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Is Luminae Really An Upgrade Over Blu?


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Just wondering what other Celebrity passengers think, do you think Luminae is better than Blu? Having sailed in both Aqua and Suite, Im not sure that Luminae is worth an upcharge (suite cabin) over Blu (Aqua cabin). Personally, I've had exceptional service in both, great food and drinks in both and plenty of variety in both. The atmosphere in Luminae is a bit warmer and a touch more upscale, but Blu is very nice and feels a bit more "modern". I believe they are on par with one another where food is concerned. Considering Luminae also will server MDR food I think this brings it down a notch (not that there is anything wrong with the MDR food), though you can get MDR items in Blu if you ask (at least with soups and app's). What is your opinion?

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I enjoy Luminae over Blu. One of the big reason is that you can order off of both Luminae and the MDR menu's. What I did not like about Blu is they have to much quail, pigeon and pheasant on the menu. In Blu I seem to order off the every night menu for my main dish. Salmon or steak. More than once on the 1st evening when in Aqua we go to select dining. I would much rather have prime rib than a filet mignon.

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IMHO, Luminae is a small step up from Blu in service and ambiance however I prefer the menu in Blu most nights over the Luminae. Recently on the Connie in a Suite where we could order from the MDR, Blu or Luminae menu- probably 2/3 of the nights I didn’t order from the Luminae menu.

 

If Luminae was the only difference between AQ & a Suite we wouldn’t book suites

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Luminae seems to really split opinions!

 

We have always had excellent service there but do not find the menu particularly to our taste and we find it very limited in choice. It is the only restaurant on land or sea that I know that needs to be ‘supplemented’ by another menu ((MDR) because so many guests can’t find something they like.

 

We know people who always book suites just for Luminae. We book suites for the full package and tend to dine mainly in the speciality restaurants. When the suite restaurant was first being described they did say that it would offer local specialities....Now that would interest us. Wouldn’t it be great on port days to have an option of a ‘dish of the day’?

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We loved Blu......and then Luminae happened and we went back to Blu for one meal and that was it …..food is much better in Luminae, service (while great in Blu) even better in Luminae. We don't even bother with specialty restaurants anymore, just a great venue with excellent staffing.

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We book suites for their size and perks! We prefer specialty dining over Luminae. The few times we have dined in Luminae we wound up ordering from the MDR menu. We also enjoy room service (especially on the 2nd chic night (nothing like eating rack of lamb and lobster while in our jammies)!!

 

 

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Interesting topic

Have only been in AQ class with BLU. But will be interested in the views of others,.

 

Food is subjective, but from the photos and descriptions of food in Luminae, it appears too "fancy/ gourmet" for us,,..That plus suite price, has prevented us from trying a suite but we will see how we like BLU on EDGE.

 

EDGE BLU looks like a beautiful space but may not have great views due to life boats ( not sure if they will affect view) and Celeb has converted some Concierge cabins to AQ increasing the number of passengers who may dine in BLU,..

 

I do agree about too much game bird on the menu but we generally like the clean style of food and personalized preparation,.Soups are great! Breakfast are a highlight.,.but no waffles.

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Having done both on a couple cruises each I would give a clear nod to Luminae (especially with regards to service, intimacy and upscale ambiance - but only slightly with regards to food).

 

While taste is subjective, food quality is objective (that is why we have culinary awards such as Michelin, James Beard etc. and food critics). Luminae does overall utilize somewhat more expensive ingredients, but still not real good quality cuts of meats/seafood as compared to what you’d receive in an upscale land venue. Most of the flavor is derived from sauces rather than the protein itself. Really wish they had followed through with having some locally sourced food from ports-of-call as initially promised, but is sadly just a corporate menu devoid of fresh ingredients and often items mislabeled to appear gourmet (such as caviar, morel mushrooms, truffles) with cheap substitutes actually served. As such the food quality is only nominally superior to Blu.

 

Luminae also is a bit better at having items modified to one’s preference, but having beef cooked to a proper mid-rare is still a roll of the dice.

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As suite passengers we find Luminae to mostly be terrific. We have occasionally tried Blu too but have not sailed Aqua, as a suite guest can dine there if not too crowded. So not as much Blu experience. Overall we find Luminae to be a step above Blu in food and service. Of course this is very subjective. In particular the breakfast and lunch in Luminae are much better. Dinner is just somewhat better although Blu has a better menu selection. We do order items (like escargot) off the MDR menu in Luminae all the time.

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Just wondering what other Celebrity passengers think, do you think Luminae is better than Blu? Having sailed in both Aqua and Suite, Im not sure that Luminae is worth an upcharge (suite cabin) over Blu (Aqua cabin). ...

 

If the only difference was which restaurant you eat in, I would definitely say it is not worth the up-charge. However, this is only one out of many differences. The main reason we get a suite is the larger space. If that is not important to you it will be hard to justify. On Celebrity we also love Michael's Club, free expanded room service, expedited embarkation and disembarkation and lastly the Luminae. You have to consider the whole package not just one element to make a true comparison.

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We have enjoyed both but at the prices they are now asking for suites it will be AQ for us. We have had excellent food and service in Blu. We found the Luminae menu very limited. I am not going to pay suite prices to order off the MDR menu.

The MDR is out for us as it can be major chaos at times. Waiter`s are so rushed. I am looking forward to the new dining rooms on the Edge. We will be booking SV cabins and enjoying all 4 dining room and specialty dining.

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For us, when trying to determine if we will go Aqua vs a suite, its never about whether or not we want Blu over Luminae or vice versa. As other have mentioned, a suite offers several perks not available in Aqua. We weigh factors such as stateroom location and price. As for the food and atmosphere, we find them to be comparable, but that's subjective. We enjoy getting to dine for lunch in Luminae on embarkation day and I don't think that's offered to guests sailing in Aqua as it relates to lunch in Blu. I guess the bottom line is, perhaps you may want to consider not letting the restaurant venue be the deciding factor on which category to book. I think you'll find that both options will come with great service and nice atmosphere.

CM

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Having done both on a couple cruises each I would give a clear nod to Luminae (especially with regards to service, intimacy and upscale ambiance - but only slightly with regards to food).

 

While taste is subjective, food quality is objective (that is why we have culinary awards such as Michelin, James Beard etc. and food critics). Luminae does overall utilize somewhat more expensive ingredients, but still not real good quality cuts of meats/seafood as compared to what you’d receive in an upscale land venue. Most of the flavor is derived from sauces rather than the protein itself. Really wish they had followed through with having some locally sourced food from ports-of-call as initially promised, but is sadly just a corporate menu devoid of fresh ingredients and often items mislabeled to appear gourmet (such as caviar, morel mushrooms, truffles) with cheap substitutes actually served. As such the food quality is only nominally superior to Blu.

 

Luminae also is a bit better at having items modified to one’s preference, but having beef cooked to a proper mid-rare is still a roll of the dice.

 

I also like my beef mid-rare. When I dine in the MDR or Blu I order my beef rare. Rare seems to give me the mid-rare that I want. In Luminae they seem to do a better job of getting the beef cooked how I want it.

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We did our April TA in a Suite. We upgraded after a significant price drop. We loved the larger cabin and Micharls Club since we had a lot of sea days. DH mostly ordered off the MDR menu and I did a few times. Next cruise in 2 weeks we are back to AQ and Blu and Persian Garden. Bottom line, for an extended cruise with lots of sea days we would book a suite for a good price but will try and eat in Blu some of the time.

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We much prefer the menu in Blu over the Luminae menu. We rarely can afford suites, but when we did one last year we found ourselves ordering off the MDR menu several times as the Luminae menu was not to our taste. Too exotic for us - perhaps we are just not sophisticated enough. The bread was awesome, the wine choices better, and the service sometimes better but overall we vastly prefer the Blu menu. That said, for us a suite is not about the restaurant. If the prices ever got reasonable again, we would love to sail in suites. The extra room, big balcony, the butler, Michael's Club, etc.. Love those extra bennies.

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We much prefer the Luminae venue and excellent service. The fact that one can review and order from the complete MDR menu is also a major plus.

 

And as others have stated, there is a lot more to the overall Suite experience than the AC experience.

 

For us the Luminae is a major upgrade over Blu. I am a little surprised that some people actually prefer the Blu over Luminae, but even if you are in a suite you can still dine in Blu. (Assuming it is not too busy).

We find the Luminae experience closer to a speciality dining experience than a Blu experience.

 

Of course food and atmosphere experience is subjective.

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We much prefer the Luminae venue and excellent service. The fact that one can review and order from the complete MDR menu is also a major plus.

 

And as others have stated, there is a lot more to the overall Suite experience than the AC experience.

 

For us the Luminae is a major upgrade over Blu. I am a little surprised that some people actually prefer the Blu over Luminae, but even if you are in a suite you can still dine in Blu. (Assuming it is not too busy).

We find the Luminae experience closer to a speciality dining experience than a Blu experience.

 

Of course food and atmosphere experience is subjective.

 

 

Pretty much exactly how we feel.....

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C'mon, folks. Of course food is subjective. So are mattresses, automobiles, wines and virtually every commodity in life. That's why accepting the recommendations of people on a travel board is risky business. I am omnivorous. I eat everything. All I ask is that it be something a bit unusual or something common prepared in an uncommon fashion. Not every menu item, of course, but at least something different on each menu. But the Luminae menu frequently is quite mundane, and, as someone noted, items are promised but not delivered. DW remembers everything that is supposed to comprise a dish, and she has frequently noted to the waiter that what is sitting in front of her is not what is on the menu. What with one thing and another, I've had to order too many times from the MDR menu. So the OP's question might well be "Is Luminae really an upgrade over the MDR?" And my question might be "Why am I paying for a suite to eat MDR food?"

.

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I won't pay a penny extra in order to get Blu access.

I'll pay MANY pennies extra to get Luminae access.

And hence, many many pennies extra to get Luminae with the other suite perks.

I'm NOT a Blu fan (3 tries on 3 ships, that's enough for a decent sampling) but am very happy with Luminae.

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A lot more responses than I expected and some excellent points brought up. We have stayed in both suite and AQ, the biggest reason for us booking AQ is Blu. We really liked the extra space in suite cabins, Michaels club was nice but not something took advantage of daily. For us, we'll book a suite when we perceive the value is there, otherwise we'll stick with AQ. For our upcoming Aug and March cruises we chose AQ, but Sept 19 we choose a suite on Summit. As for the question raised if Luminae is an upgrade over the MDR, the answer is a definite yes. The service is head and shoulders above the MDR. However some of the food is equal since its the same. :)

 

Now, on the Edge with the separate space for suite guests, and other perks, going for a suite might be much more attractive.

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Now, on the Edge with the separate space for suite guests, and other perks, going for a suite might be much more attractive.

 

No doubt it will...however the price for that same suite may not be so attractive....:eek::eek: We will till the $$ come back out of the stratosphere....

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I enjoy Luminae over Blu. One of the big reason is that you can order off of both Luminae and the MDR menu's. What I did not like about Blu is they have to much quail, pigeon and pheasant on the menu. In Blu I seem to order off the every night menu for my main dish. Salmon or steak. More than once on the 1st evening when in Aqua we go to select dining. I would much rather have prime rib than a filet mignon.

 

Haven't been in Luminae--- but we love Blu. Partially because we really enjoy the dishes like quail and pheasant :) Definitely something I'm not going to make at home so it's fun to enjoy something different.

 

Our upcoming Reflection cruise was originally in a Celebrity Suite but when we added in the nanny after booking we had to split into two concierge rooms. I really wish we could have had Aqua Class (Haven't eaten in the X MDR ever except on our 2009 Mercury sailing in a sky suite b/c there was no other option) but no Aqua Class rooms hold 3 and we needed two rooms connecting to hold the 5 of us. I think Blu is great.

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Our first visit to the Blu was on the Millennium Alaska Northern passage cruise from Vancouver, BC. I still vividly remember the totally unsolicited comment from one of the wait staff after our first abysmal breakfast there: "sir, perhaps you should try the buffet for tasty food."

We tried Blu one more time on Reflection. All I can say is that there are a few really wise wait staff on Celebrity; and, we've started paying attention to their recommendations. We'd rather stay in an oceanview room than waste our money on AQ and Blue; which we did on our Mediterranean cruise.

We've experienced Luminae just once, on our recent Equinox cruise. Based on our experience, Luminae on Equinox is a top-rated restaurant, even hands-down better than one of their specialty restaurants. The quality of food is top-notch. The service rivals a Michelin-star restaurant. Only thing missing are the white gloves.

Food is subjective. We care for flavorful and decadent food. We will never find that in Blu.

 

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