Celebrity Silhouette Main Dining Room Experience an Embarrassment

[bigbenboys]

1 hour ago, BridgeMates said:

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!  

We also booked Discovery Princess. We booked Feb out of LA. 1st time back on Princess in 12 years. While I really enjoy suite life on Celebrity. I'll be comparing an Celebrity Suite next month to an aft Princess Penthouse Suite on a 7 night sailings. Is a Celebrity cruise worth $5000 more than Princess. Time will tell.

Edited August 19, 2023 by bigbenboys
added info

[hcat]

1 hour ago, Islander500 said:

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. 

very pricey upcharges

. better off trying a specialty venue..

[OysterD]

5 minutes ago, jelayne said:

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. 
 

 

I took a look too and thought the same. There is plenty on the current 7 night menu that I'd be happy with. Actually on day 5 I'd struggle deciding because a few of the mains sound good.... crispy pork schnitzel, French pot pie, calves liver, bourbon glazed pork ribs. Other nights they have fish and chips, Irish stew, pork loin, leg of lamb, masala potatoes, prime rib, lobster, haddock, lamb t-bone, butter chicken (curried), gnocchi...

 

To the OP, what was it you didn't like, was it the choices weren't to your taste or the fact that some of the dishes just come with mash and standard veg - it looks like the standard steak, chicken and salmon that are on every night do but very few of the options which change every night have the standard mash and veg as sides. 

[Islander500]

Just now, hcat said:

very pricey upcharges

. better off trying a specialty venue..

Indeed.  

[Tyler414]

Any photos of these horrible meals?

[doghog]

Looking forward to all our five course meals in the MDR on the Eclipse in October. We were on the Apex in March with no complaints about our meals in the MDR. Including breakfast. 

[jelayne]

6 minutes ago, hcat said:

very pricey upcharges

. better off trying a specialty venue..

That ship is  sailing from Southampton those prices include the gratuity.  Prices are the same as when uncharge items started being offered.

[NMTraveller]

I was going to check the menu for my cruise,  but it still just has deserts listed.  That might be the safer choice though 🙂 

[Rustyman]

Look you’re not going to starve on the Silhouette, everything is edible but we never had a dish that you’d pay for in a land restaurant, they were more like a meal you’d hash together midweek at home. We did go to Murano which was excellent and as good as ever.

Re the above comment on sides, yes there is the option of asking for cauliflower cheese and buttered potatoes but about  every main defaults to mashed potato, green beans and sliced carrots.

This was a cruise from Southampton with 95% UK cruisers and we are generally reserved and keep quiet rather than complain, it will be interesting to see how US passengers react to the menus etc if they remain the same.

I agree with a comment made above and would also be prepared to pay more for better quality and choice. We choose to cruise with Celebrity for quality, poor quality = looking at other lines or more land based holidays.

[Rustyman]

1 hour ago, Islander500 said:

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. 

 

[Rustyman]

1 hour ago, Islander500 said:

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. 

These up charges have gratuities added as they were all a few dollars more on our cruise from Southampton.

[quacker5]

9 minutes ago, jelayne said:

That ship is  sailing from Southampton those prices include the gratuity.  Prices are the same as when uncharge items started being offered.

The prices in the pic are for a cruise out of Boston next month, not Southhampton.  

[Rustyman]

19 minutes ago, Tyler414 said:

Any photos of these horrible meals?

No, sorry. Look the meals were not horrible they were basic, simple and the same or similar most nights. They were not modern luxury. Possibly my issue is that I have had 14 previous cruises where the MDR fare has been very good or excellent, this was far from that.

[Islander500]

7 minutes ago, Rustyman said:

No, sorry. Look the meals were not horrible they were basic, simple and the same or similar most nights. They were not modern luxury. Possibly my issue is that I have had 14 previous cruises where the MDR fare has been very good or excellent, this was far from that.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I and others do appreciate it in spite of what sounds like pushback from those who weren’t there. I read your description, and then my DH & I checked our upcoming cruise menu. We both see the changes; they’re obvious to experienced Celebrity cruisers.  Nothing to be done for what’s already booked & upcoming after Final Payment but helpful to make future decisions if more interesting menus than what can be ordered at a local diner are part of what one most enjoys about cruising.  

Edited August 19, 2023 by Islander500

[Tyler414]

4 minutes ago, Rustyman said:

No, sorry. Look the meals were not horrible they were basic, simple and the same or similar most nights. They were not modern luxury. Possibly my issue is that I have had 14 previous cruises where the MDR fare has been very good or excellent, this was far from that.

I've been on Apex and Beyond and only ate in the MDR once on Beyond and that was in January 2023 and was not impressed at all.  We actually got up and left before being offered dessert.  Very slow service and very basic food.  The issue on this cruise was the Ocean View buffet, for diner they had 75% of the food stations closed, this from what I've been told is no longer the case.

[CruzR887]

Looks like X is doing to dining what it did to balconies. 

[jshli]

My husband and I have a cruise booked to Europe next year and it will be our first cruise since covid. We are elite Captain’s Club members, loyal to celebrity (until now) and have almost always booked another cruise before debarking.

I was excited to get back to cruising, until now. With every day that passes and as I read new comments regarding food, vaping, and changes being made by Corporate without notification to the customers it affects, I am becoming more disillusioned and less excited about our cruise. If we have to eat in specialty restaurants regularly and have lunch in port to avoid the substandard food and presentation in the restaurant (which we are paying for), I am sorry to say that this will be our last Celebrity cruise. I am surprised that Celebrity seems unaware that younger cruisers expect quality and healthier food choices, not a piece of meat and a scoop of mashed potatoes thrown on their plate, the same as experienced cruisers. Very short sighted.

 

 

 

[paulh84]

Maybe bringing back a smear of sauce or droplets along plate rim like it’s 1999 will make it taste better!

[CruisinBanka]

Thanks for sharing your recent dining room experience on Silhouette. We have always enjoyed the dining on Celebrity, but are concerned for our upcoming Summit and Ascent cruises, with the introduction of new menus and downgrade in food quality I am hearing more and more about. 

[VitaminSea53]

Is this ‘down sizing’ of MDR food quality / variety fleet wide or just on the Silhouette?  Are they trying it out on one ship or have they implemented it on all?

[doghog]

6 minutes ago, CruisinBanka said:

Thanks for sharing your recent dining room experience on Silhouette. We have always enjoyed the dining on Celebrity, but are concerned for our upcoming Summit and Ascent cruises, with the introduction of new menus and downgrade in food quality I am hearing more and more about. 

I've been a CC member since 2001 and from that time to today there has always been threads like this. I don't let what others experience (no matter the topic) positive or negative concern me. Everyone is entitled to that opinion based on their experiences and I respect that. I'll (we'll) make those decisions based on our experiences for that specific cruise. 

[sixpackeddie]

2 hours ago, Islander500 said:

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. 

 

[lostchild]

We were on Apex in June and thought the food in MDR (any of the 4) were good.  The menu is huge because you could order the "signature" dishes from any of the 4 restaurants.   I really love the octopus appetizer from the Greek restaurant so I ordered it in any of the others.   Having said that, we do eat most of the nights at OV cafe because the food there were also excellent.   The reason is time and what to wear.   We are more a SoCal casual family.  We don't eat together, and we don't really dress up for dinner.   We like t-shirts and sandals, and we want our food "now" LOL.   But other than the speed of food coming out in the MDRs, I thought they were great.  

[Alex618]

2 hours ago, Rustyman said:

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..

I also think the OVC is a good area to pick up infections due to people using the same serving utensils. I avoid it at cost plus often hard to find a table.

[tigervixxxen]

I have been keeping a close eye on the MDR menus for current sailings and the menus have indeed just changed. The big tip off is there is no more “timeless” section as it has been combined with the standard section of appetizers and entrees, meaning only 3-4 different items in each category per night. pretty much at this point there are no actual appetizers, it’s only soups and salads. 
 

If desserts or kids menu start at the top of the page or are the only thing that’s showing it means the old menu was deleted. I think last week it pretty much has rolled out fleet wide now though. (I have not tracked E class menus but my understanding is at least the Apex has followed this trend). 
 

Sad thing is for whatever reason the Silhouette has always had more options and still does. For example the butter chicken OP referenced is not even an option on other ship’s MDR menus.