Is Blu Still Any Good ?? Better than MDR?

[curtdesilets]

We used to be very avid Celebrity fans, having sailed most of the M-Class ships in their heyday, early 2000's. We are now turning to Oceania to give us a similar experience as the food quality and service on Celebrity simply is not what it was.

 

That being said, we are thinking of doing Infinity again for a Pacific Coastal next fall. Is the food and service in Blu superior to the MDR, especially on an M Class like Infinity? Is it worth the upgrade to AquaClass just to get the Blu treatment?

 

Any suggestions would be highly appreciated. Thanks!

[ChucktownSteve]

We used to be very avid Celebrity fans, having sailed most of the M-Class ships in their heyday, early 2000's. We are now turning to Oceania to give us a similar experience as the food quality and service on Celebrity simply is not what it was.

 

That being said, we are thinking of doing Infinity again for a Pacific Coastal next fall. Is the food and service in Blu superior to the MDR, especially on an M Class like Infinity? Is it worth the upgrade to AquaClass just to get the Blu treatment?

 

Any suggestions would be highly appreciated. Thanks!

 

We've eaten in Blu on the Connie and Summit while once on the Marina.

 

Blu is a better dinning room in our opinion compared to the MDR because of the ambiance and lack of horrendous noise volume. On M class ships if you see something on the MDR menu that you would prefer, you can request it in Blu since the two dining facilities share the same kitchen.

 

IMHO if the price is not too drastic to upgrade to AQ then yes, it's worth it. But not if there is too big a difference.

 

However none of the dining facilities will match those on the Marina or Riviera IMO.

Edited November 26, 2016 by ChucktownSteve

[El Crucero]

We have sailed in Aqua on both M and S class including Infinity. Blu was and still is a superior dining option - excellent food, outstanding service, and wonderful ambiance.

 

We keep shopping Azamara and Oceania but their balcony prices equal Celebrity suite prices. And a Celebrity suite includes alcohol too.

 

In our opinion, Celebrity offers a much better value, especially with their beverage promotions, than the up scale lines.

[curtdesilets]

We've eaten in Blu on the Connie and Summit while once on the Marina.

 

Blu is a better dinning room in our opinion compared to the MDR because of the ambiance and lack of horrendous noise volume. On M class ships if you see something on the MDR menu that you would prefer, you can request it in Blu since the two dining facilities share the same kitchen.

 

IMHO if the price is not too drastic to upgrade to AQ then yes, it's worth it. But not if there is too big a difference.

 

However none of the dining facilities will match those on the Marina or Riviera IMO.

 

I think Oceania spoiled us. We like the Pacific Coast Itinerary coming up, but would be a bit disappointed if the food and service were as we expect, a bare resemblance of what Infinity was 15 years ago. Blu looks like something a little more intimate, and I would be willing to give it a try.

 

The Suite Class unfortunately, is a bit outside of our budget.

[bigbenboys]

We are booked on the coastal cruise Sept 2017 cruise in Aqua. Yes Blu is very nice. We go with suites or aqua class. Both are very nice.

[riclop]

We used to be very avid Celebrity fans, having sailed most of the M-Class ships in their heyday, early 2000's. We are now turning to Oceania to give us a similar experience as the food quality and service on Celebrity simply is not what it was.

 

That being said, we are thinking of doing Infinity again for a Pacific Coastal next fall. Is the food and service in Blu superior to the MDR, especially on an M Class like Infinity? Is it worth the upgrade to AquaClass just to get the Blu treatment?

 

Any suggestions would be highly appreciated. Thanks!

 

Blu is better.

[Sox59]

Simple answer is ...most definitely, YES!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[hcat]

We have booked AQ/BLU since it started and have 2 more cruises booked in AQ including a Pacific Coastal on Infinity next fall. We have always enjoyed BLU on a variety of ships..S and M Class .....but recently not up to usual standards at dinner.

 

Just returned from an ABC Island cruise on Infinity. Sorry to say we found BLU disappointing and ate at other venues 4 out of 9 nights, Service (other than wine service) was poor, very slow and often no staff visible to assist with getting water, ice tea etc, Felt like staff had been re-assigned elsewhere and many of the assts were not very experienced or able to communicate. We dine early so there should have been better service, as it was not overcrowded.

 

The maitre d and his assistant waited tables, took orders and bussed tables instead of supervising. We found kitchen slow, and of the stock BLU menus, the ones selected were tired...lots of game bird..Squab more than once. Tried the pheasant...it was very dried out...

Not at all what we have experienced in BLU previously.

 

We are hoping it will improve by our next cruise and hopefully some new items added to the dinner menu. Breakfast was still excellent.

[hcat]

Forgot to mention that we could not face BLU on the last night...menu not great. We wre able to get an early res in the MDR. No waiting, great table for 2 and excellent service. We felt pampered by all. Food was very good, esp the veal in phyllo dough...

 

I know others on board had neg reviews of the MDR but we really enjoyed our dinner there. Also enjoyed Tuscan for dinner and lunch, Q sine and the buffet.

[Husky61]

We ate in Blu a few times on the Equinox, and the food and service were excellent.:)

[OCruisers]

Thanks for the question and the replies.

We ... and feel sure many others ... were interested and in need of help with cruise dining plans. :)

[globevest]

We cruise regularly with Oceania and Celebrity.....enjoy both. We have found the ambience in Blu is very good and the food normally pretty good.

[El Crucero]

We are booked on the coastal cruise Sept 2017 cruise in Aqua. Yes Blu is very nice. We go with suites or aqua class. Both are very nice.

 

It looks like a lot of us on this thread will be on that itinerary. We are B2B to Alaska in Aqua. It can't come soon enough.

[goofysmom99]

I know this info is two years old, but in 2014, I took two 28-day B2Bs on the Constellation and the Reflection. Both times I had 2 weeks in Blu followed by 2 weeks in MDR with no change in chefs. Blu was way better on the Connie than Reflection, both in quality and service. But that said, the ingredients were actually the same in the MDR and Blu, just with different presentations (and lots of salt). After 2 months of X food (I knew the menus by heart), with another 2B on RCI, I swore off cruising for awhile. Definitely "cruise-fooded" out. It clarified for me that a round-the-world cruise is out of the question. ;) Three weeks is about my max before resorting to stir fry every night in the buffet, which BTW, is very good. Anyway, back in 2014, people were having the same discussion re Blu being better or worse than the MDR. I thought they were about the same.

[hcat]

I'd have to say we find BLU food less salty, cleaner and we usually have excellent service there...

 

Our recent experience on Infinity was not worth the extra charge....and we just stopped going there for dinner.

 

Hoping it was a one off and will be fine again..We' ll find out when we are back on Infinity.

[LuAnn]

and we found it to be the best ever! Great food and service...enjoyed my waiter with the "rolling eyes"...if he didn't like what I ordered he would roll his eyes...as "That's a NO"!!!! :p

 

We have sailed AQ since inception and on M & S class ships...we only book AQ to have Blu...as DH has a heart condition which means he can't use the spa...in reading the reviews perhaps the quality depends on the staff of the ship at the time? LuAnn

[Jim_Iain]

We always have traveled in Suites and now have Luminea as our main dining room. Prior to Luminea suites always ate in the main dining room.

 

Last week we tried Blu for the first time as one of the options that Suites now have on a space availability basis. I was very impressed the selection. The food was very good and the service was excellent.

[maggie.1008]

We have been in AQ and enjoyed Blu on M and S class. I have not been as impressed with Luminae as others have. After 2 Oceania cruises this year I must say no dining venue on X compares to Oceania. A foodies dream.

[mafig]

I was looking at an Oceania cruise also. In doing my research what turned me off was that there was a "problem" getting a table for two .... in the dining room but mostly in the specialties. This was for Regatta, the larger ships might be different.

 

Also it appeared you almost have to purchase a drink package. Even the die-hard Oceania cruisers admit that the price of cocktails and wine was very high, and that the pours were small. :o

 

After our last cruise on Celebrity (Reflection) I thought that was it. The dining room food was not good at all.

 

But now, I'm thinking of upgrading and giving a suite (and Luminae) a try. My dh (and to a lesser degree ...me) eat sensibly at home. Blu still means "healthy" to dh ... and he wants to "live it up" while on a cruise.

Edited November 26, 2016 by mafig

[TeaBag]

We were in Blu on Millennium this spring for about 30 days and found it as good as ever. Wish I were eating that French Toast now for breakfast.....

[maggie.1008]

No problem getting a table for 2 on Oceania`s 2 larger ships ( my favorite ) On our O cruise Nov. 2nd we had a $15. bill when leaving the ship. You can bring any liquor or wine onboard. $25. cover to bring a bottle of wine to dinner. We had a $600. OBC. Also they have Happy Hour everyday for half price drinks. 5 - 6pm in all bars. I think all of their cruises come with OBC.

[Angus0121]

We were on a Pacific Coast sailing in Sept. - Infinity, Aqua class.

Received superlative service from the sommelier and seating hostess in Blu.

The wait staff was attentive and the menu selection/food at both breakfast and dinner was excellent.

[Cruizen Susan]

We dined in Blu on the Equinox in March. We have decided that we'd rather save the $$$ and get a Concierge or standard balcony and get the UDP instead. It costs less and is better, IMHO. The ambience in Blu was nice and the food and service was good, but not nearly as good at the Specialty restaurants.

[TeaBag]

We dined in Blu on the Equinox in March. We have decided that we'd rather save the $$$ and get a Concierge or standard balcony and get the UDP instead. It costs less and is better' date=' IMHO. The ambience in Blu was nice and the food and service was good, but not nearly as good at the Specialty restaurants.[/quote']

I believe the UDP is disappearing with the new dining packages that have been announced.

[Cruizen Susan]

I believe the UDP is disappearing with the new dining packages that have been announced.

 

If so, that's ok, we'll just purchase a whole bunch of nights!! Doesn't have to be every single night! :)