Disappointed

[ehogan]

Returned to Celebrity(Eclipse) after a ten year absence....what happened to the food!  The dining room food could only be described as poor.  Poor selection, overcooked vegetables, watery soup and on and on.  We noticed that as the cruise went on, fewer people were in the dining room and more in the buffet.  I wonder if Celebrity is doing what Norwegian started long ago....poor dining room food to encourage you to shell out for the specialty venues.

 

I was also surprised at some of the on board charges... 6$ for a specialty coffee or tea, a charge for orange juice (really?)

 

did enjoy the excellent entertainment and beauty of the ship but the poor food and constant pushing to specialty resteraunts is off putting and I doubt we will return.

[Bo1953]

While aboard, did you bring this to the attention of the Maitre d' and/or F&B Manager?

 

How about requesting to speak with the Chef?

 

Bad food or service is not acceptable, generally, and not to speak up about it when aboard is not acceptable, either.

 

bon appetite and bon voyage

[micheleata]

We were on the Equinox twice last year and thought the food in the MDR was very good,  and the service was outstanding.  For me the buffet food looked terrific,  but taste was lacking for most items.

 

I personally did not care for the cirque like shows,  but loved the comedians, the uptown show and the 2 violinists.

 

Everyone has different tastes.

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

The buffet on the EDGE was terrible. However basically the exact same layout and food choices on the Reflection was fantastic. Way over spiced, totally destroying all the food on the EDGE, on the Reflection, everything was either perfect or needed a little extra.  Preparation, presentation and temperature were the main differences. The reflection had it all over them. The Head Chef on the reflection was always checking on everything. Replying to the shows. All but one was excellent.

[NLH Arizona]

1 hour ago, ehogan said:

Returned to Celebrity(Eclipse) after a ten year absence....what happened to the food!  The dining room food could only be described as poor.  Poor selection, overcooked vegetables, watery soup and on and on.  We noticed that as the cruise went on, fewer people were in the dining room and more in the buffet.  I wonder if Celebrity is doing what Norwegian started long ago....poor dining room food to encourage you to shell out for the specialty venues.

 

I was also surprised at some of the on board charges... 6$ for a specialty coffee or tea, a charge for orange juice (really?)

 

did enjoy the excellent entertainment and beauty of the ship but the poor food and constant pushing to specialty resteraunts is off putting and I doubt we will return.

Did you bring this issue up to management while on the ship.  If so, what did they say?

[Mike981]

I understand the question of "did you talk to management"?  For me in a setting like a cruise ship, I am more likely to not talk to management. It doesn't even cross my mind. In hind site, I should. For those who do, have you seen a commensurable change after you address the issue?
 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

6 minutes ago, Mike981 said:

I understand the question of "did you talk to management"?  For me in a setting like a cruise ship, I am more likely to not talk to management. It doesn't even cross my mind. In hind site, I should. For those who do, have you seen a commensurable change after you address the issue?
 

 

While not on Celebrity, I can say that on Royal Caribbean this past summer, I was sorely disappointed in my gluten-free experience on Jewel as opposed to two summers prior on Brilliance. I filled out the mid-cruise comment card and things DID change. They made it clear then that I could ask for much more than they had indicated before and the rest of the cruise things were much better. Taught me to speak up sooner if things are not right.

[Mike981]

Thank you WOYH.

[cruisingnewtoit]

On Sumitt in April I thought the food was average with a few good dishes. Most dishes lacked seasoning. I The vegetables were cooked well in the MDR & buffet which is not easy to do IMO.

Wait service in Tuscan was ok. The sommelier was way over worked. He was covering to many tables so service was meh.

 

MDR service was average to good. It was better on HAL.

 

I enjoyed the shows that I saw. 

[TeaBag]

I think the waiters, are overworked, resulting in cold food.  Cook puts it out nice and hot, waiter is busy elsewhere and by the time it gets delivered it is cold.  Recently on Eclipse, we stopped eating breakfast in Blu because of this.  Asked for the Maitre'D but he was busy busing tables and the hostess was sent to us.  The Hostess?  Fortunately dinners were much better in Blu and we thought the food was really good. 

[davekathy]

17 minutes ago, TeaBag said:

I think the waiters, are overworked, resulting in cold food.  Cook puts it out nice and hot, waiter is busy elsewhere and by the time it gets delivered it is cold.  Recently on Eclipse, we stopped eating breakfast in Blu because of this.  Asked for the Maitre'D but he was busy busing tables and the hostess was sent to us.  The Hostess?  Fortunately dinners were much better in Blu and we thought the food was really good. 

Glad this hasn't been our experiences. If we did the waiter/assistant waiter would really be over worked with us sending our selections back until they got it correct and our orders were totally acceptable to us! 

[nancyshaw]

 last year when I posted the same opinion of the food in the MDR on the Eclipse, all the critics came out of the woodwork..flaming me in every possible way....

 

now someone will once again say, did we raise the issue with Celebrity....

 

bottom line...if you want good food, Im not sure even if you pay for a suite that you can get it on Celeb anymore....they have cut back in every possible way all the while raising prices....that is the reality of Celeb...those who are new to the line, have no idea ...that is what Celeb is counting on...those that return, do so with far lower expectations....

 

we have moved on to other lines and are very happy with food and all else....

[alwaysonaship]

2 hours ago, Mike981 said:

I understand the question of "did you talk to management"?  For me in a setting like a cruise ship, I am more likely to not talk to management. It doesn't even cross my mind. In hind site, I should. For those who do, have you seen a commensurable change after you address the issue?
 

It is really unfortunate to “have to talk to the management” when you are supposed to be relaxing on a vacation. As a cruiseline I see you saw the difference the 10 years made.  Celebrity has lowered their standards so much it isn’t even the same 

[Nachosdelux]

24 minutes ago, alwaysonaship said:

It is really unfortunate to “have to talk to the management” when you are supposed to be relaxing on a vacation. As a cruiseline I see you saw the difference the 10 years made.  Celebrity has lowered their standards so much it isn’t even the same 

 

+1.  But the Celebrity defenders will bash you for daring to critique.  I still like Celebrity but it is not the same MDR food that it once was.  Cue the defenders to remind me that prices have fallen etc.

[NLH Arizona]

31 minutes ago, alwaysonaship said:

It is really unfortunate to “have to talk to the management” when you are supposed to be relaxing on a vacation. 

It is unfortunate, but if we don't address things on our cruises, things will never change/improve, as they think we are ok with everything if we don't speak up.

Edited May 13, 2019 by NLH Arizona

[MartinsCruise]

3 hours ago, twodaywonder said:

The buffet on the EDGE was terrible. However basically the exact same layout and food choices on the Reflection was fantastic. Way over spiced, totally destroying all the food on the EDGE, on the Reflection, everything was either perfect or needed a little extra.  Preparation, presentation and temperature were the main differences. The reflection had it all over them. The Head Chef on the reflection was always checking on everything. Replying to the shows. All but one was excellent.

When we were on the Reflection on 4/1, Head Chef DeJesus was out and about quite a bit.  He was so personable, always asking how our food was in Blu.  I talked with him more than all other chefs put together in our other 20+ cruises.

[mek]

5 hours ago, ehogan said:

Returned to Celebrity(Eclipse) after a ten year absence....what happened to the food!  The dining room food could only be described as poor.  Poor selection, overcooked vegetables, watery soup and on and on.  We noticed that as the cruise went on, fewer people were in the dining room and more in the buffet.  I wonder if Celebrity is doing what Norwegian started long ago....poor dining room food to encourage you to shell out for the specialty venues.

 

I was also surprised at some of the on board charges... 6$ for a specialty coffee or tea, a charge for orange juice (really?)

 

did enjoy the excellent entertainment and beauty of the ship but the poor food and constant pushing to specialty resteraunts is off putting and I doubt we will return.

We were on the 4/17 Eclipse sailing and thought the food in the MDR was just average, with a few exceptions ,(the lamb was delicious), and basically BORING!  Their idea of a shrimp cocktail was very small salad shrimp with sauce over it - the excuse - they ran out of "larger" shrimp. We were on the ship last year for the Dublin TA and thought it was much better - especially in the buffet.  

For now, I'm done with X - time to move on to something else.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by mek

[Stateroom_Sailor]

1 hour ago, nancyshaw said:

 last year when I posted the same opinion of the food in the MDR on the Eclipse, all the critics came out of the woodwork..flaming me in every possible way....

 

now someone will once again say, did we raise the issue with Celebrity....

 

bottom line...if you want good food, Im not sure even if you pay for a suite that you can get it on Celeb anymore....they have cut back in every possible way all the while raising prices....that is the reality of Celeb...those who are new to the line, have no idea ...that is what Celeb is counting on...those that return, do so with far lower expectations....

 

we have moved on to other lines and are very happy with food and all else....

 

Nancyshaw, I didn't believe you, thought you had a sour grapes attitude because you had your eye on Viking Ocean.  I learned last month that I was wrong.  In fact, things are now worse than you described.  The Oceanview Cafe is no sanctuary for dinner, nor are Blu and Luminae.

 

I agree with most of what others have posted here.  Blu dishes were hit and miss, but monotonous over time, with little to no vegetables (even if in the description).  Do you want Clam Chowder without the clams, or Apple Salad without Apples? Missing ingredients come complimentary.  Are you looking forward to downgraded bread and spreads, that are sitting out for everyone to cough on?  You've come the right place.  

 

Carnival Cruise Line's MDR in 2017, was better than Eclipse in 2019.  That is not an exaggeration, only Carnival's beef was inferior, a real grease bomb, but everything else either matched, or was superior. 

 

The Oceanview Cafe was an utter disgrace.  More times than not, everything was lukewarm, no steam coming off the soups.  The Mongolian wok, gone.  The fresh pasta station, inferior.  All I could stomach there were salads, cheeses, and cut fruit (that was a least a touch better than Carnival's buffet).  The last day or two, they introduced frozen mixed vegetables.

 

The decline is pretty swift and severe, and I'm not sure if it is just Eclipse, or the rest of the fleet.  If they continue in this direction, and RCCL stays steady, Celebrity could eventually become their budget line. 

 

 

 

[keithm]

5 hours ago, ehogan said:

Returned to Celebrity(Eclipse) after a ten year absence....what happened to the food!  The dining room food could only be described as poor.  Poor selection, overcooked vegetables, watery soup and on and on.  We noticed that as the cruise went on, fewer people were in the dining room and more in the buffet.  I wonder if Celebrity is doing what Norwegian started long ago....poor dining room food to encourage you to shell out for the specialty venues.

 

I was also surprised at some of the on board charges... 6$ for a specialty coffee or tea, a charge for orange juice (really?)

 

did enjoy the excellent entertainment and beauty of the ship but the poor food and constant pushing to specialty resteraunts is off putting and I doubt we will return.

This is the main reason we're more inclined to Oceania. Prices are quite a bit higher, but the quality is leaps & bounds over what was offered on Eclipse in 2017. We're doing a make or break, as I call it next Jan. on the Silhouette. Oceania had no cruises we liked next year, except the Late Feb. trip which was a Wed. to Wed. We like cruises that end on a weekend so we can relax before back to work.

[cruisingnewtoit]

My DH complained about the slow wine service at Tuscan to the I think he was the maitre'd. 

He fixed that problem real quick. Lol My DH had his wine in seconds. The sommelier had to cover to many tables.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

1 hour ago, NLH Arizona said:

It is unfortunate, but if we don't address things on our cruises, things will never change/improve, as they think we are ok with everything if we don't speak up.

 

We could send Chef Ramsay in for a special Celebrity episode.

 

 

[Covepointcruiser]

If you prefer Carnival or Oceania please sail with them.    If I was shared  your opinion on Celebrity I wouldn’t sail with them again.   There are many other choices for cruise lines.  Celebrity does not visit any ports not visited by other lines.  I have not found that.any line has improved quality over the last ten years

[Baron Barracuda]

Parent RCCL doesn't break out results for X in their financials, but for the entire company total food expenses only amounted to 5.5% of revenue last year.  That's down from 5.6% in 2017 and 5.7% in 2016.  That's despite the greater emphasis on extra charge and specialty dining which presumably use more costly ingredients.

[Xcelsior]

Yep, I agree that MDR on the Eclipse is not up to standards - at least on our sailing last Summer.  I was quite shocked, and yes I did speak with head waiter and of course they brought the chef out etc. which is just plain embarrassing for all involved.  I don't like to say anything on ships usually because the poor waiter gets blamed - which always irks me.  Why don't they then blame the chef if the waiter isn't doing his job?  The logic kills me.  Anyway - my expectations for MDR food on Celebrity and Blu are really low now after the last few experiences.  That being said, I really believe it varies ship to ship.  I"m not sure it is quality of food....just preparation.  

[DENIE]

We've been on 2 Celebrity cruises so far (Infinity and Silhouette), with 2 more booked (Constellation and Reflection).  We have not been disappointed with the food, but do understand that food may have "slipped" over the years.  Don't have enough previous experience to know what it all "used to be like".  I think in some regards, EVERYTHING has probably slipped recently due to economics, not just cruise lines.  Look at the airline industry, for example.  It may be a sign of the times.  But...any day on a cruise ship is better than just about anything else.  And we don't have to cook, clean, etc.  🙂