NCHPcruiser

23!

How difficult is it to get reservations at the specialty restaurants, specifically at 7:00-7:30 and more specifically at Murano? Our butler will be making these reservations. Thanks!

Our first day on our upcoming Med cruise we are in Sicily from 10 am-7 pm. I am debating whether to do a semi-private full day tour (which will include Mt. Etna) or a half-day private which does not include Etna. I'm not sure if we would rather have some time in the afternoon on the ship (perhaps by the pool with a cocktail), relax and decompress from our busy lives at home. Or is Etna not to be missed and will we regret it?

I don't have a recommendation but as I will be staying one night in Civitavecchio next month I looked on Tripadvisor where there were several listed along with their websites (some of which were entirely in Italian).

I'll certainly be wearing my white pants/jeans/capris when on my Med cruise in mid-September. It will still be 85-90 degrees in most ports at that time. I seriously doubt I'll pack even one pair of dark pants!

Thank you for the report on Luminae as well as your other observations. I'll be on the Reflection in September and am looking forward to Luminae in addition to Blu.

How difficult is it to get specialty restaurant reservations once onboard? On my other Celebrity cruises I was with my mother and sister who preferred to stick with Blu or the MDR. On this cruise (Med. cruise in September on the Reflection) I'll be with my husband and we plan to try several of the specialty restaurants. When I try to book online I can't get anything close to the time we prefer. We are in a suite, so will the butler be able to do better than I can online?

Friends (45-50 age group) returned from a Med cruise on Reflection last Friday, July 10th. They dined in every restaurant (except MDR) and without being asked she said Murano was the best experience and Luminae the worst. They had friends join them who had to pay the $50 surcharge and it was most definitely not worth it. Perhaps it is a hit or miss kind of thing, and they went on a bad night. To them it seemed like a small version of the main dining room and still have a lot of kinks to work out. Some will like that atmosphere but many others won't. We still plan to visit Luminae and will keep an open mind!

As I mentioned in the original question, I have for the past several years booked Aqua class and dined in Blu. There were four of us and except once for just a few minutes, we NEVER waited and we ate in Blu exclusively. I hate that obviously some are having to wait; however as I was sold on going with the Suite because Blu would still be available I'm sure I'll be dining there (probably more than Luminae). I have seen several post mentioning that the Luminae menu is very similar to that in the MDR. If they are simply serving MDR food in a different atmosphere then unfortunately I'll stick with Blu. I'm sure the service in Luminae is outstanding and we will definitely give it a try. It sounds like Celebrity needs to the up their game and improve upon Luminae !

Thanks, Claudia and Janet! Hopefully we will enjoy Luminae as much as we have Blu in the past. We are fairly easily pleased however I have not enjoyed the MDR experience. I have not tried many of the specialty restaurants since I have traveled in the past with older family members with smaller appetites who didn't want to spend extra for them. It's just my husband and myself this cruise so we are looking forward to trying several, if not all, during our 10 nights on the Reflection.

I am on the Reflection for a Med cruise in September. In the past I have booked Aqua Class and enjoyed Blu for most dinners. We are in a Sky suite this time so will have Luminae. I understand that, upon availability, we will be able to dine at Blu. Has this been a problem for anyone? Although we are looking forward to the extra space in a suite, I love Blu and haven't heard anything terribly positive about Luminae.