Does Celebrity Still..................

[shamda]

We are going on the Solstice on 11/23/08. The last X cruise we were on was ten years ago in 1998. We loved it for some of the little extras that X did that the other mass market lines did not do. I am very curious if they still do some of these things. I would think that with the budget cuts that all the lines are making, X is no exception and some of the nice things may now be gone. Can someone tell me if they still........

 

..Show you to your cabin when boarding with white gloves and a glass of champagne?

 

..Serve a sorbe dish to cleanse the pallet before the main course in the main dining room?

 

..Put a relish tray out at dinner time in the main dining room?

 

..Put fresh butter on the tables rather than the tin wrapped butters?

 

..Have a string quartet playing at the 4:00 PM afternoon tea? Do they still have an afternoon tea?

 

..Have a string quartet playing during dinner in the main dining room?

 

..Have any midnight buffets or serve late night food other than in one of the restaurants that are open 24 hrs?

 

..Carry the trays for you to your table at the buffets? I saw another post on this and it seems that some do and some do not, but it was a nice thing that X did that the others did not.

 

..Serve lobster at least 1 night on a 7 night cruise in the main dining room? NCL had cut this out of their menu when we went on the Pearl last year.

 

I know these are not big items, but all of them added up made for a much nicer cruise than some of the others. My guess is that most of these things are now gone, but maybe I will be surprised?

[dmk]

We are going on the Solstice on 11/23/08. The last X cruise we were on was ten years ago in 1998. We loved it for some of the little extras that X did that the other mass market lines did not do. I am very curious if they still do some of these things. I would think that with the budget cuts that all the lines are making, X is no exception and some of the nice things may now be gone. Can someone tell me if they still........

 

..Show you to your cabin when boarding with white gloves and a glass of champagne? Champagne, yes...too your cabin if you board at the time asked and not earlier

 

..Serve a sorbe dish to cleanse the pallet before the main course in the main dining room? Yes

 

..Put a relish tray out at dinner time in the main dining room? :confused:

 

..Put fresh butter on the tables rather than the tin wrapped butters? No

 

..Have a string quartet playing at the 4:00 PM afternoon tea? Do they still have an afternoon tea? Yes

 

..Have a string quartet playing during dinner in the main dining room? Yes

 

..Have any midnight buffets or serve late night food other than in one of the restaurants that are open 24 hrs? Yes

 

..Carry the trays for you to your table at the buffets? I saw another post on this and it seems that some do and some do not, but it was a nice thing that X did that the others did not. Yes, cruised a few months ago

..Serve lobster at least 1 night on a 7 night cruise in the main dining room? NCL had cut this out of their menu when we went on the Pearl last year. Yes

 

I know these are not big items, but all of them added up made for a much nicer cruise than some of the others. My guess is that most of these things are now gone, but maybe I will be surprised?

 

These are my observations as of a cruise a few months ago. As to many negative posts you read here:

“Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.”

It seems many people like to post things that are negative rather than positive.

[pattyj 1204]

I would hate to disagree, but we had butter dishes with ice on our table every night in the main dining room. In the buffet it was wrapped and I believe that is a very good thing. We were greeted with champagne and shown to our room. The string quartet played at dinner and on the ship before dinner. The only night that sorbe was offered was on Formal night, they also served it in the specialty Dining room. The buffet was a breakfast buffet on our cruise and it was delcious. They served midnight bites, but I never enjoyed them as I was too tired to party at midnight. It was a wonderful cruise and we love Celebrity.

[Daphna101]

Butter is served directly on your bread plate-a small shaped pat.

Midnight buffet has been changed to a sunday brunch.

We have always arrived early and never been escorted to our room, but as you board they give you champage or orange juice.

Trays in the buffet can be taken to your table if you caught the eye of a server in time. (they are not waiting for you).

They still have afternoon tea.

Am not certain if Lobster / formal night will be continued.

[BKFlowerMound]

We were on the Infinity in August.

 

- We boarded early and got the Champagne. The cabins were not ready so I do not know if we would have been escorted.

 

- Sorbet's were served on the two formal and one other night.

 

- There were no relish trays.

 

- There was fresh butter on the table in the main dining room in a shaped and iced pat

 

- Yes to the tea and the quartet. I don't think that it was available every day and we did not go. Check the dailys.

 

- There was live music in the dining room on all but two nights

 

- They discontinued the midnight buffets in favor of a brunch (which we did not attend) and late night bites that are available at Cova. There are many posts on the brunch and late night bites from around the June / July time frame.

 

- Carrying the trays at the buffet is hit and miss. My experience is that less than 10% are getting their trays carried. Unlike other lines that I have been on, the waiters at the buffet were still interested in providing service even though you weren't tipping them directly. It was clean and they bussed the tables frequently.

 

- There was a Lobster Entree on the last formal night. This was the night of the Baked Alaska parade, etc. The Entree consisted of a smallish lobster tail (4 oz is my guess), three medium sized broiled shrimp, three medium sized broiled scallops, and a lobster risotto. The lobster tail was a little dry but was tasty with the drawn butter that was provided. The risotto was good, the shrimp was also good, and the scallops were excellent. The Entree wouldn't make a New England restaurant proud but it wasn't bad either. In addition to the Lobster Entree, which both my wife and I ordered that evening, we also ordered the Beef Wellington Entree to split between the two of us. It was much better than the Lobster Entree.

 

Have a great cruise and let all of us know how you liked the Solstice!

[drfun48]

I haven't seen butter discussed as much since The Last Tango in Paris.

[cx7owner]

 

- Sorbet's were served on the two formal and one other night.

 

 

This must be hit or miss, as we only got it on one formal night and no other nights.

[megessey]

I haven't seen butter discussed as much since The Last Tango in Paris.

 

Oh no you di'ent!!

[excitedofharpenden]

I haven't seen butter discussed as much since The Last Tango in Paris.

Good one:D

 

I only remember the butter in wrappers on one night "open seating". The rest of the time it was on a plate cut into flower shapes.

 

OK Marlon. Hope you're happy;)

 

Phil

[RCCLCARIB]

What time is boarding time for a 4:30 pm. departure??

 

I must say, I really like the things I am reading on this thread. Coming from RCCL, we are very excited about trying =X=.

[New Hampshire]

We returned from a 14 night Baltic Cruise on Aug. 2. We sailed on the Millenium in 2005, the Constellation in 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008. We did two sailings in the 90's on the Century and Mercury. The service on Celebrity in the last few years is not what it was in the 90's and in 2003. On this most recent cruise we received welcoming champaign, but were not escorted to our cabin even though we arrived after the time we were supposed to board. Out of three formal nights, we received sorbet at dinner once. There was always regular fresh butter over ice every evening at dinner. There was music in the dining room only four or five times during the 14 night cruise. There was casual tea every afternoon at the buffet, but I don't recall any formal afternoon teas with music. There was no midnight buffet, but a brunch on a sea day in its place. It was wonderful and I believe this is now done throughout the cruiseline. There aren't any 24 hour restaurants on Celebrity ships. There are Celebrity bites available in the Cova Cafe at 11PM and I believe pizza is available late. There was a major difference in the waiters helping people with their trays at the buffet at breakfast and lunch this year even compared to last year. Deck 10, where the buffet is located, seemed very shortstaffed on our cruise. Dirty trays and dishes were left on tables longer than they should. Waiters were not coming around pouring coffee as I've gotten used to in the past. We still love Celebrity and will be sailing on the Solstice in March, however, the things that have kept us loyal to Celebrity for many years are disappearing and we will most likely start to try other cruiselines again.

[shamda]

Thanks for that great information! Also thanks to the others that answered this thread. Unfortunately what you mentioned has happened on all of the mass market lines. Budget cuts mean cutting staff, cutting staff hours, etc. Today they are more overworked and underpaid then ever. Just a sign of the time I guess. It is interesting to read some of the reviews. Those that are first time cruisers rate things much higher than those that have been cruisers a long time. First time cruisers do not know what it was like in the 80s and 90s.

 

 

We returned from a 14 night Baltic Cruise on Aug. 2. We sailed on the Millenium in 2005, the Constellation in 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008. We did two sailings in the 90's on the Century and Mercury. The service on Celebrity in the last few years is not what it was in the 90's and in 2003. On this most recent cruise we received welcoming champaign, but were not escorted to our cabin even though we arrived after the time we were supposed to board. Out of three formal nights, we received sorbet at dinner once. There was always regular fresh butter over ice every evening at dinner. There was music in the dining room only four or five times during the 14 night cruise. There was casual tea every afternoon at the buffet, but I don't recall any formal afternoon teas with music. There was no midnight buffet, but a brunch on a sea day in its place. It was wonderful and I believe this is now done throughout the cruiseline. There aren't any 24 hour restaurants on Celebrity ships. There are Celebrity bites available in the Cova Cafe at 11PM and I believe pizza is available late. There was a major difference in the waiters helping people with their trays at the buffet at breakfast and lunch this year even compared to last year. Deck 10, where the buffet is located, seemed very shortstaffed on our cruise. Dirty trays and dishes were left on tables longer than they should. Waiters were not coming around pouring coffee as I've gotten used to in the past. We still love Celebrity and will be sailing on the Solstice in March, however, the things that have kept us loyal to Celebrity for many years are disappearing and we will most likely start to try other cruiselines again.

[flashdog_1]

We are going on the Solstice on 11/23/08. The last X cruise we were on was ten years ago in 1998. We loved it for some of the little extras that X did that the other mass market lines did not do. I am very curious if they still do some of these things. I would think that with the budget cuts that all the lines are making, X is no exception and some of the nice things may now be gone. Can someone tell me if they still........

 

..Show you to your cabin when boarding with white gloves and a glass of champagne? NO ONE SHOWED US, BUT I KNEW WHERE IT WAS. WE ARRIVED AT THE PROPER TIME, TOO.

 

..Serve a sorbe dish to cleanse the pallet before the main course in the main dining room? YES, TWICE

 

..Put a relish tray out at dinner time in the main dining room? NO

 

..Put fresh butter on the tables rather than the tin wrapped butters? YES

 

..Have a string quartet playing at the 4:00 PM afternoon tea? Do they still have an afternoon tea? THE STRING QUARTET PLAYED IN COVA FROM 5:15 UNTIL 6 WHEN WE WENT TO DINNER. THEY PLAYED IN THE DINING ROOM ON FORMAL NIGHT. CHECK YOUR DAILY FOR EXACT TIMES.

 

..Have a string quartet playing during dinner in the main dining room? YES

 

..Have any midnight buffets or serve late night food other than in one of the restaurants that are open 24 hrs? NO MIDNIGHT BUFFET,JUST HOT BITES IN COVA AT 11 P.M. AFTER THE SHOW.

 

..Carry the trays for you to your table at the buffets? I saw another post on this and it seems that some do and some do not, but it was a nice thing that X did that the others did not. I THINK IT DEPENDS ON WHETHER YOU LOOK AS IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE. I DID NOT USE IT THIS CRUISE AND DID NOT HAPPEN TO NOTICE IF ANYONE ELSE DID. THE FACT THAT X STILL USES TRAYS IS WONDERFUL.

 

..Serve lobster at least 1 night on a 7 night cruise in the main dining room? NCL had cut this out of their menu when we went on the Pearl last year. YES, BUT IT WAS HALF A LOBSTER TAIL PLUS SOME OTHER SHELL FISH. YOU KNOW THAT NCL'S FREESTYLE 2.0 THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE SERVING LOBSTER SOMEWHERE ON THE SHIP DAILY.

 

I know these are not big items, but all of them added up made for a much nicer cruise than some of the others. My guess is that most of these things are now gone, but maybe I will be surprised?

 

My experience was slightly different a few weeks ago from what Shambda reported, so it must vary from ship to ship.

 

Having a choice between real cream and milk with coffee is nice (from a dispenser). For the first half of the cruise we had half and half thingys in the buffet, then it was non-dairy creamer only in the packets. Since I was on a diet of sorts I didn't seek out the cream or milk, just noticed what my daughter had. At first she couldn't find the milk dispenser and just got a carton of milk to use in her coffee, which she declared was a waste. I told her I thought there was a dispenser, and she found it.

 

The buffet layout is much better in some ways. There are signs indicating what is being served at that station, but the signs don't say it all. For instance, English breakfast, American Breakfast. We especially enjoyed the Middle Eastern area's food at lunch.