Legend in Hobart
The daily dining room dinner menus on Carnival Australia have some of the same things served on ships from Carnival America, but they have their differences as well. Starting with the wording – in America entree means the main meal, but in Australia entree means appetizer. As on Carnival America, there is always a lighter healthier option and a vegetarian option. We sailed on the Legend, but odds are these Australian menus also apply to the Spirit, which sails from Australia year-round.
Carnival Australia Kid’s Menu
We took a 7 day cruise to Tasmania, which had a Mexican/Caribbean dress night with a Mexican fiesta menu. Since there’s a separate Caribbean menu I’m guessing the longer cruises have a specific Caribbean night.
Each night the menu has the every night side that never changes and the today side which is different each day. There’s also a children’s menu with things like hot dogs, chicken nuggets and peanut butter sandwiches. Children’s meals tend to come with chips and cookies, but you can ask the waiter to have those left off. The steamed vegetables on the kid’s menu looked so good when my grandkids had them every day that one day I ordered them for my entree. Yes adults can order off the kids menu, and kids can also order off the adult menu. Either way the portions are often too big. My 3-year-old grandson quite enjoyed salmon from the everyday side of the adult menu.
steamed vegetables from the kid’s menu
Sometimes the main-dish pasta will say also available as an entree. If you want it for the main, but their usual portions are too large for you, you can ask for it as a main in the entree size. You can have a lot of extra things if you ask, like a plate of sliced lemons for the water, a glass of milk, or even faster service.
One of the daily desserts is always free of sugar or sugar substitutes and sugar free ice cream is available upon request.
Dinner Menus
Carnival’s signature dessert – chocolate melting cake
Every Day Menu
entree: diced fresh melons with citrus and mint; fried vegetable spring rolls; market salad; caesar salad
main: grilled salmon fillet; spice wrapped grilled 200 grams flat iron steak; pan-seared chicken schnitzel; guinness mince (chuck steak) mushroom and cheese pie
For a $25 surcharge the daily menu also had main dish offerings from the pay-extra Nouveau restaurant – great seafood and premium aged beef; steamed whole main lobster; surf and turf (filet mignon and lobster tail;) grilled filet mignon; prime new york sirloin steak 400 grams (This was the only lobster offered this cruise. Apparently lobster is too expensive in Australia to serve to the masses on formal night like they do in America.)
dessert: warm chocolate melting cake; fresh tropical fruit plate; ice cream; sorbet; assorted cheeses
Daily Menus
Menus from Our Cruise
diced fresh melons with citrus and mint
Day 1
entree: tropical fruits; marinated salmon and candied tomato; fried prawns; heart of iceberg lettuce; tom kha gai (thai chicken soup;) gazpacho andalouse
main: grilled mahi mahi fillet; linguini with italian sausage, capsicums and mushrooms; cantonese sweet and sour prawns; chicken a la grecque; irish stew; mutter paneer with red onion kulcha (indian vegetarian dish)
dessert: vanilla creme brulee, black forest gateau, orange cake
valentine cake
Day 2
entree: prawn cocktail; carpaccio of fresh pear and citrus segments; prawns and redfish ceviche; minestrone milanese; roasted pumpkin soup
main: spaghetti carbonara; fresh from sydney’s fish market; grilled jumbo prawns; teriyaki glazed pork steak; roast beef au jus; aloo shimla mirch, khlumb matar dahi wale, rajmah raseela (potatoes and vegetables in yogurt sauce served with rice)
dessert: special heart shaped chocolate valentine cake (because it was valentine’s day)
spinach paneer kofta, sag fondue, kathal aloo ki sabzi (I didn’t like this one much, but my daughter loved the Indian dish she had on an earlier night of the cruise.)
Day 3
entree: chicken satay with peanut sauce; wild mushroom arancini; hand picked spring mix and cherry tomatoes; pumpkin and tomato bisque; asparagus vichyssiose
main: lasagne bolognese; chinese e fu noodle soup; turkey roast; pan roasted pangasius fillet on gazpacho juice; beef stroganoff; spinach paneer kofta, sag fondue, kathal aloo ki sabzi (spinach and cheese balls with jackfruit and potato stew)
dessert: chocolate raspberry and vanilla cream cake, old fashioned apple pie, pumpkin pie
these enchiladas look a bit strange, but tasted quite good
Day 4 – Mexican Fiesta Night
entree: baja taquito; grilled prawns glazed with tequilla; queso fundido; watermelon and rocket salad; chopped salad; sopa de lima (chicken soup;) beefy chilli
main: pescado a la talla (fish;) dos enchiladas; guava glazed bbq ribs; alambre de carne (steak skewers;) chilli rellenos
dessert: salted caramel tres leches cake; orange cream eclair; chocolate chipotle pudding (the chocolate chipotle pudding is excellent)
amaretto cake, yum
Day 5
entree: deepfried mozzarella sticks; prawn cocktail; prosciutto ruffles; diced australian navel oranges and greek olives; chestnut veloute (soup;) iced butternut squash and green mango soup
main: fetuccini with sauteed prawns; turkey tikka; chicken chow mein; sugar glazed pork loin with apples and prunes; roast crusted lamb rack; karari gobhi (cauliflower)
dessert: amaretto cake; baked alaska; baked cheesecake
pineapple sorbet tastes good any day of the cruise
Day 6
entree: thai beef salad; fire roasted chicken in sesame dressing; coconut prawns; spring mix and cherry tomato salad; thai prawn soup; iced watermelon soup
main: teriyaki salmon; pappardelle alla forestale (egg noodles in cream sauce with mushrooms;) turkey piccata; chinese broccoli and crispy pork; roast beef with yorkshire pudding; achari bhindi (vegetarian okra dish)
dessert: variations of strawberries (upsidedown strawberry cake, strawberry sorbet, strawberry and mascarpone cream;) tiramisu; tropical fruit lasagne
grilled chicken breast
Day 7
entree: prawn cocktail; grilled portabello mushroom and handpicked mesclun lettuce; escargots; rocket, mint and vegetable salad; white bean soup; iced melon soup
main: grilled chicken breast; grilled filet of mahi mahi; panko crusted jumbo prawns; pork belly and egg noodle soup; guinness braised lamb leg; vegetable jalfrezi, palak paneer bhurji, chana dal masala, pilaf rice (stewed potatoes, vegetables, homemade cheese)
dessert: grand mariner souffle’; cappuccino pie; apple pie
grand marnier souffle with orange vanilla sauce, mmmm
Samples of Menus For Longer Cruises
pescado a la talla from Mexican fiesta night
Caribbean Beach Night Menu
entree: stuffed roasted red capsicums (bell peppers;) sugar cane jerked chicken wings; coconut prawns; chicken soup with yucca, taro root and jamaican dumplings; black bean soup; heart of iceberg lettuce with tropical fruit
main: fish fillet escabeche; jerked pork roast; guava marinated grilled chicken breast; west indian lamb curry; caribbean pasta with shredded beef; dhalpourie roti (vegetable stew)
pork belly soup from day 7
Other
entree: green-lip mussels florentine; baked stuffed white mushrooms; baby prawn cocktail; parma ham and pear chutney; seafood chowder; chilled essence of fennel
main: penne marinara; lemongrass steamed fish fillet; chicken tangine; roast prime rib with au jus; grilled centre-cut pork chop; onion tart with japanese eggplants
Cruise Stories 
Goodness, your menu and the food looks amazing. How do you know what to wear on the different types of dress nights? It sounds as if you are enjoying yourself. Have fun!
Each night the stateroom stewards do a turndown service in the cabins and they leave the next day’s Fun Times schedule, which will say if dinner is casual, elegant, or a theme so people know what to wear that night. Not all cruises have theme nights, but they do normally all have a formal night. We saw something on Carnival Australia’s website about the theme night so we did know it would come up.
Wow, that menu sounds so delicious, I now feel like I need to go on a diet just from reading this post.
And what mouth watering pictures!
Great report. Portion control is one of the things I continually admire about the main dining room.
This blog made me hungry. To bad there is no lido deck in my house, I will have to make my food.
What are the prices for alcohol on the Carnival Spirit?
I don’t drink so didn’t pay any attention to the drink prices, but would imagine they probably run somewhere between $7 to $15 per drink depending on what it is. You can save money on wine for dinner if you buy it by the bottle rather than the glass. They keep it for you and bring it to the table each night.
Yes portion control is good but if you are extra hungry you can order a second or even a third entree, appetizer or desert. I played the “White Witch” golf course in Jamaica on cruise and it is on the side of a mountain. I was VERY hungry and the staff didn’t dissapoint. I had multiple entrees that night!
Exactly why smaller portions make sense. If it’s not enough you can order more than one, whereas if the portions are large the unwanted extra food goes to waste. About the golf course – I’m glad to hear it was on the side of a mountain rather than by the sea. The fertilizer runoff from golf courses next to the sea increases the growth of algae that suffocates coral.