What's for dinner? The good, the bad & the ugly!

[yuccaman]

I wouldn't touch snails even if you paid me :confused: The shell alone would be too crunchy

 

 

Fred

 

Ummm.... you don't eat the shell, but I don't like them anyway. Wife loves them.

[nybumpkin]

Other than in the dining room, does Carnival serve FRESH MOZZARELLA and TOMATO? For instance in the lunch buffet?

I've seen it at the lunch buffet - on our Liberty cruise in February it was there our first day.

[terri910]

...I wouldn't pay $20 for an appetizer, but free on the ship - maybe.

That is exactly why I have tried such things as escargot on our cruises.

 

When we go out to dinner at home, I'd rather know that I'm spending our hard-earned money on something I'm fairly certain I wll like....on the ship, however, I will try different things because I know that if I don't like it, I can ask the waiter to bring me something else.

 

Of course, having HAD the escargot....it was okay....but I've never felt compelled to order it since! *L*

 

I've actually never had lamb in my life, so I've been thinking I may give it a try on our upcoming cruise, one evening.

 

I've loved the Beef Wellington on every cruise we've been on. when that's on the menu, it's always my choice.

 

The worst thing I've had to eat on our cruises is scrambled "eggs"....I have to put the quotation marks around the word "eggs" because I have to wonder if they are really eggs at all. They have the texture of...what...maybe dry tapioca (ewww!)....To me, they are barely edible. I have learned to ask for fried eggs. Even if they overcook my "over easy" order, they still taste like eggs. Also bad on each cruise has been the "hash browns"...liked squatty tater tots or something. Hmmm....I guess breakfast is not my favorite meal on cruises!!!

[bluesmom]

Those little octopus things were exactly what came to mind when I saw this thread! I am pretty adventurous and always try at least one new thing every cruise. If I don't like it, I ask for something else. At lunch the dining room one day I ordered the antipasto starter. Even the waitress looked at me like I was crazy! Anyway, she brought it out and I cut a couple of legs off that little sucker and put them in my mouth. Absolutely the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted! I am warning everyone on this board to proceed with the octopus with EXTREME caution. I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy! LOL Oh, BTW the lobster, escargot, and the chateubriand are my FAVORITES!

[MikeyP]

Those little octopus things were exactly what came to mind when I saw this thread! I am pretty adventurous and always try at least one new thing every cruise. If I don't like it, I ask for something else. At lunch the dining room one day I ordered the antipasto starter. Even the waitress looked at me like I was crazy! Anyway, she brought it out and I cut a couple of legs off that little sucker and put them in my mouth. Absolutely the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted! I am warning everyone on this board to proceed with the octopus with EXTREME caution. I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy! LOL Oh, BTW the lobster, escargot, and the chateubriand are my FAVORITES!

 

Is it bad octopus, or do you just not like it? I happen to like octopus very much, so your opinion would be helpful. :)

[DocF]

Those little octopus things were exactly what came to mind when I saw this thread! I am pretty adventurous and always try at least one new thing every cruise. If I don't like it, I ask for something else. At lunch the dining room one day I ordered the antipasto starter. Even the waitress looked at me like I was crazy! Anyway, she brought it out and I cut a couple of legs off that little sucker and put them in my mouth. Absolutely the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted! I am warning everyone on this board to proceed with the octopus with EXTREME caution. I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy! LOL Oh, BTW the lobster, escargot, and the chateubriand are my FAVORITES!

 

Octopus is only fit to throw on the ice at Detroit Red Wings games.:D

 

On the Elation the food was excellent. Several folks have mentioned the breakfast Danish as excellent. I would agree. My usual breakfast would be a couple of the Danish and a bowl of the fresh fruit. I'm diabetic and on an insulin pump and I actually had to watch my dosage so I would not have a low blood sugar incident before lunch.

 

I found the lunch time hamburgers to be quite good. Certainly they were much better than the typical McDonald's offering. I did other things for lunch too, as the buffets were tempting most days.

 

As to the dining room, I was pleased with everything. The chateaubriand was the worst entree I had and it was good. I had a chicken dish that was excellent and I enjoyed the steaks I ate. They were not Ruth's Chris quality, but better than the average steakhouse in our neck of the woods. I especially enjoyed the gazpacho; it was a bit of a different take on one of my favorite soups. The chocolate melting cake has been described as very rich. It appears that way, but I can eat it and allow only a small additional insulin dose. With my current insulin/carb ratio, I would say about 1 unit extra.

 

Doc

[hunkybilly]

ahh snails, ahh beer, ahh my small bathroom:D

[hstrybuf]

I love the escargot and cold soups! My meal in Nick & Nora's was exceptional. That included escargot presented in a totally different manner than you get in the dining room. Normally I wouldn't eat veal chops, but these were wonderful. I'm all about trying something new when I'm on a ship.

 

The bad? I once had prime rib that was so tough I couldn't eat it. I also am not a fan of the salads in the dining room. Such limited choices.

[bluesmom]

I am not sure of the octopus was bad or not as it was the first and LAST time I ever had it. It was served cold...like refrigerator cold and tasted like...well...something dead. I can't imagine anyone enjoying the taste of it. Sorry if that doesn't help you.

[rockwood84]

The pizza tastes BEST at 2am after you've been dancing in the disco for a few hours. :)

 

Amen!!

 

Triumph last summer - the chateaubriand in the dining room, and all of the pasta dishes. From the buffet - pretty much everything they served on "Caribbean day" - jerk chicken, potato dumplings, etc.

 

BTW - this thread is making me HUNGRY!!!!

[MIZZ_K]

I agree with you! I'm origionally from Mass. & to me, it's not lobster - it's just a big crawfish. Doesn't even have the same flavor or texture of cold-water lobster.

 

I did love the lamb & the steaks were good. The Deli's corned beef sand. was good & we'll probably stick with the hot dogs & hamburgers and pizza & salads rather than the real lunch buffet. I wish you could get tomato & onion slices with the bagel & cream cheese from room service in the morning.

 

BTW, it's a LOP-sta if you're from New England. :eek:

 

I agree nothing like a nice juicy cold water

" LOB-STA"

[cruiselubbers]

Amen!!

 

BTW - this thread is making me HUNGRY!!!!

 

YEAP, me too! And it's making me glad that I don't have much longer yet to get to enjoy!

 

I promise to think of ALL of you while I'm gone! ;)

 

Be blessed, be a blessing! :p

[Glama]

I also really like that black bean egg roll thing they make, with the sweet salsa on the side. Yum yum!

[woohoo4ue]

Worst: Bloody steak. I'm not sure what I ordered, but it was supposed to be bloody. YUK I'm a well done type of girl. :D

 

Great: Salads, Pastas, Chicken, Quesadilla.

 

I didn't try any more beef after that incident. All the pastas I tried were fantastic!

[Greselda]

We love the deli sandwiches and of course, the juicy hamburgers on the Lido? deck....however, I now have a question...

 

Because of a mild heart attack that was taken care of with a stent and the best medical care in the world:D , my DH now has to be very serious about his consumption of saturated fat so we were wondering if Carnival also serves turkey burgers or turkey sausage?

 

Thanks for any input:)

 

Rick and Janine

[cruisinbuddy]

For me the worst was the fish & chips on the Liberty in Jan. The best was the Prime Rib.

[98Charlie]

For me the worst was the fish & chips on the Liberty in Jan. The best was the Prime Rib.

 

DH & I headed for the fish & chips for lunch on boarding day since we had heard so many rave reviews about it on these boards. To be honest, we didn't understand why so many raved.

 

Tried to go back to the fish & chip's restaurant during the remaining days of the cruise and then discovered that the fish & chip's area had a very limited hours of operation.

 

That's when we found the deli offerings and decided the deli has more to our tastes.

 

Don't understand why fish & chip's area is so limited in hours, but that's the way it goes.:(

 

Dianne

[ItaliaAmerCruzLady]

Worst foods> Pizza, I am from New Haven where the best pizza in the world is made, so Carnivals doesnt even come close

Duck, yuck!

Had a steak on Victory that tasted like liver, but all the other times I had beef, it was really good

Lobster was just ok, not like us New Englanders are used to.

Best Foods> loved all the soups, the escargot was very good also, Had a really good Jambalaya , Most of the seafood dishes were really good, and they had ribs in the dining room for lunch that were to die for(really into ribs)

FAVE dessert? Grand Marnier Soufflee, yummy, and not too sweet

Room service, that Roast Beef and Brie sandwich, great for middle of the night munchies!;)

[swscruiser]

The Good- the porterhouse and garlic mashed potatoes in the Golden fleece on Legend and X's bread sticks. They are the BEST anywhere.

 

The Bad- any and all buffet food that has mystery meat and vegtables in any sort of sauce.

 

The Ugly- snails of course along with any fish served whole. Not too bad until your finished eating and only the skeleton remains.

 

Keith

[babyher]

Hmmmmmmmmmm

 

I can honestly say I have never had anything really bad, some things I wasn't as crazy about as others , but still enjoyed them.

 

The Ruebens were outstanding, I didn't even try to keep count of how many I have over teh course of a cruise *LOL*

 

The smoked salmon and cream cheese on a bagel is also very nice.

 

The duck

Beef Wellington

Lobster

creme Brulee

Pizza

 

all are pretty tasty

[HvacTstatGuy]

I agree nothing like a nice juicy cold water

" LOB-STA"

 

I can't stand "LOB-STAH" (the correct New England pronunciation AH replaces all R's Ex CAH YAHD PAHK) I perfer a warm water LOB-STAH taste like shrimp wich I do like. DW LOVES cold water LOB-STAH

[buddyjo143]

I can't stand "LOB-STAH" (the correct New England pronunciation AH replaces all R's Ex CAH YAHD PAHK) I perfer a warm water LOB-STAH taste like shrimp which I do like. DW LOVES cold water LOB-STAH

 

Oh, I do love lobstah and whatever it is that is supposed to pass for lobstah on the ship.

 

I have not liked the caviar when available but it is just not to my liking. Others love it.

 

I love all the soups also. The cold ones are especially good.

[Irish708]

I like the Tom Turkey!! :) I've also enjoyed their jerk pork. The beef dishes are hit and miss for me.

 

They had some new ice cream or sherbert thing that was purple and tasted like flowers. It actually was made from a flower, but for the life of me I can't remember the name of it. Don't order it. bleck.

 

Yes for kicks we ordered the purple thing too last year . YUCK:(

[BillnBobbi]

Well guys the way I see it we have plenty of threads here concerning alcohol & ways to smuggle it. How to drink it, where to drink it & what it comes in. But I am interested in seeing what was your favorite meal was while you were on the ship? Which ship were you on? Where was it served? Also the nastiest tasting food that you'd definitly stay away from what was it? Or worse yet the worst thing you seen somebody eat?!

 

Be blessed, be a blessing! Counting down the days till Inspiration! :p

 

Well, before I give my thoughts, I'd like to weigh in on the escargots. We LOVE escargots. We find that more and more restaurants are serving the little gastropods in more innovative ways; in little cups, on toast bits etc.

 

These ways are simpler than stuffing them into their shells and then placing the garlic topping in the operculum area of the shell. Apparently there were always folks who found the handling of the shell holder tool more difficult than chopsticks. I've seen flying snails across the rooms of some pretty tony French restaurants. I always thought that prying the critters out of their shells with that nice little fork was half the fun and part of the gastronomic adventure.

 

Snails are always available in the specialty restaurant.

 

Well, the best thing I've ever eaten on a Carnival ship was the appetizer served in the above restaurant (different name on each of the Conquest class ships, but otherwise the same) consisting of Pate de Fois Gras three different ways.

 

Looking for a worst contender is difficult but it is usually found somewhere on the buffet. It could be a three way tie between those little fried potato turds that are on a steam table at breakfast, or it could be ANY of the cake pastries found at lunchtime, or it could be that gray slab of some kind of mammal butt that was on a nightime buffet once.

 

To be fair though, we have always found much more to like than to detest.

The NY style deli is consistently excellent, the Fish and Chips and raw bar is excellent, esp. the soup, and most of the time the lead entree in the dining rooms is very good.

 

The pizza is passable and the hotdogs taste just like those that used to be served at Yankee Stadium - puffed out with gristle and hot grease oozing from the first bite. Try a hotdog when the seas start to swell. You'll never eat another one. Ah gauranteee.........

 

 

BnB

[BillnBobbi]

On Celebrity they also serve frog legs. I was on a cruise once and all the people at my table, except me, was either eating Frog Legs, or Escargot. I felt like 'What is this, FEAR FACTOR? We have too many slugs in the Northwest for me to enjoy eating a snail. And those poor little frogs!

 

We tried frog legs when we were young and found that they tasted exactly like chicken. For some reason all reptiles and amphibians taste like chicken.

 

There was a science report in the news the other day that the closest living relative of Tyrannosaurus Rex is The Chicken!! Who Knew???

 

That means that T. Rex ALSO tasted like chicken, but except for King Kong, who was adventurous enough to find out?

 

Could you just see the fast food places out there in the Cretacious?

 

" The Colonel's Fried T-Wings!!! One feeds a family of ten!!!"

Tues Special: By one T-Wing and get a side of Brontosaurus Kishka"

 

BnB