How crowded will the MDR be after Luminae is created

[Karynanne]

This will become areal issue as the 300 seats are removed during the construction phase for approximately three weeks.

 

Pasengers booked during February - March will find themselves confined to a seriously restricted dining room until the new restaurant opens.

 

Maybe they will temporarily offer deep discounts on the Speciality Restaurants, for crowd control issues. Just a thought...

[richsea]

I was talking to the reps yesterday and asked about this and was told on the M class it will not be taken from the MDR.

 

Sent from my XT1032 using Forums mobile app

 

That's interesting. Did they say where they were taking the space from? I thought that it was reported that the new restaurant would not be located in any venue other than the MDR.

[C 2 C]

That's interesting. Did they say where they were taking the space from? I thought that it was reported that the new restaurant would not be located in any venue other than the MDR.

 

 

On M-class the ding room below Blu port side will be the location of

Luminae.

 

 

Sent from our Reflection Condo by the sea...

[richsea]

On M-class the ding room below Blu port side will be the location of

Luminae.

 

 

Sent from our Reflection Condo by the sea...

 

Good news. Based on what hypercafe was told, I was afraid that they would replace Bistro, or some other public area.

[ghstudio]

I think the folks cruising during the construction are going to find some real issues with the MDR. It's not obvious how celebrity will handle this given that the green eyeshade folks have more say than marketing. In a normal world, one would expect celebrity to significantly reduce the price of the specialty restaurants, but I wouldn't count on that happening. Of course the buffet area is available, but that would not be acceptable to us...that's not our style for dinner. Aqua will be a disaster, IMHO as celebrity tries to add all the suite guests so they don't have to experience the problems in the MDR.

 

After the construction is complete, and after the new restaurant opens, there will undoubtably be startup issues....as they pull their best waiters into the suite restaurant and new waiters have to learn Blu and the specialty restaurants; as the cooking lines figure out how to prepare more specialty meals...(I would not be surprised to the see the blu cooking area on the M-class expanded just slightly and have to cook for both dining rooms. Since S-class has a separate cooking area for Blu, it's really not clear how they will cook for the new restaurant.

 

I think we are in for a few months of pain. Ultimately, things will be much better, but I wouldn't plan to cruise on a celebrity ship until the dust settles.

 

Of course, that's just one person's opinion....and I'm not an optimist in this type of change. Hopefully, I'm all wrong.

[Karynanne]

I think the folks cruising during the construction are going to find some real issues with the MDR. It's not obvious how celebrity will handle this given that the green eyeshade folks have more say than marketing. In a normal world, one would expect celebrity to significantly reduce the price of the specialty restaurants, but I wouldn't count on that happening. Of course the buffet area is available, but that would not be acceptable to us...that's not our style for dinner. Aqua will be a disaster, IMHO as celebrity tries to add all the suite guests so they don't have to experience the problems in the MDR.

 

 

 

After the construction is complete, and after the new restaurant opens, there will undoubtably be startup issues....as they pull their best waiters into the suite restaurant and new waiters have to learn Blu and the specialty restaurants; as the cooking lines figure out how to prepare more specialty meals...(I would not be surprised to the see the blu cooking area on the M-class expanded just slightly and have to cook for both dining rooms. Since S-class has a separate cooking area for Blu, it's really not clear how they will cook for the new restaurant.

 

 

 

I think we are in for a few months of pain. Ultimately, things will be much better, but I wouldn't plan to cruise on a celebrity ship until the dust settles.

 

 

 

Of course, that's just one person's opinion....and I'm not an optimist in this type of change. Hopefully, I'm all wrong.

 

 

Wow...you said it right. You're not an optimist.

 

I am...and hope that this new transition period flows smoothly, and without too many hiccups along the way.

 

 

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Orator]

Since S-class has a separate cooking area for Blu, it's really not clear how they will cook for the new restaurant.

 

I think we are in for a few months of pain. Ultimately, things will be much better, but I wouldn't plan to cruise on a celebrity ship until the dust settles.

 

Of course, that's just one person's opinion....and I'm not an optimist in this type of change. Hopefully, I'm all wrong.

 

They will be building a new Galley for the Suite Restaurant. It will be carved out of the existing area.

[richsea]

The sky is falling, call Mister Duck!!:eek::eek::eek:

[waterbug123]

 

This is a business decision that will boost the bottom line short-term. What it will do as people discover that the regular Celebrity experience ain't what she used to be ... only time will tell.

 

What it may do is drive away the people who insist that things must always remain exactly as they were when THEY began cruising on X. The whole cruise industry is changing and there are zillions of people out there who don't know that "THIS is the way it is SUPPOSED to be..." and they will be more than happy to take the place of all the people who are convinced that X is shooting themselves in the foot.

Ex. Remember all the people who said Oasis/Allure would never make it? That RC would never be able to fill those ships and that it was the beginning of the end for Royal because "people won't want to be on a ship that big blah blah blah." Funny thing, they keep filling them AND charging a premium for them. Likely the same will happen as Royal tweaks their new Dynamic Dining concept and X tweaks their new suite dining concept.

[sasset]

Maybe I missed it in the thread but when is the process start?

[need2bespoiled]

It sounds like construction will start in February, and the dining rooms will open in April. The opening dates are set, mostly the first cruise in April on each ship.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[Texed]

We sail on Reflection in March. But, I am not scared. :)

[Earthworm Jim]

There's 1400 people in the current space, there will be 1400 in the revised space. No more people, shouldn't be any more noise. Its just that 300 moved from upstairs downstairs, and 270 moved down to up, and actually plenty of the 20 moving up were already up.

 

Well, that makes the assumption that the square feet of space per seat will be the same in Luninae as it is in the MDR. I would expect they'll give suite passengers more elbow room, as they pay a more premium fare, and consequently MDR patrons will get less. But time will tell. I suspect most of us won't notice our MDR space has been cut.

 

They could save space in the MDR by having fewer 2 tops, since 2 tops take up more sq. feet per seat. But I'd guess fewer people are willing to sit with others than they used to be decades ago, and if that's the case 2 tops may be more in demand than ever. A cynic would say they might want to cut the number of 2 tops to drive passengers to the specialty restaurants, but I have no reason to think that's the case.

Edited February 2, 2015 by Earthworm Jim

[terrierjohn]

As select diners, we have already been assigned seats downstairs mingled in with the traditional diners when select was full and they had empty tables downstairs.

 

Whenever we are seated at the railing in select and look down, we see tables with empty spaces below us, as well as entire empty tables.

 

They can always switch the traditional and select dining areas for future cruises if it becomes necessary.

With the increasing popularity of Select dining I believe it will be essential that Celebrity re-align their seating arrangements especially if Luminae is taken from the upper tier of S class ships.

As a select user this is my main concern, and all the facts and figures of total dining available tables is IMO meaningless.

[blueboro]

This was posted by Celebrity Cruises on another thread:

 

Hi there,

 

Yes, we will begin construction of Luminae this week. When you board, guests that are affected will have a letter waiting for them in their stateroom.

 

Guests who are confirmed for main or late seating will not be impacted. Guests dining in Blu will also not be affected.

 

Guests will be able to ask any additional questions regarding dining arrangements at Guest Relations onboard.

 

This thread leads me to believe that those who chose Select Dining (like us) will not be happy on our upcoming 2/13/15 Equinox cruise.

[Full90]

What it may do is drive away the people who insist that things must always remain exactly as they were when THEY began cruising on X. The whole cruise industry is changing and there are zillions of people out there who don't know that "THIS is the way it is SUPPOSED to be..." and they will be more than happy to take the place of all the people who are convinced that X is shooting themselves in the foot.

Ex. Remember all the people who said Oasis/Allure would never make it? That RC would never be able to fill those ships and that it was the beginning of the end for Royal because "people won't want to be on a ship that big blah blah blah." Funny thing, they keep filling them AND charging a premium for them. Likely the same will happen as Royal tweaks their new Dynamic Dining concept and X tweaks their new suite dining concept.

 

Very well said and may I add that while this forum is entertaining and sometimes informational it only represents a very small portion of the cruising public.

[terrierjohn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by waterbug123

What it may do is drive away the people who insist that things must always remain exactly as they were when THEY began cruising on X. The whole cruise industry is changing and there are zillions of people out there who don't know that "THIS is the way it is SUPPOSED to be..." and they will be more than happy to take the place of all the people who are convinced that X is shooting themselves in the foot.

Ex. Remember all the people who said Oasis/Allure would never make it? That RC would never be able to fill those ships and that it was the beginning of the end for Royal because "people won't want to be on a ship that big blah blah blah." Funny thing, they keep filling them AND charging a premium for them. Likely the same will happen as Royal tweaks their new Dynamic Dining concept and X tweaks their new suite dining concept.

 

Posted by full90

Very well said and may I add that while this forum is entertaining and sometimes informational it only represents a very small portion of the cruising public.

 

Of course the extra zillions might not be able to afford to cruise so your hypothesis could fail, along with Celebrity's sales.:confused:

[ECCruise]

Another factor that may need to be considered is that currently Select has 2 entries, 1 port and 1 starboard. Generally there are lines--sometimes long and sometimes not--at both entries. Luminae will need an entrance which means one of the Select entrances will be eliminated. There is traffic there all night from the beginning of dining until near the end. That should be fun.

 

Meanwhile, Traditional dining one deck down, has 2 entrances. Traffic there is for about 20 minutes total each night--10 minutes or so before early dining and 10 minutes before late.

 

Sounds like a no-brainer to switch Select and Traditional decks.

[terrierjohn]

Another factor that may need to be considered is that currently Select has 2 entries, 1 port and 1 starboard. Generally there are lines--sometimes long and sometimes not--at both entries. Luminae will need an entrance which means one of the Select entrances will be eliminated. There is traffic there all night from the beginning of dining until near the end. That should be fun.

 

Meanwhile, Traditional dining one deck down, has 2 entrances. Traffic there is for about 20 minutes total each night--10 minutes or so before early dining and 10 minutes before late.

 

Sounds like a no-brainer to switch Select and Traditional decks.

Where is the like button when you need it?:cool:

[keithm]

Exactly, and BLU (and all specialties and Ocean view for that matter) turns seats too, so even more of a non-issue.

 

There are always empty seats all over the MDR, less empties on first night, but I've seen 10 tops empty, even the 12 tops by captains table go empty, as groups form and do specialty dining together.

 

There are plenty of seats in MDR to accommodate, even with changes.

 

No Chicken Little, the sky is not falling. :D

We were amazed at the amount of tables that go vacant on a formal night. Obviously, these pax choose the "smart casual" style & hit the specialty rest.We just got off this Sunday & found the quality to be pretty much the same as last year(Eclipse 14 day Caribbean trip)Food portions were a "bit" smaller, but overall same quality with staff willing to bring more with no problem.

[ECCruise]

We were amazed at the amount of tables that go vacant on a formal night. Obviously, these pax choose the "smart casual" style & hit the specialty rest.We just got off this Sunday & found the quality to be pretty much the same as last year(Eclipse 14 day Caribbean trip)Food portions were a "bit" smaller, but overall same quality with staff willing to bring more with no problem.

 

That varies greatly by sailing to sailing.

We spent about 40 days on Eclipse in the last 10 months (2 TAs and Norway) with 8 formal nights and all of them were wall to wall. No empty seats and longer waits than normal.

[waterbug123]

 

Of course the extra zillions might not be able to afford to cruise so your hypothesis could fail, along with Celebrity's sales.:confused:

 

Are you seriously suggesting that there are no potential new customers out there for Celebrity who can afford to go on cruises? Ha ha ha