Kevnzworld

But what civilized real restaurant lunch does Oceania offer except the MDR? On Seabourn the only "restaurant" offering three meal is the MDR, the Colonnade is a buffet with breakfast and lunch and then there are the casual Sky and Patio Grills.

The Terrace cafe on Oceania. One can get food delivered from the grill to your table, or eat from the buffet. It's never difficult to get a table, and the atmosphere is civilized.

The Colonnade on Seabourn has some buffet items and menu items plus daily specials. Also, with waiter service, not difficult to get a table and also civilized.

And the food is really good at both ( better on Seabourn IMO ).

Both are open until 10 am for breakfast and 2:00 for lunch.

Neither are a hectic madhouse. Waiters bring your drinks and in some cases food. You don't have to fight for a table.

As I've posted too many times, the Oceanview cafe is just too much like a school lunch cafeteria for me...if I'm paying upwards of $1000 a night.

An AQ veranda used to be $250 a night just a few years ago....for that price the Oceanview cafe was fine...

Yes they do provide 3 meals a day and the menus change daily but they are not suite dedicated restaurants as far as I know. On Oceania the Specialty restaurants Polo, Toscana, Jacques and Red Ginger are only open for dinner. The MDR, Grill etc are open for 3 meals. Everyone can eat in all these places so why buy a suite? You get the same food as someone in an inside.

Yes, but unlike Celebrity they all offer a civilized real restaurant lunch option. Their regular rooms are larger than Celebrity's so one doesn't necessarily need a suite. A Seabourn cabin is 300 sq ft. Their food is already exponentially better so they don't need a less crowded Suite dedicated restaurant with a higher food budget. So I'm comparing standard larger cabin's on other lines to Celebrity suites. Dollar for dollar.

Luminae was designed to offer better food than regular Celebrity fare, and in a better environment. I'm hoping they adjust the hours to accommodate passengers, not forcing passengers to alter their schedules to accommodate Celebrity ( breakfast, lunch ).

Anyway, I'm looking forward to it!

 

The level of suite repeat bookings to suites on our cruise was very high, that's the kind of metric that will be of interest to Miami. And those saying I want a Silverseas type offering, I understand where you are coming from, but if Celebrity can fill their suites without the cost of a Silverseas type offering, you can bet they will because it's all about economics.

I agree. If in fact the suites continue to sell, good for Celebrity. I noticed most 2015 European sailings had suites offered at 40% off original fares on the Tuesday specials. There's five up now for August. I booked my upcoming Brittish isles cruise that way...

I mentioned Seabourn, Oceania, Regent, Viking...not Silverseas.

They all offer a real restaurant experience with great food for lunch, buffet plus menu items, all changed daily.

Their prices are comparable if one factors in alcohol and gratuities .....that's the market that Celebrity is aiming at with the Suite class.

As long as we're not pretending to be rewarding "everyone" who works so hard to make our trip better, but rather only those who can thank us profusely.

Well, I don't think I or anyone else that opts to give a crew member a thank you gratuity considers that as a reason, but if that convoluted rationalization makes you feel better about not tipping...go with it !

There has been a lot of conflicting information about Luminae since it was originally announced. The biggest controversy is over breakfast and lunch hours and menu. Those that have booked or are now booking suites would like clarification as to what will really be offered.

One would hope that breakfast would be served until 10:00am and lunch until 2:00. The lunch menu should change daily, like dinner.

This is what your competitors in the $800-$1100 per night space offer. A real lunch restaurant experience with a daily changing menu.

( Oceania, Seabourn, Regent, Viking ).

Personally, I've thought the quality of food and service in Blu has declined over the years. The menu never changes.

Yes, it's better than the MDR.. At least with a suite you can choose between Luminae and Blu depending on the nightly posted menu.

Would the competitors be MSC and NCL?

IMO , Celebrity's competition for their new Suite class is Seabourn, Oceania , Regent, Crystal and Viking ocean. They offer larger cabins, and better food at a similar price point. $800-$1000 per cabin per night. I believe that Luminae was created to attract and offer a viable alternative to those customers. It also helps justify higher suite prices.

Maybe brunch from 10:00 til 1:30 would work. I can understand the 1 hour lunch on port days as many suites guests may be off the ship.

As long as lunch is served later than 1:00.....and whatever is on the brunch menu includes a variety of options that change daily. No one wants to eat the same thing every day.

Again, the competition offers this....anything half assed won't fly. At least with me

In a restaurant waiters share their tips because they have to. And management knows exactly how much in tips a waiter earns because it is on the credit card. But when you tip in cash on a cruise ship I would bet the stewardesses and hostesses and whoever one tips do not share with all those other hard working people.

And they are all paid unequally too....that's life.

So not only should lunch be available every single say without exception, but must be available during the hours that are convenient to some. Like I said, foot stomping kids.

Sorry Rich, gotta take issue with you on this one.

Suite guests have a right to expect a REAL restaurant open during obvious and convenient hours. That's what Celebrity represented Luminae would offer for almost a year while they sold out suites at $1000 per night.

For me, I'm only sailing on Celebrity if it's a bargain, or if Luminae is all that it was advertised to be. Lunch is the deal maker or breaker for me. I can't stomach one more sea day lunch free-for-all in the Oceanview school cafeteria.

Luminae was advertised to offer a good civilized lunch alternative, that's attractive to me......if it exists.

People have every right to complain about the bait and switch, obscure watered down offering versus what was originally promised.

I'll be on Silhouette in three weeks to see for myself....I'm hoping for good dinners, and lunch open until at least 1:30. Why should I have to rush to make some arbitrary abbreviated serving window? Not for $800-1000 per night, I'll sail on Seabourn or Oceania and get a REAL lunch, open until 2:00pm....not " Brunch ".

Some tip, some don't.

 

However, the one thing that comes across, yet again, is that certain cc members who come on to this forum seem hell bent upon changing the rules on SB, something that has run perfectly well WITHOUT them for many years.

 

Whatever the subject, whether it be dress code, tipping, or something else, it is always the same fraction of obtuse individuals who seem to pay absolutely no attention to the advice of others, or the recommendations of Seabourn.

 

For them the rules do not clearly apply!!

Please post the "rule" that forbids giving a gratuity to a crew member and I'll happily abide by it as I do other rules ( smoking, dress codes etc )

" Tipping is neither required or expected " is the written policy, and is far different.

I respect those with an honest difference of opinion and preference. We all have those, and this is a place to share them. That's why I posted the query.

I don't respect the condescending, self righteous , and arrogant proclamations from those that believe their personal interpretation of a policy is a rule that others should follow or be denigrated. They mistakenly believe that their ideas are culturally or otherwise superior to those whom they differ with.

It is a lot of fun to read their comments though...:)

As Markham wrote " Happy Sailing ".

Kevin, the culture on Seabourn and other so called luxury lines has been to not tip individuals. But you, and many others bring your own ideas on how to operate with total disregard to what was established many years ago.

 

It's fine, because the whole concept of what SB was at one time is totally different than where it is heading.

Really? :)

I've been travelled on many luxury lines for years, Regent, Paul Gaugin etc. now Seabourn. I'm certainly accustomed to land based five star hotel etiquette across the globe as well. I'm retired, mid fifties and have been traveling six months a year for over a decade, often but less frequently prior to that. But I digress

Ok, I can say that because of this thread, I will donate to the crew welfare fund going forward. I will also selectively and discreetly give an additional gratuity to those that I feel are deserving. I will, as I have in the past use the comment card to mention all those that gave me better than expected service.

I'm not sure where Seabourn was, but I certainly know where it's heading....and I like it ( see my upcoming cruise line up ). I enjoy the new Odyssey class ships and I look forward to sailing on the Encore's inaugural cruise Athens to Singapore next year. Thomas Keller should be a good new addition.

kevnsworld,

 

By all means tip everyone you find gives you exemplary service on Seabourn.

That would probably be a lot of folks, and I bet they are all delighted to receive your dosh. The Seabourn product is delivered by some of the best crews on the seas. As for me, I tip my stewardess and the crew fund. That's it.

I suppose this tipping thing is a cultural thingy.

Curious: Why do you feel it appropriate to tip your stewardess, yet no other crew that gave you exemplorary service ? Is that an example of what you consider an appropriate " cultural thingy "? ( stewardess's only? ) :)

Re : Japanese customs. If I was sailing on a Japanese cruise line, I would adhere to Japanese custom. Seabourn is an American cruiseline employing Europeans mostly.

Re: discretion. I was as discreet as possible when I gave the hostess her well earned yet modest gratuity. That can't be said obviously for others that I've seen on my Seabourn cruises.

Re: Celebrity etc.. I only brought up Celebrity because they have a gratuity included policy, though it's an add on. I could have mentioned Regent or Oceania....I wouldn't want Seabourn to be Celebrity either, what would be the point of that?....

Bottom line, I believe in discretion and polite courtesy ..I was surprised by the self righteous indignation expressed by those that were offended by the fact that I gave the Restaurant hostess a gratuity. Evidently tipping or " gifting " stewardesses is ok..." Culturally " speaking of course...;).

What about all those people in the laundry and kitchen who go the extra mile to make your cruise special. Do you go down to the laundry room to tip them as well? They work just as hard, perhaps harder.

No, nor do I tip the dishwasher in the restaurants I eat at..or the chef, and they work a lot harder than the waiter does. The staff shares gratuities in what ever fashion they deem appropriate.

I have stayed out of the tipping debates until now because it is not in our culture and it is something that I find awkward. What I don't understand, is why you think the hostess did an exceptional job and made such a difference to your experience just by finding you a table that you liked. You even say you ate later to make it easier. How is this going above and beyond the call of duty? Isn't this her job?

Slice Salentino says next we will tip the plumber. If my drain is blocked, I would rather tip the plumber than someone who shows me to a table we wanted MOST nights.

I really hope people don't go down this path, it would be a game changer for us.

I've experienced other host/ hostesses/ maître d's on Seabourn and other lines that were always too busy to fulfill individual requests. Always polite ..but sorry, never remembering what you prefer or why. But " Doing their job ".

We enjoyed conversations with the hostess in the Colonnade, and in the evenings after dinner. She made a sincere effort, and it really made a difference to us. I can say that we were not alone. I witnessed money/ envelopes being given and handshakes followed by a reach into the pocket numerous times and with a variety of crew on the last night of each cruise .

This reminds me of the line in Casablanca, " I'm shocked, shocked to find out that there's gambling going on here "!

We also made a point to mention at least eight crew members by name on the comment card for exceptional service.

I'm sorry if the idea of rewarding someone for their extra effort and attitude is such a " culturally " foreign concept to some, but it isn't to everyone...thankfully for the crew.

This topic is a complicated one...it came up on the Quest review thread after I posted a comment which included the fact that I had tipped the hostess at the end of my cruise. Many took issue with that.

Tipping policy varies across cruise lines. Seabourn advertises that gratuities are included and tipping is not expected. It isn't " banned " anywhere that I have read however.

On Celebrity there is a general gratuity charge that's added to the bill, somewhat like the optional crew fund on Seabourn. Tipping is still commonplace.

Personally I've chosen to privately and discreetly tip a few members of the crew that I felt went out of their way to make my cruise exceptional.

The hostess on our last cruise made an effort to get to know us, not unlike many of the the crew do. We spoke to her before and while being escorted to whatever table she had available for us, at lunch,breakfast and dinner.

We liked one location of the Restaurant, because it had a wait staff that we had gotten to know and liked. We also like being against the back wall at a table for four sited next to each other. We politely requested that type of table in the section we liked. We offered to eat later to make our request easier to fulfill. On most but not all evenings we were able to sit at a table we liked.

At the end of the cruise we gave her a relatively modest gratuity ( given the length of the cruise, 30 days ). We handed it to her in an envelope with a nice note. We did the same for our cabin attendant .

I was roundly criticized for doing this...I was told that I was spoiling it for everyone else, breaking company policy and it was intimated that I was paying off the hostess to get a better table.

Yes, the crew fund is worthwhile and evenly distributed. One must remember that these are young people, paid little and on a six month contract.

I realize that Seabourn has a gratuity included policy, but does that or should that preclude one from selectively and discreetly tipping a few crew members AFTER. the cruise?

Since i have yet to sail with a hostess on Seabourn I will reserve judgment as to whether or not this is an improvement. But I will say that if this new system now includes assigning table based on suite category then this will turn me away from Seabourn. As others have noted somehow over the years Seabourn has done a remarkable wonderful job of treating all passengers as equals.This "democratic" atmosphere truly is one of the hallmarks of Seabourn and I would hope that this remains. But if there are some special perks that come with premium suites it would be better and more transparent if those perks are stated in writing and not doled out in a sort of shadow system.

 

And I have to admit to being quite distressed by one of Kevinsworld's comments. I think it is wonderful that he liked the new system and found this hostess provided exceeds the service for which he felt she should be rewarded. However, I am very distressed that he chose to do this by tipping her at then end of the cruise. I would hope she had the good sense to refuse this tip. Seabourn has a no tipping policy and because of this I find all of the crew members can focus on providing all passengers with good service and not sucking up to those they think might remunerate them. And imagine how the hardworking crew members who did not receive a tip must have felt when they say this young woman being singled out.From my perspective the only thing worse than tipping a favored crew member or two at the end is tipping early in the cruise in the expectation of receiving better service. If you feel have have received excellent service from a crew member there is something you can do to reward them -- go tell the Hotel Manger or write a note to Seabourn or give them a special shout out on your Guest Questionnaire. But please don't muck up the no tipping policy. I would hate to see Seabourn degrade into one of those lines that leaves envelopes with "suggested per person per day gratuities" in the suites.

I can say that at the end of the Seabourn cruises I've been on, there still is tipping...i've witnessed it numerous times especially for the wait staff.

We chose to give something to Daniella because she was so friendly and accommodating. She had no advance way of knowing that we would. We also always tip our cabin attendant. I saw numerous people tipping the Asst maître D, we were not one of them.

We did not choose one of the favored tables, or a window one. We liked being against the back wall at a table for four, so we could sit next to each other.

We chose to eat close to 8:15-8:30 to help facilitate that.

I'm sure if someone else wanted that specific table, and it was available before we got there, they could have requested and gotten it.

Again, we were not in a higher end suite...we were just nice to them and never demanded anything...we just politely asked, and worked with them timing wise... They obviously got to know us over the course of the thirty days and we them. We thought the entire crew was great, almost without exception....

Can't wait for October!

Hopefully Luminae's menu and lunch hours will expand...I really would like to like Celebrity again....

I'll be boarding Silhouette in three weeks

I'll ask again, hoping for a more detailed response...

Lunch: Is it a REAL lunch, or a few lunch type items on a brunch menu ?

Does " lunch " end at 1:00? Or 1:30?

Does the lunch menu items change daily, or are there daily specials?

I ask because lunch, more than dinner is the deal killer for me sailing with Celebrity. I can't stand the crowded Oceanview cafe on sea days...

The higher end lines that Celebrity " hopes " to compete with offer a real lunch, civilized with good food.

So back to the OP 's post, question.

So there isn't a lunch, but a brunch until 1:00?

I thought that Celebrity had decided on lunch, which should be served until 2:00.

The few lunch type items never change? How many times on a 12-14 day cruise can one eat the same thing?

I think that many of those commenting here have it wrong. Yes there are a few reserved tables. The Asst Maître D people here are speaking about confirmed that, If you have eight weeks booked in the Wintergarden suite, you will get seated every night in your preferred table.

For the rest of us, they effort to keep you in the same section if you request it, and at a particular type of table if you request that too.

We liked our waitress and sommelier, they knew us and what we liked. I don't think anything is wrong with that type of accommodation.

I like the system, we try to get to know the hostess at the beginning of the cruise, we try out a few sections until we find what we like and then we settle there.

We liked Daniella, others on our cruise did too....we tipped her at the end.

And seriously, yes I do think to some extent the quality depends on the chef. I know the food is sourced from the same place, however the Executive Chef or whatever title SB bestows, does have influence on the quality of what comes out of the galley.

I highly rate chefs : Jes (is he still with SB?) Neal/Neil and Martin.

I asked Chef Martin about this on our last cruise during the shop with the chef excursion. We were at the Saturday farmers market in Ajjacio Corsica.

He said that they are supposed to follow certain menus, but can make changes, additions etc based on ingredient availability. They try to source local produce and fish where possible, especially in the colonnade.

We cruised on the transatlantic from Miami and thought the food was excellent. The first couple of nights on the following cruise ( we stayed onboard ) were noticeably worse. The service was disorganized and the food arrival times slow, with inconsistent execution at best. They staff ( who we knew by then ) attributed it to staff changeover in Barcelona. Our barista was now our sommelier, the wait staff was moved around to different stations. They said that there was a lot of staff changes in the kitchen too. Eventually the food ship righted and life carried on as normal.

The Chef, leadership and staff definitely matter.

Blu needs to have the entire memu revamped! On our recent Transaltantic for 14 days on the Silhouette we were in aqua, and found the food boring as the menu has not changed. Of the 14 mornings we only ate in Blu twice, and had four night in other venues. The entire theme in Blu does not change, even from ship to ship. Same little dishes of raw veggies and dips, bread and bread sticks and the usually on the menu.

Hal

The menu in Blu hasn't changed in over five years! maybe more. There have been some minor alterations related to ingredient availability or price, but nothing significant.

I'm hoping to try Luminae , once I can determine if Celebrity has figured out lunch...and if so, what it is,

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In my way of thinking there is a vast difference between being a BLU fan and a true BLU diner. We enjoy Gourmet dining and possibly they really don't. Will try anything once and the more exotic the better.

 

Blu isn't gourmet dining.

I've received different responses to my question as to whether or not the lunch menu changes daily.

Are there two menus which alternate daily, or is there a fourteen day menu as there is allegedly for dinner.

Now it seems like there are days on some ships that don't offer lunch on a daily basis, and if they do it's during a one hour window that ends at 1:00pm ( what's up with that? ). I thought lunch now officially lasted until 1:30, though it should be 2:00

One of the things I dislike about Blu is the arbitrary early end to breakfast service on many days...(9:00am).