Oceanview Cafe dinner service being eliminated?

[JLBellaCC]

Just got off the Disney Wish and they do not offer any dinner buffet - only breakfast and a short lunch buffet of 1.5 hours. 

[C4HCG]

I think this Board is falling for some classic social media ploys by sad people who have nothing better to do. Start a rumour and sit back and read the reactions. In our experience finding a seat in the OVC in peak lunch hours during the sea days is almost impossible so where would these people go? Makes absolutely no sense and would be mayhem with people even not being able to eat.

[kwokpot]

2 minutes ago, JLBellaCC said:

Just got off the Disney Wish and they do not offer any dinner buffet - only breakfast and a short lunch buffet of 1.5 hours. 

Doesn't Disney have that unique dining room rotation system? I think with that dining model it kinda changes the whole dynamics. Was there any other venues you can have dinner without an extra fee if you didn't want to go to the dining room? 

[miguelmia]

20 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

I think this Board is falling for some classic social media ploys by sad people who have nothing better to do. Start a rumour and sit back and read the reactions. In our experience finding a seat in the OVC in peak lunch hours during the sea days is almost impossible so where would these people go? Makes absolutely no sense and would be mayhem with people even not being able to eat.

 

While I agree this particular rumor seems unlikely, companies of all types have been known to "leak" non-finalized plans to gauge reaction among their various affinity groups. Sort of a surprise online focus group. Not sure how much sway, if any, a negative reaction has over the final decision (especially if it's cost-cutting) but it doesn't hurt to toss in your 2 cents.

[C4HCG]

1 minute ago, miguelmia said:

 

While I agree this particular rumor seems unlikely, companies of all types have been known to "leak" non-finalized plans to gauge reaction among their various affinity groups. Sort of a surprise online focus group. Not sure how much sway, if any, a negative reaction has over the final decision (especially if it's cost-cutting) but it doesn't hurt to toss in your 2 cents.

Fair point. But I think this rumour is one that is highly impractical.

[gold1953]

42 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

I did a seven night on Reflection last month and was very much less than impressed with the oceanview cafe offerings.  The cuts of meat were inferior to the rest of the ship.  EVERYTHING was overcooked.  Way too many pots of "food" swimming in sauces and gravy.  Everything was loaded with sugars.

We just did 2 weeks on the same ship and enjoyed the OVC offerings

[gold1953]

I cannot see this working at all . Many port days  have late returns.. 5 , 6, 7 pm. Where will all of these people eat unless they are late diners?? Then for those of us who never eat late this would be a disaster. 

So buffet only on port days??

\ We have just reached Elite plus and this would turn us away form Celebrity

[LB_NJ]

1 hour ago, chamima said:

 

Sorry but I disagree.

You could also probably go on Carnival or NCL for less money but have chosen to go on Celebrity. And, yes, if the cruise was $70 more I wouldn't care.

It's the tacky feel of these charges and cuts that is such a turn off.

This is the more eloquent way of making the same point I was trying to make.  On a $3,000 to $6,000 plus vacation $70 is not important however, all the small changes are like death from a thousand cuts. One of the main reasons I switched to Celebrity from Royal is the overall experience.  If this continues, I will have to switch again.

[Kelownadon]

57 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

I did a seven night on Reflection last month and was very much less than impressed with the oceanview cafe offerings.  The cuts of meat were inferior to the rest of the ship.  EVERYTHING was overcooked.  Way too many pots of "food" swimming in sauces and gravy.  Everything was loaded with sugars.

That’s why they provide rice so you can put it under the stews to soak up all those beautiful sauces and gravy. Yum yum. 

[miched]

If they close the dinner buffet will they relax the dress rules in the MDR?    Many use the buffet because they don’t want to dress according to the rules for dining in the MDR.

 

We went to a all day jazz festival in NOLA.  We got back to the ship around 8:30 pm and went to the buffet for dinner as we were grubby from the sunscreen and being in the dusty fair grounds/racetrack that the festival was held in.   We didn’t have the time to take a shower and weren’t going to put on clean clothes to go to Blu.  The hostess seen us going into the buffet and said it is OK as you are, just come to Blu.   I asked why are you here and she said that she had to get something for a customer.    We said that we didn’t want to violate the dress code plus  didn’t feel right about dining there being as grubby as we were wearing shorts, a sweaty tee shirt and having hat hair.   I am sure that many coming back from other tours also opt for the buffet instead of the MDR for the same reason.  If the buffet isn’t open they will have to be in the restaurants. 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🌅🇺🇸

[DaKahuna]

9 hours ago, gkbiiii said:

How is it a "unsubstantiated rumor," when parent company Royal Caribbean is doing just that?

 

 Please show me where Royal Caribbean is eliminating Dinner Service in the Windjammer Cafe?  

Do try mixing apples, dinner in the buffet, and oranges, changing the MDR menu.  

 

[LGW59]

4 minutes ago, miched said:

If they close the dinner buffet will they relax the dress rules in the MDR?    Many use the buffet because they don’t want to dress according to the rules for dining in the MDR.

 

We went to a all day jazz festival in NOLA.  We got back to the ship around 8:30 pm and went to the buffet for dinner as we were grubby from the sunscreen and being in the dusty fair grounds/racetrack that the festival was held in.   We didn’t have the time to take a shower and weren’t going to put on clean clothes to go to Blu.  The hostess seen us going into the buffet and said it is OK as you are, just come to Blu.   I asked why are you here and she said that she had to get something for a customer.    We said that we didn’t want to violate the dress code plus  didn’t feel right about dining there being as grubby as we were wearing shorts, a sweaty tee shirt and having hat hair.   I am sure that many coming back from other tours also opt for the buffet instead of the MDR for the same reason.  If the buffet isn’t open they will have to be in the restaurants. 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🌅🇺🇸

will they relax the dress rules in the MDR?  Already seem quite casual to me (which I like) but how much more relaxed do you want them to be?

[ChucktownSteve]

20 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

will they relax the dress rules in the MDR?  Already seem quite casual to me (which I like) but how much more relaxed do you want them to be?

 Women in Lingerie?

[dlh015]

14 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 Women in Lingerie?

Then they would have to allow men in Speedos! No thanks 🤢

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

1 hour ago, JLBellaCC said:

Just got off the Disney Wish and they do not offer any dinner buffet - only breakfast and a short lunch buffet of 1.5 hours. 

 

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

Doesn't Disney have that unique dining room rotation system? I think with that dining model it kinda changes the whole dynamics. Was there any other venues you can have dinner without an extra fee if you didn't want to go to the dining room? 

 

Disney has NEVER had a buffet at night. Prior to the shutdown, they would offer a seated, menu dinner in Cabanas (their buffet on the Classics and Dream Class) on the middle nights of the cruise (not on the first or last night) - but that has not returned since reopening. (They would use that as a training scenario for new servers.)

 

The new ship is more a food hall than a buffet, but to my knowledge they have never had it open at night.

 

For dining options, there are some things on the pool deck or there is room service - but no. The basic expectation is that you're doing dining in the MDRs or paying for an 18+ restaurant.

[chamima]

43 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

will they relax the dress rules in the MDR?  Already seem quite casual to me (which I like) but how much more relaxed do you want them to be?

 

20 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 Women in Lingerie?

 

4 minutes ago, dlh015 said:

Then they would have to allow men in Speedos! No thanks 🤢

 

 

There's always the bathrobe from your cabin! 😱

And that was a joke in case anyone missed it.

I have, however, seen people at the buffet in their bathrobes!!! YUCK! 😱

[Charles4515]

On 1/1/2023 at 3:48 PM, LMaxwell said:

No, sorry. We can't link or mention other forums here; I've gotten timeouts for such in the past. I find that overly restrictive however this place has the largest audience and the most that can verify information real time. 

 

I think you were bored and made the whole thing up to have some fun. And yes a lot did take  your bait. 

[jagoffee]

I could potentially see Celebrity eliminating the table bar service at night. I have never been impressed with the dinner offerings in the OV.  My wife and I only use it when we do not want to change our clothes and are not really very hungry.

 

If you want to see a nice dinner buffet set up, try an Oceania cruise.  (We were on the Riviera).  Many freshly prepared options.  Loved dining there in the Aft outdoor section even when we were ready for a full meal.  

[zitsky]

29 minutes ago, dlh015 said:

Then they would have to allow men in Speedos! No thanks 🤢

 

But they would only allow that for the guys under 30, right?  Right?  (Asking for a friend.)

 

Hey, I heard a rumor that Celebrity is going to stop the free oxygen on their cruises.

 

The way you folks get upset about this makes me think I should check out the buffet more often on my next cruise.

[BermudaBound2014]

Is anyone on the EDGE right now that can confirm/deny?

 

This was posted to social media today (1/3/23) at 10:00 a.m. EST. According to this cruiser he is currently on the edge and the ocean view buffet is scaled back significantly. He stated this is all that was offered at 6:00 p.m. and that the changes went into effect on 1/1. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited to add, I'm going to start a new thread just in case someone on the edge isn't following this thread.

 

Edited January 3, 2023 by BermudaBound2014

[davekathy]

15 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

I can concur with this approach, yet for those of us who get spooked by such issues we can cancel immediately and book another line in order to 'potentially' avoid the situation... instead of only promulgating it.

 

True or not, personally, it would not affect my sailing X in the least... either we work with it or around it or move on as we may not like it...

 

bon voyage

Thanks. I totally get what you are saying.

 

Speaking only for myself, based on the  rumors I've been reading lately on CC aren't enough to justify cancelling our future cruises and will wait until we hear or experience first hand. CC is a great source of info for a heads-up but  I guess I'm one of those that needs to see something officially from Celebrity (email, website or app). 

[davekathy]

19 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

We could order anything we wanted.  But at the end of the day, if it costs an additional $10 for dinner to be delivered, is that really enough to change your choice of cruise lines?

Not for us. Never implied or expressed that kind knee jerk reaction. 

[kathynorth]

I feel like Celebrity could have managed all these cost cutting items in a better way. For example, if the above is accurate, they could have introduced a "pizzaria" in an existing pizza location by giving that station a minor facelift and incorporate the salad bar and stir fry to give it a "free" specialty restaurant feel. Eliminate table drink service in OV, but add a couple of user friendly drink ordering stations in the OV.  Expand the menu and open hours at Mast Grill (currently closes at 5pm). As for the cabin changes, add a couple of easy to procure cold meat items to the Continental RS menu. Rather than just cutting out turndown, they could initially incorporate no turndown into the "Go Green" program. I'm wondering if the right hand is talking to the left with all these changes happening at the same time. 

[dreamer321]

If you think there are cutback coming in Oceanview Café, check out the main dining room menus for Beyond's Jan 3rd - 8th cruise. No entree's or appetizers.

[mayleeman]

3 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 Please show me where Royal Caribbean is eliminating Dinner Service in the Windjammer Cafe?  

Do try mixing apples, dinner in the buffet, and oranges, changing the MDR menu.  

 

 

The author of the post you quoted immediately posted an explanation that the RCL item referred to as having already been done was the elim of "Classic" selections on the MDR dinner menu.