As I've mentioned earlier, J and I recently took a cruise to the Bahamas with friends. We were on the Carnival Sensation for four days and had a fabulous time. This was the first cruise for all of us and we didn't know what to expect. I assumed we'd be taken care of - who would want to be trapped on a boat with 1,000 unhappy and/or hungry customers, and we'd heard all the tales of the never-ending food - my doctor told me to make sure we paced ourselves and some online reviews cautioned us to pack plenty of stretchy pants.
Yet, I assumed the food would be fairly run-of-the-mill like any hotel continental breakfast; decent, filling, in excess and proportionate to the price of lodging, but nothing to write home about. However, I was very wrong. So wrong that I am, in fact, "writing home" to you, my readers, about the stellar fare on the ship.
First, let me say that we spent around $450 apiece for our tickets. This included the price of our cabin (queen sized bed, bathroom, but no exterior window and all amenities therein), any activities we'd take part in or view (including game shows, pool/hot tubs/waterslides, George Lopez's comedy club, Vegas-style cabaret and more), entry into the international ports (Freeport Harbor and Nassau) and all travel costs including four days aboard the ship. I thought this price for these items alone was reasonable; especially considering that a beach-area (not even ocean-front) hotel - where you aren't likely to be murdered or get bed bugs - runs around $100/night.
However, the price is incredibly economical when you add in the value of the food available to you.
There are "levels" of tickets that include larger staterooms - with windows or balconies, and seating in the "signature" restaurants - including a steakhouse-style hotspot. These restaurants are available to those with "basic" level tickets, but include additional charges.
We purchased the base level of ticket and had the following dining options available to us at no additional charge:
- Lido Deck Buffet - An outdoor buffet on the pool deck which serves continental breakfast and made-to-order omelettes (7:00 a.m. - noon); lunch and dinner (noon - approximately midnight) with "grill" area hamburgers/hotdogs, rotisserie station and Mongolian wok
- 24-hour dining room - which featured several round-the-clock stations including a daily international buffet (American, Carribbean, Mexican and French were served during our cruise), hand-tossed made-to-order pizza bar, deli, salad bar, sweet station with no less than six dessert options, soft serve ice cream/frozen yogurt machines
- All-you-can-drink water, juice, milk, lemonade, iced tea, hot teas, coffee and hot chocolate at either location, available all day.
- Continental breakfast delivered a la carte to your room per order ticket hung on your door knob.
- 24-hour room service from a wide menu of fruits, sandwiches, salads and desserts.
- And our favorite place, the Fantasy Dining Room, which served high-class, gourmet breakfasts (2+ courses) and dinners (3+ courses) in an upscale atmosphere. At each meal, we were offered a menu with 2-3 categories we could pick from - and if you wanted two desserts, three starters or one of EVERYTHING (yes, everything) they would bring it to you. Water, juice, milk, teas and hot drinks were available free-of-charge here during meals, too.
Being an almost-millennial with the FMO (Fear of Missing Out) and an old-school cheapskate, I wanted to get my foodie's money's worth and we certainly did.
We got up early each morning to pack in as much food, er.. um.. adventure into each day and ate breakfast around 7 in the Fantasy Dining Room, had lunch with bits from both the Lido and 24-hour buffets around noon, a snack (usually a sweet) mid-afternoon before our naps, dinner at 7 in Fantasy and late night snacks (sometimes Hobbit-style second dinners) around 11.
But, I suppose, the best way to portray the quality, quantity and value of Carnival's spread, is to show you!
We took pictures of a variety of the dishes we ate in the Fantasy Dining Room, that you'll see below. I was so impressed with not just the flavors, but the impressive plating. Each plate was well thought-out, they did dramatic tableside presentations of all the chilled soups and used spot-on techniques/knife cuts for each element. In addition to showing you the beautiful plates, I am giving you a glimpse at how impressive of a deal this experience was - if you were to eat this quality of food (as often as we did) on vacation on-land, you'd be shelling out a pretty penny! You'll see in italicized parenthetical the cost of a comparable dish at a national franchise or supermarket.
Here's a glimpse of what I ate last week:
- The breakfast I ate every day (and once at lunch) - smoked salmon bagel with cream cheese, capers and red onion. (At our favorite grocery store, Ingles Markets, 3 oz. of smoked salmon is $8 - so figure at least $24 dollars only on the protein)
- Starter: seared duck breast salad with oranges; Main: grilled chicken breast with roasted vegetables; Dessert: warm chocolate melting cake (Molten lava cakes run $6.29 apiece at Chili's Bar & Grill franchises; J and I ate at least $30 worth of those things).
- Starter: Indian spiced pumpkin soup; Main: broiled lobster tail with grilled shrimp; Desserts: Grand Marnier souffle and banana creme cake (An oven roasted lobster tail plus one vegetable side at Red Lobster runs $30.99)
- Starter: fresh vegetable spring roll; Main: flat iron steak with vegetables; Desserts: tiramisu and banana creme cake. (Olive Garden's tiramisu is $6.29 per serving; and that's only one of my desserts...)
- (Sea Day Brunch) Starter: tropical fruit plate with cottage cheese; Main: bacon macaroni and cheese -- Alas, no pictures. We left our phones in the room; which is really disappointing because the plating for the fruit was top-notch!
- Starters: A "study in sushi" and chilled asparagus vichyssoise; Main: veal parmigana; Dessert: baked Alaska. (A comparative veal dish at Romano's Macaroni Grill clocks in at $23).
And here's a look at J's meals:
- J ordered eggs benedict every morning except our first, when he had a waffle with a stewed banana in a dulce de leche caramel.
- Starter: hot spinach artichoke dip; Main: flat iron steak with vegetables; Dessert: warm chocolate melting cake. (Applebee's spinach artichoke dip appetizer is $7.99 and TGI Friday's flat iron steak runs close to $15.00)
- Starter: alligator fritters; Main: broiled lobster tail with grilled shrimp; Dessert: warm chocolate melting cake
- Starter: shrimp cocktail; Main: "gourmet burger" with fries; Dessert: cappuccino ice cream cake (Olive Garden's chocolate ice box cake is around $6.50).
- Starters: A "study in sushi" and crab cake' Main: veal parmigana; Dessert: warm chocolate melting cake. (A crab cake sandwich with one cake at Joe's Crab Shack is $10.79).
Not be forgotten as a contributor to the value, is the amazing service we received in the Fantasy Dining Room. Carnival prides itself on "getting to know" everyone cruising - our room steward, Richard, addressed us by name and Alvin, a waiter in the various bars sought us out by name - and they do the same in the dining room. They would ask "Amanda, how is your meal?" or "Robert, would you like more coffee?" The dinners took longer because of the ceremony of ordering each course individually and receiving drinks and breads, but it was worth it because we were so well taken care of. And each evening we were a part of "Showtime" with the Maitre'd where the waiters and servers would dance and sing for the dining room.
I mentioned another perk earlier: the free room service available 24/7 (minus soda and alcohol orders). Neither of us have ever had the privilege of ordering from a room service menu, and now after knowing how "the other half lives," I can see the allure. The ship provides complimentary terry cloth robes for each room and I must say there's nothing quite like drying off from the pool, throwing on an over-sized, fluffy robe and eating from a covered dish in bed. We ordered on two different occasions - once we each got sandwiches from the deli, and the other we got salads and sweets. The food was nothing short of delicious; it was of the same quality as any of the dining rooms including great plating (see that snazzy cheesecake with piped whipped cream and strawberry puree?) and attention to detail (like my Caesar salad which was tossed to order, not with bottled dressing but the real deal eggs and anchovies stuff).
I mentioned another perk earlier: the free room service available 24/7 (minus soda and alcohol orders). Neither of us have ever had the privilege of ordering from a room service menu, and now after knowing how "the other half lives," I can see the allure. The ship provides complimentary terry cloth robes for each room and I must say there's nothing quite like drying off from the pool, throwing on an over-sized, fluffy robe and eating from a covered dish in bed. We ordered on two different occasions - once we each got sandwiches from the deli, and the other we got salads and sweets. The food was nothing short of delicious; it was of the same quality as any of the dining rooms including great plating (see that snazzy cheesecake with piped whipped cream and strawberry puree?) and attention to detail (like my Caesar salad which was tossed to order, not with bottled dressing but the real deal eggs and anchovies stuff).
I thoroughly enjoyed our trip and was utterly spoiled (and maybe fattened) by the terrific food on our cruise. Honestly, I have struggled the past few days with not eating every two hours and having to shop for, cook, plate and clean up after our meals. This shock of coming back to reality has further confirmed that cruising is the way to travel. Everything is done for you - you just have to get up and walk to eat or a see a show (which after eating and being lulled to sleep can be hard) - and there isn't any of the "where do you want to eat/I don't know where do you want to eat" arguing. If you're looking for a vacation, seriously consider cruising, especially with Carnival; we're already thinking about our next trip (to the buffet).
