Oceanview Cafe dinner service being eliminated?

[jagoffee]

3 hours ago, RichYak said:

I'm on March 25, but it didn't seem to matter. All the Millennium sailing dates I checked in the app had the new reduced MDR menu.

I cannot figure out how to change to a cruise that I do not have booked.  
do you notice the same menu for the next upcoming cruise.

 

I find the AP menus are not accurate until close to the cruise date.  I know last November woukd not be relevant to your observations.  Let’s hope it is not true.

[jelayne]

6 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Hasn’t worked for me lately in either the MDR or Blu.  Longest wait is on chic night with lobster

That wait time will probably be less now with the extra charge for a 2nd lobster

[Oceansaway17]

wow this is a large thread with lots of comments.

Goes to show I think a lot of folks still like the night buffet.

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, jagoffee said:

I cannot figure out how to change to a cruise that I do not have booked.  
do you notice the same menu for the next upcoming cruise.

 

I find the AP menus are not accurate until close to the cruise date.  I know last November woukd not be relevant to your observations.  Let’s hope it is not true.

The very top of the app's main screen has ship, calendar, person icons. Click the person. Under the currently selected cruise click "Select a different cruise". Then at the bottom, click "Browse our ships". Choose any ship then any sailing.

 

I know the app isn't reliable until closer to sailing, but the MDR menus changed in the last week, and the current Millennium sailing lists the same new menu as all the future sailings.

[anjo216]

We are sailing on Silhoutte in February, and I was looking forward to trying the breakfast in the Spa Cafe and perhaps also the snacks in Craft Social. The app for our sailing still shows both, but concerned with all the recent reductions in offerings I looked up a current Silhoutte sailing on the app. 
 

Breakfast hours are still stated for the Spa Cafe, but the menu only shows lunch. Is this new as well or old news?

 

Furthermore, the menu for Craft Social has been removed completely and it is now only listed as a bar. However, their description still mentions “bar bites” 🤷🏼‍♀️

This will be our first Celebrity Cruise, and I must say that I am feeling somewhat underwhelmed at the moment. 
 

Would appreciate it if anyone has more information about current Spa Cafe and Craft Social offerings 🙏

[kenb]

On 1/9/2023 at 8:21 PM, terrydtx said:

And they can tap the added methane gas from the pork and beans for more propulsion.

[jagoffee]

29 minutes ago, RichYak said:

The very top of the app's main screen has ship, calendar, person icons. Click the person. Under the currently selected cruise click "Select a different cruise". Then at the bottom, click "Browse our ships". Choose any ship then any sailing.

 

I know the app isn't reliable until closer to sailing, but the MDR menus changed in the last week, and the current Millennium sailing lists the same new menu as all the future sailings.

Thank you for the reminder.  I had forgotten.

I see what you are referencing.  

[tfred]

1 hour ago, Oceansaway17 said:

wow this is a large thread with lots of comments.

Goes to show I think a lot of folks still like the night buffet.

they like the idea of the night buffet - doesnt mean that they eat at it in enough numbers to keep it going with the previous amount of food.  

 

walking through I would see some crew and some pax.  Never crowded by any stretch - not like breakfast or lunch is. X knows how much food they were throwing away 

[harz99]

We are 2 long term non suite Celebrity cruisers at E-plus loyalty level, quite frankly with all the cutbacks and changes we no longer feel valued in any way by Celebrity, the product is not deserving of the price being asked in any way shape or form, having taken a Canaries cruise on Silhouette last October to use up our FCCs from covid cancellations, i cannot see us ever taking another cruise on this line. Of course there will be plenty of newbies to take our place - they (X) hope!

Edited January 12, 2023 by harz99

[Ipeeinthepools]

5 minutes ago, tfred said:

they like the idea of the night buffet - doesnt mean that they eat at it in enough numbers to keep it going with the previous amount of food.  

 

walking through I would see some crew and some pax.  Never crowded by any stretch - not like breakfast or lunch is. X knows how much food they were throwing away 

 

I really doubt that the amount of discarded food is major financial factor in this decision.  Much of the food is recycled into other items the next day and probably recycled into the crew mess.  I'll suggest the major factor is the staff to support the evening service in the OVC.  They can either use the staff from the evening OVC to assist in other understaffed areas or they just reduce the number of crew.

[LoveCruisingSD]

Has anyone that emailed LLP or other executive staff asked if they will waive NR deposit for those who wish to cancel already booked cruises due to this drastic cutback in dinner offerings in OV?  For those who dine exclusively in OV (for personal or medical diet reasons) it appears to be a big deal.  

 

How would those MDR people feel if they cut that back and made them dine only in OV if they wanted a decent meal?

[Oville]

39 minutes ago, harz99 said:

We are 2 long term non suite Celebrity cruisers at E-plus loyalty level, quite frankly with all the cutbacks and changes we no longer feel valued in any way by Celebrity, the product is not deserving of the price being asked in any way shape or form, having taken a Canaries cruise on Silhouette last October to use up our FCCs from covid cancellations, i cannot see us ever taking another cruise on this line. Of course there will be plenty of newbies to take our place - they (X) hope!

Sorry, bye.  Hope you find a better line.

[weregoingcruising]

43 minutes ago, harz99 said:

We are 2 long term non suite Celebrity cruisers at E-plus loyalty level, quite frankly with all the cutbacks and changes we no longer feel valued in any way by Celebrity, the product is not deserving of the price being asked in any way shape or form, having taken a Canaries cruise on Silhouette last October to use up our FCCs from covid cancellations, i cannot see us ever taking another cruise on this line. Of course there will be plenty of newbies to take our place - they (X) hope!

Keep us updated on your vision on what you see for future Celebrity cruises.

[Ipeeinthepools]

49 minutes ago, harz99 said:

We are 2 long term non suite Celebrity cruisers at E-plus loyalty level, quite frankly with all the cutbacks and changes we no longer feel valued in any way by Celebrity, the product is not deserving of the price being asked in any way shape or form, having taken a Canaries cruise on Silhouette last October to use up our FCCs from covid cancellations, i cannot see us ever taking another cruise on this line. Of course there will be plenty of newbies to take our place - they (X) hope!

 

Bye. We have 1 more cruise booked on Celebrity and it is a very unique itinerary so it is likely we'll keep the reservation.  

 

We will likely try HAL, maybe we'll see you there.

[D C]

2 hours ago, kenb said:

I was waiting for that tie-in! 

[D C]

1 hour ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Bye. We have 1 more cruise booked on Celebrity and it is a very unique itinerary so it is likely we'll keep the reservation.  

 

We will likely try HAL, maybe we'll see you there.

The subject line of my email to the executive office was "good bye Celebrity" 

[bonagrad]

1 hour ago, LoveCruisingSD said:

Has anyone that emailed LLP or other executive staff asked if they will waive NR deposit for those who wish to cancel already booked cruises due to this drastic cutback in dinner offerings in OV?  For those who dine exclusively in OV (for personal or medical diet reasons) it appears to be a big deal.  

 

How would those MDR people feel if they cut that back and made them dine only in OV if they wanted a decent meal?

I sent a second email, after my first email on Sunday and I didn't ask this, but noted that we made our final payment on January 2nd, having no idea this was coming.  In addition I added much more feedback and suggestions that I didn't provide on Sunday.  As with Sunday, I got a call within 2 hours, this time from a different person.  This time actually got provide quite a bit of extra feedback.  I noted that I get the concern for waste, but there has to be a happy medium.  She said that they had gotten a lot of feedback the last few years about waste.  While this is fair, they went too far with the cuts on OVC.  They literally went from one of the best in terms of variety to the worst in the industry overnight.  I provide a suggestion that she said was going to pass along directly the Food and Beverage Team.  Here was my thought.  Since the Mast Grill closes at 6 and the Spa Cafe, mid-afternoon, why not repurposed those in the evening.  Use the Mast Grill for that made to order proteins and salads and the Spa Cafe for lighter options.  Both options for people without setting out large platters of food that might get thrown out.  That would provide additional options that could easily be controlled from an inventory standpoint.  Overall, I felt the conversation was productive.  She said they are listening and appreciate the feedback and suggestions.  I suggest everyone who feel strongly enough to take a few minutes to put together an email  Every bit of feedback gets us closer to them to make some changes in the right direction!   llutoff-perlo@celebritycruises.com

Edited January 12, 2023 by bonagrad

[twincheryl]

5 minutes ago, bonagrad said:

I sent a second email, after my first email on Sunday and I didn't ask this, but noted that we made our final payment on January 2nd, having no idea this was coming.  In addition I added much more feedback and suggestions that I didn't provide on Sunday.  As with Sunday, I got a call within 2 hours, this time from a different person.  This time actually got provide quite a bit of extra feedback.  I noted that I get the concern for waste, but there has to be a happy medium.  She said that they had gotten a lot of feedback the last few years about waste.  While this is fair, they went to far with the cuts on OVC.  They literally went from one of the best in terms of variety to the worst in the industry overnight.  I provide a suggestion that she said was going to pass along directly the Food and Beverage Team.  Here was my thought.  Since the Mast Grill closes at 6 and the Spa Cafe, mid-afternoon, why not repurposed those in the evening.  Use the Mast Grill for that made to order proteins and salads and the Spa Cafe for lighter options.  Both options for people without setting out large platters of food that might get thrown out.  That would provide additional options that could easily be controlled from an inventory standpoint.  Overall, I felt the conversation was productive.  She said they are listening and appreciate the feedback and suggestions.  I suggest everyone who feel strongly enough to take a few minutes to put together an email  Every bit of feedback gets us closer to them to make some changes in the right direction!   llutoff-perlo@celebritycruises.com

Great ideas and hoping things will get at least a little better.  Also agree that there is a huge amount of waste and it is important to address that, but you hit it exactly by saying that they went too far.  

[Ex-Airbalancer]

15 minutes ago, bonagrad said:

I sent a second email, after my first email on Sunday and I didn't ask this, but noted that we made our final payment on January 2nd, having no idea this was coming.  In addition I added much more feedback and suggestions that I didn't provide on Sunday.  As with Sunday, I got a call within 2 hours, this time from a different person.  This time actually got provide quite a bit of extra feedback.  I noted that I get the concern for waste, but there has to be a happy medium.  She said that they had gotten a lot of feedback the last few years about waste.  While this is fair, they went too far with the cuts on OVC.  They literally went from one of the best in terms of variety to the worst in the industry overnight.  I provide a suggestion that she said was going to pass along directly the Food and Beverage Team.  Here was my thought.  Since the Mast Grill closes at 6 and the Spa Cafe, mid-afternoon, why not repurposed those in the evening.  Use the Mast Grill for that made to order proteins and salads and the Spa Cafe for lighter options.  Both options for people without setting out large platters of food that might get thrown out.  That would provide additional options that could easily be controlled from an inventory standpoint.  Overall, I felt the conversation was productive.  She said they are listening and appreciate the feedback and suggestions.  I suggest everyone who feel strongly enough to take a few minutes to put together an email  Every bit of feedback gets us closer to them to make some changes in the right direction!   llutoff-perlo@celebritycruises.com

They already have a grill station in OV , it would be silly to open the Mast grill , it would be so far from anything else 

On the April Apex TA , 1/2 the ov station were was closed , ship was 65% filled

, most of the hot food was cold it was pretty bad , stir fry was good , the meatloaf was so cold they should just made sandwiches with it , and serve a side order of cold beans with it 🤣

If they make crapy food who will eat it 

[bonagrad]

1 minute ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

They already have a grill station in OV , it would be silly to open the Mast grill , it would be so far from anything else 

On the April Apex TA , 1/2 the ov station were was closed , ship was 65% filled

, most of the hot food was cold it was pretty bad , stir fry was good , the meatloaf was so cold they should just made sandwiches with it , and serve a side order of cold beans with it 🤣

If they make crapy food who will eat it 

I agree on the grill station and reopening it would be the most ideal, but I wanted offer an alternative to at least get them thinking.

[NMTraveller]

8 hours ago, RichYak said:

I'm on March 25, but it didn't seem to matter. All the Millennium sailing dates I checked in the app had the new reduced MDR menu.

On my cruise the menu is really reduced.  Only deserts and kids menu items on the planner.

Edited January 13, 2023 by NMTraveller

[RichYak]

16 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

On my cruise the menu is really reduced.  Only deserts and kids menu items on the planner.

Enjoy the Mac n Cheese sandwiches 😂

[Buckeye94]

I usually eat dinner in the MDR or specialty restaurants, but I've recently discovered the joy and peace of dinner in OV.

 

I'm on Infinity right now. I will say there is a huge difference between lunch and dinner. While dinner isn't as limited as some have speculated (yet), I was surprised by a couple things.

 

1) On Solstice class, and I think Edge, they had afternoon tea where you could get also get cheese, crackers/bread, meat and fruit. No more. The Mexican food station from lunch remained along with the limited fruit options.

 

2) The cheese selection at dinner was only cheddar and provolone with more options at lunch. In fact, many more options across the board, including a carving station, at lunch over dinner. 

 

Did they read that new report that suggests eating bigger breakfast and lunch with a smaller dinner is better for your metabolism and overall health? I jest. 

 

 

[Cruising Cindy Lou]

I had thought today that ships have not been full. So they don't have full staff. They want people to go to MDR so they can move most staff there.  I know on Edge last month a lot of the OV staff didn't seem to have much to do. 

I am fine with some cut backs in food in OV. They did have way too much for the amount of passengers. 

But sounds like they are cutting it to the extreme. 

We eat in OV more than MDR. 

 

[WonderMan3]

4 minutes ago, Buckeye94 said:

I usually eat dinner in the MDR or specialty restaurants, but I've recently discovered the joy and peace of dinner in OV.

 

I'm on Infinity right now. I will say there is a huge difference between lunch and dinner. While dinner isn't as limited as some have speculated (yet), I was surprised by a couple things.

 

1) On Solstice class, and I think Edge, they had afternoon tea where you could get also get cheese, crackers/bread, meat and fruit. No more. The Mexican food station from lunch remained along with the limited fruit options.

 

2) The cheese selection at dinner was only cheddar and provolone with more options at lunch. In fact, many more options across the board, including a carving station, at lunch over dinner. 

 

Did they read that new report that suggests eating bigger breakfast and lunch with a smaller dinner is better for your metabolism and overall health? I jest. 

 

 

This is the second report I've heard from an M class ship where it sounds like the OVC selections are not as reduced as E and S class. I wonder if it's because M class has fewer specialty offerings and maybe the OVC gets busier for dinner on those ships than on the other classes? From my own personal experiences I recall OVC dinner being much busier on Constellation and Summit than on Edge and the S-class ships I've been on.