One of my favorite things about the Carnival Cruise we went on a few months ago was the FOOD. There are so many options on a Carnival Cruise, that there is no way you can get bored! We sailed on the Carnival Sunshine, so I’ll be sharing with you some of our favorite eats! From kids to adults, there is something for everyone.
Free Dining Options on a Carnival Cruise
With kids, we ate on the Lido Deck most of all. The Lido Restaurant Buffet is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and has a great variety of options. There was a great salad bar and delicious choices like fried chicken, carved beef, pasta, veggies, potatoes and more. The menu changed daily and did close between breakfast, lunch and dinner. With kids, we tried to go at more “off-times” as opposed to prime dining times in order to find a good table for us.
Also in the Lido Restaurant there was a 24 HOUR PIZZERIA (which all my kids loved!) and 24 hour ice cream. I don’t even want to think of how many ice cream cones my kids had that week – they loved it! There is also a deli that served up sandwiches (and hot dogs, very important for kids of course!) that were delicious too!
Also on the Lido Deck, you could order from Guy Fierri’s Burger Joint and the Blue Iguana Cantina. The tacos and the burritos at Blue Iguana Cantina were amazing and they had a toppings bar where you could load up. On the other side is Guy Fierri’s Burger Joint and these burgers are amazing. There’s a few different ways to order your burger and they all come with a plate of fries. Then, there was a topings bar for the burgers too!
My husband and I loved getting burgers or tacos from here while the kids got pizza, hot dogs or nuggets from the Lido Buffet. Although, my son did love Guy’s too!
Room Service
My kids absolutely loved ordering room service for breakfast and a late night snack. They thought it was so special! Most of the items on the room service are free (grilled cheese sandwiches, BLTs, chips) but there is a small charge for other items like wings and quesadillas.
Dining Room
We waited until the second to last night of our cruise to eat in the main dining room and that was a big mistake! I wish we would have done it from the start. I have to admit that I was nervous about my kids possibly disrupting other diners or not liking the food but no way! The staff was SO good to my kids and brought them crayons, paper and lavished attention on them. They loved the dance party in the middle of dinner and the kids menu too. My husband and I loved the food that we had – from appetizer to entree to dessert – and it’s definitely an experience you can”t miss!
Specialty Dining on a Carnival Cruise (Additional Cost)
There were a few places on the Carnival Sunshine where you could dine for an additional cost. For just $15 a person, you could eat all you want at both JiJi Asian Kitchen and Cucina del Capitano.
Photo by Carrie on Travel
Photo by Carrie on Travel
At Bonsai Sushi, they offer a few different options for sushi, rolls and beverages that cost just a few dollars. The same goes for Red Frog Pub which offers up some delicious beer but also some pub grub like coconut shrimp or wings for a few dollars.
Photo by Carrie on Travel
There is also Fahrenheit 555, a steakhouse that costs $35 a person but delivers an unforgettable meal. Start off with a grilled portobello mushroom or crab cake and then enjoy a New York strip or lobster tail as your main dish! We wanted to go here but skipped it since the kids wanted to eat dinner with us but we can’t wait to try it when we cruise again!
Photo by Carrie on Travel
Carnival Cruise Dining
When you’re on a Carnival Cruise, there’s no possible way to go hungry. We loved all of the food that we got – from the room service coffee in the morning to the tacos and burgers for lunch and the steak and desserts for dinner!
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Disclosure: A huge thanks to Carnival Cruise Line for hosting us on a 7 day cruise on the Carnival Sunshine. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I would LOVE to take a cruise one day! If only for the food! Lol!
I love cruises! The food is my favorite part
I will never know what its like to be on a cruise or how delicious the food really is but it sure looks really good!
Wow! Such a variety of delicious choices. Those tacos look great! I still haven’t been on a cruise- I definitely want to plan one though!
The food options on Carnival Cruise lines is incredible! I really like the food and would love to take my family on one of these cruises!
One option is for the kids to eat dinner at Camp Ocean, the kid’s day camp. The camp counselors will watch over them as they have their meal, and then escort them back to the camp for the remainder of the night. Mom and Dad can enjoy a relaxing dinner and show then go pick up the little ones after.