Sea Day Grand Brunch Buffet Cancelled ?

[sheba2008]

NO brunch on the Century, 14 n Panamacruise.

Booked on HAL for the next cruise, to many cutbacks on Celebrity.

 

Sheba2008

[Lulubelle45]

Now that is sad. I'm a relatively new cruiser and I haven't experienced a midnight buffet as HAL ZAANDAM didn't have one, the NCL pearl didn't have their chocolate buffet I read about too. So I see this Grand brunch one on YouTube and was looking forward to it. I still like towel animals too!!! sigh

 

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[Stede Bonnet]

I was looking forward to the visual experience and the chocolate fountain.

 

Where/when else do the chocolate fountains appear?

[amberben]

I was looking forward to the visual experience and the chocolate fountain.

 

Where/when else do the chocolate fountains appear?

 

 

In answer to that is they do not appear at all anywhere.? Such a shame.

[bakcd]

We are now in our last day aboard theInfinity and were told they no longer have the Grand Buffet. We are receiving chocolates on our pillows. There has been no fresh oj at the elite breakfast but it is available in the lido with the 1,2,3 beverage card.

[onthebalcony]

Azamara still has a buffet brunch for the entire ship in the MDR and for those in Discoverer level in one of the specialty restaurants. No midnight buffets. Excellent food!! Made-to-order omelets and pasta bar.

 

It will be interesting to see what Elite Plus status will give us!! LOL We will never get above Elite Plus if you need close to 3000 points for the next category!!

 

Looking forward to this cruise. It has been many years since our last Celebrity and from reading these threads it appears standards have gone down. Our expectations are not high but we could be pleasantly surprised!! Not happy about the "class" system as in old cruising days!!

 

Oh, well we are giving it a try because of the itinerary, price and 1-2-3-options and hope for the best!

 

Anne

[gowentgone]

OK with me...too chaotic and frenzied to enjoy it. Prefer a civilized sit down lunch in MDR.

[NLH Arizona]

It has never really been promoted in the Daily as an important event, yet the very fact so many people turn up is surely proof of its popularity :roll eyes:

 

This is nothing more than yet another cut by Miami…they first cut the Midnight Buffet, then the Gourmet Bites, and now the Grand Buffet! Wonder what will be next? What is left of "Modern Luxury" except DJs and blaring music! So sad to see the demise of a great line :(

I thought the poster said it was being discontinued because of the time it takes to set it up, the waste and the unenthusiastic response from the cruisers. When did Celebrity say it had anything to do with Modern Luxury?

 

Quote from BobbyD: At the Galley Tour on our recent Silhouette cruise, the Food and Beverage Manager said that it has been discontinued (at least on the Silhouette) due to the time and energy it takes to produce the buffet, in comparison to the enthusiasm for the event. He also mentioned waste and that it is tough to regulate the health and safety issues of the food and its prep.

 

Amazing how everything is being blamed on Modern Luxury, even though it has nothing to do with it. Next thing we will hear, is that Modern Luxury is to blame for no limes, the weather, rude passengers and everything else that someone feels they don't like on a cruise.

[bobandalice]

Not sure, but they had the Grand Buffet luncheon in the MDR a few weeks ago on Century. I'm on Eclipse next week, and will report back.

 

 

Feb 22nd sailing of the Eclipse had it on the next to last sea day. It was crowded, but thinned out after about 10:45. If we ever sail Celebrity again, we'll wait until later in the serving to enter.

 

It really was special and the food was delicious.

 

And it was not advertised anywhere, just a line in the daily about it, listed with every other event going on that day.

[BosoxI]

Has been ended on Connie. Told that it took a great deal of staff time and customers were giving negative feedback about it on comment cards.

 

It was canceled on the March 8 Connie, and I didn't miss it at all. Always a madhouse, always hard to find a seat, always maddening to see something on someone's plate and not be able to locate it on the buffet. I can understand how the staff would be pressured.

[wpgcycler]

Thoroughly enjoyed it on Reflection March 1. As someone else posted, the crowds do thin out later on - no issue finding a seat and plenty of fresh, nicely presented food still available. Plenty of servers offering mimosas etc. Didn't have to line up for anything.

[wallie5446]

Oh well, there was way to much noise in the MDR to enjoy a nano second of the event. The music, the clanking of dishes, ( can't the bus boy's be more elegant and quiet when they clear a table ) other passengers talking way to loud! We could not hear, or even understand the chef, when he tried to explain to us how they cooked the peel an eat boiled shrimp:rolleyes:

 

They should keep it but only for those in a suite, and Elite Plus and Zenith Capt Club members.

Edited March 29, 2014 by wallie5446

[wpgcycler]

I'd be interested in a kicked up version (higher end offerings, limited seating etc.) with an upcharge.

[Hawkstar33]

We asked while on Eclipse sailing Mar 8 -22...Were told that a lot of work was put into creating something that ended up being quite a bit of food waste, thus making it no longer feasable...They are planning on shifting attention to smaller type food functions throughout the ships, with hopefully less waste of food and the magic word, MONEY.....

[TeaBag]

We won't miss it either. As others have said, it is less crowded if you wait till later, but it has a "walked over" look by then and many popular things are gone, like the cut up fruit for the chocolate fountain. Also a lot of dirty tables around and this is off putting.

[Bruin Steve]

At last...

I absolutely HATED that buffet...Pure Bedlam...

 

First of all, it wasn't any sort of long time tradition that suddenly died here. The "tradition" was always that there were two choices for breakfast and lunch--either you went up to the buffet and served yourself from the assortment of warmed trays at the buffet tables...OR...you went to the Dining Room and were SERVED a meal from the menu, specially made for you and served to you while you ate at a leisurely, relaxed pace.

 

The idea of the at-sea day "Brunch" in the main dining room was a relatively recent idea...

 

There are two sorts of people on cruises--the type that enjoy buffets--the ones who like moving down the line with a tray and collecting major portions of dozens of items...and the type that cruises for the service--that like to eat their meals at a leisurely pace in an elegant dining room, enjoying table conversations, etc.

 

They have always had that buffet option for those in the the first group. When they converted the main dining room to a second buffet, all they really did was to strip that elegant served meal option from the second group.

 

Actually, to make it worse, it was all part of a larger cutback in food service over the years. When we started cruising, the main dining room was open for lunch EVERY day. So, even on port days, if you wanted to stay onboard and skip the port...or if you wanted to return to the ship for lunch, you could always go have a nice lunch in the main dining room. But, a few years back, RCCL and Celebrity decided that, since dining room attendance was down on port days, they'd close the main dining room at lunch time except for at sea days. When they went to the "Brunch" thing, that even took away one of those served meals on an at sea day. And it even went one step farhter--they used the Brunch to replace BOTH Breakfast and Lunch on that day.

 

Will anyone really miss the Brunch? Just go back to the buffet...Only thing you'll be missing is the ice sculptures, carvings and the nicer table arrangements...You'll still be able to get the same lox, shrimp, omelets, salads and pancakes...

You'll still be able to fill up your plate with massive portions...and go back for seconds and thirds...

You'll still be able to scurry around looking for a table...

You'll still be able to never actually talk to your spouse or anyone else because one of you is eating while the other is going back to refill their plate...

 

Meanwhile, I can again enjoy being shown to a table where I might dine with others, enjoy nice conversation, order a cooked-to-order meal and be served by a waiter while I eat at a relaxed and enjoyable pace...

 

Thank you, Celebrity...

[alinnj]

[TLCOhio]

I agree with another poster. I like the ice carvings, fruit and veggie designs the chocolate fountain and other things. Cut backs are inevitable, but it does damper things a bit. Hopefully we will enjoy the buffet on our Equinox b2b in June / July.

 

Appreciate the added, interesting range of love and hate comments about this buffet brunch. YES, it can be crowded and a bit crazy. Most of the food and set-ups look great, but at times the actual food quality is only good or OK. Trade-offs in trying to serve so many in a large, mass setting.

 

Below are a few more of my calorie-free visual samples to either bring back memories (good or bad) and share with others what they will most probably be missing in the future.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Just back from doing a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure on this ship and getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for much more information and lots of wonderful pictures on these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 47,748 views for this fun posting.

 

This is an overview for how the whole main part of the open, central MDR was taken over by the various stations of food, ice carving, treats, etc., from our June 2011 mid-day brunch on a Solstice sea day in the Med. This photo was taken right at the start, before things got super busy. The major "downside" is that this buffet and location gets very busy and crowded with all of the people, plus staff re-stocking the food.:

 

 

 

Here are some sushi options and a nice ice carving at the mid-day brunch buffet during a sea day.:

 

 

 

In front of where the desserts were offered at the brunch buffet in the Main Dining Room, there were three ice carvings. Nice to look at, plus sampling these treats!:

 

 

 

During the Brunch Buffet, here is more of my visual samplings for what might be part of the historic past with Celebrity. Here is an added example for the creativity with the many carved ice sculptures among the many salad options.:

 

[JEDIKNIGHT]

This is too bad.

 

It was nice knowing that everyone is descending on the MDR to take pictures and wait in line.

 

Buffet was so quiet and quick on brunch day :)

[richstowe]

As I have already stated, the buffet food is OK

 

BUT

 

the Grand Brunch is about the WoW factor especially for newer cruisers. It's about

taking pictures and smiling at the over-the-top chocolate fountain and all the rest.

It's not strictly about the food and never was. It will be missed.

[TLCOhio]

BUT the Grand Brunch is about the WoW factor especially for newer cruisers. It's about taking pictures and smiling at the over-the-top chocolate fountain and all the rest. It's not strictly about the food and never was. It will be missed.

 

 

Excellent and true above summary. WOW Factor is a super way to reflect the plus aspects for what will be missed.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 165,880 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[wallie5446]

the Grand Brunch is about the WoW factor especially for newer cruisers. It's about

taking pictures and smiling at the over-the-top chocolate fountain and all the rest.

It's not strictly about the food and never was. It will be missed.

 

Excellent and true above summary. WOW Factor is a super way to reflect the plus aspects for what will be missed.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Sadly you both are very correct.:(

[sarawithanh]

Are they really getting rid of the sea day grand brunch????

 

gahhhhhhh this is what was getting me excited for Summit in January!

 

I know they did away with the grand midnight buffets years ago, but I liked the idea of a sea day buffet.

 

I love a good ice carving and the artistry of setting up/displaying foods.

[gosport11]

1st time we went it was empty,a pleasant experience no queses or rushing,2 nd time we walked around and left,3rd time avoided it and had a relaxing breakfast in the buffet,as said the ice carving/veggie carving is nice to see but im sure it will still be on show :):)

[Feelin' Nauti']

Sounds like they are trying new traditions and getting rid of the old grand traditions ~ midnight buffets, chocolate buffets, now the lunch buffet, etc.

When I first started cruising, seeing such things use to blow me away. Made a cruise even more special.