Luminae: crazy to skip dinner and just do specialties?

[luckyinpa]

30 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

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.

 

the roof top grill does look more our speed for lunch. can i assume it's under total roof so if it rains we can still enjoy? but we did order perfect weather package for the cruise too.

 

also can you just walk up and usually get a table? im assuming most people wont want a 40 dollar lunch so its not that full.

 

we will definitely look for the menu to be served on the retreat deck as well. one thing we LOVE was the pool buffet in the yacht club for bfast and lunch (did that every single day vs the restaurant) and was hoping X had some food service on their deck  as well.

[luckyinpa]

5 minutes ago, Daneenm said:

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!

 

im looking at the luminae menu for the current cruise.  the food titles of the sections are appetizers, entrees and the daniel section. nothing was marked as what i would call available every day dinners. perhaps the app isnt giving the entire menu?  even scrolling through a few nights  i dont see the same of any entree.

 

also this is our first X cruise so im sure even average food will be just fine for us. and we are going to be daring and do le voyage and try some of the non traditional things we normally dont eat. heck even the daily menu on the bistro looks tempting for lunch.

[Daneenm]

4 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

 

im looking at the luminae menu for the current cruise.  the food titles of the sections are appetizers, entrees and the daniel section. nothing was marked as what i would call available every day dinners. perhaps the app isnt giving the entire menu?  even scrolling through a few nights  i dont see the same of any entree.

 

also this is our first X cruise so im sure even average food will be just fine for us. and we are going to be daring and do le voyage and try some of the non traditional things we normally dont eat. heck even the daily menu on the bistro looks tempting for lunch.

Correct, the classic menu is not listed.  Our server reminded us conversationally when we needed to discuss other options. The items I can recall are: French onion soup, shrimp cocktail, caesar salad...salmon, chicken, steak (forget which cut)...creme brûlée, ice cream

[miched]

3 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

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

Look on the app, or managing my cruise.   It will show the specialty restaurants and give their menus.  I think Craft Social also serves food that has a fee.  In a  EV suite everything should be included for as much as you want.   There were a few items in Eden for lunch that has a fee.  One was a lobster roll and I think the other was steak sandwich of some kind.   The bistro Al’s has pastries for a fee.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅. 

[sbsmutoni]

On 10/21/2024 at 10:14 PM, tfred said:

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.   

It's been a while, but last time we cruised Celebrity and had access to Luminae, we asked for the Indian menu multiple nights and it was SOOO good!

[luckyinpa]

i took a peek at craft bar and see this cruise it's 2 to midnight most days so great for an afternoon snack.

 

is rooftop grill protected from bad weather? id imagine so given you pay to eat there and they want their money.

[luckyinpa]

18 minutes ago, sbsmutoni said:

It's been a while, but last time we cruised Celebrity and had access to Luminae, we asked for the Indian menu multiple nights and it was SOOO good!

 

is there a list somewhere of menus i should know about to ask for? didnt know there were such things and would definitely interest me. especially on the night i'm getting room service in the suite.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

57 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

 

is there a list somewhere of menus i should know about to ask for? didnt know there were such things and would definitely interest me. especially on the night i'm getting room service in the suite.

Ask your Butler. We had one from Indonesia and mentioned we did not have any Indonesian restaurants in Pittsburgh. He had the chef prepare a 3 course, off menu, dinner for us that he served in the suite. There was so much food we could not possibly have finished it.  He told us not to worry, he and his friends were looking forward to it.

[txtechmk]

We actually love the Luminae and we are pretty basic eaters.  My hubby is basically a beef eater or pasta, and he was able to find something to eat there each night.  But the waiters are pretty accommodating, and he could order simple pasta or a steak when nothing on the menu appealed to him.

 

[billc23]

On 10/21/2024 at 8:38 PM, luckyinpa said:

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.

I'll give you the perspective of a frequent upper suite traveler. Luminae is fine for me but it does get repetitive and the menu hasn't changed much over the years. I will go to specialities about half of the time and Luminae/Room service for the balance. The specialities have the same menu every day. They used to offer off menu items but recently they have limited that option compared to the past few years. If this is your first time in an upper suite on an E class ship then I would recommend going to speciality dining every night. Luminae on the other ship classes its better - simply a numbers game. The number of suites on E Class dictate the cooking methods used ie. banquet style.

 

Luminae is not open for lunch on most port days. The Bistro is a great lunch option with a menu that includes daily specials. Check out the daily specials to decide when to have lunch at the Bistro vs other lunch restaurants.

 

Room service and in room events may be more limited on any particular sailing depending on the head M'd, Butler, and Retreat manager in charge. If I was responding to your inquiry a year ago my answer regarding room service would be different, but after sailing 70+ days in an upper suite on Celebrity in 2024 I have noticed changes. Things may be different now as my last sailing was in May. 

 

Book all your speciality dining ahead of time and ask for an email conformation. They do hold some places for upper suite guests but the numbers are limited and it is then first come first served. So while a restaurant may have some reservations held they are not being held for you. After Covid lockdowns with ships sailing at a reduced capacity I was able to easily book the specialties onboard. With ships at full capacity and many dining packages sold I strongly recommend booking ahead to avoid disappointment. 

[luckyinpa]

i read on another review site that you can get specialty delivered to the cabin. my guess is they are not gonna be hot meals given the distance though. has anyone here ordered specialty for the cabin? id imagine i want to feel special and sit IN the restaurant though.

[billc23]

8 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

i read on another review site that you can get specialty delivered to the cabin. my guess is they are not gonna be hot meals given the distance though. has anyone here ordered specialty for the cabin? id imagine i want to feel special and sit IN the restaurant though.

Many times... but more restricted now. Nicer in the restaurant for me, though I have had many great experiences when sailing M class PH with in room dining. Some stuff just doesn't travel well and is best right from the kitchen - so you need to choose wisely. 

[luckyinpa]

 

 

found my answer. i guess i better not book the grill 2x unless i wanna risk the weather.

 

for lunch i'm assuming on sea days it's ok to just walk up and wont be full?

Edited Wednesday at 08:46 PM by luckyinpa

[sbsmutoni]

6 hours ago, luckyinpa said:

 

is there a list somewhere of menus i should know about to ask for? didnt know there were such things and would definitely interest me. especially on the night i'm getting room service in the suite.

If I remember correctly, we just asked for the Indian menu and they gave us one to select from. I think it came about one night when my picky eater husband was not interested in anything on the menu and our server asked if we wanted some options.

 

[BV0]

We are in a Aqua Sky Suite but don't really like the Luminae menu based on what is on the app. We are thinking of just going to one of the four main dining restaurants each night or Blu. Which one of the of the main restaurants would be best to go to?

[luckyinpa]

tentative schedule with most things at opening time

 

le voyage

fine cut

eden

rooftop grill

fine cut

petite chef

le voyage

eden

rooftop grill

 

likely that last day we will instead of the grill we will do some kind of room service as the last night we usually camp out in the room...doubly more so with the villa now!  or if one of the other places is that good we may triple up the last day. still will try luminae bfast and lunch though. 100 percent will do at least one or two in suite bfast.

Edited Wednesday at 09:49 PM by luckyinpa

[RichYak]

16 hours ago, BV0 said:

We are in a Aqua Sky Suite but don't really like the Luminae menu based on what is on the app. We are thinking of just going to one of the four main dining restaurants each night or Blu. Which one of the of the main restaurants would be best to go to?

The one with the shortest wait time to be seated. You can order any item from any of the 4 MDRs regardless which room you are dining in.

[RMac713]

On 10/22/2024 at 2:28 PM, Daneenm said:

Correct, the classic menu is not listed.  Our server reminded us conversationally when we needed to discuss other options. The items I can recall are: French onion soup, shrimp cocktail, caesar salad...salmon, chicken, steak (forget which cut)...creme brûlée, ice cream

Escargot is a classic appetizer option as well, and apple pie ala mode is a dessert option.

[bigbenboys]

23 hours ago, sbsmutoni said:

If I remember correctly, we just asked for the Indian menu and they gave us one to select from. I think it came about one night when my picky eater husband was not interested in anything on the menu and our server asked if we wanted some options.

 

What class of ship were you on?

Edited Thursday at 08:19 PM by bigbenboys
spelling

[luckyinpa]

happy to report as a result of all the research here i was able to get all the restaurants and times i wanted confirmed 🙂

[sbsmutoni]

16 hours ago, bigbenboys said:

What class of ship were you on?

We were on the Equinox.

[chamima]

On 10/22/2024 at 1:45 PM, Cruising89143 said:

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. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

 

Why isn't it an option? I have read that the menus from the MDR and Blu ARE available to order from in Luminae.

My husband is a vegan and I am a vegetarian but I also eat fish but not shellfish.

We have always sailed in Aqua and found Blu suited our diets. We're trying a SS on the Apex and I expected it to be at least as accommodating as Blu.

 

 

 

 

On 10/23/2024 at 11:14 AM, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Ask your Butler. We had one from Indonesia and mentioned we did not have any Indonesian restaurants in Pittsburgh. He had the chef prepare a 3 course, off menu, dinner for us that he served in the suite. There was so much food we could not possibly have finished it.  He told us not to worry, he and his friends were looking forward to it.

 

Can we also do this in a Sky Suite?

 

***

[CHEZMARYLOU]

@chamima I don't know. We were in a PH at the time and the butler offered, we did not request this. I've also had butlers offer Indian food in the suite but this was in another upper level suite.  It doesn't hurt to ask but be prepared for a no.   You won't have a dining table in a SS.

[tfred]

2 hours ago, chamima said:

 

Why isn't it an option? I have read that the menus from the MDR and Blu ARE available to order from in Luminae.

My husband is a vegan and I am a vegetarian but I also eat fish but not shellfish.

We have always sailed in Aqua and found Blu suited our diets. We're trying a SS on the Apex and I expected it to be at least as accommodating as Blu.

 

 

 

 

 

Can we also do this in a Sky Suite?

 

***

the MDR  choice is available in non-Edge ships. The two kitchens are very close. In Edge class ships the two kitchens are on opposite ends of the ships and it is difficult to send someone there and back and arrive with hot food.  

 

talk to the waiter in Luminae and tell them what you eat (and don't) and they will accomodate you as best they can. You will be surprised what they can do as they get requests all the time. Success will be giving them advance notice of what you like - not table side after looking at the menu. 

[George C]

52 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

@chamima I don't know. We were in a PH at the time and the butler offered, we did not request this. I've also had butlers offer Indian food in the suite but this was in another upper level suite.  It doesn't hurt to ask but be prepared for a no.   You won't have a dining table in a SS.

They definitely treat penthouse as VIP’s , I doubt they say no too often . We invited some roll call people and asked for some appetizers, they filled the large dining room table with hot and cold appetizers, it was also my wife’s birthday , so entire concierge staff came in and gave her flowers and a bottle of wine.