Blu compared to specialty restaurants

[BuckeyeMan]

We haven't been on Celebrity now for 10 months, so things may have changed. We have always had an invitation to dine in a Specialty restaurant first night, 2 for 1, left in our AQ class cabin. hope you get one for your special night.

 

Nice. Thanks. Will be watching and hoping. Always nice to spoil the wife.

[Mynki]

There is no Walmart type beef served in any venue we have dined at on Celebrity since 1994.

 

The quality of the filet served in Tuscan is on par with any served in a 4+ star restaurant in Dallas, and we have a few :rolleyes: good ones. You 'ass-u-(not)me' wrong.

 

We must have been extremely unlucky with our steaks then because the beef was not the quality you describe. Adding insult to injury last time was the fact that my rare steak was very unevenly cooked as was a fellow diners. Still after feeding back to the staff at least we were not charged.

 

Why do Celebrity not serve quality Angus or Hereford, grass fed beef that's been aged for 21 to 28 days if they're wanting to serve a quality product? There's nothing outstanding about the beef in Tuscan. :(

[gowilk]

Stay in luminae, reduce the wait times in blu....sometimes rich people are just TOO damn insensitive.

[Fish Lover]

Nice. Thanks. Will be watching and hoping. Always nice to spoil the wife.

 

You don't have to hope. When you embark, usually a specialty dining person will come around and ask if you care to make reservations. Simply ask if there are any discounts available (especially for the first night). Very simple and very customary.

[Mynki]

You don't have to hope. When you embark, usually a specialty dining person will come around and ask if you care to make reservations. Simply ask if there are any discounts available (especially for the first night). Very simple and very customary.

 

When we embarked two weeks ago, we were approached by someone selling beverage packages whilst in a queue waiting to board the ship! We went on board three or four minutes later, grabbed a drink and were then approached by someone selling beverage packages. Then by two other people hawking extras including specialty dining! It was like trying to walk through a market in Mumbai or Bangkok!

 

For the rest of the cruise it was Qsine that was really pushing sales though.Big discounts were easy to score.

[Fish Lover]

When we embarked two weeks ago, we were approached by someone selling beverage packages whilst in a queue waiting to board the ship! We went on board three or four minutes later, grabbed a drink and were then approached by someone selling beverage packages. Then by two other people hawking extras including specialty dining! It was like trying to walk through a market in Mumbai or Bangkok!

 

For the rest of the cruise it was Qsine that was really pushing sales though.Big discounts were easy to score.

 

I have never experienced a "hard sell" on any Celebrity ship. Yes, you are occasionally asked the first day or two, but a simple "no thank you" is sufficient. And you will never be asked again by the same person. You are really misrepresenting the experience. The same I might add with regard to the steaks in Tuscan. You may indeed have had an off night, however, it really is wrong to disregard the quality of the meal in one broad brush stroke. Also, I have seen grass fed, thick, well marbled, beef filets in Walmart! Although I am not a fan of Walmart due to their hiring practices, I simply can't stand the implication that it is somehow insulting if one chooses to shop there just because they are low cost. I have found some of the best cuts of meat come from Costco.

[dkjretired]

I have never experienced a "hard sell" on any Celebrity ship. Yes, you are occasionally asked the first day or two, but a simple "no thank you" is sufficient. And you will never be asked again by the same person. You are really misrepresenting the experience. The same I might add with regard to the steaks in Tuscan. You may indeed have had an off night, however, it really is wrong to disregard the quality of the meal in one broad brush stroke. Also, I have seen grass fed, thick, well marbled, beef filets in Walmart! Although I am not a fan of Walmart due to their hiring practices, I simply can't stand the implication that it is somehow insulting if one chooses to shop there just because they are low cost. I have found some of the best cuts of meat come from Costco.

 

I agree about the hard sell, if you want hard sell go on NCL, unbelievable. I also agree about Walmart, we get excellent meats from them including steaks.

[Yesflygirl]

Does anyone have any experience knowing if the specialty restaurant deals have been offered recently on European sailings? I ask because I think something like this might vary between itineraries. I'm not certain, just wonder. If you did see deals on a European itinerary, any/all details (I.e., mon/year, restaurant, deal) you can provide are much appreciated.

 

 

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[Mynki]

Does anyone have any experience knowing if the specialty restaurant deals have been offered recently on European sailings? I ask because I think something like this might vary between itineraries. I'm not certain, just wonder. If you did see deals on a European itinerary, any/all details (I.e., mon/year, restaurant, deal) you can provide are much appreciated.

 

 

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There were many on our Baltic cruise back in July 2016. And an Asian cruise we sailed on in late 2015. It all depends on how many bookings they get, but two for one offers and meals discounted to $30 pp are pretty common.

 

 

More recently Qsine looked a little desperate last month as they were almost constantly trying to sell seats on our Caribbean cruise. Tuscan and Murano were far less visible and were both fairly busy on the nights we dined there.

[eatdrinkfly]

we really enjoyed Blu and it was our main driving factor in rebooking into Aqua class again...

 

actually, on our last cruise, we booked a specialty dinner for a birthday at Qsine and while the food was fun, we all really regretted not dining in Blu. Our regular staff at Blu knew it was a birthday and they actually all came over to wish her a happy birthday and we felt *so bad* that we weren't at our usual table.

 

 

So for the cruise next month, we really don't have any plans to dine anywhere else but Blu, as long as the staff are as great on the Equinox as they were on the Silhouette.

[dinosaurdem]

IMHO. Blu is excellent for breakfast. For dinner, it helps if you are fond of fish and small birds.

[Hlitner]

Does anyone have any experience knowing if the specialty restaurant deals have been offered recently on European sailings? I ask because I think something like this might vary between itineraries. I'm not certain, just wonder. If you did see deals on a European itinerary, any/all details (I.e., mon/year, restaurant, deal) you can provide are much appreciated.

 

 

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Getting "deals" in the various specialty restaurants is simply a matter of supply versus demand. If a particular restaurant is not booking well, then you will usually be able to "negotiate" some kind of deal (30 -50% off is pretty normal). On one of our European cruises (Silhouette) there were several large groups...and they took over Qsine a few nights. This meant that there was no discounting in that venue...because demand was filling the place on most nights. Good deals in Murano can also be hard to get...unless bookings are very soft. When we dine in Murano we try to befriend our waiter and ask if they have any discounts for future nights. This has often yielded positive results.

 

 

Hank

[keesar]

Getting "deals" in the various specialty restaurants is simply a matter of supply versus demand. If a particular restaurant is not booking well, then you will usually be able to "negotiate" some kind of deal (30 -50% off is pretty normal). On one of our European cruises (Silhouette) there were several large groups...and they took over Qsine a few nights. This meant that there was no discounting in that venue...because demand was filling the place on most nights. Good deals in Murano can also be hard to get...unless bookings are very soft. When we dine in Murano we try to befriend our waiter and ask if they have any discounts for future nights. This has often yielded positive results.

Hank

 

On one of our Caribbean cruises, there were two large groups. They were very active booking for several nights. There were no discounts to be had except the first night where there was a 20% for Aqua only. The laws of supply and demand.

[2theship]

On all but one cruise, the steak offered in Blu on the very first night was exceptional. I had read about it here on Cruise Critic and we've made a point to always dine in Blu the first night because of it. The one exception was last May when we were sailing from Venice and spent the first night in port. We asked the Maitre D' about it and he assured us that it would be available later in the cruise. He said something like "we'd have a revolt if we took that off the menu!"

 

The Blu cuisine is a bit healthier than the MDR. My problem with the specialty restaurants is that they seem to push you to consume so much food that I'm overwhelmed and overstuffed by the end of the meal. Also, dinners in Blu are prepared to order and some items are easily changed out. Of course, there are the usual everyday items but in addition you can always substitute certain things like a baked potato for the listed starch. Just ask.

[Lastdance]

We're in a Sky Suite so can dine in Luminae or Blu. We find Blu to be outstanding and go there more often than Luminae. We have a lot of OBC but don't use it on specialty dining. We like Blu a lot.

 

 

I also choose to eat in Blu many nights instead of Luminae. We eat early, so no one has to wait because of us. They treat us very well at both restaurants!

 

 

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[Softball20]

We book in Aqua, when the pricing makes sense, because we really like Blu. We do, however, still eat in one or two of the specialty restaurants during the course of the cruise, especially if it's a ten or 12 day sailing.

[Holly2]

Looking forward to trying next,onth but will also be joining friends inMDR.

Does anyone have recent blu menus? We are on two week Millennium cruise.

[springfire]

The food and service in Blu is very good. The steak was good but not great. We enjoyed trying the specialty restaurants on Celebrity and found the food to be even better. The food and service in the specialty restaurants was a step above. I feel the service you get in blu is very good, your waiter gets to know you but in the specialty restaurant they go all out and make it even a little better. The food in the specialty restaurant is very good but to be honest I feel I we get better food at restaurants at home but I do not get the excellent service that I had in Blu or the specialty restaurant. Of course this is just my opinion. I really enjoyed our Blu experience and if the price is within reason, I will attempt to sail Aqua again. Our next cruise is a transatlantic and the price of Aqua was way to high. We purchased a specialty dinning package to help make up for it. We will miss the service of Blu on this trip. Enjoy your cruise.

[mickey89]

Obviously it is our opinion but you just cannot compare Murano to Blu, it's like comparing chalk to cheese. The ambience, service and food quality of Murano well exceed that of Blu by a country mile.

The cost of an AQ cabin compared to say a 1A cabin can be significant, often more than $800/pp on a 14 night cruise. We always chose a 1A or 1B cabin and purchased the Ultimate Dining Package ($29/pp/pd), now it is even better with the 14 night specialty package costing just $24/pp/pd to dine in Murano.

[GordonJasmine]

We love Aqua Spa cabins and always choose them. On our last 14 day cruise we only missed one dinner in Blu, because of a late excursion. We have always wondered what delicious meal we missed there. :-(

[Fish Lover]

Obviously it is our opinion but you just cannot compare Murano to Blu, it's like comparing chalk to cheese. The ambience, service and food quality of Murano well exceed that of Blu by a country mile.

The cost of an AQ cabin compared to say a 1A cabin can be significant, often more than $800/pp on a 14 night cruise. We always chose a 1A or 1B cabin and purchased the Ultimate Dining Package ($29/pp/pd), now it is even better with the 14 night specialty package costing just $24/pp/pd to dine in Murano.

 

 

Your comments clearly depend upon which ship your are speaking about. Also, the Ultimate dining package has been discontinued, although it has been replaced with other packages.

[mickey89]

........ Also, the Ultimate dining package has been discontinued, although it has been replaced with other packages.

 

Exactly, that's why I said 'in the past tense'. The new deal replacing the UDP is much better for us saving $140 on a two week cruise. My comments are applicable which ever Celebrity ship you choose.

[Holly2]

Except no Murano on Millennium:(

[Cruizen Susan]

We tried Aqua/Blu last March on the Equionox. Love the more intimate atmosphere, and the food was fine but disappointing. Service was very good. We now prefer Concierge, with a specialty dining package. The food is outstanding and the price is similar. Just my opinion, many love Blu!

[Fish Lover]

Exactly, that's why I said 'in the past tense'. The new deal replacing the UDP is much better for us saving $140 on a two week cruise. My comments are applicable which ever Celebrity ship you choose.

 

 

Actually they are not. Murano doesn't exist on the Summit.\ and a couple others. Further, I absolutely take exception to your comparison. Blu is generally very good and the menu is varied. Murano is also very good, but I certainly wouldn't want to eat there more than once.