Has the food choices and quality improved?

[Stockjock]

Here is our first night main dining room dinner on MSC in December of last year

[NMTraveller]

1 minute ago, Stockjock said:

Here is our first night main dining room dinner on MSC in December of last year

Where are the mashed potatoes???  🙂 🙂 🙂 

 

The menu and presentation looks better than Celebrity.

Edited September 30, 2023 by NMTraveller

[Stockjock]

Just now, NMTraveller said:

Where are the mashed potatoes???  🙂 🙂 🙂 

Celebrity had already bought up all of the mashed potato futures!  They were badly needed by Celebrity's Michelin-starred chefs!

[C4HCG]

6 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Where are the mashed potatoes???  🙂 🙂 🙂 

 

The menu and presentation looks better than Celebrity.

And so unlike you to criticise Celebrity NMT 🤔. I love mashed potatoes, what’s wrong with them in your view?

[retired dude]

difference between tilapia and carp-----none- bottom feeders 

[C4HCG]

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

I'd put the MDR food quality below MSC MDR.  What's that tell you?  This is based on my sailing on Infinity a few weeks ago.

Tells me nothing more than that’s your opinion. Should it tell me something else?

[Loracpin2]

26 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Let me also add that on MSC, the Specialty Dining packages are priced much better.  On my last cruise, I think I paid roughly $70 per person for 3 specialty restaurants.  On our upcoming cruise (NYE), I paid $100 per person for 3 speciality restaurants.  But remember, MSC has a status match, so for many, it's not hard to achieve Diamond Status, and that also includes a free specialty restaurant dinner (plus Prosecco, chocolate & snacks in the room and such).

So for $70-$100 per person, I'm getting 4 specialty restaurant dinners (including 1 free) on MSC and their specialty restaurants are very good.

Obviously, some might say, "If you like MSC so much, just sail MSC".  And I do that, along with Celebrity.  But that's really not the point.  The point is that Celebrity's food quality is dropping a lot, where some other cruise lines, such as MSC, seem to be holding steady or even improving.

I posted this before, but this was my first night's meal on Celebrity a few weeks ago.  A very thin, poor quality sirloin steak with a massive piece of fat & gristle in it (sorry if it's a bit gross, but trying to illustrate the point).  And of course, the obligatory cafeteria scoop of mashed potatoes w/a few veggies.

Michelin-starred chefs?  Hardly.

 

If we are served anything that resemembles this on our Janyuary Apex sailing, it will defintely be our last Celebrity sailing!!

Edited September 30, 2023 by Loracpin2
addition

[davekathy]

28 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Let me also add that on MSC, the Specialty Dining packages are priced much better.  On my last cruise, I think I paid roughly $70 per person for 3 specialty restaurants.  On our upcoming cruise (NYE), I paid $100 per person for 3 speciality restaurants.  But remember, MSC has a status match, so for many, it's not hard to achieve Diamond Status, and that also includes a free specialty restaurant dinner (plus Prosecco, chocolate & snacks in the room and such).

So for $70-$100 per person, I'm getting 4 specialty restaurant dinners (including 1 free) on MSC and their specialty restaurants are very good.

Obviously, some might say, "If you like MSC so much, just sail MSC".  And I do that, along with Celebrity.  But that's really not the point.  The point is that Celebrity's food quality is dropping a lot, where some other cruise lines, such as MSC, seem to be holding steady or even improving.

I posted this before, but this was my first night's meal on Celebrity a few weeks ago.  A very thin, poor quality sirloin steak with a massive piece of fat & gristle in it (sorry if it's a bit gross, but trying to illustrate the point).  And of course, the obligatory cafeteria scoop of mashed potatoes w/a few veggies.

Michelin-starred chefs?  Hardly.

 

And yet you ate it. I would have sent it back rather then taking a picture of what I couldn't eat.

Edited September 30, 2023 by davekathy

[Stockjock]

First and second night dinners on MSC in mid September 2022. Out of fairness, even though the first night lobster was free, it was in a specialty restaurant.

Edited September 30, 2023 by Stockjock

[C4HCG]

1 minute ago, Stockjock said:

First and second night dinners on MSC in mid September 2022. Out of fairness, even though the first night lobster was free, it was in a specialty restaurant.

And?

[di T]

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

True, but I did just get off of a Celebrity ship 3 weeks ago, and I did 2 MSC sailings during the 2nd half of 2022 and beginning of 2023.  I'll be on Celebrity again in about 3 weeks and MSC again at the end of the year.

So it's not like I'm pulling my opinions out of my backside without any actual experience.

Let me add that on our NYE cruise 2 years ago, Celebrity's MDR food was leaps and bounds better than MSC's.  No longer, at least based on my experience.

 

So agree, we have also tried other brands in the last year and as much as I still love Celebrity the food cut backs are real!

[davekathy]

3 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

First and second night dinners on MSC in mid September 2022. Out of fairness, even though the first night lobster was free, it was in a specialty restaurant.

September any December 2022. 🙃

[C4HCG]

4 minutes ago, di T said:

So agree, we have also tried other brands in the last year and as much as I still love Celebrity the food cut backs are real!

Be good if you would share your experience of the cut backs and elaborate. Which restaurants, what were the cut backs, was the cut back food edible, will you sail Celebrity again on the back of it? Just to add context to your experience.

[Stockjock]

4 minutes ago, davekathy said:

September any December 2022. 🙃

We did a MSC cruise out of Copenhagen in Sep. 2022 and another out of Le Havre in Dec. 2022 (NYE).

[davekathy]

3 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

We did a MSC cruise out of Copenhagen in Sep. 2022 and another out of Le Havre in Dec. 2022 (NYE).

My point 2022 not 2023. 

[hcat]

We are more interested in  feedback about X than comparisons to.other lines.

 

.We have bookings on Ascent( BLU, Eden, Fine Cut... and Rooftop Grill ), APEX  Sv ( 4 mdr)  and SILHOUETTE ..concierge.  

 

If we go on another cruiseline..most likely it will be  Cunard.

Edited September 30, 2023 by hcat

[Stockjock]

Just now, davekathy said:

My point 2022 not 2023. 

Most of the 2nd cruise was in 2023 (NYE), not that it matters.

Now let's jump back to the Celebrity MDR on Summit Dec. 2021 to early Jan 2022.  Notice anything different versus recent Celebrity food?

 

[C4HCG]

2 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Most of the 2nd cruise was in 2023 (NYE), not that it matters.

Now let's jump back to the Celebrity MDR on Summit Dec. 2021 to early Jan 2022.  Notice anything different versus recent Celebrity food?

 

You need to post more photos, can’t tell from the hundreds you’ve posted already 😂

[davekathy]

13 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Most of the 2nd cruise was in 2023 (NYE), not that it matters.

Now let's jump back to the Celebrity MDR on Summit Dec. 2021 to early Jan 2022.  Notice anything different versus recent Celebrity food?

 

I also remember you posting other food pictures from your recent Celebrity cruise that looked good and you saying were good. Others opinions no matter the subject have zero influence on our  expectations. Thanks for sharing and I only responded honestly to your original question. Don't take offense to that as you are entitled to your opinion as I am mine. Don't ask and I won't tell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 30, 2023 by davekathy

[Stockjock]

8 minutes ago, davekathy said:

I also remember you posting other food pictures from your recent Celebrity cruise that looked good and you saying were good. Others opinions no matter the subject have zero influence on our  expectations. Thanks for sharing and I only responded honestly to your original question. Don't take offense to that as you are entitled to your opinion as I am mine. Don't ask and I won't tell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The food on our recent Celebrity cruise was hit and miss.  Overall, a big drop from what we've seen in the past.  Still, we mostly finished our meals and it was "not bad".  But definitely below expectations.   The cutbacks are obvious.  That said, I enjoyed the leg of lamb and the prime rib was basic but tasty.  The temperature of the food was generally pretty good as well.

I have a Celebrity cruise coming up next month and this time I'm going with a buddy, who is a foodie.  I had been selling him on the quality of the food on Celebrity.  But since then, I've been trying to lower his expectations.

Edited September 30, 2023 by Stockjock

[C4HCG]

3 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Others opinions no matter the subject have zero influence on our  expectations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So glad we are not alone and your one sentence sums it up for us.

[NMTraveller]

1 hour ago, C4HCG said:

And so unlike you to criticise Celebrity NMT 🤔. I love mashed potatoes, what’s wrong with them in your view?

Great.  I will send you all of mine. 🙂 

 

Potato this,  potato that is just a cheap substitute for better sides.

[NMTraveller]

28 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Most of the 2nd cruise was in 2023 (NYE), not that it matters.

Now let's jump back to the Celebrity MDR on Summit Dec. 2021 to early Jan 2022.  Notice anything different versus recent Celebrity food?

 

Just from the pictures I would choose the MSC dinners.

 

A picture is worth a thousand words.

[C4HCG]

2 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Great.  I will send you all of mine. 🙂 

 

Potato this,  potato that is just a cheap substitute for better sides.

😁 which sides are less cheap? Fries?

[NMTraveller]

7 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

😁 which sides are less cheap? Fries?

And what's wrong with tilapia and sirloin?  There are better ingredients out there.  I have not had tilapia or sirloin in at least 20 years.