CruisingNole

I was simply referring to the MDR menu. Very lackluster based on what I’ve seen. Surprised to see so few options and for tilapia to be one of those…just not my cup of tea. Which is why my original question was regarding speciality dining.

Great to hear, thanks for the info. The app did not have lunch hours and I was hoping maybe it was just out-of-date.

Is MDR open at all during lunch? No hours are mentioned in the app, is this a mistake?

Now that I look again, perhaps I made a mistake. I thought it said that additional lobster was $16.99 but the way in which it’s worded does suggest that the first one incurs a fee as well.

Here’s a screenshot. I’ve never seen such a poor offering of entrees on RC so we will have to agree to disagree.

I’m on my first celebrity cruise in March. The original plan was to eat every dinner in the MDR as I wanted to give Celebrity a fair comparison to Royal. To my surprise, Celebrity menus have less options and are really just inferior to Royal. Again, I was so surprised by this as I thought Celebrity would offer an elevated product. The lack of options, especially when it comes to beef, pork and veal is surprising and disappointing. So, now I’m looking at speciality restaurants. I booked Murano first night and only available reservation is 9pm. When I board, I will try to reschedule to an earlier time. If an earlier time is not available and we opt to cancel day-of, will they issue a refund? It’s a 4 night itinerary so I’m thinking maybe it’s only worth it to eat in the MDR on chic night, which (I believe) is when lobster is served. Curious if anyone who was recently been on Silhouette has any insight.

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it. This will be my first Celebrity sailing. I used my loyalty match from Royal and when I log into my celebrity account via the website I can see the match but in the app it says “loyalty status not available” or something along those lines. We are about a month out from sailing so I think I’ll give it another week or so before calling about that and the AI package. Thanks again.

Same experience with an upcoming sailing. No indication that I have a drink package or wifi included. Both are actually still an option for me to purchase. I wanted to upgrade to premium drink package but see no way to do so. Guess I will have to call.

Nonsense. Quality at my local restaurants has not changed whatsoever. Royal has made a business decision and it has nothing to do with inflation.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Silhouette dates are going to be better for us, so that’s what we’re going with. The itinerary is 4 nights and I planned to book a verandah cabin. Then I couldn’t help but notice aqua class for $200 more. So $50 per day. The big question…is it worth it? It appears the main benefit (for me) would be the restaurant. The Persian garden looks nice but with it being a 4 night cruise and my first time on this ship, I doubt I’d spend a whole lot of time in there. Curious as to your thoughts. Thanks again!

I will probably stick with complimentary dining. Do both ships offer similar complimentary options?

I’m a regular RC cruiser and want to try Celebrity. I like ships of all sizes with Royal’s Oasis and Independence as my favorites. The smallest ship I’ve been on is NCL Sun, which I enjoyed as well. That being said, which ship would be best for my first taste of Celebrity…Summit or Silhouette. Itineraries and pricing are the same.

This is an apples to oranges comparison. The elevated price of eggs has nothing to do with inflation. The cruise I want to take is double what it cost last year. But the hotel I’m staying in this weekend isn’t double what I paid last year. Nor was the airfare. And while traveling through GA over the holidays, I paid $2.65 for a gallon of gas, which might even be less than what it cost a year ago. The point is that Royal is trying to recoup their losses from the shutdown, plain and simple. They are not only raising prices but at the same time they are offering a lower quality product, which is risky. Is it working out for them at the moment? Apparently. Is it a sustainable business model? Absolutely not. Until they pull their head out of their behind, most of their loyal customers will vacation elsewhere.

As of this posting, the cheapest cruise out of PC available is 3 night Indy in October, $742.54 for an interior GTY. The majority of dates for the remainder of the year for the 3 and 4 nighters are north of $1,000 for a GTY interior. I live in Orlando so those 3 nighters are a great weekend getaway. But once you add drink package and gratuities, you’re lucky to get an interior GTY for less than $1,500. I enjoy Royal but the product simply is not worth that amount to me. I guess it is for others. At that price, I might as well go on Virgin Voyages. At the moment, I can book a 4-night all inclusive in Tulum, with private terrace and hot tub for less than $2,000 and that includes airfare.

One of my takeaways is that if you enjoy a quality cocktail, you’re not going to get one on MSC. Based on your review. Which is disappointing.

Looking forward to it! And amen to no Nassau, lol. I got an interior cabin on MSC Meraviglia first weekend in March for about $700 which includes drink package and wifi. They even matched my c&a tier. The same weekend, interior cabins on Independence are currently $843. No drink package and no wifi in that price. After sailing on Independence many times, I can confidently say that the 3-night experience is simply not worth $843. But to those that think it is…more power to you. Just 1 year ago, I paid half for that same cabin. And the product is diminishing by the day.

I’m taking a break from Royal and giving MSC a shot in February or March. I live near PC and those 3-night itineraries have always been a nice quick and cheap getaway. At the moment, the cheapest interior cabin on Independence for a 3-night in February/March is $861 with most weekends at $1,000+. I’m shocked people are willing to pay that. I guess inflation isn’t hurting people’s wallets as some like to portray.

Because that’s totally something the average consumer does with their free time. 🙄

Prices for 3 nights out of PC are absurd. $750+ for interior GTY in 2023. Not worth it IMO but apparently it is to some. 🤷‍♀️

My wife and I are thinking about taking one of the MSC 3 night cruises out of PC. What’s the age demographic like? We typically cruise RC but the prices have gotten too high so looking for alternatives. We are 30-39 y/o.

Was the MDR food as mediocre as it was on the cruise prior to yours (which I was on). I think I did 6 Royal cruises this past year and Mariner’s food was by far the worst.

None at the moment. I can adjust to reduced service / food quality or I can bite the bullet and pay more than I should for a cruise. But it has to be one or the other. Paying nearly double what I was paying a year ago for a lesser product makes me feel like a sucker and I just can’t do it. Fortunately there are still reasonably priced flights and hotels out there, but they are certainly more difficult to come by lately.

No hand sanitizer in cabin on Independence and Mariner as of late. They couldn’t even keep the public area dispensers full.

Spotted on Mariner just a few days ago.

At the moment, the cheapest 2023 3 night weekend sailing out of PC in an interior is going to run you $700-$800 with a beverage package “sale” of $77.99pp++. Total out the door price is about double what it was a few years ago. And the sailings are at capacity. It has nothing to do with inflation. As long as people are willing to pay these prices, it will continue. I feel ya OP.