Reflection MDR Food

[pete_coach]

Just got back from Reflection and MDR food was very disappointing. Entré selection in particular was the worst I have ever experienced. They basically served all the best selections on lobster night. I guess they thought that's all I would remember. I really do not get excited about eating a little piece of fish. Forget Italian food on a ship. I live in South Jersey and I literally have over 50 good Italian restaurants within a 10 mile drive, and that doesn't include Philadelphia Little Italy. I really enjoy baked onion soup but only when it actually has onions in it. I had braised beef ribs one night and gave up after trying to chew one. Salads, soups and deserts were nothing special. Except for lobster night ,I did not have one meal I would go back for to any restaurant. I told the Maitre'D and he just walked away. VERY VERY DISAPPOINTING!

 

We just got off the Reflection. our group of 10 sat in the MDR at a large table and we thought the food was very good. I also live in a city that has a tremendous amount of very good Italian (as well as other) restaurants. We do not go to them every night though. We go occasionally or on special occasions as I am sue the OP does as well. We certainly do not eat as well as we were fed on Reflection every night at home either, as I am sure the OP doesn't either. We thought the selection was varied and offered a good choice every night. There were no complaints from us and we heard no complaints from others.

Sometimes I wonder what some folks expect from the MDR. If you wanted that "special" meal, it is offered at one of the specialty restaurants.

Anyway, I find complaints about the food, especially when you have choices not only of the apps and entrees as well as choice of places to eat, are frivolous.

[Giorgi-one]

Comments on a few of the posts.

 

No complaints about service. I strongly disagree that service has suffered since gratuities are added to the bill. I always tip more.

 

I told the Maitre'D exactly what I wrote. He thanked me and walked away.

 

The number of passengers has nothing to do with entrée selection, meat quality and quality of appetizers, soups, salads and deserts which are all prepared in bulk in advance. But cruise lines love to hear people accept this as a reason for inferior quality.

 

I never compare food quality to 5* or any star restaurants. If your meal on a Modern Luxury vacation is not as good as a local shopping center restaurant, something is wrong.

 

Celebrity advertises Modern Luxury. Nowhere in their literature do I see a statement that says "You cannot expect really good food in the MDR because we have too many people to serve".

 

Addition of Luminae is an admission of decline in quality in MDR. People are certainly not going to pay $3500 per person or more for the food now served in the MDR!

 

Do we really need to set our expectation low so we are not disappointed? If everyone thought like that we would still be living in caves!

 

My remarks are not frivolous! This site is named CRUISE CRITIC not CRUISE LOVEFEST!

[pete_coach]

Comments on a few of the posts.

 

No complaints about service. I strongly disagree that service has suffered since gratuities are added to the bill. I always tip more.

 

I told the Maitre'D exactly what I wrote. He thanked me and walked away.

 

The number of passengers has nothing to do with entrée selection, meat quality and quality of appetizers, soups, salads and deserts which are all prepared in bulk in advance. But cruise lines love to hear people accept this as a reason for inferior quality.

 

I never compare food quality to 5* or any star restaurants. If your meal on a Modern Luxury vacation is not as good as a local shopping center restaurant, something is wrong.

 

Celebrity advertises Modern Luxury. Nowhere in their literature do I see a statement that says "You cannot expect really good food in the MDR because we have too many people to serve".

 

Addition of Luminae is an admission of decline in quality in MDR. People are certainly not going to pay $3500 per person or more for the food now served in the MDR!

 

Do we really need to set our expectation low so we are not disappointed? If everyone thought like that we would still be living in caves!

 

My remarks are not frivolous! This site is named CRUISE CRITIC not CRUISE LOVEFEST!

As you can tell, the quality of food is very subjective ad while some , like you seem disappointed, others, like me were quite OK with it. Some do not need to compare or put a tag on it. Modern Luxury is an overall tag Celebrity puts on the cruise and it's ships. While the food is a small part of that descriptive tag, it is far from THE only part of the definition. It is the ship, the style, the service, the decor, the amenities etc as well as the food.

"Do we really need to set our expectation low so we are not disappointed?" No, perhaps some have "higher expectations" than really are offered? Perhaps expectations are over-inflated?

As for your Cruise Critic comment, certainly it is not a Cruise LoveFest site but it is a site for discussion and passing of information and even debate. Just because they have differing opinions than you does not mean they are wrong. No one accused you having frivolous opinions, that is only your belief of the comments, discussions and opinions of others because they may disagree with you.

Edited February 15, 2016 by pete_coach

[beltane]

Hubs and I just got off the Reflection on the 13th. We had a lovely cruise and had great food and a bit of terrible food... as would be expected. We ate in the MDR 5 times, Tuscan Grill and the Lawn Club Grill. Some meals were over the top divine, others good, and others meh... when you are feeding that many people I would expect this. Fortunately the 'meh' was not as often as the delish. If you ask me, any time I don't have to cook is a great day! :D

[MarkusToe]

as this tread is going into more general quality direction....

 

I've seen 2 things in the past few (2-3) years

Food quality is going downhil in MDR - some ships are better then others, but in general

Number of personel reduced (not counted, but feeling - esp on sommeliers)

 

Last cruise on Conni - every food court has better food..., exept the lobster night - (i don't like lobster - by the way), at this night everything was outstanding - this example show - they can if they like...why do they not "like" every day.

 

I can remember very good the time (2013) we had to pay 100$ a day for balcony (incl bev pckg) - it's hard to find these days - an fuel cost are cut.....

[SSFrance69]

Our last cruise on X was in January 2015. These posts make me think twice about sticking with them. We became loyalists back in the days of Chef Roux. Since then things have diminished in quality...but have still been decent. It sounds like it's gone further downhill since just last year.

 

It all comes down to their bottom line. However, if loyalists like myself stop cruising with them, it will hurt their bottom line. Are the free drinks I get for being Elite worth the decline? That's something I will have to carefully weigh.

Perhaps the money I save on drinks could be made up by dining in the specialty restaurants...but my thought is why should it have to be that way?

 

I started cruising with them because they offered a superior experience over other lines in the same price point. I'll stop cruising with them because they no longer do. I'll be exploring other lines going forward.

 

P.S. taking away formal nights was just another nail in the coffin.

[Pipo]

Sorry to hear that. For me, Reflection has been the best food-in-MDR experience for any cruise.

[vickykay]

We were recently on the Equinox and thought the food in the MDR was much improved compared to 3-4 years ago. The lobster was wonderful! Large, flavorful and cooked perfectly. I wonder if the quality differs shop to,ship and head chef to chef.

[fantasy51]

In the past, most of my cruises have been on Cunard. On the Cunard threads I have heard dedicated foodies raving about the food on Celebrity and saying how much better it is on Celebrity. Now I have 2 Celebrity cruises booked and I am reading how the food has gone downhill. :D That's life!

[SSFrance69]

We were recently on the Equinox and thought the food in the MDR was much improved compared to 3-4 years ago. The lobster was wonderful! Large, flavorful and cooked perfectly. I wonder if the quality differs shop to,ship and head chef to chef.

 

It's very possible. I have heard that the ship/head chef can make a difference. How long ago was this cruise?

[Oceangoer2]

We've been cruising X for many years. The MDR service, quality of food, presentation, sommelier, etc has quietly but steadily changed over the years with respect to the size of the ships gradually becoming larger. If the ship's guests wish to keep that same quality etc, it seems the smaller ships will satisfy. They may offer less entertainment value or ambience, but the dining and service will most likely be to their liking. The smaller ships also offer somewhat more intriguing ports as the larger ships cannot access them without tendering. Something for everyone depending on what your priorities are. JMHO. BTW, just came off Equinox which we have sailed 3 times; didn't enjoy the downsized menu but it did cover most food groups each evening and the server did try to accommodate my picky eating habits. Not great quality, but as another poster said...'any night I don't have to prepare the meal, it's USUALLY a good night'.

Edited March 31, 2016 by oceangoer2

[mypyr]

. Not great quality, but as another poster said...'any night I don't have to prepare the meal, it's USUALLY a good night'.

 

When you say "not great quality", what do you mean? Could you please be more specific?

Thanks!

[Oceangoer2]

When you say "not great quality", what do you mean? Could you please be more specific?

Thanks!

Only my opinion, but dry chicken, tasteless beef wellington - but not inedible, just not 'quality'. Since I don't eat fish, I can't comment...but DH did like his; although one night he was told it was 'amazing white fish'...dish wasn't amazing and it wasn't white fish. Again, I do believe when you have so many diners, it won't be the same as the specialty restaurants. My dinners were 'fine', but I am picky so my opinion probably doesn't count for much.

[mypyr]

Only my opinion, but dry chicken, tasteless beef wellington - but not inedible, just not 'quality'. Since I don't eat fish, I can't comment...but DH did like his; although one night he was told it was 'amazing white fish'...dish wasn't amazing and it wasn't white fish. Again, I do believe when you have so many diners, it won't be the same as the specialty restaurants. My dinners were 'fine', but I am picky so my opinion probably doesn't count for much.

 

 

Thanks. Doesn't sound great....

[Oceangoer2]

Thanks. Doesn't sound great....

Just my taste...please don't judge all by me...however, if you're a suite passenger and dining in Luminae it's a step up and very well prepared. Next cruise we've decided to frequent the specialty restaurants more often than usual. We like all of these dining areas on the Reflection.

Edited March 31, 2016 by oceangoer2

[mypyr]

We do happen to be suite passengers and are looking forward to Luminae. Did you hear good things about it? We sail in 9 days!

[xmarksx]

mypyr, we sailed Reflection at the end of January/Sky Suite and truly enjoyed Luminae. We sailed in an Aqua class cabin and also enjoyed Blu but Luminae has it beat. I think you will truly enjoy it.

[mypyr]

mypyr, we sailed Reflection at the end of January/Sky Suite and truly enjoyed Luminae. We sailed in an Aqua class cabin and also enjoyed Blu but Luminae has it beat. I think you will truly enjoy it.

 

Thanks xmarksx! I can't wait to try it! Did you avail yourself of Michael's Club? How was that?

[xmarksx]

I was going to mention Michaels in my last post but did not know if you would be interested. One of the reasons we rebooked a Sky suite was because of the access. The service was very nice with the bar/wait staff going out of their way to get to know what you liked to drink. It almost made having the premium beverage package a bit unnecessary. I know others will disagree but we found ourselves gravitating to Michaels rather than using the other bars.

Edited April 1, 2016 by xmarksx

[roxievegas]

We have been on Equinox twice and Infinity once. We are leaving on April 10th for 34 consective nights on Silhouette. We enjoy Olive Garden, Ihop, Outback Steakhouse, so we are not picky eaters. We have never had a complaint about our meals in the MDR. My husband enjoys the buffet, I do not. We will be in agua cabin for 1st part of cruise - so will be trying Blu for the first time. 2nd part of cruise we will be in a sky suite so will be trying Luminire for the first time and lastly, we will be in a regular veranda and will be eating in the MDR. I am looking forward to eating in all three areas and I have no doubt we will enjoy it all. If not, you will hear about it.

[royalcruz]

We have been on Equinox twice and Infinity once. We are leaving on April 10th for 34 consective nights on Silhouette. We enjoy Olive Garden, Ihop, Outback Steakhouse, so we are not picky eaters. We have never had a complaint about our meals in the MDR. My husband enjoys the buffet, I do not. We will be in agua cabin for 1st part of cruise - so will be trying Blu for the first time. 2nd part of cruise we will be in a sky suite so will be trying Luminire for the first time and lastly, we will be in a regular veranda and will be eating in the MDR. I am looking forward to eating in all three areas and I have no doubt we will enjoy it all. If not, you will hear about it.

 

That's a great idea to try the different dining levels, especially since they repeat the same menu on every cruise! Have fun!

[mypyr]

I was going to mention Michaels in my last post but did not know if you would be interested. One of the reasons we rebooked a Sky suite was because of the access. The service was very nice with the bar/wait staff going out of their way to get to know what you liked to drink. It almost made having the premium beverage package a bit unnecessary. I know others will disagree but we found ourselves gravitating to Michaels rather than using the other bars.

 

 

That sounds perfect! My husband has the drink package, but I am only an occasional drinker, so I will definitely take advantage of some bloody mary's, wine, and after dinner drinks at Michael's. Do they ever have a piano player at night playing the old Gershwin type music? I miss that piano bar atmosphere so much!