Where's the beef 2.0? In the MDR, is Beef Wellington, Prime Rib and Ribeye all gone for 2023???

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, luv4cruises said:

Time to cruise with Princess again. Last cruise-Prime Rib and Beef Wellington still- on menu but no pillow chocolates! Also only one drink package and refundable deposits. 

Read some thread on Princess, seems like they are also cutting back in their MDRs too.

[doug52]

Well, unless our menu is wrong, on the Silhouette Luminae menu from April TA out of the first 10 nights they show:

-Filet Mignon  -Rib Eye  - Short Ribs  -N Y Strip   - Butter poached Lobster  

 

No Beef Wellington but several Veal dishes which I love as well.

 

Doug

 

[doug52]

And, since we stay on the ship for the next cruise we are in an Aqua cabin.  And Blu also shows for this 10 day cruise:

 

-Filet Mignon  -Rib Eye  - Prime Rib  - Lobster Tail

 

And, still show NY Strip for everyday classics. No beef wellington.

 

Looks like we will get plenty of beef on our total 23 nights on board.  Now, hopefully the quality is there.

 

Doug

[NutsAboutGolf]

16 minutes ago, doug52 said:

Well, unless our menu is wrong, on the Silhouette Luminae menu from April TA out of the first 10 nights they show:

-Filet Mignon  -Rib Eye  - Short Ribs  -N Y Strip   - Butter poached Lobster  

 

No Beef Wellington but several Veal dishes which I love as well.

 

Doug

 

 

8 minutes ago, doug52 said:

And, since we stay on the ship for the next cruise we are in an Aqua cabin.  And Blu also shows for this 10 day cruise:

 

-Filet Mignon  -Rib Eye  - Prime Rib  - Lobster Tail

 

And, still show NY Strip for everyday classics. No beef wellington.

 

Looks like we will get plenty of beef on our total 23 nights on board.  Now, hopefully the quality is there.

 

Doug

As the title states “MDR” aka the Main Dining Room aka the steerage peasants like myself…Ha ha 

[terrydtx]

14 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

As the title states “MDR” aka the Main Dining Room aka the steerage peasants like myself…Ha ha 

it seems that Celebrity has made the most dramatic cuts in the MDR's as they know not everyone can afford Aqua or suites. I see some differences in the Luminae menus but nothing like the MDR cuts on our booked cruises.  

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

it seems that Celebrity has made the most dramatic cuts in the MDR's as they know not everyone can afford Aqua or suites. I see some differences in the Luminae menus but nothing like the MDR cuts on our booked cruises.  

 

I'm sure they didn't want to mess with "The Retreat" too much but I think it was you who stated they downgraded beef suppliers

[booklady26]

Not to beat a dead horse, but I have to say that while I don't like the cutbacks, I can understand the financial reasoning behind them. What really bothers me is that the cost of cruising has skyrocketed. I'm going on the Silhouette in 3 weeks. We were supposed to take the same cruise a year ago but cancelled due to covid concerns. I was going through some old paperwork last week and realized that we're paying close to $2,000 more for this year's cruise at the same time of year for the same cabin category (plain old verandah). 

 

We're paying a lot more and getting less. 

[terrydtx]

25 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

I'm sure they didn't want to mess with "The Retreat" too much but I think it was you who stated they downgraded beef suppliers

yes that was the story we were told on the Reflection last year after so many complained about inedible steaks in Luminae. The running joke was that we eating old milk cows.

[terrydtx]

1 minute ago, booklady26 said:

Not to beat a dead horse, but I have to say that while I don't like the cutbacks, I can understand the financial reasoning behind them. What really bothers me is that the cost of cruising has skyrocketed. I'm going on the Silhouette in 3 weeks. We were supposed to take the same cruise a year ago but cancelled due to covid concerns. I was going through some old paperwork last week and realized that we're paying close to $2,000 more for this year's cruise at the same time of year for the same cabin category (plain old verandah). 

 

We're paying a lot more and getting less. 

Celebrity has raised prices across the board, so we are getting less value for a lot more cost.

[NutsAboutGolf]

Just now, terrydtx said:

yes that was the story we were told on the Reflection last year after so many complained about inedible steaks in Luminae. The running joke was that we eating old milk cows.

 

The other thing about Blu is guests can order off of MDR menu.  On a typical 7 night sailing, Blu will offer filet on both Chic nights, but that's it.  Used to be get the Prime Rib on the first night and Ribeye on a non-Chic night but those options are gone

[Baron Barracuda]

Took a quick look at parent RCL's financials (they don't break out X) and saw  for 4q '22 total food cost per passenger per day was $18.30.  Full year '22 was $18.6 and full year 2019 was $13.  (Recall reading in a q&a that "food" includes at least some beverages and recognize pp costs are higher in Specialties and Suite DR's and lower in mdr.)  Nonetheless, since 2019 the cost of food  to has risen $5.60 per person per day.  Believe most would have had no issue if  X simply asked us to fork over an additional $5-$6 / day to maintain the historic menus.  But while X did raise fares substantially they apparently elected to spend the money elsewhere.  

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 minutes ago, Baron Barracuda said:

Took a quick look at parent RCL's financials (they don't break out X) and saw  for 4q '22 total food cost per passenger per day was $18.30.  Full year '22 was $18.6 and full year 2019 was $13.  (Recall reading in a q&a that "food" includes at least some beverages and recognize pp costs are higher in Specialties and Suite DR's and lower in mdr.)  Nonetheless, since 2019 the cost of food  to has risen $5.60 per person per day.  Believe most would have had no issue if  X simply asked us to fork over an additional $5-$6 / day to maintain the historic menus.  But while X did raise fares substantially they apparently elected to spend the money elsewhere.  

 

Upper employee's compensation

[markeb]

1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Upper employee's compensation

 

Fuel. Read their 10-K. Food and fuel. And interest on their debt. Employee compensation is way down on their list of expenses.

[megbowlstrike]

I was on Summit on Jan 28 and then on Millennium on Feb 3 (kind of a side-to-side or back-to-back with one day in FLL in between). I'm a meat eater and I was disappointed in the beef offerings in the MDR. No prime rib, short ribs, filet, ribeye, etc. The only steak besides the daily NY Strip was beef tournedos. The beef offerings tended towards veal and lamb, neither of which I eat. 

 

The thing I don't get is...Royal still has prime rib on the new menus. Celebrity is supposed to be the more upscale line in the brand, so why does Royal have prime rib and Celebrity doesn't? Even Carnival still has prime rib, usually served twice on a 7+ day cruise. Carnival also has short ribs and filet.

 

I'm booked in Aquaclass on the Feb 25 Solstice cruise. At one point, prime rib was listed on the Blu menu on the app, but now it's not. 😞 

[NutsAboutGolf]

27 minutes ago, megbowlstrike said:

I was on Summit on Jan 28 and then on Millennium on Feb 3 (kind of a side-to-side or back-to-back with one day in FLL in between). I'm a meat eater and I was disappointed in the beef offerings in the MDR. No prime rib, short ribs, filet, ribeye, etc. The only steak besides the daily NY Strip was beef tournedos. The beef offerings tended towards veal and lamb, neither of which I eat. 

 

The thing I don't get is...Royal still has prime rib on the new menus. Celebrity is supposed to be the more upscale line in the brand, so why does Royal have prime rib and Celebrity doesn't? Even Carnival still has prime rib, usually served twice on a 7+ day cruise. Carnival also has short ribs and filet.

 

I'm booked in Aquaclass on the Feb 25 Solstice cruise. At one point, prime rib was listed on the Blu menu on the app, but now it's not. 😞 

 

Recently off the Solstice in AQ, assuming things don't change Blu will offer filet twice on both Chic nights.  One has a sauce is listed under Blu signature entrees and the other will be sauceless on the clean cuisine side; appears the be prepared the exact same

[homedepot124]

We were on Solstice in January and there was no prime rib, no beef Wellington, and no lamb chops.  The only decent beef on Celebrity was the beef tournedos.

We were on Discovery Princess the following week and the MDR meals were far superior to Celebrity.  And Princess did have prime rib, beef Wellington, and surf and turf(filet). 

[Fisherjs34]

Just completed an 11day eastern caribbean cruise on Silhouette. The MDR food was average at best. I enjoyed breakfast in MDR but dinner was not good. Slow service, small portions and low quality meat i.e Sirlion. We had taken this ship a year ago and had beef wellington, prime rib ny strip with excellent service. The room and attendant were great. The mast grill and pool bar service slow. The ocean view cafe was decent for lunch. Overall Celebrity has lost a step in my view and I don’t feel inclined to give them another chance.

[horseymike]

Prime franks and beans will be on the menu on every cruise of 7 or more nights.

[terrydtx]

2 hours ago, horseymike said:

Prime franks and beans will be on the menu on every cruise of 7 or more nights.

Don't forget plenty of high end Tilapia in the MDR. Yummm

[Baystate]

Just off Princess in November and I can confirm that they did have prime rib and beef wellington in the mdr 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bigbeergut]

8 hours ago, Fisherjs34 said:

Just completed an 11day eastern caribbean cruise on Silhouette. The MDR food was average at best. I enjoyed breakfast in MDR but dinner was not good. Slow service, small portions and low quality meat i.e Sirlion. We had taken this ship a year ago and had beef wellington, prime rib ny strip with excellent service. The room and attendant were great. The mast grill and pool bar service slow. The ocean view cafe was decent for lunch. Overall Celebrity has lost a step in my view and I don’t feel inclined to give them another chance.

Welcome to CruiseCritic.  You may want to give HAL’s Pinnacle class ships a try, I think they have risen above Celebrity (or Celebrity has dropped)

Edited February 19, 2023 by bigbeergut

[LouChamp]

1 hour ago, bigbeergut said:

Welcome to CruiseCritic.  You may want to give HAL’s Pinnacle class ships a try, I think they have risen above Celebrity (or Celebrity has dropped)

Aloha. I am reading posts by passengers on the Zuiderdam HAL World Cruise having somewhat similar problems. It seems this is industry wide but manifesting in different ways on different lines.  I guess it is then our personal choice given the information to decide what to do. That said, I do believe the lines should be transparent and advise us as to cutbacks and changes in offerings so we are well informed. It seems that all of the negative feedback affects the overall experience and could be tempered somewhat with more information .

[bigbeergut]

2 minutes ago, LouChamp said:

Aloha. I am reading posts by passengers on the Zuiderdam HAL World Cruise having somewhat similar problems. It seems this is industry wide but manifesting in different ways on different lines.  I guess it is then our personal choice given the information to decide what to do. That said, I do believe the lines should be transparent and advise us as to cutbacks and changes in offerings so we are well informed. It seems that all of the negative feedback affects the overall experience and could be tempered somewhat with more information .

I think might get tired of things after 40 or  50 days onboard.  I’m currently on the Rotterdam on a B2B2B trip that is my first HAL experience.  I have prime rib, steak or filet almost every night and the quality was head and shoulders better than I have ever had in the MDR on Celebrity.  In fact I had lasagna last night because I was tired of having so much beef.  Just my 2 cents.  Good luck with your future cruises.

[bigbeergut]

22 minutes ago, LouChamp said:

Aloha. I am reading posts by passengers on the Zuiderdam HAL World Cruise having somewhat similar problems. It seems this is industry wide but manifesting in different ways on different lines.  I guess it is then our personal choice given the information to decide what to do. That said, I do believe the lines should be transparent and advise us as to cutbacks and changes in offerings so we are well informed. It seems that all of the negative feedback affects the overall experience and could be tempered somewhat with more information .

 
I dropped over and checked out the Zuiderdam World cruise live thread.  I hadn’t seen those negative comments at the beginning of the review.  In any case, I did not appreciate your extensive HAL experience, no need for me to give you any advice on HAL😀.  In any case, hopefully my perspective helps some of the less experienced cruisers.  

[terrydtx]

46 minutes ago, bigbeergut said:

 
I dropped over and checked out the Zuiderdam World cruise live thread.  I hadn’t seen those negative comments at the beginning of the review.  In any case, I did not appreciate your extensive HAL experience, no need for me to give you any advice on HAL😀.  In any case, hopefully my perspective helps some of the less experienced cruisers.  

Last August our travel group of 4 sailed on the Reflection from Rome in Sky Suites followed by a cruise on the HAL Oosterdam from Venice in Signature suites. After the cruise the 4 of us agreed that the food choices and quality in the Oosterdam MDR was overall better than the Reflection Luminae. We had prime rib, beef Wellington and good steaks in the Oosterdam MDR and the HAL Lido Buffet was far superior to the Reflection OVC. We all much preferred the Retreat Suites experience and product over the suites on the Oosterdam. However, after very successful Retreat cruises prior to last year, we were a little disappointed in Celebrity and felt last year Celebrity had lost a step. From all I have read this year, it sounds like Celebrity may have lost another step or two. Going Forward we now have 4 Celebrity, 2 HAL and 1 Oceania future cruises booked. Where Celebrity is probably losing us is in the huge price increases, we are seeing for booking the Retreat on future cruises. In November we are doing our first Pinnacle Class HAL cruise on the Koningsdam and are very much looking forward to the experience of this newest HAL class of ships. Our TA was recently on the Rotterdam and raved about the ship and food over the Celebrity E Class ships. 

Edited February 19, 2023 by terrydtx