TA Cruise Sepember 15th - More Comments

[oceanbear]

This is more of a critique of specific areas, rather than a true review of the whole cruise. To start with we all found the boarding process quick and smooth, and we were on-board by noon. My DW and I were very satisfied with our CC cabin on the Penthouse deck. The size was adequate and comfortable. The quality towels and linens were a welcome addition, as was the excellent new mattress. There was sufficient storage and plenty of hangers. The balcony was large and was very nice. While we didn’t sit out on it much throughout the cruise, we did enjoy using it for fresh air from time to time. Our stateroom attendant and assistant were just great. Our friend’s CS suite was very roomy and they found it very comfortable; however, there were several items that deserve mention. Their sofa bed would not close flat and was uncomfortable to sit on. The bed portion was replaced but the seating area remained uncomfortable. The sofa fabric was torn and remained that way. Several drawers and storage panels were loose or broken and needed repair in the first few days. The suite has a tendency to get too hot when the sun is shinning on the starboard side of the ship. The four of us decided to eat dinner in the suite for the 3 formal evenings. It was great to avoid dressing up, but frankly the food does suffer from being delivered to the room. The butler recommended a 7:30 PM dinner time to avoid conflicting with the main dining room, but in hindsight, I think we may have hurt ourselves because I doubt our food was prepared to order. It may have been prepared during the early seating and sat in a warmer until we received it. Oh well, live and learn!

 

This brings me to the food quality and the real “critique” portion of this review. I’ve heard others say “there is more to a cruise than food”. True, but Celebrity has always advertised itself as a “cut above” in the food department, and has received high food ratings in travel magazines such as “Conde Nast”. I had high expectations in this department, but overall, we found the food disappointing. We have cruised Celebrity since 1998 and the food quality continues to decline. Starting with breakfast, the coffee was a hot black liquid with little coffee flavor or aroma. The Cova coffee was better and that’s where my DW and I ate most days. One big improvement that Celebrity needs to make is in the area of coffee. Celebrity, Please! Please! Please! Serve your passengers better coffee!!!

 

We never ate breakfast or lunch in the Dining room or the AquaSpa Cafe, so I cannot comment on them. I found the Seaside Café Buffet Luncheon to be dull and uninspired overall, and the quality and taste of the food to be at or below the quality of the RCL ships. The Pasta bar was the best, as you could get your pasta prepared to order. The pizza was usually pretty good, specifically the pepperoni pizza, when they managed a thin crust and crisped it on the bottom, Not all the cooks prepared it correctly. The aft sandwich station was very popular, but I never tried it out. I did have a hamburger from The Grill, and it was okay. I also tried the sushi bar on one occasion. IMO, it was not very good. The fish was not “bad”, just tasteless. This brings me to dinner in the main dining room. Let me say that our waiter Trayan was great and made our dinners more enjoyable. I think to most of us, this is the highlight of the day. This is the time you come together with your friends and cruise mates to celebrate the past day and food plays an integral part. Out of 8 dinners in the main dining room and 3 dinners in the suite, the four of us agreed only 6 entrees, 4 of which were beef, were very good to excellent. We found only two were exceptional; a crisp skinned, tender and flavorful roast duck and a tender flavorful rack of lamb. We had a few appetizers that were enjoyable, but only a couple of soups were more than just edible. The desserts were okay to good with one standout; a “Chocolate Caramel Macadamia Cup”. The coffee was still disappointing! Sorry to say, we never had a dinner in the main dining room where all the courses were good.

 

We dined in the “Ocean Liners” restaurant on one evening, and here we did have high quality good tasting food. I felt the service was a bit over the top, or at least they appeared to be trying too hard. I know they are trying to provide an exceptional dining experience, but IMO to be really excellent service, it shouldn’t be obvious that they are making the effort. It should be subtle. In any case, the whole meal was excellent; with “beef” ruling the day, as it usually did in the main dining room. The cheeses offered at end of dinner were excellent, much better than what is available in the main dining room.

 

There is one other area that deserves mention, and that is the bar. We found that the same drink ordered at different bars ranged from delicious to undrinkable. Some barmen need to brush up on their “mixology”.

 

As for the rest of the cruise, all the service we received throughout the ship, with one or too minor exceptions, was excellent. Leaving the ship, with the exception of the port of Falmouth and to a lesser extent Halifax, was fine. The bottom line: We enjoyed the cruise, especially since we cruised with friends. I hope that Constellation will improve its food and coffee, and return to the high food standards of the past.

[Host Anne]

Ocean ~ thanks so much for posting your comments. I've added a couple of spaces between paragraphs so the copy has some breaks for easier reading.

 

We'll be sailing Connie early next year so we appreciate your insights.