Celebrity Management Undercover? 👀

[D C]

On 1/22/2023 at 10:44 PM, Bobsgonecoastal said:

We began cruising with Princess on the Royal.  Our first cruise was in a mini suite reserve class (previously called Club Class).  We found the quality of food very good, and service was great.  Loved all of the lounges and musical entertainment (we rarely go to the big shows on any cruise).  While on board, we purchased fully refundable $100 book deposits.  So far we’ve booked 2 additional cruises with $200 fully refundable deposits.  I really appreciate the flexibility that provides.

when you purchase these on board, you also get additional OBCs.  It’s really no risk with a bonus.  Every change or cancellation with X costs $200.  No more lift and shift or courtesy changes unless you pay more for a refundable booking.

That's exactly why we refuse to book anything on X and why we have future deposits with Princess.  Who knows how bad things will be on X by the time a future cruise actually rolls around.  We took a $200 penalty when we canceled a 5n Summit sailing in favour of a 7n Princess.  That penalty was money well spent in light of the recent changes, we think.   

[NMTraveller]

36 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Ok but I posted the MDR menu earlier in this thread for one night.  I can do that again tonight.  Are you saying that is reduced?  It seems not but I normally do not dine there.

Yes.  There are only about 100 some pages so far detailing the cuts.

[keysey222]

On 1/22/2023 at 5:43 PM, NMTraveller said:

Or to upgrade to suites/Luminae.  Fewer complaints there.

The food wasn't anything to write home about in Luminae a few months back. The breakfasts were disappointing with stale, dry english muffins and rock hard biscuits. I pretty much ordered omelets every day because those were the only consistently good item. Dinner entrees weren't much better. We ate in more specialty restaurants than we thought we would because the Luminae menu wasn't overly appealing to us this time around. I ordered a salad and a french onion soup each night in Luminae because I knew I could count on those to be tasty as I was routinely disappointed by the entrees I tried. The menu tries to set high expectations with fancy wording, but the reality is far different. 

[paulh84]

10 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Yes.  There are only about 100 some pages so far detailing the cuts.

99 of the pages are from your posts. 

 

There is one less entree and one less starter than usual on the menu posted. I may even be off base on that. There were previously 6 entrees and with the 3 timeless entrees on most nights. The tilapia and turkey that is so offensive have been on menus since at least 2018 to 2019. That is not new. 

[RichYak]

47 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Ok but I posted the MDR menu earlier in this thread for one night.  I can do that again tonight.  Are you saying that is reduced?  It seems not but I normally do not dine there.

Not so much reduced but diminished. Here are things to look for on various nights: any hot prepared starter (that isn't soup) like scallops, crab cake, spring rolls, etc. and various quality entrees like prime rib, grilled snapper, beef wellington. These are now missing from MDR menus on many sailings.

[paulh84]

50 minutes ago, D C said:

That's exactly why we refuse to book anything on X and why we have future deposits with Princess.  Who knows how bad things will be on X by the time a future cruise actually rolls around.  We took a $200 penalty when we canceled a 5n Summit sailing in favour of a 7n Princess.  That penalty was money well spent in light of the recent changes, we think.   

 

This seems similar…

[NMTraveller]

16 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Not so much reduced but diminished. Here are things to look for on various nights: any hot prepared starter (that isn't soup) like scallops, crab cake, spring rolls, etc. and various quality entrees like prime rib, grilled snapper, beef wellington. These are now missing from MDR menus on many sailings.

THIS

[C4HCG]

7 minutes ago, paulh84 said:

 

This seems similar…

Thanks for posting, helps to provide context and proves the grass isn’t always greener. 

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, keysey222 said:

The food wasn't anything to write home about in Luminae a few months back. The breakfasts were disappointing with stale, dry english muffins and rock hard biscuits. I pretty much ordered omelets every day because those were the only consistently good item. Dinner entrees weren't much better. We ate in more specialty restaurants than we thought we would because the Luminae menu wasn't overly appealing to us this time around. I ordered a salad and a french onion soup each night in Luminae because I knew I could count on those to be tasty as I was routinely disappointed by the entrees I tried. The menu tries to set high expectations with fancy wording, but the reality is far different. 

What ship?  Was it E-class?  At least here on Equinox everything in Luminae has been very good.

[TeeRick]

59 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Not so much reduced but diminished. Here are things to look for on various nights: any hot prepared starter (that isn't soup) like scallops, crab cake, spring rolls, etc. and various quality entrees like prime rib, grilled snapper, beef wellington. These are now missing from MDR menus on many sailings.

Ok.  I do understand now so I will ask if I see the senior officer of food and beverage again.  She has come by every night so far and is very visible around the ship.

[Bo1953]

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Ok but I posted the MDR menu earlier in this thread for one night.  I can do that again tonight.  Are you saying that is reduced?  It seems not but I normally do not dine there.

tr - I would not go out of my way for this.

 

It appears, to me, that there is an ongoing nuanced fight over what is reduced or changed and using those aboard currently to support all per-conceived desires to take X down over same...

 

Those of us who want to do this, need to either sail and submit the 'evidence' directly to X OR just move on and leave X behind because of these known or believed issues, yet to have those aboard currently to continuously provide evidence is going beyond the pale IMO!!!

 

If you choose to, let us know how you are enjoying the food and offerings in Luminae... and how YOU enjoy it is all that matters, at least to me and a few others.

 

Thank you again for your postings in the other thread, as well...

 

bon appetit and bon voyage

[RichYak]

4 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

If you choose to, let us know how you are enjoying the food and offerings in Luminae... and how YOU enjoy it is all that matters, at least to me and a few others.

Bo, I think you intended to post that on cruise worship dot com. This is cruise critic dot com. 😂

[Bo1953]

1 minute ago, RichYak said:

Bo, I think you intended to post that on cruise worship dot com. This is cruise critic dot com. 😂

ry - You may be correct, then again cross platform postings are allowed here.... LOL

 

bon voyage

[catgirl411]

On 1/23/2023 at 11:34 AM, catgirl411 said:

We’ve been on over 25 cruises on many different lines and ships. Most recently, we’ve zeroed in Princess, Celebrity and Oceania. We’ve enjoyed every cruise we’ve been on. Every one had more positives than negatives.  On the food front, Oceania is the best imho but it is pricey. There are so many aspects to cruising and so many personal preferences that it is impossible to find the perfect one.  Our next two are a TA on Reflection in October and a Antarctic “drive-by” on Eclipse in February 2024, followed by the Med on Oceania Vista in October 2024 and I’m sure we will enjoy them all! 

 

[catgirl411]

Wow, so much negativity here! I can’t believe how much time and energy people are spending on comparing then to now, especially going to the extent of comparing menus. As I’ve said before no cruise is perfect but everyone that I’ve been on (no matter the line) has had something to recommend it.  I confess my three post-pandemic cruises have been on Oceania and 2 on Princess. While I wasn’t blown away by the food on Princess, I really liked everything else. We are going back to Celebrity for the next two because of itinerary and pricing but are also hoping that the food in Blu and Luminae will be above average. We don’t eat dinner in the OVC so cutbacks there don’t worry me. But food is such a personal thing that I won’t allow the opinions of others to overly influence me. And I love smaller portions; you can always get more if you want. To my knowledge no one has ever starved on a cruise!

Edited January 24, 2023 by catgirl411

[catgirl411]

1 hour ago, Bo1953 said:

tr - I would not go out of my way for this.

 

It appears, to me, that there is an ongoing nuanced fight over what is reduced or changed and using those aboard currently to support all per-conceived desires to take X down over same...

 

Those of us who want to do this, need to either sail and submit the 'evidence' directly to X OR just move on and leave X behind because of these known or believed issues, yet to have those aboard currently to continuously provide evidence is going beyond the pale IMO!!!

 

If you choose to, let us know how you are enjoying the food and offerings in Luminae... and how YOU enjoy it is all that matters, at least to me and a few others.

 

Thank you again for your postings in the other thread, as well...

 

bon appetit and bon voyage

I’ve seen many of these requests (demands) for live posters to post this or that on a number of boards.  Some of it goes way beyond reasonable requests for information and is imho, an imposition on those who are on vacation and are trying to provide some of their impressions on the cruise. On one of the Princess boards a persistent poster kept trying to get the OP to do their preferred activities. It was annoying.

[D C]

3 hours ago, paulh84 said:

 

This seems similar…

Some of those complaints are downright comical in comparison to X's cutting.  Garbage cans missing? Steaks with no sauces? 

I've been home from my first Princess cruise for a couple of days now.  Filet on more than one night in the MDR, lobster with no charge for extras, beef wellington, spare ribs.  Multiple carving stations in the buffet both lunch and dinner.  A full assortment of dinner options in the buffet.  Not sure what portion sizes used to be on Princess, but there's nothing stopping that poster from asking for another.  

I'll agree with the critique that the medallion thing is pointless, but it works just like a key card except your door unlocks as you approach.  Hardly ever used it since every server just asks for a room number. 
 

From our perspective, the grass isn't perfect compared to the X we knew, but it's better than the scalped lawn that we would have been standing on had we sailed on the Summit. 

[AstoriaPreppy]

1 hour ago, D C said:

I'll agree with the critique that the medallion thing is pointless, but it works just like a key card except your door unlocks as you approach.  Hardly ever used it since every server just asks for a room number. 

 

This hasn't been my experience with the medallion (at all)... we never told a server our room number once on our Princess cruise last year. 

 

The technology is spectacular: you can order food/beverages/alcohol anywhere on the ship via your phone, and a server will find you, wherever you are. This includes your room. When you walk up to a bar, you don't hand over anything... your face just pops up on their POS system and you get your drink. The WiFi coverage is spectacular... solid, and FAST. It actually flags the room attendant when you're out of the room, so they know when to do housekeeping/turndown.

 

It's really some of the most impressive technology I've ever seen on a ship, and you're doing it wrong if it's just an alternative keycard.

[D C]

57 minutes ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

 

This hasn't been my experience with the medallion (at all)... we never told a server our room number once on our Princess cruise last year. 

 

The technology is spectacular: you can order food/beverages/alcohol anywhere on the ship via your phone, and a server will find you, wherever you are. This includes your room. When you walk up to a bar, you don't hand over anything... your face just pops up on their POS system and you get your drink. The WiFi coverage is spectacular... solid, and FAST. It actually flags the room attendant when you're out of the room, so they know when to do housekeeping/turndown.

 

It's really some of the most impressive technology I've ever seen on a ship, and you're doing it wrong if it's just an alternative keycard.

What you described is what we expected, but certainly not what we experienced.   Not once did a bartender or server know who we were based on the medallion and they were all asking for room numbers from everyone (bartenders, bar servers, and restaurant servers alike).  Had to tap it to go into the MDR for dinner and to get coffee from the buffet espresso station.   Kept seeing servers wandering around shouting out names as they were looking for people.  Seemed like a total disaster. 

[catgirl411]

31 minutes ago, D C said:

What you described is what we expected, but certainly not what we experienced.   Not once did a bartender or server know who we were based on the medallion and they were all asking for room numbers from everyone (bartenders, bar servers, and restaurant servers alike).  Had to tap it to go into the MDR for dinner and to get coffee from the buffet espresso station.   Kept seeing servers wandering around shouting out names as they were looking for people.  Seemed like a total disaster. 

 

31 minutes ago, D C said:

What you described is what we expected, but certainly not what we experienced.   Not once did a bartender or server know who we were based on the medallion and they were all asking for room numbers from everyone (bartenders, bar servers, and restaurant servers alike).  Had to tap it to go into the MDR for dinner and to get coffee from the buffet espresso station.   Kept seeing servers wandering around shouting out names as they were looking for people.  Seemed like a total disaster. 

31 minutes ago, D C said:

What you described is what we expected, but certainly not what we experienced.   Not once did a bartender or server know who we were based on the medallion and they were all asking for room numbers from everyone (bartenders, bar servers, and restaurant servers alike).  Had to tap it to go into the MDR for dinner and to get coffee from the buffet espresso station.   Kept seeing servers wandering around shouting out names as they were looking for people.  Seemed like a total disaster. 

Our experience was somewhere between the two of you and seemed to relate to the reliability of the internet. Much of the time the servers scanned the Medallion but there were times when they couldn’t seem to get it to work.

 

[TeeRick]

6 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

tr - I would not go out of my way for this.

 

It appears, to me, that there is an ongoing nuanced fight over what is reduced or changed and using those aboard currently to support all per-conceived desires to take X down over same...

 

Those of us who want to do this, need to either sail and submit the 'evidence' directly to X OR just move on and leave X behind because of these known or believed issues, yet to have those aboard currently to continuously provide evidence is going beyond the pale IMO!!!

 

If you choose to, let us know how you are enjoying the food and offerings in Luminae... and how YOU enjoy it is all that matters, at least to me and a few others.

 

Thank you again for your postings in the other thread, as well...

 

bon appetit and bon voyage

Thanks Bo.  Good advice, as usual👍.  I guess some don’t believe that I am having an excellent time on Equinox right now and I am enjoying the Luminae food, quality and high level of service.  I think I have posted enough over the years here on CC that I might have some credibility on my comments.  Or perhaps not.  But whether some choose to believe me or not it won’t ruin my cruise.  

[Wakepatrol]

This thread needs a logo

[OysterD]

9 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

Yes.  There are only about 100 some pages so far detailing the cuts.

And probably about 80 of those pages are your comments lol

 

Edit: drat, I was beaten to it! Still, it seems I'm not the only one to have noticed you do like a bit of a moan!

Edited January 24, 2023 by OysterD

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

I think I have posted enough over the years here on CC that I might have some credibility on my comments.  Or perhaps not.  But whether some choose to believe me or not it won’t ruin my cruise.  

I'm not sure if you are alluding to me as we've had some discourse today but I have no reason not to believe everything you've posted. If anything I've written led you to feel otherwise, you have my apologies. I value your posts and look forward to more of your comments as you enjoy your cruise.

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, RichYak said:

I'm not sure if you are alluding to me as we've had some discourse today but I have no reason not to believe everything you've posted. If anything I've written led you to feel otherwise, you have my apologies. I value your posts and look forward to more of your comments as you enjoy your cruise.

Not alluding to you.  I was just making a general comment to nobody in particular.  I do value your perspective and opinions.  You have a lot to offer us here on CC.