Celebrity Summit Live report 4/4/15 - First Luminae and new suite benefits sailing

[need2bespoiled]

Thank you all for the appreciation. Now please, stop booking suites. You're making it harder for me to find what I want and driving the price up.

 

Happy sailing (in your non suite cabins),

Jenna

 

 

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[CHEZMARYLOU]

I don't know Jenna but with reports from other ships, specifically Connie, about a down grade in suite amenities that we've come to expect, and the change in dining options in Luminae, suites may not be in high demand an a few months.

[hcat]

First of all...let me say thank you for your in-depth review of your "suite" experience...and the beautiful pics of your dining experiences!!

 

I just returned from a cruise on O and realized...that after several cruises in the last couple of years on X and AZ and HAL...that I came away without the dreaded swollen ankles!! :confused::( which have been with me lately only when on cruises....

 

I never "add" salt...well...maybe...once in awhile on a baked potato...but I'm beginning to think that the added salt on X and the other lines may be the reason....duh...why did it take me this long to figure that out? Even the doc on X told me that once when I walked in looking like the poor "Elephant Man".

 

Do I have to "request" a salt free diet menu in the MDR/AQ to get this type of food? What about the buffet?

 

Any and all help/suggestions would be appreciated. I'm wondering why on O it didn't happen? Maybe a policy of less salt? LuAnn

 

Once we switched to AQ/ BLU never any swollen ankles, fingers or that salt bloated feeling.

Hope same lower salt prep will be in Luminae....by its nature, onion soup with cheese tends to be salty...no added salt needed for most people.

 

Jenna...again thanks for your great review and photos...looking forward to your next cruise blog!

Edited April 26, 2015 by hcat

[C-Dragons]

Thank you all for the appreciation. Now please, stop booking suites. You're making it harder for me to find what I want and driving the price up.

 

Happy sailing (in your non suite cabins),

Jenna

 

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Sorry, Jenna.

Can't. Stop. Booking. Suites! ;) :p :D

[chessybear]

Once we switched to AQ/ BLU never any swollen ankles, fingers or that salt bloated feeling.

Hope same lower salt prep will be in Luminae....by its nature, onion soup with cheese tends to be salty...no added salt needed for most people.

 

Jenna...again thanks for your great review and photos...looking forward to your next cruise blog!

 

I have found it is not only the food but definitely the onboard water. Only drink bottled water.

[uktog]

I have found it is not only the food but definitely the onboard water. Only drink bottled water.

 

Absolutely, it's a different chemical balance in the water to what many are used to at home. For some, it has no effect (hence the posts that they've drank ships tap water for years no problem). For others whose own body chemistry reacts differently, ship water is the cause of a lot of issues. I am in the second group so it's bottled all the way for me

[chessybear]

Absolutely, it's a different chemical balance in the water to what many are used to at home. For some, it has no effect (hence the posts that they've drank ships tap water for years no problem). For others whose own body chemistry reacts differently, ship water is the cause of a lot of issues. I am in the second group so it's bottled all the way for me

 

I am also in the latter group once I made the switch to bottle no more swollen ankles. You can certainly taste a difference in the water once you have been on bottled and try regular water it is very very salty.

[chessybear]

Does anyone know where the new Suite restaurant is positioned on Silhouette we are in Suite class and sailing in 2.5 weeks time.

[TommyD3]

Does anyone know where the new Suite restaurant is positioned on Silhouette we are in Suite class and sailing in 2.5 weeks time.

 

All Solstice class ships added Luminae to the starboard side of the bottom deck of the main dining room. Because of this there is now only one entrance (on the port side) to the MDR. Luminae is just a walled off area on the starboard side of the MDR similar to what Celebrity did to create Blu on the Millennium class ships. Unfortunately it is not transparent to the quests in the MDR like Blu is on the Millennium class ships.

[chessybear]

All Solstice class ships added Luminae to the starboard side of the bottom deck of the main dining room. Because of this there is now only one entrance (on the port side) to the MDR. Luminae is just a walled off area on the starboard side of the MDR similar to what Celebrity did to create Blu on the Millennium class ships. Unfortunately it is not transparent to the quests in the MDR like Blu is on the Millennium class ships.

 

Thank you :)

[ischeer]

All Solstice class ships added Luminae to the starboard side of the bottom deck of the main dining room. Because of this there is now only one entrance (on the port side) to the MDR. Luminae is just a walled off area on the starboard side of the MDR similar to what Celebrity did to create Blu on the Millennium class ships. Unfortunately it is not transparent to the quests in the MDR like Blu is on the Millennium class ships.

 

I'm not quite sure what you mean by the last sentence. We have sailed on both Infinity and Summit in AQ, and I don't recall any "transparency" from the BLU side. BLU always appeared as a completely isolated space, with its own entrance and host. There was no visual connection between BLU and MDR.

[TommyD3]

I'm not quite sure what you mean by the last sentence. We have sailed on both Infinity and Summit in AQ, and I don't recall any "transparency" from the BLU side. BLU always appeared as a completely isolated space, with its own entrance and host. There was no visual connection between BLU and MDR.

 

What I am referring to is the fact that the dining experience for those in the MDR has been affected much more with the addition of Lumina than the addition of Blu. First there is now one door for at least 750 guests on the bottom deck. Second the walled off area is quite an eyesore for those dining near it in the MDR. Third it has reduced the window count on the bottom floor by about 25%.

[chessybear]

What I am referring to is the fact that the dining experience for those in the MDR has been affected much more with the addition of Lumina than the addition of Blu. First there is now one door for at least 750 guests on the bottom deck. Second the walled off area is quite an eyesore for those dining near it in the MDR. Third it has reduced the window count on the bottom floor by about 25%.

 

Thank you for the update and post :)

[Cruise a holic]

First a quick pic, I'll try to take more later once there are less people. They still say they have some finishing touches, maybe new chairs as these look like they've been somewhere else?

 

 

The first menu:

 

We were surprisingly just told the restaurant won't be open on port days. Service has been good so far, all be it a bit awkward at times like two servers coming to introduce themselves as our server and ordering dessert she we ordered our meal.

 

More to come.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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Hi Jenna,

We will be sailing in January on the Reflection in a suite. While I enjoy a variety of foods, my husband doesn't. Does Luminae offer substitutes to the menu? We typically have our boarding lunch in Bistro and he does find foods that he enjoys on that menu. The restaurant looks like Normandy is it?

 

Thanks

Edited October 30, 2015 by Cruise a holic

[need2bespoiled]

Hi Jenna,

We will be sailing in January on the Reflection in a suite. While I enjoy a variety of foods, my husband doesn't. Does Luminae offer substitutes to the menu? We typically have our boarding lunch in Bistro and he does find foods that he enjoys on that menu. The restaurant looks like Normandy is it?

 

Thanks

 

We found, and has been more widely reported on various threads since, that you can order off the MDR menus that evening. There is a recent thread on Luminae on Refkection (or Equinox) which I believe states this. They are very accommodating regardless.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[Cruise a holic]

PS we are sailing in January on the Silly and in March on the Reflection- question applies to both. Txs

Edited October 30, 2015 by Cruise a holic

[jules815]

A little late to the party on this thread, but thank you, Jenna, for this review with pictures from Luminae. I'll be sailing with our 21 year old daughter on Connie in March, and while she's not a particularly fussy eater, it's nice to know she'll have other options available to her, such as more of a plain salad as an appetizer. I, on the other hand, liked everything I saw on the menus, and will probably have a hard time deciding what to order. It all looks so good to me! :D

[need2bespoiled]

A little late to the party on this thread, but thank you, Jenna, for this review with pictures from Luminae. I'll be sailing with our 21 year old daughter on Connie in March, and while she's not a particularly fussy eater, it's nice to know she'll have other options available to her, such as more of a plain salad as an appetizer. I, on the other hand, liked everything I saw on the menus, and will probably have a hard time deciding what to order. It all looks so good to me! :D

 

Your daughter should feel free to adjust dishes as needed. If she'd like something with fish instead of chicken, they will accommodate, or plain grilled whatever is no problem :) Some have complained about veggies. If you read the entire thread, you'll we dined with other passengers who just ordered a bowel of veggies on the side (Broccoli I think).

 

I plan a follow-up on our December 5 sailing which is 15 nights so we should see some more menus, plus have one of the refurbished suites and the new roof top terrace to enjoy.

 

PS Cruise a holic, that was Luminae in the pic, before the new chairs.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[maggie.1008]

Jenna, I will look forward to reading your review about roof top bar and Luminae. I was more impressed with the food in Luminae on our Summit trip than I was on the Solstice. I really feel they need more choices on their menu rather than having to order off the MDR menu. It was never busy.

[russg140]

Hi Jenna,

We will be sailing in January on the Reflection in a suite. While I enjoy a variety of foods, my husband doesn't. Does Luminae offer substitutes to the menu? We typically have our boarding lunch in Bistro and he does find foods that he enjoys on that menu. The restaurant looks like Normandy is it?

 

Thanks

 

We just got off Reflection after the TA to Miami. Luminae was a disaster. I'm sorry to say. Don't expect much. We were in a Signature Suite. After 4 tries we gave up. Understand this is the only perk certain suite guests receive, so they exploited it at the expense of other guests. X has to rethink Luminae. On Reflection it's not working. May be a management issue or it may be a concept issue.

[Karynanne]

We just got off Reflection after the TA to Miami. Luminae was a disaster. I'm sorry to say. Don't expect much. We were in a Signature Suite. After 4 tries we gave up. Understand this is the only perk certain suite guests receive, so they exploited it at the expense of other guests. X has to rethink Luminae. On Reflection it's not working. May be a management issue or it may be a concept issue.

 

 

Could you please elaborate with details.

[need2bespoiled]

We just got off Reflection after the TA to Miami. Luminae was a disaster. I'm sorry to say. Don't expect much. We were in a Signature Suite. After 4 tries we gave up. Understand this is the only perk certain suite guests receive, so they exploited it at the expense of other guests. X has to rethink Luminae. On Reflection it's not working. May be a management issue or it may be a concept issue.

 

I'm sorry you had a bad experience in Luminae, but to fix a bit of misinformation you posted; all suites have access to Luminae. Reflection has WAY more suites than any other ship, yet only a few more tables than other S-Class ships, so I can see how it could be problematic if not extremely well managed. Reflection has a number of problems like this. It's really ashame it is their "signature" ship. They got greedy when the built it, and it often shows compared to reviews of Sihloutte. The concept has worked well for many so I would any probably a management issue.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

Edited November 23, 2015 by need2bespoiled

[Cruise a holic]

I'm sorry you had a bad experience in Luminae, but to fix a bit of misinformation you posted; all suites have access to Luminae. Reflection has WAY more suites than any other ship, yet only a few more tables than other S-Class ships, so I can see how it could be problematic if not extremely well managed. Reflection has a number of problems like this. It's really ashame it is their "signature" ship. They got greedy when the built it, and it often shows compared to reviews of Sihloutte. The concept has worked well for many so I would any probably a management issue.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

when we sailed previously on the S class ships, including the reflection and silly, we typically take the unlimited specialty restaurant package regardless of the suite or cabin we book. I was hoping not to have to dine only in specialty restaurants in the future, perhaps that is what we will continue to do if we have a bad experience.

[need2bespoiled]

when we sailed previously on the S class ships, including the reflection and silly, we typically take the unlimited specialty restaurant package regardless of the suite or cabin we book. I was hoping not to have to dine only in specialty restaurants in the future, perhaps that is what we will continue to do if we have a bad experience.

 

Our first night was pretty bad, but w endured (we're on vacation in a suite, I guess it is relative). We found Luminae equal to speciality for sure, but since we had become bored of the specialty menus it was a nice change of pace, and at the time new and exciting. Just like any restaurant on land, some meals and dishes will be a hit and some a miss. Four bad meals in a row would be extremely frustrating but I think that would be the rare exception and not the rule.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[Cruise a holic]

Our first night was pretty bad, but w endured (we're on vacation in a suite, I guess it is relative). We found Luminae equal to speciality for sure, but since we had become bored of the specialty menus it was a nice change of pace, and at the time new and exciting. Just like any restaurant on land, some meals and dishes will be a hit and some a miss. Four bad meals in a row would be extremely frustrating but I think that would be the rare exception and not the rule.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

We will be on the Silly in a few weeks. Will give Luminae a try- but if ng- will continue to dine in speciality restaurants. Our favorite is the Lawn Grill.