goofysmom99

I'm being vewy, vewy quiet but I have a call into my TA.

I'm shaking my head as I type this. Just when I thought the current MDR menus surely must have reached the bottom, nope, seems they weren't/aren't done yet. Checked this week's Connie menu and for Night 6, they deleted the Irish stew and substituted tilapia. Big sigh. I don't even want to bother sending emails to X anymore. They win.

I no longer book suites (SS or CS) because of their bathtubs. Even though I receive free beverage, wifi, room service, and laundry, those things won't make up for terrible MDR food. So, along with some other folks here, for the most part, I'll be paying more for more somewhere else. One nice benefit I've discovered researching other lines is most of the premium lines have fair solo supplements (not X's 100%). I know X won't miss me, nor I them in their present state. I will miss what they used to be, though (2022 and earlier).

The only other mains are the classics - grilled chicken breast (it's always dry), salmon, and "steak" (if you've had the steak before, you'll understand the quotes). And they come with mashed potatoes. Mmmm... 😉 The current menus are readily available to peruse on the app. Check any current M or S class sailing. If you don't know how to find them, just ask. E-class menus do look better, at least for now.

There is also Irish stew (boiled potatoes) on this menu, so except for the mashed potatoes, the carbs are the mains. Yum.

You're in luck. Since it isn't a highlight, you shouldn't be disappointed.

I just checked current menu on Constellation. The only gluten free choices most nights are the classics (which DO come with a yummy, cafeteria-style scoop of potatoes). I've successfully and happily cruised GF on X since being diagnosed with celiac 15 years ago. A menu like the one shown here means OVC or specialty for me. The turkey is GF by substituting a tasty scoop of potatoes. BTW, specialty on M-class is Tuscan. Period. LPC is silly for someone with celiac. The MDR classic salmon is pretty good but chicken is universally dry, "steak" is tough even if it's rare (and they have a very hard time with rare). I don't want to be stuck with salmon most nights; I make that often enough at home, and without the scoop of potatoes. The M-class and S-class MDR dinner menus right now, not some unknown future menu, are unacceptable. If this menu looks "OK" to you, then our standards for a MDR dinner are certainly oceans apart.

Doors on Constellation don't stay open so take a doorstop. It's tough to hold the door open and stay out the way of the scooter.

I had an accessible cabin on Constellation (dead center aft) on last year's TA. I ended up raising a bit of a fuss so I could actually use my scooter; both the port and starboard corridors were often clogged with wheelchairs/walkers/scooters. The users seemed to go to bed pretty early and just left them out in the hallways. Staff began enforcing a bit better afterwards.

The reason I had to fit mine into my concierge cabin on Constellation is that they would not let me leave it in the hallway earlier this year (and I'm a zenith).

You should be able to do it in a concierge cabin (larger than standard veranda) by pushing the bed as close to the little sofa as it can go. You'd then park it beside the bathroom side of the bed. It will NOT go past the foot of the bed and absolutely won't work in a standard veranda cabin. I've done it in a concierge cabin but just know it's very, very cozy and whoever sleeps on the bathroom side of the bed has to thread the needle to get to the bathroom. Also, bring a doorstop. So the answer is "no," there is not enough room in a standard balcony on Constellation.

When cruising restarted in 2021, I had amazing butler service for 8 cruises (4 CS & 4 SS)....of course there were only 200-500 pax aboard and 1000+ crew. Then I stayed on for a 9th - a short, full, Thanksgiving cruise. Butler service took a nosedive. I had the same one I'd had for the 8 previous cruises; he was slammed and kept apologizing to me when breakfast was late and continuing to apologize whenever he saw me in the hallway. I asked him if he couldn't just let room service handle it for him; "no" not allowed (I'm hoping room service will be how it's handled now, anyway). BTW, other than daily breakfast service, I can think of only one other butler-specific request I made in 50 nights. But that was then. I have a hunch that severely cutting back butlers on fully-booked 7-night (or shorter) cruises probably isn't going to be such a great change for anyone, pax or crew. But, at the moment, I have no dog in this fight so I'll pop some popcorn and watch how it plays out in real time.

I especially love the line, "...we constantly seek opportunities to elevate our already incredible offerings." And then to offer you that itinerary as your "opportunity." Takes a lot of brass.

It's showing as being there on tonight's Equinox Murano menu on the app. And the next cruise. Those are all I checked. I'm hoping that maybe they're changing from the previous listed warm water lobster to the cold water version. That's a daydream many of us have been hoping for.

Usually only very late. Very early is high demand.

I noticed that about Silhouette too. All the other non E-class ships' menus for current cruises look pretty sad indeed. Silhouette's look good right now. I have a 16 night cruise on Connie in Nov and if menus then are as bad as they are right now, it's going to be a looong 16 nights.

I've learned to never trust menus until quite close to the cruise date, a week or two at most. We're fully three months out.

We have no idea what the Connie menus will be in November. I am looking at this week's actual menus. And agree Tuscan is only marginally better than MDR, but at least it has some better gluten free choices. I usually like their tuna when they don't overcook rare. And since I have a stupid amount of OBC, might as well spend some there.

OK, I just opened the app to the current Constellation MDR menus; they are absolutely pitiful, especially if you have to avoid wheat. Heck, they're pitiful no matter what. Take a look, it isn't my imagination. The E-class menus look pretty good. Checked the Silhouette current menu and it's way better than the Constellation. My upcoming 16-night M-class cruise is most assuredly my last on M-class....there are only so many times I'm willing to go to Tuscan = 5 out of 16 (Le Petit Chef is a not a good choice for gluten free). I do wonder why the Constellation MDR menus are such a wasteland compared others; didn't check the other M-class ships (too depressed at Connie menus 🫢).

I've been sailing mostly on X for a long time but the latest round of price increases and food cuts prompted me to look at premium lines for the first time. Found out they have real solo supplement fares making it possible for me to book two different lines for 2024 at ~50% of the equivalent (SS) on X. I've also booked four cruises on X in C2/V2 cabins, but adding on specialty restaurants most nights. How they compare for value will determine where I spend money in 2025. Guess I should add, I dined in MDR for B2B in Oct/Nov and Luminae B2B in Feb/Mar and thought all the food was just not up to par.

I no longer sail in suites (previously either SS or CS; RS and above too $$), Now I choose veranda cabins. Nevertheless, I'm unhappy about the Team Butler plan. It goes along with the angst I've felt this year from Oceanview dinner cut backs, MDR cutbacks, prime rib/talapia brouhaha, room service fee, and vaping. I doubt I've ever written as many "concerned" emails in my entre life as I have to Celebrity management since January. In the words of the immortal Roseanne Roseannadanna: "It's always something."

Used Nord on the Constellation with Starlink in November, Slowed it down some but still usable.

Terry, back in the day, I always thought I'd hit the jackpot if I saw the same flight surgeon two times in a row.

Wow, that really stinks!

The ice cream is made from scratch. The gelato is from a base they buy that is not gluten free (more than trace). If you have celiac, that matters. Maybe they've bought a new brand but because I have celiac, no way I'd chance gelato until I'd verified with Food & Beverage Mgr.