Cruising Princess

When I sailed on Equinox this past October they “supposedly” ran out of Cherry Pie Pinot. The following night we ate in Tuscan and they had it! I think in the MDR they are trying to limit the quantity of finer wines in the premium selection. I say this because they kept offering us options that were in the classic package.

I was so excited to book another cruise. And then I read the recent reviews on this board regarding the Summit. I was shocked to read a few reoccurring themes including: rust on balconies outdoor cushions bear thread, dirty or missing slow drains in showers unhappy, disinterested crew members maintenance issues (e.g., missing elevator buttons) I was shocked to read these comments. I know most reviews are typically negative ones but when you read the same comments over and over, then there must be some weight to them. The Summit has always been the ship that stole my heart. I traveled on her many many times over the years. She is my favorite. I would say its like coming home when I board. I hope Celebrity has read the reviews and is taking swift action! I’m still excited to be boarding soon!

on Equinox last week they only offered tacos one lunchtime. Remaining days they had chicken and beef thinly sliced with peppers and onions mixed in. They had some sort of flour wrap you could use. Also had rice and refried beans.

they did not offer this specific dish but did have Almond crusted Hake one night. My husband had it and said it was good.

More thoughts…. we upgraded to Premium drink package. Many of the wines on the premium list were out of stock. So had to drink $9 and $10 value wines. Seemed interesting that they hadn’t run out of any of the cheap oops mean classic wines. I was unable to get any water besides a No named filtered water. No spring water. No Evian as stated on premium package. Also no Vitamin Water or bottled ice tea. the premium package was not worth the cost. Oceanview cafe was similar to past cruises but you can see how a lot of dishes were poorer quality or in some cases watered down like the refried beans at Mexican station. How sad since a can of beans is so cheap! there were less options at lunch and dinner. They would repeat some dishes at different stations making you think there are more options than not. Overall passable but disappointing value. Mass Grill was still good. Love their fries!

Just off Equinox today and I saw several men wearing shorts, tee shirts and sneakers in MDR and walking into Blu. Chic nights most men didn’t wear jackets. Most nice slacks and button down. But of course some didn’t care and wore shorts/tees on chic nights too.

After 45 cruises on Celebrity - I have a lot of experience sailing in all cabin categories from inside to suites. So I hope you can appreciate my level of experience sailing with Celebrity. we disembarked today after 8 night sailing. Here are my initial impressions of this sailing: The ship is in need for some major maintenance. Our balcony ceiling had a lot of rust and grime. The railing had been sanded but never revarnished. So you couldn’t lean on it for fear of splinters. Bar area on Deck 5 - sofas and chairs lost all their support. When you sit you sink down very far. Impossible to stand up when wearing heels without assistance. Dinner in Murano was passable but nothing like previous years. Quality declined from the salads to grade of meats. Service was good but at $60 plus 20% tip it’s not worth the money. 2 nights in Tuscan - service very slow. Food not much better than MDR. A lot of misses. Avoid ordering any pasta or Italian dishes. The lasagna and chicken parm tasted like they contained Indian spices. Pastas were overcooked and came out cold. MDR - biggest let down. Quality of ingredients and proteins have dropped significantly. Some fishes totally overcooked, salads with no taste, and their seasonal vegetables were the same every night with beans and carrots until we got to night 6 when they switched everything to peas and carrots. And of course the lack of options on menu didn’t surprise me to see more than half the people around me ordering French onion soup or escargot. And don’t get me started on the ice cream scoop of mashed potatoes on almost every dish. Finally on night 7 I ordered a baked potato. It came out undercooked and hard as a rock. Outdoor pools have a lot of chipped paint in bottom - needing a lot of maintenance. On port days there were no bar servers roaming around asking to take drink orders. Bartenders worked hard and most were friendly. Entertainment was forced and lacked any spark. One evening however they had silent disco and the DJ kept people on dance floor. I’m in my sixties and even I was bored most of the time. In summary this was the first time in over 60 total cruises where I said that I couldn’t wait to go home. The cruise left such a bad taste in our mouths that we just cancelled our next cruise.

On board the Equinox and have eaten in the MDR 3 times so far. Food is very basic with same carrots and beans every night. Still only had 3 appetizer options plus the classics. I’ve never seen so many people ordering the French Onion soup! Mashed potatoes were rather good but did get onto the plate with what must of been an ice cream scooper. Last night they offered one additional dessert than what was on the menu. They added a soufflé.

Here is menu for this upcoming cruise. I’m all for less options if quantity is stellar….but not just soups and salad.

I just saw the MDR menus for our upcoming cruise on the app. I compared them to previous ones. In past years there were 7 options plus the 4 “timeless starters”. During my March 2023 cruise they were down to 5 appetizers plus the 4 “timeless appetizers“. The current menus have only 2 soups and one salad plus the “timeless” ones lumped in to appear as having 7 choices. Gone are the “appetizers” and left only with “soup & salad” choices - obviously cheaper options. Did Celebrity actually think their loyal customers wouldn’t notice their tactics to cut costs? Here is a menu from 2018. Menu from App during March 2023 cruise.

This is hysterical!! Thanks for making me laugh! I just saw the Celebrity App has updated the MDR menu for my sailing starting next Saturday 9/30 on the Equinox. There aren’t as many mashed potatoes on the menu as the previous menu posted. However I am so disappointed in the lack of appetizer options. For many many years I ate in Luminae only to typically order off the MDR menu because of the wide selection. Luminae started getting so boring since the menus didn’t change. And this cruise is my first back in balcony and eating in MDR. I was so looking forward to their menu options.

Okay can anyone who has recently sailed and ate in the MDR confirm almost every dish including fish has mashed potatoes? It appears the current menus have cut back on the side dishes and is very limited. Isn’t rice just as cheap as potatoes?

I am considering booking a cruise on the Insignia. However the only Penthouse cabins left are those designated as Connecting Room. Does anyone have any pictures showing the location of the door between cabins? And have you had any noise issues because of the shared door? I appreciate your feedback.

Okay I thought I have said enough about how Celebrity is downgrading it’s menus but of course I am shocked again! I was looking at the Blu menus on an upcoming cruise. One evening they are serving Angus Meatloaf! And of course no other beef, lamb or veal option. Celebrity’s marketing material say Blu is clean cuisine with new healthy options. Now I love a good meatloaf but is this aqua cuisine? Could they find a cheaper cut of beef?

Okay I thought I have said enough about how Celebrity is downgrading it’s menus but of course I am shocked again! I was looking at the Blu menus on an upcoming cruise. One evening they are serving Angus Meatloaf! And of course no other beef, lamb or veal option. Celebrity’s marketing material say Blu is clean cuisine with new healthy options. Now I love a good meatloaf but is this aqua cuisine? Could they find a cheaper cut of beef?