Food Quality Opinion pls?

[dmk]

On another thread, people reported in (re the Summit, Millie and Century) that the quality of the food had gone down. I myself experienced this 2 weeks ago on the Summit. I found the cuts of meat to be poor quality and tough.

Why with the Cruise Industry doing so well would Celebrity take risks with the quality of their food?:confused:

Their food and service has made them the top Premier Cruise Line.

I am Elite Meber who has only cruised on Celebrity. I haver never bothered straying because I have been so impressed with the food and service.:) The service is still excellent! But now I find the food quality poor.

Opinions?

[Druke I]

We've only been on Celebrity once; Mercury 3-04 down to Mexico RT from San Francisco.

 

We thought the food and presentation in the dining room slightly better than Princess, but not to HAL nor Crystal standards.

 

Last August we took Oceania's Regatta into the Baltic, and both my wife and I thought the food very good to excellent, best we have yet had on a cruise.

 

Food opinions, of course, are very subjective.

[toban]

Opinions on food are very subjective but we were on the Summit Feb. 12 cruise and found the food excellent. I dont eat beef but those at our table that did, raved about their steaks, etc., and no dinners were ever returned. I would say that Celebrity fish dishes could use improvement. We were on a Princess cruise last year and their food was uniformly hideous !! Even the simplest thing like a shrimp cocktail - the shrimp was mushy every night and dinners went back daily and we're not overly fussy people.

[C 2 C]

Yes the food quality is slipping.

We were on Summit B2B on november and noticed the difference between the two sailings. We were on Mercury for three cruises in February and found the food less of a draw than in the past. We are ready to switch to other lines because the food is no longer of superior quality... still good but no longer Xcellent.

 

The cruiselines are not doing as well as you might think. Stock prices have really dropped and profits on Celebrity are not as good as RCL or Carnival's subdivisions.

[superjerryw]

Food quality has declined on all cruise lines, not just Celebrity. You need to keep in mind that the price of cruising has declined at the same time. The overall cruise experience is continually being "dumbed down" to attract more passengers to fill the cabins on all the new ships. Base cruise prices are kept to a minimum to attract new clientele so there is a need to cut corners wherever possible. While more experienced cruisers may remember the great meals of yesteryear, remember that you paid more to cruise then as well. New cruisers have nothing to compare to so they think they are still getting a great deal and a great meal at the new reduced prices. In honesty though, while I think the food is not as good as it once was, I still think it's very good and it would be unusual for me to be unhappy with the meals that are served.

[TerriRN]

My husband (who is a gourmet) and I agree that the quality has gone down. We sailed the Millie TA last spring and were disappointed with numerous dining room meals over the 14 day cruise. The desserts were uninventive and often filled with some gelatinous mystery substance that reminded us of hospital food.

 

The buffet bordered on inedible at times. The offerings were so stale and predictable until we gave up on the buffet altogether.

 

The Aquaspa Cafe was a breath of fresh air, however, and offered tasty and healthy alternative to the Buffet. They even offered soy milk for cereal at breakfast, something I appreciated.

 

The Olympic Restaurant was simply wonderful. I still wake in the night craving the goat cheese souffle. Yum.

[ArubaGal]

Sailed 3/28 on Constellation. I agree, found food quality not as good as on previous Celebrity cruises. We were disappointed.

[tcocktail]

I agree with DMK that the food quality has gone down.I was shocked one night when they serviced mixed vegatbles ( they looked like frozen one from the grocery store). The food was fair and whenever it was poached it was very bland. One passenger stated to me that they were coming for the 5 star dining and this was far from it. Maybe they re putting all their effects in the normandie like dining rooms. The shrimp were small and I was not at all excited.

 

All said and done, I believe this is an industry wide thing. The presentation on celebrity and the service is first class. I certainly didn't go home with any less weight!

[benbess]

I'm worried that the food quality about Celebrity ships seems to be declining, especially since this was one of the main reasons why I picked the Infinity for our first (and perhaps last) cruise. I think I may have taken the Celebrity brochure too much on face value, although the independent cruise books and web sites seemed to agree that Celebrity has the best food. It seems all that more important to try during our very brief 3 day repo cruise from SF to Vancouver to try and eat the the United States speciality restaurant. As soon as I board can I try to make reservations? How does that work?

 

Thanks, Ben

[bac513]

Last month, on Century, the dining room food was excellent and better than it was 2 years ago.

[newmexicoNita]

Food quality has declined on all cruise lines, not just Celebrity. You need to keep in mind that the price of cruising has declined at the same time. The overall cruise experience is continually being "dumbed down" to attract more passengers to fill the cabins on all the new ships. Base cruise prices are kept to a minimum to attract new clientele so there is a need to cut corners wherever possible. While more experienced cruisers may remember the great meals of yesteryear, remember that you paid more to cruise then as well. New cruisers have nothing to compare to so they think they are still getting a great deal and a great meal at the new reduced prices. In honesty though, while I think the food is not as good as it once was, I still think it's very good and it would be unusual for me to be unhappy with the meals that are served.

No one could have said it much better. I keep harping on this all the time, but often to deaf ears. We found the food on Zenith to be very good most of the time, but not good like 10-20 years ago. Most ships now have alterntaive dining rooms where you can pay a service fee and get better food. This is a wonderful way to keep cruising at an affordable price for many but offer extras for those who want to pay a little more. We also need to consider the price of fuel; of course the travel industry has to find a way to cover the cost without sticking it to us, so this is what they do; cut where they can. Look at what the airlines are doing: no more pillows, some cases no snacks of any kind, charging for baggage drop off at the curb and over weight bags: it's all a way to cover their increasing costs. NMnita

[cirpi]

My husband (who is a gourmet) and I agree that the quality has gone down. We sailed the Millie TA last spring and were disappointed with numerous dining room meals over the 14 day cruise. The desserts were uninventive and often filled with some gelatinous mystery substance that reminded us of hospital food.

 

The buffet bordered on inedible at times. The offerings were so stale and predictable until we gave up on the buffet altogether.

 

The Aquaspa Cafe was a breath of fresh air, however, and offered tasty and healthy alternative to the Buffet. They even offered soy milk for cereal at breakfast, something I appreciated.

 

The Olympic Restaurant was simply wonderful. I still wake in the night craving the goat cheese souffle. Yum.

 

We thought the food on our 14-day-reduced-to-12 TA on the Millie last fall to good to very good in the main dining room and virtually the same in quality as on our Millie TA the previous year. We were not as dazzled by the Olympic as we were the previous year. Oddly, the lamb we had in the main dining room was far superior to that we ate in the Olympic. We hope to schedule two more evenings in the Olympic on a third TA this November.

[SUKENT]

We took our first Celebrity cruise on the Infinity in September, 2001. We found the food to be excellent. This past December, 2005, we sailed 14 days through the Panama Canal on Summit. The quality of the beef was poor. One of our table mates, who had been in the meat business for thirty years confirmed that the not only was the grade of beef poor, but certain cuts were sliced incorrectly (with the grain rather than against), and many steak and roast beef dishes had to be sent back. To tell you the truth, our best dinner was at Madeiras Rastaurant in Acapulco the day and evening we were docked there. We had eaten there previously and made a reservation for the date we knew we would be in Acapulco. It was as wonderful as we remembered.

 

As for the buffet, it was no better than average, and I'll agree with other posters that the food in the Aqua Spa was nicely presented and very good. What a shame that some cruise lines are finding it necessary to cut corners in an area that means so much to so many people.

[BullinOhio]

It is still way better than what I make at home! Just my $0.02

 

No dishes to clean either... Unless you upset the Captain.

 

Happy cruising everyone!

[Tedson]

Ben, if you enjoy fine dining and can spare about 3 hours :) , I highly recommend trying the United States. Being a first time cruiser, you'll probably have a lot of things to check out when you board, but if you decide to try the U.S., go see the maitre'd ASAP that first day...being a short cruise, reservations will probably go quickly.

[trcori]

We're just back from Galaxy 4/1-4/13, seventh X cruise in 3 1/2 years. Working on the review right now, but in the meantime, on this topic -- The food on our cruise was about the same as our past few, which I would describe as "very good," with one notable exception -- the beef cuts were AWFUL except for the chateaubriand. I had prime rib the first night and it was more like pot roast; I moved on to poultry or pasta after that (except for lobster night) -- in fact, my favorite dining-room entree this cruise was one I'd never seen before, vegetable curry! My husband kept trying the beef and was repeatedly disappointed (he described the rib-eye steak as the worst entree he'd EVER had on ANY of our cruises). The service was spectacular, though, which means a lot to us. Two GOOD food notes -- the salads were better than past cruises (including an AMAZING plum tomato salad in the lunch buffet one day), and the ice cream was the best since our first cruise on Century in late '02 ... TR

[95glide]

I never thought the food of any cruiseline that we have sailed with, as gourmet. At least not in the main dining room or any of the other restaurants other than the specialty restaurants. They are cooking for a lot of people and can't individualize each dish. Celebrity, by far, has the best service and the presentation of each dish is beautiful, but the food, in our opinion, is just mediocre.

The specialty restaurants, on the other hand, serve excellent food. I don't like having to pay the extra cover but I understand why they have to do it. We consider it worth it to dine there once or twice a cruise. In the whole scheme of things, of what it costs to go on the cruise, it's really just a drop in the bucket.:o

[ocngypz]

Overall, I would say it is a mixed bag. Much depends on "who is in the kitchen with Dinah".

 

Then there are the provisioners. With increased operating costs (mainly fuel) cruiselines are looking for ways to cut costs. If it means buying shrimp (which on the wholesale market is cheap thanks to Asia) at 50 count to the lb as opposed to 38 count to the pound, so be it, if it reduces your cost by x%.

 

In looking at the industry as a whole, while.. now don't laugh... Carnival has upgraded their menus and HAL is paying closer attention to their's.. and their presentation. IMHO.. which is strictly personal, I don't think Celebrity is currently up to their prior standards. It's been too much hit or miss.. with too many misses. Our meals on Zenith last October were fabulous, what was dished out on Century last month, paled in comparison.

[cruzin4us]

Here's my $.02 cents too.......

I think when the cruise lines keep adding bigger ships, the quality of the food goes down....not because it costs more, it's because it takes a huge kitchen and LOTS of people to prepare food for 1000's of people.

If you want better food, you have to sail on smaller ships where the crew can put a little more time into preparing dishes for less people. It's a factory on the larger ships. Just the time it takes to bring your food to the table because you are the farthest away from the kitchen may get you cold food.

Someone earlier stated that if you go on a cruise with the mind set of your food will be better than what you cook at home and you don't have to do the dishes.......what could be better?

Don't expect "GREAT" quality when there is a huge dining room of people all expecting the same thing and ordering their items "rare", "medium rare....but not too pink", "like shoe leather but with a touch of pink"......you all get the drift.....it just ain't going to happen.

My thought is......pay the extra $30 pp and go to the specialty dining room. On our 13 day cruise it would cost us $780 for 2. That's cheap for excellent food. Heck, we spend that much on 4 meals in the restaurants here at home.....My thought is, if I'm going to spend a ton of money on a cruise I might as well just figure the Specialty restaurant into my budget.

[wv4891]

We just got off the Millennium on April 9th, the cruise that Paula Deen and 600 or so of her followers were on. It may have been the chefs feeling a little heat from her being onboard with such a large group, but we thought the food was the best we ever had on Celebrity. I am not a real foodie but it looked to me like the menu was new this trip. The salads were fresh every night, the soups excellent. I had the pasta, fish, meat, and veal on different nights and found all to be excellent. The food in the Olympic was outstanding, as was the service there. The only thing I did not care for much was the lobster, but then again I am not a big fan of lobster.

[Rubinof]

As Michael suggested, in the second post.........food prep, is highly subjective. Although, he utilized HAL, unless I misunderstood, as an example, of good food. Of all the major cruise lines, which we have been on, HAL had the WORST food!!! They did, however, have the best desserts!!

 

As for the quality of Celebrity food, you are right.......it is not as good as it was, when the Meridian was afloat. We have taken many Celebrity Cruises, also, due to it's gourmet food reputation, and, for the first time, have noticed a drop, in the quality and taste, of the food, both, in the main dining room, and, on the buffet line. Celebrity, hopefully, will recover from it's venture into, merely, adequate dining, and return us, to the Celebrity quality, for which we return, annually.

 

We do hail, from "Restaurant Roots", so to speak, and feel that we are, somewhat qualified, to comment, on the ships' food quality.

[bikerunner]

I have run different resturaunts from just basic bar food to high end. I work in the hospitality business and now have moved on to resort running...helping found a good niche for myself.

Ive been on Celebrity 3 times so far. Once 2 years ago and 2 times last year and have one booked for November. The food overall is really good but not great. Food costs are very high especially dealing with buffets. I have always enjoyed the food on celebrity as you have to take in the whole presentation from your waiter to the serving and presentation. I can make a great food that could be 5 star(I went to CIA) and just dump it on the plate and most people would think its just mush. Okay Im off the subject. We are supposed to be talking about food. As has been mentioned it is very hard to get "great" food serving 1000 a seating but for how many they do it is exceptional overall from the service to presentation and taste. Celebrtiy overall I think is stiill the best value on the seas. People mentioned Crystals food too...how much are you paying on that....about the same for one as it costs for two on Celebrity. If you are looking for great food go on Crystal If you want a great cruise experience for a great price I think Celebrity is the one. I have been on Princess and HAL also and food was on par or below Celebrity. The cost for the cruse also was more expensive for those. I always talk to the matre d and that usually helps get you more individual and better food I think. Ive always asked for different dishes not on the menu and I got them no questions asked. Well my post is all over the place and hope it makes sense. I will stick with Celebrity but am saving up for a Silver Seas cruise one day. I bet they have better food but Im paying a lot more.

[lysolqn]

Despite all the moaning and groaning about a decline in the quality and presentation of food on Celebrity, after 25 X cruises we've yet to meet a hungry passenger or one who hasn't gained a few pounds while on board!

[C 2 C]

Despite all the moaning and groaning about a decline in the quality and presentation of food on Celebrity, after 25 X cruises we've yet to meet a hungry passenger or one who hasn't gained a few pounds while on board!

 

You can get supersized at McDonalds for a lot less and have money left to buy a couple of gourmet meals...

 

It's not the quantity it's the quality that (I think) has declined.

[CStorm]

As Michael suggested, in the second post.........food prep, is highly subjective. Although, he utilized HAL, unless I misunderstood, as an example, of good food. Of all the major cruise lines, which we have been on, HAL had the WORST food!!! They did, however, have the best desserts!!

 

As for the quality of Celebrity food, you are right.......it is not as good as it was, when the Meridian was afloat. We have taken many Celebrity Cruises, also, due to it's gourmet food reputation, and, for the first time, have noticed a drop, in the quality and taste, of the food, both, in the main dining room, and, on the buffet line. Celebrity, hopefully, will recover from it's venture into, merely, adequate dining, and return us, to the Celebrity quality, for which we return, annually.

 

We do hail, from "Restaurant Roots", so to speak, and feel that we are, somewhat qualified, to comment, on the ships' food quality.

 

I guess my question is, does anyone TELL Celebrity that their quality has dropped? Did you fill out your comment card saying that you thought the food quality had dropped? I'm very concerned about this. We picked the Infinity for Alaska because my DH is an executive chef at a private club, we are traveling with 2 more exec chefs and we wanted the best food in our price range. I'm most concerned about the beef cuts. It sounds like they aren't even using Choice cuts, much less Prime :( !