Carnival will debut new Main Dining Room menus aboard Carnival Dream this summer, with a fleetwide rollout this fall.
Listen to this articleFoodie cruisers have something exciting to look forward to as Carnival Cruise Line announces its plan to revamp the main dining room menu. In a recent press release, Carnival unveiled some details about the changes aimed at elevating the dining experience aboard its fleet.
What’s changing with Carnival’s new MDR menu
The cruise line has promised to offer more variety in the main dining room, with nearly 60 new entrées on rotation. Carnival will also include selections from its popular specialty dining restaurants on the MDR menus.
A common complaint I hear on Carnival cruises is that portions tend to be on the smaller side. According to Carnival, chefs will be addressing this issue with the new menu, and certain main courses likely will also be offered with larger portion sizes.
Vegetarians will also have more options in the main dining room, with additional choices including entrée salads.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line Introduces New Vegan Dining Room Menu
Carnival didn’t release specific details of what new dishes will appear on the updated menu, or what might be disappearing. However, the cruise line’s brand ambassador John Heald has promised to post scans of the MDR menus on his Facebook page as the pilot program rolls out on Carnival Dream.
Chef Emeril has been an important part of planning Carnival’s new menu
Carnival’s culinary team has been working closely with Chief Culinary Officer Emeril Lagasse, evaluating the current main dining room options and planning the new menu.
Celebrity chef Lagasse was named Carnival’s Chief Culinary Officer in December 2022, following his successful partnership with the cruise line for his shipboard restaurant Emeril’s Bistro.
Related: Emeril Lagasse Named Carnival Cruise Line’s Chief Culinary Officer
Carnival’s new main dining menu will debut on Carnival Dream
Starting on June 17, 2023, Carnival will pilot the new MDR menu aboard the Carnival Dream. The cruise line expects to roll out the new menu fleetwide starting this fall.
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If you’ve cruised Carnival before, what did you think about the main dining room menus? Are you looking forward to the new changes? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
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Mike R.
Thursday 29th of June 2023
This is good news, I hope. I usually do two or three Carnival cruises a year and the food lately has been hit or miss. Some ships do it right and on others it's almost inedible. I just hope this isn't another cost cutting measure disguised as an "improvement".
Carrie Ann
Friday 30th of June 2023
Hi Mike, thanks for stopping by and commenting! I agree that Carnival's main dining room food has been "hit or miss" as you say, especially since cruising reopened in 2021. It definitely hasn't been consistent from ship to ship. I've seen some improvements though, even on the same ship.
For example, I was on the Pride in October 2021 and the MDR food was downright awful, but a year later in October 2022 it was actually decent! I'm really hoping that the new dining room menus will improve both the quality and consistency of the food without cutting out what we love. My next Carnival cruise is in September, and I'm planning to do a full report about the food on the blog. Let me know what you think after your next cruise with the new menus! Happy cruising :)