Price Increase - Bistro on 5 & Specialities

[CruisingChick]

We just came back from Bermuda on the Summit and ate in the Normandy on Monday the first formal night and it was maybe one third full while we ate there at 700PM. Service was not great the food was nothing special. The dining experience that we were promised when the Summit first introduced the Normandy is no longer an experience . It is just a dinner. Blu was much better with better service .

 

That is so sad. We loved the M Class Specialty Restaurants when the ships were new. They use to have a harpist and the cheese cart course and the nice synchronized service. I remember they use to prepare some dishes table side - steak diane comes to mind. They raised the price and it's no where nearly as good and not an "experience" as it once was.

[Gracie115]

We just came back from Bermuda on the Summit and ate in the Normandy on Monday the first formal night and it was maybe one third full while we ate there at 700PM. Service was not great the food was nothing special. The dining experience that we were promised when the Summit first introduced the Normandy is no longer an experience . It is just a dinner. Blu was much better with better service .

 

Unfortunately that was our experience on the Connie at Ocean Liner's....would rather eat in Blu...!!!:)

[Turtles06]

That is so sad. We loved the M Class Specialty Restaurants when the ships were new. They use to have a harpist and the cheese cart course and the nice synchronized service. I remember they use to prepare some dishes table side - steak diane comes to mind. They raised the price and it's no where nearly as good and not an "experience" as it once was.

 

I can't speak to how things were "back then," but our dinner last fall at SS United States on the Infinity was wonderful. Excellent food, and impeccable service.

[CruisingChick]

I can't speak to how things were "back then," but our dinner last fall at SS United States on the Infinity was wonderful. Excellent food, and impeccable service.

 

We've only been on Infinity once - back in 2004 - and I absolutely LOVED SS United States!!! Wish we could get back on that ship. But it just doesn't seem to be going where I am.

 

Glad you had excellent food and impeccable service.

[ISABELLA]

I had one dinner at the Murano during our Caribbean sailing in April.

Food was good, but not exceptional, service was very good, and restaurant was not full at 6: 30 - 7, but got filled up around 8 PM. I would not eat there more than once, unless you like to dine for 3 hours and have several servers around you all the time.

We had wonderful meals and fantastic service in MDR on our sailing.

[gimletgal]

They should call it bistro on 7 now :D

 

Why would they do that? It is still on Deck 5. The $7 charge has nothing to do with the location. It is NOT on Deck 7.

[MicCanberra]

Why would they do that? It is still on Deck 5. The $7 charge has nothing to do with the location. It is NOT on Deck 7.

I had the same thoughts.:D

Bistro is not too bad as it is still only $7, but as for the others, I feel the pricing of these specialty restuarants to be a bit too high now. Where I was tempted to go on more than just special occasions, now I think they have gone too far. The food in the NDR is still very good and if that standard deteriates they will lose more cruisers to other lines than have people go to the specialty restaurants. My opinion anyway.:D

[4cats4me]

That is so sad. We loved the M Class Specialty Restaurants when the ships were new. They use to have a harpist and the cheese cart course and the nice synchronized service. I remember they use to prepare some dishes table side - steak diane comes to mind. They raised the price and it's no where nearly as good and not an "experience" as it once was.

 

 

We had the same wonderful experience in 2001 at SS United States on the Infinity Loved the cheese cart and the steak Diane

[Cruise Junky]

Has the cheese cart gone away on some ships? We enjoyed it last week on Solstice.

[TommyD3]

We just came back from Bermuda on the Summit and ate in the Normandy on Monday the first formal night and it was maybe one third full while we ate there at 700PM. Service was not great the food was nothing special. The dining experience that we were promised when the Summit first introduced the Normandy is no longer an experience . It is just a dinner. Blu was much better with better service .

 

I agree.

We dined in Ocean Liners on the Connie last month.

The restaurant was 2/3 full.

They had one lady serving the bread and iced tea to the ENTIRE restaurant.

We used to get 4-5 of the wonderful baguettes - not this time :(

For $50 pp I would expect the service to be BETTER than the MDR - not this time.

 

Tuscan had MUCH better food and service.

The previous price made Tuscan affordable - dont think any of the specialties are affordable now:(

[The_Big_M]

I don't mean this to be flip.....but does anyone actually pay the full price at specialty restaurants? We don't eat at them often, but with the exception of bistro on 5, we seem to constantly get offers on our cruises in the range of 20-25% off. That doesn't necessarily change the arguments here....but if you want to talk value vs MDR and such, then I'd figure Murano/Tuscan/.... at least 20% off the "posted price"

 

A fair number do.

 

Don't forget that all those who book online in advance will be paying the full price.

[The_Big_M]

That is so sad. We loved the M Class Specialty Restaurants when the ships were new. They use to have a harpist and the cheese cart course and the nice synchronized service. I remember they use to prepare some dishes table side - steak diane comes to mind. They raised the price and it's no where nearly as good and not an "experience" as it once was.

 

Agreed, the experience back then was superb. (Though I still remember a debate on here at the time arguing that it was not "fine dining." ;):D). It was a very memorable experience, and the surcharge was worth it.

 

Now you pay more, and the quality is better than the also lower-grade MDR... but doesn't justify the extra charge imo.

 

I haven't been for some time... I don't want to spoil my memories. :-) Of course, if they did make it an exceptional experience, than you could argue the price is justified.

[MicCanberra]

A fair number do.

 

Don't forget that all those who book online in advance will be paying the full price.

Not if they are buying the specialty restaurant packages, they offer a discount.:D

[insidecabin]

Take off the missed meal price from the special restaurant price & then all of us could afford it :D:p

 

The total food costs on the ship will be less than $15pppd and that feeds the crew and the food costs in the special.

 

MDR dinner is what % of that? probably $5 max.

[ThursdaysChild]

We were on the Honolulu to Vancouver portion of that cruise and got 20% off both Tuscan Grille and Murano. You just had to ask

 

I was back to back as well and every day it seemed there was someone offering discounts for the Specialty Restaurants. We got Silk Harvest at 50% off on 4/11, and were offered Murano or Tuscan at 50% off on 4/28, but declined as we had dinner ashore. We got 25% off Murano later in the cruise and had offers at various times for 30% off all the specialty restaurants.

 

I think that, as Guy Bavli pointed out in one of his presentations, that positive energy attracts positive results and the reverse is true. I met far too many people during my 28 days who seemed negative about every aspect of the cruise and had a miserable time. My friend and I often laughed and wondered if they were on the same cruise we were.:rolleyes: :confused:

[Cruise Junky]

I was back to back as well and every day it seemed there was someone offering discounts for the Specialty Restaurants. We got Silk Harvest at 50% off on 4/11, and were offered Murano or Tuscan at 50% off on 4/28, but declined as we had dinner ashore. We got 25% off Murano later in the cruise and had offers at various times for 30% off all the specialty restaurants.

 

I think that, as Guy Bavli pointed out in one of his presentations, that positive energy attracts positive results and the reverse is true. I met far too many people during my 28 days who seemed negative about every aspect of the cruise and had a miserable time. My friend and I often laughed and wondered if they were on the same cruise we were.:rolleyes: :confused:

 

Great deals! Sadly some people always have something negative to spread :rolleyes: We had an absolute blast

[The_Big_M]

Not if they are buying the specialty restaurant packages, they offer a discount.:D

 

Then they're buying a package, not the individual restaurant booking itself. And as a result, pay more.

 

Celebrity says : Ka-ching. :D

[curtdesilets]

Being that Century, the "ugly duckling" ship of the fleet, only has one Specialty Restaurant (Murano), things are a bit different. They do quite well with their only fancy restaurant.

 

We took our parents on the Century about a month ago. Although the MDR food was quite good (not excellent), the Murano experience was superb.

 

Presentation, service and food was top notch, and it was worth the price.

 

Even if it went up from $45 to $50, it's worth it for Murano on Century. We went a 2nd time and the Maitre D gave us all a 25% discount on the second night.

[NLH Arizona]

I think that, as Guy Bavli pointed out in one of his presentations, that positive energy attracts positive results and the reverse is true. I met far too many people during my 28 days who seemed negative about every aspect of the cruise and had a miserable time. My friend and I often laughed and wondered if they were on the same cruise we were.:rolleyes: :confused:

There are just people that complain and are negative and I would bet that it is in their everyday lives, not just on a cruise. Miserable people are miserable all the time and that is really too bad, because they are missing out on so much fun and enjoyment things, especially cruising, can bring.

[RickT]

With the price increases I'm looking at perhaps booking a Three Dinner package on the Connie this August in order to ensure a discount (that and the Canadian $ prices seem to be OK). I'm confused (and throw blame at the X website) as to what restaurants are included in this.

 

I went to my reservation and attempted to book the package and no where does it list which restaurant. All it lets you do is choose the date/time. Given the Connie only has two specialty restaurants (plus Bistro on 5) I'd want to know which one I'm visiting twice, and perhaps book them in a particular order.

 

If anyone has done the 3 dinner package and can comment it would be appreciated.

Edited May 13, 2014 by RickT

[hulamoon]

While I am concerned with long time cruisers not feeling the love for what they came to expect and think of as a benefit of sailing Celebrity, I absolutely feel they have a right to discuss it and criticize it.

 

The specialty restaurants are fine, but without increase in quality I will dine in them less. Not just the price though, I have been to them so often it doesn't have the same feel. For us Tuscan is the restaurant that can hold up to an every cruise dinner. Murano has great service but since they changed the amazing goat cheese soufflé to something less than it once was without other improvements, we dine there less.

 

In my research celebrity restaurants are much more expensive than other lines.

[Cruise Junky]

With the price increases I'm looking at perhaps booking a Three Dinner package on the Connie this August in order to ensure a discount (that and the Canadian $ prices seem to be OK). I'm confused (and throw blame at the X website) as to what restaurants are included in this.

 

I went to my reservation and attempted to book the package and no where does it list which restaurant. All it lets you do is choose the date/time. Given the Connie only has two specialty restaurants (plus Bistro on 5) I'd want to know which one I'm visiting twice, and perhaps book them in a particular order.

 

If anyone has done the 3 dinner package and can comment it would be appreciated.

 

 

All the info is on the website under specialty dining. Connie 3 night package would get you 2 at ocean liners and 1 at Tuscan

 

 

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[RickT]

All the info is on the website under specialty dining. Connie 3 night package would get you 2 at ocean liners and 1 at Tuscan

 

 

Thanks. Finally found that on the website. You think they would show that when you try to book it... :confused:

[vulcan1971]

deleted post.

Edited May 13, 2014 by vulcan1971

[Cruise Junky]

Thanks. Finally found that on the website. You think they would show that when you try to book it... :confused:

 

 

I know. Weird that's it's not part of the booking process. Last week on Solstice someone bought the 5 dinner package and was adamant she wasn't eating in Silk Harvest... Don't know how that ended up

 

 

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