Why do people say the food is slipping?

[dgraham]

One thing I really love about cruising is that if one finds a dish is not what one expected, the staff are very enthusiastic about recommending and presenting you with excellent alternative choices. This allows one to be more adventurous in trying and discovering new dishes. I know restaurants will also do this, but they have much thinner margins and one feels much more guilty imposing on their good will.

[Tudorcruisers]

I'm just back from a Constellation cruise where I have to say the food was "excellent". I know it is a phrase they love to hear and last year I could just say it was good but this year after every single meal I was walking out of the MDR saying it was just perfect. So good in fact we didn't book a speciality restaurant even once this cruise.

 

I was on the tour of the kitchens one morning and I think some of the perpetual complainers should do this even once to just hear the numbers of people they cater for and to see how things work. I like to eat in nice restaurants and I love good food but sometimes I just cringe when I hear the complaints of some of the other passengers on the cruiseships.

 

A big thank you from me for the excellent food and the service on The Constellation on the recent cruise from Amsterdam to Istanbul.

[xplrcrzn]

These "the food is slipping" threads have been around for years. Personally, I think Celebrity's food is high quality, often innovative and probably better than that found on most cruise ships, including some of the luxury brands.

[Richard&JohnSTX]

These "the food is slipping" threads have been around for years. Personally, I think Celebrity's food is high quality, often innovative and probably better than that found on most cruise ships, including some of the luxury brands.

 

Look at the food photos from another CC member -go to her cruises and then click on the Equinox food photos and get HUNGRY!

 

Richard

 

http://www.*****.com/Cr...72271626_EAsML

[chloe kitty]

We were on the Eclipse for two weeks last Dec. The first week we were in a fantail cabin and ate in the MDR. The second week we were Aqua and ate at Blu.

The food in the MDR was great and we had excellent service with select dining. The food in Blu was good, but many nights we mentioned going to the MDR as we really enjoyed our meals there. I'm not complaining about Blu. It was good, but we just felt more comfortable in the MDR I know many people want Blu only, but that is not us.

As far as smaller portions, that is good because you can always order more if you are still hungry. The rest of us do not overeat with the smaller servings, and there is not as much waste. I believe that the food is not at luxurious as it was 20 years ago, but who cares as long as it tastes good.

We have always enjoyed most of our meals on X and Princess.

[npb]

I think it also depends on the itinerary. On a Med cruise the burgers in the outside grill were terrible. On a Panama Canal/Alaska cruise they were wonderful. We asked the head of the restaurants about this and he said that their suppliers varied by itineraries.

 

Please don't flame me. I am sure that Europeans consider their products more to their taste than ours.

[NJ Fred]

Quality of onboard cuisine is, perhaps, one of the most subjective subjects around.

 

The subject is the food - not the wait staff, dining room decor, etc.

 

A skilled chef and her/his staff can do wonders with ingredients. A Maitre 'D at a lower Manhattan restaurant I used to frequently patronize once confessed (albeit under the assistance of the good Johnnie Walker) that not all of that restaurant's beef was as high on the meat-raring scale as some believed. However, the chef was a genius when it came to using spices, etc.

 

To me, if it tastes good, I don't really care about pedigree. I have dined at many "top name" eateries in the USA and abroad. A few of the more costly places did little to impress me. Yet, some of the everyday coffee shops and diners served up food that was out of this world.

 

I concur with those who opine that "X" has lowered itself on the food totem pole. Not radically, but just enough to notice.

 

And while I know that the past is the past, it wasn't always that way. The dining room experience was at the top or near the top of what lured paying customers to the great white ships.

 

Alas, we have been somewhat manipulated into a microwaved, fast-food society of eaters. Practically, many would balk at the top of their lungs if they had to wait 25 - 40 minutes for their meal to be individually home-cooked. Tell me, does anybody believe that cruise (and other) meals are concocted from scrap when a flaming entree is placed before you in just a few minutes?

 

"X" still serves good food - maybe better-than-good if you are willing to fund a specialty restaurant (not me). I have never gone hungry and the tastiness is still above average.

 

Is there anything that has not been somewhat cheapened in the name of a black-ink bottom line? Remember when cars were constructed mostly of metal???

[Ma Bell]

I thought the "Great White Ships" were US Navy Battleships.

 

In the past, Celebrity's ships were mostly blue and white.

[Bridge Maven]

I think it also depends on the itinerary. On a Med cruise the burgers in the outside grill were terrible. On a Panama Canal/Alaska cruise they were wonderful. We asked the head of the restaurants about this and he said that their suppliers varied by itineraries.

 

Please don't flame me. I am sure that Europeans consider their products more to their taste than ours.

 

npb, your comment about suppliers interested me because the best food we ever had on a Celebrity ship was on our 2001 Alaskan cruise on Infinity and our 2006 Baltic Cruise to Russia on Constellation. Yet six month later we took a Caribbean cruise on Constellation and the food was only mediocre at best. I've also found that with other cruise lines that cruises that leave from New York have better food than their cruises that leave from Florida.

[gentlemancruiser]

I think alot depends upon the ship you are on. April 2011 we sailed on the Constellation in a CC cabin. This week we just got back from the Millennium and we'd also had a CC cabin.

 

My DP likes the room service breakfast, especially the yogurt parfait and ordered it everyone morning on the Constellation, this was also the first time we'd had a CC cabin. On the Millennium the same yogurt parfait was totally different and not pleasant at all, full of watery/mushy blueberries and soggy granola. I had the same problem with the smoothies on the Constellation,I couldn't stand them because they were just bended watermelon, on the Millennium I liked them because they were like a real smoothie.

The Millennium was the first time in 16 cruises that I've ever had to send a meal back to the kitchen because it was so awlful. I'd ordered a steak and it was horrible, full of sinew and tough. The waiter apologized brought me a different entree and made sure I was happy and I told him it wasn't anything he'd done.

 

Overall yes I would say there has been some decline in the menu and food preparation over the past couple of years.

[kayehall]

Can you even imagine cooking for this many people???? It would be my nightmare!!! Visit the Martini Bar first and then go with the flow!!!

[geekybiker]

I know that the food has dropped in quality since I started sailing on X maybe 15 years ago. I think the specialty restaurants are a big culprit of this. It feels like specialty is what the MDR used to be. The MDR is what the buffet used to be and the buffet- well I rarely find anything edible there. It rarely feels like the luxury experience that it used to. Part of that is me being more jaded, but the staff is more harried, and the quality of ingredients has dropped.

[lovevacadays]

We were on the Eclipse for two weeks last Dec. The first week we were in a fantail cabin and ate in the MDR. The second week we were Aqua and ate at Blu.

The food in the MDR was great and we had excellent service with select dining. The food in Blu was good, but many nights we mentioned going to the MDR as we really enjoyed our meals there. I'm not complaining about Blu. It was good, but we just felt more comfortable in the MDR I know many people want Blu only, but that is not us.

As far as smaller portions, that is good because you can always order more if you are still hungry. The rest of us do not overeat with the smaller servings, and there is not as much waste. I believe that the food is not at luxurious as it was 20 years ago, but who cares as long as it tastes good.

We have always enjoyed most of our meals on X and Princess.

 

Just noticed your screen name - do you have a cat name Chloe? I do!

[beettruck]

having never lost weight on a cruise, I can honestly say, I can find something tasty to eat on a cruise, never had a hamburger on a cruise, or a slice of pizza, and unless its filet mignon, steak doesnt appeal to me on a cruise, i can get a better at home. so a cruise is a perfect time to try other dishes. maybe more than one a time. dont think i've ever sent one back to the kitchen

[pris993]

We are elite on Celebrity, have cruised with them for 10+. To be honest I never thought the food was as good as the hype about it. Compared to other lines we cruise on, Celebrity does not do as good when it comes to food or service in the MDR -- I am comparing to Princess, Holland America and Cunard. Our last cruise on Cunard in March was outstanding. So much so we have booked another trip on the Queen Victoria, leaving from Rome on Oct 3.

 

Obviously we don't go for the food and service alone. We go for the ports and enjoy other activities on board.

 

Our most recent cruise on Celebrity about 1.5 years ago in the Mediterranean on the Equinox -- we had CC class and enjoyed the buffet far more than the MDR. MDR was noisy and crowded, food was hit and miss, even though we often order the same thing from night to night.

 

Our next cruise on the Eclipse in the spring, we booked AQ class to try BLU. We want a more quiet diningroom experinence than what we can get in the MDR on these large ships. Figure if we don't like BLU we will go to the buffet. We have only a 7 day cruise in the Carribean - in the warmer weather would enjoy simply going to the buffet and being outside in the evening anyway.

[Bridge Maven]

There have been a number of jokes equating good food with weight gain, but I find it to be the opposite. I never gain weight on a cruise when the food is good, but if it is not good I am more likely to try to find other things to eat to satisfy my desire for good food. It is somewhat comparable to college dorm life when students order out at night because they didn't like dinner.

[celebritydave]

I have been cruising Celebrity off and on since the mid-90's. On my first 2 cruises on the Zenith, we thought the food was outstanding. Since then, we both agree that the quality is not quite as good as then, but we still enjoy the food.

 

We paid a lot more for the Zenith cruises than we are paying now, so obviously something had to change. Celebrity continues to try and compete with Carnival on price while claiming to offer an upscale experience. For the most part Celebrity is doing this, but I wouldn't mind paying a bit more to keep the service/food quality better than the other mass market lines.

 

Would people complain if the cruise cost $50 more per person for the cruise but the food/service is so great that they wouldn't feel they had to go to a specialty restaurant? I wouldn't.

[LeftcoastBC]

I've been around X since the early 90's and think that the "down grade" started when RCL bought them. I often remark that it all started then when the took the two slices of black olives off the top of my eggs benny shortly after the takeover.

Just off the Century and had the best service and food (hot) in some time. Rookie staff near the kitchen with two tables. It made quite a difference.

 

I think that overall X has kept ahead of the curve when I compare to another line we were just on. But it's clear they are all on a constrained budget from what I have read and observed.

 

I also agree that the size of a ship may figure into the service and hence the quality when it finally arrives at your table. It just has too. (Merc and Century our last two X ships compared to the Solstice)

 

sign me

 

Still a fan..

[Wanderlost]

We are elite on Celebrity, have cruised with them for 10+. To be honest I never thought the food was as good as the hype about it. Compared to other lines we cruise on, Celebrity does not do as good when it comes to food or service in the MDR -- I am comparing to Princess, Holland America and Cunard. Our last cruise on Cunard in March was outstanding. So much so we have booked another trip on the Queen Victoria, leaving from Rome on Oct 3.

 

Obviously we don't go for the food and service alone. We go for the ports and enjoy other activities on board.

 

Our most recent cruise on Celebrity about 1.5 years ago in the Mediterranean on the Equinox -- we had CC class and enjoyed the buffet far more than the MDR. MDR was noisy and crowded, food was hit and miss, even though we often order the same thing from night to night.

 

Our next cruise on the Eclipse in the spring, we booked AQ class to try BLU. We want a more quiet diningroom experinence than what we can get in the MDR on these large ships. Figure if we don't like BLU we will go to the buffet. We have only a 7 day cruise in the Carribean - in the warmer weather would enjoy simply going to the buffet and being outside in the evening anyway.

I totally agree! We have eaten in the MDR about 5 times on our last 11 cruises so I can't judge their food but I do know, the buffet is not what it used to be. A few years ago, we were able to eat at Aqua Spa Cafe for dinner, but Celebrity no longer offers that option. We choose to eat at the buffet due to convenience but mostly for the view from the back deck and the ability to dine outside. Had the most romantic dinner ever leaving San Juan during a Solstice cruise. While the food was not that great, the view and the company made the evening very memorable.:cool:

[mahi mahi]

We were back on Celebrity this year after several years away. All our meals were fine, but they weren't as fancy or elegant as they used to be. It's hard to put a finger on, but it just seemed the quality was a shade below, and the presentation was lacking. Celebrity used to have a big advantage in the food department, but we didn't feel that was still true on our Eclipse or Summit cruises. However, we had lovely cruises and will choose Celebrity again. Not a deal breaker for us.

 

You have made a very good point. The fact that there is now 'select-anytime' and specialty dining has actually caused the service to go down in the traditional dining in the MDR.

 

An observation made in another post about sitting at a table for two and not being served their courses until the waitress's other table is ridiculous. The table for two is a completely separate party from the other table and their being served in a timely manner should not be dependent on when the other table is being served. I would definitely speak to the maitre'd if this was happening at our table.

 

 

You are absolutely right. It's only natural that if people choose to eat at a different table and time every night they will miss out on the personal connection you make with your waiters and therefore miss out on any individual treatment you might enjoy from them. I don't know but after cruising three cruise lines and a few days at sea, I have on every occasion enjoyed the personal interaction with my waiters and hearing about their home lives. They are so cute. How could you ever be critical of these people how work so hard for you. There's always room on Silver Seas or Seabourne for the 5 and 6 star people. Please leave my Celebrity alone.

 

Jake

[SuiteTraveler]

I know that the food has dropped in quality since I started sailing on X maybe 15 years ago. I think the specialty restaurants are a big culprit of this. It feels like specialty is what the MDR used to be. The MDR is what the buffet used to be and the buffet- well I rarely find anything edible there. It rarely feels like the luxury experience that it used to. Part of that is me being more jaded, but the staff is more harried, and the quality of ingredients has dropped.

 

IDK, I think that the Murano specialty restaurant on the Eclipse had the worst service and food on the ship! Pan seared fois gras topped with pickled ginger and almonds? WHY????? :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: And in actuality, YUCK! I had several dishes that were, IMO, very 1980's retro - overdressed, overcomposed and overdone so that the flavors were not even enhancing each other. One appetizer, which contained peeky toe crab, ahi tuna, and caviar was so over-dressed that all the flavors cancelled each other out. I deconstructed the dish and ate each element separately - it was much better that way - but that should have been apparent to the chef who designed the monstrosity in the first place. Just because you can build food into a cool looking tower doesn't mean that your SHOULD! The service was laughable- the waiter was actually explaining to us what Fois gras is and other common foods! My husband and I dine in 4 and 5 star restaurants frequently - we're foodies and I'm a chef - but it was all very bizarre to us! But it did give us a laugh afterwards. At least the room was pretty. I hope Celebrity's new Executive Chef will quickly get in there and redesign that menu for Murano and make it something contemporary and up to date with fresh, clear flavorings and the finest ingredients! Otherwise, I'm not going back to eat that mess.

 

BTW, I actually liked pretty much everything else I had on the ship. I just thought Murano was a complete and total disaster.

[mahi mahi]

IDK, I think that the Murano specialty restaurant on the Eclipse had the worst service and food on the ship! Pan seared fois gras topped with pickled ginger and almonds? WHY????? :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: And in actuality, YUCK! I had several dishes that were, IMO, very 1980's retro - overdressed, overcomposed and overdone so that the flavors were not even enhancing each other. One appetizer, which contained peeky toe crab, ahi tuna, and caviar was so over-dressed that all the flavors cancelled each other out. I deconstructed the dish and ate each element separately - it was much better that way - but that should have been apparent to the chef who designed the monstrosity in the first place. Just because you can build food into a cool looking tower doesn't mean that your SHOULD! The service was laughable- the waiter was actually explaining to us what Fois gras is and other common foods! My husband and I dine in 4 and 5 star restaurants frequently - we're foodies and I'm a chef - but it was all very bizarre to us! But it did give us a laugh afterwards. At least the room was pretty. I hope Celebrity's new Executive Chef will quickly get in there and redesign that menu for Murano and make it something contemporary and up to date with fresh, clear flavorings and the finest ingredients! Otherwise, I'm not going back to eat that mess.

 

BTW, I actually liked pretty much everything else I had on the ship. I just thought Murano was a complete and total disaster.

 

WPM but I do believe you many star diners need to change cruise lines. I'd bet most of you uppity 6 star folk have moved on to Seabourne or the like. if you sail on the cheap these days you get way more than you pay for so suck it up or move on.

[mcrcruiser]

We have sailed Celenrity for a long time . IMO the food was better back then than now :rolleyes: . Marketing pushes you toward the speciality restaurants :eek:.

 

Service in the MDR has also d eclined a bit :o .Although we have not had bad service,we now see that the waiters are more rushed with more people to wait on :o .

 

Celebrity deserts are still the best :D

[Despegue]

I always find it amusing when people boast about dining in "four or five star restaurants" when the maximum starts a restaurant can get is...3 :rolleyes:

 

You can also rate using the Gault-Millau scale from 0 to 20/20. This is in my opinion a better dining guide altogether...

 

Now back to topic. Last cruise on Equinox, the MDR food was good in general, certainly 14/20 on the Gault Millau scale (a good family restaurant rating) with tasty dishes, good choices that mix oldtimers, classics and more contemporary cuisine. Remember that it is large-hall banquet food, and for banquet food it was excellent.

Now Murano: Lobster Bisque was tasteless, especially the condiments served with it. The waiter brought the wrong starter ( the real Entrée which is french for starter) for my mother and did not even apologize.:eek:

Lobster was not Cold water lobster (Maine or better still Oosterschelde or Scottish) but actually a Langouste, a warm water rock lobster, with a very different taste than hard shell cold water lobster. Now I'm not expecting the Soft Shell Maine lobster (the best you can get in the USA, from a lobster that has recently shed its shell) but for a 35$ fee, I do like to see a better quality product .

The Chocolate soufflé was not better than the ones served in the MDR on some evenings . Also on the previous visit to Murano on Solstice, the pastry chef put crème brullée in a deep glass as part of the "six étoiles" dessert sampler. While pretty, any chef certainly knows that there is a reason why crèmes (bruléé or catalan or flan whatever) need to be served at all times in a shallow dish: otherwise, water might be accumulating on the bottom making the dessert "inedible".

My wife and I will give Oceanliners on Connie another chance though.

[bob brown]

While cost reduction in order to keep fares competitive and offering specialty restaurants for those wanting better is the norm these days, and the main reason for the perception (correctly so), of lower food quality these days.....I wonder if some of the perception might be attributed to familiarity. By that I mean, when you took your first cruise, everything was new to you and seemed fantastic. The more you cruise, the less of a treat it is in general. It just becomes routine and perhaps you become more critical of small details. Just saying....