Cuisine and dining on a Carnival cruise
All Carnival ships have one or two main dining rooms (all dining venues are non-smoking), and dinner is in either two or four seating times (depending on ship and configuration). Menus are standardized across the fleet.
Don’t even think about a quiet table for two, or a candlelight dinner on deck – it’s not Carnival’s style (unless you pay extra to go to an ‘alternative’ restaurant). Dining aboard a Carnival ship is all about table mates, social chat, lively meals, and fast eating. Tables are, however, nicely set with white tablecloths, plenty of silverware, and iced water/iced tea whenever you want it.
Taste-filled food is not the company’s strong point, but quantity, not quality, is – although consultant chef Georges Blanc has now created daily ‘Georges Blanc Signature’ menu items. The company does strive to improve its cuisine and menu choices look good, but the actual food delivered is simply banquet-style catering, with its attendant standardization and production cooking.
It is virtually impossible to obtain anything remotely unusual or off-menu, and the ‘always available’ items appear to have disappeared from the menus. Vegetarian menus and children’s menus are available at all meals, although they wouldn’t get many marks for their nutritional content. Spa Carnival Fare has been introduced to provide healthy dining options.
Alternative dining on a Carnival cruise
Fine dining (Reservations required – extra charge):
Carnival Conquest, Carnival Destiny, Carnival Freedom, Carnival Glory, Carnival Liberty, Carnival Miracle, Carnival Splendor, Carnival Triumph, Carnival Valor:
Fine table settings, china and silverware are featured, as well as leather-bound menus. Menu favourites include prime American steaks such as filet mignon (9 ounces), porterhouse steak (24 ounces) and New York strip loin (be prepared for huge cuts of meat – shown to you at your table before you order), and broiled lobster tail, as well as stone crab claws from Joe’s Stone Crabs of South Miami Beach. Reservations are necessary, and a cover charge of $30 per person (for service and gratuity) applies.
Casual Eateries: In addition to the main dining rooms, all ships have large food court-style spaces for casual food, fast food items, grilled meats, pizzas (each ship serves over 800 pizzas in a typical day), stir fry, deli and salad items. There are self-help beverage stands, coffee that looks like rusty water, and tea provided in paper cups with a teabag (tea dust is a more accurate description), plastic or wooden stirrers (no teaspoons and no saucers), and packets of chemical ‘milk’ or ‘creamer.’ But some people are happy to have it that way, and it’s actually better than what is offered aboard competitor Royal Caribbean International’s ships.
Entertainment on Carnival cruise ships
The ships have big showlounges (all non-smoking), and large-scale flesh-and-feather production shows. On a typical cruise, there will be one or two large-scale production shows, with male and female lead singers and a clutch of dancers backed by a 10-piece live orchestra (supported by ‘click’ tracks). These are ritzy-glitzy, razzle-dazzle, Las Vegas-style revues with little or no story line or flow (lots of running around on stage and stepping in place, but little dancing). However, the skimpy costumes are very colourful, as is the lighting (with extensive use of ‘colour mover’ lights).
They are, for the most part, excessively loud, in-your-face shows, with colourful if skimpy costumes and stage ‘smoke’ that seems to be a theme central to all shows (much overused to the irritation of anyone seated in the front few rows). But, hey, this is Splash Vegas, remember, so what else could you expect?
Carnival Cruises for families
Carnival is a fine family-friendly cruise line (it carried 575,000 children in 2007), and the young are provided with very good facilities. ‘Camp Carnival’, the line’s extensive child/youth programme, is well organized and extensive.
There are five age groups: Toddlers (ages 2–5); Juniors (6–8); Intermediate (9–11); Teens (12–15) and late Teens (15–17, with a specially created Club 02). Soft-drinks packages can be purchased for children (adults, too).
Even the under-twos are now being catered to, with special programmess aboard each ship. Meanwhile, Family Fun Nights are all about reconnecting parents to their children (something many can do only on vacation). Note that a babysitting service is not available after 10pm.
Best ships for children:
Carnival Conquest, Carnival Destiny, Carnival Freedom, Carnival Glory, Carnival Legend, Carnival Liberty, Carnival Miracle, Carnival Pride, Carnival Spirit, Carnival Splendor, Carnival Triumph, Carnival Valor, Carnival Victory
Ships with fewer facilities:
Carnival Ecstasy, Carnival Elation, Carnival Fantasy, Carnival Fascination, Carnival Imagination, Carnival Inspiration, Carnival Paradise, Carnival Sensation
Ships with poor facilities:
Celebration, Holiday
Spa and Fitness Facilities
Spa/Fitness facilities are operated by Steiner Leisure, a specialist concession, whose young, hungry (for revenue) staff will try to sell you Steiner’s own-brand beauty products. Some fitness classes are free, while some, such as yoga and kick-boxing, cost extra (typically $10 per class) and you’ll need to sign up to join.
Examples of treatments: Swedish Massage ($116 for 50 minutes); Aroma Stone Massage ($175 for 75 minutes); Couples Massage ($242 for 50 minutes); Facial ($109 for 50 minutes); Seaweed Body Wrap, with half-body massage ($176 for 90 minutes). Do make appointments early, as treatment time slots can go quite quickly.
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