We're Back ... Part 2

Service and Food ...

Tom K. has very often stressed the excellence of these features on
Celebrity ... These are very subjective and often relates to ones
personal preferences ... So I'm always skeptical ... Well after my
first Celebrity Cruise ... I actually feel Tom understated how good
these were ...

All cruiselines are noted for good service ... since so many depend on
tips this is assured ... but also has a lot of service for tips
mentality built in ... I got a totally different feeling for this ...
with much of the extra service having no tip motive at all ...
Something small illustrating this ... while waiting for the elevator
where there were 4 elevators ... the one furthest away dinged just as a
supervisor type was scooting past ... he stopped ... then waved to us
that it was that elevator that ranged and held it as we ambled towards
it ... then scooted off on his duties ... and loads of these little
niceties abounded ... every crew member looking out for the needs of
the passengers ... not just the waiters serving you well ... or the
room steward doing the bang up job on cleaning your room ... but every
crew member with their eyes open looking to help in any little way ...

The staff seems to have more experience than other cruiselines ... Does
anyone know of attrition rates on the different lines ... ??? I just
had the feeling that this group was a well oiled machine ...very
experienced ... moreso than others ...

The food reflected the nationalities of the head chefs in the areas ...
Desserts for example had a southeast asia feel due to the Thai dessert
chef ... Personal preferences abound as to what is good ... but the
quality of the ingredients can not be understated ... I mentioned the
various berries earlier ... but the tenderness of the beef ... the nice
sized lobster tails ... the tasty moist poultry ...crisp bright
vegetables ...and fresh horseradish that would clear anyone's sinuses
.... all showed great care in ingredient selection ...

Buffets ... Breakfast - Fresh fruit ... eggs over easy ... omelets
perfectly prepared ... fresh pancakes and waffles with blueberries and
strawberries ... several different styles of breakfast potatoes and
breakfast sausages ...and the chocolate croissants made that buffet not
only convenient and easy but also quite elegant ... each day of a ten
day cruise could be very different ... The dining room breakfast was
fine ... but the buffet breakfast outdid themselves ... and the staff
constantly carrying trays and bringing coffee and juice ... hours were
staggered somewhat to fit the port times ... but there was also a
limited late breakfast buffet for late sleepers ....

Lunch buffets were themed ... but between the shore excursions ... the
grill ... the pizza and pasta stations ... we did little more than just
taste a few things there ... all were excellent ...
There was also a daily afternoon tea from 4-5 which had many
interesting and tasty tidbits ... some irrestible even for one dining
at six ... one elegant tea that we did not attend since it was formal
dress ...

There was no dinner buffet ... but the pizza and pasta ... the sushi
bar .. and reservation required casual dining were available
alternatives ... we did this once since we had a late lunch on shore
one day and could not bear seeing food at 6 pm ... late seating even
for one coming from the east coast may be preferable with the ports ...

Since I love sushi ... and was not a fan of the Thai desserts ( I hate
coconuts for example) i often had some after dinner for dessert (call
me strange ...) ... or a late night snack ... ingredients and
preparation were outstanding ...

Now for the dinners ... A great selection ... NCL has been light on
main dining room selection ... maybe not needing more because of their
many dining options ... but each night we had excellent choices here
.... fish poultry beef pork ...many very creative ... but always
excellent quality ... often my wife and would share each others to
taste more ...
A fine selection of appetizers ... 3 soup selections one always a
chilled one ... different salad choices and dressing each night ... and
a nice selection of desserts ... our waiter would bring a platter for
show and tell ... and knew our preferences for dessert and also for all
other courses ... each meal was unique ... themed well ... delicious
with prime ingredients ... With these dinners .. whenever I can go on a
long cruise ... I know I would not get bored with the fare from
Celebrity ...
Part 3 shore excursions and entertainment ... Part 4 ... the after
cruise nightmare ...