Awful State of Ocean View Cafe for dinner

[terrydtx]

5 minutes ago, jules27556 said:

 

And so the "tweaking" has begun! 

Surf and turf with lobster has been tweaked to scallops and pork belly and Sirloin steak replacing fillets are two examples that stand out.

[jules27556]

Just now, terrydtx said:

Surf and turf with lobster has been tweaked to scallops and pork belly and Sirloin steak replacing fillets are two examples that stand out.

At the fares for both Aqua and the Retreat who would have "thunk" it? For that matter all fares!

 

I have never had pork belly or pork rinds, nor will I. OMGoodness, plan B may have just gone out the

window!

 

 

 

 

[Cap_D]

At this rate, how much longer until Celebrity is serving leftovers from the crew mess?  They really have an awful PR department and are doing all the TAs that have been promoting Celebrity on YouTube no favors. There will be videos of dancing Captains, and happy faces on TA live chats, a possible deletion of negative comments by some, and other attempts to put lip stick on the pig, but these cuts are drastic and as stated  worse than the Golden Corral.  That applies to the MSRs, and maybe Blu and Luminae too. 

 

What's left after these cuts to make a compelling case for Celebrity?  Monin syrups at the bars, lemon squares, a friendly crew, cleanliness, a free bag of laundry for repeat customers?  Surely it's not OBC offers, which is seemingly a dodge to make passengers responsible and at fault when they choose poorly for dinner ("darn, has I just gone to xyz"), a way to spur DIY entertainment ( e.g., can always sit in the casino if they cut the one guitar player and sell off the headphones for silent disco, and use up the OBC), or buy used luggage.

 

The charade of Celebrity's design and service based experience is up.  A few bartenders and a captain making martinis and dancing on the bar like they are at Coyote Ugly or in Cocktail doesn't make a vacation or make up for fish sticks, pork belly or bologna bars. 

 

At the least, Royal must have master purchase agreements with suppliers, and so on, like major restaurant chains. And, most of what is being reported is well beyond anything like a slight cutback and, the cost savings can't make much of a difference so bad as to necessitate bologna. 

 

People don't suddenly want crap now anymore than they would have when the new ships, kitchens, menus, staffing, etc were designed in 2017 and 2018.  Even on Margaritaville Cruises with reports of mold and many issues, they get marks for a burger, as does CCL.  Even Royal has its  chicken shack on Coco Cay, and onboard options, which while not immune leave more room for their downward spiral or to spread out costs). 

 

What will Celebrity be  known for in the coming weeks and months?  

 

Meanwhile, the ships and model were designed poorly if they can't support the slightest changes in food costs, available labor or dining preferences.  It's as if Celebrity has just given up despite having low staffing costs, the potential for modern kitchens (seems like they messed up here, and built spaces and prep methods that are only able to handle banquet dining) and other factors in their favor.  

 

Sadly, it doesn't even seem one can buy into a quality meal at the specialty dining options.  Post cutbacks it appears the quality and options doesn't even approximate anything from a comparable themed restaurant on land.  All the cash or (fake) OBC in the world may not be able to get one a meal as good as a land steakhouse, BBQ restaurant, Italian (red sauce or otherwise), or Asian restaurant with sushi.

 

Imagine paying 25k+ for an upper suite for 7 nights in the Caribbean on an E class ship and being told the option tonight is pork belly, an oddly cut fake NY strip, or top sirloin?   Is there at least a secret stash of prime cut meat in cryovac and someone that knows how to prepare it without a sauce intended to mask the quality of the food served to anyone else?  And, it doesn't seem like the Fine Cut place comes close. 

Edited January 17, 2023 by Cap_D

[mpdog42]

21 minutes ago, Cap_D said:

At this rate, how much longer until Celebrity is serving leftovers from the crew mess?  They really have an awful PR department and are doing all the TAs that have been promoting Celebrity on YouTube no favors. There will be videos of dancing Captains, and happy faces on TA live chats, a possible deletion of negative comments by some, and other attempts to put lip stick on the pig, but these cuts are drastic and as stated  worse than the Golden Corral.  That applies to the MSRs, and maybe Blu and Luminae too. 

 

What's left after these cuts to make a compelling case for Celebrity?  Monin syrups at the bars, lemon squares, a friendly crew, cleanliness, a free bag of laundry for repeat customers?  Surely it's not OBC offers, which is seemingly a dodge to make passengers responsible and at fault when they choose poorly for dinner ("darn, has I just gone to xyz"), a way to spur DIY entertainment ( e.g., can always sit in the casino if they cut the one guitar player and sell off the headphones for silent disco, and use up the OBC), or buy used luggage.

 

The charade of Celebrity's design and service based experience is up.  A few bartenders and a captain making martinis and dancing on the bar like they are at Coyote Ugly or in Cocktail doesn't make a vacation or make up for fish sticks, pork belly or bologna bars. 

 

At the least, Royal must have master purchase agreements with suppliers, and so on, like major restaurant chains. And, most of what is being reported is well beyond anything like a slight cutback and, the cost savings can't make much of a difference so bad as to necessitate bologna. 

 

People don't suddenly want crap now anymore than they would have when the new ships, kitchens, menus, staffing, etc were designed in 2017 and 2018.  Even on Margaritaville Cruises with reports of mold and many issues, they get marks for a burger, as does CCL.  Even Royal has its  chicken shack on Coco Cay, and onboard options, which while not immune leave more room for their downward spiral or to spread out costs). 

 

What will Celebrity be  known for in the coming weeks and months?  

 

Meanwhile, the ships and model were designed poorly if they can't support the slightest changes in food costs, available labor or dining preferences.  It's as if Celebrity has just given up despite having low staffing costs, the potential for modern kitchens (seems like they messed up here, and built spaces and prep methods that are only able to handle banquet dining) and other factors in their favor.  

 

Sadly, it doesn't even seem one can buy into a quality meal at the specialty dining options.  Post cutbacks it appears the quality and options doesn't even approximate anything from a comparable themed restaurant on land.  All the cash or (fake) OBC in the world may not be able to get one a meal as good as a land steakhouse, BBQ restaurant, Italian (red sauce or otherwise), or Asian restaurant with sushi.

 

Imagine paying 25k+ for an upper suite for 7 nights in the Caribbean on an E class ship and being told the option tonight is pork belly, an oddly cut fake NY strip, or top sirloin?   Is there at least a secret stash of prime cut meat in cryovac and someone that knows how to prepare it without a sauce intended to mask the quality of the food served to anyone else?  And, it doesn't seem like the Fine Cut place comes close. 

Serous Mic Drop with two snaps up and a Twist…

[NMTraveller]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

Surf and turf with lobster has been tweaked to scallops and pork belly and Sirloin steak replacing fillets are two examples that stand out.

Scallops and pork belly is an item that would contribute to the waste.  I would place two orders of this entree and toss out the pork bellies.

Edited January 17, 2023 by NMTraveller

[LGW59]

1 hour ago, Cap_D said:

At this rate, how much longer until Celebrity is serving leftovers from the crew mess?  They really have an awful PR department and are doing all the TAs that have been promoting Celebrity on YouTube no favors. There will be videos of dancing Captains, and happy faces on TA live chats, a possible deletion of negative comments by some, and other attempts to put lip stick on the pig, but these cuts are drastic and as stated  worse than the Golden Corral.  That applies to the MSRs, and maybe Blu and Luminae too. 

 

What's left after these cuts to make a compelling case for Celebrity?  Monin syrups at the bars, lemon squares, a friendly crew, cleanliness, a free bag of laundry for repeat customers?  Surely it's not OBC offers, which is seemingly a dodge to make passengers responsible and at fault when they choose poorly for dinner ("darn, has I just gone to xyz"), a way to spur DIY entertainment ( e.g., can always sit in the casino if they cut the one guitar player and sell off the headphones for silent disco, and use up the OBC), or buy used luggage.

 

The charade of Celebrity's design and service based experience is up.  A few bartenders and a captain making martinis and dancing on the bar like they are at Coyote Ugly or in Cocktail doesn't make a vacation or make up for fish sticks, pork belly or bologna bars. 

 

At the least, Royal must have master purchase agreements with suppliers, and so on, like major restaurant chains. And, most of what is being reported is well beyond anything like a slight cutback and, the cost savings can't make much of a difference so bad as to necessitate bologna. 

 

People don't suddenly want crap now anymore than they would have when the new ships, kitchens, menus, staffing, etc were designed in 2017 and 2018.  Even on Margaritaville Cruises with reports of mold and many issues, they get marks for a burger, as does CCL.  Even Royal has its  chicken shack on Coco Cay, and onboard options, which while not immune leave more room for their downward spiral or to spread out costs). 

 

What will Celebrity be  known for in the coming weeks and months?  

 

Meanwhile, the ships and model were designed poorly if they can't support the slightest changes in food costs, available labor or dining preferences.  It's as if Celebrity has just given up despite having low staffing costs, the potential for modern kitchens (seems like they messed up here, and built spaces and prep methods that are only able to handle banquet dining) and other factors in their favor.  

 

Sadly, it doesn't even seem one can buy into a quality meal at the specialty dining options.  Post cutbacks it appears the quality and options doesn't even approximate anything from a comparable themed restaurant on land.  All the cash or (fake) OBC in the world may not be able to get one a meal as good as a land steakhouse, BBQ restaurant, Italian (red sauce or otherwise), or Asian restaurant with sushi.

 

Imagine paying 25k+ for an upper suite for 7 nights in the Caribbean on an E class ship and being told the option tonight is pork belly, an oddly cut fake NY strip, or top sirloin?   Is there at least a secret stash of prime cut meat in cryovac and someone that knows how to prepare it without a sauce intended to mask the quality of the food served to anyone else?  And, it doesn't seem like the Fine Cut place comes close. 

IF these things are happening or being seriously contemplated, Celebrity will have a very big problem.  I'm not doubting folks who are sailing or recently did, but this is so very far removed from my 14 day experience on the Edge in Oct/Nov 2022, though I was in an upper suite in Retreat.  A current thread running here is from someone who just got off Beyond this week and her experience/review seemed very positive and similiar to mine, though she did mention a few glitches.  As a couple who only sail once a year (on occasion 2x) we are comfortable sailing in suites, but def not if all of these cuts are sustained and become the norm.  I just booked a cruise on Oceania for May 2023, 7 days, great Med. itinerary, which I compared a Celebrity Suite to a PH1 on Oceania, O won by being $4K less.  My two considerations were #1 the cost diff was substantial and we have been wanting to try O for a long time, and what we have heard about their food, this seemed the perfect opportunity to do that.  Not writing off Celebrity yet, but will def be keeping my eyes wide open.   

Edited January 17, 2023 by LGW59
typo

[SkystheLimit]

Celebrity is in the midst of a management crisis.  These are not remotely acceptable decisions for dining options if the reports are true.

 

Edited January 17, 2023 by SkystheLimit

[mnocket]

My journey through grief...

 

I humbly fall on my sword🔪

Denial

I was one of those who thought there was much more rumor than fact to the initial talk of the demise of the dinner buffet.  While reports from different ships still differ, there's no arguing with the OP's video.  It might not be dead, but it most certainly is on life support. I really didn't believe the drastic change evidenced in this video were within the realm of possibilities. I was wrong.

 

I see many other posters who seem stuck on another form of denial insisting that these cutbacks don't really matter.  "I don't use room service"  "I don't eat dinner in the buffet"  "I don't eat steak-lobster-etc.-etc.." "I don't drink" ... on and on and on. It seems that for some no matter the cutback they will find a way to rationalize it as ultimately OK.  They seem blind to the death spiral that seems to be engulfing the Premium cruise sector - Celebrity in particular.

 

Anger

Yeah I began to get angry at Celebrity for all of the cutbacks and price increases.  I wanted Celebrity post-Covid to resemble the Celebrity of just a few years ago.  I found myself blaming Celebrity's management for destroying the cruse experience I so enjoyed.  

 

Bargaining

I seem to have skipped over this stage, but I see many posts here describing communications with the Celebrity "Executive Office".  Generally these seem to be pleas for Celebrity to rollback the changes or at lease moderate them. Some cling to the hope that Celebrity management will alter their course if they just understand how disappointed loyal customers are.

 

Depression

What can I say?  It's hard not to be bummed by the inexorable demise of Premium cruising.

 

Acceptance

Yeah, I've finally reconciled myself to accepting that Celebrity management is not making these changes because they want to.  They're not making them because they think they improve Celebrity.  They're not even making them because they're greedy bastards and think they can get away it.  No, I've come to accept that they are making these changes because they have no other choice.  These are going to be permanent and there will be more to come.  The price/service proposition that defined the Premium cruise sector is no longer sustainable - largely due to the need to service the huge debt they took on to survive the Covid shutdown. I've come to accept that Celebrity and other Premium cruise lines may not survive as a separate segment of the cruise market . 

 

I'm no longer angry about the changes.  This is the new reality.  So I'm moving on. I'm now booking fewer cruises, but on luxury cruise lines.  I'm also taking more land vacations and I've even vacationed at an all-inclusive resort. 

 

There are others who come to accept the new reality of Premium cruising and will continue to sail on Celebrity.  Those are the people who offer a glimmer of hope for the future of Celebrity.  Whatever the case,  I hope everyone comes out the other end with a resolution that works for them and allows them to keep chipping away at their bucket lists🙂

Edited January 17, 2023 by mnocket

[Solent Richard]

14 hours ago, stringbean10 said:

I mean....I guess. hahahaha - I just wouldn't choose to eat at a buffet when I could eat at a restaurant by a 3* Michelin chef.   

 

It just seems silly to me to to complain about reduced offerings on a dinner buffet when there are so many other great options available.  If they noticed the food waste was excessive and less than 100 people were using the buffet. It makes sense to cut costs here/reduce offerings.  These 100 people out of 3000+ are probably not the 'big spenders.'  They are never going to make everyone happy - they did the math.  

 

If they cut entertainment in some way, as some are suggesting, the folks who enjoy the shows would be up in arms.  I bet entertainment is a much more fixed cost and easier for the line to calculate vs. food cost right now. 

 

The folks complaining about it and claiming "never again". - just like they did when they took away turn down service, chocolates on the pillow, room service or added 'speciality restaurants' - won't leave.  And if they do, celebrity won't miss them.  

 

What is their other choice?  Have fun on your carnival 3 day out of Galveston with the free buffet with more options?  They are not the same product, they are not targeting the same audience.    

 

If you cancel and take your business else where, I am very curious as to where you are going to go.  Celebrity has stated they are targeting Gen X with the new edge ships.  I could just be you are aging out of celebrity's target market and may be much happier on HAL or Princess.  Just like a family may be aging into Celebrity - the only constant in this life is change. 

 

How right you are. A perfect summation of a storm in a teacup.

[Solent Richard]

1 hour ago, mnocket said:

My journey through grief...

 

 

 

I see many other posters who seem stuck on another form of denial insisting that these cutbacks don't really matter.  "I don't use room service"  "I don't eat dinner in the buffet"  "I don't eat steak-lobster-etc.-etc.." "I don't drink" ... on and on and on. It seems that for some no matter the cutback they will find a way to rationalize it as ultimately OK.  They seem blind to the death spiral that seems to be engulfing the Premium cruise sector - Celebrity in particular.

 

 

There are others who come to accept the new reality of Premium cruising and will continue to sail on Celebrity.  Those are the people who offer a glimmer of hope for the future of Celebrity.  Whatever the case,  I hope everyone comes out the other end with a resolution that works for them and allows them to keep chipping away at their bucket lists🙂

 

It would appear that there are currently many who, rather than appearing 'blind to the death spiral' have a firm grip on reality and understand the trauma that we the passengers and they, the cruise lines, have come through one hell of a tough period.

 

As I've just congratulated @stringbean10 above (#359), that's one prudent observation they made.

[jean87510]

5 hours ago, LGW59 said:

IF these things are happening or being seriously contemplated, Celebrity will have a very big problem.  I'm not doubting folks who are sailing or recently did, but this is so very far removed from my 14 day experience on the Edge in Oct/Nov 2022, though I was in an upper suite in Retreat.  A current thread running here is from someone who just got off Beyond this week and her experience/review seemed very positive and similiar to mine, though she did mention a few glitches.  As a couple who only sail once a year (on occasion 2x) we are comfortable sailing in suites, but def not if all of these cuts are sustained and become the norm.  I just booked a cruise on Oceania for May 2023, 7 days, great Med. itinerary, which I compared a Celebrity Suite to a PH1 on Oceania, O won by being $4K less.  My two considerations were #1 the cost diff was substantial and we have been wanting to try O for a long time, and what we have heard about their food, this seemed the perfect opportunity to do that.  Not writing off Celebrity yet, but will def be keeping my eyes wide open.   

yes, we are looking at Oceania as well for 2025.  We like their itineraries and the prices and what's included for the prices.

[southernbreezes]

2 hours ago, jean87510 said:

yes, we are looking at Oceania as well for 2025.  We like their itineraries and the prices and what's included for the prices.

I looked at Oceania also, but no way. Just compare any of there ships to say the Edge. The Edge has so much more to offer...just the pool deck on the Oceania turns me off plus Edge has more dining options, bar options, the ships are just to small to offer what Celebrity offers in a ship. Food sorry but our food on all our Celebrity ships have been excellent as well as service in our Suites. Our April cruise is on Apex 15 nights and yes the Celebrity Suite we booked was expensive but life is short. Cut backs who really eats dinner in the Ocean View Cafe it is empty at dinner. Who needs a second lobster tail. Room service we stay in suites only order coffee in the morning its free but I would gladly pay a service charge to wake up to my fresh coffee. Our hotel in Venice 2 cups of coffee from room service was 35 euros I walked to the lobby and got ours.

[cgolf1]

I like @mnocketpost because it sums up what we went through with Disney cruises when we left for Royal. We were very disappointed and angry with DCL for them chipping away at benefits we liked and used and for really increasing their prices. We sailed retreat level and one year they decided to double the cost to rebook the next year, and 5 years later when we priced them out an Oceanview was roughly what we paid for retreat level lol. I was all over the DCL board complaining as were others at the time.

 

Fast forward to now, we will sail soon and see what it looks like when we are on board. If the product is acceptable we will likely keep the 2025 cruise we booked and if it is unacceptable to us we will move on. Disney taught me a lot, but I do see differences here and I will give Celebrity a bit to figure things out. Disney was about emptying everyone's wallets, while right now with inflation and what lines went through during the pandemic I will tolerate a bit more, but won't hesitate to pull the plug if it goes to far. But yes, it will be a decision on how the cutbacks impact us specifically thing when we decide our future cruises.

 

So I do empathize with many of you as we have been there before, now we are just kind of indifferent to the brand loyalty thing. 

[chamima]

10 hours ago, terrydtx said:

I have seen posts on FB that the tweaks have already happened in both Blu and Luminae. There is a FB group of Retreat guests and they are highlighting the cuts in Luminae.

 
 

Any specifics on the cuts in Blu?

Thanks

[phoenix_dream]

If you want to dine in the MDR tonight in Equinox one menu item is Pork and Beans. Hope they recycle those cans of Campbell's!

[terrydtx]

5 minutes ago, chamima said:

 
 

Any specifics on the cuts in Blu?

Thanks

My comments about BLU "tweaking" are based off posts about the subject on FB. The Luminae comments are from my menu experience last year compared to what the app shows for my June Equinox cruise. 

[cw2go]

15 minutes ago, southernbreezes said:

I looked at Oceania also, but no way. 

 

I agree. I've read and researched Oceania options since it's been highly recommend here. Looks way to sedate and dull. 

I still want more variety and fun than they offer. I know martini bar shows are corny and the production shows get blah but I do find that the Celebrity's ship vibe is overall adult clean fun. Food is obviously important for many cruisers but for us it isn't top spot. To be fair if we relied on the buffet, this video would have me cancelling asap. It's just not the case for us. 

People need to choose what will work best for them and if that is Oceania, then great but for us Celebrity is still meeting our desires and needs. 

There is always trade offs when picking any vacation. Food vs Itinerary vs Vibe vs Ship vs Land vs Cruise line vs Time of Year etc. 

 

I hope that everyone enjoys whatever they choose, 

Patty 

[The_Big_M]

19 hours ago, Vagabond Knight said:

Does anyone know if Royal Caribbean has also significantly downgraded their buffet?  My friend is a Royal cruiser and this cruise was going to be her intro to "upgrading" to Celebrity. 

 

Sailed this week with them, and it's not as good as it used to be - it's now exactly the same as the lunch menu. But you can see from that that it's still better than this new Celebrity version.

[terrydtx]

16 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

If you want to dine in the MDR tonight in Equinox one menu item is Pork and Beans. Hope they recycle those cans of Campbell's!

That same entree shows up on the night of day 6 on our June Equinox cruise in the MDR. The description in the app sounds a little better than canned beans, but just calling it pork and beans started a firestorm of criticism and whoever came up with that name should be fired.

 

Here is how it is described in my app:

Pork and Beans Braised pork cheeks, roasted pork tenderloin, White bean puree with roasted carrots.

Edited January 17, 2023 by terrydtx

[mac_tlc]

3 hours ago, jean87510 said:

yes, we are looking at Oceania as well for 2025.  We like their itineraries and the prices and what's included for the prices.

We are also looking at O, but frankly have not found any huge price difference yet. The food seems better, but the relative lack of activities we enjoy is a minus. Their itineraries also have a lot of port stops — one 11 day one on Vista has seven straight ports. That's not for us. Some mobility challenges make that no fun. Stay on ship? Sure but some facilities are closed in port. 
 

In two weeks we will be on the Beyond and see for ourselves. Then we will decide. These multiple threads are interesting to read but frankly, comparisons to Golden Corral and Applebees seem a bit much. I’ll experience it myself, then figure out our future cruising path.

 

 

mac_tlc

[terrydtx]

4 hours ago, jean87510 said:

yes, we are looking at Oceania as well for 2025.  We like their itineraries and the prices and what's included for the prices.

We have done the same and booked our first O cruise, a March 2025 South America 18-night cruise on the Oceania Marina. Much more port intensive than the 14-night Equinox cruise we had considered with 4 more ports. The 18 nights on O costs a little less than the 14-night Sky Suite on the Equinox. We are looking at another O cruise of New England/Canada cruise in the summer 2024 or 25.  We cruise to explore new places we have never been to and prefer more ports and less sea days, for us a sea day is a waste of time. Oceania has great looking itineraries with far fewer sea days. Night life and shipboard activities for us are not that important so we think O is going to be a great fit.

[stringbean10]

Several people have mentioned the Bellagio/Ceasar's buffet as a bench mark 'good' buffet.  That runs about $50-65 pp,  Works out to be $700 per double occupancy room on a 7 night cruise - are people willing to have that baked in to their fare?  Would they be screaming about the "outrageous" price increasess.  Should they spread out the cost among and everyone else subsidises your buffet preference?  I don't eat there. Is that fair/good value for other passengers?  

 

I don't mind the ala carte pricing.  It makes me feel like I am spending my money on things I like most.  Speciality restaurants, alcohol, casino and spa passes.  If they returned the buffet to it's former 'glory' and charged would that make people happy? 

 

As of September 2022, RCL has a $30 BILLION dollar debt load - that they are paying 11% interest!  It is honestly difficult to wrap your head around 1 billion dollars much less 30! Yes, changes will happen - so will be good and some will be bad.  They are trying to become profitable.  They have a big hole to dig out of here. 

 

Right now this freak out reminds me of when they stopped doing midnight buffets with the weird carved fruit, ice sculptures and chocolate fountains.  Do I miss it? no. Did anyone stop cruising over those cuts? IDK 

[dreams_of_travel]

I got off of the Eclipse on Saturday.  The food in the MDR was awful.  We ate there for breakfast, and dinner.  I could list the items that were inedible, flavorless or just wrong, though I may not remember them all.  A few things stick out.  One morning the bacon was rancid, having an awful odor, smelling like it had been fried in old oil that had been used for frying fish.  My travel partner had the schnitzel one night, and it lacked flavor beyond the telling, so he requested dijon mustard to try to eat it.  On several occasions a dessert was so bad it couldn't be eaten.  One was a pineapple upside down cake, another cheese cake, the third was an apple tart with caramel sauce with the sauce having been burned, so the whole dish was bitter.  FWIW I am not a picky eater but it was such a challenge to figure out what if anything would be better than the previous night.  Meaning we began to joke about which dish would have flavor each night.  It wasn't just me or my friend, it was our entire table of six. 

 

The buffet was not any better.  The pizza was flavorless.  I didn't know that was even possible to get pizza wrong.   Room service food was equally flavorless. 

 

We did eat in Sushi on 5 three times.  Those meals were quite good.

 

There was a theory we considered, that Celebrity is purposefully making the free food so terrible that it would drive guests to the specialty/for fee venues to raise more money for their coffers.  YMMV

[BeachTunes]

11 hours ago, Cap_D said:

At this rate, how much longer until Celebrity is serving leftovers from the crew mess?  

 

This question actually makes me feel for the crew. If there are cuts being made to the cuisine of paying customers, undoubtedly cuts are being made to crew meals. 

 

I was a crew member aboard a Disney ship over 20 years ago when the line was brand new. The crew mess was "something" to put it nicely. I was told the budget per crew member per day for food was a measly $1.00. Not sure if that was true but I believed it at the time. I hope dining has improved for crews on all fleet. They work so hard, many of them with zero accolades or recognition. 

 

Ah, now I'm reminiscing! Pig tail and pig feet were featured multiple days of the week! Lots of "mystery fish" in sauce. The majority of the crew wasn't North American/Western European/Australian so most meals weren't catered to what we were used to. I completely understand having to cater for diversity but I lost a LOT of weight during those two 6-month contracts! LOL! The officer's mess, the few times I was invited as a guest, was much better. The best time to eat in the  mess was around 10pm when the extra steaks and other MDR mains were sent down for the crew. I will say that the line did an excellent job for festivities like Christmas dinner and various cultural celebrations. (I will save tales from the crew bar for another thread!  😉)

 

Back to the topic... We'll be on the Millennium in Aqua Class this March for our first Celebrity cruise since 2015. We enjoyed the food and service on two previous X cruises on The Reflection and The Summit. We're hoping for the best as we sailed with Paul Gauguin and Crystal pre-pandemic and were totally spoiled. (Alas, what happened and is happening to Crystal is another story!) 

 

I'll be sure to post lots of foodie photos when we return!

Edited January 17, 2023 by BeachTunes

[NMTraveller]

Our next cruise is on AMA Waterways and I expect our next booking to be on O.

 

These cuts are a bit much.