Rant about Infinity MDR

[rmalbers]

3 hours ago, ECCruise said:

They're not.  They are provisioned in Miami, e.g., and shipped on containers generally to embarkation ports, where they are laded on. Provisions are usually ordered months in advance to account for transport time.

 

There are some exceptions to this, however.  When the ship(s) are in Australia and NZ, more of the products are locally provisioned.   

 

This information comes from several conversations with HDs and Executive chefs. 

I think that might have changed in the last year or so. 

[iandjm]

4 hours ago, zanderblue said:

Sorry folks but I feel I need to vent a little. We had a poor experience on Solstice a couple of months ago, but the Infinity was worse.

 

Just off the Infinity this morning in Lisbon. Food choices from the menu in MDR were very poor.

Most evenings for appetisers it was 3 soups and 2 salads or vice versa, with possibly one other item; eggplant caviar and salmon tartar spring to mind. The usual ever present onion soup, shrimp cocktail and escargots disappeared randomly through the trip.

The entrees fared worse I thought. The menus changed late in the day with the substitute items poorly thought out. One night we had braised shin of veal on the menu, to be told at table that it was not available and was replaced by steak Diane. Only problem there was we were then left with…..

Steak Diane which was grilled sirloin steak with mushroom sauce

Steak n chips which was grilled sirloin steak with fries

and

New York strip which was grilled sirloin steak with vegetables

 

Most entrees came with green beans, carrots and mashed potato. Although one night broccoli replaced the green beans.

 

No beef wellington to compete with the lobster tail and no prime rib on final night, although it had appeared on the menu, only to be replaced with braised short rib at the table.

 

I do appreciate that food can be subjective, but my gripe is less to do with food itself and more to do with the removal of dishes and the overall reduction of choices.

 

There is no way that these changes are an enhancement. The wait staff were mostly embarrassed by it all and were encouraging folks to mention it in the survey.

 

In addition to this we experienced issues being seated consistently in same section. We were allocated to 5 different sections during the 9 nights and had to wait more than 40 minutes on 2 separate evenings, this was despite having reservations made for the same time every day at time of booking. We were only a 4 top and were never difficult in trying to get seated. 
I did note that select dining was allocated the larger lower dining room instead of the usual mezzanine upper level and did wonder if the additional select numbers might have been the cause???

 

The ship is in reasonable condition overall, although there is some general wear and tear due to age.

 

We did enjoy the cruise in spite of the MDR issues, but probably won’t be back with Celebrity anytime soon, unless there is an improvement. So sad and disappointing!

 

 

Exactly the same food being served 2 weeks ago on Silhouette. Dreadful presentation and choice compared to past experiences.  

[Cruise till you drop]

1 hour ago, jmfdr said:

Why, good food is one major reason to select a cruiseline.

And that’s exactly what Celebrity offere

[ECCruise]

44 minutes ago, rmalbers said:

I think that might have changed in the last year or so. 

That would really surprise me.  The whole reason that Royal controls shipments to all the ships is that they have their hands on the source and quality of most of the provisions.  With supply chains being what they have been recently, I would think that would be the absolute worst time to throw sourcing to hundreds of different providers worldwide. 

[Cruise till you drop]

4 hours ago, RichYak said:

Please stop attempting to silence those who have legitimate complaints. Everyone needs to be heard.

I’m all for people being heard but it just gets so repetitive from the same people and the same comments.  Getting kinda boring to be honest

[ChucktownSteve]

4 minutes ago, Cruise till you drop said:

I’m all for people being heard but it just gets so repetitive from the same people and the same comments.  Getting kinda boring to be honest

I don't read the Carnival board since I don't cruise them.  However I suppose they don't care about the food there or threads on it either?

[goofysmom99]

10 minutes ago, Cruise till you drop said:

I’m all for people being heard but it just gets so repetitive from the same people and the same comments.  Getting kinda boring to be honest

Yes, that's exactly right, Cruise till you drop.  Some people are extremely repetitive while actually adding no personal experience and/or actual description to a discussion.  But that's where the "ignore" button can be your friend (and mine).

[alexspepa]

Just off the Equinox a couple weeks ago… must agree with the OP regarding the food in the MDR. In fact the OP wrote my review for me.

However I must say the food in the buffet was very good! In fact I gave up on the MDR and ate most of my meals at the buffet…Beef Wellington one night, roast duck roast pork all very good.

But the food in the dining room pretty much sucked at dinner. Sorry if that offends some folks…

Edited October 12, 2023 by alexspepa
Correction

[NMTraveller]

5 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

Please Please Please let the madness stop and cease these endless threads about food 😖 

So what should we eat?

 

Bring our own food on board?

[Islander500]

7 hours ago, zanderblue said:

Sorry folks but I feel I need to vent a little. We had a poor experience on Solstice a couple of months ago, but the Infinity was worse.

 

Just off the Infinity this morning in Lisbon. Food choices from the menu in MDR were very poor.

Most evenings for appetisers it was 3 soups and 2 salads or vice versa, with possibly one other item; eggplant caviar and salmon tartar spring to mind. The usual ever present onion soup, shrimp cocktail and escargots disappeared randomly through the trip.

The entrees fared worse I thought. The menus changed late in the day with the substitute items poorly thought out. One night we had braised shin of veal on the menu, to be told at table that it was not available and was replaced by steak Diane. Only problem there was we were then left with…..

Steak Diane which was grilled sirloin steak with mushroom sauce

Steak n chips which was grilled sirloin steak with fries

and

New York strip which was grilled sirloin steak with vegetables

 

Most entrees came with green beans, carrots and mashed potato. Although one night broccoli replaced the green beans.

 

No beef wellington to compete with the lobster tail and no prime rib on final night, although it had appeared on the menu, only to be replaced with braised short rib at the table.

 

I do appreciate that food can be subjective, but my gripe is less to do with food itself and more to do with the removal of dishes and the overall reduction of choices.

 

There is no way that these changes are an enhancement. The wait staff were mostly embarrassed by it all and were encouraging folks to mention it in the survey.

 

In addition to this we experienced issues being seated consistently in same section. We were allocated to 5 different sections during the 9 nights and had to wait more than 40 minutes on 2 separate evenings, this was despite having reservations made for the same time every day at time of booking. We were only a 4 top and were never difficult in trying to get seated. 
I did note that select dining was allocated the larger lower dining room instead of the usual mezzanine upper level and did wonder if the additional select numbers might have been the cause???

 

The ship is in reasonable condition overall, although there is some general wear and tear due to age.

 

We did enjoy the cruise in spite of the MDR issues, but probably won’t be back with Celebrity anytime soon, unless there is an improvement. So sad and disappointing!

 

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. I for one appreciate hearing from someone who just got off a Celebrity ship rather than all the people who are suggesting you’re wrong when they weren’t on it with you.  Hope your next holiday totally meets your dining expectations!  

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, Cruise till you drop said:

I’m all for people being heard but it just gets so repetitive from the same people and the same comments.  Getting kinda boring to be honest

First of all, you don't seem to be for all people being heard, just some of them and only when it suits you. Second, it's already been pointed out that OP's post history doesn't fit your "same people" narrative. Lastly, your personal boredom doesn't give you the authority to censor the comments on this board.

 

People have legitimate concerns with and complaints about Celebrity and others seem unconcerned. They all have a right to post anything they want.

[mayleeman]

Stop making me scroll down the page reading things! 🙄

[Cruise till you drop]

30 minutes ago, RichYak said:

First of all, you don't seem to be for all people being heard, just some of them and only when it suits you. Second, it's already been pointed out that OP's post history doesn't fit your "same people" narrative. Lastly, your personal boredom doesn't give you the authority to censor the comments on this board.

 

People have legitimate concerns with and complaints about Celebrity and others seem unconcerned. They all have a right to post anything they want.

😴 💤 

[kwokpot]

2 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

I don't read the Carnival board since I don't cruise them.  However I suppose they don't care about the food there or threads on it either?

I'm on a Carnival cruise now, a 30 Day TP from Seattle to Brisbane on an old ship. The food has been surprisingly excellent. Lobster served at least 3x, prime rib multiple times, beef Wellington, and an exact menu has yet to be repeated as of day 27 (entrees and starters repeat but they are paired up differently and preparation is different).

The food has been superior to our Solstice cruise last February and on par to our cruise on the Apex in July. Quite frankly I'm a bit surprised. Some pictures of entrees throughout the current cruise. 

Edited October 12, 2023 by kwokpot

[RichYak]

4 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

I'm on a Carnival cruise now, a 30 Day TP from Seattle to Brisbane on an old ship. The food has been surprisingly excellent. Lobster served at least 3x, prime rib multiple times, beef Wellington, and the an exact menu has yet to be repeated as of day 27 (entrees and starters repeat but they are paired up differently and preparation is different).

The food has been superior to our Solstice cruise last February and on par to our cruise on the Apex in July. Quite frankly I'm a bit surprised. Some pictures of entrees throughout the current cruise. 

How about appetizers? Are there just soup and salad like on current X menus or actual prepared starter courses?

[kwokpot]

10 minutes ago, RichYak said:

How about appetizers? Are there just soup and salad like on current X menus or actual prepared starter courses?

There are definitely prepared starters/appetizers besides soups and salads 

Edited October 12, 2023 by kwokpot

[NMTraveller]

18 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

There are definitely prepared starters/appetizers besides soups and salads 

So how does Celebrity compare to Carnival like on the longer voyage that you are on in general?

[RichYak]

19 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

There are definitely prepared starters/appetizers besides soups and salads 

Geez, real starter courses. Well, I guess we can count on X's Michelin starred soups and salads to satisfy us.

[kwokpot]

27 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

So how does Celebrity compare to Carnival like on the longer voyage that you are on in general?

There's no comparison with the hard product, Celebrity ships, even their newest ships, don't have the modern, upscale decor. Their new ships are certainly a game changer for Carnival, but are more akin to NCLs Breakaway Class ships and nothing like Edge Class in terms of the design aesthetics and attention to detail. 

There's been plenty of scheduled activities although TBH we haven't participated in them. The production shows have been enjoyable. Interestingly enough they have a good solution for the onboard production show performers. As with other cruiselines each Carnival cruiseship might only be set-up for a certain rotation of production shows with full scenery and costumes. What Carnival decided to do on this long cruise is to supplement what this ship, the Luminosa, normally puts on by having the singers do the other shows as vocals only without scenery, costumes, or full choreography. This allows them to put on shows the ship doesn't normally present and gives the guests more entertainment. Smart idea!

 

Some random comparison since I just asked my cabin attendant the last day laundry can be sent in is by 10 am the day BEFORE disembarkation! Which means everyone will have same day laundry delivery. What that says to me is that logistically there's nothing to prevent Celebrity to offer the same kind of laundry service; they just choose not to. 

Edited October 12, 2023 by kwokpot

[kwokpot]

30 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

So how does Celebrity compare to Carnival like on the longer voyage that you are on in general?

We've done similar TPs on both Celebrity and Royal although not 30 days. Overall I still prefer Celebrity. Their buffet is without comparison to Carnival and Royal. 

[vjmatty]

9 hours ago, ECCruise said:

They're not.  They are provisioned in Miami, e.g., and shipped on containers generally to embarkation ports, where they are laded on. Provisions are usually ordered months in advance to account for transport time.

 

There are some exceptions to this, however.  When the ship(s) are in Australia and NZ, more of the products are locally provisioned.   

 

This information comes from several conversations with HDs and Executive chefs. 

Of course they do….have to make sure we don’t miss out on all the hormones and antibiotics injected into our food back home. We wouldn’t want anyone to get used to healthy food overseas. 

[zanderblue]

6 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

And that’s exactly what Celebrity offere

Yes, that’s what they offer, but have not delivered! 

[zanderblue]

5 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

I’m all for people being heard but it just gets so repetitive from the same people and the same comments.  Getting kinda boring to be honest

then don’t read the postings. Fell free to ignore me, that’s what I’ve done with you.

Edited October 12, 2023 by zanderblue

[tigervixxxen]

6 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

So what should we eat?

 

Bring our own food on board?

Bring a few of your favorite sauces and seasonings from home. It actually does make a difference. 

[cruisestitch]

13 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Really?  Hard to believe that ships can be outside the US for up to 9 months and all proteins are carried on board for so many months.

No they are restocked periodically