CC Class Breakfast a real disappointment on Millie

[Xcruiser]

One of the amenities that we most enjoy on our past CC cabins is having breakfast on our veranda at sunrises. We have had the same cabin with a large veranda on the PH deck on all the M-Class ships and really enjoyed it until our last sailing on Millie.

 

On Millie the first day we ordered breakfast it arrived on time as is the case most =X= cruises but COLD! The eggs were not cooked as requested, the toast soggy and the coffee was terrible even for Celebrity standards. It’s rare that we can’t manage to drink poor coffee when it’s hot (or warm in this case) but it tasted like it had dish soap in it. We noticed the stainless steel warming plates and covers had been replaced with thin plastic covers over standard plates. This is only the second time on a cruise ship we have had it served this way and the other was our last cruise on Azamara Quest and food was cold then as well.

 

Also there was no offer to serve the breakfast at the table on the veranda and no white table cloth as with our prior cruises. The tray would simply be left on the small inside table with the food stacked on it. We tried four times hoping things would improve and each time food was cold (one time slightly warm) and never served on the veranda. The coffee did improve after a couple days – still not good but the soapy taste went away so we could drink it. We give up on room service after that and eat at the Lido or by the T-Pool.

 

I was just wondering if anyone else has noticed a change in hot food ordered from room service on this or any other =X= ships? If the use of the plastic plate covers has seemed to effect serving temp. of the food?:confused:

 

I hope this is not another downward tread that is going to affect the food service on other ships as well.

:(

[02143]

I had the same experience in '03 and '05, and the former was not long after they introduced CC in the first place. The order was never correct and the cabin crew is clearly way overstretched by the task of getting breakfasts to people, particularly on sea days. I loved the experience of dining out on the veranda but doing it more than once made me feel like I was asking our attendant to work overtime and that was quite awkward.

 

I don't think it's a downward trend so much as something they were never quite able to accommodate in the first place.

[nps001]

I can't say that I experienced incorrect orders or anything but good food when I ordered Room Service. However, being in the hotel business, I always know it is very cumbersome and difficult to deliver HOT foods. I guess I lower my standards for when I order.

 

I had dinner one night on the veranda and it was served almost hot. The plates were covered in the plastic covers, not metal. I don't think the metal covers keep the food any warmer. What really makes a difference is using a "hot box" I don't recall seeing one on board and one wasn't used for our order. For those that want to know, a hot box is literally a metal box (usually under the card) that contains a sterno type fuel. The sterno keeps the hot at a hot temperature so that the food remains hot even during a long delivery process. I am not sure, but I believe they are not allowed on ships due to the open flame. I could be wrong.

 

P.S. The late night delivery of a cheeseburger and fries after a night on drinking in the Casino or at the bars hit the spot!

[warmwinds]

I can understand your complaint about the food being served cold or an incorrect order, but if you wanted the tray set up on the veranda instead of inside, why didn't you simply ask the person who brought it in? Maybe he thought you wanted it inside, especially since he set it up inside the first time, you never said anything, so why would he NOT think that is where you always wanted it?

[Xcruiser]

I can understand your complaint about the food being served cold or an incorrect order, but if you wanted the tray set up on the veranda instead of inside, why didn't you simply ask the person who brought it in? Maybe he thought you wanted it inside, especially since he set it up inside the first time, you never said anything, so why would he NOT think that is where you always wanted it?

Our order was never incorrect or late, just cold. I did tell the room service person that we will take it on our veranda but it was still set on the inside table and he would just turn and leave. As I said we have been in the same room on the other 3 M-Class ships and it was not even close to the same service on Millie.

[slotaddict]

:D When we sailed the Century in CC class 11/06, I found that the room service breakfast was just about what you described. it was very disappointing. Things were not hot. they were not placed on the table on the veranda but on the small glass table in the room. Otherwise it was a great cruise.:D

[glgolfer]

Just got off the Millie and ordered room service breakfast the first morning for 0800/0830. Arrived at 0830 and was warm enough, if not hot. I commented I really liked the toast as it was soft and still warm enough to melt the butter. Not like the hard as a rock toast on some lines.

 

Our breakfast was taken to the veranda and taken off the tray and put on the table. Excellent service. It just happened to be our cabin attendant that delivered the order and she always did an excellent job.

 

We were in a Family Ocean View with Veranda (FV).

 

The second time, breakfast arrived on time and again was acceptable. It was put on the veranda table, but not taken off the tray as it wasn't our attendant that time.

 

No complaints.

[J-man]

Hello from the same cruise, just down the hall! :p

 

Our steward, Salome, brought breakfast out to the verandah and set it up with a tablecloth. The coffee was fine, and the food was reasonably hot. On the other hand, our orders were only semi-accurate. I suspect that the quality/accuracy of your room service order may have more to do with the individual cabin steward than the ship as a whole.

 

BTW, does anyone else think Celebrity's coffee service has improved? The quality in the dining room and buffet was much better (and consistently better) than I recall from a year ago.

[J-man]

Hello from the same cruise, just down the hall! :p

 

Our steward, Salome, brought breakfast out to the verandah and set it up with a tablecloth. The coffee was fine, and the food was reasonably hot. On the other hand, our orders were only semi-accurate. I suspect that the quality/accuracy of your room service order may have more to do with the individual cabin steward than the ship as a whole.

 

BTW, does anyone else think Celebrity's coffee service has improved? The quality in the dining room and buffet was much better (and consistently better) than I recall from a year ago.

[Xcruiser]

Hello from the same cruise, just down the hall! :p

 

Our steward, Salome, brought breakfast out to the verandah and set it up with a tablecloth. The coffee was fine, and the food was reasonably hot. On the other hand, our orders were only semi-accurate. I suspect that the quality/accuracy of your room service order may have more to do with the individual cabin steward than the ship as a whole.

 

BTW, does anyone else think Celebrity's coffee service has improved? The quality in the dining room and buffet was much better (and consistently better) than I recall from a year ago.

Hello good neighbor!

 

Our Steward did not bring our breakfast it was someone from room service. Sounds like you got the right treatment served in the CC Class fashion. We never saw a tablecloth and when I asked to have it on the veranda he would just look at me puzzled as to why I would tell him where I was going to eat it.:rolleyes: The food was only once above room temp. and calling it warm would be a stretch in our case.

:(

On Connie same room last March breakfast service went like this:

 

Arrived on time (if we order 6:00-6:30a it would be 6:00a) at room on room service cart (no cart used on Millie, but was on time and one time 10 minutes early).

 

Room service staff would confirm that we wanted to be served on veranda.

Cover table with white tablecloth and place a vase with one flower on center table (vase and flower came with breakfast). Place order on table in stainless steel covered plates on warming chargers, place silverware and offer to poor coffee. Everyday was the same and food was always warm to hot, toast always amazed us as it was like it had just come out of the toaster.:)

 

I guess staff was our problem but food being so cold and arriving on time might be related to the plastic covers used this time (I guess it could have sat without a heat source for 20-30 minutes as well).:(

 

Oh well …did ruin our cruise, just a disappointment.:)

 

Joel

[Cote d'or]

I wonder if the temperature of the food is related to your stateroom's location on the ship : aft, midship or forward. If all breakfasts are delivered from the same point, it should be.

[J-man]

We were both aft, and the galleys are aft (I assume), so...?

[bububr]

Just a quick aside from room service...

 

On our January Century cruise I indulged in ordering two appetizers a couple of times and two entrees once when I could not decide between the two.

 

On previous cruises The items would come on seperate plates and be served one after the other.....On this cruise it was different.

 

The first time I ordered shrimp coctail and a crab salad. To my surprise...the crab salad was dumped into the shrimp coctail container and both were served together. This was bad enough but since I didn't realized they had done this I allowed cocktail sauce to be put on the shrimp which soaked the crab.....YUK!

 

The second set of appetizers wre the duck confit and the mushrooms in the puff pastry. Both the hot mushroom starter and the cold duck came on the same plate also.

 

I won't even start with the entrees.

 

This was only one of the 'little' things that we dissaproved of on this cruise.

 

Granted I was being a bit of a 'piggy' by ordering a bit more, but if I wanted my food piled on my plates like that I would have chosen to eat at the buffet instead of at a formal dining setting.

 

Dave:eek:

[sarplum]

we we re on the Connie Dec 7th and it couldn't be any better.

Our steward did the delivering and set up and also would phone when he

was on the way. We had a tablecloth and flower on the veranda and if

anything, the only difference in what we ordered was too much rather than too little. By the way, we always gave him a tip each time - I'm

sure it did no harm.

[Shirley and Les]

...BTW, does anyone else think Celebrity's coffee service has improved? The quality in the dining room and buffet was much better (and consistently better) than I recall from a year ago...

I agree about the quality of the coffee.

Now if they could only do something about the quantity!!!

I was very distressed with the waiters and busboys in the buffet area during breakfast and lunch hours. They would do anything they could to get a dirty plate away from you but they would do everything they could to avoid bringing you a cup of coffee. Coffee shouldn't be something you have to ask for. An empty cup should suffice as a signal to refill it.

Customer service would increase dramatically if they equipped every other barserver in the buffet area with a coffee pot :eek: instead of a tray of 'Bahama Mamas.'

Les

[warmwinds]

AHA! You have said twice now:

 

when I asked to have it on the veranda he would just look at me puzzled as to why I would tell him where I was going to eat it.

 

Could it have been a language issue? You did not say please PUT it on the veranda, did you? Maybe I'm wrong, but to say we'll "have" it on the veranda or "we'll take it" on the veranda might mean to some "we will be the ones to physically take it to the veranda"...?

[Xcruiser]

AHA! You have said twice now:

 

when I asked to have it on the veranda he would just look at me puzzled as to why I would tell him where I was going to eat it.

 

Could it have been a language issue? You did not say please PUT it on the veranda, did you? Maybe I'm wrong, but to say we'll "have" it on the veranda or "we'll take it" on the veranda might mean to some "we will be the ones to physically take it to the veranda"...?

Sorry if I repeated myself warmwinds, Language was not the issue as he spoke English quite well. It was more that he was not prepared or trained as to the difference in breakfast service between a standard veranda and a CC/suite class service.

 

CC Class cabins get a stepped up service level that includes normally “serving” breakfast on a white tablecloth on the veranda along with additional items on the menu.

 

Service aside the real issue was cold food from room service for breakfast.

[Xcruiser]

BTW, does anyone else think Celebrity's coffee service has improved? The quality in the dining room and buffet was much better (and consistently better) than I recall from a year ago.

 

I agree about the quality of the coffee.

Now if they could only do something about the quantity!!!

Les

 

Hey Jordan and Les, where you guys getting your coffee? Les what is in that flask you kept pouring into your coffee that you kept in your back pocket? It didn’t look much like cream.;) :D

 

Seriously, the coffee we had from room service the first two days of the cruise was very bitter. We couldn’t drink it so we went forward to the spa café to get some as on past cruise it’s been good there. However this time it my have been even worse. It improved a lot on day three for some reason. We both liked the coffee served in the dinning room after dinner. When we committed to our table assistant that we finally had good coffee she was surprised as she had been getting nothing but complaints. She told us it was decaf and that she only served decaf after dinner. We don’t drink decaf so that was quite a surprise.:eek:

 

Maybe that’s why we were so sleepy after dinner. :confused:

[Drew B]

I've never had great luck with room service (regular stateroom, not CC). I was so excited for the clam chowder in a bread bowl, but it came in a regular bowl (not bread) and it was cold. Not appetizing. When I've gotten fries, they've steamed so much under the cover that they are completely soggy and generally cold as well.

 

My response has been to go to the dining room or the Lido for my food needs, but if room service was really important to me, I'd be upset...

[J-man]

Got my coffee from the dining room (regular, not decaf) and from the various Ocean Cafe stations, as well as room service. It was definitely an improvement over last year.

[cruisejunkey]

We just got off the Millenium 1/27 cruise and I have just got to comment on the coffee situation.....It was awful and the coffee machines were constantly out in the buffet. It was a struggle to get a good cup of coffee.

 

When we got to San Juan we were looking for a starbucks to get a good cup of coffee. Now bad coffee would not ruin my vacation....but for the true coffee drinkers out there...it is all about that 1st cup in the morning!

 

Everyone complains about the coffee on Princess Cruises...compared to what we drank this past week..I would rate Princess's as gourmet...and that is a mouthful for sure!!

[NHCruisr]

We were in CC on the Mercury in November. Room service for breakfast was on time. Other than that, it was awful. Eggs were cold, items were missing (tea water but no tea bags!!). After two tries, we started having breakfast elsewhere.

[Xcruiser]

Just a quick aside from room service...

 

On our January Century cruise I indulged in ordering two appetizers a couple of times and two entrees once when I could not decide between the two.

 

On previous cruises The items would come on seperate plates and be served one after the other.....On this cruise it was different.

 

The first time I ordered shrimp coctail and a crab salad. To my surprise...the crab salad was dumped into the shrimp coctail container and both were served together. This was bad enough but since I didn't realized they had done this I allowed cocktail sauce to be put on the shrimp which soaked the crab.....YUK!

 

The second set of appetizers wre the duck confit and the mushrooms in the puff pastry. Both the hot mushroom starter and the cold duck came on the same plate also.

 

I won't even start with the entrees.

 

This was only one of the 'little' things that we dissaproved of on this cruise.

 

Granted I was being a bit of a 'piggy' by ordering a bit more, but if I wanted my food piled on my plates like that I would have chosen to eat at the buffet instead of at a formal dining setting.

 

Dave:eek:

Hi Dave,

 

I know what you mean about the little things. The little things are what make Celebrity any different than any other mainstream line. On Millie the dinning room had the most un-X-like service IMHO of any our previous Celebrity cruises. It was not the fault of our table staff it was more that they were stretched to thin. At least 3 times during the cruise Colleen had a course cleared from the table before she was finished eating it without asking. Sometimes the service was rushed other times slow. I can say the following:

 

Plating was an unperfected art on our cruise.:o

 

The appetizer recommendation from our waiter each night:

“We have a very good shrimp cocktail tonight” Had us laughing by the end of the cruise. :rolleyes:

 

Overall food was good, one great new menu and one bad one. But outside of service food was middle of the road from past Celebrity Cruises.

 

Seems we are trading cruises as I’m going on Century next and you’re doing Millie. If you take away the little things you might as well take the big "X" off the stack and paint the the hull solid dark blue and call the ship: "Anotherdam";) :D

 

Hope we get on the same one again like on Quest. (for us maybe a better one)

 

Joel :)

[world~citizen]

Seems we are trading cruises as I’m going on Century next and you’re doing Millie. If you take away the little things you might as well take the big "X" off the stack and paint the the hull solid dark blue and call the ship: "Anotherdam";) :D

 

Thats very funny.

From what I experienced on the infamous December transatlantic on Century, combined with what I am reading on the boards, I cannot help but feel X just doesn't get it. Or maybe its RCCL.

 

We tried CC to see what it was like. No pillow menu, no special invitations, no priority for luggage, we tried breakfast room service 3 times and gave up...geeze.

 

It really is true, the afternoon appetizers are terrible!

 

You cannot run a cruise line on slick advertising. Celebrity please hear this: more beef and less sizzle please.

 

 

 

[LuLaLuvlee]

BTW, does anyone else think Celebrity's coffee service has improved? The quality in the dining room and buffet was much better (and consistently better) than I recall from a year ago.

:eek: I thought it was worse than ever on my most recent cruise (Holiday 07-08) I thought it was better a year ago on Millie; at least then I always got half and half with my room service coffee instead of that chemical stuff. I always drink decaf (not my choice~~my docs) {I do get a really good decaf at home but I order it from Louisiana and have fooled may "I won't touch decaf peeps" with it. Just because it's decaf doesn't mean it has to be yucky ;) } Perhaps the difference is tween ships. Since I am on Millie again in May, I will happily do a coffee check.