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Cutbacks at Oceanview Cafe at Breakfast and Lunch ?

realnice46

By realnice46,
in Celebrity Cruises

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Dreamer68

Dreamer68

Posted
Posted
On 1/22/2023 at 2:57 PM, blade3 said:

On Apex 1/7. Best food quantity and quality in the breakfast and lunch buffets we've had on our 52 cruises with various companies! 

I was on the same cruise and honestly, after my scrumptious breakfast with all the choices, I should have gone without lunch at the OVC. 😉 But I didn't as lunch was just as interesting in choices. I wish I could have tried more but honestly, my tummy though big, is not as big as my eyes think it is.  🤣

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phoenix_dream

phoenix_dream

Posted
Posted
On 1/21/2023 at 6:51 PM, miched said:

 

as I posted on other threads 
 

The best thing to do is to submit a comment to detail card when on board

 

Then when doing the survey rate the areas that don’t relate to service unless that is needed as a 1 if you aren’t happy.  
 

Don’t give them a 10 in areas that have been cut, give it a 1

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

The problem with giving a 1 rating is that it seriously hurts the many workers there that have zero say in corporate policies.  So please be careful which categories you put that 1 on. You may literally be costing a very hard working employee a well deserved raise or promotion. 

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Islander500

Islander500

Posted
Posted
On 1/23/2023 at 6:48 PM, Dreamer68 said:

I just got off the Apex and the stir-fry station was there at lunch daily (rice and noodles). I had Eggs Benedict every single day and they had ham, spinach and smoked salmon right there and I always popped over to more smoked salmon where the charcuterie meats were for a bit more indulgence. Which ship were you on, by the way? DH enjoyed getting his unique omelette daily as well.

Good to hear.  We were on EQUINOX.  

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dilbertsdaddy

dilbertsdaddy

Posted
Posted (edited)

Reading all the comments recently has me a little disappointed as I am very much looking forward to my upcoming Alaska cruise.  I just started looking at CC; I am a world traveler and frequent user of flyertalk and find great information (and entertainment!) there so I thought CC would be a good source as well.  While I'm a frequent traveler, this will only be my third cruise.  Having said all that, here are my comments and observations based on what I've learned.

 

  • Seems that cruise lines are "racing to the bottom" like the airlines have been doing for the last few years.
  • My observation of business in general is that you can raise prices or "streamline" services, but you can't do BOTH at once.   
  • I understand why they might cut some options in the buffet if most people eat in the main dining room.  Food waste is a horrible thing.  However, it seems like they may have gone too far.  I've seen a couple of examples - I love Italian but don't eat it often because it is too fattening, so I would not visit on Italian night.  By limiting choices too much, they are driving more people to the MDR which in turn validates the cutbacks.  Bogus metrics and a vicious cycle!
  • What I am most upset about is the menus in the MDR are different than when I booked.  Less high-end entrees, and huge scale back on apps, which I really enjoy.  So you drive people to the MDR by cutbacks on the buffet and at the same time cut the MDR offerings?  Does not make sense to me, seems like this will backfire.
  • I really don't understand the uproar over room service.  Maybe it is because I spend over 100 nights a year in hotels, but the last thing I want to do is sit around my cabin and order from a reduced menu.
  • I also don't understand why pizza is so important!  I love pizza but not planning to have that when I can have something else more upscale, same applies to hotdogs by the pool?  No judgments here but I just don't get it. 
  • The increase in beverage packages also seems like it will fail big time.  It was already not a good deal for most people.  I plan to drink heavily, but my wife does not drink at all.  It was going to be $1000 for us to do all inclusive.  Wifi would be nice but it will not hurt to disconnect for a while and I can't drink $1000 in one week!  I have $300 in OBC, a bottle of champagne from AX, and plan to take my two bottle allotment as well.  I love a diet pepsi each day and I'll get that onshore or pay the freight.  I'm a coffee addict, but not enough to pay $1000 for better coffee (El Baccio?), charging for this is pretty lame IMO.
  • I'm sure the staff are embarrassed by all this and this impacts their morale and ability to provide good service.  My wife and I recently traveled to Italy on Delta in business class and it sucked; the flight attendants were super embarrassed and they are left to deal with the unhappy customers while the bean counters count their bonuses.  Sad  

 

Of course everyone has their own preferences and priorities, but one of mine is food.  It will be interesting to see how all this plays out.  Thanks for listening to my rant!

 

Edited by dilbertsdaddy
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Happy Cruiser 6143

Happy Cruiser 6143

Posted
Posted

I'm just off ten nights on the Connie.  I found the breakfast offerings to be the same as usual.  And yes, there were waffles.  With my favorite orange butter.  The thing I noticed about lunch was that the Mexican station was gone.  But there was still plenty to choose from.  I'm really getting tired of reading all these doom and gloom posts!

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Honolulu Blue Great Review Rare

Honolulu Blue

Posted
Posted
59 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

I'm just off ten nights on the Connie.  I found the breakfast offerings to be the same as usual.  And yes, there were waffles.  With my favorite orange butter.  The thing I noticed about lunch was that the Mexican station was gone.  But there was still plenty to choose from.  I'm really getting tired of reading all these doom and gloom posts!

Thanks for sharing the (relatively) good news about breakfast and lunch.

 

I'm tired of all the doom & gloom too.  I appreciate all the true and honest reports from X's fleet.  I wish Celebrity gives us nothing but good things to talk about from now on.

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mrgabriel

mrgabriel

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, dilbertsdaddy said:

Reading all the comments recently has me a little disappointed as I am very much looking forward to my upcoming Alaska cruise.  I just started looking at CC; I am a world traveler and frequent user of flyertalk and find great information (and entertainment!) there so I thought CC would be a good source as well.  While I'm a frequent traveler, this will only be my third cruise.  Having said all that, here are my comments and observations based on what I've learned.

 

  • Seems that cruise lines are "racing to the bottom" like the airlines have been doing for the last few years.
  • My observation of business in general is that you can raise prices or "streamline" services, but you can't do BOTH at once.   
  • I understand why they might cut some options in the buffet if most people eat in the main dining room.  Food waste is a horrible thing.  However, it seems like they may have gone too far.  I've seen a couple of examples - I love Italian but don't eat it often because it is too fattening, so I would not visit on Italian night.  By limiting choices too much, they are driving more people to the MDR which in turn validates the cutbacks.  Bogus metrics and a vicious cycle!
  • What I am most upset about is the menus in the MDR are different than when I booked.  Less high-end entrees, and huge scale back on apps, which I really enjoy.  So you drive people to the MDR by cutbacks on the buffet and at the same time cut the MDR offerings?  Does not make sense to me, seems like this will backfire.
  • I really don't understand the uproar over room service.  Maybe it is because I spend over 100 nights a year in hotels, but the last thing I want to do is sit around my cabin and order from a reduced menu.
  • I also don't understand why pizza is so important!  I love pizza but not planning to have that when I can have something else more upscale, same applies to hotdogs by the pool?  No judgments here but I just don't get it. 
  • The increase in beverage packages also seems like it will fail big time.  It was already not a good deal for most people.  I plan to drink heavily, but my wife does not drink at all.  It was going to be $1000 for us to do all inclusive.  Wifi would be nice but it will not hurt to disconnect for a while and I can't drink $1000 in one week!  I have $300 in OBC, a bottle of champagne from AX, and plan to take my two bottle allotment as well.  I love a diet pepsi each day and I'll get that onshore or pay the freight.  I'm a coffee addict, but not enough to pay $1000 for better coffee (El Baccio?), charging for this is pretty lame IMO.
  • I'm sure the staff are embarrassed by all this and this impacts their morale and ability to provide good service.  My wife and I recently traveled to Italy on Delta in business class and it sucked; the flight attendants were super embarrassed and they are left to deal with the unhappy customers while the bean counters count their bonuses.  Sad  

 

Of course everyone has their own preferences and priorities, but one of mine is food.  It will be interesting to see how all this plays out.  Thanks for listening to my rant!

 

 

I have to remind myself frequently that the name of this site is Cruise CRITIC, not Cruise kudos. 😄 So there are plenty of people in the world who have good experiences on ships, even now when there are changes to offerings and everyone in the hospitality trade is having to respond to inflation and an absolute shortage of people willing to work in restaurants, hotels and on ships. 

 

We've sailed on X many times including twice since last June and have always found something we liked on the menus. Some of the comments here are reactions to things people have read somewhere - not actual experience. 

 

You will have a great time!

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shofer

shofer

Posted
Posted
On 1/21/2023 at 11:21 AM, Oceansaway17 said:

Some folks like to eat big breakfasts So be nice

DH & I are one couple who like to sleep late and have a late, long and leisurely breakfast.  We get a big kick out of seeing the "early" (noon) lunch crowd lining up for their noon repast while we linger over our coffee and treats.

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CruizinSusan70

CruizinSusan70

Posted
Posted
On 1/22/2023 at 2:57 PM, blade3 said:

On Apex 1/7. Best food quantity and quality in the breakfast and lunch buffets we've had on our 52 cruises with various companies! 

Could not agree more.  Was on the Apex for 12 nights last January and felt the same way with the made to order Benedict's at breakfast and the grilled to order items and made in front of you various creme brulees on French day for lunch.  Looking forward to 18 days on the Beyond in November.

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CruizinSusan70

CruizinSusan70

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, mrgabriel said:

😄Some of the comments here are reactions to things people have read somewhere - not actual experience. 

You mean that people would actually regurgitate something they have read on the forums and not base their post on actual first hand experience? 😉😉😉

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CruizinSusan70

CruizinSusan70

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, Mr&MrsBee said:

Got off the Connie last mo...Hats off to those who find X ovc a great venue for lunch.

Think that maybe it might be a bit better on one of the newer ships in the fleet than on a ship that is 21 years old?  Kind of naive to think that the buffet on a M Class ship will be the same as on an Edge Class ship.

Sailed on the Edge in 2020 and the Apex in 2022 and had no problems whatsoever. Have sailed on both M&S classes in the past as well as the Horizon back in 1995.

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CHEZMARYLOU

CHEZMARYLOU

Posted
Posted
14 minutes ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

 Kind of naive to think that the buffet on a M Class ship will be the same as on an Edge Class ship.

 

The buffet experience might not be the same on M vs S vs E class but that is no reason to expect a lesser food offering or quality. 

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CruizinSusan70

CruizinSusan70

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

The buffet experience might not be the same on M vs S vs E class but that is no reason to expect a lesser food offering or quality. 

Unfortunately after the excitement of a return to cruising post COVID has subsided, reality has set in.  The same is being said on various lines on the boards, whether it be X, RCI, Princess, NCL or Carnival.  There are cutbacks in service, a drop in quality, reduced liquor choices and an increase in price.  These lines all bled billions and they are seeking whatever various methods are needed to recoup their losses. 

Interesting enough, MSC of course did not bleed money because the shipping division kept them afloat.  Have not been perusing their boards so don't know if their loyalists are disgruntled or not.

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