We’re on board Carnival Liberty all this week reporting on the implementation of Carnival Cruise Line’s new Funship 2.0 initiative, a $500 million project that promised to transform the line’s onboard experience when it was announced in October.
We’ve spent a lot of time this week talking about Guy’s Burger Joint and The Blue Iguana Cantina, two star food options brought to Carnival Liberty via Funship 2.0. These are both superstar additions to the food lineup that have proved wildly popular and will soon be rolled out fleet wide. In addition, a refocused main dining room menu offers some unique, new options also worthy of consideration.
Those people who prefer a buffet to the sit-down dining room experience for any number of reasons, might want to re-think that belief. Maybe dressing up for dinner is an issue. Maybe being on a fixed schedule is something they don’t want to do. Perhaps the amount of time it takes to eat in the dining room turns them off. All of these concerns are surely valid. But Carnival is doing things differently now and another look is in order.
The menu has been made simpler. There is a “Starter” section and a “Main Entrée” section to choose from. For most, this is a two-course meal, three if they add dessert but can be four, five, six or sixteen if they want it that way. There is no limit on the number of items and courses one might choose. Personally, I would hate you if I was having three courses and had to sit through your twelve as my tablemate but it can happen.
On the fixed schedule concern, that also is no longer an issue. New “My Time” dining allows those who want to dine on their own schedule to do just that . Choosing from the exact same menu as fixed-dining time guests, those on My Time dining come whenever they are ready during dining room operating hours. This program works great for parties up to six people with no delay in being seated. Large groups will have a problem with this. Imagine walking into a popular land-based restaurant on Friday night with 18 people. It’s going to take the dining room staff some time to get that many seats together ready. Large groups that want to sit together are far better off with fixed seating. Large groups that don’t need to be right next to each other work fine with My Time dining though.
As far as the amount of time it takes, Carnival’s new menu structure puts a lot of the burden there on the guest. Those who order extra courses are served in fine style, one at a time, in the appropriate order. That takes more time. Sure, those people can still go to the buffet and pile all six courses on one huge platter and save a whole lot of time. Some do. Not as many as in the past though. On Carnival Liberty it was not uncommon for only one buffet line out of a possible four to be open during dinner. I think that’s a direct result of the expedited menu structure in the main dining room. By and large, it just does not take as long to have a great meal, served appropriately, where diners are treated like kings and queens.
Take a look at some of the items we tried via our Facebook gallery and tell me they don’t look better than a big platter of food from the buffet.
Related articles
- Funship 2.0 steps up when Mother Nature throws paradise a curve ball (chriscruises.net)
- Cruise industry updates product for a changing world of travel (chriscruises.net)
- Carnival Funship 2.0 makes Carnival Liberty a whole new ship (chriscruises.net)
- Harry’s Steakhouse a nice alternative on Carnival Liberty (chriscruises.net)
