We just got back from the Carnival Magic 8 day sailing, and the chocolate melting cake is my absolute favorite to end the meal with. However, this sailing 3x out of 7, it was a huge disappointment 😔. Those three times there was no cake, only the sauce, and for me the cake and chocolate sauce is what has made that dessert such a favorite for so many cruisers.
I have to say the kitchen did not do a very nice job in the presentation of any of these plates, none looked appetizing. I think overall Celebrity does a better presentation , and the food is pretty tasty.
We always eat dinner in the MDR and if we aren't satisfied, we head up to the buffet. Our #1 items are the escargot (which is not available every night like in the old days) and the lobster. We always get two tails as well. :)
Hey can you make a video on carnival fly2fun?. I just seen it on my account and its saying my airfare can be included in my total but I'm not sure. Is this something new?
The Indian vegetarian entree that is nightly in the MDR on Carnival is fantastic and is something I think a lot of people do not think to order. I'm not vegetarian or vegan and I get it at least once a cruise, usually on the first night. It never fails, after I order it, others at my table are interested and at least a few will order it at some point in the cruise as well. I'm also a fan of the kale caesar (I'm happy that it is an option) and the prime rib. Have not been on a long enough Carnival cruise to have lobster in the MDR for over a decade, but that will change come January.
We eat first with our eyes! Whoever tripped and fell and busted up your crab cake should have taken it back to the kitchen! Lots of great food on Carnival.
Not gonna lie, The Vista's food was my last straw with Carnival. We really didn't enjoy it at all. The first thing I asked my agent was "what happened, Carnival??"
I 100% AGREE. We sailed on the Vista (in the Havana Suites) and we were shocked at how poor the food quality was. That was in 2018 and we’ve never sailed with Carnival again despite the fact that my husband and I are Platinum level. The food and the presentation were just plain bad.
Why have we never had the Baked Alaska!!?? (probably because there's no pic on the menus) ... Shrimp cocktail ever time! EscarNOOO!! try the duck potstickers Tony! ... The tenderloin looks amazing! Pork chop and lobster were the winners for us! Nice video!!
I'm going to surprise you. If you have a Costco in your area and they don't stock tiramisu . ask them to get it. it is made by Costco, $16 for a large size cake and it is one of the best i have had in America.
I love beef. They all looked good. I am curious about snails, though. I love garlic and butter. Oh, and you should see the bread pudding I make for Thanksgiving! I poured a lot of maple syrup into it (and lots of eggs, of course) instead of using sugar.
Last time we cruised Carnival, there were several nights where we would skip the MDR and hit Guy's Burger Bar about 15-30 min before they closed. It was an early dinner, but then we had room for snacks later on!
Just returned from the Vista cruise. I was not impressed with presentation of food in the dining room. It was just thrown on a plate. Beef tenderloins were the best, crab cake was delicious. I enjoyed shrimp cocktail but nothing to brag about, again, just thrown on a plate. We went to a steakhouse and had rack of lamb that was tough, when I asked for mint jelly they said they did not have any (never heard of anyone serving lamb without mint jelly). My husband had a fillet and he said it was delish. We enjoyed the salt rolls, they were were tasty. He had cheese cake just put on the plate, no presentation. He said it was dry. It was a huge piece of cheesecake. I had a fruit plate which was pretty much the same fruit you could find in the Lido everyday (cantaloupe, honeydew Mellon, a slice or two of mango and a couple of berries). Food was really disappointing. Lido food selection was poor, the same things every day. Lobster rolls and shrimp at the Seafood Shack were good. Shows were good.
I like the MDR to eat as well. Im on vacation and enjoy the service. No fun carrying your food tray and looking for a table in a crowded area🤪. I liked the shrimp then the lobster and no desert looked good for me. Maybe just a cocktail then🥰
Wow 3 on down in the appetizers look awful to me. I'm not an appetizer person though. Normally main and will take desert back to room or go get it from Buffett latter.
To bad you had some bad desert. My last cruise on Harmony of the sea, dinner was terrible, I returned or refuse a dish every night. I am not picky and have sailed for over 40 years and have sailed many times on Royal Caribbean. Worst meals this time.
I'm w/ you on the MDR. WHY would you pay extra$$ to eat at a "upgraded"/alternate dining?? The MDR has some of the BEST food, and I/we like the 5star style in which we are served. We rarely eat out at "uppity" places when not on a cruise. Loyal to RC though. Absolutely the BEST EVER Lobster Bisque.
Favourite appetizer is Escargot and entree is Mahi Mahi (dolphin fish). I just wish the ships offered barley instead of rice. Love the cheese platter for dessert when I have not eaten too much already 🤣😏
When my Honeypie and I went on The Dream this past September, we really enjoyed the MDR. Putu our waiter was AWESOME! He helped us threw our ignorance of some of the food choices. From the Chocolate melting cake, to the steak and shrimp, to the calamari. We did not have a "bad" dinner. Even the salads had my attention during the meal, I had never had the wedge salad before. So much more to say but I know you are busy. Thank you for all the information that you share, it is very helpful for us blue card holders... lol getting red next trip... :)
Ok this is my go to for MDR on Carnival.. (2)- Shrimp Cocktail, Flat Iron Steak, (also one of the elegant nights We splurge and get Surf & Turf which is Filet mignon and Lobster), Dessert Molton Chocolate Cake with 2 scoops of Ice cream and a glass of milk.
I have to admit the food on the Carnival Vista in the MDR was mediocre at best for me. Loved the chocolate melting cake, the filet mignon was good but the bearnaise sauce was blah, asked for peanut butter on the side twice for the melting cake and never received it. The shrimp cocktail was very watery and flavorless and the lobster tail just seemed a little blah. I truly wanted to love the food but just couldn't. It was edible but just not enjoyable. Now Guy's Burgers and the pizza place saved the day for sure. I did the sea day tea and the scones were very dry and salty and the clotted cream was nothing like the real thing. The sea day brunch steak and eggs was very good. Hits and misses but it certainly didn't diminish my enjoyment of my first ever cruise. I enjoyed hearing your take as you do cruise a lot. Happy sailing.
Great video! When you go on NCL, you must try Cagney’s Steakhouse. Their shrimp cocktail will amaze you! Beautiful presentation and the shrimp are huge! 👩🏻🦰❤️🛳
Thanks for the video. A couple things I always get at some point when I cruise Carnival is the cheese plate for desert (I'm not always in the mood for sugar) and when they have gazpacho as an appetizer it is awesome. Worst thing I've ever tried on a cruise was the sugar free pumpkin pie that Carnival used to make (I say used to because I'm sure by now it is off their menu's) my wife ordered it once because she likes pumpkin pie and it was absolutely horrible. We told our kids the story then a few years later when we had them on a cruise, guess what appeared on the menu. Sugar Free pumpkin pie. our kids had heard the story several times and were laughing about it and daring each other to get it, so when the waiter asked for our desert order, they asked for it. His response was, "Never ever ever order that!"
It's actually not bad I could eat several of these and not ruin my semi Keto diet (Dr. Berg). Would have to nix all the deserts, the garlic bread, the breaded mushrooms (prob could peel the breading off). The main dishes looked pretty healthy just would need gym time maybe 30 mins twice a day. The other thing is to nix the sugar drinks.
I agree with you! The beef tenderloin was my best meal on my recent cruise on the Carnival Pride! Got to disagree with you on the dessert! I’m a Carnival Melting Chocolate Cake kinda girl! The Tiramisu was bland as were most of the desserts, but the Creme Brûlée was a definite #2, followed by the Popcorn Pot de Creme. The appetizers I’m from MD and Carnival’s crab cake does NOT have the flavors of a crab cake that I’d like to eat! 😝 I do love the prosciutto ruffles, Baked Onion soup, and the steak and onion soup.
I thought the beef tenderloin looked like the best thing you got! When we went on the Breeze in September, one of my favorite meals in the MDR was the lasagna! It was absolutely delicious!
So, somebody tell me...what is the texture of escargot like? I’d like to try it because it looks and smells great, but I’m weird about texture so I’ve been afraid to try it.
I have not 100% confirmed this but the first night MDR the Tiramisu is offered. No other time have I seen it offered other than the first night. I have not done a 8 night cruise or longer for reference.
I HAD THE BEEF TENDER LOIN AS WELL OUT STANDING BEST DISH ON MY CRUISE HAD THE PRIME RIB VERY GOOD ALSO HAD A NY STRIP OFF THE STEAK HOUSE SELECTION ALSO HAD A THE HONEY PORK LOIN THAT WAS GREAT AND ONE NIGHT HAD BOTH THE PORK CHOP AND BEEF LASAGNA WAS ON 5 NIGHT CRUISE ON THE ELATION GREAT SHIP LOVE THE MDR APPETIZER I HAD RABBIT ONCE QUESADILLAS ONCE THEN SOUP EVERY NIGHT AND THE CRAB CAKE AS WELL
Thank you Tony for the very interesting food review. I do love appetizers and often order two. On Princess for a main we love the always available fettuccini alfredo often as a main after the appetizers. My wife says "whatsa matta you" for deserts not your favorite stuff. She's a desertaholic. Maybe a chocoholic as well. Nice review video! !! 👍👍👍
Dessert I could eat Baked Alaska for breakfast lunch and dinner!!! Appetizer I loved the peach soup, my fav & I can eat a million shrimp cocktails. Snails I can say I did try 3 but never again lol. Entree my fav was a chicken plate with baked potato. On our first cruise we ate only 1 time in MDR, we were kinda scared & didn’t know wat to do. But with the group cruise I knew there would be friends to be with and I would have a good time. So this time we ate MDR 4 days. Now I absolutely love and miss the MDR.
Loved your comment "escargot is just a delivery system for the garlic and butter"🤣 Strawberry or Mango bisque. Stuffed mushrooms. Shrimp cocktail and the lobster. Grand Marnier Souffle. Yummy!
Thanks for your MDR pics and food critique, OMG how I love Tiramisu with a beautiful cup of exquisite coffee. I'm a vegetarian, at least I was until I saw your Beef Tenderloin pic. Looking forward to my first cruise and definitely going to get a piece of a cow done rare, sorry Elsie. Tony, don't want to stick a needle in your bubble, but you should see videos of the Norway Salmon Farms and Asian Shrimp Farms. There's a reason why they are now so inexpensive. On second thought, maybe you'd better not. Yeah, I know a lot about food-animal production, which is why the Beef Tenderloin will be my first meat in over 4 decades. Don't give a rat's a*s, go ahead and shame me all you want, I'm still going to smack my lips over that gorgeous piece of Beef Tenderloin. I may even throw caution to the wind and try the cantaloupe and prosciutto. I've heard the eggs to order at the breakfast buffet are spectacular. I have no problem with cheese and eggs and do plan to enjoy, enjoy; oh yeah, and enjoy lots more. Later...
Leaving Sunday for a Caribbean cruise on Carnival. Nice to get an idea of what the food is like. "Found" you folks while looking for information about cruising and have thoroughly enjoyed your videos!
I do wish they would cook those melting cakes a bit longer, it’s like chocolate soup. I’m a baker and the thought of eating raw cake batter (well that much of it) is very unsatisfying
Favorite appetizer is Alligator fritter (multiple orders) , main dish is Lobster or Lamb, dessert is always Malting Chocolate Cake with 2 scoops of ice cream and a dish of peanut butter. MDR first siting is are favorite. We have never had dinner on the Lido.
I've done about 13 Carnival cruises and I love the main dining room. I've tried many things I wouldn't order on land. If I didnt like my choice I'd ask for something else and they happily made my wish come true. I also love the cream brulee and chilled strawberry soup. I've never had a bad meal on a Carnival ship and if you want two of something just ask they make it happen. I've also done Princess and Holland and I prefer Carnival they are the FUN SHIPS.
My favorite is chateaubriand. Ordered it without knowing exactly what it was on my last cruise and can’t wait to get it again!! I love the MDR because I can try new things I would not normally because it cost too much in a normal restaurant.
I'm with you, Tony! MDR >>> buffet Also, I had the beef tenderloin on Carnival Imagination, and I agree with you, it's one of my favorite MDR entrees. FYI - the "mystery side dish" was polenta. It was disappointing.
On Princess my favorite is: Curtis Stones' chicken pot pie. Soooo good. For presentation: Prime rib with corn on the cob and mashed potatoes. Thanks for sharing!
I have yet to cruise Carnival and I’m only going on my third ever cruise, soon...so I hope to discover more and more faves. My favorite entree thus far has been the lamb chops I had on Royal Princess. Nothing has compared!!!
I LOVE the MDR!! My husband and I were on the Breeze a few moths ago and for the first time, he accompanied me to the MDR every night and the meals were the highlight of that ship for us. I am a foodie and I always love the food review videos.
Id love to try something different every day. I know when I was on the Magic they had different dishes to try that you normally wouldn't order. Like gater, escargot, etc. I tried caviar on the Magic for my Aunt & Uncle's wedding anniversary and I surprisingly liked it! Definitely looking forward to May!
One of my new favorite desserts is something made with Filo dough and had a butterscotch cream filling. Description sounded weird my the taste was excellent!
