Are people really paying big bucks for speciallty restaurants on Beyond?

[zitsky]

12 minutes ago, 4-2-N-8 said:

Because of all the stellar reviews on this site about vanishing Celebrity quality, my driver will be pulling through a local McDonald's en route to my trip this Sunday on Beyond out of PE.

 

I'm buying 27 Happy(er) Meals (and will ask for extra toys) then cramming my carry-on full of burgers, fries, and milkshakes (and toys). What with how low the bar has (apparently) been set on Celebrity (according to so many on here), I won't risk filling my checked bag with Micky D's, lest ship staff unload my "premium" food before my bag arrives at my stateroom.

 

If you're on the ship, just look for the person creating a new art exhibit  made out of Happy(er) Meal toys. I'm thinking I'll build it right next to that elephant thingy near the pool!

 

They're gonna love me!

Oh my.  You really don’t know how to travel, do you?  My driver puts the caviar and champagne in the built in refrigerator in my Mercedes-Benz.  Then I just bring it on board with me.

 

The second day I order the Celebrity 1983 vintage sparkling wine due me as a VIP member of Aqua class.  And I have it with the rest of the caviar.

 

Then I go have lunch at the buffet because I was too cheap to book a suite.

 

[Moochi]

36 minutes ago, 4-2-N-8 said:

Because of all the stellar reviews on this site about vanishing Celebrity quality, my driver will be pulling through a local McDonald's en route to my trip this Sunday on Beyond out of PE.

 

I'm buying 27 Happy(er) Meals (and will ask for extra toys) then cramming my carry-on full of burgers, fries, and milkshakes (and toys). What with how low the bar has (apparently) been set on Celebrity (according to so many on here), I won't risk filling my checked bag with Micky D's, lest ship staff unload my "premium" food before my bag arrives at my stateroom.

 

If you're on the ship, just look for the person creating a new art exhibit  made out of Happy(er) Meal toys. I'm thinking I'll build it right next to that elephant thingy near the pool!

 

They're gonna love me!

OMG you have a local Micky D that has a working milkshake machine? Lucky you! I don’t waste my time at McD. They have burgers on the ship. I would rather pack cheesy Gordita crunch.

[Guest]

The first two speciality we tried on Celebrity were Qsine and RoofTop Grill- we found both to be very average and nothing we ate wasn't available at the MDR or OVC. That was 8 years ago, and that statement isn't true anymore!

 

We ate at Tuscan last year on the Silhouette and really enjoyed that meal. Every course tasted great. 

 

We have Eden and Rooftop Garden Grill booked for the Beyond next month as we had lots of OBC for a B2B with 2 cabins! Looking forward to Eden as I've heard lots of great reviews. We booked before they hiked the prices up. I looked yesterday at also booking Fine Cut and its £60pp. From reviews I've read, I'm not sure its worth that. When it comes close to prices you pay on land, it loses its value for me. 

[hubofhockey]

13 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

On the M-Class you get a slightly bigger room.  But yes, for $2k more I would book a reg. Balcony, spa pass and specialty package 

M Class doesn’t really have a lot of specialty dining so the difference between Blu and MDR means more.  Doesn’t the additional price also include drinks, wifi, and gratuities?  If the veranda doesn’t include that, then it’s much less than $2k.

[Mark_T]

15 minutes ago, hubofhockey said:

M Class doesn’t really have a lot of specialty dining so the difference between Blu and MDR means more.  Doesn’t the additional price also include drinks, wifi, and gratuities?  If the veranda doesn’t include that, then it’s much less than $2k.

Just did a quick comparison on a cruise we recently booked on Millennium, and for 12 nights, for 2 people it was $2100 increase in total for Aqua over a Veranda, both with AI.

 

We don't particularly like the Aqua menu and we would not use the spa, so for us it makes more sense to stay in the Veranda and spend a bit in Tuscan on the M class.

 

Previously we would have considered The Retreat on 'M' Class, as we did last time we were on Millennium, but at more than double the price of the Veranda for Luminae + premium drinks and Wifi, the numbers just don't make sense, so a few nights in Tuscan it will be...

[cw2go]

11 hours ago, randomcruise said:

When you buy a car do you expect to have no expenses?

 

11 hours ago, randomcruise said:

LOL, what I said has no comparison to car expenses, nor did I say anything that indicated in anyway that I was expecting beluga caviar or Dom Perignon for a cruise fare at Celebrity's price point.  

 

I am not attempting to bully, just want to share that I see this analogy is equal. 

 

Many people buy a car and add upgrades. Example floor/cargo matts, stereo systems, undercoating, tires/rims etc. For me adding specialty restaurants is the same. I choose to upgrade my dining experiences just as many choose to upgrade their vehicles.

 

Some pay for Al Bacio and others are content with basic brew. The same can be true of staterooms, particular balconies and alcohol. Some are very content with the bare bones of sailing and some want the suit life and some like to cater it ale cart to meet their preferences as I do. It's all about choices and peoples individual priorities. 

 

 

 

Patty 

[mfs2k]

We booked 7 Specialty restaurants on our 9 night Beyond cruise in October and loved most of them.

It helped that we had $800 in OBC. 

[mfs2k]

12 hours ago, randomcruise said:

when I spend my hard earned dollars on a cruise fare at Celebrity's price point, I expect a good breakfast, a good lunch and a very good dinner experience every day of the cruise for the price of the cruise fare.

 

I'm ok with very good dinner experiences when I am on vacation, but I am willing to pay extra for excellent dinner experiences with premium service and food in specialty restaurants. 

 

Cruise lines have a daily food budget per guest for included restaurants. If you want more, you have to pay extra for it.  

[randomcruise]

38 minutes ago, cw2go said:

 

 

I am not attempting to bully, just want to share that I see this analogy is equal. 

 

Many people buy a car and add upgrades. Example floor/cargo matts, stereo systems, undercoating, tires/rims etc. For me adding specialty restaurants is the same. I choose to upgrade my dining experiences just as many choose to upgrade their vehicles.

 

Some pay for Al Bacio and others are content with basic brew. The same can be true of staterooms, particular balconies and alcohol. Some are very content with the bare bones of sailing and some want the suit life and some like to cater it ale cart to meet their preferences as I do. It's all about choices and peoples individual priorities. 

 

 

 

Patty 

Thanks.  I think your "upgrade" analogy is much better than the "expenses" analogy, and I agree completely about choices and priorities.

 

 If my post wasn't clear, for the price point Celebrity charged for my cruise, I expect a good breakfast, a good lunch and a very good dinner, everyday of the cruise without having to pay for an "upgrade".  If I wanted something better than that, say for example an amazing, memorable dinner experience, I would pay for it.  

 

FWIW, I want to enjoy nicer cocktails and not worry about signing a slip every time I get one, so I had no issue with paying extra for the premium drink package.  As another example, I understand that excursions aren't included at Celebrity's price point and had no issue paying extra for a couple of excursion.  

 

To focus more directly on the topic of this thread, based on the reviews I have read here and elsewhere of the specialty dining on the Edge class ships, the quality of the meal experience is too hit or miss for me to prepay and preschedule a meal at any specialty restaurant except for Eden, which seem to get the most consistently high marks.  Having said that, I don't anticipate every paying for the dinner experience at Eden because I expect that I should get what I consider to be a very good experience at any of the MDR's for cost of my cruise fare.  

Edited January 26, 2023 by randomcruise

[randomcruise]

3 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

 

I'm ok with very good dinner experiences when I am on vacation, but I am willing to pay extra for excellent dinner experiences with premium service and food in specialty restaurants. 

 

Cruise lines have a daily food budget per guest for included restaurants. If you want more, you have to pay extra for it.  

In case I wasn't clear, I don't want "more", I want what is promoted by Celebrity and what one should expect for the fares Celebrity charges- a very good dinner experience every night of the cruise.  No issue or confusion over the very simple concept of paying extra if one wants more. 

 

Based on recent reviews, price increases, and confirmed reductions in services and menu offerings, It appears to me that people should now expect to pay "extra" and get less when they cruise Celebrity.

[sptrout]

We do dine at Speciality resturants from time to time, but since all our more recent cruises have been in Sky Suites, and previouly in Aqua Class, we have had no need to go elsewhere, other than try something different.

 

Since the OP specifically mentioned Beyond, I will limit the remainder of my comments to our recent Beyond cruise (week of 01/08/23). Our Beyond cruise was just 7 nights, but we decided to try both Eden an Le Voyage for one night each. I assumed both would be a great experience based on past comments here on CC. The other five nights and nearly all other meals were in Luminae.

 

To be honest Eden was disappointing. The food was fine but nothing better than Luminae. It was a nice change, but will likely not go back. The view was nice, but since sunset is around 6PM, that special viewing is time restrained and on our evening it was pouring rain so no setset, but a nice waterfalls (water running down our window).

 

Le Voyage was a "knock your socks off" evening/meal. The food was outstanding and the severice was the best that we have ever experienced on any of our cruises. We will be going back this upcoming January during our 11 night cruise at least once maybe twice. If deired reserve well before your cruise, they do sell out.

 

I really do not understand the comments about people wanting, or not, to spend their money on Specialty Dining (SD). SD is no diffentent than the many other options available the moment you step on a cruise ship. A cruiser can spend their money on a great many things; casinos, SDs, stuff at the over priced shops, art, pictures, bingo, and the list goes on and on. Personally, I find most of the items on this list to be a waste of money, but I could care less if others want to buy whatever. Ships are floating resorts and should be treated as such when it comes to spending ones own money fron embarkation to disembarkation.

[MarkWiltonM]

20 hours ago, zitsky said:

I don't get it.  Why would you want to spend your entire time in the buffet?  Why would you NOT want to try the specialties?  I'm on the Beyond in May.  I have a dinner booked at Fine Cut, Eden, Le Voyage 2X.  That's being in Aqua and eating at Blu.

 

We dine in the MDR and buffet because in my experience Celebrity's specialty restaurants aren't very good (neither are HAL's). I'm a former food-industry professional and cook and I do have to lower my expectations on cruise ships compared to good land-based restaurants. This is easier for me to do with the food that's included in the fare. Once I start paying for what is supposed to be the "good stuff," I get more critical and have almost always been disappointed.  Fortunately, when I cruise it's because I love to be on the ocean; If I only cruised to eat good food, I would never cruise. But I can always find stuff in the MDR and OVC that are fairly satisfying.  

Edited January 26, 2023 by MarkWiltonM

[zitsky]

2 hours ago, randomcruise said:

 If my post wasn't clear, for the price point Celebrity charged for my cruise, I expect a good breakfast, a good lunch and a very good dinner, everyday of the cruise without having to pay for an "upgrade".  If I wanted something better than that, say for example an amazing, memorable dinner experience, I would pay for it.  

 

How do regular Celebrity cruisers define "good" or "very good"?  Food is just acceptable?  The same as eating at home?  As good as an average restaurant at home?

[Tigerfnan23]

We've done specialty dining in the past and enjoyed it but we were happy enough with the MDR options on our recent Edge cruise (wife isn't a foodie) that, for the first time ever, we didnt do any specialty dining. Now with the most recent cuts who knows what the next cruise will be like, but the MDR food was much better than it was in years past.  

[D C]

22 hours ago, REDSTRIPETYPE said:

So before Edge and Apex tons of people used to complain lots about the prices for Murano and Tuscan.

 

Now I see that the prices for specialty on Beyond is 3 times higher plus you  have to book months in advance and nobody is complaining.

 

I don't get it...we booked all 4 just in case for our Nov cruise on Beyond and it cymae to over $600 CAD!

 

Is it really that good?

Is it really that good?  Simple answer: No

The upcharge for some of the specialty restaurants greatly exceeds the value received imho, especially when you're already paying for something (that used to be) good in the MDR.   Are you really getting an $80 better meal by skipping filet & lobster night and going specialty?  Not in our opinion.  

[Mark_T]

36 minutes ago, D C said:

 Are you really getting an $80 better meal by skipping filet & lobster night and going specialty?  Not in our opinion.  

I agree, so don't skip the chic nights, they are on relatively predictable days on most cruises so we avoid them when booking elsewhere 

[jaywoods678]

23 hours ago, REDSTRIPETYPE said:

So before Edge and Apex tons of people used to complain lots about the prices for Murano and Tuscan.

 

Now I see that the prices for specialty on Beyond is 3 times higher plus you  have to book months in advance and nobody is complaining.

 

I don't get it...we booked all 4 just in case for our Nov cruise on Beyond and it cymae to over $600 CAD!

 

Is it really that good?

I never understood why Celebrity's specialty restaurants had such a higher upcharge than their competitors (specifically referring to Holland America and Princess).

[mfs2k]

5 hours ago, randomcruise said:

In case I wasn't clear, I don't want "more", I want what is promoted by Celebrity and what one should expect for the fares Celebrity charges- a very good dinner experience every night of the cruise.  No issue or confusion over the very simple concept of paying extra if one wants more. 

 

Based on recent reviews, price increases, and confirmed reductions in services and menu offerings, It appears to me that people should now expect to pay "extra" and get less when they cruise Celebrity.

 

I think that's likely across all cruise lines..

I think it's due to inflationary pressures, a decrease in cruising demand due to Covid and company layoffs, and the amount cruise lines have spent to refund covid positive guests and refunded deposits.

 

Cruising will be/is definitely more expensive than it's been and there will be noticable cost cutting in guest facing areas and behind the scenes areas.  I think it's something everyone will have to accept or will have to reduce vacation costs in other ways.

[D C]

1 hour ago, jaywoods678 said:

I never understood why Celebrity's specialty restaurants had such a higher upcharge than their competitors (specifically referring to Holland America and Princess).

We were shocked when we saw the Princess upcharge was under $30pp

[hcat]

On 1/25/2023 at 2:26 PM, zitsky said:

I don't get it.  Why would you want to spend your entire time in the buffet?  Why would you NOT want to try the specialties?  I'm on the Beyond in May.  I have a dinner booked at Fine Cut, Eden, Le Voyage 2X.  That's being in Aqua and eating at Blu.

Good choices.but why not add Rawn on 5...  We went in Nov,..lots of good choices besides Sushi., excellent service  Books up quickly

[zitsky]

2 hours ago, hcat said:

Good choices.but why not add Rawn on 5...  We went in Nov,..lots of good choices besides Sushi., excellent service  Books up quickly

I wanted to leave some days for Blu!  😂 But maybe we should try it.  Too bad it’s not open for lunch like Sushi on 5.

[Taclin01]

We dine in a specialty restaurant every night. We generally book an inside room to save money on that part. We always participate in move up bidding. I would always book the elevate package ( I believe that is what it used to be called) and receive $300 OBC. I would use our OBC to book what I want and then I pay the difference. In my opinion, it is money well spent, and I just factor it in to the "total cost" of the cruise for us. I also book it not as a dining package because, I like to get specific times. We were on the Beyond in December and did- 2 nights at Le Voyage, 2 Nights at Fine Cut, 1 Le petit Chef, and 2 at Eden. We also did 2 lunches at Raw and 1 at Le Bistro. The food was fabulous. The past few cruises where we have dined in the MDR, I did not enjoy it. I think that it is bland and nothing special. I also do not like that everyone sits so close to each other. I have an upcoming cruise on the Millennium, and I looked over the menus in the app. I can tell that there was a huge decline in what they were offering compared to our Solstice cruise that we went on in July. I understand that food costs have gone up so, I am completely fine with paying for premium food. I will say that, Celebrity did offer more wine selections than they did in the previous cruises we had taken this year- Apex (1/22) and Solstice (7/22). I still believe for this price point Celebrity is an incredible deal. I am eyeing a HAL cruise though and I am worried that the food will not be as good. 

[WonderMan3]

On 1/25/2023 at 1:31 PM, REDSTRIPETYPE said:

So before Edge and Apex tons of people used to complain lots about the prices for Murano and Tuscan.

 

Now I see that the prices for specialty on Beyond is 3 times higher plus you  have to book months in advance and nobody is complaining.

 

I don't get it...we booked all 4 just in case for our Nov cruise on Beyond and it cymae to over $600 CAD!

 

Is it really that good?

"3 times higher"? Last time I cruised a year before Covid specialties I think were around $45-50. So you're saying they are now all at $135-150 per person?

[WonderMan3]

5 hours ago, jaywoods678 said:

I never understood why Celebrity's specialty restaurants had such a higher upcharge than their competitors (specifically referring to Holland America and Princess).

Because they can get away with it. As long as people pay it they will continue to raise prices.

[rome2009]

Why does anyone care why someone would choose to eat or not to eat at speciality restaurants? Get over it everyone. Those who choose to eat there, good for you if it makes you happy. Those of you who don't, good for you if it makes you happy. No need to justify why you would or wouldn't. The question was, "Is it worth it?" And before he or she could get an answer, they booked 4 specialty restaurants... go figure. Yes it is, because you like it. No it isn't because you are satisfied with the food at the buffet and or the MDR. END OF STORY!