Staying in Sky Suite and dining with others not staying in a suite?

[gweempose]

We just booked a family cruise on the Solstice to Alaska in July. We have been on many cruises, but this is our first time sailing on Celebrity. My wife and I are staying in a Sky Suite (category S1). My mother-in-law and my two kids are staying in an attached Sunset Veranda, and my parents are staying down the hall in a Deluxe Ocean View Veranda (category 2B). I'm a bit confused about how the dining is going to work. Obviously, we will want to eat most of our dinners with all seven of us. Are suite passengers required to eat in Luminae, or can we eat in the MDR? Will the other four people travelling with us who are not staying in the suite be allowed to join us in Luminae?

[CruisersTimesThree]

We just booked a family cruise on the Solstice to Alaska in July. We have been on many cruises, but this is our first time sailing on Celebrity. My wife and I are staying in a Sky Suite (category S1). My mother-in-law and my two kids are staying in an attached Sunset Veranda, and my parents are staying down the hall in a Deluxe Ocean View Veranda (category 2B). I'm a bit confused about how the dining is going to work. Obviously, we will want to eat most of our dinners with all seven of us. Are suite passengers required to eat in Luminae, or can we eat in the MDR? Will the other four people travelling with us who are not staying in the suite be allowed to join us in Luminae?

The non-suite guests would be permitted to eat with you in Luminae, but it is only allowed if there is room available, plus there is an additional cost of $!0, 20 or 30 per guest depending on which meal it is.

You are allowed to eat in the MDR, no rule against that.

With so many of your group not in a suite, if you want to eat all your meals together the obvious choice would be for you and your wife to eat with them in the MDR.

If you booked with Celebrity directly, you could let them know, or your TA should be able to set that up for you if you want early or late dinner seating.

Another option is to let your family choose select dining and for the meals you wish to eat with them, have your butler or the Luminae maître d' arrange for you to join them.

[MR_T]

As a suite guest you are most definitely able to dine in the MDR with your family if that's what you want, as for your family joining you in the suite restaurant I believe this is possible if space allows but also I believe there is a fee per head of the non suite guests... (I thinks it's $30 per person)

[Braveheart11]

The non-suite guests would be permitted to eat with you in Luminae, but it is only allowed if there is room available, plus there is an additional cost of $!0, 20 or 30 per guest depending on which meal it is.

You are allowed to eat in the MDR, no rule against that.

With so many of your group not in a suite, if you want to eat all your meals together the obvious choice would be for you and your wife to eat with them in the MDR.

If you booked with Celebrity directly, you could let them know, or your TA should be able to set that up for you.

 

I was in an S1 Sky suite on the Silhouette June 2015. The charge for me to bring my sister and her husband to Luminae was $50 per person for a dinner service. I would be surprised if guests could ever dine in there for $10 pp.

[cruisestitch]

It is currently $10 for breakfast, $ 20 for lunch, and $ 30 for dinner.

[CruisersTimesThree]

I was in an S1 Sky suite on the Silhouette June 2015. The charge for me to bring my sister and her husband to Luminae was $50 per person for a dinner service. I would be surprised if guests could ever dine in there for $10 pp.

 

They have changed the prices since then.

[gweempose]

Thanks for all the great info, guys!

 

With so many of your group not in a suite, if you want to eat all your meals together the obvious choice would be for you and your wife to eat with them in the MDR. If you booked with Celebrity directly, you could let them know, or your TA should be able to set that up for you if you want early or late dinner seating. Another option is to let your family choose select dining and for the meals you wish to eat with them, have your butler or the Luminae maître d' arrange for you to join them.

 

I think everyone we are travelling with is currently slated for "select dining". At the time we booked, the late seating was already filled, and 6:00 seemed too early. Would our butler be the best person to arrange all our dinner reservations? I was a little confused about what the butler's purpose is, and how to best utilize them.

 

Also, what exactly is the advantage of Luminae? Is the menu different? Is the food better? $30 per person seems like a pretty steep cover charge. Are the kids less, or do they have to pay the full cover as well?

[CruisersTimesThree]

Thanks for all the great info, guys!

 

 

 

I think everyone we are travelling with is currently slated for "select dining". At the time we booked, the late seating was already filled, and 6:00 seemed too early. Would our butler be the best person to arrange all our dinner reservations? I was a little confused about what the butler's purpose is, and how to best utilize them.

 

Also, what exactly is the advantage of Luminae? Is the menu different? Is the food better? $30 per person seems like a pretty steep cover charge. Are the kids less, or do they have to pay the full cover as well?

 

 

If you speak with your butler and let him know which evenings you would like to dine with your other family members in select, he would be able to set that up for you.

Luminae is the dining venue for suite guests, and it is wonderful! If possible you and your wife should definitely have a few meals there.

Yes, the menus are different from the MDR. Very inventive choices, although not as many per evening as the MDR.

If nothing piques your interest you can also order off the MDR menu. I am not "adventurous" in dining, but I did enjoy many of the dishes in Luminae, mixing them in with appetizers and soups off the other menu. My husband loves Luminae, but he'll try anything so he was thrilled with the different choices. Breakfast is terrific! Since it's not as expensive as dinner (only $10pp) that might be an option to have family meals together.

The dining room is not big, more like an intimate restaurant. That may be one reason they charge a high guest fee to dine there, they want to be sure they can always accommodate their suite guests, but that's just speculation on my part.

As far as I know, the fee is for anyone who is not a suite guest, so that would include children.

Hope you all enjoy your cruise!

 

 

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[bEwAbG]

You're paying a lot more to be in a suite to have access to Luminae. I'd plan to have some meals apart from the family, or you're not getting the full benefit of staying in the suite. Their burger at lunch is very good, so don't dismiss breakfast and lunch as options. The dinner meals are like eating in a better restaurant at home. If your kids are young, they may not like it if they're not adventurous eaters.

 

In my opinion, non-suite guests should not be in the suite restaurant at all. It's annoying as a suite guest to be told that you cannot dine at a certain time because the dining room is full and then see a large family party composed mainly of guests taking up space (my experience on Reflection). I believe the higher per-person cost is one attempt to keep it in check. There have also been reports of people not being allowed to bring guests for certain meals, so don't get your heart set on a specific day/time. Celebrity will try to accommodate you the best way they can.

[villauk]

I recall there was mention that when the new suite restaurant was implemented that if children were in a connecting cabin to their parents' suite, and were under a certain age (12?), they would be allowed in Luminae with their parents F.O.C. Can anyone confirm this is indeed the case for the OP (not sure how old your kids are as you don't say in your posts)? Obviously the other adults wouldn't be able to dine there, but it may alleviate some of their issues rather than leaving their children to dine with the grandparents for most of the cruise.

[bEwAbG]

I recall there was mention that when the new suite restaurant was implemented that if children were in a connecting cabin to their parents' suite, and were under a certain age (12?), they would be allowed in Luminae with their parents F.O.C. Can anyone confirm this is indeed the case for the OP (not sure how old your kids are as you don't say in your posts)? Obviously the other adults wouldn't be able to dine there, but it may alleviate some of their issues rather than leaving their children to dine with the grandparents for most of the cruise.

 

The few times I've seen it mentioned, hasn't it only been when the kids are staying by themselves in a cabin? I think you'd have to ask Celebrity directly about this situation and probably not get a definite answer until you're onboard. In this case, they have an adult in their room who is assigned to the MDR who could accompany the kids to dinner in the MDR. You never know, though. It's a pretty unique situation.

[cynbar]

I understand the OP's predicament, wanting to eat with family who are not in a suite. But I have to second the reply that access to Luminae is a big part of what you are paying for in a suite. We were in a suite on Silhouette last week, and Luminae exceeded our expectations. The atmosphere and decor are a step above the MDR, the service is better, the food was excellent, and the tables are appropriately spaced so they are not right on top of each other, as you find in the MDR. I hope the OP's family will be gracious and encourage them to eat at least some of their dinners there. Since they chose not to book a suite, hopefully they understand that those who do should be able to enjoy the perks.

 

Personally, if this were my family, I would probably downgrade myself to a lower category if I didn't plan to take advantage of Luminae and Michael's Club. And I think that inviting guests into Luminae, even if you're OK with the cover charge, is designed as an occasional treat and not a regular event. There just wouldn't be room if many suite passengers bring their friends and relatives on a frequent basis.

[villauk]

I understand the OP's predicament, wanting to eat with family who are not in a suite. But I have to second the reply that access to Luminae is a big part of what you are paying for in a suite. We were in a suite on Silhouette last week, and Luminae exceeded our expectations. The atmosphere and decor are a step above the MDR, the service is better, the food was excellent, and the tables are appropriately spaced so they are not right on top of each other, as you find in the MDR. I hope the OP's family will be gracious and encourage them to eat at least some of their dinners there. Since they chose not to book a suite, hopefully they understand that those who do should be able to enjoy the perks.

 

Personally, if this were my family, I would probably downgrade myself to a lower category if I didn't plan to take advantage of Luminae and Michael's Club. And I think that inviting guests into Luminae, even if you're OK with the cover charge, is designed as an occasional treat and not a regular event. There just wouldn't be room if many suite passengers bring their friends and relatives on a frequent basis.

 

Unfortunately, this is what happens when suites are connecting to other types of cabins - something that was mentioned when X introduced the new restaurant ;). Let's hope they give this more thought on the new Edge class ships.

[4774Papa]

We upgraded to a Skysuite on Millennium in Fall of 2015. We loved Luminae, but missed or cruise critic roll call friends that were not in suites. At that time is was $50 pp for non-suite passengers to join suite passengers.

 

I would recommend dining in Luminae at least once.

 

We enjoyed our spacious suite, but in the future, we would never pay the going rate for a suite. Sure, we like the double sinks and very nice bathroom, large balcony and cabin, but it would not be worth the huge extra cost. Luminae was great, but the MDR is pretty good on X.

[BEAV]

I understand the OP's predicament, wanting to eat with family who are not in a suite. But I have to second the reply that access to Luminae is a big part of what you are paying for in a suite. We were in a suite on Silhouette last week, and Luminae exceeded our expectations. The atmosphere and decor are a step above the MDR, the service is better, the food was excellent, and the tables are appropriately spaced so they are not right on top of each other, as you find in the MDR. I hope the OP's family will be gracious and encourage them to eat at least some of their dinners there. Since they chose not to book a suite, hopefully they understand that those who do should be able to enjoy the perks.

 

Personally, if this were my family, I would probably downgrade myself to a lower category if I didn't plan to take advantage of Luminae and Michael's Club. And I think that inviting guests into Luminae, even if you're OK with the cover charge, is designed as an occasional treat and not a regular event. There just wouldn't be room if many suite passengers bring their friends and relatives on a frequent basis.

 

I agree. Since the cost of a suite incorporates perks such as Luminae and Michael's Club, if I were the OP I would evaluate the situation and possibly downgrade to a non-suite stateroom. If money is no object and the OP wants a larger space, then stick with the Sky Suite. Just be aware you're paying for amenities you won't be using if you're in the MDR most nights with the rest of the family.

 

We were in a suite on our last =X= cruise and loved Luminae and Michael's Club. But in our next cruise with friends we are all in Concierge Class so as to dine together at night.