Blu BIG disappointment

[spencerdrivecruiser]

We ate in Blu on the EQ in January and thought it was fantastic. The Maitre'd down to the assistant waiter and wine stewards were excellent.

 

The service was impeccable and the food was great. It is a nice quiet classy venue and we will book AQ Class again.

 

 

Spence

[ian67]

My wife and I sailed Equinox Xmas New Year cruise in AQ and Blu made it really worthwhile. Outstanding food and service - occasional strange menu combinations at dinner but memorably good. Breakfast a highlight of every day.

We are booked again for July in the Med and are not booking any speciality restaurants this time.

Each to his/her own!

[emcee207]

Agreed

[AJD]

I think our expectations for Blu were just too high, we are huge fans of =X= specialty restaurants and go several times per cruise. So what we expected was something akin to that experience every night. But Blu is nothing like that, tables are very close together, service is far too fast for our taste and food served cold is unacceptable. It's true that anything unsatisfactory is replaced promptly with good grace, which is fine for something you don't like but not a good answer for food served cold. I also set the bar higher than for the main restaurant because of the number of meals they have to get out at the one time.

 

Having said all that, breakfast in Blu was very nice and our experience was the first cruise on Equinox with flexible dining so I really hope things get better. But, for our Eclipse TA, we're going back to the main dining room and will try all the specialty restaurants which we felt we couldn't justify when we were eating in Blu.

 

Just another view, I respect the opinions of all those who like like Blu and am really disappointed it didn't work for us.

[eandj]

I agree....Expectations play a big part in all issues concerning any discussion re X or ANY cruiseline experience. Now mix that with the VERY subjective topic of food taste and there is no answer.

 

Lucky there are many choices on a menu and many venue choices.

[Solstice23]

When We sailed and dined in BLU it was prior to Anytime dining. I think this has something to do with the table arrangements and overall feel of BLU since they caved to the pressure and included it in the anytime option.

[Gracie115]

When We sailed and dined in BLU it was prior to Anytime dining. I think this has something to do with the table arrangements and overall feel of BLU since they caved to the pressure and included it in the anytime option.

 

I think you misunderstand the "anytime option" in Blu. It is ONLY for Aqua Class not the Celebrity Select Dining. I've read posts from and cruised with others who were in Blu before it went to it's "flexi dining" schedule. They saw no difference in service/presentation or taste so I don't think that is what the problem is, if there is a problem. Tables were arranged the same as always. We liked Blu just fine the way it is. I think it's just about personal preferences, not anything Blu has or has not done....although I would be unhappy if my entrees came out cold no matter what restaurant I was eating in.....

[Fblack]

I was fortunate to eat in Blu one night on my Med cruise. I thought the tables were way too close together. In fact it was hard for our waiter to move around in some areas. The food was fine, comparable to the MDR in my opinion.

[sptrout]

I was fortunate to eat in Blu one night on my Med cruise. I thought the tables were way too close together. In fact it was hard for our waiter to move around in some areas. The food was fine, comparable to the MDR in my opinion.

 

The tables for two are close, but not as close as I expected when reading about Blu before actually dining there. They are close enough to start a conversation with the people at the next table if desired, or far enough not to have a conversation if you do not to.

 

We found that the tables for two on Oceania's Regatta are closer together than in Blu.

[Gracie115]

There are SOME tables for two in Blu that are not in the "rows" always mentioned. My husband and I requested a specific table that we sat at the first night. It's next to a big round in the middle of the room. There are about 4-5 of those around the dining room and we got one every night. We just made sure the Maitre'd knew we liked those tables the first night. I'm sure we just got lucky but they were very private and well placed...so if you want to be alone...look for them.

[FinelyCruising]

I for one don't mind close tables for two, in locales we enjoy when we kick back on sophisticated land based venues they are close, but Celebrity guests don't like that closeness unless they are among good friends or have opted for larger table dining. It's intimate and I mentally exclude everyone else without any reservation what so ever.

[SHCMD]

Thoroughly enjoyed Blu during our January 25 cruise on the Equinox. Food, service, ambiance...the whole package. We will find it hard to go back to the MDR "cattle call".

[RQINFL]

Very interesting to read different opinions of Blu.

 

I agree....Expectations play a big part in all issues concerning any discussion re X or ANY cruiseline experience. Now mix that with the VERY subjective topic of food taste and there is no answer.

 

TOTALLY agree.

 

We had a great experience in Blu ~ our expectations were that it would definitely be a big step above the dining room as far as intimacy/service and food. But we enjoy nice restaurants, a good steak, etc. and realize that any restaurant on a ship is still a restaurant on a ship.

 

So with those expectations, we thought Blu was amazing. Service was great (waiters remembered my no butter/no oil ordering, maitre d and assistant maitre d came to our table each evening, sommelier remembered our wine preferences) timing was perfect as we never felt rushed. The only entree I really did not care for was the lobster. I never order lobster on a cruise and thought since the food in Blu was so good in general it might be good but it was dry.

 

Saw it mentioned that portion size was not adequate. We thought the portions were more than adequate and really enjoyed the presentation. Where do they keep all those plates? Cannot really comment on the desserts or compare them to other dining venues as I only tried one or two the entire cruise.

[leepoffaith]

It's really quite interesting how people have such different opinions of this resturant. I was on the same exact cruise as the OP and I loved Blu, it was probably the best part of the cruise. Is it perfect? Nope, but the waiters and hosts try their absolute hardest to make sure you are taken care of. There was one night our water didn't get refilled for a while and a few of the other nights service was a little slow, but who's in a hurry on a cruise anyways? After I brought this to the attention of an assistant waiter it was taken care of immediately.

 

I feel that the food was an 8 out of 10. I had a variety of dishes from Filet Minon, to Lamb Chop and even Halibut. All of my dishes were always the right temp and cooked very well. Some of the appetizers were probably some of the best I've ever had, in particular the Goat Cheese!

 

It sounds to me that certain people are expecting way too much out of this resturant. The orignal OP mentions not having their lobster shell removed. I personally find that obsurd. The lobster tail was cut in half and the meat was exposed and easily able to be removed. Anyone that has not eaten in Blu and has resonable expectations for the resturant will not be disappointed.

[peterf]

Having just returned from an eleven day Equinox cruise, we found "Blu" to be the best feature on the ship, the one outstanding reason why we'd cruise on that ship again.

[Gracie115]

While there are those here and on other threads that didn't like Blu I think I can safely say that the majority...by a wide margin seem to like it...A LOT!! I'm in that group...

 

As for the desserts.......I for one, after eating a big meal don't really need or want a lot...so more often than not I tried a scoop of their home made ice cream....it's wonderful...especially the cinnamon....give them a try...nice finish to a good meal!!

[I&J Cruisers]

We were on Solstice for the January 17 cruise. We loved BLU. Thought the food was excellent. Really enjoyed the lighter fare and agree wholeheartedly about the minimal salt content. Service and presentation were perfect. It's true that the desserts were not rich and decadent. I really didn't miss them at dinner. There are plenty of desserts available elsewhere on the ship when the sweet tooth strikes. The waitstaff was also very willing to get you anything you asked for that was not on the BLU menu. I requested and got swiss cheese for my omlet a couple of times. They got it from the MDR kitchen. Food is very subjective, but I can state unequivically that I'd definately do BLU again.

Irene

[jackdiamond]

We agree with all of you who loved Blu.

[youtzz]

Just came back from Equinox from my Honeymoon.

 

Blu was excellent but one night. The person that didn't like it must have had an awful lot of bad luck.

[floridacruisers]

This is my posting from our roll call forum for next cruise, the Equinox Jan28-Feb06, 2011.

Home long enough to come down to (ugh!) earth..Tried Aqua Class this trip and here's our feelings....

Is it worth it?...Yes! Definately for Blu. Loved the no hassle open seating. The meals went from good to excellent. One veal dish was as good as any I have ever had in the specialty restaurants. It is a lighter fare so maybe you won't gain as much weight. Not to worry. If there's something you like, they will try to get it for you. We had escargout (sp?) a couple of nights even though it's not on the menu. They also made us some Celebrity dressing for our salads. Loved the quiet, intimate laid back atmosphere too. No parades, thank you. They also had a nice breakfast menu.

Cabin....the shower helps make the difference in cost worth it as is the free bottled water which is great for taking on shore. Breakfast menu is the same as CC.

The new Elite perks in combination with Aqua Class almost negates any reason to get a suite (except for the extra space and butler, of course). Hard not to like having Michael's club open from 8-10am for an extra coffee or espresso and yummy pastries. The 4-6pm open bar needs no explanation except we were always in a good mood late in the afternoon. It was popular for sure.

The Solstice is a beautiful ship and, I'm sure, so will be the Equinox. We came across the old Zenith in St Maartens. She's now the Pacific Dream operating for Pullmantur's. What a difference in size. Yikes! Still, the Solstice does not seem all that big inside. It is well designed for intimacy and traffic flow.

If you have any questions on something I may have forgoten, please ask.

Phil

[TomMMD]

We did Aqua Class on Equinox in the West Caribbean a few weeks ago and my experience was completely different than yours.

 

I thought the food in Blu was incredible. It took a few days but even though we ate at different times each day they soon learned our tastes and preferences and were very solicitous.

 

There were many days that food was incredible and others when it was not as good but overall an order of magnitude over the MDR.

 

We used to like having breakfast on our balcony but after having breakfast there we stopped eating in and eating in Blu for breakfast.

 

Oh, how I wish they did lunch!!!

 

 

p.s. The deserts in were not their strong suit. We met a couple who we ate with a lot and he would check the MDR desert list and order one of those on occasion.

[FinelyCruising]

We did Aqua Class on Equinox in the West Caribbean a few weeks ago and my experience was completely different than yours.

 

I thought the food in Blu was incredible. It took a few days but even though we ate at different times each day they soon learned our tastes and preferences and were very solicitous.

 

There were many days that food was incredible and others when it was not as good but overall an order of magnitude over the MDR.

 

We used to like having breakfast on our balcony but after having breakfast there we stopped eating in and eating in Blu for breakfast.

 

Oh, how I wish they did lunch!!!

 

Tom you know since I have been reading your posts and reviews I have been looking for the right AQ cabin for us so we may try this for ourselves. I am starting to see some mixture of posts on the dining experience in Blu, but you have my curiosity piqued.

[Gracie115]

Oh, how I wish they did lunch!!!.

 

 

OH DITTO THAT!!!! I must have said that to my husband at least once every day!!!! Maybe they will hear us!!!!:D:D:)

[USVI-4-me]

Having just returned from an eleven day Equinox cruise, we found "Blu" to be the best feature on the ship, the one outstanding reason why we'd cruise on that ship again.

Does that mean I should skip Equinox if I'm not booked in Aqua Class and dining in Blu? Comment please. I'm not really on a cruise for the food.

Thank you in advance.

-Maris

[FinelyCruising]

Does that mean I should skip Equinox if I'm not booked in Aqua Class and dining in Blu? Comment please. I'm not really on a cruise for the food.

Thank you in advance.

-Maris

 

We have sailed Solstice. We have sailed Equinox. We have booked Eclipse. We will be sailing Solstice again and before Eclipse. We have not sailed AQ yet. Does this help?