Question for recent Celebrity cruisers.

[ConnMom]

We have been enthusiastic Celebrity cruisers for close to 24 years, having loved the staff and enjoyed the entertainment and our dining room meals.  On our most recent cruise in April on the Summit, we experienced the decline of food quality and selection, but we still enjoyed our cruise and many of our meals.  Looking at the menus and listening to people's comments since the latest round of cuts, I am very concerned about what we will find on our next trip.  Among the criticisms, however, a number of people have talked about how much they enjoyed their main dining room meals. 

I am trying to remain positive, so I am asking those people who have been on cruises since June and who have loved the main dining room food to share what menu items they particularly enjoyed.  I would love to see photos of your favorites, if available, but hearing your comments about the selections you found delicious might help me try something that doesn't sound very special as I read the menu.  Thanks for any help you can give.

[Georgia_Peaches]

We enjoyed the MDR food most evenings. My go to each evening was a Caesar salad. The bread was plentiful and we also started each meal with a cheese plate. A stand out meal for us was the beef short rib. Here’s a few pics. My favorite dessert was the key lime pie. We sailed in July. 

[Mr. Click]

We were on the Summit in July, our first cruise since the pandemic and we found it very nice. Ate in the MDR most nights and the choices were fine, the portions were fine and the service was great.  The disclaimer, we both have food issues, some allergies, some health restrictions that limit our choices but we always found something to enjoy each night.  Lunches in the OVC were nice too.  Nothing outstanding but always lots of choices.  This was our 11th trip with Celebrity and we just did not see a huge difference, other than the dumb deal on lobster night when a second portion was $17.....and our waiter said "just order a second, different entree....I opted for the shrimp cocktail and some how it showed up with 8 pieces rather than the normal 4.  Funny how those things happen.

[ElmaLee]

We were on Edge in August.  We ate in 3 of the MDRs.  

We found plenty of choice across each MDRs menus.

Each MDR has its own set mains, plus the daily 'specials' and the standard mains, giving a wide range of dishes.

Food quality was good, portions appropriate for a multi-course meal and service excellent.

[barneyboy]

We disembarked from reflection on Monday. The only main we really enjoyed was the beef short rib. The beef brochette was quite good, as was the oven roasted Turkey 

[CruiseCrew123]

I boarded Infinity today - the MDR menu tonight is very limited (being polite) so we are off to Sushi in Five 

[ymncruise]

It’s not what it was in the past, but I still enjoy it and have fun. I watch for reasonable prices and usually book what I feel is the best value. If I was booking a higher priced cabin, I might not feel like I was getting what I paid for. 

[Molly123.]

Disembarked Silhouette last Saturday first time cruisers on Celebrity,having cruised on everything from Regent to Airtours over the past 30 plus years.Found the ship itself both inside and outside to be well cared for.,expectations for food included in cruise fare met in part.Menu in MDR was limited some dishes were delicious,others were pretty basic, sadly lots of repetition. Struggled at times to find anything appealing to eat in MDR ,no problem though if you like caesar salad daily tough steak or liver.Service in MDR very variable outstanding from some staff,consistently challenging if you wanted tea not coffee at breakfast,at times service was just poor resulting in cold food being served.

[keesar]

10 hours ago, barneyboy said:

We disembarked from reflection on Monday. The only main we really enjoyed was the beef short rib. The beef brochette was quite good, as was the oven roasted Turkey 

On the Beyond, the beef short ribs were excellent.  However, the beef brochette was nasty.  I guess it depends on the chef.  The creme brule was consistently good as were the salads.  Turkey was excellent.

 

 

[ECCruise]

I think you only need to compare the reviews (on this thread as well as others) of those that sailed prior to mid-August of this year and those that sailed since then (only the last month, basically). 

 

There appears to be a bit of a disconnect, honestly. 

 

Posting how the food was six months, a year or longer ago really does not have a whole lot of value in the current environment. 

 

We love good food but can swing with the punches and find something we like almost always, but we don't cruise to eat salads or mashed potatoes, frankly. 

[ConnMom]

Thank you all for the suggestions and for the pictures, Georgia Peaches.  Short ribs seem to be the winner.  I hope some more people who have been posting about how much they have enjoyed the mdr will come on and share their preferences.

[C4HCG]

17 minutes ago, ConnMom said:

Thank you all for the suggestions and for the pictures, Georgia Peaches.  Short ribs seem to be the winner.  I hope some more people who have been posting about how much they have enjoyed the mdr will come on and share their preferences.

We got off the Equinox last week and had no problem with the food in the MDR. Salmon was good, steak ok, lobster good, French onion soup lovely, shrimp cocktail, lemon cheese cake lovely but only on once unfortunately. Dont waste your time worrying, go on your cruise and judge for yourself and hopefully you’ll like it too.

Edited September 16, 2023 by C4HCG

[TennesseeNationVol]

My husband and I just disembarked from Equinox.  I have no photos. But can tell you, we both thought service and foods were superb. MDR was supreme. Ocean View had improved since last cruise, 6 months ago. We didn’t lose weight!

[lostchild]

Apex Europe cruise from the 4 MDRs.  All the red meat are mine and fish were my wife's.  

Lamb shank, some kind of fish, short rib, some kind of fish, panna cotta.  All really good and plate looks great too.

 

Edited September 17, 2023 by lostchild

[tigervixxxen]

The latest changes were mid August if you want a true reflection of the current offerings. 

[Rustyman]

The food is nothing like those photos in the MDR at the moment, unless of course there had been a swift u turn.

[C4HCG]

2 hours ago, Rustyman said:

The food is nothing like those photos in the MDR at the moment, unless of course there had been a swift u turn.

It is, take it from someone who is speaking from the experience of sailing just last week. Me and others have posted first hand from our cruises but some people choose to ignore that, not sure why.

[rmedistro]

2 hours ago, C4HCG said:

It is, take it from someone who is speaking from the experience of sailing just last week. Me and others have posted first hand from our cruises but some people choose to ignore that, not sure why.

Because, if they can't B*tch about the food, then there is nothing else to whine about, to justify not facing reality that living in an inflationary economy is more expensive!

[Molly123.]

Just remembered why I avoid posting anything on cruise critic.I always try to give a balanced and fair viewpoint on anything I comment on in life but appreciate it is solely my opinion. I respect others views but clearly some people feel differently. Note to self don't post on cruise critic in future.

[C4HCG]

1 hour ago, Molly123. said:

Just remembered why I avoid posting anything on cruise critic.I always try to give a balanced and fair viewpoint on anything I comment on in life but appreciate it is solely my opinion. I respect others views but clearly some people feel differently. Note to self don't post on cruise critic in future.

My thoughts too - will have a wager - first to post again loses 

[C4HCG]

1 hour ago, C4HCG said:

My thoughts too - will have a wager - first to post again loses 

You win already 😔

[kywildcatfanone]

2 hours ago, Molly123. said:

Just remembered why I avoid posting anything on cruise critic.I always try to give a balanced and fair viewpoint on anything I comment on in life but appreciate it is solely my opinion. I respect others views but clearly some people feel differently. Note to self don't post on cruise critic in future.

I value someone's personal experience.  How can anyone dispute it, unless they were right beside you the whole time. 😀

[Wichenford Wolf]

 We are booked on Infinity in November. All but one of our previous Celebrity cruises have been in Aqua, basically because we love Blu restaurant. This time the difference in price between Aqua and Concierge was just too great for us. It was quite a recent booking and Concierge was actually cheaper than a regular veranda stateroom. 
 

I have put in a Move Up bid at what is described as a “weak” level, but at least I don’t have previous MDR experience on Celebrity to compare! We do have lots of Princess cruises under our belt, always using their MDR on most occasions. 
 

Whatever experiences others have had, and however disappointing MDR might be, we will surely have a fantastic cruise. 
 

Karen and Paul 

[C4HCG]

14 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

I value someone's personal experience.  How can anyone dispute it, unless they were right beside you the whole time. 😀

People try as you know! 

[Emma on sea]

Sailed on Silhouette last week , thoroughly enjoyed ourselves 

not as much choice on main menu  as in previous years , but there was always something I fancied 

the pork loin with red cabbage was my favourite, I liked the salmon with the hollandaise sauce , I don’t like potatoes much anyway , if you don’t like the mash you can ask for chips or boiled potatoes 

the bread basket every night was fab , the soups ( we had butternut and broccoli , both delicious , )  though I wasn’t so keen on the French onion soup 

desserts were also good , but I’m quite happy to have creme brûlée every night ! 
the chocolate fondant , a soufflé , cheesecake … all delicious