Good cruise, great cabin location but Luminae, oh dear

Just back from second Reflection cruise in six months. Was a late booking and not our ideal itinerary but were happy to go with that based on our last experience on her and especially the excellent food in Luminae.

Our Sky Suite on the 'hump' was perfect and a location we would recommend as there is no overhang from the deck above thus giving so much more sun and light than the previous ones we have had further down the deck. And as we spend a good deal of time chilling and reading on the balcony it ticked all our boxes.

But what a dreadful let down in Luminae this time, we are still at a loss to know how a restaurant could go downhill so fast. We sent several dishes back as did a number of other passengers, had it been just us I would have become paranoid that we were becoming serial complainers. But chatting with others they too were disappointed.

Fillet Mignon medium rare so tough is was difficult to cut, Gnocchi which would test the strongest of teeth, Sword Fish cooked so long it was like leather, Smoked Chicken much the same but the crowning glory was Carbonara. No self respecting chef would send it out of their kitchen and as my husband told the Maitre d as he left the restaurant in disgust, our ten year old granddaughter could do better.

We asked if perhaps the chef had changed since our last trip but was told no, so what their excuse can be I have no idea, but they certainly need to up their game as "gourmet dining' it most certainly is not any longer. And I say that as someone who does fine dining around the world for business.

It seemed the whole dining experience in Luminae has changed, even at breakfast which should be pretty straightforward it was hit and miss if the pastries made it to our table and several times both us and other diners had to ask. Likewise the toast, one should not need to ask for it a second time and then ask for butter and jam.

Add to that the hugely inflated prices they are quoting - I had three quotes for different ships later this year but pretty much like for like and all were in excess of double what we paid this time. We met so many who felt the same and had reluctantly downgraded to Aqua or Concierge for their next cruise. And I see their point, why pay so much for a larger cabin and the benefit of Michael's if the food is as poor as this cruise.

Just my two penneth and as always everything is subjective.

I wont dare ask then what you thought of the on board activities managed by my DD Valentina !!!

We'll be on board Reflection next month so thanks for the "heads up"

I wont dare ask then what you thought of the on board activities managed by my DD Valentina !!!

 

We'll be on board Reflection next month so thanks for the "heads up"

I'm afraid we are are pretty laid back cruisers who go just for the R&R, a good read and glass or two away from the phones and computers. We don't tend to do the shows unless the granddaughters are with us, but I am sure your DD does a sterling job.

I wont dare ask then what you thought of the on board activities managed by my DD Valentina !!!

 

We'll be on board Reflection next month so thanks for the "heads up"

Sorry, you said activities, my mind went to the theatre.

May I ask if your last sailing on Reflection (good experience) was in the Caribbean? Just wondering :confused:.

Celebrity has been our favorite line now for 25 years. However, this last trip on the Eclipse in the MDR was disappointing. Food quality, portion size has gone downhill. We had to send back several dishes that were simply barely warm. We finally had to ask at each ordering to make sure our meal was hot, if we did not, each time it came out very cool. Something had gone wrong in the MDR. The rest of trip was superb.

Celebrity has been our favorite line now for 25 years. However, this last trip on the Eclipse in the MDR was disappointing. Food quality, portion size has gone downhill. We had to send back several dishes that were simply barely warm. We finally had to ask at each ordering to make sure our meal was hot, if we did not, each time it came out very cool. Something had gone wrong in the MDR. The rest of trip was superb.

Ditto this. Such a shame they seem to make efforts elsewhere and the poor MDR gets left. This thread notwithstanding, I was impressed with Luminae last cruise. Nice food, even better service. That was on Solstice. This thread shows how the place can change, maybe with the chef. Even on the same ship.

Phil

May I ask if your last sailing on Reflection (good experience) was in the Caribbean? Just wondering :confused:.

Greek Isles, so still Europe.

Have just completed our Reflection cruise on Friday . We had an enjoyable time but food wise just ok. We had paid for the three dinner speciality restaurants before we cruised. The best as usual was Murano and the least was the Lawn Club Grill . Apart from make your own salads I was not impressed with flatbreads as a starter so I will l not spend any more money on this place. Tuscan grill was fine apart from dried up mac and lobster side. You would think they would check the look of the dish and not bother sending it out to the customer.

I will probably still cruise with Celebrity but they need to increase food budget and stop trying to flog EDGE as the be and end all for next year.

Scotslizzy

Have just completed our Reflection cruise on Friday . We had an enjoyable time but food wise just ok. We had paid for the three dinner speciality restaurants before we cruised. The best as usual was Murano and the least was the Lawn Club Grill . Apart from make your own salads I was not impressed with flatbreads as a starter so I will l not spend any more money on this place. Tuscan grill was fine apart from dried up mac and lobster side. You would think they would check the look of the dish and not bother sending it out to the customer.

 

I will probably still cruise with Celebrity but they need to increase food budget and stop trying to flog EDGE as the be and end all for next year.

 

Scotslizzy

Yep, we got the hard sell on Edge, even a couple of calls to our stateroom to remind us that there was only one Sky Suite left on the date we asked about. But £12,000 all but a couple of pounds for 10/11 days was totally OTT.

On Equinox last Sept we really enjoyed Tuscan and Murano. We dont care for Luminae... The waiter in Tuscan (along with the consistently very good food) kept us alternating between the Tuscan and Murano...

Last month (May) we sailed Equinox again. To our displeasure Tuscan seemed disorganized and the hostess kept wanting to give us a different waitperson each time.. It wasnt an enjoyable dining experience. However Murano was exceptional, from our walking in the first night and the m'd greeting us by name to having the same waiter and wait staff each night (was a 12 night cruise) after I think 3-4 days of alternating it was clear we would just do Murano. Marko (m'd) and Michael (waiter) made it exceptional each night, offering off the menu items and just making us feel at home there.. So much so we are looking to go back in Nov and hopefully they will be back from their vacations...

We agree about the edge; hard sells, expensive, and we like having a large balcony.. So we wont be sailing on the edge..

Just back from second Reflection cruise in six months. Was a late booking and not our ideal itinerary but were happy to go with that based on our last experience on her and especially the excellent food in Luminae.

 

Our Sky Suite on the 'hump' was perfect and a location we would recommend as there is no overhang from the deck above thus giving so much more sun and light than the previous ones we have had further down the deck. And as we spend a good deal of time chilling and reading on the balcony it ticked all our boxes.

 

But what a dreadful let down in Luminae this time, we are still at a loss to know how a restaurant could go downhill so fast. We sent several dishes back as did a number of other passengers, had it been just us I would have become paranoid that we were becoming serial complainers. But chatting with others they too were disappointed.

 

Fillet Mignon medium rare so tough is was difficult to cut, Gnocchi which would test the strongest of teeth, Sword Fish cooked so long it was like leather, Smoked Chicken much the same but the crowning glory was Carbonara. No self respecting chef would send it out of their kitchen and as my husband told the Maitre d as he left the restaurant in disgust, our ten year old granddaughter could do better.

 

We asked if perhaps the chef had changed since our last trip but was told no, so what their excuse can be I have no idea, but they certainly need to up their game as "gourmet dining' it most certainly is not any longer. And I say that as someone who does fine dining around the world for business.

 

It seemed the whole dining experience in Luminae has changed, even at breakfast which should be pretty straightforward it was hit and miss if the pastries made it to our table and several times both us and other diners had to ask. Likewise the toast, one should not need to ask for it a second time and then ask for butter and jam.

 

Add to that the hugely inflated prices they are quoting - I had three quotes for different ships later this year but pretty much like for like and all were in excess of double what we paid this time. We met so many who felt the same and had reluctantly downgraded to Aqua or Concierge for their next cruise. And I see their point, why pay so much for a larger cabin and the benefit of Michael's if the food is as poor as this cruise.

 

Just my two penneth and as always everything is subjective.

So sorry to hear about Lumanae! We also loved Lumanae and, frankly, for the pricing of the cruise, for a bit more you can go on a different line. I wonder if they are purposely trying to turn away the business of the suite passengers.

There are really no guarantees in life, so I have found that each experience can be different. We were in Europe on Reflection and had the best service and food ever in Luminae. Our waiter was the reason, as he was on top of everything! Sorry to hear that it has gone downhill. I am glad to be on Edge next year and hoping that Luminae is exceptional and that they can accommodate my DH’s love of chicken and potatoes! I know...he is that kind of guy with a few filets thrown in for variety.

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March in Caribbean on Reflection and agree re Luminae- after stellar consecutive experiences on different ships of fleet, starting with Reflection about 2 + years ago- loved the food, staff, precision and timing, everything......but in a few weeks we will give Blu a try. Also, it is high time to revamp menu in Luminae. When same menu is offered across fleet, since inception of Luminae, it should be enhanced or daily specials should be added ( I know, and we do always ask for main DR menu too at dinner) - I think I’m just bored with same choices and can still remember initial presentations when Luminae first opened on Reflection- comparisons over time are not f@vorable. Oh well. Plenty of options, and next year all 3 trips on Edge, so we will give that ship a fair chance to impress us!

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We've been in Luminae on Eclipse(twice), Reflection and Equinox over the last 3 years. All have been very good, with Equinox being the weakest of the three. On Eclipse this April it was exceptional....hopefully your experience is an anomaly and not the norm....perhaps there was indeed some kind of change in chefs or sous chefs and they weren't being honest about it... I don't know but would hate to think that the Luminae experience has declined that much on Reflection, we loved it one our cruise.

Re: The Edge...we'd love to try it but not until or if the prices come back to some kind of normal levels....until then we'll stay with the S & M class ships and be happy.

Sorry to hear of your experience and I have to agree with you that right now (as of late May) Reflection's Luminae is something of a disaster. Although we didn't have the problems you faced with dishes ( we're both vegetarians so there's less to mess up) service, especially at breakfasts, was really off. The team was all friendly and earnest but we were completely forgotten one morning, and evenings experienced some very long waits--at times with what seemed to be the entire dining room team gathered in the service area for conversation.

I'm hoping that it's a temporary issue isolated to that ship since I have two weeks on the Equinox coming up next month!

Just back from second Reflection cruise in six months. Was a late booking and not our ideal itinerary but were happy to go with that based on our last experience on her and especially the excellent food in Luminae.

 

Our Sky Suite on the 'hump' was perfect and a location we would recommend as there is no overhang from the deck above thus giving so much more sun and light than the previous ones we have had further down the deck. And as we spend a good deal of time chilling and reading on the balcony it ticked all our boxes.

 

But what a dreadful let down in Luminae this time, we are still at a loss to know how a restaurant could go downhill so fast. We sent several dishes back as did a number of other passengers, had it been just us I would have become paranoid that we were becoming serial complainers. But chatting with others they too were disappointed.

 

Fillet Mignon medium rare so tough is was difficult to cut, Gnocchi which would test the strongest of teeth, Sword Fish cooked so long it was like leather, Smoked Chicken much the same but the crowning glory was Carbonara. No self respecting chef would send it out of their kitchen and as my husband told the Maitre d as he left the restaurant in disgust, our ten year old granddaughter could do better.

 

We asked if perhaps the chef had changed since our last trip but was told no, so what their excuse can be I have no idea, but they certainly need to up their game as "gourmet dining' it most certainly is not any longer. And I say that as someone who does fine dining around the world for business.

 

It seemed the whole dining experience in Luminae has changed, even at breakfast which should be pretty straightforward it was hit and miss if the pastries made it to our table and several times both us and other diners had to ask. Likewise the toast, one should not need to ask for it a second time and then ask for butter and jam.

 

Add to that the hugely inflated prices they are quoting - I had three quotes for different ships later this year but pretty much like for like and all were in excess of double what we paid this time. We met so many who felt the same and had reluctantly downgraded to Aqua or Concierge for their next cruise. And I see their point, why pay so much for a larger cabin and the benefit of Michael's if the food is as poor as this cruise.

 

Just my two penneth and as always everything is subjective.

We also experienced the same with spaghetti carbonara in the main dining room on the reflection. What was served was goopy, barely edible mess. It was sent back to the kitchen where a second attempt was made. It was just as pitiful.

We were impressed with Luminae on our summit cruise two months ago, but have been totally unimpressed with pay restaurants on other lines.

I agree with so many posters here. Luminae on Reflection seems to be the worst in the fleet. First time we sailed her it was jam packed. They'd give us a reservation for 8 pm, but not seat us until 8:30.

Then March of this year on Reflection again. We had no problem getting our desired seating time, but CONSTANTLY had to ask for more drinks, water refills, bread....sometimes we had to ask multiple times. This mainly happened at dinner, less often a problem at breakfast.

Some of the dishes were downright strange. I don't have my notes in front of me, but one example is the scallops. Literally an entire plate of scallops with no sides. One night the mashed potatoes were inedible (so hard they must have sat under a warmer for a couple of hours).

Really hoping things improve before I sail her again in October.

That's unfortunate!!

We sailed on the Equinox a few months ago and the food in the MDR was consistently great ... until the last two nights. What happened?? Who knows ... it was like day and night.

Murano never let us down, though.

Just back from second Reflection cruise in six months. Was a late booking and not our ideal itinerary but were happy to go with that based on our last experience on her and especially the excellent food in Luminae.

 

Our Sky Suite on the 'hump' was perfect and a location we would recommend as there is no overhang from the deck above thus giving so much more sun and light than the previous ones we have had further down the deck. And as we spend a good deal of time chilling and reading on the balcony it ticked all our boxes.

 

But what a dreadful let down in Luminae this time, we are still at a loss to know how a restaurant could go downhill so fast. We sent several dishes back as did a number of other passengers, had it been just us I would have become paranoid that we were becoming serial complainers. But chatting with others they too were disappointed.

 

Fillet Mignon medium rare so tough is was difficult to cut, Gnocchi which would test the strongest of teeth, Sword Fish cooked so long it was like leather, Smoked Chicken much the same but the crowning glory was Carbonara. No self respecting chef would send it out of their kitchen and as my husband told the Maitre d as he left the restaurant in disgust, our ten year old granddaughter could do better.

 

We asked if perhaps the chef had changed since our last trip but was told no, so what their excuse can be I have no idea, but they certainly need to up their game as "gourmet dining' it most certainly is not any longer. And I say that as someone who does fine dining around the world for business.

 

It seemed the whole dining experience in Luminae has changed, even at breakfast which should be pretty straightforward it was hit and miss if the pastries made it to our table and several times both us and other diners had to ask. Likewise the toast, one should not need to ask for it a second time and then ask for butter and jam.

 

Add to that the hugely inflated prices they are quoting - I had three quotes for different ships later this year but pretty much like for like and all were in excess of double what we paid this time. We met so many who felt the same and had reluctantly downgraded to Aqua or Concierge for their next cruise. And I see their point, why pay so much for a larger cabin and the benefit of Michael's if the food is as poor as this cruise.

 

Just my two penneth and as always everything is subjective.

Saying your ten year old could do better is a bit much IMO

Bx,

You write:

"Fillet Mignon medium rare so tough is was difficult to cut, Gnocchi which would test the strongest of teeth, Sword Fish cooked so long it was like leather, Smoked Chicken much the same but the crowning glory was Carbonara. No self respecting chef would send it out of their kitchen and as my husband told the Maitre d as he left the restaurant in disgust, our ten year old granddaughter could do better."

Thanks for providing details. Sorry your experience was not good. We usually have an excellent experience in Luminae, including on Reflection a few years ago. On occasion we have had a dish that was not done right in Luminae, but very rarely. They were always accommodating if we did not like something. Food is very subjective IMO.

Saying your ten year old could do better is a bit much IMO

You didn't see it! Believe me, bland spaghetti floating in a milky substance. Yes they were very accommodating and brought out alternative dishes, but not acceptable for what they claim to be superior dining

Have you ever watched MasterChef Junior? Some 8 or 9 year olds probably could have done better! We weren't in Luminae but tried the Carbonara once on Reflection in the MDR. There was a firm cooked fried egg on the top!

Have you ever watched MasterChef Junior? Some 8 or 9 year olds probably could have done better! We weren't in Luminae but tried the Carbonara once on Reflection in the MDR. There was a firm cooked fried egg on the top!

Indeed I have as one of our granddaughters made it to the quarter finals of the UK one a few years ago (no carbonara involved though!). Yes egg on top, I asked for it without, but the egg added nothing other that to create an even worse visual appearance once hubby cut into it.