Luminae

[midwestchick]

20 minutes ago, CocoCronut said:

I haven’t seen their menu on the tv previously (maybe didn’t know where to look) but you can (or used to be able to pre-covid) request a copy of the luminae menus for the entire cruise to be placed in your suite - this allows you to plan a bit better around the days you want to eat there and the days you’d prefer a speciality.

Thanks. I didn’t know we could do that. Wonder if Blu has the menu set up like that too.  It’s been a few years since we sailed in Aqua. Our last Celebrity cruise was in 2018.

[CocoCronut]

29 minutes ago, midwestchick said:

Thanks. I didn’t know we could do that. Wonder if Blu has the menu set up like that too.  It’s been a few years since we sailed in Aqua. Our last Celebrity cruise was in 2018.

Yea it’s handy being able to see in advance, I usually passed the request on when the concierge call came in prior to the cruise, and if when I arrived on ship they’d forgotten I’d just ask the butler and it was never an issue. 
Not sure if blu does the same, but I’d be interested to know, as aqua is a category on the S class ships that I like also! ⭐️

[midwestchick]

21 minutes ago, CocoCronut said:

Yea it’s handy being able to see in advance, I usually passed the request on when the concierge call came in prior to the cruise, and if when I arrived on ship they’d forgotten I’d just ask the butler and it was never an issue. 
Not sure if blu does the same, but I’d be interested to know, as aqua is a category on the S class ships that I like also! ⭐️

I’ve read Edge missed the boat on Aqua and it’s very loud.  That’s why we book Aqua because the MDR is loud on S and M class ships. Granted, Aqua is a little larger in S class ships. 

[mk960072]

On 6/5/2021 at 2:45 PM, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

Do they charge for specialty restaurants if you are a suite guest?

we are in a sky suite and have to pay to eat at speciality rest.

[Sam.Seattle]

2 hours ago, mk960072 said:

we are in a sky suite and have to pay to eat at speciality rest.

The suites that include specialty restaurants are:

Royal, Penthouse, Villa & Iconic.

[C-Dragons]

10 hours ago, midwestchick said:

Thank you but what are the dining hours please. 

See post # 32.

[CruisersTimesThree]

52 minutes ago, Sam.Seattle said:

The suites that include specialty restaurants are:

Royal, Penthouse, Villa & Iconic.

The Reflection Suite and Signature Suites also include unlimited speciality dining

[TeeRick]

5 hours ago, midwestchick said:

I’ve read Edge missed the boat on Aqua and it’s very loud.  That’s why we book Aqua because the MDR is loud on S and M class ships. Granted, Aqua is a little larger in S class ships. 

Actually we found Luminae to be very loud at peak times as well on EDGE.

[George C]

36 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Actually we found Luminae to be very loud at peak times as well on EDGE.

I found Luminae loud every day on the Edge 

[TeeRick]

7 minutes ago, George C said:

I found Luminae loud every day on the Edge 

Yes I think poor design.  It is a large open space.  They need to put up a few partitions between some tables I think.

[swjumbo]

Do we have to book a set time for dinner in Luminae or can we just turn up?

[George C]

2 minutes ago, swjumbo said:

Do we have to book a set time for dinner in Luminae or can we just turn up?

No reservations just show up , we normally go about 8:30 and can get a table in a few minutes l early times looked a little more crowded.

[morpheusofthesea]

Just got off Edge July 3rd sailing. Daniel Bouland's Morrocan chicken tagine was the mainstay every night. They did repeat a couple of entrees the following evening like lamb loin. We ate every meal in Luminae and requested the same waiter and table breakfast, lunch and dinner. As long as it is not by the window and one comes early for dinner (6pm) they are pleased to accommodate. The Retreat was fully booked, except for one cabin, which meant that lobster night was a real wait for a table. In anticipation the Luminae opened at 5:30 pm for dinner. The maitre d' Marco was great, a seasoned professional accommodating everyone. He told us he normally has 140 guests for dinner in the Luminae , but on lobster night 270 Retreat guests showed up. There was never any wait at any of the other restaurants on board any night. (only 50% sold this cruise). The Cypress restaurant offered Greek specialties, the lamb shank stuck out to me and it is a complimentary specialty restaurant, which stuck out to me even more. The dessert selection was rather meager, generally only 2 to choose from, but that did not matter. We took a short stroll over to the Oceanview Cafe (buffet) and we had different multitudes of desserts in a clean, no lines, no self service venue. We have never eaten in a buffet for 30 years, but the mandatory hand washing troughs at the entrance, the masked and gloved servers, the immediately cleaned tables opened up a new culinary world for us on Celebrity.

[HMR74]

Quisine would be my choice for a one time only experience. For the show but the food was upscale.

 

If you like the menu selection in Blu for a specific evening, its good,

 

Blu I think opens at 6:30 AM or 7  for breakfast, however, like others, if we are going on a shore excursion, or just tired in the AM, we get in cabin service (or on Balcony service) . If Blu can handle it capacity wise, they will take suite guests.

 

We usually get cabin  service in late  PM for a shrmp cocktail or two. And we generally go to dinner late (have a drink listening to music  before dinner) as it's more relaxed  and less rushed IMO, and the 9:30 closing time? They never rush us however, we do not take too much advantage of it. eg, you should know when it's time to leave.

 

I stopped by here to see if during the down time things changed in Luminae?

 

 

 

[sherylc]

Has anyone had any trouble getting items off the MDR menu while dining in Luminae ? Our group has some "picky eaters" and some who would love any item on any menu.  Quite willing to give advanced notice to waiter of what we want for the next evening, but hate to miss out on the benefits of our first "suite experience". 

[HMR74]

15 minutes ago, sherylc said:

Has anyone had any trouble getting items off the MDR menu while dining in Luminae ? Our group has some "picky eaters" and some who would love any item on any menu.  Quite willing to give advanced notice to waiter of what we want for the next evening, but hate to miss out on the benefits of our first "suite experience". 

I learned early on that if they can accomdate they will, from anything  from the bread basket to getting french onion soup everynight (someone we met and dined next to early in the cruise was getting FO soup each night and he said, "all you have to do is ask".

 

I switched off drinks between wine and hard liqour, and in jest the waitstaff around the 6th night brought both to the table just after we sat down.

[cangelmd]

19 minutes ago, sherylc said:

Has anyone had any trouble getting items off the MDR menu while dining in Luminae ? Our group has some "picky eaters" and some who would love any item on any menu.  Quite willing to give advanced notice to waiter of what we want for the next evening, but hate to miss out on the benefits of our first "suite experience". 

No, they have always been happy to accommodate.

 I have found that Luminae entrees tend to not come with enough veggies for my taste (cruise ship vegetarian options tend to be pasta heavy, so going vegetarian for a night or two doesn’t satisfy my craving), so I would order the Bibb lettuce salad almost every night. 
I have read that some people have had particular items they ordered often, brought without ordering, but I haven’t tried that. Speak to the waiter or maitre d the first evening, and they try to accommodate.

If you are sailing in the next few weeks, be patient, it sounds like the kinks are being worked out and the suites may be busier than other areas of the ship.

[miched]

On 6/23/2021 at 10:34 PM, Kevinwinston2019 said:

Would Celebrity consider Laminae as a specialty restaurant and pay the upcharge?

if you really want to dine in Luminae you  can always pay the upcharge to a suite if they are still available or do it on a Move Up.   It is limited to suites or their guests as others have posted.

 

Personally if you could pay a uncharge for one night  it would still be better  to purchase a specialty restaurant as the service and food is much better if you are looking for a one night dining experience

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🌅🇺🇸

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

We have a tendency to sail on B2B's or longer and find the menu to get a bit boring after multiple weeks of the same menu.   We mix it up combining with Specialty Restaurants,  Blu and even the Main Dining room.    We always check with the restaurant managers about availability so we don't affect people assigned to those dining rooms.    The Luminae often offers us something special as a consecutive guest and even order from the Children's  Menu (available in all dining rooms) to change things up.  Their petite filet is the perfect size for us.

 

We also usually don't go to dinner until 9:00 PM so except for Med Cruises the dining rooms are usually very empty and welcome us with open arms. 

 

[HMR74]

11 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

We have a tendency to sail on B2B's or longer and find the menu to get a bit boring after multiple weeks of the same menu.   We mix it up combining with Specialty Restaurants,  Blu and even the Main Dining room.    We always check with the restaurant managers about availability so we don't affect people assigned to those dining rooms.    The Luminae often offers us something special as a consecutive guest and even order from the Children's  Menu (available in all dining rooms) to change things up.  Their petite filet is the perfect size for us.

 

We also usually don't go to dinner until 9:00 PM so except for Med Cruises the dining rooms are usually very empty and welcome us with open arms. 

 

Jim:

how is the Mac and Cheese off the kids menu?

 

Seriously good to see you posting. When  the Singapore Nov 2019 cruises were canned I noticed you had disappeared early and was wondering if you were ok.

[floatplan]

43 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

We have a tendency to sail on B2B's or longer and find the menu to get a bit boring

 

Anyone sailing B2B on Edge know if Luminae is serving the same 7 day menu every cruise? 

 

They have 14 days of menus so I was hoping Eastern/Western would alternate 1-7 and 8-14 for B2B variety.

[bigbenboys]

On 6/6/2021 at 9:46 AM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Do the same hours apply for breakfast in your room?  I’ve never sailed in a suite with Celebrity before, but our friend did and she said her butler brought her breakfast every day.

We have the butler bring us coffee and a fruit plate and 2 croissant about 7am. Then have a 2nd breakfast in Luminae about 8:30am. Room croissant are smaller, Luminae has very large croissant.

[midwestchick]

On 7/11/2021 at 12:03 PM, morpheusofthesea said:

Just got off Edge July 3rd sailing. Daniel Bouland's Morrocan chicken tagine was the mainstay. The Cypress restaurant offered Greek specialties, the lamb shank stuck out to me and it is a complimentary specialty restaurant, which stuck out to me even more. The dessert selection was rather meager, generally only 2 to choose from, but that did not matter. We took a short stroll over to the Oceanview Cafe (buffet) and we had different multitudes of desserts in a clean, no lines, no self service venue. We have never eaten in a buffet for 30 years, but the mandatory hand washing troughs at the entrance, the masked and gloved servers, the immediately cleaned tables opened up a new culinary world for us on Celebrity.

Is there any way to see Cypress menu online?  
 

[midwestchick]

5 hours ago, miched said:

if you really want to dine in Luminae you  can always pay the upcharge to a suite if they are still available or do it on a Move Up.   It is limited to suites or their guests as others have posted.

 

Personally if you could pay a uncharge for one night  it would still be better  to purchase a specialty restaurant as the service and food is much better if you are looking for a one night dining experience

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🌅🇺🇸

 

 

Lol….”Land of ice, snow and potholes”.  You wouldn't happen to be from Illinois, would you? 

[HMR74]

Seriously, about the cutting corners on food. Food prices are going thru the roof. There is only so much more money that can be taken out of the MDR even with the numbers that dine there, vs specialty and Blu and Luminae.

 

Plenty of waste in Buffet (athough our last cruise was over Thanksgiving and my wife and I had to laugh how many days Turkey and sidings were repurposed.

 

I would not mind a really high quality homemade type style  Turkey Pot pie on board. .