michel roux gone, what a difference!!!

[amanda blake]

we have just returned from the Baltic on the constellation...we were on the same ship in December...what a difference in the taste of the food and choices....

 

this was our 15th cruise on celebrity and we have never had such a poor opinion of the food both in taste and presentation...

 

the soups so salty that it would rival the dead sea...entre plates almost empty....in most cases only one vegetable in sight and then only a few....

 

pastry chef is now from India....the european pasties had no vanilla or other flavourings that remotely resembled what we have been used to....

 

at lunch buffets there were no whole cakes only tiny pieces previously cut and put on trays...no pies in sight for most of the 14 days...

 

I know most of you may say, well its a good thing the food is lousy now, that will solve the weight gain issue...

 

for us the food quality and taste is what set Celebrity apart..certainly not the magnificence of the ships or the entertainment....

 

there are other changes too since we sailed last...subtle changes....no soothing music in the thellasapool..no amenities in the staterooms...no amenities in the sauna areas....in increase in the prices of shuttles...two years ago the shuttles into baltic ports were free....

 

but it was the awful food that we noticed the most...

 

even the aquaspa cafe which was a favourite of ours and many others, had no one there as others discovered that it had changed...

 

the pizza was still good...so was the grill...and the pasta station...

 

yes I have made note of all this on the questionaire....and hope that there will be improvements made by the time we sail again on the summit next october....

 

one more try before we go back to another cruise line...

 

I will also write to head office..something I have never done...

 

Celebrity had the edge with Michel Roux....now he is gone..and so seems the edge...

 

yes there will be many that will disagree...but that was our experience, those that we travelled with and those that we met....

[cruiseacecat]

Hi,

 

This is so interesting to read!!! My husband and I were on Constellation in May of 06 and were disappointed with the food then. Since then, I have sailed with Century four times, Millennium once, and just returned from Mercury. In all the above, my only disappointment was with Constellation. I am not sure what this means, but the exit of Michel Roux may not be the answer.

 

I do hope you were able to enjoy the Baltic in spite on this. It was a fantastic itin. which I do hope someday to repeat. Do not give up on Celebrity just yet. I am really sorry that you were disappointed, since I think the food quality plays a very large role in the enjoyment of a cruise.

 

Hope your next cruise is a great success.

 

Anne

[stinsowm]

I hate to hear about your experience regarding food on the Constellation. I am sailing on it in November and was hoping the food would be just as wonderful as always. I last sailed Celebrity a year ago and really did enjoy the food. Thanks for the review and hopefully they will get it right soon. Did you try the speciality restaurant or talk to anyone who did? Hoping there are not changes there too.

 

Thanks,

Walter

[Germancruiser]

Well, hopefully it is was just a " bad week- or two" . I loved the food on my X- cruises. I did not feel any change after the " Roux- exit" neither on my Millenium cruise or Infinity cruise last May. I am sorry to hear your expierences- it´s sad when expectations are spoiled by the real thing! As you I also look so foreward to the exellent food.

Greetings

Michael

[raudacruise]

Given that the Roux/Celebrity "divorce" occurred Jan 5, 2007 or less than a month before your previous cruise I sincerely doubt his departure had anything to do with your experience. I'm sure contract negotiations were going on and he was not doing anything actively for probably the last 2 (or more months) of 2006.

 

Unfortunately, there are inconstancies cruise-to-cruise even on the same ship. Heck, even night-to-night on the same cruise.

 

And its not like things have changed for the better or worse. Amanda, I remember you doing the same comparison to Summit and Constellation in 2004 (pre-Roux). Summit stunk compared to Constellation:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=108096&highlight=summit

 

Who knows what causes this? Different executive chef (ultimate culprit), massive changeover, lower per-diem budget? All of the above? Roux leaving I don't think is the problem.

 

Its inconsistant - and always has been. But the other lines are also and seem to be only consistantly worse ;).

[Andy]

Hi Amanda !

 

I am very sorry to hear the food was so disappointing. I agree that one of the items that sets Celebrity apart from their competitors, is their wonderful food. While it wont help your experience, lets hope this was just an off week, and not the start of major changes.

 

As most of you know, I am always concerned about cost cutting measures. It seems that many Cruiselines are consumed with this exercise. If Celebrity intends to reduce the quality of their food and presentation, IMHO, it would be a VERY bad idea.

 

I am sailing on Constellation in Mid-November. I will report back about the food (either good or bad), and a full review after my Cruise.

[Germancruiser]

I also do hope they don´t do the " Down Hill" of everything job. Okay, I don´t think they will. X- cruises are among the most expensiv ones here in Europe. Their competions Costa or MSC are much cheaper. Also one get´s more " special offers" from these lines. As long as X stays "premium" ( I don´t seek Crystal or Silver Seas- out of my priceline though) I stay a loyal X cruiser. Not piky on everything but very sensibel with changes- one has to when considers himself as a cruise critic member- LOL!

Greetings

Michael

[Germancruiser]

I also do hope they don´t do the " Down Hill" of everything job. Okay, I don´t think they will. X- cruises are among the most expensiv ones here in Europe. Their competions Costa or MSC are much cheaper. Also one get more " special offers" from these lines. As long as X stays "premium" ( I don´t seek Crystal or Silver Seas- out of my priceline though) I stay a loyal X cruiser. Not piky on everything but very sensibel with changes- one has to when considers himself as a cruise critic member- LOL!

Greetings

Michael

[raudacruise]

Don't know that anyone noticed that she was hired. Questionable whether she is a real replacement for Roux or not. Sort of up in the air.

 

She does have a lot of input to the Wynn Mirage/MGM casino restaraunt operations. Keep in mind that most of the operations, such as at Bellagio, are independent.

 

Leads me to believe that Solstice might have a real "WOW" speciality restaraunt on it. The casino chain includes Todd English and Wolfgang Puck restaraunts plus some other folks that are working on making their names well known.

 

Don't know if what she does will crossover into feeding good food to 2000 folks in 2 shifts for dinner. Of course, why would anyone expect Roux to be able to do it.

[chrismch]

I also mentioned my concerns about the food to my TA after our "Connie" sailing. I did like the Scandinavian & German lunch choices but I did find that the dinners were lacking in vegies and variety. One of the choices for dinner was Veal Cordon Bleu which I love. On the ship it was served more as a schnitzel -flattened not rolled.

 

Tried the pizza twice on the Connie and the dough was mushy so I didn't eat it. Really liked it in Jan though on the Merc, but they had other service problems like running out of wasabi after 4 days on the cruise. Eventually found it a few days later either in the ship's storage lockers or in port. That was a 16 day cruise.

[Pontius Navigator]

Amanda,

 

WB

 

the european pasties had no vanilla or other flavourings that remotely resembled what we have been used to....

 

Someone on our cruise before your's said they all looked different and tasted the same.

 

If you trawl back for the Baltic 4 Aug and also ChrisMc's other thread you will find common ground.

 

How was the entertainment?

 

How did you cross-London travel go? We met an Australian who had been told to go to Victoria for her connection to the Connie. She did. What they had not made clear was Victoria COACH station and not TRAIN station. I am familiar with London and I would have been confused. She ended up in a taxi - London-Dover and only just boarded.

[Pontius Navigator]

entre plates almost empty....in most cases only one vegetable in sight and then only a few....

 

We weren't worried by small entrees as there was more than enough all told. Agree about the vegetables but when was aksed for extra then we did indeed get a good variety.

 

All plated service however rather than silver service.

 

We enjoyed the Aquaspa and ate there often including breakfast as there was no scrum. I would be interested to know what you found was missing as we hade no yardstick.

 

Another area I disliked was the failure to clear the upper decks of glasses, cigarette ends atc. Had they emptied the ash can outside the Video Arcade room on deck 11? There had been a cigar butt, amongst others, in it for 4 days.

[C 2 C]

This is not good news. By some form of weird luck and my avoidance of long flights, we're cruising on Constellation 4 times in the next 6 months. We'll be on Summit in three weeks so I'll try to determine if this is a Connie thing or system wide.:eek:

I've been avoiding desserts but don't spoil my entrees..

[ATLfuzzy]

we have just returned from the Baltic on the constellation...we were on the same ship in December...what a difference in the taste of the food and choices.....

 

How odd. We just returned from the Millennium on Wednesday, and thought the food in the main dining room was simply outstanding. Didn't seem much different from our Mercury sailing 4 years ago. (the food in the Olympic is another story, but....).

 

Interesting.

[scamper]

 

As most of you know, I am always concerned about cost cutting measures. It seems that many Cruiselines are consumed with this exercise.

 

And yet they still have the money to build floating theme parks that cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

 

Go figure.

[amanda blake]

thank you to everyone...it seems that there is a great discrepancy from ship to ship...

 

this was our second to the baltic...great itinerary..loved the ports...

 

thanks andy for keeping an eye on things...I love the feel of a celebrity ship...the mostly understated feel....that is why we chose it again and again...and yes I had once said that the food was worse on the summit but nothing like this...

 

would be interested in what others think if they are sailing soon...it could just be those in charge at this time on this ship and could change if the ships chefs are replaced by others in time...lets hope that is the case...

 

the transfers were fantastic..we have used a private car for several of our trips from London and have not been disappointed....in fact we are hoping to do a week in london if reasonable air comes up and will use this company again...

 

on the other side...few were sick...all seemed sparkling clean...

 

cant comment on the entertainment since for us it was all mostly repeats...we had seen Lindsay Hamilton 5 times...her repetoire has not changed...lovely voice but we just cant hear about her daughter any longer...

 

the comedians were wonderful the first time we heard them and really good the second..but I can now do their routine from memory...

 

seems celebrity doesnt take into account that many are reapeat customers and could use a change...

 

but even that would not deter me from booking again..just go up to the edge of the end of earth, listen to some music, dance...great stuff....

 

I will write my letter to head office ..make some practical suggestions, like two types of veggies on every entre plate...fill the plate or get smaller dishes....invest in some vanilla for the pastries...just to name a few...

 

glad no one roasted me here..at least not yet...... food is a personal thing, what one may like someone else may find foul but there are some things we all expect regardles of taste....

[katiebeth]

We sailed on the Constellation on June 30th thru July 14th on a Baltics cruise. We thought the food was excellent and didn't really notice that many changes post Micheal Roux. As far as the portions being smaller, I didn't notice. However, I like small portions so I may not be the one to ask. Normally, when we eat out for dinner, I spilt an entree with my daughter because the portions are too large. My husband, on the other hand, is 6 feet 4 inches tall and close to 275 pounds, and prefers larger portions. I never remember him complaining about not having enough food at dinner.

 

The Constellation is our favorite Celebrity ship. She is immaculately maintained and the crew are some of the best at sea. I am rather picky about cleanliness and "wear and tear" and I honestly saw none. The Connie looked as good as when we sailed her in July of 2003 when she was only 10 months old. The Baltics itinerary was not our favorite, but I think the fact that we had pretty miserable weather (alot of rain and when it wasn't raining it was very overcast) played into our overall impression of the Baltics. If it had been 75 and sunny the entire time, we may have thought it was the best itinerary ever.

 

We have also done the British Isles and Norweign Fjords and Med itinerary. We loved them both, but I think the Med. was our favorite. We sailed a 12 night itinerary from Barcelona to Venice. The ports were the most breath-taking we have ever experienced. The food, landscape, and history of the region is remarkable. Our only disappointment, (if you could call it that) was the Millennium itself. It was our least favorite of the Celebrity ships. We have been on the Infinity, Century, Constellation, and Millennium. I thought the staterooms were in need of refurbishment. We had a Royal Suite with connecting CC stateroom. The rooms were definitely showing wear and tear. What I don't understand is that it is not that much older than the Constellation, but doesn't seem to have "aged as well." It didn't take away from our overall enjoyment of the cruise, but just something we noted.

 

I guess the bottom line is different people can have different experiences on the same ship. Everyone has certain things that are important to them as far as their cruise experience. It is good that we have so many choices as far as cruises. Hopefully, everyone can find a cruise line that best meets their expectation as far as what is important to them.

 

As for us, we love the Connie.

 

We are, however, seriously considering a cruise on the Azamara Quest next summer. We have done 3 European itineraries on the Millennium class ships and are thinking we may like to try the smaller ship experience. We put a deposit down while on the Constellation this summer.

 

The only minor drawback now, is getting to Athens. We fly Delta pretty exclusively, as it is really the "only game in town." We live in Tallahassee, Florida and there is not much competition. We fly from Tallahasssee to Atlanta and can pretty much get to anyplace in the world from there. Delta has so many international flights. However, I just found out that next summer they will not have a non-stop flight from Atlanta to Athens. (only from JFK). Delta is pretty notorious for delays and even getting from Tallahassee to Atlanta we are often delayed. It makes me nervous to think that we would to make two connections to get to JFK for our international flight. We always fly in a few days before the cruise departs, but it can still be nervewracking. We usually meet my parents who are in their late 70's in Atlanta and fly together. It seems like everytime one or the other of us have been delayed. Fortunately, I always allow several hours in Atlanta before the international segment.

 

Anyway, we shall see. Happy Sailings everyone!!

 

Nancy

[Mary El]

Thank you, Amanda, for you insights. I, too, was disappointed with the food on the Summit (back to back Alaska cruise in May/June 2007). One of the things I noticed was the lack of vegetables also. We had cakes and pies in the buffet though. We've cruised Celebrity 25 times and really noticed the change this time. One of the things I really noticed was no chocolates in the Cova Cafe. We always order a capuccino there before we go to our room to get dressed for dinner, and they always gave you a piece of chocolate. None was to be had for 14 days.

 

We are going to give Celebrity one more try, we've booked an 11-day cruise on the Constellation this January. There were many subtle changes we noticed on our last cruise, and none were to the good. If things haven't improved by then, I'll be shopping around for another cruise line.

[nydolphin]

Hi Amanda - I thought I was on the same cruise as you but now I am not so sure. Like you I also cruised Constellation in December and have just returned from the Baltic.

I, personally, found the food as good, if not better than in December, in all areas. At the Aquaspa Buffet, somewhere I had not found in December, I often had difficuty finding a table as it was so well patronised.

The pastries in Cova and the Main Buffet were still sumptuous and had a more European flavour and lightness.

My table mates and I - granted we were all English - found the portions in Main Dining were just right and complemented one another beautifully. None of us could ever manage to eat all of all the courses.

As ever, tastes in everyone vary, and as the Cruise was European the fare maybe was more to our European Taste. One man's meat..................

[Pontius Navigator]

we had seen Lindsay Hamilton 5 times...her repetoire has not changed...lovely voice but we just cant hear about her daughter any longer...

 

Did you ever meet her daughter? :)

 

We saw this little blonde angel dashing down our deck, had to be her, then yards behind we saw Lindsay. Exactly as advertised.

 

Katiebeth, take your point, somethings do stick out though.

 

Amanda, glad you enjoyed the cruise, how was your weather? Our was much better the Katiebeth's, temperatures in the 80s sprinkle of rain early one morning (we were in breakfast) and a bit of a blow on the haul down the North Sea.

 

Did you notice if they kept the upper decks clean? The sun deck for instance had litter from two days previous half way through.

[TomBeckCruise]

Exactly what we thought about the food when we sailed Jan, 07 on the Connie. Horrible food.

[Jimsgirl]

Each crew is different. A bad kitchen crew makes for bad food everywhere on the ship. There is also the fact that the Officer in charge may not be up to the job. About 2 years ago on a Celebrity cruise, I went to the Cova cafe at 10a.m first day at sea. No tablecloths, no "menu's" on the table. two staff gossiping, took no notice of me standing right in front of them. I asked for tea, told "We do not serve tea only reg coffee"!!!!!! Looked at the food, only one plate of about 6 stale looking danish.!!!!

 

I left a message at the reception desk that I wished to speak with the officer in charge of Cova, he never contacted me, went back to Cova next day, same story. Went down to desk, this time I inisisted the Officer meet with me without delay.

 

Finally he came, he was about 22, when I said I wanted to go to his office, he took me to it, to describe it as "messy" would be understatement. Finally I insisted he accompanied me to the Cova (he would not believe my complaint) At the Cova, he just stood there looking stunned. I left him saying "perhaps now you will sort things out, it would help if you walked through now and then without them knowing"

 

Later that day, I wandered back, The staff had changed, it was the Cova once more, tablecloths, selection of tea's and coffee's, and a good selction of pastries. Obviously previously he had left the staff to their own devices.

and they had just "goofed off," doing as little work as possible

 

Every ex military person knows that not knowing when "the boss" is going to appear keeps every one on their toes.

[C 2 C]

A couple of years ago we sailed on Summit B2B for 28 days from Ft Lauderdale to LA. I don't know what happened in LA but there were major differences in the quality and taste of food throughout the ship. Whether this was the result of a change in officers, food suppliers or head chef, I could not believe this was the same ship.

I'm a sucker for cold soups in the spa and at dinner time. I don't care about dessert but give me my smoothie as appetizer, main course and after dinner drink and I'm water logged but happy... Spoil my soups and you've nearly spoiled my gastronomic cruise experience.

[Pontius Navigator]

Finally I insisted he accompanied me to the . . . (he would not believe my complaint)

 

Every ex military person knows that not knowing when "the boss" is going to appear keeps every one on their toes.

 

I got action when I bushwacked a junior purser on deck. The next time I should have followed your advice and dragged the Hotel Manager to the problem.

 

There was a lack of ownership of problems and a failure of officers to engage with the passengers.

[chrismch]

Good luck in getting the hotel mgr! On this cruise we requested to speak to the hotel mgr 3 days in a row and kept only getting a guest relations mgr. Kept telling us he was busy!