Blu on Eclipse

[chamima]

Was on the Eclipse in Mar. Was told that the servers in Blu are based on 40 paseenger per night, in the MDR it is 24. Being able to serve in Blu is very competitve and a prime area for them as they earn more.

 

 

 

🍻🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

If I understand you correctly, you're saying that the servers have twice as much work in Blu to do as they would in the MDR??? :confused:

That seems backwards. :confused:

Service is supposed to be better, not worse. :confused:

[ghstudio]

We have been in Aqua on a eclipse, equinox, millenium and infinity...some multiple times. The only things that remain constant are the physical space, the cruidites, the bread sticks and the menus... Service, sommeliers, maitre d's and cooks really vary quite a bit. We have had cruises where the only seasoning they used was salt. We have been on cruises where seasoning has been incredibly good. We have had sommeliers who we can't even get to come to our table even to order wine and we've had some that top up our glasses every time we take a sip of wine. I think our best experience was on the Eclipse, our worst was the first part of a B2B on the millenium in Asia (that was the salt cruise). Of course, food and service in the MDR also varies a great deal...especially service. I am convinced that the recipes in the kitchen must say "season to taste". The consistency across celebrity is inconsistent...

 

We continue to like the atmosphere of blu on all the ships, we like the physical set up with tables close enough to talk to the next table, if all want to talk. Food is "on the average" better in Blu (we normally eat at least one meal in the MDR just for variety). We find blu much quieter than the MDR so we can talk in a normal voice.

 

Having said that, we actually booked our next cruise in a C2 cabin just for a change of menus/meals....but alas, the A2 price came down to just $50 more than the C3 and we were able to get a captain's club upgrade to A1 so we are back in Blu again. Not bad...from C3 to A1 for $50...no complaints here.

 

Many like Blu and there are some who either don't like it or don't feel it's worth any extra money. I think it's worth trying aqua and blu at least once (when you find it financially reasonable) and make up your own mind. As I suggested, most like it and most, like us, then continue to book Aqua because we do find it worth the slight extra cost.

Edited May 2, 2014 by ghstudio

[miched]

If I understand you correctly, you're saying that the servers have twice as much work in Blu to do as they would in the MDR??? :confused:

That seems backwards. :confused:

Service is supposed to be better, not worse. :confused:

 

Blu is based on anytime dining. All of the passengers aren't served at the same time. There may be some times like when they open that they are busier but as the night goes on it gets spread out and there is no set time to get them cleared out. That is why service may sometimes be a little slower.

 

In the MDR it is based on two seatings, so the servers have to serve 12 people at the same time and they all have to be done at a certain time.

 

In Blu since it is anytime it can be accomplished plus the kitchen for Blu is next to the dining area on the S class so they don't have as far to go for the pick up plus they dont have as long of a line in the kitchen to wait in.

 

 

🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[Christine Frances]

Blu is based on anytime dining. All of the passengers aren't served at the same time. There may be some times like when they open that they are busier but as the night goes on it gets spread out and there is no set time to get them cleared out. That is why service may sometimes be a little slower.

 

In the MDR it is based on two seatings, so the servers have to serve 12 people at the same time and they all have to be done at a certain time.

 

In Blu since it is anytime it can be accomplished plus the kitchen for Blu is next to the dining area on the S class so they don't have as far to go for the pick up plus they dont have as long of a line in the kitchen to wait in.

 

 

🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

I think it might be 24 per seating for the MDR as our wait staff had a 10 top, our 4 top and a 6 top. So that would be 40 over the course of the evening. And we had fantastic unrushed service

[Cruise a holic]

We seem to be in the minority on these boards as we are not great fans of Blu. We did not have an AQ or suite on the last cruise ( NYE cruise Dec 2013) and enjoyed the dining room food very much. I will admit that the service is much better in Blu, and added to the fact that we had a few bad service experiences in the dining room.

 

Food wise, we thought the MDR selection was more varied and there was nothing we ordered that we found to be any lesser quality or taste than Blu.

 

For our next cruise, the difference between our veranda cabin and an AQ is $1000. That is a lot of $$ for dinner in Blu and the other limited QA amenities, even if it is for 14 nights. (especially as I am not in need of extra points.

 

For those devotees, I am happy that Celebrity offers the option for AQ/Suite and Blu.

enjoy

M

 

We agree with you. IMO it pays not to take AQ and dine more in speciality restaurants with the money saved. We take the all speciality restaurants package when we board and find it is money well spent. The food in Blu isn't great IMO. The only thing good about blu is that you feel like you are in a restaurant, rather then a banquet hall. Albiet the tables are 1 foot apart so the tables for two are really a row of tables very close together.

 

But everyone has different taste and it is great that you can decide what works best for you.

[BosoxI]

I wonder how recently you were on the Eclipse?

We sailed on the Eclipse in February and also had a not so wonderful experience. (Although, the sommelier was OUTSTANDING!)

We had previously sailed several times on the Solstice , also in Aqua, and the food and service in Blu were both wonderful.

I found the taste of some of the meals I had loved on the Solstice (and this was over a three year period) were eh on the Eclipse. Also, there never seemed to be enough servers so everyone was stressed and running around.

I thought (and still hope) that this was a one off on our cruise.

We're giving it a try this next year so I really hope things improve by then .

 

We disembarked two days ago.

 

I stand by all my comments. Excellent service, great venue, but the food was average at best. As I originally noted, a balcony cabin plus some nights in specialty restaurant might be a wiser choice.

[Skip111]

We agree after 28 days on Infinity select dining and the special restaurants are way better for the money than Blu

 

 

 

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[Cruise a holic]

We agree after 28 days on Infinity select dining and the special restaurants are way better for the money than Blu

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Ditto!

[Gracie115]

Isn't it nice that we all have choices.....we don't enjoy Murano's or Qsine, like Tuscan Grill for one visit a cruise and like the Lawn Club Grill when lucky enough to be on one of those ships....but other than that would rather eat in Blu WAY ABOVE eating in Select Dining on an X ship....they don't have that set up very well, at least they sure didn't last year on Connie.....it was a very unpleasant experience......so we choose Blu....:)

[Pilot70D]

We seem to be in the minority on these boards as we are not great fans of Blu. We did not have an AQ or suite on the last cruise ( NYE cruise Dec 2013) and enjoyed the dining room food very much. I will admit that the service is much better in Blu, and added to the fact that we had a few bad service experiences in the dining room.

 

Food wise, we thought the MDR selection was more varied and there was nothing we ordered that we found to be any lesser quality or taste than Blu.

 

For our next cruise, the difference between our veranda cabin and an AQ is $1000. That is a lot of $$ for dinner in Blu and the other limited QA amenities, even if it is for 14 nights. (especially as I am not in need of extra points.

 

For those devotees, I am happy that Celebrity offers the option for AQ/Suite and Blu.

enjoy

M

 

We agree with you. We were on the Eclipse for the most recent New Year's cruise. We were in suite and we did go to Blu. The service was good. It was quieter but the food on that occasion was pedestrian at best.

 

We think that a better alternative would be to book the veranda cabin and then eat in the specialty restaurants when you want. I do think that the food in the MDR is by and large as good if not better than that in Blu. However, we opted to buy the ultimate dining package on this last cruise. Thought that it was a great bargain and allowed us to eat the various upcharge restaurants. Also like you we are happy to see =X= to have Blu for AQ passengers who really enjoy this venue.

[BosoxI]

We agree with you. We were on the Eclipse for the most recent New Year's cruise. We were in suite and we did go to Blu. The service was good. It was quieter but the food on that occasion was pedestrian at best.

 

We think that a better alternative would be to book the veranda cabin and then eat in the specialty restaurants when you want. I do think that the food in the MDR is by and large as good if not better than that in Blu. However, we opted to buy the ultimate dining package on this last cruise. Thought that it was a great bargain and allowed us to eat the various upcharge restaurants. Also like you we are happy to see =X= to have Blu for AQ passengers who really enjoy this venue.

 

We'll again be in Blu for the Connie's TA in November but past that point, I think it's going to be verandas and specialty restaurants for us. We're not big fans of Qsine and that's the killer for ultimate dining, but there usually are sufficient opportunities for discounts for other specialty restaurants to satisfy us. We have enjoyed Blu on the Connie in the past, so we hope our luck holds.

[ghstudio]

There's an interesting difference between S class and M class ships and it's intertwined with their captain's club perks.

 

If you want a rear facing cabin on an M-class ship, I believe you need to book a C1....and C1's are pricy cabins. However the new A1's on the M-class ships include some rear facing cabins on deck 11...and if you are captain's club select(?) or above, you can book an A1 cabin at an A2 price which is more often than not not that much more than a C3/C2...certainly less expensive than actually booking a C1. With that A1, you can "have your cake and eat it too", so to speak...enjoy blu for breakfast with fresh orange juice and hot food rather than the warm food you get elsewhere, enjoy your rear facing balcony and the sun (most ALL a2's on M-class ships have large overhangs that block the sun) and you can dine in the MDR, Blu or specialty restaurants.

 

Not so on the S-class though....if you want a rear facing cabin, you're going to pay more..and you won't be eating in Blu at any time (unless you are in suite where you can enjoy breakfast in blu any time and dinner on a space available basis.