Luminae vs Oceania

[cybx]

My wife and I have a Sky Suite booked for a 7 night Bermuda cruise on the Summit. For essentially the same price all we could get an inside room on Oceania for a 7 day Caribbean cruise. Is anybody able to compare the quality of the food between Luminae and the the restaurants on Oceania?

 

The size of our room isn't too important to us but we are willing to pay a premium for quality food and dining.

 

Thanks in advance!

[kenevenpar]

The food and the service in Luminae were very good. (Two weeks ago on Summit). Not as good as Normandie, which will no longer be available when you cruise.

 

The caution with Luminae is that Celebrity is not delivering what was promised. Lunch on port days is being eliminated. Locally sourced foods are not being used and it is certainly not in the class of Michelin rated.

 

Having said all that, the food and service are very good, and we enjoyed eating there. I don't think I'll book another SS at the current premium over Verandah cabins. YMMV

[Iamthesea]

We felt the same way on our cruise this past month. ;) While the service was excellent in Luminae, the food ranged from excellent to poor.

 

Some dishes had to do with a poor choice on our part, while other dishes were poor choices by the chef ..."way out there"...Luminae tried to put a spin on many of the offerings. They tried too hard, in our opinion, to make dishes different. Many would have been best prepared a familiar or another way.

 

One the first night, my DH had the filet and I had the duck. Both were excellent but I was sorry that I missed out on the filet. DH said it was the best filet he had every eaten. We inquired if the filet would be served again on our 11 night cruise and were told that it would not. We had an offer to pre-order the filet dish for another night and we set this up eagerly. However, the dish failed in comparison to the first night. :(

 

We did not starve, and the dishes combined with an appetizer, a dessert and the two "surprises" each meal were more than plentiful!

 

Also, we felt the atmosphere was lacking in this dining room. Perhaps it was only on our Eclipse sailing. The room was too bright in the evenings for any feeling of ambiance.

 

We did visit Blu one evening, but decided it was too cozy for the two of us. The atmosphere was there, but the room was very noisy where we were seated between larger tables. We do look forward to going back to Blu when we travel again with others, however. :)

 

Becoming tired of the Celebrity routine, we have booked our first cruise onboard the Oceania Riviera for an 11 night cruise in February.:D The stateroom and pricing are similar to our Sky Suite on the Eclipse, although, this cruise will be to the Caribbean versus the U.K., Spain and Portugal. We are looking forward to comparing the two.

 

P.S. - We dined in Luminae for lunch only twice in 11 days. The food was just too heavy for a lunch meal. I would have preferred to have a few salad and light fish options. The dining room never had more than a few people in it, but had a full staff waiting around, so I can see why Celebrity wants to back down on the hours.

Edited November 5, 2015 by Iamthesea

[globevest]

My wife and I have a Sky Suite booked for a 7 night Bermuda cruise on the Summit. For essentially the same price all we could get an inside room on Oceania for a 7 day Caribbean cruise. Is anybody able to compare the quality of the food between Luminae and the the restaurants on Oceania?

 

We have cruised both Celebrity and Oceania many times. Have not yet eaten in Luminae but did visit the restaurant on Eclipse in July and spoke with passengers and reviewed menus. On Celebrity we have predominately used Blu on previous cruises, for the benefit of the atmosphere. From the research I have done I will be surprised if Luminae can match Oceania on food, particularly Marina and Riviera. However we are happy with both cruise lines offerings.

 

I am amazed that you believe you can get a Sky Suite on Summit for 'essentially' the same price as an inside cabin on Oceania. If you don't mind, could you please share the price details of your comparison.

Thanks in advance.

[jbuch02]

Let me make sure I understand your question. Essentially you are asking if the food is better on Oceania Cruise Line than it is on Celebrity. If that is correct, I'd offer this:

 

We have cruised both lines but many more times on Celebrity than on Oceania. What you are probably looking for is excellent food quality, appealing preparation and presentation and excellent table service.

 

Regardless of cruise line, one has to keep in mind that dining on any cruise ship involves putting up with the vagaries of institutionally prepared food. Having said that, cruise lines in general do a remarkably good job in preparing and serving food.

 

In our 12 years of regular cruising with Celebrity, I think it is safe to say that the food quality overall has declined somewhat but not enough for us to complain about it given what I offered above. Moreover, Celebrity has done a very good job of delivering a top quality dining experience in its' specialty restaurants. It's gotten expensive to experience that though and I think that is reflective of how expensive it has become for Celebrity to keep delivering great dining experiences in Murano for example.

 

Oceana features a menu by Jaque Pepin. They also do not have specialty restaurants to speak off but rather multiple dining venues at no extra charge although, based on your loyalty status dining in one of the smaller venues instead of the main dinning room may be limited in number of visits per cruise. Not a big deal.

 

My sense is that you are getting a little better food quality on Oceania, comparable table service and more variety in menu/restaurant options without paying a premium to experience it.

 

Oceania is a very good cruise line and is competing directly with Celebrity for a similar demographic. Their pricing is a tad higher than Celebrity when you figure it all out but their fleet is made up of smaller ships that are more intimate. We thoroughly enjoyed our cruising with Oceania but right now, we get a little bit more bang for our buck with Celebrity and we've got a long, enjoyable history with them.

Edited November 5, 2015 by jbuch02

[cybx]

My wife and I have a Sky Suite booked for a 7 night Bermuda cruise on the Summit. For essentially the same price all we could get an inside room on Oceania for a 7 day Caribbean cruise. Is anybody able to compare the quality of the food between Luminae and the the restaurants on Oceania?

 

We have cruised both Celebrity and Oceania many times. Have not yet eaten in Luminae but did visit the restaurant on Eclipse in July and spoke with passengers and reviewed menus. On Celebrity we have predominately used Blu on previous cruises, for the benefit of the atmosphere. From the research I have done I will be surprised if Luminae can match Oceania on food, particularly Marina and Riviera. However we are happy with both cruise lines offerings.

 

I am amazed that you believe you can get a Sky Suite on Summit for 'essentially' the same price as an inside cabin on Oceania. If you don't mind, could you please share the price details of your comparison.

Thanks in advance.

As for the price, Oceania is cheaper up front for sure. Celebrity is sailing from a port within driving distance while Oceania is not, so airfare is part of the equation in our case. Additionally X is/was doing a free Go Bigger package for Bermuda sailings.

 

Even after airfare and all OBC, Oceania was still about $300-400 cheaper, but the free drink package makes up for the difference.

 

I know there are many things to consider when choosing a cruise, and food is one of them. I was trying to isolate that variable as much as possible by comparing Luminae to Oceania.

[Kevnzworld]

The main difference is lunch.

Oceania offers a civilized higher end buffet. Luminae doesn't have a real lunch, despite Celebrity's assertion, and breakfast ends much earlier than Oceania.

The school cafeteria called Oceanview cafe is the major drawback to sailing on Celebrity.

That, and the crowded pool situation.

[durante]

Celebrity Luminae vs Oceania- we have done both this year and thoughtLuminae was superior for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We were on Eclipse and comparing to Oceania Riviera. I used to prefer the food on Oceania compared to Celebrity however Luminae was excellent much to my surprise.

To add to the comment by Kevnzworld, on our cruise a full lunch was offered in Luminae.

Edited November 5, 2015 by durante
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[suec12]

I thought Oceania cuisine was better than Luminae, by quite a bit, but the service and ambiance may be better in Luminae. I liked Azamara even better, partly because of wine included :) - does O offer "free" wine these days? but Azamara ships are a bit tired and usually the price differential makes Celebrity the winner among the 3 (but we only were in a suite on X one time - it was after Luminaie was opened).

Edited November 5, 2015 by suec12

[TrulyBlonde]

I am currently on Solstice and cruise Oceania frequently with 2 cruises booked for 2016 with them. The food is definitely better on O with many more dining options as well as expanded menu vs: Luminae limited menu. Lobster and filet sandwich at pool grill, lobster, filet, shrimp, lamb chops at the Terrace Cafe with lovely outdoor dining deck, beautiful main dining room for breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus the choice of speciality restaurants at no cost.

Another factor is size: smaller R ships on O 684 passengers and O ships like Riviera are about 1000 to 1200 I believe.

 

We are enjoying our cruise on Solstice and would return but given same itinerary and timing, Oceania would be our 1st choice with the Riviera being my favorite ship at sea.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I thought Oceania cuisine was better than Luminae, by quite a bit, but the service and ambiance may be better in Luminae. I liked Azamara even better, partly because of wine included :) - does O offer "free" wine these days? but Azamara ships are a bit tired and usually the price differential makes Celebrity the winner among the 3 (but we only were in a suite on X one time - it was after Luminaie was opened).

 

Both Azamara ships are getting their long-overdue major dry-docks early next year, so that won't be an issue in OP's timeframe. And there is the benefit that Azamara sailings count toward the combined Celebrity/Azamara loyalty program.

Edited November 6, 2015 by Host Jazzbeau

[cybx]

Both Azamara ships are getting their long-overdue major dry-docks early next year, so that won't be an issue in OP's timeframe. And there is the benefit that Azamara sailings count toward the combined Celebrity/Azamara loyalty program.

Did they recombine the program? I distinctly remember plans a few years ago to separate them.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Did they recombine the program? I distinctly remember plans a few years ago to separate them.

 

I don't know about them ever being separated. They have been fully combined since I started paying attention. Points from either line accrue to both, and the levels are in sync. [Note: this does not include Royal Caribbean.]

[galleycook]

We were on the Solstice in August and found Luminae to be excellent. The food and service was always excellent. It was never very busy, which provided a little bit more of an intimate feeling. The menu was similar to the MDR but also included “better” alternatives. Personally we found this to be an excellent perk of the suites.

 

We ate in a few of the specialty restaurants and again the food and service were excellent. Probably better than in Luminae but there is also a premium price associated with those restaurants. The buffet was average.

 

We were on the Summit 2 years ago but Luminae was not one of their restaurants at that time. As with the Solstice we found the food and service to be very good in the specialty restaurants although less so in the main dining room. Qsine was our favorite of the specialties. Unfortunately this restaurant is not on the Solstice.

 

We have never sailed on Oceania and therefore can’t comment but certainly Celebrity’s venues should not disappoint.

[cybx]

I don't know about them ever being separated. They have been fully combined since I started paying attention. Points from either line accrue to both, and the levels are in sync. [Note: this does not include Royal Caribbean.]

Ya, that's how I remember it being. I'm pretty sure they were going to separate at one point. I guess they never did though.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I see the Oceania fans are all over your parallel thread. I dare not post there, so let me say here that I found the food on Oceania disappointing. Jacques Pepin was not on the ship, and neither was his spirit. They couldn't cook a steak to save their life [DW and I never got it cooked medium rare -- one night we both ordered filets, which should be the easiest thing to cook right, and they came at completely different levels of doneness!]. If top-level food is your #1, #2 and #3 priority, do whatever you have to do to sail on Crystal -- that was fantastic food! Also remember that Luminae's menu changes every day [i saw some posts that seemed to imply it was static like a speciality restaurant] and you will have 2 specialties on Summit [one of which, Qsine, has such a large and varied menu that you could easily dine there several times without repeating -- it's also a hoot, which you can't say about any restaurant on Oceania].

[TrulyBlonde]

I don't understand why you would not put your feedback on the O board? The OP was asking for opinions of each and since I am currently on Solstice and enjoying it I provided an honest opinion. I also posted on the O board because I am a frequent O cruiser. I will not cruise on Azamara after 2 cruises with them but am not afraid to provide my opinion because this is what CC is about. I hope we all have been very helpful to the OP and they are smart enough to read thru the lines. We like both X and O and although they are completely different they both offer positives for us.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I don't understand why you would not put your feedback on the O board? The OP was asking for opinions of each and since I am currently on Solstice and enjoying it I provided an honest opinion. I also posted on the O board because I am a frequent O cruiser. I will not cruise on Azamara after 2 cruises with them but am not afraid to provide my opinion because this is what CC is about. I hope we all have been very helpful to the OP and they are smart enough to read thru the lines. We like both X and O and although they are completely different they both offer positives for us.

 

I have been attacked too many times on the Oceania forum because all is not sweetness and light, so I read but never post there.

[TrulyBlonde]

I have been attacked too many times on the Oceania forum because all is not sweetness and light, so I read but never post there.

 

The scones on O with clotted cream at tea time are very sweet and light;-) Have you dined in Luminae yet? If so, that would help the OP as that was their question comparing Luminae to O restaurants.

[Adidas4fun]

I have been attacked too many times on the Oceania forum because all is not sweetness and light, so I read but never post there.

 

says one of the cc hosts ... hmmmm....

[Iamthesea]

The scones on O with clotted cream at tea time are very sweet and light;-) Have you dined in Luminae yet? If so, that would help the OP as that was their question comparing Luminae to O restaurants.

 

Scones, cream and tea time... Curious, does Oceania cater to the British or do the British (and other residents of UK) frequent Oceania? We just got off a cruise where 97% of the passengers were from the UK. I enjoyed my very first scone, but assumed that the ship only offered these because of the passengers. It would be great to have them on our upcoming Oceania cruise.:)

 

Celebrity Luminae vs Oceania- we have done both this year and thoughtLuminae was superior for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We were on Eclipse and comparing to Oceania Riviera. I used to prefer the food on Oceania compared to Celebrity however Luminae was excellent much to my surprise.

To add to the comment by Kevnzworld, on our cruise a full lunch was offered in Luminae.

 

I am currently on Solstice and cruise Oceania frequently with 2 cruises booked for 2016 with them. The food is definitely better on O with many more dining options as well as expanded menu vs: Luminae limited menu. Lobster and filet sandwich at pool grill, lobster, filet, shrimp, lamb chops at the Terrace Cafe with lovely outdoor dining deck, beautiful main dining room for breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus the choice of speciality restaurants at no cost.

Another factor is size: smaller R ships on O 684 passengers and O ships like Riviera are about 1000 to 1200 I believe.

 

We are enjoying our cruise on Solstice and would return but given same itinerary and timing, Oceania would be our 1st choice with the Riviera being my favorite ship at sea.

 

Looking forward to coming back here with my own comparison. ;)