Is Luminae Really An Upgrade Over Blu?

[Oville]

We sail in suites and love the ambience of Luminae but where are the veggies? I’m not a vegetarian but salads and veggies should be readily available and they are a scarcity in Luminae.

[Gracie115]

We sail in suites and love the ambience of Luminae but where are the veggies? I’m not a vegetarian but salads and veggies should be readily available and they are a scarcity in Luminae.

 

 

We agree...but we just ask for a salad course and they bring us either a small garden or small Caesar salad....

[4774Papa]

I would rate the dining as follows:

 

Celebrity Specialty Restaurants 9.5

Luminae 8.5

BLU 7.5

MDR 6.5

[Gordoncruickshank]

We have done 17 Cruises with Celebrity. The first 9 were in AQ and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The next 8 (plus the 5 that are booked at the moment) have all been in Luminae and the difference in the service and food quality is night and day.

 

The menus are a bit limited and my wife often struggles with them, ordering items from the main dinning room but I can always have a choice of several dishes from the Luminae menu. Where the whole menu does not suit my wife we go to one of the Speciality restaurants.

 

When we first went into Blu in 2012 the service was great other than trying to find a sommelier but as time went on the staffing was reduced, not much but enough to make a difference to the experience.

 

They do have things not on the menu that they can make up like a Fillet Steak and at lunch my wife has asked for a simple cheese and tomato toasted sandwich which was beautiful when it arrived so if you don't find what you want it does no harm to ask.

 

They could do with an always available type list as they do in Blu and the MDR.

[TeeRick]

C'mon, folks. Of course food is subjective. So are mattresses, automobiles, wines and virtually every commodity in life. That's why accepting the recommendations of people on a travel board is risky business. I am omnivorous. I eat everything. All I ask is that it be something a bit unusual or something common prepared in an uncommon fashion. Not every menu item, of course, but at least something different on each menu. But the Luminae menu frequently is quite mundane, and, as someone noted, items are promised but not delivered. DW remembers everything that is supposed to comprise a dish, and she has frequently noted to the waiter that what is sitting in front of her is not what is on the menu. What with one thing and another, I've had to order too many times from the MDR menu. So the OP's question might well be "Is Luminae really an upgrade over the MDR?" And my question might be "Why am I paying for a suite to eat MDR food?"

.

 

OK to each his/her own opinion in terms of food and service. You pay for a suite for many other reasons than just Luminae as others have stated. It is my opinion but dining in Luminae is far superior to the MDR and MDR food. We just occasionally supplement our Luminae dinner selections with something off the MDR menu. We can also ask the Luminae wait staff for just about anything and they will do their best to accommodate our request.

[Champagne Cruiser]

We sail in suites and love the ambience of Luminae but where are the veggies? I’m not a vegetarian but salads and veggies should be readily available and they are a scarcity in Luminae.

 

I agree. I asked for extra vegetables and then every night our waiter brought me a side dish of sautéed vegetables which I loved. I know people keep saying just ask and they will bring you anything you want but it would be easier to just put more choices on the menu.

[Jade13]

As suite passengers we find Luminae to mostly be terrific. We have occasionally tried Blu too but have not sailed Aqua, as a suite guest can dine there if not too crowded. So not as much Blu experience. Overall we find Luminae to be a step above Blu in food and service. Of course this is very subjective. In particular the breakfast and lunch in Luminae are much better. Dinner is just somewhat better although Blu has a better menu selection. We do order items (like escargot) off the MDR menu in Luminae all the time.

 

 

 

What breakfast items can you get in Luminae that you can’t get or order in BLU?

 

 

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[Mynki]

I would rate the dining as follows:

 

Celebrity Specialty Restaurants 9.5

Luminae 8.5

BLU 7.5

MDR 6.5

 

Interesting. I've found there to be significant differences in food and service quality between the specialty restaurants. I've never once been impressed with Tuscan Grille. It has a bit of an identity crisis in my opinion. It's not a real Italian restaurant and it's not a true steak house. Service has always been lack lustre and I swear I can cook a better steak myself.

 

Murano on the other hand has always been excellent in our experience. Persoanlly I'd rate Murano 9 and Tuscan just 5 (based on the fact it's an upcharge to eat there).

[hcat]

A lot more responses than I expected and some excellent points brought up. We have stayed in both suite and AQ, the biggest reason for us booking AQ is Blu. We really liked the extra space in suite cabins, Michaels club was nice but not something took advantage of daily. For us, we'll book a suite when we perceive the value is there, otherwise we'll stick with AQ. For our upcoming Aug and March cruises we chose AQ, but Sept 19 we choose a suite on Summit. As for the question raised if Luminae is an upgrade over the MDR, the answer is a definite yes. The service is head and shoulders above the MDR. However some of the food is equal since its the same. :)

 

Now, on the Edge with the separate space for suite guests, and other perks, going for a suite might be much more attractive.

 

Maybe but AQ class includes the EDGE Persian Garden Thermal suites...they look awesome. We have one cruise in AQ and one without on EDGE and hope we can get the PG weekly passes..

 

We also have to see if the location for BLU, near boats, and a few outdoor seats is going to be nice and how it compares to the 4 MDR restaurant experience

[4774Papa]

Interesting. I've found there to be significant differences in food and service quality between the specialty restaurants. I've never once been impressed with Tuscan Grille. It has a bit of an identity crisis in my opinion. It's not a real Italian restaurant and it's not a true steak house. Service has always been lack lustre and I swear I can cook a better steak myself.

 

Murano on the other hand has always been excellent in our experience. Persoanlly I'd rate Murano 9 and Tuscan just 5 (based on the fact it's an upcharge to eat there).

We've never dined at Tuscan, but my comment was based on Murano.

 

Luminae was excellent, probably the only disadvantage to dining there was that if you had friends not in suites then you didn't dine with them.

[tjunmin]

All posters so far have made great points. I just would like to add one more, based on our experiences. TLDR, if you have special dietary needs, Luminae is a much better venue compared to Blu.

 

My spouse is vegan and has had very poor experiences at Blu in the past; they are not properly staffed to attend to special dietary needs; they are capable of serving a vegan meal, but sometimes the food was bland because they simply removed the non-vegan ingredient that added flavor to the dish, without replacing it with anything else; but my spouse's major complaint was that most of the time, the meals were not nutritionally balanced; i.e., you do not get all the nutrition you need from a meal.

 

At Luminae, our experience has vastly improved. I enjoy the better quality of ingredients, better preparation of dishes, and improved service. For my spouse, the difference is staggering; at Luminae, in our last cruise, the chef prepared custom vegan dishes for every meal, which were tasty and nutritionally balanced, indicating that the chef did put though on the creation of the dish.

 

Thom

[wrk2cruise]

 

They could do with an always available type list as they do in Blu and the MDR.

 

You may already know this but they do have the same list of always available dishes. Unfortunately it's the same quality ingredients. It would be nice if they had an upgraded steak without having to ask for a special favor.

[Gracie115]

Interesting. I've found there to be significant differences in food and service quality between the specialty restaurants. I've never once been impressed with Tuscan Grille. It has a bit of an identity crisis in my opinion. It's not a real Italian restaurant and it's not a true steak house. Service has always been lack lustre and I swear I can cook a better steak myself.

 

Murano on the other hand has always been excellent in our experience. Persoanlly I'd rate Murano 9 and Tuscan just 5 (based on the fact it's an upcharge to eat there).

 

 

And we have never enjoyed our dinners in Murano....after 3 tries we've just not bothered anymore. We like Tuscan for more...so that's just how subjective it all is.

 

For what it's worth we feel that Luminae is FAR better than either one....

[eileenover]

We've had five Celebrity cruises. We have always booked suites and so have always had the Luminae option.

I have a severe nut allergy which the Luminae staff have handled well, generally.

On a typical 10 night cruise, we eat in Luminae 8 times and Murano twice. We have tried the Tuscan grill once in a while but have felt that it does not have the service and ambience that we like.

Occasionally, we order from the MDR whilst eating in Luminae.

We went into the MDR once: the service was poor and the response of the senior staff was that we were in a suite.... why would we consider going into the MDR?

One more point in favour of Luminae: with notice, specific food will usually be prepared for a diner ----and if a cetain dish is thoroughly enjoyed, it can be requested each day (if you so wish!) provided that notice is given and the ingredients are in stock. how many times did I have tomato soup on one cruise?

A quick note about breakfast.... we prefer to go to the buffet because Luminae chefs have never cooked scrambled eggs the way that I like them! Crazy! I've even offered to show them ---- the horror on the faces!

 

Other perks? We get through a lot of laundry! A bag a day!

Also, we enjoy Michael's Club for the quietness and also for the gigs/concerts for suite/Zenith guests. The 'free' booze is good too ----but with certain suite levels a premium package is awarded too.

Worst perk? Surely the low number of gelato tickets.

 

We've booked the Ireland/Iceland cruise on the Sihouette for 2019 but the following year we're trying Azamara. Why? The itinery (Lisbon to Cape Town) which can only followed by a much smaller ship.

[ShawninFL]

We've been in AQ 3 or 4 times and only once is a suite. Our experience was that Luminae was heads and shoulders above Blu. We absolutely loved it. Yes the menu was more limited, but everything in our opinion was much better than Blu or MDR. (service, wine selections, and food). I think my favorite were the lunches in Luminae on sea days - don't miss them. My only regret is our budget doesn't allow for suites. Our one experience was a special occasion cruise for us and we went all out.

[groryjm]

Just to add my contribution to the mix.... We have always cruised in suites though our first cruise was prior to the opening of Luminae. On that first cruise we tried the MDR' Blu and the Specialities. Tto be honest we found the service in the MDR lack lustre with "ok" food, the service in Murano's totaly over the top (not in a good way) but better food while Blu we found the service to be mediocre at best and the food only slightly better than the MDR, only just justifying the $10 upcharge.

 

All our cruises after our first culinary sailing fail were in Luminae and a revelation that kept us booking suites.:D We have not revisited the MDR or Blu since but have the Specialities and while Murano, Tuscan Sushi and Qsine have all in our opinion been better than our previous experiences they have not been as good overall as Luminae. The one exception being a fabulous meal we shared in Tuscan with Jamie Pett on the Senior officers table but I suspect the service was improved with the "Boss" at the table and the menue was one up on the regular offering

 

Eileen - See you in Iceland:cool:

[Lightngsvt]

This is excellent, it really illustrates the subjectivity of food, service and atmosphere. I guess we're just opposite of most opinions. We ate in Murano once, and have no desire to ever do so again. Same for the MDR, we ate there once on our first Celebrity cruise and ended up doing specialties the rest of that cruise. We thoroughly enjoy Tuscan Grille & Qsine. One thing I've noticed is that the quality of food and service seems to vary not just among restaurants but ships too. The food and service in Qsine & Tuscan on Summit was noticvably better than on the S-Class ships. However, we found the service in Blu to be better on the S-Class ships.

 

I have a feeling that a lot of this debate will be a non-issue on Edge with its many new and different venues.

[chill6x6]

Just wondering what other Celebrity passengers think, do you think Luminae is better than Blu? Having sailed in both Aqua and Suite, Im not sure that Luminae is worth an upcharge (suite cabin) over Blu (Aqua cabin). Personally, I've had exceptional service in both, great food and drinks in both and plenty of variety in both. The atmosphere in Luminae is a bit warmer and a touch more upscale, but Blu is very nice and feels a bit more "modern". I believe they are on par with one another where food is concerned. Considering Luminae also will server MDR food I think this brings it down a notch (not that there is anything wrong with the MDR food), though you can get MDR items in Blu if you ask (at least with soups and app's). What is your opinion?

 

We stayed in a CS on Silhouette in March and dined in both Luminae and Blu. Food is pretty close no doubt. Blu had bread on the table which I LIKE. BUT....no doubt the servers in Blu were MUCH more rushed than in Luminae. Less "i's" dotted and "t's" crossed. A little more MDRish. VERY noticeable difference. Luminae servers were steady going about their business but obviously more servers to diner ratio. We probably had four or five people waiting on us in Luminae. EVERYONE stepping in to serve and help. And of course being able to order from the MDR menu as well was such a treat for us. When I ordered a shrimp cocktail from the MDR menu they brought me a SHRIMP COCKTAIL, like a PLATE of shrimp.

 

No doubt my next cruise would be with Celebrity in a CS if there were more varied itineraries from FLL/MIA.

[peggy1]

Our dining experience in the MDR last month on Summit was great The food and service were excellent. We are going again in a week and this time on Aqua class and will go to Blu and try that. We are glad that we can still order from MDR menu if Blu isn't to our taste. We had the largest lobster tails ever on any ship on the Summit. Very satisfied

[warmwinds]

Our dining experience in the MDR last month on Summit was great The food and service were excellent. We are going again in a week and this time on Aqua class and will go to Blu and try that. We are glad that we can still order from MDR menu if Blu isn't to our taste. We had the largest lobster tails ever on any ship on the Summit. Very satisfied

 

Aqua/Blu does not have full access to the MDR menu, just certain "everyday" items - you might be thinking of Luminae which has full access to the MDR menu.

[Mynki]

Aqua/Blu does not have full access to the MDR menu, just certain "everyday" items - you might be thinking of Luminae which has full access to the MDR menu.

 

In theory you're correct.

 

However the service was so bad in Blu in our last cruise (December 2017) that we chose to visit the MDR. The Blu maitre 'd found us in the MDR and asked why we were not dining in Blu. It turns out that they can tell via their computer system if a guest has checked into any other restaurant. I told him that we were unimpressed with the level of service, he asked us to come back and stated that he'd even make the MDR menu available and allow us to order ANYTHING from it.

 

Bear in mind this is an M class ship and the two kitchens are close by so logistically this isn't an issue.

 

So, in theory you could try and order anything it would depend on the Blu maitre 'd on an M class ship.

[TeeRick]

In theory you're correct.

 

However the service was so bad in Blu in our last cruise (December 2017) that we chose to visit the MDR. The Blu maitre 'd found us in the MDR and asked why we were not dining in Blu. It turns out that they can tell via their computer system if a guest has checked into any other restaurant. I told him that we were unimpressed with the level of service, he asked us to come back and stated that he'd even make the MDR menu available and allow us to order ANYTHING from it.

 

Bear in mind this is an M class ship and the two kitchens are close by so logistically this isn't an issue.

 

So, in theory you could try and order anything it would depend on the Blu maitre 'd on an M class ship.

 

Mynki- what was the issue with the service in Blu ? Which ship?

[Mynki]

Mynki- what was the issue with the service in Blu ? Which ship?

 

Summit

 

Quite a catalogue to be honest. It happened last december on a Caribbean back to back. We had an 11 night concierge class room followed by a 10 night aqua class room.

 

The first morning in Blu the waiter got our order wrong. They replaced my order which was also wrong. This also happened to other diners. No biggie, people and teams have off days I didn't let it bother me. Same day we showed up for dinner around 20 minutes after Blu opened. We were given beepers and told to wait around 15 minutes. I've sailed in aqua class before, we dine early and have never been asked to wait, but OK, I could deal with that even though there were plenty of empty tables! Around 30 to 40 minutes later we were seated.

 

It quickly became apparent that unless you were there queing up for Blu just before they opened you were going to be given a beeper and asked to come back later.

 

As the trip progressed we given incorrect orders several times more. As were other diners.

 

Service was slow. The slowest I've ever witnessed on Celebrity.

 

The food quality was lacklustre and cutbacks are very apparent. The food in the MDR actually seemed better, the service was certainly better with the two waiters who looked after us there doing a stirling job and were tipped accordingly.

 

The sommelier in Blu was very poor. I like to pair wines with my starter and main course but she regularly didn't show up until the main course had been served. She seemed very quite, timid even and it was almost immediately apparent that she didn't know too much about wine. One the last night though she suddenly sprung into life telling us all about her two year old back home and about her home life being very friendly and chatty. Angling for a tip which she simply didn't deserve...

 

When the maitre 'd talked with us in the MDR I told him I could tell he was short staffed and that the people he did have were 'struggling'. The poor guy had to be very careful what he said but it transpired that Blu was one sommelier, four waitstaff short and that the existing staff consisted of people from other areas of the ship drafted in to help.

 

On topic these two cruises followed a trip in suite class on the Eclipse. Service in Luminae was excellent and I realised I'd made a big mistake going back to regular cabins after travelling in a suite. With hindsight we booked the wrong rooms. This is why I sometimes post that you only experience the best Celebrity has to offer in suite class. Some people describe Celebrity as a 'premium' cruise line. There is no universally accepted definition of 'premium cruise line' but I do not believe any none suite class room would qualify for most people definition of 'premium cruise line'.

 

So to the OP, book Luminae. We started in aqua class and if you check my historical posts you'll see I have always been complimentary about it until recently. And whilst it can be argued that staff shortages on Summit might be a one off we've definitely seen a decline in quality food wise. The MDR was every bit as good.

[Silkroad]

Mynki, my sole experience with Blu (on Summit) was similar to yours. Overall, It was disappointing, frustrating and simply not worth the extra cost. Should I ever try Aqua class again, it certainly won’t be on M class ships. I’ve only sailed in a suite once - pre Luminae- but I’m actively seeking an affordable Sky Suite, and looking forward to enjoying Luminae once I find one.

[TeeRick]

We spent a couple of weeks last Sept/Oct on Summit (Canada/NE). We sailed in a sky suite and the suite experience was excellent as was Luminae. We had Captain Alex who was very funny and very visible to passengers and staff. I'm wondering if the Summit service has deteriorated since losing both Captain Kate and Captain Alex.