Celebrity Summit - what's the food like???

[Aqua water]

Like Tommy D3, we have cruised on Celebrity when the food in the MDR was excellent.  We have also cruised on other ships where the food has been good but not excellent.

I like to cook with fresh and quality ingredients when at home.  On our recent cruises, the food at dinner in the MDR has been disappointing.  We eat all types of food but the quality of the meat has been very poor.

In Alaska, the buffet at night had the best fresh food.  They served sushi and custom  stir fry nightly at it was good.

We like Aqua class for the smaller dining room and the food has been better than the main dining areas.  We also use the fitness center and Persian garden.

The specialty restaurants are a fine option but I really wish the quality of the food would improve on all cruises.  I would rather have less and a better quality.

 

[Mynki]

On 6/3/2019 at 11:05 AM, glf2710 said:

We are thinking of booking a cruise on Summit next year for our 25th Anniversary.  Never been on Celebrity before so we are wondering what the food is like.  Recently we have cruised on P&O Britannia - yes the food in the MDR is not so good, but we tend to pay the supplement and eat in Epicurean which is probably on a par with the Michelin star restaurants we have eaten in.

 

Can anyone let me know what the MDR and speciality food is like.

 

I've seen pictures taken by passengers - some of it looks pretty grim tbh - but some photos it looks great.  I've heard Celebrity is the cruise line for foodies???  Thoughts and comments welcome.

It's really Ocenaia that is described as the cruise line for foodies. 

If you're expecting an experience like a Michelin starred restaurant you will be sorely disappointed. I feel guilty mentioning Michelin and X in the same sentence because that's an insult to the former! If food is a big deal for you take a look at Oceania. 

[Tatka]

It is not Michelin, but it is the best out of massmarket & massmarket premium.

Much better than what we had in Britannia class on Cunard too. 

[Mynki]

1 hour ago, Tatka said:

It is not Michelin, but it is the best out of massmarket & massmarket premium.

Much better than what we had in Britannia class on Cunard too. 

How do the offerings from Celebrity beat those from Azamara and Oceania? 

[Tatka]

3 minutes ago, Mynki said:

How do the offerings from Celebrity beat those from Azamara and Oceania? 

 

 Unfortunately we have not tried Azamara or Oceania. I think they are better in this regard as they cater to much smaller crowd.

[Mynki]

8 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

 Unfortunately we have not tried Azamara or Oceania. I think they are better in this regard as they cater to much smaller crowd.

Ah OK. When you said :-

 

" but it is the best out of massmarket & massmarket premium."

I'd have assumed you'd have tried the two lines with some of the best regarded dining to make such a bold statement. What you meant was that you personally preferred the food on Celebrity to a few other lines you've sailed on... ?

[BDevilCruiser]

Since this thread is about food on Summit, I guess my question fits here.

 

I signed up for the July 7th sailing this past Friday (23 days ahead.)  I was assigned the 8:30 traditional dining, which I will never make (too late for my system.)  I was waitlisted for Anytime dining (that's what it says on my documents; I understand the TM name is Select.)

 

What is the likelihood that I will get switched, and is there anything I need to do, either before or once I get on board, to make this happen?  While the description of the buffet food is encouraging, I really like the look of the menus I've been able to preview, and would hate to miss out on the MDR experience.

 

(ETA: I do not see the value, for myself, in eating at the specialty restaurants, so that's not a reasonable option.)

 

Edited June 18, 2019 by BDevilCruiser

[Tatka]

2 hours ago, Mynki said:

Ah OK. When you said :-

 

" but it is the best out of massmarket & massmarket premium."

I'd have assumed you'd have tried the two lines with some of the best regarded dining to make such a bold statement. What you meant was that you personally preferred the food on Celebrity to a few other lines you've sailed on... ?

 

We sailed with Celebrity, Princess, Cunard (for regular accommodations) , Holland, RCI, NCL, MSC, Carnival.

They all are massmarket. First 4 a premium massmarket

 

Oceania and Azamara are not massmarket. They aren;t luxury, but more like ultra premium.

 

What I preferred was quality and variety (although we haven't sailed with X since the end of 2016). Especially in MDR. In buffets at least newer Princess ships had more variety and much more seafood dishes which we love. 

Cunard (QM2) offered nice although very repetitive buffet, but to our surprise MDR food (in Britannia class) was midiocre. 

Edited June 18, 2019 by Tatka

[Turtles06]

43 minutes ago, BDevilCruiser said:

What is the likelihood that I will get switched, and is there anything I need to do, either before or once I get on board, to make this happen?  While the description of the buffet food is encouraging, I really like the look of the menus I've been able to preview, and would hate to miss out on the MDR experience.

 

 

If you don’t clear the waitlist before you sail, then as soon as you board, head to the MDR and speak to the Maitre d’ to see if you can be switched. (I don’t know if it helps to call Celebrity about this before you sail, but I don’t see a downside.)

 

We haven’t yet sailed on the Summit, but we have always enjoyed the food in Celebrity’s buffets. 

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise! 

[Tatka]

44 minutes ago, BDevilCruiser said:

Since this thread is about food on Summit, I guess my question fits here.

 

I signed up for the July 7th sailing this past Friday (23 days ahead.)  I was assigned the 8:30 traditional dining, which I will never make (too late for my system.)  I was waitlisted for Anytime dining (that's what it says on my documents; I understand the TM name is Select.)

 

What is the likelihood that I will get switched, and is there anything I need to do, either before or once I get on board, to make this happen?  While the description of the buffet food is encouraging, I really like the look of the menus I've been able to preview, and would hate to miss out on the MDR experience.

 

(ETA: I do not see the value, for myself, in eating at the specialty restaurants, so that's not a reasonable option.)

 

 

We are assigned to Select (same as anytime dining on Princess/P&O(?)) and I made reservations for certain times. Although last time we cruised on Summit we did not have reservations, just showed up before 6 pm and were seated.

 

What we always do if we do not like our assignment, we just go to restaurant after boarding and talk to the staff. Sometimes (not with X, but with Royal) after the boarding we discover that assignments did not match original - different time for example - so this is what we've done. We always got our wish granted.

[citronella]

Specialty restaurants on Silhouette do not compare at all with a Michelin 1* let alone any higher stars. There was no problem getting a table at any of the restaurants any night. We had booked Muranos for the second night of cruise as it was a sea day and paid full price. All other nights we got discounts at all restaurants. For the most part, we were happy with the specialty restaurants.

 

 I thought the food in MDR was terrible - only ate there 3 times on 14 night cruise.  Out of those 3 meals, only one salad was good. Overall, the food in the buffet was good. However, I agree with another poster about people cutting in front as though this was going to be the last bite of food they would ever see. I’m sure they’d push children, women and the elderly of the way if the ship was going down.

 

We were in a regular verandah but I spoke to 4 different people staying in Aqua class who said the food was pretty well equivalent to MDR.

 

 

[psuboater]

Went on the Summit last month. I thought the MDR food was some of the worst we've seen (the menu each night was so unappealing. We went on the first formal night and my watermelon salad was terrible, my mom's steak was a hockey puck,  and my shrimp scampi was just OK). However,  I think the Oceanview Cafe has some of the best food I've had on a cruise ship. I stuck with the Made to Order options - got a piece of fish grilled or had the MTO stir-fry every night. I thought it was all really flavorful without being too heavy or gloppy.  I also loved the sesame noodles for lunch at the spa cafe.

 

If you live in a major city and enjoy dining out,  I don't think you're going to think anything on any main-line cruise ship is comparable. However, most of the time I don't look forward to cruise ship food at all, and I will definitely miss the Oceanview cafe when we switch to NCL next summer to head to Bermuda.

[Tatka]

No I am worried... so big change in quality in several years?

Is escargot still offered every night?

[BratDet]

20 hours ago, lmklimmek said:

Luminae = 50% land based restaurant quality 50% applebee's with FABULOUS service

 

20 hours ago, lmklimmek said:

My two cents- we are going on Summit for third time in a suite because the food in Luminae is sooo good....we won't even choose Applebees as a dining choice in our daily lives....so maybe you were thinking of the MDR....  ;)....we decided to eat in the Italian venue and it was a huge disappointment compared to Luminae....since I am a picky eater, I also like being able to choose oin Luminae ff the menu next door as needed.....

 

[BDevilCruiser]

5 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

If you don’t clear the waitlist before you sail, then as soon as you board, head to the MDR and speak to the Maitre d’ to see if you can be switched. (I don’t know if it helps to call Celebrity about this before you sail, but I don’t see a downside.)

 

We haven’t yet sailed on the Summit, but we have always enjoyed the food in Celebrity’s buffets. 

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise! 

Thanks for the tip and the good wishes.

[CleverUserNameHere]

21 hours ago, lmklimmek said:

MDR = Wedding Banquet Food with Mediocre Service

Tuscan Grille = Olive Garden Quality with Great Service

Murano = Land based Restaurant Quality and Great Service (would eat here every night)

Qsine = Trendy Restaurant with Applebee's quality and Mediocre Service

Luminae = 50% land based restaurant quality 50% applebee's with FABULOUS service

 

 

 

 

I agree completely with these comparisons, except that our service at Qsine on the Summit this past May was terrible. And the MDR was such a chaotic mess that we ate at the buffet most nights, it wasn't worth the hassle of a 20 minute wait to be seated. That being said, the food at the buffet is AMAZING and I never eat at buffets because I usually think they're kind of gross. 

[klscaz]

On 6/3/2019 at 9:04 AM, Lace said:

I am curious as well.  What are the base options, how many sit down meals are there per day, what are the alternatives, what can you order off the menu, how many things can you order off the menu, etc.

 

the Celebrity website is pretty poor to offer any info.  I ordered a brochure.  I hope it comes soon.

 

Just got off of the Summit on Sunday. Here is what I wrote about the food in my review:

 

We have not sailed Celebrity since 2000, although we have been on 17 cruises in total. This cruise did not live up to our fond memories of the Celebrity experience. Dining and the On board entertainment options were the low points for us. The excellent service saved our cruise.

 

DINING
We choose Anytime dining and there was always a line so we asked to switch to the late seating and the initial request was bungled by one of the dining managers. We got that problem squared away and had an excellent waiter, Moe in the main dining room. Always smiling and happy and bringing us extra food--lol. However, the menu selections were disappointing and curry seemed to be the preferred spice in a number of dishes. 
 

We ate at the Tuscan Grille on the 1st and 5th nights for a reduced rate of $30 pp. For us, it was worth the up charge. We did not try Qsine. We had sashimi for lunch one day in Sushi on Five and enjoyed that experience. 

The Oceanview Buffet was as expected. The high points were the raisin bread at the bakery and the ice cream at Scoops. Also, fresh omelets for my husband. My husband absolutely hated the coffee in the Oceanview--weak and no real half and half. It was also hard to get half and half in the dining room--it seemed to be milk or watered down beyond recognition. Also the desserts at the buffet looked great but for the most part, tasted bland. They were better in the dining room. Butter seemed to be rationed in the main dining room. 

 

[klscaz]

4 hours ago, Tatka said:

No I am worried... so big change in quality in several years?

Is escargot still offered every night?

Yes, in the main dining room. 

[Mynki]

14 hours ago, Tatka said:

 

We sailed with Celebrity, Princess, Cunard (for regular accommodations) , Holland, RCI, NCL, MSC, Carnival.

They all are massmarket. First 4 a premium massmarket

 

Oceania and Azamara are not massmarket. They aren;t luxury, but more like ultra premium.

 

What I preferred was quality and variety (although we haven't sailed with X since the end of 2016). Especially in MDR. In buffets at least newer Princess ships had more variety and much more seafood dishes which we love. 

Cunard (QM2) offered nice although very repetitive buffet, but to our surprise MDR food (in Britannia class) was midiocre. 

Hmmmm

There is no universally accepted definition of 'premium mass market'. Like food it's also seems a very subjective term. In the real world it has no useful meaning. Think about it.... An interior room on Celebrity where you are limited to the MDR and buffet is not the same experience as being in the penthouse where you can visit Murano and the other specialty restaurants all included. So it's pretty pointless in my opinion to state one line is one label and another line is another very subjective label. Two pax boarding the same ship can have very different experiences depending on their accommodation choices, bars they frequent and venues where they decide to dine. 

Oceania and Azamara are not 6* rated ships so cannot be described as luxury lines. The term "ultra premium" is used by a few US TA's as a marketing ploy. Some of which disagree with you and include Cunard in the description. 


To the OP...

I sailed on Summit in december 2017. Two back to back cruises including our only sailing in 11 day trip in CC and one 10 day cruise in Aquaclass. The dining onboard was very poor. Largely down to resource issues. Blu had one sommelier who'd often show up whilst you were half way through your main course. Orders were wrong on several occasions etc. Buffet food and for that matter room service offerings were luke warm. The canapes were so poor they often had comedy value. 

One thing I noted that has also been commented on by quite a few forum members is that the deserts on Celebrity in the buffet look great but lack any kind of flavour. And despite their appearances often taste very similar. 

Sadly the Ocean Liners restaurants on M class (Murano) are all gone and have been replaced with the Tuscan Grille. This venue has a bit of an identity crisis in that it's not a real steakhouse and it's not a real Italian restaurant. And this brings us onto beef. Beef across the Celebrity fleet is pretty poor. Enjoy a nice aged, grass fed steak in any land restaurant and follow it with quick grown, grain fed budget steaks onboard the ship and you will be disappointed. 

Sushi on 5 isn't bad but if sashimi is your thing you have to bear in mind they are not having fresh fish delivered daily like a high end land based sushi restaurant would do. Service was certainly good though. 

Qsine was good if you like the quirky set up they have there though I believe it's now been replaced with LPC. 

We followed that with a cruise on RCL who IMHO had better service, nicer food in the buffet including on two occasions lobster tails and fresh langoustines although the former didn't hang around for very long! 

Food in the MDR was ok but not very inspiring in all honesty. I don't recall being overly impressed with anything served in there it was simply OK. Budget cuts are now showing. 

So apologies for all the negativity, I'm acutely aware that my post will likely be misinterpreted by some as looking down my nose at Summit. I'm not, I'm just trying to be brutally honest and objective. Our time on Summit was ironically the best value cruises we've ever had due to ridiculously low pricing after a hurricane so overall it was fine but I wish I'd had paid more for an overall better experience. 

The best advice I can give you is to read the recent reviews on the main site in addition to these posts on the forum and see what the masses are saying. Ignore the obvious fanboys and ignore the whiners and you'll get a fairly accurate overall impression of the ship. 

 

[citronella]

53 minutes ago, Mynki said:

One thing I noted that has also been commented on by quite a few forum members is that the deserts on Celebrity in the buffet look great but lack any kind of flavour. And despite their appearances often taste very similar. 

 

Very true.........found the same at Al Bacio, buffet and MDR  - looked good but tasted poor.

[Tatka]

2 hours ago, Mynki said:

Hmmmm

There is no universally accepted definition of 'premium mass market'. Like food it's also seems a very subjective term. In the real world it has no useful meaning. Think about it.... An interior room on Celebrity where you are limited to the MDR and buffet is not the same experience as being in the penthouse where you can visit Murano and the other specialty restaurants all included. So it's pretty pointless in my opinion to state one line is one label and another line is another very subjective label. Two pax boarding the same ship can have very different experiences depending on their accommodation choices, bars they frequent and venues where they decide to dine. 

Oceania and Azamara are not 6* rated ships so cannot be described as luxury lines. The term "ultra premium" is used by a few US TA's as a marketing ploy. Some of which disagree with you and include Cunard in the description. 


To the OP...

I sailed on Summit in december 2017. Two back to back cruises including our only sailing in 11 day trip in CC and one 10 day cruise in Aquaclass. The dining onboard was very poor. Largely down to resource issues. Blu had one sommelier who'd often show up whilst you were half way through your main course. Orders were wrong on several occasions etc. Buffet food and for that matter room service offerings were luke warm. The canapes were so poor they often had comedy value. 

One thing I noted that has also been commented on by quite a few forum members is that the deserts on Celebrity in the buffet look great but lack any kind of flavour. And despite their appearances often taste very similar. 

Sadly the Ocean Liners restaurants on M class (Murano) are all gone and have been replaced with the Tuscan Grille. This venue has a bit of an identity crisis in that it's not a real steakhouse and it's not a real Italian restaurant. And this brings us onto beef. Beef across the Celebrity fleet is pretty poor. Enjoy a nice aged, grass fed steak in any land restaurant and follow it with quick grown, grain fed budget steaks onboard the ship and you will be disappointed. 

Sushi on 5 isn't bad but if sashimi is your thing you have to bear in mind they are not having fresh fish delivered daily like a high end land based sushi restaurant would do. Service was certainly good though. 

Qsine was good if you like the quirky set up they have there though I believe it's now been replaced with LPC. 

We followed that with a cruise on RCL who IMHO had better service, nicer food in the buffet including on two occasions lobster tails and fresh langoustines although the former didn't hang around for very long! 

Food in the MDR was ok but not very inspiring in all honesty. I don't recall being overly impressed with anything served in there it was simply OK. Budget cuts are now showing. 

So apologies for all the negativity, I'm acutely aware that my post will likely be misinterpreted by some as looking down my nose at Summit. I'm not, I'm just trying to be brutally honest and objective. Our time on Summit was ironically the best value cruises we've ever had due to ridiculously low pricing after a hurricane so overall it was fine but I wish I'd had paid more for an overall better experience. 

The best advice I can give you is to read the recent reviews on the main site in addition to these posts on the forum and see what the masses are saying. Ignore the obvious fanboys and ignore the whiners and you'll get a fairly accurate overall impression of the ship. 

 

 

I was comparing food available for pax in regular accommodations and included into fare. And it’s quite different.

 

You compared grass fed steak in land based restaurant to Celebrity’s steak. You said that beef wasn’t very good. I would like to hear what you’d say about beef and meat overall on MSc ships. My husband honestly tried every time ... and couldn’t even cut it successfully. And there was many other great things about that line, but food was not their strongest point to put it politely.

[Redtravel]

I am elite plus and have sailed on Summit 8 times.  It is a nice ship.  The food is good. Not bad, not great. There are several choices.  It is not gourmet. For a big ship, they do a good job feeding the crowd.   For better food, you can pay to eat in specialty restaurants.  Our last cruise on Summit was July 2018 in aqua class. Aqua class eats in Blu, not the MDR. It is better than MDR.  If you expect fabulous food, you may be disappointed. Cruise lines with fabulous food cost more than Celebrity.  Have a nice cruise. You won’t go hungry.

[Mynki]

1 hour ago, Tatka said:

 

I was comparing food available for pax in regular accommodations and included into fare. And it’s quite different.

 

You compared grass fed steak in land based restaurant to Celebrity’s steak. You said that beef wasn’t very good. I would like to hear what you’d say about beef and meat overall on MSc ships. My husband honestly tried every time ... and couldn’t even cut it successfully. And there was many other great things about that line, but food was not their strongest point to put it politely.

i was replying to you labelling all lines.

I've never sailed on MSC. But I'll make two assumptions. Firstly that your husband told the waiter his preferred cooking point for his steak and secondly that he was provided with a steak knife. Therefore if he couldn't cut his steak there was something seriously wrong with the cooking process. I'd suggest feeding back at the time to the waiter and or maitre 'd to ensure he received what he ordered. 

[Tatka]

1 minute ago, Mynki said:

i was replying to you labelling all lines.

I've never sailed on MSC. But I'll make two assumptions. Firstly that your husband told the waiter his preferred cooking point for his steak and secondly that he was provided with a steak knife. Therefore if he couldn't cut his steak there was something seriously wrong with the cooking process. I'd suggest feeding back at the time to the waiter and or maitre 'd to ensure he received what he ordered. 

 

 Believe me we tried many things. We cruised twice with them and this was one thing that couldn't be fixed no matter what. I exaggerated a bit.. he of course was able to cut it, but they constantly offered lower quality pieces of meat and cooking wasn't the best. Being on so many cruises prior and after we know how sending back dishes works.

 

 We also do not compare ships' food (at least in MDR) to fine restaurants on land. Only to other lines MDR.

 At least among the lines I listed Celebrity was always in top in this regard.

[Mynki]

Just now, Tatka said:

 

 Believe me we tried many things. We cruised twice with them and this was one thing that couldn't be fixed no matter what. I exaggerated a bit.. he of course was able to cut it, but they constantly offered lower quality pieces of meat and cooking wasn't the best. Being on so many cruises prior and after we know how sending back dishes works.

 

 We also do not compare ships' food (at least in MDR) to fine restaurants on land. Only to other lines MDR.

 At least among the lines I listed Celebrity was always in top in this regard.

It's not easy to give a meaningful impression to the OP about the quality of the food onboard a ship. I've read comments from cheerleaders claiming it's "excellent, amazing or fabulous" on this very forum. I've also read a few clowns claim the food is "inedible". None of which is very helpful or descriptive. 

Comparing ship restaurants to land based restaurants can help the OP get a better idea of what to expect in the same way as comparing chain hotels to cabins can help set an expectation.


To the OP again. I've just read a few very recent reviews of Summit on the main board. There are multiple references to poor quality food. You might wish to read them.