Food Waste

[Debbie G]

We were on our first Carnival cruise in October and found the food at the Lido Buffet less than desirable. While the offerings at the deli were acceptable, the main buffet and pizza venue were terrible. To be fair, the fish options were very tasty, but I found it difficult to find much else to be enjoyable. The spareribs were very hard to chew and the choice of sauce could have been better. The pizza was tasteless and the i e cream was gritty. For these very reasons, I ended up tossing a lot of food. Perhaps Carnival should address food quality if they really want to cut down on food waste. 

[DeanneB]

@Debbie GAh, that is disappointing.  Did you leave a comment or feedback after your cruise?  I think your experience should be heard by Carnival.  I have wasting food too, even if I paid for it.  Does not make sense to waste food and sub-par food quality.

[TallahasseeTexas]

Platinum cruiser here. Love Carnival. The MDR limiting entrees is a game changer though. Not because I eat 2 pounds of food at each dinner or anything. Hear me out...

My Food quality on the Ecstacy was horrible in August. The cruise I just got off of last week out of Jax on the Elation was even worse. Had I NOT ordered 2 entrees a night after the first night I would not have had decent food and sometimes inedible. 

MCDonalds Would have been better. I am no foodie. But I know you don't cook any fish to the point it tastes like an eraser. You don't cook chicken one night that its a hockey puck but the next night it was actually chewy raw (and I like my chicken cooked to the least temp as possible that is safe for consumption.) You don't serve pasta with less than a teaspoon of sauce that's cold and chewy. You also don't serve a kid about half a pound of perfect braised short ribs and send her mother a single burnt end a chunk of fat. Lastly, and I know it has nothing to do with an entree but I sent back EVERY melting cake for all 5 nights. All over cooked like a brownie. I even tried the last 2 nights THREE times. How hard is it to cook a signature dish?

To Carnival. Work on your quality control first. You would probably have A LOT less food waste.

[DeanneB]

That is disappointing, I am a foodie, and I love to try everything.  I appreciate good food.  Food quality seems to be the ultimate problem.  There seem to have numerous posts on Carnival food quality lately.  I think Carnival needs to hear your feedback.  Did you respond to the post-cruise email feedback they usually send?

[TallahasseeTexas]

Yes I did put in post cruise feedback on every cruise when i get the questionnaire. I honestly never hear anything back. Overall it was a very positive cruise and positive feedback overall but if a company doesn't know about what their customers think then they cannot grow. 

[DeanneB]

I agree. hope they have a good sense, and have a team looks into the feedback of their guests.  

[Emrys]

I don't think Carnival Cruise line has ever been as good as other major cruise lines when it comes to some of the lido dining options. However, I do like their steakhouse, one of the best I've had! It is a tricky situation for sure with all the food waste, especially when it comes to room service. Hopefully, they'll get a handle on things as the cruise industry returns to some normality.

[Cruise Virgin]

I went in my first cruise in October 22 and I have to say, the food on Carnival was sub par at the very least. Same things almost nightly in buffet. Same ol stuff day after day. Dried out and flavorless. Best meal we had was at the deli. Hamburgers at the outside resteaunt were 9 out of 10 times not done in the middle, and oh lord those drinks and drinks package prices. Sodas should be included as free. Who wants to drink water and juices with their meal eveeytime. And smoking was only in part of the casino. Get real Carnival that smoking area size is too dang small...not to mention all the Marijuana that was smoked in that smoking area. Was super easy to get a contact buz. And how about some ship crew who understand English. I asked if it was ok for someone to offer ourb15 year old weed. He didn't understand a damn thing I said

[3Sisters]

@Cruise Virgin This sounds like a bad experience. I think the multicultural staff onboard all cruise ships is actually wonderful! I really enjoy getting to learn new things from staff that live all around the globe. Next time you come across someone struggling to speak English, maybe you could take the time to exchange words in each other's language. That's the beauty of meeting new people, learning from one another!

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@TallahasseeTexas Thanks for your feedback as a Carnival Cruise Line Platinum member! It can be difficult when cruise lines change their offerings. I personally enjoy consistency in cruising, but I understand things evolve as time passes. I wonder why the food came out this way on your recent Carnival Ecstacy cruise. It looks like the ship has since retired and is beached in Turkey for scrapping. I guess the ship was truly on its last leg. Have you cruised on any other Carnival Cruise Line ships since this experience? 

@Debbie G Food quality is so important! I really appreciate when the food onboard is fresh. Have you cruised with Carnival Cruise Line since this October experience? I would hope that this was just a fluke experience. Usually CCL's food is pretty tasty! 

Edited February 22, 2023 by Kendall James-Vargas