Becca
September 12th, 2003, 09:22 PM
Ernie, thanks for this information. I tend to trust your judgment,
since you have cruised on more cruise lines than I have, and you
appear to be reasonable most of the time. If you did not care for
something, I have a feeling I would not like it either.
Becca <-----trusts people who know what they're talking about...
Norwegian Dawn http://www.cruisemaster.com/dawn.htm
Sleazy3 http://www.cruisemaster.com/sleazy3.htm
"E.k.R." wrote:
>
> Howard,
> I agree completely, although I did not see your original post. I sailed on
> CARNIVAL PRIDE just last year, and the food was excellent and probably up to
> Celebrity standards. The service may have lacked the finesse that Celebrity
> offers, but the food quality and presentation were right up there. In March
> I sailed on the INFINITY, then June on MAASDAM, then July on CARNIVAL
> CONQUEST. The food on Celebrity had improved with INFINITY, but I still had
> no complaints on CONQUEST. I don't think it was quite as good as CARNIVAL
> PRIDE the year prior, but of course CONQUEST was not a Spirit Class ship and
> truly feel the food budget is higher on the Spirit Class.
>
> In any case, food is another subjective matter concerning cruises. One
> persons Fois Gras is another's Big Mac! Without knowing the people doing
> the food critiquing, you can only take the comments at face value. To my
> knowledge none of the posters are professional food critics?
>
> I cruise on all the different lines, and do so on a regular basis. Not day
> visits but actual cruises, as you can't judge a ship's food service and
> quality based on an afternoon luncheon onboard. Carnival, Princess, NCL,
> Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Cunard, etc. I've also sailed
> on upscale lines such as Silversea and Royal Viking in the past. At the end
> of the day, the food on all these mega-liners is not different enough from
> each other to really say one is that much better then the other. Most of
> the food is bought from the same suppliers, much of is frozen, then
> pre-prepared banquet style. None of it is gourmet (Silversea comes close
> and the food is made to order since the ship is so small) and the majority
> of cruise ship food is prepared and presented like something you would find
> at a wedding reception. Nothing wrong with this, how else do you manage
> food on a 2000-3000 passenger ship? People expect too much from the food
> onboard, and part of the fault lies within *some* cruise lines that claim
> gourmet food when in fact, it isn't. There is only so much you can do with
> food when prepared with 1000 people at a sitting.
>
> While I enjoyed the food on Celebrity to a great extent, it was more due to
> the presentation and the server's flair and finesse then anything else. I
> can't really say the actual quality of the food was any better then on
> Carnival. Both were very good though. I can say the meals I enjoyed in the
> alternative reservations only restaurants on both Celebrity and Carnival
> were some of the best meals (and service) I've ever enjoyed at sea. Of
> course these meals were prepared to order and a much higher overall standard
> was used. I don't think one was better then the other, as both were
> excellent. Silversea did have this higher standard every night, but this
> was to be expected.
>
> Ok, the worst food and service I've experienced at sea? No, it's not
> Carnival or Premier, not even by a long shot. Cunard and the QE2 just last
> December. Food was served luke warm, steaks tough, very little flavor,
> minimal presentation, all served by a wait staff that obviously wanted to be
> somewhere else.
>
> Ernie
>
> "Howard Garland" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Ben (and others),
> >
> > Have you seen the five replies to my FOOD question (in the Jeff Coudriet
> > thread) that was directed only to PAX who have sailed on a Spirit class
> > ship AND any ship on another line in the past two year. The respondants
> > are all very different people, who have sailed on a variety of other
> > ships; but the responses are all quite consistent.
> >
> > As I'm sure you are aware by now, I am an avid cruiser, who has no
> > loyalties to any particular cruise line or ship. I am not a typical
> > cruiser or much of a typical anything. My tastes are extremely
> > ecclectic. Although I adore a fine meal that is carefully prepared, with
> > high quality ingredients (e.g., prime beef, maine lobster, fresh
> > vegetables, precious truffles, etc.), food is not one of my primary
> > considerations when I pick a cruise.
> >
> > I have sailed on a large variety of ships, across all of the major
> > lines. The purpose of my changing the topic from Jeff's original post on
> > the thread (which was really about "nickel and diming" on Princess) was
> > that I was very tired of seeing numerous posts on the newsgroup about
> > various aspects of cruise lines and cruise ships that were based on very
> > limited or dated experiences, old stereotypes, and/or pure hearsay.
> > Actually, I should not have changed the topic on Jeff's thread. I should
> > have simply started a new thread.
> >
> > I can certainly understand why a person who is looking for quiet
> > elegance on a ship would not appreciate Carnival. In fact, there are
> > many things about all Carnival ships (to date) that I particularly do
> > not like, for example no pads on pool chairs and no towels in restrooms
> > (also a negative for RCCL), and the newer practice (copied from
> > Princess) of not providing unlimited towels by the pools. What I cannot
> > understand is a person who posts things like (and this is just a general
> > example) a major cruise line pecking order of good food, with Celebrity
> > at the top and Carnival at the bottom, when they have not recently
> > sailed on ships from both these lines.
> >
> > The fact is (as you have said many times) things change. And it just so
> > happens that one of the more recent changes is a real decline in food
> > on Celebrity and the introduction of excellent food on Carnival's Spirit
> > class ships. My opinion here comes from having cruised on Galaxy and
> > Century when they were new; and having cruised on the Galaxy, Millenium,
> > and Mercury in the past year. My experience with Spirit class ships
> > comes from multiple cruises on the Spirit and Legend.
> >
> > So, although you and many other may not like Carnival for a variety of
> > reasons, I hope that for a while (because things do change), food will
> > not be one of those reasons.
> >
> > Sorry for the long and rambling post.
> >
> > Howard
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Benjamin Smith wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >
> > > Charles wrote:
> > >
> > >> In article >, Jean
> > >> O'Boyle > wrote:
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>> The buffet was adequate~~not as large or varied as Carnival, but had
> > >>> a good
> > >>> selection .
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> Zenith is a smaller ship. The buffet area is not large. The mega
> > >> Celebrity ships have a larger and more varied selection. They also
> have
> > >> hard ice cream and the Millenium class ships have several specialty
> > >> areas.
> > >>
> > > Absolutely. The Zenith can not be compared to the most modern Carnival
> > > design and has to be compared to the same vintage Carnival ship. The
> > > Millennium class has an expanded buffet over the Century class. Another
> > > thing Celebrity is going to start doing is expanded lunches in the
> > > specialty restaurants and I think that offers more options.
> >
--
since you have cruised on more cruise lines than I have, and you
appear to be reasonable most of the time. If you did not care for
something, I have a feeling I would not like it either.
Becca <-----trusts people who know what they're talking about...
Norwegian Dawn http://www.cruisemaster.com/dawn.htm
Sleazy3 http://www.cruisemaster.com/sleazy3.htm
"E.k.R." wrote:
>
> Howard,
> I agree completely, although I did not see your original post. I sailed on
> CARNIVAL PRIDE just last year, and the food was excellent and probably up to
> Celebrity standards. The service may have lacked the finesse that Celebrity
> offers, but the food quality and presentation were right up there. In March
> I sailed on the INFINITY, then June on MAASDAM, then July on CARNIVAL
> CONQUEST. The food on Celebrity had improved with INFINITY, but I still had
> no complaints on CONQUEST. I don't think it was quite as good as CARNIVAL
> PRIDE the year prior, but of course CONQUEST was not a Spirit Class ship and
> truly feel the food budget is higher on the Spirit Class.
>
> In any case, food is another subjective matter concerning cruises. One
> persons Fois Gras is another's Big Mac! Without knowing the people doing
> the food critiquing, you can only take the comments at face value. To my
> knowledge none of the posters are professional food critics?
>
> I cruise on all the different lines, and do so on a regular basis. Not day
> visits but actual cruises, as you can't judge a ship's food service and
> quality based on an afternoon luncheon onboard. Carnival, Princess, NCL,
> Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Cunard, etc. I've also sailed
> on upscale lines such as Silversea and Royal Viking in the past. At the end
> of the day, the food on all these mega-liners is not different enough from
> each other to really say one is that much better then the other. Most of
> the food is bought from the same suppliers, much of is frozen, then
> pre-prepared banquet style. None of it is gourmet (Silversea comes close
> and the food is made to order since the ship is so small) and the majority
> of cruise ship food is prepared and presented like something you would find
> at a wedding reception. Nothing wrong with this, how else do you manage
> food on a 2000-3000 passenger ship? People expect too much from the food
> onboard, and part of the fault lies within *some* cruise lines that claim
> gourmet food when in fact, it isn't. There is only so much you can do with
> food when prepared with 1000 people at a sitting.
>
> While I enjoyed the food on Celebrity to a great extent, it was more due to
> the presentation and the server's flair and finesse then anything else. I
> can't really say the actual quality of the food was any better then on
> Carnival. Both were very good though. I can say the meals I enjoyed in the
> alternative reservations only restaurants on both Celebrity and Carnival
> were some of the best meals (and service) I've ever enjoyed at sea. Of
> course these meals were prepared to order and a much higher overall standard
> was used. I don't think one was better then the other, as both were
> excellent. Silversea did have this higher standard every night, but this
> was to be expected.
>
> Ok, the worst food and service I've experienced at sea? No, it's not
> Carnival or Premier, not even by a long shot. Cunard and the QE2 just last
> December. Food was served luke warm, steaks tough, very little flavor,
> minimal presentation, all served by a wait staff that obviously wanted to be
> somewhere else.
>
> Ernie
>
> "Howard Garland" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Ben (and others),
> >
> > Have you seen the five replies to my FOOD question (in the Jeff Coudriet
> > thread) that was directed only to PAX who have sailed on a Spirit class
> > ship AND any ship on another line in the past two year. The respondants
> > are all very different people, who have sailed on a variety of other
> > ships; but the responses are all quite consistent.
> >
> > As I'm sure you are aware by now, I am an avid cruiser, who has no
> > loyalties to any particular cruise line or ship. I am not a typical
> > cruiser or much of a typical anything. My tastes are extremely
> > ecclectic. Although I adore a fine meal that is carefully prepared, with
> > high quality ingredients (e.g., prime beef, maine lobster, fresh
> > vegetables, precious truffles, etc.), food is not one of my primary
> > considerations when I pick a cruise.
> >
> > I have sailed on a large variety of ships, across all of the major
> > lines. The purpose of my changing the topic from Jeff's original post on
> > the thread (which was really about "nickel and diming" on Princess) was
> > that I was very tired of seeing numerous posts on the newsgroup about
> > various aspects of cruise lines and cruise ships that were based on very
> > limited or dated experiences, old stereotypes, and/or pure hearsay.
> > Actually, I should not have changed the topic on Jeff's thread. I should
> > have simply started a new thread.
> >
> > I can certainly understand why a person who is looking for quiet
> > elegance on a ship would not appreciate Carnival. In fact, there are
> > many things about all Carnival ships (to date) that I particularly do
> > not like, for example no pads on pool chairs and no towels in restrooms
> > (also a negative for RCCL), and the newer practice (copied from
> > Princess) of not providing unlimited towels by the pools. What I cannot
> > understand is a person who posts things like (and this is just a general
> > example) a major cruise line pecking order of good food, with Celebrity
> > at the top and Carnival at the bottom, when they have not recently
> > sailed on ships from both these lines.
> >
> > The fact is (as you have said many times) things change. And it just so
> > happens that one of the more recent changes is a real decline in food
> > on Celebrity and the introduction of excellent food on Carnival's Spirit
> > class ships. My opinion here comes from having cruised on Galaxy and
> > Century when they were new; and having cruised on the Galaxy, Millenium,
> > and Mercury in the past year. My experience with Spirit class ships
> > comes from multiple cruises on the Spirit and Legend.
> >
> > So, although you and many other may not like Carnival for a variety of
> > reasons, I hope that for a while (because things do change), food will
> > not be one of those reasons.
> >
> > Sorry for the long and rambling post.
> >
> > Howard
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Benjamin Smith wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >
> > > Charles wrote:
> > >
> > >> In article >, Jean
> > >> O'Boyle > wrote:
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>> The buffet was adequate~~not as large or varied as Carnival, but had
> > >>> a good
> > >>> selection .
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> Zenith is a smaller ship. The buffet area is not large. The mega
> > >> Celebrity ships have a larger and more varied selection. They also
> have
> > >> hard ice cream and the Millenium class ships have several specialty
> > >> areas.
> > >>
> > > Absolutely. The Zenith can not be compared to the most modern Carnival
> > > design and has to be compared to the same vintage Carnival ship. The
> > > Millennium class has an expanded buffet over the Century class. Another
> > > thing Celebrity is going to start doing is expanded lunches in the
> > > specialty restaurants and I think that offers more options.
> >
--