Sea Day Grand Brunch Buffet Cancelled ?

[Despegue]

Just off Silhouette.

I can confirm that the brunch is indeed a thing of the past and replaced by a couple of ice carvings in the oceanview cafe.
Overall, costcutting was rampant and we decided to stop cruising Celebrity for a while.

[wallie5446]

[quote name='Despegue']Just off Silhouette.

I can confirm that the brunch is indeed a thing of the past and replaced by a couple of ice carvings in the oceanview cafe.
Overall, costcutting was rampant and we decided to stop cruising Celebrity for a while.[/QUOTE]
Enjoy!

[Brad1185]

I'm sick of their cutbacks with this and the aqua spa cafe. Hopefully this will backfire on them one day.

[Andy]

[quote name='Despegue']Just off Silhouette.

I can confirm that the brunch is indeed a thing of the past and replaced by a couple of ice carvings in the oceanview cafe.
Overall, costcutting was rampant and we decided to stop cruising Celebrity for a while.[/quote]

I'm sorry to hear you say this Despegue. I know that you've been very interested in Celebrity over the years. I also feel that cutbacks are getting more aggressive in recent months, and it's certainly on my radar. We are on Eclipse this coming weekend, and I remain highly optimistic. With that said, if the cutbacks are obvious, and severely diminish our cruise experience, we may be forced to consider other brands as well. I truly hope it doesn't come to this, as I remain very passionate about Celebrity.... but as I always say, if you are unhappy, vote with your wallet.

I truly hope you will find a more enjoyable cruise experience. All the best to you ! Edited March 31, 2014 by Host Andy

[Andy]

[quote name='Brad1185']I'm sick of their cutbacks with this and the aqua spa cafe. Hopefully this will backfire on them one day.[/quote]

Hi Brad,

I hear you on the Aqua Spa cafe. As someone who enjoyed the grilled entrees for lunch on many days of our cruise, the Aqua Spa cafe menu changes were a major disappointment for us.

While I'm certainly not rooting for anything to backfire on them, I truly hope that Celebrity would take a step back, and be more proactive in talking with their most frequent & loyal guests. See what's working for them, and what is not. At times, I feel as if some of them are living in a bubble. Edited March 31, 2014 by Host Andy

[Bruin Steve]

[quote name='Brad1185']I'm sick of their cutbacks with this and the aqua spa cafe. Hopefully this will backfire on them one day.[/QUOTE]

[SIZE="3"][B]It's not a "cutback"...
It's a major IMPROVEMENT!!![/B][/SIZE]

[wallie5446]

[quote name='Brad1185']I'm sick of their cutbacks with this and the aqua spa cafe. Hopefully this will backfire on them one day.[/QUOTE]

Enjoy!

[richstowe]

[quote name='Brad1185']I'm sick of their cutbacks with this and the aqua spa cafe. Hopefully this will backfire on them one day.[/QUOTE][quote name='wallie5446']Enjoy![/QUOTE]

[quote name='Despegue']Just off Silhouette.

I can confirm that the brunch is indeed a thing of the past and replaced by a couple of ice carvings in the oceanview cafe.
Overall, costcutting was rampant and we decided to stop cruising Celebrity for a while.[/QUOTE][quote name='wallie5446']Enjoy![/QUOTE]So what exactly is your point Wallie ? If you don't like the changes leave ?

[BosoxI]

[quote name='Bruin Steve'][SIZE=3][B]It's not a "cutback"...[/B][/SIZE]
[B][SIZE=3]It's a major IMPROVEMENT!!![/SIZE][/B][/quote]


While I have already noted some problems I had with the buffet, no one forced me to attend, and apparently many people are dismayed with its disappearance. I'm sorry for them, especially if this is just another cut in service. At some point Celebrity will have to realize they are risking the business of longstanding customers. Perhaps their studies show new blood will replace the old hands. We intend to vote with our feet the moment the cuts affect us deeply. The lack of a bartender in the Connie's Elite lounge earlier this month, really struck home.

[Despegue]

It is not that Celebrity is not providing an enjoyable experience anymore...in fact they do.
Problem is that details are being eliminated that contributed to the premium feel of X. Lesser quality of bedtime chocolates, bathroom products, no more brunch, less choice in Martinis and other cocktails, overworked crew, a Blu menu that is being " revamped" but with lesser quality dishes... ( no more soft shell crab by the way)

The complete cruise activity staff was given notice of 2 weeks on our cruise. They do bot know who or what will replace them.
Rumors about the Celebrity orchestra being eliminated.

That combined with serious price increases for 2015 lead us to not book a new cruise while onboard. This is a first.

Will we continue cruising celebrity? no doubt. But we did decide to open our eyes to other options this time around.
Azamara is certainly looking tempting:)...

[wpgcycler]

So all you people complaining of cutbacks.... Would you prefer that they simply increase prices? Or do you suggest they should accept a lower profit margin - which of course would eventually be too low to make the business viable?

[Viva_la_Vida]

[quote name='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.[/QUOTE]


I love the art of it as well! I remember being enthralled by the midnight buffet on X when I was just a child. The ice sculptures and fruit carvings were amazing. That memory, along with some other special moments was part of the reason my husband and I decided to book the Reflection for our honeymoon last April. We didn't read our daily as thoroughly as we should have and therefore unfortunately missed the brunch. We were just coming out of the elevator from the oceanview when we saw huge crowds outside of the main dining room. When we inquired as to what was going on, other passengers said "oh you can't miss this amazing brunch". We were so bummed to miss a big ship event. Sure we were already stuffed from the Oceanview Café but I don't like to miss out when there is clearly a popular event happening! When I joined cc and found out this brunch was the replacement for the defunct midnight buffets, I was so excited to experience brunch on our upcoming sailing. I'm so sad to hear this is probably a thing of the past. There are lots of ideas synonymous with luxury. This brunch, laden with elaborate food is just one of these ideas. Take too much away and you can't call yourself luxury anymore.


Sent from my iPhone using Forums Edited March 31, 2014 by Viva_la_Vida

[Stede Bonnet]

[quote name='wpgcycler']So all you people complaining of cutbacks.... Would you prefer that they simply increase prices? Or do you suggest they should accept a lower profit margin - which of course would eventually be too low to make the business viable?[/QUOTE]

They are already priced quite favourably against RCL and NCL in the Caribbean for balconies. If they keep up with the 123 type offers they can probably raise the base price enough to keep the service standard up

[BosoxI]

[quote name='wpgcycler']So all you people complaining of cutbacks.... Would you prefer that they simply increase prices? Or do you suggest they should accept a lower profit margin - which of course would eventually be too low to make the business viable?[/quote]


For the cruises I'm tracking, the prices have gone up tremendously, so much so that signing up for one would make me a real sucker. No thanks. DW and I have been fortunate to have cruised frequently over the years. We have no compelling reasons to break the bank to cruise in the future.

[New Hampshire]

[quote name='karena1']Has anyone been on Summit in the last 2 weeks? Hubby really wants that brunch lunch. Sister was on Summit in Feb/Mar and they had it. Do they still have it on Summit for our sea day. We are leaving on Summit Sat.[/QUOTE]

Just off the Summit on March 29. There wasn't a brunch on the sea day. In a conversation about it with a waiter, he told me the brunch had been done away with on all ships. The reasons were public health and safety as the inspectors found fault with the space being not acceptable for buffet setup, the size and behavior of the crowds of passengers trying to eat in a three hour span of time and the amount of waste.

With the increase in norovirus on ships in recent years we have stayed away from that buffet. After witnessing a near fist fight over pool chairs on a cruise out of Bayonne, I can see that rude behavior in a crowded buffet could lead to problems.

I perfectly understand that things that "used to be" on Celebrity ships can no longer be done as the size of the ships and passenger loads have increased and increased. We've been sailing on Celebrity since the birth of the Century class. They were large in comparison to the Horizon and Zenith which came before them. I understand why food and service has changed now that massive numbers of people need to be served. The one thing I really wish that Celebrity would do is to go back to the days when the dining room served lunch every day whether at sea or in port.

[Max Circus]

That is too bad about the seaday brunch buffet. We sail on Saturday and we were looking forward to this. If it really is about health and safety I support the decision. I'd like to see them replace it with something similar to what Carnival has done. Carnival has a seaday brunch (not buffet) which was very good. Lots of good offerings and I would imagine less costly then putting out a buffet.

[Bruin Steve]

[quote name='BosoxI']...no one forced me to attend...[/QUOTE]

Perhaps you muissed one of my major points:
In converting one of those at-sea day lunches (and breakfast) to a buffet a couple of years back, they TOOK AWAY a full service lunch (and breakfast).

No one MADE you attend--they just didn't give you another option for those meals.

You ALWAYS had the option of having a buffet for breakfast/lunch--upstairs in the actual buffet! Reverting to the more traditional setup is an improvement...It gives people BOTH options.

There are people onboard, and on THIS board, who love buffets. Those are the folks most upset with the discontinuation. But they still have a pretty good buffet option. All that changes for them is the venue.

This was NOT a "tradition".

AND it is NOT a "cutback". When they went to the formal buffet, it cost them a slight bit more in adding some ice sculptures and decorations to the main dining room...and saved them in staffing and other areas by removing individualized service and going from two meals to one...It was the "Grand Brunch" that was the cost-cutting measure.

By removing it, they really save no money--unless they discontinue service in the main dining room for lunch and breakfast altogether and send everyone to the buffet. THAT would be a cutback that would affect everyone...but Idon't see them doing that.

There are other areas where Celebrity (and other cruise lines) have instituted cost savings of late...and people MIGHT be indignant over some of those (and some of us wouldn't mind some slight price increases as well as an alternative to the cutting) but THIS ISSUE IS NOT ONE OF THEM.

Some of us have been highly critical of the change to the formal brunch since they first made it.

The entire concept is only popular with those people who likely would have eaten in the buffet anyway...and like their buffet upscaled. Those folks likely had no great interest in a sit-down served lunch anyway. Those of us who abhor buffets...who enjoy the elegant service of the main dining room...the relative quiet and calm...the table conversation...To us, this buffet was NEVER acceptable...

We, of course, weren't forced to attend...We could have gone without breakfast and lunch instead, I guess...

[BosoxI]

I see your point, Steve. I took your original comment to mean only that you didn't like the buffet, period, and that alone made it an improvement by its elimination. You should have posted this longer explanation first :)

[wpgcycler]

[quote name='Despegue'] a Blu menu that is being " revamped" but with lesser quality dishes... ( no more soft shell crab by the way)

[/quote]

Hi, I hadn't heard this. Can you point us to the source of this information? Thanks

[rubydoobydoo]

I quite enjoyed the brunch and was looking forward to it again next month, the poor fish will wonder what is going on as they looked forward to it too :)

[prim8keeper]

Hi, I hadn't heard this. Can you point us to the source of this information? Thanks

 

We were on Equinox in February and while the Blu menus had been revamped I didn't think they were for the worse. It now included a salad that contained Maine Lobster so I personally wouldn't consider that a downgrade even if the soft shell crab is gone.

[curiouscat]

Hi Brad,

 

I hear you on the Aqua Spa cafe. As someone who enjoyed the grilled entrees for lunch on many days of our cruise, the Aqua Spa cafe menu changes were a major disappointment for us.

 

What were the cutbacks, changes to the aqua spa cafe ?

 

CC

[TeaBag]

The large servings of grilled salmon, tuna and chicken have all disappeared. They did have hot entrees in Nov on Eclipse but they were smaller. I had a spicy ground pork served on a lettuce leaf that I thought was delicious. We didn't eat there as often on the last cruise so I don't know what other hot entrees they might have had. There are now smoothies offered for $5 there also. Previously they did not have items for a fee. We still like it but it is often hard to get a table on the s class ships.

[Wine-O]

The large servings of grilled salmon, tuna and chicken have all disappeared. They did have hot entrees in Nov on Eclipse but they were smaller. I had a spicy ground pork served on a lettuce leaf that I thought was delicious. We didn't eat there as often on the last cruise so I don't know what other hot entrees they might have had. There are now smoothies offered for $5 there also. Previously they did not have items for a fee. We still like it but it is often hard to get a table on the s class ships.

 

On Reflection they had Salmon, the spicy ground pork, and grilled shrimp. They rotated the 3 throughout the cruise. If you could get that pork on that leaf of lettuce and wrap it, you are a better person than me. :D :D

[wpgcycler]

We were on Equinox in February and while the Blu menus had been revamped I didn't think they were for the worse. It now included a salad that contained Maine Lobster so I personally wouldn't consider that a downgrade even if the soft shell crab is gone.

 

Soft shell crab was still on the menu in March on Reflection - that plus my view that the overall quality of the menu items was pretty high is why I ask the question. Maybe the poster knows about coming changes that I don't.