How can peoples reviews be so different - was I in a parallel ship universe

[Doylestown5518]

:confused::confused::confused:I just posted yesterday my review of my experience on the Celebrity Summit Bayonne to Bermuda 8/12-19 an read other reviews of the same cruise. I truely can't understand how peoples cruise experience can be so different - especially when it comes to the food. I am a foodie but I can easily be satisfied by Ragu Jar Sauce so I'm not such a snob. We ate in blu and I was not impressed in fact 2 items I ordered were inedible - fowl tasting crab and artichoke sauce with the choke left in the artichoke. 80% of the food was "fine" but only a few times was it good to really good. We cruised with 2 other families who felt the same way and then met people on an excursion who was traveling with a very large party who felt the same way. The girls uncle had done the same exact cruise last year and said the food was night and day (poor on this cruise). So when I read other reviews it scares me on how do you trust. I typically go with what the majority says and know there are a few crackpots out there but honestly the majority of the reviews do not jive with my culinary experience. By the way our last cruise on Celebrity Solstice non aqua class was far superior:confused:

[Tranquil Waters]

It's what makes experiences interesting. I was quite happy with the food. But I didn't eat in Blu this cruise so I can't speak to that. :)

[Lois R]

That happens all the time. People have totally different experiences

on the same cruise. although you might not know they were on

the same ship;)

 

It is not right or wrong....we are all different individuals, so no reason

to be so confused:D There are (lets say 2500 people on the ship)

maybe 1% or 2% know about Cruise Critic and then figure out how

many folks post on here. When you say who to trust? I don't even

worry about that anymore. I am going on Summit in November.

I have perused some of the recent reviews.....yours included. Sorry

your food was so poor. Does that worry me? Nope.

 

I always end up having a wonderful time on all my sailings

and plan on having a great cruise this time as well.:)

[S.O.C.I.O.C.A.T.s]

It is all a matter of expectations. If you expected high level of service and received only a moderate level your review would be poor. If your expectations were lower and your experience was positive, you might provide a good review. Expectations and experiences vary from individual to individual.

[Fblack]

Food always seems to be very subjective. My wife for one, does not like the food in Aqua Class (Blu) at all and much prefers the MDR. Most of the time I have heard of complaints about poor quality food on cruises away from the U.S. A an example, I suspect getting great quality beef differs from a cruise starting in the U.S. vs. one from Athens. But, the restaurant staff on the ship always tries to make me happy. If there is a problem with an entree, they happily switch it out. So for me, I don't see how food can be universally bad on any cruise.

[Hlitner]

We all talk about food being such a subjective issue, but perhaps one should factor luck into the equation. For example, when we ate in Blu one night on the Silhoutette I ordered rack of lamb which was served raw and iced cold. Before I could even get a bit in my mouth our waiter noticed and quickly took it away. A few minutes later he came back with another rack (or the same one) which was mostly raw and ice cold. At this point I signaled to the Maitre'd who came over and was shocked when I had him touch the meat (it truly was cold and raw). I finally gave up and ordered a different dish. If I did a review on that meal it would have been a zero on a scale of 10. But others who had rack of lamb that night (including DW) said their portion was fine. Or how about the passenger who does not eat red meat....they would never have a problem with undercooked lamb, tough meat, etc.

 

Hank

[elena7seas]

Food always seems to be very subjective. My wife for one, does not like the food in Aqua Class (Blu) at all and much prefers the MDR. Most of the time I have heard of complaints about poor quality food on cruises away from the U.S. A an example, I suspect getting great quality beef differs from a cruise starting in the U.S. vs. one from Athens. But, the restaurant staff on the ship always tries to make me happy. If there is a problem with an entree, they happily switch it out. So for me, I don't see how food can be universally bad on any cruise.

 

We were on the Silhouette in the Adriatic this past June/July. We had the best meat in the MDR that I have ever had in a main dining room on any cruise.

[bbappel]

I think, but haven't tested it, that the embarkation port is a large factor in the food quality. The food from Rome & Venice was excellent. I'll test this on our next cruise out of Ft Lauderdale. I'm Italian biased so my expectations are lower. I also wonder if the length of the cruise is a factor.

All this said there can be an item that just isn't to one's taste and that has a impact on reviews.

[sarafinadh]

I think there are a couple of factors at play here.

 

People have different expectations and taste. We had a family party of 11. 8 Loved it, 1 thought it was OK but not great, 2 hated it.

 

We ate in the same restaurants for dinner, had the same entertainment opportunities, got off at the same ports, stayed in the same cabins. But we did not have identical experiences.

 

The ship is BIG. There are a lot of venues and a lot of passengers and a lot of employees. That leaves an almost infinite mathematical combination of variables.

 

One person might luck out, encounter only good employees, only order good items from the menu, only experience good service and conditions around them.

 

Someone else might encounter, on the same ship, poor food, bad service and unpleasant conditions.

 

There is an element of luck and chance involved.

[BKFlowerMound]

Food always seems to be very subjective. My wife for one, does not like the food in Aqua Class (Blu) at all and much prefers the MDR. Most of the time I have heard of complaints about poor quality food on cruises away from the U.S. A an example, I suspect getting great quality beef differs from a cruise starting in the U.S. vs. one from Athens. But, the restaurant staff on the ship always tries to make me happy. If there is a problem with an entree, they happily switch it out. So for me, I don't see how food can be universally bad on any cruise.

 

Was on the Silhouette in Europe earlier this month. The meat was much better than I've ever had on a cruise. I took the galley tour and was surprised by one of the facts we were told. With the exception of fresh vegetables and fruit, ALL of the food gets shipped to the port of embarkation from the RCI food warehouse in Miami. The meat comes from Nebraska. This is true whether you are eating it in Alaska, the Caribbean, Australia, or Europe. That's not what I had assumed.

[ghstudio]

Was on the Silhouette in Europe earlier this month. The meat was much better than I've ever had on a cruise. I took the galley tour and was surprised by one of the facts we were told. With the exception of fresh vegetables and fruit, ALL of the food gets shipped to the port of embarkation from the RCI food warehouse in Miami. The meat comes from Nebraska. This is true whether you are eating it in Alaska, the Caribbean, Australia, or Europe. That's not what I had assumed.

 

It's also not true for the xpedition which must, by law, get their provisions from Ecuador.

[germanyboy]

You see the same thing on tripadvisor- people at the same hotel/resort the same time have completely different experiences.

And restaurants and attractionsshow the same variances.

[cinderellen]

I think there are a couple of factors at play here.

 

People have different expectations and taste. We had a family party of 11. 8 Loved it, 1 thought it was OK but not great, 2 hated it.

 

We ate in the same restaurants for dinner, had the same entertainment opportunities, got off at the same ports, stayed in the same cabins. But we did not have identical experiences.

 

The ship is BIG. There are a lot of venues and a lot of passengers and a lot of employees. That leaves an almost infinite mathematical combination of variables.

 

One person might luck out, encounter only good employees, only order good items from the menu, only experience good service and conditions around them.

 

Someone else might encounter, on the same ship, poor food, bad service and unpleasant conditions.

 

There is an element of luck and chance involved.

 

My husband and I were just discussing this same thing last night. I love to read cruise reviews and I've noticed so many conflicting opinions of late. My husband reminded me, this is cruise "critic". If we all had the exact same experience, it would be pretty boring.

[Presto2]

I suppose it is just because everyone is different. We thought the service this year on Silhouette was better than last year, but someone we met on the plane thought it was worse.

 

I suppose it is 'horses for courses' - when we read reviews we always look for a 'trend' --- when I see a lot of similar comments then I know that I have found 'reality' :)

[Dunelm]

I think there are many reasons for the different experiences. Even eating at the same restaurant on shore, I can have a different experince to that of my husband's because we have chosen different dishes. On the first night of one of our Celebrity cruises, my husband chose veal, said it was terrible and sent it back. His next choice was excellent. So, it may be the luck of the draw. I, for one, tend to love anything that I don't have to cook :-).

[Cruise a holic]

:confused::confused::confused:I just posted yesterday my review of my experience on the Celebrity Summit Bayonne to Bermuda 8/12-19 an read other reviews of the same cruise. I truely can't understand how peoples cruise experience can be so different - especially when it comes to the food. I am a foodie but I can easily be satisfied by Ragu Jar Sauce so I'm not such a snob. We ate in blu and I was not impressed in fact 2 items I ordered were inedible - fowl tasting crab and artichoke sauce with the choke left in the artichoke. 80% of the food was "fine" but only a few times was it good to really good. We cruised with 2 other families who felt the same way and then met people on an excursion who was traveling with a very large party who felt the same way. The girls uncle had done the same exact cruise last year and said the food was night and day (poor on this cruise). So when I read other reviews it scares me on how do you trust. I typically go with what the majority says and know there are a few crackpots out there but honestly the majority of the reviews do not jive with my culinary experience. By the way our last cruise on Celebrity Solstice non aqua class was far superior:confused:

 

We were also on that cruise. As other people has stated, people have different taste- I found what I ordered in for example, Normandie and Qsine were very good to excellent. The food in the other venues was also good and we did dine in blu twice. It truly depends on what you order- but that is what makes the world go round! If you find a dish not to your liking- order something else-they aim to please. The only thing I didn't "love" and was the ice-cream from the speciality Ice cream bar- not sweet enough for my taste -but my husband loved it. In spite of the quality- I gained three pounds! Too many martini's I suspect!

[Jem 12]

We were on the Silhouette in the Adriatic this past June/July. We had the best meat in the MDR that I have ever had in a main dining room on any cruise.

 

Completely agree the best steaks we have ever had on a cruise ship!!!! Much better food in June on Silhouette than on Constellation from Fort Lauderdale In Jan.

[twoputt.plusone]

We were on the same sailing as the OP. Although we only dined in the main dining room four times (the rest were in the Normandie and Qsine), I thought the food was much better than my last cruise on RCI's Navigator. As others have said, food is a very personal thing but I had no complaints at all. I'm sorry you didn't feel the same.

[Nova24]

I been on six Celebrity Cruises - Solstice (2), Eclipse, Constellation, Summit, and Millennium. The only time I found the food to be subpar was on the Summit in the MDR. We had a great waiter and a sweet assistant waitress on the Summit, but the food simply was not as good as on the other ships.

[sunshine nana]

DH loved Blu because he likes being greeted by name and really liked all his food choices. I like having a good table and service, but could do without the hovering. I also like different foods from DH, especially seafood and desserts. Most of my choices in Blu were good, but I also enjoyed the MDR and buffet. I would rather have an aft balcony than a poorer location that is AQ.

[jenniebnyc]

On past cruises food has been very hit or miss. Whether it's the poorly explained menu items, like beef ragu over pasta which was sliced steak a bit of sauce and noodles to food that's just bad like cherries jubliee which is not made tableside and melted before it arrives, there were a lot of misses on our last Eclipse cruise in January. We did have some lovely meals in Blu, breakfast and dinner. Sometimes you just have to get creative in Blu and make your own entrees up. Like removing all of the other weird items from the pumpkin gnocchi that do not go at all in this dish and tell them you just want brown butter and cheese. SIMPLE! Since they are willing to do really anything for you, me as a foodie, has sort of learned the how to deal. And when in doubt, I order the salmon in Blu which is always fresh, hot and wonderful. Accompanied by one of their sauces makes for a great meal esp when you are eating and snacking all day long.

 

I will say the in-suite breakfast items like grilled veggies and goat cheese are very good. I also love the aqua spa cafe - my trick is to order a triple order of petit veggies with my seared tuna and I am totally satisfied. Those veggies are the best!

 

I have found keeping it simple and ordering something different (aka has to be made fresh and not sitting in a drawer) in the MDR has worked well. They try to get too fancy sometimes and lose concept on flavors and quality. I will say that the stuffed quail, beef medallions and even the stuffed lobster were all good on our last cruise. Even some of the pasta dishes are good. We usually get them as an app bf our entree and I stick to ice cream for dessert with hopefully a brownie if they can ever find me one! I just wish they would have the tarte tatin (WARM) on the menu everynight bc this is their best dessert and so easy to make in bulk.

 

Traveling on the Summit in January with a suite credit to a specialty restaurant and amex platinum credit to a specialty restaurant and 300 obc, so who knows if we will even hit the MDR on this cruise!

 

Cheers.

[wwcruisers]

In reply to the question of how two people on the same cruise can write such polar-opposite reviews, I think sometimes it can ultimately come down to something other than food. We had a great 15-night cruise to Hawaii on Century this year. But sadly, a respiratory virus swept through the ship, leaving several of the older passengers quite ill. One gentleman on our roll-call became ill early in the cruise, and his wife caught the virus a few days later. When it was all said and done, he didn't have many good things to say about Century (particularly their medical staff). This was a very experienced and otherwise enthusiastic cruiser -- and I think he would have loved the cruise, had he and his wife not gotten so ill. :(

[Jack Horner]

:confused::confused::confused:I just posted yesterday my review of my experience on the Celebrity Summit Bayonne to Bermuda 8/12-19 an read other reviews of the same cruise. I truely can't understand how peoples cruise experience can be so different - especially when it comes to the food. I am a foodie but I can easily be satisfied by Ragu Jar Sauce so I'm not such a snob. We ate in blu and I was not impressed in fact 2 items I ordered were inedible - fowl tasting crab and artichoke sauce with the choke left in the artichoke. 80% of the food was "fine" but only a few times was it good to really good. We cruised with 2 other families who felt the same way and then met people on an excursion who was traveling with a very large party who felt the same way. The girls uncle had done the same exact cruise last year and said the food was night and day (poor on this cruise). So when I read other reviews it scares me on how do you trust. I typically go with what the majority says and know there are a few crackpots out there but honestly the majority of the reviews do not jive with my culinary experience. By the way our last cruise on Celebrity Solstice non aqua class was far superior:confused:

 

 

 

 

I think that food reviews in most respects come down to something other than food.

• International experiences of different country cultures and cuisines will influence a review.
  
• It is a matter of expectations. If expectations are low there is a probability of a good review if the expectations are high there is a probability of a poor review.
  
• An individuals level of education will also influence a review
  
• An individuals level of income will influence a review
  
• Individuals who entertain clients on a regular basses in 5-Star restaurants with unrestricted expense accounts will influence their review.
  
• The type and quality of food a person eats in their day-to-day lives will influence a review
  
• Quality of food from the embarkation port is a large factor in food quality
  
• Length of the cruise is a factor
  
• One should factor luck into the equation
  
• Last but not least it is just that everyone is different
  

[hansolosmom]

This is why I read all reviews and take them with a grain of salt.

 

A lot of good points were brought up. I'll tell my story from last years cruise. We took my mom who had never cruised, so everything was just great in her eyes. One night at dinner we had a nightmare wait, it was the first time we tried my time dining, they put us at a 10 person table and we sat forever waiting for it to be filled (seriously it was at least an hour). So my dh, Grumpy Gus, was miserable meanwhile me & my mom chatted. So needless to say he hated dinner that night and we didn't. Had nothing to do with the food, everything to do with the experience.

[susietb]

We found the food on our Silhouette Adriatic Cruise this summer to be absolutely fabulous.

 

This was our 7th cruise on Celebrity and our 20th overall.