Mark_T

Don't remind me, the cheesecake and chocolate cake were my go to items... 😞

Yes, that was considered earlier in the thread, and yes the thread got long real fast... If the extra charge items were the only change it would arguably be an improvement, but ... ... at the same time as this change they cut one of the Entrées and just rolled the 'always available' items into the main menu to disguise the reduction... Add in that shrimp cocktail and salmon are now only available on alternate days and the salmon is replaced with tilapia and other less desirable options when it is not available. The icing on the cake was the appearance of a 'double cheeseburger' as one of the remaining entrée choices on one day of the current set of menus... It really does kick the quality right out of the MDR now...

I did have a couple of the vegetarian options, but also sadly lacking in any spice. I'll see what can be achieved next time with a little notice.

Doing so well up to that point... 🙂 I'm not a fan of spice just for the burn alone, that isn't enjoyable, but there are so many great variations both regional and level of spice, that it is a disappointment to only see butter chicken on the menu. We will have to have a chat with our waiter next time and see what can be done about that....

Agreed, for any big fans of sparking water with a minimal desire for alcohol, the Zero Proof package is likely to be a very good choice.

I suspect many others are considering doing the same after recent price increases. If you feel inclined to track and share how the up-charges build up during the cruise it would I'm sure be of interest to many... ... if on the other-hand you prefer not to know we will all understand 🙂

Seems to run a bit above Aqua but a long way below Retreat, for a product that delivers something closer to Regent levels of service. As ever you have to look at the inclusions and current offers to see what makes sense, but for us with the current deals on Celebrity and MSC it was a wash in terms of price between Aqua and Yacht Club for an early 2024 cruise from Miami down to Colon and the usual ports in between.

They don't have much choice when in US ports though as they have to zero the ship before they can begin boarding...

MSC Yacht Club is looking good for those who feel the Retreat prices have gone too far, we met quite a few ex-Celebrity customers on there earlier this month. There are good and bad points for sure, but the good significantly outweighed the bad for us. Can't comment on a better alternative for Veranda/MDR though, but for anyone who would consider Aqua, MSC is worth a look.

The decision point for our 2025 Japan cruise is going to be March '24, that will be after our 2nd MSC Yacht Club cruise and just before we would need to be booking flights... Celebrity do have a habit of pushing too far then walking back changes, but rarely all the way back, so have to see where this one settles down...

Shrimp cocktail is still on the room service menu for Aqua and Retreat.

Even with the wines, you need to be careful in the MDR as with the packages at $10 for Classic and $17 for Premium you'd think you wouldn't have to drink much to make it worthwhile, but the 'Premium' wines served in the MDR are mostly between $11-14, so the up-charge is relatively low. Same goes for moving between classic gins and premium gins, typically around a $2 up-charge... Unless you routinely paid an up-charge to go over the Premium limit with your choices, or you drink a lot at the Martini bar it is going to take some effort to make the current upgrade cost worthwhile...

Do check the menus first though, as your cruise is over 6 nights so you may still get the 'lobster'... Would also be interesting to ask if the lobster up-charge gets you a real cold water lobster tail or if it is still the spiny imposter...

Before the price increases I never gave it a second thought, but now it is a significant cost and frankly unless you make a lot of use of the wines above the package limit, so you'd benefit from the full 'allowance' against the up-charge, it mostly isn't worth it now, in my opinion. Sad really, as I do like the lack of need to sign anything for drinks, but the value just isn't there these days...

Once again though, these are changes that have zero impact on the Retreat, well beyond there being rather less appealing options to order from the MDR menu if the unchanging Luminae menu doesn't appeal on a particular night...

January this year on Eclipse. We spent most of the time in Murano with 2 Tuscan visits so didn't have much time in the MDR beyond the Chic nights. The MDR food on those nights was decent but nothing memorable. Only had one Tuscan might planned, but the first one was so bad the Maitre'D insisted on us coming back at no charge to give them a second chance. Sadly I'd have to say that even Murano came up a bit short with the thing they call lobster ending up about the size of a large langoustine and the service was way off with the same waiter asking us on each of our visits, seated at the same table, if we had eaten their before...

If that was the only change I would agree, it would be an improvement... ... but it looks like they decided to downgrade the rest of the menu at the same time by reducing the choice from 4 + 1 vegetarian to 3+ 1 vegetarian, and rotating salmon with something else. Hard to nail down, but it feels like the quality of the proteins has taken a hit as well, not inspiring to see a cheeseburger make it onto the MDR evening menu...

Proof that the date is not being updated even though the language is changing... This was from early May: "Guests are not permitted to bring alcoholic beverages onboard; with the exception of embarkation day when each guest (of legal drinking age) is permitted to bring onboard up to two (2) 750 ml bottles of wine (which are subject to a corkage fee) per guest. A corkage fee does not apply to guests with the Classic Beverage Package or Premium Beverage Package. Security may inspect containers (including water bottles, soda bottles, mouthwash, canteens, etc.) at any time and will dispose of alcohol concealed in such containers. Alcoholic beverages that are purchased from onboard shops or in ports of call (which must be presented to security upon re-boarding), will be secured by ship's personnel. Alcohol secured by ship's personnel will be returned to guests just prior to the conclusion of their cruise vacation. Guests who are under the permitted drinking age will not have alcohol returned to them." This is from the same link now: "Guests are not permitted to bring alcoholic beverages onboard; with the exception of embarkation day when each guest (of legal drinking age) is permitted to bring onboard one (1) 750 ml bottle of wine (which are subject to a corkage fee) per guest. A corkage fee does not apply to guests with the Classic Beverage Package or Premium Beverage Package. Security may inspect containers (including water bottles, soda bottles, mouthwash, canteens, etc.) at any time and will dispose of alcohol concealed in such containers. Alcoholic beverages that are purchased from onboard shops or in ports of call (which must be presented to security upon re-boarding), will be secured by ship's personnel. Alcohol secured by ship's personnel will be returned to guests just prior to the conclusion of their cruise vacation. Guests who are under the permitted drinking age will not have alcohol returned to them."

The app is just showing you the same menus as the current 6 day cruise, go look at day 7 or 8 for example...

I wouldn't rely on the date having been updated for any of the changes in the last 2 years... The alcohol section used to have the 2 per person language in it as I've quoted from there several times in earlier threads when that policy last changed and everyone was saying it was only two per cabin, now it has changed again and shows one per person, so again not the same policy as it was a few months ago...

We actually did this on our last two cruises due to the extreme price increases on the Retreat, but it only really works on 'S' class ships for us as we won't sail in an 'Infinite veranda' cabin due to the way we use the veranda frequently with one of us outside and the other needing AC in the cabin, and of course on 'M' class ships there is only Tuscan and So5 with any variety in the menu. We were prepared to put up with that for a Japan cruise in 2025 on Millennium, but it feels like the rest of the product is just heading in a downward spiral and having just returned from a MSC Yacht Club cruise where the service was in our opinion considerably superior to the Retreat, for the price of an Aqua cabin, it is making us think long and hard about Japan...

I agree, and to some extent the lobster is a 'red herring' (sorry, someone had to do it.. 🙂 ) as it used to be a 2nd Chic night event and there is only one Chic night on a 6 night cruise so they can play that card I guess... The line hasn't just been crossed, it has been erased with the miserable list of entrées needing to have the every day options listed with it as it would otherwise be embarrassingly short... ... and not even being able to maintain salmon as a daily option but having to rotate it with cheap alternatives is the final insult...

For the Entrées there are 7 items on the menu, 3 are what used to be the 'always available' options with the change that one alternates between salmon and another fish, so salmon is not a daily option any more. Of the remaining 4, one will be vegetarian... Clearly they have rolled in the 'always available' to give the illusion of choice, but this has to be viewed as an incredibly limited menu now with some low cost proteins replacing the better quality items we used to get...

I know the app is unreliable, but day 5 on this 6 night cruise is the 'Chic Night' and the MDR menu has roast lamb as the meat option, for a truly unbelievable selection, tonight's menu features a 'Double Cheeseburger' or Turkey Parm as the meat options. The every day sirloin is still there, for now at least...

No need to wonder, the wording is already on the website, it will be a per passenger limit in future, so travel solo and it is one bottle.