Celebrity's New Menu: I'm just the messenger.

[stereo]

I just read the new menus--is the food organic--are the chickens free range--is the rice brown rice--what is the quality of the tea --Teavana???--I only grill level 5 kobe beef--and eat whole grain pasta--If I can not get buttered(salt free) baby lima beans every night for my starter will I have to complain or jump ship--even if it is a TA

[celebritydave]

I have checked out the new menus and as long as the quality is there, I will be fine with the choices. However, I will miss the chilled soups - it was one of the things I looked forward to.

 

I am glad the lobster tail is back, can't wait to hear comments about that, hopefully they are good. I wonder if they still do the Celebrity dressing.......

 

Dave

[lailoken9]

I'm pretty dissappointed with the changes in Celebrity's menu, especially considering that they are justifying it by saying that more people are dining in specialty restaurants. The price of the specialty restaurants is going up (at lease I've noticed that Ocean Liners on the Constellation's price has risen since my last cruise). Things like that make me more inclined to dine in the main restaurant, not less.

 

I've only been on two cruises: one Celebrity, and one HAL. One of Celebrity's main strengths is its variety of choices and quality of service, which is why I booked my upcoming cruise with them. They had such a great regular menu at Main Dining on my last cruise with them, just hope they can keep that up for the next one!

[scotslizzy]

This is is one of our favourites and if they have all these lobsters on board why not keep lobster bisque on the menu?

 

Scotslizzy

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I know what you mean Linda ! While we are on the subject of Chocolate... please dont mess with the Chocolate Croissants. If they get any smaller, we will have to use tweezers to get them from the basket, instead of tongs ! Boy, do I love those... and it shows :)

 

Hi Andy!

 

Don't forget the almond croissants! I love both. They're my treats I only have when cruising Celebrity.

[Orlandocruiser]

I just read the new menus--is the food organic--are the chickens free range--is the rice brown rice--what is the quality of the tea --Teavana???--I only grill level 5 kobe beef--and eat whole grain pasta--If I can not get buttered(salt free) baby lima beans every night for my starter will I have to complain or jump ship--even if it is a TA

 

I very much doubt that the food is organic or free range. I really hope that you are joking (a few emoticons would be helpful here). If not you may need to reconsider that a cruise vacation is the right kind of vacation for

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I know it's not the menu, but it was a change. We were really bummed on the Century last September to learn they no longer bring the dessert tray so you could see what they look like. That was always a highlight of the meal.

 

One of our best waiters, Terek, years ago on the Infinity put on quite a show with the tray every evening. It was great fun. He would pretend to forget what things were. "I practice and practice and still I forget!" :)

 

I miss the dessert tray as well! Loved it when Carlos would show up with the tray and announce, "SHOWTIME!"

[takemewithyou]

I have checked out the new menus and as long as the quality is there, I will be fine with the choices. However, I will miss the chilled soups - it was one of the things I looked forward to.

 

I am glad the lobster tail is back, can't wait to hear comments about that, hopefully they are good. I wonder if they still do the Celebrity dressing.......

 

Dave

 

Oh YES! I love the Celebrity dressing! Last cruise we mentioned that it wasn't always offered much anymore and the Maitre'd said, for us, it would be available every night and it was! Love that dressing. Even got the recipe and have made it at home, but it's not quite the same as on the ship.

[Gonzo70]

I just read the new menus--is the food organic--are the chickens free range--is the rice brown rice--what is the quality of the tea --Teavana???--I only grill level 5 kobe beef--and eat whole grain pasta--If I can not get buttered(salt free) baby lima beans every night for my starter will I have to complain or jump ship--even if it is a TA

 

Level 5 Kobe? That cheap stuff if reserved for lesser cruise lines. Celebrity only serves A11. :D

[Gonzo70]

Hi Andy!

 

Don't forget the almond croissants! I love both. They're my treats I only have when cruising Celebrity.

 

Me too; I love those almond croissants. So happy they had them in Michael's last cruise for the Elite breakfast.

[dzcruisers]

I just read the new menus--is the food organic--are the chickens free range--is the rice brown rice--what is the quality of the tea --Teavana???--I only grill level 5 kobe beef--and eat whole grain pasta--If I can not get buttered(salt free) baby lima beans every night for my starter will I have to complain or jump ship--even if it is a TA

 

Be sure to take your life jacket when you jump ship!

[CHAMPAGNELASS]

Oh Dear ,

After looking at the new menus I think I might only put on 10 lbs during my 14 night Caribbean cruise on the Constellation in 3 weeks rather than the whole stone I was intending .

 

I might have to add in a couple more Martinis to up my calorie intake :D

[Goldiedog]

Does anybody know if they arecstill doing the French onion soup with the thick layer of cheese on which was available every night, it was lovely.

[fleckle]

.........Suggestion: for those who feel strongly about chilled soup... with advance notice - why not ask the Assistant Maitre 'd if it can be prepared for you ?. I'm not certain it can happen, but Celebrity tries very hard to accomodate their Guests. It never hurts to ask..

Your saying "Celebrity tries very hard to accomodate their Guests" just reminded me of an incident that occurred years ago on one of our first Celebrity cruises.

 

Someone had recommended a chocolate dessert with an unusual name that was only served in the dining room at lunch time. So the next time we had lunch in the dining room, we asked for it.

 

The waiter was very apologetic, explaining that they had run out of it. We said it was no problem and ordered something else.

 

Then the maitre d' came over, said they would make it for us and deliver it to our stateroom that night. He asked for our stateroom number. We refused to give it to him, assuring him that the dessert we had was fine, it was no big deal and we would just order the other dessert another time.

That was the end of it -- or so we thought.

 

The following night we were seated at dinner in a different part of the dining room with a different wait staff. At the end of the meal, they surprised us, bringing out that chocolate dessert, not just for us but for everyone at our table!

 

By that time, we didn't even really want the dessert, but just the fact that they would go to all that trouble really made an impression.

[Gothic]

Oh WOW. This makes me VERY unhappy. Celebrity usually has the edge when I book, but if this is the case, Princess will be my "first go to" from here out.

 

 

Surely there has to be something out there better than Princess? I'm not sure whether I'd put Princess or NCL at the very bottom of my list - maybe I'll just let them fight it out for lowest position.

[buggins0402]

Paged through all the menus but can't recall if all the chilled soups were totally removed. If so, kind of wondering why they didn't leave one or two on a menu or two. Perhaps the "temperature" is too difficult to control for mass servings and some of the Noro virus outbreaks might have indicated that as a problem. Just a guess.

 

Not a chilled soup fan - but seem to recall them at the aquaspa cafe for lunch? Not sure though.

[Lsimon]

I just read the new menus--is the food organic--are the chickens free range--is the rice brown rice--what is the quality of the tea --Teavana???--I only grill level 5 kobe beef--and eat whole grain pasta--If I can not get buttered(salt free) baby lima beans every night for my starter will I have to complain or jump ship--even if it is a TA

 

About the only item on your list that is available on the ship is whole grain pasta. They don't even have true 100% whole grain bread on board (someone please tell me I've just been missing where to look for this). They do have good organic tea at the coffee bar - at $4 extra per cup. I just bring my own organic tea.

 

Level 5 Kobe? That cheap stuff if reserved for lesser cruise lines. Celebrity only serves A11. :D

 

Gonzo you're wrong.. They don't serve A11, they serve A1 and I think they have worcester and HP sauce as well!:rolleyes:

[Gonzo70]

Gonzo you're wrong.. They don't serve A11, they serve A1 and I think they have worcester and HP sauce as well!:rolleyes:

 

A11 Kobe with A1 steak sauce would be an interesting combo. :D

[seeitallb4udie]

Does "familiarity breed contempt" here to use a phrase

 

If you did not know you could previously get x or y how happy would you be with these menus?

 

Just a thought, wonder what a first time cruiser who has never seen the previous menus would make of these - maybe the economics are focussing attention on starting to grow a new market; maybe the reported demographics of some of the cruises is causing a forward think to target a younger audience?

 

And we all know the only person who likes change is a baby ..........

 

i qualify (my only cruise was URBC in '94, emphasis was on the music and beverages, not the food).

i love cold soups and would definitely order escargot on occassion, so i was getting sad. then i clicked on the links to the PDF's of the menu's. it all sounds so good, i'm certain i will want to order more than my tummy will allow every evening. so had i not gone here, i would have been quite happy in my ignorance. in fact, since we're cruising alaska, i'm not certain cold soups were on their menus.

bottom line, everything on the 'new' menus beats the food truck items i had for lunch today (and they were pretty good)

[frediver]

Lets get back to the Lowly POTATO.

I read post 152 and the letter from management.

also notice a post or two below it where the waite staff had to chase down a POTATO on a different deck/dining room.

Who came up with the idea to remove the POTATO, lets just say it, it is a STUPID idea. How can I say that and be PC," less that idea solution for a problem that does not exist".

A simple Baked POTATO will be accepted by ( pic a # ) 90% of the public

when other items might not.

It is always a good idea to try new things but some reliable standby's must remain and the POTATO fills to many menu gaps to be eliminated.

[buggins0402]

One thing I noticed that was missing also - was the fruit based appetiser on changing menus. There is one on everyday. DH used to like to order those for dessert. But, overall I guess we're in the camp that the menus are an improvement.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Your saying "Celebrity tries very hard to accomodate their Guests" just reminded me of an incident that occurred years ago on one of our first Celebrity cruises.

 

Someone had recommended a chocolate dessert with an unusual name that was only served in the dining room at lunch time. So the next time we had lunch in the dining room, we asked for it.

 

The waiter was very apologetic, explaining that they had run out of it. We said it was no problem and ordered something else.

 

Then the maitre d' came over, said they would make it for us and deliver it to our stateroom that night. He asked for our stateroom number. We refused to give it to him, assuring him that the dessert we had was fine, it was no big deal and we would just order the other dessert another time.

That was the end of it -- or so we thought.

 

The following night we were seated at dinner in a different part of the dining room with a different wait staff. At the end of the meal, they surprised us, bringing out that chocolate dessert, not just for us but for everyone at our table!

 

By that time, we didn't even really want the dessert, but just the fact that they would go to all that trouble really made an impression.

 

You have to be careful what you wish for at dinner. :D I asked my waiter how come there was no rum raisin ice cream for desert. Next thing I knew, I got rum raisin ice cream for dessert every night, no matter what else I ordered. He would just bring both!

[tuggers]

Wow! CC just told me I haven't been on here since 12/28/11! (Had lots of company since - one for 7 1/2 weeks! At what point do they stop being 'company'?? :D)

It seems like what brought me back was one of the many emails I rec'd on this subject and this thread in particular! FOOD! We all get involved when our X food is messed with!

Haven't read the whole thread yet but, like Linda, I am a big fan of the cold soups! Hope my faves will still be around!

Amen on the be careful what you ask for in the dining room! I have been the recipient of some of that 'kindness'!

[johnb0529]

You have to be careful what you wish for at dinner. :D I asked my waiter how come there was no rum raisin ice cream for desert. Next thing I knew, I got rum raisin ice cream for dessert every night, no matter what else I ordered. He would just bring both!

 

you have to love the waiters that go above and beyond...

 

on a 21 day family cruise of 12, we had a waitress that no matter what we ordered for dinner, would bring out extras, family style. So every night we had extra of each course brought out and just placed on the table, so everyone could try a bite of everything....and for desert, she didn't even take orders, just brought out a selection of every desert so you could try 3-4 different things every night.

 

the favorites were fettuccine and lobster tails! who can complain when the table gets a dozen extra lobster tails!

[johnb0529]

Wow! CC just told me I haven't been on here since 12/28/11! (Had lots of company since - one for 7 1/2 weeks! At what point do they stop being 'company'?? :D)

It seems like what brought me back was one of the many emails I rec'd on this subject and this thread in particular! FOOD! We all get involved when our X food is messed with!

Haven't read the whole thread yet but, like Linda, I am a big fan of the cold soups! Hope my faves will still be around!

Amen on the be careful what you ask for in the dining room! I have been the recipient of some of that 'kindness'!

 

I know the feeling, my parents just left after a 4 week visit and are headed back again in a couple weeks :eek:

 

Luckily several years ago, they stopped being guests and now just have a room and come and go, as they want! But it does distract your daily routine!