Oceania food vs Celebrity Luminae

My wife and I have a Sky Suite booked for a 7 night Bermuda cruise on the Celebrity Summit. The suite gives us access to the suite only restaurant, Luminae. For essentially the same price, all things considered, we could get an inside room on Oceania for a 7 day Caribbean cruise. Is anybody able to compare the quality of the food between Celebrity's Luminae and the the restaurants on Oceania?

The size of our room isn't too important to us but we are willing to pay a premium for quality food and dining.

Thanks in advance!

My wife and I have a Sky Suite booked for a 7 night Bermuda cruise on the Celebrity Summit. The suite gives us access to the suite only restaurant, Luminae. For essentially the same price, all things considered, we could get an inside room on Oceania for a 7 day Caribbean cruise. Is anybody able to compare the quality of the food between Celebrity's Luminae and the the restaurants on Oceania?

 

The size of our room isn't too important to us but we are willing to pay a premium for quality food and dining.

 

Thanks in advance!

I haven't eaten or been on the summit and Luminae I would assume it probably comes up to Oceania, However, there is the difference.

On the Summit, your getting 1 restaurant as your benefit On Oceania

your getting 3 to 4 places of quality at least the equal of Luminae ( or better) of the 1 choice on the summit.

Factor in your on a huge ship with almost twice the people and the inherent crowds. The restrictions/ limitations of choice and the crowds , to me would be a significant factor and why I feel Oceania is all things better even in an inside. cabin

We have had 32 cruises on Celebrity and now have had seven on Oceania. I would not return to Celebrity with all the benefits they offer me.

Keep in mind that where Oceania really stands out is at lunch. The selections at the grill and in the buffet are really outstanding. That won't be duplicated in X.

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I would say the food is equal, service much better on X. That said the terrace on Oceania is great, far better than X. However there is more than food to consider.

However there is more than food to consider.

Apparently not if OP is willing to change a Sky Suite for an inside cabin if food is better :D

There is no better food at sea than Oceania - and that IMO includes not only X but also the likes of Silversea and Seabourn.

That said, there is not a single more subjective topic on cruising than food :)

Oceania is acclaimed for fine food, quality and selection. The array of food options is astounding. Celebrity has pretty good food but it pales in comparison to O.

Wouldn't the answer to the OPs question depend upon which class of ship the cruise was on? I seem to recall that the R class ships have fewer dining options than the Summit.

R ships have 3 options other than the MDR. Certainly more than one:)

Interesting post about lunch--how can one beat a cheeseburger:confused:

Oceania is acclaimed for fine food, quality and selection. The array of food options is astounding. Celebrity has pretty good food but it pales in comparison to O.

Which is why I was asking specifically about Luminae on Celebrity. By all accounts Luminae is a huge step up for Celebrity. I was wondering how it compares to Oceania, since the general consensus is that Oceania has some of the best food at sea.

I haven't eaten or been on the summit and Luminae I would assume it probably comes up to Oceania, However, there is the difference.

On the Summit, your getting 1 restaurant as your benefit On Oceania

your getting 3 to 4 places of quality at least the equal of Luminae ( or better) of the 1 choice on the summit.

 

Factor in your on a huge ship with almost twice the people and the inherent crowds. The restrictions/ limitations of choice and the crowds , to me would be a significant factor and why I feel Oceania is all things better even in an inside. cabin

Very informative. Thank you.

We have had 32 cruises on Celebrity and now have had seven on Oceania. I would not return to Celebrity with all the benefits they offer me.

Can you expand on this?

I am an O cruiser but due to timing and itinerary I am currently on Celebrity Solstice on a B2B and stayed in a Celebrity Suite first half and on second half of cruise we are in a Sky Suite. This allows us access to Luminae which is no comparison to the dining venues on O. The food is very good, service is superb, but the menu is very limited. Everything comes with too much sauce and the salad and veggie offering are almost nonexistent. When you are on this ship for close to a month, we have had to get creative to find our veggie options in specialty restaurants, Aqua Spa cafe, and their regular buffet for a large salad. I miss being served with gloved hands from the staff at Terrace Cafe and the beautiful outdoor terrace.

Now, I must say that this ship is beautiful, immaculate, with wonderful entertainment and a very good experience. We would come back given an ideal itinerary and timing. The service we have received rivals any cruise ship we have been on and they really want to please. Both of our suites have been lovely and the butler service is actually better than what we received on O.

Also, size is a huge factor and if given the chance to cruise on O, I think that would be a wise choice and you will definitely notice the difference.

I am an O cruiser but due to timing and itinerary I am currently on Celebrity Solstice on a B2B and stayed in a Celebrity Suite first half and on second half of cruise we are in a Sky Suite. This allows us access to Luminae which is no comparison to the dining venues on O. The food is very good, service is superb, but the menu is very limited. Everything comes with too much sauce and the salad and veggie offering are almost nonexistent. When you are on this ship for close to a month, we have had to get creative to find our veggie options in specialty restaurants, Aqua Spa cafe, and their regular buffet for a large salad. I miss being served with gloved hands from the staff at Terrace Cafe and the beautiful outdoor terrace.

 

Now, I must say that this ship is beautiful, immaculate, with wonderful entertainment and a very good experience. We would come back given an ideal itinerary and timing. The service we have received rivals any cruise ship we have been on and they really want to please. Both of our suites have been lovely and the butler service is actually better than what we received on O.

 

Also, size is a huge factor and if given the chance to cruise on O, I think that would be a wise choice and you will definitely notice the difference.

Thank you!

Agree with all the above. On Insignia recently for 71N. Food was a delight, every meal.On Celebrity it would have been repetitive on long cruise. On last few X cruises I noted cost cutting also.Its just two different lines. Try one of Os Caribbean cruises.

Cybx, it's great that you got a response from someone who has experienced both...that's the best feedback you can get, right there.

I've been on Celebrity (although not with this new restaurant), and am about to take my first Oceania cruise. I've also cruised on RCI, Windstar, Paul Gauguin, Regent, and Crystal. I totally get your focus on dining - that's a huge deciding factor for me as well, given that I generally watch my calories all year long except when I'm on vacation. So if I'm going to let loose and just enjoy myself, I want it to be worth it! :p

I too was struggling to choose between different lines for my upcoming cruise. We were debating between itineraries on NCL, HAL, and Oceania. Both the NCL and HAL ships each have specialty restaurants that are supposed to be absolutely exquisite.

What tipped the scales for me was the fact that the ONLY place onboard those ships we'd get true first-class dining would be in the one restaurant. Whereas on O, we'd get it at pretty much every meal. Plus, the menu doesn't change in the NCL or HAL specialty restaurants, so if I wanted superior dining every night, I'd probably get pretty tired of eating the same thing over and over. So for that reason, I would encourage you to go with O.

But a few other commenters in here pointed out that, while dining is crucial, you might want to factor in some other things as well. The bottom line is, Celebrity is a mass-market line. It may be among the better ones, but it is still mass-market, with all that entails. Nickel-and-diming, lines, crowds, generally a lower level of service...overall it's just not going to be as luxurious an experience as a cruise on one of the luxury lines.

Having cruised on both luxury and mass-market lines, I can tell you that these things do make a huge difference in the overall experience.

As I mentioned, I have not yet experienced Oceania. But I've been reading obsessively. Plus, many of the long-time Cruise Critic members I've seen posting in the forums for the other luxury cruise lines are also Oceania cruisers, and I know that they value the same things. So I have no doubt that I will find Oceania to be on par with the other 6-star lines I've cruised.

Like you, I would consider the cabin to be among the least important factors. Frankly, I could have had gotten a much higher end suite on the HAL or NCL cruises than we got on this O cruise. But I will spend far less time in my cabin than I will in the rest of the ship...so the cabin falls further down the priority list.

Don't forget that on O the specialty restaurants have set menus (although often a few specials each night); the GDR does change, my experience is that the menus start to repeat after 2 weeks.

I haven't been on Celebrity so I can't comment on the comparisons beyond this.

On the "R" ships there are two specialty restaurants plus the GDR, Terrace Buffet and Waves (in the morning and afternoon). On the "O" ships you have four specialty restaurants. I'm ignoring the impending changes in the available specialty restaurants on the "R" ships starting with Sirena.

I wanted to point out another difference. On our 1st cruise we left Sydney for a S. Pacific cruise which ended up being Aussie Spring Break vs: USA Spring Break. From a demographic passenger standpoint, all I can say is neither is very pretty. That is what you will get with any big ship in the Caribbean and apparently due to timing here on Solstice. This 2nd part of our cruise is to New Zealand and a totally different passenger demographic with more gray hair vs: purple. More well traveled, quiet, better attire etc. Just as you would find on O. Please keep this in mind when timing, ship size etc. can really ruin a very well planned vacation. My vote is with O for the Caribbean...learned my lesson LOL!

Please remember that we have enjoyed ourselves and again the service on the ship is fabulous and would go back on Celebrity again, but no Spring break cruises anywhere.

We cruised on Celebrity Summit in a Penthouse, and dined in Luminae. While I haven't yet cruised Oceania, friends have told me that it compares very favorably with Crystal, which I have cruised 17 times, so I get the comparison. To say we were disappointed in Luminae is an understatement, so much so that we cancelled 3 Celebrity cruises and booked an Oceania and Crystal. We found the item selection for dinner to be far too small, with only two appetizers, one salad one soup and five mains, with one of those being vegetarian and another a pasta--a real lack of beef choices. In addition, the items were unimaginative and lacking in flavor. There were only 2 menus for lunch, which gets very boring if you're on a longer cruise. The breakfast menu was the same every day. On a subsequent cruise on Equinox, we chose to dine in other specialties and skipped Luminae altogether.

But trade a Suite for a inside cabin for the same price?---food can't be that much better.

But trade a Suite for a inside cabin for the same price?---food can't be that much better.

Maybe! :D It's all just data points that you have to factor into your decision. The amount of importance for each factor will vary from person to person. I don't generally spend much time in my cabin, so I'd rather have a smaller cabin on a more luxurious ship with better food. But that's just me. :p

On my upcoming O cruise we went ahead and splurged for a PH, but that was really only because I'm cruising with two other women, and the idea of three unrelated adult women managing in a tight cabin was a concern. But when it's just my husband and me, we have definitely gone with the smaller cabin in the better ship in some of our past decisions.

I'd rather have a smaller cabin on a more luxurious ship with better food. But that's just me. :p

Me, too, all day, everyday.

I'm on Insignia at the moment. It's our fourth Oceania cruise. The staff are great but our feeling is that the food is not as good as it was. The ship itself is generally in a nice condition except that we have no cell phone at sea connection.

Earlier this year we were on Silversea and Celebrity. The food on Silver Cloud was on a par with Oceania. On Eclipse in the very comfortable Luminae it was better than Oceania, but as others have said a very limited and repetitive menu (though I now understand you can order anything from the main dining room menu in Luminae). However the huge buffet selection on Celebrity Eclipse beats Insignia's Terrace cafe in every way. More people? Certainly. But more seats, more choice and more serving stations.

"However the huge buffet selection on Celebrity Eclipse beats Insignia's Terrace cafe in every way. More people? Certainly. But more seats, more choice and more serving stations."

Sorry not IMO Balloon Man. No grill to order, no lobster and much poorer atmosphere at Celebrity Buffet and that goes for 3 different Celebrity ships in the past 3 years. Different horses for different courses.:rolleyes::rolleyes:

"However the huge buffet selection on Celebrity Eclipse beats Insignia's Terrace cafe in every way. More people? Certainly. But more seats, more choice and more serving stations."

 

Sorry not IMO Balloon Man. No grill to order, no lobster and much poorer atmosphere at Celebrity Buffet and that goes for 3 different Celebrity ships in the past 3 years. Different horses for different courses.:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Seriously, I just left the Celebrity buffet about 30 minutes ago. We were tired after a long 2 day land tour in NZ and ventured in there. No white table cloths, had to go to the bar to get wine, they do apparently have some grill to order, but it was a real challenge for us to find something that looked edible other than their nice salad bar selection. Different horses for different courses ;-) and more is not always better.