Cheaping out at the buffet

[Luvcrusn]

4 hours ago, mafig said:

We were on Reflection a few weeks ago and they had smoked salmon in the buffet.  Don't know if it was there the last day or not, but it was available the other days.

EEK! We were on Silhouette in December and had smoked salmon daily in Blu. I'd also be upset to not have it available. 

[Luvcrusn]

3 hours ago, jkgourmet said:

 

Have they cut out the availability of one or two roasted meats carved on request (and lots of hot sides that go with it?)  Pasta with a choice of sauces?  Many choices for salads (deli type and different lettuces)?  Some Chinese items, grilled fresh items (small steaks, chicken breast, etc)?  Soups?  Too many deserts?

 

I'm asking because these step the things we remember and have told our friends about (new to celebrity).  I admit that I enjoyed the indian food, But DH does not, but still found plenty to eat.

We had all of those things in December on Silhouette as choices in the OVC for lunch.

[Fogfog]

Never get a good bagel on the ship...and I agree about the problematic toasting... Can't get it to arrive TOASTED for room service...

 

Did note another poster whose thread title was about "where is the smoked salmon". He couldn't find salmon and was told it was a "supply" issue. A few days into the cruise the lox showed up so I suppose they are rotating it in/out? (cost cutting)

 

 In the am I do a eggs benedict and 

at lunch my fav station is the curries --   

or if they have something fun like a braised jerk goat etc...things that I can't easily make at home

 

 

[PTC DAWG]

Whoever mentioned picky eaters hit the nail on the head....some let one missing item ruin a meal.  Substitute something else...

 

I especially like cruise buffets for al the different choices I may not have ever heard of...

Edited March 21, 2019 by PTC DAWG

[tomservo]

38 minutes ago, dkjretired said:

 

We had that in New Jersey, one of the big commercial bakeries in the town I worked in. We used to go in there at 4 in the morning, eat a couple hot and then take the rest home. Where I live in Pa we have two great bagel shops that make their own but then it’s a college town with lots of kids from Jersey and NY.

Which bagel shops? I'm always looking for good NY/NJ style bagels in PA.

[Luvcrusn]

Yes, for years I thought I didn't care for Indian food until I tried several on a cruise just for the heck of it. It just looked all the same and unappetizing to me.  Now it's often a lunch go to for me. It's always fun to try different things on a cruise that you might not order on land for fear of being stuck with something you don't like.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

"I will say the salad station was not that great (this is my opinion, don't shoot me for it!)  They seemed to have a lot of iceberg lettuce the few times I looked and the dressing choices were just French, blue cheese and one other creamy type.  I could not find just a plain balsamic vinaigrette."

 

Every Celebrity cruise I've ever been on offered more than iceberg lettuce in the salad station.  You will not always find plain balsamic vinaigrette already made up, although there is always separate oil and vinegar.  But I've always found some variety of balsamic vinaigrette.

 

And I've never been on a cruise that didn't have smoked salmon available in the buffet.

Edited March 21, 2019 by Happy Cruiser 6143

[chemmo]

3 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

it was available on board  Had it the day before in luminae   also did see in elite lounge   but not in buffet area?  why? we wanted breakfast that day at the buffet 

Perhaps, as I suggested not many guests are eating Salmon in the Buffet....

 

[dkjretired]

2 hours ago, tomservo said:

Which bagel shops? I'm always looking for good NY/NJ style bagels in PA.

 

Blooming Bagels, both in Bloomsburg, straight out rt. 80

Edited March 21, 2019 by dkjretired

[gfkcruiser]

We were on Silhouette in February and smoked salmon for Breakfast in Oceanview every day.  We have great bagels in Detroit area and, while I agree on the awful so-called bagels in Elite breakfast,  those in OV weren't too bad.  Actually had bagels in a few spots in OV. 

Few years ago we were on a celebrity cruise where smoked salmon only appeared a few times.  Was rotated with some kind of herring.

[Muffinz]

3 hours ago, mfs2k said:

 

A good bagel is boiled (preferably in NYC water) then baked and eaten warm, soon after it's come out of the oven. 

 

You're obviously not going to get that on a cruise ship.

 

On a cruise ship, you're going to get a commercial frozen bagel like "Lenders" which is thawed and served to the masses.

 

I wonder if Celebrity bakes other fresh breads or pastries (ie croissants). 

I'll put cream cheese and smoked salmon on something else if it's freshly baked. 

we were on Solstice last year March / April and we did a tour of the kitchen areas and were told that celebrity makes all their bread fresh each day - I assume that also means bagels and croissants

[TeaBag]

3 hours ago, boscobeans said:

 

I have seen the baking area and can say they bake just about all their breads and rolls on board. I think certain items like bagels and hamburger / hot dog rolls are purchased due to the difficulty. I have no answer for croissants since they are fairly difficult to produce however they are very expensive to buy pre-made and their are thousands on every ship.

We saw croissants being made when we went on a kitchen tour once.  Forget what ship.

Edited March 21, 2019 by TeaBag

[boscobeans]

15 hours ago, TeaBag said:

We saw croissants being made when we went on a kitchen tour once.  Forget what ship.

Thanks for the info. I always thought they were fresh made and not outsourced like  on another cruise line where they were disgusting 50% of the time.

On Celebrity it was amazing to see how ALL the bread from loaves of white to all those different rolls were produced on a daily basis..

[craftymom914]

We were on the Solstice this past summer and Equinox earlier this month and we noted differences.  Smoked salmon was available every morning in the buffet this past summer, but only twice on the recent cruise.   My favorite potato cakes were only served twice on the latest cruise.  Still plenty to eat.  On the plus side, I found a great improvement in the salad bar from this past summer and the variety of breads.  We always find something to eat and I try to order items I don't make at home.  Doesn't always work out so I am glad for the small portions to minimize waste.  

[SleepingUgly]

We definitely had smoked salmon available for breakfast every morning in the Oceanview Cafe when we sailed on the Silhouette in late December 2018.  I remember b/c dh would get that pretty much every single day.

 

As for the lunch buffet - I will admit that the offerings didn't change much from day to day.  BUT, the variety of choices was quite expansive each day.  You have your pizza station, your freshly-made pasta station (sauces would change daily, I believe), a panini station, the Mexican station, the Asian station, the Indian station, the salad bar, soups, American offerings (including meats and fish), desserts.  There would be at least 2-3 main dishes to choose from at each station, and some may change at least one of their offerings from day to day, but there would always be staples that were there consistently.  I'm sorry but that is definitely a lot more variety than I would get at home and pretty much any vacation where you stayed in the hotel / resort each day.  If you didn't want to eat at the buffet for lunch, you had the MDR.  You could get burgers and hot dogs and fries at the Mast Grill.  You could order room service.  Really, those are quite the options and, personally, I thought the buffet offered a lot of different types of foods everyday.  Yes, the station themes pretty much stayed the same everyday, but considering that the theme at home is "you'll eat what I serve you", I'll take the Oceanview Cafe and its choices anyday!

 

Linda

 

[Redtravel]

On Reflection in January, we did not like the buffet.  Too many lines and often no tables. Offerings were good at first. However, on a 14 night cruise, it got very boring. Would like to see more variations and some local cuisine. It seems like same old same old again and again. Not very creative.  I got to the point that I looked for a station that didn’t have a line. Oatmeal too many times. Asked for cranberry juice and was told it was an extra charge because they get it from the bar. I really don’t care where the juice comes from. I just wanted it. Maitr’d told me to go to the MDR or pay in the buffet.  Took myself to the Captain’s club breakfast where there was no extra charge for cranberry juice.  While a glass of cranberry juice is not a big deal, it just another way cutbacks are annoying. We did have smoked salmon. That was a January. When I read this thread and told my spouse about no smoked salmon, the response was,”just another reason not to sail on Celebrity”. I am elite plus and like cruising. It seems that each time that we sail, there is another cutback.  It may be just a little thing missing. After awhile, there is something that drives you away.  Prices up, food quality down. Not exactly a winning combo.  Not sure when or if we will ever sail on Celebrity. 5 future cruises booked, none are Celebrity.  

[richsea]

I agree that the buffet can seem repetitious, particularly on longer sailings, but how many different choices can they offer for breakfast? If anyone thinks they ate oatmeal too often, it must be because they don’t want eggs, waffles, pancakes, fruit, omelets, cold cereal, potatoes, toast, english muffins, bagels, or any one of otger breakfast foods that are available everyday. It even seems that salmon is available on most ships. 

[helen haywood]

Obviously we must sail for different reasons than some of you!  I'm never going hungry on a cruise ship.  I cruise on Celebrity because I love the Solstice Class ships.  We sail several times a year and never get off the ship.

 

Yes, some sailings have had more memorable OV food than others.  Not a deal breaker to me.  Yes, I have noticed cutbacks.  That does not make me want to move to another line.  

[DYKWIA]

23 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Just a thought, but perhaps we are also talking about "boring" eaters as well as a somewhat boring buffet :).  There is a pretty big selection in the lunch buffets, but many folks are only interested in a few items and dismiss everything else because it is not what they like.  One thing we have learned on our cruises (and from a close family member) is that the world is full of "picky" eaters.    That being said, we have our "issues" with the lunch buffets on Celebrity.  I am not a big fan of their sandwich station where they have too many kinds of "mystery meat" and not enough products like a decent ham, pastrami, roast beef, etc.  I would not feed some of those mystery meats to my dog (and my dog is dead).

 

....

 

Hank

 

 

This is a good point.  It reminds me of a few years ago when we were in Thailand and the hotel had a spectacular evening buffet featuring amongst what seemed like 100s of dishes lobster, fillet steak, octopus.  Three of us were in our elements but the fourth person ( a very fussy eater) wandered around and around and eventually after some time returned to the table with some lettuce and tomatoes, complaining that was all they could find and that the buffet wasn't very good

[DYKWIA]

36 minutes ago, richsea said:

I agree that the buffet can seem repetitious, particularly on longer sailings, but how many different choices can they offer for breakfast? If anyone thinks they ate oatmeal too often, it must be because they don’t want eggs, waffles, pancakes, fruit, omelets, cold cereal, potatoes, toast, english muffins, bagels, or any one of otger breakfast foods that are available everyday. It even seems that salmon is available on most ships. 

 

I've stopped in hotels before that offer giant breakfast buffets and the classics (about 1/2 of what is on offer) will be on every day but the rest like a breakfast curries, kedgeree, kippers, haggis or other regional specialties is on a 2-3 day rotation. This can help with keeping breakfast less repetitious.  Another thing we will try and do is either change venue - Aqua Spa Cafe on sea days,  buffet on port days - cooked breakfasts on long port days, continental buffet on short port days.

[Hlitner]

3 minutes ago, DYKWIA said:

This is a good point.  It reminds me of a few years ago when we were in Thailand and the hotel had a spectacular evening buffet featuring amongst what seemed like 100s of dishes lobster, fillet steak, octopus.  Three of us were in our elements but the fourth person ( a very fussy eater) wandered around and around and eventually after some time returned to the table with some lettuce and tomatoes, complaining that was all they could find and that the buffet wasn't very good

The best dinner (or any) buffet we have ever had was at the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok.  It was at an outdoor restaurant that overlooked the river and many items such as different high quality steaks and lobster were cooked to order on outdoor BBQ grills.   Not sure if they still offer this pretty famous buffet (the restaurant is now closed for renovations) but it is something we would check-out on any visit to that fun city.

 

Hank

[DYKWIA]

6 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

The best dinner (or any) buffet we have ever had was at the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok.  It was at an outdoor restaurant that overlooked the river and many items such as different high quality steaks and lobster were cooked to order on outdoor BBQ grills.   Not sure if they still offer this pretty famous buffet (the restaurant is now closed for renovations) but it is something we would check-out on any visit to that fun city.

 

Hank

 

Ahh The Oriental Bangkok, proposed to my wife there at China House.  Wonderful hotel. 

 

The buffets in the top Asian Hotels particularly in Thailand and Hong Kong are the best in the world, particularly when the hotel groups get their chefs to travel to different hotels. I recall the buffet at the Island Shangri La in Hong Kong had a Thai chef from Bangkok with them for a couple of weeks preparing made to order Thai salads.

[wpgcycler]

17 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

The best dinner (or any) buffet we have ever had was at the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok.  It was at an outdoor restaurant that overlooked the river and many items such as different high quality steaks and lobster were cooked to order on outdoor BBQ grills.   Not sure if they still offer this pretty famous buffet (the restaurant is now closed for renovations) but it is something we would check-out on any visit to that fun city.

 

Hank

Did this buffet 35 years ago and it still tops my list as the best buffet ever. We were living in the KSA at the time where pork is prohibited - I can still smell and taste the giant, slow bbq'd leg of pork on offer here after not eating any at all for the previous 6 months. Service was over the top too - I recall a waiter literally running from across the terrace, arriving at the precise moment to push in my wife's chair. A superb evening!

[wpgcycler]

10 minutes ago, DYKWIA said:

 

Ahh The Oriental Bangkok, proposed to my wife there at China House.  Wonderful hotel. 

 

The buffets in the top Asian Hotels particularly in Thailand and Hong Kong are the best in the world, particularly when the hotel groups get their chefs to travel to different hotels. I recall the buffet at the Island Shangri La in Hong Kong had a Thai chef from Bangkok with them for a couple of weeks preparing made to order Thai salads.

 (Piz Gloria - just up the hill from Murren?)

[cantstopingcruising]

2 hours ago, Redtravel said:

On Reflection in January, we did not like the buffet.  Too many lines and often no tables. Offerings were good at first. However, on a 14 night cruise, it got very boring. Would like to see more variations and some local cuisine. It seems like same old same old again and again. Not very creative.  I got to the point that I looked for a station that didn’t have a line. Oatmeal too many times. Asked for cranberry juice and was told it was an extra charge because they get it from the bar. I really don’t care where the juice comes from. I just wanted it. Maitr’d told me to go to the MDR or pay in the buffet.  Took myself to the Captain’s club breakfast where there was no extra charge for cranberry juice.  While a glass of cranberry juice is not a big deal, it just another way cutbacks are annoying. We did have smoked salmon. That was a January. When I read this thread and told my spouse about no smoked salmon, the response was,”just another reason not to sail on Celebrity”. I am elite plus and like cruising. It seems that each time that we sail, there is another cutback.  It may be just a little thing missing. After awhile, there is something that drives you away.  Prices up, food quality down. Not exactly a winning combo.  Not sure when or if we will ever sail on Celebrity. 5 future cruises booked, none are Celebrity.