Beef in mdr eclipse

[tine-tine]

Do any of the other guests who enjoy good quality beef notice that there has been a change to the texture of cuts being served in the MDR? I have hesitated to write this review but on our cruise earlier this year I became increasingly concerned about the quality of the beef, each time my DH and I had beef it had a jelly like texture which I can only compare to previously experiencing from Danish bacon joints/steaks bought in the UK. The beef and the Danish bacon had obviously gone through a tenderising process changing the structure, instead of having a bite and a resistance that you would expect in good beef the texture was overly soft and yes jelly like!

 

We eventually stopped ordering beef as I take care with the food I purchase at home and I am prepared to pay to ensure the provenance of the beef I buy so when I am on an upscale cruise I would expect to at least be served beef that has been unadulterated. Being Scottish we have access to quality beef and recognise an inferior product and while I may not expect to be served the same standard I would not want the product to have been processed.

 

Are my DH and I alone in this observation?

Edited October 9, 2015 by tine-tine
alter title

[DYKWIA]

Do any of the other guests who enjoy good quality beef notice that there has been a change to the texture of cuts being served in the MDR? I have hesitated to write this review but on our cruise earlier this year I became increasingly concerned about the quality of the beef, each time my DH and I had beef it had a jelly like texture which I can only compare to previously experiencing from Danish bacon joints/steaks bought in the UK. The beef and the Danish bacon had obviously gone through a tenderising process changing the structure, instead of having a bite and a resistance that you would expect in good beef the texture was overly soft and yes jelly like!

 

We eventually stopped ordering beef as I take care with the food I purchase at home and I am prepared to pay to ensure the provenance of the beef I buy so when I am on an upscale cruise I would expect to at least be served beef that has been unadulterated. Being Scottish we have access to quality beef and recognise an inferior product and while I may not expect to be served the same standard I would not want the product to have been processed.

 

Are my DH and I alone in this observation?

 

We found the Prime Rib fine a couple of weeks ago on the Eclipse. Did notice that some cheaper cuts were being used on the menu. Additionally, I ordered the sirloin steak a couple of times (once in the MDR and once in Oceanview). Nothing wrong with it, not fantastic, what you might expect in a UK pub / cheaper restaurant. Cut was noticeably thinner in the Oceanview Cafe than in the MDR.

Edited October 9, 2015 by DYKWIA

[bobnjeff]

Do any of the other guests who enjoy good quality beef notice that there has been a change to the texture of cuts being served in the MDR? I have hesitated to write this review but on our cruise earlier this year I became increasingly concerned about the quality of the beef, each time my DH and I had beef it had a jelly like texture which I can only compare to previously experiencing from Danish bacon joints/steaks bought in the UK. The beef and the Danish bacon had obviously gone through a tenderising process changing the structure, instead of having a bite and a resistance that you would expect in good beef the texture was overly soft and yes jelly like!

 

We eventually stopped ordering beef as I take care with the food I purchase at home and I am prepared to pay to ensure the provenance of the beef I buy so when I am on an upscale cruise I would expect to at least be served beef that has been unadulterated. Being Scottish we have access to quality beef and recognise an inferior product and while I may not expect to be served the same standard I would not want the product to have been processed.

 

Are my DH and I alone in this observation?

Seems to me that Celebrity seems to be sourcing more and more food from Sysco type companies. The food quality has gone down and down over the past few years. X seems more concerned about building fancier ships with more extra pay venues then maintaining a high quality product. Service is worse, food quality is worse, live quality acts are disappearing and being replaced with canned music and DJs. All very sad.

 

Sent from my BNTV600 using Tapatalk

[ABoatNerd]

I concur with OP.

 

Our Infinity south America cruise this past February in the MDR had very disappointing food. Our table of repeaters routinely sent over 50 per cent of the entrees back. When measured against previous years it was very clear the quality of the ingredients have been reduced.

 

If you are new to Celebrity you would not note the obvious cost cutting here. Celebrity is counting on the new cruisers so they do not have to provide MDR food per the high quality standards of past.

 

It was the food on Celebrity which gave this company licence to say they were a "premium" in the mass market.

 

Celebrity is being downgraded while focus is on superficial and extra pay.

 

Interestingly our table of repeaters all boycotted the extra fee dining.

 

Recent email exchanges indicate no one has a celebrity Cruise booked as the boycott continues - we are all elite and no one will pay the increased prices for drink package when the elite benefits provide similar.

 

The product downgrade, focus on superficial, canned loud music and price increase well beyond inflation have eliminated my households cruise patronage of Celebrity.

 

ABoatNerd

[shot2bits]

Agree with all the points. Ok, we last sailed on eclipse when it was 6 months old in 2010 but I was not expecting the quality to have changed much. However, the steaks in the MDR were definitely not as good and in fact, the quality of food overall in the MDR was not as good. The ocean view was ok, I actually preferred the steaks in there to the MDR. My main gripe was that everywhere we went, someone was trying to sell us something.

[purpletequila]

Completely agree. To each his own and I know food is technically already paid for in the fare, but for me, it is worth every penny to pay for the specialties.

[ghstudio]

I seem to recall reading somewhere that only 40% of the passengers on celebrity cruises are repeat customers.....and only repeat customers have something to compare to. Couple that with the fact that non-suite past customers just aren't Celebrity's focus right now....(suite passengers have their own dining room)...so if some of the repeat cruisers are unhappy enough to take their business elsewhere, it's not exactly bothering anyone in Celebrity HQ.

 

Celebrity will take it's cruise line in the direction they believe to be the most profitable....and we will continue to make our cruise decisions based on the everchanging landscape of cruise offerings by all the cruise lines.

Edited October 9, 2015 by ghstudio

[true45]

I seem to recall reading somewhere that only 40% of the passengers on celebrity cruises are repeat customers.....and only repeat customers have something to compare to. Couple that with the fact that non-suite past customers just aren't Celebrity's focus right now....(suite passengers have their own dining room)...so if some of the repeat cruisers are unhappy enough to take their business elsewhere, it's not exactly bothering anyone in Celebrity HQ.

 

Celebrity will take it's cruise line in the direction they believe to be the most profitable....and we will continue to make our cruise decisions based on the everchanging landscape of cruise offerings by all the cruise lines.

 

 

Yes, it seems that the low quality of the beef is well known to Celebrity, and they have not seen fit to improve things.

 

My first cruise in Aqua and dinners in Blu did not show me anything different. Back in Concierge for next sailing -- I don't want to be sending food back, but I will if I can't chew the beef. Chicken gets tiresome after a while. I am concerned that the "modern luxury" is only in Suites. Yes, I'm one who started with the Horizon and still remembers the Michael Roux days -- I still have pictures. Maybe for some people, it's all good but I'll admit I'm getting a wandering eye.

 

If you are going to call yourself Modern Luxury you should have quality food across the board. Yeah a dreamer [emoji41]

[jan-n-john]

As of last April, according to Exec. Chef Green on Solstice, Celebrity switched from US to Australian suppliers for all its beef, and some other meats as well AFAIK. Chef Green was very happy with that (he is Australian, living in the UK).

 

The texture and flavor of Australian beef is different from that of US beef, probably due to the different way it is finished (in the US cattle are generally finished in feedlots on a corn diet, which promotes marbling). I'm not saying it's better or worse, just different. This may explain what some have observed.

[wen_c82]

We have noticed different quality of beef from what we used to in 2013 while on Infinity 14 nights. In fact the cruisers whom had table next to ours had about 15+ minutes of conversation with Maitre D' first night about the quality of the beef and we never saw them again in the MDR for the rest of the cruise.

[tine-tine]

What really gets me is that I don't want my beef or any food to be processed and Celebrity beef in the MDR appears to have gone through a tenderising process that changes the structure of the beef making it more tender but artificially so, changing the structure from one with a bit of bite and chew to an almost jelly like texture (closest definition I can come up with).

 

I presume that this processing is in response to guests complaining about the beef being tough, so instead of raising the quality of the beef to ensure a more succultent, tender product, the meat is processed. Unfortunately, this results in a product that is nothing like what good beef should be.

[terrierjohn]

We were either lucky on our recent Eclipse cruise, or I have poor taste buds, because I thoroughly enjoyed the beef, especially the tenderloin medallions. I do agree that sliced beef meals do sometimes seem as though they have been standing too long, but in general I find the meat on Celebrity far better than either Princess or P&O.

[yorkyred]

I concur with OP.

 

Our Infinity south America cruise this past February in the MDR had very disappointing food. Our table of repeaters routinely sent over 50 per cent of the entrees back. When measured against previous years it was very clear the quality of the ingredients have been reduced.

 

If you are new to Celebrity you would not note the obvious cost cutting here. Celebrity is counting on the new cruisers so they do not have to provide MDR food per the high quality standards of past.

 

It was the food on Celebrity which gave this company licence to say they were a "premium" in the mass market.

 

Celebrity is being downgraded while focus is on superficial and extra pay.

 

Interestingly our table of repeaters all boycotted the extra fee dining.

 

Recent email exchanges indicate no one has a celebrity Cruise booked as the boycott continues - we are all elite and no one will pay the increased prices for drink package when the elite benefits provide similar.

 

The product downgrade, focus on superficial, canned loud music and price increase well beyond inflation have eliminated my households cruise patronage of Celebrity.

 

ABoatNerd

 

Having never cruised Celebrity ( our first cruise with them in four weeks) it's going to be interesting making the food comparison with other cruise lines we have used such as Princess and RC. What I will say is if the quality of the product overall has dropped it does not appear to be effecting booking, our cruise seems close to being fully booked a month in advance. I also notice from many of the reviews around the net that there are still many loyal to Celebrity, cruising with them again and again and giving four/ five star feedback. It's obviously still a product the vast majority seem happy with.

[GottaKnowWhen]

What really gets me is that I don't want my beef or any food to be processed and Celebrity beef in the MDR appears to have gone through a tenderising process that changes the structure of the beef making it more tender but artificially so, changing the structure from one with a bit of bite and chew to an almost jelly like texture (closest definition I can come up with).

 

 

 

I presume that this processing is in response to guests complaining about the beef being tough, so instead of raising the quality of the beef to ensure a more succultent, tender product, the meat is processed. Unfortunately, this results in a product that is nothing like what good beef should be.

 

 

I totally concur with your observation about the meat texture. We are newbies, can't comment on changes since the good old days. But we seldom have meat at home, when we go out to fine restaurants I have beef as my treat while my wife has fish. On our Royal and then Celebrity cruises, the steaks have been like mush. I sent meals back a few times, finally gave up and had lamb or fish or pasta.

[keithm]

Seems to me that Celebrity seems to be sourcing more and more food from Sysco type companies. The food quality has gone down and down over the past few years. X seems more concerned about building fancier ships with more extra pay venues then maintaining a high quality product. Service is worse, food quality is worse, live quality acts are disappearing and being replaced with canned music and DJs. All very sad.

 

Sent from my BNTV600 using Tapatalk

We saw 3 Sysco trucks lined up on our Jan. trip. We do use Sysco in our catering co. The quality depends on what you want to spend. It can be gourmet to less than McDonalds quality..all depends on price you pay. For those that rave about the burgers in the Mast Grill..Those are from Sysco. We use them on cookouts. Due to their shape, we call them "star" burgers. Decent quality, but certainly not the best.

[keithm]

Do any of the other guests who enjoy good quality beef notice that there has been a change to the texture of cuts being served in the MDR? I have hesitated to write this review but on our cruise earlier this year I became increasingly concerned about the quality of the beef, each time my DH and I had beef it had a jelly like texture which I can only compare to previously experiencing from Danish bacon joints/steaks bought in the UK. The beef and the Danish bacon had obviously gone through a tenderising process changing the structure, instead of having a bite and a resistance that you would expect in good beef the texture was overly soft and yes jelly like!

 

We eventually stopped ordering beef as I take care with the food I purchase at home and I am prepared to pay to ensure the provenance of the beef I buy so when I am on an upscale cruise I would expect to at least be served beef that has been unadulterated. Being Scottish we have access to quality beef and recognise an inferior product and while I may not expect to be served the same standard I would not want the product to have been processed.

 

Are my DH and I alone in this observation?

I'm mostly a seafood guy, but do love the Beef Wellington. It was somewhat smaller this Jan. compared to Jan 2014. Staff is quite willing to give extra if asked.

[florisdekort]

If you add up all the "food is going downhill" posts I've been reading on here the past 10+ years, we're all eating dogfood by now.

[tine-tine]

If you add up all the "food is going downhill" posts I've been reading on here the past 10+ years, we're all eating dogfood by now.

 

I think we are rapidly heading in that direction going by the beef in the MDR, strangely that was one of my thoughts on their latest offering! What I am really concerned about is the likelihood the beef has gone through some chemical process to tenderise the meat. I believe it will have passed the FDA as RCI would be placing their reputation on the line but I prefer to eat food that has not been tampered with! Processed meat is linked with cancer and I am very conscious of trying to eat beef that has not been interfered with apart from butchery and hanging, preferably for 28 days to ensure a more tender cut rather than chemicals.

[rjrpar]

Seems to me that Celebrity seems to be sourcing more and more food from Sysco type companies. The food quality has gone down and down over the past few years. X seems more concerned about building fancier ships with more extra pay venues then maintaining a high quality product. Service is worse, food quality is worse, live quality acts are disappearing and being replaced with canned music and DJs. All very sad.

 

Sent from my BNTV600 using Tapatalk

 

 

Sysco is not the problem, they provide the quality level that is requested. I do agree that the quality is less than in the past, I even think the specialty restaurants have cut quality.

[Muushka]

Having never cruised Celebrity ( our first cruise with them in four weeks) it's going to be interesting making the food comparison with other cruise lines we have used such as Princess and RC. What I will say is if the quality of the product overall has dropped it does not appear to be effecting booking, our cruise seems close to being fully booked a month in advance. I also notice from many of the reviews around the net that there are still many loyal to Celebrity, cruising with them again and again and giving four/ five star feedback. It's obviously still a product the vast majority seem happy with.

 

We are still loyal Celebrity cruisers. And we are still happy with their product.

But.......we don't usually order beef in the MDR. We've had too many disappointments.

I buy very good cuts of beef here at home. To go on a cruise and order a lesser quality steak is something we are not interested in doing.

But a cruise for us is not about getting a good steak. We can get that at home! :D

 

As a high fat, low carb person, when they start serving Cool Whip in place of whipped cream, THEN you'll see on these boards screaming!:eek: