Blu vs Luminae?

[Bootman4U]

When we were in Luminae last and you wanted something from ANYWHERE they sent somebody there to get it.

[Alakegirl]

Which ship?  When?

[4774Papa]

We have had one cruise in AQ and one in a suite.

I would rate Luminae higher than BLU.

 

Here is how I would rate them along with the MDR

 

Luminae 9.0

BLU         7.5

MDR       6.5

[Mr Miserable]

Luminae was set up for suite passengers. The long queue for Luminae on the Edge was a joy to behold. It obviously annoyed the suite guests and so they started overflowing to Blu.  Once they sampled the menu in Blu they stopped eating in Luminae which has a pretty limited menu anyway and decamped to Blu.  Now, we as AQ guests, ended up queuing for Blu because of all the suite guests were escaping Luminae.  Not happy.  Buxxxer off back to Luminae! Shoo!

[Cruise a holic]

20 minutes ago, Mr Miserable said:

Luminae was set up for suite passengers. The long queue for Luminae on the Edge was a joy to behold. It obviously annoyed the suite guests and so they started overflowing to Blu.  Once they sampled the menu in Blu they stopped eating in Luminae which has a pretty limited menu anyway and decamped to Blu.  Now, we as AQ guests, ended up queuing for Blu because of all the suite guests were escaping Luminae.  Not happy.  Buxxxer off back to Luminae! Shoo!

I do not enjoy blu.  Even when we were AQ, we dined almost exclusively in specialty restaurants didn't enjoy sitting next to window, with other people directly next to us- perhaps one foot between tables. some would chime into our private conversations.   By the time our first AQ cruise was finished, I felt like throwing the hummas and carrots on the floor.  Enough with the same old same old.  I now typically sail in a suite and do not recall any suite guests running to dine in blu.    If it is your first cruise- yes blu seems good- however after a couple of times enough already.  This is my opinion and others might disagree.   

Edited July 30, 2019 by Cruise a holic

[lolane1]

26 minutes ago, Mr Miserable said:

Luminae was set up for suite passengers. The long queue for Luminae on the Edge was a joy to behold. It obviously annoyed the suite guests and so they started overflowing to Blu.  Once they sampled the menu in Blu they stopped eating in Luminae which has a pretty limited menu anyway and decamped to Blu.  Now, we as AQ guests, ended up queuing for Blu because of all the suite guests were escaping Luminae.  Not happy.  Buxxxer off back to Luminae! Shoo!

You made me laugh out loud!

[bigbenboys]

5 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

Only exception is on the Edge- the kitchens aren't near each other- when were on the Edge last Dec/Jan we couldn't order from the MDR menu.  However, I heard now you can.  Will find out on our March Edge cruise.

We were on the Edge last March and they had just added the every evening items to Luminae. I had not heard that you can now get items from the MDR in Luminae. This is great news. Or is this a one off like getting MDR items in Blu. The Edge still needs a lot more changes before I would go back.

[cruisestitch]

Probably a one off.  I don’t think they intend to duplicate all the dining room items in Luminae every night.  On edge Luminae is so far from the MDR that getting items from there is probably not an option so they would have to be made in the Luminae galley.

Edited July 31, 2019 by cruisestitch

[true45]

Does anyone know what the fee for Luminae is for guest of the Suite guest?

 

thanks 

[vtcruising]

7 minutes ago, true45 said:

Does anyone know what the fee for Luminae is for guest of the Suite guest?

 

thanks 

From the Suite FAQs (the last time we brought a guest for lunch and dinner, these were the fees we paid).

 

"Can Suite Class guests bring traveling companions in a non-suite stateroom to the Suite Class exclusive restaurant so then can dine together?

 

Yes, based on availability, Suite Class guests can invite non-suite guests to dine with them in Luminae with reservation and for a fee.  The fee per non-suite guest will be $10 for breakfast, $20 for lunch, $30 for dinner.  These fees are waived for invited non-suite guests 12 years of age and under.  Suite Class guests can also request to dine together with their non-suite guests in the Main restaurant at no additional charge by visiting with the Maitre d’ on embarkation day."

Edited October 8, 2019 by vtcruising

[Xport]

On Edge, Luminae now offers the same array of “always available“ MDR items as are also offered in Blu...  Luminae on Edge does not offer access to the full MDR menu...

[Ozzmund]

Our experiences on S class ships follows.

We usually book AQ and enjoy Blu.

Our last cruise was in a Sky Suite and we really enjoyed Luminae. The advantage of having access to the entire MDR menus is a plus.

I agree with previous posters that I would not book a suite just for Luminae, but it is a nice perk.

[rollie]

We did a b2b cruise on the Equinox this past winter.  On the first leg we had a suite, and the second leg had an aqua class cabin. Overall we liked Luminea better than Blu.  It appeared to us that there was less crowding in Luminea, servers and mater d knew us by name, and were very helpful fulfilling all our needs.  Just my opinion, but we did enjoy the lobster more in Blu.  Both restaurants were a lot better than the MDR. Our next cruise will be in aqua class, as suite class has been priced out of our reach.

 

Rollie

 

[Cruise a holic]

9 hours ago, Xport said:

On Edge, Luminae now offers the same array of “always available“ MDR items as are also offered in Blu...  Luminae on Edge does not offer access to the full MDR menu...

Thanks a great improvement.  When we were on the Edge, we were advised that Lumanie was too far from the MDR and we couldn't order anything from it.  We will be on the Edge again in March and look forward to a second Edge cruise!

[vtcruising]

16 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

Thanks a great improvement.  When we were on the Edge, we were advised that Lumanie was too far from the MDR and we couldn't order anything from it.  We will be on the Edge again in March and look forward to a second Edge cruise!

They started serving the everyday MDR items in Luminae on the Edge on our Jan 20 cruise. It was nice to have the option for Caesar Salad, Shrimp Cocktail, French Onion Soup, Escargots, Grilled Chicken, Broiled Salmon, Grilled Sirloin, Chocolate Cake, Cheese Cake and Creme Brulee.  Though we did stick to the Luminae menu most of the time (my DH had the chocolate cake when they didn't have a chocolate dessert on the menu), we dined with someone who took advantage of things like Caesar Salad, escargot, salmon and creme brulee during the cruise.

Edited October 9, 2019 by vtcruising

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I've sailed in both classes and prefer Luminae.  They used to have tableside muesli in Blu which was fabulous and a reason to have breakfast there instead of Luminae, but that is long gone.

[Reba 954]

Its funny how everyone is different.  Our last cruise was in a suite and we MUCH preferred Blu over Luminae.  We had no trouble at all eating there every night.  The only issue was the Maitre'D from Luminae kept calling to ask why we weren't coming there for dinner....lol.  They keep track of where you eat.

[Phxazzcruisers]

We always travel in a suite and definitely prefer Luminae, although before Luminae came into existence, we also really enjoyed Blu.  The only exception to this was on Edge.  Luminae is so large, it is almost as noisy as the MDR.  Even though we were in a Suite, we ate in Blu every night, as the ambiance was much much better than Luminae and the food was very good

[George C]

Food and service in luminae is really great , our next cruise we will be in a royal suite so we can eat in any specialty for free, but will most likely eat most dinners in luminae . 

[39august]

We just sailed Equinox in our first suite and the whole experience in Luminae was just fantastic, The service, the food, the ambiance, the tables far enough apart for a private conversation, the decor and the softer music made us enjoy Luminae much more than we enjoyed Blu on a previous cruise. Also, we asked for extra vegetables and some other special requests which were taken care of every time.  

[johhnnyt]

On 7/29/2019 at 5:07 PM, tkline said:

So if I'm not mistaken, you can only dine at Luminae if you are in a suite, and you can only dine in Blu if you are Aqua class? Or can you eat at either one, for an additional fee?

 

Has anyone tried the food in both, and if so how would you compare them? Did you find one tastier than the other?

 

We had a sky suite for our Alaska cruise and loved the Luminae, but kinda curious to see what Blu might be like.

Have eaten in both and always found luminae better in quality and service. Blu is a more intimate space, but found the food pretty much same as MDR just with more emphasis on the healthier options and smaller, and as someone had mentioned you can order anything from the MDR in luminae, not true in Blu

Edited October 9, 2019 by johhnnyt