Food Quality in Blu Restaurant

[bigbenboys]

20 hours ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

We were on the Beyond and the Edge the this year and Blu menu we were unable to ask for the MDR items like onion soup or ceasar salad, and the menu was very limited.  The items were not appealing to us and unlike the MDR where you can get chicken/steak/salmon every night we were unable to get any of those items.  Blu was very noisy in both cruises so we only dined one evening in Blu on each cruise and our service both times were so so, I have no idea why people rave about it as we found the MDR so much better in service, items offered and food tasting better.  We are booked on the Equinox and will give it a try, but from what I hear on this class of ship we are allowed to ask for the "everyday items" on the MDR, if this is true it will work out perfectly for us, if not, we be back in the MDR.

The spa stuff included in Aqua for us was useless a joke, because the treatments you still have to pay for but the only thing we did like about Aqua was the shower in these class of ships, the best shower in all our other 98 cruises we taken.  I would take Aqua for the showers, but unsure if those showers are in the class of ship we are currently booked on.

Last Nov we were in Blu, and were on the Solstice. We could order off of the Blu or MDR menus. S Class ships you should not have a problem with the every night items or ordering off the MDR menu. This has been the norm for quite awhile. But there was a time when Blu was launch about 2008 we could not order off the MDR. But always the every night items were available.

M Class ships are real easy to order every night items and ordering off the MDR menu. As Blu was cut out of the MDR. Blu was started on the S Class ships.

E Class ships are a world of their own.

I'm hoping that these hiccups are because of new staff or lack of staff. I hope in time things will settle down, and that we all can know what the new normal is for Celebrity.

[keesar]

21 hours ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

We were on the Beyond and the Edge the this year and Blu menu we were unable to ask for the MDR items like onion soup or ceasar salad, and the menu was very limited.  The items were not appealing to us and unlike the MDR where you can get chicken/steak/salmon every night we were unable to get any of those items.  Blu was very noisy in both cruises so we only dined one evening in Blu on each cruise and our service both times were so so, I have no idea why people rave about it as we found the MDR so much better in service, items offered and food tasting better.  We are booked on the Equinox and will give it a try, but from what I hear on this class of ship we are allowed to ask for the "everyday items" on the MDR, if this is true it will work out perfectly for us, if not, we be back in the MDR.

The spa stuff included in Aqua for us was useless a joke, because the treatments you still have to pay for but the only thing we did like about Aqua was the shower in these class of ships, the best shower in all our other 98 cruises we taken.  I would take Aqua for the showers, but unsure if those showers are in the class of ship we are currently booked on.

 

We were on the Beyond and we were able to order from the 'classic menu' every night.  I enjoyed the French Onion soup, Caesar salad, salmon and the sirloin steak.  I thought the steak was outstanding and better than Fine Cut Steakhouse.  However, we were not able to order from the MDR and boy, did we try.

 

You should have gone more than once to Blu.

[pmarrsouth]

We are currently on the Millennium from Vanc to Tokyo in AQ. Have had 3 nights so far in Blu

 

Soups - Could use more flavor overall. I had a corn veloute on day 2, lack of flavor until I hit the single piece of chorizo in it which complimented the dish nicely (needs more chorizo!)

 

Starters - Overall quite decent. Some excellent dishes like the lobster salad on soba noodles

 

 

Mains - Blu is really standing out here. I had herb crusted lamb chops last night, medium rare, which were incredible. My fiancé had the glazed salmon, which she loved. The previous night the short rib really melted in your mouth

 

 

 

 

0 complaints about service, the staff are fantastic and do not ask for our keycards when ordering drinks as they have remembered our room numbers

 

Obviously it will be busy around 7:30pm and one would expect a bit of a wait (enjoy a drink in Cellar Masters with the pager beside you). Come at 5:30/6 or 8:30 and there is no wait

 

A lot of people mention the smaller portion sizes as a negative / cost cutting. Order more than 1 dish, they will serve you as much as you want. We are continually ordering 2-3 starters each and a couple of mains each (there is 0 need to do this, we are just enjoying all the delicious food and then not enjoying so much the gym each morning)

 

We have yet to order from the MDR menu due to there being so many interesting dishes each night on the Blu menu

[TXranchgal]

Just off Summit (Boston-Quebec-Boston)-  In Aqua and we enjoyed BLU both at breakfast and at dinner.  We ordered the French Onion soup and Escargot from the main dining menu and several nights - we ordered the main dining room meals.  Every meal was tasty and the service was great.  

 

Aqua used to be a great value for us as it was all inclusive.  With the changes since 2022 - Aqua has lost much of the advantage financially.  Wines (without the premium drink package) add $12.00 per night to your cost.  We ordered the Filet Mignon for $23 from the main menu and split it.  

Our next cruise will be in a regular balcony.  

 

If more changes occur - it may be on a different cruise line.  The perks offered for Elite Plus are almost non-existant now.  We had a great run - but Celebrity seems to be increasing prices without offering any reason.

 

People keep booking and ships sail almost full - so they are doing something right.  

 

OR ARE THEY SAILING ON THEIR PREVIOUS REPUTATION?   only time will tell.....

[Cruise a holic]

14 hours ago, hcat said:

hmm, after reading through this thread although we will be assigned to BLU on ASCENT,  kind of glad we booked 3  nights for dinner at Specialty venues (EDEN, FINE CUT and ROOFTOP GRILL)

 

May also try the Buffet if we have a full day excursion with large lunch.

 

I think variety is a good idea...and although we've been on E Class previously, EDEN and FINE CUT will ve new for us.

 

BLU for a quiet  breakfast is def a plus!

We loved Eden!  My favorite!  Fine cut #2.  Enjoy

[rxlowry]

Loved the food in Blu on Summit in June.  Food was very flavorful and I preferred some dishes to ones I had on Oceania this month where the quality was high but flavors were more towards ordinary. I was pleasantly shocked by some bold flavors in Blu.  I did blog about it with lots of food pics.  Alpacamybagsblog 

We both thought filet in Blu beat the one at Tuscan Grill

[SbbquilterUT]

Always subjective - we sailed 14 days on Solstice in January 2023 and enjoyed our food in Blu.  We do not want large portions, rather taste all the courses without being overly full.  I particularly like the smaller venue of Blu and wait staff that was not rushing around like the MDR in August.  My only complaint was the large windows that are totally fogged out but that requires a major overhaul to replace.

[gold1953]

We also sailed Solstice in January and enjoyed all of our meals in Blu. I did send my veal back as it was so tough I couldn't chew it. Others also sent it back. Only other complaint is the the real maple syrup was the fake slop. I almost spit it out!

[1Virgo]

Love the Blu.  Equinox and Summit this year.  Summit Blu has fantastic reputation.  Food consistently excellent.    ( And I have a very serious food allergy, which they accommodated)

 

To eat in the Blu is the only reason we book Aqua.  

[hcat]

10 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

We loved Eden!  My favorite!  Fine cut #2.  Enjoy

thanks..

I am sure we will enjoy BLU but think venturing out  this trip will be interesting too.

 

This is a big birthday! cruise for me.  My last  big one was on EDGE.

.then allmost  brand new ship ! 

[shipknotshore]

We are not really big fans of BLU.   We did enjoy having breakfast there more than dinner.  We weren't really too fond of the menu choices and decided to eat elsewhere most nights after seeing the dinner menu.  Loved EDEN and will continue to book that as our favorite specialty restaurant.  We would not book the more expensive cabin just to eat at BLU. 

Another wonderful thing about cruising......you can eat whenever, wherever, and whatever you choose.  

[Mike45LC]

My upcoming cruise, second night dinner in Blu:

Fake Burger
Tuna Tataki
Salmon
Vegetable
Tomato Salad
Beet Salad
Sea Scallops
Beet Bisque
Crab Bisque
Spinach Salad
Octopus Salad
Chicken Breast
Ricotta Gnochi
Lamb T-Bone
 

I consider most of these dishes to be inedible.  No beef?  I guess I'm having a grilled chicken breast again; at least the chicken is rarely tough.  Please forgive me for not being excited.  [I have not finished surveying the rest of the week in Blu and I haven't even started looking at the MDR menu.  I don't know how many dinners I'll eat in Specialty or Buffet.]  

 

[360Guy]

On 9/18/2023 at 5:59 PM, pmarrsouth said:

We are currently on the Millennium from Vanc to Tokyo in AQ. Have had 3 nights so far in Blu

 

Soups - Could use more flavor overall. I had a corn veloute on day 2, lack of flavor until I hit the single piece of chorizo in it which complimented the dish nicely (needs more chorizo!)

 

Starters - Overall quite decent. Some excellent dishes like the lobster salad on soba noodles

 

 

Mains - Blu is really standing out here. I had herb crusted lamb chops last night, medium rare, which were incredible. My fiancé had the glazed salmon, which she loved. The previous night the short rib really melted in your mouth

 

 

 

 

0 complaints about service, the staff are fantastic and do not ask for our keycards when ordering drinks as they have remembered our room numbers

 

Obviously it will be busy around 7:30pm and one would expect a bit of a wait (enjoy a drink in Cellar Masters with the pager beside you). Come at 5:30/6 or 8:30 and there is no wait

 

A lot of people mention the smaller portion sizes as a negative / cost cutting. Order more than 1 dish, they will serve you as much as you want. We are continually ordering 2-3 starters each and a couple of mains each (there is 0 need to do this, we are just enjoying all the delicious food and then not enjoying so much the gym each morning)

 

We have yet to order from the MDR menu due to there being so many interesting dishes each night on the Blu menu

Thank you for posting!  Looks wonderful.   We are on the Best of Japan 10/12 sailing and have bid for an Aqua upgrade….fingers crossed!   
 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[zitsky]

2 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

My upcoming cruise, second night dinner in Blu:

Fake Burger
Tuna Tataki
Salmon
Vegetable
Tomato Salad
Beet Salad
Sea Scallops
Beet Bisque
Crab Bisque
Spinach Salad
Octopus Salad
Chicken Breast
Ricotta Gnochi
Lamb T-Bone
 

I consider most of these dishes to be inedible.  No beef?  I guess I'm having a grilled chicken breast again; at least the chicken is rarely tough.  Please forgive me for not being excited.  [I have not finished surveying the rest of the week in Blu and I haven't even started looking at the MDR menu.  I don't know how many dinners I'll eat in Specialty or Buffet.]  

 

Is this supposed to be a joke?

[Mike45LC]

23 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Is this supposed to be a joke?

I don’t understand.  This is the list of items from the Blu menu.

[aggiejd2000]

I was last in AQ on Solstice in April 2023.  Was on Reflection in AQ in December 2022 and Solstice in AQ in November 2022.  Loved Blu each time.  I enjoy the more intimate venue and everyone there gets to know you.  The best crew was the one on Reflection, the manager was the most jovial man and always went around the room to make sure everyone was having a great time.  I sailed alone in April 2023 and they always greeted me by name, had my table ready, and knew what I liked.

 

I really enjoy the food in Blu.  There's more variety and creativity than in the MDR, at least on S-Class.  No scoops of mashed potatoes, carrot match sticks or broccoli stalks!  If you like fish, Blu really excels in that department.  The fish skin is crispy and the tuna is seared rare.  If you're heavy red meat eater, you might find the selection in Blu to be lacking.  Sometimes, I'll just order a few apps and I'm a happy camper.  I will say though, that the menus in Blu hadn't changed much from November 2022 to April 2023.  It's not a big complaint, as there were things that I was very much looking forward to eating again!          

[OysterD]

On 9/18/2023 at 4:47 PM, Cruisegirl6 said:

I only spent one day in Blu on the two different ships because of the lack of items and the choices were not to our liking.  A lot of pasta dishes are offered.

Currently on Beyond, not sure what menus you had but out of 2 nights so far there has been 1 pasta dish, the duck ravioli which was delicious. Same number of items offered each night as a year ago on Reflection. Service has been good so far and its not noisy, no more than any other restaurant. 

[pmarrsouth]

4 minutes ago, OysterD said:

Currently on Beyond, not sure what menus you had but out of 2 nights so far there has been 1 pasta dish, the duck ravioli which was delicious. Same number of items offered each night as a year ago on Reflection. Service has been good so far and its not noisy, no more than any other restaurant. 

Just had the duck ravioli on the Millenium about 45 mins ago! Confirmed delicious 

 

 

[igmurray]

Are the cocktails listed on the menu included in the classic drinks  package 

[zitsky]

4 hours ago, pmarrsouth said:

Just had the duck ravioli on the Millenium about 45 mins ago! Confirmed delicious 

 

Were any of those pictures of the duck ravioli?  It didn’t look like it.

[pmarrsouth]

2 hours ago, zitsky said:

Were any of those pictures of the duck ravioli?  It didn’t look like it.

Yes

 

 

[zitsky]

58 minutes ago, pmarrsouth said:

Yes

 

 

They really like sauces in Blu, don’t they?

[hcat]

9 minutes ago, zitsky said:

They really like sauces in Blu, don’t they?

not usually.looks like something new.

I will be ordering it all quite plain..sauce on side. But menu looks ok otherwise 

[Peteymil]

Last week in Blu I found the choices to be very limited.  Love the size of Blu and the service, food was just so so.

[Peteymil]

9 hours ago, OysterD said:

Currently on Beyond, not sure what menus you had but out of 2 nights so far there has been 1 pasta dish, the duck ravioli which was delicious. Same number of items offered each night as a year ago on Reflection. Service has been good so far and its not noisy, no more than any other restaurant. 

Are they allowing you to order off of the MDR’s menu? I know that on Edge class the MDR’s are quite a distance.