MDR and other cuts

[Clemmnj]

I’ve read that the quality of food in the MDR has really decreased and that Celebrity has made other cuts such as no more afternoon canapés or embarkation champagne. Can any recent Celebrity cruisers comment on other cuts or the reality of the MDR food. I have a cruise booked for May and I’m really concerned. We have cruised exclusively on Celebrity and keep coming back because of the high quality, but this is our first cruise since 2019 and I’m very worried that I will get a reduced experience for what is a lot of money. I still have time to switch to another line but would love to know your thoughts. 

[Torfamm]

5 minutes ago, Clemmnj said:

I’ve read that the quality of food in the MDR has really decreased and that Celebrity has made other cuts such as no more afternoon canapés or embarkation champagne. Can any recent Celebrity cruisers comment on other cuts or the reality of the MDR food. I have a cruise booked for May and I’m really concerned. We have cruised exclusively on Celebrity and keep coming back because of the high quality, but this is our first cruise since 2019 and I’m very worried that I will get a reduced experience for what is a lot of money. I still have time to switch to another line but would love to know your thoughts. 

The embarkation champagne is gone but I can’t say I really miss it. The food is not quite what is was but it seems to be improving again in my experience 

[Georgia_Peaches]

I understand your concern and my comment is in no way meant to be snarky, but I want to advise you to move a little deeper into the page count at the bottom or top of the Celebrity board.  I don't think you will have to travel far to come across a number of threads and reviews detailing the things of which you are concerned.

 

I will say that we had a very enjoyable cruise on Equinox back in July.  Cuts were evident in certain areas, like nobody handing out embarkation bubbly when we boarded...it is available at Al Bacio, though.  MDR choices were more limited but food was mostly enjoyable.  Service was outstanding, as per usual for our experiences.  

 

[doghog]

44 minutes ago, Clemmnj said:

I’ve read that the quality of food in the MDR has really decreased and that Celebrity has made other cuts such as no more afternoon canapés or embarkation champagne. Can any recent Celebrity cruisers comment on other cuts or the reality of the MDR food. I have a cruise booked for May and I’m really concerned. We have cruised exclusively on Celebrity and keep coming back because of the high quality, but this is our first cruise since 2019 and I’m very worried that I will get a reduced experience for what is a lot of money. I still have time to switch to another line but would love to know your thoughts. 

Why not wait until you have actually experienced Celebrity again and then decide for yourself. Yes there has been some changes post covid and more recently under the new RCG regime, I mean management. Others experiences/opinions positive or negative do not concern us. That's their opinion and I respect that but we will decide for ourselves.  Looking forward to our October Eclipse cruise. 

[Mark_T]

6 minutes ago, doghog said:

Why not wait until you have actually experienced Celebrity again and then decide for yourself.

I guess not everyone wants to roll the dice with a large expenditure, especially if they have not cruised for 4 years...

 

I do understand why some are happy to try it and see if the changes have altered anything they care about, but I think we also have to accept that there will be others not willing to risk the expense when it isn't something they are doing multiple times a year...

Edited September 3, 2023 by Mark_T

[Pennstatedj]

We took two cruises in July also on the Equinox. We agree with Georgia Peaches. Food was very good and service in MDH was outstanding. We also did a Chefs table and a Murano and a petite chef. All were great. Cuts were evident but none were something we could not do without. The vaping was tested and fortunately stopped. 

[doghog]

5 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

I guess not everyone wants to roll the dice with a large expenditure, especially if they have not cruised for 4 years...

 

I do understand why some are happy to try it and see if the changes have altered anything they care about, but I think we also have to accept that there will be others not willing to risk the expense when it isn't something they are doing multiple times a year...

No doubt. But we aren't willing to roll the dice on others opinions or experiences. Just sharing our approach. We started cruising in 1991. Long before I had a computer and long before I joined Cruise Critic in 2001. The only lesson learned for us on that 1991 cruise was, do not book late TD dining. Other than that all our independent decisions (even when using a TA) have been positive. 

[jelayne]

All cruise lines have made changes and cuts since 2019.

We have done 10 Celebrity cruises in last 2 years.  All have been great, some changes have been for the better other were things eliminated or reduced, most things are much like they were in 2019.  Beautiful ships, great crew, visible and approachable officers, music in the various venues in the late afternoon through evening, excellent service, Martini bar still lively, views from the sunset bar are still of the wake.  I could go on but I hope you get the picture, it much more like it was than different.

[Clemmnj]

2 hours ago, Torfamm said:

The embarkation champagne is gone but I can’t say I really miss it. The food is not quite what is was but it seems to be improving again in my experience 

I guess I will miss more of what the embarkation champagne represented. I will miss that feeling of excitement that it gave you. That feeling of luxury. You save and plan as the excitement builds and then you step on board to a glass of champagne with your whole trip ahead of you. So I will miss that special feeling I guess. Most mid level hotels in resort areas welcome their guests with champagne so I think rather than the champagne itself it’s the lack of it, when it once was there, that will be a sort of let down for me. It may seem silly to some but I bet I am not alone in thinking this is a misstep on Celebrity’s part. 

[Clemmnj]

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

I understand your concern and my comment is in no way meant to be snarky, but I want to advise you to move a little deeper into the page count at the bottom or top of the Celebrity board.  I don't think you will have to travel far to come across a number of threads and reviews detailing the things of which you are concerned.

 

I will say that we had a very enjoyable cruise on Equinox back in July.  Cuts were evident in certain areas, like nobody handing out embarkation bubbly when we boarded...it is available at Al Bacio, though.  MDR choices were more limited but food was mostly enjoyable.  Service was outstanding, as per usual for our experiences.  

 

I guess I will miss what is now gone no matter what it is because I’m sure to notice it. Things like embarkation champagne and canapés are little things in the grand scheme of things and no one wants to be thinking that the vacation that they planned and saved for is not up to what they were anticipating. And that anticipation comes from past experience. I wouldn’t miss what I never had but these little things add up. And if the food has declined it could certainly ruin the cruise since it is a long one. No one wants to be bored by the food or have it be of mediocre quality. That’s a deal breaker for me. 

[Torfamm]

16 minutes ago, Clemmnj said:

I guess I will miss more of what the embarkation champagne represented. I will miss that feeling of excitement that it gave you. That feeling of luxury. You save and plan as the excitement builds and then you step on board to a glass of champagne with your whole trip ahead of you. So I will miss that special feeling I guess. Most mid level hotels in resort areas welcome their guests with champagne so I think rather than the champagne itself it’s the lack of it, when it once was there, that will be a sort of let down for me. It may seem silly to some but I bet I am not alone in thinking this is a misstep on Celebrity’s part. 

I absolutely understand you, it was a festive touch that  had little to do with the actual “champagne”. For me though, dropping my bags in the cabin and then enjoying a relaxing drink on deck has been a good replacement.
 

You might find that you don’t mind the changes much at all. I think it’s worth giving it a chance.

[Silkroad]

16 minutes ago, Clemmnj said:

I guess I will miss more of what the embarkation champagne represented. I will miss that feeling of excitement that it gave you. That feeling of luxury. You save and plan as the excitement builds and then you step on board to a glass of champagne with your whole trip ahead of you. So I will miss that special feeling I guess.

I understand what you’re saying, but as @Georgia_Peachesposted, the bubbly is available in Café al Bacio.
 

What we love much more than the bubbly upon boarding is the ability to immediately stow our carry on bags in our stateroom (an option that wasn’t available before 2019). Once we accomplish this, we check in at our muster station, secure some lunch & adult beverages, and drink to another wonderful vacation together. This last bit is what fills me with joyful anticipation.
 

As I would post almost exactly what @jelayne posted, I’ll simply say that DH and I just spent 21 nights aboard Apex, and we had a grand time. We experienced nothing that would make us cancel our future bookings. In fact, I just made final payment on another Celebrity cruise. Sure, Celebrity has changed. It’s been changing the entire time I’ve been cruising (since 2006). All the mainstream cruise lines have changed. Ditto for airlines, hotels and our local restaurants.

 

I hope you have a wonderful time on your cruise. Cheers!

[Silkroad]

17 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

I absolutely understand you, it was a festive touch that  had little to do with the actual “champagne”. For me though, dropping my bags in the cabin and then enjoying a relaxing drink on deck has been a good replacement.
 

You might find that you don’t mind the changes much at all. I think it’s worth giving it a chance.

You beat me to it! Great minds😂

[ElmaLee]

We were on Edge in August.  We ate in 3 of the MDRs.

We enjoyed every meal.  There was plenty of choice and the meals were of a good quality.  Service was always excellent.

 

We are looking forward to Apex in February.

[eyecantwait]

We were on the Solstice last week and the dining room entrees were hit or miss. Pasta was generally gummy and my husband found the steak to be chewy and overcooked. He sent it back the second time this happened and there were many apologies and a visit from the suit who checks in on your table here and there.

That being said, we had a great time and enjoyed our cruise very much. The best part about the Solstice is the crew!

[killaypirate]

We were on Silhouette late July/early August. First cruise with the school dinner-like menus. For us everything else was really good as usual but MDR menu & quality were very disappointing. Will give X one more opportunity if MDR menus still not up to scratch then that will be the last X cruise.

[sunkey1]

On 9/3/2023 at 3:41 PM, Clemmnj said:

I guess I will miss more of what the embarkation champagne represented. I will miss that feeling of excitement that it gave you. That feeling of luxury. You save and plan as the excitement builds and then you step on board to a glass of champagne with your whole trip ahead of you. So I will miss that special feeling I guess. Most mid level hotels in resort areas welcome their guests with champagne so I think rather than the champagne itself it’s the lack of it, when it once was there, that will be a sort of let down for me. It may seem silly to some but I bet I am not alone in thinking this is a misstep on Celebrity’s part. 

While I agree that being handed a glass upon embarkation gives a little extra to "welcome aboard", I personally never cared for it so it was always wasted. I would imagine this was a huge reason for eliminating this perk. I'd much rather hit the bar in the atrium and select a drink that I know I I'll drink.

[doghog]

4 hours ago, sunkey1 said:

While I agree that being handed a glass upon embarkation gives a little extra to "welcome aboard", I personally never cared for it so it was always wasted. I would imagine this was a huge reason for eliminating this perk. I'd much rather hit the bar in the atrium and select a drink that I know I I'll drink.

I don't believe the tradition has been eliminated. We were offered a glass of sparkling wine when passing by Cafe Al Bacio on our March 2023 Apex cruise. Others have posted in other threads they had the same experiences on the different class ships in the fleet. We aren't sparkling wine fans but always like the tradition of the glass handed to us when we first board the ship. We toast each other and drink it. We'll see if the sparkling wine is offered on our October Eclipse cruise on embarkation day. 

Edited September 5, 2023 by doghog

[dadofjessie]

On 9/3/2023 at 12:43 PM, Torfamm said:

The embarkation champagne is gone but I can’t say I really miss it. The food is not quite what is was but it seems to be improving again in my experience 

We were on the Beyond in February. We did not like the food at all in the main dining rooms.  The food in the speciality restaurants (Eden and Steak House) were superb.

[OceanCruise]

On 9/3/2023 at 3:49 PM, Clemmnj said:

I guess I will miss what is now gone no matter what it is because I’m sure to notice it. Things like embarkation champagne and canapés are little things in the grand scheme of things and no one wants to be thinking that the vacation that they planned and saved for is not up to what they were anticipating. And that anticipation comes from past experience. I wouldn’t miss what I never had but these little things add up. And if the food has declined it could certainly ruin the cruise since it is a long one. No one wants to be bored by the food or have it be of mediocre quality. That’s a deal breaker for me. 

I agree. We are Elite Plus and have 2 cruises booked in 2024 in a Sky Suite. We had agonized over even booking at the current inflated rates but did so (prior to the recent changes) because we had missed out on several years of cruising due to Covid. We had always loved Celebrity's consistent, premium product we received over the past 20+ years and felt secure in booking knowing we could easily change our cruises to another itinerary/better deal with only a $100pp change fee which we were willing to risk. Now, instead of being a Celebrity cheerleader and feeling my typical excitement and anticipation for our upcoming 2 cruises, I instead feel buyer's remorse because the product is now diminished significantly after the fact. It sounds dramatic but I feel taken advantage of and can almost hear Celebrity saying "ha, ha sucker!". I am especially upset because we are now basically "stuck" taking 2 Celebrity cruises (given who knows what else they may change or take away next at whim) unless we want to completely lose our large deposits (Of course that is why the refundable deposit is so high as a deterrent to that strategy). How could Celebrity be so tone-deaf as to allow themselves to go so quickly from being a beloved "luxury" cruise line to alienating their loyal base and being referred to as Motel 6 in Cruise Critic threads? Did they not learn from the Bud Light fiasco that once a reputation is tarnished it is hard to recover? As a shareholder, that also concerns me.  Given the trajectory of the increasing Celebrity prices and loss of amenities, add me to the list of those who will be looking at other cruise lines or luxury land-based vacations after this.

[Clemmnj]

That is exactly how I feel. Instead of anticipating my cruise with excitement I am now just worrying that I will feel let down and somewhat exploited. If Celebrity felt the need to change so much they should have done beginning with cruises not yet available for booking. I feel a little like the victim of a bait and switch. I am trying to maintain a positive attitude but I find myself feeling a bit bitter. And who wants to feel that way before a very expensive trip?! I’m holding out hope that Celebrity will consider this a failed experiment that undermines the bottom line and go back to what was once a premium cruise line instead of Motel 6. 

[kwokpot]

On 9/3/2023 at 4:19 PM, Silkroad said:

As I would post almost exactly what @jelayne posted, I’ll simply say that DH and I just spent 21 nights aboard Apex, and we had a grand time. We experienced nothing that would make us cancel our future bookings. In fact, I just made final payment on another Celebrity cruise. Sure, Celebrity has changed. It’s been changing the entire time I’ve been cruising (since 2006). All the mainstream cruise lines have changed. Ditto for airlines, hotels and our local restaurants.

We were on the Apex the beginning of July and Solstice in February, and this is what I'll say. I know there have been people that weren't pleased with the MDRs on the E-class ships, but I think on the WHOLE, the MDR experience on E-class seems to be better than the M or S class ships. I think the extra appetizers and mains definitely makes both a perceived and real difference. Having sailed an S and E Class ship within 5 months apart the quality of presentation and taste were superior on the Apex than the Solstice. 

[cruisegirlppp]

On 9/3/2023 at 12:45 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

I will say that we had a very enjoyable cruise on Equinox back in July.  Cuts were evident in certain areas, like nobody handing out embarkation bubbly when we boarded...it is available at Al Bacio, though.  MDR choices were more limited but food was mostly enjoyable.  Service was outstanding, as per usual for our experiences.  

 

We were on Equinox last week (end of August) and I went down to Al Bacio to check out the bubbly situation- they offered me a glass to be charged to my sea pass card!!!  It's not a big thing but just indicative of the general trend. 

The service in the MDR was very, very slow- our waiters were working hard to serve the tables but the food just wasn't coming out of the kitchen.

On the plus side we got chocolates every night and the afternoon canapes were better on this cruise than others.

We enjoyed ourselves but, as others have noted, the experience has changed. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, cruisegirlppp said:

We were on Equinox last week (end of August) and I went down to Al Bacio to check out the bubbly situation- they offered me a glass to be charged to my sea pass card!!!

Awe that’s a shame. Back in the day you could get a embarkation glass of bubbly regardless of your drink package status. 

[cruisegirlppp]

6 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Awe that’s a shame. Back in the day you could get a embarkation glass of bubbly regardless of your drink package status. 

Exactly, it let you know you were back on Celebrity!