Thankyou Zach for the informative video. Last January I went on my 1st cruise. It was a family reunion cruise on the Reflection. In March we will be having another family reunion this time on the Apex. I am so, so excited.
Thank you for sharing your Le Petit Chef experience. Though we haven’t yet been on a Celebrity ship, we absolutely will experience this concept someday.
We were on the Apex in August and loved it! Totally agree with your dining comments. We ate at same three specialty restaurants with same results. We actually enjoyed the main dining venues so much, we’re not even booking specialty restaurants when we go on The Edge in November. Thank you for review
Thank you for watching and for the lovely comment. I’m going on the Edge in January! I think I’ll only go back to Eden of the three. As you said, the main dining venues are just as good anyway! I hope you have a great time on your cruise.
We're going on Apex for first time next month. Based on your reviews we're getting the 3-night dining packge (we're in a regular veranda) and gonna do 2 nights at Eden and 1 night at the Rooftop Grill.
The premium cruise lines like Celebrity, Holland America, and to a lesser degree Princess will usually always have much better food than the mainstream lines. That's one of the things they're known for.
We think the order for those 3 in food: 1. Celebrity (tied with Princess with MDR but Celebrity specialty restaurants much better than Princess but you pay more for it too. 2. Princess 3. HAL - we had some good dinners on HAL but then some real misses. Still better than NCL or Carnival. Azamara is a tad better than Celebrity in MDR but Celebrity has much better specialty dining than Azamara. Oceania beats all these -- easily. Oceania and Crystal (when it was still cruising) had the best food at sea. But you PAY for it!
I agree with your review of the crab cake in the Steak House. We were on the Edge early December, 2021. The crab cake was like something you could find in the freezer section of the grocery store. For a great crab cake, try it in the Pinnacle Grill on Holland America. My favorite lobster was in the Luminea restaurant on the Edge. Best I ever had! We enjoyed Le Petite also! Great video!
Great review! I'm sorry the steakhouse didn't work out, but everything else looked great. I love that Celebrity is doing away with the main dining room and opting for four different dining venues instead. I can't say I've ever had a bad meal on a Celebrity ship, and that includes the Oceanview Buffet!
The steakhouse was the only experience that wasn’t nearly perfect. You’re right, even the Oceanview was incredible each time. Unfortunately I was usually in a rush to eat in there so didn’t get any footage, but loved their offerings!
@@ZachtheTravelingMan For $55.00 they should have brought you another steak. The one in the photo looks over cooked. The rest of your meals looked so good. I once had a strip steak on the Island Princess that had absolutely no flavor...none. But it was in the dining room and not the quality of beef that you should have received for your specialty dining. Nice videos.
Happy to hear Celebrity has upgraded their food. I sailed on Celebrity Equinox 3-4 years ago, and it was usually good, but not great-we ate breakfast in the buffet, skipped lunch, and had anytime dining for dinner.
The food in the MDR on the E-class ships, JC is better than the M and S class ships. FYI You pay more for those E class ships and one of the reasons is the food upgrade.
I've cruised with royal celebrity carnival princess cruises I have to say I truly love princess cruises of course everyone has their favorite cruise line
Been sailing on Celebrity since the mid 90s. The food is awesome. We are going on the Beyond 11/13/22! Last ship I was on was the Silhouette which was very nice, but before it was redone. So much better than most lines.
It’s definitely my new favorite cruise line. I have a couple of cruises booked on Celebrity in 2022 and several more in the years following. They really have the best cruise experience. Thanks for watching!
I wish you had told them that you weren't happy with your food at the steakhouse right when you got it. They would have re made it to your liking or brought you something else. Really you can do that on pretty much any cruise line. I know that celebrity considers it unacceptable for you to have the experience you had - especially in an upcharge restaurant that costs $55. Your steak should have been as good at the steak house as at Eden, and that is the experience celebrity wants you to have. Same goes for the service. "Okay" is NOT okay.
Thanks for the food outline. We are going on our first Celebrity cruise on the Beyond in Nov. I thought it was very helpful since we have never been on a Celebrity ship. Enjoy and be safe. 😀
@@ZachtheTravelingMan I will check back in the summer time. It will be fun to compare the food with the 350+ days cruising with Princess.. Of course there were some ups and downs.;). Finally I again though your critique regarding the food was NOT an advertisement for the speciality restaurants but was an excellent evaluation.
Thank you - I try to be as fair as possible. Never want to sound like an advertisement unless it’s something I really love (like Celebrity Cruises in general).
Princess cruises has several fine dining options my favorite crown grill 30.00 each best service at sea best food and quality I try to pre reserve for time best for me
@@ZachtheTravelingMan indeed very good price I highly recommend trying the best at sea I reserve table I ask to have same waiter everytime I'm allergic to shell fish there plenty other choices I even sleep well after having dinner in crown grill there are many other options I've tried as well I prefer slow pace dinner
@@ZachtheTravelingMan hi Zach happy cruising send more videos of your trips I to enjoy day trips have you heard of Catalina island 22 mile off coast of los Angeles make for perfect day trip or long weekend etc lot of history there is two harbors also great for camping trip
@@ZachtheTravelingMan hello Zack thank you I actually go to Catalina twice year maybe I'll see you there exploring as well so much too see can't see all in one day my favorite is para sailing snorkel I hang out at the beach club descanso beach club tis Wonderful I leave all my worries at home great get away 🥂
My cruise is next May and I’ve been enjoying your videos. We’re looking forward to all the dining, especially Luminae. I always skip the steak house on cruises, as I do a better steak at home. Le Petit Chef is something that looks awesome, and well worth trying. I lived in Greece, and I love saganaki. Best served a little crispy with lemon. Thank you for your videos. They are really whetting my appetite!
Hey thank you so much for watching and for the very nice comment. I’m glad you’ve been enjoying! I’ll get to try Luminae on my Edge cruise in January and I’m so excited, as I’ve heard great things.
@@ZachtheTravelingMan Our Apex cruise is now 2 weeks away. I watched your video again because I believe your taste may align with mine. Based on this video we've booked Le Petit and Eden. I most anxiously await the mulligatawny soup as well as the lobster casserole w/filet the most. Our cruise is 12 nights, so there will be quite a few chances to sample everything. We'll board and try the Luminae first. It simply all looks incredible. Been enjoying so many of your videos!
Great review of the amazing food onboard. I am so glad I ate before watching this because if I hadn't, I'd be so hungry right now, lol! I would love to try the Apex one day but part of me feels like my first Celebrity cruise might be the Beyond with Captain Kate! :)
Thanks for watching, friend! I was starving while editing this one lol. I think the Beyond would be amazing - I intend to book it at some point, just have to figure out where in my busy travel schedule!
@@ZachtheTravelingMan Totally makes sense! I know you have some amazing adventures coming up and we are all looking forward to following along. Cheers!
I'm going on this ship, the Apex coming up in October, but I am not a big meat eater, and I try to avoid eating red meats. Thanks for the heads-up on the Steakhouse, I thought about canceling my reservation, I guess I will.
@@ZachtheTravelingMan Good 2 hear, maybe we’ll B on the same cruise. Covid cases have been up ticking again but hopefully they won’t cancel the cruise.
Great review! My husband and I both love lobsters. Are they only offered at specialty dining? Do you know if it's offered at the main dining room? I have a 12 day european cruise on concierge class. Thanks for any info you can share!
They do have a lobster night in the main dining rooms! You should ask the dining staff once you board to see what night it might be. You can always peek at the menus on the Celebrity app ahead of your cruise. Thanks for watching!
For these speciality restaurants, Is there no limit to how much you can order? As in 2 servings of lobster? Or is it 1 per item but can try all the items?
For the specialty restaurants it’s usually limited to just one entree, but it all depends on your server. I’ve had ones to give me as much as I wanted, like at this Eden experience, and some who said absolutely not.
I Agree with Le Petit Chef! It's. a don't miss. We did it on the Reflection and the menu and animation/story was completely different so I'm excited to try it on the Apex as well!
Yes you must! She was fabulous and I can’t wait to try her sister Edge next month! I have not tried either of those yet, but plan to sail the Resilient Lady in the Spring!
Make sure you select the Celebrity Select dining which enables you to do just that. Otherwise you’ll have assigned dining to a particular dining room and time each night.
Zac I promise I’m done with 50 questions lol but after watching all your reviews I’m torn between the apex and the beyond. I’m going to do aqua class so I’ll have access to blu. Do you recommend getting a specialty dining package and apex or beyond?
Haha you are fine, ask away! If you have Blu I would say no to the specialty dining package BUT make sure you book one evening eating at Eden. Don’t miss that one! The rest are not good enough to pay the extra and miss out on Blu, which is incredible on its own. Also don’t miss lunch at Le Grand Bistro one day. As for Apex vs Beyond, that’s tough! I prefer Apex more because it was my first Celebrity experience. Beyond has a few new things plus the incredible Sunset Bar area. It would have to come down to itinerary and pricing for me!
Can I book Eden for dinner and Le grande Bistro in advance for lunch or do I have to wait until I get onboard? I also forgot to thank you for the tip on the white chocolate macadamia nut cookies! My absolute favorite!
Those cookies are too good! I would book Eden as far in advance as you can because it’s been know to be completely sold out onboard. I’m not sure if Le Grande Bistro is available to book ahead of time.
They removed one of my favorite restaurants to install Le Petite. I really hate they no longer have Silk Harvest on the Equinox. But, I have heard that La Petite is a great show.
Going on a honeymoon cruise next year and have been watching all of your videos! We were wondering if you thought upgrading to concierge is worth the price for the limited things you get upgraded for???
How exciting, thank you for watching! I paid so little over what a regular room would have cost, so it felt worth it to me. However, had the price difference been hundreds more then definitely not.
We recently were on the Celebrity Apex September 2023. We were not impressed with the food. The onion soup tasted like sea water. The desserts were absolutely a work of art and lovely to look at. However they looked much better than they taste. The food had wonderful presentation, but disappointing in flavor. More generic that delicious. We were disappointed.
We ate at La Petit Chef on the Reflection, back in June. Miserable expereince. The boillabaise was not fresh and the seafood way overcooked. The lobster was pretty good -- not excellent. The filet mignon was good but not great. The worst was the service. It was atrociously bad. I finally just laid down in my booth as so much time in between courses and no server to give you another drink. Bo-ring.
Cruise lines have different catering levels. Celebrity has the same catering level as the now defunct Crystal Cruises. Please next time send your steak back and let them know it was not fabulous. A critique is to help them keep their food level up. Everything onboard is made from scratch except for peanut butter. Ice cream is made from scratch too.
Thankyou Zach for the informative video. Last January I went on my 1st cruise. It was a family reunion cruise on the Reflection. In March we will be having another family reunion this time on the Apex. I am so, so excited.
Thank you for sharing your Le Petit Chef experience. Though we haven’t yet been on a Celebrity ship, we absolutely will experience this concept someday.
Hope you enjoy it!
I agree about the best view being the wake at the back of any ship
💯
We were on the Apex in August and loved it! Totally agree with your dining comments. We ate at same three specialty restaurants with same results. We actually enjoyed the main dining venues so much, we’re not even booking specialty restaurants when we go on The Edge in November. Thank you for review
Thank you for watching and for the lovely comment. I’m going on the Edge in January! I think I’ll only go back to Eden of the three. As you said, the main dining venues are just as good anyway! I hope you have a great time on your cruise.
We're going on Apex for first time next month. Based on your reviews we're getting the 3-night dining packge (we're in a regular veranda) and gonna do 2 nights at Eden and 1 night at the Rooftop Grill.
That’s a great choice. I just got off the Apex for a 12-night sailing and loved Rooftop Garden Grill. Eden is still good as well. Have a great cruise!
The premium cruise lines like Celebrity, Holland America, and to a lesser degree Princess will usually always have much better food than the mainstream lines. That's one of the things they're known for.
We think the order for those 3 in food:
1. Celebrity (tied with Princess with MDR but Celebrity specialty restaurants much better than Princess but you pay more for it too.
2. Princess
3. HAL - we had some good dinners on HAL but then some real misses. Still better than NCL or Carnival.
Azamara is a tad better than Celebrity in MDR but Celebrity has much better specialty dining than Azamara. Oceania beats all these -- easily. Oceania and Crystal (when it was still cruising) had the best food at sea. But you PAY for it!
We have thoroughly enjoyed Le Petit Chef. They have several different ones - usually rotating 2 on a 9night sailing or more.
All the food looks so yummy! That filet looked so good!!
It was all so good! Literally just about everything on the Apex was 💯
I agree with your review of the crab cake in the Steak House. We were on the Edge early December, 2021. The crab cake was like something you could find in the freezer section of the grocery store. For a great crab cake, try it in the Pinnacle Grill on Holland America. My favorite lobster was in the Luminea restaurant on the Edge. Best I ever had! We enjoyed Le Petite also! Great video!
I still need to try Holland sometime. Thank you so much for watching!
Love the food videos
Thank you! I love trying all the food and sharing my thoughts. 😋
Beautiful views for dining. Especially the aft view. Love it!
I loved that so much. Wish I could eat there every day. 😍
Thanks for sharing this informative video 😊
And thank you for watching! 😊
Great review! I'm sorry the steakhouse didn't work out, but everything else looked great. I love that Celebrity is doing away with the main dining room and opting for four different dining venues instead. I can't say I've ever had a bad meal on a Celebrity ship, and that includes the Oceanview Buffet!
The steakhouse was the only experience that wasn’t nearly perfect. You’re right, even the Oceanview was incredible each time. Unfortunately I was usually in a rush to eat in there so didn’t get any footage, but loved their offerings!
@@ZachtheTravelingMan For $55.00 they should have brought you another steak. The one in the photo looks over cooked. The rest of your meals looked so good. I once had a strip steak on the Island Princess that had absolutely no flavor...none. But it was in the dining room and not the quality of beef that you should have received for your specialty dining. Nice videos.
Thank you, Brandon! The meals were excellent all across the ship.
Happy to hear Celebrity has upgraded their food. I sailed on Celebrity Equinox 3-4 years ago, and it was usually good, but not great-we ate breakfast in the buffet, skipped lunch, and had anytime dining for dinner.
The food in the MDR on the E-class ships, JC is better than the M and S class ships. FYI You pay more for those E class ships and one of the reasons is the food upgrade.
All the food looked delicious. I love getting to see the offerings of other cruise lines.
It was the best food. Can’t wait to go back for more!
I've cruised with royal celebrity carnival princess cruises I have to say I truly love princess cruises of course everyone has their favorite cruise line
Been sailing on Celebrity since the mid 90s. The food is awesome. We are going on the Beyond 11/13/22! Last ship I was on was the Silhouette which was very nice, but before it was redone. So much better than most lines.
It’s definitely my new favorite cruise line. I have a couple of cruises booked on Celebrity in 2022 and several more in the years following. They really have the best cruise experience. Thanks for watching!
I wish you had told them that you weren't happy with your food at the steakhouse right when you got it. They would have re made it to your liking or brought you something else. Really you can do that on pretty much any cruise line. I know that celebrity considers it unacceptable for you to have the experience you had - especially in an upcharge restaurant that costs $55. Your steak should have been as good at the steak house as at Eden, and that is the experience celebrity wants you to have. Same goes for the service. "Okay" is NOT okay.
Thanks for the food outline. We are going on our first Celebrity cruise on the Beyond in Nov. I thought it was very helpful since we have never been on a Celebrity ship. Enjoy and be safe. 😀
Thank you so much, Mike! You’ll wanna check back here in the summer for some Celebrity Beyond content. 😉
@@ZachtheTravelingMan I will check back in the summer time. It will be fun to compare the food with the 350+ days cruising with Princess.. Of course there were some ups and downs.;). Finally I again though your critique regarding the food was NOT an advertisement for the speciality restaurants but was an excellent evaluation.
Thank you - I try to be as fair as possible. Never want to sound like an advertisement unless it’s something I really love (like Celebrity Cruises in general).
Princess cruises has several fine dining options my favorite crown grill 30.00 each best service at sea best food and quality I try to pre reserve for time best for me
That’s not a bad price for specialty dining either!
@@ZachtheTravelingMan indeed very good price I highly recommend trying the best at sea I reserve table I ask to have same waiter everytime I'm allergic to shell fish there plenty other choices I even sleep well after having dinner in crown grill there are many other options I've tried as well I prefer slow pace dinner
@@ZachtheTravelingMan hi Zach happy cruising send more videos of your trips I to enjoy day trips have you heard of Catalina island 22 mile off coast of los Angeles make for perfect day trip or long weekend etc lot of history there is two harbors also great for camping trip
Hey Jerry! More content coming very soon. I hope to make it to Catalina island someday!
@@ZachtheTravelingMan hello Zack thank you I actually go to Catalina twice year maybe I'll see you there exploring as well so much too see can't see all in one day my favorite is para sailing snorkel I hang out at the beach club descanso beach club tis Wonderful I leave all my worries at home great get away 🥂
Lots of info in your review of the different restaurants , enjoyed it.
Thanks for watching, Randy! Glad you enjoyed it.
My cruise is next May and I’ve been enjoying your videos. We’re looking forward to all the dining, especially Luminae. I always skip the steak house on cruises, as I do a better steak at home. Le Petit Chef is something that looks awesome, and well worth trying. I lived in Greece, and I love saganaki. Best served a little crispy with lemon. Thank you for your videos. They are really whetting my appetite!
Hey thank you so much for watching and for the very nice comment. I’m glad you’ve been enjoying! I’ll get to try Luminae on my Edge cruise in January and I’m so excited, as I’ve heard great things.
@@ZachtheTravelingMan Our Apex cruise is now 2 weeks away. I watched your video again because I believe your taste may align with mine. Based on this video we've booked Le Petit and Eden. I most anxiously await the mulligatawny soup as well as the lobster casserole w/filet the most. Our cruise is 12 nights, so there will be quite a few chances to sample everything. We'll board and try the Luminae first. It simply all looks incredible. Been enjoying so many of your videos!
Thank you so much, brunker! I hope you have a great time. I’m on Beyond soon, so be on the lookout for more new Celebrity ship content.
I'm bringing my southern dad on the apex know what will be ordering In eden ! Lobster wow
I bet you all will love it! Have a great time and eat some for me! :)
Great review of the amazing food onboard. I am so glad I ate before watching this because if I hadn't, I'd be so hungry right now, lol! I would love to try the Apex one day but part of me feels like my first Celebrity cruise might be the Beyond with Captain Kate! :)
Thanks for watching, friend! I was starving while editing this one lol. I think the Beyond would be amazing - I intend to book it at some point, just have to figure out where in my busy travel schedule!
@@ZachtheTravelingMan Totally makes sense! I know you have some amazing adventures coming up and we are all looking forward to following along. Cheers!
I'm going on this ship, the Apex coming up in October, but I am not a big meat eater, and I try to avoid eating red meats. Thanks for the heads-up on the Steakhouse, I thought about canceling my reservation, I guess I will.
I’ll be on Apex again in October and can’t wait! Hope you have a great cruise.
@@ZachtheTravelingMan Good 2 hear, maybe we’ll B on the same cruise. Covid cases have been up ticking again but hopefully they won’t cancel the cruise.
I don’t think they’ll cancel, but will be interesting to see what protocols are in place then!
For sure. As soon as the CDC starts lifting restrictions on the cruise ships they put them right back in place.
Is Eden complementary for lunch and breakfast?
Great review! My husband and I both love lobsters. Are they only offered at specialty dining? Do you know if it's offered at the main dining room? I have a 12 day european cruise on concierge class. Thanks for any info you can share!
They do have a lobster night in the main dining rooms! You should ask the dining staff once you board to see what night it might be. You can always peek at the menus on the Celebrity app ahead of your cruise. Thanks for watching!
Le Petit Chef on Celebrity is the best dining experience we have ever had!!
It was pretty amazing!
Favorite dish was the sea bass at Cyprus
Mine was that lobster casserole at Eden. I still think of that all the time!
@@ZachtheTravelingMan Wait...but was it better than Shaq's Big Chicken??? :)
Haha tough choice!!
For these speciality restaurants, Is there no limit to how much you can order? As in 2 servings of lobster? Or is it 1 per item but can try all the items?
For the specialty restaurants it’s usually limited to just one entree, but it all depends on your server. I’ve had ones to give me as much as I wanted, like at this Eden experience, and some who said absolutely not.
I Agree with Le Petit Chef! It's. a don't miss. We did it on the Reflection and the menu and animation/story was completely different so I'm excited to try it on the Apex as well!
Gonna try this ship in Sept. Looking forward to it. Have you tried the Rotterdam or Scarlet Lady yet for comparisons sake?
Yes you must! She was fabulous and I can’t wait to try her sister Edge next month! I have not tried either of those yet, but plan to sail the Resilient Lady in the Spring!
Booked on both the Edge & Apex in 2023. Are the 4 main restaurants open dining so you can go to each with ease?
Make sure you select the Celebrity Select dining which enables you to do just that. Otherwise you’ll have assigned dining to a particular dining room and time each night.
Zac I promise I’m done with 50 questions lol but after watching all your reviews I’m torn between the apex and the beyond. I’m going to do aqua class so I’ll have access to blu. Do you recommend getting a specialty dining package and apex or beyond?
Haha you are fine, ask away! If you have Blu I would say no to the specialty dining package BUT make sure you book one evening eating at Eden. Don’t miss that one! The rest are not good enough to pay the extra and miss out on Blu, which is incredible on its own. Also don’t miss lunch at Le Grand Bistro one day. As for Apex vs Beyond, that’s tough! I prefer Apex more because it was my first Celebrity experience. Beyond has a few new things plus the incredible Sunset Bar area. It would have to come down to itinerary and pricing for me!
Can I book Eden for dinner and Le grande Bistro in advance for lunch or do I have to wait until I get onboard? I also forgot to thank you for the tip on the white chocolate macadamia nut cookies! My absolute favorite!
Those cookies are too good! I would book Eden as far in advance as you can because it’s been know to be completely sold out onboard. I’m not sure if Le Grande Bistro is available to book ahead of time.
Thanks for your help.
I am so excited for La petite chef on Equinox.. I will dining there for my birthday (November 9)
Well happy early birthday! What a great treat you have in store. :)
They removed one of my favorite restaurants to install Le Petite. I really hate they no longer have Silk Harvest on the Equinox. But, I have heard that La Petite is a great show.
Oh no! At least it was a great new addition.
Going on a honeymoon cruise next year and have been watching all of your videos! We were wondering if you thought upgrading to concierge is worth the price for the limited things you get upgraded for???
How exciting, thank you for watching! I paid so little over what a regular room would have cost, so it felt worth it to me. However, had the price difference been hundreds more then definitely not.
Do you have to dress up to eat at those restaurants on the cruise ship?
Not to a great degree, but probably a good idea to have a pair of slacks and button up shirt. No shorts, blue jeans, t shirts, etc.
Can we see the food for longer?
If you pause it you can see if for as long as you want. 😂 But suggestion noted for next time. Thanks for watching!
We recently were on the Celebrity Apex September 2023. We were not impressed with the food.
The onion soup tasted like sea water. The desserts were absolutely a work of art and lovely to look at. However they looked much better than they taste. The food had wonderful presentation, but disappointing in flavor. More generic that delicious. We were disappointed.
Sorry to hear that!
We ate at La Petit Chef on the Reflection, back in June. Miserable expereince. The boillabaise was not fresh and the seafood way overcooked. The lobster was pretty good -- not excellent. The filet mignon was good but not great. The worst was the service. It was atrociously bad. I finally just laid down in my booth as so much time in between courses and no server to give you another drink. Bo-ring.
Cruise lines have different catering levels. Celebrity has the same catering level as the now defunct Crystal Cruises. Please next time send your steak back and let them know it was not fabulous. A critique is to help them keep their food level up. Everything onboard is made from scratch except for peanut butter. Ice cream is made from scratch too.
Yes fine cut was disappointing