3 Blu Questions

DH and I usually book Concierge, but treated ourselves to Aqua for our next cruise on Reflection...so, three questions

Do we need to make reservations or just show up?

Does Blu have lobster night like the MDR?

Does the evening chic (whatever that means!) dress code apply in Blu?

Thanks!

One more on my behalf if I could. If I have an aqua class cabin should I worry about specialty dining or will Blu be enough?

And with Blu I see it being healthy cuisine... will I get enough food or are the portions small?

DH and I usually book Concierge, but treated ourselves to Aqua for our next cruise on Reflection...so, three questions

 

Do we need to make reservations or just show up? We just showed up but we eat early like 6 PM

 

Does Blu have lobster night like the MDR? Can't remember but it will be warm water lobster, not the real good cold water lobster from Maine/Canada

 

Does the evening chic (whatever that means!) dress code apply in Blu? When we last sailed in AQ formal night dress did not apply to Blu.

 

Thanks!

I never went hungry there is always steak on the menu, lots of food.

Do we need to make reservations or just show up? - just show up!

Does Blu have lobster night like the MDR? - whatever is available in the MDR you can also access in Blu but I think they would probably also offer a lobster dish

Does the evening chic (whatever that means!) dress code apply in Blu? - yes, dress as you would for a dinner in a restaurant at home.... nice but not formal.

No reservations taken, just show up.

Have seen lobster on the menu in Blu. IMHO the best menu is the short ribs as an entree. Not on the same night as lobster so you don't have to choose between them.

Dress code in Blu is Smart Casual every night.

For the person who asked about speciality dining- we only do speciality restaurants if we are with a group that wants to go to a speciality. We find Blu to be excellent & see no need to pay extra.

Do we need to make reservations or just show up? - just show up!

 

Does Blu have lobster night like the MDR? - whatever is available in the MDR you can also access in Blu but I think they would probably also offer a lobster dish

 

Does the evening chic (whatever that means!) dress code apply in Blu? - yes, dress as you would for a dinner in a restaurant at home.... nice but not formal.

Sorry but have to correct a couple of things.

1. No reservations needed

2. They will have a lobster dish one night. They are really getting away from letting people do entres off the MDR menu.

3. Evening Chic Dress code DOES NOT apply in Blu. The dress code for everynight is smart casual.

4. I personally don't do specialties anymore, prices are out of hand

5 You will not starve.

The portions are smaller but plenty to eat.

Blu usually serve warm water lobster tail on the second "formal" night.

Dress code is dressy casual. No jackets required.

They offer a few items from the MDR such as French onion soup, shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, etc.

They will suggest a time for the first night only. Just show up when you want to eat.

We will go out to a Specialty restaurant on a night to get a superior level of service and food. Specialty restaurants are great for special occasions.

DH and I usually book Concierge, but treated ourselves to Aqua for our next cruise on Reflection...so, three questions

 

Do we need to make reservations or just show up?

Just show up.

Does Blu have lobster night like the MDR?

Does the evening chic (whatever that means!) dress code apply in Blu?

So whether or not you choose to dress up more on those nights, or any other night for that matter, is entirely up to you.

No need for concern about small portions. You can order as much food as you like.

Do we need to make reservations or just show up? Just show up

Does Blu have lobster night like the MDR? Yes latest one lobster night, Blu has a 21 day rotating menu just like MDR, and your still able to order off the secret menu, shrimp cocktail, french onion soup and there is one more I'm forgetting.

Does the evening chic (whatever that means!) dress code apply in Blu? It's smart casual all the time

Do I need specialty dining? Yes, we do, when on a 10 night or more cruise, just want to change it up.

You'll love Blu, it is great food. It's like specialty dinning each night We love Murano and Lawn Club and Quisine so we don't pass up those opportunities, especially if we've book Go Best, need to do something with the $300 OBC

In Blu:

- no need to make a reservation

- food is not "spa" food. The portions are equal to the MDR

- yes there is lobster. It has a different preparation, however if you prefer "plain" with butter, you will be accommodated

- contrary to how some people choose to read the policy, Blu (and Luminae) follows the same dress code as the MDR. So there are a couple of "Chic" nights. There are numerous threads on that issue. You can choose how to dress. Our experience has been that many folks dress up in Blu on those nights. A few tuxes, suits, and dressier dresses or dress pants and sparkly tops.

- specialty restaurants are a special treat. Most are worth the up charge.However Blu is a much smaller more intimate dining setting (small restaurant) and you may find it special enough every night.

- there is an "every day classic" menu available in BOTH Blu and the MDR. This includes escargot, french onion soup, Caesar salad, steak, chicken, salmon, chocolate deluce cake, creme brulle, and cheesecake.

Celebrity repeatedly states that the dress code is Smart Casual for both Blu and Luminae, although some interpret it to suit their own personal preferences.

"Evening Chic" applies only to the main dining room.

Speciality Restaurants (Including Blu for our AquaClass Guests)

The dress code at Celebrity's Speciality Restaurants is 'Smart Casual and Above' for every night of your cruise. Evening Chic attire is only required in the main dining room on your "Evening Chic" evenings.

Dining Attire | Celebrity Cruises

Blu. Intimately elegant, yet fresh and modern.

Introducing our Suite Class restaurant—Luminae

Blu does not accept reservations, it is all open seating. Best to avoid the 6:45 to 7:45 time period, you may have a wait depending on how full Aqua class is.

Blu serves Lobster the same night as the MDR. Order two tails if that's what you want.

Dress tends to be 'smart casual' every night despite what the rules might say.

You will get plenty full at Blu. Order as much as you can eat.

We usually eat at a specialty restaurant a couple of times a cruise because we love them.

Celebrity repeatedly states that the dress code is Smart Casual for both Blu and Luminae, although some interpret it to suit their own personal preferences.

 

"Evening Chic" applies only to the main dining room.

 

 

Speciality Restaurants (Including Blu for our AquaClass Guests)

The dress code at Celebrity's Speciality Restaurants is 'Smart Casual and Above' for every night of your cruise. Evening Chic attire is only required in the main dining room on your "Evening Chic" evenings.

 

 

Dining Attire | Celebrity Cruises

 

Blu. Intimately elegant, yet fresh and modern.

 

Introducing our Suite Class restaurant—Luminae

 

 

This is correct. Others suggesting otherwise are simply wrong

That said on chic night you will find almost if not everyone dressed up in both Blu and Luminae. I've never seen anyone who was not suitably attired in either to be honest.

If you go hungry in Blu it's your fat for not ordering enough. However as others have said its not spa food. Portion sizes are adequate.

There are no issues ordering from the MDR menu either.

Silhouette--Can Blu diners order from MDR menu?

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I was on the silhouette, and we ordered escargot off the mdr menu a couple of times, and when ordering the lobster, I asked for drawn butter because I didn't care for the way they prepared it. We loved blu, but still splurged on murano, qsine and Tuscan grill. I would have preferred blu over Tuscan, but loved the other two, especially murano. Just depends on your budget!

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This is correct. Others suggesting otherwise are simply wrong

 

That said on chic night you will find almost if not everyone dressed up in both Blu and Luminae. I've never seen anyone who was not suitably attired in either to be honest.

 

If you go hungry in Blu it's your fat for not ordering enough. However as others have said its not spa food. Portion sizes are adequate.

 

There are no issues ordering from the MDR menu either.

There are definitely issues ordering MDR entire's in Blu. My experience and reports from cruisers indicate they do not do it on S class ships anymore and they are getting away from it on M class ships. I'm sure people will give anecdotal reports of what they could do but overall the trends seems to be getting away from it.

Also, dress as in many cases is very much itinerary driven. We did Alaska two years ago in Blu when they still had formal nights and hardly anyone dressed up. Should also point out that there is very little difference between chic and smart casual.

Silhouette--Can Blu diners order from MDR menu?

 

 

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You are only permitted to order from the MDR "everyday classics" menu in Blu.

As for dress, my experience in Aqua has been that people generally dress up more frequently and dressier on Chic nights than they do in the MDR. People pay more for Blu and Luminae and generally look forward to dressing up. That is our expereince for the past several years since "Chic" was introduce and I am truly tired of anyone saying that is not the case. I know what I see and that is what I am reporting. The days of long heavy sequins gowns are gone and I rarely see white dinner jackets. However, I do see tuxes and nearly all men wear suits or jackets and ties on those evenings.

You are only permitted to order from the MDR "everyday classics" menu in Blu.

As for dress, my experience in Aqua has been that people generally dress up more frequently and dressier on Chic nights than they do in the MDR. People pay more for Blu and Luminae and generally look forward to dressing up. That is our expereince for the past several years since "Chic" was introduce and I am truly tired of anyone saying that is not the case. I know what I see and that is what I am reporting. The days of long heavy sequins gowns are gone and I rarely see white dinner jackets. However, I do see tuxes and nearly all men wear suits or jackets and ties on those evenings.

And I have seen just the opposite, more people dressed up in MDR. That is my opinion, you have yours. Point is if you want to dress up, go right ahead. I have never seen a majority of people wearing suits in Blu, just the opposite in my opinion and this from many Blu cruises. As I said in an earlier post, very much itinerary driven. Just as many people as evidenced by this board book Blu so they don't have to dress up and this goes back to formal dress. I have never seen anyone say they booked Blu and it costs more money so I'm going to dress up.

We were in Blu on Reflection this past October, and we were able to order entrees from the MDR menu. We would check both menus in the afternoon, and if there was something on the MDR menu that appealed to us, our waiter got it for us.

You are only permitted to order from the MDR "everyday classics" menu in Blu.

As for dress, my experience in Aqua has been that people generally dress up more frequently and dressier on Chic nights than they do in the MDR. People pay more for Blu and Luminae and generally look forward to dressing up. That is our expereince for the past several years since "Chic" was introduce and I am truly tired of anyone saying that is not the case. I know what I see and that is what I am reporting. The days of long heavy sequins gowns are gone and I rarely see white dinner jackets. However, I do see tuxes and nearly all men wear suits or jackets and ties on those evenings.

Agreed. While on Eclipse Nov/Dec last year we observed men wearing shorts trying to enter Blu at dinner were turned away 100% of the time. (Other than one man wearing shorts sneaked in while the Maitre'd and his assistant were seating guests. He joined a table that had been seated earlier.) Perhaps a dozen men wore tuxes on Chic nights but the majority wore suits or jackets. However, I had no problem being admitted to Blu wearing a Hawaiian shirt or Polo shirt with khakis on Chic nights. Women dressed much more upscale than the men.

Men were asked to remove their hats at breakfast.

I was in AQ on Reflection last week, my 6th AQ cruise. I've never seen the need to order off the MDR menu, unless you count escargot, which we get every night.

We saw little difference in dress between chic and smart nights. There was lobster on night 6, which many of us paired with a pepper steak entree to create surf and turf. We were a party of four and usually ordered multiple apps and a pasta to share for the table. There is plenty of food.

We were not able to order off the mdr menus in Blu so we just went to the mdr if we thought the menu was better than Blu; which on some nights it was! The onion soup, escargot, Cesar salade and shrimp cocktail are not from the mdr but always available off the menu.

We have done over a dozen cruises in Aqua (Blu) and never dressed above smart casual, but there were fewer this past December who did dress up than on prior cruises.

Next month we are again in Aqua on the Equinox for another B2B and will see if there is a change in policy regarding the mdr menus available for Blu.

Hal

The "everyday menu" is available in BOTH the MDR and in Blu.

The daily unique entries in the MDR are not available in Blu (although apparently some rare exceptions are made on some ships where Blu and the MDR share the same galley). Generally though, that is where the line is drawn.

On the S-class ships, we have never been able to order special main course entrees that are on the MDR menu. If we want the item that badly, we eat in the MDR. The food in Blu is really nicely prepared.

I cannot figure out how some posters can call Blu "elegant and intimate". With the tables for 2 about 18 inches apart and conversations being overheard, that is not my idea of intimate. If you want to use "elegant and intimate" in reference to Murano, that is appropriate.

......Also, dress as in many cases is very much itinerary driven. We did Alaska two years ago in Blu when they still had formal nights and hardly anyone dressed up. Should also point out that there is very little difference between chic and smart casual.

When chic nights were first introduced in late 2015, we noticed that many of the men still followed the old formal dress code on the first chic night, but omitted their jackets on the second chic night.

On more recent Alaska and Caribbean cruises, there were relatively few in Blu or Luminae who dressed any differently than they did on other nights.

There are a few passengers who always dress up for dinner, even on non-chic nights.

But as you say, the degree of formality does tend to be itinerary driven.

As repeatedly pointed out, the official Celebrity dress code for Blu and Luminae is always smart casual

(despite the attempts of a few to claim otherwise).

Which seems like it should make everyone happy, but some are still complaining.

It is not enough that I am free to dress as I wish;

I also want to dictate how everyone else should dress. :D