New Celebrity Food Quality Poll

[celem]

On January 3rd, we again sail on the Constellation - this time in the Panama Canal. In 2004, our Baltic cruise food experience in the MDR on the Constellation inspired me to see what others thought of it and I created a poll. This is a NEW version of that poll It would be interesting if, five years later, things have improved or worsened? Please consider an entry into the poll with your recent experience in the MDR on the Constellation.

[dzcruisers]

dup

[Pilot70D]

In our experience the food in the MDR is now worse, in fact much worse, than it was just three or four short years ago.

Our last three cruises have all been on the Connie. The decline has been very noticable. In our opinion the food in the MDR now is no better than we would get at Applebees, Chilis or Olive Garden. Granted the presentation is much fancier aboard ship and one gets 383 forks, spoons, etc. but the quality is no better. Don't get me wrong - not everything stinks but it certainly isn't what it once was.

I have read glowing food reports in these boards but mainly from those that were aboard either the Soltice or the Equinox. This leads me to believe that =X= is spending more and providing better quality food supplies to their newer and larger ships. Too bad for those sialing on the 'M' class ships. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOMEONE FROM CELEBRITY RESPOND TO MY ALLEGATION. Not likely though.

On our last cruise the food quality, not the service, was bad enough that we avoided the MDR. The service in the MDR was good. During that cruise I had three steaks in the MDR. Two were thin, tough and tasteless. The third was thin and tough but tasted OK.

Oddly enough we found that both the food and the service were better up in the alternate dining area that is one half of the buffet area at lunch. I had another piece of beef up there that was excellent in every respect. As far as service goes we were treated like visiting royalty up there. The menu there is a subset of that in the MDR but there were enough different things on that menu to keep us happy. Another thing to note is that they will get anything not on their menu that is being served in the MDR, lobster for instance, if you ask for it.

We will be sailing on the Millie in two and a half weeks. The negative reviews of its MDR do have us concerned. We used to think that both the food and service were better on =X= than on either Princess or HAL. HAL we think has plummeted even further than =X= as far as MDR quality and service goes. We still think that the service is better on =X= but that the food in the MDR on Princess is just a little better, not much but better. It would seem that the ONLY way to get a truly outstannding meal anymore is by paying the extra price and going to the specialty restaurant on =X=.

Just my $0.02 worth. Everyone have a great day and enjoy that next cruise.

[spearmint]

I chose the MacDonalds, Wendys etc. option, as I don't like these chains and never eat there. Well, on our last cruise, back-to-back on Millennium, I didn't like most of the entrees on the menus, and those that I should have liked such as a tender filet mignon, just had no flavour. Definitely the worst menus plus the most tasteless foods that Celebrity has ever given us.

I know that they won't go back to Michel Roux, even though they should, but they could have kept the new menus from last November's cruise, rather than change them to the drek that they served this time.

[jackdiamond]

Pilot70D-When were you last on the Constellation?
By the way, we love Olive Garden; and, we will be eating there on Monday. Their new chicken soup is outstanding.

[Pilot70D]

Originally Posted by jackdiamond

Pilot70D-When were you last on the Constellation?
By the way, we love Olive Garden; and, we will be eating there on Monday. Their new chicken soup is outstanding.

Last aboard the Connie - about four months ago.

We too like OG but while at home only for lunch. We have two excellent family owned Italian restaurants near us so we only go to the OG for lunch. One of the best values on the planet for lunch is OG's unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks IMHO.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Our last X cruise was in Novemer 2007 on the Connie. We thought the food was as good as we had in the past. Our next cruise is on the Equinox in December. Will reserve judgment until after the cruise. We only have one night booked in Murano's and don't know if we will check any other specialty restaurant for dinner.

Mary Lou

[jackdiamond]

Originally Posted by Pilot70D

Last aboard the Connie - about four months ago.

We too like OG but while at home only for lunch. We have two excellent family owned Italian restaurants near us so we only go to the OG for lunch. One of the best values on the planet for lunch is OG's unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks IMHO.

I agree.

[jackdiamond]

Mary Lou,
We will also be on her in AQ in December; and, we are looking forward to Blu both for breakfast and dinner. Our cruise is sold out; and, we are not surprised.

[Route6A]

Originally Posted by Pilot70D

In our experience the food in the MDR is now worse, in fact much worse, than it was just three or four short years ago.

Our last three cruises have all been on the Connie. The decline has been very noticable. In our opinion the food in the MDR now is no better than we would get at Applebees, Chilis or Olive Garden. Granted the presentation is much fancier aboard ship and one gets 383 forks, spoons, etc. but the quality is no better. Don't get me wrong - not everything stinks but it certainly isn't what it once was.

I have read glowing food reports in these boards but mainly from those that were aboard either the Soltice or the Equinox. This leads me to believe that =X= is spending more and providing better quality food supplies to their newer and larger ships. Too bad for those sialing on the 'M' class ships. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOMEONE FROM CELEBRITY RESPOND TO MY ALLEGATION. Not likely though.

On our last cruise the food quality, not the service, was bad enough that we avoided the MDR. The service in the MDR was good. During that cruise I had three steaks in the MDR. Two were thin, tough and tasteless. The third was thin and tough but tasted OK.

Oddly enough we found that both the food and the service were better up in the alternate dining area that is one half of the buffet area at lunch. I had another piece of beef up there that was excellent in every respect. As far as service goes we were treated like visiting royalty up there. The menu there is a subset of that in the MDR but there were enough different things on that menu to keep us happy. Another thing to note is that they will get anything not on their menu that is being served in the MDR, lobster for instance, if you ask for it.

We will be sailing on the Millie in two and a half weeks. The negative reviews of its MDR do have us concerned. We used to think that both the food and service were better on =X= than on either Princess or HAL. HAL we think has plummeted even further than =X= as far as MDR quality and service goes. We still think that the service is better on =X= but that the food in the MDR on Princess is just a little better, not much but better. It would seem that the ONLY way to get a truly outstannding meal anymore is by paying the extra price and going to the specialty restaurant on =X=.

Just my $0.02 worth. Everyone have a great day and enjoy that next cruise.

I agree. Sailed on the Constellation in April, and the service was truly wonderful in the main dining room, but the food has slipped a great deal. On the Holland America Noordam in November, it was much worse than Celebrity. We have cancelled a cruise on the Eurodam as a result of the understaffing and poor food on HAL, but we have kept a booking on the Equinox and hope the food is better than on the older Celebrity ships. Not too long ago, Celebrity had quite nice food...high hotel quality. No more, sadly. My husband and I hope that once the heavy discounting of cabins stops, the food will improve on both lines. (I saw a 14 day TA this November on the Century for $399 ....in an interior cabin... Amazingly inexpensive.)

[kelmac]

Originally Posted by Route6A

I agree. Sailed on the Constellation in April, and the service was truly wonderful in the main dining room, but the food has slipped a great deal. On the Holland America Noordam in November, it was much worse than Celebrity. We have cancelled a cruise on the Eurodam as a result of the understaffing and poor food on HAL, but we have kept a booking on the Equinox and hope the food is better than on the older Celebrity ships. Not too long ago, Celebrity had quite nice food...high hotel quality. No more, sadly. My husband and I hope that once the heavy discounting of cabins stops, the food will improve on both lines. (I saw a 14 day TA this November on the Century for $399 ....in an interior cabin... Amazingly inexpensive.)

I do agree that HAL has slipped in many areas, however, our Solstice cruise this past year was our best cruise ever (in 35 cruises). The demise of Celebrity's cuisine is premature, and I can't think of a single mass market cruise line that could compete with this new Solstice class of ships.
Too bad Celebrity can't be more creative with their itineraries!

Enjoy!
Kel

[Bridge Maven]

I have found a relationship on Celebrity between quality of food and cost of cruise, without considering time line, but it may be just a coincidence. The best food we ever had on a Celebrity ship was on Infinity to Alaska during the summer of 2001 when she was a new ship and cruises to Alaska were significantly more expensive than they are today. Then a year later on Millennium when people were reluctant to travel because of the aftermath of 9/11 and prices were relatively low, our food on that ship was mediocre at best. However, every subsequent cruise we had on Century, Mercury, and Constellation had much better food than we had on Millennium in 2002. The food on our Baltic Cruise on Constellation in June 2006 was almost as good as on our cruise to Alaska in 2001 but at that time Baltic Cruises were significantly more expensive than they are today. However, on a per diem basis, our Baltic Cruise in June 2006 on Constellation was less expensive than our Cruise to Alaska on Infinity in 2001.

[Bridge Maven]

I consider the food aboard a Celebrity Ship to be most comparable to a catered event at a hotel. As someone who made a wedding for our daughter at an upscale hotel, with many enhancements, and has attended numerous professional conventions, I feel Celebrity's dining experience is more in line with a convention than an upscale wedding at a hotel.

[BeatingaDeadHorse]

First let me say that no way on God's green earth should we be comparing today to "yesteryear", even 10 years. Especially this very subjective topic.

It's like comparing Babe Ruth to today's home run sluggers. A conversational dead end.

As a 15 year Celebrity cruiser I threw a vote to the High quality restaurants with national name recognitions category. I find most MDR experiences to be on par with the upper end chain establishments in both food & table service, in some cases =X= exceeds.

Unfortunately us "old fogies" have a tendency to hark back to the good old days. You never knew had good you had it & even then we were bitching & moaning. Human nature.

When 14 day TA's can be found for $399 what kind a dining experience should we expect ???

[Karynanne]

Originally Posted by BeatingaDeadHorse

First let me say that no way on God's green earth should we be comparing today to "yesteryear", even 10 years. Especially this very subjective topic.

It's like comparing Babe Ruth to today's home run sluggers. A conversational dead end.

As a 15 year Celebrity cruiser I threw a vote to the High quality restaurants with national name recognitions category. I find most MDR experiences to be on par with the upper end chain establishments in both food & table service, in some cases =X= exceeds.

Unfortunately us "old fogies" have a tendency to hark back to the good old days. You never knew had good you had it & even then we were bitching & moaning. Human nature.

When 14 day TA's can be found for $399 what kind a dining experience should we expect ???

You've made a very good point. You really can't compare. The land based restaurants are competing for high quality meals and ingredients. With the popularity of well-known chefs throughout the country, people that dine out often know their products, and do compare one restaurant to another.

But cruise ships vary. The over-all product may be the same, but each ship has it's own flair of preparation and presentation.

All-in-all, I had found that in the past 5 years, the quality has changed. It's still good...but not great. I'm almost glad that the food isn't as good as it once was. I tend to now eat less.

[celem]

So far, the statistical mean is working out to be the same as five years ago:
High-quality hotel catered meal, such as for a wedding or special event.

Originally Posted by celem

... It would be interesting if, five years later, things have improved or worsened?...

[excitedofharpenden]

OK, I will make a couple of comments. First off I didn't vote in the poll because none of the names mentioned mean anything to me as I am not from the US, but I will say that the food on our recent Equinox cruise I found to be better than all the recent Celebrity cruises I have been on. I like the new menus.

In addition I'm glad it's not near gourmet food because I think I might just start hankering for a cheese sandwich for dinner on day four rather than day twelve

Phil

[pom]

Hello

I can only say that the Food Aboard the Summit was excellent, but the coffee was bad!

I did find that what ever I tried had taste and was not over cooked, and along with this great food was their service which was outstanding. I was on a Carnival Ship years ago and didn't care for the food or the service.

One thing that I found to be great was in making a egg dish, I picked what I wanted to go into it and they cooked it right in front of me, same as pasta.

Just my two cents worth.

Pom

[juarez]

Recently sailed 16 days on Infinity.The mdr food was terrible.We have sailed with X 12 times and in the past the food was excellent. For some quality dinning is important for others its not important.We will have to try a different line.Sad because the rest of the experience was good.Thanks for the poll

[CrabbyHarper]

I only wish the food on X ships was as good as Applebee's or Cracker Barrell! Service at these two chains is always excellent. While X service is excellent, the food is not appetizing, and two hours is too long to sit for dinner.

But I don't cruise for the food and we can always find something that suits us at the buffet.

The prices are so low now! Our next cruise in CC will cost close to the same we paid in 1988 for an inside.

So for a low fare, I am quite content with the food available. Just don't tell me it is exceptional.