Cap_D

If true, Celebrity is desperate to rope customers in that may be having a poor experience. Many have OBC due to various promotions and fake sales. OBC is becoming a psyop to place blame for a bad cruise on pasengers that don't choose wisely. But, all the options aren't going to make up for the poor quality of food and the experience. Sadly it's been sounding as if no amount of OBC can net a passenger higher quality food. The reports of cutbacks everywhere, including Luminae and Blu are alarming. Don't tell the crew about OBC, as they may start stalking pasengers looking for handouts in addition to the harassment about the survey or using a dining room for meals. The reports are alarming, and the incentive system by Celebrity is causing at best creepy results.

Crew seemed great when we sailed, but this post suggests crew abandoning their assigned duty (serving food in the MDR), and behavior that could be stalking (draw your own conclusions). A post about cutbacks, but also safety....

For those that haven't read yet, this post is worth reading....

This will likely be of interest:

@Goldenknight 100% horror story. If @Celebrity Cruisesis really the company, please read @Goldenknight's post. There's nothing business savvy, appropriate, reasonable, or hospitable about any of what's described in the post (and many others in this thread). Insane. *Being tracked down by a server in that manner could be the start of something that doesn't end well.... Not normal, appropriate, or okay under any circumstance, but definitely not on a cruise ship / resort where everyone is locked in. Sorry you could have just stayed home, or journeyed to any of the 100s of great restaurants you have with servers that aren't worried about some BS survey. (Having been to Las Vegas on business 3-5x/year going on 20 years, never had a meal that didn't meet the expectations for what it was supposed to be from the spectrum of buffets, coffee shop, room service, quick serve, licensed restaurants, ultra premium dining to hotel catering.)

FWIW, in the event of cutbacks for the lunch OVC, we'd be so lucky if there was anything added to what is open for lunch or a late lunch, especially on port days. My guess is on E-Class the Eden Cafe is only open (w/prep the night before) for the buzz it creates. The quality of the baked goods seems source dependent. Not everything we saw was baked onboard . There's a risk E-Class ships will quickly look like the very fancy mall with a bunch of closed spaces, even with the built in investment in nice furniture, common areas, updated food court/hall space, fancy bowling alley, concessions to keep Neimans open, and more. Had Celebrity been thinking they could have used space equivalent to 1-3 of the MDRs or the OVC for a sports court or some other multigenerational DIY activity space, and consolidated the number of dining room square footage that sit empty 18 hrs a day. By day, the MDRs and most speciality spaces are idle, and at night the line can't support the OVC in about same foot print.

There's probably some truth it it, but would seem to be a miscalculation as the onboard upcharge dining options are not enough seats, may not be any better (there's rarely any good reviews that take a deep dive or compare to lans bases versions of the food types), even with OBC more than one are "one and done" type places, Petit Checf was same filet as we saw in other places. (? Not sure if still offered). Some savings for Celebrity is probably just that, they don't seem to have an actual plan or have many options as they are lean on other areas including actual trained entertainers, and don't even have cost control on soda considering cans are used.

Sounds creepy. Would like to know why the cruise line that doesn't care about the food, cares if someone tries the food. They stand to get a better review if someone stays in their room and enjoys Pringles. Yet, the inquiry is also consistent with the reports of constant requests to fill out the survey, typical verbal asks if everything is okay, can we get you something, don't you want to try, etc . Maybe part of the psyop to have passengers come to appreciate how much Celebrity cares, the fix of the day, etc. and ignore the lapses in food quality and options. Surprised @Celebrity Cruises doesn't send a letter to all customers booked on future sailings, at all stages of payment, to help modify expectations, spin the bologna bar, etc. Hospitality providers do so in good and bad times, as do other businesses that attempt a relationship with their customers and want repeat business.

Right there with you, as are many others in this thread. And, by the looks of it most regular longtime posters that have perspective and bookings years out are here too. And, last year we were new cruisers. Most people we knew thought we were nuts to go, and nuts to give it praise after. It wasn't perfect, but exceeded expectations for the Carribean. The ship and room was as nice as a land hotel, there were options for food that were upmarket and down market preparations of decent ingredients, consistent, convenient, and kept our interest, some entertainment, no real waits, sun, only two weird attempts at nickel and diming (the wine screw solicitation at lunch - like we had never seen one before an didn't have many, and the fake gelato), it didn't look like the 1990s or Love Boat (okay for early 80s), we didn't get seasick, other cruisers were swell. It all worked. . In hindsight, we got the benefit of the pump and dump unless there's a big 180 and some thought given to how to wow passengers. The place is falling a part, and it's a house of cards.

Yep. It seems its to take further advantage of being able to literally mask bad food, fill time (in place of shows, etc), and utilize the crew. I'd also go so far that the cruise line hides behind the food and beverage staff (whom are nice enough) who spend a great deal of time and literal motion addressing Celebrity created problems. If shipboard dining and beverage were better run, better quality, and more in tune with what customers want there wouldn't be daily CC posts about how someone was fortunate enough to have a crew member fix an issue, how funny the crew was doing show and tell in the theater (it's primary use), a galley tour, the martini bar show on E-Class, or the Captain's dog or dancing on the bar routine recently making the rounds. That's not just CC posts, its what Celebrity onboard has become or maybe always has been. Sorry to say for those that have prepaid. Moreover, now Celebrity causes many of us to have to question a vacation that hasnt even occured yet, and possibly to have to explain to family or friends what they may have paid for and how they may spend or not spend their time onboard. Some on here have weeks or months to go...are we to say over a dinner in real life, that surely is better, "look forward to bologna?" (It's not even close to the reported Royal changes, where they moved some items and proteins around).

All of the terrific suggestions for how to salvage the dinner OCV or alternatives require more effort, and may actually expose the poor quality and selection at the MDR(s). Celebrity seems deadset on underperforming and alienating customers either now to those that know, or on the cruise that only learn of all of this when they go to their first dinner. They will have already searched high and low for over hyped Eden Cafe that is open once per cruise (no matter how good it is, it's a fail due to being closed) for a few hours, and likely to have skipped the MDR for lunch, if it's even served. The irony is the PR on the menu changes on Royal is all about faster dining times. Following along, the RCBlog (private website) has an entire article with time counts on it. That's helps to feed anxious passengers, and to free them up for other activities. Meanwhile there's no rationale or cohesive approach to dining given what has occurred on Celebrity. And, the lower quality and a push of people to MDRs...and looking for a desirable meal or watching the food service staff (who can't leave the shop either) do their thing has become the nightly entertainment activity. Taking people's money and time for the bologna bar, cold pizza, etc. or the 3 bits of protein in the MDR is robbery. If the operation is not supportable they shouldn't have offered and designed themselves into a situation for a cruise that supposed to better or on par wjth CCL, RC, or NAL or our local pizza, McDonalds, or grocery store. All of which operate with shoestring staffing at higher wages than any cruise line and seem to handle volume just fine.

The reports and video seem as if it's worse than what you may have experienced. Reluctant to comment on time and money of others, but consider spending the dollars on drinks, a few nice meals or gourmet groceries at home, anywhere, or fly to your destination. Guarantee you can find your drink of choice and more than bologna and leftover casseroles wherever that may be. The convenience and relaxation factor of a cruise is lost when the food and service are steps below what you can have for the same money elsewhere even if it's a few less days to factor in offsetting more expensive labor costs in the first world.

For post January 1, 2023 passengers, what type of cutbacks at Coastal Kitchen are you observing? How are any of the other cutbacks impacting the overall cruise experience? Over on the Celebrity forum there are reports of cutbacks in quality and portion size at Blu and Luminae, which are dedicated to suite rooms, and that the dinner buffet has been replaced with a few items that appear to be leftovers, and a bologna bar.

Travel agent vloggers EECC travel recorded a tour of Edge that is on YouTube. It may spoil the tour, but shows a early era of behind the scenes that may not exist today. The kitchen tour may be very quick considering they seem to be mostly opening institutional food, making casseroles, unwrapping bologna, and setting out leftovers for the day per recent reports and video. Perhaps you will see that items are made from scratch. It would be interesting to hear what type of responses questions about the cutbacks receive considering they have millions of dollars of kitchen equipment that presumably is not used nearly as much as it should be or was designed poorly for a modern menu.

Having studied VV pre-January 1, this does seem to be the time to give them a try while it lasts. When Virgin America started up in the U.S. it was fantastic. Fun environment, snacks that were more than peanuts and pretzels (this was before Biscoffs were everywhere), in-seat orders, live TV, etc. They invested a lot in the experience. Seeing a lot of parallels in how VV was rolled out. The VV eateries, availability, and menu options are multiples of what Celebrity has (or was addressed by a bountiful OVC). Hopefully its sustainable.

Please let us know what you find, and if you find a way to avoid falling into a similar situation of abject disregard for meeting reasonable expectations and decent food. Considering Celebrity has very little else going for it to make it unique relative to other nice environments for vacations at about the same price (or with a supplement for inflation), we thought that the food would be sacrosanct. Obviously not. Very concerned for an April cruise, which we would have not committed to on January 1 had we known the food program would be flatlined.

Reminder: Even for suites Luminae is barely open for lunch, as it is closed on port days. And, on E-Class, the Eden Cafe is open for lunch 1-2 times per sailing, each for an hour or so. On some Apex Caribbean 7-day itineraries it's only open once for lunch.

No one goes on vacation to eat this: https://gfsstore.com/?ps=beans&dept=Pantry

Must read for anyone coming to the thread late (emphasis mine):

Very good point. But, if there's a few more videos of the bread pudding floating around that end up higher in the algorithm than the ship tours with the lavish buffets, that won't help. That said, I suspect between the number of freebie TA and influencer events they do, and other SEO efforts, Celebrity could keep the bread pudding, pork and beans, and skimpy dishes for the suites on the down low for a while.

FYI. This was the mix used on Edge in April 2022 in soft serve machines and at bars..... https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2574274-heres-what-rccl-serves-for-soft-serve/

Agreed re sale except anyone doing diligence on Celebrity should find they alienated people willing to give it a try. Meanwhile, Celebrity will send out the dancing bartenders and captain to add some glitz while the rest of the operation is crumbling....

At this rate, how much longer until Celebrity is serving leftovers from the crew mess? They really have an awful PR department and are doing all the TAs that have been promoting Celebrity on YouTube no favors. There will be videos of dancing Captains, and happy faces on TA live chats, a possible deletion of negative comments by some, and other attempts to put lip stick on the pig, but these cuts are drastic and as stated worse than the Golden Corral. That applies to the MSRs, and maybe Blu and Luminae too. What's left after these cuts to make a compelling case for Celebrity? Monin syrups at the bars, lemon squares, a friendly crew, cleanliness, a free bag of laundry for repeat customers? Surely it's not OBC offers, which is seemingly a dodge to make passengers responsible and at fault when they choose poorly for dinner ("darn, has I just gone to xyz"), a way to spur DIY entertainment ( e.g., can always sit in the casino if they cut the one guitar player and sell off the headphones for silent disco, and use up the OBC), or buy used luggage. The charade of Celebrity's design and service based experience is up. A few bartenders and a captain making martinis and dancing on the bar like they are at Coyote Ugly or in Cocktail doesn't make a vacation or make up for fish sticks, pork belly or bologna bars. At the least, Royal must have master purchase agreements with suppliers, and so on, like major restaurant chains. And, most of what is being reported is well beyond anything like a slight cutback and, the cost savings can't make much of a difference so bad as to necessitate bologna. People don't suddenly want crap now anymore than they would have when the new ships, kitchens, menus, staffing, etc were designed in 2017 and 2018. Even on Margaritaville Cruises with reports of mold and many issues, they get marks for a burger, as does CCL. Even Royal has its chicken shack on Coco Cay, and onboard options, which while not immune leave more room for their downward spiral or to spread out costs). What will Celebrity be known for in the coming weeks and months? Meanwhile, the ships and model were designed poorly if they can't support the slightest changes in food costs, available labor or dining preferences. It's as if Celebrity has just given up despite having low staffing costs, the potential for modern kitchens (seems like they messed up here, and built spaces and prep methods that are only able to handle banquet dining) and other factors in their favor. Sadly, it doesn't even seem one can buy into a quality meal at the specialty dining options. Post cutbacks it appears the quality and options doesn't even approximate anything from a comparable themed restaurant on land. All the cash or (fake) OBC in the world may not be able to get one a meal as good as a land steakhouse, BBQ restaurant, Italian (red sauce or otherwise), or Asian restaurant with sushi. Imagine paying 25k+ for an upper suite for 7 nights in the Caribbean on an E class ship and being told the option tonight is pork belly, an oddly cut fake NY strip, or top sirloin? Is there at least a secret stash of prime cut meat in cryovac and someone that knows how to prepare it without a sauce intended to mask the quality of the food served to anyone else? And, it doesn't seem like the Fine Cut place comes close.

Agreed. No mystery cuts on Royal?! Something is odd about X's menus, and the choices among the venues each evening, as well as quality.

Agree 100%. As between Caesars, Bellagio, and Wynn, each may have a certain appeal based on certain dishes, dessert preferences, etc. Caesars does seem to be a notch or more better in most categories. As recently as a few weeks ago, Caesars quality and selection were as good as pre-pandemic, and had many of the same cooks and servers that are pros.