Dissatisfied Friends Returned from Millie

[starsjohn]

ShipsRGreat, Yes, it looks like our group will dine one night in the speciality restaurant. I will book at least another night or two on our own. Scuba diving, the day after such meals, is rather a chore.

 

We will also be on the Summit for B2B in Alaska in June but have to limit our visits to the Normandy as my 87 year old mother cannot eat such rich food.

 

John

[ladysail2]

Yes, let's plan on doing that! Testing and tasting, tasting and testing! Even if they don't call it testing, we can do testing all week long! Who's to say that the chocolate martini we had on Day 2 is going to taste the same as on Day 5! Gotta test 'em and taste 'em!! Aren't we a couple of pickles!!

 

On a more serious notes, it is disappointing when the food arrives and is not appealing. It does happen. It is annoying....we've come to anticipate almost perfection at every dining room meal. And the cruise ship literature promotes those standards that we have come to expect. Stale bread is stale bread, chewy beef is chewy beef.......there is no grey area in those circumstances. The adult thing to do is ask for a different entree, and ask for the bread to be removed from the table. People have the right to report those incidences, we like to share information...both the good and the disappointing situations.

 

Okay, back to the martinis.....which one am I going to try first......:D

[Ma Bell]

ShipsRGreat, Yes, it looks like our group will dine one night in the speciality restaurant. I will book at least another night or two on our own. Scuba diving, the day after such meals, is rather a chore.

 

We will also be on the Summit for B2B in Alaska in June but have to limit our visits to the Normandy as my 87 year old mother cannot eat such rich food.

 

John

 

I'm sure they would be happy to do something for your mother if you wish to dine in the Normandie. Just ask.:)

[Rustynail]

I am a blonde recent Millennium cruiser (GASP!!). This was our first and last cruise....

 

They told us Celebrity would be the way to go. I am an accomplished cook and have worked in high volume bistros and restaurants from San Diego to Pensacola. I don't need fancy food, a good bottle of olive oil and some artisan bread and olives will go a long way in our house but-

the best things to eat on this cruise were the soups and the sherbets. The apps in the main dining room have been plated up toooo early, the salads were limp, and the meat was nothing special.

I understand I am crossing into hallowed ground here, but the food in the Olympic is more hype than fab. I had the lamb, and it was ok, but my husband's lobster was so tough it was like chewing gum.

On these boards I read about the to die for chocolate souffle and couldn't wait to get it. Well, the cheese course came and there was a lot of noise and jostling about in the foyer.

A large group of Latinos were making a lot of noise, yelling at the employees, pointing at tables, just being rude....The entire place was sent scrambling to appease these folks and fifteen minutes later, our guy comes and asks us for our desssert. I tell him I would like the souffle, and he is nervous, and explains that it would take 20 minutes, that they were all rushing around trying to get the table ready for Senor Blah-de-blah and my order wasn't taken.

Hey, it happens and where am I going, anyways, right? I decide to wait the 20 minutes...we have some more wine. The time flies by and the souffle is presented with great flourish.

Burnt. Or so I thought. I put my spoon in the middle-it splashes up onto my face. ugh. That's OK, Senor Huff-n-Puff is making so much noise at this point that I would rather just go.

The berries at the buffet are frozen, not fresh. The waffles were being massed produced and kept warm in a steam table. Have you ever seen what steam does to a waffle?

So, it was stuff like that...nothing was terrible, but I have had much more remarkable dinners in Chicago or Charleston. Without all the drama of Senor Whats-his-deal....

 

I hope you enjoy your future vacations in Chicago or Charleston. I don't remember anybody ever claiming that the food on a cruise out matched any restaurant on this planet, however in my humble opinion the food that I've experienced on a ship is far better then many land restauants I've visted in my time. And I've been to Chicago!

[cod]

Ladysail2 is right..we expect too much in some cases, especially when a cruise line like Celebrity portrays itself as delivering perfection as is the case with their commercials. And besides my last day meal(s) fiasco I had a couple of other 'beefs'. On day one we ordered 2 glasses of wine (near the bottom of the price list) which cost $18+ for 2 glasses that were not even half full, I kid you not. My husband looked at me and said 'they've got to be kidding'. No more wine that trip, at least not on board the ship. That was their loss though because we've always had a big bar bill (mostly wine and mostly bottles) and that just struck us both as so wrong that we staged a protest of sorts, silent though it may have been.

 

And finally the thing that surprised me most..no bed sheet change for the 12 nights. About day 6 I noticed the same old stain in the same corner was still there. (Okay, so call me Sherlock!) I figured a change was coming that day or the next..once a week is sufficient. When it hadn't happened by day 9 I knew it probably wouldn't. I was right. I mentioned it to my husband who suggested I "ask" him to change them if it bothered me..it didn't matter to him either way. (Okay, so men are a lot easier going in some respects than women are!!) My point? I change all the bed linen once a week at home..I expect no more or less for 12 nights at sea. I wrote as much on my end of cruise write-up.

 

Some folks have written on these boards that they think - or expect - that sheets should be changed daily. That just isn't possible..they could not have the facilities or the personnel to manage that on a ship. Which brings me to another question! They suggest hanging up your towels so they can be used more than once. Good idea! I tried folding ours neatly on the racks a couple of times but they would always be replaced with clean ones so I eventually gave up! Oh, well, enough of what I call 'observations' and others might call 'gripes'.

[Ma Bell]

Have you ever seen a commercial that doesn't portray things in the best possible light? I've been on 17 Celebrity cruises and always have the linens changed every couple of days without asking. You must have had a lazy room steward. When you see little things that bother you, speak up. Nothing is perfect, but you need to be a little proactive. There are nice ways to make your wishes known.:)

[Andy]

[quote name='Lois R']Debby......Hi..yes, I had dinner at Oceanliners last month.....The food was spectacular (in my opinion;) )
The dessert.....it was a grand marnier souffle, I think there was a miscommunication at our table...I remember when it came to the table, a few of my tablemates thought it was supposed to be chocolate.
But I thought it was DELICIOUS.

They did bring chocolates to the table though.......YUMMMY:D[/QUOTE]

Hi Lois !

I may be wrong on this, but from what I remember... it IS a Chocolate Souffle, topped with a Grand Marnier Sauce that they put on top of it, tableside. They puch a hole in the middle, and put the sauce in the hole.

I dont like Grand Marnier, and it also overpowers the souffle big time, so I just ask them to leave it off. If you want to be REALLY wild, ask for some whipped cream ! To me, that's much better than the Grand Marnier sauce.

Anyway, thats how I remember it. I hope I have it right :)

[hdawson]

Andy. That's how I remember the presentation in the Olympic. However I love Grand Marnier. Oh the thought of having the Goat Cheese and Chocolate Souffle to go along with my pork chop tonight. Add a bit of rasberry-chipolte sauce beside the chop; that would be heaven.

[Ma Bell]

I think Constellation has the Grand Marnier souffle and Summit and Infinity have the chocolate. They each have a sauce that they por in the middle. Don't remember for sure but it seems that one was vanilla and one was coffee flavored. Anyway, they're both delicious.:)

[cod]

Ma Bell, I'm curious. My husband retired from Southwestern Bell (now SBC) years ago. Is that how you happened to pick that name (?) as I remember it being used by some back then. I'm just wondering if you happened to have been a 'phone' person, too.

And yes, I could have hollered..especially as regards the sheets. But when you come back to a room mid-morning that has already been made up and no one is in sight, you tend to just keep letting it go another night. I guess I was just disappointed over-all in what is touted as a 'premium cruise line'. Once again, this is just my opinion and certainly not shared by die-hard Celebrity fans. But, hey, what would be interesting about everybody having the same opinion about everything!

[Ma Bell]

I use that name because I have 4 children and 7 grandchildren and my last name is Bell. My mother-in-law did work for Illinois Bell for 35 years, but I'm not in the business.

Celebrity is not considered a premium cruiseline. If it were it would be much more expensive than it is. I've never had the problems you had, but as I said nothing is perfect. I've always been very happy with my cruises on Celebrity. If something seems a little off, all you have to do is ask nicely and they'll bend over backwards to make it right.

[starsjohn]

Hi all,

MaBell, Thankyour for the headsup to help poor Mom. I will begin now to work up something she can eat with delight.

HostAndy, etal, I know the chocolate souffle very well, and waking up the day after eating one. The GrandMarnier was always poured in jigger size to the center of the souffle.

GrandMarnier is also a vital ingredient for the Margaritas I love to consume as well.

Feb 6 is approaching fast, and then I will indulge. I will put gambling odds out that the food will be "beyond expectations". I will invest in new earplugs for the lecture my doctor will give me on my return.

John

[Lois R]

Hi:)....I think MaBell is correct Andy......actually, If memory serves....a couple of my tablemates were disappointed ....they were expecting something with "FULL CHOCOLATE" in the souffle. I LOVE Grand Mariner...so it was delicious to me!
Now, they aren't here on the boards for me to ask....so I cannot speak for them, though I do remember their reaction.
Personally, the dinner I had at Oceanliners was as good as any I have eaten here at home...ever.:) ..that goat cheese souffle is OUT OF THIS WORLD:D

[SANDY BEACH]

I have also switched to only positive thoughts for my upcoming Feb 13th cruise. "Beyond expectations"----Beyond expectations"----"Beyond expectations"

[trcori]

just a data point to follow up on Ma Bell's note ... if you google "Celebrity Cruises" and "premium" together and compare the results to googling "Celebrity Cruises" and "mass market" together, you will find more than 20 times the results in the former. Doesn't make it so, but does mean that there's SOMEBODY out there considering it to be so, and that is how X describes itself in its own news releases. FWIW we have been treated famously on all five of our X cruises (without ever even having a suite ... maybe someday) -- TR

[cod]

I'm just trying to remember the wording when I saw a list on a cruise website that grouped all the different cruise lines. I remember that among the first group were Carnival, RCL and NCL..these were called 'mass' something-or-other. The next group included HAL and Celebrity and I thought it said 'premium'. In any event, they were the next step up. Then there was the group with Crystal and the like that I'll probably only ever read about. Luxury perhaps was their heading.
If someone else has seen something like this and can help clarify it, please do.

[Andy]

[quote name='Lois R']Hi:)....I think MaBell is correct Andy......actually, If memory serves....a couple of my tablemates were disappointed ....they were expecting something with "FULL CHOCOLATE" in the souffle. I LOVE Grand Mariner...so it was delicious to me!
Now, they aren't here on the boards for me to ask....so I cannot speak for them, though I do remember their reaction.
Personally, the dinner I had at Oceanliners was as good as any I have eaten here at home...ever.:) ..that goat cheese souffle is OUT OF THIS WORLD:D[/QUOTE]

Hi Lois !

MaBell may be right. I thought I had it right, but I am not 100 % sure. One thing is for certain, I will definately check it out 4/1/05, when I am back on Summit.

It may be my last time on Summit for a very long time. Perhaps our last on Celebrity too (for a while anyway). I hope not, but unless something changes with the schedule, I dont think I will be on Celebrity again until the end of 2005 at the earliest.

I may try the Century 9 night when she comes back from Europe. For now, I will probably book something on Princess this Summer. We wish we didnt have to, but Celebrity is leaving us no other choice. While it may not be as great as Celebrity, I am sure we will have a great time !

[brigittetom]

Hi, So many rave about the Goat Cheese Souffle and can't wait to get on the next cruise to have it again. Celebrity sent out the recepie in one of the news letters and it's not hard at all to make it at home. It's very intensive and takes up half the kitchen but the results are well worth the effort. :)

[MHoward909]

Hi just got off the Millie. I though the food was great in the dinning. The only complaint I have they had a group of 1200 people on board one day they closed the pool off ,they took over the ship... Other then that eneything was wounderful.

[emcee207]

[color=Blue][font=Arial Black]MHoward, they closed the pool one day to other cruisers? Was this group of 1200 together and on board all week or ? sounds very strange to me. How about a little more info?[/font][/color]

[MHoward909]

Yes, they closed the pool area on Deck 10 to all other guests on one morning and it's use was restricted to members of the RCB's (Royal Canadian Bank) convention. On some other mornings, regular guests were restricted from certain areas on Deck 10. In addition, the lines for breakfast were unbelievable because the RCB members had to be at early meetings. I was told there were 1200 to 1400 people in the group. We filed our concerns with Guest Relations but their response was, 'We'll look into it." No action was ever taken. The other thing that bothered me was that the best seating was sometimes reserved in the Cosmo lounge for certain members of that group. It seemed to me that the cruise was geared for RCB and the other passengers were relegated to 2nd class.
We were not happy with the situation and it would have been nice if Celebrity had warned us.
On the other hand -- the cruise was great, the food was excellent and the service, as always, was outstanding.

[emcee207]

[color=Blue][font=Arial Black]Wow, I am amazed! Now, I will tell you that I/we are very novice cruisers. Have only been on two, both on Constellation this past year. But I have spent a lot of time on this board and have learned a lot from all of you.
But, I would have gone ballistic if the pool was closed to me due to some private party for a group on board. How could they do that? You paid for a cruise with the amenities offered on board and then you were denied them! I'd demand a refund or certainly a portion of one.
Again, I hope I am not being naive or showing my lack of long term crusing experience.
Is this type of thing common? Or even "uncommon" ??
[/font][/color]

[debbyg]

Thanks Lois R for you reply to choc souffle question. Grand Marnier is ok with me.

[debbyg]

Thank you for your info on Souffle.

[Lois R]

your welcome:)