Is Luminae over-rated or under-rated?

[cangelmd]

13 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We never eat in the buffets for any meal when in a suite. Just like we never eat in any buffet restaurants on land. Either Luminae on sea days, or room service or on shore for port days. You can be casual and wear shorts in Luminae for lunch and be treated with Luminae exceptional service. The Luminae burger at lunch is better than any burger on the ship and it will be cooked any way you want and served with truffle salted fries, yummmmmy too. Luminae usually has a lighter fish and chicken entree, my wife loves the crispy Branzino fish for lunch. On embarkation day Luminae is open for lunch and the special is the Lobster roll and it is quite tasty too.

 

Our 12 night Reflection cruise in August only has 2 sea days so I suspect our lunches will be on shore excursions the other days. We have several private small tours that include lunches or small plates tastings. Europe cruises tend to be more port intensive with less sea days for Luminae lunches, or time to even consider lunch on the ship.

Why? What do you get from room service? I ask because I like the convenience of the buffet (shorts and a top over swimsuit, don’t feel comfy doing that in Luminae) and the presence of veggies. I’m one of the people who thinks the Luminae sides, while often delicious don’t count as “real” veggies. We also enjoy taking as many meals as possible out on the back deck of the OVC. We also eat ashore at least once or twice, and now with Covid, seek out special places ashore to help the local economy.
I’m not negating your choices, we just haven’t had good luck with RS, and DH doesn’t like to set foot in Luminae unless what he considers appropriately dressed, lol!

[Pinboy]

15 hours ago, mfs2k said:

Do you recommend Luminae for lunch too ?

or should we stick to the Oceanview Buffet?

No comparison between the two-- and seems like there are many different opinions .

However, nobody has mentioned the Spa Café which is perfect for us rather than the " Slugfest on 14".

Holy cow, ya gotta be tuff to get near the food up there !!  

[LGW59]

4 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

No comparison between the two-- and seems like there are many different opinions .

However, nobody has mentioned the Spa Café which is perfect for us rather than the " Slugfest on 14".

Holy cow, ya gotta be tuff to get near the food up there !!  

And I highly recommend the OVC, leaves Luminae to be less crowded for us.  Though there is nothing like starting the morning early and grabbing a java from CAB and taking table to watch the "slugfest" antics of folks who have either never seen food in their life or at eating their last meal.  

[mfs2k]

Does paying more for a suite make one more sophisticated and less inclined to be considered one of the masses?

When you get off the ship you’re just another person eating nachos at Chilis. 

[LGW59]

2 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

Does paying more for a suite make one more sophisticated and less inclined to be considered one of the masses?

When you get off the ship you’re just another person eating nachos at Chilis. 

Envy is never becoming.  As I walk around the ship, in my ascot, and I walk into the OVC, with my air of superiority like I am walking onto my yacht, always am thankful for the one time thus far in my 62 yo life that I have stayed in the opulence and grandeur of a Sky Suite 3, now I know how Elon Musk lives.  Gotta run now, meeting my son at Applebee's for lunch, their nachos are better than Chili's.  

[mfs2k]

3 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Envy is never becoming.  As I walk around the ship, in my ascot, and I walk into the OVC, with my air of superiority like I am walking onto my yacht, always am thankful for the one time thus far in my 62 yo life that I have stayed in the opulence and grandeur of a Sky Suite 3, now I know how Elon Musk lives.  Gotta run now, meeting my son at Applebee's for lunch, their nachos are better than Chili's.  

Exactly as I imagined 😂😂😂

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, cangelmd said:

Why? What do you get from room service? I ask because I like the convenience of the buffet (shorts and a top over swimsuit, don’t feel comfy doing that in Luminae) and the presence of veggies. I’m one of the people who thinks the Luminae sides, while often delicious don’t count as “real” veggies. We also enjoy taking as many meals as possible out on the back deck of the OVC. We also eat ashore at least once or twice, and now with Covid, seek out special places ashore to help the local economy.
I’m not negating your choices, we just haven’t had good luck with RS, and DH doesn’t like to set foot in Luminae unless what he considers appropriately dressed, lol!

It has nothing to do with being in a suite, we do not like dinning in the buffets on any ship or cruise line. We do not eat at any buffet land restaurants either. My other big issue with buffets, it is too easy and tempting to way overeat and I have too little self-control, LOL When we dine out or eat on a ship we prefer to be served and pampered. On port days, when we stay on the ship, we have our butler deliver room service for lunch or we will eat in one of the open dine in venues like Sushi on 5. On port days when we do go ashore or on a tour, specially, when in Europe, we like to have lunch at a local restaurant to savor local cuisine. 

 

I have no problem wearing shorts for lunch in a MDR or Luminae as they are well within the dress codes. In all of our cruises, I do not think we have been in a ship's pool more than a couple of times so we usually do not walk around in our bathing suits so no problem going to the MDR or Luminae for lunch. We have a pool at our home and I have never been very keen on swimming in public pools. The really nice thing about a cruise ship is we all have choices for where and how we prefer to dine. 

Edited March 13, 2022 by terrydtx

[terrydtx]

16 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Envy is never becoming.  As I walk around the ship, in my ascot, and I walk into the OVC, with my air of superiority like I am walking onto my yacht, always am thankful for the one time thus far in my 62 yo life that I have stayed in the opulence and grandeur of a Sky Suite 3, now I know how Elon Musk lives.  Gotta run now, meeting my son at Applebee's for lunch, their nachos are better than Chili's.  

May be some day we join you with our Yacht for a some sailing fun. I would like to meet Elon Musk, he has moved much of his business to here in my state of Texas. Chili's still has better baby back ribs, BTW.

[Pinboy]

11 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

 meeting my son at Applebee's for lunch

Ya wanna have a Great lunch --- ??

Go to Montreal , Go to Schwartz deli for a hot smoked meat sandwich,  Fries, Dill pickle , Cherry Coke ( not to be confused with the " other " coke ) -- And, remember this------- Do Not ask for a menu or the Waiter will ask you " Did you come here to eat or to read "??

Now, if you have a minute look it up on You Tube --- ( You won't miss anything you haven't read on CC 100 times already ).

 

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, morpheusofthesea said:

We just do not remember if there was a charge or not for suite guests ?  The one time we had lunch on the Equinox in port at Sushi on 5 we were in RS so included with cabin. Remember we were not presented with bill so we tipped $10 cash. 

 The other time we ordered from our butler room service on the veranda while in port. Good for 15 minutes before the port flies join the picnic. Keep the balcony door closed.

It is not free for suites below the RS category, but it is worth the cost. They also have a good selection of Sake which I like and my wife not at all, she says Sake is too much like vinegar.

[HMR74]

It does not cost more to in a suite, you just cannot do it as often

[RichYak]

46 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

As I walk around the ship, in my ascot...

Do you find you get better service when wearing your ascot?... never mind, I should start a new thread to ask this question. 😄

[LGW59]

2 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Do you find you get better service when wearing your ascot?... never mind, I should start a new thread to ask this question. 😄

Yes but only when I have a matching pocket square in the breast pocket of my navy blue double breasted blazer with gold anchor embossed buttons, but I only wear that for very special occasions.  

[mfs2k]

35 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

Ya wanna have a Great lunch --- ??

Go to Montreal , Go to Schwartz deli for a hot smoked meat sandwich,  Fries, Dill pickle , Cherry Coke ( not to be confused with the " other " coke ) --

They don’t have deli mustard. Only yellow mustard. Gross

While waiting for our smoked meat sandwiches one of us went down to street to a market and got proper mustard. 
A New York deli never would have allowed this. 

Edited March 13, 2022 by mfs2k

[LGW59]

47 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

Ya wanna have a Great lunch --- ??

Go to Montreal , Go to Schwartz deli for a hot smoked meat sandwich,  Fries, Dill pickle , Cherry Coke ( not to be confused with the " other " coke ) -- And, remember this------- Do Not ask for a menu or the Waiter will ask you " Did you come here to eat or to read "??

Now, if you have a minute look it up on You Tube --- ( You won't miss anything you haven't read on CC 100 times already ).

 

There were several vids on YouTube and all I can say is OMG looks awesome, in every vid the place was packed with a line waiting to get in lined down the sidewalk.  Looks to me that a Montreal deli can compete with a NY deli any day of the week!

[graphicguy]

20 minutes ago, RichYak said:

Do you find you get better service when wearing your ascot?... never mind, I should start a new thread to ask this question. 😄

Oooohhhhh....start a "how I want you to dress" thread.  That's always a hoot!!!!!!!!

 

Personally, I find this quite becoming for dinner.....

 

 

[LGW59]

4 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Oooohhhhh....start a "how I want you to dress" thread.  That's always a hoot!!!!!!!!

 

Personally, I find this quite becoming for dinner.....

 

 

The dude in pic #1, I bet would be so much more interesting to chat with as a dining companion and he could sit at my table any night, I'd be happy to "buy" him an AI beverage of course.  I'd def bribe the restaurant host/ess to please sit me at a table very close to the cheekiest dress code police on board.  

[LGW59]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

May be some day we join you with our Yacht for a some sailing fun. I would like to meet Elon Musk, he has moved much of his business to here in my state of Texas. Chili's still has better baby back ribs, BTW.

Good to know and next weekend we decided to kick our dining up a notch, so Chili's it will be. 

[LGW59]

22 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

There were several vids on YouTube and all I can say is OMG looks awesome, in every vid the place was packed with a line waiting to get in lined down the sidewalk.  Looks to me that a Montreal deli can compete with a NY deli any day of the week!

My NY friends would smack me across the head for saying that 🥴 but my low key Canadian roots also cause me to tell them that the world does not exist on what NY'ers think.  I sent one of the vids to two NY friends, with my own commentary of course 😎, I'll be receiving some nastigrams from them soon I suspect.  Nothing so much fun as putting a NY'er in place.  

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

May be some day we join you with our Yacht for a some sailing fun. I would like to meet Elon Musk, he has moved much of his business to here in my state of Texas. Chili's still has better baby back ribs, BTW.

 

They say never meet your heroes and this is especially true for Musk.  I am a huge fan of his achievements and have been a Tesla stock holder for nearly a decade.  I live six miles from SpaceX's HQ, have many friends who have (or had) work at SpaceX and he had to sign an agreement at my work, didn't meet him but was in the same room as him and saw first hand his his mannerisms/how he interacts with people.  He is brilliant yet is not friendly, fun, a people person, he prefers to avoid interaction, etc.  He's always been deemed "difficult" which is what the SNL crew said when working with him.  Look at him in the work picture, intentionally stood off to the side, only person not smiling.  Also an one article:

 

 

 

 

[LGW59]

4 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

They say never meet your heroes and this is especially true for Musk.  I am a huge fan of his achievements and have been a Tesla stock holder for nearly a decade.  I live six miles from SpaceX's HQ, have many friends who have (or had) work at SpaceX and he had to sign an agreement at my work, didn't meet him but was in the same room as him and saw first hand his his mannerisms/how he interacts with people.  He is brilliant yet is not friendly, fun, a people person, he prefers to avoid interaction, etc.  He's always been deemed "difficult" which is what the SNL crew said when working with him.  Look at him in the work picture, intentionally stood off to the side, only person not smiling.  Also an one article:

 

 

 

 

Without naming it, my company recently fired him as a client, and no not spilling confidential information, it was all over the news.  

[terrydtx]

39 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

My NY friends would smack me across the head for saying that 🥴 but my low key Canadian roots also cause me to tell them that the world does not exist on what NY'ers think.  I sent one of the vids to two NY friends, with my own commentary of course 😎, I'll be receiving some nastigrams from them soon I suspect.  Nothing so much fun as putting a NY'er in place.  

I would love to find a Deli in my city half as good as an average NY one, people in Texas have no idea what a real deli is.

[kwokpot]

12 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Without naming it, my company recently fired him as a client, and no not spilling confidential information, it was all over the news.  

I have family members that work at Space X in McGregor, Tx (Two Rocket Scientists in the family!). We were able to get a private tour of the facility and even got to touch one of the booster rockets that eventually went up in space (Shhhh). Remarkably the brother of our nephew that works there also had the occasion to work for Elon but in a totally different industry and job. He spoke of how difficult it was and how at a whim Elon would dismiss everything that was previously done and have them start all over again. He remarked he didn't see how his brother and SIL could ever work for that man. 

 

We have had a Tesla Model 3 just about four years now and it is the most remarkable car I have ever owned. We will will never go back to a ICE automobile. It's been a trouble free, maintenance free car the whole time owning it, and this is despite not owning a garage and parking it 24/7 on the streets of Center City Philadelphia. 

 

I can detach Elon's visions and accomplishments with his personal demeanor and style. 

 

 

Edited March 13, 2022 by kwokpot

[HMR74]

I grew up in Deli’s in Chicago which was the “family business” from back in the 1940’s post war.

 

the biggest difference now is they are too sterile now. You walk in and you cannot “smell” the Deli.

 

That also applies to Jewish Rye Bread, which until 20 years ago was not wrapped in a plastic bag, so now the crust is not crusty.

 

needless to say, neither my brother nor I went into the business. Taxes and corp finance, much  cleaner with long but normal hours.

 

My Saturday  nite dates?  They asked about the aroma and my answer was picking herrings for customers all day. It permeates the skin. I smile when thinking about it.

 

for the Deli affectionados  out there, We used to hand slice lox then, and it was a choice between nova or belly lox.

Favorite sandwich from back then? hot corned beef, not lean, and chopped liver on Rye.

 

 

The Deli/ restaurant business is very difficult, as we know from these last couple of years.

 

[LGW59]

53 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

I have family members that work at Space X in McGregor, Tx (Two Rocket Scientists in the family!). We were able to get a private tour of the facility and even got to touch one of the booster rockets that eventually went up in space (Shhhh). Remarkably the brother of our nephew that works there also had the occasion to work for Elon but in a totally different industry and job. He spoke of how difficult it was and how at a whim Elon would dismiss everything that was previously done and have them start all over again. He remarked he didn't see how his brother and SIL could ever work for that man. 

 

We have had a Tesla Model 3 just about four years now and it is the most remarkable car I have ever owned. We will will never go back to a ICE automobile. It's been a trouble free, maintenance free car the whole time owning it, and this is despite not owning a garage and parking it 24/7 on the streets of Center City Philadelphia. 

 

I can detach Elon's visions and accomplishments with his personal demeanor and style. 

 

 

He certainly is a brilliant man, no doubt about that.  My husband is an aerospace engineer, he works on developing the programming for all this rocket ship stuff, far far above my paygrade, but he loves it and is in awe of Elon Musk and his vision for the space program.