Spif Barwunkel

But P, I pulled my fibble flexile muscle trying to get the meat out of my second lobster. It really hurt. Right to that same pretty, young masseuse I went. Through drawn and buttered lips, I told her what happened. She went right to work. The fibble has never flexed better. She brought me some gelato afterwards because I was crying.

The Kafetzis brothers will be dueling captains on the Ascent, how fun will those cruises be. We just booked the cruise on 12/03/2023. A three-hour drive down I-95 and our first Maiden Voyage. We have sailed with older brother twice. Add younger brother, it's gonna be a hoot.

Kevin, you are going to do an amazing job presenting your cruising experiences. I am not a follower of live reviews, but because I know the countess and Barbie (who should really be the countess), I am going to pay closer attention to what these good folks have to say. Yes, we have sailed with Walt and Bev. Please say hi to them from Nancy and me.

Countess, may the Royal Treatment be with you from start to finish during your latest winter escape. We will be cruising the South Atlantic from Buenos Aires on Super Bowl Sunday, bound for Antarctica. Will I know the final score first, or will you?

When I asked some of the younger grandkids about using Buzz Lightyear, I was met with a vehement, resounding, NO WAY. It seems they did not want the name and reputation of their favorite superhero tarnished. How do you move on from that?

You flatter me, Pinboy. Your marketing professor is a wiser man than I.

Good post. There are those who will huff and puff and try to blow the house down. Ain't happenin'. Although, proper critiques when properly placed will garner the proper attention.

Dammit, I told my wife not to post this picture. All I wanted was a little time to myself.

I sincerely hope that you have a wonderful cruise. We do Infinity in February and Beyond in May. We too will be very aware of what each has to offer.

Yes, but do you have to? We see lots of dissatisfied X cruisers on lots of threads making lots of threats. I would bet the farm that you and other discontented passengers will be cruising the X brand one year from now, even if conditions are the same. It's the bandwagon thing in the heat of the moment. Wait for the fizzle.

Some serious questions. Does it really matter if no lobster is served at any dining venue during your cruise? I don’t know how many different types of lobster there are, but does that matter as well? You book your ideal cruise on your favorite ship, never mind the number of days, and when you get to the point of paying your NRD, a huge banner pops up and covers your entire screen. That banner reads; NO LOBSTER AVAILABLE ON THIS SAILING! Now you are caught between a rock and a hard place. Is lobster still your main concern?

You're so naughty. Your secret is safe with me.

You are judgmental, you are inexperienced, you question people's morals, you live in suites, and you are wealthy. Sounds like some others on this thread. How dare you be comfortable and content, even in the slightest.

On this thread I have been accused of: being judgmental; being an inexperienced cruiser; being one who questions people's morals; living the Suite life; being wealthy with money to burn. All this derived from my comments regarding the “Awful State of Ocean View Café for dinner.” Okay, if you say so. Based on this, I can now comment as another person and Spif has graciously allowed me to use his/her writing stick and writing space. The state of the OVC is not awful. The offerings are plentiful and more than adequate, even with half the venue closed. Unfortunately, the food in all venues is not always consistently as tasty as we would like it to be. There is the occasional off-putting meal that arrives at the table. A sign of the times, perhaps, but I can remember those occasional moments many years ago, not just recently. Despite the present, and the past, my money is on the X factor. I am still comfortable spending my money – in advance - where I can adapt and enjoy. I certainly do not need Celebrity to inform me that the OVC will be modifying the four-bean salad to three beans only during my sailing. That sounds ridiculous, I know, but no more so than other comments on this thread. As you can tell I agree with Spif. There are those among you who vehemently disagree with both of us. You are not wrong. You have a different opinion. I’ll not judge your motives or your economic status because of those differences. With that said, folks with upcoming X cruises (we have 2), may our experiences meet our expectations and not necessarily in the same way. I, for one, will enjoy whatever comes my way. And, I will make my thoughts known, both positive and negative, at the right time and to the right place.

You are one of those folks who will never understand. X has my money, me, me, me, gimme, gimme, gimme. You say, " a lot of possible reasons for the cutbacks." Then you say, "but these were extreme." You don't know extreme. Then you say, "there are ways to reduce waste without sacrificing variety or quality." You, being the shrewd businessman and principal influencer, that you would want to be on this thread, have yet to convince me of either. That does not matter to you, I know. There are others here who want the same recognition. Again, I just don't see it. But hey, that's my judgement. Right?

I am going to go the other way with this topic. Rather than looking forward from the gangway in I am going to look backward from the loading dock out. Looking in we see the video, hear the audio and give special thanks to Traveling Gamblers for putting the latest OV atrocities – via the OP - right there in front of our eyes. No doubt, easy to see but far less easy to understand, or is it. I do not consider the Gamblers or the OP to be an important or credible source when determining whether or not Celebrity should get my current or future cruise dollars. Many of you do, and after reading your posts, I understand why. Now, let’s look at the situation from the loading dock out. Understand these are not uncovered secrets or made-up circumstances. They are serious events and threats that have occurred for years on a global scale. Conflict/civil unrest, economic shocks, climate extremes, soaring operating costs, unreliable transportation equals FOOD CRISIS. You are aware of this, right? Even the most prosperous countries are feeling the threat on a larger scale. Point is, Celebrity does not necessarily know what the quantity or quality of each new delivery will be for each of its ships. Is that not something that should figure into your cruise planning and whether or not we are willing to adapt and adjust? Sounds to me like the answer is no, it is much easier to blame X rather than consider any other circumstances. In the total scheme of things, I really can’t care about your ribeye turning to pork & beans, your dismay with half a dinner buffet, having to pay for a second lobster and whether or not your first time X cruiser friends are happy with Celebrity. I very well may have the same experiences on my upcoming X cruises. I understand the circumstances and my money is still well-spent. I do care more about the millions of tons of wasted and un-cultivated food and the millions (maybe billions) of people who wish they had a tablespoon of beans a day to eat. Celebrity does not owe anyone an explanation about what is going on. We should be able to figure it out for ourselves. After all, it’s all right there in that video…right.

I'm in time-out now.

Good post. I have been saying the same thing for a long time, on many threads. You and I agree on this, for now, but there might become a time when we don't. That's cool. You do want to be careful about who you agree with. On these boards I do live in a different neighborhood, and I would not want to sully your reputation.

Okay, let's hit it from the other side. Why does X have to be better? In its heyday - whenever that was - Celebrity was never every cruiser's choice. There has always been and always will be points of concern and dislike for some passengers. For others, not so much. Granted, Celebrity is nowhere close to being the best that it can be, and in this day and time to climb out of a deep debt pit, perhaps requires that you must move further backward before you can move further forward. Totally understandable that this ain't workin' for many folks. Example. I do not frequent the OV buffet for the evening meal. However, i recently did because that is what I wanted to do. Even around and about a less than half buffet spread, I found plenty of good food...for me. For you, maybe not. That's okay, right? Let me assuage your pent-up emotions by reminding you that I get it if you want to take your money and run. Your reasons are yours to bare and justify. I'm not there yet. That's okay, right? You is not you specific, NMT. It's a general you, more like youse.

You scream, we all scream for ice cream.

I have to be thorough with you because you are so damn demanding. Now that you have eased up a bit, got nothin' for ya.

I can feel the acerbic tone in your question. Not unlike other posts on this thread but invigorating non-the-less. I'm not on trial, links man, so you will need a subpoena to get answers. Until then I say, nuts to you. Respectfully, of course.

Based on your knowledge of my cruising experience you are right, of course. But really, how twisted is that?

And well you should. In my judgement, anyway. By the way, I too provide feedback, positive and negative.

Yes, and we have two upcoming cruises in Feb and May. Because we are not yet put off by all the changes, why should it bother folks that our dollars are still well spent for what we enjoy? I appreciate your question, but I do not need to defend or justify how we spend our money. Bluntly, we can afford it and X still works for us. If that is a problem for some, not my problem, nor do I care.