Eating Dinner in Blu

[bighairtexan]

TOM and CHERYL,

We had friends last week in a CS and they seemed to have no issued dining in BLU. Previously I'd seen suite pax turned away (perhaps a less busy time was suggested to them). This cruise, suite pax didn't seem to have any issues the couple of times I saw them in there.

 

RIchard, I too like prime rib and for many of the same reasons. Cooking it for 2 is unsatisfactory unless you want a bunch of left overs. We were sorely disappointed. It was TOUGH. Cooked perfectly to our specifications (med rare and rare) but awfully chewy

 

As for eating in the MDR, it's entirely possible. Oddly when we tried to make reservations for late in the MDR and were told just to come back when we wanted to dine. When we got there we were asked if we had reservations!! This was after 8PM. We just went to BLU. Our friends spoke w/ someone else and were asked to make reservations rather than just show up! Go figure.

[NickfromNJ]

Can you dine in Blu if you're not in Aqua Class or Suites, but in Concierge Class?

[Lady Arwen]

Can you dine in Blu if you're not in Aqua Class or Suites, but in Concierge Class?

 

No, only Aqua class and suites if space available.

[warmwinds]

You can google "cooking prime rib for 2" - I'm having trouble posting links - I've done this in the past, the trick is you cook the meat from a FROZEN state in a very hot oven. Not as good as a restaurant, but was fine for some stay-at-home anniversary dinners.

[huskerc]

Like the OP, we were underwhelmed by the quality and variety of food in Blu. We did enjoy the atmosphere and the ability to converse with other tables at times, but also to sort of retreat to ourselves when the meal came. It's like the best of both worlds.

 

The soups on the whole I found to be the best things on the menu. I tried several I wouldn't normally have and enjoyed every one. The entrees were...lacking most nights. Just not great quality and didn't live up to the hype. Not a great selection, but I didn't push for alternate choices--which I'm sure they would have tried to accommodate.

 

I agree it's a small step up from the MDR on the whole, but definitely not a large one. I will pay more for aqua and Blu, but not a lot more. We're doing it on a B2B in January but not on the Equinox next month, and I expect we'll be fine both ways.

[nngardener]

I'm sorry if my post confused you. I guess the problem mostly stems from my trying to understand if it was just me that was disappointed with the dinners in Blu. From all that have posted, I now know that there are those who love the food and those that don't. From the tips I've decided to be a little more assertive and ask for the waiter's recommendations and maybe that will help (as well as sending something back if I think is not worth eating).

 

We decided to go ahead and book AQ in 2014 because I liked the cabins location as well as I truly liked eating breakfast in Blu. For our cruise in 2015 we've changed to CC.

 

Hope this helps clear up any confusion.

 

Betty

[joelsmith101]

Can you eat breakfast in Blu and dinner in MDR if in an aqua class cabin?

[escrit]

Went Aqua Class on Silhouette last year. Tried Blu first night but we were both unimpressed. Nice ambience but food not to our liking . I asked for the standard french onion soup from the MDR menu but the waiter indicated this could not be obtained. I declined any other starter and this resulted in a visit from the maitre d'. I subsequently received the soup but was not impressed by the more restricted choice on the Blu menu (compared to MDR) so next night we simply turned up at the MDR as 'select' diners having paid gratuities up front.

 

As always MDR was fine and we were accommodated at a table for two without any difficulty. MDR maitre d' seemed to take some pleasure from our decision to elect for his restaurant in preference to BLU and this may have influenced our table allocations. For the next few days we received several notes from the maitre d' at BLU imploring us to return and give them another chance. This was followed up by a complete set of the BLU menus for the next 10 days appearing in our cabin. Eventually we relented and were treated like prodigal 'sons' in an almost embarrassingly attentive manner. This story should end with us being converted to BLU's charms but, alas, we remained stoically unimpressed (we're Scottish so stoicism comes naturally!) and didn't reappear fro the remainder of the cruise. The maitre d' appeared to accept defeat and we didn't hear any more from him.

 

We didn't try BLU for breakfast as we enjoy the Aqua Spa cafe (a hiden gem indeed) but I can see no reason whatsoever why Aqua class guests can't mix and match as they prefer.

 

Will be back on Eclipse over New Year but will settle for Concierge class and use MDR and the other speciality restaurants as these are streets ahead of BLU (Lawn Club Grill is an experience and a meal). That said .... Each to his /her own so if you enjoy BLU, as many clearly do, then it 's a BLU do for you the noo!

[mjwcruising]

Some of the posts said I had a so-so time in Blu on one cruise and it was better/worse on a another cruise but the specific ship(s) wasn't mentioned.

 

DH and I stayed in Aqua Class and dined in Blu four different times on "S" class ships.

We are also booked in Aqua Class on our next cruise but it is on the Infinity.

 

The last time I cruised on an "M" class ship was before they were "Solitisized".

I am interested in hearing about the Blu experience on the "M" class ships with comments about the Infinity for those of you that have experiences on that ship;

...location of the Blu dining room, how the tables are arranged, service, etc.

 

 

Thanks,

Mary

[bighairtexan]

On Millennium (last month), BLU was located right next to the MDR. THe room was still very nice and since it was next to the MDR we were able to order most of the "every day" menu items from the MDR like Onion Soup, Escargot, Caesar salad, Cheesecake, creme brûlée.

However even though we had a good rapport w/ the servers and the maitre'd, we were unable to order entrees from the MDR.

 

We had all 14 menus and compared to my experience on the Solstice when Aqua class first came out…. well I was underwhelmed on Solstice and equally underwhelmed on the Millennium as far as menu choices and the food in general. Both were excellent as far as ambiance and service. A few stand out items, and plenty of "meh." I'll stick w/ MDR from now on.

[sn2792]

My DH and I loved Blu. We have booked AQ again for our 2014 Cruise. He wouldn't consider any other cabin class because he loved it so much.

[agathasmum]

We were on the Sept 25th Connie Black sea cruise, and I too was underwhelmed with the food in Blu. I found the menu very heavy on the red meat, lots of game but very little chicken and the fish, although nicely cooked, was pretty bland.

 

Some of the dishes as per their menu descriptions had unusual ingredients that I didn't think would go well together, so I was put off ordering them. The husband often did order them and there was no sign of the suspect ingredients in them at all, which was annoying.

 

Vegetables are few and far between and used more of a garnish than a component of the meal.

 

Be aware that "always available" appetisers, soups and salads from the MDR are available in Blu, as well as steak, chicken and salmon on the everydayBlu menu. The chicken was excellent. There is also a vegetarian menu, the same as in the MDR, with 2 choices per course, and these were more "normal" looking.

 

FYI I like spicy, tasty food, particularly asian and indian foods, and eat mainly fish, chicken and shrimp in my everyday life, along with lots of salad and vegetables and very little carbohydrate. Usually the protein is the smallest item on my plate. I found it very hard to adjust to half a plate of carb and half a plate of red meat with a spoonful of peas or a mini carrot!

 

I have photos of food on the following link. I hope it works.

 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152037384496554.1073741832.611921553&type=1&l=68affcebd2

[jelayne]

We book AQ for Blu. My DH enjoys the menu more that I do, but if I can't find something I like the staff has always been willing to get non Blu items for me such as French Onion Soup, shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, French fries or change a sauce. I have never left feeling hungry😊.

 

This past cruise we were invited to dine at the Captains table in the MDR on formal night and it was delightful but the lobster tail was rubbery- the beef perfect. So good or poor food can occur in any dining venue.

[miched]

I don't understand what people expect on a cruise when it comes to food.

 

Are they expecting every menu to be completely different every day and then never repeat again on any cruise?

 

I basically have the same thing every morning for breakfast.

 

Lunch doesn't change much from day to day.

 

Dinner repats itself quite often.

 

When we go out for dinner it is a short list of restuarants, the menus rarely change and most times I end up ordering the same things that I had in the past.

 

How can it get any better than on a cruise. Don't have to shop, cook or clean up anything. If you don't like something leave it and order something different.

 

I guess it may be that I eat to live and don't live to eat and am easy to please, but have never ever had a problem with any food on board .

 

.🎃

[lara68]

My husband and I have recently returned from a 19 day cruise on the solstice. This, after many celebrity cruises, was our first time eating in Blu. We were excited about eating in this new venue. I was so relieved to hear other negative opinions on the food, we were thinking it was just us. We were completely underwhelmed and quite disappointed.

 

We both agreed that we loved the ambience of Blu. We enjoyed the flexibility of dining time, the ease of getting a table for two and the casual dress code. We also found the entire wait staff to be exemplary. Without the strain of serving many people on large tables the waiters were able to give constant attention and seemed much more relaxed. Meal time could be as quick or long as you wanted. All this being said, what was our problem with Blu dinning, the FOOD.

 

It is really difficult to describe our problem with the food. We are not picky eaters and usually found several choices to our liking in the main dining room. Dinner each night was a challenge. The best way I can describe the food is they took wonderful food and either stuffed it with usual things and/or put strange sauces on top. Prior to our trip, I found menus on CC for Blu. What I saw I didn't particularly like but I thought I surely would find things I liked on a 19 day cruise. I was wrong. I knew we were in trouble when at the end of cruise they started to repeat some of choices.

 

Food is such a personal choice. I know our taste is certainly not everyone`s. I would suggest if you are unsure if you like the type of food served in Blu, check the menus online here. Blu has some wonderful things about it, just not for us.

[richstowe]

We were on the Sept 25th Connie Black sea cruise, and I too was underwhelmed with the food in Blu. I found the menu very heavy on the red meat, lots of game but very little chicken and the fish, although nicely cooked, was pretty bland.

 

Some of the dishes as per their menu descriptions had unusual ingredients that I didn't think would go well together, so I was put off ordering them. The husband often did order them and there was no sign of the suspect ingredients in them at all, which was annoying.

 

Vegetables are few and far between and used more of a garnish than a component of the meal.

 

Be aware that "always available" appetisers, soups and salads from the MDR are available in Blu, as well as steak, chicken and salmon on the everydayBlu menu. The chicken was excellent. There is also a vegetarian menu, the same as in the MDR, with 2 choices per course, and these were more "normal" looking.

 

FYI I like spicy, tasty food, particularly asian and indian foods, and eat mainly fish, chicken and shrimp in my everyday life, along with lots of salad and vegetables and very little carbohydrate. Usually the protein is the smallest item on my plate. I found it very hard to adjust to half a plate of carb and half a plate of red meat with a spoonful of peas or a mini carrot!

 

I have photos of food on the following link. I hope it works.

 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152037384496554.1073741832.611921553&type=1&l=68affcebd2

Thank you so much for the link to your wonderful pictures. For someone who didn't love Blu's food, you sure photographed it well.;)

 

Why didn't you try the regular dining room ?

 

I'm not sold on Blu but my wife is so ....... Blu it is !

[farout141]

My Wife and I just returned from the Summit repositioning cruise. We had upgraded to the Aqua class so that we could eat in Blu. We would not do that again. We felt the food was very bland and after the second night we switched to select dining in the MDR and enjoyed that so much better! We felt that Blu's service was poor as they messed up on my food order twice, had too wait for service and the Host just did not care. The host at the MDR actually stopped us on the way out one night as he was concerned something was wrong as we were not in the dining room very long (we ate in about 35 minutes). We have 3 more booked on the Summit and will stick with MDR and use select dining.

[agathasmum]

Thank you so much for the link to your wonderful pictures. For someone who didn't love Blu's food, you sure photographed it well.;)

 

Why didn't you try the regular dining room ?

 

I'm not sold on Blu but my wife is so ....... Blu it is !

 

Thank you. I enjoy photographing food :)

 

We were travelling with friends and were all booked in Aqua and usually ate together in Blu, which is why we didn't switch to the MDR.

We probably won't do Aqua again, although the breakfasts were nice.

[Pecs ado rojo]

It would be interesting if people put where they were cruising when they ate. I would think Blu's menu would be fairly dependent on what ingregients are locally available where cruising.

[lara68]

We did a trans Pacific from Honolulu to Sydney.

[bighairtexan]

AGATHASMUM, I loved your photos and descriptions of what you ate. I could have written them myself for the most part. Perhaps we can be charter members of the:

Not Thrilled With BLU club! :D A small club it may be, but it's growing!

[jackdiamond]

There may be a distinction between Blu on the S class as oppossed to the M class.

[Lady Arwen]

My Wife and I just returned from the Summit repositioning cruise. We had upgraded to the Aqua class so that we could eat in Blu. We would not do that again. We felt the food was very bland and after the second night we switched to select dining in the MDR and enjoyed that so much better! We felt that Blu's service was poor as they messed up on my food order twice, had too wait for service and the Host just did not care. The host at the MDR actually stopped us on the way out one night as he was concerned something was wrong as we were not in the dining room very long (we ate in about 35 minutes). We have 3 more booked on the Summit and will stick with MDR and use select dining.

 

Exactly our experience on the Summit in April! We would never book Aqua class again because we want to avoid Blu. We're on the Summit again in 4 weeks and looking forward to dinner in the MDR. We're actually quite surprized that so many people rave about Blu, but to each his own.

[Pecs ado rojo]

Seeing the pix and reading the menu I now see that Blu is mostly a Paleo diet restaurant with some carbs and dairy added to the mix. Lean meats, game, and fish are the central focus of the Paleo diet followed by fresh greens.

 

Edited October 31, 2013 by Pecs ado rojo

[bighairtexan]

I found a lot of risottos, pastas, gnocchi, yet very little in the way of veggies that are a big part of paleo, though certainly there was a good amount of lean protein and game. A blob of polenta w/ a fleck of a green veggie.

 

The menus are the same in S and M class, except for the ease in ordering off the MDR every day special items on M class. To me the food tasted the same on both classes. Not sure why there would be a difference in ship classes if they are using the same menu and ingredients. Possibly a difference from head chef to head chef regardless of the class of ship.