levramosis

On 1/21/2023 at 5:27 PM, hcat said:

does not look like pork..

It's not like there's going to be a big chunk of flesh there. Onlly the flat strip on the plate below the shrimpy stuff is probably the actual pig content. As usual, whether this would be any good would be as much what they do with it and put with it as what it is. But hey, for me if it's part of a pig I'll try it.

On 11/16/2022 at 9:34 AM, miched said:

Don’t use the large Evian bottle unless you ask about it.  Some charge and others say to use it.

LOL. Three cruises and the butlers keep us in bottomless supply of Evian large bottles (the bigger personal bottle, not the gigantic one they have in Luminae, and not the teeny-tiny one the buffet bar will give you) and Pellegrino since one likes still and one likes sparkling. They also keep the ice bucket populated too.

9 hours ago, baytraller said:

Asked the Retreat Suite Shoreside Concierge this question via email and received the following reply

"Please be advised that as Luminae offers its own exclusive menu, we do not offer the menu selections from Blu or the Main Dining Room to be delivered in Luminae."

I highly doubt things have changed that much in Luminae since pre-pandemic... we have food allergy issues too. We notify the maitre'd and provide an OK/not list at lunch on embarkation day, and every day at dinner they provide us the following day's MDR and Luminae menus so we can choose what we want in case they can make changes so it's safe for us. There are usually plenty of choices and sometimes we even provide a main option and a backup option in case the main one can't be made safe for us.

We haven't ever done it but I'm sure could dine in Blu or MDR by reservation - though I sure don't know why you'd want to ever dine in MDR when you could in Luminae.

19 hours ago, gold1953 said:

but if you are from the UK it is pass on the right. the track is also for strolling and enjoying and is a 2 way . I like to walk fast but understand that this is not an exclusive area

Same in Japan, passing on the right - even on escalators!

On 11/14/2022 at 9:33 PM, SusieAV8R said:

 

So can you explain your comment to this ex-Ontarian/ex-Albertan?

• Ship:  Summit
• Length of Cruise: 5 days
• Cruise Sail Date: 2022 Nov 28
• Date email offer received: First email 14 Sep, second email 22 Sep, bid placed 24 Sep
• Captain’s Club Tier: Select
• Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA: TA
• Current Cabin: (original) 6128 (Sky Suite)
• Bid?  Yes/No: Yes
• Cabin Category: Celebrity Suite
• Bid Offer: $305/pp
• Notification Date: 03 Nov
• Accepted

General Comments (offer details, etc.)

Moved to CS 6106

9 hours ago, chemmo said:

I totally understand what you are saying. The MDR menu is well written. You know when you order what to expect.

 

One of the problems with the Luminae menu is it is ‘playfully’ written. Perhaps an attempt to be more upmarket? 

I wouldn't say it's playfully written but it's written to a different sort of audience. I don't understand half of it either but my wife understands all of the fancy food words, so I get translations. Reviewing it again, I'd call it fancifully written. I'd rather it just be in simple language but *shrug* damn the food is good. I can't wait to be there again. Luminae is one of my happy places. Along with relaxing (and often falling asleep) on the T-pool bubble loungers.

One way you could approach this is to review the Luminae menus available online before going, and get a definition from Google for any terms you don't understand. Putting in "define bucatini" or "define hamachi" will get you a good idea what you'd be getting pretty quick. Beyond that, the waitstaff know the menu well so ask questions about how things are served etc.

Portions are not large, which might suit light eaters but we usually order extra entrees to share or doubles if we know we like something. Remember you'll have 3-6 courses depending how you order.

If you like wine or related after-dinner beverages it pays to get friendly with the sommelier. One thing that has made a difference between an average cruise and an outstanding one for us is the enthusiasm of the Luminae sommelier. When they more-or-less call it in it's not great but an engaged sommelier is worth their weight in gold, maybe more.

On 10/2/2022 at 11:17 AM, chimchimtx said:

I was the same way with lemon tarts.  I specifically searched them out bc of Jim’s posts.  I too like plain lemon. No whip.  He was right.  They were perfection.    Last week Equinox had them once and then they disappeared. Only had chocolate the rest of the entire 9 day cruise.

Oh hells yeah. We happened upon those lemon tarts at the Captain's Club celebration in the Sky Lounge and oh boy, after the first one there weren't enough guys walking around with them.

On 10/1/2022 at 8:12 AM, Lena11033 said:

I'll remember that. The iced tea I had was just sugar on sugar which is too much for me - even at home when I make drinks it's sugar free coffee/tea or I'm drinking water so sugary drinks are too much for me

Ugh. We're northerners so when we say "iced tea" we mean unsweetened cold tea. In the south "iced tea" means what they also call "sweet tea" which is what you had. It's way too much for my palate and blood sugar. In the US if I request "unsweet tea" or "unsweetened iced tea" I will usually get what I'm looking for, which I tend to do these days no matter where I am just to make sure. I think that in the north the tea default changed to some degree when McDonald's started serving sweet tea. Since they are EVERYWHERE (at least in the US) they (sadly) set a standard of some sort.

On 10/2/2022 at 12:44 PM, shirazcruiser said:

Good idea...I love lemon meringue tarts...I'll ask our butler too!  

Now THAT.... that is a good idea.

Many great cocktails mentioned. Perhaps it's not a cocktail, but Michael's Club has always served us limoncello when we asked. I'm going for that upon boarding next time.

There was a whole thread about whether to leave things out and at least two people had had items recovered by onboard security. This policy is what allows that to happen. In many cases what you are giving up in personal rights you are also gaining capability to have security keep you from getting screwed with. I'd want to cruise LESS if their policy were to look the other way if pax have items stolen and if they left every belligerent person onboard.

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

For E-Class- What if the port built a D.I. on the dock that goes up and down to match the ship decks? A drive through Diamonds International and you could just go by in your Infinite Veranda and open your window and buy a nice ring or earrings?  Ha Ha.  Or to make it easier just align it with the Magic Carpet?🤣

Actually it's kind of surprising that there isn't a Diamonds International on a boat at every port.

On 5/21/2022 at 11:19 AM, TeeRick said:

Just do some Google Maps research prior to your trip and type in the location "Diamonds International" and that should qualify you to be a Port Shopping Guide on board.😄

Well, I can hear the song of the Moissanite, but if you do this then you might miss all the great color changing crap at Del Sol!

23 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

The times we cruised on X pre-pandemic, I do not recall any port shopping lectures. Or perhaps they had them, and we just ignored them.

Heh, they were definitely there EVERY pre-pandemic cruise we went to. We may have gone to one, but usually I'd just do something else while listening with half an ear while it reran on the SR television. It was a start on knowing where I DIDN'T want to go. I also thought of it as a good way to get a map until I realized maps were free at every port anyway.

11 hours ago, J18ktleo said:

I have a group of 14 going on Reflection in Sept,

 

Question: re: Luminae, since we are such a big group will we have trouble dining at the same time?  I wrote dining reservations to see if we can reserve a time for all of us but not sure that's an option?

14 will not be a problem. Reflection has a double-sized Luminae (at least compared to M-class) and seats like 80-100 I'd guess. Talk to the maitre'd at lunch of embarkation day about what sort of seating arrangement your group will want, and ideally if you have an idea what time you'll be coming in for dinner. If you don't know when you'll come in for dinner it won't be a big problem but you will wait longer the first night if you ask for a unique arrangement. The Luminae staff very quickly learn what time you come for a dinner and plan for it. They try to put everyone at the same tables with the same waiter every meal during a cruise. It works great, just make sure you like where they put you the first night, and hopefully no one sits next to you wearing too much perfume and giving your SO an asthma attack like happened to us once. A crappy situation with Luminae full that night, and handled very gracefully by the staff.

On 5/19/2022 at 4:45 PM, chaps612 said:

probably not the best idea as procuring a suite will become the expectation for every future cruise!

Basically yes. I have tried to talk my SO into trying to cruise cheap, maybe even try an inside *gasp* ... it's pretty much a nope.

On 5/16/2022 at 8:53 PM, canderson said:

Yeah, if you like Motor City Wine, you'd like the original Michael's concept.  We enjoy it, too.

OMG, yeah dude, Motor City Wine was one of our preferred hangouts before this pandemic crap.

On 5/17/2022 at 8:43 AM, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

Why, on the tabletops of course !

Haha, definitely thumbs up to that. Note to self, find silent disco at Michael's and tip bartenders extra hard to get somebody wasted enough to table dance. LOL

On 5/14/2022 at 1:18 PM, Guppy99 said:

When and how would you expect them top communicate with people for every singles sailing? How far in advance? Do you then, for instance, allow everyone to cancel within 1 week? There is a full payment required 90 days in advance for a reason. The information you are requesting for your specific sailing is not available that soon.  So how to handle those that want to change later?

They have been offering refunds or FCC inside of the 90 days during the rest of the pandemic, there is no reason they can't do it now.

A few mouse clicks and they can email all pax for a specific sailing. And if they don't have a quarantine plan for each class ship, then why the hell not? They could send it out at six months ahead, three months ahead, one month ahead. And if it had changed for a given cruise (which, again, would likely be done at least a few weeks ahead of when it would come into effect), send it out to the affected sailing and give them a week to change their plans without penalty.

I wonder what percentage use TAs vs booking direct. Because, even if I haven't had a "proper" TA, I assume when I had "Costco TA" they could have cancelled readily enough without spending hours on the phone waiting for CS from X.

I fully expect to be notified ahead of time that I might have to quarantine in an OV cabin if I come up positive with the Covids. In fact (drawing from some other recent threads), if they will only have 2/3 of the butlers available and therefore will be unlikely to offer the usual, advertised, and expected level of service, I expect to be notified of that as well so I can decide whether I still want to cruise with slightly lowered expectations, or cancel so that I can later enjoy the value of every dollar I'm dropping.

I'm not saying this is automatic, but good service is never automatic - it always takes intentional effort on the part of the organization as well as the people that make it up. Good service is mindful, and looks graceful. There are many ways this could be handled more in line with those ideals.

But yes, ideally there would be no crowded embarkations or excursion buses and everyone would submit themselves for testing at the slightest sniffle, or better still test everyone every day like Viking.

On 5/14/2022 at 6:50 PM, jelayne said:

Michael’s is a lounge with dark walls, overstuffed furnishing no windows that aren’t covered with heavy drapery and too much furniture , IMO.  It does have a small bar that seats 10-12.  We spend very little time in there.

On the other hand, our experience of Michael's Club / Retreat Lounge is... well, imagine a library with snacks and an open bar. How that hits is obviously highly personal. For us, it's basically heaven.

On 5/15/2022 at 10:58 AM, kwokpot said:

The programming was SOLELY because your cruise was a TA. None of those events occur in Michael's Club on a typical Caribbean sailing.

 

Post-revolution Summit definitely had music occasionally, and a meet-the-officers event in early 2020 so at least some of this is not new. And heck, I think Silent Disco in there is a good idea. Silent Disco would take advantage of the venue always being quiet anyway, and Sileng Disco always makes for good people-watching. Plus there's a higher chance of seeing some suite passengers super tipsy. Sign me up!

In Luminae, even the breakfast pastries look way larger than those we saw on the buffet or at Bacio; we're convinced they hand-pick the best-looking and largest. Luminae is my Happy Place. My main complaint from previous visits? I didn't order enough mimosas.

On 5/15/2022 at 12:13 PM, canderson said:

And some of you folks thought the hucksterism of Park West was bad!

Honestly - really disappointed to that Goop has been offered space on Celebrity.  I'd almost rather they set up space for some outfit selling timeshares, and that's saying something.

Seriously agree. And I can't believe people go for this stuff.

One high-listing article in a google search for "Gwyneth Paltrow diet" claims "Surprisingly, her go-to methods are not as extreme as you think" and then later "one cleanse Paltrow is loving at the moment is the 'Goat's Milk Cleanse', which limits your diet to nothing more than goat's milk and herbs for eight days to rid your body of parasites." Does that seriously sound healthy?

Don't even get me started on the 300 kcal/day "cleanse".

With all that said, half the "treatments" at the Canyon Ranch Spa were bucketfuls of pseudoscientific garbage too. Since such things typically make great profit centers, I'm not sure this is a battle that is winnable.

On 5/13/2022 at 3:37 PM, Covepointcruiser said:

I am sensitive to loud and/or bad music.    I always have a pair of earplugs with me,Vibes are especially good in music venues.

Same, and I also have a set of Vibes on my keychain at all times. That little aluminum canister they sell for them is awesome.

I guess I will have to keep them on me when cruising also, which probably isn't a bad idea anyway.

I've never understood why almost everyone else seems to feel that everything has to be so loud to be enjoyable, but since it sure seems to be nearly everyone else it's probably me. Regardless, the only graceful way to handle the situation overall is to remove myself when it's objectionable, or deal with it (for example by wearing the earplugs).

Solstice class ships: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice-class_cruise_ship#Ships

Documents of what has been revolutionized: http://www.thecelebritycommitment.com/Revolution.html

I could see them going with "Peak" or even, going along with the mountain theme "Crux". They could get even more technical with "Arete". "Approach" would be decent.

17 hours ago, Denny01 said:

I’ll light a ‘special’ candle in celebration .

If it was the "goop lady"? LOL, sure.

9 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

... so it may depend on how busy a particular sailing is and how overloaded a particular butler is and maybe even the CC level of the passenger (Elite Plus or Zenith they might say yes).

Or maybe on your first Celebrity cruise... we have our suspicions that they pamper you extra hard the first time to hook you. LOL

On 5/7/2022 at 7:15 PM, MMMCruiser said:

For priority disembarkation (a couple of our ports look like they may be tender ports) I believe I go through the Retreat staff, not the butler.  And it looks like I can get bottled water in the Retreat Lounge, so it's ok that the room doesn't come with water bottles each day.

Understand that, as I understand it, your butler reports directly to the retreat concierge. Obviously given this and my earlier comments, you can see I find that understanding some of the chains of command help understand how things work and how to get things you want.

You can get bottled water anywhere (meaning bars, which are everywhere), and in the suite they will automatically give you Evian if you want still and Perrier (I think) if you want sparkling - unless you request something else (at least, that's what they used to do, I'm not sure what environmental initiatives have done). At bars you may have to request Evian over the regular bottled water, and if you prefer the Evian significantly you'd better have it on you before proceeding off the ship (near the exit they will have a table of the regular water which - seriously - will taste weird if you are used to the Evian water). On previous voyages I've guessed that our butler wasn't restocking our water, but our room steward was. Of course it totally doesn't matter to me who does it, what I cared about was that it was stocked - and it always was.

All this assuming you have premium drinks package. I thought part of the deal of getting a suite was always getting that, though they done that wrong recently with the suite guarantee rates. Which makes sense as one of the Retreat Lounge employees once mentioned "we know who has the drinks package and who doesn't" when asked about people taking multiple bottles out with them etc. You never know what might make it into the computer. It would make sense if Celebrity has a file with notes on your preferences and things, like posh hotel chains do.