Food compared to Celebrity cruise line

[alady89]

I, for one, would not sail DCL for the food. Most times after eating at dining room on Wonder headed up to grill to get "real" food afterwards. Maybe we just don't appreciate gourmet food and don't eat seafood. Menu was limiting and even desserts not so great. Had better food and desserts on Carnival.

However, Palo was soooooooooooooooo much better I am planning to book as many as dinners as possible on our next 7 night cruise as my ds 13 has too much fun with other kids his age to want to come to dinner with us.

 

[tecdavidt]

We have been on Carnival, Celebrity, Princess and Disney. Princess was the worst of the four cruiselines. Celebrity does have great meat dishes, and I prefer chicken and seafood but I always ended up with beef because there wasn't much in choices. Husband thinks Celebrity food is the best. I always have thought Carnival's food was better. Disney is about like Celebrity for me when it comes to the food. We now have 11 DCL cruises behind us with no. 12 in a few days. If it is like all the other cruises, the food seams to have improved with DCL each year. Others may not agree with me on that. I do avoid the tacos at Plutos---nasty is the only word for them. I had one bite and tossed it. That is the only item I couldn't eat ever on a cruise.

As for food allergies, Disney does the best in providing food for me. I am gluten intollerant. Celebrity wasn't the best. When we were on Carnival I didn't know about my allergy. Princess was the worst at being helpful.

Kathy

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

We were not thrilled with the food in the main dining rooms on the Wonder this past December. The food on the Magic our prior 2 cruises was much much better. Palo as always was very good this past December.

 

[tigger137]

We were on the Celebrity Equinox Christmas/New Year cruise, and have previously cruised with DCL 3 times (2 x 7-nights and 1 x 15-night).

We found the buffet on Celebrity much superior to Topsiders. The waffles at breakfast were gorgeous. But we were very disappointed with the ice cream - we'd read about it being home-made and really good, but we found it watery and tasteless. The gelato, however, was wonderful - but at an extra cost.

The food in the main dining room we found to be pretty much on a par with DCL, although possibly slightly more bland. The menus were very complex but the meals themselves didn't live up to the menu description. The desserts were especially bland and disappointing. We don't expect haute cuisine though, it is after all mass 'banquet' catering.

But what did surprise us on Celebrity was the lack of flexibility. On DCL we're used to being able to say, "I'd like the chicken but with baked potato instead of rice" - that sort of substitution between items on the menu. Our DCL servers have always gone out of their way to make sure we had exactly what we wanted and enjoyed our meals. Not so on Celebrity.

We're not particularly demanding but most requests for simple substitutions were either refused or were accommodated by just adding the requested item to the dish. For example, presenting the chicken dish with the rice but then putting a baked potato on the plate too. Sometimes that simply doesn't work because the plate was 'tainted' by the item I didn't want, for example a sauce I didn't like.

Again, I know it's mass catering. But if it can be done on DCL why can't it be done on Celebrity? It certainly didn't live up to Celebrity's advertising.

 

[2bundles]

We did Celebrity Mercury (May 08) and DCL Wonder (Oct 08).

We are foodies, and found the food and service on Celebrity to be better. Not light years ahead, but better. It is also more formal, which may not suit when travelling with young kids.

I should add, that we were not disappointed with DCL food. Our server was only average though.

 

[slindamood]

We were on Celebrity Infinity to South America (14 days) in Dec. 08, and DIsney Magic in Oct 08.

I think the Magic was better in the main dining room on any given night, but Infinity was better in the buffet and alternate eating areas. Infinity had more choices in alternative dining, including sushi each day at 5 PM, and afternoon tea selections. And the ice cream - as Woody said - was fantasitc.

Plus, there was an alternative restaurant that was by reservation (easy to get) and only $5 per person. It had a nice but limited menu, and was quiet and intimate. It was not their Palo equivalent, but in talking with the servers found that it is for server training. I had rack of lamb to die for, and the servers were so interesting to talk to. Another time that restaurant was set up as a Rodizio, with different bbq meats brought around throughout the meal. It was a wonderful alternative to the main dining area on a 14 day cruise, with great food and delightful service.

I guess overall, I would choose Celebrity for the food.

 

[FLORIDA_DAD]

My only comment on the DCL food is that they need to make better pizzas on deck 9. Really just a new recipe.

 

[Inkmahm]

My only comment on the DCL food is that they need to make better pizzas on deck 9. Really just a new recipe.

I'd agree. Princess has WONDERFUL pizza. I"m actualy glad Disney does not so I'm not tempted to keep getting a slice of pizza as a snack!

We've been on DCL 3 times and this last trip in December we thought the food was much better than earlier trips. The only meal I didn't care for was Pirate night. What I DID learn was that the items marked as passenger favorites on the menu are generally very good choices. Once I figured that out, I stuck with it to help me pick my meals and I was happy with the DCL food.

Palo is wonderful- great food and great atmosphere. Definitely worth the upcharge.