Food & Beverage Update from the President

[billc23]

31 minutes ago, CaroleSS said:

Nice to see that they seem to be listening and making the appropriate changes to keep their "loyal customers" loyal!

For some (like me) the cats out of the bag! I was loyal after a sailing on the Millennium back in 2007 where there was a problem with the ship and I was super impressed with how Celebrity handled the situation. Now, because of the price increases I decided to try other lines and was pleasantly surprised. After some silly cutbacks, my trust in Celebrity is gone. While I will continue to book Celebrity my loyalty has waned and my future bookings reflect that.

Edited November 1, 2023 by billc23

[foodsvcmgr]

I for one will be going in with an open mind on Eclipse in January.

The fact that they made this video makes me think the effort to improve will be substantial.

Although Antarctica is the draw, I had been somewhat dreading the food, especially after the impressive quality I experienced in Cunard MDR in August.

Now I am feeling very hopeful.

[wineoclock]

4 minutes ago, billc23 said:

For some (like me) the cats out of the bag! I was loyal after a sailing on the Millennium back in 2007 where there was a problem with the ship and was super impressed with how Celebrity handled the situation. Now, because of the price increases and some silly cutbacks, I tried other lines and, while I will continue to book Celebrity, my loyalty has waned.

Same. Started to look  elsewhere. I’ll always look at Celebrity now but I’m not going to only look ar them any longer.

 

Maybe now they can address the SS and butler issue. 

[billc23]

1 minute ago, wineoclock said:

 

Maybe now they can address the SS and butler issue. 

That is one of the trust issues that has not effected me but disturbed my sense of fairness and honesty.

[Guera53]

48 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

We're reversing the cuts we implemented...but if you're sailing between now and Thanksgiving (or sailed in the interim), t.s.

That’s me

[flyingv4me]

Sailing Nov 11 and getting off the ship on Nov 21.  Too early for the changes it seems.  Ah, well.  Hoping things improve where needed.  Sailing in a SS, I'm already worried about the butler situation.  Pity the food upgrades probably won't occur until after my cruise is over.  I must comment about the video being 8:51 long with barely 2:30 of F/B updates.  That being said, the video did show they are listening.  Glad to see.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

44 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Many have been complaining since Jan 1st to reverse their cutbacks.  It apparently took the outrage of a cookie fee in order for them to listen but they're apparently not improving the food quality

 

Yes, there was absolutely no mention of food quality in the webinar.

[jcpelly]

Lets hope they also tried the great looking but god awful deserts at the buffet and something can finally get done about that.  How hard can it be to bake a cake and slap some frosting on it that actually has some flavor to it.

[High on the Seas]

Too many questions right now for me to get too excited about changes for which there was little detail, except for the chocolate dessert and the return of the classic section. Are these changes only for the main dining room or do they also apply to Blu and Luminae?  Last time we sailed in Aqua class and found too much lamb, duck, and other items just prepared slightly different.  Hopefully this is not their definition of variety. It does sound like they’re trying to do some level of damage control, however based upon some of the recent things they have done I am lacking the confidence right now to think they will get it right. After all the feedback they received in recent months, did they really need to sail and eat at the restaurant to see that this was an issue.  My wife and I will be on the reflection in February for a back to back so we’ll see how it goes. Hopefully they’ll be plenty of feedback to review prior to our departure.

[hrhdhd]

55 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

We're reversing the cuts we implemented...but if you're sailing between now and Thanksgiving (or sailed in the interim), t.s.

It's three weeks. They'll need time to figure out the menus and order food items. It's unfortunate for those sailing before Thanksgiving, but it's logistical.

 

Anyway, as one who doesn't like chocolate desserts, I'd better see my crème brûlée on the menu every night.

[High on the Seas]

6 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

Yes, there was absolutely no mention of food quality in the webinar.

Bingo!  Without that any additional variety does little. 

[sunlover33]

Well sailing on the 29th of this month we will be  some if the first to see if the promised changes materialise or if it’s just smoke and mirrors. Will feed back. 

[upwarduk]

39 minutes ago, Bill Miller said:

Good video, positive news.

No PUP points though.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

The complaints must be very loud and consistent if they put the effort into producing a video. I am glad they are at least addressing the concerns. 

Edited November 1, 2023 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[lv2cruisgrl]

We sail on Beyond Nov 13 so I will report on the food!  The video was ok but didn't really discuss the issue of food  "quality".  

[Cap_D]

Too soon to know what this means, but glad to hear it and its something positive.  The tone still seems off considering the marketing done elsewhere.

 

1.   Props to those that provided feedback, and everyone should keep it up.  

 

2.     Anyone that was subjected to the hyper experimentation on Equinox sailings should get hazard OBC or something meaningful.  Thank you to those folks especially.  

 

3.      Meanwhile LLP is promoting her new autobiography / leadership book.  

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CzEedPsOaLx/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==

[Showingthatgame]

Im sailing on the 25th so this will be very interesting to see how it plays out. Ill make sure to feedback on them. 

 

Im assuming they made this decision weeks ago before they sailed and now its a good time to announce it, now the logistics are in place.

[DaKahuna]

33 minutes ago, wineoclock said:

Maybe now they can address the SS and butler issue. 

 

 I totally agree but we would like to see them address the quality of the food in all the dining venue's before addressing the SS butler issue, and we normally sail in a sky suite.

 

[Mark_T]

Good to hear the words, but will wait to hear the reports form those onboard once the new changes are in place...

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 minute ago, OfTheSeasCruiser said:

They must be seeing some sort of financial hit if they put the effort into producing a video. I am glad they are at least addressing the concerns. 

 

In the Q&A video, they mentioned that "one of the most popular questions" was cookiegate.  Laura's reaction of "oooooohhh cookies" and body language was very telling.  That seemed to play at least a part in getting them to stop making cutbacks and ignoring us.

 

Game = Gate, that's youtube's caption

 

[miched]

The comment about having  the dedicated lounge isn’t about the drinks it is for those that want  to connect with others sharing their stories, really?    🤷‍♂️🙄
 

I don’t care if anyone is elite or above and sorry but yes it is the drinks, if not why would anyone go there  there during those hours?    I am willing to have a conversation with anyone and I can do that anytime.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

[weregoingcruising]

6 minutes ago, miched said:

The comment about having  the dedicated lounge isn’t about the drinks it is for those that want  to connect with others sharing their stories, really?    🤷‍♂️🙄
 

I don’t care if anyone is elite or above and sorry but yes it is the drinks, if not why would anyone go there  there during those hours?    I am willing to have a conversation with anyone and I can do that anytime.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

It gives some people the opportunity to keep repeating there staying in a suite.

[NutsAboutGolf]

6 minutes ago, miched said:

The comment about having  the dedicated lounge isn’t about the drinks it is for those that want  to connect with others sharing their stories, really?    🤷‍♂️🙄
 

I don’t care if anyone is elite or above and sorry but yes it is the drinks, if not why would anyone go there  there during those hours?    I am willing to have a conversation with anyone and I can do that anytime.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

 

You CAN still get free drinks by going to other bars, that benefit remains.  So if one wants to mingle you can in the lounge, if you don't want to mingle, simply go to a participating bar.  You also have the choice to hang out at the bar or take the drink elsewhere.  Luckily we still have that choice to get free drinks at the lounge or get them at most bars

[zitsky]

Wasn’t this promoted as food AND beverage or did I get that wrong?  I am not a snob but they say nothing about their horrible wine selection by the glass.  Why do I have to buy a bottle every night to get something decent?  I haven’t but why should I?

 

And yes I would like them to address the butler situation and explain why they took away a benefit that I already paid for.

Edited November 1, 2023 by zitsky

[Orator]

My DW is in the video. Laura and Andrea really want feedback. There is a new positive company culture.