Equinox Menu - Main Dining Upcharges Showing on App

[prmssk]

53 minutes ago, PROCRUISE said:

MDR food on the Statendam (12/22) and Rotterdam (2/23) was VERY good.

Just curious, have you sailed any of HAL's other ships since the restart?  If so, how do they compare?  I'm hearing pretty good reviews out of their Pinnacle class ships but horrible reviews out of the rest of their ships.  Just based on reviews it seems they are focusing all their energy on just their newest ships.

 

And even those HAL ships have up charges on their MDR menu, right?

[Diav]

We are on the Equinox starting 6/24. I plan to complain about the smaller menus, no lobster and up charges not only to hotel director but at the captains club gathering. Maybe saying something in front of other passengers may get their attention? We will see.

[bandp407]

11 minutes ago, Diav said:

We are on the Equinox starting 6/24. I plan to complain about the smaller menus, no lobster and up charges not only to hotel director but at the captains club gathering. Maybe saying something in front of other passengers may get their attention? We will see.

Very good idea- will do the same in July when we sail. 
 

In addition to the food, would love to hear about the entertainment & live music. We all know the service will be excellent! 

‘Have a great cruise and perhaps you will be pleasantly surprised with some of the new food offerings ! 
 

 

[Diav]

Thanks and I’ll be glad to report back!

[NMTraveller]

10 hours ago, RichYak said:

Relaxed Luxury℠

Chef Mack Donalds Luxury℠

 

😂😂😂😂

Edited June 20, 2023 by NMTraveller

[NMTraveller]

11 hours ago, gerelmx said:

I noted that no more all time appetizers and entrees , no more shrimp cocktail in the appetizers, etc

 

The lack of shrimp cocktail does it for me...

 

I guess Celebrity is now the vegetarian/salad line?

[jelayne]

1 minute ago, NMTraveller said:

The lack of shrimp cocktail does it for me...

 

I guess Celebrity is now the vegetarian/salad line?

From the menus I have seen shrimp cocktail is offered every other night like the salmon.

[dandee2]

10 hours ago, kruzerci said:

Start reaching out them on social media. Comment on their posts. Message them. This is unacceptable. Entree options of tilapia, turkey, fried potatoes, etc. and then charging for any decent quality options. 
 

Heck no- that’s gone too far. 

Tilapia? Come on !!!!

[jelayne]

Just now, dandee2 said:

Tilapia? Come on !!!!

Unfortunately tilapia has been the main fish for a while.

[NMTraveller]

14 minutes ago, jelayne said:

From the menus I have seen shrimp cocktail is offered every other night like the salmon.

Thanks.  For this month.  What cuts are in store for next month?  They have been doing the monthly cuts since January...

 

What about room service.  Can I order shrimp cocktails from room service everyday with a fee?  

 

It sounds like we will all be paying more for sailing on Celebrity...

 

Just trying to figure out how to best navigate around the cuts.  Thanks.

Edited June 20, 2023 by NMTraveller

[NMTraveller]

33 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Unfortunately tilapia has been the main fish for a while.

You can use the tilapia for chum out of the back of the ship to catch something better...

[NMTraveller]

10 hours ago, RichYak said:

That's a shame but perfectly understandable.

 

It seems to me Celebrity has always had an identity crisis. Premium but not really. Adults only but not really. Ship within a ship concept for suites but not really.

 

What's next? Now that there is a true adults only mass market cruise line will Celebrity finally give up that pretense and put up rock walls and water slides?

 

This really is hard to watch.

I thought that previously Celebrity did rather well with their dining options.  The reviews were SOLID with an occasional whimper/miss which is to be expected.

 

But now with the downgrades the flood gates have been opened and the complaints are wide spread.  Perhaps that IS the next step.  Rock climbing walls and water slides?  They seem to be looking for a younger clientele, but they had the market cornered on the existing clientele.  We all used to be cheerleaders.

 

I have no idea what the future of this cruise line is...

Or what their direction/future is...

Edited June 20, 2023 by NMTraveller

[kruzerci]

28 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

I thought that previously Celebrity did rather well with their dining options.  The reviews were SOLID with an occasional whimper/miss which is to be expected.

 

But now with the downgrades the flood gates have been opened and the complaints are wide spread.  Perhaps that IS the next step.  Rock climbing walls and water slides?  They seem to be looking for a younger clientele, but they had the market cornered on the existing clientele.  We all used to be cheerleaders.

 

I have no idea what the future of this cruise line is...

Or what their direction/future is...

There is plenty of room for them to appeal to millennial or younger cruises without kids looking for an upscale experience, but they are doing the opposite cutting their quality and food. Millennials are foodies and like experiences- which they are going away from. Definitely an identity crisis and they’re making all the wrong moves along the way. 

[xxpinksaltxx]

I've been sailing Celebrity since 2012 (at just 21 - we were the youngest couple on the transatlantic), the time of brunch in the MDR, ice-sculptures, free room service, tubs of cotton swaps in the bathroom. This for me, is what broke the camels back. Last sailing was March this year, just as they rolled out the 'no lobster on sailings under 6 nights', limited dinner options in the buffet and charge for room service.

 

For us, Celebrity isn't what it use to be. Food is a huge part of why we select Celebrity (as a chef), but also because smaller lines like Azamara are out of our budget. Often we are still seen as some of the youngest couples onboard, as millennials without children. We might be young, but we don't want to dine on cheeseburgers in the MDR, and fork out money for an upcharge at every meal, whether that be in the MDR or speciality restaurant.

 

We have a cruise booked for May 2024, Honolulu to Vancouver, AUD $3260 PP with no inclusions for 10 nights. Almost AUD $6500, for no drinks, no wifi and now sub standard options in the MDR.

Edited June 20, 2023 by xxpinksaltxx

[Mark_T]

4 hours ago, Diav said:

We are on the Equinox starting 6/24. I plan to complain about the smaller menus, no lobster and up charges not only to hotel director but at the captains club gathering. Maybe saying something in front of other passengers may get their attention? We will see.

Do check the menus first though, as your cruise is over 6 nights so you may still get the 'lobster'...

 

Would also be interesting to ask if the lobster up-charge gets you a real cold water lobster tail or if it is still the spiny imposter... 

[TowandaUK]

4 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

Thanks.  For this month.  What cuts are in store for next month?  They have been doing the monthly cuts since January...

 

What about room service.  Can I order shrimp cocktails from room service everyday with a fee?  

 

It sounds like we will all be paying more for sailing on Celebrity...

 

Just trying to figure out how to best navigate around the cuts.  Thanks.

You can no longer order MDR items on room service. 

[Mark_T]

8 minutes ago, TowandaUK said:

You can no longer order MDR items on room service. 

Shrimp cocktail is still on the room service menu for Aqua and Retreat.

[C4HCG]

1 hour ago, xxpinksaltxx said:

I've been sailing Celebrity since 2012 (at just 21 - we were the youngest couple on the transatlantic), the time of brunch in the MDR, ice-sculptures, free room service, tubs of cotton swaps in the bathroom. This for me, is what broke the camels back. Last sailing was March this year, just as they rolled out the 'no lobster on sailings under 6 nights', limited dinner options in the buffet and charge for room service.

 

For us, Celebrity isn't what it use to be. Food is a huge part of why we select Celebrity (as a chef), but also because smaller lines like Azamara are out of our budget. Often we are still seen as some of the youngest couples onboard, as millennials without children. We might be young, but we don't want to dine on cheeseburgers in the MDR, and fork out money for an upcharge at every meal, whether that be in the MDR or speciality restaurant.

 

We have a cruise booked for May 2024, Honolulu to Vancouver, AUD $3260 PP with no inclusions for 10 nights. Almost AUD $6500, for no drinks, no wifi and now sub standard options in the MDR.

I suspect they will see sense and revert this decision by the time you sail, time will tell.

[Mark_T]

1 minute ago, C4HCG said:

I suspect they will see sense and revert this decision by the time you sail, time will tell.

The decision point for our 2025 Japan cruise is going to be March '24, that will be after our 2nd MSC Yacht Club cruise and just before we would need to be booking flights...

 

Celebrity do have a habit of pushing too far then walking back changes, but rarely all the way back, so have to see where this one settles down...

[C 2 C]

16 hours ago, Silkroad said:

For those ready to abandon Celebrity, I am curious about one thing. Which cruise line do you believe has a product similar to Celebrity’s pre-pandemic product? 

 

Over the last year we spent eight weeks on HAL's N Statendam (their Pinnacle Class) and the food was exceptional.  I had given up on Celebrity's desserts years ago but indulged nightly on HAL.  My wife is a carnivore and raved about the quality of beef.  Just over a month ago we sailed on the older and much smaller Zaandam for two weeks.  The food was good but not quite the same as 6 months earlier.  The desserts were still great.  On the Boston run they ran out of Sam Adams on day one and my favourite wine on day two.  HAL has the best itineraries of any major cruise line but they are $$$$.

We are booked on Constellation this coming winter because we are sailing with friends and because Connie is our favourite ship; the right size, the right lounges and some of the best cabins found anywhere... and at  great price compared to the rest of the fleet.

[C4HCG]

17 hours ago, Silkroad said:

For those ready to abandon Celebrity, I am curious about one thing. Which cruise line do you believe has a product similar to Celebrity’s pre-pandemic product? We haven’t sailed any other line, and based on complaints about other lines, we don’t see an obvious choice. We are not interested in larger vessels, and we’re unsure about smaller vessels (like Azamara) with minuscule cabins combined with higher prices. We’re looking at HAL and Princess for some of their interesting itineraries, but we see complaints there too. 

Great question and we too would be interested in any advice. A quick glance and I can’t see many responses so far.

[Mark_T]

2 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

Great question and we too would be interested in any advice. A quick glance and I can’t see many responses so far.

MSC Yacht Club is looking good for those who feel the Retreat prices have gone too far, we met quite a few ex-Celebrity customers on there earlier this month.

 

There are good and bad points for sure, but the good significantly outweighed the bad for us.

 

Can't comment on a better alternative for Veranda/MDR though, but for anyone who would consider Aqua, MSC is worth a look.

[C4HCG]

18 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

MSC Yacht Club is looking good for those who feel the Retreat prices have gone too far, we met quite a few ex-Celebrity customers on there earlier this month.

 

There are good and bad points for sure, but the good significantly outweighed the bad for us.

 

Can't comment on a better alternative for Veranda/MDR though, but for anyone who would consider Aqua, MSC is worth a look.

Thanks Mark, we don’t do Retreat so how does the yacht club compare to say aqua on celebrity cost wise?

[Mark_T]

3 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

Thanks Mark, we don’t do Retreat so how does the yacht club compare to say aqua on celebrity cost wise?

Seems to run a bit above Aqua but a long way below Retreat, for a product that delivers something closer to Regent levels of service.

 

As ever you have to look at the inclusions and current offers to see what makes sense, but for us with the current deals on Celebrity and MSC it was a wash in terms of price between Aqua and Yacht Club for an early 2024 cruise from Miami down to Colon and the usual ports in between.

[vickykay]

We were on the Eclipse Hawaii to Vancouver this past May.  We noticed significant cuts in the MDR appetizer menu. There were always several interesting choices in the past. This cruise several nights just salads and a soup ( due to dietary issues I cannot eat salads or beans, corn etc) so many soups were out for me.  The filet and prime rib were still in the menu as was the lobster. The lobster was so tiny we thought anyone who ordered an extra for $17 were crazy.  Lamb chops ( which were my husband’s favorite) were replaced by roast lamb. My husband found it  tough and full of gristle. Our waitress replaced it but was just the same.  We have been loyal Celebrity cruisers for 25 years and know things will not be the same as it was but come on Celebrity.