Luminae and Suite Experiences on Millennium

[tarheelmjm]

We've heard very little from cruisers on Millie with regard to the new restaurant and how service is keeping up with expectations since the Suite Class roll out.

 

Is there anyone on CC who can give us a little hint? New hubs and I are in an RS northbound on 8/28 for the Hmoon and I'd love to hear how Millie is doing!

 

Specifically, I'd like to hear about:

Luminae lunches

Michaels service

In-suite amenities like mini-bar and liquor selections

 

...But any taste you can give about your recent experience in Suite on Millie will definite get our props turnin'.

 

Thankya Kindly!

[Mermen]

I'd be interested in hearing too. We're going to enjoy the suite life on the Millie in September. :)

[cruisestitch]

On Millie's most recent Alaska cruise, lunch was served every day.

 

Don't be in a hurry -- they take forever there, food is all cooked "a la minute". If you need to be somewhere on a deadline, be sure to tell them so they can begin cooking your food immediately otherwise it can take an hour and a half for lunch.

[SupremeFlounder]

Just off the Millennium yesterday from the 10 day Alaska cruise and I found it largely similar to Jenna's (needs2bespoiled, I think, is her screen name) experiences.

 

There wasn't an embarkation lunch - which was something of a let down having seen the Oceanview's chaos, but that's about all I can offer. We did breakfast a handful of days, but never lunch during the day. All of the port days, we were off the ship.

 

Kendall (the hostess) is absolutely awesome though.

[akke29]

We'll be in a SkySuite on the Millennium this June for the southbound glacier cruise. Looking forward to eating in Luminae, but also want to take advantage of a meal in a specialty restaurant. We're trying to figure out which night might be the best one for a meal at Olympic? Any thoughts?

[Project_gal]

Not Millie in Alaska, I know, but I have posted our experiences on her repositioning from Asia: http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2210627#

[Mermen]

This is great, we're doing a reverse cruise, similar to yours, from Vancouver to Shanghai. Looking forward to reading.

[blue925]

We are just off the May 10 Alaska cruise and had a great Luminae experience. As mentioned, the food service can be slow, although that was only an issue on the last day when I was itchy to disembark. The food itself was good to great, and they were extremely flexible and eager to please. It felt like a special experience every day since everyone remembered us and our preferences very quickly (for example, within a minute of walking in, we were always quickly told our Evian water was on the way, and replenished often).

 

I was also disappointed there was no embarkation lunch... My favorite lunch options were the burger (wonderful fries) and any of the soups (especially butternut squash).

 

My favorite breakfast options were the whole wheat wrap with a side of the salsa that comes with the huevos rancheros. That salsa was the only time I saw jalapeños on the ship, and I really needed some spice for my palate! :) My husband LOVED the chocolate croissant and had an indecent amount.

 

When picking which night we would have a specialty dinner, we usually asked Kendall (AMAZING hostess...loved her so much) in the morning if we could see the dinner menu and made our decision then. We never had a problem securing our reservations for Olympic (went twice) and Qsine (once).

 

Hope this helps! They seem to be ironing out some initial issues well, and they are very, very eager for feedback on board.

[TxnAquarian]

Wow! Thanks for posting your experience! It sounds lovely. We will be leaving in a little over a week for the Infinity and this will be the first time that we have moved up to a suite from our usual Aqua Class. Luminae is the main reason that we opted to move into a suite, and your review makes us even more excited. We love Blu and think that Luminae will be a wonderful step up.

 

 

Michael

[akke29]

We are just off the May 10 Alaska cruise and had a great Luminae experience. As mentioned, the food service can be slow, although that was only an issue on the last day when I was itchy to disembark. The food itself was good to great, and they were extremely flexible and eager to please. It felt like a special experience every day since everyone remembered us and our preferences very quickly (for example, within a minute of walking in, we were always quickly told our Evian water was on the way, and replenished often).

 

I was also disappointed there was no embarkation lunch... My favorite lunch options were the burger (wonderful fries) and any of the soups (especially butternut squash).

 

My favorite breakfast options were the whole wheat wrap with a side of the salsa that comes with the huevos rancheros. That salsa was the only time I saw jalapeños on the ship, and I really needed some spice for my palate! :) My husband LOVED the chocolate croissant and had an indecent amount.

 

When picking which night we would have a specialty dinner, we usually asked Kendall (AMAZING hostess...loved her so much) in the morning if we could see the dinner menu and made our decision then. We never had a problem securing our reservations for Olympic (went twice) and Qsine (once).

 

Hope this helps! They seem to be ironing out some initial issues well, and they are very, very eager for feedback on board.

 

Great stuff! Thanks for the update. Maybe I'll wait until the get onboard to book at Olympic.

[need2bespoiled]

Just off the Millennium yesterday from the 10 day Alaska cruise and I found it largely similar to Jenna's (needs2bespoiled, I think, is her screen name) experiences.

 

There wasn't an embarkation lunch - which was something of a let down having seen the Oceanview's chaos, but that's about all I can offer. We did breakfast a handful of days, but never lunch during the day. All of the port days, we were off the ship.

 

Kendall (the hostess) is absolutely awesome though.

 

Thanks :) (LONG review below in my signature).

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[akke29]

Our southbound sailing on June 26th aboard the Millennium was nothing short of outstanding! We loved Luminae and everything it offers suite guests. We had lunch, in a pinch one day at the Ocean View cafe. It was okay and almost unfair to compare to Luminae. Also, we did dine in Olympic for dinner and while nice, great service and great food, we actually found ourselves missing our new friends in Luminae. The staff was terrific and definitely contributed to our amazing first cruise experience! There were a few misses on the menu, but the quality, presentation and creativeness was terrific. Now... I may just have to always cruise in a suite! :D

[kennelgang]

We sailed Infinity in May and found Luminea to be a wonderful experience. Food, atmosphere, and service were beyond expectations. The only issue I have with Luminea is they use placemats instead of white tablecloths. This was a real let down. The MDR and Murano make use of tablecloths. So why does Celebrity have this high class suite only venue and uses "cheap" placemats on their tables? Celebrity are you listening?

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I don't get why they're not doing lunch in Luminae on embarcation day. One of the reasons for booking a suite is not to have to endure the chaos in the buffet on embarcation day. Major fail as far as I'm concerned. Hope they have this sorted by my next suite sailing.

 

Linda

 

[Mermen]

We sailed Infinity in May and found Luminea to be a wonderful experience. Food, atmosphere, and service were beyond expectations. The only issue I have with Luminea is they use placemats instead of white tablecloths. This was a real let down. The MDR and Murano make use of tablecloths. So why does Celebrity have this high class suite only venue and uses "cheap" placemats on their tables? Celebrity are you listening?

 

That's a real turn-off, isn't it? We'll be dining in Luminea in September on the Millie...hoping for a good experience.

 

What were the placemats, paper or cloth?

[BILLP1]

I guess you can lunch in Blu if that is open. Trying to guess Celebrity's first day dining room openings is not easy. We are paying full price that first day correct?

[kenevenpar]

I don't get why they're not doing lunch in Luminae on embarcation day. One of the reasons for booking a suite is not to have to endure the chaos in the buffet on embarcation day. Major fail as far as I'm concerned. Hope they have this sorted by my next suite sailing.

Linda

I think I heard that they are doing lunch on embarcation day. The early part of the thread is from May. Maybe one of the recent cruisers can confirm this.

 

Ken

[ClaudiaB]

Everything I've heard since June is that embarkation day has lunch served.

There seemed to be about a 6 week or so "roll-out" period where things were adjusting. Yes, probably should have been 100% on day one, but what ever is?!!

 

I'm looking forward to experiencing Luminae (and Michael's Club!!!) in November.

[thebutlerdidit]

I guess you can lunch in Blu if that is open. Trying to guess Celebrity's first day dining room openings is not easy. We are paying full price that first day correct?

 

I advise looking through the little folder that your sea pass card comes tucked into! We found a little card inviting us to enjoy embarkation lunch on the upper level of the dining room. We found it on probably day 5 of the cruise, but we actually were able to attend that lunch due to a conversation with a staff member near Luminae. We expressed our disappointment that Luminae was not open for lunch and she walked us to the MDR herself. There was a sign placed outside the MDR saying it was closed for a private function. We had seen that sign, but never guessed that it was where suite guests were dining.

 

This was our experience on the Summit repositioning cruise in April.

[kennelgang]

That's a real turn-off, isn't it? We'll be dining in Luminea in September on the Millie...hoping for a good experience.

 

What were the placemats, paper or cloth?

 

They appear to be a woven bamboo type....awful and cheap looking. Oh, and the water glasses were in the color of yellow topaz...very tacky!!! The rest of the décor was very nice including the carpet, the crystal ceiling and walls. The chairs had not arrived yet and they were using old MDR chairs which were ok, but you could tell they didn't fit the rest of the room decor. Saw a picture of what the new chairs will look like and they are very elegant and will fit in nicely.

Edited July 16, 2015 by kennelgang

[Project_gal]

They appear to be a woven bamboo type....awful and cheap looking. Oh, and the water glasses were in the color of yellow topaz...very tacky!!! The rest of the décor was very nice including the carpet, the crystal ceiling and walls. The chairs had not arrived yet and they were using old MDR chairs which were ok, but you could tell they didn't fit the rest of the room decor. Saw a picture of what the new chairs will look like and they are very elegant and will fit in nicely.

 

Oh, I though it was just me. I, too, really dislike the water glasses in Lumina and Tuscan Grille.

 

The photographs post recently by Cruise Critic of Luminae on Eclipse had tablecloths, rather than mats. I preferred the look but do think that tables are too close together in the M-class Luminae to be safe especially with long dresses on formal nights. There appears, from the photographs, to be more space on S-class ships. Personally, I find the table to be attractive and think that they look better without the mats but they probably need some covering for dinner.

[jpohio]

We just returned from the Alaska southbound trip (7/24 - 7/31) on Millennium, stayed in RS, and had dinner at Luminae all but one night. We also had breakfast there a couple times, but never lunch. For breakfast and dinner the food and service were outstanding. Have a great trip