No more prime rib?

[foodsvcmgr]

The point here is obviously there is no legal obligation to serve prime rib or anything else.

It transcends into an ethical issue of making many changes to historically expected foods,

products and services when the buyer has no recourse for canceling.

[dcbiker97]

14 minutes ago, foodsvcmgr said:

The point here is obviously there is no legal obligation to serve prime rib or anything else.

It transcends into an ethical issue of making many changes to historically expected foods,

products and services when the buyer has no recourse for canceling.

While I’m not a fan of the changes, we allow this by agreeing to the cruise contract. If you don’t like those terms, don’t book a cruise. Vote with your wallet to go find the biggest piece of prime rib you can find on the high seas.  

[LGW59]

12 hours ago, OysterD said:

 

Oh come off it. Of course its not 'stealing' and unethical. 

 

Cancel your cruise with zero penalty and a days notice because they're serving tilapia and a different cut of beef?! Oh and your car purchase comparison is way off. If you can find in your cruise contract (or actually any marketing put out by Celebrity) which promises prime rib in the mdr or promises not to serve tilapia then maybe you'd have a point. But obviously the cruise contract does not state that. 

 

The vast majority of people won't care about or even notice the minor changes being introduced or won't be affected by them. 

 

Any realistic suggestions for Celebrity to try or is your only solution to have an even more generous cancellation policy than they had for covid?! Because of a steak. 

 

Finally, I can guarantee you if all the cruise lines do not make cuts then they will be "done" and I also guarantee that the vast majority of passengers (less than 1% of cruisers probably post on here, I take a lot of complaints with a pinch of salt) won't take into account what cuts of beef are served in one of the restaurants (or how one type of fish is farmed) when deciding whether to book a cruise or not. I absolutely guarantee that. 

Well said but how dare you interject here with reason and sensibility!  🙂

 

[foodsvcmgr]

I guess one positive side effect of these changes being made too late for anyone to cancel is that we will all have the opportunity to experience first hand and judge accordingly if they are no big deal or deal breakers or some middle ground.

The reality onboard will likely differ from the predawn conclusions here.

[Ipeeinthepools]

3 minutes ago, foodsvcmgr said:

I guess one positive side effect of these changes being made too late for anyone to cancel is that we will all have the opportunity to experience first hand and judge accordingly if they are no big deal or deal breakers or some middle ground.

The reality onboard will likely differ from the predawn conclusions here.

We look forward to your reports.

[terrydtx]

On our Reflection cruise last year, the beef steaks served in Luminae were the worst of any cruise we have been on, in quality, taste and tenderness.  The running joke in Luminae was we were being served old milk cows. I had better beef in the Old Sizzlers steak houses. I brought up the poor beef issue with the Luminae manager and he explained that Celebrity was using a new beef supplier and that we were not the first to complain.  BTW that new beef supplier was only for the MDR, Blu and Luminae, the specialty restaurants all used a different supplier according the  Luminae manager.

 

After 2 terrible steak encounters, we decided to stay with the other non-beef entrees and overall, the food was excellent including the fish. No Tilapia was served in Luminae or the OVC that I saw on that cruise. What is driving us to look elsewhere for our cruising dollar is the future pricing on Sky Suites that are up in some cases more than 30%. 

Edited January 15, 2023 by terrydtx

[NutsAboutGolf]

12 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

On our Reflection cruise last year, the beef steaks served in Luminae were the worst of any cruise we have been on, in quality, taste and tenderness.  The running joke in Luminae was we were being served old milk cows. I had better beef in the Old Sizzlers steak houses. I brought up the poor beef issue with the Luminae manager and he explained that Celebrity was using a new beef supplier and that we were not the first to complain.  BTW that new beef supplier was only for the MDR, Blu and Luminae, the specialty restaurants all used a different supplier according the  Luminae manager.

 

After 2 terrible steak encounters, we decided to stay with the other non-beef entrees and overall, the food was excellent including the fish. No Tilapia was served in Luminae or the OVC that I saw on that cruise. What is driving us to look elsewhere for our cruising dollar is the future pricing on Sky Suites that are up in some cases more than 30%. 

Wow, thanks for the info.  That’s disappointing about the beef supplier.  A big problem with the specialty restaurants is obtaining a reservation earlier than 9pm once on board

[terrydtx]

6 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Wow, thanks for the info.  That’s disappointing about the beef supplier.  A big problem with the specialty restaurants is obtaining a reservation earlier than 9pm once on board

For us it has never been an issue getting a reservation, our butlers have been able to get earlier ones when asked. Also, our last two cruises were in half full ships.  In 2021 on the Equinox our butler got us a 6:30 reservation in Tuscan Grill for our Anniversary and it was mostly empty, maybe 15 people were having dinner at that time. Same thing on the Reflection last year in the Lawn Club Grill it was maybe 30% full when we dinned there, the steaks BTW were very good but not worth the cover charge. 

Edited January 15, 2023 by terrydtx

[SSAtlantic]

On 1/14/2023 at 10:23 AM, RichYak said:

It's not just prime rib that's missing. Snapper, brisket, short ribs seem to be gone. And as I've posted elsewhere, the high quality starters are gone from menus on the app too--leaving mostly just soups and salads. Crab cake, beef carpaccio, tuna poke, beef spring rolls... all gone from menus I've looked at.

Just got off Reflection today. All of the items mentioned above were gone from MDR menus. The every day sirloin was not good either. I will say our dinners in the speciality restaurants were all excellent with very good beef. 

[terrydtx]

11 minutes ago, SSAtlantic said:

Just got off Reflection today. All of the items mentioned above were gone from MDR menus. The every day sirloin was not good either. I will say our dinners in the speciality restaurants were all excellent with very good beef. 

Thank you for your report, this turns this thread into a reality rather than mere speculation. On another popular social media site many recent passengers are reporting the same as above. One person called it the NCLization of Celebrity. LOL

Edited January 15, 2023 by terrydtx

[SSAtlantic]

I will add that we did check out the buffet in the evening just to see and it was pizza, pasta, salad, and a few stations different each evening. Many stations were closed. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

13 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

For us it has never been an issue getting a reservation, our butlers have been able to get earlier ones when asked. Also, our last two cruises were in half full ships.  In 2021 on the Equinox our butler got us a 6:30 reservation in Tuscan Grill for our Anniversary and it was mostly empty, maybe 15 people were having dinner at that time. Same thing on the Reflection last year in the Lawn Club Grill it was maybe 30% full when we dinned there, the steaks BTW were very good but not worth the cover charge. 

Thanks for the reminder that if we’re not in the Retreat, we’re simply peasants…lol

[Keys Kathy]

On 1/14/2023 at 12:08 AM, grandgeezer said:

I give them six more months and the only steak on the menu will be tube steak, also know as hot dogs.

Do you think they will be all beef?

[LMaxwell]

6 minutes ago, Keys Kathy said:

Do you think they will be all beef?

 "Mast Grill Under the Stars - Indulge in our new open air dining venue and take a bit of day time fun into the evening with classic international grill fare. $51.99+20%" 

[Keys Kathy]

Just now, LMaxwell said:

 "Mast Grill Under the Stars - Indulge in our new open air dining venue and take a bit of day time fun into the evening with classic international grill fare. $51.99+20%" 

I can see it featured in the daily rag on the inside left. Top right.

[LMaxwell]

Just now, Keys Kathy said:

I can see it featured in the daily rag on the inside left. Top right.

Don't wait to book onboard; then it is $74.99+20%.  the pre-cruise discount is where it's at. 

select either fries OR onion rings. 

[NMTraveller]

27 minutes ago, SSAtlantic said:

Just got off Reflection today. All of the items mentioned above were gone from MDR menus. The every day sirloin was not good either. I will say our dinners in the speciality restaurants were all excellent with very good beef. 

Were the specialty restaurants at about full capacity?

[iandjm]

9 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

Don't wait to book onboard; then it is $74.99+20%.  the pre-cruise discount is where it's at. 

select either fries OR onion rings. 

With a 1% loyalty discount for elite plus and zenith 🤣

[Keys Kathy]

14 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

Don't wait to book onboard; then it is $74.99+20%.  the pre-cruise discount is where it's at. 

select either fries OR onion rings. 

I understand they charge extra for blue cheese.

[SSAtlantic]

12 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Were the specialty restaurants at about full capacity?

We had made reservations ahead of time, we ate in Tuscan the first night and there were empty tables for sure. Murano  and LCG were definitely busier. 

[NMTraveller]

[Keys Kathy]

With the currect pricing we are foregoing a Suite and getting a Sunset Veranda. We say enough $$ to eat in specialty restaurants if there is nothing in the MDR.

[Ipeeinthepools]

I don't know about the rest of the CC community, but I'm not even considering booking a Celebrity cruise given these new cutbacks to the MDR selections and the OVC.  I just received an email from Celebrity about special promotion for European cruises and I didn't even open it.  Hopefully it won't Celebrity very long to connect the dots.

[BermudaBound2014]

I don’t cruise for food, but if you do, the cutbacks to quality and quantity are evident. 

 

I have read and listened to every single single quarterly release since the shut downs. Billions in debt and they have yet to see a single profitable quarter. If occupancy returns to 2019 levels, they will barely make enough profit to pay interest only on their loans. Barely. And it won’t surprise me in  the least if we don’t see more bond offerings shortly. There is still more digging on the horizon. 
 

Brutal reality- The cruise industry we loved pre-pandemic is gone. Just another causality to go along with the cost of groceries and home heating fuel. I’m afraid it is time to adjust expectations or select a new mode of travel. 
 

What cruising still offers is sunny days, cool breezes, the endless sea, and the ease of transportation to various sites. Those things matter to me. There are still plenty of activities offered onboard and the service has been stellar. Some of the absolute best service I have ever encountered (and I’m a lowly verandah).  
 

It’s a sad reality. I do think Celebrity could have rolled out the changes with advanced warning and perhaps some grace offered to those past final payment. But I’m of the belief that when it all shakes out, each and every cruise line will have implemented drastic cost cutting measures to avoid restructuring. I’m also of the belief that restructuring is inevitable. Time will tell. 
 

 

[Keys Kathy]

18 hours ago, Baron Barracuda said:

In their most recent quarter RCG reported Food expense amounted to 6.5% of revenue (X is not broken out discretely in their financials).  For the first 9 months of 2022 it was 7.2%, so as ships fill up the number appears to be trending down.  In 2019 however Food was only 5.5% of revenue.  So if over the past three years food costs have increased by 1% of revenue wouldn't a 1% increase in fares have made them whole?  Given that fares have risen much more than that believe X is using "food inflation" as a smoke screen to pad the bottom line.

Ah! A new term "foodflation" It will be in Webster's next year.