Jump to content

Best Celebrity restaurant service ever....


chemmo
 Share

Recommended Posts

With all the gloom of cancelled ports and possible cancelled cruises I thought something positive might be in order..

 

So what is your best Celebrity restaurant service experience? Note the focus on service.

 

After much deliberation, ours goes to Tuscan Grill, Solstice. We had pre booked first night on Solstice and asked for a window seat. As a party of three this was more in hope than expectation as we know the general room layout.

 

We were delighted when we arrived and they had made the effort and there was a table set for us. This set the scene for the full evening. Quite simply the staff were constantly looking to make our meal special. Service was beautifully paced and quite simply faultless. Little touches like an addition portion of a starter we had dithered about ordering or not, extra strawberries with the fondu when I mentioned how I had looked forward to them...

 

We have had many very good serviced meals on Celebrity but this one stands out. We are back on the Solstice next year, we will be booking Tuscan Grill again first night and trying not to get too excited...

 

So what has been your best Celebrity restaurant experience?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We just came off the Solstice on Oct. 2nd. We were in Luminae and dined there most nights. Our dinner in the Tuscan Grill was our best meal in 10 days followed by Murano. The service in Tuscan grill was outstanding. We were a party of 4. We were served comp Prosecco when we arrived. ( not the norm ) Anytime the ladies left the table a server would offer their arm and on return. Napkins were always refolded. We all ordered different things for each course. We were thrilled with everything. I am always surprised when people say they don`t care for Tuscan Grill. We eat there at least once a cruise and have never had a bad meal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've had nothing but wonderful experiences in Celebrity's alternative restaurants over the years, but the one that comes to mind the most is when we dined 7 nights out of 8 in Ocean Liners on a rather short 8 night Transatlantic in 2006. The entire staff were so accommodating, allowing us to select a table that would be ours for the week that we could show up at any time. As many have reported, after about 3 nights they began offering off menu selections to keep things interesting. As wonderful as the food was, it was the attentive service that stands out years later. This was in the days before dining packages and multiple alternative venues. I believe the cost at that time was $30, which would be equivalent to today's $29 UDP.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were on the Reflection for our anniversary in a suite and decided that for our actual anniversary we'd check out Blu, as suites were able to do.

 

We'd totally forgotten that we'd told our TA when we booked our reservation that it was our anniversary and the date of our anniversary. For dessert they brought out a cake that said Happy Anniversary and sang "Happy Anniversary to You."

 

We were clearly surprised, especially since Blu wasn't even our assigned dining room. As we were leaving someone (maitre 'd? I don't remember) said "I bet you didn't think we'd find you here" or something to that effect.

 

It was a small token and something that I know they do tons, but it was a really sweet gesture that meant so much to us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It has to be the three meals we ate on Eclipse in Tuscan on our TA several years ago. Followed by every other meal we've had in Tuscan over the years.

 

We have always had great service in Murano but it's so pretentious and not as much fun as other venues. We've never been there with anyone though, so perhaps with a group it'd be more fun.

 

Honestly, we've mostly had outstanding service in Blu throughout the years. We will be in Luminae in less than a month so hopefully that will be good too.

 

I do recall our first cruise in 2001, when we sailed on Century with our daughters when they were in college. We were celebrating our 25th anniversary and we were at a fun table for 10 in the main dining room. Our waiter was excellent, and looking back, even though we had nothing to compare it to, I still recall how wonderful he was with the girls and what a great sense of humor he had. He made suggestions and had lots of fun stories and he really made us look forward to dinner each evening.

 

I really believe we've been fortunate to have had wonderful waiters, stewards, butlers on all our cruises but those few really stand out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We had asked about a chefs tacks on our 2013 Cruise on Connie but it was full so we were offered a special chefs tabke they were going to on deck 12 aft.

 

Wow. They setup a lounge on the deck for our pre-dinner drinks, red carpet/velvet rope arrival and half the choices were local ingredients. It took a while but the prepared the meal on a charcoal grill. Many officers stopped by to see how this new idea was going. It go a bit chilly in Marmaras in November but they were prepared with blankets.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We must be easy to please but have had consistently great service in BLU, Bistro on Five, Cafe Baccio and most of the time in Tuscan, Murano, Silk Harvest.

 

Service was a bit slow in Ocean Liners but it was for lunch and they did not space courses properly.

 

Worst ever was Lawn Club Grill on Reflection.(as opposed to Silhouette)...We had a terrible waiter, completely botched orders, poor service, nasty.... and maitre d not getting it!

 

Overall we still enjoy Celebrity dining....hope new CEO does not Royalize it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For many a year, Chops on the RCCL Mariner, was the benchmark we judged all specialty venues against.

 

But to answer the 'focus' of the question;

"So what is your best Celebrity restaurant service experience? Note the focus on service"

 

It was in Silk Harvest last Nov on the Equinox. We had a group of 12 from the roll call go together. My wife has Celiac and was worried that she would feel like the 'odd women ;) out'.

 

Start to finish it was simply the most amazing service and fun experience in 25 years! Not to mention that the quality of the meal was outstanding also.

 

We have 24 signed up to go this year from the roll call group. IMHO, there is no way they can top last year, but we will give them a chance.

EW

 

Footnote: What we consider the best overall experience was the Ultimate Balcony dinner we had on the Ruby Princess in 2012.

 

I am waiting for someone to post about the new picnic basket on your balcony that Celebrity is rolling out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We had great service in Luminae & Normandy on our September cruise. The best though was in Luminae when I mentioned that I wished I had had my camera to take pictures of the chocolate bombe. The next night the waiter told us to bring our camera to dinner tomorrow as the maître d had arranged with the chef to make us a bombe for dessert. He also arranged for a caviar omelet for my DH one morning.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is amazing that for so many of us it is the little additional effort/attention to a detail that makes something so special.

 

Love need2be spoiled's story, would love to try that sort of chefs table.

 

Also I, also, would love a real picnic basket one day....Wallie5446. Hope from conception to reality it doesn't turn into a cheese plate. We also have fond memories of chops grill.

 

please keep your happy memories coming, it is so nice to look forward to cruising!

 

Our next cruises are on Solstice, Eclipse and Constellation in that order, we would greatly appreciate knowing your best ever experiences on these ships.

 

i do hope Celebrity is following this thread. It worries me that sometimes they only participate when there are challenging issues.

 

This is a very positive threat celebrating what Celebrity can do best. Hopefully our shared experiences and memories will remind all M'Ds that much as a focus on food is important it is often the service (the staff) that make the meals and memories.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

MDR on the Infinity in 2013. Russell was our head waiter, always friendly, always smiling, always encouraging me to get multiple entrées. I looked foward to dinner every night.

 

It beat the service of Millennium's Blu (bad maitre'd in 2012) and Infinity's Qsine (we were snubbed in favor of the boisterous table ordering wine).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Worst ever was Lawn Club Grill on Reflection.(as opposed to Silhouette)...We had a terrible waiter, completely botched orders, poor service, nasty.... and maitre d not getting it!

 

I have thought the service in nearly all the ships has been outstanding across the board. I experienced similar service at the Lawn Club Grill on Reflection. Disappointed. It was over the top on the Silhouette in the same restaurant!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On two separate cruises on the Equinox dining in Blu we were extremely fortunate to have the same waiter Armando. He is by far the best waiter we have on any of our cruises. Armando made the dining experience a look forward event daily.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With all the gloom of cancelled ports and possible cancelled cruises I thought something positive might be in order..

 

So what is your best Celebrity restaurant service experience? Note the focus on service.

 

After much deliberation, ours goes to Tuscan Grill, Solstice. We had pre booked first night on Solstice and asked for a window seat. As a party of three this was more in hope than expectation as we know the general room layout.

 

We were delighted when we arrived and they had made the effort and there was a table set for us. This set the scene for the full evening. Quite simply the staff were constantly looking to make our meal special. Service was beautifully paced and quite simply faultless. Little touches like an addition portion of a starter we had dithered about ordering or not, extra strawberries with the fondu when I mentioned how I had looked forward to them...

 

We have had many very good serviced meals on Celebrity but this one stands out. We are back on the Solstice next year, we will be booking Tuscan Grill again first night and trying not to get too excited...

 

So what has been your best Celebrity restaurant experience?

Our service in Murano has always been excellent. Our service in the MDR(Eclipse) with our waiter(Vadym)Was some of the best we ever had, period.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Best - Reflection Luminae, followed closely by Murano

 

Worst - ever, land or sea - Blu Reflection. NEVER again!

 

 

We cruised on the first westbound Reflection TA with a group of 18, all Elite at that time. We were all excited to be in Aqua class and try Blu which we had heard so many great things about. It was a complete disaster. Terrible food and worse service. Worst cruise ever. We all agreed we wouldn't cruise again in Aqua and no more Reflection. Years have passed and somehow I'm going to be on the Reflection twice in 2016 with other friends. I hope it has improved.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking back on many wonderful cruise dining experiences, one incident comes to mind - I think it saved our whole cruise! I hope you don't mind that this was on the RCI ship, Nordic Empress, but at last RCI is related to Celebrity.

 

We, and 3 other couples, were on our first cruise together. No one else had any experience with cruising and we had done a few so we were the "experts." One of the husbands did not want to go, but his wife said she was going alone if he didn't go, so he reluctantly went. He happened to be the alpha male of the group.

 

I did all the planning and felt responsible for making sure we all had a wonderful cruise. Embarkation day arrived and we excitedly went onboard. Unfortunately the alpha male's luggage didn't arrive before dinner so he borrowed another friend's slacks to wear to dinner (the friend was 6 inches shorter). He and his wife arrived at the MDR, neither were talking - he with his high water pants (he is usually a sharp dresser) and the wife must have heard that this was all her idea. Another couple arrived and the husband had a massive headache and was grouchy and his wife was quiet too, not wanting to set him off. The other couple arrived and the husband was quiet because he knew how upset Alpha was, so his wife and I did all the talking (my husband didn't arrive until late) -very awkward. The service began and it became apparent we were at a terrible table - it was next to a service station and headache guy was bumped every time someone came through with a tray. I thought he was going to explode (normally the sweetest guy). We had a sweet waiter, but he had a rough night getting this crowd to relax and enjoy dinner. I had just wanted this dinner over, when the waiter asked about dessert. He got orders from everyone except Alpha and Headache. Alpha said "No!" rather curtly and Headache (who never eats dessert) said "No" quietly and the waiter didn't hear him so asked again. he said quite loudly "No thank you!". I wanted to shrink down in my seat. When the desserts arrived all of us who ordered desserts were served. Then he brought white plates to each of the 2 others. Written in chocolate on Alpha's plate was "No!" and on Headache's plate was "No, thank you!". They both burst out laughing and then we all laughed for the longest time. It broke the spell and these people went back to being their wonderful selves. We ended up having the best cruise!

 

We lucked out getting this amazing, intelligent waiter who sized up the situation and came up with a brilliant way to break the funk we were in. He set the tone for the cruise. I went to the maître d' after dinner and asked about switching tables because we were being bumped all the time, as long as we kept the same waiter. The next night we were at the rail in a great location and had one of the best MDR experiences we have ever had (back in the day when waiters had less tables). He is still our favorite waiter ever.

 

We have been on 3 more cruises with this group of friends and Alpha is the most eager to go!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tuscan on the Solstice this past August. We were a party of eight and had made reservations for Tuscan months in advance since we wanted our group to eat there on the first formal night. I stopped by on during the day we were supposed to dine and somehow the four reservations weren't linked. As this was first formal night they were booked solid and already had a plan in place for their evening reservations. Staff looked at their seating charts and didn't seem too secure in telling us that they would take care of us. That evening, our table was perfect and service even better. Kudos to their entire staff for making our evening truly amazing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking back on many wonderful cruise dining experiences, one incident comes to mind - I think it saved our whole cruise! I hope you don't mind that this was on the RCI ship, Nordic Empress, but at last RCI is related to Celebrity.

 

We, and 3 other couples, were on our first cruise together. No one else had any experience with cruising and we had done a few so we were the "experts." One of the husbands did not want to go, but his wife said she was going alone if he didn't go, so he reluctantly went. He happened to be the alpha male of the group.

 

I did all the planning and felt responsible for making sure we all had a wonderful cruise. Embarkation day arrived and we excitedly went onboard. Unfortunately the alpha male's luggage didn't arrive before dinner so he borrowed another friend's slacks to wear to dinner (the friend was 6 inches shorter). He and his wife arrived at the MDR, neither were talking - he with his high water pants (he is usually a sharp dresser) and the wife must have heard that this was all her idea. Another couple arrived and the husband had a massive headache and was grouchy and his wife was quiet too, not wanting to set him off. The other couple arrived and the husband was quiet because he knew how upset Alpha was, so his wife and I did all the talking (my husband didn't arrive until late) -very awkward. The service began and it became apparent we were at a terrible table - it was next to a service station and headache guy was bumped every time someone came through with a tray. I thought he was going to explode (normally the sweetest guy). We had a sweet waiter, but he had a rough night getting this crowd to relax and enjoy dinner. I had just wanted this dinner over, when the waiter asked about dessert. He got orders from everyone except Alpha and Headache. Alpha said "No!" rather curtly and Headache (who never eats dessert) said "No" quietly and the waiter didn't hear him so asked again. he said quite loudly "No thank you!". I wanted to shrink down in my seat. When the desserts arrived all of us who ordered desserts were served. Then he brought white plates to each of the 2 others. Written in chocolate on Alpha's plate was "No!" and on Headache's plate was "No, thank you!". They both burst out laughing and then we all laughed for the longest time. It broke the spell and these people went back to being their wonderful selves. We ended up having the best cruise!

 

We lucked out getting this amazing, intelligent waiter who sized up the situation and came up with a brilliant way to break the funk we were in. He set the tone for the cruise. I went to the maître d' after dinner and asked about switching tables because we were being bumped all the time, as long as we kept the same waiter. The next night we were at the rail in a great location and had one of the best MDR experiences we have ever had (back in the day when waiters had less tables). He is still our favorite waiter ever.

 

We have been on 3 more cruises with this group of friends and Alpha is the most eager to go!

 

Awesome story!

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have had many excellent dining experiences on most ships. I prefer select dining which allows me to move or stay with a waiter. My usual is to stay with a waiter who is good. Most of the time, it doesn't take more than a few nights to request a certain waiter. Just off Silhouette, Elias and Edis were our wait staff. We ate at their tables 11 out of 14 nights. They were outstanding. We also loved the service in Tuscan.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...

If you are already a Cruise Critic member, please log in with your existing account information or your email address and password.