FAO Celebrity Official - Luninae answers needed please!

[bobnj]

I cannot believe all of this complaining about the Luminae - so many of you are sounding like children. I was just on the Summit and the food was fantastic.

The staff knew our names and likes/dislikes by the second day. Every time we went it seemed like we were seeing some friends.

As far as serving lunch, breakfast the website and the staff were perfectly clear. Brunch on sea days and breakfast on port days. Made sense to me, since I would be off the ship for lunch on port days. I am quoting the website directly:

 

Insider Tips

 

Hours and meals served vary by itinerary.

On sea days, open for brunch (11AM–1PM) and dinner.

On port days, open for breakfast and dinner.

Open for lunch at ship's discretion, depending on early or late port arrivals and departures. See daily program

 

 

Many fellow suite guests we spoke to had no problems with this. Everyone I spoke to all agreed the food and service were great and we would miss it if we did not book a suite again.

[Oxo]

I agree. It isn't ideal, but it would certainly be better than nothing! Staff, restaurant, and food already in place. Hopefully Celebrity listens to this suggestion!

 

Sounds like a very valuable solution. Bo5 is $10. SDR is $25 B $35 L and $50 D for guests. So, do they refund suite guests the difference? Yes, they don't charge suite guests to eat in the SDR. They also have the benefit of ordering of the MDR Left Hand side of the menu. Wooooooopiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeee. LOL

[koolforkatz]

I cannot believe all of this complaining about the Luminae - so many of you are sounding like children. I was just on the Summit and the food was fantastic.

 

I left a review of Luminae on a separate thread with both the positives and negatives. I agree, the food was very good and the crew absolutely amazing. That isn't the issue.

 

"Insider Tips" is a new addition.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We like Bistro on 5 but resent having to pay $20 for lunch on embarkation day if Luminae is not open after paying a premium to book a suite with one of the perks being lunch on embarkation day. No, $20 is not going to make or break us and will not impact our enjoyment of the cruise. It's just the principle of the matter.

 

Oh, we're also waiting on reviews of the locally sourced menu items that were promised.

Edited May 4, 2015 by CHEZMARYLOU

[chief190]

I agree it was not there until cc brought it to there attention. I am one who are scheduled to enjoy the new suite perks 5-15-15. I do agree was a little disappointed when I heard the change but am over it. It is not that big a deal.

[coldcanadians]

There is no mention of the embarkation lunch that was said to happen which if allowing bistro for free to all suites not just royal and up free would be an option. Actually that's what should be done for everyday there is no lunch in Lumina.

[uktog]

Same here, very disappointed not to be having what was advertised. We had our personal reasons why, although on other cruises lunch was not an issue for us, on this one, we wanted to have quieter breakfasts and lunches. Now every day one of these is not served. Ok we will find an alternative but that is not the point, it is not what was advertised.

 

Yes dinner at night may be wonderful but that's not the whole picture.

 

We returned to X suite life after many trips on Azamara, there have been service issues with X UK with emails to managers remaining unanswered and marketing that does not tell the true picture, clearly these pre cruise impressions are far from positive.

 

And as ever, the rep is only posting when it suits, I think the problem here is the spin doctors can't get anything to spin on the reply they would need to post.

Edited May 5, 2015 by uktog

[WestLakeGirl]

As reminder, here is the original announcement

[takemewithyou]

I would really like to hear from the Celebrity Official Poster in regards to celebrity's position on this change in what was published and marketed to those of us who booked suites based on what was originally announced.

 

A promise was made. It is no different than the cruise contract that all of us must abide by when we choose to cruise. How is it that X can just decide to make changes to what was promised?

 

What does the official poster have to say to the changes that suite passengers are finding onboard now that the rollout has begun, which is different from the various press releases that caused all of us to book suites for upcoming cruises?

[TommyD3]

As reminder, here is the original announcement

 

You need to blow it up somehow.

Even if I save the image and enlarge it there is not enough resolution to read it.

[Pushka]

This is a screenshot from the Aus site. An exclusive restaurant morning, noon and night.

 

[Bo1953]

Hello Celebrity Official

 

As you may be aware there are a number of suite customers who have questions about the dining arrangements regarding Luminae. In my UK brochures dated 2015 / 2016 and 2016 / 2017 it states that breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served in the specialty restaurant for suite guests.

 

However, as you are probably aware, guests are now reporting that the advertised three meals per day are not being served and people do not appear to be getting what they paid for.

 

I assume that this could cause Celebrity a lot of reputational damage and I am sure you will be working to get these issues resolved. But, there are people such as myself who are seriously considering booking suite class cruises but are concerned that what is being advertised will not be delivered.

 

Could you therefore please do us all a favour and state exactly what the deal with Luminae is? If I book a suite, will I be able to dine three times a day in Luminae? Will the restaurant be unavailable at certain times or on certain days?

 

Can you please provide a detailed reply so that we all understand what is going on?

 

Thank you in advance

Mynki

 

To everyone else, I will send a PM to 'Celebrity Official' to make them aware of this thread. Just in case they miss the thread and don't answer.

 

 

One quick question, what does the 'Cruise Contract' say, as it is the over riding document which governs what will happen on each sailing, NOT the advertizing, which can be enticing for sure.

[hulamoon]

I agree that the minimum that should happen is that suites who purchased before the change could eat without charge in bistro, those that don't already quality for free meals there.

 

But I do think opening up a specialty restaurant, is closer to the promised benefit, and I think all passengers could be invited, those not in Suites can pay a little, just like Lumanae was sold to us.

 

We booked 49 days in a suite under this promo. Honestly I would not daily use all three meals but there are times if we have a nice lunch we have a light dinner. I am not sure how I feel about the change and downgrading, I am going to continue to monitor and see what the reviews are. We want great food, but not necessarily salty or rich food while cruising. No way could we eat in Murano nightly and return home healthy.

 

I do not understand people saying false advertising is no big deal. Obviously they oversold the benefit. As a minimum at least the promo matches the offering except for wines and local offerings and larger menu.

 

It would be nice to be told when that will be implemented.

[cruiserchuck]

One quick question, what does the 'Cruise Contract' say, as it is the over riding document which governs what will happen on each sailing, NOT the advertizing, which can be enticing for sure.

 

I am not sure what it said, since like most people, I do not have the time or desire to read it carefully. However, I doubt it says anything about what meals will be served.

[Pushka]

Advertising has to match the paid-for product.

[JaneStarr]

As reminder, here is the original announcement

I saved the flyer as a PDF in my dropbox, but couldn't upload directly on my iPad. Here's a link to the file.

If it doesn't work, I'll upload actual PDF fro my laptop in the morning.

Jane

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vaqxivj4am19i8m/april%202015%20new%20suite%20perks%2014037410_cel_suites_faqs.pdf?dl=0

 

Here's a link to the official "live chatt" about this:

Not sure the best way to reference, but here's a link to the Live Chat with Jo Rzymowska of Celebrity Cruises on Celebrity Cruises: Suites, Spas & Signature Sailings

 

http://live.cruisecritic.com/Event/C...ailings?Page=0

Clearly Celebrity is going back on the Suite Lunch service offering. I really hope they reconsider quickly!

Jane

 

Quote:

Will lunch be offered every day or only on sea days?

by Shirley C January 30 at 11:12 AM

Quote:

Jo Rzymowska

In Luminae lunch will be every day

January 30 at 11:13 AM

Quote:

Celebrity Cruises (US)

Including embarkation day!

January 30 at 11:14 AM

Edited May 5, 2015 by JaneStarr

[Wiltonian]

if anyone in the UK booked on the basis of the original advertising, consumer protection law could come down hard on Celebrity UK if people made a formal complaint to trading standards. Letters to broadsheet newspapers personal finance columns can be even more effective!

 

Stuart

Edited May 5, 2015 by Wiltonian

[Mynki]

How many Luminae threads do we need?

 

Once an official response is received from Celebrity I'd suggest no more...

 

Perhaps a moderator can merge them all. Personally I don't care at all whether Luminae is open for lunch or not,

 

Indeed, but it's obviously a concern or of interest to many others, otherwise you wouldn't be whinging about the number of threads, and the boards are for the benefit of the masses, not just yourself.

 

and the "I didn't get what I paid for" argument is a bit easy i.m.o. given the countless other perks. I'm starting to get a bit put off by the "entitlement" attitude here on Cruise Critic to be honest. X continues to deliver excellent value for money, and I for one look forward to trying Luminae next week.

 

I do wonder if your attitude would be the same if you ordered a meal in a restaurant with wine and that wine wasn't served, instead the waiter telling you to drink the water on your table. Yet the restaurant added the bottle of wine to your bill anyway.

 

In that scenario, if I were to tell you to stop talking about your experience because I like the excellent service at the restaurant and your sense of 'entitlement' was annoying me, how would you feel?

 

The thread isn't about 'entitlement' though. It is about clarification from the only forum member who can provide a comprehensive answer. If everyone was a Celebrity fan boy or fan girl and didn't want to challenge them on degrading service levels then I can assure you standards of service would slip further. Social media such as sites like this can only keep them on their toes, and this IMO is a very good thing.

[WestLakeGirl]

Sorry the screen shot didn't work

 

Search for September 8, 2014 post titled "Celebrity Cruises Announces New Modern Luxury Experiences Aboard Celebrity Eclipse"

 

Or this link might work?

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2098766&highlight=celebrity+cruises+announces+eclipse

[Gordoncruickshank]

If someone booked a suite with the intention of going to Luminae for breakfast, lunch and dinner AS PROMISED, and now Celebrity decided it won't be open for lunch, they are NOT getting what they paid for.

 

It isn't an argument - it's a fact.

 

It has now lessened the value for the money for this person. Perhaps it isn't important to you, but that's irrelevant for this discussion.

 

Someone paid for something they are not getting.

 

This isn't "entitlement" in the derogatory sense you mentioned. They ARE entitled to this perk by paying for the suite they chose.

 

We upgraded 4 cruises to SS to benefit from this when it was announced. The only benefit, other than the extra space, was the new suite restaurant Which was supposed to be providing 3 meals a day. Now it is only providing 2. We would not have used lunch very often as that is normally more than we want to eat but merging breakfast and lunch into a brunch is not giving us what we booked.

 

My wife is diabetic and cannot wait until 10am for breakfast. Sure there are plenty other places to eat breakfast but we changed these bookings to get breakfast in Luminae.

 

I can see no reason why Celebrity cannot do what they advertised, which was what prompted us to change our bookings

Gordon

[Wiltonian]

Given you are in the UK, Gordon, but given that Celebrity are not going to change their practice, I'd be demanding reduction in price, with the threat of going to Trading Standards (you can register a complaint on-line) or else writing to the travel or personal finance problem pages of the Daily Telegraph / Times / Guardian.

 

Stuart

[Mynki]

Heaven forbid suite guests would have to eat with us steerage folk!! [emoji57]

 

Exactly!!!

 

I'm not sure all of my travel jabs are up to date and am concerned I might catch diptheria or some other diseases if seated with steerage classes!!! :D :p

[Bo1953]

Advertising has to match the paid-for product.

 

Pushka, not sure what the laws are where you are from, but here in the U.S. companies are required to make disclosures as to what may or may not happen at minimum which the cruise contract does.

 

Here, the cruise contract is the factor on which the law will govern, specifically it must be available for review before purchase. If we choose not to read it because it is too long and detailed, then it is our fault. If it is missing critical information which affects any decision that one would make in determining a purchase or use of a product then the company is liable for such omissions. Which also affords us some degree of legal remedies.

 

Check it to see what remedies are available to you as your country may offer something more or less in this regards.

 

Have a good sailing regardless...

[Pushka]

Its OK - I can't afford a suite :p. But if something is advertised and unless extraordinary issues arise, our laws state that the advertised goods must be provided.

[Bo1953]

Its OK - I can't afford a suite :p. But if something is advertised and unless extraordinary issues arise, our laws state that the advertised goods must be provided.

 

 

Very good, then your laws would have jurisdiction in the matter for its' citizens.

 

Like yourself, I cannot quite yet afford a suite and missed the grand opportunity for AQ.. alas 1A is the highest I go for now and will enjoy it to the max. I Am not a seasoned cruiser, so what X offers me in the selected category will be wonderful, I Am sure... bon voyage.