Decline of buffet quality, especially in evening?

[Fish Lover]

He said they were on Explorer of the Seas, not Celebrity.

 

Actually I read a post from someone who went on the Canadian/New England cruise that said the ship purchased a pallet of maine lobster in Bar Harbor (I think) and they served them in the MDR at dinner. The next day the leftover lobsters showed up at the grill-to-order section of the buffet grill.

I'm on the September 10 sailing for Can/NE. I'll let you know.

[Fish Lover]

Seriously. 1st world issues. The food is sufficient and appropriate.

 

 

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Tell you what...why don't you just read the threads about politics, terrorism, and climate change. What? There are no threads on those topics? What do you know. Guess you're in the wrong place.

[perditax]

After a couple of NCL and DCL cruises, as a newbie cruiser back in 2015 I remember still having stars in my eyes about X being the "foodie" line. Then I got to the buffet on Eclipse. A couple of years and many cruises later, it still stands out as the worst, and I can't think of much I enjoyed except that sushi which is now gone.

 

(Best buffet so far goes to Princess, specifically the Royal Princess. Coq au vin on the buffet that didn't look like it was the misnamed remnants of some other dish? Yes please.)

[shipshape sam]

I too miss the sushi on evening buffet. :beer-toast:

[freeholdfriends]

In the past 2 years, we have cruised Celebrity 4 times with our 2 adult sons--Eclipse and Equinox in the Caribbean, Silhouette in the Baltic, and most recently on Millie from Vancouver to Seward, returning a week ago. Our sons prefer to eat the evening meal in the buffet, because they prefer casual dress, eating at their own pace, being in control of their portions, and trying new and varied combinations of food. Up to the last Millie cruise, they had been delighted with the buffet, both lunch and dinner, but we all were extremely disappointed with the buffet in Millie.

 

I know that Millie carries fewer passengers and the buffet layout is different compared to Solstice class ships, but that can't explain the difference. I had trouble finding appetizing lunch offerings, often resorting to a tuna salad sandwich. Often the entrees were some sort of mystery meat floating in an oily sauce, and some of the evening entrees appeared to be warmed-over lunch entrees. (The sign posting "gourmet entrees" was a joke.) No daily Mexican offerings (fajitas and tacos) on Millie but lots of weird Asian entrees. I know Millie had just returned from Asia, and it looked like they were trying to get rid of their Asian food.

 

We have an Australia/NZ cruise booked on the Solstice for later this year, but our sons say they will not go or they want us to change to another cruise line. The cruise food is pretty important to them, and they would not want to face 2 weeks of food like the recent cruise.

 

Has anyone else observed a decline of buffet offerings, especially on Solstice?

 

Thanks in advance......

we just got off the Silhouette. I lost two lbs on this cruise. I thought the buffet was dreadful. I loved the ship and the service was always wonderful but I was extremely disappointed in the food in the dining room and the buffet. One place I loved was the small cafe stand in the solarium. They had lovely small meals and serve yourself soft ice cream.

[The_Big_M]

I agree it doesn't change the point, just don't agree that you have one.

 

Very odd, since it was enough of a point that you felt the need to respond to it - repeatedly.

 

After a couple of NCL and DCL cruises, as a newbie cruiser back in 2015 I remember still having stars in my eyes about X being the "foodie" line. Then I got to the buffet on Eclipse. A couple of years and many cruises later, it still stands out as the worst, and I can't think of much I enjoyed except that sushi which is now gone.

 

A decade back, food had been an emphasis of theirs, so your early impression was founded on a reasonable basis.

 

For whatever reason, they gave up on that and I agree, others do it better now. It'd be nice for them to put an emphasis on food though, and try to differentiate themselves.

Edited August 11, 2017 by The_Big_M

[Pushka]

we just got off the Silhouette. I lost two lbs on this cruise. I thought the buffet was dreadful. I loved the ship and the service was always wonderful but I was extremely disappointed in the food in the dining room and the buffet. One place I loved was the small cafe stand in the solarium. They had lovely small meals and serve yourself soft ice cream.

 

 

 

Really? I was on Silly five weeks ago and can't agree.

[gold1953]

It always depends on the people running the show... we have had good buffets and excellent buffets (never bad). On our last cruise the buffet always looked so good that we even skipped BLU one night in favor of dining outside at Ocean View Cafe.

 

We have done the same and totally enjoy it

[awhcruiser]

How is this helpful?

Seriously. 1st world issues. The food is sufficient and appropriate.

 

 

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[Baron Barracuda]

Actually I read a post from someone who went on the Canadian/New England cruise that said the ship purchased a pallet of maine lobster in Bar Harbor (I think) and they served them in the MDR at dinner. The next day the leftover lobsters showed up at the grill-to-order section of the buffet grill.

I'm on the September 10 sailing for Can/NE. I'll let you know.

 

We were on Summit 9/4 and in Bar Harbor watched X chefs on dock weigh lobsters and negotiate with local lobstermen. That night in mdr everyone received a whole lobster. Small, but delicious. Sadly didn't see any at the buffet though.

[Cruisegoer]

Hate the food on Celebrity, especially from the buffet. Only cruise line I actually lose weight. Stopped going on it.

 

 

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Why Troll the Celebrity Board if the cruise line is such garbage???

 

 

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[Tatka]

we just got off the Silhouette. I lost two lbs on this cruise. I thought the buffet was dreadful. I loved the ship and the service was always wonderful but I was extremely disappointed in the food in the dining room and the buffet. One place I loved was the small cafe stand in the solarium. They had lovely small meals and serve yourself soft ice cream.

We had completely opposite experience on Silhuette in December. Food was great as usual, but MDR service was unCelelebrity like.

[awhcruiser]

So why are you here?

Hate the food on Celebrity, especially from the buffet. Only cruise line I actually lose weight. Stopped going on it.

 

 

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[missthesea]

We just got off the Equinox and enjoyed the buffet twice for dinner. The food was good to great, and eating out on the aft deck was beautiful and peaceful.

 

 

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[ChucktownSteve]

I experienced a decline in the Celebrity buffet quality over a few years. The cuts of meat are much less expensive and cooked for a very long time in heavy sauces to make them tender. Even the cold cuts have decreased.

 

If you want to experience a very good buffet, try Azamara. They have a freshly squeezed OJ machine you can watch. Their lunch and dinner offerings change daily. Everything is fresh. Mornings, a fresh waffle takes 3 minutes. An omelet to order takes about three minutes delivered to your table.

[suekay]

I experienced a decline in the Celebrity buffet quality over a few years. The cuts of meat are much less expensive and cooked for a very long time in heavy sauces to make them tender. Even the cold cuts have decreased.

 

If you want to experience a very good buffet, try Azamara. They have a freshly squeezed OJ machine you can watch. Their lunch and dinner offerings change daily. Everything is fresh. Mornings, a fresh waffle takes 3 minutes. An omelet to order takes about three minutes delivered to your table.

I believe you, and would love to try Azamara, but you're comparing apples to oranges. It's not surprising that the buffet (and everything else) is better given the higher prices

 

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[grandgeezer]

I believe you, and would love to try Azamara, but you're comparing apples to oranges. It's not surprising that the buffet (and everything else) is better given the higher prices

 

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The cruise prices on Celebrity are going up but the food quality is going down. It used to be that the food quality was one of the highlights of cruising, now it's just food.