Tag Archives: main dining room

Carnival charging $20 for premium steaks in main dining room

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By Tom Stieghorst
Carnival Cruise Lines said it has begun offering premium steaks for a $20 surcharge in its main dining rooms.

The menu addition was tested on four ships and was expanded to most of its fleet in August, spokeswoman Jennifer De La Cruz said.

Labeled “Steakhouse Selections” on the menu, the aged prime meats come as a 9-ounce filet mignon or a 14-ounce New York strip steak. Diners can order a lobster with their premium steak. 

Carnival will continue offering steak and lobster as part of its complimentary menu in the main dining room. 

Each Carnival ship already has a steak specialty restaurant with limited seating and a cover charge of $35 per diner.

Carnival dining changes slow to gel

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By Tom Stieghorst
ABOARD CARNIVAL FREEDOM — Carnival Cruise Lines’ implementation of a new main dining room program is taking longer than anticipated, said the line’s chief marketing officer, Jim Berra.

After a news conference, Berra said Carnival has been tweaking the features of American Table and American Feast, the dining room concepts it developed with the input of Union Square Hospitality Group.

Four of Carnival’s 24 ships have been piloting the concept. Berra said Carnival wants to make sure it has the bugs worked out before the changes expand to the rest of the fleet. There is currently no ship being targeted for expansion of the program, he said.

Carnival has been doing what Berra termed “A/B testing” of variations on ships with similar itineraries. One discovery is that the idea of sharing common appetizers at a table isn’t playing as well at sea as it does in land restaurants. It works best during “Anytime Dining,” when guests are generally eating with people they know, but less well when dining with strangers, Berra said.

He said the upgraded bread and water service has been well received, as has the “Port of Call” items on the menu, which are matched to the port the ship is visiting on the day of the meal.

American Table is the everyday complimentary dining in Carnival’s main dining room on the Carnival Glory, Liberty, Inspiration and Imagination.

American Feast is a more elegant, celebratory version that is offered twice during each voyage.

Both feature redesigned menus, a new style of service and cuisine with an emphasis on American origins.

Carnival Legend- Review Baltic Cruise- Dover to St. Petersburg.

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Carnival Legend- Review

Baltic Cruise- Dover to St. Petersburg.

 

My Cruise photos are on Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/photos/45642696@N07/sets/72157635095801316/ 

We had sailed on 4 other companies (Costa, Royal,NCL and MSC) and between us have all ways said that there are good points and some great points in all the companies, example we like NCL Freestyle Dining, and MSC style, so joining Carnival Legend for the first time from Dover was going to be an experience, the check-in at Dover was the best we have ever had, we were on-board having a wee dram by 11am, that was a first for us. Legend is an exact layout as the Costa Mediterranea which was our first ship, happy memories. She is a lovely ship which needs a dry dock which she is having i Jan 14 (I think) before going down under, just to spruce her up a bit.

The food in the main dining room was excellent with always a Didja Ever option on the menu, which we enjoyed trying that something different such as Alligator, Frogs Legs, and Snails. The service was very good and a waiter dance at 7:15 in the evening, which they grabbed a willing volunteer in my wife, she enjoyed it and i enjoyed videoing the show for evidence and later brownie points when needed.

The show’s where the best we had seen on any cruise before, the dancers were fantastic, and the singers were top notch. Head of Entertainment John Heard was an excellent compare, and was always willing to chat when seen around the ship. the entertainers around the ship were average and we have seen better on the Norwegian Jade, there seemed to be too many quiz’s and not enough music.

The tours were well organised and seemed to be a fair price considering the tours of St. Petersberg and a train trip to Berlin.

The shops on board were the normal offerings such as a Logo/tee shirt shop, a sweet shop, and a top end Jewellers. The photo gallery was the largest selling the mandatory on-board pics, places of interest pics, and a camera and accessory section.

Overall I would not hesitate to join a Carnival Cruise again, and we enjoyed the company of our fellow passengers, especially those pesky Canadians, who we keep in-touch with. Thanks to all who served and cleaned up after us.

If anyone who sailed on the same Baltic Cruise as us, we were the Stars of the cruise from the Welsh Non-Romantic Couple.