X Changes and how they impact the non suite guest - Is it really a big deal

[Kelownadon]

6 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

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 

 

Why was the Reflection so much better? The reason I ask is because we have an Ascent TA booked. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 minute ago, leyland1989 said:

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? 

The premium menu is very new 

If your sailing has a Chic night , there should be a free lobster if you like that 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

2 minutes ago, Kelownadon said:

Why was the Reflection so much better? The reason I ask is because we have an Ascent TA booked. 

In 2022 we were on the Apex , don’t like E class ship for one ,  

A lot of supplies issues on the ship 

Probably biggest thing was a lot of the crew were inexperience 

The only good thing was the 4 MDR

 

on the Reflection, the crew performed more like a well oiled machine 

Not many supply issues 

The layout of the S class ships are much better 

[Ken the cruiser]

9 hours ago, cgolf1 said:

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.

 

I have to ask, as we are 4 star Mainers, but haven’t cruised with HAL since they switched to the Music Walk entertainment strategy back in 2018, which all but eliminated evening shows in the main theater as well as most of their game shows. For us it just got too boring when compared to cruising with Celebrity, PCL or NCL. What was so great about the HAL cruise you were on, especially with regards to entertainment in the evenings and on sea days, other than hanging out in one of their Music Walk venues? BTW last I heard they had one CD and one assistant. Is that still the case?
 

The reason I ask is because they have some interesting 3-5 week cruises. But we just don’t want to be bored stiff as we don’t usually hang out drinking in the lounges.

 

Edited August 3, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Kelownadon]

4 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

In 2022 we were on the Apex , don’t like E class ship for one ,  

A lot of supplies issues on the ship 

Probably biggest thing was a lot of the crew were inexperience 

The only good thing was the 4 MDR

 

on the Reflection, the crew performed more like a well oiled machine 

Not many supply issues 

The layout of the S class ships are much better 

Thanks. Our last cruise was in a sunset veranda stateroom on the Apex and we absolutely loved everything about the ship and the cruise. Have done cruises on the Eclipse several times so am familiar with that class of ship. Our only concern with the Ascent cruise is an infinite veranda stateroom which we are trying for the first time but we hope the somewhat cooler weather on the TA will not make us miss a true veranda that much. Time will tell I guess. 

[kabmab]

We first cruised on the Apex September 2021 with less than 400 guests.  In 2022 we cruised on the Edge in March and September.  All three cruises were in SV.  Thoroughly enjoyed each ship and cruise.  This year we did were on the Apex in March and June in DPV since SV price was way up so our cabin was downgraded but still good.   And yes, there were menu changes from 2021 and 2022 -- this year each MDR lost an appetizer and entree from that restaurant's exclusive menu, and there were more non-meat entrees.  This year for the first time we were encouraged to order from any of the four MDR menus which is a great option.  We noticed more non-meat options in the Oceanview Cafe, but for all meals food was plentiful with lots of variety and good quality.  Service whether cabin, dining or bar was excellent all three years (of course exceptional in 2021 with the restart and an almost empty ship).   Next year we're on the Apex in January and a TA on Ascent in April.  We first cruised on Celebrity on the Galaxy, and we have a number of Equinox cruises.  We like ALL the ships and have done Costa, NCL, HAL, many Princess.  We also had a Princess cruise in 2022 and one booked in 2025.  Yes, all lines have changes but it's the opportunity and total experience.  No complaints on our 2023 X cruises.  

[kabmab]

22 minutes ago, Kelownadon said:

Thanks. Our last cruise was in a sunset veranda stateroom on the Apex and we absolutely loved everything about the ship and the cruise. Have done cruises on the Eclipse several times so am familiar with that class of ship. Our only concern with the Ascent cruise is an infinite veranda stateroom which we are trying for the first time but we hope the somewhat cooler weather on the TA will not make us miss a true veranda that much. Time will tell I guess. 

We've done sunset veranda three times and deluxe porthole veranda twice.  Doing SV on Apex in January, but also on Ascent TA in IV.  Same hope as you that IV is good option for TA with cooler weather.

[helen haywood]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

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.

 

 

Don’t shoot the messenger.  Those two pictures ARE the menu from that night on Apex.  As I said, they apparently have merged the Always Available and the nightly changing menu…at least on this current sailing on Apex.  Maybe it’s a trial.  Equinox recently had a trial menu in the MDR at night including a double cheeseburger.  Read reports of people on Apex (not in Luminae or Blu) right now.

[cgolf1]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I have to ask, as we are 4 star Mainers, but haven’t cruised with HAL since they switched to the Music Walk entertainment strategy back in 2018, which all but eliminated evening shows in the main theater as well as most of their game shows. For us it just got too boring when compared to cruising with Celebrity, PCL or NCL. What was so great about the HAL cruise you were on, especially with regards to entertainment in the evenings and on sea days, other than hanging out in one of their Music Walk venues? BTW last I heard they had one CD and one assistant. Is that still the case?
 

The reason I ask is because they have some interesting 3-5 week cruises. But we just don’t want to be bored stiff as we don’t usually hang out drinking in the lounges.

 

 

We sailed with my wife's parents, so most nights we played cards. We watched 2 of the dance shows, one was good and one had good parts and skipped the third. Oddly I was ok with them but the others didn't enjoy them. So the shows really were a disappointment. It was the Canada New England trip on the Zaandam which is an amazing itinerary. I do have a review thread on the Hal board that will tell you how boring of cruisers we are lol. No night life for us other than the cards. Celebrity Shows and gluten free food selection blow HAL away. That said the MDR dishes I had on HAL were all on par with Celebrity and dare I say better flavor. 

 

That was also so port intensive there was not a lot of down time. We did really love the design of the Zaandam, it is an amazing ship, we just wish we had a warmer cruise to enjoy the promenade deck. They did do a 50% off happy hour which was great since we didn't have a drink package.

 

My hunch is you may be board from reading some of your reviews, but if you get a chance check out my review, it includes all the MDR menus and daily sheets, but having a lot of ports, the activities were less of course. I guess we really enjoyed the ports and the ship, and the mellow atmosphere.

[TommyD3]

5 hours ago, helen haywood said:

These are pictures of the menu from Cosmopolitan posted by a person currently on Apex. 

This is the first elegant chic night menu, My problem is since pre-pandemic they have eliminated the following choices from the "entree" section of the top picture - Beef Tournados (a filet mignon dish), Rack of Lamb and Shrimp Scampi. What is interesting is that on the one night Beyond travel agent cruise in NJ late last year they had ALL of what I listed on the menu and the piece of meat in the Beef Tounados was the size from a specialty restaurant. Yes there are three extra appetizers and three extra entrees per dining room on the right side of the menu. The problem is they don't change and are the same EVERY night. My son had the Beef En Croute EVER night on the Apex TA earlier this year.

[TommyD3]

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Edited August 4, 2023 by TommyD3
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[Poconolady]

I noticed that the sirloin steak from the classic menu has been downgraded to a flank steak option.

[bnurick]

11 hours ago, cgolf1 said:

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.

 

 

I did a long review of my May CC transatlantic on the Silhouette. I did either specialty dining or buffet pizza each night and had a great time.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, cgolf1 said:

 

We sailed with my wife's parents, so most nights we played cards. We watched 2 of the dance shows, one was good and one had good parts and skipped the third. Oddly I was ok with them but the others didn't enjoy them. So the shows really were a disappointment. It was the Canada New England trip on the Zaandam which is an amazing itinerary. I do have a review thread on the Hal board that will tell you how boring of cruisers we are lol. No night life for us other than the cards. Celebrity Shows and gluten free food selection blow HAL away. That said the MDR dishes I had on HAL were all on par with Celebrity and dare I say better flavor. 

 

That was also so port intensive there was not a lot of down time. We did really love the design of the Zaandam, it is an amazing ship, we just wish we had a warmer cruise to enjoy the promenade deck. They did do a 50% off happy hour which was great since we didn't have a drink package.

 

My hunch is you may be board from reading some of your reviews, but if you get a chance check out my review, it includes all the MDR menus and daily sheets, but having a lot of ports, the activities were less of course. I guess we really enjoyed the ports and the ship, and the mellow atmosphere.

You may have noticed I found your review and left you a few reactions. 😂  But from your descriptions and the Daily’s you posted, not much has changed. Thanks again for taking the time to post your review. It definitely helped reconfirm what I had been thinking.

[jelayne]

2 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

In 2022 we were on the Apex , don’t like E class ship for one ,  

A lot of supplies issues on the ship 

Probably biggest thing was a lot of the crew were inexperience 

The only good thing was the 4 MDR

 

on the Reflection, the crew performed more like a well oiled machine 

Not many supply issues 

The layout of the S class ships are much better 

The Apex was shortly after restart and every ship had supply shortages and staffing issues.  Including the Reflection which we were on around the same time.  

[cgolf1]

25 minutes ago, jelayne said:

The Apex was shortly after restart and every ship had supply shortages and staffing issues.  Including the Reflection which we were on around the same time.  

 

The nice thing though about the earlier cruises, is that there were so few people that you hardly noticed. On our Connie cruise we were around 500 guests I believe. It was one of our most relaxing cruises ever, felt like we had the ship to ourselves.

[Random Cruizer]

I've been thinking about it, and I finally figured out why it seemed like the choices at dinner had gone done so much since my cruises last summer:  the vast majority of the menu doesn't change.  Each night, you have the exact same 4 MDR choices and the same "always on the menu" choices.  That means that you have the same menu for your whole cruise except for 3 different starters, main entrees, and deserts each night.  I know that seems like a lot (who could work their way through all those 4 MDR choices), but it still makes it seem like you are seeing the same thing every night with little variation.  Last summer I sailed on both the Equinox (traditional dining) and Apex (4 MDRs), and I just felt like last summer I had a lot more and better choices than this summer on the Beyond (to add to the "scanty menu" your menu in whichever MDR you've chosen shows only their choices, you'd have to look at the app for the others, and tons and tons of my fellow passengers didn't know that was an option).  The variety just wasn't there compared to last summer--the menus seemed short and not very exciting compared to what I remembered from last summer.

[MustBCruzn]

17 hours ago, OysterD said:

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. 

 

You're absolutely right. We were on the Apex Baltic cruise which ended July 31st, and ate at Cyprus most nights. The dining room choices were plentiful (and delicous!), and as stated, we could order from any dining room menu. We also ate dinner at the  buffet several nights due to late shore excursions, and there were lots of options. All stations were open, unlike previous reports.

[kabmab]

13 hours ago, helen haywood said:

Don’t shoot the messenger.  Those two pictures ARE the menu from that night on Apex.  As I said, they apparently have merged the Always Available and the nightly changing menu…at least on this current sailing on Apex.  Maybe it’s a trial.  Equinox recently had a trial menu in the MDR at night including a double cheeseburger.  Read reports of people on Apex (not in Luminae or Blu) right now.

As was previously pointed out, this doesn't appear to be the complete menu.  Plus everyone can order items from any of the four MDRs.  We were on Apex this July.

[Dreamer68]

19 hours ago, helen haywood said:

These are pictures of the menu from Cosmopolitan posted by a person currently on Apex. 

I was on the APEX in January. Honestly these 2 photos shared (that came from another poster - so please understand I'm not shooting the messenger 🙏) do not tell the whole story. This is NOT the whole menu for Cosmopolitan on the APEX. Wish people would tell the whole story so others get a chance to see the big picture and not just part of the picture. The top photo is the Classics part of the menu at Cosmopolitan and the other 3 MDRs. This is "set in (soft) stone" and is available any night, anywhere. The "Premium Selection" from that classic menu, as I understood, is that these 3 "premium choices" any and every night but for a fee.

 

*Please note that there is ONE lobster night INCLUDED on the cruise. That means 1 lobster tail for free but USD $16.99 for additional ones. This is not an all-you-can-eat lobster buffet. And yes, I did have a 2nd lobster back in the 90s on a cruise ship for free. I could not eat more than that after having enjoyed starters and wanting Baked Alaska for dessert. But that's just me and my tummy. 🤭
 

The 2nd picture shared shows the MDR-exclusive items that are available every night in THAT specific MDR. Normandie, Tuscan, and Cyprus have their own exclusive items. This was the Cosmopolitan's exclusive items.
 

And then, there are the Celebrity Signatures (photo NOT included here) and that menu includes 3 starters and 3 mains and this is available at ALL MDRs but they rotate. Or at least they seemed to on my app. E.g. The Signature menu for Cyprus on Tuesday was not the same as the Signature menu on Tuscan on the same Tuesday. This made for psychologically interesting meal outings for me vs a static menu. I think it was very smart of Celebrity to have that twist...albeit probably annoying to some. But I bet if Celebrity had a static Signature menu, people would then notice "the same thing every night" and proceed to complain about "the same thing every night"...yes?

Also not included in the pictorial story is the dessert menu which had about 10 items on the list including 1 Exclusive to the specific MDR, 5-6 classics and 2 Signatures that rotate, one usually a flaming dessert (like Cherries Jubilee or Bananas Foster) that they prep in the kitchen/ galley vs tableside like in the "old days".

And there is no photo of the kids' menu.

So, in all earnestness,  at any MDR restaurant for non-suite folks like me, there will be at least 10 starters, 10 entrées, and 10 desserts every night. I don't fully understand the complaints about choices. I was on the Summit in 2016. I'm looking back at the photos of MDR menus I took then. I shared them all in a big review here on CC. Honestly, back then, the MDR had 10 starters and  9 or 10 entrées. See my photo from Day 1 of the Summit MDR in 2016. If you want to see them all from back then, search for my review. When I compare those menus with what I got at every APEX MDR, I really do not understand the complaints about NUMBER of choices.🙄 As for the quality of food, well, I've got something to say there and I did for my review on the APEX though I can actually say a lot more, as a well-traveled foodie, if anyone wants to write me directly. 😉

So if this # of choices are still not enough for non-suite guests (of which I am contentedly one), then, indeed, perhaps consider another cruise line.  In my travels, I've noticed how most restaurants with extensive menus (size of a small book!) don't produce meals as memorable as those with intentional signatures of what they do well, just my 2 cents.

Summit 2016 MDR menu, Day 1 below:

SummitMenu1B.pdf

Edited August 4, 2023 by Dreamer68
additional text

[Dreamer68]

PS - a good place to have an idea of the MDR menus can be found on Celebrity's page for the Edge, if you click on Main Dining. There is one sample menu per MDR (only 2 pages). If you click on Cosmopolitan's though, you will get a 16-paged menu that shows a 14-day rotation of the Classic and Signature menus. NOT all the items as available now as any decent head chef would rotate menus based on whatever's in season or available for freshest tasting food and for interest, building capacity and adventure in cooking for his staff too, friends of mine who work in the restaurant and luxury hotel industry (Four Seasons) mentioned. Here's the link to the page. However, you get the gist of what's there.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/ca/cruise-ships/celebrity-edge/eat-and-drink/main-dining

[Pinboy]

No big deal for us--- Just go with the flow--- changes are made from time to time and not " grandfathered "-- don't want to spend " hours " at GR complaining about the size of a friggin lobster tail, or looking for a $ 250 Future Cruise Credit because our Server forgot to bring my 3 shrimp cocktails at the same time, etc, etc,---so, be it---we just enjoy what is there.

( Off topic )

What's with this adding " ie " to a Ship's name, as in Connie, Millie ? It sounds so " hokey ".

LOL-- And while I'm at it, the IV's are nothing but a 3ft extension to the room with a window that opens 1/2 way down.

And, to add---- If "you know who" suggests ( wants ) to order room service and they charge $9.95, Pinboy springs for it-- He's getting smarter now.

And, a question--- Who/why are the line ups so long at GR on the last night of the cruise ? I had to wait 43 minutes just to get a few envelopes for additional tips.

Oops, gotta go---tee time in1hr and 9 minutes.

 

 

 

[InTheDrink]

While there still is lots to choose from, I will miss the larger, rotating menus of starters and mains- looks like it is only soups and salads that are changing every night. My husband is going to have a much harder time picking mains, as many of his favorites are gone. 

 

We have cruised nothing but Celebrity from 2011 until this year, when we took a Princess cruise. I didn't think the food compared as well to X in quality, temperature (food was rarely hot, though always at least warm), or presentation, but it was still good. Loyal Princess cruisers have complained about cutbacks as well, but I did like the selection on their menus- I will probably be back to try out their newer ships. Their speciality restaurants were quite good and about half the price of Celebrity's, so I didn't mind paying extra for a couple of nights. 

 

We are on the Beyond this December. If the food quality is as good as it was on the Edge last May, I will probably be happy to work around the lack of choices and book more upcoming cruises on X, but if it isn't I will start looking at other lines to explore.

[reedprincess]

18 hours ago, leyland1989 said:

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? 

Yes, lobster is still offered Free one night. One tail is free. Any additional tails are $17.99+18% gratuity.   (Or, were, on Apex, in February 2023).

And there was a delightful 4oz filet mignon on the kid's menu available every night. My brother (53) ate one each night in addition to his main meal .. 

Edited August 4, 2023 by reedprincess

[cgolf1]

3 hours ago, Dreamer68 said:

I was on the APEX in January. Honestly these 2 photos shared (that came from another poster - so please understand I'm not shooting the messenger 🙏) do not tell the whole story. This is NOT the whole menu for Cosmopolitan on the APEX. Wish people would tell the whole story so others get a chance to see the big picture and not just part of the picture. The top photo is the Classics part of the menu at Cosmopolitan and the other 3 MDRs. This is "set in (soft) stone" and is available any night, anywhere. The "Premium Selection" from that classic menu, as I understood, is that these 3 "premium choices" any and every night but for a fee.

 

*Please note that there is ONE lobster night INCLUDED on the cruise. That means 1 lobster tail for free but USD $16.99 for additional ones. This is not an all-you-can-eat lobster buffet. And yes, I did have a 2nd lobster back in the 90s on a cruise ship for free. I could not eat more than that after having enjoyed starters and wanting Baked Alaska for dessert. But that's just me and my tummy. 🤭
 

The 2nd picture shared shows the MDR-exclusive items that are available every night in THAT specific MDR. Normandie, Tuscan, and Cyprus have their own exclusive items. This was the Cosmopolitan's exclusive items.
 

And then, there are the Celebrity Signatures (photo NOT included here) and that menu includes 3 starters and 3 mains and this is available at ALL MDRs but they rotate. Or at least they seemed to on my app. E.g. The Signature menu for Cyprus on Tuesday was not the same as the Signature menu on Tuscan on the same Tuesday. This made for psychologically interesting meal outings for me vs a static menu. I think it was very smart of Celebrity to have that twist...albeit probably annoying to some. But I bet if Celebrity had a static Signature menu, people would then notice "the same thing every night" and proceed to complain about "the same thing every night"...yes?

Also not included in the pictorial story is the dessert menu which had about 10 items on the list including 1 Exclusive to the specific MDR, 5-6 classics and 2 Signatures that rotate, one usually a flaming dessert (like Cherries Jubilee or Bananas Foster) that they prep in the kitchen/ galley vs tableside like in the "old days".

And there is no photo of the kids' menu.

So, in all earnestness,  at any MDR restaurant for non-suite folks like me, there will be at least 10 starters, 10 entrées, and 10 desserts every night. I don't fully understand the complaints about choices. I was on the Summit in 2016. I'm looking back at the photos of MDR menus I took then. I shared them all in a big review here on CC. Honestly, back then, the MDR had 10 starters and  9 or 10 entrées. See my photo from Day 1 of the Summit MDR in 2016. If you want to see them all from back then, search for my review. When I compare those menus with what I got at every APEX MDR, I really do not understand the complaints about NUMBER of choices.🙄 As for the quality of food, well, I've got something to say there and I did for my review on the APEX though I can actually say a lot more, as a well-traveled foodie, if anyone wants to write me directly. 😉

So if this # of choices are still not enough for non-suite guests (of which I am contentedly one), then, indeed, perhaps consider another cruise line.  In my travels, I've noticed how most restaurants with extensive menus (size of a small book!) don't produce meals as memorable as those with intentional signatures of what they do well, just my 2 cents.

Summit 2016 MDR menu, Day 1 below:

SummitMenu1B.pdf 649.04 kB · 3 downloads

 

Well glad you are happy with those, there are some nights, especially as gluten free that I felt I was missing something. Unfortunately I can't find my original edge review, but I feel the menu was definitely shortened from before. The protein choices are where I noticed it the most. I don't cruise for the the Celebrity signatures, I cruise to get a variety of different foods. We don't eat out much and my wife is not an adventurous eater at all, so this is usually my one chance to branch out.

 

I am still putting Celebrity at my #1 choice, but it isn't as big a lead as in the past.

Edited August 4, 2023 by cgolf1