Blu dining attendance

[#4'smom]

We sailed on Infinity in November for 15 nights in Aqua Class. It was our first time dining in Blu and loved it. However we probably only dined there 1/2 of the time as we enjoy breakfast on our balcony and some dinners we ate in specialty restaurants with people we met onboard, had the buffet and 2 nights we ate in the cabin as DH wanted to watch the Patriots game.

 

One night 1/2 way through the cruise, the lovely hostess came and asked us if our Blu dining experiences had been good because she noticed we hadn't been there every evening. We quickly assured her that everything was great and that we are very relaxed cruisers and diners. The last evening onboard we ate in the Tuscan Grille.

 

Each time we dined in Blu we had the same waiter who was friendly, funny, attentive and very charasmatic. He always made us feel special and often made us laugh. However, on the last morning before disembarkation we dined there for breakfast and he was a completely different person! We waited 15 minutes for an acknowledgement that we were there and finally my DH asked another waiter for coffee. When he finally came he didn't say hello, barely uttered a word through the order process and then walked away? When he brought the meal he pluncked it down in front of us and walked away without a word. We had to ask the other waiter for more coffee again. We were so shocked by his complete personality change but wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt and chose to think that he was either having a bad morning or was preoccupied with preparing for the new cruisers to come. We called him over and discretely gave him our extra tip envelope and we barely got a "thanks" before he turned around and walked away. It was really strange how different he was and I can honestly say it did bother us a lot. :eek:

 

Since I've been home I've have wondered if it's possible that we inadverently made a faux pau by not dining there more often and/or could we have offended our waiter by dining in TG on the last night and not in Blu. I would love to hear from more experienced Aqua Class cruisers, if they have found that there is an expectation to dine in Blu often? We will probably sail Aqua again and I would hate to possibly make a mistake again....

[Wiltonian]

When we went Aqua in 2014 and greatly enjoyed Blu, we tipped our excellent waiter on the last night. No idea if that's common practice, but could it be that your waiter thought you were avoiding doing so?

 

(Hoping that this won't turn into the first tipping thread of 2016!)

 

Stuart

Edited January 2, 2016 by Wiltonian

[Gordoncruickshank]

This has happened a few times to us in Blu. Have had some great service at breakfast and then one morning it fails and your meal takes several times as long. There are so many things that could have happened with the individual concerned before you arrived in the restaurant. On every cruise the waiters become your new best friend towards the end of the cruise. We leave the auto tips on and if we have used the restaurant for most of the cruise and have been happy with the service will leave an envelope with the host to be split among the team as there is no guarantee that you will get the same waiter all the time, particulately if you are eating later.

Edited January 2, 2016 by Gordoncruickshank

[misha1]

Let it go...sounds rather immature on the servers behalf, if tips were the area of concern. One will never know unless confronted In these days of pre-paid gratuities, seems like a moot point. You are there to enjoy yourself and nothing should stand in the way of that. DH and I will be in Blu for the first time when we sail in a couple of weeks, but we will also eat in many of the venues provided, without any guilt or worries. Attitudes slide off our backs like water on a duck's ***. Happy Sails!

Edited January 2, 2016 by misha1

[keesar]

Over the years, staff in Blu was observant to note when we did not show up for breakfast and dinner there. I suspect they were trying to make us feel guilty but not sure. "Why didn't you come last night?". I explained that we had reservations at a Specialty Restaurant and the reply "Blu is a Specialty Restaurant". It seems like there is competition for maintaining loyalty.

[Iamcruzin]

Since I've been home I've have wondered if it's possible that we inadverently made a faux pau by not dining there more often and/or could we have offended our waiter by dining in TG on the last night and not in Blu. I would love to hear from more experienced Aqua Class cruisers' date=' if they have found that there is an expectation to dine in Blu often? We will probably sail Aqua again and I would hate to possibly make a mistake again....[/quote']

 

You took a vacation to relax and enjoy your self. The only faux pau I see is that your trip is over, you are home and you are worrying about someone who you will probably never see again. These people are human and have problems and bad days like anyone else. You left a tip. He should have been more gracious but he wasn't. You did nothing wrong by eating where you wanted to. Many do that even if slotted for set seating. Don't let this ruin the trip. Focus on the good times and beautiful sites you saw.

[Iamcruzin]

Over the years, staff in Blu was observant to note when we did not show up for breakfast and dinner there. I suspect they were trying to make us feel guilty but not sure. "Why didn't you come last night?". I explained that we had reservations at a Specialty Restaurant and the reply "Blu is a Specialty Restaurant". It seems like there is competition for maintaining loyalty.

 

If this is what Blu is about I don't want any part of it. They never make you feel guilty for not eating in the MDR. I read a review from another CC member who had a similar experience in Blu. I also read that the same thing happens in Luminae as well.

[Wiltonian]

If this is what Blu is about I don't want any part of it. They never make you feel guilty for not eating in the MDR. I read a review from another CC member who had a similar experience in Blu. I also read that the same thing happens in Luminae as well.

 

I suspect that Blu staff take a pride in Blu because their jobs are seen as being a promotion from MDR staffing. There's a fine balance between solicitous enquiry and what can feel like harassment, and some probably go OTT a little. Don't let it put you off!

 

Stuart

[kitty9]

I have no idea why the staff does that, but we had the same experience with dining at Luminae. We love Murano and chose to dine there more than at Luminae. One evening, the manager of Luminae had the guts to come into Murano and ask why we weren't in Luminae. We told her that nothing appealed to us on the menu and we've always preferred Murano. Not only that, but whenever this manager saw us, she'd bug us about not being in Luminae!!!!!! Since when is it required that we dine in a specific restaurant?

[woodley]

I think we sometimes over think a comment made by another. It may have just been a conversation starter or concern that you were not happy with the service.

[jabrown40]

Our first Celebrity cruise is coming up in a couple of months, and although we booked Aqua class to be able to experience Blu, we also booked three restaurants as well. I even hoped to eat in the MDR one night just to see if we were happy with the food there for other cabin choices on cruises down the road. I want to experience many of the venues while on the ship, and we would never enjoy eating every meal in the same place the entire time. It's like trying different restaurants in a city on a land vacation. As a previous poster commented, I do appreciate someone asking for your input why you are not there, but only if it is being asked to make improvements.

[Straughn]

We always try to let our server/wine steward/hostess/maitre'd know the night before that we will be dining elsewhere the next night. In my last experience in Blu (solo cruiser), the hostess tried very hard to keep a table I liked available for breakfast and dinner. By telling her I would not be there, it freed up the table. I have never had anyone question why I chose to eat in another venue. They have always said "thanks for letting us know and enjoy". I think, if someone found me in another venue and questioned why, I would be having a chat with the F&B manager. Totally inappropriate to do that.

Edited January 2, 2016 by Straughn

[jelayne]

Like Straughn we always let the hostess know the evening before if we will be dining elsewhere.

 

The only time we had a hostess or Maitre'd question our absence was when we missed 2 nights in a row and didn't tell them. They were concerned that we were unhappy with the food or service and wanted an opportunity to correct any problem.

[Snit13]

Like Straughn we always let the hostess know the evening before if we will be dining elsewhere.

 

The only time we had a hostess or Maitre'd question our absence was when we missed 2 nights in a row and didn't tell them. They were concerned that we were unhappy with the food or service and wanted an opportunity to correct any problem.

 

We have 9 AQUA Celebrity sailings to date with 2 more booked for Feb. 2016. We too have never been questioned about dining elsewhere. I think we have had breakfast in Blu 1 time in all of these sailings. Must be a new policy. We normally tell hostess/waiter if we are dining elsewhere so maybe that is the reason no one has searched us out. My money/My business where and when I dine, I think.

[Fish Lover]

On our last cruise, we made reservations for two specialty restaurant meals and made reservations for anytime dining in the MDR, even though we were in an Aqua class stateroom. Then, we compared the menus and decided whether we wanted to dine in the MDR or Blu.

 

We were asked once why they hadn't seen us very often and I was honest and told them that we didn't care for the menu selections on a couple of evenings.

 

When we did dine there, we had most excellent service every time.

 

I simply will not be told where I can and can not eat on vacation. The food and dining experiences are a big part of vacation and I won't allow anyone to spoil it. On the rare occassion when the food is not good, I send it back (this happened twice at lunch). If the service is unaccaptable, I discretely register disappointment to the maitr'd.

[Cruizen Susan]

Thank you for bringing this topic up. Only once in our years of cruising experience, have we had this happen, and we were shocked. We are friendly folks, and do not need to have our butts kissed (excuse the crudeness, but it fits the topic). On our last X cruise on the Equinox, both the Maitre 'D', waiter and assistant all gave the the utmost in friendly, attentive service in the MDR. The waiter especially acted and joked with us like he was our new best friend. Nothing was too much trouble, and always with a smile.

 

We went to Murano the last evening, and made sure we let them know at dinner the night before. We saw the waiter at breakfast the following morning of the last day at sea (not disembarkation day) and he totally snubbed us. We gave him the benefit of the doubt that he was very busy or preoccupied, or just didn't see us. So we tried again to meet his eye, and were blatantly ignored. We were confused, but then I was very annoyed that he got the extra tip on top of the standard. I guess we are naive, thinking that they are "nice and friendly". At least this guy. It was just all in a day's work, and once his "job" was done with this crowd, he could go back to being himself.

 

Oh well. Once in while is not bad. I guess this can happen in any of the dining venues.

[keesar]

I am wondering if we do not show up for dinner in Blu, are our gratuities directed elsewhere for that particular meal?

[Lastdance]

If this is what Blu is about I don't want any part of it. They never make you feel guilty for not eating in the MDR. I read a review from another CC member who had a similar experience in Blu. I also read that the same thing happens in Luminae as well.

 

We had a poor experience in Luminae a couple of times and were asked if we might prefer Blu; On both occasions when we dined for dinner, everyone was so nice...they were very accommodating in Blu too! No one seemed to be upset. They just wanted us to be happy. They knew we were unhappy and wanted our experience to be good so we would return...Eclipse:) That is the way it should be!

[#4'smom]

Thank you everyone for your responses. If we book Blu again, I will most likely mention to the waiter or hostess when we have reservations in other restaurants.

[We're The Groupnors]

On our most recent cruise we has an awesome main dining room team of waiter, assistant waiter and sommelier. Unfortunately we had less than stellar table mates. We dined at specialties a couple of times to give ourselves a break, and by the second last night we just could not take the fighting of the other couple any more and told our team that we would not be there on the last night. We also made a point of telling them how awesome their service was and that we has added extra gratuities to our bill for the waiter and assistant waiter, and made it clear to the sommelier that we would stop by to see him the following evening, even though we would be dining elsewhere. We also told them that we had put in a positive comment card for all of them at customer service. They could not have been more gracious and appreciative, and when we went to the MDR the following evening to thank them and give notes of thanks and an extra gratuity for the sommelier they could not have been more grateful. The maitre d' even came up and shook our hands and thanked us for making the effort to stop by. I think some people are naturals at customer service, and some are not. Clearly we were fortunate to have a dining room team who truly loves what they do.

[Gordoncruickshank]

I am wondering if we do not show up for dinner in Blu, are our gratuities directed elsewhere for that particular meal?

 

If you are in a speciality restaurant the fee includes the gratuity so thus is only an issue if you are in AQ and then use the MDR a number of times as your gratuities go to Blu. This was an issue before Luminae opened if you were in a suite. We always tried to eat in Blu before Luminae opened if we were in a suite and made sure, once we were happy that space in Blu was not an issue, that our gratuities were switched to where we were eating.

[oceanlover1210]

We are considering taking Solstice on a cruise to Alaska, August 2017. Still trying to figure out which class of cabins to book. Was leaning toward Aqua Class, but I'm not so sure after reading the comments about Blu waiters essentially wanting you to eat exclusively there.

[2theship]

As others have said, it's your cruise. Do what makes you happy. Rarely have we had the same wait staff every night in Blu. We show up at a variety of times based on our activities ashore and the evening shows so we can't expect a specific table to be waiting for us. Because of that, we sit in different parts of the restaurant and are served by different people. The only consistent people we see are the Maitre D' (or assistant) and the sommelier. Therefore, it's rare for us to tip an individual server. We tip the sommelier and we give the Maitre D' an additional group tip, asking that it be shared among the staff.

 

The final morning, there is a lot of stress for the entire crew. Even the servers in Blu may have to deal with immigration - which they do hours before US Customs is ready for the passengers. Of course, they should put on their "happy face" but some days may be harder than others.

[autumn lass]

We are considering taking Solstice on a cruise to Alaska, August 2017. Still trying to figure out which class of cabins to book. Was leaning toward Aqua Class, but I'm not so sure after reading the comments about Blu waiters essentially wanting you to eat exclusively there.

 

 

Our experience last month dining in Blu on Eclipse was positive. The maitre d and his assistant had a policy of sitting you with the same waiter each night. We always dined in Blu but some mornings we might eat in the Aqua Spa cafe if we were on a shore excursion and no one in Blu questioned where we were. The service and attitude of the staff was exemplary.

 

 

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[Mynki]

The staff in Blu and Luminae want you to be happy. They want you to return. Obviously this is to increase their chance of additional gratuities, but don't take offence if they ask why you ate elsewhere. We have had this happen, I don't blame them for asking, they're only wanting feedback.

 

The service in both restaurants has always been good apart from two trips on the last morning, once in Blu, once in Luminae and we put this down to their extra workload.