Celebrity Silhouette Main Dining Room Experience an Embarrassment

[Rustyman]

Just home from a 13 nighter on the Silhouette, our 4th cruise on her and our last. The main dining room food quality, presentation and choice was very poor and an embarrassment to many including the poor waiting staff and Maitre D. If you want a return to school dinners you’ll enjoy it, every night a slice of chicken, meat or fish and an ice cream scoop of mashed potato with green beans and sliced carrots. The presentation was that which your school dinner lady would provide. Our table lost 2 couples to the Ocean View buffet for the entire cruise, the rest of us endured the MDR for the company only. As always our waiting staff were exceptional but I felt for them as every night they asked all at the table how the food was and every night they were told the same with “but it’s not your fault”.

I complained to the waiter, the Maitre D, reception, Guest Relations and to the Captains Club, never heard a peep back! The waiter, Maitre D and MDR reception all apologised and said that Celebrity have just changed to the new menu and quality and that many on board have complained.

We have 3 cruises booked for next year on Celebrity but if things don’t change back to the previous excellent food quality then we’re cancelling, I couldn’t take more of this new regime. We’re only glad that we didn’t take family or friends with us.

The food selection and quality was far superior in the Oceanview buffet, the only issue there was the lack of available tables, a couple of times we had to circumnavigate the Oceanview twice before finding one, also as the cruise was so busy, on a few occasions we had to lift dirty plates from our table and take them to a trolley to clear the table before  we could eat.

For information the rest of the cruise was very good, all staff as ever were happy, helpful and a joy to be around.

Apologies for the negative post but we’ve had 15 cruises with Celebrity and this was a real shock and embarrassment. If this is the path cruising is choosing to take then hell mend them.

[lv2cruisgrl]

Wow that is so disappointing.  We sail Beyond in November and if we encounter the same I will cancel our 2024 cruises.  Thank you for posting and remember to do the email survey they sent you.  It takes complaining to get things to improve.

Edited August 19, 2023 by lv2cruisgrl

[Rustyman]

I’ve done the survey.

Please let us know how the Beyond goes as we’re booked on it and the Ascent next year……….at the moment!

When I spoke with the Captains Club about the poor food and said I wanted reassurance that the Beyond isn’t the same, the lady told me she had a good experience dining on the Beyond, however that was before the new food regime under the new CEO.

[Crazy planning mom]

This is disappointing.  We usually are MDR people for dinner but will have to reconsider when we sail in the winter.  Yes, although we love cruising we also love travel and cruising isn't the only option

 

[hcat]

bringing down the caliber of food on X to Royal C level will not be very popular!  That is one area that set the two cruise lines apart   

 

On our cruise on Oasis a few yrs ago . the  food was like  a school dining hall..even in the Specialty venues..

Back then, we could not wait to get back to X...

[Baggy178]

Thanks for that report - it confirms our general preference for always eating our meals in the buffet rather than MDR.

We like to drink first and eat late so rarely have a problem with overcrowding.

We have tried the MDR on P&O a couple of times but long waits for ordinary food made it all a bit of a faff.

There just seems more variety at the buffet.

We're on the Silhouette TA this Fall so will report.

[killaypirate]

1 hour ago, Rustyman said:

Just home from a 13 nighter on the Silhouette, our 4th cruise on her and our last. The main dining room food quality, presentation and choice was very poor and an embarrassment to many including the poor waiting staff and Maitre D. If you want a return to school dinners you’ll enjoy it, every night a slice of chicken, meat or fish and an ice cream scoop of mashed potato with green beans and sliced carrots. The presentation was that which your school dinner lady would provide. Our table lost 2 couples to the Ocean View buffet for the entire cruise, the rest of us endured the MDR for the company only. As always our waiting staff were exceptional but I felt for them as every night they asked all at the table how the food was and every night they were told the same with “but it’s not your fault”.

I complained to the waiter, the Maitre D, reception, Guest Relations and to the Captains Club, never heard a peep back! The waiter, Maitre D and MDR reception all apologised and said that Celebrity have just changed to the new menu and quality and that many on board have complained.

We have 3 cruises booked for next year on Celebrity but if things don’t change back to the previous excellent food quality then we’re cancelling, I couldn’t take more of this new regime. We’re only glad that we didn’t take family or friends with us.

The food selection and quality was far superior in the Oceanview buffet, the only issue there was the lack of available tables, a couple of times we had to circumnavigate the Oceanview twice before finding one, also as the cruise was so busy, on a few occasions we had to lift dirty plates from our table and take them to a trolley to clear the table before  we could eat.

For information the rest of the cruise was very good, all staff as ever were happy, helpful and a joy to be around.

Apologies for the negative post but we’ve had 15 cruises with Celebrity and this was a real shock and embarrassment. If this is the path cruising is choosing to take then hell mend them.

We were on the previous cruise and can confirm the poor menu choices, compared to Infinity only a few weeks before. Trying Princess next month so we’ll see but early indications not looking good. Probably more P&O ex-Southampton in future.

[CunucuMom]

1 hour ago, Baggy178 said:

Thanks for that report - it confirms our general preference for always eating our meals in the buffet rather than MDR.

Perhaps part of Laura's strategy for X cost-control is to drive pax to the buffet to reduce costs for waitstaff, sommeliers, linens, etc.  If that's the case, not sure how the current MDR/OCV spaces would be reconfigured to accommodate seat-yourself dining.

[BridgeMates]

As a veteran Celebrity cruiser, this is so sad to hear.  The Silhouette & the Reflection have always been our favorites (size, restaurants, etc.).

We'll be on the Reflection again in early November and will see for ourselves, but I am so sorry to hear what's going on with Celebrity.  

[Rustyman]

If the tactic is to move customers from the MDR to the buffet then I’m sure people will vote with their feet and leave Celebrity. One of the joys of cruising is the evening meal in the dining room chatting to new friends over an enjoyable meal, Celebrity are taking this experience away, or at least ruining it, so even though the rest of the cruise may be good, the absence of the evening in the MDR is enough to move many to other lines or land based holidays.

The buffet food is good but it is essentially fast food, the dining area lacking in ambience..

[tfred]

3 hours ago, Rustyman said:

Just home from a 13 nighter on the Silhouette, our 4th cruise on her and our last. The main dining room food quality, presentation and choice was very poor and an embarrassment to many including the poor waiting staff and Maitre D. If you want a return to school dinners you’ll enjoy it, every night a slice of chicken, meat or fish and an ice cream scoop of mashed potato with green beans and sliced carrots. The presentation was that which your school dinner lady would provide. Our table lost 2 couples to the Ocean View buffet for the entire cruise, the rest of us endured the MDR for the company only. As always our waiting staff were exceptional but I felt for them as every night they asked all at the table how the food was and every night they were told the same with “but it’s not your fault”.

I complained to the waiter, the Maitre D, reception, Guest Relations and to the Captains Club, never heard a peep back! The waiter, Maitre D and MDR reception all apologised and said that Celebrity have just changed to the new menu and quality and that many on board have complained.

We have 3 cruises booked for next year on Celebrity but if things don’t change back to the previous excellent food quality then we’re cancelling, I couldn’t take more of this new regime. We’re only glad that we didn’t take family or friends with us.

The food selection and quality was far superior in the Oceanview buffet, the only issue there was the lack of available tables, a couple of times we had to circumnavigate the Oceanview twice before finding one, also as the cruise was so busy, on a few occasions we had to lift dirty plates from our table and take them to a trolley to clear the table before  we could eat.

For information the rest of the cruise was very good, all staff as ever were happy, helpful and a joy to be around.

Apologies for the negative post but we’ve had 15 cruises with Celebrity and this was a real shock and embarrassment. If this is the path cruising is choosing to take then hell mend them.

what, in particular, did you not like 

[BridgeMates]

It wasn't too long ago they changed the evening Buffet menu right?  Everyone was complaining.  Now the Buffet is "crowded" and the food is better than the MDR?  What is going on?  

Our group just booked the Discovery Princess, a new ship for a B2B LA next April.   Altho we're elite on Princess, we have only sailed on them one time in the past 10 years.  There were things we liked but still prefer Celebrity (and food was always top of the list).  Dining with friends and enjoying good food (not necessarily "gourmet") is a very important part of cruising for some of us.  Even if the menu is slimmed down, what they offer should be GOOD.   The ports are incidental as we don't make those long overseas flights anymore.  Happy cruising to all!  

[Rustyman]

Just now, tfred said:

what, in particular, did you not like 

The food was very basic and samey. As I said every night was one dollop of mashed potato served obviously from an ice cream scoop a la school dinners, every night was the same 2 veg, green beans and sliced carrots. Meat often tough, chicken and steak. Lack of imagination in the choices, no finesse to any dish, turkey made an appearance most nights including Turkey Linguini with seafood sauce(what?) and this was one of the few non slice of meat choices. No longer are beef ribs or duck on the menu. There was Buttered Chicken on the menu one night, I had it, and there was one cube of chicken with some sauce. 
Most nights most on our table had French onion soup, escargots or Caesar salad starters and steak mains as these were the safe choice. These were fine(but with the ubiquitous mash and same veg) but 2 weeks eating the same is tiring, those who dabbled with other choices returned following disappointment. Plates were often collected post meal with a lot of food left on them.

The waiting staff and Maitre D were embarrassed at the food and the table regularly joked with them about this. The Maitre D was met with raised eyebrows or “fine” when each night he asked how the food was.

[tfred]

that does sound grim

[Gail & Dan]

1 minute ago, tfred said:

that does sound grim

no no you can have cheese on your hotdog !! small upcharge tho

LOL

[Islander500]

Just looked at menus on our upcoming Sept cruise and was actually laughing.  Not going to be so funny to me when I’m onboard. Meat loaf, grilled chicken, oven roasted Turkey - all served with mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables. I serve more creative dinners at home.  And then this, every night. 

[lv2cruisgrl]

3 hours ago, Rustyman said:

I’ve done the survey.

Please let us know how the Beyond goes as we’re booked on it and the Ascent next year……….at the moment!

When I spoke with the Captains Club about the poor food and said I wanted reassurance that the Beyond isn’t the same, the lady told me she had a good experience dining on the Beyond, however that was before the new food regime under the new CEO.

Will do, we sail Ascent next April....maybe!

[CunucuMom]

20 minutes ago, Rustyman said:

Turkey Linguini with seafood sauce(what?)

Ugh....let me guess, the 'seafood sauce' was crafted from leftover tilapia. 🤣 And only one measly cube of chicken?!  Weird thing is other posters have shared recent MDR reviews with photos and it doesn't appear as bad as your dining experience.  I don't doubt your assessment one bit, rather I'm puzzled by the wide MDR food quality variation from ship to ship.  Can't help but wonder if the disparity is due primarily to each Head Chef's interpretation of budget management, supplier cost/quality variations depending on port of origin or ??

[hankandteri]

I will be aboard Silhouette in October for the TA cruise, and I’m so sorry to see this report. This will be our first time on X in many years. 
 

A few weeks ago I looked at the MDR dinner menus on the app for our entire upcoming cruise, and the options looked promising. Every night there were choices that appealed to me. I know those menus may have just been placeholders, but I thought if that was a representative sample of what to expect, we would be very happy in the MDR. 

 

Then the appetizer and main course options disappeared from the app, leaving only the dessert menu. Odd. As of this minute, the apps and mains are back for the first six nights (still AWOL for the remainder of our cruise). Perhaps it’s my imagination (I didn’t memorize the prior menus or take screen shots), but it seems like the replacement menus include fewer, cheaper, and much less interesting choices than were there before, especially for the main courses. 
 

I’m sure we won’t starve on our cruise, but enjoying lovely cuisine on board is one of the pleasures of a transatlantic cruise where dining ashore isn’t an option on those consecutive sea days. 
 

I follow several other lines on CC where I have cruises booked or am considering booking, and this isn’t just Celebrity. I’m watching all of the major lines devolve in real time. 
 

For instance, just this week Princess began charging for pizza that was always included, and added the pizza option back in to their drinks/wi-if package (limit two free  “casual dining” visits per cruise). Princess is selling that bait and switch pizza heist as a new benefit. That takes nerve. Oh, and they did the same thing with room service this week. 

Since they didn’t grandfather in pre-booked customers with their new “benefits,” I dread thinking about what else I’ll be paying extra for by the time I sail Princess in February.

 

I’m okay paying a higher fare (within reason) to cover increased costs. That’s business, that’s reality and we all get it.  I’m not okay if you charge me more and deliver a watered down, substandard product.

 

Disguising your price hike as poorer food, fewer crew members, random new upcharges or routinely skipping ports (that particularly uncool new business practice is only an NCL/Oceania thing for now apparently), doesn’t fool discerning cruisers. 
 

And I’m personally not interested in a la carte cruising where all food and leisure and entertainment is charged separately. If this is the future of cruising, y’all can have fun without me. 

[kwokpot]

I'll add my two cents. We sailed on the Solstice in February and found the MDR food to be OK to very good. I'll agree that many times the presentation/plating seemed very basic and not what I previously expected from Celebrity. 

We just finished a 12 night Iceland cruise on the Apex last month. I felt the MDR food was definitely a cut above what we experienced on the Solstice. I've been on all three Edge Class ships and it's been my experience that the Edge Class ships seem to do things a notch higher and closer to what I expect the Celebrity brand to be. TBH I'm this seems to happen often on other cruise brands where the newer ships have a better experience than their older ships. 

[tfred]

50 minutes ago, Rustyman said:

The food was very basic and samey. As I said every night was one dollop of mashed potato served obviously from an ice cream scoop a la school dinners, every night was the same 2 veg, green beans and sliced carrots. Meat often tough, chicken and steak. Lack of imagination in the choices, no finesse to any dish, turkey made an appearance most nights including Turkey Linguini with seafood sauce(what?) and this was one of the few non slice of meat choices. No longer are beef ribs or duck on the menu. There was Buttered Chicken on the menu one night, I had it, and there was one cube of chicken with some sauce. 
Most nights most on our table had French onion soup, escargots or Caesar salad starters and steak mains as these were the safe choice. These were fine(but with the ubiquitous mash and same veg) but 2 weeks eating the same is tiring, those who dabbled with other choices returned following disappointment. Plates were often collected post meal with a lot of food left on them.

The waiting staff and Maitre D were embarrassed at the food and the table regularly joked with them about this. The Maitre D was met with raised eyebrows or “fine” when each night he asked how the food was.

I looked at the everyday menu on Apex, which issue is the same basic menu you chose from.  Sounds similar to what you had.  The mains are not really attractive.  Turkey? Really?

 

Looking at the 4 restaurants on Apex, the theme specific choices are much better. They should really include a few daily specials on non Edge class ships to liven things up. No one is expecting "WOW" in the MDR, but there should be some interesting choices. Turkey tetrazzini isnt one of those 

[bigbenboys]

2 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

I'll add my two cents. We sailed on the Solstice in February and found the MDR food to be OK to very good. I'll agree that many times the presentation/plating seemed very basic and not what I previously expected from Celebrity. 

We just finished a 12 night Iceland cruise on the Apex last month. I felt the MDR food was definitely a cut above what we experienced on the Solstice. I've been on all three Edge Class ships and it's been my experience that the Edge Class ships seem to do things a notch higher and closer to what I expect the Celebrity brand to be. TBH I'm this seems to happen often on other cruise brands where the newer ships have a better experience than their older ships. 

If things do not change at Celebrity our June sailing on Apex to Iceland will be our last for awhile.

 

[mnocket]

If this report is representative of where X is headed, we can't blame it on  trying to cater to younger customers.  They tend to be as much foodies as we old timers. School lunch food is not going to cut it. Mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables as standard sides will drive most away. Either this report is an anomaly, or X is in greater financial stress than their earnings report indicates. 

[bnurick]

I did the Silhouette TA and after one MDR experience never went back. Specialty dining, chicken wings and sliders at Craft Social or OVC pizza each night.  The breakfast was decent though, but OVC is easier and the same thing.

[jelayne]

I’m sorry your dining experience wasn’t up to par.  Maybe there were some supply shortages that impacted your sailing.  
Looking at the menu for the current Silhouette sailing I see the 1st night prime rib, lobster night, pork a couple of nights, lamb, fish and turkey ( as you mentioned) in addition to the vegetarian options.  
They did have something I had not seen before which was a choice of 3 sides; Yorkshire pudding, cauliflower cheese and buttered potatoes.