We board Infinity in about an hour. Let me know if you have any questions.

[Georgia_Peaches]

8 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

They promised one, supposedly from the CEO Laura, and I brought it to the attention of guest services, but so far that hasn’t happened.

Well if CEO Laura can't follow through, what does it say about the example being set for the rest of the customer relations staff?....SMH

[weregoingcruising]

16 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

They promised one, supposedly from the CEO Laura, and I brought it to the attention of guest services, but so far that hasn’t happened. I showed them the email in writing, but apparently it’s quite a problem.  
 

But whatever.

The problem maybe that you have't pay the gratuity yet on the gift. It might be a new change they haven't announced yet.

[mahdnc]

7 hours ago, hcat said:

food photos looked good except for the very thin looking steak.

 

I will have to include a ruler with my food photos taken from my next Celebrity Cruise. 

[Ciaranaman]

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

Is it just me, or does this art seem just a bit inappropriate?

I think it may depend on how many drinks have been consumed??? 😂

[budmeister]

On 9/2/2023 at 5:19 AM, Stockjock said:

Here are tonight’s main dining room, selections, for anyone interested.

Looks Delicious!

[budmeister]

On 9/3/2023 at 4:08 AM, Stockjock said:

Here are some pictures from last night’s dinner, as well as menus from tonight‘s dinner, and finally a picture of our sail into Dubrovnik, Croatia.
 

Just some comments from last night’s dinner, it was incredibly disorganized.  You can see the line to get into the restaurant and my girlfriend said it was a cluster F, and I won’t say what the F stands for, but you can figure it out. I would say we waited about 40 minutes, and they just seemed really completely in over their heads and things seemed utterly chaotic and disorganized. Even the person who finally was going to seat us had no idea where the table was. I’m hoping it will be better tonight, but we’ll see. 

 

Now, in terms of the food quality, it is unquestionably several steps down from what I’ve enjoyed on Celebrity in the past. I think now it’s on par with MSC in terms of the main dining room. Their cappuccino definitely is not as good as MSC. In fact, I think MSC seems a little more creative in terms of their dishes in the main dining room. I compare this with MSC because that’s basically what we sail, either Celebrity or MSC.  In the past I had considered Celebrity’s service and food to be substantially better than MSC. But I don’t think that’s true right now. We’ve got another six days so we’ll see.

 

I got the sirloin steak, and I have to apologize for posting a picture of the fat, but you could see how fatty the meat was. I ate all of it, other than the fat, but I didn’t consider the quality nor the preparation to be particularly good.  I would give the steak about a 6 1/2 on a 10 scale. It came with a dollop of mashed potatoes and a small portion of vegetables.

My girlfriend had the salmon with the pasta. We both thought it was a little bit dry, but she did think it was about a eight on the 10 scale. I thought because of the dryness, lack of sauce, and over saltiness, I give it maybe a generous seven on a 10 scale.

 

The appetizers were pretty good. The escargot was tasty although I think they tried to add some kind of a wasabi, or something, and I thought maybe they were getting a little too creative, but it was still enjoyable. The shrimp cocktail was fresh and I have no complaints whatsoever about that.

 

In terms of the dessert, the crème brûlée was very watery and tasted like somebody went to the supermarket and bought a mix and they really didn’t know what they were doing. We ate it and I won’t say it’s horrible, but it was definitely on the poorer side of the crème brûlée I’ve had in the past. 
 

One strange thing about the main dining room is they didn’t have music, for let’s say 80% of the dinner, and then they started playing some really odd and inappropriate music. And then they stopped the odd and inappropriate music for a short time, and continued with the odd inappropriate music. Then they paused for another five or 10 minutes and then continued with some different odd inappropriate music for a short time before stopping that weird music.  We couldn’t figure out what the heck they were doing, and I’m not sure they knew what the heck they were doing. It did come across a bit like amateur hour, to be honest with you. 

 

We did hit up the sky lounge in the front of the ship, and as I mentioned elsewhere, my girlfriend made me dance, which I don’t particularly enjoy, but the sound system was very good and the choice of songs was very good so DJ Pyro did his job and got everybody dancing.

 

I had to go to guest services this morning for some issues with my app, because my girlfriend could see her account, but I could not see anything on mine.  They did screw up her billing a little bit, which I could see on hers, but again, not on mine. As I mentioned earlier, they canceled excursions that she paid for but then they refunded it to my account, but they billed her for the replacement so I needed to get my access reestablished, and I also needed to have that cancellation credit moved over to her account, which eventually they did.  It took them about 20 minutes to figure things out though.

 

In terms of the passenger mix, it’s a pretty eclectic mix of young people, middle-age, people, and older people. For the most part, everyone seems well behaved, and it’s nice to have some energy on the ship so it doesn’t feel like a cemetery.  The crew is pretty nice, and they generally seem to be pretty efficient, so no complaints there.

 

This morning we sail into Croatia and it looks like a beautiful day and we’re doing a land and Sea tour for about four hours, which sounded interesting, and we get in a little bit later which was nice because we can relax before we have to leave the cabin.

 

In terms of the ship, as you know, it is one of the oldest ships in the fleet, and it has not been revolutionized, but I think it is acceptable if you get a reasonable price. If you’re paying a very high price, then maybe not so much but it’s not bad but definitely could use a little bit of a facelift. But I would not stop that from booking the ship if you found an itinerary and price that was reasonable to you.  The girlfriend said the decor does not look old, but it just looks a bit sterile and not up-to-date.

 

The room has been quiet, and we have felt virtually no motion, and as I mentioned, we are in one of the converted conference room, Oceanview cabins on the third deck.

 

Once again, let me know if you have any questions. So far the experience has been more favorable than not, but I can see a few areas that need some improvement. While we ate the food, and it certainly was not bad, but it is below expectation for Celebrity. I think that’s fair to say. It seems like it’s more on par with maybe Royal Caribbean or Carnival.

 

 

Looks wonderful again! This time next week I will be on that ship. Can't wait! 

[sunlover5]

We will be on her in November.  Thank you for taking the time to review things.  Sorry for the problems you are having and hope the rest of your dinners will be hassle free.  Your girlfriend is beautiful.  

Thank you again.

[aaaaa]

The newly posted dinner menu seems largely to be a repeat of the first night's dinner menu.

[Stockjock]

1 hour ago, aaaaa said:

The newly posted dinner menu seems largely to be a repeat of the first night's dinner menu.

There does seem to be a fair amount of repetition.

 

Here is tonight’s menu, and you’re going see a lot of the same things we’ve been eating every night.  
 

There’s a definite lack of variety, and the quality is hit and miss. It’s not terrible, but I can see the changes for sure. And there seems to be a bit of a lack of creativity.  I don’t see a lot of food that I am really looking forward to, although I suppose, having dinner on a cruise ship is never a terrible thing.

 

Edited September 5, 2023 by Stockjock

[DaKahuna]

 All the comments about the mashed potatoes. I found them very flavorful and always asked for a double portion.  Surprised more people don’t do that rather than complaining about the small portion. 
 

[ladylemondrop]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

 All the comments about the mashed potatoes. I found them very flavorful and always asked for a double portion.  Surprised more people don’t do that rather than complaining about the small portion. 
 

It’s the lack of variety and the look of them which I think is the main issue, what if you are not a mashed potato person? (My husband loves them, me - not a fan) the presentation is lumpy! I love some pomme purée with creamy butter but not this school dinners style. Looks cheap. Do they offer french fries, or baked potato? 
 

[ladylemondrop]

11 hours ago, Stockjock said:

So day three, and they finally succeeded in making my girlfriend cry on formal night, and she doesn’t cry easily. As I mentioned, they have screwed up our dining situation with long waits 40 min 1st night, estimated 40 minute wait (before I politely raised hell the second night).  And then musical chairs and misinformation with the table situation. They told us initially we had an assigned table, but then the next night someone was in that table, and we didn’t have an assigned table, and it was all sort of a cluster while they tried to figure it out, and I think it’s probably still not figured out.

 

So we stood around for a while tonight while I tracked down a manager (again) and they tried to sort it out. For right now, at least, we are not at a table for two, but there’s no one else here, so hopefully it will end up being a table for two. We’ve had dinner problems each of the first three nights, so I’m hoping that it won’t happen on the fourth night.

 

She said to me, “Why can’t we just sit down and have a nice dinner without having problems every night and having to find managers to straighten things out? I don’t want to go on Celebrity anymore”. But I told her that we do have a cruise booked for next year on Ascent.

 

here’s a picture of a salad for starters. It’s pretty tasty actually.

I am so sorry that you are having these issues at dinner, it’s really sad that you can’t just relax and enjoy your meal! It should be a decadent experience not a crazy canteen kerfuffle. 
I hope that you can find someone senior to discuss it with. Maybe try an evening in Murano to cheer up your lovely girlfriend. 

[Stockjock]

I try to share the good and the bad, so the shower does not really get very warm at all. I guess you could say it’s invigorating, lol. They will try to fix it while we’re onshore in Santorini.

[Stockjock]

Wine tasting and snacks at the Santo Winery in Santorini.

[ladylemondrop]

21 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Wine tasting and snacks at the Santo Winery in Santorini.

Looks beautiful! Great photos 

[Stockjock]

Lunchtime. Pretty good tour so far.

Edited September 5, 2023 by Stockjock

[jshli]

What is going on? I just looked at the day 5 menu and it seems to be getting more redundant and so few choices. I have a cruise booked next year and I am seriously considering cancelling. Food is not high on my list when taking a cruise, but I do expect to be able find a main course or two that I find appealing. I prefer chicken (not dry chicken breast) and as it stands now, I would be eating a lot of pasta which is something I do not find acceptable. I am an elite member and have never had a problem in the past. 

I have booked more specialty restaurants than usual on my cruise but this should be because I want to upgrade my experience, not because I feel this is my only choice for a decent meal. I hope Celebrity reconsiders because in my opinion, this will cost them customers. If they think the new young cruisers will like this menu any more than the older loyal cruisers, they are very mistaken.

 

[vickykay]

I agree. Our daughter and husband are in their mid thirties and enjoy good food as do their friends.  They typically go out to upscale ( and expensive) restaurants.  We have encouraged them for years to go on a Celebrity cruise but would never do that now with the current menus.  

[hcat]

15 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Lunchtime. Pretty good tour so far.

all lovely photos!   love the smiles..

hope the fix the shower water temp!

Great Review...thanks for doing it!

[Georgia_Peaches]

Great photos!  Santorini looks beautiful. 
 

Those MDR menus are just pitiful. 🙁

[hcat]

2 hours ago, Stockjock said:

Lunchtime. Pretty good tour so far.

you added a photo..was this local entertainment they brought on board..

 

suggestion for the potato/ veggie issue...order appetizer/ soup and then a salad to go with the entree..they seem fresher looking than the limp veggies!

[Islander500]

Thanks for posting your pics and commentary.  I'm so sorry that you're having so many issues with things that Celebrity used to excel in. Each of those encounters would put a damper on my evening for sure. Completely unacceptable! 

 

To say something positive about the food, your pictured dish from your excursion looks amazing!  YUM.

 

The ship's menus are beyond disappointing. I note that there are no longer real appetizers--only soup and salads. I would actually be okay with that if the entrees were not so blah, repetitive and completely uninspiring. My plan for an upcoming cruise was to order multiple appetizers instead of entrees but I guess that's not an option unless I want just soup and salad for dinner. 

 

Enjoy visiting that awesome part of the world and eat lots of great food onshore for lunch! 💗  

[Stockjock]

A few photos from Oía, Santorini.

 

 

[bikerunner]

It still amazes me the lack of disconnect between departments in the Hospitality business overall.  Its something I always had to deal with when running hotels and restaurants.  Information does not flow at all to the needed departments.  This was always one of my things I worked on and try to correct in places I went into to.  Along with the finances and cash flows.  Celebrity and others do such a poor job on something that is really easy to gain customer satisfaction overall.  The menus when looking at them do seem very repetitive now in the MDR, which is sad since one of the aspects of Celebrity that was in there favor was the food and service, and now both of the standouts seem to be falling back into all the other mass market lines and all Celebrity is a higher priced choice of them.  Nothing makes it stand out.  Enjoy the cruise, the locations look great.  

[kwokpot]

41 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

A few photos from Oía, Santorini.

 

 

Looks like the same crazy crowds in Oia as when I was there in July. We found them overwhelming and a disincentive to linger around, window shop, and just meandering around. 

Edited September 5, 2023 by kwokpot