Laminae with a Guest

[Momma Rene]

2 hours ago, plucasana said:

I have never been to the retreat/luminae and I really mean no offense - but:

do we really like the concept of selling tickets to a place that passengers paid a high premium for in order to have a less crowded experience?

 

Should Celebrity really allow that? Shouldn't it be

"Luminae is for suite guests. Blu is for AC guests. If people want to dine together they can book speciality restaurants."  Especially in Covid times when distancing means safety?

 

 

I totally agree!  We are paying a premium fare to be in a less crowded experience, especially in these Covid times.  If they open Luminae to be a fee paying restaurant, why would I book a suite?  What could occur is if you meet someone at a bar and have a great conversation, everyone could then invite them to Luminae.  It becomes a specialty restaurant.  It is not the experience I am paying a premium fare for.  Luminae should stay a suite restaurant.  

[Jim_Iain]

18 hours ago, lovrccl said:

Well they ended up getting aqua class. So hoping we can do Blu and or Luminae together, along with the MDR. We have choices!!

Yes you can dine in Blu, again on space available basis.   Generally if you are joining a Blu guest really no problem since they are just expanding their table.     We dine late so have never had a problem as the dining room was mostly empty.      On many U.S. cruises the early 5:30 dining can be the busiest while the opposite is true on many European Cruises. 

[cruisestitch]

5 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

I agree 100% with all you said.  However we got off Reflection on Sunday (1/2).  We were in a Sky Suite and were told we could eat in Blu if we wanted.  Could be the fact that we were at around 50% capacity.  We didn't eat in Blu as I liked Luminae, and both my wife and I agree that it isn't fair to Aqua Class passengers to take tables from them that they paid for.  

Of course it has to do with being at 50% capacity!

[DCPIV]

2 hours ago, Momma Rene said:

I totally agree!  We are paying a premium fare to be in a less crowded experience, especially in these Covid times.  If they open Luminae to be a fee paying restaurant, why would I book a suite?  What could occur is if you meet someone at a bar and have a great conversation, everyone could then invite them to Luminae.  It becomes a specialty restaurant.  It is not the experience I am paying a premium fare for.  Luminae should stay a suite restaurant.  

 

I'm a little torn on this one, and we tend to sail in suites.  I've heard about Luminae getting full on Edge and Reflection but rarely on other ships.  Those other, rare cases seem to be fairly limited circumstances, too (such as lobster night).  So, there is some room.

 

Obviously, it depends on the Maitre d' doing a good job.  If it's not busy, and the Maitre d' does not expect it to be, then I don't really have a problem.  I believe the Maitre d' can see how many suite guests have specialty reservations, so he can get an idea, and he doesn't have to grant every request.

 

I completely agree, though, that there is no good reason to overwhelm Luminae with non-suite guests and that the ability to invite others should not be abused.  I truly do not like the idea of waiting on a table or dealing with poor service because Luminae is loaded with non-suite guests, nor do I agree with the idea that parties travelling together but not all in Retreat class making a standing, nightly arrangement to dine together in Luminae.

[morpheusofthesea]

On 1/4/2022 at 4:20 PM, lovrccl said:

First has anyone done this and if so is there a cost associated with it? If so what is it? Thank you!!

As of last week on the Equinox I asked Luminae maitre d' Barone that exact question. So as of a week ago breakfast $15, lunch $20,  dinner $30. Not bad at all.  I tip $5, then $10, then $20 for each of these meals (total for two). A large group of 11 was allowed to dine one evening at 8:50 pm . only the grandparents were in the Retreat.

Edited January 6, 2022 by morpheusofthesea

[TeeRick]

22 hours ago, Momma Rene said:

I totally agree!  We are paying a premium fare to be in a less crowded experience, especially in these Covid times.  If they open Luminae to be a fee paying restaurant, why would I book a suite?  What could occur is if you meet someone at a bar and have a great conversation, everyone could then invite them to Luminae.  It becomes a specialty restaurant.  It is not the experience I am paying a premium fare for.  Luminae should stay a suite restaurant.  

It is not a fee-paying specialty restaurant and it will never be one.  Plenty of those available.  Luminae is a suite guest restaurant.  As a suite guest you can invite (and pay for) a non-suite guest but with the advance approval of the Luminae Maître D.  You can not just show up with a bunch of non-suite guests in tow. 

Edited January 6, 2022 by TeeRick

[morpheusofthesea]

22 hours ago, Momma Rene said:

I totally agree!  We are paying a premium fare to be in a less crowded experience, especially in these Covid times.  If they open Luminae to be a fee paying restaurant, why would I book a suite?  What could occur is if you meet someone at a bar and have a great conversation, everyone could then invite them to Luminae.  It becomes a specialty restaurant.  It is not the experience I am paying a premium fare for.  Luminae should stay a suite restaurant.  

One of the primary reasons we 'jumped ships' from RCCL. Too many non-suite paying Pinnacles eating in the Coastal Kitchen demanding attention and time from over-whelmed and browbeaten wait staff afraid of them. Left us with a below par experience. So far our experience in Luminae has been exceptional.

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

One of the primary reasons we 'jumped ships' from RCCL. Too many non-suite paying Pinnacles eating in the Coastal Kitchen demanding attention and time from over-whelmed and browbeaten wait staff afraid of them. Left us with a below par experience. So far our experience in Luminae has been exceptional.

On Celebrity the only way Zenith members dine in Luminae is if they are in a suite - or are invited to dine by a suite guest.  Very different than the Coastal Kitchen situation on RCCL with Pinnacles.

[morpheusofthesea]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

On Celebrity the only way Zenith members dine in Luminae is if they are in a suite - or are invited to dine by a suite guest.  Very different than the Coastal Kitchen situation on RCCL with Pinnacles.

Yes, so we have discovered. We will not be returning to RCCL anytime soon due just to this factoid.

[DCPIV]

On 1/6/2022 at 8:19 AM, morpheusofthesea said:

One of the primary reasons we 'jumped ships' from RCCL. Too many non-suite paying Pinnacles eating in the Coastal Kitchen demanding attention and time from over-whelmed and browbeaten wait staff afraid of them. Left us with a below par experience. So far our experience in Luminae has been exceptional.

 

There's the problem when you take a space that was designed to be an amenity for a certain number of rooms and open it up to to anyone of a certain loyalty level.  It can be sort of be done in a sort of okay manner in something like a lounge, but it quickly goes sideways for something like dining.  

 

And that's why I never want to see Zeniths have the option to dine in Luminae (even if I ever wind up Zenith), even if it's for a fee.  I have nothing against Zeniths, but Celebrity has no control over how many are on board, and they'll have no backbone whatsoever to limit it "by availability."  It would only take an extra table or two to really throw a wrench in the works (a la Coastal Kitchen), and the amenity of Luminae quickly would lose its "allure," so to speak.

[swjumbo]

50 minutes ago, DCPIV said:

 

There's the problem when you take a space that was designed to be an amenity for a certain number of rooms and open it up to to anyone of a certain loyalty level.  It can be sort of be done in a sort of okay manner in something like a lounge, but it quickly goes sideways for something like dining.  

 

And that's why I never want to see Zeniths have the option to dine in Luminae (even if I ever wind up Zenith), even if it's for a fee.  I have nothing against Zeniths, but Celebrity has no control over how many are on board, and they'll have no backbone whatsoever to limit it "by availability."  It would only take an extra table or two to really throw a wrench in the works (a la Coastal Kitchen), and the amenity of Luminae quickly would lose its "allure," so to speak.

Hear hear!

 

Totally agree. We were once invited to dine in Luminae with suite guests but politely declined as we wouldn’t feel comfortable. Others might but not us.

 

Also, we were lucky enough to be in a suite last year and were underwhelmed with Luminae but wouldn’t consider inviting anyone to join us out of respect for others who have paid top dollar for that bit of extra service. They’ve worked hard for it and for some people it might be a once in a lifetime experience. 

 

I’d even challenge the $$ for allowing guests in. There are plenty of speciality restaurants which are equally as good.

 

Problem is that there appear to me lots of ‘entitled’ people who cruise.

 

On a final note, the original post was titled Laminae. It might be a completely different restaurant to Luminae! 

[canderson]

6 minutes ago, swjumbo said:

On a final note, the original post was titled Laminae. It might be a completely different restaurant to Luminae! 

Perhaps it's a new specialty restaurant set up at a famous archeological site in Belize?😏

[abbydancer2003]

11 minutes ago, swjumbo said:

Hear hear!

 

Totally agree. We were once invited to dine in Luminae with suite guests but politely declined as we wouldn’t feel comfortable. Others might but not us.

 

Also, we were lucky enough to be in a suite last year and were underwhelmed with Luminae but wouldn’t consider inviting anyone to join us out of respect for others who have paid top dollar for that bit of extra service. They’ve worked hard for it and for some people it might be a once in a lifetime experience. 

 

I’d even challenge the $$ for allowing guests in. There are plenty of speciality restaurants which are equally as good.

 

Problem is that there appear to me lots of ‘entitled’ people who cruise.

 

On a final note, the original post was titled Laminae. It might be a completely different restaurant to Luminae! 

I respectfully disagree with the idea that it's entitlement.  We book sky suites.  In our cruise in October, we had friends join us, but they book Aqua.  We did treat them to Luminae twice, because we wanted them to have dinner with us (we also did a specialty with them).  The first time, the other friends with us didn't go to lunch, so in a sense they were taking their place.  The second time, we ate late, when the restaurant wasn't crowded.  

 

I don't see it as they feel entitled, it was just there was space, and we wanted the company.

 

And FYI, there's an upside for X.  On that cruise, they decided to join us in 2024 in a sky suite.

[thebutlerdidit]

On 1/5/2022 at 8:30 AM, plucasana said:

I have never been to the retreat/luminae and I really mean no offense - but:

do we really like the concept of selling tickets to a place that passengers paid a high premium for in order to have a less crowded experience?

 

Should Celebrity really allow that? Shouldn't it be

"Luminae is for suite guests. Blu is for AC guests. If people want to dine together they can book speciality restaurants."  Especially in Covid times when distancing means safety?

 

 

I don’t see it as selling tickets to Luminae at all. I see it as a courtesy given to suite guests who may want others to join them. It’s the suite guest requesting and paying for the privilege of dining with their friends or family. When we did it, twice on a 7-night cruise on Silhouette, one of the evenings was a suite guest’s birthday, and of course we wanted to include the one couple who had booked Aqua class. We paid $100* for the privilege, and didn’t feel like we overstepped at all. 

*It sounds like the price for guests to dine in Luminae may have dropped to $30. I actually thought $50 was appropriate. 

[LGW59]

55 minutes ago, swjumbo said:

Hear hear!

 

Totally agree. We were once invited to dine in Luminae with suite guests but politely declined as we wouldn’t feel comfortable. Others might but not us.

 

Also, we were lucky enough to be in a suite last year and were underwhelmed with Luminae but wouldn’t consider inviting anyone to join us out of respect for others who have paid top dollar for that bit of extra service. They’ve worked hard for it and for some people it might be a once in a lifetime experience. 

 

I’d even challenge the $$ for allowing guests in. There are plenty of speciality restaurants which are equally as good.

 

Problem is that there appear to me lots of ‘entitled’ people who cruise.

 

On a final note, the original post was titled Laminae. It might be a completely different restaurant to Luminae! 

Totally agree, Luminae should be reserved only for Retreat guests.  Zenith, platinum, diamond, gold, zinc, whatever, if you want to go then book in the retreat.

[Covepointcruiser]

Until the latest variant, the suites were the only cabins fully booked so Luminae would be crowded unless others are eating in the Specialty Restaurants.   Sounds like more opportunity to share the COVID virus.

[DCPIV]

53 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Until the latest variant, the suites were the only cabins fully booked so Luminae would be crowded unless others are eating in the Specialty Restaurants.   

 

I can testify that Luminae had a good deal more folks in it than specialty.  I was the only one in Tuscany Grille at one point on Summit in November!  I left and went up to Luminae. 🤣

[TeeRick]

17 hours ago, swjumbo said:

On a final note, the original post was titled Laminae. It might be a completely different restaurant to Luminae! 

So if you dine there are you considered Laminated?😎

[Julma]

On 1/5/2022 at 11:11 AM, Momma Rene said:

I totally agree!  We are paying a premium fare to be in a less crowded experience, especially in these Covid times.  If they open Luminae to be a fee paying restaurant, why would I book a suite?  What could occur is if you meet someone at a bar and have a great conversation, everyone could then invite them to Luminae.  It becomes a specialty restaurant.  It is not the experience I am paying a premium fare for.  Luminae should stay a suite restaurant.  

I agree it should be for suite guests only.  However, last Aug, Oct & Nov it was the most congested restaurant on the ship, since suites were at a much higher capacity than non-suite cabins. So right now, if you are going for the "less crowded" benefit, you may be surprised,.   As was mentioned, teasing non-suite passengers with Luminae is most likely a marketing move.  Celebrity has a push on for suites.  There were plenty of social media influencers (many in 20s-30s) in the Retreat areas on our last year cruises.  

[Missymo]

On 1/4/2022 at 4:20 PM, lovrccl said:

We have a Sky suite next year on Apex and some friends are thinking of taking the same cruise.  However they would be in IV room.  I understand if it's not too crowded in Laminae they may allow them to dine with us once or twice.  First has anyone done this and if so is there a cost associated with it? If so what is it? Thank you!!

I was on the Edge in Sky Suite in September, Same issue except I was a Solo.  Met some friends and invited to Luminae.  As I was a single, I was allowed one person at no charge and $30.00 for the other person.  So , as a couple it is $30.00pp to have someone join you in Luminae/ Must make arrangements with Luminae  before going with them.   Now I was on Millennium at Christmas and in a Consigner room but friends in Aqua.  I was allowed to eat in Blu at N/C for the entire trip.  (Gave the hostess a generous Christmas gift.) 

 

Edited January 8, 2022 by Missymo

[Pinboy]

OK--- LOL--- Here's the " scoop " from someone that " graduated'' to Elite Status a few cruises ago. 

( That bag of laundry, scoop of gelato, and 10 % discount on a photo package sure cost lots of $$$ US )

So,  you might not know what Elite Status means --- It means , -- What ? Really ??  97% of passengers on every cruise are Elite or higher Status ( I love the " Status " part , especially the old f--t in the front row with his 10000th day on Celebrity chain around his neck ). 

IMO--- requesting to bring a guest into Luminae or Blu would depend on time, whether space is available , and how you say " Thank You $$ " to the Maitre'd. 

 

 

 

[DCPIV]

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

So if you dine there are you considered Laminated?😎

 

If that's a euphemism for a certain condition brought on by consuming certain substances, then the answer is "could be, perhaps, on occasion when . . . yes."