calicakes

12 hours ago, goofysmom99 said:

Sauteed Tilapia Filet

One of the most, if not the most inexpensive fish you could buy.  Also, farmed in Vietnam and or China. No Thanks.  I'd rather eat dal from the buffet. 

On 10/13/2023 at 9:49 AM, Team Stag said:

As someone who ventured out to a different cruise line, I quickly discovered that there is a lot more about the cruise experience than just food. 

Well, you should have been on our cruise last month on Oceania( their tag line is " Finest cuisine at sea" or something like that). I live blogged and posted about the food and of course I was told I was wrong and don't cruise again.  I thought " Hey, there is more to cruising than the food".  Not on this cruise.  The entertainment was a movie that I could have watched on the airplane( the same movie) and not much else.  We missed one port ( it was a 2 port Bermuda cruise) so we spent 3 days in Hamilton with not much to do since all stores were closed on a Sunday.    We had a very different experience on this O cruise than our first in Feb 2022.  I cancelled our next booked O cruise while we were on that cruise.  We have 2 more X cruises booked( Oct 28th on Eclipse) and Feb 2024 on Edge from Sydney.  I'm going to cancel the other X cruise we have booked for next Sept and I replaced it with a 4 day Virgin cruise since everyone says great things about their food.  

46 minutes ago, cruiseallways said:

Infinity menu for my first night 10/30/23. Who servers this sh.....I can't believe it this is all thats listed for meals in the dining room. If I had know it would be this bad I would have never booked.

What a joke. Pretty sad Whtat are polenta fries?

Polenta fries are leftover polenta( a corn product that is served loose with Osco Bucco( maybe its leftover from Tuscan grill?)  They pour it into a pan, cut it into "Fry shapes" and either bake or fry it.  

On 10/12/2023 at 12:14 AM, tigervixxxen said:

Bring a few of your favorite sauces and seasonings from home. It actually does make a difference. 

On our next cruise( Oct 28th, Eclipse) I'm actually going to bring some seasonings( for the turkey burger at the mast grill) and my organic half and half and a quart of skim milk.  We're driving to the port so I can bring the cream in a small cooler.  I can't stand that boxed milk and cream they use. 

48 minutes ago, LouChamp said:

Aloha. Right down the block from me on Grand Street where I was born. It is now modernized and they recently opened a store in Hudson Yards around 10th Avenue and 33 rd Street. Delicious!

My parents grew up in Queens and I was born in Long Island, we moved to FL when I was 3. We recently returned from NYC( took an Oceania Bermuda cruise) and had bagels from 3 different places.  I also had a Knish from Yonah Schimmel.  It was very disappointing.  The clerk MICROWAVED it.   

1 hour ago, LouChamp said:

Aloha. I am so happy you mentioned Bialys! Growing up in Manhattan thee was a bialy store near me. To this day, I have yet to find any similar. I did not  write about it as I didn’t think many would know ab

How about Kosar's? 

13 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I've been doing a lot of shopping on Asia Air Fare.    We are flying to Singapore in a month for an Australia and New Zealand cruise and then flying home to SFO on December 23 (Really High)  I was able to Get Business Class on Singapore about a year ago using miles.   

 

We will be returning to Sydney in March 2024 for the TA to Vancouver.   I bought a RT From Sydney to San Francisco for AU$6,625 (US$4,540 each Round Trip)   Thought it was a pretty good Business Class fare especially for the Non-Stop flight so booked it immediately.

Compared to 18k, you got a great price. Are you flying Quantas?

59 minutes ago, Baynanno1 said:

The only nail polish mentioned is Shellac, which is very drying for the nails - does anyone know whether traditional (non-drying) nail polishes are still available?

 

Shellac is basically Gel.  You could bring your own color and ask them to use regular polish. That way you have your own color if it chips.  

On 9/28/2023 at 8:34 AM, Texed said:

 

We have looked at this itinerary quite a few times.  So far, the air fares to/from Australia have been a deterrent .  But, looking forward to your review.  😊

I loudly gasped when I booked our premium economy airfare on Quantas from LA to Sydney for our GBR cruise in Feb 2024.  7400.00 for both.  Business was 18k.  

On 10/9/2023 at 3:26 PM, mizLORInj said:

 

Sunday arrived and we headed to Long Beach.

Confirming because we're on this ship on Oct 28th, did you leave from San Pedro or Long Beach?  We leave from San Pedro( which is adjacent to LB)

14 minutes ago, Zrf80 said:

If that’s the case, Celebrity should respect their guests and allow them to rebook a separate cruise.  You can’t change an entire itinerary and expect the guests to fully enjoy a trip they did not sign up for…

I agree. The cruise before our recent bermuda cruise on oceania skipped bermuda altogether and went to nassau for an overnight. I know a lot of the passengers were very upset. Having paid more money for bermuda cruise and receiving a nassau bahama cruise instead.

32 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

 

My first laughs were the repeated posts claiming to see no difference between Aug/Sept 2023 menus and the 2014 menus. 

I know. A cc member was asking me to prove the jarring difference.

23 hours ago, Zrf80 said:

Hi I’m supposed to be on this ship next week.  I believe it will stop at Ashdod / Haifa from Oct 17 18 and 19.  If the situation calms down, will Celebrity still go there, and are we expecting them to just cancel all future port calls to Israel altogether ?

It won't be calm for some time.  100 percent guarantee that Celebrity will cancel all future cruises.

39 minutes ago, Smmessineo said:

@Baggy178 would you respond this way to any cuts  on a cruise?

We're not servicing staterooms anymore. Towel cart in hall if you need any.  "that's fine. There's a bed to sleep in "

Available beverages now only tap water ( cold and hot). "That's fine, flavoured beverages are for sissies".

Live entertainment no longer available. " that's fine, I have my headphones and iTunes, and maybe someone can bring a kazoo ".

😋😆😁

I'm really enjoying your responses here.😀

 

 

 

That you for providing my first laugh of the day : )

31 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

Maybe more Specialties, maybe more Oceanview. 

Specialties are ridiculously priced.  Ocean view has also been downgraded.  They used to serve Albacore tuna salad, no more of that.  I never see fresh berries( even when in season).  They serve your everyday granny smith or red delicious apples too.  I was shocked to see fresh berries in the buffet on Oceania. 

42 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

2014?

Well We sailed on X in 2014 and I don’t recall there being a Pandemic which caused cruising to stop while the cruise line continued to have debts to pay.

I guess that just might have something to do with the menus not being the same. This situation is only temporary. IMO.

What is temporary? The dumbing down of the menus?  Nope, its here to stay.  X is trying to make the most profit. 

42 minutes ago, buzz031 said:

Our 80+yo neighbors are going on that cruise as well!

Good for them, I hope I'm still traveling at 80yrs old!!

40 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Could you please define “jarring”, because I’m just not seeing it.

You are NOT seeing the difference from the Preisman's menus posted from 2014?  Huge difference.  

7 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Same here.  We get Copper River or Sockeye.

 

We feel that the MDR menus are a step below what we normally eat at home on a weekly basis.  

That is exactly how I feel.  However, I know a lot of people don't eat like I do.  A lot of people are happy with Walmart factory farmed meat.  This is exactly why I don't cruise for the food.  If the service and other things are lacking, it makes me question why we are still cruising. 

57 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Some of you might remember the reviews by The Pressmans, complete with menus.  Here's a link to menus from 2014 for comparison to current offerings.

 

Panama Canal menus (thepreismans.com)

 

That is a jarring difference.

I think by now we all know tastes/food choice is very subjective.  My town is full of chain restaurants and people flock to them.  I avoid them as much as possible.  I prefer farm to table, pasture raised eggs, pasture raised chicken.  Thus, I'm usually always disappointed on a cruise.  I even moved up to Oceania because of the " Finest food at sea" or something like that.  My first O cruise in Feb 2022 impressed me.  This recent one, not so much.  Powdered scrambled eggs on the buffet, veggies cooked to oblivion and then shoved between lasagna noodles on the last day( no ricotta either).  Loose polenta was turned into polenta triangles with a piece of sausage on top.  Lots of repurposing of leftovers.  

Every time I live blog and complain about the food, people tell me that maybe I shouldn't cruise.  I say there are other reasons besides food to cruise.  However, with rising prices, I'm beginning to think I should not take as many cruises.  In fact, I've cancelled a cruise on O and a cruise on X next year.  I did book a 4 day Virgin just to see what the food is like. 

12 hours ago, diesel1973 said:

I have about 50 lbs. of salmon in my freezer from my 6 week fishing trip in Alaska.

I can guarantee that your salmon is much higher quality than the farmed salmon that X is serving.  Yours is wild which is full of Omega 3's.  The Farmed salmon has coloring added to make it pink.  Nope!!  Don't even get me started on the Tilapia ( Farmed in Asia, low quality control)

We're on Eclipse on Oct 28th for an 8 day Mexican Riviera.  Overnighting in Cabo( we'll be here on Halloween), then PV  and Mazatlán.  I paid 2417 for an OV and then another 185PP with move up for a balcony.  We have everything included, tips, classic beverage package and wifi.  I upgraded the wifi on a sale.  My TA gave us 50OBC, the lowest amount we've ever received.  We'll get another 50 in Loyalty credit from the TA onboard. 

We will be on Eclipse on Oct 28th for Mexican Riviera.  It was going to be our first time in an OV, but I won a move-up offer of 185PP for a Veranda.  I will be live blogging as I upgraded my internet. 

1 hour ago, Islander500 said:

Interesting!  I was wondering about that.

Can other Celebrity cruisers who have sailed on Edge class ships and another Celebrity class ship-both very recently comment specifically on that?  I noticed a significant downgrade in Sept on menu choices and food quality on Celebrity Summit and wondered if it is the same in new class ships.

We're taking our first Edge class cruise in February. I will also report back. I will also live blog as the cruise is a GBR cruise from Sydney.