Awful State of Ocean View Cafe for dinner

[Cap_D]

All of the terrific suggestions for how to salvage the dinner OCV or alternatives require more effort, and may actually expose the poor quality and selection at the MDR(s). 

 

Celebrity seems deadset on underperforming and alienating customers either now to those that know, or on the cruise that only learn of all of this when they go to their first dinner.  They will have already searched high and low for over hyped Eden Cafe that is open once per cruise (no matter how good it is, it's a fail due to being closed) for a few hours, and likely to have skipped the MDR for lunch, if it's even served.  

 

The irony is the PR on the menu changes on Royal is all about faster dining times. Following along, the RCBlog (private website) has an entire article with time counts on it.  That's helps to feed anxious passengers, and to free them up for other activities.  Meanwhile there's no rationale or cohesive approach to dining given what has occurred on Celebrity.  And, the lower quality and a push of people to MDRs...and looking for a desirable meal or watching the food service staff (who can't leave the shop either) do their thing has become the nightly entertainment activity. 

 

Taking people's money and time for the bologna bar, cold pizza, etc. or the 3 bits of protein in the MDR is robbery.  If the operation is not supportable they shouldn't have offered and designed themselves into a situation for a cruise that supposed to better or on par wjth CCL, RC, or NAL or our local pizza, McDonalds, or grocery store.  All of which operate with shoestring staffing at higher wages than any cruise line and seem to handle volume just fine. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

13 minutes ago, RichYak said:

It's my opinion that the consequence of forcing many to dine in the MDR is neither ironic nor unintended. 

 

Any guesses to why X wants everyone to eat only dinner, breakfast and lunch seem unaffected, in the MDR? 

[Cap_D]

26 minutes ago, RichYak said:

It's my opinion that the consequence of forcing many to dine in the MDR is neither ironic nor unintended. 

Yep.  It seems its to take further advantage of being able to literally mask bad food, fill time (in place of shows, etc), and utilize the crew.  I'd also go so far that the cruise line hides behind the food and beverage staff (whom are nice enough) who spend a great deal of time and literal motion addressing Celebrity created problems.  If shipboard dining and beverage were better run, better quality, and more in tune with what customers want there wouldn't be daily CC posts about how someone was fortunate enough to have a crew member fix an issue, how funny the crew was doing show and tell in the theater (it's primary use), a galley tour, the martini bar show on E-Class, or the Captain's dog or dancing on the bar routine recently making the rounds. That's not just CC posts, its what Celebrity onboard has become or maybe always has been.   Sorry to say for those that have prepaid.

 

Moreover, now Celebrity causes many of us to have to question a vacation that hasnt even occured yet, and possibly to have to explain to family or friends what they may have paid for and how they may spend or not spend their time onboard. Some on here have weeks or months to go...are we to say over a dinner in real life, that surely is better, "look forward to bologna?" (It's not even close to the reported Royal changes, where they moved some items and proteins around).

Edited January 18, 2023 by Cap_D

[yknot13]

9 minutes ago, Cap_D said:

Yep.  It seems its to take further advantage of being able to literally mask bad food, fill time (in place of shows, etc), and utilize the crew.  I'd also go so far that the cruise line hides behind the food and beverage staff (whom are nice enough) who spend a great deal of time and literal motion addressing Celebrity created problems.  If shipboard dining and beverage were better run, better quality, and more in tune with what customers want there wouldn't be daily CC posts about how someone was fortunate enough to have a crew member fix an issue, how funny the crew was doing show and tell in the theater (it's primary use), a galley tour, the martini bar show on E-Class, or the Captain's dog or dancing on the bar routine recently making the rounds. That's not just CC posts, its what Celebrity onboard has become or maybe always has been.   Sorry to say for those have prepaid.     

We are paid in full for our 11 day on Edge leaving March 6th. We have friends joining us for the first time. We convinced them that Celebrity was a great product. Now I feel like they will look at me as a fool. I don’t want to send them a bad message before we leave but I have a feeling they will believe they have been mis guided in the Celebrity experience 

 This makes me ill 

[bonagrad]

6 minutes ago, yknot13 said:

We are paid in full for our 11 day on Edge leaving March 6th. We have friends joining us for the first time. We convinced them that Celebrity was a great product. Now I feel like they will look at me as a fool. I don’t want to send them a bad message before we leave but I have a feeling they will believe they have been mis guided in the Celebrity experience 

 This makes me ill 

Yep, we're in the same boat (pun not intended) for the 4/2 Reflection sailing.

[snowbird1]

Like many here, a good dining experience is a huge factor in my decision for cruise vacations.  To me dining should be one of the last things cut.  Enjoying nice food has been a hallmark of the cruise vacations forever.  Everyone knows cost have gone up due to this insane inflation so cruise lines should just raise the prices some like every other venue these days.  I would think a fairly modest increase would help offset the food cost and keep cruising competitive. 

[Cap_D]

10 minutes ago, yknot13 said:

We are paid in full for our 11 day on Edge leaving March 6th. We have friends joining us for the first time. We convinced them that Celebrity was a great product. Now I feel like they will look at me as a fool. I don’t want to send them a bad message before we leave but I have a feeling they will believe they have been mis guided in the Celebrity experience 

 This makes me ill 

Right there with you, as are many others in this thread.  And, by the looks of it most regular longtime posters that have perspective and bookings years out are here too.  And, last year we were new cruisers.  Most people we knew thought we were nuts to go, and nuts to give it praise after.  It wasn't perfect, but exceeded expectations for the Carribean. 

 

The ship and room was as nice as a land hotel, there were options for food that were upmarket and down market preparations of decent ingredients, consistent, convenient, and kept our interest, some entertainment, no real waits, sun, only two weird attempts at nickel and diming (the wine screw solicitation at lunch - like we had never seen one before an didn't have many, and the fake gelato), it didn't look like the 1990s or Love Boat (okay for early 80s), we didn't get seasick, other cruisers were swell.  It all worked. . 

 

In hindsight, we got the benefit of the pump and dump unless there's a big 180 and some thought given to how to wow passengers. The place is falling a part, and it's a house of cards. 

 

 

Edited January 18, 2023 by Cap_D

[cw2go]

16 minutes ago, yknot13 said:

We are paid in full for our 11 day on Edge leaving March 6th. We have friends joining us for the first time. We convinced them that Celebrity was a great product. Now I feel like they will look at me as a fool. I don’t want to send them a bad message before we leave but I have a feeling they will believe they have been mis guided in the Celebrity experience 

 This makes me ill 

 

Same Boat!  

 

We have raved about Celebrity and convinced our NCL Lover Friends to join us. 🥴

 

Patty

[the penguins]

14 minutes ago, snowbird1 said:

Like many here, a good dining experience is a huge factor in my decision for cruise vacations.  To me dining should be one of the last things cut.  Enjoying nice food has been a hallmark of the cruise vacations forever.  Everyone knows cost have gone up due to this insane inflation so cruise lines should just raise the prices some like every other venue these days.  I would think a fairly modest increase would help offset the food cost and keep cruising competitive. 

They have raised prices across the whole RCCI group. In the last quarters review they reported average prices per passenger higher than the record figures of 2019 and the onboard spend per passenger also higher than the 2019 record figures. What hasn't yet gone back to 2019 levels is total passenger numbers.

[trummy]

IMO, this has all been brought on by cruisers. Years ago when I began cruising I was sold on the premise that after I paid my fare, the only thing I had to spend money on was excursions and drinks.  I knew all the food was included except for maybe ONE upcharge dining room. The quality of the MDR's was high and there was no need to go anywhere else.

 

But, cruisers have shown a willingness to pay more for something they had already paid for once...dining. I watched all this with dread, seeing years ago where this was leading. Seeing customers were easily led to pay more and more, new categories of rooms, packages etc were also introduced by cruise lines. Well done cruisers, well done.

[Ipeeinthepools]

47 minutes ago, cw2go said:

 

Same Boat!  

 

We have raved about Celebrity and convinced our NCL Lover Friends to join us. 🥴

 

Patty

 

Good Luck,

 

Maybe you should cancel the Celebrity cruise and book one on NCL, your friends would probably be happy.

[cw2go]

2 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Good Luck,

 

Maybe you should cancel the Celebrity cruise and book one on NCL, your friends would probably be happy.

 

Too Late! Final payments have been made ~ Airfare, Pre Cruise Hotel and Excursions are also booked! 

[mpdog42]

1 hour ago, Cap_D said:

All of the terrific suggestions for how to salvage the dinner OCV or alternatives require more effort, and may actually expose the poor quality and selection at the MDR(s). 

 

Celebrity seems deadset on underperforming and alienating customers either now to those that know, or on the cruise that only learn of all of this when they go to their first dinner.  They will have already searched high and low for over hyped Eden Cafe that is open once per cruise (no matter how good it is, it's a fail due to being closed) for a few hours, and likely to have skipped the MDR for lunch, if it's even served.  

 

The irony is the PR on the menu changes on Royal is all about faster dining times. Following along, the RCBlog (private website) has an entire article with time counts on it.  That's helps to feed anxious passengers, and to free them up for other activities.  Meanwhile there's no rationale or cohesive approach to dining given what has occurred on Celebrity.  And, the lower quality and a push of people to MDRs...and looking for a desirable meal or watching the food service staff (who can't leave the shop either) do their thing has become the nightly entertainment activity. 

 

Taking people's money and time for the bologna bar, cold pizza, etc. or the 3 bits of protein in the MDR is robbery.  If the operation is not supportable they shouldn't have offered and designed themselves into a situation for a cruise that supposed to better or on par wjth CCL, RC, or NAL or our local pizza, McDonalds, or grocery store.  All of which operate with shoestring staffing at higher wages than any cruise line and seem to handle volume just fine. 

Please don't put Celebrity's OV options in with McDonald's....Its insulting to McDonald's!!!😁

[Ipeeinthepools]

3 minutes ago, cw2go said:

 

Too Late! Final payments have been made ~ Airfare, Pre Cruise Hotel and Excursions are also booked! 

 

Wow, that's too bad.  Ok, then it's time to enjoy the trip with friends and roll with the punches.  Don't dwell on any cutbacks.  Focus on having fun with friends.  Enjoy your cruise and don't make any more payments on other cruises until you see for yourself if these cutbacks are too much for you.

[Bo1953]

1 hour ago, yknot13 said:

We are paid in full for our 11 day on Edge leaving March 6th. We have friends joining us for the first time. We convinced them that Celebrity was a great product. Now I feel like they will look at me as a fool. I don’t want to send them a bad message before we leave but I have a feeling they will believe they have been mis guided in the Celebrity experience 

 This makes me ill 

I understand your position...

 

We travel in Sept with 14 others and I will send everyone an email to alert them of the possible changes to dining aboard our ship...

 

This way they can be prepared for what "some" consider to be bad and know that better will the order of the evening... we shall see for sure.

 

bon appetit and bon voyage

[cw2go]

23 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Wow, that's too bad.  Ok, then it's time to enjoy the trip with friends and roll with the punches.  Don't dwell on any cutbacks.  Focus on having fun with friends.  Enjoy your cruise and don't make any more payments on other cruises until you see for yourself if these cutbacks are too much for you.

 

Thank you, I plan to have a blast!

 

[RichYak]

2 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Any guesses to why X wants everyone to eat only dinner, breakfast and lunch seem unaffected, in the MDR? 

I'm not sure what their end game is but this has been going on for a while in other ways. I've read more than a few reports of DR managers (be it MDR or Luminae) running around OVC trying to find particular guests who haven't gone to the DR for dinner. @BermudaBound2014 got a call asking just that on their current cruise. I used to think it was just a gratuity grab but now I feel like it could be more than that.

[bonagrad]

3 minutes ago, RichYak said:

I'm not sure what their end game is but this has been going on for a while in other ways. I've read more than a few reports of DR managers (be it MDR or Luminae) running around OVC trying to find particular guests who haven't gone to the DR for dinner. @BermudaBound2014 got a call asking just that on their current cruise. I used to think it was just a gratuity grab but now I feel like it could be more than that.

That is weird! 

[kitty9]

10 hours ago, jmfdr said:

Try Viking Ocean!

No go with Viking.  I’m fully disabled and Viking actively discourages disabled from cruising.  I called them  and told them I used a scooter full time and she told me they can’t really accommodate scooters because they sell themselves as a highly active cruise line. 

[SkystheLimit]

4 minutes ago, kitty9 said:

No go with Viking.  I’m fully disabled and Viking actively discourages disabled from cruising.  I called them  and told them I used a scooter full time and she told me they can’t really accommodate scooters because they sell themselves as a highly active cruise line. 

Probably because their one included tour is usually a walking tour.

 

[mpdog42]

40 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

I understand your position...

 

We travel in Sept with 14 others and I will send everyone an email to alert them of the possible changes to dining aboard our ship...

 

This way they can be prepared for what "some" consider to be bad and know that better will the order of the evening... we shall see for sure.

 

bon appetit and bon voyage

“Some”?!!?

[Cap_D]

22 minutes ago, bonagrad said:

That is weird! 

Sounds creepy.   Would like to know why the cruise line that doesn't care about the food, cares if someone tries the food.  They stand to get a better review if someone stays in their room and enjoys Pringles. Yet, the inquiry is also consistent with the reports of constant requests to fill out the survey, typical verbal asks if everything is okay, can we get you something, don't you want to try, etc . Maybe part of the psyop to have passengers come to appreciate how much Celebrity cares, the fix of the day, etc. and ignore the lapses in food quality and options.  

 

Surprised @Celebrity Cruises doesn't send a letter to all customers booked on future sailings, at all stages of payment, to help modify expectations, spin the bologna bar, etc.  Hospitality providers do so in good and bad times, as do other businesses that attempt a relationship with their customers and want repeat business. 

 

 

Edited January 19, 2023 by Cap_D

[bonagrad]

6 hours ago, stringbean10 said:

What would constitute a material change to "what you paid for"? 

 

I am curious how abreast of changes Celebrity should keep their customers. 

 

Should we get an email with every change?

 

Did they stop offering sports massages in the spa?  Should I get an email?  They reduced the buffet 1 buffet by 10%?  Took away two dishes?   Closing the main dining room 10 min earlier?   Changing the laundry detergent?  Stop offering a welcome drink? Change pillow suppliers?  

 

Once you make final payment - you are grandfathered in?  Should they have a particular dish set aside for people that booked two years ago because it was on the menu when they booked and that is what they paid for?  

 

Should they continue to waste Celebrities just as hard earned money on you with food waste?   Should they personally poll you and ask what is important to you and make sure that is all available from the day you put down your deposit to sailing date. 

 

What would make you happy?????? 

 

I'm just going out on a limb here and guessing - nothing. ever. 

 

 

 

You know, the more I think about this, they absolutely could have and should have sent an email out to anyone that had a final payment due within a month of the change.  I'd have a much different outlook if I had been given the opportunity to decide whether or not to cancel.  I'd still be disappointed in the actual changes, but the choice to accept those changes would have been entirely on us.  They knew these changes were coming and instead of being upfront about them, they hid behind a rather late announcement about the RS fee.  By the time we found out, they took the choice out of our hands.

[Wakepatrol]

Here you have a Billion dollar operation and probably some smart bean counters who are getting first hand information from those in the trenches and can see exactly what’s going on.

 

Yet - Joe from Schenectady somehow knows better

[bonagrad]

6 minutes ago, Wakepatrol said:

Here you have a Billion dollar operation and probably some smart bean counters who are getting first hand information from those in the trenches and can see exactly what’s going on.

 

Yet - Joe from Schenectady somehow knows better

You think all companies make smart decisions?  I've personally witnessed "smart" people make really bad decisions.  Believe me, I've been laid off twice, because really bad business decisions.  Completely ignoring your paying customers is not a good decision, as you can see, there is a growing sentiment in terms of looking elsewhere.

 

And to note, the travel industry as whole is a pretty poorly run industry from a business perspective.  I know people that have worked with Celebrity in particular and was told they were a poorly run business.

Edited January 19, 2023 by bonagrad