a cruise to Alaska, the Caribbean Europe, Asia are so different from each other, it all depends on what interests you. They all offer "beautiful itineraries", though totally different from each other. As far as "great food'...that's so subjective I''ll be that if you get 20 replies you'll get 20 different recommendations for lines or ships, but my favorite for food, of the "mainstream" lines would be Celebrity. Edited November 11, 2019 by marco 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruznjan Posted November 11, 2019 #5 Share Posted November 11, 2019 1 hour ago, cruisingcouple83 said: Hi! I'm new to cruising and just got back from a cruise on the Carnival Valor. I'm really into great food and beautiful ports. Which ships would you reccomend? How was the food on the Valor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisingcouple83 Posted November 11, 2019 Author #6 Share Posted November 11, 2019 Anywhere, Iove going to new places and trying new things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisingcouple83 Posted November 11, 2019 Author #7 Share Posted November 11, 2019 44 minutes ago, cruznjan said: How was the food on the Valor? It was pretty good! Scarlet Steakhouse had seriously the best french onion soup I've ever had in my life. The lava cake in the Lincoln dining room was very good as well, as were most of the soups and fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mom says Posted November 11, 2019 #8 Share Posted November 11, 2019 Since your wish list for both ships and itineraries is so vague, I think you should find a cruise specialist TA who can spend time with you learning your likes and dislikes and refining your cruise wish list. They can also discuss budget to get you the best fit for your pocketbook. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquahound Posted November 11, 2019 #9 Share Posted November 11, 2019 2 hours ago, cruisingcouple83 said: Hi! I'm new to cruising and just got back from a cruise on the Carnival Valor. I'm really into great food and beautiful ports. Which ships would you reccomend? 1 hour ago, cruisingcouple83 said: It was pretty good! Scarlet Steakhouse had seriously the best french onion soup I've ever had in my life. The lava cake in the Lincoln dining room was very good as well, as were most of the soups and fish. If I'm to be totally honest, if you found the food on Carnival to be pretty good, I think you'll be happy on pretty much any line. Any line except one. I don't recommend NCL. Consistently the worst meals I've ever had on cruises. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisingcouple83 Posted November 11, 2019 Author #10 Share Posted November 11, 2019 14 minutes ago, Aquahound said: If I'm to be totally honest, if you found the food on Carnival to be pretty good, I think you'll be happy on pretty much any line. Any line except one. I don't recommend NCL. Consistently the worst meals I've ever had on cruises. Is that Norwegian? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquahound Posted November 11, 2019 #11 Share Posted November 11, 2019 1 minute ago, cruisingcouple83 said: Is that Norwegian? Yes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheezedr Posted November 11, 2019 #12 Share Posted November 11, 2019 3 hours ago, cruisingcouple83 said: Hi! I'm new to cruising and just got back from a cruise on the Carnival Valor. I'm really into great food and beautiful ports. Which ships would you reccomend? Really a very broad question. We have cruised for beauty, Alaska and the Fjords of Norway. We have cruised for culture, the Mediterranean and the Baltic’s. We have cruised just to get away, the “x” time to Mexico or the Caribbean. As others note, food is very subjective. We never starve, but no ship can match the top end restaurants I can visit nearby in San Francisco or the wine country. Think about where and when you want to go. For us we use itinerary more than ship as our driving factor. Our next trip is to Antarctica but that would not be among my first suggestions for a relative newbie 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George C Posted November 11, 2019 #13 Share Posted November 11, 2019 If you are into food I would pick one of the larger rccl cruises and then get the unlimited specialty package which lets you eat all dinners and some lunch’s in specialty restaurants, larger ships have a really nice choice of restaurants. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisingcouple83 Posted November 12, 2019 Author #14 Share Posted November 12, 2019 31 minutes ago, George C said: If you are into food I would pick one of the larger rccl cruises and then get the unlimited specialty package which lets you eat all dinners and some lunch’s in specialty restaurants, larger ships have a really nice choice of restaurants. Thanks! I will look into that line!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marco Posted November 12, 2019 #15 Share Posted November 12, 2019 Have to agree with Aquahound. Putting it politically correct, the "least good" food we've ever had on a cruise was that in the MDR on NCL. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wowzz Posted November 12, 2019 #16 Share Posted November 12, 2019 If you are into great food, no cruise line will match your expectations. You will get OK msss produced food, but you won't get Michelin standard food. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Tapi Posted November 12, 2019 #17 Share Posted November 12, 2019 3 hours ago, cruisingcouple83 said: It was pretty good! Scarlet Steakhouse had seriously the best french onion soup I've ever had in my life. To give credit where credit is due, Carnival may be a budget cruise line, and their main dining room food may be mass market, but they do their steakhouses right. I’ve tried it on both the Carnival Liberty and the Carnival Dream and both were excellent, from quality and taste of their steaks, to memorable side dishes, to excellent service, rivaling upscale steakhouses I’ve been on land. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clo Posted November 12, 2019 #18 Share Posted November 12, 2019 2 hours ago, Tapi said: To give credit where credit is due, Carnival may be a budget cruise line, and their main dining room food may be mass market, but they do their steakhouses right. I’ve tried it on both the Carnival Liberty and the Carnival Dream and both were excellent, from quality and taste of their steaks, to memorable side dishes, to excellent service, rivaling upscale steakhouses I’ve been on land. So are those included in your fare or more? If more, how much more please? TIA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRF Posted November 12, 2019 #19 Share Posted November 12, 2019 11 hours ago, Nic6318 said: Generally the first thought in picking a ship is deciding where you want to go. Then you figure out when you want to go. That's the start. Then you can see which ships will be going where you want to go when you want to go there. That eliminates a lot of ships. Not everyone works that way. I see when I can go, and the duration of the cruise (prefer longer ones, shortest one so far has been 8 nights). I really don't care WHERE we go. And I would pick based on things like food, but while I enjoy very good food, I am OK with decent food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisingcouple83 Posted November 12, 2019 Author #20 Share Posted November 12, 2019 17 hours ago, JennyB1977 said: Food is subjective. I consider Ruth Chris a good steak, not a great steak. Could you provide some reference? For the ports, you simply want beauty? You're not interested in history, activities (e.g. snorkeling)? Are we talking Caribbean, Alaska, anywhere? I'm pretty eclectic. I love places with a lot of history, I love diving and snorkeling, hiking, horseback riding, and also just laying around. I like going anywhere. In my non cruise travels I've loved the adventures in South Korea the same as laying on a beach in Hawaii. I'm pretty open to travel anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruznjan Posted November 12, 2019 #21 Share Posted November 12, 2019 22 hours ago, cruisingcouple83 said: Hi! I'm new to cruising and just got back from a cruise on the Carnival Valor. I'm really into great food and beautiful ports. Which ships would you reccomend? Decide where you want to go and look at which ships go there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldubs Posted November 12, 2019 #22 Share Posted November 12, 2019 23 hours ago, cruisingcouple83 said: Hi! I'm new to cruising and just got back from a cruise on the Carnival Valor. I'm really into great food and beautiful ports. Which ships would you reccomend? Based on your comments I think you would enjoy Royal Caribbean or Celebrity -- Italy including Adriatic ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisingcouple83 Posted November 12, 2019 Author #23 Share Posted November 12, 2019 1 hour ago, ldubs said: Based on your comments I think you would enjoy Royal Caribbean or Celebrity -- Italy including Adriatic ports. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Kat Posted November 13, 2019 #24 Share Posted November 13, 2019 The OP's inquiry has been answered, they have given their thanks, so now this thread is closed. Happy sails to all, Host Kat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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