Celebrity Silhouette Main Dining Room Experience an Embarrassment

[the penguins]

17 hours ago, Rustyman said:

The food was very basic and samey. As I said every night was one dollop of mashed potato served obviously from an ice cream scoop a la school dinners, every night was the same 2 veg, green beans and sliced carrots. Meat often tough, chicken and steak. Lack of imagination in the choices, no finesse to any dish, turkey made an appearance most nights including Turkey Linguini with seafood sauce(what?) and this was one of the few non slice of meat choices. No longer are beef ribs or duck on the menu. There was Buttered Chicken on the menu one night, I had it, and there was one cube of chicken with some sauce. 
Most nights most on our table had French onion soup, escargots or Caesar salad starters and steak mains as these were the safe choice. These were fine(but with the ubiquitous mash and same veg) but 2 weeks eating the same is tiring, those who dabbled with other choices returned following disappointment. Plates were often collected post meal with a lot of food left on them.

The waiting staff and Maitre D were embarrassed at the food and the table regularly joked with them about this. The Maitre D was met with raised eyebrows or “fine” when each night he asked how the food was.

Sorry to read of your poor experience but also confused 

In your first post you said you complained to the Maitre D and in the above Post you said you responded with " raised eye brows or 'fine' ". When the Maitre D comes round always tell them the truth otherwise nothing will change. On our one and only Cunard cruise (Queen Mary 2 - New York to Southampton ) when the Head Chef put in an appearance half (yes half) the restaurant stood up and booed - he got the message loud and clear.

[ladylemondrop]

25 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Sorry to read of your poor experience but also confused 

In your first post you said you complained to the Maitre D and in the above Post you said you responded with " raised eye brows or 'fine' ". When the Maitre D comes round always tell them the truth otherwise nothing will change. On our one and only Cunard cruise (Queen Mary 2 - New York to Southampton ) when the Head Chef put in an appearance half (yes half) the restaurant stood up and booed - he got the message loud and clear.

Oh gosh that’s awkward! Poor man. Would imagine the chefs are not loving the restrictions on budget either. I think executive office is the way to direct these issues. It’s coming from the top so complain to the top. 

[Rustyman]

51 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Sorry to read of your poor experience but also confused 

In your first post you said you complained to the Maitre D and in the above Post you said you responded with " raised eye brows or 'fine' ". When the Maitre D comes round always tell them the truth otherwise nothing will change. On our one and only Cunard cruise (Queen Mary 2 - New York to Southampton ) when the Head Chef put in an appearance half (yes half) the restaurant stood up and booed - he got the message loud and clear.

I complained, he got the message, is aware of the problems, explained why so no point in hauling him up every night. At the end of the cruise we had a long chat with him and he asked that despite the food issues we give waiting staff good feedback. As said the waiting staff were fantastic.

[Rustyman]

29 minutes ago, ladylemondrop said:

Oh gosh that’s awkward! Poor man. Would imagine the chefs are not loving the restrictions on budget either. I think executive office is the way to direct these issues. It’s coming from the top so complain to the top. 

If you read above posts you’ll see I raised it all the way on the ship with no feedback so emailed the CEO and have had a response.

[chemmo]

Quite simply most of us cruise expecting the dining to be a highlight of our cruise experience. Most of us cruise wanting a break from the shopping, cooking and washing up too! 
 

Chicken and salmon are home ‘staples’. Whilst once or twice a cruise I may enjoy something safe and bland I have gone on holiday to enjoy something different!
 

If I was to serve up a blob of mash and the same two veg daily at home I would have complaints! Surely jacket potatoes, roast potatoes, potatoes au gratin aren’t too hard to cook in large quantities! How about a Mediterranean vegetable medley? Something we all know is a really easy but tasty veg mix….Don’t get me started on the proteins…

 

Looking at the menus provided we enjoy better variety at home!

 

Not impressed…

[hcat]

1 hour ago, Rustyman said:

I complained, he got the message, is aware of the problems, explained why so no point in hauling him up every night. At the end of the cruise we had a long chat with him and he asked that despite the food issues we give waiting staff good feedback. As said the waiting staff were fantastic.

Maitre d..runs dining and waitstaff services although they are the customer contact point on dining.

 

  Perhaps the Chefs Dept would be a better place to register complaints..

I expect, however, they are now Royal managed ..goal is to cook  low budget items in bulk, skip creativity! Nothing special or amazing, despite whatever talents they possess.

 

in the past, people used to applaud the Chefs..cooking demos were well attended..how sad!

Edited August 20, 2023 by hcat

[Boatharbour]

I agree with your summary 100%. This was also our experience on Apex in July. We cancelled most of our MDR reservations after several disappointing meals.
 

The food in the OV for dinner was surprisingly good and the specialty restaurants very good to excellent.

19 hours ago, Rustyman said:

No, sorry. Look the meals were not horrible they were basic, simple and the same or similar most nights. They were not modern luxury. Possibly my issue is that I have had 14 previous cruises where the MDR fare has been very good or excellent, this was far from that.

[Baggy178]

We only ever eat in the buffet anyway because we prefer relaxed to formal. 

And there's always been a huge variety of grub and most of it very decent. Western, Asian and Indian food nights and some Mediterranean style salads, soups and sandwiches for lunch.

But it does seem extraordinary that people who book cruises specifically to enjoy the formality of the MDR every night give up so quickly and switch to the OVC.

Surely the food and choice in the MDR can't be that uniformly bland ?

 

 

[Rustyman]

12 minutes ago, Baggy178 said:

We only ever eat in the buffet anyway because we prefer relaxed to formal. 

And there's always been a huge variety of grub and most of it very decent. Western, Asian and Indian food nights and some Mediterranean style salads, soups and sandwiches for lunch.

But it does seem extraordinary that people who book cruises specifically to enjoy the formality of the MDR every night give up so quickly and switch to the OVC.

Surely the food and choice in the MDR can't be that uniformly bland ?

 

 

Unfortunately it was on our cruise, fingers crossed that Celebrity see sense and revert back to their previously excellent product.

[Baggy178]

12 minutes ago, Rustyman said:

Unfortunately it was on our cruise, fingers crossed that Celebrity see sense and revert back to their previously excellent product.

 

Always nice when someone joins us Flip-Flop Food Fans 🤣

[Oceangoer2]

35 minutes ago, Baggy178 said:

We only ever eat in the buffet anyway because we prefer relaxed to formal. 

And there's always been a huge variety of grub and most of it very decent. Western, Asian and Indian food nights and some Mediterranean style salads, soups and sandwiches for lunch.

But it does seem extraordinary that people who book cruises specifically to enjoy the formality of the MDR every night give up so quickly and switch to the OVC.

Surely the food and choice in the MDR can't be that uniformly bland ?

 

 

Did you read the menus above for the Silhouette....?  That's uniformly bland and a disappointment compared with our MANY past X cruises.

[the penguins]

4 hours ago, Rustyman said:

I complained, he got the message, is aware of the problems, explained why so no point in hauling him up every night. At the end of the cruise we had a long chat with him and he asked that despite the food issues we give waiting staff good feedback. As said the waiting staff were fantastic.

We all have our own approach. Mine is to report accurately every time I am asked which prevents them recording 1 complaint out of 12 whereas it should perhaps have been 9 out of 12. I am also equally happy to give praise when it is due and always make it clear that I have no issues with the service. I am just hoping that the food on Reflection in October will be standard that we have always experienced (our last time on X was Silhouette in 2022 when we were so happy we converted the cruise in to a B2B just 48 hours before the first cruise was due to end).

[Pinboy]

I'm very disappointed to read about the downfall in the menu selections and the quality of the food.

Most CCers are experienced , long time Celebrity Customers ,not friggin Guests .

( LOL) Ya ever invite someone to your home and provide them with a bill --- before the meal-- to see if they like it---- or, worse still--- change the menu from Chateaubriand to Chien chaud ( hot dogs )?

That's what appears to be happening.

So, how do we fix it:

Instead of 87, going for 870 posts, the only way is to let the Executive Team hear from us.  

Posting on CC will not have the same effect.

( Booing an Executive Chef ?? -- Awful !!)

 

[Hlitner]

Many newer cruisers may not be aware that X once had a wonderful reputation for having the best food of any mass market line.  We noticed a downward trend, in quality, soon after LLP took over the helm and it makes us very sad to read about the continued decline.  In our case, it drove  us to book other lines, especially smaller ship luxury lines….often at comparable or lower prices than small suites on X.

 

We are amazed that some folks simply accept bad changes and alter their own standards (such as accepting buffets rather than sit down).  We continue to seek out the quality lines and simply take our business elsewhere. Vote with your dollars and lines like X will be forced ti improve or ultimately sink into the depths.

 

Hank

[Sapphire23]

On 8/19/2023 at 10:32 AM, Rustyman said:

Just home from a 13 nighter on the Silhouette, our 4th cruise on her and our last. The main dining room food quality, presentation and choice was very poor and an embarrassment to many including the poor waiting staff and Maitre D. If you want a return to school dinners you’ll enjoy it, every night a slice of chicken, meat or fish and an ice cream scoop of mashed potato with green beans and sliced carrots. The presentation was that which your school dinner lady would provide. Our table lost 2 couples to the Ocean View buffet for the entire cruise, the rest of us endured the MDR for the company only. As always our waiting staff were exceptional but I felt for them as every night they asked all at the table how the food was and every night they were told the same with “but it’s not your fault”.

I complained to the waiter, the Maitre D, reception, Guest Relations and to the Captains Club, never heard a peep back! The waiter, Maitre D and MDR reception all apologised and said that Celebrity have just changed to the new menu and quality and that many on board have complained.

We have 3 cruises booked for next year on Celebrity but if things don’t change back to the previous excellent food quality then we’re cancelling, I couldn’t take more of this new regime. We’re only glad that we didn’t take family or friends with us.

The food selection and quality was far superior in the Oceanview buffet, the only issue there was the lack of available tables, a couple of times we had to circumnavigate the Oceanview twice before finding one, also as the cruise was so busy, on a few occasions we had to lift dirty plates from our table and take them to a trolley to clear the table before  we could eat.

For information the rest of the cruise was very good, all staff as ever were happy, helpful and a joy to be around.

Apologies for the negative post but we’ve had 15 cruises with Celebrity and this was a real shock and embarrassment. If this is the path cruising is choosing to take then hell mend them.

Oh my word! You could have written the same review from the Celebrity Constellation that we have just returned from on Thursday! The MDR menu was every bit as appalling as you have described! The same choices night after night with just a couple of variations! Basically all the staters were either a soup or a salad or a prawn cocktail with a weird sauce made from horseradish sauce! A very small scoop of sloppy mash, hard carrots and green beans with every meat dish! We also complained to the Maitre D who said it was because they had lost a lot of their suppliers after Covid! But that makes no sense as the food in the buffet was FAR superior! On at least two occasions Chateaubriand and Prime Rib of Beef were served side by side in the buffet, along with huge Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes! However the veg was still only carrots and beans! 🙄 There was a much better choice of appetisers too. However, we do not enjoy eating in the buffet, and only did one evening in there, there is no ambience or service! The MDR is a major part of our evening when cruising, so if Celebrity are going down this route, we will not be going with them! 

The only positive thing about the MDR menu was that a decent sized steak was a available each night, but regrettably even that was tough on our last night and I had to send it back!

I too have completed the email feedback and just hope they listen because everyone we spoke to was complaining about it.

[BigAl94]

After several cruises, haven't cruised since Covid and was pretty sure I wasn't going to. My wife subtly convinced me to try it again and I relented despite reservations having heard how things have been in decline. This thread has me really concerned as what I'm reading about MDR dining would be completely unacceptable. We would not be fans of the buffet in the evening. I have a deposit paid on an Apex cruise to the Fjords next July and will watch developments with interest. I would rather lose the deposit than spend thousands on a cruise with sub standard food so a decision will have to be made before payment depending on feedback.

[CulverCityCruisers]

6 hours ago, Rustyman said:

If you read above posts you’ll see I raised it all the way on the ship with no feedback so emailed the CEO and have had a response.

What was the response that you received from the CEO's office???

[NMTraveller]

I am totally confused by Celebrity's strategy.

 

In January in the OVC in the evenings they cut the selections down to next to nothing and told people to go to the MDR.

 

Now we are in August, and they have cut the MDR selections down to next to nothing and the OVC selections are better.

 

Sigh.  I think that I will just eat in specialty dining and book another line next time around.  When you add in specialty dining,  room service,  and other fees you find that you can afford a better line without all of the nickel and diming.

 

Celebrity is not the cruise line that it once was....

 

Edited August 20, 2023 by NMTraveller

[C4HCG]

6 hours ago, chemmo said:

Quite simply most of us cruise expecting the dining to be a highlight of our cruise experience. Most of us cruise wanting a break from the shopping, cooking and washing up too! 
 

Chicken and salmon are home ‘staples’. Whilst once or twice a cruise I may enjoy something safe and bland I have gone on holiday to enjoy something different!
 

If I was to serve up a blob of mash and the same two veg daily at home I would have complaints! Surely jacket potatoes, roast potatoes, potatoes au gratin aren’t too hard to cook in large quantities! How about a Mediterranean vegetable medley? Something we all know is a really easy but tasty veg mix….Don’t get me started on the proteins…

 

Looking at the menus provided we enjoy better variety at home!

 

Not impressed…

If dining was the highlight of my cruising experience we’d stay at home and enjoy the lovely restaurants here. Fine dining is nice but for us, far from a highlight.

[gold1953]

We enjoy the Buffett in the evening .. love the quiet and choices.  Perhaps if we remove the grats .. I am will to bring enough cash to pay out the people who get grats and eliminate the dining staff and eat in the Buffet where I will tip well there. We often tip a bit there and it seems to surprise the crew.

On past cruises we have eaten 80% of our evening meals at the buffet and the dining room staff still got the auto grats

[Baggy178]

20 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

If dining was the highlight of my cruising experience we’d stay at home and enjoy the lovely restaurants here. Fine dining is nice but for us, far from a highlight.

 

I agree and I think it may be a cultural thing.

The idea of a formal or at least smart casual dinner every night is not something we look forward to. We wouldn't do it on land on holiday so the fact it's on a ship makes no difference to us.

Indeed the whole concept of " fine dining " is essentially an American custom where people are happy to pay a premium to be fawned over and eat off linen tablecloths. In Britain at least many people would probably regard this as passé and somewhat pretentious although of course people are entirely free to spend their moolah on whatever they wish. Even famous old restaurants like Simpsons in the Strand are auctioning off all their equipment like Drakes silver trolleys, from which beef joints were until recently carved by your table, as they embark on modernising their dining experience.

Naturally the food in the upscale restaurants is better than the OVC/MDR and you pay for it but again the idea of paying for food when other food you have already paid for is readily available strikes us as odd.

Perhaps it's just a British thing.

Edited August 20, 2023 by Baggy178

[Rustyman]

1 hour ago, CulverCityCruisers said:

What was the response that you received from the CEO's office???

They phoned and told me that all of my complaints had been forwarded to the relevant parties.

[Oceangoer2]

19 minutes ago, Baggy178 said:

 

I agree and I think it may be a cultural thing.

The idea of a formal or at least smart casual dinner every night is not something we look forward to. We wouldn't do it on land on holiday so the fact it's on a ship makes no difference to us.

Indeed the whole concept of " fine dining " is essentially an American custom where people are happy to pay a premium to be fawned over and eat off linen tablecloths. In Britain at least many people would probably regard this as passé and somewhat pretentious although of course people are entirely free to spend their moolah on whatever they wish. Even famous old restaurants like Simpsons in the Strand are auctioning off all their equipment like Drakes silver trolleys, from which beef joints were until recently carved by your table, as they embark on modernising their dining experience.

Naturally the food in the upscale restaurants is better than the OVC/MDR and you pay for it but again the idea of paying for food when other food you have already paid for is readily available strikes us as odd.

Perhaps it's just a British thing.

"Indeed the whole concept of " fine dining " is essentially an American custom where people are happy to pay a premium to be fawned over and eat off linen tablecloths."

 

No...not British...just perhaps a reverse snob approach looking down on those who appreciate the finer ways of dining enjoyment.  Why would I prefer a 'fish and chip' store experience over dining as I do at home?

Edited August 20, 2023 by Oceangoer2

[C4HCG]

31 minutes ago, Baggy178 said:

 

I agree and I think it may be a cultural thing.

The idea of a formal or at least smart casual dinner every night is not something we look forward to. We wouldn't do it on land on holiday so the fact it's on a ship makes no difference to us.

Indeed the whole concept of " fine dining " is essentially an American custom where people are happy to pay a premium to be fawned over and eat off linen tablecloths. In Britain at least many people would probably regard this as passé and somewhat pretentious although of course people are entirely free to spend their moolah on whatever they wish. Even famous old restaurants like Simpsons in the Strand are auctioning off all their equipment like Drakes silver trolleys, from which beef joints were until recently carved by your table, as they embark on modernising their dining experience.

Naturally the food in the upscale restaurants is better than the OVC/MDR and you pay for it but again the idea of paying for food when other food you have already paid for is readily available strikes us as odd.

Perhaps it's just a British thing.

Our first cruise was on the Equinox, 2019, and was our 25th wedding anniversary. I had only packed shorts so we ate in the OVC every night including the anniversary one and loved it. My wife got dressed up and looked gorgeous, the food was fine, and that cruise got us hooked.

[Baggy178]

24 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

"Indeed the whole concept of " fine dining " is essentially an American custom where people are happy to pay a premium to be fawned over and eat off linen tablecloths."

 

No...not British...just perhaps a reverse snob approach looking down on those who appreciate the finer ways of dining enjoyment.  Why would I prefer a 'fish and chip' store experience over dining as I do at home?

 

Oh you're quite right which is why I said people are entitled to spend their moolah as they wish.

But fine dining as Americans call it - or cruise ship-style dining - is really an outdated concept in the UK.

As is calling anyone holding a frying pan Chef.

Yes Gordon Ramsay ( as he's known in the UK not Chef Ramsay ) and the like put on outrageously expensive grub in formal

surroundings for the expense account brigade but all young, innovative cooks are eschewing that old formality.

I'm eating at the hottest new restaurant that's opened in London this year on Tuesday.

It's a Welsh/Spanish bare table noisy, fiery buccolic sort of place where I don't expect to get away spending less than £150 a head but it ain't fine dining.

 

Edited August 20, 2023 by Baggy178