Retreat Guest use of Blu and MDR(s) - Edge Class

[Bask]

Hello:

Our next cruise we are Retreat guests on the Ascent.

Although this our first sailing on an Edge-class ship, we have done many sailings as Suite guests on Celebrity S-class ships.

I am concerned about Luminae for this cruise. For us, Luminae has a pretty limited menu and on many occasions we found ourselves ordering from the MDR menu. On the newer Edge-class ships, I understand this isn't an option most of the time. 

What's the process for us bailing on Luminae and substituting with Blu or one of the MDRs on Ascent?

I suspect we can't just show up at BLU or the various MDRs...although that would be nice. What's the right process? Should I just reach out to the Retreat Concierge? Our thoughts were to check the Luminae menu in the am and if it doesn't work for that nights dinner, then we look at the other options and change/book/reserve accordingly.

 

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

[hcat]

We are booked on Ascent but will be back in BLU....yay

 

  Access to BLU  for Suite guests is subject to availability. No res are accepted so not sure how your Retreat Concierge would be helpful

  

When we sailed on BEYOND in Retreat  we discovered Luminae was just not for us.  We decided to bail! That night we did not go to Luminae straightaway, We went to BLU shortly after it opened and asked if we could join for the evening.  It was not very busy or  crowded and we were welcomed with open arms.  Had a great dinner.!

 

On another night, we went to the  Specialty sushi place. We also just went  straight there. .We had an early res time,  and  enjoyed a great meal, drinks,  excellent service...They have so much more than sushi..It was a feast!  The line was way into the hallway by the time  we left!

 

Enjoy!

[gold1953]

You can go to Blu when tables are available but can be turned away

[jelayne]

We were in a Sky Suite and went to the MDRs without anyone arranging it when we were on the Beyond.  
 

We asked the Luminae to see if we could go to Blu for 3 different nights and they were only able to accommodate us one evening at close to 9.  There are now Aqua Sky Suites with access to Blu based on availability we were told they were accommodated first since the Aqua suite  gives them priority. 

[Mike45LC]

On the Edge, Aqua Class, we went to each of the four Main Dining Rooms to experience the decor and menus.  We were treated by the staff as if we were visiting royalty.  We had not cleared this with the Blu staff, we simply showed up at each restaurant on our own schedule.

[phoenix_dream]

19 hours ago, jelayne said:

We were in a Sky Suite and went to the MDRs without anyone arranging it when we were on the Beyond.  
 

We asked the Luminae to see if we could go to Blu for 3 different nights and they were only able to accommodate us one evening at close to 9.  There are now Aqua Sky Suites with access to Blu based on availability we were told they were accommodated first since the Aqua suite  gives them priority. 

I really am concerned about sailing in Aqua Class now that they’ve created the Aqua Sky suite concept. I book AQ mainly for Blu.  Blu was always crowded enough without essentially encouraging even more people to dine there! I know suites could always go there “based on availability “ but I think this change will make matters worse. I’m hoping I’m wrong as I have several AQ cruises booked in the next six months. I understand they can eat in Luminae as well, but I wonder if this will encourage them to eat in Blu more often.

[bigbenboys]

32 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

I really am concerned about sailing in Aqua Class now that they’ve created the Aqua Sky suite concept. I book AQ mainly for Blu.  Blu was always crowded enough without essentially encouraging even more people to dine there! I know suites could always go there “based on availability “ but I think this change will make matters worse. I’m hoping I’m wrong as I have several AQ cruises booked in the next six months. I understand they can eat in Luminae as well, but I wonder if this will encourage them to eat in Blu more often.

If this is a concern I would not book E Class. Your best option would be M Class ships. As Luminae and Blu were cut out of the MDR. Giving you and others the most options for food item choices. I have order many items from the MDR in Blu and Luminae. I've read on CC that some guest have been able to order off the Blu menu in Luminae. I personally have not order Blu items in Luminae. Next is the S Class ships. Many here have said that Blu wait times are the worst on Reflection. Reflection added additional Aqua cabins, but seemed to not make Blu any bigger.

My thought is that X has newer staff that are still learning the ropes. So what was possible in the past might not be available until they get up to speed.

 

[jelayne]

6 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

I really am concerned about sailing in Aqua Class now that they’ve created the Aqua Sky suite concept. I book AQ mainly for Blu.  Blu was always crowded enough without essentially encouraging even more people to dine there! I know suites could always go there “based on availability “ but I think this change will make matters worse. I’m hoping I’m wrong as I have several AQ cruises booked in the next six months. I understand they can eat in Luminae as well, but I wonder if this will encourage them to eat in Blu more often.

I doubt it will be any different.  Access to Blu is still based on availability and if there is limited availability for suite guests then the nod goes to high end suites and AQ suites.  I have been in Blu when suite guests were turned away.  I have also been in a suite and Blu was not a option as they were full.

[DannyS]

On the M class ships, the MDR, Blu and Luminae Galleys are all in the same space. On S Class, MDR and Luminae are in the same space with Blu just upstairs. That makes it easy to order off any of the menus in Luminae. 
 

On the Edge class, it’s much harder as they’re on opposite ends of the ship and a dozen decks apart. If you insist, they’ll send someone to get you a meal from the other places, but they don’t want to because it’s a long trip - and the quality suffers. The food will be cold by the time it gets to you. 
 

Your best bet in Luminae is to get to know the restaurant manager and look at all of the menus in the app in advance. If you tell them what you want from the other restaurant the day before, they will have the ingredients on hand and prepare it for you in the Luminae Galley. But they need 24 hour notice to make it happen. 
 

(If you don’t want to use the app, the host stand always has the next day Luminae menu, and they’ll be happy to prepare something for you that you will like… if tell them the night before. 

[whitbob]

Does anyone know if Luminae on the Edge series ships offers anything from the classic menu (shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, etc.)?
 

We have B2B cruises booked on Edge in February in SS and AQ suites.  DH is a bit of a picky eater, so we will need to check the menus in Luminae and try other restaurants on the nights that he does not find something he will eat from the posted menu.  Thank you for your help.

[Jose Zalfadilla]

LOL! This sounds like when airlines' Premium Econ passengers come through the curtains and sneak into First Class cabin to take the snacks from the FC bar as they are brought in. Given the desire by Retreaters to "downgrade" and eat at Blue or the MDR, is it ever likely that there would be no table available at Blue for Blue pax by a certain time of th evening?

Edited September 10, 2023 by Jose Zalfadilla

[Mark_T]

16 hours ago, bigbenboys said:

If this is a concern I would not book E Class. Your best option would be M Class ships. As Luminae and Blu were cut out of the MDR.

Agreed, on Millennium, all the menus were in the Retreat each night so you could browse and decide if you wanted to order from Blu or the MDR before you even got to Luminae.

[TeeRick]

On 9/8/2023 at 5:45 PM, Bask said:

Our thoughts were to check the Luminae menu in the am and if it doesn't work for that nights dinner, then we look at the other options and change/book/reserve accordingly.

 

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

You answered your own question.  You can also book Specialty Dining.  Plenty of options on Ascent.  Have a great cruise!

[jelayne]

2 hours ago, whitbob said:

Does anyone know if Luminae on the Edge series ships offers anything from the classic menu (shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, etc.)?
 

We have B2B cruises booked on Edge in February in SS and AQ suites.  DH is a bit of a picky eater, so we will need to check the menus in Luminae and try other restaurants on the nights that he does not find something he will eat from the posted menu.  Thank you for your help.

We frequently order shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad and French onion soup in Luminae.

[DaKahuna]

3 hours ago, Mark_T said:

Agreed, on Millennium, all the menus were in the Retreat each night so you could browse and decide if you wanted to order from Blu or the MDR before you even got to Luminae.

 

On our Apri-May cruise on Millennium the Luminae maitre'd informed me that ordering items off the Blu menu was not permitted.  However, he added that if I let him know in advance if there was something particular I wanted he would try and arrange it for me if I could tell him in advance. 

 

[Mark_T]

3 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

On our Apri-May cruise on Millennium the Luminae maitre'd informed me that ordering items off the Blu menu was not permitted.  However, he added that if I let him know in advance if there was something particular I wanted he would try and arrange it for me if I could tell him in advance. 

 

I suspect there was either a significant staff shortage or just a problem with that particular Maître d'...

[hcat]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

We frequently order shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad and French onion soup in Luminae.

 the  classic salmon saved the day for me in Luminae on BEYOND

[phoenix_dream]

20 hours ago, jelayne said:

I doubt it will be any different.  Access to Blu is still based on availability and if there is limited availability for suite guests then the nod goes to high end suites and AQ suites.  I have been in Blu when suite guests were turned away.  I have also been in a suite and Blu was not a option as they were full.

But that is exactly my point. Now there are many Aqua suites which may in fact have the same priority as Aqua cabins. And Blu was already very crowded.  And many people like the food in Blu better.  All in all just seems very concerning for Aqua cabin passengers. I hope I am wrong 

[phoenix_dream]

6 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

On our Apri-May cruise on Millennium the Luminae maitre'd informed me that ordering items off the Blu menu was not permitted.  However, he added that if I let him know in advance if there was something particular I wanted he would try and arrange it for me if I could tell him in advance. 

 

That's crazy. They share the same kitchen on M class. 

[phoenix_dream]

On 9/9/2023 at 3:17 PM, bigbenboys said:

If this is a concern I would not book E Class. Your best option would be M Class ships. As Luminae and Blu were cut out of the MDR. Giving you and others the most options for food item choices. I have order many items from the MDR in Blu and Luminae. I've read on CC that some guest have been able to order off the Blu menu in Luminae. I personally have not order Blu items in Luminae. Next is the S Class ships. Many here have said that Blu wait times are the worst on Reflection. Reflection added additional Aqua cabins, but seemed to not make Blu any bigger.

My thought is that X has newer staff that are still learning the ropes. So what was possible in the past might not be available until they get up to speed.

 

On E class I will never book anything but a suite as I want a real balcony as I spend a lot of time on mine.

[RichYak]

7 hours ago, Mark_T said:

I suspect there was either a significant staff shortage or just a problem with that particular Maître d'...

In March on Millennium and again in August on Summit, I could not order anything from the Blu menu in Luminae. It's not a staffing issue. It may be a policy change that seems to coincide with the introduction of Aqua Suites.

[DaKahuna]

This is from an available Aqua Sky Class Suite that is open on our May 2nd cruise next Year.

 

 

a couple of this peaked my interest:

 

2 bottles of water daily — which bottles will they be?
Full In suite Menu (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner) Featuring clean cuisine from Blu -  Blu does not have Lunch so wonder how this is going to work. 
 

[dateacher]

We were in Retreat in January and ate at Blu three nights. No reservations and no waiting.  

[agape01]

7 hours ago, dateacher said:

We were in Retreat in January and ate at Blu three nights. No reservations and no waiting.  

Was that a early seating?

[Mark_K]

On 9/10/2023 at 7:35 PM, DaKahuna said:

This is from an available Aqua Sky Class Suite that is open on our May 2nd cruise next Year.

 

 

a couple of this peaked my interest:

 

2 bottles of water daily — which bottles will they be?
Full In suite Menu (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner) Featuring clean cuisine from Blu -  Blu does not have Lunch so wonder how this is going to work. 
 

I notice it doesn’t mention eating at Blu as an amenity, just getting room service from it.