Can there be a big difference between two sister ships?

[SAN]

Two years ago we were on Mercury on an Alaska cruise with a large group of relatives. We had a wonderful time in the dining room with service and meals. I can truthfly say that there was not one bad meal, meat was tneder, fish cooked to perfection,etc.

 

We just returned from Century on a Baltic cruise with nine of us from the Alaskan cruise. We found the dining room service to be good but rushed. Some meals were great and others needed improvement. Some meats were tough to cut and chew and the fish was not good at all. We talked to the assistant MD and he said that menus on Celebrity our being tried out because of the end of contract with Michele Roux.

 

The ice cream is still wonderful!!!!

 

I enjoy Celebrity and hope to cruise again in the near future. Tell me that things in the kitchen haven's changed that much.

[BurBunny]

Food quality can vary dramatically, especially when ships are sailing in different markets. Baltic vs. Alaska means very different provisioning, so meat quality could be different, etc.

 

Also, the personality of the F&B Manager onboard, Hotel Director, and other senior staff in the dining room can make a big difference in how things are prepared, presented, timed, even with identical provisioning and menus.

[Leela]

A year and a half ago I sailed on a short Pacific Northwest cruise on Mercury and was completely disappointed in the food. And this was after having had two delicious cruises on Century (Eastern Caribbean) and Horizon (Western Caribbean). But then, this year I sailed Summit (Panama Canal) and it was even better than on Century.

 

I think the particular culinary provisions, plus the actual staff working in your particular area on your particular dishes makes a big difference. The cruise line does strive to provide a uniform product, and I think that's partly why those cruise surveys they ask you to fill out are so important. While they don't necessarily *prevent* an off day or week, they at least can be used to track the ups and downs and get rid of underperforming personnel or particular supplies that a noticable proportion of guests complain about.

[MoreCruisesNow]

I agree that it is mostly in the suppliers the line is able to find in particular ports.

 

I can't wait until we sail out of NYC again because the beef on that cruise was the best I've ever eaten, and we live in the middle of "cattle country."

[Ine]

We sailed Century last May to Norway. We shared a 6-personstable and every night we all loved the food. Choices of each person were different each night, but not a single complaint.

Service was very quick one night and when we told the staff we wanted more time between courses it worked out fine after that.

[Rev22:17]

SAN,

 

Two years ago we were on Mercury on an Alaska cruise with a large group of relatives. We had a wonderful time in the dining room with service and meals. I can truthfly say that there was not one bad meal, meat was tneder, fish cooked to perfection,etc.

 

We just returned from Century on a Baltic cruise with nine of us from the Alaskan cruise. We found the dining room service to be good but rushed. Some meals were great and others needed improvement. Some meats were tough to cut and chew and the fish was not good at all. We talked to the assistant MD and he said that menus on Celebrity our being tried out because of the end of contract with Michele Roux.

 

The ice cream is still wonderful!!!!

 

I enjoy Celebrity and hope to cruise again in the near future. Tell me that things in the kitchen haven's changed that much.

 

Well, first, let's be clear that MV Mercury and MV Century are not really sister ships. Celebrity originally ordered these vessels as sisters, along with MV Galaxy, but decided to make MV Galaxy and MV Mercury larger after the shipyard started construction of MV Century. Thus, according to standard maritime usage, MV Century is a "one of a kind" while MV Galaxy and MV Mercury constitute the Galaxy class. Unfortunately, Celebrity's marketing and public relations folks still have not caught up with this change.

 

It's actually quite common for sister ships to have some differences in configuration and use of their internal spaces, such as the differences in the configurations of the cinemas and the relocation of Michael's Club if you compare MV Galaxy to MV Mercury. The customers often realize that there's a better way to configure internal spaces after construction starts on the lead ship, or sometimes after the lead ship enters service, so they decide to make such changes to the ships that remain under construction or on order. Nonetheless, such changes generally do not alter the ship's hull or basic structure which really is what defines the class.

 

That said, the differences that you identified have nothing whatsoever to do with the vessel and everything to do with personnel and supervisors who are provisioning the vessels and providing the services in which you noticed differences. Differences in the ship's personnel can have a huge impact on your experience of a cruise!

 

Norm.

[leoandhugh]

what the OP asks about differences in food and dining room service is entirely unrelated to whether the ships are "sister ships" or not. As the previous poster has already pointed out, "sister ships" has to do with design and the only differences are usually in decor of the ships.:)

[dkjretired]

SAN,

 

 

 

Well, first, let's be clear that MV Mercury and MV Century are not really sister ships. Celebrity originally ordered these vessels as sisters, along with MV Galaxy, but decided to make MV Galaxy and MV Mercury larger after the shipyard started construction of MV Century. Thus, according to standard maritime usage, MV Century is a "one of a kind" while MV Galaxy and MV Mercury constitute the Galaxy class. Unfortunately, Celebrity's marketing and public relations folks still have not caught up with this change.

 

It's actually quite common for sister ships to have some differences in configuration and use of their internal spaces, such as the differences in the configurations of the cinemas and the relocation of Michael's Club if you compare MV Galaxy to MV Mercury. The customers often realize that there's a better way to configure internal spaces after construction starts on the lead ship, or sometimes after the lead ship enters service, so they decide to make such changes to the ships that remain under construction or on order. Nonetheless, such changes generally do not alter the ship's hull or basic structure which really is what defines the class.

 

That said, the differences that you identified have nothing whatsoever to do with the vessel and everything to do with personnel and supervisors who are provisioning the vessels and providing the services in which you noticed differences. Differences in the ship's personnel can have a huge impact on your experience of a cruise!

 

Norm.[/quote

 

Century, Mercury and Galaxy are considered sister ships by Celebrity so please don't get confused by one individual posting his opinion only. The ships are more alike than they are not but the matter of food has nothing to do with the ships but as others have said, suppliers, chefs, etc.

[Lois R]

"I enjoy Celebrity and hope to cruise again in the near future. Tell me that things in the kitchen haven's changed that much."

 

Hi,:) the question you are asking is from one ship to another in a 2 year

span, correct?

I have only been cruising on a regular basis for 4 years and have sailed

both Mercury and Century (before her overhaul).

The one thing about message boards....you will read about 2 people who

are on the same cruise but both have totally different experiences.

So when you talk about differences, some will tell you the quality and

presentation have gone down hill. Others will tell you they had

excellent food and service.

I always enjoy my dining room time. Has everything been perfect?

Nope. Did I bring it to the attention of my waiter or maitr'd and have

it fixed? Yes.

If I had a tough steak and I was irritated by it, I would send it back

just like I would at home.

Overall, my cruises have been outstanding. I will be back on Mercury

again in October:) and my plans are the same as usual...to

have a wonderful week!

The kitchen has been fine for me:D

 

But back to your question.....you will find differences (on these boards anyway)from one sailing to the next......so yes, someone who sailed

2 years ago will probably tell you sailing today the food will be different from then.......