Is cruising losing its sparkle?

[SusieV]

We booked two open bookings onboard, so I wouldn't say the sparkle is off for us! Can't wait to go aboard again (although preferably when covid has settled down a bit more now that there's basically no requirements whatsoever).

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, canderson said:

our local butcher would have been hard pressed to match what we were being served.

 

I'm talking 2+" cuts of beef in different venues that were nicely aged and that you could, with minimal extra effort, cut with a fork.  Even did so a couple of times on those cruises to prove the point.

 

On all my 8 sailings since the restart, never seen a MDR steak that's even 1" thick.  Ignoring specialty restaurants which do usually have great steaks, only the Blu filet mignon and MDR beef wellington has exceeded an 1" thick.  The wellington has always been tender, the Blu filet has also been occasionally tender but usually it isn't and requires sawing through it.  Most MDR entrees like the Steak Diane all use their NY sirloin, there's also a sliced flank steak, a ribeye and a prime rib, I've personally never experienced any of those remotely close to "fork tender".  X's MDR steaks hover around average (usually a tick below) which is below chain restaurants.  Generally, any boned chicken entrée like Jerk chicken or Lemon Pepper chicken is very tasty but any of their boneless options whether just the chicken breast or the stuffed breast (often covered in a lot of sauce) doesn't have a very good flavor and is often way over cooked making it extremely dry.

[C4HCG]

2 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Silliest comments you've ever seen?  I'm honored, I wish I had a speech prepared for this award!  Sorry if me mentioning TGI Fridays triggered you, I did say "pick any chain restaurant"; I get specific to add value to my comments as many post "I don't like some of X's food" which doesn't add much value.  I truly wish I had your taste buds if you think the food has improved.  My overall point remains, and I'll share a specific while Blu's filet mignon downing in sauce is "good", MOST chain restaurants, including (trigger alert!) Fridays, use a more tender cut and makes them taste better without even needing a sauce.  When we're in port during dinner time, we always ensure we eat off the ship in hopes of obtaining better food; maybe X hopes more of us do that to save money.

 

To be crystal clear, with the possible exception of slow drink refills, food service is usually on par with fine dining along with presentation. We simply wish X would continually tweak and improve their food quality/taste; I sail on X an average of twice quarter (sometimes I go solo) and feel the food continually gets worse.  Cost of food keeps going up yet it seems (pure speculation) X isn't proportionally increasing their food budget by enough.  

 

While food is highly subjective, here are some her and I's qualifiers...

1)  We live in one of the top five culinary markets in the world

2)  We go to Vegas often and if we're winning we dine at some of their finest restaurants

3)  We're Michelin Star hunters with a recent Singapore visit where we visited 7 starred food hawkers (BTW, if a restaurant is lucky enough to earn stars, it's all about the food, price, service and atmosphere is ignored).

4)  It's okay to like chain restaurants, this may come to a huge surprise to many yet if you Google a celebrity chef's name and "chain restaurant", you'll see many have their favorites chain sit downs or fast food restaurants.  For example, Gordon Ramsey loves In and Out Burger, Tyler Florence loves Applebees and the late Anthony Bourdain loved Sizzler and Popeyes

Foods an important part of life, simple choice I reckon.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

One thing remember is how Celebrity has treated people who got Covid , even if a bit of a ***** show 

Refunding you for days on ship and paying for hotel to quarantine

Friend of wife doing a bus tour in Australia got sick , they drop her off at hotel, where she had to pay for it herself and no refund for the days she missed

i think by January they should be up to standard of 2019 with retrained staffed 

 

[George C]

We still love cruising in the beginning first 20 or so cruises we were happy with our tiny inside cabin and mdr , this was the days there were no balconies. Some 30 or so cruises later we now cruise in suites and eat in suite restaurants or specialty restaurants. 

[canderson]

5 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

On all my 8 sailings since the restart, never seen a MDR steak that's even 1" thick.  Ignoring specialty restaurants which do usually have great steaks, only the Blu filet mignon and MDR beef wellington has exceeded an 1" thick.

We did not eat in the MDR (except for lunch one day) and cannot comment on the steaks there. 

[C4HCG]

5 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

One thing remember is how Celebrity has treated people who got Covid , even if a bit of a ***** show 

Refunding you for days on ship and paying for hotel to quarantine

Friend of wife doing a bus tour in Australia got sick , they drop her off at hotel, where she had to pay for it herself and no refund for the days she missed

i think by January they should be up to standard of 2019 with retrained staffed 

 

People here will complain that the standard of 2019 wasn’t up to the standard of earlier years, “critic” is appropriate here, could think of more accurate words.

[Spif Barwunkel]

This is an extremely interesting thread discussion, with worthwhile posts throughout, offering up valid points and food for thought. While some are gradually weaning themselves off their cruising habit, others remain enthralled with what the ships have to offer, both as a conveyance and as a home away from home.

From X cruising veterans who feel their expected standards have been lowered, even in the most basic of services, to new Celebrity cruisers-to-be- with their varying levels of presupposition, the entire industry has come under extreme scrutiny since Covid became a part of everyday life.

 

Indulge my musings, if you will, as I suggest that at whatever stage of cruising withdrawal we might be and whatever disappointments and letdowns we have encountered since the restart, that all was exacerbated by the shutdown and our own personal responses to same. Did we expect too much too soon? Did we fail to give the benefit of the doubt to our favorite ships and their crew’s? Did we immediately expect everything to be same as before, for us, while not realizing the entire big cruising picture and the burdens placed on cruise lines, cruise ships and cruise crews? Not to mention all the necessary support and expense needed to resume operations.

 

I prefer to keep the twinkle in my eye as a reflection of the “cruising sparkle.” My perfect cruises have never been a ten on the scale, and I do not expect them to be. Also, our thresholds differ as to comfort and satisfaction, the higher the threshold, the brighter the sparkle. I say that with no fear of compromising my cruising expectations or dimming the twinkle in my eye.

Edited October 9, 2022 by Spif Barwunkel

[mnocket]

On 10/8/2022 at 4:46 AM, Cruise a holic said:

We love cruising on big new Royal and Celebrity Ships.  However, I must admit we did a couple of All inclusive resorts in Cancun and absolutely loved them.  So while cruising is still our number one choice for a vacation, the AI's are another great option for us.

Same here.  We did our first all inclusive resort vacation last year.  Like you we choose Cancun.  We had no idea what to expect.  Turns out we too absolutely loved it!  Totally relaxing.  The cost of a high-end resort is comparable to what we are used to spending on cruises.  We are returning to Cancun in January '23 for 8 days in the same resort and then spending another 8 days in a different resort that also caught our eye.  If it wasn't for Covid we probably never would have tried all inclusive resorts.  Our first post-Covid cruise is booked for Dec '23, but we will cancel if Covid restrictions are still an issue.

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, C4HCG said:

Foods an important part of life, simple choice I reckon.

 

1 hour ago, canderson said:

We did not eat in the MDR (except for lunch one day) and cannot comment on the steaks there. 

 

Sure, if you want elevated food, you have to pay for it.  For a single night specialty dining they're charging about ($55x1.18x2) $130 USD/couple and they can be upcharges for a steak, on the Millie's Tuscan they have $20 upcharge for a 22oz one.  At that price I would hope you get a meal better than a chain restaurant.  You can save a bit if you're willing to buy a package but the bigger problem is getting a reservation at a day or time that works for you.  I haven't had too much trouble getting reservations but it may need to be 1-3 days out.

Edited October 9, 2022 by NutsAboutGolf

[Ex-Airbalancer]

24 minutes ago, mnocket said:

Same here.  We did our first all inclusive resort vacation last year.  Like you we choose Cancun.  We had no idea what to expect.  Turns out we too absolutely loved it!  Totally relaxing.  The cost of a high-end resort is comparable to what we are used to spending on cruises.  We are returning to Cancun in January '23 for 8 days in the same resort and then spending another 8 days in a different resort that also caught our eye.  If it wasn't for Covid we probably never would have tried all inclusive resorts.  Our first post-Covid cruise is booked for Dec '23, but we will cancel if Covid restrictions are still an issue.

If we are going for R&R it is an all inclusive resort,  no interest in cruising the Caribbean 

much rather cruise in Europe 

[canderson]

26 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Sure, if you want elevated food, you have to pay for it.

Yes and no.  I guess we pay for it in our cruise fare.

[Cruise a holic]

19 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

If we are going for R&R it is an all inclusive resort,  no interest in cruising the Caribbean 

much rather cruise in Europe 

Had such a great time in Playa Mujeres at this wonderful resort, we are booking again in July.  We love the fact that everything is included.  Many restaurants, and bars to choose from.  Including room service.  

We still have multiple cruises booked for next year.

[mnocket]

4 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

Had such a great time in Playa Mujeres at this wonderful resort,

Was that by any chance the Excellence?  I ask because that's the one that caught my eye and we'll be giving it a try next Jan.

[Cruise a holic]

1 minute ago, mnocket said:

Was that by any chance the Excellence?  I ask because that's the one that caught my eye and we'll be giving it a try next Jan.

Yes- but the Finest half Club level.  We had some kids with us in the family.  Excellence portion is adults only.  But the same hotel with different buildings.  Enjoy

Edited October 9, 2022 by Cruise a holic

[Bill Miller]

Celebrity delivers excellent value at a decent price. Sailed with CANDERSON last Nov 7 on Constellation from Tampa. Hearing you're on the Constellation transatlantic this month. We'll board after you disembark. Any in transit reports appreciated. Fair winds and following seas on your transatlantic.  

Edited October 9, 2022 by Bill Miller
spelling

[swigso]

We did an AI but it made us realise that we prefer to cruise Mexico is not for us 

and we were in a 5* resort service and staff were great bt just not. Our thing.

Sailed on the Reflection last month superb so glad we were back on Celebrity 

[gordylad]

Being the original poster its been fascinating reading the comments. A real mix of peoples personal opinions. I thank you for this.

 

From our side we will cruise next year again and I cant wait but my wife is a kind of take it or leave it. She always says "are you not fed up with the same old same old". I know what she means with the daily routines and evenings of meal, casino, show, casino.....but waking up on a different port is something special. Personally moving forward I am trying to select cruises in places which is new to us e.g. next year we will be on the Rome to Dubai cruise as we have not yet been to places like Jordan or Dubai.

[canderson]

1 hour ago, Bill Miller said:

Celebrity delivers excellent value at a decent price. Sailed with CANDERSON last Nov 7 on Constellation from Tampa. Hearing you're on the Constellation transatlantic this month. We'll board after you disembark. Any in transit reports appreciated. Fair winds and following seas on your transatlantic.  

No, Bill, we wanted a Barcelona vs. Rome departure, so as much as we would have loved another run on Connie, we're on Reflection.  We originally had our WB TA scheduled on Connie .. twice - 2020 and 2021 .. but both were cancelled.

[calicakes]

On 10/7/2022 at 2:39 PM, gordylad said:

I just wonder with a lot of negative reviews. In fact we had dinner with friends who were on the Reflection cruise in September and when discussing it they merely mentioned it was okay, food not great, ship needs an upgrade.........nothing really enthusiastic. And by the way one of them tested positive for covid after getting off the ship.

 

Personally we will continue to cruise but I just wonder how others feel.

We were on Reflection in September too.  I wasn't that impressed with the food( we dined in Luminae and OV).  The ports were ok, everything was too rushed for my liking.   We had a cruise( not on X) scheduled for July 2023.  We decided to cancel and spend half the money on an all inclusive resort in Aruba.  We like be able to stay put for a week and relax.  My wife came down with Covid the day after we returned home.  This, despite getting our 5th booster a week before we left.  I managed to avoid it.  The elevators were PACKED.  Lots of coughing people.  The room next to ours were quarantined almost the entire cruise.  

Edited October 9, 2022 by calicakes

[calicakes]

On 10/8/2022 at 1:46 PM, NutsAboutGolf said:

I do feel there’s just a lack of motivation to improve the food.  There are many limitations at sea for all cruise lines, most food needs to come on board frozen, must be batched cooked, it needs to be somewhat easy to make, etc.  Many Vloggers have said virgin voyages has the best food at sea and beat even (RIP) crystal and Oceania. Many have even said, myself included (so far as I’ve only sailed 4 cruise lines), CCL has the best burgers, BBQ and chicken (Shaqs) at sea. All X has added was a more expensive specialty restaurant which many report isn’t worth the price.  Pick a chain restaurant, Fridays/chilis/outback/etc and they’re all producing better food than X.  Service is generally great (at times slow due to staffing issues) along with presentation, but with some exceptions, the food taste is average.

Is Shaq's that good?  We're getting one in Santa Clarita shortly.  

[calicakes]

22 hours ago, Spif Barwunkel said:

How right you are. Air travel is just not fun. As much as we look forward to getting on the ship, we dread the long flights to the embarkation point just as much, and the trip home. I'm thinking no more than 4 to 6 long distance flights left for us in order to fulfill bucket-list items. After that, we will dial it way back.

We flew to Rome for our cruise last month.  Jet lag was ROUGH.  We missed our first pre-cruise bike tour because we overslept.  Once home, my wife got covid the next day and It took me a week to get over the jet lag.  I was falling asleep at 7:30pm every night. 

[calicakes]

On 10/8/2022 at 2:01 PM, broker1217 said:

Perhaps Celebrity knows their demographic and what they serve is okay with most of them?

IDK---I just know we were appalled at the food quality in the buffet.

We didn't expect it to be as good Viking/Crystal---but even Princess had better food in the buffet. 

To not be able to get an edible piece of fish or chicken in the buffet is inexcusable.

But maybe Celebrity has done the math and knows that X% of their passengers will happily eat pizza and Mexican food or pasta for lunch as long as they also provide a mountain of cheap desserts.

 

 

I was pretty disappointed in the buffet last month on Reflection.  The food was highly underseasoned.  They switched from Albacore tuna salad to the nasty chunk light.  The desserts are just so, so bad.  I don't waste calories on any dessert at the buffet( except a scoop of ice cream in a coke zero)

[calicakes]

22 hours ago, broker1217 said:

Okay-by lowest cost (cheap) food I mean very carb heavy things like pasta, pizza, lots of rice dishes. Desserts are also low cost.

No quality meats or fish. Only cheeses were provolone, pepper jack and swiss. No cheese like Brie or blue cheese. Lunch meat included bologna.

All very inexpensive.

And the beef roast at the carvery was Select at best. Blu had what I would guess is Choice and maybe Luminae had Prime beef--that is just a guess.

I don't expect Prime Beef at a buffet on a mass market line at the buffet. I do expect an edible piece of fish or chicken (not fried). And by decent I mean they actually say what kind of fish it is and chicken than is not dry, stringy and impossible to cut.

We sailed Reflection last month from Rome( Sept 16).  I did post a live blog with many pics of food.  I had to ask what the fish was.  Most times, I was told " Tilapia".  Which, if you're not aware is a FARMED in Vietnam/China fish.  The water standards there are super low, so I chose not to ingest that fish.   The roasted chicken was super dry. The carved turkey was dry.  The pasta casseroles that were served were tasteless.  I never add salt to food, but I had to numerous times at the buffet.  I tend to like the vegetarian Indian dishes, but this time they were way too spicy for me.  Food is very subjective.  We dined in Luminae( our first time in a suite) and while I thought it was good, it didn't blow me away.   A lot of it was very "fancy", food that we don't eat.  Pheasant, chicken liver mouse, beef tartar. The fish dishes I had were decent.  ( check out my pics)

 

We tried Oceania last Feb for the first time, I thought the food and desserts were a lot better.  The miso glazed cod at Red Ginger was one of the best seafood dishes I've ever had.  The baked goods were great.( I bake so I'm extra picky).  

 

The cheese selection wasn't great.  Mozzarella is not meant to be cut into cubes and served with crackers.   There was no goat cheese on the buffet as there has been in the past.  

[calicakes]

8 hours ago, chisoxfan said:

While all travel prices are rising we have migrated to all inclusives for our winter getaways that used to be cruises.  Everything is included,  food generally better and more diverse, and we can actually get a seat at the pool or on the beach. Minor issues with cancellation, usually as little as three days prior to trip, fly direct to resort (no hotel stay the night before or anguish over cancelled flights, etc.

We were looking at a Caribbean cruise for next Spring.  Prices were double what 8 nights at an all inclusive in Aruba costs.  We decided to book that, stay put at the resort and enjoy a relaxing week.  Even if we decide not to do the all inclusive( 300 extra a night), the room rate was 279 for a triple A rate at the Renaissance wind creek( and I'll earn Marriot points).