Cafe al Bacio~pastries no longer free w/o beverage?

[mafig]

Is this something new?

 

I was reading a post from yesterday where Cle guy says it's true .... that you must order a beverage to receive a pastry. :confused: Anyone else hear of this?

 

We have the beverage package so it doesn't matter for this upcoming cruise but I wonder of X has snuck this in, or I'm just not informed.

 

You know, sometimes I just don't want anything to drink. Now, if I have to order something, I'll probably be coming home with bottled water or cans of soda

Edited October 17, 2015 by mafig

[WEGL81]

Yes, this is true. I just came off the Infinity and that was their policy. Now, someone else from my cruise wrote me and said they were able to get free pastries at times. So it appears to be a new policy that may only be selectively enforced. They made a point of telling everyone the first day of the cruise. It was a long cruise, though, so maybe after a while they relaxed it later in the cruise.

[ghstudio]

The funny thing about this is that many if not most used to assume that you had to buy a drink to get a pastry....when it wasn't true. Essentially Celebrity has just changed to what we and many others originally thought.

 

My guess now is that with all the free drink packages, there will be many drinks ordered and just left untouched which seems such a waste. I suppose being elite plus, I still have to order a drink to get a pastry.....if so, stop by my table and drink the coffee they deliver after I'm gone.

[vulcan1971]

I'm disappointed in Celebrity if this is true.

 

While I almost always get a beverage of some kind to enjoy with my snack, sometimes I would get something on my way back to the room to enjoy on the balcony. I suppose, my trip now takes me through the buffet instead, but still disappointing that Celebrity would make this change. :(

[mafig]

What happened to my post?

 

I wrote more than a :confused:. Now that's all I see .... just a blank space?:confused:

[bosswench]

We were on Infinity last week and picked up pastry and cookies anytime we asked, no drink required.

[ghstudio]

Is this something new?

 

I was reading a post from yesterday where Cle guy says it's true .... that you must order a beverage to receive a pastry. :confused: Anyone else hear of this?

 

We have the beverage package so it doesn't matter for this upcoming cruise but I wonder of X has snuck this in, or I'm just not informed.

 

You know, sometimes I just don't want anything to drink. Now, if I have to order something, I'll probably be coming home with bottled water or cans of soda

 

Your post is still there..

[mafig]

Your post is still there..

 

OK, thanks. All I see is a blank space with a :confused:

 

Weird.

[micruiser12]

We were on Solstice in August and stopped by a couple of times for cookies with no requirement to also get a drink. Maybe they just didn't require it then or not everyone enforces the policy. We are not coffee drinkers so don't care about that part of it.

[ClaudiaB]

OK, thanks. All I see is a blank space with a :confused:

 

Weird.

 

That IS weird. But it's still there, albeit it's in a brown font ???

 

We get cookies "to go" there all the time, and have had our dessert there several times, with no beverage. Hmm.

Edited October 17, 2015 by ClaudiaB

[ledge]

I just came off the Equinox 2 days ago & I ordered cookies & pastries to go without a beverage a few times and never had a problem. When we sat, we ordered coffee/tea - I don't know if that makes a difference.

[maenzoe]

I just disembarked the Infinity on Thursday and ordered pastries multiple times without purchasing a drink. Not sure why this seems to be so inconsistent.

[kitty9]

If this is the case, it's just not right. Then make the Cafe a beverage-only place and make everyone get their goodies at the buffet, where it's still free, unless Ms Lutoff-Perlo is going to start charging for food in the buffet after regular hours. This is just my opinion, but I definitely do not like any of the changes that have been made since this woman has taken over. She sees things through RCCL-colored glasses in the nickel and diming business. From the BBB pricing lunacy, to the removal of Murano-type restaurants on the M Class, to charging for room service after hours and now charging for pastries that can be found for free in other venues, I just don't like the direction Lutoff-Perlo is taking Celebrity.

[elena7seas]

I posted a thread like the OP's a few months ago, when my friends travelling on the Infinity had the same experience. I cruised on the Infinity in September and everything in Café al Bacio was as usual for the whole cruise...no problems getting a pastry without a beverage.

 

I'm wondering if my friends' experience in August was a trial run.

 

If it's a permanent change in protocol, I think it's a wrong-headed decision. The good-will that is lost will be far greater than any savings they can make, as most people order beverages anyhow. I've spent many hours in Café al Bacio, and most people DO get beverages. As well, you rarely see anyone sitting at the tables without a beverage, so there is very little to be gained in terms of freeing up seating. The turnover in Café al Bacio is pretty quick; I rarely have to wait for a seat, and then it is only a minute or two.

 

With the number of people who have beverage packages or are elite plus, there is a much bigger danger of having people order a beverage (with no additional revenue to Celebrity) when all they really want is a cookie. This decision could actually cost Celebrity money in the long run. In the meantime, people like me will feel just a little bit more cynical about a brand that I used to love whole-heartedly.

 

What part of this decision supports the concept of modern luxury? Add this one to the ledger under "death by a thousand paper cuts".

[BosoxI]

 

With the number of people who have beverage packages or are elite plus, there is a much bigger danger of having people order a beverage (with no additional revenue to Celebrity) when all they really want is a cookie. This decision could actually cost Celebrity money in the long run. In the meantime, people like me will feel just a little bit more cynical about a brand that I used to love whole-heartedly.

 

What part of this decision supports the concept of modern luxury? Add this one to the ledger under "death by a thousand paper cuts".

 

That was exactly my first thought, ordering a cappuccino in order to get a cookie and then leaving the drink on the counter or giving it away. Just sounds like bad policy, if true. More and more, I am glad I had cruised widely over the years, cause it certainly is beginning to lose its charm with news such as this.

[patty1955]

On the Infinity last month and we were never charged.

[bEwAbG]

Lots of negative assumptions being made for something that hasn't been widespread. Maybe they're told to do this when they're running low on product?

[mafig]

OK, I can see my post now.:confused:

 

I always read a lot of reviews before a cruise. Many reviews have noted that the Cafe is always busy and the thoughts were that Celebrity would maybe take over the space of Bistro on Five (which is usually empty ... even more so since they raised the price) to expand the Cafe.

 

I never even thought they would cut down on crowding by making people buy a beverage. Like others have stated, sometimes I don't want a coffee, now I'll order a coffee and not drink it (if I have a beverage package) or better yet, order a water and take it to my cabin or take it home.

 

Sometimes I'll ask for a little, tiny desert or cookie, then think "that was good, I'll get another" so in that case I'll have to order another coffee or after the first time doing that, I'll over-order desert.

 

Anyway, Celebrity can do what they want, can't they? We choose whether or not it's a deal breaker or if it's like a previous poster said "death by a thousand cuts."

[elena7seas]

Is this something new?

 

I was reading a post from yesterday where Cle guy says it's true .... that you must order a beverage to receive a pastry. :confused: Anyone else hear of this?

 

We have the beverage package so it doesn't matter for this upcoming cruise but I wonder of X has snuck this in, or I'm just not informed.

 

You know, sometimes I just don't want anything to drink. Now, if I have to order something, I'll probably be coming home with bottled water or cans of soda

 

 

I think CLE-guy may have been referring to my original post from August, when he posted on this thread (see post #12):

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=47958913&highlight=bacio#post47958913

 

His description matched my post exactly, except that my friend is a veteran cruiser, and I would rely 100% on her reliability.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2242712

 

As I said in my previous post on this thread, after hearing this from my friend about her August experience, I cruised the Infinity in September, and there was no mention whatsoever about having to buy a beverage in order to get complimentary pastries.

 

Now hearing from WEGL81 (above) that this is happening again, I can only think that my friend experienced a trial run in August.

[neverbeenhere]

Celebrity weight loss program? Too many cookies for me.

[elena7seas]

Lots of negative assumptions being made for something that hasn't been widespread. Maybe they're told to do this when they're running low on product?

 

I think people have mostly been responding to "...if this is true...", which is fair enough.

 

It would make no sense to me to say there was a policy change just because product was running low. First of all, that would be untrue, and secondly why upset customers for nothing, because clearly the product would be replenished in a reasonable time. What sense would it make to allow complimentary pastries on one day, and then not later the same day because of low stock, then back to the original policy the next morning when the pastry case is full???

 

There certainly isn't much evidence at this point that there has been a policy change. My friend reported that she had experienced it (Infinity, July 26), as did the two other people that were with her in my car and supported what she had to say (they were very disappointed, because like many of us, this is a little something that we enjoy very much). WEGL81 experienced it (September 18th). I didn't experience it (September 4th) and MAENZOE, who just got off the Infinity last Thursday, didn't experience it.

 

This is one of those situations where we need CELEBRITY CRUISES to get the official word for us. :)

Edited October 17, 2015 by elena7seas

[dondiane]

Was on infinity Panama Canal Cruise in Sept. and stopped numerous times for a nighttime snack without a beverage purchase...never a problem

[Redtravel]

Just off the Sihouette. No fee for any pastry at Cafe Al Bacio. I often picked up a cookie without a drink.

[GranthamMommy]

Cannot wait for my December 5th cruise on the Infinity to find out where I'll eat, what I'll eat and how much it may or may not cost me.

 

I keep on telling myself it's a cruise, there will be plenty of food and it will all be good.

 

Hoping they still have a poached egg station at the buffet.....

[Gig103]

If this is the case, it's just not right. Then make the Cafe a beverage-only place and make everyone get their goodies at the buffet, where it's still free, unless Ms Lutoff-Perlo is going to start charging for food in the buffet after regular hours. This is just my opinion, but I definitely do not like any of the changes that have been made since this woman has taken over. She sees things through RCCL-colored glasses in the nickel and diming business. From the BBB pricing lunacy, to the removal of Murano-type restaurants on the M Class, to charging for room service after hours and now charging for pastries that can be found for free in other venues, I just don't like the direction Lutoff-Perlo is taking Celebrity.

 

I'm not disagreeing that the new boss is worse than the old boss. But don't be confused - they aren't charging for the pastries.

 

As a frequent visitor to Al Bacio (I nearly lived there on sea days), shorter lines to get drinks is not a bad thing when the same snacks are available in the Oceanview Café. This is doubly true during the morning rush. Maybe the compromise is "no snacks without coffee until noon" or something.