Question regarding Chef's Table

[Miles2Go]

Hello! I am new to Celebrity and have tried to search for this answer before posting, but clearly need your help, please. We love the Chef's Table with Carnival. We will be sailing the Summit in July 2019 and the Solstice in Sept 2020 - does Celebrity offer a similar opportunity? Perhaps it's called something different that I can't find? Thank you in advance for any information!

[rincewind]

DW and I always do the Chef's table on both Carnival and on Celebrity.  I'm glad to say that there is a Chef's table dinner on Celebrity and it is amazing.  The bad news is that it is sometimes hard to find.  On the last cruise we just kept asking everyone we could find until we got an answer.  It looks like they were not going to do it, but had enough interest that they scheduled on near the end of the cruise.  On our cruise coming up in August I called Celebrity and asked and they said that there was one and took our reservation.  I'm not completely convinced that it will actually be happening since they told me it was on the first night (which seems very strange) and I have not seen anything show up on our booking.  Needless to say the first thing I check on when we board will be this dinner.

 

My advice is to keep asking until you get someone that can sign you up for it.  It is worth the effort.

[jelayne]

When you board the ship see one if the restaurant MaitreD’s and inquire.  They will most likely take your name and if there is sufficient interest they schedule a dinner.

 

we did the Chef Table on Carnival and loved it.  It was held in the galley, like a true  Chef’s Table, does Carnival still do that?  On Celebrity it is held in one of the speciality restaurants.

[Miles2Go]

Thank you both so much! Yes, Carnival still does it in the galley and it's such a great experience for us every time. I will definitely ask as soon as we board! I appreciate your time and knowledge!

[wendyam76]

Might be worth checking your cruise planners. On three of my upcoming cruises they are offering a Chef’s Table as below. This is from the Edge but it’s also available on Silhouette on my April 2020 cruise. Price approx $140 (my price was in £s).

Overview

Savor an incredible five-course meal designed by our new Global Culinary Brand Ambassador, Chef Daniel Boulud. With a collection of award-winning restaurants around the world, including the Michelin-starred Café Boulud in New York City, Daniel is considered America’s leading culinary authority and a master in the dining scene.

Your night begins with Daniel Boulud’s Signature Champagne and canapés, followed by a private galley tour. Then, prepare your palate for an exclusive dining menu that features the master chef’s soulful cooking, which is deeply rooted in French cuisine. Delicious wines are perfectly paired with each course for an unforgettable culinary journey. 

You’ll also receive a printed copy of the night’s menu, a photograph of your dinner experience, and a cookbook by the master chef himself, Daniel Boulud.

Your restaurant location and dining time will be confirmed in your stateroom on embarkation day.

Capacity is very limited for this exclusive event, so make your reservations today.

Additional wine pairings available for purchase onboard.

[chemmo]

8 hours ago, Miles2Go said:

Thank you both so much! Yes, Carnival still does it in the galley and it's such a great experience for us every time. I will definitely ask as soon as we board! I appreciate your time and knowledge!

 

If you are interested in food/dining experiences some port stops also offer a shop with the Chef excursion...These are again subject to enough interest. It usually includes a walk around a local food market, lunch and then a special dinner back on board the ship...

 

We were considering one of these which did have enough interest but was following hurricane damage so didn’t happen so I can’t comment on value/quality. An excursion type we will look at again for the future...

[miched]

We were disappointed when we did it.

 

They crammed 11 of us at a table for 8.  

 

The chef came out and announced the next serving and did nothing else.

 

Our table mates weren’t the friendliest.  One couple thought that she had a private audience with the officer and it was the perfect time to complain about everything on this cruise, past cruises and changes in futures cruises. 

 

Another keep complaining that it was taking too long between courses and left before the desert was served.   They also goggled down the food like a dog in about two bites and drank down the wine like chugging a beer.  

 

it was a uncomfortable situation overall.  

 

We could have saved a lot of money by booking the same restaurant for dining by ourselves, got better service, and choosing what we wanted off the menu instead of what they served.

 

You can see the same galley when they have the general galley tour for free.

 

happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

[Newsbuff16]

On 5/8/2019 at 2:59 PM, Miles2Go said:

Hello! I am new to Celebrity and have tried to search for this answer before posting, but clearly need your help, please. We love the Chef's Table with Carnival. We will be sailing the Summit in July 2019 and the Solstice in Sept 2020 - does Celebrity offer a similar opportunity? Perhaps it's called something different that I can't find? Thank you in advance for any information!

There is a Chef’s Table on Summit. If you go to your cruise planner on the Celebrity website, you can book it for your cruise.

[Miles2Go]

Thanks - I just found it on my Cruise Planner - I'm not sure if they just added, or if I'm blind because I've booked other dining from there already for the same cruise and didn't see it before. Thanks all! I appreciate your input very much.

[[g]cruiserke]

On 5/9/2019 at 4:15 PM, miched said:

We were disappointed when we did it.

 

They crammed 11 of us at a table for 8.  

 

The chef came out and announced the next serving and did nothing else.

 

Our table mates weren’t the friendliest.  One couple thought that she had a private audience with the officer and it was the perfect time to complain about everything on this cruise, past cruises and changes in futures cruises. 

 

Another keep complaining that it was taking too long between courses and left before the desert was served.   They also goggled down the food like a dog in about two bites and drank down the wine like chugging a beer.  

 

it was a uncomfortable situation overall.  

 

We could have saved a lot of money by booking the same restaurant for dining by ourselves, got better service, and choosing what we wanted off the menu instead of what they served.

 

You can see the same galley when they have the general galley tour for free.

 

happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

 

When was this exactly? I think this may have been the old chef's table concept, which was organised rather ad-hoc based on onboard interest, could only be booked after boarding and where I believe the menu was developed by the chef(s) on each individual ship. 

 

There now is a new concept, announced in February, called Chef's Table by Daniel Boulud.

 

That menu is developed by Daniel Boulud, a famous Michelin star awarded chef and you get his cookbook to take home as well as a galley tour (which I agree isn't spectacular if you've done any ship tour before, they're all kinda similar).

 

Not sure on which ships the new concept has been rolled out so far but I can book it in the cruise planner for both my Reflection cruise in January 2020 and my Millennium cruise in March 2020.

 

I have not seen any reviews of this new style Chef's table, so can't say if it's worth the price of $139 per person. We've booked it for our Reflection cruise but I intend to read reviews if I can find them to see if we should keep the reservation or cancel. 

 

Here is Celebrity's press release announcing this new dining event in February:

 

https://www.celebritycruisespresscenter.com/press-release/1134/celebrity-cruises-unveils-game-changing-partnerships-with-american-ballet-theatre-and-michelin-starred-chef-daniel-boulud/

 

Edited May 10, 2019 by [g]cruiserke

[[g]cruiserke]

Ah, just read on the Celebrity website that Chef's table by Daniel Boulud debuts on June 5 on the Summit so obviously there are no reviews out yet. 

[miched]

5 hours ago, [g]cruiserke said:

 

When was this exactly? I think this may have been the old chef's table concept, which was organised rather ad-hoc based on onboard interest, could only be booked after boarding and where I believe the menu was developed by the chef(s) on each individual ship. 

 

There now is a new concept, announced in February, called Chef's Table by Daniel Boulud.

 

That menu is developed by Daniel Boulud, a famous Michelin star awarded chef and you get his cookbook to take home as well as a galley tour (which I agree isn't spectacular if you've done any ship tour before, they're all kinda similar).

 

Not sure on which ships the new concept has been rolled out so far but I can book it in the cruise planner for both my Reflection cruise in January 2020 and my Millennium cruise in March 2020.

 

I have not seen any reviews of this new style Chef's table, so can't say if it's worth the price of $139 per person. We've booked it for our Reflection cruise but I intend to read reviews if I can find them to see if we should keep the reservation or cancel. 

 

Here is Celebrity's press release announcing this new dining event in February:

 

https://www.celebritycruisespresscenter.com/press-release/1134/celebrity-cruises-unveils-game-changing-partnerships-with-american-ballet-theatre-and-michelin-starred-chef-daniel-boulud/

 

It was Oct 2018

 

The Chefs table really doesn’t appear to be a anything different than what we experienced.  Read what I wrote.  We toured the galley.  The same tour as the one that is free.  The galley is the galley.  There was a 5 course dinner that was set and was from the menu in that restaurant.   We could have booked that restaurant, choose what we wanted and had a nice dinner by our selves for a lot less.  Wine was included but we that didn’t justify the extra cost because we had a premium drink pack so we had some choices of wine or could have paid the up-charge.  

 

It was our experience and my opinion.   We did it and won’t do it again because it wasn’t worth the cost, not that special and could not honestly  recommend it as anything that was a must or have to do.  

 

If you  think it is worth another $179 to sit with 9 other people including a officer and tour the galley, than do it.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited May 10, 2019 by miched