Just off Solstice, Hawaii/Vancouver - review plus Luminae

[BluedaisyinScotland]

Luminae - my comments are just regarding the Solstice. Based on others’ reports the rollout seems to be inconsistent throughout the fleet.

 

Here is Luminae on the Solstice - the pictures do not do it justice at all.

 

 

 

It really is a very pretty room with lots of open space versus Blu where tables are much closer together. During our cruise, it was never busy at all. In fact, I would say it was rarely half full, often less than. We were told lots of people were either dining in specialty restaurants or sailing with friends who were eating in the MDR.

 

The positives of Luminae were the crew and Linda, the maître ‘d. They were obviously trying to do everything they could to make sure you had a positive experience and were definitely looking for feedback, good or bad. Very, very good service. It was the first time in a long time that we’d really been able to chat with the servers and get to know them. That was really nice.

 

The food was very good as a whole, ranging from good to amazing. The tuna appetizers and tartars were some of the best I’ve ever had. The poached in butter lobster was great; the other main lobster I sent back as it was tough and dry. The chateaubriand was good, but not as good as Murano’s. The menu is somewhat limited, but we always found something to order and were also offered the MDR Classic Menu every night. I saw several people ordering off this one, not Luminae’s.

 

Breakfast would definitely not be worth the $25 mentioned for suite guests, although they had a very good fruit plate which included papaya and mango. At this point, I think $50 would be a stretch for dinner, too, if you’re comparing $50 at Murano. I can only imagine they’ve priced meals accordingly to keep invited guest numbers down.

 

The negatives of Luminae : Lunch - I won’t belabour the point - I’ve already discussed my feelings about it in another thread.

 

They still didn't have proper chairs, linen or crystal. No nice charger plates or anything like that. Linen was downright tatty at times - my husband had a couple of napkins with holes and/or frays. Normally it’s not something that would bother me but come on, they had months of planning to get this up and running properly. This is modern luxury?

 

And the wine, urgh… The wine glasses were the thick generic kind. Despite advertising the wonderful wine list Luminae would have, we had the MDR one with a very limited selection. Very, very disappointing. Needtobespoiled took a pic of Summit’s Luminae wine list - way more selection. It seemed like we were stuck ordering the same wine every night, despite having the premium package. I felt bad for the sommelier because all he could say was they were expecting more wine. Celebrity’s loss, because we would gladly have paid extra to upgrade our wine given the chance. Epic fail on this front, for us.

 

I booked this cruise excited by the prospect of Luminae. The service was great and the food was generally very good. Disappointed, though, by things that I don't think were the fault of anyone on the ship. The rollout just doesn't seem to have been planned so well.

 

Hi! Just to say this is my first day on this forum - just joined and this is my first post! Although I admit to following various threads regularly and with great interest! Can I just ask a question on a point raised here about Luminae for Suite guests? (as I'm going on Eclipse in 4 weeks time in a Celebrity suite) - do suite guests have to pay to use Luminae?

Appreciate your help on this!

 

Tracyx

[Chicogirl]

Hi! Just to say this is my first day on this forum - just joined and this is my first post! Although I admit to following various threads regularly and with great interest! Can I just ask a question on a point raised here about Luminae for Suite guests? (as I'm going on Eclipse in 4 weeks time in a Celebrity suite) - do suite guests have to pay to use Luminae?

 

Appreciate your help on this!

 

 

 

Tracyx

 

 

No, it's a benefit of being in a suite. I myself can't wait to try it on the Solstice for my Alaska cruise.

[BluedaisyinScotland]

Thanks for the very quick reply :)

[Wickets]

Dev and the rest of crew will really spoil you! Enjoy the cruise and the service, and the low noise level in Luminae. Let us know if they are doing anything table side. That was missing early May.

[BluedaisyinScotland]

Dev and the rest of crew will really spoil you! Enjoy the cruise and the service, and the low noise level in Luminae. Let us know if they are doing anything table side. That was missing early May.

 

I'll post as soon as I get back - to say excitement is building would be an understatement! Our daughter is looking forward to it too!

[koolforkatz]

Hi! Just to say this is my first day on this forum - just joined and this is my first post! Although I admit to following various threads regularly and with great interest! Can I just ask a question on a point raised here about Luminae for Suite guests? (as I'm going on Eclipse in 4 weeks time in a Celebrity suite) - do suite guests have to pay to use Luminae?

Appreciate your help on this!

 

Tracyx

 

As posted you don't have to pay, plus depending on the length of your cruise you will be able to dine at least one night free in one of the specialty restaurants.

[zalusky]

This was definitely the highlight of the trip for me - the Murano cooking class! It was so much fun and well worth the $139 per couple ($99 per singles). We had a quick tour of the galley and then into Murano's galley where we put on hats and aprons and actually cooked (after signing waivers ;) We made an appetizer, entree (sea bass) and then participated in making the dessert (they had already done the main prep). We went into the wine cellar after in Murano's and sat down to eat our own creations. The price included premium wine pairings and Celebrity's cookbook. Thank goodness we didn't have to fly home with that book ;)

 

This is our cooking station - we were squeezed in and with bubbling oil it was a bit intimidating - I have a new appreciation for what goes on in the ship galleys!

 

 

Our prep stations

 

 

Appetizer creation - I kind of messed up my blobs there ;)

 

 

I would 100% recommend this if you enjoy food or cooking!

 

How did you sign up for this? Is it Suite only? Can you sign up in advance of boarding?

[koolforkatz]

How did you sign up for this? Is it Suite only? Can you sign up in advance of boarding?

 

 

We were in Murano's one night and the server told us about it, so we said ok... they offered it a couple of times during our cruise. Maybe just go to Murano's when you board and ask if they are offering it on your cruise. It was open to anybody.

 

Highly recommend!

[maggieq]

Thank you for the review. We have this cruise on our bucket list but would like the Vancouver to Hawaii route only because the hope for warmer days. How cool did it get once you got to the sea days?

 

Thanks!

[koolforkatz]

Thank you for the review. We have this cruise on our bucket list but would like the Vancouver to Hawaii route only because the hope for warmer days. How cool did it get once you got to the sea days?

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

First sea day was very nice and warm. Second sea day the weather was a bit overcast and rough. The rest of the sea days were decent weather but not really bathing suits around the pool. My opinion. There were a few people out there in their bathing suits though. I would say more shorts and sweater weather.

[roses313]

Thanks for the pics and the review of the cruise. We were on the same cruise, although not in a suite. We met and chatted briefly at the get together at the Outrigger before the cruise.

 

Once again thanks for sharing and "Happy Cruising".

[FengShui@Sea]

Koolforkatz ~ Thanks so much for the review and great pics - it really gives a sense of what you experienced.

 

We will be on the same sailing in 2016 and wondered if you could tell us what time the life boat drill was held on embarkation day?

[koolforkatz]

Koolforkatz ~ Thanks so much for the review and great pics - it really gives a sense of what you experienced.

 

 

 

We will be on the same sailing in 2016 and wondered if you could tell us what time the life boat drill was held on embarkation day?

 

 

Our drill was on the second day in Honolulu, not embarkation day, at about 4:00. It kind of messed up our plans as we had expected the drill to be on embarkation day.

 

Hope that helps!

[dhill]

Great review beautiful pictures thank you so much you made my day.Loved the review we on that cruise to only disappointment to us was the ship what a ley down no wow factor at all and whats with that lawn what a waste of space:)

[FengShui@Sea]

Our drill was on the second day in Honolulu, not embarkation day, at about 4:00. It kind of messed up our plans as we had expected the drill to be on embarkation day.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Thanks so much for the info. We aren't over-nighting in Honolulu this time so I assume they'll hold it around 4 p.m. on embarkation day. Thanks again! :)