Our thoughts on Luminae - Reflection

[vickykay]

My husband and I just returned from an Eastern Med cruise on the Reflection. Wonderful ship and cruise! We had the good fortune of upgrading to a sky suite 1 from our CC room last minute for very little price difference. We were thrilled with the size of the room and amount of storage and looked forward to Luminae. Embarkation lunch was amazing. Wonderful lobster bisque and we both agreed the best hamburger we have ever had. After this however, meals were so so. Some were excellent, all presented beautifully but often lacking in flavor and seasoning. We both felt that it was if they were trying too hard and at times somewhat pretentious. The plates appeared to be heated, which kept food very hot however, on two occasions, resulted in slightly overlooked fish ( we did ask if they could make sure not overcooked after that and it did improve).

 

We were offered the MDR menu each night as well and often , as we noticed many others as well, ordered dishes from that, especially if we wanted a salad. The Luminae menu is listed with only two sections, appetizers and entrees. We felt there really needs to be three sections, as in the MDR and Blu, with an additional section for " Soups and Salads".

 

Breakfast was excellent with a good variety of selections. Lunch appeared to be only two different menus. We did wish that they had a brunch on sea day as that menu, previously posted, looked amazing.

 

The restaurant was beautiful and the new chairs had just arrived. The staff was absolutely wonderful, reminding us of when we first stated cruising about fifteen years ago and the MDR staff had significantly less tables. After asking a couple of times for the breadsticks from the MDR ( I love those) , they appeared on our table as soon as we sat down.

 

We were very glad that we did have the opportunity to try Laminae. I imagine things will be tweaked as time goes by.

 

Vicky

[kenevenpar]

Thank you for the update. Some thought the early food, not necessarily on Reflection, was too salty, or too much seasoning. I think they will get it fine tuned over time and look forward to trying it.

[Gracie115]

Thank you for the update. Some thought the early food, not necessarily on Reflection, was too salty, or too much seasoning. I think they will get it fine tuned over time and look forward to trying it.

 

We did not find that on Eclipse on the TA. The food WAS richer than normal, but, for the most part, portion sizes were smaller, which was fine. We have always liked the "salad" course on prior cruises but find we didn't miss it in Luminae at all and never saw anyone ordering one over the 16 nights. The entire dining experience was so much better than we had experienced since our earliest cruises that we were just very happy to be there!!!

[Phxazzcruisers]

Cant wait to try Luminae on our next sailing this July on Silhouette !!!!

[Kevnzworld]

Only two lunch menus? That doesn't sound great, especially over a 14 day cruise......

[doctorandmisterw]

Can you order as many app and entrees as you want like in the main dining room? I've never done any type of speciality dining before so don't know how the rules differ in luminae or in any of the speciality dining spots.

[Jane2357]

No soup and salad course? :eek:

[Project_gal]

No soup and salad course? :eek:

 

The soups and salads are included with the starters - European-style.

 

Can you order as many app and entrees as you want like in the main dining room? I've never done any type of speciality dining before so don't know how the rules differ in luminae or in any of the speciality dining spots.

 

You may, of course, order whatever you want but I would check with your waiter first. Some of the starters in Luminae are large and you certainly would not want to order two of them. The beef cheek starter was excellent but I ate as much as I could, then my husband ate as much as he could of what was left and there was still some over!

 

Some of the Luminae amuse bouche were also fairly substantial.

Edited June 8, 2015 by Project_gal

[A Sixth?]

Last-minute booked a Sky on the Reflection's next cruise so we could try the new dining venue and are very much looking forward to it..

 

Kevnzworld, you should keep it down to just one or two lunches a day :p

[jasjas311]

Can you order as many app and entrees as you want like in the main dining room? I've never done any type of speciality dining before so don't know how the rules differ in luminae or in any of the speciality dining spots.

Yes, you can order as many of the apps and entrees on the menu. It was way too tempting to order from the lunch menu both the Luminae burger (which is excellent) and the risotto.

[junetraveler2014]

We were just off Summit. People were ordering from both menus (MDR & Luminae). I saw shrimp cocktail go to the same gentleman 3 times and that was off the MDR menu. You can mix and match everything. You can also order mixed drinks. You can order special meals if you have food allergies or stomach problems or for whatever reason. Luminae was divine and very accommodating. You could also get gelato, Italian ice or soft serve ice cream for desert. Booked again and can't wait!

[Kevnzworld]

I'll ask again, hoping for a more detailed response...

Lunch: Is it a REAL lunch, or a few lunch type items on a brunch menu ?

Does " lunch " end at 1:00? Or 1:30?

Does the lunch menu items change daily, or are there daily specials?

 

I ask because lunch, more than dinner is the deal killer for me sailing with Celebrity. I can't stand the crowded Oceanview cafe on sea days...

The higher end lines that Celebrity " hopes " to compete with offer a real lunch, civilized with good food.

[kitty9]

Only two lunch menus? That doesn't sound great, especially over a 14 day cruise......

 

We have had only one breakfast and one lunch menu on our Summit cruise. No brunch in Luminae, either. The MDR did have a brunch today, June 20th. We found Luminae to have very few diners on many evenings, so much so that the restaurant closed early on 4 of the 7 nights.

 

Btw, their idea of an upscale dessert on formal night is tapioca or a candy bar. Seriously!!! But the poached lobster was very good.

[gcgold]

I'll ask again, hoping for a more detailed response...

 

Lunch: Is it a REAL lunch, or a few lunch type items on a brunch menu ?

 

Does " lunch " end at 1:00? Or 1:30?

 

Does the lunch menu items change daily, or are there daily specials?

 

 

 

I ask because lunch, more than dinner is the deal killer for me sailing with Celebrity. I can't stand the crowded Oceanview cafe on sea days...

 

The higher end lines that Celebrity " hopes " to compete with offer a real lunch, civilized with good food.

 

 

just back from reflection. did one breakfast one lunch and one dinner in luminae for a variety of reasons.

 

we do like to be waited on particularly breakfast . conversely we do like to sit outside if weather us good same applies for lunch. they ere very good and the room is lively great crockery and cutlery but food ( excellent) same as MDR

 

lunch finishes at 1 :00. However the very helpful staff arranged a main course and sweet for us when we arrived at 1:20 - even though we said we would be happy to dine elsewhere.

 

In summary luminae should (IMHO) be renamed 'Shakespeare'..........

 

 

Much Ado about Nothing [emoji12][emoji486][emoji486][emoji485]

Edited June 21, 2015 by gcgold

[Keith1010]

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

Keith

[vickykay]

On pur sailing (May 18) it was a real lunch menu, even on embarkation day. There were only two rotating lunch menus at that time which may have been because lunch had recently been added so perhaps they will expand to more. Since we were able to order items off the MDR menu at dinner, I would imagine one could also do this at lunch. The staff is extremely accommodating. Try the lobster bisque and the hamburger - outstanding! Enjoy, the service is amazing.

Edited June 21, 2015 by vickykay

[happy 2 b cruising]

On pur sailing (May 18) it was a real lunch menu, even on embarkation day. There were only two rotating lunch menus at that time which may have been because lunch had recently been added so perhaps they will expand to more. Since we were able to order items off the MDR menu at dinner, I would imagine one could also do this at lunch. The staff is extremely accommodating. Try the lobster bisque and the hamburger - outstanding! Enjoy, the service is amazing.

 

We were on the first sailing when Luminae was introduced. Looks like not much has changed. Wonderful staff, very limited selections. We ordered off the MDR menu to supplement Luminae's lack of selections. Many nights after looking at Luminae's limited posted menus we ate in Blu. Hopefully Celebrity will re-work Luminae's menu's.

[Balloon Man]

On pur sailing (May 18) it was a real lunch menu, even on embarkation day.

 

On our Eclipse TA in April lunch was not served on any day. Sometimes breakfast, sometimes brunch. Dinner was available every night, of course, but we were told we could not order anything from the MDR menu. So as the Luminae menu was quite sparse we rarely ate there. A shame because it is a very nice room with great staff.

 

To be fair we were the first guests in Luminae as it had only been installed during the dry dock that preceded our TA. Hopefully the choice of food has now improved.

[happy 2 b cruising]

On our Eclipse TA in April lunch was not served on any day. Sometimes breakfast, sometimes brunch. Dinner was available every night, of course, but we were told we could not order anything from the MDR menu. So as the Luminae menu was quite sparse we rarely ate there. A shame because it is a very nice room with great staff.

 

To be fair we were the first guests in Luminae as it had only been installed during the dry dock that preceded our TA. Hopefully the choice of food has now improved.

 

Sorry that you were not allowed to order off the MDR menu on the Eclipse TA. I believe it was on the second night of the Reflection crossing that the wait staff suggested that we could order off the MDR menu. Good positive move otherwise Luminae would have sat empty most nights.

[Kevnzworld]

Hopefully Luminae's menu and lunch hours will expand...I really would like to like Celebrity again....

I'll be boarding Silhouette in three weeks

Edited June 21, 2015 by Kevnzworld

[Gracie115]

On our Eclipse TA in April lunch was not served on any day. Sometimes breakfast, sometimes brunch. Dinner was available every night, of course, but we were told we could not order anything from the MDR menu. So as the Luminae menu was quite sparse we rarely ate there. A shame because it is a very nice room with great staff.

 

To be fair we were the first guests in Luminae as it had only been installed during the dry dock that preceded our TA. Hopefully the choice of food has now improved.

 

We were also on that cruise and while we never ordered entrees from the MDR my husband did have escargot from there at least 3 times and the table next to us had an entrée off of that menu too.... I think the Eclipse crew, which was BRAND NEW, as this was the opening of Luminae on Eclipse, got better as the cruise went along and far less "rigid" in the rules. We loved it and ate all but 2 dinners there. Brunch/lunch was served on sea days and breakfast on port days.

[chamima]

We were also on that cruise and while we never ordered entrees from the MDR my husband did have escargot from there at least 3 times and the table next to us had an entrée off of that menu too.... I think the Eclipse crew, which was BRAND NEW, as this was the opening of Luminae on Eclipse, got better as the cruise went along and far less "rigid" in the rules. We loved it and ate all but 2 dinners there. Brunch/lunch was served on sea days and breakfast on port days.

 

Was Anita the Maitre D'/Hostess in Luminae?

We've sailed with her several times and just adore her.

She told us last winter that she was being made Maitre D' for Luminae and we are happy for her well-deserved promotion.

[alexsarasota]

What is the seating capacity? We are thinking of Sky Suite so as to eat at Luminae instead of aqua

[hcat]

Hope Luminae becomes more appealing....so Blu will not get too crowded..

Edited June 21, 2015 by hcat

[gcgold]

What is the seating capacity? We are thinking of Sky Suite so as to eat at Luminae instead of aqua

 

 

if that us the only reason you may be disappointed. We paid a significant premium for a suite the bigger room and 2 free spec. restaurant meals were the only thing worthwhile for us but not worth the extra dosh - back to steerage or Aqua for us [emoji33]