Quality of celebrity food - is it declining

My comment is not about a particular Celebrity cruise, but more to do with the quality of the meals and where they have been trending over the past decade.

My wife and I recently sailed on an eastbound Trans-Atlantic trip on the Queen Mary 2, and the quality of the food made me think, once again, about how the food in the Celebrity ships has been declining since Michel Roux left in 2007.

Our first cruise was in Summit in 2003, and the food, both in the Main Dining Room and in the specialty dining room, was, to put it mildly, superb. Even the buffet line was a pleasure. Not only that, but lobster and giant shrimp were staples on the MDR menu, and could be ordered off the menu if desired. The same held true for our cruise on Constellation in 2006, making us (along with the service in general and the quality of the cabin and bar staffs in particular) committed Celebrity cruisers.

In 2009, we sailed in the Constellation again, and noticed that the food was, well, not quite as good. The food on the buffet tended to be left too long, the range and quality of food in the MDR was not quite as good, although you could still order delectables off menu, and the food (and the service, unfortunately) in the specialty restaurant left much to be desired. Admittedly, this cruise had a bunch of problems, due to measures to control Norovirus (which was not present but had apparently been a problem on the previous voyage). We addressed this issue with the Purser and later in a letter to Celebrity, but the Purser, who appeared to be as upset as we were, was unable to do anything at the time, and Celebrity never replied, except in platitudes, to our letter of concern.

In 2010, we sailed on RCCL's Explorer of the Seas, and found the food as good as, or better than, what we experienced on our previous trip on Constellation.

In 2011, on Summit (again), the food, once more, was acceptable but not exciting. The meat tended to be drab in flavour and vegetables were generally slightly overdone. Again, ordering off menu was not done, and decent (and, perhaps, extravagant, but still ... this was a luxury cruise) seafood such as lobster never appeared on the menu. We discussed this with the maitre d', but there was no improvement. After talking to out tablemates, we decided not to eat in the specialty restaurant, because they indicated that the food and service were not worth the extra cost.

Finally, in 2011, we sailed in Century to Hawaii. The food was good, but not much, if any, improved from what we had been getting used to. The buffet was boring and mundane. The same problems persisted with flavour and doneness, although I do have to say that the hamburgers by the pool were excellent, and we actually ate there a couple of times in preference to the MDR.

So, the bottom line is, the quality and range of food on Celebrity's ships has, in my wife's and my opinions, been gradually deteriorating over the years. I am wondering if it is only us, or if other cruisers have noticed the same thing.

Please do not take from this that we are unhappy overall with Celebrity. We have enjoyed sailing on their ships, every trip has been a dream, and we have consistently fouond the sevice and attitudes of the staff to far exceed that found on the other cruise lines with which we have sailed. We will quite happily sail with Celebrity again, likely doing a Greek Island cruise this summer or next.:)

Back in the days, Celebrity was trying to attract more "upper middle" travellers with beautiful ships and they used food as a marketing tool....they felt that folks would choose Celebrity for their reputation for excellent cuisine.

That's changed as Celebrity has grown and competition has grown. In today's world, there is price competition between HAL, Princess, RCL and Celebrity and the distinction between the cruise lines has become more cloudy. With their new ships, Celebrity must attract over 800,000 passengers a year to board, but they can't do that effectively if they raise their prices.....they are also trying to compete globally with a whole different set of cruise lines. As a result, rather than using food as a featured reason to sail on Celebrity, they are focused more on the total experience including little smoking and few PA announcements. They have also maintained the price model which they are now abandoning in the hope that people will get used to higher prices, made less painful with promotions...which lets them brag that they have raised their prices...invest in us Wall Street...and of course Michael Bayley can claim to have increased average cruise day fees without talking about promotion costs. Along the way, the focus is on increasing the bottom line...common for any corporation. So we see less someliers and waiters/etc in the dining rooms, we see the food quality being reduced to the minimum needed to maintain some image, etc. There is no surprise in any of this.

Yes, food quality has declined....food preparation has become cooking to the lowest common denominator rather than seasoning to the way it should be seasoned and so on. It's become almost difficult to order wine at dinner, just recently a change in offerings at the aqua spa cafe....recently a change to stop paying for your hotel between B2B cruises, etc. Very few (are there any?) pluses...lots of cut expense items.

Personally, we will soon be migrating to the next level of cruise lines/ships...or we will just give up on ocean cruising (we've done a great deal) and focus on river cruises and land trips where you actually see and experience more rather than "sampling" sites and fooling oneself that you've seen them....eg. Florence in a day...give me a break!

New cruise lines or offerings will occur if there is a market gap. Celebrity has chosen to go on the cheap due, IMHO, to overcapacity and the newest ships focus on changes to improve revenue rather than customer comfort (reflection)...and the food, also IMHO has changed dramatically from "back then". I suppose one could buy the ultimate dining package, but if you are going to spend the money for that and a suite, why are you on a Celebrity ship at all.....just go on a nicer ship with better food, etc. Blu fills the gap a bit, but it's variable, the food on the Millennium earlier this year being much too salty (for everyone).

GH

Things really haven't changed that much since we started cruising Celebrity in 1993. Some areas, like the buffet have really improved, and perhaps the MDR is not as great as those early days of X. The addition of alternative restaurants is a huge improvement!

I will say that the overall quality of beef has declined over the past two years. The beef is tender, but lacks flavor. Just like Holland America, Celebrity is now offering "sauces" to cover up the fact that they have gone to inferior meat. The Lawn Grill uses three sauces; Murano is now serving that awful filet medallion Wellington thing. :p

Dollar for dollar, you can't beat Celebrity's cuisine compared to their competition, however, it has a long way to go to catch up to a foodie line like Oceania. (Yum!)

Enjoy!

Kel:)

I was mostly pleased with the main dining room meals that I experienced on my recent Eclipse cruise. The last two dinners in the dining room were exceptions. Some rather odd offerings: a Chickpea-Spinach Tomato soup that was terrible; a trout entree in which the trout had been split in half length-wise with a potato puree(i.e. mashed potatoes) placed in the center of the two halfs and the pieces of the fish put back together again. Flavor was lacking and the presentation was poor. Celebrity does not do chilled soups well at all. After being disappointed a few times, I stopped ordering them. One would expect that the final dining experiences would be ones that the cruise line would want to be as good as possible. That was not the case for me, however.

On the other hand, Murano and Tuscan Grill were wonderful dining experiences in all aspects.

I have only cruised Celebrity since 2007 so have no comparison to what it was like "back in the days" lol But it really seems to us that the food has improved - especially with the new menus that came out last year. We were especially happy with the food on our 29 Nt Infinity cruise - all of it good and a lot that was excellent.

Some areas, like the buffet have really improved, and perhaps the MDR is not as great as those early days of X. The addition of alternative restaurants is a huge improvement!

Considering the increased costs faced by Celebrity and other lines, it's no surprise that there has been some slippage in the quality of the food. Then again, I think that there may be a somewhat less discerning and demanding customer base as well.

The alternative restaurants are both a curse and a blessing in my view. While it's wonderful to have the option of such dining, it has removed any pressure on the lines to maintain their former high standards in the MDR. Consequently, one now pays a premium for what once would have been considered normal shipboard dining, or face average food at best in the MDR.

I can't speak for Celebrity but it seems like this is becoming a common topic every so often on all the lines . We have been on a few different ones and for us personally we saw a change around 2007 or so. I've made the comment to my wife that we don't talk about the food anymore to our friends . Which used to be one of the first things we bragged about when we got back. :(

I've made the comment to my wife that we don't talk about the food anymore to our friends . Which used to be one of the first things we bragged about when we got back. :(

Wonderful! :) That says it all!!!

I thought it was quite good on the Century on our Hawaii cruise a couple of weeks ago, especially the fish preparation. Nice presentation, good taste. We could have skipped Murano because we enjoyed the main dining room very much.

This was my 29th cruise since 1977 including some top of the line ships. It's amazing how good Century was for the price which hasn't changed much per day in years.

I really enjoy reading your posts. U seem to have a lot of knowledge about cruising and u tell it like it is. Anyone who has not seen a decline in food on all the mass market lines is only fooling themselves. They haveto keep the price low because of all the cabins they have to fill,and they have cut back on everything and that is why Im going on oceana next month. Im paying alot more but i can afford it. The mass market lines are great for customers who care about low prices and they still have a decent time but I care about great food. Its an important part of cruising for us, and for a lot of other people it is not. Glad we have choices.

We hope it is not so, 1st X cruise in 1992, last one 2000, booked on Reflection for this Nov. Ruby Princess last Nov was on par with NCL, which surprised us. Last 5,6,7 yrs on RCCL have been very good MDR food, and Chops has been outstanding.

Understand that food is very subjective....some might argue that the food has improved, others like the current style of seasoning, etc. I've stated my view...and it is, of course, just my view.

We cruised on Celebrity in 2001 and were wowed by the food. We just got off the Equinox on Monday and were also wowed by the Aqua Class food in Blu:)

Others we met stated that the food in the main dining room was very good

The buffet food was exceptionally good at lunchtime, but the breakfast buffet was no comparison to Blu's sit down breakfast.

The buffet in 2001 on the Infinity was nowhere near as good as the buffet on the Equinox

Room service food was debatable Rubbery hash browns Other than that, everything was good

Aqua spa food very good as well

I have sailed 3 times in the past year....Summit, Silhouette, and Infinity. Food is usually okay. It can vary. Fish is okay when it is fresh. The salmon is excellent. It is on the left hand side of the menu. You can order it anytime. I also like the caesar salad, onion soup, and cheese cake.....all offered any night. On my last cruise, roast beef was offered 3 times. It was different each time. One night it was bad. The other nights, it was very good. My favorite dinner is the coq au vin. Ask your server for suggestions. They usually know what is good. Food in the MDR is better than a few years ago. It is decent. It is not gourmet. For gourmet food, sail on a premium line.

Well the food has changed for sure- but has it declined- well some say yes , some no. I found it to be still very good. There were a few service issues on my last Eclipse cruise- and I still think the Millenium Class Ships have just the right size for me. Anyhow I can´t wait to get the QM 2 experience again - well in Britannia Class mind- neither Princess nor Grill Class- way to expensive! In the former years of Cunard I would have been a 3 rd Class Passenger ( well one with a balcony though)

Michael

We have tended to avoid the MDR because it's just not the same as when we first started cruising, and that wasn't all that long ago. We like the specialty restaurants but have noticed similar slippage there even as prices rise. We think that the specialty restaurants now deliver a product similar to what we used to enjoy in the MDR.

Since we're taking our son on our upcoming Summit cruise, we'll be spending most of the trip in the MDR unless we have him eat with the kids' club on a night or two. I guess we'll get acquainted with what it's like now and decide whether or not to go for the Ultimate Specialty package on our Silhouette B2B without him.

The food is great, because I got no where else to go when on board :D

The style of food and how its cooked, should go oevr board, and change. I cannot take something that is smothered with super sauce, on everything you eat Oh just order it dry, no, the Chef needs to take cooking classes. and learn to cook a better way. a Newer style without killing it with this and that.

Deserts are a joke, the classics are of a pre mix and clearly better than the same cake with a different name other nights, putting a different topping on, or substituting gel for a missing strawberry, when new one's came on board the other day....

Ah the food yes , times change quality lies in the Help, and it is fair to say. careful what you order, not all love what you like. so yes it is

different strokes for different folks

time for old fashion caffeen .

Things really haven't changed that much since we started cruising Celebrity in 1993. Some areas, like the buffet have really improved, and perhaps the MDR is not as great as those early days of X. The addition of alternative restaurants is a huge improvement!

I will say that the overall quality of beef has declined over the past two years. The beef is tender, but lacks flavor. Just like Holland America, Celebrity is now offering "sauces" to cover up the fact that they have gone to inferior meat. The Lawn Grill uses three sauces; Murano is now serving that awful filet medallion Wellington thing. :p

Dollar for dollar, you can't beat Celebrity's cuisine compared to their competition, however, it has a long way to go to catch up to a foodie line like Oceania. (Yum!)

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

I agree with Kel. We cruise on Celebrity a couple of times a year and I think the foodi is ok . Dollar for dollar Celebrtity beats their competition. If I wanted a luxe experience I would go with a luxury cruise line. You get what you pay for.

I would say overall the graph for the food in the MDR has been slightly downwards, but every so often it surprises me and is better. I'm not sure if this has something to do with the way the exec chef is able to do more with the ingredients he has. One of my main issues when it's not so good is that there seems to be too much salt used.

Phil

I agree with Kel. We cruise on Celebrity a couple of times a year and I think the foodi is ok . Dollar for dollar Celebrtity beats their competition. If I wanted a luxe experience I would go with a luxury cruise line. You get what you pay for.

I'd agree there, but sometimes I think Celebrity try to fancy it up too much. The food in the buffet has been excellent the last few times. After a long day in port it is sometimes just more appealing to graze on some simple, but tasty food. I have asked for some of the veggies to come from the buffet down to the MDR in the evening and found them much nicer.

Phil

I just love the food on Carnival. However, I did enjoy the food on Celebrity last year. We will be cruising on the Millennium in a few weeks but we are in Aqua so we will be eating in Blu this time. I hope that turns out to be a good choice for us.

I find the food quality dependent on the ship we are sailing on. We sailed Summit in October 2011 and the food in the MDR was not that good - quality wise - not menu wise.

Then we sailed Silhouette, March 2012 - the food in the MDR was fantastic and reminded us of when we first started to cruise.

Then we sailed Summit in October 2012 and the food was not as good as Silhouette but still better than the Summit October 2011 cruise. So we have found that it's hit and miss.

All 3 sailings were from Bayonne, NJ.

I don't know why they cannot seem to keep the same quality across all ships in the fleet.

.................... Ultimate Specialty package on our Silhouette B2B without him.

Have you noticed that Celebrity have the ULTIMATE Specialty Package on the Century and Connie but on all the others ships it is called the UNLIMITED Specialty Dining package. Why the inconsistency?

We went on a two night cruise with QM2 last year. Found the food quality in the MDR similar to X. Food in the buffet however was a nightmare...

Just my opinion ... we've been cruising on Celebrity at least a couple of times a year for the last five years or so. We noticed the food seemed to decline a little around 2010 or 2011. Some odd choices on the menu, no lobster on the menu (even though I don't order it).

However, our last couple of cruises have seen some improvement. I believe there were some cost reductions put in place a few years back during the depths of the recession. But I have also heard from some of the F&B managers that the food budgets have since been increased due to customer feedback. FWIW.