When Lumina is closed for lunch?

[philpcruiser]

In our experience Luminae would be closed and Tuscan would be open one or more sea days...If you are in contact with the shoreside concierge pre cruise ask for clarification, if not speak to your butler on boarding...

 

We have been on cruises where the Specialities have taken turns in opening on sea days and also experienced them offering a 'progressive' lunch experience where you had a flavour of each (starter in one, mains in the next....).

 

As we are light lunch eaters can't comment on the quality of lunchtime speciality dining...we have never used it.

Thanks for the info. I should have mentioned that our 10 day trip has only 1 sea day. That was why I thought (hoped) Luminae may be opened for an occasional lunch. Then thinking about it, maybe Luminae being closed for lunch is a good thing. It "forces" us to alternative lunch plans. Lunch on the balcony on sail away is sounding interesting.

[Oville]

It is interesting to compare the suite benefits on X to the MSC I should also mention that the MSC Yacht Club is generally a lot less money (per passenger day).

 

Hank

 

What you haven't mentioned, many cabins in the yacht club are not suites. So in reality the Yacht Club is not really a "suites only" perk.

[Host Hattie]

On Cunard in the Grill class, all drinks are included up to the price of $12. This included all but a few specialty drinks in the Commodore Club. As for the menu, it is just a suggestion, you can order almost anything and they will provide it. Looking at the drink prices, they were much less than Celebrity. Cunard does not sell drink packages so they are more sensitive to drink pricing. Everyone pays by the drink unless you are in a

Suite.

Unless you have booked under a promotional offer, drinks are chargeable for all grades of Cunard accommodation.

[Jayneykul]

Thanks for the clarification on that Host Hattie I have been debating on another forum the comments that the drinks in Commodore Club are free to suite guests! Been worried might have missed out

[Alatraveler1]

Then with the fare paid to X for an upcoming cruise (more than other lines) i will be having room service lunch EVERY day we are on the ship during lunch. Expecting passengers to go buffet with the prices paid for the cruise or to eat on shore for extra $$$ is ridiculous! Other comparable liines will have an MDR open on port days if you want a "table service" meal for lunch. This is NOT modern luxury but modern accounting and penny pinching. We are looking to repeat cruises on certain routes, and since we would stay onboard in many of the ports we have visited numerous times, we won't be booking Celebrity for them if our options for lunch are room service menu or buffet.

[Hlitner]

What you haven't mentioned, many cabins in the yacht club are not suites. So in reality the Yacht Club is not really a "suites only" perk.

'Tis true...but we see it as an advantage. The cruiser can make their own decision as to whether they prefer a large suite...or a relatively normal balcony cabin. But either way, they will get all the exclusive Yacht Club perks including access to a unique section of the ship reserved for only Yacht Club. The advantage of booking the smaller Yacht Club cabins is a huge cost savings over the large suites...but the decision is yours. Compare to Aqua Class on Celebrity...where you pay more for a few extra cabin amenities...but the big draw is Blu. But on MSC you are not only gettting the private restaurant perk, you are getting a private section of the ship that includes lounges, pool (with a retractable roof), snacks, drinks, etc. Celebrity would be competitive if it had a special pool deck for Aqua (and suites) and kept Lumanae open for all meals on all days.

 

Hank

[Hlitner]

Then with the fare paid to X for an upcoming cruise (more than other lines) i will be having room service lunch EVERY day we are on the ship during lunch. Expecting passengers to go buffet with the prices paid for the cruise or to eat on shore for extra $$$ is ridiculous! Other comparable liines will have an MDR open on port days if you want a "table service" meal for lunch. This is NOT modern luxury but modern accounting and penny pinching. We are looking to repeat cruises on certain routes, and since we would stay onboard in many of the ports we have visited numerous times, we won't be booking Celebrity for them if our options for lunch are room service menu or buffet.

 

Your plan would make more sense if there was a really good room service menu. Personally, the idea of sitting in our cabin (on a sea or port day) and having a cold club sandwich is not my idea of decent cruise food. Like you, we sometimes love staying aboard on port days (especially in the Caribbean) but then have to deal with the buffet or a burger (soon to be part of the buffet unless we want to pay extra for a burger), Celebrity is not the only mass market line to close most decent eating venues when in port...and we hate the practice. What we find interesting is that MSC, which many consider a lower niche mass market line, does have some venues open on port days. Go figure.

 

Hank

[Oville]

'Tis true...but we see it as an advantage. The cruiser can make their own decision as to whether they prefer a large suite...or a relatively normal balcony cabin. But either way, they will get all the exclusive Yacht Club perks including access to a unique section of the ship reserved for only Yacht Club. The advantage of booking the smaller Yacht Club cabins is a huge cost savings over the large suites...but the decision is yours.

 

But the smaller balcony cabins in the Yacht Club are significantly more expensive than a balcony on an S Class Celebrity ship.

 

Trust me we have looked into these cabins and could not convince ourselves the value was better than an S1 or S2 on Celebrity. In all fairness I will add that we are not pool people and prefer trying local cuisine for lunch when we are in port.

[varoo]

We used room service for a few lunches on our last cruise. Our excursions had been early morning after pastries and coffee for breakfast and we were back on the ship lunchtime...

 

We had fabulous views from our balcony over the Fjords so it seemed a shame not to enjoy. I also had some mobility issues which made Oceanview not an easy choice. We were pleasantly surprised by the standard all day menu....Two soups (one a daily special), salads, club sandwiches, burgers, pizza....OK nothing gourmet but all arrived hot, promptly and filled a hole!

 

We are not big lunchtime eaters. We do tend to find the Luminae lunch menu too much when we are wanting to enjoy a meal later. Even when it is open we will only tend to want a soup and salad. Prior to this cruise an Oceanview soup and mixed salad and nibbles has always seen us through. After seeing how easy room service was, however, I think we may use it more often for a light lunch...

 

Love to have room service lunch (or breakfast, or dinner, or afternoon snacks) on the balcony when we are cruising through a scenic area in nice weather.

On Alaska cruises, we keep some deck blankets in the cabin to wrap up and enjoy the great scenery from the balcony, although recent Alaska cruises have been quite warm, so the blankets weren't needed.

Maybe saying this is heresy, but I find afternoon tea (or wine, or whatever) out on the balcony so much nicer than cooped up in Michael's Club.

[chemmo]

Maybe saying this is heresy, but I find afternoon tea (or wine, or whatever) out on the balcony so much nicer than cooped up in Michael's Club.

 

Totally agree...despite the official change we still had our butler arrange afternoon tea in our suite/balcony every day.

[hcat]

On Cunard all the dining rooms are open for lunch on port days, not just Princess and Queens grills :)

 

 

Do you know if this includes what I think is called the Brittania Club class dining rm..( not a suite level but sep dining area which we think may be similar to BLU in AQ?) We are seriously considering this for a future cruise..enjoyed Cunard in the past and looking for a break from X....

[Host Hattie]

Yes it does

[hcat]

Thanks..looks interesting..

We enjoy BLU and wish that was open for lunch..probably too small to do lunch for all AQ pax ; and staff is diverted elsewhere...

[Covepointcruiser]

Yes it does

Sorry Host Hattie. We are in the U.S. and every offer we receive from Cunard, at least once a week, has included drinks for Grill Passengers. Is this a U.S. thing? Although we are loyal Grill passengers and are not yet diamond level, can't believe we are singled out for the offers. I am very happy Cunard is offering these voyages to us!