Dining Room Menu - Time for a Change?

[bigdog1958]

5 minutes ago, mrpayroll said:

Does your favorite restaurant at home change their menu every year. If you went there seven days in a row three times a year, you would be bored with the menu also. 

Yes, not sure if I know of a restaurant that does not change at least once every year. Most update menus a few times a year.

[jsglow]

1 hour ago, mmtska said:

When was the last change?

As for Royal-that board is HOT about the menu changes. They took off the beef, chicken, fish option that Carnival still has. 

Yeah, sometimes we should leave well enough alone.  I've always found a dinner in the MDR I've enjoyed.  I will say that now we're retired my wife likes to try new recipes and that's fun.  I still remember my mom's awful tuna casserole.  And yes I was required to eat it.

[mz-s]

Even McDonald's brings back the McRib and takes away the Filet-O-Fish throughout the year.

[carrieluvsgreg]

I feel like the larger ships offer variety by way of specialty dining.  They are offering you options, you just have to pay more for those.  Having ship specific MDR offerings would drive up the overall cost of cruising with Carnival.  They are able to keep prices lower than the competition  because of things like fleet wide MDR menu choices.  We have been cruising with Carnival since 2003 and have seen the changes in the MDR over those years. The MDR experience is overall pretty different, but still a good experience.  We have had dining teams that we enjoyed better than others.  We have also had sailings that we opted to eat elsewhere much of or trip.  I appreciate that Carnival still strives to offer a nice vacation for a low price.  It was the only reason we could afford it 20 years ago.  Now, we can afford more but remain loyal to the brand both for the perks and price.  I like the flexibility of having specialty restaurants if we want to splurge but still having a MDR with good offerings if we don't

[Illbcruzn4life]

3 hours ago, tonit964 said:

 I haven't sailed on Carnival since 2016 and will be on Panorama in October, my answer is no. I really like their food and miss it. I hope they wait until after my cruise to change anything. 😊

You might find the food a bit different from when you last cruised on CCL in 2016.

[MistyRo76]

I've only cruised once since the restart, so I'm definitely not burned out on anything food-wise from the main dining room menus. But I do agree that bringing back the port of call items would be a welcomed change. I also think that while ship specific menus would be cost prohibitive, it could be fun to add some options maybe specific to a ship's homeport. For the ships out of NOLA, added some more Cajun/Creole dishes could add some spice to the menu (pun intended). Or out of Miami, some additional Cuban/Latin inspired dishes. There are things that Carnival could do to add a bit more variety. Maybe even change or expand the "Didja" menu items - frog legs and ox tongue are getting a bit old. 

[BlerkOne]

7 hours ago, Squirreladd said:

Anyone know why they axed that. That was a draw to the MDR. I wanted to see what the local favorites are.

In a word, Covid.

[staceyglow]

A little while back, John Heald posted a picture of the crew's mess.  It had a big sign listing all of the available entrees, which, of course had many items from the cremembers' home countries.  Some of them sounded really delicious!

I propose that they should have a "crew favorite" menu item every night.  The supply chain is already in place for those dishes, and it would just be a matter of preparing more on that night.  I think it is also a nice way to bond with the crew members and a good topic of conversation you can literally have with any one of them:  "I see that the crew favorite on tonight's menu is the shawarma.  Have you had it?  Is it good?"

 

[tonit964]

2 hours ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

You might find the food a bit different from when you last cruised on CCL in 2016.

I’m sure it will be but luckily, I’m not picky. I can’t wait for a Guy’s burger! 😁

[hard_eight]

The new XL class boats have more than enough variety for us. Mardi Gras is next up..then Conquest. Will likely feel lesser... If anyone takes Bitter n Blanc off the menu, I'm going to riot. 🤣

[BlerkOne]

3 hours ago, mz-s said:

Even McDonald's brings back the McRib and takes away the Filet-O-Fish throughout the year.

They never mess with Filet-O-Fish.

[john91498]

wasn't the menu changed just a few years ago?

[BlerkOne]

4 hours ago, bigdog1958 said:

Yes, not sure if I know of a restaurant that does not change at least once every year. Most update menus a few times a year.

 

4 hours ago, mrpayroll said:

Does your favorite restaurant at home change their menu every year. If you went there seven days in a row , three times a year, you would be bored with the menu also. 

 

4 hours ago, bigdog1958 said:

 

My favorite restaurant at home is Mexican and the only thing that changes are the prices.

 

Your favorite restaurants at home don't serve many thousands a day or contract food for a million or more per year. Carnival can't just go down to the local market and buy whatever is  available. If they could, nobody could afford to cruise and they would surely have gone bankrupt before Covid.

[BlerkOne]

4 minutes ago, john91498 said:

wasn't the menu changed just a few years ago?

Announced about 10 years ago and rolled out over the next 2 years or so.

[hard_eight]

Pretty sure this means change is coming?

[Illbcruzn4life]

1 hour ago, staceyglow said:

A little while back, John Heald posted a picture of the crew's mess.  It had a big sign listing all of the available entrees, which, of course had many items from the cremembers' home countries.  Some of them sounded really delicious!

I propose that they should have a "crew favorite" menu item every night.  The supply chain is already in place for those dishes, and it would just be a matter of preparing more on that night.  I think it is also a nice way to bond with the crew members and a good topic of conversation you can literally have with any one of them:  "I see that the crew favorite on tonight's menu is the shawarma.  Have you had it?  Is it good?"

 

sounds like a great idea to me!!!

[craig01020]

I sailed twice with Royal in the last six months, and I kept thinking about how much I missed Carnival's MDR which has meals that I can pronounce and actually enjoy!

 

Royal felt a just little pretentious.

[staceyglow]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

They never mess with Filet-O-Fish.

I don't frequent McDonald's very often, but when I do, that's my go-to order.  And unless it's a Friday during Lent, they usually don't have any premade, so they have to cook it fresh for me.

And the McRib comes and goes based on pork prices.

[BlerkOne]

42 minutes ago, staceyglow said:

I don't frequent McDonald's very often, but when I do, that's my go-to order.  And unless it's a Friday during Lent, they usually don't have any premade, so they have to cook it fresh for me.

And the McRib comes and goes based on pork prices.

Brain food. I've never tried a McRib and not tempted to. Their fountain Coke is the best of any restaurant, fast food or other.

[pc_load_letter]

I dunno if it was just because it was Panorama but I noticed a few never before seen items to me on my last cruise. One was the sea bass and the other was the teriyaki salmon. I also liked the vegan enchiladas somewhat.

[nydney1]

6 hours ago, mz-s said:

Even McDonald's brings back the McRib and takes away the Filet-O-Fish throughout the year.

I was thinking just that.

Don’t forget the Shamrock Shake

[mz-s]

26 minutes ago, nydney1 said:

I was thinking just that.

Don’t forget the Shamrock Shake

 

Oh but I can easily forget the Shamrock Shake...because I cannot forget what it does to me when I drink one...

[BlerkOne]

50 minutes ago, nydney1 said:

I was thinking just that.

Don’t forget the Shamrock Shake

 

24 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

Oh but I can easily forget the Shamrock Shake...because I cannot forget what it does to me when I drink one...

Never heard of much less tried, but I googled it, sure, I'd do one. They seem quite popular. Plus some McDonald's donate 25 cents from each sale to charity.

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, pc_load_letter said:

I dunno if it was just because it was Panorama but I noticed a few never before seen items to me on my last cruise. One was the sea bass and the other was the teriyaki salmon. I also liked the vegan enchiladas somewhat.

Teriyaki salmon has been around a long time. Carnival rotates dishes around whether or not people realize it.

 

[Pellaz]

14 hours ago, mz-s said:

Even McDonald's brings back the McRib and takes away the Filet-O-Fish throughout the year.

 

Supposedly McRib's most recent nationwide deployment was THE last time, and they're done with it.   We'll see....  

As for the Filet-o-Fish, it's available all year, although some stores might not have it on the menu (or have it up continuously) depending on the type of display they have.  

 

11 hours ago, staceyglow said:

A little while back, John Heald posted a picture of the crew's mess.  It had a big sign listing all of the available entrees, which, of course had many items from the cremembers' home countries.  Some of them sounded really delicious!

 

We were once told during a Behind the Fun tour that the crew galley has a 28-day rotation for menu entrees, as opposed to the 7- or 8-day rotation in the MDR.  😮    

If so, that's pretty awesome for the crew, who have to contend with shipboard menu options 4 or 6 months at a time.  

 

11 hours ago, staceyglow said:

I propose that they should have a "crew favorite" menu item every night.  The supply chain is already in place for those dishes, and it would just be a matter of preparing more on that night.  I think it is also a nice way to bond with the crew members and a good topic of conversation you can literally have with any one of them:  "I see that the crew favorite on tonight's menu is the shawarma.  Have you had it?  Is it good?"

 

Now THAT is a great idea.   I might not like the crew choices (I've a feeling many of them would be spicier than I prefer 🙂 ), but it would be nifty to see what those choice are.  

 

10 hours ago, craig01020 said:

I sailed twice with Royal in the last six months, and I kept thinking about how much I missed Carnival's MDR which has meals that I can pronounce and actually enjoy!

I sailed on Freedom OTS in February and I was, umm, underwhelmed. 

I'm still not sure if they backpedaled the MDR dining quality because it was a charter cruise and most passengers aren't used to cruising and wouldn't notice it, or if it was normally as sub-par as it seemed to me.   At least the Windjammer (buffet) was decent.  

Edited April 5, 2023 by Pellaz
Clarification