Chef's Table cancelled through end of June

[iamsteph]

Just received a notification that my Chef's Table reservation for a June cruise on the Legend has been cancelled due to staffing issues.  The letter indicated through the end of June, and seemed to be fleet wide.  Also, Cucina would be closed for dinner (except on Mardi Gras), with some selections available in the main dining room at no charge. 

Edited May 16, 2022 by iamsteph

[ninjacat123]

Wow!  This is sad news.  I wonder if it's staffing or actually not enough people are eating at the specialty restaurants, therefore not cost effective to keep open?

[Laplayaperson]

Got the same email but for Cucina...

[TxTeach79]

It’s staffing. Got the same email for my Miracle Alaska sailing. Def fleetwide. Bummer. 

[mz-s]

I hope this means they'll bring some normalcy back to the other dining venues. Deli open until 11, late night snacks buffet back, pizza 24/7, etc.

[UpstateCruizer]

10 minutes ago, mz-s said:

I hope this means they'll bring some normalcy back to the other dining venues. Deli open until 11, late night snacks buffet back, pizza 24/7, etc.

If I’m being honest I can’t recall ever having a deli sandwich between 10pm-11pm. Pizza at 3am ? Nope I’m usually asleep. Late night snacks a few times but not enough to miss them. What I do hope returns to normal is the level of service in the food venues. 

[mz-s]

9 minutes ago, UpstateCruizer said:

If I’m being honest I can’t recall ever having a deli sandwich between 10pm-11pm. Pizza at 3am ? Nope I’m usually asleep. Late night snacks a few times but not enough to miss them. What I do hope returns to normal is the level of service in the food venues. 

 

That's good for you but a lot of people enjoy those things that were ended without an email to us. It was a surprise when we got onboard. We did not receive the courtesy of an email like those that signed up for Chef's Table got.

[JandPB]

Staffing issues were noticeable on our Magic cruise at the end of April. The issue was we were sailing at near capacity. All of the venues were affected. Steakhouse, Cucina, MDR. This is not surprising. 

[IrritatedEllipses]

Interesting. 

 

While I doubt we'll hear any updates until that time, where would I look to see if it's available on my sailing? I've religiously checked the dining options and the only one that ever appears is the steakhouse. 

[mz-s]

53 minutes ago, IrritatedEllipses said:

Interesting. 

 

While I doubt we'll hear any updates until that time, where would I look to see if it's available on my sailing? I've religiously checked the dining options and the only one that ever appears is the steakhouse. 

 

It seems that Chef's Table and Cucina have been cancelled fleet-wide through end of June, except Cucina on Mardi Gras will continue as normal. So if your cruise is in that timeframe it makes sense.

[rs45thompson]

1 hour ago, mz-s said:

 

That's good for you but a lot of people enjoy those things that were ended without an email to us. It was a surprise when we got onboard. We did not receive the courtesy of an email like those that signed up for Chef's Table got.

I actually received two emails.  One for my reservation with Cucina and one for the Chef's table.  We sail on June 11.  Maybe they got enough complaints of not being notified that they have started sending emails. Either way I am really disappointed, we were having out 30 year anniversary dinner at the Chef's table. 

[mz-s]

2 minutes ago, rs45thompson said:

I actually received two emails.  One for my reservation with Cucina and one for the Chef's table.  We sail on June 11.  Maybe they got enough complaints of not being notified that they have started sending emails. Either way I am really disappointed, we were having out 30 year anniversary dinner at the Chef's table. 

 

I guess it's just because it requires a lot of staff that they had to cancel it. Hopefully Carnival can get their staffing levels up quickly and this gets better soon.

[CruisingFromLA]

It is frustrating that Carnival was in such a rush to be the first to bring back all their ships. Instead of staffing their ships fully, they spread out all the staff across all the ships too thinly. Are the other cruise lines having the same difficulty due to staffing shortages? To my understanding, RCL is still offering twice a day cleaning of your cabin and they haven't cut back on hours for restaurants or other food options (tea time, pizza, specialty dining, etc).

[cruisingguy007]

8 minutes ago, CruisingFromLA said:

It is frustrating that Carnival was in such a rush to be the first to bring back all their ships. Instead of staffing their ships fully, they spread out all the staff across all the ships too thinly. Are the other cruise lines having the same difficulty due to staffing shortages? To my understanding, RCL is still offering twice a day cleaning of your cabin and they haven't cut back on hours for restaurants or other food options (tea time, pizza, specialty dining, etc).

 

It's actually great news if you understand why they did it, fiscally speaking. From a UI/passenger aspect it can be frustrating when not back up to the service levels passengers were accustomed, but is very good news for the lines value overall, considering the debt loads they were forced to take on due to being singled out and shut down. 

Edited May 16, 2022 by cruisingguy007

[LatinaInTexas]

This is disappointing even though my cruise isn't until August, hoping it gets sorted out by then. Last cruise we almost exclusively ate at paid dining. Nothing against the MDR except the repetitive menu.

[WKUTopperFan]

On 5/16/2022 at 8:00 PM, LatinaInTexas said:

This is disappointing even though my cruise isn't until August, hoping it gets sorted out by then. Last cruise we almost exclusively ate at paid dining. Nothing against the MDR except the repetitive menu.

I only dine at specialty restaurants... as I have cruised exclusively on Vista Class ships the past years with the exception being Mardi Gras this March/April. I went against my better judgement and booked the Magic our of New York in August to combine a New York getaway with a Bermuda trip for my Mom. Magic does not have the specialty restaurant options to meet my tastes but I could make it work NY doubling up a bit. I booked steakhouse X2 , Cucina X 2, and Chef's Table.. we overnight one evening in Bermuda and I have reservations at a beautiful restaurant on the island that night. As such, I was able to eliminate eating in the MDR. Now, if this suspension continues, and I am sure it will through the summer I am stuck with nowhere to eat.for 5 nights of the cruise. I will pick up another night or two on the steakhouse but I can't eat there 7 nights. Carnival has really let me down. 

[fuddrules]

11 hours ago, WKUTopperFan said:

I only dine at specialty restaurants... as I have cruised exclusively on Vista Class ships the past years with the exception being Mardi Gras this March/April. I went against my better judgement and booked the Magic our of New York in August to combine a New York getaway with a Bermuda trip for my Mom. Magic does not have the specialty restaurant options to meet my tastes but I could make it work NY doubling up a bit. I booked steakhouse X2 , Cucina X 2, and Chef's Table.. we overnight one evening in Bermuda and I have reservations at a beautiful restaurant on the island that night. As such, I was able to eliminate eating in the MDR. Now, if this suspension continues, and I am sure it will through the summer I am stuck with nowhere to eat.for 5 nights of the cruise. I will pick up another night or two on the steakhouse but I can't eat there 7 nights. Carnival has really let me down. 

 

You'll survive.......somehow.

[cruisingguy007]

Is the Chefs table back on Carnival or still shutdown? If so, when does the option open up? I don't see it as an option and I'm not sure if it's just not available or is sold out, cruise is over 100 days away still.   

[BarbieGee]

I too would like to know if Chef's Table has been restored across all ships.

[csj092809]

I booked it for January on the Celebration ...so it is letting you book it now.

[grillinchillin]

3 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

Is the Chefs table back on Carnival or still shutdown? If so, when does the option open up? I don't see it as an option and I'm not sure if it's just not available or is sold out, cruise is over 100 days away still.   

It was on the Ecstasy a couple of weeks ago. 2 nights, in the Library  

[cruisingguy007]

50 minutes ago, grillinchillin said:

It was on the Ecstasy a couple of weeks ago. 2 nights, in the Library  

 

Interesting. It's very strange, it's not even listed on this particular cruise and when I search for it, it pops up, but when I try to add it to the cart it says "invalid product" in red. Can't tell if it's sold out or if they are just not doing it. I guess I'll just keep checking back.  

Edited October 5, 2022 by cruisingguy007

[vwrestler171]

I'm booked for it next Monday.  Depending on which ship you are on, it may not be open yet, or not doing it for some reason.  

[BarbieGee]

Although the Chef's Table is listed on Paradise, I cannot book it in advance for my Feb cruise. Carnival web page states "Reservations can be made at the ship’s Guest Services desk. "
Should I call Carnival to make these reservations? I've heard this venue can fill up.

[ninjacat123]

6 minutes ago, BarbieGee said:

Although the Chef's Table is listed on Paradise, I cannot book it in advance for my Feb cruise. Carnival web page states "Reservations can be made at the ship’s Guest Services desk. "
Should I call Carnival to make these reservations? I've heard this venue can fill up.

That's different, I was able to book my Chef's Table for Sunshine in September through my Cruise Manager.  We saw a number of Chef's Tables in progress throughout our cruise.  Good luck!!