Rare cgolf1 Posted August 3, 2023 #1 Share Posted August 3, 2023 (edited) We were on the Edge in February and if you caught my review, we definitely noticed some changes, especially with the dining. They weren't huge showstoppers for us, but some things were noticeable. Overall were were happy with the service, but did switch our 2025 booking from the beyond to an S Class ship. Minus all the good live music on our first Edge cruise and the magic carpet being full all the time, we didn't enjoy the Edge as much as we did the first time and the Connie blew the Edge away for us. I am curious if the non suite experience has gotten a lot worse since February? I know the suites are going up in price and of course offering less. We saw this back on Disney when we sailed their suite level 2 years in a row (2013 and 2014) and the 2nd year when we got on the hosts were mad and venting that they were losing lots of repeat families because Disney decided to basically double the rate to rebook for the next year (2015). I will say looking back at it, we got one heck of a deal on those rooms, but they weren't worth double. I really hope this all shakes out by 2025, as we go to the Galapagos next year on the Expedition. For all those saying that they want to jump ship, we did sail on HAL this year, and while we had a great time and wouldn't hesitate to sail them again, the Celebrity product from the non suite view was far superior, especially in my wife's eyes. Edited August 3, 2023 by cgolf1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloAlaska Posted August 3, 2023 #2 Share Posted August 3, 2023 I’ll see next month. I’ll be back on Milli in September one year after my last cruise on her and will be able to give a good comparison. Staffing levels seemed low last time so I am hoping for an overall improvement in service this time around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelayne Posted August 3, 2023 #3 Share Posted August 3, 2023 I can’t remember the timing of changes. Was the charge for Room Service (except continental breakfast) in place? Daily gratuities increased, automatic gratuity on specialty dining increased from 18% to 20%. Some reductions to the MDR menu, less beef more fish and lamb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duanerice1 Posted August 3, 2023 #4 Share Posted August 3, 2023 Non-suite people all the way here..... We had one of our best cruises on the Equinox in April. People complaining about the MDR, we were fine. My biggest disappointment was the loss of free room service. I know to some it doesn't matter but we use it a lot on sea days. Heck, coming back from an excursion too. This was one of the things that set Celebrity apart. We did final payment then they took it away. Should have been grandfathered in.....lol Anyway, we've been on Carnival, NCL and RCCL and they were all OK and we had a blast. At this point I won't pay much more for Celebrity than I would any other line. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-Airbalancer Posted August 3, 2023 #5 Share Posted August 3, 2023 We had a great Reflection TA in spring , 1000% better than our Apex TA spring TA in 2022 Expecting our Connie Nov TA to be just as good 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helen haywood Posted August 3, 2023 #6 Share Posted August 3, 2023 Well, looking at the current menus from Apex, yikes, what a cutback on options!!! If that goes fleetwide it might be a deal breaker for us. I could not cruise Celebrity as many times as we do with that menu. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OysterD Posted August 3, 2023 #7 Share Posted August 3, 2023 4 minutes ago, helen haywood said: Well, looking at the current menus from Apex, yikes, what a cutback on options!!! If that goes fleetwide it might be a deal breaker for us. I could not cruise Celebrity as many times as we do with that menu. I just brought up the current MDR menus for tonight on Apex. I'm curious what the 'cutback' is: Starters Cauliflower Flan Salmon Gravlax Yellow Corn Soup Escargots Shrimp Cocktail French Onion Soup Chicory Apple Pear Salad Wild Musrhoom Barley Soup Creamy Spinach & Artichoke Dip Hot Melted Cheese Saganaki Greek Mezze Board Grilled Shrimp Turkey Terrine & Radish Carpaccio Coquille Saint-Jacques Baked Brie Cheese Roasted Pumpkin Salad Creamy Tuscan Shrimp Soup Eggplant Caponata Bruschetta + 3 starters off the kids menu Entrees Spaghetti a La Mallorquin Roasted Chicken Choucroute Pan Seared Cod Chicken Kiev Tikka Masala Tofu Broiled Salmon Grilled Salmon Slow Roasted Beef Brisket Lamb Kabobs Cypriot Coq Au Vin Homemade Kordelia Pasta Beef Sirloin En Croute Marmite Diepoise Duck Confit Slow Roasted Herbed Tuscan Pork Chop Pappardelle Alla Veneziana Strozzapreti Carbonara + 7 Entrees off the kids menu Add'l Charge Lobster Tail Filet Mignon Surf & Turf I've said before, but it's slightly frustrating when someone posts about vague 'cutbacks' which in reality are nothing of the sort. How can anyone claim that a choice of 18 starters and 17 entrees on one given night in the MDR (plus the option to have lobster or filet mignon every night, admittedly for an upcharge) is a massive cutback is just baffling. If you think that many starters and entrees isn't enough choice, maybe just stick to a land vacation in the US and go to a diner for dinner. 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PTC DAWG Posted August 3, 2023 #8 Share Posted August 3, 2023 4 minutes ago, OysterD said: I just brought up the current MDR menus for tonight on Apex. I'm curious what the 'cutback' is: Starters Cauliflower Flan Salmon Gravlax Yellow Corn Soup Escargots Shrimp Cocktail French Onion Soup Chicory Apple Pear Salad Wild Musrhoom Barley Soup Creamy Spinach & Artichoke Dip Hot Melted Cheese Saganaki Greek Mezze Board Grilled Shrimp Turkey Terrine & Radish Carpaccio Coquille Saint-Jacques Baked Brie Cheese Roasted Pumpkin Salad Creamy Tuscan Shrimp Soup Eggplant Caponata Bruschetta + 3 starters off the kids menu Entrees Spaghetti a La Mallorquin Roasted Chicken Choucroute Pan Seared Cod Chicken Kiev Tikka Masala Tofu Broiled Salmon Grilled Salmon Slow Roasted Beef Brisket Lamb Kabobs Cypriot Coq Au Vin Homemade Kordelia Pasta Beef Sirloin En Croute Marmite Diepoise Duck Confit Slow Roasted Herbed Tuscan Pork Chop Pappardelle Alla Veneziana Strozzapreti Carbonara + 7 Entrees off the kids menu Add'l Charge Lobster Tail Filet Mignon Surf & Turf I've said before, but it's slightly frustrating when someone posts about vague 'cutbacks' which in reality are nothing of the sort. How can anyone claim that a choice of 18 starters and 17 entrees on one given night in the MDR (plus the option to have lobster or filet mignon every night, admittedly for an upcharge) is a massive cutback is just baffling. If you think that many starters and entrees isn't enough choice, maybe just stick to a land vacation in the US and go to a diner for dinner. For real. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doghog Posted August 3, 2023 #9 Share Posted August 3, 2023 (edited) 34 minutes ago, OysterD said: I just brought up the current MDR menus for tonight on Apex. I'm curious what the 'cutback' is: Agree. You forgot the salads and desserts. 😉 That's another thing we like about the E class ships if dining in one of the 4 MDRs in the evening. You have the option of selecting from one or from all 4 MDRs. Edited August 3, 2023 by doghog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare foodsvcmgr Posted August 3, 2023 #10 Share Posted August 3, 2023 Oyster if you are correct and I certainly hope and want to believe you are, I don’t understand why people are claiming Apex only has chicken, salmon, and flank steak every night all of a sudden????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doghog Posted August 3, 2023 #11 Share Posted August 3, 2023 (edited) 3 minutes ago, foodsvcmgr said: Oyster if you are correct and I certainly hope and want to believe you are, I don’t understand why people are claiming Apex only has chicken, salmon, and flank steak every night all of a sudden????? We were on the Apex in March and what @OysterD posted was what we saw between the 4 different MDRs. Plus salads and desserts choices. Edited August 3, 2023 by doghog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloAlaska Posted August 3, 2023 #12 Share Posted August 3, 2023 36 minutes ago, OysterD said: How can anyone claim that a choice of 18 starters and 17 entrees on one given night in the MDR (plus the option to have lobster or filet mignon every night, admittedly for an upcharge) is a massive cutback is just baffling. Any really nice restaurant on land wouldn’t have that many choices. Im happy with 6-8 options of each and think that is plenty even for a cruise line MDR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doghog Posted August 3, 2023 #13 Share Posted August 3, 2023 11 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said: Any really nice restaurant on land wouldn’t have that many choices. Im happy with 6-8 options of each and think that is plenty even for a cruise line MDR. The selections @OysterD posted are a combination of the 4 MDRs. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloAlaska Posted August 3, 2023 #14 Share Posted August 3, 2023 5 minutes ago, doghog said: The selections @OysterD posted are a combination of the 4 MDRs. Thanks for clarifying that for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayleeman Posted August 3, 2023 #15 Share Posted August 3, 2023 @OysterD Please remember, as has benn pointed out many times, E-class MDRs have laregely not been complained about. No S class or M class MDR has an array of choices like that because they don't have 4 venues. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelayne Posted August 3, 2023 #16 Share Posted August 3, 2023 28 minutes ago, doghog said: The selections @OysterD posted are a combination of the 4 MDRs. And you can get any of those items in any of the 4 MDRs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OysterD Posted August 3, 2023 #17 Share Posted August 3, 2023 4 minutes ago, foodsvcmgr said: Oyster if you are correct and I certainly hope and want to believe you are, I don’t understand why people are claiming Apex only has chicken, salmon, and flank steak every night all of a sudden????? I pulled all those off the app for the 4 MDR restaurants on Apex, for tonight. Either people don't realise you can order off any of the menus in any of the restaurants, or people just like to moan and then others jump on the bandwagon without actually doing any research. Oh and according to vegetarian friends of mine who just came off Edge, there are also more vegetarian options if you ask. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doghog Posted August 3, 2023 #18 Share Posted August 3, 2023 5 minutes ago, jelayne said: And you can get any of those items in any of the 4 MDRs Exactly what we did on our March Apex cruise. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OysterD Posted August 3, 2023 #19 Share Posted August 3, 2023 8 minutes ago, mayleeman said: @OysterD Please remember, as has benn pointed out many times, E-class MDRs have laregely not been complained about. No S class or M class MDR has an array of choices like that because they don't have 4 venues. I was responding to Helen who claimed there had been a huge cutback in options on Apex. I just wanted to point out that wasn't the case. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helen haywood Posted August 3, 2023 #20 Share Posted August 3, 2023 These are pictures of the menu from Cosmopolitan posted by a person currently on Apex. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doghog Posted August 3, 2023 #21 Share Posted August 3, 2023 4 minutes ago, helen haywood said: These are pictures of the menu from Cosmopolitan posted by a person currently on Apex. One out of 4 MDR menus. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoloAlaska Posted August 3, 2023 #22 Share Posted August 3, 2023 23 minutes ago, helen haywood said: These are pictures of the menu from Cosmopolitan posted by a person currently on Apex. 7 starters and 7 entrees… not a bad amount of options really. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helen haywood Posted August 3, 2023 #23 Share Posted August 3, 2023 No, it’s not bad. But previously in addition to the E Class MDR’s specialty dishes, there was also Celebrity’s different each night menu and the Always Available menu. The latter two seem to have been merged. If one had never sailed E Class before it would not be noticeable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelayne Posted August 3, 2023 #24 Share Posted August 3, 2023 1 hour ago, helen haywood said: No, it’s not bad. But previously in addition to the E Class MDR’s specialty dishes, there was also Celebrity’s different each night menu and the Always Available menu. The latter two seem to have been merged. If one had never sailed E Class before it would not be noticeable. There are 3 sections to the menu Exclusives, different in each of the 4MDRs but available in all. Classic items ( chicken, salmon, sirlion, Caesar salad, onion soup+++) and Celebrity signature items which rotate every night. What was posted isn’t the complete menu. Add to that the exclusives and it is a lot of options on the E class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leyland1989 Posted August 3, 2023 #25 Share Posted August 3, 2023 Not a frequent cruiser and have been living under a rock for a few years, Since when Lobster and Filet Mignon become extra charge items? I remember having "the Lobster night" on my second sea day and not having to pay extra for it. Do they still offer the lobster at least once prior to the end of the cruise to mark some sort of occasion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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