No more MTG luncheon, only cocktail party

[TRLD]

25 minutes ago, 555 said:

I can't agree with part of your statement.

If they served the same quality beef at the luncheons as in the buffet or DR, half the people wouldn't bother attending.

It is the same. It is prepared a bit differently, with more care taken during prep for 40 instead of 400. The Chef doing their approach and prep. At most a bit more time selecting the cuts from the meat locker. The ingredients are what is stocked for the ship. 

Edited August 26 by TRLD

[Z0nker]

3 minutes ago, memoak said:

He will be off before then   He said he was tentatively to return to the Emerald but hoped for the Grand. We sail the Grand again in January and again in May

That’s a shame. Really enjoyed Captain Lewis’ navigational updates and general presence about the ship on the Emerald canal cruise back in April. Would enjoy sailing with him again. 

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, Z0nker said:

That’s a shame. Really enjoyed Captain Lewis’ navigational updates and general presence about the ship on the Emerald canal cruise back in April. Would enjoy sailing with him again. 

His family was on board in August really nice people we got to know them pretty well

[asctony]

3 hours ago, memoak said:

A cocktail party in a MDR ?  Where was the bar ?  

No, was taking about the luncheon being held in the MDR.

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, asctony said:

No, was taking about the luncheon being held in the MDR.

That makes more sense

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

17 minutes ago, memoak said:

His family was on board in August really nice people we got to know them pretty well

Still onboard , and the luncheon is scheduled for tomorrow.  

[memoak]

7 minutes ago, AnyMajorCruiseDude said:

Still onboard , and the luncheon is scheduled for tomorrow.  

Like I said an earlier the demise of MTG luncheons is not an absolute. Captain Lewis loves the luncheons 

[JimmyVWine]

1 hour ago, TRLD said:

What does that have to do with the cost of luncheon. Which is pretty minimal.

Nothing is minimal when it happens on 16 different ships, that sail uninterrupted for 52 weeks a year.  No one in HQ is looking at the costs of one luncheon.  They are looking at the overall annual budget allotted to luncheons and slashing that line in the aggregate.

Edited August 26 by JimmyVWine

[DougH]

I will miss the luncheons, they are much better than the cocktail party. The only party I loved was on the old Dawn Princess and was held in the officers wardroom. They had a fantastic buffet spread setbup in the attached conference room

[memoak]

Just now, JimmyVWine said:

Nothing is minimal when it happens on 16 different ships, that sail uninterrupted for 52 weeks a year.  

And yet the Grand keeps having lunches one this week in fact

[memoak]

1 minute ago, JimmyVWine said:

Nothing is minimal when it happens on 16 different ships, that sail uninterrupted for 52 weeks a year.  

Lunch for 40 is not a big deal especially on longer cruises where it happens once ever 16 days or so

[JimmyVWine]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

And yet the Grand keeps having lunches one this week in fact

Let's go back the the very first sentence of the very first post which reads: 

"I just learned today that they are discontinuing the most traveled luncheon and will only honor those in the top 40 with a cocktail party."

It says "are discontinuing", not "have discontinued."  The fact that something happened yesterday, or is scheduled to take place tomorrow does not make that first sentence untrue.  And it is possible that specific ships on specific occasions might be able to keep them.  There isn't going to be a press release on this, and the only way we know what the future will hold is to let the future unfold. 

[TRLD]

15 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Nothing is minimal when it happens on 16 different ships, that sail uninterrupted for 52 weeks a year.  No one in HQ is looking at the costs of one luncheon.  They are looking at the overall annual budget allotted to luncheons and slashing that line in the aggregate.

Not even a rounding error in their food budget.

[memoak]

8 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Let's go back the the very first sentence of the very first post which reads: 

"I just learned today that they are discontinuing the most traveled luncheon and will only honor those in the top 40 with a cocktail party."

It says "are discontinuing", not "have discontinued."  The fact that something happened yesterday, or is scheduled to take place tomorrow does not make that first sentence untrue.  And it is possible that specific ships on specific occasions might be able to keep them.  There isn't going to be a press release on this, and the only way we know what the future will hold is to let the future unfold. 

True that but the economics still say lunch for 40 out of 3,000 + one day out of 16 with cheap wine and no cocktails is negligible so I I really don’t buy the logic. Especially as one person said they closed down the Wheelhouse bar for a couple hours how is that a help to the profit line ?

 

I have been hearing this story for a long time whenever someone expects a lunch and gets cocktails 

[JimmyVWine]

2 minutes ago, memoak said:

so I I really don’t buy the logic

IF they are doing this, (and to me it is still an "if") there has to be a reason for it.  You may not buy the logic, but all Princess decisions since the restart have been economic.  Go back to the 4 Strategy Options.  If a company is making a change that it knows will be unpopular, it has to have a reason that either benefits the customer in some other way to make up for the loss, or else the reason is that the change benefits the company, even though it knows that it is angering the customers.  So while not buying the logic, give us another rational reason why Princess would make a change that it knows will upset its most loyal customers that isn't money-driven.  Seems to me that there are only two possibilities here.  One is money and the other is that it is a completely baseless, irrational, not-thought-out change.  Businesses do not operate on the latter method.  Randomness does not factor in.  

[memoak]

If I believe all the rumors over the years the I guess the Grand has been sold multiple times and so has the Island. 

[TRLD]

3 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

IF they are doing this, (and to me it is still an "if") there has to be a reason for it.  You may not buy the logic, but all Princess decisions since the restart have been economic.  Go back to the 4 Strategy Options.  If a company is making a change that it knows will be unpopular, it has to have a reason that either benefits the customer in some other way to make up for the loss, or else the reason is that the change benefits the company, even though it knows that it is angering the customers.  So while not buying the logic, give us another rational reason why Princess would make a change that it knows will upset its most loyal customers that isn't money-driven.  Seems to me that there are only two possibilities here.  One is money and the other is that it is a completely baseless, irrational, not-thought-out change.  Businesses do not operate on the latter method.  Randomness does not factor in.  

The other is that ONE feels that they get more value out of a Cocktail party, than a luncheon. After all they are the ones controlling the Captains Circle functions, including the luncheons, and they got that function by convincing Princess Management that having the Captain Circle functions would help them sell more cruises.

 

Lets see ONE rep stuck at one table during 2 hour luncheon vs moving around  during a 1 hour cocktail party. 

 

The same group that calls the loyal customers trying to sell packages that seem to be more representative of the time share industry then the cruise industry. 

[SCX22]

The question corporate is thinking of is, will replacing MTG luncheons with MTG cocktail parties deter the most traveled from cruising with Princess?  Given that they've had they're loyalty for years, decades, the answer is no.  It's only illness or mortality that will end their loyalty with Princess.  Might as well save the crew resources so they can divert it to the new unlimited specialty dining for those with Premier fares and selling Princess Promotions packages, which actually generate revenue for the company.

[Sea Hag]

5 hours ago, memoak said:

I think we may have been at the same lunch. Captain Steve is one of our favorites 

We might have! We were on the sailing of 8/7, which was nice since I got to visit Hubbard Glacier for my birthday. At the lunch we were seated with Yolandi, and she was very nice. The captain was really nice too. 

Edited August 26 by Sea Hag

[555]

1 hour ago, TRLD said:

It is the same. It is prepared a bit differently, with more care taken during prep for 40 instead of 400. The Chef doing their approach and prep. At most a bit more time selecting the cuts from the meat locker. The ingredients are what is stocked for the ship. 

You'll never convince me of that. 

[asctony]

2 hours ago, TRLD said:

It is the same. It is prepared a bit differently, with more care taken during prep for 40 instead of 400. The Chef doing their approach and prep. At most a bit more time selecting the cuts from the meat locker. The ingredients are what is stocked for the ship. 

So, based on your opinion all the food in the Buffet, MDR, Specialty Restaurants & MTG are the same meats, veggies, etc. Only the preparation is different? 

I have eaten in all those venues & MTG many times & I disagree 

If your opinion is true, why pay for Specialty Restaurants?

I have eaten in many MTG luncheons & the food was not what I saw in the Buffet or MDR.

EXAMPLES: Lobster, not a shrimp tail; steak, prime not choice; soups & starters unusual. JMHO & EXPERIENCE 

[SCX22]

20 minutes ago, asctony said:

So, based on your opinion all the food in the Buffet, MDR, Specialty Restaurants & MTG are the same meats, veggies, etc. Only the preparation is different? 

I have eaten in all those venues & MTG many times & I disagree 

If your opinion is true, why pay for Specialty Restaurants?

I have eaten in many MTG luncheons & the food was not what I saw in the Buffet or MDR.

EXAMPLES: Lobster, not a shrimp tail; steak, prime not choice; soups & starters unusual. JMHO & EXPERIENCE 

 

34 minutes ago, 555 said:

You'll never convince me of that. 

 

The cruise line didn't pre order special provisions for the MTG luncheon.  The galley uses the provisions that have been loaded on the ship.  According to a F&B Manage I spoke to, they really can't order what they want.  Their options for provisions are preloaded into a system and they just check boxes and input quantities.  They might "borrow" lobster tails or langostinos from The Catch or Crown Grill, but that's about it.  As for Prime beef, I really doubt it.  The beef served onboard has a unique flavor, not in a a good way (as in it doesn't taste like beef I've tasted on land), which has made be avoid steaks on Princess in general.  They chef might tweak a recipe to make it seem different, but the basic recipe is already in the ship's recipe repertoire. 

 

As a restaurant partner, we can take more care in prepping a meal for a smaller crowd and prepare items a la minute as compared to cooking for a large crowd where we have no choice but to cook in large batches and leave them in hotel pans on steam tables.  The same can be applied to ships.

 

People can rave about cruise ship food all they want but there's a reason why no cruise line has ever received an award from a gastronomical body.

Edited August 26 by SCX22

[TRLD]

32 minutes ago, 555 said:

You'll never convince me of that. 

They take the same cuts that they serve in the specialty restaurants. 

 

They are a bit more selective in the cuts they use, a bit different in the prep, and they a preparing only a few meals so they can give them more attention.

 

Have talked to a couple of Chefs that  have prepared specialty luncheons that i have attended. During my most recent luncheon a few months ago the Chef was introduced and then came around to each table asked how we liked the meal and talked a bit.

 

Next one you can always ask.

[Pstcrik]

23 hours ago, CruzinNoony said:

I just learned today that they are discontinuing the most traveled luncheon and will only honor those in the top 40 with a cocktail party.  This is fleetwide.  I, for one, am very unhappy.  This is just one more thing that they are taking away from their most faithful passengers.  What will it be next?  Laundry?  

Well not sure if your dependable sources are correct but I attended my second luncheon of 2 back to back 4 days ago and no mention at lunch or on the cruise of any such rumour.  This is sometimes the problem with those who do not get info from the source. Actually these luncheons are a little overrated and it would be far better to recognize peoples loyalty by bringing back some extra obc where people could decide how to spend for themselves.

[TRLD]

25 minutes ago, asctony said:

So, based on your opinion all the food in the Buffet, MDR, Specialty Restaurants & MTG are the same meats, veggies, etc. Only the preparation is different? 

I have eaten in all those venues & MTG many times & I disagree 

If your opinion is true, why pay for Specialty Restaurants?

I have eaten in many MTG luncheons & the food was not what I saw in the Buffet or MDR.

EXAMPLES: Lobster, not a shrimp tail; steak, prime not choice; soups & starters unusual. JMHO & EXPERIENCE 

That is not what i said. What i said is that the ingredients used in the luncheon are from ship stores.

 

They do not bring on special cuta just for the Luncheon.  To be specific they pull from the cuts used in the specialty restaurants. The cuts in the specialty restaurants tend to be a bit better than the MDR. 

 

Much of the food in the buffet is the same recipes and ingedients as the MDR. The main difference is the individual plating vs buffet.

 

When it comes to veggies you xan make vastly different quality meals based upon prep and receipes.