BLU vs Luminae - looking for feedback

[Ma Bell]

If you compare the deck plans, especially deck 12, you can see that Reflection has a full deck of staterooms on deck 12 which is part of the pool deck on the other ships. Those are suites and additional AQ staterooms missing on the other ships. So Blu on Reflection tends to be more crowded.

 

They are no longer Aqua Suites and have been reclassified as Sky Suites for quite a while.

[Covepointcruiser]

Reflection has 150 Aqua Class cabins vs 130 on Equinox and 107 on Summit.

Blu's capacity is listed as 154,128 and 100 respectively.

 

The Reflection also has many more Suites. This causes crowding in Luminae. Michaels Club is also very crowded on transatlantics where few have drink packages.

[jagoffee]

Reflection has 150 Aqua Class cabins vs 130 on Equinox and 107 on Summit.

Blu's capacity is listed as 154,128 and 100 respectively.

 

Based on those numbers, Blu should be less crowded on the Reflection unless Suite guest are dining there.

 

I agree Luminae is more crowded due to the additional suites with a significant increase in Luminae tables. The Sky Lounge is also more crowded due to the smaller size it’s more people. (Of course the Sky Lounge is not usually very busy, except at select times.)

[bigbenboys]

I can’t imagine that Luminae would still be able to easily provide MDR items with a location 8 decks higher and at the opposite end of the ship with the Edge class.

 

I'm thinking the same thing. We will find out in March. I'm hoping they will expand Luminae menu. I enjoy having more food options with the MDR menu along with the Luminae menu. Yes we could book a less expensive cabin and get the dining package. I've eaten in Murano and the Chateaubriand is really good. At Tuscan Grill and Lawn Club Grill I had the ribeye was not that great. The Porch is my favorite dining venue. As I have eaten at The Porch the most the menu does not seem to change. Also eaten a few times in Murano and the menu seemed to not have changed. I say seemed because I always get the Chateaubriand. Do any of the specialty restaurants change their menus at all over a 7 to 14 night cruise? Excluding Blu and Luminae as they do changed.

[cmhdoogalsatsea]

Based on those numbers, Blu should be less crowded on the Reflection unless Suite guest are dining there.

 

I agree Luminae is more crowded due to the additional suites with a significant increase in Luminae tables. The Sky Lounge is also more crowded due to the smaller size it’s more people. (Of course the Sky Lounge is not usually very busy, except at select times.)

 

Numbers are from the ships' fact sheets. Not sure how it would be much more roomy when the ratios are basically 1:2 (Blu seats to people) in each spot. As far as Luminae goes, on Reflection I thought it was woefully understaffed but rarely overcrowded (I tend to dine really late). Similar experience with it on Equinox. I really prefer the size on Summit. Am looking forward to reading about suite experience on Edge, there are so many I can't really see myself choosing it and really hoping that Summit comes out nicely in the the Spring!

[Miaminice]

They are no longer Aqua Suites and have been reclassified as Sky Suites for quite a while.

 

And where did I say there were?

 

I wrote Deck 12 on Reflection brought more suites and more AQ staterooms.

 

Never wrote about the long gone Aqua suites.

[jagoffee]

Numbers are from the ships' fact sheets. Not sure how it would be much more roomy when the ratios are basically 1:2 (Blu seats to people) in each spot. As far as Luminae goes, on Reflection I thought it was woefully understaffed but rarely overcrowded (I tend to dine really late). Similar experience with it on Equinox. I really prefer the size on Summit. Am looking forward to reading about suite experience on Edge, there are so many I can't really see myself choosing it and really hoping that Summit comes out nicely in the the Spring!

 

Not much, but the Reflection has more capacity than cabins and the others do not. I was just responding to the comment that the Reflection was more crowded in Blu because it had more AQ cabins. It appears from the ship’s fact sheet that they increased the capacity of the Blu more than the cabins.

[cmhdoogalsatsea]

Not much, but the Reflection has more capacity than cabins and the others do not. I was just responding to the comment that the Reflection was more crowded in Blu because it had more AQ cabins. It appears from the ship’s fact sheet that they increased the capacity of the Blu more than the cabins.

I am not sure how anyone would experience 4 seats beyond a 50% capacity as beubg more spacious when servicing 300 aq guests.

[Miaminice]

Not much, but the Reflection has more capacity than cabins and the others do not. I was just responding to the comment that the Reflection was more crowded in Blu because it had more AQ cabins. It appears from the ship’s fact sheet that they increased the capacity of the Blu more than the cabins.

 

They increased the capacity by adding more seats and not by making it larger... that is the reason why.

[Punam]

We did our very first Celebrity cruise on Summit earlier this year, for which we got an absolute steal on a Sky Suite, so enjoyed our nightly dinners at Luminae. For our next cruise we are currently booked in Aqua Clas, and contemplating whether to upgrade, but one of the things I'm curious about is for feedback from folks who have done both Aqua and Suites and how the food compares between BLU and Luminae. We didn't take advantage of the ability to dine in BLU as suite guests so don't have any experience. Side question, in BLU can you order from MDR like you can from Luminae?

 

Thanks in advance everyone!

 

We just got back from a cruise in skysuite on Constellation. We chose Blue almost nightly. The previous cruise (also skysuite but on Infinity to Alaska 2 yrs ago 0 not sure if things have changed) seemed to have a much better menu in Luminae. This time it was only 4 choices per night, and all of them were over the top saucy, or rich... it was as if they were just trying too hard. Blu was great almsot every night.

[Cruise a holic]

We cruised in AQ on the Summit and had an option to order from the MDR menus when dining in BLU. It was explained to me that on M-class ships, BLU diners can order from the MDR because the kitchens are right next to each other. This is not the case in AQ on S-class ships.

 

I don’t understand why if you can get a good deal on a sky suite enjoy the wonderful perks including luminae, why settle for a regular balcony cabin, with some minor perks offered to AQ guests. I Have sailed in AQUA class multiple times on both m and s class ship, and Dined in blu. Blu has a better atmosphere then mdr but IMO its a no brainer to sail in a sky suite or better if you can budget it and enjoy the superior service, larger cabin, Michael’s club, miscellaneous perks and luminae. If we cannot budget a suite we sail in a balcony cabin and dine daily in specialty restaurants. Cheaper then AQ

[misterkevin]

I don’t understand why if you can get a good deal on a sky suite enjoy the wonderful perks including luminae, why settle for a regular balcony cabin, with some minor perks offered to AQ guests. I Have sailed in AQUA class multiple times on both m and s class ship, and Dined in blu. Blu has a better atmosphere then mdr but IMO its a no brainer to sail in a sky suite or better if you can budget it and enjoy the superior service, larger cabin, Michael’s club, miscellaneous perks and luminae. If we cannot budget a suite we sail in a balcony cabin and dine daily in specialty restaurants. Cheaper then AQ

 

I haven't seen any good deals on suites yet on Celebrity. On my next 8-day Equinox cruise 10/15, we booked AQ2 for 1299pp with 2 perks. SS2 was lowest at 2099 and went to 3800pp highest before it sold out. That was from $100pp per day more to over $300 pp per day more for Luminae, Michael's, and the extra perks. That's not really a good deal to me, but value is subjective. We've cruised Aqua class before and loved the spa access, priority boarding, and Blu. I've bid to upgrade with the MoveUp program at a price I thought would make it worth it to me, and if I don't get it, I'll still be very satisfied. With suite prices starting typically at an additional 75% premium over Aqua, I'm not interested. I like to know I don't have to make reservations at a private dining room with very good food, and I love the spa. It's a matter of preferences.

[Cruise a holic]

I haven't seen any good deals on suites yet on Celebrity. On my next 8-day Equinox cruise 10/15, we booked AQ2 for 1299pp with 2 perks. SS2 was lowest at 2099 and went to 3800pp highest before it sold out. That was from $100pp per day more to over $300 pp per day more for Luminae, Michael's, and the extra perks. That's not really a good deal to me, but value is subjective. We've cruised Aqua class before and loved the spa access, priority boarding, and Blu. I've bid to upgrade with the MoveUp program at a price I thought would make it worth it to me, and if I don't get it, I'll still be very satisfied. With suite prices starting typically at an additional 75% premium over Aqua, I'm not interested. I like to know I don't have to make reservations at a private dining room with very good food, and I love the spa. It's a matter of preferences.

Typically you also get a go best package included with a sky suite. So you get the perks including premium liquor package. That makes the actual price lower. One perk with aq and cc over a balcony cabin is the extra Celebrity points. But more with suites

[misterkevin]

Typically you also get a go best package included with a sky suite. So you get the perks including premium liquor package. That makes the actual price lower. One perk with aq and cc over a balcony cabin is the extra Celebrity points. But more with suites

Yes, a Go Best package on a 7 night in a suite is worth about $940 extra per person. However, we already had 2 of the 4 perks worth $612, so the upcharges didn't make sense to me. When the budget and price fits, I'll be glad to try suite class.

[Miaminice]

I don’t understand why if you can get a good deal on a sky suite enjoy the wonderful perks including luminae, why settle for a regular balcony cabin, with some minor perks offered to AQ guests. I Have sailed in AQUA class multiple times on both m and s class ship, and Dined in blu. Blu has a better atmosphere then mdr but IMO its a no brainer to sail in a sky suite or better if you can budget it and enjoy the superior service, larger cabin, Michael’s club, miscellaneous perks and luminae. If we cannot budget a suite we sail in a balcony cabin and dine daily in specialty restaurants. Cheaper then AQ

 

We have cruised in both, AQ and suites.

 

If there’s s good deal on a suite we will take it. Otherwise we will stick to AQ.

 

Extras are only worth anything if you actually need/want them. We prefer a smaller venue over the MDR and BLU is just fine. We didn’t think Luminae is better. We don’t need Michael‘s and we certainly don’t need internet or a premium package. The larger room isn’t worth much to us either...

 

The thing we want, a smaller dining room, comes with both options but not with a regular veranda stateroom.

 

The dining packages might be an option on S-class. On M class, with just the Le Petit Chef (former Qsine) and Tuscan as an alternative - not so much.