No more Bistro on 5 on Reflection

[OBX-Cruisers]

Several good points have been raised including the fact that sushi DOES NOT have an odor..............and if it does run away and do not taste it.

 

However, the sushi in the buffet on X is marginal at best and mostly rice sometimes wrapped with seaweed and sometimes served hand rolled but still mostly rice.

 

If the new raw bar concept actually has a better selection of higher quality sushi we would be probable customers. Still, I agree with others that if X had left the B on 5 without changes and without repetitive price increases it would likely have succeeded with some tweaks to the menus and increased service staff.

[akowilm]

Funny, I was on the Reflection for the fourth time in January and had the ultimate dining package. I ate at the Porch on several occasions, didn't get anything raw, had a good burger and even wings once, and was NOT charged additionally for the tower. Servers told us then that B5 would be transitioning to a sushi bar in mid February as a test, much like the Summit tested the roving night clubs two seasons ago. Seems they were correct. I sometimes wonder where all of the misinformation on this topic comes from.....

 

Edit: did have some Tuna tartar at Porch, small appetizer, not memorable..

 

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

Edited February 23, 2016 by akowilm

[OBX-Cruisers]

If Celebrity has no clue as to what to do with Bistro since they have now changed the menus a couple times and now have made it a bait restaurant, here's a suggestion. Turn it into the suite restaurant and open the regular restaurant back up to the masses.

 

Good suggestion but not big enough when you look at how many tables there are in Luminae.........I think I counted around 40+ or so with space for around 300+ on our last trip on the Equinox

[Alsmez]

What would you suggest Celebrity put in that space that expands dining choices? Let's assume it has to be something that has a $ fee...not a free venue.

 

As much as I like sushi, I agree with others that it's not the best use of that space, particularly if they're going to charge a la carte prices. I'm not a fan of a la carte pricing on cruises in any case. Anyway, I think a pizzeria, dumpling shop or Thai restaurant would do well in this space, or X could use it to give Gastrobar or Silk Harvest a permanent home on ships that don't have those venues. Lots of options that would probably appeal to a larger segment of cruisers than sushi.

[OBX-Cruisers]

The sushi bar concept sounds good to us but ONLY if they are planning to serve much better sushi selections than currently served in the buffet. The buffet sushi is primarily rice with a bit of various filling (emphasis on the "bit") with the only redeeming value is that there is no extra charge.

 

Raw bar I think not. We live on the ocean and I would not eat a raw oyster or clam anywhere where I could not determine the origin, freshness date and ultimate cleanliness during preparation and a cruise ship does not give me much confidence on any of these issues....................I see some big gastrointestinal challenges ahead.

 

X seems to be on a stretch with these new venues and the limited trial should prove if they are workable or not. I agree with others who suggested that X should have left B on 5 alone and not sequentially raised prices while simultaneously changing the menu for what many say was worse.

A more concerted effort to improve menu selection, quality and wait staff would probably have worked much better than what they did to turn people off on this venue.

Edited February 23, 2016 by OBX-Cruisers

[CathyCruises]

I read here someplace that they were keeping the regular menu in place through lunch and changing to sushi at dinner time. Maybe the OP can check with their friends and find out if this is true?

[SheriffJoe]

Do you eat shrimp as in shrimp cocktail? Do you eat rice? put them together and they are sushi. Do you eat cream cheese, smoked salmon and rice...put them together and they are a philadelphia roll. How about an omelette...put it on rice and it's another type of sushi.

 

I'm kind of amazed that so many have no clue what sushi really is...and are ready to say....yuck...

 

Actually it sounds like you don't really know what sushi is, as someone who has lived in Japan I can tell you its much more than a piece of shrimp on a piece of plain rice and anything with Philadelphia in its name IS NOT sushi but some Americanized garbage......and yet I still don't like sushi.....

[jewliana]

Yuck to both and very disappointing!

We enjoyed both Bistro and The Porch as they were :-(

[like2cruise]

I read here someplace that they were keeping the regular menu in place through lunch and changing to sushi at dinner time. Maybe the OP can check with their friends and find out if this is true?

 

Oh you just gave my hubby a wave of hope. We love sushi, we also love crepes. This would be the best of both worlds!!

[ghstudio]

Actually it sounds like you don't really know what sushi is, as someone who has lived in Japan I can tell you its much more than a piece of shrimp on a piece of plain rice and anything with Philadelphia in its name IS NOT sushi but some Americanized garbage......and yet I still don't like sushi.....

 

I've spent quite a bit of time in Japan...and I make real sushi/sashimi/tekka maki at home. I was simplifying here given the apparent lack of understanding of what a sushi restaurant really serves.

 

As far as I can tell, celebrity does not season their rice so calling any of it sushi is a bit of a stretch....and the last time I was in Tokyo, they (sadly) started to serve "americanized" rolls.

Edited February 23, 2016 by ghstudio

[globevest]

My wife loves good sushi. She tried it last week on Reflection, in the buffet and at a cocktail party and she thought it was terrible. We are one of the few people who eat regularly at B5 but recognize IMO there is a need for a change.

[Daskala]

I'll be on the Equinox in 10 days. I'll confirm if this is true. It probably is true' date=' I'm just in denial. :([/quote']

 

Bistro on 5 is still a Bistro on the Equinox....we just disembarked on 2/22, I can't speak for Reflection.

[Cruise Junky]

I've spent quite a bit of time in Japan...and I make real sushi/sashimi/tekka maki at home. I was simplifying here given the apparent lack of understanding of what a sushi restaurant really serves.

 

As far as I can tell, celebrity does not season their rice so calling any of it sushi is a bit of a stretch....and the last time I was in Tokyo, they (sadly) started to serve "americanized" rolls.

 

You can see the problem that Celebrity are going to have though...perception is everything

[TourDeCruise]

We really enjoyed Izumi on Royal Caribbean ships, which is a Japanese a-la-carte restaurant; so much so that on our last cruise, we ate every third night in Izumi throughout the cruise. The food was delicious, and it was our way of escaping the more hectic MDR and having a quiet and light dinner where we didn't overeat. It was a real enhancement to our cruise.

 

I am hoping "Sushi on Five" (or whatever they will call it) is much like Izumi with an a-la-carte menu (or $10 like current Bistro on Five price!) that features sushi (including my favorite, Izumi's new futomaki offering), sashimi, salads, soups, hot rock (cook your own veggies, meat, seafood), tempura, noodles, spring rolls, "signature rolls," and dumplings. By offering more than just sushi, I think it can be a success.

 

If it would have a few Thai and/or Vietnamese offerings, that would be great too. Or continue to have crepes, salads, and soups in addition to sushi. We like the option to have some tasty light meals.

 

BTW, we were on the Summit last month, and when dining in Bistro on Five, we were told Bistro on Five would be converted to a sushi bar.

 

I'll be on the Equinox in 10 days. I'll confirm if this is true. It probably is true' date=' I'm just in denial. :([/quote']

 

Hi Cruisen'Susan

 

I'd appreciate the followup. My wife and I are on the Equinox at the end of March. We've always enjoyed having our Embarkation Day lunch there.

 

Alimack

 

I would appreciate any reports as we will be on the Equinox for 24 days in April and May (TA & Med cruise that follows). TIA!

[Andy]

Shouldn't the title of this thread be " no more bistro on 5 on Reflection" it's not fleet wide and is just a trial on that ship only.

 

 

Hi Debbie,

 

I've changed the thread title to reflect this, as we only know this to (reportedly) be on Reflection. Perhaps it's just a trial ?

 

As much as we enjoy Bistro on Five, we do not feel it's worth $10 pp - especially with the recent elimination of the daily specials - which were excellent. It will be interesting to see the pricing for the 2 new venues - assuming they are for a fee. Hopefully, a current Reflection cruiser will post a menu.

[Andy]

What would you suggest Celebrity put in that space that expands dining choices? Let's assume it has to be something that has a $ fee...not a free venue.

 

Here's a few thoughts :

 

1) A GREEK restaurant. Seems a perfect fit, for a line that has a huge Greek heritage. OPA !

 

2) A Churrascaria serving sliced meats tableside, with a large salad bar.

 

3) A BBQ venue - but only if they can do BBQ right. Princess has an evening BBQ venue on the Royal and Regal, and was very disappointing (IMO).

 

4) How about an authentic Delicatessen, like a Carnegie Deli type venue ? Ok, that's a nod to my NYC heritage :)

Edited February 23, 2016 by Host Andy

[Hlitner]

I guess many folks do not want to fork up the $10.

 

Sometimes we think that Celebrity management underestimates their customers. Fool us once and it is not good. But most of us will not be fooled twice. And many first timers do look at blogs such as here on CC. So when Celebrity keeps raising the prices of their alternative restaurants (including the Bistro on 5) and also cuts the quality (even though they may increase the menu offerings) the word quickly gets around. While a decent crepe for $5 is a pretty good deal (in our opinion) what they now offer for $10 is not nearly as good. And we have consistently had awful service in the Bistro on 5.

 

It is the same with some of the other restaurants. When Murano cost us about $50 (per couple) for an excellent dinner that was fine. Now, they want $100 per couple (plus the cost of wine) for a dinner not as good as what they had for half the price. While we still like Murano, there is just no way we will ever pay $100 (per couple) for that venue. And it is the same with the other venues. So, if we can get a big discount (usually 30-50% it is something we consider. Otherwise, we just laugh and go to Blu. On our last Eclipse cruise they had staff trying to sell those restaurants and we kept teasing them that we would only consider Qsine or Murano at half price. Eventually we got our wish :)

 

Hank

[Maligator]

Bistro on 5 is now a sushi bar

 

 

My disappointment is not aimed at you, OP. Its just that my wife and I finally discovered Bistro on Connie this past year and really liked it. Neither of us likes sushi, so it'll just be wasted space to us. :(

[koolforkatz]

What would you suggest Celebrity put in that space that expands dining choices? Let's assume it has to be something that has a $ fee...not a free venue.

 

 

How about a nice tapas bar. Small plates, perfect for sharing or snacking, reflecting a lower $$ or one comparable to that of bistro.

 

Served alongside nice wines. [emoji6]

[cruiseerf]

VERY excited by this. the sushi Celebrity serves for free is terrible....I welcome the opportunity to see them up their game.

 

Crystal cruises has a Sushi/Japanese restaurant onboard which was Fantastic. Also RCL has an alacarte Sushi restaurant that Celebrity is going to do a take off of......This has been a Big Success for RCL. Even if only 50% of people like Sushi.....you are talking about incredible demand for a relatively small space.

 

Lets hope Celebrity provides a high quality product none of uswould mind paying for. Time shall tell. This is a step in the right direction in my book!

[The_Big_M]

A bar or counter that sells raw oysters and other seafood.

 

Thanks!

[Desertbelle]

We will be on the Reflection in a few weeks and I am rather happy at the prospect of having a nice sushi restaurant onboard....we enjoy Izumi on Royal Caribbean.

[MR_T]

Firstly I don't know for sure but I don't see why celebrity would stop serving sushi in the buffet just because they now have a sushi place on 1 of its ships... They serve Asian food on the solstice & Equinox in silk harvest but still have it in the buffet and so on...

 

I've also heard about it being kept as the standard bistro menu at lunch...

 

Personally I'm not a massive fan of sushi, my partner & cruise friend(s) are... but i do like trying some of the veggie stuff or even cooked meat appetisers you can get in some sushi places so I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like...

 

Until I try it, it would be wrong to comment how bad an idea I think it's going to be... [emoji848] so until then let's see what happens! [emoji16]

[MR_T]

We join on the 5th March so will give our experience when back! [emoji16]

[LabGuy64]

Too bad they don't do a thai or mongolian BBQ......would much rather see something like that

 

 

 

I'll be on the Equinox in 10 days. I'll confirm if this is true. It probably is true' date=' I'm just in denial. :([/quote']