More changes to Bistro on 5?

[MicCanberra]

I was on the Solstice a few weeks ago and spoke with the Head chef during a captains club function. The subject of Bistro on 5 came up and nothing is definite but it seems that it is going completely so that Cafe' Al Baccio can be expanded (at least for the Aussie season). This was already occurring for the mornings until 11.30am on our cruise as sitting areas and table space is needed for the café.

 

We also discussed the pizza, and it seems that they are looking to improve the pizza ovens on all ships and on some ships they will be utilising the are where the glass blowing was and the grill is now.

Edited January 14, 2016 by MicCanberra

[QE2_Fan]

I was on the Solstice a few weeks ago and spoke with the Head chef during a captains club function. The subject of Bistro on 5 came up and nothing is definite but it seems that it is going completely so that Cafe' Al Baccio can be expanded (at least for the Aussie season). This was already occurring for the mornings until 11.30am on our cruise as sitting areas and table space is needed for the café.

 

 

 

We also discussed the pizza, and it seems that they are looking to improve the pizza ovens on all ships and on some ships they will be utilising the are where the glass blowing was and the grill is now.

 

 

Not sure if I will like any pizza that comes out of those glass ovens lol!! [emoji41][emoji12]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[AtleeH]

Sushi. Makes for fine fish bait. Now, if I could only bring my fishing equipment.

[ghstudio]

There is no reason that a ship couldn't serve wonderful sushi....not sure that folks realize that much of the fish served in Sushi restaurants comes to the restaurant frozen....and, btw, all fish served as sushi should have been flash frozen at some point for health/safety reasons. Ship's can certainly cook and season rice well, etc. Having said that, I'm not foolish enough to think that Celebrity would suddenly put in a first class sushi bar...if they do this at all, it will likely be adequate to good....but that may be worth $15 for two rolls.

 

Irrespective of what Celebrity decides to do with the space, there will be a string of "that's terrible" posts here....how about if they served indian food, good chinese food, mexican....I can imagine...oh, I hate curry; who would pay extra for mexican; they already have chinese food (questionable)...etc.

 

The idea of expanding cafe b'accio also is good...with all the "free" coffee, it can be hard to find a seat. On the other hand, that doesn't increase revenue to Celebrity so I don't think it's a good bet. Converting the glass blowing to pizza is, of course possible...they certainly have enough power for pizza ovens...and that would convert a cost center to a profit center....it's a likely bet. I also have no doubt that someone in Celebrity is looking at the mast bar and saying...why are we dedicating space to free hamburgers and hot dogs? Those same folks are probably thinking about the free ice cream and those free pastries at cafe b'accio? Remember we are dealing with the cruise line that took daily bottled water away from aqua class to save maybe $2.00 per cabin per cruise.

 

I see lots of possible changes coming...but for now, it's all just possibilities.

[jenniebnyc]

I can bet that if they were to roll out a sushi bar/restaurant, it would not be solely raw fish. I would hope they would have noodles, rice bowls, salads, etc. as most sushi restaurants offer. I guess we will wait and see. I don't think The Porch is doing well with their seafood restaurant so we shall see where that goes too. I was really looking forward to it, but qulaity and execution are key to success...same for sushi.

 

I love the idea of turning the glass blowing area into a pizza place. That would be great. The pizza in the buffet, imo, is not worth it.

[PatC]

Sadly, if they do this to B on 5 we are done. This is our "go-to" stop right after boarding and if they do this we are done.

 

Having sailed our 1st Royal this past November, I think we are going to switch, which I don't want to do. Do NOT slam me please. We have sailed Celebrity since 1992 and did many ships in their inaugural seasons. We have seen such a decline in service and amenities it's sad. We always anticipated boarding any Celebrity ship to be treated with "modern luxury". No more. We have 2 cruises booked, after our Eclipse in April, and I think we are definitely going to be looking elsewhere. We don't look to be treated special, we always make our own good times but it's becoming more and more obvious that Celebrity has gone mainstream and we can get what they deliver anywhere else. Those prices in the specialty restaurants are way out of sight. Changing things practically overnight "just because we can" makes it all the more reason to change now.

 

I hope new cruisers enjoy Celebrity. I love the new "chic" program. We were tux and dressy folks but as you get older you should have the options, especially when you wouldn't consider jeans in the MDR. Oh well, to each his own.

 

Hoping these changes do not happen but if they do, enjoy

 

Pat C

[Hlitner]

I was intrigued by the poster who suggested replacing Bistro with an upscale pizzeria. A small up-charge for good quality (gourmet) pizza, sandwiches, and salads. :cool:

 

My question to all of you pizza aficionados is this: Is it feasible to put in a restaurant-quality pizza oven on a cruise ship (where safety restrictions prohibit anything wood-fired)? :confused:

 

All I know is that, in 14 years of cruising on X and RC, I have yet to run across a decent slice of pizza -- deep dish or thin crust. :eek:

 

Perhaps you need to try Princess where the pizza is excellent (although no wood fired ovens). And there are no annoying extra charges for any of their pizza.

 

Hank

[wpgcycler]

2 things that fascinate me about this thread:

 

1. Seeing a large number of posters lamenting the demise of Bistro is completely incongruous with the large number of posts which suggest Bistro is lousy and virtually empty most of the time.

 

2. The degree and sheer volume of emotion created by rumor and fueled by speculation. So much heat generated with a complete absence of light! :D

[Hlitner]

As to the Bistro on 5....a place we have often enjoyed, the ridiculous upper management of Celebrity (who appear to be on a mission to destroy the cruise line) have managed to make a $10 lunch (for 2) into a $30 lunch (assuming the $15 per person is accurate). They certainly would not get any of our business. And as to Sushi, if they want to create a true Sushi Bar, with professional Japanese Sushi Chefs making fresh sushi to order...then perhaps it would work. On the other hand, no respectful Sushi Chef is going to work with fish products that have been frozen and are weeks old! When we were on the Regal Princess (in October) they had implemented a dedicated Sushi bar with a true sushi artist making everything quite fresh. Within a few days (it was a 10 day cruise) his selection started to shrink as he ran out of good fresh seafood.

 

Hank

[cadburysmom]

As to the Bistro on 5....a place we have often enjoyed, the ridiculous upper management of Celebrity (who appear to be on a mission to destroy the cruise line) have managed to make a $10 lunch (for 2) into a $30 lunch (assuming the $15 per person is accurate). They certainly would not get any of our business. And as to Sushi, if they want to create a true Sushi Bar, with professional Japanese Sushi Chefs making fresh sushi to order...then perhaps it would work. On the other hand, no respectful Sushi Chef is going to work with fish products that have been frozen and are weeks old! When we were on the Regal Princess (in October) they had implemented a dedicated Sushi bar with a true sushi artist making everything quite fresh. Within a few days (it was a 10 day cruise) his selection started to shrink as he ran out of good fresh seafood.

 

Hank

I totally agree.

 

And I really enjoyed the pizza and food choices on my recent Regal cruise, too. Not only do they have Alfredo's, a no-fee Italian eatery, but also offered a really good pub lunch in the Wheelhouse bar on sea days. The fact that cabin on-demand tv's offered almost 25 movies for free was awesome, too...not that that has anything to do with Bistro on 5...but sure wish Celebrity would follow suit. ;)

Edited January 14, 2016 by cadburysmom

[WpgCruise]

Some time ago on the RCL Board a poster remarked that Cruise Critic had become an Island of Information in a Sea of Drama.

 

A very apt description for this thread which is based on nothing but speculation.

 

2 things that fascinate me about this thread:

 

1. Seeing a large number of posters lamenting the demise of Bistro is completely incongruous with the large number of posts which suggest Bistro is lousy and virtually empty most of the time.

 

2. The degree and sheer volume of emotion created by rumor and fueled by speculation. So much heat generated with a complete absence of light! :D

[stratixman]

Count us in the group that thinks converting Bistro to Sushi, at added up charge, is a mistake. A $15 per person sushi menu will certainly deter us from frequenting the space. We like sushi but can get all the quality sushi we want within short distance of our home. The crepe concept in the Bistro is more unique and attractive to us, although with the recent increase to $10 per person its appeal has been somewhat diminished. Since a free sushi bar in the evenings has been provided for sometime, will this change result in the free sushi going away? Not that the free sushi has been stupendous, but hey there was no charge. I tend to doubt that the sushi for extra charge is going to be that much better. Maybe they should keep bistro just as is and dump the Gastro bar, which we have never understood the rationale for, and put the for charge sushi in that space. Also, as a general comment, maybe Celebrity should quit diminishing the quality of food offerings included in the base cruise fare while conjuring up ways to keep increasing specialty dining prices.

[Snow Road Cruisers]

Some time ago on the RCL Board a poster remarked that Cruise Critic had become an Island of Information in a Sea of Drama.

 

A very apt description for this thread which is based on nothing but speculation.

 

Wow!

 

Dear wpgcycler and wpgcruise I find it funny that you dislike this thread but are both reading it.

 

As for based on nothing but speculation could be correct but as Celebrity never shares communications with those who have purchased the cruises, this site offers me information not found elsewhere. Two recent examples by trip in three weeks changed my agenda and drop a port, that port was the main decision point (as island we have never visited) to select the trip and now I have learned that my AQ stateroom has dropped another included feature, one that will cost be extra money. Both examples were unknown by my TA and the Captain Club representatives; thus CC is a value.

 

Rather than posting why not skip this discussion, the title seems to be on topic?

[wpgcycler]

Wow!

 

Dear wpgcycler and wpgcruise I find it funny that you dislike this thread but are both reading it.

 

As for based on nothing but speculation could be correct but as Celebrity never shares communications with those who have purchased the cruises, this site offers me information not found elsewhere. Two recent examples by trip in three weeks changed my agenda and drop a port, that port was the main decision point (as island we have never visited) to select the trip and now I have learned that my AQ stateroom has dropped another included feature, one that will cost be extra money. Both examples were unknown by my TA and the Captain Club representatives; thus CC is a value.

 

Rather than posting why not skip this discussion, the title seems to be on topic?

 

Au contraire! I'm loving it - do carry on!

[MicCanberra]

As to the Bistro on 5....a place we have often enjoyed, the ridiculous upper management of Celebrity (who appear to be on a mission to destroy the cruise line) have managed to make a $10 lunch (for 2) into a $30 lunch (assuming the $15 per person is accurate). They certainly would not get any of our business. And as to Sushi, if they want to create a true Sushi Bar, with professional Japanese Sushi Chefs making fresh sushi to order...then perhaps it would work. On the other hand, no respectful Sushi Chef is going to work with fish products that have been frozen and are weeks old! When we were on the Regal Princess (in October) they had implemented a dedicated Sushi bar with a true sushi artist making everything quite fresh. Within a few days (it was a 10 day cruise) his selection started to shrink as he ran out of good fresh seafood.

 

Hank

 

Bistro on 5 is $10 per person, not for both.

 

BTW, The sushi and sashimi in Silk Harvest was excellent even after 7 days into the cruise.

Edited January 14, 2016 by MicCanberra

[DebbieMacG]

Bistro on 5 is $10 per person, not for both.

 

BTW, The sushi and sashimi in Silk Harvest was excellent even after 7 days into the cruise.

 

But it was $5 each, hence the comment they've made a $10 lunch into a $30 lunch :)

[MicCanberra]

But it was $5 each, hence the comment they've made a $10 lunch into a $30 lunch :)

 

That was number of years ago when it was $5, it is two different times and also two different menu items.

That is like going to your local supermarket and saying, 'on the last shop, I bought mince for $4/kg and now your steak is $14/kg'.

[stratixman]

That was number of years ago when it was $5, it is two different times and also two different menu items.

That is like going to your local supermarket and saying, 'on the last shop, I bought mince for $4/kg and now your steak is $14/kg'.

 

2 years ago, $5 pp. Doubling the price to $10 in a period of nonexistent inflation is a bit steep. Now it sounds like it will go up another 50%. Such a deal.

[MicCanberra]

2 years ago, $5 pp. Doubling the price to $10 in a period of nonexistent inflation is a bit steep. Now it sounds like it will go up another 50%. Such a deal.

 

There may have been no inflation for America but the ships go all over the world and attract passengers from all over the world. Besides, the cover charge is not just to cover the cost of the food and service but to price out the people who only want it because it is free and not because they really want it. (i,e. Tragedy of the commons).

[hcat]

This may be one of these trial things, like the Gastropub was in Equinox. It is unlikely, withot a proper trial that it would be rolled out to all ships. Gastropub isn't working, this may not work and bistro, which is not busy may stay as it is. I actually preferred it with just soup etc and crepes, elthough we nly went around twice per cruise.

 

Gastropub on EQ was mostly dead. Nice comfy quiet place to read during the day...except when the games were on, .then very active Menu was wierd and did not appeal to us ...all a la carte food and the space was like a college rathskellar. Liked it better as a wine bar but without it ship lacks a sports bar.which is in demand ...maybe a better menu would help!

[lovemylab]

There may have been no inflation for America but the ships go all over the world and attract passengers from all over the world. Besides, the cover charge is not just to cover the cost of the food and service but to price out the people who only want it because it is free and not because they really want it. (i,e. Tragedy of the commons).

 

I don't know of any country that has experienced an inflation rate of 100% in the past two years.

 

Bistro on 5 was never free. There has always been a cover charge. The only difference now is you're paying double for a reduced menu.

 

As for pricing people out, if that was their goal they certainly achieved it. On our most recent cruise the place was always empty.

[MicCanberra]

I don't know of any country that has experienced an inflation rate of 100% in the past two years.

 

Bistro on 5 was never free. There has always been a cover charge. The only difference now is you're paying double for a reduced menu.

 

As for pricing people out, if that was their goal they certainly achieved it. On our most recent cruise the place was always empty.

 

Try this link for all the inflation rates, some are above 100%. http://www.tradingeconomics.com/country-list/inflation-rate :eek:

 

However, my point was that it has nothing to do with inflation or covering all of the costs, it is making sure that only the people who really want it, will use it. As mentioned, they may have got it wrong by pricing too many people out and then also reducing the menu.

Edited January 15, 2016 by MicCanberra

[Hlitner]

Bistro on 5 is $10 per person, not for both.

 

BTW, The sushi and sashimi in Silk Harvest was excellent even after 7 days into the cruise.

 

Not sure how long you have been cruising on Celebrity, but it was only a few short years ago that the Bistro on 5 was only $5 per person. Then with a change in upper management the price quickly rose to $10 (a 100% increase) per person. And now we hear rumors of $15 per person. As to Silk Harvest (not on many ships of the fleet) that is not the topic here. And since most cruisers are couples consider that this doubles the cost (from $10 per couple to $30 per couple). We are old cruisers (started in the 60s) when there was no such thing as alternative restaurants that had extra charges. You paid for your cruise and it included all the food. And drinks were relatively cheap. Times have changed.

 

Hank

Edited January 15, 2016 by Hlitner

[ghstudio]

The sushi and sashimi in Silk Harvest was excellent even after 7 days into the cruise.

 

We certainly had a very different experience....the sushi we were served in Silk Harvest had overcooked, unseasoned rice and had clearly been made earlier because the nori was not crisp, it was actually soggy. Far below supermarket sushi..perhaps the worst I've had. The sushi in the buffet was actually better.

 

However, I agree with your point that one can certainly serve excellent sushi on a ship and that includes raw fish as well as cooked ingredients.

 

As far as $15 for a couple of rolls and presumably a la carte after that, I'd welcome it as another specialty restaurant and an alternative choice to tuscan grill, murano and qsine...with lighter food and perhaps a lighter total cost.

Edited January 15, 2016 by ghstudio

[MicCanberra]

Not sure how long you have been cruising on Celebrity, but it was only a few short years ago that the Bistro on 5 was only $5 per person. Then with a change in upper management the price quickly rose to $10 (a 100% increase) per person. And now we hear rumors of $15 per person. As to Silk Harvest (not on many ships of the fleet) that is not the topic here. And since most cruisers are couples consider that this doubles the cost (from $10 per couple to $30 per couple). We are old cruisers (started in the 60s) when there was no such thing as alternative restaurants that had extra charges. You paid for your cruise and it included all the food. And drinks were relatively cheap. Times have changed.

 

Hank

 

Yes, I was cruising before Bistro on 5 existed and also when it was $5 each to eat there but I was also cruising when a lot of other things were cheaper as well.

My point, made in several posts now, was that the surcharge is not about covering the costs of the food and service but to provide an alternate eatery for those who may wish to pay extra for it.