Carnival food is palate-pleasing to me...

[john91498]

3 hours ago, florida eagle said:

Your avatar name brings my response. The first cruise we took was on the Sensation over Christmas. It was not cheap. The first night I ordered the Chocolate Melting Cake after dinner in the MDR. Never got it. Waited a long time. We left the MDR and moved on to other things to do. I have eaten on cruises at MDR's on Carnival and Royal. Never have tasted the Chocolate Melting Cake and even ordered it again on Carnival.

 

I think you're missing out on a fantastic desert. Waiters get busy and they sometimes forget an order. It shouldn't mean never trying something just because of one bad experience.

[stellarose]

OMG.  I think I just gained 10 lbs thinking of that cake. 

 

Again, for someone who has to eat vegetarian for health reasons - carnival really stepped up their game . sailed  the breeze in 2019 and the vegetarian options blew me away. they can really prepare tofu top notch. 

[pc_load_letter]

I couldn't believe it the other day when my wife said she wanted to try a Virgin cruise. Not sure of their demo but we're both 40something DINKs and enjoy to party.

 

I told her that to me, the way they are doing dining looks to be a mess. A mess in that I predict LONG waits at these individual dining areas. While they don't have a buffet per se, the world cafeteria concept did look neat although nothing cruise lines are already doing.

 

Also, the extensive use of the Vegas\Miami style pool loungers and beds look off putting. I don't want to get one of those after someone has spilled their food or drink all over it.

 

On the opposite side of the spectrum, I do like the smaller capacity of just over 2000 guests.

 

On our first ever trip to Europe many many years ago, we took Virgin Airways from L.A. to London. Was an amazing flight. But I've heard it's not the Virgin of old.

 

I will give these cruises a try if the wife books it. Meh, gotta try everything once I say.

[scpirate]

I have no interest in virgin voyages at all.for me it's celebrity,then msc and carnival last .food wise and in general.my wife still likes the carnival product for the most part I will only take them grand boys of ours on Carnival.they just like roaming the ship like a pack of alley cats I don't think it would be tolerated on the other lines.

[Sweetnspicy]

I went through the menus and it all looks good to me! 20 different eateries! My husband is excited for an all day burger bar! 

[Sagittarius traveler]

On 3/25/2021 at 5:16 PM, Sweetnspicy said:

I went through the menus and it all looks good to me! 20 different eateries! My husband is excited for an all day burger bar! 

 

 

I like how they mention the olant based burgers because on Carnival there is no menu they hide it as if vegans would not be sailing too.

 

I'm not vegan but I do like plant based burgers every so often lol 

[BlerkOne]

Can't wait to try Shaq's Big Chicken. Should give Guy's some competition.

[Rudyard]

I'm not a finicky eater, but the only thing on there that I found appealing was the smoked cheddar and jalapeno croissant for breakfast. 

[pinklucky61]

On 3/23/2021 at 6:04 PM, Joebucks said:

No matter where I go, I would pick some tried-and-true street foods vs snob plates any day. Sure it's nice to eat some fancy meals here and there, but it becomes too much, too quickly. I am quite content sitting on the deck, eating a burger, tacos, BBQ, etc.

I want to do an eye roll every time i hear someone say they're a "foodie". We all are in my opinion!  Food is like art and music, just because you rave about a certain dish or restaurant doesn't mean I'll like it too.  I enjoy trying dishes I would never make at home, but enjoy tacos, burgers as well. Blue Iguana is my favorite.

[zzdoug]

I would probably enjoy the Virgin offerings for a day or two but would probably tire of it after that, because I want more variety and more carnivorous options.  Also, while I know eating fried chicken is bad for me, I don't go on vacation to be made to feel like I am doing something bad by eating a 1/4 of a fried chicken, let alone 1/2 of one.  Vacation is my time to be decadent and do all the things I wouldn't tell my doctor about.   Instead, maybe I would stay at a Virgin hotel and experience it in a way that I know I have alternatives if I decide that I want something non-Virgin for dinner. 

 

I really do like good food and wide varieties of food but I would not take a cruise for the food.  When eating is my primary concern, which it sometimes is, I'll just go to a city or country where I know I am going to find delicious and interesting food and that will be the focus of my trip, and maybe do some self-guided sightseeing.  I go on a cruise to relax and be decadent and be silly and have fun and party and did I mention relax?  IMO Carnival's food on 7 day cruises is decent, not great, not as good as some other cruise lines, but it's not important enough to matter because I really enjoy the entertainment and activities on Carnival and it is so much fun.  (I once went on a Carnival 4 day cruise and the food was just awful - as if it were a completely different cruise line.)  In any case from what I have read about Virgin cruises I don't think it would appeal to me generally, even if I liked the food.

Edited March 29, 2021 by zzdoug

[Smooth sailor77228]

Seems like you picked the vegan/vegetarian dishes off the menu. Surely that’s not all they have. I doubt it represents most of their offerings.

[Out of Iowa]

OP here:  I reviewed menus that were posted over on the CC VV board.  One of the food outlets features a drag show (I mention that because someone mentioned the Hairy Chest competition).  Whether the VV menus were predominantly vegetarian food outlets, I do not know.   It seems it will be quite some time before anyone has regular cruise reviews for VV (or any other lines departing the US, sadly).

[TheGrandSnackoneer]

@bitemyfly is correct that OP was looking at the Razzle Dazzle menu because it seems like that's the one that's most prevalent in the promos right now. It's specifically branded as the "veggie-forward" dining option. Virgin website lists their other food offerings and nothing seems super unusual. Steak, seafood, Italian, Mexican, and Mediterranean. The food hall replacing the buffet looks like your normal downtown food hall. Taco bar, noodles, bento, burgers, pizza, steak, toasted sandwiches, etc. I miss the days when you could just call it a fancy food court. 

 

I'm interested in trying the line at least once. There's no point in them entering the market if they're just going to do what the other big lines have been doing for longer. I don't mind the Scandinavian/futuristic key party aesthetic. Might be a week of indelicately getting on and off chairs and stools though.

[JerseyGirlJen]

I probably won't be sailing them based on that menu.  Too much work to take off half the ingredients.  I'm more simple in regards to meals.  I think Carnival has a wide variety to appeal most people, you can always doctor something up to make it more complex if you do desire.  The Watermelon sounded good but the tofu ruined it for me....same with the Jalapeño croissant...if it was a plain croissant I might've tried it.  

 

While I sometimes do enjoy some gourmet pizza slices (buffalo, chicken ranch, salad, etc.) I always say why ruin a great plain pizza by putting toppings on it LOL.   🤪

[Sagittarius traveler]

I miss jis jis . 

 

I miss thenall day ice cream and pizza 😭😪