LIVE food photos from the Eclipse | South Pacific | 14-26 January 2023

[nz1]

Day 7: After an early start and walking many many steps in Apia, Samoa, a room service burger with a side of mashed potato was in order!

 

Just as delish as the other day 🤤

 

 

 

 

Certainly satisfied my appetite until dinner!

[nz1]

Day 7: I was particularly excited for dinner in Luminae because of a particular dessert item as you’ll see shortly!

 

 

Starting with the fresh fruit amuse bouche (the standard one had shrimp I think).

 

 

Followed by the smoked potato soup with chorizo, garlic, and thyme. I would’ve been pretty happy to double (or

triple!) this and have it as a main. Delicious.

 

 

For my main I chose the grilled pork chop with potato confit, turnips, and riesling sauce. The pork was a tad dry but the flavours were nice.

 

 

My partner chose the Daniel Boulud option of Moroccan chicken tagine with saffron cous cous, turnip, cauliflower, preserved lemons and olive. There was almost too much chicken served in this dish - leg, thigh, and breast. You could even see the saffron strands in the cous cous.

 

 

Now for dessert! I didn’t even need time to consider - I chose the dark chocolate soufflé with coffee gelato. Oh so good - the light and soft yet rich soufflé was incredible. I’m sort of craving it as I write this post!

 

 

My partner had the refreshing macaron with yuzu cremeux and passion fruit sorbet. Apparently this was good but there was some food envy about for my soufflé 😂

 

 

Yet another wonderful dining experience at Luminae - and you can’t complain about the view when you have a window seat 😍

 

[Redking]

The macaroon was delicious!

[lahore]

Hi, thanks for this interesting post.  I would really love to see some photos of the general offerings for dinner in the buffet if you had time.  I’ve booked my first cruise on Celebrity for March and all this about the buffet being 80% closed for dinner really has me worried.  We aren’t going to be eligible for Luminae and I’m a picky eater (reformed vegetarian who lived in Asia for a long time, so I don’t really ‘do’ a lot of Western food. I liked the buffet because I could pick what I wanted and make a plate that might be weird to others but suits me).  I am worried about that video which was shared because it truly looks like there is little to choose from and the quality looks appalling.  Thanks if you have time 🙂

[nz1]

1 hour ago, lahore said:

Hi, thanks for this interesting post.  I would really love to see some photos of the general offerings for dinner in the buffet if you had time.  I’ve booked my first cruise on Celebrity for March and all this about the buffet being 80% closed for dinner really has me worried.  We aren’t going to be eligible for Luminae and I’m a picky eater (reformed vegetarian who lived in Asia for a long time, so I don’t really ‘do’ a lot of Western food. I liked the buffet because I could pick what I wanted and make a plate that might be weird to others but suits me).  I am worried about that video which was shared because it truly looks like there is little to choose from and the quality looks appalling.  Thanks if you have time 🙂

I really wouldn’t worry! Both times we’ve been to the buffet for dinner the selection has been plentiful with many different stations including vegetarian and vegan stations. On our last visit there was only one station closed and one section of another part of the buffet closed - so it was more like 80% open! 
 

I think there’s a bit of misinformation and doom-mongering about on these boards, unfortunately, but please don’t stress! I’ll try get some photos if/when we’re back up there 😊

[LouChamp]

Aloha.  Thank you for your posts and pictures!

[nz1]

Day 8: After a wonderful day in port and a beautiful sailaway from the helipad as we left Pago Pago, American Samoa, we were looking forward to another relaxing dinner in Luminae.

 

 

Amuse bouche which was light and refreshing (cheese, watermelon, balsamic).

 

 

Next I chose the pear and radicchio salad which came with pancetta, kale, hazelnuts, and figs. Delicious and lots of flavours.

 

 

For my main, I went with the MDR option of prime rib (partly because it seems like many people on Cruise Critic seem to be are obsessed with prime rib and if it’s available or not!). To be honest I didn’t really enjoy this when comparing it to other beef I’ve had onboard.

 

 

Now dessert was where the real show was…!

 

 

I couldn’t resist trying the chocolate sphere!

 

 

Flaming zambuca was poured over it:

 

 

 

So this was quite exciting but had I known zambuca was the liqueur being used I would’ve chosen something else as the aniseed flavour overpowered the other flavours in the dessert. But it was fun!

 

We capped off the dinner with some decaf coffee before retiring early to bed after an exhausting but fulfilling day. ☺️

Edited January 21, 2023 by nz1

[nz1]

Day 8: Bonus round to dinner - here’s the toasted brioche custard with honey gelee and plum sorbet.

 

 

My partner definitely won the dessert round as apparently this was really nice.

[mchell810]

The chocolate sphere looks lovely.  I was thinking sambuca was a strange choice -- it's usually paired with coffee.

[nz1]

39 minutes ago, mchell810 said:

The chocolate sphere looks lovely.  I was thinking sambuca was a strange choice -- it's usually paired with coffee.

Yeah I was quite surprised! Probably something that should be stated on the menu so you know what you’re in for 😂

[mchell810]

13 hours ago, nz1 said:

Yeah I was quite surprised! Probably something that should be stated on the menu so you know what you’re in for 😂

 

Agreed!  I will always ask what liqueur will be used whenever I order a flaming dessert!

[nz1]

Day 9: After a much-needed sleep-in, we had missed breakfast! So that called for some “morning bites” in Michael’s Club.

 

There’s a decently sized menu - and I assume the food comes from the Elite breakfast at Tuscan as we ordered with the waiter but he disappeared somewhere else for a bit before reappearing with our treats.

 

 

We selected the almond croissant, berries, cinnamon walnut roll, and carrot muffin.

 

 

Aside from the cinnamon roll being a bit dry, it was a nice and light (late) start to the sea day 😊

[nz1]

Day 9: By 12:00pm we were ready for lunch so it was off to Luminae to finally try their burger that I’ve heard so much about!

 

 

But first, a lovely fresh, soft, and warm roll (or two!)

 

 

The famous burger:

 

 

This was so juicy and flavourful with a particular spice in the meat I couldn’t quite work out. Definitely a knife and fork affair - I think trying to eat it by hand would no doubt be messy!

 

And how could I resist a chocolate lava cake for dessert - I was glad it was small!

 

 

This was the perfect finish to the meal though as it was so small, it didn’t quite “lava” everywhere! But the taste was spot on.

 

 

Yet another delightful sea day lunch experience ☺️

[nz1]

Day 9: Dinner in Luminae. I was excited for the main menu tonight as there were three options I was trying to decide between.

 

Starting with refreshing fruit as our amuse bouche.

 

 

I chose the BBQ pork spring roll from the MDR menu which came with chipotle coleslaw and white truffle BBQ sauce.

 

 

It was a tough decision between the carbonara, the duck breast, and the Kim Chi udon. The carbonara won!

 

 

This was everything I had hoped for! Such perfect balance of flavours and all-round delicious.

 

Now for dessert…

 

 

To finish I had the apple tart tatin which wasn’t quite what I expected as it was rather deconstructed! Still delightful though - especially the juicy apple.

 

Topped off with some decaf coffee and that was that dinner accomplished! Very satisfied ☺️

[lahore]

On 1/21/2023 at 6:39 PM, nz1 said:

I really wouldn’t worry! Both times we’ve been to the buffet for dinner the selection has been plentiful with many different stations including vegetarian and vegan stations. On our last visit there was only one station closed and one section of another part of the buffet closed - so it was more like 80% open! 
 

I think there’s a bit of misinformation and doom-mongering about on these boards, unfortunately, but please don’t stress! I’ll try get some photos if/when we’re back up there 😊

Hi

Thanks for responding and thank you even more for the good news.  I am quite relieved to hear it, and if you happen to have a spare second to get back up there and post a photo I would be so very grateful.  I hope your are continuing to enjoy your cruise, it looks so. 🙂

[nz1]

Day 10: After another busy day in port, I was glad to be back in Luminae for dinner.

Starting with fruit as our amuse bouche.

 

 

Admiring the gorgeous smooth sea view with my syrah.

 

 

For my starter, I chose the chargrilled ribeye salad with charred tomato chermoula, lime dressing, bibb lettuce, and feta.

 

 

This was incredible - everything was so perfect - definitely the best starter we’ve had on the cruise so far. The steak was juicy and flavourful and balanced so nicely with the tomatoes and salad.

 

For my main, I chose the kangaroo loin which, I was a little hesitant about as the one previous time I’ve had it, it’s been a bit dry. But, it was nicely done with braised red cabbage and potato mash, with small cocktail onions and carrots.

 

 

To finish, it was hard to make a choice! So between my partner and I, we tried the three desserts on offer:

 

The cherry cremeux with pistachio sponge, and yoghurt icecream:

 

 

The strawberry soup with lemon shortbread and caramel gelato:

 

 

The creme brûlée dome with lemongrass creme and berries.

 

 

All three were delicious and refreshing in their own way - it was truly the right choice to get all three!

 

Capped off once again with some decaf coffee - heaven! 🥰

[hcat]

 This was such a great idea for a t

review..Hope it does not disrupt your enjoyment of the meals! The photos and your descriptions make it all come to life! 

 

The ribeye appetizer would've been enpugh for my main course!

[asnaleah]

The lamb meatballs are fantastic! Thanks for your mouth-watering review!!

[CruiseCrew123]

Not sure fruit can really be classed as an amuse bouche 😂 

[Cruzinforpeace***]

On 1/21/2023 at 2:39 AM, nz1 said:

I really wouldn’t worry! Both times we’ve been to the buffet for dinner the selection has been plentiful with many different stations including vegetarian and vegan stations. On our last visit there was only one station closed and one section of another part of the buffet closed - so it was more like 80% open! 
 

I think there’s a bit of misinformation and doom-mongering about on these boards, unfortunately, but please don’t stress! I’ll try get some photos if/when we’re back up there 😊

Can you please take some pictures?  A picture is worth a thousand words as the saying goes…

[nz1]

5 hours ago, CruiseCrew123 said:

Not sure fruit can really be classed as an amuse bouche 😂 

Unfortunately the amuse bouche is frequently fish or seafood so this is their alternative, but I know what you mean 😂

[nz1]

6 hours ago, hcat said:

 This was such a great idea for a t

review..Hope it does not disrupt your enjoyment of the meals! The photos and your descriptions make it all come to life! 

 

The ribeye appetizer would've been enpugh for my main course!

Thank you! 
 

You are so right - the rib-eye was definitely a good size to be a main! It would be the perfect lunch time main.

[nz1]

3 hours ago, Cruzinforpeace*** said:

Can you please take some pictures?  A picture is worth a thousand words as the saying goes…

I’ll try take some photos if I go back up there during dinner time. The problem when there during dinner is that it’s difficult to take photos without getting in people’s way or getting lots of people in the photos (and I don’t want to breach anyone’s privacy!). 

[nz1]

5 hours ago, asnaleah said:

The lamb meatballs are fantastic! Thanks for your mouth-watering review!!

Glad you’re enjoying it! 😄

[mchell810]

May I ask: What is the Kangaroo meat like?  Is it gamey?