Luminae: crazy to skip dinner and just do specialties?

[luckyinpa]

I looked at the current menu on the app for the current cruise for a few days. My gf and I both thought the dinner menu was rather lacking in what we enjoy.  It seems to be limited and Ive seen other posts indicating so.  lunch or bfast is more generic and to our liking.  in 2 weeks we will be in an EV 9 nights on ascent so have all the free restaurants. we also looked at Blu and that even seemed better. I understand we may be able to get in there. 

 

I get that the petite chef is once and done and we wont do the Raw restaurant so it seems we have eden, fine cut, le voyage, and rooftop grill. Can eat 2x at some of them and fill in at least one night with room service, i love dining at full tables in suites or balconies as space allows.

 

you cant possibly know our tastes but i am curious what you found in luminae that may be something we shouldnt be missing. take seafood out of the equation as gf is allergic. she does love dessert though!

 

also which of the eden, fine cut, le voyage, and rooftop grill would you say is must do 2x. or more! and why?

 

we like to eat when the restaurants open unless exploring a late port of course and from what ive read thats good because eden gets loud.

 

my understanding from a post on this forum is i just should call the retreat concierge this week to ensure i get the times we want so thats what  my plans are.

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

Our last celebrity cruise was Edge in Alaska during the first week of June. We were in a MC Sky suite. The Luminae menus were…for lack of better words, bland, boring and as my granddaughter would say, “yuk”. While that may be a little extreme, I will say that we didn’t really enjoy the Luminae offerings. In contrast, we dined in Eden and Rooftop Garden Grill and both were fantastic!  Rooftop may have had a slight edge over Eden but both were hands down better than anything Luminae was offering….again…and again…and again.  Catch my drift?

Edited Tuesday at 01:31 AM by Georgia_Peaches

[jelayne]

The Shoreside Concierge should contact you about 2 weeks before your cruise to get your requests.  No need to worry about getting the times you want, they do not pre book all reservations. 
 

Like your GF I too don’t seafood and find the Luminae menu lacking.  You will be able to dine in Blu, we do at least once or twice a cruise.  We also enjoy the Roof Top grill and hit that twice a cruise. The Roof Top Grill has a variety of options from ribs & brisket to filet, pork chop and lamb, so plenty of options for multiple visits.

[jelayne]

1 minute ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Our last celebrity cruise was Edge in Alaska during the first week of June. We were in a MC Sky suite. The Luminae menus were…for lack of better words, bland, boring and as my granddaughter would say, “yuk”. While that may be a little extreme, I will say that we didn’t really enjoy the Luminae offerings. In contrast, we dined in Eden and lawn Club grill and both were fantastic!  Lawn Club may have had a slight edge over Eden but both were hands down better than anything Luminae was offering….again…and again…and again.  Catch my drift?

I think you meant Roof Top Garden Grill.  The  Lawn Club is on Reflection & Silhouette.

[RichYak]

You’re not crazy. If I were in a Edge Villa, I’d probably not dine in Luminae either. Enjoy the specialties. 

[NMTraveller]

What are everyone's thoughts on the MDRs on E class?

[George C]

36 minutes ago, RichYak said:

You’re not crazy. If I were in an Edge Villa, I’d probably not dine in Luminae either. Enjoy the specialties. 

We still eat some dinners in Luminae even in royal suite , I do prefer Luminae on M class  definitely superior to E class. We do Le Petit Chef normally twice if in a high end suite . 

[tfred]

Luminae is very good but the menu is what it is. 
 

you can always ask for vegetarian or Indian, Filipino or Indonesian with a day notice and they will prepare it for you.   

[RichYak]

7 minutes ago, George C said:

We still eat some dinners in Luminae even in royal suite , I do prefer Luminae on M class  definitely superior to E class. We do Le Petit Chef normally twice if in a high end suite . 

Yes, on M-class I would have most dinners in Luminae. OP is sailing on E-class where Luminae is like a banquet hall and specialty restaurant choices are abundant. I would be a no-show at Luminae just about every night on E-class if sailing in an upper suite.

[PTC DAWG]

Eat where you like, that what we do.

Edited Tuesday at 03:05 AM by PTC DAWG

[hcat]

10 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

I looked at the current menu on the app for the current cruise for a few days. My gf and I both thought the dinner menu was rather lacking in what we enjoy.  It seems to be limited and Ive seen other posts indicating so.  lunch or bfast is more generic and to our liking.  in 2 weeks we will be in an EV 9 nights on ascent so have all the free restaurants. we also looked at Blu and that even seemed better. I understand we may be able to get in there. 

 

I get that the petite chef is once and done and we wont do the Raw restaurant so it seems we have eden, fine cut, le voyage, and rooftop grill. Can eat 2x at some of them and fill in at least one night with room service, i love dining at full tables in suites or balconies as space allows.

 

you cant possibly know our tastes but i am curious what you found in luminae that may be something we shouldnt be missing. take seafood out of the equation as gf is allergic. she does love dessert though!

 

also which of the eden, fine cut, le voyage, and rooftop grill would you say is must do 2x. or more! and why?

 

we like to eat when the restaurants open unless exploring a late port of course and from what ive read thats good because eden gets loud.

 

my understanding from a post on this forum is i just should call the retreat concierge this week to ensure i get the times we want so thats what  my plans are.

 

On Beyind. we bailed on Luminae after a few tries.  Preferred BLU and  the specialty venues.. .for menu food quality and service..

 

 

[Schmoe38]

It sounds like you are looking for reasons to avoid Luminae, even to the extent of considering room service. I think that’s a mistake.

 

Luminae on Ascent is an open concept that lends itself to being more noisy than the more intimate design on S Class and M Class ships, but that doesn’t mean the food and service should be written off.

 

We were on Beyond in April of this year, and we attended Fine Cut twice, the first being a memorable evening, the second, not so much. Specialty dining on any ship, may sound like the answer, and often times it can be, but what happens when it isn’t?
 

My wife is allergic to seafood and does not eat red meat. The staff in Luminae on all Celebrity ships, go out of their way to create dishes (off menu) to make our dining experience the best it can be. It is simply, not a scenario where the listed items on the menu are the only things you can eat. As such, we see Luminae as one of our Specialty Restaurant options.
 

Please don’t write off Luminae for dinner too soon. In my opinion, you will be doing yourselves an injustice.

 

Randy

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We are on Beyond in December and have specialties booked for 8 out of 11 nights, including dinner on the edge. When Luminae has duck or lamb on the menu we would go there for dinner.

On our last cruise we ate mainly in Murano's. Luminae's menu just does not appeal to us. 

[mickeysgal]

 Luminae is nice don't get me wrong. but yes, it was a struggle some nights to find something.  We never left hungry but it wasn't the kind of place that we'd say gosh I wish I could get "x" again tonight.  When you have all of it available to you...go and enjoy and try them all.  Including Blu.  At the very LEAST try Eden and Le Voyage.  Eden is our personal favorite above all the rest.  If it were up to me, we'd eat there several times during the course of a cruise. 

[George C]

1 hour ago, Schmoe38 said:

It sounds like you are looking for reasons to avoid Luminae, even to the extent of considering room service. I think that’s a mistake.

 

Luminae on Ascent is an open concept that lends itself to being more noisy than the more intimate design on S Class and M Class ships, but that doesn’t mean the food and service should be written off.

 

We were on Beyond in April of this year, and we attended Fine Cut twice, the first being a memorable evening, the second, not so much. Specialty dining on any ship, may sound like the answer, and often times it can be, but what happens when it isn’t?
 

My wife is allergic to seafood and does not eat red meat. The staff in Luminae on all Celebrity ships, go out of their way to create dishes (off menu) to make our dining experience the best it can be. It is simply, not a scenario where the listed items on the menu are the only things you can eat. As such, we see Luminae as one of our Specialty Restaurant options.
 

Please don’t write off Luminae for dinner too soon. In my opinion, you will be doing yourselves an injustice.

 

Randy

On edge right after Covid we had a penthouse (we’re celebrating a few things) and Fine Cut was great on both visits , a couple of years ago we did Beyond and it was totally mediocre. Luminae is so much nicer on M class.

[hamrag]

5 hours ago, Schmoe38 said:

....The staff in Luminae on all Celebrity ships, go out of their way to create dishes (off menu) to make our dining experience the best it can be. It is simply, not a scenario where the listed items on the menu are the only things you can eat. As such, we see Luminae as one of our Specialty Restaurant options....

Does anyone know if Dover Sole is available 'off menu'??

[luckyinpa]

remind me from what restaurants i can order delivered to my cabin? the benefit of a full dining room table is one we look forward to using.

 

matter of fact a nice hot breakfast delivered would be something we havent done on any other ship so would definitely do that

[CHEZMARYLOU]

@luckyinpa, with unlimited specialty dining you should be able to order from any restaurant for in suite dining. I would ask for breakfast from Luminae, not room service. Being so close it will be hotter. I am more interested in having lunch delivered than dinner. 

[mahasamatman]

14 hours ago, RichYak said:

OP is sailing on E-class where Luminae is like a banquet hall and specialty restaurant choices are abundant.

Quantity does not equate to quality.

[Schmoe38]

32 minutes ago, hamrag said:

Does anyone know if Dover Sole is available 'off menu'??

When I mentioned off menu, it was not my intention to suggest anything was possible. If you are thinking of being able to order the Dover Sole type of dinner, as offered in Murano on the S Class ships, then I suspect you will be disappointed.

 

The kitchen would prepare Chicken Diane, specialty pasta dishes, along with other dishes that were not specifically mentioned on the Luminae menu. These types of dishes may not seem overly exciting, but to us, it made all the difference.

[miched]

If I was in a EV it would be a specialty restaurant for every meal.  I would even look at Luminae.  There are restaurants open for lunch that I would go to instead of Luminae, or the buffet.  
 

I would also have the breakfast from Luminae  served in the cabin.  So much nicer than going to Luminae.  The butler will set the table.   You can then stretch out, relax and enjoy the peaceful room.  
 

I would look at making reservations in advance for some of the restaurants.    They get booked up fast and if there isn’t any availability you may not get one or the time you want.  Give your shore concierge a call 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited Tuesday at 05:27 PM by miched

[luckyinpa]

other than bistro and eden what else do you recommend for lunch.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

13 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

other than bistro and eden what else do you recommend for lunch.

Raw on 5, take a look at their menu it is not all seafood or sushi. Roof top garden grill is open on sea days. You can get lunch from the Retreat sun deck and suites have an expanded room service menu.

Edited Tuesday at 05:46 PM by CHEZMARYLOU

[Cruising89143]

One would think that Celebrity reads this board and would look to improve the menus in Luminae. We had a B2B booked for May on the Apex and decided to move the first cruise to MSC to try the YC for not wanting to deal with Luminae for nineteen nights. Now we will be on board for only eleven nights but will break up Luminae by dining in a few specialty restaurants since the MDR menu is not an option. Maybe this is their way of getting people to pay for specialty dining. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[Daneenm]

We just returned from a Med cruise on Ascent in a Royal Suite.  We completely agree on the Luminae dinner menu being unappealing most nights.  We gave this feedback loudly in our survey and quietly in the moment with our head server.  Having said that, our experience with the servers and the kitchen was excellent.  They worked with us to provide meals we would enjoy each night when the standard menu did not appeal.  We did not ask for anything extreme, sometimes we just deferred to the classic menu items, but options such as pasta or different cuts of beef for hubby were possibilities.  

 

TBH, we loved Eden 2 years ago on Edge, but we were underwhelmed this time.  

 

Food is so subjective, so this is just this couple's opinion.  However you do it, you will enjoy. Have a great cruise!