Luminae - lunch

Not offering lunch on embarkation day is a real fail. Is the "modern luxury" suite experience supposed to start with the free for all in the buffet? While the upper suite folks may get some sort of spread in Michael's club, sky suite guests are left to fend for themselves with everyone else. Wow....what a terrible welcome to Celebrity's suite experience.

 

let's hope this was part of "start up" pains and mis-communications...and that very quickly, embarkation lunch will be offered to suite guests in Luminae.

In my experience, the "spread" in Michael's was nothing to write home about and certainly wouldn't serve as lunch. Granted, this was before the great rollout of the "wonderful" new suite benefits which turn out not to be quite as wonderful as advertised.

I agree that not offering lunch on embarcation is a major fail.

Agree, this is not quite what Celebrity promised. We booked for 2016 on the basis of their marketing, and also having had a look at Luminae on Solstice prior to it opening.

Previously quite happy in AQ and Blu, was OK about the idea of a step up in facilities. Now I know we are only booked in a Sky Suite, :confused:but if there is one thing that will kill our loyalty it is the feeling of being fooled, probably just by by poor management.

We will look at other opportunities during the long period when we can cancel at no cost.

We have booked three future cruises in Aqua Class and now wonder if it will be over crowded due to extra suite guests using it. Will preference be given to Aqua Class Guests?

The change from fresh orange juice to the current frozen offering is also very disappointing as I cannot drink it due to additives.

Brissie

"Celebrity's dedicated team of chefs has created the new elegant menus for the venue’s complimentary breakfast, lunch and dinner - each menu item will only be featured once during a two-week cruise vacation."

What's New | Captain's Club | Celebrity Cruises

Hmm, they did not include the word "occasional" before lunch or "occasionally" after lunch. ;)

We are new to the suite scene and booked 3 cruises in CS and above after the Luminae announcement. I liked the idea of embarkation lunch and lunch any day since we do not enjoy eating cold food after running to multiple stations for food/drinks in the buffet and then finding seats (we just never have mastered the art of buffet) :). I know there are other venues, and we certainly wouldn't want to eat in the same place for 3 meals every day, but having the 3 meals a day in Luminae option was very seductive.

I booked an extra cruise in August because I was really excited to try Luminae sooner than later. This whole pull back on the lunch service before even trying it out has made this usually very positive cruiser feel iffy about the Luminae experience. I just cancelled the August cruise and will leave the others for now as we watch this unfold (not saying the cancellation was just the lack of lunch, but was one of the tipping points).

These cruises are quite pricey in a suite and it seems that this company, who does well at cost-cutting, could find a way to keep the embarkation lunch and lunch for the other days or another option (such as up-graded room service or complimentary Bistro for lunch), and still make money.

We love Celebrity, but this has been disappointing. Hopefully the company will listen to input from the consumer and come up with ways to make this right.

My big concern, and the thing I would be annoyed about if I had a suite booked is the gap between marketing and reality.

My husband and I despise buffets, so the idea of a private restaurant/smaller venue is a major consideration for us in booking a suite. If I was counting on the restaurant serving three meals a day because that was what had been presented and then I found out otherwise when I got on the ship, I would be pretty upset. To me, this looks like a cost cutting measure for which the price of a suite should be reduced accordingly. The missing Luminae meal would be like booking an Aqua Class cabin, then discovering breakfast was no longer offered in BLU.

We are new to the suite scene and booked 3 cruises in CS and above after the Luminae announcement. I liked the idea of embarkation lunch and lunch any day since we do not enjoy eating cold food after running to multiple stations for food/drinks in the buffet and then finding seats (we just never have mastered the art of buffet) :). I know there are other venues, and we certainly wouldn't want to eat in the same place for 3 meals every day, but having the 3 meals a day in Luminae option was very seductive.

 

I booked an extra cruise in August because I was really excited to try Luminae sooner than later. This whole pull back on the lunch service before even trying it out has made this usually very positive cruiser feel iffy about the Luminae experience. I just cancelled the August cruise and will leave the others for now as we watch this unfold (not saying the cancellation was just the lack of lunch, but was one of the tipping points).

 

These cruises are quite pricey in a suite and it seems that this company, who does well at cost-cutting, could find a way to keep the embarkation lunch and lunch for the other days or another option (such as up-graded room service or complimentary Bistro for lunch), and still make money.

 

We love Celebrity, but this has been disappointing. Hopefully the company will listen to input from the consumer and come up with ways to make this right.

Personally I feel that substituting lunch in Bistro on 5 for lunch in Luminae is a nonstarter. The service in Bistro is abysmally slow, even when there are just a few people in there. And as for room service, I doubt they would offer anything close to the choices being served in Luminae, so that is not appealing either.

During the live chat, lunch in Luminae was confirmed on embarkation day, and at the least, X should honor that.

I have been a part of Cruise Critic long enough to know many who post here are very travel experienced. I believe we are also intelligent enough to understand how to read and interpret the written word.

Celebrity has stated they will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner in Luminae along with regional specialties and wine pairings. They have stated certain suites will receive specific benefits. This is their business - there should be enough staff; sufficient planning; adequate resources (including financial); and top-notch training to ensure this happens. This is Celebrity's job - not our job.

So far, I am not impressed. How can a company change the rules after a product is purchased? How can top-line staff (butlers) be confused about suite benefits? Will we starve without lunch? Of course not. But if a company makes a promise - isn't proper implementation a part of their contract with us?

Our family has booked 2 Royal Suites in the next 2 months. I will reserve final judgment until then ....... but the next time Celebrity comes out with a big hoopla I will be very leery.

I have been a part of Cruise Critic long enough to know many who post here are very travel experienced. I believe we are also intelligent enough to understand how to read and interpret the written word.

 

Celebrity has stated they will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner in Luminae along with regional specialties and wine pairings. They have stated certain suites will receive specific benefits. This is their business - there should be enough staff; sufficient planning; adequate resources (including financial); and top-notch training to ensure this happens. This is Celebrity's job - not our job.

 

So far, I am not impressed. How can a company change the rules after a product is purchased? How can top-line staff (butlers) be confused about suite benefits? Will we starve without lunch? Of course not. But if a company makes a promise - isn't proper implementation a part of their contract with us?

 

Our family has booked 2 Royal Suites in the next 2 months. I will reserve final judgment until then ....... but the next time Celebrity comes out with a big hoopla I will be very leery.

I am in exactly the same situation as yourself, booked 2 Royal Suites for 14 night July sailing to the Baltics. It will be our first Celebrity sailing. As we sail from Southampton, we could have sailed any number of lines, Cunard, Royal, Princess, Disney etc but I booked specifically because of the product advertised by Celebrity. The statement that breakfast, lunch and dinner (brunch is not mentioned) will be available in Luminae is clearly stated in the physical brochure produced for the UK market.

Our schedule includes a couple of days when we do not intent to leave the ship because they are ports we have previously visited so expected lunch to be served. What really irritates me is that they are making significant changes to the product literally from launch before they have implemented it fully.

Like you I will reserve judgment until we sail but am watching the situation very closely.

My big concern, and the thing I would be annoyed about if I had a suite booked is the gap between marketing and reality.

 

My husband and I despise buffets, so the idea of a private restaurant/smaller venue is a major consideration for us in booking a suite. If I was counting on the restaurant serving three meals a day because that was what had been presented and then I found out otherwise when I got on the ship, I would be pretty upset. To me, this looks like a cost cutting measure for which the price of a suite should be reduced accordingly. The missing Luminae meal would be like booking an Aqua Class cabin, then discovering breakfast was no longer offered in BLU.

We did go ahead and book a suite for Oct, based on what was advertised. We even convinced friends to come along, too. Just the other day, my DH mentioned he is looking forward to lunch in Luminae!! :eek: I just could not tell him what is going on right now with the lunch situation. My friends, either! I am waiting to break this news to them, in hopes that X will come through and do what they advertised and promised!!

If this situation does not get rectified, it may be the final straw for us to look elsewhere for all our cruises! Frankly, Celebrity, your itineraries are not your strong point and if you can not deliver on what you advertise and market, what makes you think people will continue to cruise with your line?

I do not post often but I'm an avid reader & follower on these boards. We are booked in the penthouse for our upcoming cruise.

While I do try to watch my weight (for mobility issues) when I holiday I will not be impressed if celebrity do not deliver what they promised when I booked my cruise last year. It was a toss between cunard QG & celebrity PH for this summer so celebrity needs to be careful about who they annoy.

I will reserve judgement until July.

I'm going to play the Devil's Advocate here and try to give a different impression.

When we embarked on Reflection, April 11th for the eastbound TA, Luminae had only been serving passengers for 7 days. We knew this...and realized that many kinks of "opening" a new restaurants had to be unravelled.

I was pleasantly surprised at how efficient everything ran. But we were told that many of the "advertised" options would be instituted as weeks/months went by.

For those of you planning to dine in Luminae, it is a beautiful venue, with creative food, and impeccable service. It doesn't have the "stuffy" atmosphere that Murano's has...but does have a warm, relaxed, inviting vibe.

My suggestion...wait and see if the advertised dining times occur in the future. Sometimes it takes a few weeks to work out all the kinks.

Karyn

I'm going to play the Devil's Advocate here and try to give a different impression.

 

When we embarked on Reflection, April 11th for the eastbound TA, Luminae had only been serving passengers for 7 days. We knew this...and realized that many kinks of "opening" a new restaurants had to be unravelled.

 

I was pleasantly surprised at how efficient everything ran. But we were told that many of the "advertised" options would be instituted as weeks/months went by.

 

For those of you planning to dine in Luminae, it is a beautiful venue, with creative food, and impeccable service. It doesn't have the "stuffy" atmosphere that Murano's has...but does have a warm, relaxed, inviting vibe.

 

My suggestion...wait and see if the advertised dining times occur in the future. Sometimes it takes a few weeks to work out all the kinks.

 

Karyn

I truly hope that you are right.....that is why I am not raising the alarm bells with my DH or friends yet. I hope they work out the kinks and deliver what they promised.

I truly hope that you are right.....that is why I am not raising the alarm bells with my DH or friends yet. I hope they work out the kinks and deliver what they promised.

I hope karrynanne is right and I do think that celebrity will soon realize that they should claim this was a startup issue....however the new, changed web site statements mean that someone believes that the meal schedule published there is OK and what is/will be implemented.

I am hopeful we'll see a "we're looking into it" from our official poster, Celebrity Cruises, posted tomorrow.

I hope karrynanne is right and I do think that celebrity will soon realize that they should claim this was a startup issue....however the new, changed web site statements mean that someone believes that the meal schedule published there is OK and what is/will be implemented.

 

I am hopeful we'll see a "we're looking into it" from our official poster, Celebrity Cruises, posted tomorrow.

I see it this way too. The shift in the website seems to be saying the original marketing plan of three meals a day is no longer going to happen.

We have 2 suites on hold for Jan 2017. The cruise has a total of 7 sea days. I thought my parents would love having lunch in Luminae. As we have cruise many parts of the world we do not always get off at port stops. On port days I eat lunch before I get of the ship or after I get back. Four hours at most ports is time enough for me. I will say my father has not gotten off at a port stop in years now.

I do understand not serving lunch on port days, although it was advertised that way and they should stick by that. However not offering an embarkation lunch or serving lunch on sea days is ridiculous. The OP has a very valid complaint that she did not get what she paid for and what was advertised.

Except for one sailing in AQ, we have only sailed in suites on Celebrity and have always been happy with their product. We were excited to try Luminae and have Reflection booked in November just to try it. Now, after reading about all of these issues and the limited menu choices we may be changing our mind.

I hope this is all worked out in the next couple of months. We have a "back up" cruise booked on another line just in case:rolleyes:

I do understand not serving lunch on port days, although it was advertised that way and they should stick by that. However not offering an embarkation lunch or serving lunch on sea days is ridiculous. The OP has a very valid complaint that she did not get what she paid for and what was advertised.

Just to clarify, we were served brunch on sea days instead of breakfast and/or lunch. You either were served breakfast and dinner on port days or brunch and dinner on sea days. Two meals a day, not three as previously advertised. No embarkation lunch.

We're booking a cruise on the Silhouette and I've looked at deck plans to see where Luminae is located but can't see it. Can someone tell me where it is located please?

Hubby and I, like others, recently booked several upcoming Celebrity sailings based upon Celebrity’s introduction and marketing of Suite-level benefits -- of which (for us) dining in Luminae, including lunch on port days, is a keystone component. And I, too, hope this situation of no mid-day meal in Luminae on port days is simply a “start-up” issue which will be appropriately addressed and resolved. However, if not, at Celebrity’s price point for upper-level suites, many choices for luxury cruise vacations exist -- without this problem or aggravation. :):)

Hubby and I, like others, recently booked several upcoming Celebrity sailings based upon Celebrity’s introduction and marketing of Suite-level benefits -- of which (for us) dining in Luminae, including lunch on port days, is a keystone component. And I, too, hope this situation of no mid-day meal in Luminae on port days is simply a “start-up” issue which will be appropriately addressed and resolved. However, if not, at Celebrity’s price point for upper-level suites, many choices for luxury cruise vacations exist -- without this problem or aggravation. :):)

The issues are really the lack of breakfast being served at normal breakfast hours on sea days, no lunch being served on port days and no embarkation lunch. I am surprised that no one has commented on the Luminae brunch ending at 1PM...we normally eat lunch on cruises after 1 (maybe that's just us)...but then again, we eat breakfast at a normal hour. Maybe suite guests are expected to eat sea day breakfasts in their rooms?

Actually, I think the main issue may really be that Celebrity (was perceived to have) said they would provide breakfast lunch and dinner...and they are, according to reports, delivering less....and they are doing it without any notification to those who have booked suites.

I’ve been in NCL suites 20 times and during all that time they’ve had a special suite breakfast and lunch. On older ships it is in a specialty restaurant like Cagney’s, the newest mega-ships have a dedicated Haven restaurant that also serves dinner. I almost always eat the suite lunch. I enjoy the quiet, the smaller room, the higher service and the more premium food than is available elsewhere. It is a major perk that made me a repeat cruiser on NCL. Even on port days I think I do the suite lunch 80% of the time.

When I saw the new Celebrity suite perks with the special dining room for suites (3 meals per day) it sounded great so I booked two cruises in a Royal Suite. It is disappointing that Celebrity appears to have reneged on their advertised new perks that provide a suite dining room 3 meals per day. I hope they reconsider this both because it is what they advertised and as what their competition provides.

I’m still looking forward to my first Celebrity cruise and have no plans of cancelling. I’m paying nearly as much per day or two as some cruisers are paying for the entire cruise. For that premium price if I can get 3 suite meals per day then I will be more likely to rebook. I know at this price level I can get premium lunch meals every day on Oceania or SilverSea and even on NCL.

The issues are really the lack of breakfast being served at normal breakfast hours on sea days, no lunch being served on port days and no embarkation lunch. I am surprised that no one has commented on the Luminae brunch ending at 1PM...we normally eat lunch on cruises after 1 (maybe that's just us)...but then again, we eat breakfast at a normal hour. Maybe suite guests are expected to eat sea day breakfasts in their rooms?

 

Actually, I think the main issue may really be that Celebrity (was perceived to have) said they would provide breakfast lunch and dinner...and they are, according to reports, delivering less....and they are doing it without any notification to those who have booked suites.

I'll comment on the Luminae Brunch. It was offered on sea days. The menu had a variety of main courses, as well as soups (the pea soup was excellent) and really wonderful desserts. We ate at 11am.

I can't speak for others, but we usually don't have a large breakfast, so brunch was perfect.

For those of you worried about the present status of meals offered, I'm sure Celebrity is aware, and will change the situation. Patience...

Karyn

Haven't sailed Celebrity in years, but are booked in a Suite in October. Ignoring Luminae for the moment - what is the Celebrity policy for lunch on port days? Is Blu or the MDR open or is it only the Buffet?

For those of you worried about the present status of meals offered, I'm sure Celebrity is aware, and will change the situation. Patience...

What surprises me most is that this is a case of Celebrity raising the expectations to then let everyone down. Just don't promise it in the first place. The marketing department needs to tone down the lofty language in the brochures, online, etc. Yes maybe that will sell more cruises, but after that expectation is not met, could potentially be a huge mistake after that person gets home and tells all their friends about how their cruise was for them.

Embarkation day lunch for me is a big deal. It is the first impression of a cruise. I am also very aware how stressful it is for the staff on the ship on turnaround day and feel sorry for them. But as someone else said, I am paying a huge premium to be in a suite. We have three booked right now (two CS on eclipse and a RS on equinox). Carnival has their faster to the fun where staterooms are ready when you step on the ship. NCL has haven. Celebrity has .... well it depends on which ship, which hotel director, which concierge, etc....

I don't even need a large huge lunch that first day, just something that is a special touch. Even having the concierge able to get stuff from bistro on 5 would work. Just something after a bunch of stressful travel days to get the cruise off to a great start.

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