Premium Dining on Celebrity Apex

[cmb93x]

Hey all,

I’ll be traveling on the Celebrity Apex shortly. We recently got upgraded to the aquaclass and have access to the “Blu” restaurant. My question is - is it worth it to pay extra for any premium dining on aquaclass? 

 

I was looking forward to having good steak at the fine cut steakhouse but I’ve seen quite a few folks say that regular dining had better or equal steak. I’m a pretty basic eater and Eden and La Petit Chef didn’t really strike too much interest. 

 

So really just deciding if the rooftop garden or finecut steak house is worth it for a good cut of steak.

Edited December 29, 2021 by cmb93x

[swsf99a]

We were on the Apex in November in Aquaclass. Blu is very good ,great service but we still did Eden and Le Petite Chef….others talked how good the Fine Cut steakhouse was. You should do at least one of the Specialty restaurants. (My opinion)

 

[dkjretired]

FYI, you do not just have access to Blu, it is your assigned dining room, Celebrity has always worded that very poorly. Also, Blu has a steak available every night.  They also usually during the cruise do a very nice Filet Mignon.

 

[George C]

21 minutes ago, swsf99a said:

We were on the Apex in November in Aquaclass. Blu is very good ,great service but we still did Eden and Le Petite Chef….others talked how good the Fine Cut steakhouse was. You should do at least one of the Specialty restaurants. (My opinion)

 

We book suites and love suite restaurants but it also nice to try a specialty we really enjoyed the unique Le Petit Chef.

[wallyh4184]

Beware if you go to the Fine Cut Steakhouse and are seated anywhere near the Martini Bar the noise and bright lights from the show really ruined our dinner.  The service staff apparently get a lot of complaints about that issue and were very apologetic.  We had 13 for dinner that night and were seated along the railing above the Marini Bar.

[CruiseRQA]

1 hour ago, cmb93x said:

Hey all,

I’ll be traveling on the Celebrity Apex shortly. We recently got upgraded to the aquaclass and have access to the “Blu” restaurant. My question is - is it worth it to pay extra for any premium dining on aquaclass? 

 

I was looking forward to having good steak at the fine cut steakhouse but I’ve seen quite a few folks say that regular dining had better or equal steak. I’m a pretty basic eater and Eden and La Petit Chef didn’t really strike too much interest. 

 

So really just deciding if the rooftop garden or finecut steak house is worth it for a good cut of steak.

I would suggest lunching at the premium restaurants and take your dinners in Blu.   The Blu waitstaff is fabulous and the food very good.   Fine Cut does not provide the same quality of steak that a good steak house on land provides and so I would not have dinner there.    Le Petit Chef is very good - we lunched there twice on Edge two years ago.    We plan to try out Eden on our upcoming Apex cruise - previously we had heard the experience was a bit "weird" but recent reviews suggest they have changed it up a bit and perhaps is the best dining experience on board.  

[cmb93x]

16 minutes ago, CruiseRQA said:

I would suggest lunching at the premium restaurants and take your dinners in Blu.   The Blu waitstaff is fabulous and the food very good.   Fine Cut does not provide the same quality of steak that a good steak house on land provides and so I would not have dinner there.    Le Petit Chef is very good - we lunched there twice on Edge two years ago.    We plan to try out Eden on our upcoming Apex cruise - previously we had heard the experience was a bit "weird" but recent reviews suggest they have changed it up a bit and perhaps is the best dining experience on board.  

Interesting, haven’t even thought about doing this but I like the idea. I assume portion sizes are smaller (and cheaper) for lunch?

[George C]

50 minutes ago, wallyh4184 said:

Beware if you go to the Fine Cut Steakhouse and are seated anywhere near the Martini Bar the noise and bright lights from the show really ruined our dinner.  The service staff apparently get a lot of complaints about that issue and were very apologetic.  We had 13 for dinner that night and were seated along the railing above the Marini Bar.

We liked seating by the martini bar since we really enjoyed the music group that was playing.

[keesar]

30 minutes ago, cmb93x said:

Interesting, haven’t even thought about doing this but I like the idea. I assume portion sizes are smaller (and cheaper) for lunch?

 

Prices are less for lunch  and the menu is limited.  You may have 3 or 4 choices per course.  Portions are adequate.  I would consider this option.

[SNJCruisers]

34 minutes ago, cmb93x said:

Interesting, haven’t even thought about doing this but I like the idea. I assume portion sizes are smaller (and cheaper) for lunch?

I would go with Bistro on Five for their three course lunch for $20.00.  Also, Eden on the Apex is different than Eden on the Edge.  Check out the article below.

 

https://thepointsguy.com/reviews/first-look-celebrity-apex/

[PTC DAWG]

Re Fine Cut, a lively dinner is fine by me…

[LGW59]

1 hour ago, wallyh4184 said:

Beware if you go to the Fine Cut Steakhouse and are seated anywhere near the Martini Bar the noise and bright lights from the show really ruined our dinner.  The service staff apparently get a lot of complaints about that issue and were very apologetic.  We had 13 for dinner that night and were seated along the railing above the Marini Bar.

Maybe because there were 13 of you for dinner, they had to turn the music up to compensate.

[NavyCruiser]

Can we eat both at Blu for dinner & then also at one of the other 4 main dinning rooms right afterwards...?

 

Would like to try out the other 4 also, besides Blu...

[SNJCruisers]

5 minutes ago, NavyCruiser said:

Can we eat both at Blu for dinner & then also at one of the other 4 main dinning rooms right afterwards...?

 

Would like to try out the other 4 also, besides Blu...

The Maitre'D at Blu should be able to set up your visits for you or your concierge.

[ldgiff]

I am booked in Aquaclass in April and I was just trying to figure out the regular dining on Apex. My TA made it sound like I'd be assigned a table and dining room, but that I could go online and book other main dining rooms. Also, does Blu serve the main dining menu for dinner. Every sample menu I see from Blu looks very selective and healthyish....even breakfast looks that way. 

 

[cmb93x]

2 hours ago, ldgiff said:

I am booked in Aquaclass in April and I was just trying to figure out the regular dining on Apex. My TA made it sound like I'd be assigned a table and dining room, but that I could go online and book other main dining rooms. Also, does Blu serve the main dining menu for dinner. Every sample menu I see from Blu looks very selective and healthyish....even breakfast looks that way. 

 

Unless I’m mistaken, I believe Aquaclass can eat at any of the dining venues (besides speciality) at any time. 

[Lourex]

Blu was great.  The food was excellent and so was the staff.   We also ate at several of the “pay” restaurants as we just like to move around.  We also ate at the Main dining “part of the package” restaurants, which were fabulous.   Raw on 5 was great for lunch.  A la carte pricing and very reasonable and allowed for a light lunch.  Eden food was spectacular.  Le Petit Chef is just fun.  Totally worth doing once in a lifetime.  I don’t know if we had one dinner that steak was not offered.  And they were all very good.  So I didn’t feel the need to do the steakhouse.  Eden Cafe is secret spot for breakfast that is not well advertised and is part of the package.  As for timing, because the ship was only 1/3 full, we ate whenever we wanted.

[jelayne]

We love Blu, they have a more expansive menu than shows.  There are a number of items that are not on the menu (sides, starters) that are always available.  Things like Cesar salad, shrimp cocktail, escargot, baked potato, French fries, French onion soup come to mind.  Their short ribs, filet  and lamb shank are great.

I don’t eat seafood/fish but DH often orders the scallop starter as a entree. 
 

Not sure what you are seeing that makes breakfast in Blu look healthyish;  they have great pastries, smoothies,  and all the regular breakfast food like pancakes, waffles, omelets, cereal,  cooked to order eggs, bacon, ham, sausage, toast etc.

 

If you want to visit one of the MDRs speak to the Blu host or MaitreD and they can arrange it.  If the ship is sailing with low occupancy you can just go to one, but when the ship is near capacity it is good to have the Blu host or MaitreD arrange it.

 

[Guindalf]

1 hour ago, cmb93x said:

Unless I’m mistaken, I believe Aquaclass can eat at any of the dining venues (besides speciality) at any time. 

Except Luminae, of course (suite guests only).

[Cruisegoer]

16 hours ago, CruiseRQA said:

I would suggest lunching at the premium restaurants and take your dinners in Blu.   The Blu waitstaff is fabulous and the food very good.   Fine Cut does not provide the same quality of steak that a good steak house on land provides and so I would not have dinner there.    Le Petit Chef is very good - we lunched there twice on Edge two years ago.    We plan to try out Eden on our upcoming Apex cruise - previously we had heard the experience was a bit "weird" but recent reviews suggest they have changed it up a bit and perhaps is the best dining experience on board.  

Can you elaborate on specialty lunch options? Other than Raw on Five

[CruiseRQA]

15 minutes ago, Cruisegoer said:

Can you elaborate on specialty lunch options? Other than Raw on Five

We cruised on Edge just prior to COVID.    We lunched (IIRC) twice at Le Petit, once at Fine Cuts and once at Raw on 5.   Le Petit was our favorite - at lunch they did not do the "show" that comes with dinner.   Great soup, mussels, wonderful bread.    We are cruising on Apex mid January and Le Petite will probably be our first meal.   Raw on 5 was great, obviously if you like seafood.   I am sure we will be there again as well.   Most people that claim not to like seafood still eat shrimp or a lobster roll and you can enjoy those things.  We were not fans of Fine Cuts.   We do indulge every couple of months at a good steak house such as Ruth's Chris or Flemings and even though the ambiance and service at Fine Cuts is great, the actual steak just doesn't match and so we will likely skip that.    Honestly when we were on Edge, Eden seemed "weird" but it sounds like changes have been made and many are saying it is the best meal onboard.   If they have lunch we will likely give it a try if not for dinner.  

[SNJCruisers]

Here is a link to a description of the various specialty options on board.  The Le petite is the dinner option with show at Le Grande Bistro, where you can also get breakfast for 10 or lunch for 20.

 

https://www.expectations.cruises/cruise-ships/celebrity-apex/food-and-drink

Edited December 30, 2021 by SNJCruisers