Is Luminae worth the jump from Aqua?

[Host Jazzbeau]

There are 14 Blu menus, it's that they have not changed in years. We started cruising aqua class in 2011 and while there have been some minor changes in that time, the bulk of the menu has stayed the same. We cruise 2-3 times a year and we have started alternating suites to eat in Luminae or concierge occasionally to eat in the specialty restaurants. As you pointed out though their menus don't change much either. My DH says the solution is to cruise less... [emoji14]

 

Cruise less??? That's no solution!!! Maybe vary the cruise lines, but never stay home. :D

[chemmo]

Well this is interesting. Thanks for posting Jules. We were in a sky suite a year ago and were real sure that we did not have acces to Michaels Club. At the time, we the inormation we had was that Michaels was available to those staying in Celebrity suites and above. Of course, we never actually tried to enter there, thinking it was not part of our package.

 

Were we wrong, or is this a recent change?

 

Sky suites have only had access since December.

[tangerinebunny]

Is it worth the switch? If your dining experience is important to you, it may well be. We've tried both Aqua and suites, and will never go back to anything less than a suite now that we've eaten in Luminae.

 

We liked the ambience and more personalized service. And the food is far superior to any other Celebrity dining experience that we've had.

 

The larger cabin and MC don't hurt either. But Celebrity has a winner in this smaller, more upscale dining venue, and the staff was working very hard to keep it that way on our December cruise.

[puppyluv1]

We've sailed in suites on our past 7 or 8 cruises for the space. After experiencing Luminae on our last cruise I have to say I will look to Celebrity's itineraries first when planning future cruises. For us this is a significant differentiator.

[bitob]

I will add the fact that the folks in luminae will get you anything your heart desires is a huge benefit

[chemmo]

The value of a suite comes into its own when you enjoy the whole package...we have done one cruise since Luminea was introduced, but we have done three with Michael's Club.

 

Luminae was great for service but we did find the menu limited. As RS guests we also could dine in the specialities and we did. We also had space and service for quality in suite dining if we wanted to. We do drink in other venues and have found the premium package with a few extra dollars here and there on a better glass of wine another good suite perk.

 

Michael's has been our preferred pre and post dinner venue on our last cruises. We have also used the conceirge for a couple of issues (missing OBC, really poor excursion..). She has also organised a few treats for us.

 

Whilst not disabled we are of an age when missing queues for tendering...is a much appreciated bonus.

 

On all our last three cruises we have been escorted onboard....not needed, we know our way, but still very nice.

 

Back in a RS in March, not booked just for Luminae although we will enjoy. At present I would not book a suite for Luminae but I would book a suite again (and have) with Luminae as part of the package....

[Im A Happy Cruiser]

For those of you that have dined in both, is Luminae a good enough reason to book a suite for a 7 day cruise? I am currently booked in an Aqua class, have never sailed with Celebrity, but thought about an upgrade. I am familiar with some of the other perks, but am most interested in thought about the different dining experiences. Any opinions are welcome!

 

We have sailed both in aqua and a sky suite so we have dined at Blu and Luminae restaurants. We enjoyed both cruises and loved both restaurants. We will be sailing next month on the Eclipse and once again had to decide on which type cabin we wanted. If you can get one of the SS1 cabins like we did, then I would definitely pick that over Aqua in a heart beat. We made our decision based on the availability of the SS1 cabin because 1- it is larger than the SS2 cabins, 2- has a much larger deck that sort of wraps around the back corner of the ship and 3- has a large 4-foot port hole window which makes the cabin so much brighter. If a SS1 cabin is not available, then I'm not sure the ability to eat in Luminae would solely be enough incentive to pay the extra for a sky suite. (For us the best things about Luminae were 1- it was never crowded or noisy 2- the tables are spaced well apart from each other so you never felt your fellow diners were at your elbow 3-you are free to dine at your choice of time without a reservation 4- the service was exceptional.)

[Rob the Cruiser]

We have been thinking about stepping up from Aqua to suites in order to try Luminae but it makes me wonder if it is worth it since many suite passengers continue to dine in Blu. Is the menu in Luminae limited?

[Gordoncruickshank]

We have been thinking about stepping up from Aqua to suites in order to try Luminae but it makes me wonder if it is worth it since many suite passengers continue to dine in Blu. Is the menu in Luminae limited?

 

We have only glad one cruise since Luminae opened. We were in a RS. We only used Blu in the few mornings that they did a brunch in Luminae. We actually only used one visit to the speciality restaurants as we enjoyed Luminae so much. Roll on 5 weeks time.

[jagoffee]

We have been thinking about stepping up from Aqua to suites in order to try Luminae but it makes me wonder if it is worth it since many suite passengers continue to dine in Blu. Is the menu in Luminae limited?

 

Limited? I would say that is true on the printed menu, but since you can order off the MDR menu and make special requests it is not limited.

I would say you might be confused about what some people have posted. I seriously doubt the "many" suite guests continue to dine in Blu. Of course a few might for various reasons. Based on my experiences in both Blu and Luminae I cannot imagine every dining in Blu myself.

[Rob the Cruiser]

Limited? I would say that is true on the printed menu, but since you can order off the MDR menu and make special requests it is not limited.

I would say you might be confused about what some people have posted. I seriously doubt the "many" suite guests continue to dine in Blu. Of course a few might for various reasons. Based on my experiences in both Blu and Luminae I cannot imagine every dining in Blu myself.

 

I didn't know about being able to make special requests. That makes the Luminae experience even more compelling. Not confused by anyone else's comments. Perhaps I should have said "a dozen or so very night" rather than "many". Enough that Blu was packed every night and the Matre' D told me it was because of suite guests. I'm not being critical by any means. It's just curious to me that one would pay $2K+ to upgrade from Aqua to a suite and then eat in Blu instead of Luminae.

[clojacks]

I just looked up the difference in prices for various category cabins for our upcoming 14 day SA cruise around the Horn that we have a Veranda cabin booked for. Right now, our 2A Veranda is pricing at 2199 and an Aqua Guarantee is pricing at 2399. The lowest price suite available is the S1 Sky Suite at 4399! Are you telling me that the $2000 per person upgrade is worth dining in Luminae? Not for me. Not even the extra room would convince me that $4000 is going to enhance my experience that much.

Edited January 18, 2016 by clojacks

[Kiwi_mum]

Remember you also get Michael's Club with a suite, and there will be lots of fun opportunities. Just mention to the concierge there at the desk and she/he will be able to get you a bridge tour, an engine room control room tour, an exclusive galley tour -- really anything. If you want to eat with one of the captains, mention it and it will happen. Heli pad sail away? Any drink you want on the ship? Special mini concerts and tea? No problem. A bunch of Cokes or Evian to take to your cabin? Go right ahead!

 

Your butler for your suite can also bring you anything you want. A cart every afternoon is standard but we asked for our own particular favorites. We asked him to have shrimp, crackers (he just brought us an entire box of Carr's!!) and cheese and dried fruits, salmon -- alternating on days - and it happened. Berries in a bowl in the cooler? Yep.

.

 

 

Hi

We are first time cruisers with Celebrity and have booked a Sky Suite for our September cruise. We would love to do and engine room and bridge tour - without sounding stupid, are these tours that you have to pay for?

On Royal we had to pay for these tours.

 

The butler for the suite is making the extra price seem worth it :)

We will be celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary whilst on the cruise and I would like to organize something special for my husband on the day, do I organize this through the butler or the concierge at Michael's?

 

Thanks in advance,

Marita

[chemmo]

Speak to the Michael's Club conceirge on the first day. They usually start logging who would like what and put things together! Unlike RC these tours are complementary.

 

Let the Michael's Club conceirge know also about your anniversary....start thinking about what you want to do. Is it a sea day or a port day? Do you want a special tour if it is a port day (helicopter flight, private boat tour) if you do you wil probably find it cheaper to book these independently. On board ship you could look at all your dining options for a romantic meal or spa treatments or both! Once you have some ideas both butler and conceirge will support (butler can arrange some in room decorations, to serve your evening meal on your balcony, put champagne on ice....conceirge can help to customise tours.....)

 

We have never celebrated an anniversary on board but if I did it would be a meal in Murano's.....Just a suggestion, I have seen Murano's waiters deliver gifts under one of their big silver domes during a meal so if you are buying him a gift you may want to consider this!

 

You do not mention which ship and itinerary you are on. If you post this people may be able to give more specific advice, for example, a really nice romantic restaurant in Crete if you were there on your anniversary date.

 

Have a wonderful anniversary cruise!

[Gordoncruickshank]

S

 

We have never celebrated an anniversary on board but if I did it would be a meal in Murano's.....Just a suggestion, I have seen Murano's waiters deliver gifts under one of their big silver domes during a meal so if you are buying him a gift you may want to consider this!

We celebrate ours every year we are on the Eclipse in February. We usually go to Murano, but we like to try and sail under everyone's radar as we really don't need all the cake etc. Who can eat that after a meal in Murano.

[chemmo]

We celebrate ours every year we are on the Eclipse in February. We usually go to Murano, but we like to try and sail under everyone's radar as we really don't need all the cake etc. Who can eat that after a meal in Murano.

 

Our son celebrated a birthday when sailing with us on the Summit in the PH...we had breakfast on the balcony and butler (and several other butlers) came to sing happy birthday to him and present him with cake 1. At the end of breakfast we returned to the room which was all decorated as was the outer door.

 

Second cake arrived shortly after lunch can't remember exactly who it was from...

 

We dined in the main dining room that evening with third cake and singing waiters.....

 

Forth cake presented in Michael's Club, so glad we could ask for plates and share it out...

 

The fridge in the PH is really big but ours was nearly full of cake.

 

The next evening we had our second Q'sine, at the end of the meal the head waiter came over with a cake as he was aware our son had celebrated a birthday the day before.....

 

Seriously, it was so nice to see staff making so much effort. We had just asked the MDR M'D to sort a cake and had offered to pay...

 

I celebrate a birthday in the Millie PH in 2017, I had better start dieting now....

Edited January 19, 2016 by chemmo

[Project_gal]

We celebrated our 40th anniversary in Murano a few years ago. They do not make too much fuss and it was only a small flan with a candle - so nothing over the top. However, the Maitre d Specialty Restaurants [who we knew from previous cruises] wanted to do something special for us.

 

He, with the Executive Chef, organised a special dinner in our suite for us and four friends we had made on board. The Executive Chef was new and wanted to know what could be done in a PH. It was spectacular! The preparations alone provided entertainment for some hours - it took four people ranging from a waiter in Murano to the Assistant Head Housekeeper - just to lay the tablecloth. One of the most memorable things to have happened on board but not one was ever expect to have repeated. However, the people on board are keen to help you have a memorable celebration.

[Gordoncruickshank]

Our son celebrated a birthday when sailing with us on the Summit in the PH...we had breakfast on the balcony and butler (and several other butlers) came to sing happy birthday to him and present him with cake 1. At the end of breakfast we returned to the room which was all decorated as was the outer door.

 

Second cake arrived shortly after lunch can't remember exactly who it was from...

 

We dined in the main dining room that evening with third cake and singing waiters.....

 

Forth cake presented in Michael's Club, so glad we could ask for plates and share it out...

 

The fridge in the PH is really big but ours was nearly full of cake.

 

The next evening we had our second Q'sine, at the end of the meal the head waiter came over with a cake as he was aware our son had celebrated a birthday the day before.....

 

Seriously, it was so nice to see staff making so much effort. We had just asked the MDR M'D to sort a cake and had offered to pay...

 

I celebrate a birthday in the Millie PH in 2017, I had better start dieting now....

That is exactly why we like to sail under the radar.

[vtcruising]

Hi

We are first time cruisers with Celebrity and have booked a Sky Suite for our September cruise. We would love to do and engine room and bridge tour - without sounding stupid, are these tours that you have to pay for?

On Royal we had to pay for these tours.

 

The butler for the suite is making the extra price seem worth it :)

We will be celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary whilst on the cruise and I would like to organize something special for my husband on the day, do I organize this through the butler or the concierge at Michael's?

 

Thanks in advance,

Marita

 

We met a couple in MC on our last cruise that we enjoyed having pre-dinner cocktails with most nights. One evening one of them mentioned that it was his partner's birthday the next night so they were having a lovely course by course dinner in their suite.

 

The next day I was chatting with the MC concierge and mentioned that it was Billy's birthday and told her about the special dinner they were having. She thanked me for telling her. The next day the guys mentioned that they had received a lovely bottle of wine to go with dinner from the MC concierge. They were very pleased.

 

It likely depends on the concierge and other factors, but it seems that the MC concierge does try to help make special occasions special.

[Kiwi_mum]

Speak to the Michael's Club conceirge on the first day. They usually start logging who would like what and put things together! Unlike RC these tours are complementary.

 

Let the Michael's Club conceirge know also about your anniversary....start thinking about what you want to do. Is it a sea day or a port day? Do you want a special tour if it is a port day (helicopter flight, private boat tour) if you do you wil probably find it cheaper to book these independently. On board ship you could look at all your dining options for a romantic meal or spa treatments or both! Once you have some ideas both butler and conceirge will support (butler can arrange some in room decorations, to serve your evening meal on your balcony, put champagne on ice....conceirge can help to customise tours.....)

 

We have never celebrated an anniversary on board but if I did it would be a meal in Murano's.....Just a suggestion, I have seen Murano's waiters deliver gifts under one of their big silver domes during a meal so if you are buying him a gift you may want to consider this!

 

You do not mention which ship and itinerary you are on. If you post this people may be able to give more specific advice, for example, a really nice romantic restaurant in Crete if you were there on your anniversary date.

 

Have a wonderful anniversary cruise!

 

 

Thank you so much.

 

We are cruising from Vancouver to Honolulu on 9th September 2016. On the night of our anniversary we are going to a Luau at Old Lahaina (we overnight there), might have to have a special lunch on the cruise:)

 

 

Love the idea of having a gift presented on a serving tray - will have to do that.

 

Funny that you should mention the spa, as we have decided that this time we would like to do the couples massage and spa.

 

Cheers,

Marita

[Lastdance]

My DH and I really enjoy an S1 cabin with the perk of dining in Blu and Luminae. We find out what is on the menus and then decide where we want to eat. IMO, the atmosphere is more to my liking in Blu, mostly due to the wild prints on the walls and the sub-standard window dressings in Luminae. The service in Blu seems to be better, but that might be due to Luminae's recent status. Again, love all the choices and especially the large cabin and long walk to the elevators...gets the blood pumping. The deck views are also very good too! To each his/her own.:D

Edited January 20, 2016 by Lastdance

[cruiz10525]

This is from the Celebrity website:

 

"When you stay in a Sky Suite, you'll enjoy the luxury of personal butler service. This includes assistance with unpacking and packing, in-suite lunch and dinner service, and complimentary in-suite espresso and cappuccino from Café al Bacio. And to top it off, the private Luminae restaurant and an exclusive Michael's Club lounge with dedicated Concierge."

 

If this isn't the case, is there another concierge on board? I'll be sailing on Connie in March in an S1. It will be our first time sailing with X. I was looking at deck plans and noticed a concierge on deck 3. Is that for anyone on board who doesn't have access to Michael's Club, or is that for Concierge staterooms?

 

I don't even know if we'd need the service of a concierge, but it would be nice if there was some consistency from ship to ship.

 

First of all...there is a concierge in Michael's Club on Constellation, and he was very attentive.

 

As for the dining question - we loved Luminae, and ate all of our meals there - breakfasts, sea-day lunch, and dinners. Their printed menu is eclectic and has 4 choices in each category...but that's the printed menu. They would get anything specially prepared from MDR or Blu or even items from Tuscan. We had more of an emphasis on vegetarian choices for appetizers, and they had choices from all places each night for us to consider. The service was tops I've had on Celebrity. The atmosphere was much quieter than Blu (except equal on the last night when it was more crowded). It just feels more upscale.

 

The cost difference is made up of space, food, and other perks. The choice is for each person to choose.

[Gordoncruickshank]

We have sailed both in aqua and a sky suite so we have dined at Blu and Luminae restaurants. We enjoyed both cruises and loved both restaurants. We will be sailing next month on the Eclipse and once again had to decide on which type cabin we wanted. If you can get one of the SS1 cabins like we did, then I would definitely pick that over Aqua in a heart beat. We made our decision based on the availability of the SS1 cabin because 1- it is larger than the SS2 cabins, 2- has a much larger deck that sort of wraps around the back corner of the ship and 3- has a large 4-foot port hole window which makes the cabin so much brighter. If a SS1 cabin is not available, then I'm not sure the ability to eat in Luminae would solely be enough incentive to pay the extra for a sky suite. (For us the best things about Luminae were 1- it was never crowded or noisy 2- the tables are spaced well apart from each other so you never felt your fellow diners were at your elbow 3-you are free to dine at your choice of time without a reservation 4- the service was exceptional.)

 

 

Remember you can now get access to Michaels Club

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[SeasTheDay12]

First of all...there is a concierge in Michael's Club on Constellation, and he was very attentive.

 

 

Hi

I was wondering who your MC concierge was on Constellation?

Thanks! Planning a cruise again on Connie.

[conemaugh]

My opinion: Instead of purchasing Aqua or Concierge class accommodations book lowest balcony (6th floor) class and purchase ultimate drink package. With money left over, reserve a night in a specialty restaurant.

Edited January 23, 2016 by conemaugh