Blu Diners - It's Time to Revolt

[bardstowntraveller]

I have read in the Select Dining posts that diners in Blu will not be able to opt for Select Dining. If you are booked in AquaClass and would like the flexibility to choose your dining room, I suggest you call or e-mail Celebrity and let them know how you feel.

 

I don't understand why they can't make Select Dining available in Blu. On our August Solstice cruise, Blu was never more than half full. If anything it should be easier to manage Select Dining reservations since there are fewer guests to manage. It truly is more like a specialty restaurant. Hopefully, if there are enough requests, they will broaden Select Dining to include Blu

[comettgirl]

I understood from a post that you could show up to BLU later then the assigned times and still get in. If that is the case, and you don't have to get there within 15 mins of your assigned time, but within an hour of the next seating (if early seating), that would be flexible enough for me.

[Mysticks1]

If the fixed dining time in Blu is a problem you can always ask to be switched to dining in the main dining room with select dining. Personally with Blu being so small and the tables being so close together I think it makes sense to keep it as traditional dining. It would be very distracting to have people coming and going throughout your meal.

[bardstowntraveller]

If the fixed dining time in Blu is a problem you can always ask to be switched to dining in the main dining room with select dining. Personally with Blu being so small and the tables being so close together I think it makes sense to keep it as traditional dining. It would be very distracting to have people coming and going throughout your meal.

We booked in Aqua Class specifically for Blu. They could easily accomodate Select Diners by setting aside an area for traditional dining that is seperate from those selecting Select Dining. It would be very easy to do this in Blu as there is a partition down the middle of the dining room.

[Cruise Junky]

If the fixed dining time in Blu is a problem you can always ask to be switched to dining in the main dining room with select dining. Personally with Blu being so small and the tables being so close together I think it makes sense to keep it as traditional dining. It would be very distracting to have people coming and going throughout your meal.

 

Yeah, heaven forbid it should operate like a real restaurant, that would be awful.

[Brad1185]

Were extremely glad Blu is staying traditional.

 

It has such a great atmosphire, food and service I would hate to see it degraded.

[Gracie115]

I have read in the Select Dining posts that diners in Blu will not be able to opt for Select Dining. If you are booked in AquaClass and would like the flexibility to choose your dining room, I suggest you call or e-mail Celebrity and let them know how you feel.

 

I don't understand why they can't make Select Dining available in Blu. On our August Solstice cruise, Blu was never more than half full. If anything it should be easier to manage Select Dining reservations since there are fewer guests to manage. It truly is more like a specialty restaurant. Hopefully, if there are enough requests, they will broaden Select Dining to include Blu

 

I'm with you, especially if it has that many empty tables on a regular basis. We are in Aqua Class but wanted Select Dining, chose it and then found out it will not include Blu, so now we are waitlisted for traditional so that we can be seated in Blu.....perhaps it's just that the Select Dining program is so new they haven't worked out the kinks that would make Blu an option for Select Diners...hopefully they will....AND SOON!!!!

[eileen & jay]

Were extremely glad Blu is staying traditional.

 

It has such a great atmosphire, food and service I would hate to see it degraded.

 

 

Totally Agree!!! :)

 

Perhaps, some of us want it to be about the ambiance with a calm, quiet and enjoyable environment...just maybe.;)

[Waterlily777]

If the fixed dining time in Blu is a problem you can always ask to be switched to dining in the main dining room with select dining. Personally with Blu being so small and the tables being so close together I think it makes sense to keep it as traditional dining. It would be very distracting to have people coming and going throughout your meal.

 

I agree, Donna. We have been AquaClass on three cruises since November, and love the serenity in Blu. The ambience is perfect, and for us, even better than the atmosphere in the Specialty Restaurants, where the coming-and-going of multiple arrival times does cause some distraction.

 

As you say, the tables are quite closely spaced, and that works well when people all arrive at a similar time. On our second cruise on Solstice, we sat beside a couple who were chronically late and everyone had to move to let them into their table. Our assistant maitre d' always looked apologetic as she interrupted our first course to move us all in order to seat this thoughtless couple.

 

I also did not see anything like what was reported by one poster about Blu only being a third-to-a-half full. That poster also said that they were told that they could arrive at any time. I spent some time talking to the Maitre d' of Blu one afternoon, and one of the things we talked about was accommodating difficult passengers who think that they can make their own rules, particularly about arrival times. (There are scheduling and plating issues in the kitchen of which guests are simply not aware). The staff in Blu are always polite, and will do their best to accommodate late arrivals, but please know that this behaviour is not welcomed in ANY way. It is, plainly speaking, rude and self-indulgent not to respect the stated dining times.

[jackdiamond]

I agree, Donna. We have been AquaClass on three cruises since November, and love the serenity in Blu. The ambience is perfect, and for us, even better than the atmosphere in the Specialty Restaurants, where the coming-and-going of multiple arrival times does cause some distraction.

 

As you say, the tables are quite closely spaced, and that works well when people all arrive at a similar time. On our second cruise on Solstice, we sat beside a couple who were chronically late and everyone had to move to let them into their table. Our assistant maitre d' always looked apologetic as she interrupted our first course to move us all in order to seat this thoughtless couple.

 

I also did not see anything like what was reported by one poster about Blu only being a third-to-a-half full. That poster also said that they were told that they could arrive at any time. I spent some time talking to the Maitre d' of Blu one afternoon, and one of the things we talked about was accommodating difficult passengers who think that they can make their own rules, particularly about arrival times. (There are scheduling and plating issues in the kitchen of which guests are simply not aware). The staff in Blu are always polite, and will do their best to accommodate late arrivals, but please know that this behaviour is not welcomed in ANY way. It is, plainly speaking, rude and self-indulgent not to respect the stated dining times.

I totally agree with your observations. We will dine in Blu in a short while; and, we are looking forward to this traditional dining experience bereft of the rude and self-indulgent folks sometimes in our midst.

[hcat]

Hope they keep BLU traditional. If we start to dislike the way the MDR runs with Select Dining, we will switch to AQ class in the future..

 

I am trusting that X will have this well managed! Glad we are leaving on the 18th so we'll avoid any roll out period on Solstice.

[satchiesmom]

I agree, Donna. We have been AquaClass on three cruises since November, and love the serenity in Blu. The ambience is perfect, and for us, even better than the atmosphere in the Specialty Restaurants, where the coming-and-going of multiple arrival times does cause some distraction.

 

As you say, the tables are quite closely spaced, and that works well when people all arrive at a similar time. On our second cruise on Solstice, we sat beside a couple who were chronically late and everyone had to move to let them into their table. Our assistant maitre d' always looked apologetic as she interrupted our first course to move us all in order to seat this thoughtless couple.

 

I also did not see anything like what was reported by one poster about Blu only being a third-to-a-half full. That poster also said that they were told that they could arrive at any time. I spent some time talking to the Maitre d' of Blu one afternoon, and one of the things we talked about was accommodating difficult passengers who think that they can make their own rules, particularly about arrival times. (There are scheduling and plating issues in the kitchen of which guests are simply not aware). The staff in Blu are always polite, and will do their best to accommodate late arrivals, but please know that this behaviour is not welcomed in ANY way. It is, plainly speaking, rude and self-indulgent not to respect the stated dining times.

 

In total agreement here, we are looking forward to dining in Blu in February and sincerely hope that it remains traditional.

[Mysticks1]

Yeah, heaven forbid it should operate like a real restaurant, that would be awful.

 

Blu is not laid out like a "real" restaurant. Look at the attached diagram and you will see how close the tables are. If the tables were further apart it might work with anytime dining but not with the current configuration.

Blu Seating Chart.pdf

[Mysticks1]

Hope they keep BLU traditional. If we start to dislike the way the MDR runs with Select Dining, we will switch to AQ class in the future..

 

I am trusting that X will have this well managed! Glad we are leaving on the 18th so we'll avoid any roll out period on Solstice.

 

We will be on the cruise following yours on the 28th. I would like to experience anytime dining in the future but would like to wait until all the bugs have been worked out of the system. I am looking foward to dining in Blu.

[Phxazzcruisers]

We just got back fro the Equinox in Blu and LOVED it. We like the traditional dining nd found it rather rude and disruptive when guests walked in over a hour late for their first seating. We hope it stays traditional !!

[rolfecms]

Were extremely glad Blu is staying traditional.

 

It has such a great atmosphire, food and service I would hate to see it degraded.

 

I agree!

[dkjretired]

I understood from a post that you could show up to BLU later then the assigned times and still get in. If that is the case, and you don't have to get there within 15 mins of your assigned time, but within an hour of the next seating (if early seating), that would be flexible enough for me.

 

Perhaps you can show up late however in that same thread a number of posters said it is also very rude....

[raudacruise]

Blu is not laid out like a "real" restaurant. Look at the attached diagram and you will see how close the tables are. If the tables were further apart it might work with anytime dining but not with the current configuration.

 

Wow, bench seats for some of the tables for two? Thats like dining at an airport restaraunt. And then the side by sides in the middle of the restaraunt. Not impressed with Ms. Blau's Blu.

[Jeka]

Totally Agree!!! :)

 

Perhaps, some of us want it to be about the ambiance with a calm, quiet and enjoyable environment...just maybe.;)

 

Eileen, your comment above was in response to dining in Blu, though your list of cruises doesn't include Solstice. We've been on the Solstice twice and the rules are a lot less rigid than the MDR. Often at late seating in Blu diners will come in well after the posted dining times and no one cared.

 

Also, why do you assume the ambiance will be anythig different with SD?

[Jeka]

We just got back fro the Equinox in Blu and LOVED it. We like the traditional dining nd found it rather rude and disruptive when guests walked in over a hour late for their first seating. We hope it stays traditional !!

 

You may have found it rude, but I'm guessing the chef and waitstaff had no problem with it at all. On a "as available" basis suite guests can dine at Blu and, from my experience, they do not have to follow the traditional schedule.

[Waterlily777]

Eileen, your comment above was in response to dining in Blu, though your list of cruises doesn't include Solstice. We've been on the Solstice twice and the rules are a lot less rigid than the MDR. Often at late seating in Blu diners will come in well after the posted dining times and no one cared.

 

Also, why do you assume the ambiance will be anythig different with SD?

 

Diners may come in late, but such behaviour is NOT welcomed by the staff. It puts everyone off what is a very well-choreographed dining service.

 

All of the staff, from the Maitre d' down, are unfailingly polite, and I doubt if they are going to say anything direct or confrontational to diners who trail in late. People who are not sensitive to nuance may not pick up on it, but the late diners are considered to be selfish, as they place an extra burden on the kitchen and serving staff. It is definitely not classy to ignore the traditional dining times as they are currently established.

[Waterlily777]

You may have found it rude, but I'm guessing the chef and waitstaff had no problem with it at all. On a "as available" basis suite guests can dine at Blu and, from my experience, they do not have to follow the traditional schedule.

 

I know from talking with the Maitre d' and a few others that the staff absolutely does have a problem with it, but they are too polite to be confrontational. Most people understand what it means to have two sittings, and luckily there are not too many who thumb their nose at the current dining conventions.

 

Yes, if there is room, suite guests can access Blu. We dined in Blu with friends who were in a suite, and when making the arrangements, they were asked which of the seatings they wished to attend. No one even hinted that they could wander in whenever it suited them.

 

I don't think it's a case of suite guests "not having to follow the traditional schedule", but that the Celebrity staff will, as in all areas, be polite, and bend over backward to accommodate their guests. But this type of behaviour, while marginally acceptable when it happens on the rare occasion, is not something that the staff of Blu are inviting or encouraging.

[Phxazzcruisers]

You may have found it rude, but I'm guessing the chef and waitstaff had no problem with it at all. On a "as available" basis suite guests can dine at Blu and, from my experience, they do not have to follow the traditional schedule.

 

I am sorry but if you are schedule for first seating at 6:30 and there is a second seating at 9:00 and you show up at 8:00 and expect a casual dinner when your waiter and chef have to also satisfy guests that are coming in in an hour, well, everyone thought it was rude.......

We had several great conversations with the Matre D' and Assiatant and they told us that they HAD to seat those people, but even they thought it was extremely rude.

[Jeka]

Diners may come in late, but such behaviour is NOT welcomed by the staff. It puts everyone off what is a very well-choreographed dining service.

 

All of the staff, from the Maitre d' down, are unfailingly polite, and I doubt if they are going to say anything direct or confrontational to diners who trail in late. People who are not sensitive to nuance may not pick up on it, but the late diners are considered to be selfish, as they place an extra burden on the kitchen and serving staff. It is definitely not classy to ignore the traditional dining times as they are currently established.

 

But this type of behaviour, while marginally acceptable when it happens on the rare occasion, is not something that the staff of Blu are inviting or encouraging.

 

I am sorry but if you are schedule for first seating at 6:30 and there is a second seating at 9:00 and you show up at 8:00 and expect a casual dinner when your waiter and chef have to also satisfy guests that are coming in in an hour, well, everyone thought it was rude.......

We had several great conversations with the Matre D' and Assiatant and they told us that they HAD to seat those people, but even they thought it was extremely rude.

 

Have y'all really eaten in Blu. It's a very small restaurant, smaller than the specialties. I've done it twice. Trust me when I tell you, the maitre'd, waiters, and chef are tripping over themselves to make sure the suite guests are happy.

 

The best part of Blu is isn't the zoo of the MDR where hundreds of waitstaff are trying to get out thousands of dishes at one time. We were never late, but I witnessed how the VIPs were treated and no one cared. In fact, we noticed our service was neglected a bit but it picked up again when all the welcomings were over.

[Elaine0138]

Perhaps in time Select dining will include Blu, give X a chance they are only introducing Select dining on Equinox from the end of September then gradually rolling it out fleet wide