anniegb

9 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Well if they are anything like the beans they serve with a full Irish breakfast in Ireland, they far surpass what we have here.  Perhaps it's just the coziness of eating by a fire in a B&B looking out at Dingle Bay but dang those beans taste so much better!

Maybe a different brand but generally of a similar standard.  I prefer Branston myself.

2 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Maybe they are British Baked Beans -- They don't have pork with their beans.   It is often a mainstay of may young and teens -   Beans on Toast or Pizza.  

 

Iain being British much prefers Heinz British Baked Beans.   

Oh yes Heinz sells Pork Sausages with Beans in the UK.  Heinz is not the

Often amused me that in TV Soaps, set in England, the children/teens sit down to Beans on Toast for their evening meal.  In Scotland, JME, that is a rare evening meal.

However Beans on Wholemeal toast a far healthier breakfast than bacon and eggs.

13 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We expected more kids on the Reflection last August and we saw very few on the cruise, might have been affected by Covid since Celebrity still required full vaccination status and a negative test 2 days prior. to boarding.

If you can sail on Celebrity from SOTON, why would you want to travel to Barcelona ?? and IIRC Spain still had Covid entry requirements.  UK airports, like many in Europe, were impacted by travel disruption caused by shortages of staff.

17 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Is Scotland considered to be north of the WALL? 🤔😁

 

Which Wall ?? There is more than one 😉

June is not a school holiday period for the majority of the UK (i.e. England).  Scottish schools start their summer holidays towards end of June. English schools traditionally opt for August.

2 minutes ago, dreamer321 said:

I don't think they are deliberately going after solo sailors. They are just trying to generate as much revenue as possible.  

 

They ran a great promotion starting last June for solos.  No singles supplement and All Included for the week cost me $352.  Given the recent cutbacks on dining and service and rising prices across the board, I don't think we will see a repeat of the promo any time soon.  

 

If you are a solo sailor you are better off not buying AI and just getting a beverage package if you think you will drink enough to justify it.  I have a cruise in December and chose not to get any beverage package. I will just pay for drinks à la carte.  

Better off still by delaying the purchase of a cruise until a few weeks before sail date.

10 minutes ago, steveso said:

For anyone interested, I just called the UK booking line for Celebrity as we were looking at a June Scandinavian Cruise on Silhouette. The lady who took the call was very helpful but confirmed that the restriction to the dinner buffet will apply to all ships post 13 January and that the main reason is to get more people to use the MDR. It will be as people have reported on here and also had confirmed by e mail from Celebrity (I wondered if they may change it for the European market but it seems not).

 

For anyone (like my wife and I) who require vegetarian or similar diets plus in our case comboned with a fruit allergy this makes the MDR menus very restricted for dinner. Plus it ties your timing down for evening activities. Cruise buffets are one of the main attractions for us on those cruise lines that have the buffets and it means that we won't be using Celebrity unless and until they widen back the dinner choice.

 

I doubt Celebrity will be changing this policy any time soon and I understand why they are doing it (cost, wastage and staff).

 

Just a shame!

I also have dietary restrictions.  That combined with my experience oftime taken by a large table deciding upon their menu choice - 2 hours I kid you not, my cruising days may be at an end.  I have one forward booking which I may cancel on the grounds that the product I thought I purchased will not be delivered.

21 minutes ago, smplybcause said:

I swear when I was looking at solo pricing a few weeks/months ago the All Included pricing for a solo was a good deal. Now when I'm looking at it there's no way it make sense. If two people in the cabin want All Included it's $500 more a person - a pretty good deal if you do drinks. But if I switch it to 1 person it's $1000 more. I was expecting the fare portion to double going solo not in a studio - but why is the All Included price doubling? Definitely no savings that way, especially if you have status that gives you discounts on drinks and wifi. With the current obc they're offering I can add everything a la carte for cheaper than their "savings" price. 

 

Any solo cruisers notice whether this is across the board or is it just on the sailings I'm looking at?

I have wondered if it is a deliberate policy to deter solos from booking with Celebrity ?? If it is, it works!

4 hours ago, the penguins said:

Judging from the pics the 3 extra people joining the line for Select Dining aren't going to add much to your wait time. Waiters in Select are happy to serve you quickly just tell them when you arrive at the table. 

Judging from the pics, it would deter me from booking with Celebrity.

9 minutes ago, barbette165 said:

Reading through these threads, it seems that the offerings in the OVC for dinner and the scale of the change vary slightly by ship. I can think of three different explanations for this (there's probably more);

 

1. There isn't any real difference, and it's just the posters on here spinning the story differently.

2. The F&B managers on the different ships are interpreting the instruction differently / deciding to offer a bit more than they have been told to.

3. The ships are providing what they've been told to provide, having received different guidance. Celebrity are then monitoring how each flavour of change is received by the passengers to determine the fleet wide offering.

I thought that any variation could be determined by ship class ??

3 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

HAL's Lido buffet is as good or more so than thier MDR. At least it was on the Oosterdam last year from Venice. It had a fresh cooked to order fish, not Tilapia,  station with a selection of Mediterranean fish, a Cooked to order pasta an Asian food station and an Indian food station. It also had a carving station every night. We found it to be delicious and a nice alternative to the MDR on nights we were too tired to deal with a sit down dinner in the MDR.

I agree.

On my TP cruise on the Oosterdam, many diners abandoned the MDR in favour of the buffet.

Annie

8 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Totally discussing and how can anyone continue to dine in the MDR with these changes. I looked at the MDR entrees in the app for our June Equinox cruise and I did not find any pork and beans. However, several nights the fish entrees are Tilapia and Cobia both trash cheap farm raised fish. Also saw roasted turkey and several baked chicken breast dishes and way too much paste. None of these I consider gourmet or fine dining fare. Good thing we will be in Luminae for our meals.

The fish choices or lack of concern me most and I am very grateful for the information provided here. As a native of Scotland and accustomed to quality seafood, this may be a deal breaker.

Annie

7 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

Have you watched the HBO show "The Menu" ? 🙂 🙂 

Never heard of it but I do not reside in N.America

Annie

1 hour ago, mtnlvr53 said:

Cheeses yes. Greek station: I don’t think 

so. There were several other entrees other than gluten free, rice and green curry, some type of spiced chicken, pork loin,  pizza, corn soup. There was fresh fruit, baked and mashed potato’s, fingerling potato’s.

OK I have to ask what the heck is fingerling potatoes?? 

1 hour ago, LMaxwell said:

Well, I just got the call from the nice lady at the executive office. She acknowledged the changes and said they are fleetwide. She said I could try the Mast Grill as a casual dining alternative. I politely informed her that is a pool grill and not open at dinner time; even if it were it is not an acceptable substitute. 

 

I did challenge her as to whether my resort casual wear would be a problem in the MDR and she said golf shorts are allowed, just not pool wear. She told me under no circumstance would anyone be turned away from dinner as long as they were not in pool clothes. Excellent. I asked if I would have to wait in line at the dining room, she replied that is possible at busy time. I asked about the experience of people who like the dining room now, will they also have to wait in lines that I now may have to wait in. She said that was a possibility.  I said well I hope I get in line not being the last one.  She suggested if the dining room service is slow to avail myself of one of the popular specialty dining restaurants. How is this a solution to removing a complimentary casual restaurant? I did not wish to go round and round and thanked her for her call and trusted that she was sending comments to management. 

We should boycott the speciality restaurants or Celebrity altogether??

1 minute ago, anniegb said:

duplicate post.

5 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

They will make more $$ and solve their monetary problems 🙂 🙂 

 

I think that we had a thread on this.  X is decimating the buffet to drive people to pay venues.

 

I would not be surprised if they add a new specialty restaurant to the OVC for dinner as it will be fairly empty.

HAL aleady do this IME.  Canaletto is found in the Buffet.

4 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

Two people who say they just emailed today had almost instant responses.

 

I emailed last night and have heard nothing - not even an automated email response.

 

Just disappointing that they seem to be picking and choosing who they respond to - so it just feels like since the others seem to be part of couples that they are looking and thinking "Well, it's just a solo cruiser...no big deal."

I emailed today and received a response.  Nothing in my email indicated my marital status.  

Possibly they are only replying to a sample of emails received.

2 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Wow. I guess it definitely shows how little solo cruisers mean to them. Just confirms that July will be my last X cruise.

Could you explain please ? I am a solo cruiser

Just now, Arubamoose said:

And I just got an email.  Needless to say I am shocked! 

Thank you for taking the time to contact the Executive Offices at Celebrity Cruises. I am pleased to have this opportunity to respond on behalf of our President and CEO, Ms. Perlo.

Mrs. Moose, it was a pleasure speaking with you today.  Thank you for your very valuable feedback, we are looking forward to welcoming you on the Celebrity Edge on February 13, 2023.  For your convenience, my office hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 am to 5:30 pm EST.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Adela Mormeneo

Celebrity Cruises

Executive Office

Phone Number (US & International): 305-614-1343

ExecutiveOffice@celebrity.com

 

Snap!

8 minutes ago, Arubamoose said:

I JUST wrote to the email provided.   lLutoff-Perlo@celebritycruises.com 

 

My husband and I are sailing on the Edge B2B this February and have concerns about the reported cutbacks to the Oceanview Cafe.

I understand that all the cruise lines are scrambling to recover from the pandemic and have taken on enormous debt that now needs to be repaid.

While we do not frequent the Oceanview Cafe on a regular basis for dinner - we do visit a number of nights for their themed menus and great variety of desserts.

We do feel that this cutback smells a lot like a bait and switch.  We loved the Apex last year and was looking forward to the same experience on the Edge.

We are booked on and were planning more cruises on Celebrity (despite being D+ on Royal) because of their superior product.

I really don't want to cancel and find a different line (or simply bank our money until the cruise industry sorts out the madness and competition resumes to reclaim and retain cruisers.)  

Alas, we're too close to sailing to cancel without large penalties, so we'll just travel as planned and hope for the best.  

 

I ACTUALLY GOT A CALL FROM HER OFFICE!!!

 

I didn't catch the woman's name because I was in shock.  She thanked me for my loyalty as an Elite member and hoped that the changes would not be as drastic as reported.

 

Moral - nothing may be done but at least they are listening and hopefully it won't be drastic.  If enough people complain it may spur them to do something.

I live in the UK and I emailed LLP today.

I too received a call back but was unable to take the call as I had visitors.  The voicemail message has requested I contact them to arrange a discussion.

4 minutes ago, davekathy said:

More importantly, the desserts! 

Asian food options ?? For years I have substituted boiled or steamed rice for pasta and then added the pasta sauce.

On that sample menu, I never saw any grilled fish?? Or did I miss that too.

20 hours ago, Ocdublin said:

Well I reached out by email and here is what I received.

 

Please be advised that the Oceanview Café will not be closed for dinner. The operating hours for dinner will remain the same, approximately, 6:00 – 9:30 pm. However, we will now have limited offerings. We will have one food station, which will host a 7-day rotational international-themed menu, a limited salad station, and pizza station. I am including a sample menu below with our Italian Theme Menu as an example. This menu is just a sample and subject to change.

•    Small Salad Station:
White Bean Salad
Tuscan Panzanella with tomatoes and spicy focaccia croutons
Chicken and pasta salad
•    Mains:
Pollo alla Cacciatore
Beef lasagna
Eggplant Parmigiano
Mix vegetable medley
•    Pizza Station:
Pomodoro
Pepperoni
Mushroom and vegetable

I hope this information is of assistance to you.  We look forward to welcoming you aboard your next sailing!
 

What about Vegan, GF and Diabetic Options ?? or have I missed them

4 minutes ago, cruisingator2 said:

I wonder how full the ships are right now? The reason that I ask is last month we only had about 1650 guests on our Solstice sailing. I think the one prior to us was around 950-975. On our sailing all suites we’re fully booked so Luminae was busy. With 1650 guests, spreading them out between Luminae, Blu, specialty dining and the MDR makes me wonder just how busy the Oceanview was. I have no idea as we never ventured up there in the evening. I wonder if X is doing this until all ships start sailing closer to capacity? Not trying to take up or make excuses for X but thinking out loud. Maybe this is something that LLP should publicly address.  

Interesting - does anyone have any empirical evidence rather than conjecture on the busyness of the various restaurants.

I frequently use OVC for dinner as it is quieter and quicker than the MDR,  I have dined previously in MDR and Blu and found the food choices restrictive.

However if they wish to have cruises with more passengers, decrease the prices??

I have only one cruise booking going forward with Celebrity and I am Elite Plus. 

Higher pricing, extra fees and removing dining options will probably mean my next Celebrity saiing will be my last.

Fun while it lasted.

32 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

 

Don't you lose your British citizenship if you tip? 😇

 

No worries, I am eligible for Irish citizenship - 3 Irish grandparents come in handy 🙂