Eating in Blu while staying in a suite

[CCMS14]

We were booked in AQ for our upcoming cruise on the Solstice and I have noticed an upgrade today to a suite. My question is, does anyone know the availability of dining in Blu, obviously it is on a first come first serve basis at $5 a head, does anyone have experience with this?

Truthfully, we are a little bit concerned about missing out on Blu which is something we have come to love, we also noticed on the Eclipse in February that the service in the main dining room seemed to be on the decline but we loved our experience in Blu.

 

Thoughts?

[Gonzo70]

Congratulations on the upgrade! We once were upgraded from AQ to a Sky Suite and at first were a little sad to give up some of the AQ perks, but we ended up loving the extra room the suite afforded.

 

For Blu there will be no problem getting in for breakfast (and no charge for this either). For dinner it is really hit-or-miss in terms of availability. You will just have to check in with the Maitre'D at Blu on the nights you wish to dine there and inquire if you can be accommodated.

 

The good news is that one of the suite perks is a complimentary dinner for two in a specialty restaurant (two meals if the cruise is eight nights or longer). You are asked to leave a gratuity of at least $5 per/person for your free meal(s). You can call this number to book your free specialty restaurant reservation(s): 1-800-722-5941.

 

Enjoy your suite. :)

[CactusGirly]

We just sailed in a sky suite and had no problem getting into Blu for dinner. Our butler recommended we arrive before 7 or after 8, as those were the least busy times there. We arrived at 8:05 I believe and got right in. No issues. We had breakfast there as well.

[cruzingduo]

We just sailed in a sky suite and had no problem getting into Blu for dinner. Our butler recommended we arrive before 7 or after 8, as those were the least busy times there. We arrived at 8:05 I believe and got right in. No issues. We had breakfast there as well.

 

We'd love to sail in a Sky suite for the extra space, however we also love BLU. When were in the suite did you pay the $5 p/p cover charge in BLU? or had you pre paid your gratuities?

[cruising kirby]

We just sailed in a sky suite and had no problem getting into Blu for dinner. Our butler recommended we arrive before 7 or after 8, as those were the least busy times there. We arrived at 8:05 I believe and got right in. No issues. We had breakfast there as well.

 

I am on my first Celebrity cruise next year and will be in a Sky Suite as it is 19 days, and I really wanted the extra space. I am so pleased to hear you could get into Blu without too much trouble as our friends will be in Aqua Class and I had almost resigned myself to eating very late to get a table with them in Blu, or purchasing specialty restaurants most nights so we could eat together!

[sunshine nana]

We also upgraded to a sky suite from AQ and I'm happy to hear we can probably get into Blu as we eat early. My question is about the 2 free specialty dinners: can we wait until we board to book them? We want to check the menus for Blu and/or MDR before we choose the nights. Will we still get in to the specialties if we wait? Also, we will be dressing formal for the 2 formal nights, should we go to the MDR to get a really special dinner or does Blu also go over and above for their menu on formal nights? After 7 cruises, this is our first on Celebrity.

[ghstudio]

I am on my first Celebrity cruise next year and will be in a Sky Suite as it is 19 days, and I really wanted the extra space. I am so pleased to hear you could get into Blu without too much trouble as our friends will be in Aqua Class and I had almost resigned myself to eating very late to get a table with them in Blu, or purchasing specialty restaurants most nights so we could eat together!

 

it depends on the cruise....there are some cruises where suite customers effectively never get the opportunity to eat at Blu. Assume the worst...hope for the best.

[dorisis]

Do Sky Suite cabins get the 2 speciality dinners? i thought it was only for the higher priced suites.

 

~Doris~

[CCMS14]

Do Sky Suite cabins get the 2 speciality dinners? i thought it was only for the higher priced suites.

 

~Doris~

 

I am under the impression that the specialty dining reservations are based on the number of nights on the cruise, not the level of suite.

 

Thank you all for your responses, Gonzo we will call now to make our reservations!

[dkjretired]

Do Sky Suite cabins get the 2 speciality dinners? i thought it was only for the higher priced suites.

 

~Doris~

 

Depends on what ship you are on, Solstice ship get free specialty dinners while the M class and Century do not automatically get them. With that being said they very often give out free specialty dinners on the M class and Century but it is not guaranteed or one of the benefits. Please note you only get two free dinners on cruises of 8 nights or more.

 

I see you are on the Millenium so you do not automatically get the free suite dining.

 

Heres the wording from Celebrity's web site..

 

Complimentary Dining

 

As an added benefit, all Celebrity Solstice®, Celebrity EquinoxSM, Celebrity Eclipse® and Celebrity SilhouetteSM suite guests receive complimentary dining in their choice of Specialty Restaurants. Suite guests can choose from Murano, Tuscan Grille, Silk Harvest Restaurant and Qsine®:

•1 complimentary dining reservations per suite for cruises of seven nights.

•2 complimentary dining reservations per suite for cruises of eight nights or longer.

 

At this time, we are not able to accept complimentary Specialty Restaurant reservations online. In order to place your complimentary Specialty Restaurant reservations, please call 1-800-722-5941.

[cruzingduo]

So I guess if we are booked in a suite, we won't know if we will be able to eat in BLU until we sail.

We just returned yesterday from 12 nights on the Silhouette. We ate in BLU(had an Aqua cabin), except for the nights we dined in the specialty restaurants. We met a couple who were in a Sky suite and they dined with us each night in BLU without a charge. They had prepaid their tips, not sure if that has any impact.

[cruising kirby]

So I guess if we are booked in a suite, we won't know if we will be able to eat in BLU until we sail.

We just returned yesterday from 12 nights on the Silhouette. We ate in BLU(had an Aqua cabin), except for the nights we dined in the specialty restaurants. We met a couple who were in a Sky suite and they dined with us each night in BLU without a charge. They had prepaid their tips, not sure if that has any impact.

 

We will be on Solstice so fingers crossed that we will be able to eat in Blu a few nights with our friends. We have pre paid tips, so I don't know if they transfer them from the main dining room to Blu or if we pay additional tips to eat in Blu. Either way, I don't mind, it will be great to be able to eat with our friends.

[Gonzo70]

So I guess if we are booked in a suite, we won't know if we will be able to eat in BLU until we sail.

We just returned yesterday from 12 nights on the Silhouette. We ate in BLU(had an Aqua cabin), except for the nights we dined in the specialty restaurants. We met a couple who were in a Sky suite and they dined with us each night in BLU without a charge. They had prepaid their tips, not sure if that has any impact.

 

Correct; there is no way to know if you will be able to dine in Blu in advance if you are booked in a suite. Sometimes it is easy, sometimes hard sometimes impossible. It varies a lot from sailing to sailing, so it is not good to put much credence on individual people's experiences as they have no predictive power as to what will occur to others on future cruises at Blu. The one constant is the more flexible you are as to what time you are willing to dine, the better your odds.

 

Suite guests are supposed to be charged a $5 per/person service charge at dinner; my understanding is that this mostly (if not all) goes to the servers as gratuity. Suites guests' regular gratuities (irregardless if prepaid or not) go to the main dining room staff. If they forget to charge a suite guest who had dinner at Blu, hopefully the guest would then tip the servers on their own.

[cruzingduo]

Correct; there is no way to know if you will be able to dine in Blu in advance if you are booked in a suite. Sometimes it is easy, sometimes hard sometimes impossible. It varies a lot from sailing to sailing, so it is not good to put much credence on individual people's experiences as they have no predictive power as to what will occur to others on future cruises at Blu. The one constant is the more flexible you are as to what time you are willing to dine, the better your odds.

 

Suite guests are supposed to be charged a $5 per/person service charge at dinner; my understanding is that this mostly (if not all) goes to the servers as gratuity. Suites guests' regular gratuities (irregardless if prepaid or not) go to the main dining room staff. If they forget to charge a suite guest who had dinner at Blu, hopefully the guest would then tip the servers on their own.

 

Wow, then the couple that stayed in a S1 suite that ate with us in BLU (9 nights) didn't tip in BLU. They were not charged the $5 fee at any time. They assumed that their pre tips went to the waiters in BLU since that's where they ate. Each night they provided their cabin number when we were seated but never presented with a bill. The only time they were charged a $5 fee was in Qsine. We dined with them & we paid the fee plus we tipped the servers. Same in Tuscan when the four of us ate there.

 

 

I really don't want to change our suite to an Aqua cabin on the Eclipse next year, because we want to eat in BLU. I guess we will hope for the best.

[Gracie115]

On Equinox a few weeks ago we were in a suite and were able to eat in Blu for 9 of the 11 nights, the other two nights we were in Spec. Rest. Our butler called and was able to arrange each night, we usually arrived a little before 7. We received a "bill" each night which stated a "suggested" gratuity of $5.00 per person, which we did, but it almost appeared "optional", not sure if they worded it the way they did so that if someone wanted to give more than $5.00 they would be able to, but it kind of looked that way. All I know is we were very happy to eat in Blu each night, it's such a great venue and one of Celebrity's best features we think!:)

[City_Woman]

Wow, then the couple that stayed in a S1 suite that ate with us in BLU (9 nights) didn't tip in BLU. They were not charged the $5 fee at any time. They assumed that their pre tips went to the waiters in BLU since that's where they ate. Each night they provided their cabin number when we were seated but never presented with a bill. The only time they were charged a $5 fee was in Qsine. We dined with them & we paid the fee plus we tipped the servers. Same in Tuscan when the four of us ate there.

 

 

I really don't want to change our suite to an Aqua cabin on the Eclipse next year, because we want to eat in BLU. I guess we will hope for the best.

 

We ate in BLU, were never presented a bill, but did have a charge of $5/pp on our stateroom account (which we were more than happy to pay!).

 

Judy

[gkny]

Since I'm a first time cruiser on Celebrity, Is Blue open to the public on the ship or is it only open to elite passengers. What is so special about Blu. What is on their menue. How is the MDR food. I hope it's very good. Thanks for responding.

[Gracie115]

Since I'm a first time cruiser on Celebrity, Is Blue open to the public on the ship or is it only open to elite passengers. What is so special about Blu. What is on their menue. How is the MDR food. I hope it's very good. Thanks for responding.

 

 

Blu is only open to those staying in Aqua Class staterooms and also suite guests are allowed on a space available basis at a charge of $5.00 per person. Blu is a much smaller venue which makes service more personable & better(in my opinion anyway). Blu also has its own kitchen so they aren't mass producing 1000 meals at a time. The meals there, while certainly NOT low in calories, are "lighter" in nature because they are generally not laden with heavy sauces and far less sodium is used. As far as I know the MDR food is fine, it's just different and in a much larger venue. Hope that helps.:)

[cruisestitch]

Blu is the dining room for those booked in Aqua Class. Those booked in Suites may dine there on a space-available basis for a fee of $5 pp, and their access is not guaranteed. No others may dine there. Frequent-cruisers (Elites) have no special access to Blu.

[Christine Frances]

Wow, then the couple that stayed in a S1 suite that ate with us in BLU (9 nights) didn't tip in BLU. They were not charged the $5 fee at any time. They assumed that their pre tips went to the waiters in BLU since that's where they ate. Each night they provided their cabin number when we were seated but never presented with a bill. The only time they were charged a $5 fee was in Qsine. We dined with them & we paid the fee plus we tipped the servers. Same in Tuscan when the four of us ate there.

 

 

I really don't want to change our suite to an Aqua cabin on the Eclipse next year, because we want to eat in BLU. I guess we will hope for the best.

 

Wow! Qsine for $5!! It's $40 pp isn't it?

[gkny]

Thank you Gracie and cruisestitch.

[RPPerkins]

We too are in a Sky Suite and are glad there is not really a problem to get in to Blu. We also upgraded from AQ to the suite. I guess the butler will earn his or hers tip now.:)

[Goldiedog]

Wow! Qsine for $5!! It's $40 pp isn't it?

 

It was the $5 suggested tip I think they were talking about, as they were entitled to two free meals in speciality restaurants as they were travelling in a suite, otherwise they would sve ad to pay $40 pp.

[ghstudio]

We too are in a Sky Suite and are glad there is not really a problem to get in to Blu.

 

As I said in a previous post, you may or may not have a problem getting into Blu, depending on the time you want to go and the number of aqua passengers eating when you want to go.

 

I would go with the hope that there isn't a problem, but I would not count on eating in Blu every night at 7PM either. You should assume you will be eating in the MDR and if you can get into Blu, consider it a plus....

[Gracie115]

We too are in a Sky Suite and are glad there is not really a problem to get in to Blu. We also upgraded from AQ to the suite. I guess the butler will earn his or hers tip now.:)

 

As I said we arrived most nights before 7PM and had our butler call ahead to be sure. I think if you are willing to do that OR arrive after 8:15 or so you should be fine....if you want to arrive at 7:30 you should expect to be turned down more often than not...they are very busy at that time...so be flexible and you should be fine.