Is the food back en par with the prices?

[RichYak]

10 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

$13.99 plus 9% tip is $15.25, a long way from a $20 bill. What makes a meal worth a 9% tip at home and 20% on a cruise? Surely not the quality of the food or service.

Read the post you quoted again. There is no mention of a "9% tip".

[Spurs Fans]

16 hours ago, GeorgiaRetiredCruisers said:

Whataburger, please.

(And the Pimiento Cheese sandwiches at The Masters are worth every penny of that $1.50, plus some!)

Would take Whataburger over In N Out burger everyday of the week and twice on Sundays. 

[Chardonnay Char]

On 4/29/2023 at 5:41 PM, C4HCG said:

I am so glad we are not fussy about food and find with the variety Celebrity offer, there’s always something for us. So many other aspects to a cruise that are far more important.

You are the kind of customer Celebrity now prizes. OK with about anything served to you.  Unfortunately for the price, I do not feel that way.  

[NMTraveller]

1 hour ago, Chardonnay Char said:

You are the kind of customer Celebrity now prizes. OK with about anything served to you.  Unfortunately for the price, I do not feel that way.  

@C4HCG views all of the cuts as positive.  I do not feel this way either.

[NMTraveller]

On 4/29/2023 at 1:09 PM, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

It's a good thing many of us do not cruise for the food...

 

Comparing chains to cruise food seems to be a "trigger" for some who wrongly assume once they're on board they're dining in a Michelin starred restaurant...It's okay to admit one likes the taste of Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits...Even celebrities like Gordon Ramsey have a favorite chain which is In and Out Burger...I would happily take an In and Out burger over whatever they're serving at the Mast Grill

Some of us cruise for the total package.  If the food is not up to par why not cruise elsewhere?

[Fly and Sail]

I feel that on the Panama Canal cruise, the food has been generally good, even and especially in OVC. Let's see about Alaska in 10 days from now.

 

A few odd and lower-grade quality dishes in BLU, but well, BLU has always been a bit off trying their "healthy" thing,

[C4HCG]

6 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

@C4HCG views all of the cuts as positive.  I do not feel this way either.

Please don’t misquote me, I have never said that.

[C4HCG]

7 hours ago, Chardonnay Char said:

You are the kind of customer Celebrity now prizes. OK with about anything served to you.  Unfortunately for the price, I do not feel that way.  

You couldn’t be more wrong. After our next cruise we are not sure the costs are worth it in 2024. But when we make our choice we won’t hang around here constantly complaining, we will move on

 

[Loracpin2]

Everytime I read a thread about food, I reminesce about our first Celebrity sailing in 1993 on the Celebrity Horizon. Even without Balcony rooms, Specialty Restaurants, and all the bells & whistles ships have today, every experience was elegant especially when it came to both Food & Service in the Main Dining Room on the 2 formal evenings. What I recall the most were the 2 desserts prepared by the Maitre'd at each individual tableside . One evening it was Crepes Suzettes the other Bananas Foster. 

 

While I realize the policy of tableside was eventually eliminated due to the possibilty fire issues,the experience made you understand how exciting and special the cruise experience can be. Wish I could say the same today. 

 

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

17 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

Some of us cruise for the total package.  If the food is not up to par why not cruise elsewhere?

 

Most were already booked while most of our new bookings are on another line.  Really want to try Virgin which I know will have the best food at sea from a "big" cruise line but the itineraries aren't inspiring as we've visited most ports they go to

[Ex-Airbalancer]

5 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Most were already booked while most of our new bookings are on another line.  Really want to try Virgin which I know will have the best food at sea from a "big" cruise line but the itineraries aren't inspiring as we've visited most ports they go to

People were complaining on the Virgin TA about food , in the Virgin section of CC 

and they don’t really tie down stuff in bad seas

Edited May 1, 2023 by Ex-Airbalancer

[larry_s_taco]

On 4/29/2023 at 5:34 PM, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Cooking the food isn't the challenge, X has been around nearly 35 years and surely figured it out decades ago.  The challenge is evading food cost cuts which makes the food less tasty

I was on the Constellation last October. The food was good, but the selections seemed limited. That being said I feel that even cheaper costing food can be very good/even gourmet if it is cooked with inspiration and done well. Maybe Celebrity needs a new executive chef and/or some retraining on some of their ships. 

[larry_s_taco]

18 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

People were complaining on the Virgin TA about food , in the Virgin section of CC 

and they don’t really tie down stuff in bad seas

Wow, you guys must have really had some rough seas!

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

51 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

People were complaining on the Virgin TA about food , in the Virgin section of CC 

and they don’t really tie down stuff in bad seas

 

I've skimmed a few threads...All I can find is folks complaining out slow service.  Have you seen complaints about the food quality and/or taste?

[Azllama]

We just got off the Eclipse. The food was terrible!! MDR or OV, only a few good meals, very hit or miss mostly miss. Maybe because of being out Syndey AU, the suppliers are not up to the standards that Celebrity has set? The Mast grill burger was a grey color mystery meat, went on grey and came off grey! Be awhile before we try Celebrity again.

[GeorgiaRetiredCruisers]

😪

[Ex-Airbalancer]

8 hours ago, larry_s_taco said:

Wow, you guys must have really had some rough seas!

 

It has been fine on the Reflection , a little rocky , but the captain missed most of the bad weather 

[Nemanoxer]

22 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

People were complaining on the Virgin TA about food , in the Virgin section of CC 

and they don’t really tie down stuff in bad seas

 

That is exactly what I guess Carnival Caribbean cruises look like every evening.

[Fly and Sail]

I haven't heard ANYTHING positive about food from Virgin Voyages.

[Sussex Cruiser]

Just off of Constellation.  In Blu the food looked great but was always cold, and either raw or WAY overcooked.  I only had one meal in 15 days which was cooked the way I asked for.  Oceanview was incredibly repetitive, with very poor choice and the sections on both sides having the same things.  Barely warm food their either.  It is plainly obvious that the meat choices have gone downhill with much cheaper cuts in all areas.  They really need to do better, as the current pricing does not match the quality of the food.

[Loracpin2]

On 5/1/2023 at 6:25 PM, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Most were already booked while most of our new bookings are on another line.  Really want to try Virgin which I know will have the best food at sea from a "big" cruise line but the itineraries aren't inspiring as we've visited most ports they go to

If you want great food book Oceania.  

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, Loracpin2 said:

If you want great food book Oceania.  

 

I've heard their food is great yet I would imagine most upscale lines use higher quality and do not overcook things

[clojacks]

14 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

I've heard their food is great yet I would imagine most upscale lines use higher quality and do not overcook things

They also have significantly fewer passengers.

[NutsAboutGolf]

5 minutes ago, clojacks said:

They also have significantly fewer passengers.

 

Absolutely, most upscale cruise lines have a lot more pros than cons, one con can higher pricing

[cruiserchuck]

2 hours ago, Loracpin2 said:

If you want great food book Oceania.  

I was looking at recent posts on the Oceania board and recent reviews of Oceania cruises, and there are many comments about cutbacks and declining quality of the food.  
 

We cruised on Oceania once, and did not think the food quality was worth the price increase vs. Aqua/Blu on Celebrity.