Cucina del Capitano

[Saint Greg]

On 3/9/2021 at 5:54 AM, teknoge3k said:

 

I agree with Greg, you must be getting different plates than us. Every time I have eaten there for lunch, it's been tiny portions and I have ended up ordering 2 plates. They are small, like salad portions. 

I consider the small portion a good excuse to stop and get a piece of cake in the buffet.

[robertlanajean]

On 3/7/2020 at 1:02 PM, stellarose said:

I told my dear family that we were going there for embarkation lunch- best decision. no one was there. we got a nice table. food was awesome.  GO First Day!!!!

 

FREE too. 

Best kept embarkation day secret - well maybe that or half off drinks at Red Frog Pub includes cases of beer.

[cellfree]

13 minutes ago, robertlanajean said:

Best kept embarkation day secret - well maybe that or half off drinks at Red Frog Pub includes cases of beer.

Agree - really enjoy “sitting down” for lunch and being served (really any day during cruise) especially after embarkation.

[IntrepidFromDC]

On 3/7/2020 at 12:39 PM, coevan said:

 

 

it's more of a pasta bar, pre order filling out a form on what pasta, what sauce, pick a meat, we did not consider it good Italian food, but it was ok

For free, the linguine al dente with fresh littleneck clams in garlic and white wine at lunch was the most amazing food I have ever had on a carnival ship.  Even beats the juvenile lobster tails and prime rib.  Maybe I've just been lucky, but I'm an Italian Food snob and I have been joyfully impressed (think: foodie sigh of joy with every bite).

Edited April 2, 2021 by IntrepidFromDC

[cellfree]

14 hours ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

For free, the linguine al dente with fresh littleneck clams in garlic and white wine at lunch was the most amazing food I have ever had on a carnival ship.  Even beats the juvenile lobster tails and prime rib.  Maybe I've just been lucky, but I'm an Italian Food snob and I have been joyfully impressed (think: foodie sigh of joy with every bite).

Thank you for recommendation, we always enjoy the food there but have never had the "fresh littleneck clams," as with everyone else anxiously awaiting our next cruise and now your recommendation.

[IntrepidFromDC]

2 minutes ago, cellfree said:

Thank you for recommendation, we always enjoy the food there but have never had the "fresh littleneck clams," as with everyone else anxiously awaiting our next cruise and now your recommendation.

Salivating just thinking of that dish yesterday, the clams come still stuck to the shell and you dig them out with those cute tiny forks...

[cellfree]

So true! Going forward, and after several cancellations and rebookings, we have the Pride and the Freedom and the Magic booked - am sure one of those has the Cucina ...

16 minutes ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

Salivating just thinking of that dish yesterday, the clams come still stuck to the shell and you dig them out with those cute tiny forks...

 

[DanvilleCruiser]

Magic had Cucina as of 2016.  I think the Magic is  scheduled for a dry dock so hopefully it won’t get replaced.  I owe posts here for trying out Cucina upon embarkation.  Best decision of the whole cruise (and the cruise was wonderful).

[a4ofspades]

On 4/2/2021 at 7:34 PM, IntrepidFromDC said:

For free, the linguine al dente with fresh littleneck clams in garlic and white wine at lunch was the most amazing food I have ever had on a carnival ship.  Even beats the juvenile lobster tails and prime rib.  Maybe I've just been lucky, but I'm an Italian Food snob and I have been joyfully impressed (think: foodie sigh of joy with every bite).

My thoughts on this subject have been that the quality must vary ship to ship. DH and I first tried this embarkation day on the Magic a few years ago and loved it so much we ate  lunch there for more than half the cruise. On another ship, my step son and his GF ate there since we had raved about it and they thought it was horrible and not quality Italian at all. I know that if clams were offered DH would have ordered them so just asked him and he said no, they were not. So yes, seems to definitely vary ship to ship and we were lucky it was so good. We also tried the Guy BBQ and although others rave, we did not care for it. Again, looking like it's different ship to ship and probably cruise to cruise as staff changes. 

Edited April 4, 2021 by a4ofspades

[a4ofspades]

15 hours ago, DanvilleCruiser said:

Magic had Cucina as of 2016.  I think the Magic is  scheduled for a dry dock so hopefully it won’t get replaced.  I owe posts here for trying out Cucina upon embarkation.  Best decision of the whole cruise (and the cruise was wonderful).

We are booked again on the Magic next year...I will be disappointed if it is changed but still...have to admit I will be so overjoyed to cruise again they could probably feed me PB&J every meal and I'd smile, LOL. I actually almost cried when I found the little brown bottles of Lysol yesterday while shopping...yes, I am so ready to get back to a little bit of normalcy. 😉 

[cellfree]

4 hours ago, a4ofspades said:

I actually almost cried when I found the little brown bottles of Lysol yesterday while shopping...yes, I am so ready to get back to a little bit of normalcy. 😉 

Little brown bottles of Lysol? Enlighten me. 

[Sailin_Pirate]

off topic but

 

Brown bottle with Lysol concentrate inside.

 

google it if you want pictures

 

Cucina is yummy back on topic 🙂

[AmberTeka]

We have eaten dinner there several times on different ships.  It was delicous.Desserts are really good. Well worth $15  pp.

[knagl]

On 4/3/2021 at 6:37 PM, DanvilleCruiser said:

Magic had Cucina as of 2016.

 

...and still had it in January of 2020. We went there for lunch after boarding the ship, and it was great since not too many people knew about it or knew that lunch was included.  It was nice and quiet compared to the hustle and bustle of everyone swarming the lido deck, and we had a nice meal.  Lunch was not anything spectacular in my opinion, but the atmosphere was nice and we'd certainly consider going there again on embarkation just to avoid some of the crowds.

[LuckyStar]

On 3/6/2020 at 2:39 PM, SCcruiser123 said:

I am booked for the New England Canada cruise on the Radiance in September.  When I cruised on the Dream a few years ago, the Cucina del Capitano restaurant was free for lunch, but charged for dinner.  Will it be the same on the Radiance?

I would expect so.  It was free on the Vista, too.

[stellarose]

free on the breeze in December 2019

[SNJCruisers]

The hidden gem for me at Cucina is the tomahawk pork chop at dinner. Comes with a few pieces of fried sage.  Share an order of fingerling potatoes with your tablemates and you have a great entree.

Edited June 19, 2021 by SNJCruisers