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Luminae not Created Equal for All Suite Guests?


madcitymaven
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Our club has that policy (no cells on during dinner) and table size is now restricted to seating 8 per table. It's natural for friends wanting to be seated with friends, but it's also natural that 'the more the merrier' will result and the surrounding diners won't be so merry...LOL. On another note, I wouldn't want to be the management person to ask the large group to tone it down. There'd be a straight run to Guest Relations with a complaint against him/her. Also, it's probably a given there would be another long thread here on CC, this time re the maitre d' having the 'nerve' to ask cruisers in Luminae to not enjoy themselves (loudly). Comes down to good manners and empathy for others. Can't regulate that no matter the table size.

Why should management be afraid to ask a noisy group to tone down ? We seem to be forgetting that there are many more other people in the room who might also complain to Guest Relations that their experience was being spoilt. I would certainly complain at first to the Maitre D then escalate my complaint to the Hotel Director. Everyone on that cruise has paid for an enjoyable holiday and a group of me me me people should not be allowed to spoil things.

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I have organized a few group cruises and had one with 20 rooms, thus 40 people. Did not request a table for 40 in MDR. :) There is some practical limit and for us we were seated at 5 tables (round tables seating 8 each), all close together, but we moved around a couple of evenings. I did create the initial seating chart matching up people for each table.

 

I would think the same/similar could be done for larger groups in Luminae too. I have never found that tables larger than round tables for 8 to be conducive for easy and natural volume of conversation. If not round, it is much harder to have a conversation anyway beyond those on either side of you and likewise across from you, thus on rectangular tables, 6 would be the limit to have natural conversations most times in my experience.

 

Never had a problem with any group larger than 6/8 in BLU where they had 2 sections on Silhouette set up for this size group.

 

I agree, round tables are the best for facilitating conversation. Unfortunately, Luminae does not have any round tables. In my opinion, large, long tables for a large group are crazy. No way to converse with those at the other end of the table.

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I agree, round tables are the best for facilitating conversation. Unfortunately, Luminae does not have any round tables. In my opinion, large, long tables for a large group are crazy. No way to converse with those at the other end of the table.

 

You just have to raise your voice! ;)

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Right on point! No reason to disturb others who are trying to have a quiet dinner. This goes for your little neighborhood restaurant as well. Last week we were at our favorite local restaurant and three people were on a conference call yelling into their cells to a 4th person having a heated argument. So rude, why do people think this is acceptable behavior in restaurants?

 

My tip, when that happens, is to make a call to someone and loudly retell the conversation your hearing so that those people making the racket realise their conversation is not private.

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My tip, when that happens, is to make a call to someone and loudly retell the conversation your hearing so that those people making the racket realise their conversation is not private.

 

Good suggestion, I will just need to see how physically fit they are first in case the rude party decides to escalate their hostility toward us ;)

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In my experience the size of the group doesn't have much to do with whether they are loud or not. We were at a table for 8 in Luminae recently and there was a couple who always sat next to us and they were the loudest people in the dining room and were also speaking to the dining room staff so much the staff seemed to be having a difficult time getting away from them. It was difficult to avoid hearing them and much of the conversation fell into the category of "too much information". LOL

 

There have been many times when there are loud parties of four, especially if they have been taking great advantage of the drink packages. There is also just a general change in the behavior of cruisers lately. They don't seem to remember when people spoke in their indoor voices at dinner. On the other end of the spectrum are cruisers who think they are in a private dining room and can't stand hearing anything above a whisper. That's a little unreasonable.

 

That being said, there really isn't much point in having tables larger than 8 because it really isn't possible to speak to everyone under those circumstances.

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We had a similar problem in Blu on a recent cruise. Table of 8, very loud talking across the table to each other, no consideration for fellow guests. Luckily it only occurred a couple of the nights (don't know where they were the other nights). I think this is a very delicate issue for the Maitre d's to handle, but handle it they should. Perhaps a discreet word with the folks at the table on their way out of the restaurant rather than a confrontation which embarrasses them (unless it was WAY out of line). The behavior rules everyone who cruises is supposed to abide by does have wording I believe about behavior that disrupts others. Intentionally or not, I think this qualifies.

January 2017 we were in Murano on the Eclipse. This table of 4 was just off the charts. First they were talking about how "poor" the people in Maine are.(one couple was from Boston the other Chicago)The Chicago couple went off about the crime in Chicago(yes, we know how bad the south side is!)Next up the Boston Couple said how "lovely" Eastern Mass. is(obviously, they've never been to Lawrence!)Then they immediately went into a loud drawn out description of Priests raping boys. At that point I had finally had enough. I stood up & yelled to them "Knock it off!!!" "We're all trying to have an enjoyable meal & I'm sure no one here is interested in you & your sordid lives!" That part of the room went silent & then the 3 other tables said "Thank you for saying what ALL of us wanted to say"! The 2 couples surprisingly apologized & left quickly. I then went to guest relations & filed a complaint about this table. I told them to investigate & get back to me. They told me they talked to the group & told them to please show respect to the other guests & if they wished they could "book" the private dining room in Tuscany.

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January 2017 we were in Murano on the Eclipse. This table of 4 was just off the charts. First they were talking about how "poor" the people in Maine are.(one couple was from Boston the other Chicago)The Chicago couple went off about the crime in Chicago(yes, we know how bad the south side is!)Next up the Boston Couple said how "lovely" Eastern Mass. is(obviously, they've never been to Lawrence!)Then they immediately went into a loud drawn out description of Priests raping boys. At that point I had finally had enough. I stood up & yelled to them "Knock it off!!!" "We're all trying to have an enjoyable meal & I'm sure no one here is interested in you & your sordid lives!" That part of the room went silent & then the 3 other tables said "Thank you for saying what ALL of us wanted to say"! The 2 couples surprisingly apologized & left quickly. I then went to guest relations & filed a complaint about this table. I told them to investigate & get back to me. They told me they talked to the group & told them to please show respect to the other guests & if they wished they could "book" the private dining room in Tuscany.

 

 

Last October, we too had were subject to loud diners in Murano. What is normally a quiet, serene venue, was extremely noisy that evening. Not comfortable at all.

 

 

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I was happy large groups were allowed on our cruise last month , it was a rock and roll cruise and the group Air SUpply had about 20 people really close to us, they were not loud at all. However there was a table of 6 hillbillies seated next to us , after on of them removed his shoes we requested another table for future dinners .

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Staff are on a hiding to nothing here. Large tables are also found in the MDR. I am interested to hear suggestions how staff could handle this. Never having been in a suite or Aqua I am unaware of layout of Luminaire and Blu. If a group of 10 had requested a table for 10 and it was available why should they not have it. If one wants a small intimate dinner and not be subject to the noise of the main dining room (Blu and Luminaire are MDR for Aqua and Suites) then perhaps they should have to consider one of the specialty restaurants where this matters can be more tightly controlled. I don't have a simple solution and perhaps there isn't one. The OP was probably unfortunate that this group may have been unusually noisy. That said at least 10 people each evening had a ball and that's what holidays are all about

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Staff are on a hiding to nothing here. Large tables are also found in the MDR. I am interested to hear suggestions how staff could handle this. Never having been in a suite or Aqua I am unaware of layout of Luminaire and Blu. If a group of 10 had requested a table for 10 and it was available why should they not have it. If one wants a small intimate dinner and not be subject to the noise of the main dining room (Blu and Luminaire are MDR for Aqua and Suites) then perhaps they should have to consider one of the specialty restaurants where this matters can be more tightly controlled. I don't have a simple solution and perhaps there isn't one. The OP was probably unfortunate that this group may have been unusually noisy. That said at least 10 people each evening had a ball and that's what holidays are all about

 

The tables in Luminae are either 2-person or 4-person. In our situation, the wait staff had to slide multiple tables of 2 or 4 together to create one long table for 10. With the alcohol flowing, I’m sure that people on one end of that table couldn’t possibly hear conversation taking place on the other end. While this large group of 10 may have had a ball every night, the rest of the diners had a less than pleasant experience throughout the cruise.

 

I still believe that Celebrity has a responsibility to ensure that all diners in Luminae have a quiet and enjoyable experience. This is not the MDR where the noise level is always higher and one has that expectation going in there. Also, the MDR uses round tables (which are not found in Luminae) to help facilitate conversation without having to yell.

 

When one is paying a substantial premium to utilize what are supposed to be quiet venues with Luminae and Michaels Club, the cruiseline needs to have SOP’s in place to make this consistently happen. This group was also in Michaels Club on some nights and ruined everyone else’s enjoyment in there as well.

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The tables in Luminae are either 2-person or 4-person. In our situation, the wait staff had to slide multiple tables of 2 or 4 together to create one long table for 10. With the alcohol flowing, I’m sure that people on one end of that table couldn’t possibly hear conversation taking place on the other end. While this large group of 10 may have had a ball every night, the rest of the diners had a less than pleasant experience throughout the cruise.

 

I still believe that Celebrity has a responsibility to ensure that all diners in Luminae have a quiet and enjoyable experience. This is not the MDR where the noise level is always higher and one has that expectation going in there. Also, the MDR uses round tables (which are not found in Luminae) to help facilitate conversation without having to yell.

 

When one is paying a substantial premium to utilize what are supposed to be quiet venues with Luminae and Michaels Club, the cruiseline needs to have SOP’s in place to make this consistently happen. This group was also in Michaels Club on some nights and ruined everyone else’s enjoyment in there as well.

 

Unfortunately there are some things that happen that are not optimal but we just have to deal with them. There are no round tables for 10 in the MDR, only long ones. Some people are noisy regardless of their numbers. There are never any guarantees that Luminae or Michael's Club will be "quiet venues" although they usually are.

 

I think if I were as disturbed as you seem to be I would have said something myself. It's easy to just go over and say " Your group seems to be having a wonderful time together and I'm sure you probably have no idea how the sound carries in here but it makes it a little difficult for the rest of us to hear each other. Maybe you could just keep it down a tiny bit and give them a big smile.

 

One thing for sure is you can't legislate consideration or good manners and unless a group gets really out of control management is not going to confront passengers for being noisy.

Edited by Ma Bell
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The tables in Luminae are either 2-person or 4-person. In our situation, the wait staff had to slide multiple tables of 2 or 4 together to create one long table for 10. With the alcohol flowing, I’m sure that people on one end of that table couldn’t possibly hear conversation taking place on the other end. While this large group of 10 may have had a ball every night, the rest of the diners had a less than pleasant experience throughout the cruise.

 

I still believe that Celebrity has a responsibility to ensure that all diners in Luminae have a quiet and enjoyable experience. This is not the MDR where the noise level is always higher and one has that expectation going in there. Also, the MDR uses round tables (which are not found in Luminae) to help facilitate conversation without having to yell.

 

When one is paying a substantial premium to utilize what are supposed to be quiet venues with Luminae and Michaels Club, the cruiseline needs to have SOP’s in place to make this consistently happen. This group was also in Michaels Club on some nights and ruined everyone else’s enjoyment in there as well.

 

I certainly understand your disappointment. I have seen this on two of my cruises and I agree that it can negatively impacts the overall experience. It is worse in Luminae because the back portion is a small area and the noise carries. I do not mind it so much for a night or two.

 

As you did, we try to sit in the front section as much as possible.

 

It might be better if they sat large groups along the front wall in the larger front section. It would not be as nice for the group, but it might be better for everyone else.

 

I can understand why it is difficult for Celebrity, because the group of 10+ cruisers also paid for the Suite experience. The best thing is to probably find a way to deal with the behavior if it gets really “out of hand”.

I believe that if many others cruisers (more than ten) kept insisting to not sit in the back Dining section because of the noise, that Celebrity would be forced to deal with it. Celebrity does not want to received bad ratings from everyone.

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We've been lucky on our two X cruises and haven't seen this in either Blu or Luminae. However...

 

We took a 9 day cruise on Explorer of the Seas (Royal) out of Cape Liberty a few years ago. Our first night (in the MDR), the two of us found ourselves alone and out of the way at a table for 10. We talked to the maitre de about changing tables, and they apparently set us up for a table for 2. On that second night, a group of 10-12 VERY entitled cruises showed up at that adjacent table. For 6 of the next 8 nights (we did the Windjammer one night; we'll get to the other one shortly), the group showed up late every night, usually in shorts. Shouted from one end of the table to the other. Berated the servers. Finally, on about night 6 or 7, the servers had the drinks the group always ordered on the table, happy to have finally got this under control; they no-showed...

 

Other people's behavior rarely bothers me on a cruise, but this one was over the top. Our waiter got a bonus tip on this one!

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The tables in Luminae are either 2-person or 4-person. In our situation, the wait staff had to slide multiple tables of 2 or 4 together to create one long table for 10. With the alcohol flowing, I’m sure that people on one end of that table couldn’t possibly hear conversation taking place on the other end. While this large group of 10 may have had a ball every night, the rest of the diners had a less than pleasant experience throughout the cruise.

 

I still believe that Celebrity has a responsibility to ensure that all diners in Luminae have a quiet and enjoyable experience. This is not the MDR where the noise level is always higher and one has that expectation going in there. Also, the MDR uses round tables (which are not found in Luminae) to help facilitate conversation without having to yell.

 

When one is paying a substantial premium to utilize what are supposed to be quiet venues with Luminae and Michaels Club, the cruiseline needs to have SOP’s in place to make this consistently happen. This group was also in Michaels Club on some nights and ruined everyone else’s enjoyment in there as well.

 

I truly understand your disappointment in this situation. I don't know about the SOP's though as a possible solution. I don't think Celebrity has stated anywhere that Luminae and Michael's Club are supposed to be quiet venues but I understand your expectation that would be the case. I still think this is a matter of passenger decorum and most do exhibit it in Luminae. We all run into the exception once and again of having to deal with loud and possibly drunk people maybe particularly on vacations. Unfortunate. But no need for Celebrity to over-legislate a solution based upon the exception. There are many well behaved groups that sit together in Luminae all the time. Why penalize them with some general rule or SOP?

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