Luminae-is it worth it

[GottaRequalify]

I have been in one cruise on the Celebrity Solstice and we had access to Luminae. It was well worth it, as when were eating there, we just turned up, no reservations required. 90+% of the time we even got the same table and waiters.

 

It made it much more relaxing to just head down when we were ready, and not panic to get everyone ready by 6pm.

 

My experience with Gluten Free Food was the opposite to the other poster - they handled it extremely well. When we knew we were going to eat in Luminae the next night we asked for that menu and they took our order then. Or we turned up at lunch time to place the order, nothing was too much trouble.

 

For drinks, the package covered wine by the glass, they left the bottle on the table and then kept on refilling the glass from it.

 

It was great after the first day, to not have to show you sea pass, after the first day, as soon as we walked in the Matr'd was grabbing the menus and was ready to walk us to our table.

[B x]

As an earlier posted said, you will get conflicting opinions.

 

I base my comment on having used Luminae on several different ships and will be doing so again on Reflection the end of May. It has never disappointed with regard to food and quality (and I am a serious foodie working in the industry) both in the evening, breakfast and lunch on sea days. But even putting that aside, the calmer more intimate atmosphere coupled with first class staff at every level it has to be worth it in my view.

[eileenover]

Has anyone dined in Luminae in Reflection and another S class ship? We were on Reflection in the fall and the service was excellent although a little slow and it was crowded. We’re on Equinox next week and was wondering if it’ll be less crowded with half the suites?

 

We've been in a CS on Silhouette twice and a SS on Reflection once ----as well as sailing on the connie twice.

Both of us loved Luminae every time. Yes, we ate in other restaurants once in a while ----but Luminae worked for us!

Michael's Club: the success of this venue depends so much on the concierge! If he/she is proactive in advertising intimate musical events and so on, the suite guests (and Zeniths, Charles!) flock in to enliven the club.

 

Like so many, we don't have £££ $$$ to splash out ----we save hard for something special!

 

So, I would advise you to try a suite ----and if it doesn't work out.... well, 'Tomorrow's another day'.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

We usually book a Sky Suite. Originally it was for the additional space. Closet and drawer space, specifically. With the addition of Luminae, that decision became a bonus. The food is very good. They’ll create a dish for you , upon request, if desired, and the quiet atmosphere is a huge plus for us. If price isn’t your deciding factor, then book the Sky Suite.

 

 

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The other great thing about Luminae is that with 24 hour notice you can have anything you want to eat if the ingredient is on board the ship.

 

I was not aware of this! So... I can ask for Prime Rib each evening... or, for example, Gravlaks or Steak Tartare for an appetizer with ample notice?

 

I've picked up the 4-night specialty dining package for our June Equinox sailing, as we've typically found the selections in Luminae just so-so. Otherwise, we dine in specialty restaurants each night on all cruises for the past several years - having given up on the MDR experience.

 

Tom

[Karynanne]

I was not aware of this! So... I can ask for Prime Rib each evening... or, for example, Gravlaks or Steak Tartare for an appetizer with ample notice?

 

 

 

I've picked up the 4-night specialty dining package for our June Equinox sailing, as we've typically found the selections in Luminae just so-so. Otherwise, we dine in specialty restaurants each night on all cruises for the past several years - having given up on the MDR experience.

 

 

 

Tom

 

 

 

I highly doubt you could ask for Prime Rib every evening, but we always ask for grilled vegetables or a particular soup we enjoy. We ask a day or two in advance, and they are always so accommodating. A nice, special touch.

 

And we always fill out an “Attention to Detail” card, and mention how a specific waiter or attendant went Anita did beyond to make our cruise outstanding.

 

 

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[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I highly doubt you could ask for Prime Rib every evening, but we always ask for grilled vegetables or a particular soup we enjoy. We ask a day or two in advance, and they are always so accommodating. A nice, special touch.

 

And we always fill out an “Attention to Detail” card, and mention how a specific waiter or attendant went Anita did beyond to make our cruise outstanding.

 

 

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Yep - I figured the Prime Rib was a reach. Guess I'm spoiled owing to the Haven menu on the Escape last month. It was the same menu each night, but Prime Rib was an option. Having said that, we might have only dined in there for dinner once. So many other restaurant choices!

 

Tom

[George C]

The cabin itself would draw me more than luminee, the space is fabulous

 

 

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We had a sky suite on summit and was not impressed by cabin at all, we wanted a celebrity suite and they were sold out. However we were very impressed by Michaels and Luminee , service was just great in both, my only complaint is the very small menu but you can order off mdr menu also. We looked at all the menus each day and if we did not like menu in luminee or mdr we would just go to specialty restaurant .

[Covepointcruiser]

Just know that eating in the MDR can be a crap shoot. It may be ok, but on our last 3 cruises, it was unacceptable. We ate in the OVC, for 11 our of 14 nights, where fish and steaks were grilled to order and it was absolutely delicious.

 

In your “goodbye the Celebrity” posting you definitely said the food was inedible in both the MDR and OVC. Have you changed your mind about the food?

[Covepointcruiser]

We had a sky suite on summit and was not impressed by cabin at all, we wanted a celebrity suite and they were sold out. However we were very impressed by Michaels and Luminee , service was just great in both, my only complaint is the very small menu but you can order off mdr menu also. We looked at all the menus each day and if we did not like menu in luminee or mdr we would just go to specialty restaurant .

Sky Suites are not actually Suites but are larger cabins. The Junior Suites on Royal May even be larger than Sky Suites but they don’t receive Suite benefits. The big plus of a Sky Suites is you pay a little more but get all of the Celebrity Suite benefits, Luminae and Michaels Club included.

[KW Cruisers]

Originally when we started sailing with Celebrity, we always booked Aqua Class because we loved Blu. Once Luminae was introduced, we started booking suites as we really enjoyed the experience (especially on the Summit, Constellation, Solstice), however on our last Celebrity cruise we were in a RS on Reflection. I would not pay the extra money for a suite on Reflection again...we had to wait an hour for a table (on more than one occasion) due to the increased number of Sky suites on board. For the difference in money, I would suggest Aqua (especially if on Reflection). It is of course much nicer to have a larger suite, but I don't find the food to be that much better than in Blu, and I especially don't want to wait so long when I've booked a top suite and paid so much more. If I've only paid for Aqua, I can stomach the wait for Blu (if needed) with greater ease.

 

On our next Celebrity cruise, I have gone back to Aqua in an A1 (partially because I want an AFT facing view for our Asia cruise from Singapore on the Millennium), and I don't think we'll (or at least I hope we won't) miss Luminae at all.

 

Shawn

[jagoffee]

In your “goodbye the Celebrity” posting you definitely said the food was inedible in both the MDR and OVC. Have you changed your mind about the food?

I suggest you cut her some slack. I suspect she listen to some of the feedback and rephrased her assessment. Unacceptable is a much better description.

[George C]

Sky Suites are not actually Suites but are larger cabins. The Junior Suites on Royal May even be larger than Sky Suites but they don’t receive Suite benefits. The big plus of a Sky Suites is you pay a little more but get all of the Celebrity Suite benefits, Luminae and Michaels Club included.

 

Yes we normally do grand suite which is smallest with suite perks and junior suite is larger than summit sky, another point is grand suites are almost same size on all ships, my only other sky suite was solictice sky which was much larger

[TeeRick]

Yes we normally do grand suite which is smallest with suite perks and junior suite is larger than summit sky, another point is grand suites are almost same size on all ships, my only other sky suite was solictice sky which was much larger

 

We have done both types JS and SS as well as GS and CS. The size of the Junior suite or Sky suite (S1 or S2) is different depending sometimes on the ship, location on the ship, and category. The S1 Sky Suites on Celebrity S-Class on the aft corners or on the humps are very nice with larger balconies. Any Sky suite gets you all of the suite perks on most sailings on Celebrity ships and full access to Luminae. Any Junior suite on RCCL is pretty much just a larger cabin with no additional perks except you can dine in Coastal Kitchen for dinner-only on those ships that have one. We have found CK to be very good but nowhere near as good as Luminae.

[Champagne Cruiser]

We just returned from the Eclipse TA 15 nights in a Suite and then a 10 day in a Veranda. We are big fans of AQ. We love the Blu cuisine. I know food is subjective. We decided to try a Sky Suite and experience Luminae and Michaels Club. We loved Michaels Club. Everyone from the MC Manuella to the servers and bartenders were so accommodating. Although we liked the ambience and service in Luminae, we thought the menu was limited and not as creative as Blu. We ate off the MDR menu a number of times (DH more than myself). I know we could have dined in Blu but wanted to give Luminae a good chance. There was one waiter who when he was our breakfast server we waited for the menus, our order to be taken and were there 30 minutes before our food arrived. As a result we rarely ate breakfast there. Even on disembarkation when they want you out quickly I finally waved my menu in the air and spoke up and we were not the last ones in by a long shot but we were the last ones to place our order. Our conclusion is the Sky Suite was worth the expense on a TA for the extra room and Michaels Club. On shorter cruises we will stick with AQ.

Edited May 14, 2018 by Champagne Cruiser

[GIZMO81]

My take. If you purchase an 11 night dining package and a premium drink package and your ok with a C-1 Cabin. Plus you pay full price minus daily offers on spa treatments. Staying away from any suite will save you money. If. The service is something you are flexible and realistic. My two cents.

Also the Edge will now have 4 MDR’s that will make things cozier,quieter,hopefully improve service and give specialized options available in each. So more room for opinions and debate. My additional two cents. ;)

[critterchick]

We have had Sky Suites twice on Solstice and once on Eclipse. Last year on Solstice, we only had dinner in Luminae twice in 9 nights - both time it was crowded and service was beyond unhurried to downright slow. The food was just ok, not worth a 2 hour experience, though. We ended up going to Blu, which we really enjoyed, or a specialty restaurant for the other nights. We are just off her Friday and found the food to be much better. It was still crowded, but the staff seemed to have a better rhythm and we only had one night where everything seemed really slow. DH ordered off the MDR several nights; I only had an appetizer or two, and then relied on the waiters' suggestions.

 

On Eclipse in March, we had a fabulous experience in Luminae. We did have a 4 meal package and one dinner in Qsine on top of that, but otherwise had dinner in Luminae every night, along with breakfast every morning.

 

As for Michael's Club, I'm not a fan of it on the Solstice class. It's dark and clubby all the time, and I prefer to look out at the ocean when it's light out (sometimes at night, too). With a premium package included, there was no particular reason to go there. On Millennium class, it has proper windows and is a much nicer-looking space. But we haven't sailed in a suite on that class. And I've never found anything for the concierge to do for me that my butler can't. And much of what the butler does, I can do myself, but it's nice to be pampered!

 

Suite prices have gone up so much with the Go Best package that for me the price difference between a suite and AQ is only worth it for a special occasion. But if I win the lottery, I will be more likely to splurge!