Lobster in MDR now extra cost?

[dreamer321]

Celebrity finally posted the menus for Beyond for the Jan. 3 -8 cruise.  I was going through the menu and I notice that the Broiled Lobster Tail had a "$" after it.

 

I have not seen that before. I guess the days of free multiple Lobster tails is a thing of the past.

[LGW59]

9 minutes ago, dreamer321 said:

Celebrity finally posted the menus for Beyond for the Jan. 3 -8 cruise.  I was going through the menu and I notice that the Broiled Lobster Tail had a "$" after it.

 

I have not seen that before. I guess the days of free multiple Lobster tails is a thing of the past.

The various new charges and changes to many onboard Celebrity offerings is causing a lot of consternation here.  They gotta pay of a $19 Billion dollar loans and guess who is paying...No matter, IMO, Celebrity still offers a wonderful onboard product, once all the $$ are settled and sailing is underway.  But I'm still going to try Oceania in May.

[NutsAboutGolf]

Good catch...My WAG (Wild A$$ Guess) is the first is free, extra charge for more than one

[Buckeye94]

I'm on Infinity now. There's a note on the menu that one complimentary lobster dinner will be offered on sailings of 7+ nights. There's an additional charge of $16.99 + 18% gratuity for extra lobster. Not to say this won't move to "always extra," but at least I get one! (I'll post a picture of the details when I have better internet.)

 

[mahdnc]

Ugh. It's starting to get depressing from reading this forum.

[prmssk]

7 minutes ago, Buckeye94 said:

I'm on Infinity now. There's a note on the menu that one complimentary lobster dinner will be offered on sailings of 7+ nights. There's an additional charge of $16.99 + 18% gratuity for extra lobster. Not to say this won't move to "always extra," but at least I get one! (I'll post a picture of the details when I have better internet.)

 

Does the menu mention any details about the lobster on the night the first it is complimentary?  The reason I'm asking is the menu they were testing on Royal with the same change listed a Maine Lobster instead of the small warm water ones cruise lines usually serve in the MDR.  I personally would rather one better Maine Lobster over multiple smaller warm water lobsters.

[RichYak]

We are watching a train wreck in slow motion. They are killing the brand. Did a hedge fund guy take over running the company on Jan 1?

[LMaxwell]

2 minutes ago, RichYak said:

We are watching a train wreck in slow motion.

Imagine getting on a ship this New Years weekend and getting hit with the triple whammy when you set sail? 

[RichYak]

6 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

Imagine getting on a ship this New Years weekend and getting hit with the triple whammy when you set sail? 

The new business model is to charge so much for suites that anything else they do doesn’t matter. There’s no risk losing pleb balcony or aqua customers. Nickel and dime them while they can. 

[dreamer321]

4 minutes ago, RichYak said:

The new business model is to charge so much for suites that anything else they do doesn’t matter. There’s no risk losing pleb balcony or aqua customers. Nickel and dime them while they can. 

Hey, I resemble that remark except that I'm ultra slumming Inside.

[dlh015]

25 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

Ugh. It's starting to get depressing from reading this forum.

Agree. I was thinking the same about an hour ago...

Generally, I'm an optimist...but the individual changes taken as a whole are indeed saddening...

I guess I'll make my own assessment starting 10 days from now...

[dlh015]

8 minutes ago, RichYak said:

The new business model is to charge so much for suites that anything else they do doesn’t matter. There’s no risk losing pleb balcony or aqua customers. Nickel and dime them while they can. 

And, as a matter of fact I have started to consider that, too. New ship builds can make great use of carving out Suites and reducing regular balcony SRs...then who needs a buffet and the like??

 

Radical thought, huh?

[MamaFej]

I'm glad others are finally saying out loud what I've been thinking.

 

I have been alternating between this forum and the #1 major news story in the US today. I'm not sure which one is a metaphor for the other. 

 

 

There is a huge feel-good aspect to the #2 news story in the US: Damar Hamlin's toy drive charity has received over $5 million in donations. I add this to give folks something to smile about. 

[jelayne]

I too find the changes disheartening.  So far the only change that affects us is the increase in the beverage package as that impacts the upgrade price.

 

We don’t order from Room Service, almost never ( like 3x in 38 cruises) eat dinner in the OV and don’t eat lobster.  
So while the changes don’t really impact us the next one could.

To end the evening on a brighter note I decided to book our flights to Rome for our B2B in October. Now talk about depressing,  one way Premium Economy ( not Business) is ranging from $1900 -$4500 per person.  

I think I need another glass of wine😉

[MamaFej]

1 minute ago, jelayne said:

I too find the changes disheartening.  So far the only change that affects us is the increase in the beverage package as that impacts the upgrade price.

 

We don’t order from Room Service, almost never ( like 3x in 38 cruises) eat dinner in the OV and don’t eat lobster.  
So while the changes don’t really impact us the next one could.

To end the evening on a brighter note I decided to book our flights to Rome for our B2B in October. Now talk about depressing,  one way Premium Economy ( not Business) is ranging from $1900 -$4500 per person.  

I think I need another glass of wine😉

Joan, did you check awards availability? We booked Business Class LAX to LHR for $201 plus 100,000 points  (half of which were a sign up bonus) each . We will still have to get to CPH from LHR, but that should be fairly inexpensive, and we are happy in main cabin for short (ish)  flights. 

 

Please enjoy a glass of wine for me. Dry January and all...

[rj59]

It does get depressing, especially when you've been with a line for a long time and you see the cutbacks over the years, particularly now in obvious cost-cutting, revenue-enhancing mode, now that ships are full of a lot of people who haven't experienced anything better. I was a long-time HAL devotee, but on a 7-nt cruise lasts month they didn't offer free lobster at all, nor the creme brûlée that used to be sublime, and like NCL, they only had a single, lackluster lunch menu for sea days. But at the same time, I count myself lucky, because I got on my first Celebrity cruise last August for $500 to Alaska solo, booked Apex for $600 for a week, and when I got home booked the Solstice 4 more times with an average fare of $250 for an inside solo, two of the cruises all-inclusive. I also picked up 100 shares of RCL when a Carnival crash made RCL tank, and since then it's given a handsome profit, plus the extra $100 credit for each cruise. So I'm excited about Celebrity now, although going forward, they'll probably be out my price range, and I had to pass up a nice Spain cruise because at $2500 for 9 nts solo, it just wasn't in my price range. I see the menus for my Solstice sailing in 4 days disappeared, except for desserts, so it will be interesting to see what pops up. Hopefully they won't also jack up the prices of all the drinks as well to push them out of the standard drinks package. 

[mari10]

My DH normally asks for 2 lobster tails, but last week the tails were so small that he actually asked for an additional tail. 
I don’t think this is going to go over very well…

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, MamaFej said:

Joan, did you check awards availability? We booked Business Class LAX to LHR for $201 plus 100,000 points  (half of which were a sign up bonus) each . We will still have to get to CPH from LHR, but that should be fairly inexpensive, and we are happy in main cabin for short (ish)  flights. 

 

Please enjoy a glass of wine for me. Dry January and all...

We are using most of our credit card award points for the flight home from Singapore, 16 hr😮.  Our airline points are being hoarded for flight to Sydney.  The search will continue.  The wine was good 😊 

[Cap_D]

Reference: 4oz lobster tail is $12.49 at Whole Foods.  And, cheaper frozen lobster tail can last about 6 months in a commercial freezer.  

[Guest]

I don't care for Lobster, but I know it Is a traditional part of formal night and has been for years. I do hope (for the Lobster lovers sake) that they at least change out the Lobster to Maine Lobster! I wonder if they realised the reason why so many people ask for multiple tails is due to the small size. 

 

an aside: I saw a man on a Facebook group was proudly stating he beat the ship record and ate 16 Lobster tails in one sitting. Maybe that was the final straw? 😅

Edited January 4, 2023 by Guest

[Buckeye94]

7 hours ago, prmssk said:

Does the menu mention any details about the lobster on the night the first it is complimentary?  The reason I'm asking is the menu they were testing on Royal with the same change listed a Maine Lobster instead of the small warm water ones cruise lines usually serve in the MDR.  I personally would rather one better Maine Lobster over multiple smaller warm water lobsters.

Here is what the app shows. I'm on Day 3, so I'll reply with more info in a week, if I learn more. Looks to be the usual offering, though. Also, this notice only appears on MDR menu. Blu doesn't mention a limit.

 

Edited January 4, 2023 by Buckeye94

[gold1953]

I guess when I order my lamb I can order a second meal of lobster so DH can have 2. 

[Susanb10567]

This is very disheartening…I stopped sailing Royal due to being nickel and dimed…I have been sailing solely in the Retreat but we have been priced out of some of our 2024 and 2025 sailings…we shall see if I will be looking at new lines to try…

[NutsAboutGolf]

"No Complimentary Lobster" is already trademarked in the cruise industry...It's called NCL...lol

Edited January 4, 2023 by NutsAboutGolf

[Susanb10567]

It looks as of now there is at least no extra charge in Blu…