Is Luminae over-rated or under-rated?

[Cruise a holic]

2 hours ago, neverlaysup said:

They don’t sell an unlimited plan to the masses. The only way to have unlimited included is to book a RS or higher. 

Not true unl ss things changed.  We did with sky suites and celebrity suites.  We have for our reflection cruise next week. We are in a royal suite this cruise 

Edited March 4, 2022 by Cruise a holic

[Jim_Iain]

Personally I like the decor, ambiance and service in Luminae.    I would like to see more items on the menu and a change in the menu.   The menus are pretty much the same for the past 10+ years. 

 

While some of the dishes may sound fu-fu actually most are pretty good.    If you are into normal meat and potatoes on some nights they are available on both the anytime menu as well as a 4 ounce Filet on the Children's Menu (and yes you can have more than one).    I have to say the fish is excellent and cooked to perfection.

 

Unfortunately on the E-Class ships you can't order from the MDR menu as the kitchens are floors apart.

 

If you don't like the menu on a particular night you can also go to Blu or any of the E-Clas MDR's on a space available basis 

[terrydtx]

1 minute ago, Cruise a holic said:

Not true unl ss things changed.  We did with sky suites and celebrity suites.  

When did you have it with a Sky or Celebrity Suite, or did you pay for the package? We have never had unlimited specialty dinning with a Sky Suite and have 6 futire ones booked.

[as3369]

We were on the Edge Royal Suite in January.  We ate in the Luminae only 2 nights because we wanted to try the specialty restaurants also.  Agree that the service & ambience in the Luminae were better than the  MDRS (we tried 2 of them), but the food was not our favorite.  Our best dining experiences were in the Grand Bistro for lunch and Raw on 5 for dinner.  My hubby also enjoyed the burger in the Retreat Lounge area!

[George C]

17 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

Not true unl ss things changed.  We did with sky suites and celebrity suites.  We have for our reflection cruise next week. We are in a royal suite this cruise 

They forgot to give us our pajamas, we reminded them last day , also on most ships they should be able to monogrammed them also , I believe you can get robes monogrammed, we already have them at home and out suite cases were too full to fit the robes.

   We actually felt royal suite closets were a little small, got totally spoiled by our penthouse on edge ( we got that with a move up ) 

Edited March 4, 2022 by George C

[downsmead]

Setting good, food overated

[as3369]

2 minutes ago, George C said:

They forgot to give us our pajamas, we reminded them last day , also on most ships they should be able to monogrammed them also , I believe you can get robes monogrammed, we already have them at home and out suite cases were too full to fit the robes.

They also forgot our pajamas as well and when they did deliver them, they were the wrong sizes (L/XL).  Our butler told us to keep them and gave us two more of the correct size (S/M). 

P.S.  Hopefully we never grow into the bigger size..

[Cruise a holic]

2 minutes ago, as3369 said:

They also forgot our pajamas as well and when they did deliver them, they were the wrong sizes (L/XL).  Our butler told us to keep them and gave us two more of the correct size (S/M). 

P.S.  Hopefully we never grow into the bigger size..

Do not recall.  Haven’t sailed in so long and had last on equinox over two and 1/2 years ago. We were in a royal suite.  I do remember it was less then 1/2 off paying for 7 dinners and a couple of lunches when offered.  

[KKB]

4 hours ago, SueMo said:

On the Edge now and have eaten at Luminae three nights…only one of the dinners are what we consider excellent (the ribeye) and the other two not great (flavorless veal cannelloni in a Bechamel sauce and a dry black snapper in consume).  We find the menu to be very limited—5 appetizers and 6 entrees per night, many of which contain ingredients we aren’t thrilled with.  For example, tonight the appetizers include trout, octopus, kale, and beets.  In the main dining rooms there are 11 starters and 11 entrees to choose from nightly. I understand you can order a steak if you don’t like the menu, but I don’t want beef every night.
A woman we met onboard is a travel agent and she wanted to know how we liked Luminae and we told her our experience.  She said we were the fourth couple she talked to that felt the same as us.  
With the ships being at one-third the capacity right now, the main dining rooms have fewer diners and we are getting reports of great food and service, so we are considering going there for one of the upcoming dinners.

This is one reason we have not chosen to consider a suite on Eclass.

We loved the 4 small MDRs & found the food the best we have had in MDR on any line. Service was exceptional--but it was all over the ship last summer.

I am a foodie & looking at Luminae menus I'm not as excited as I feel I should be. 

Plus Retreat has been running FULL while the rest of the ship is around 50% or so.

Therefore the value of Retreat is diminished at this time.
Once ships run at full, Retreat value increases, imo.

On the Equinox we entirely did speciality restaurants--the cost is reasonable.

On Connie we LOVED Blu.

(so no, we have not eaten at Luminae, but I these are the reasons it gives me pause)

Edited March 4, 2022 by KKB

[micruiser2002]

58 minutes ago, George C said:

They forgot to give us our pajamas, we reminded them last day , also on most ships they should be able to monogrammed them also , I believe you can get robes monogrammed, we already have them at home and out suite cases were too full to fit the robes.

   We actually felt royal suite closets were a little small, got totally spoiled by our penthouse on edge ( we got that with a move up ) 

What are you talking about?  Your previous response was to answer to my question regarding Celebrity selling a UNLIMITED Dining package.  The response was unlimited dining is only included with upper suites.

[TeaBag]

Our only suite experience was on Millennium. a B2B2B with the suite in the first segment.  Luminae was OK but we much preferred Blu for the other 2 segments.

[micruiser2002]

1 hour ago, Cruise a holic said:

Not true unl ss things changed.  We did with sky suites and celebrity suites.  We have for our reflection cruise next week. We are in a royal suite this cruise 

What is not true?  I am asking if Celebrity ever sells an Unlimited Dining package in the cruise planner?  I know higher end suites specialty dining is included.

[grandgeezer]

It’s a nice venue, with better than average food. Menu pretty limited and not open for lunch on port days. Doesn’t help justify the high price of suites in our opinion.

[Mimiya11]

4 hours ago, terrydtx said:

For lunch on embarkation day my wife ordered the Crispy Branzino fish and loved it, I remember having some fish dish everyday Luminae was open for lunch. I agree the Luminae burger was the best on the ship and I loved the Truffle fries too.

Glad to read that Luminae is open on embarkation day.  Had not realized that.   

[jelayne]

4 hours ago, Purplsmurf said:

This is a very interesting discussion for me. We will be sailing in our first Suite May ‘23 for our 30th anniversary. It will be on Reflection, which hasn’t been revolutionized yet, so no actual retreat area. Now I read some of these not so great opinions on Luminae. Another concern I have is being gluten free. It’s so nice in the MDR to know what I can and can’t eat just looking at the menu. It doesn’t look like luminae offers this on their menu. I don’t want to order the night before since it might not be what I actually want the next day. Starting to think that for $12k for a 10 nt cruise in a SS on an unrevolutionized ship, maybe we should book a different cabin. Ugh! Decisions decisions…..

On the Reflection you can order from the MDR menu as the kitchens are close together.  Got off the Reflection 2 weeks ago after 14 nights.  We ate in specialty restaurants 3 x and on the other 11nights at least 1 of us ordered dinner from tge MDR menu 

[jelayne]

2 hours ago, micruiser2002 said:

What is not true?  I am asking if Celebrity ever sells an Unlimited Dining package in the cruise planner?  I know higher end suites specialty dining is included.

The answer is No they do not sell a Unlimited dining package.  They did in years past, great deal as it was $29 per day and was good for lunch and dinner.  Clearly not a money maker.   Now it is just buy a number of nights.  

[capsplace]

Luminae, food ok.

Blu, love it.

 

What we have found annoying and uncomfortable in Luminae are the attitudes and behaviors of the patrons who acted entitled and rude in their dealings with staff.  Almost to the point of abusive behavior if unhappy with something, be it food or service.  Bottom line, money doesn’t always breed class. 
 

Much more relaxing and full of laughter and smiling faces in Blu, IMO.

Edited March 4, 2022 by capsplace

[mfs2k]

2 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

It’s a nice venue, with better than average food. Menu pretty limited and not open for lunch on port days. Doesn’t help justify the high price of suites in our opinion.

 

I am paying the higher price for a Sky suite on Beyond for the following features in descending order of importance to me:  Luminae is #4. (everyone has their own list)

1. Room size
2. Balcony size
3. Retreat Deck
4. Luminae
5. Included OBC,  Premium Beverage and Wifi (which I would buy anyway)
6. Priority Embarkation
7. Retreat Lounge
8. Butler Service

Edited March 4, 2022 by mfs2k

[bEwAbG]

A big cost component of the suite is access to Luminae.  If you're going to skip it, I'd consider changing room types and using the extra money for specialty dining.  

[Pinboy]

2 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

Doesn’t help justify the high price of suites in our opinion.

Agree--- especially if your Butler forgets to give you the PJs---- until the last day--( as noted above ).

We are just as happy ( satisfied ) with a large balcony in the center of an S Class ship, purchase a 4 night Specialty restaurant dining package( Murano, Lawn Grill, Tuscan, Sushi on Five--- all excellent ) , relax in the Solarium pool area, enjoy lunch at the Spa Café, purchase a pass to the Persian Gardens---- and, bring our own PJs. All in all, met lots of very nice people ( Staff and Guests ) and never had a bad cruise.

 

 

 

 

[dkjretired]

6 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

Agree--- especially if your Butler forgets to give you the PJs---- until the last day--( as noted above ).

We are just as happy ( satisfied ) with a large balcony in the center of an S Class ship, purchase a 4 night Specialty restaurant dining package( Murano, Lawn Grill, Tuscan, Sushi on Five--- all excellent ) , relax in the Solarium pool area, enjoy lunch at the Spa Café, purchase a pass to the Persian Gardens---- and, bring our own PJs. All in all, met lots of very nice people ( Staff and Guests ) and never had a bad cruise.

 

 

 

 

I get to the Solarium early, they do a nice Oatmeal in the spa cafe.

Edited March 4, 2022 by dkjretired

[mfs2k]

11 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

 

We are just as happy ( satisfied ) with a large balcony in the center of an S Class ship, purchase a 4 night Specialty restaurant dining package( Murano, Lawn Grill, Tuscan, Sushi on Five--- all excellent ) , relax in the Solarium pool area, enjoy lunch at the Spa Café, purchase a pass to the Persian Gardens---- and, bring our own PJs. All in all, met lots of very nice people ( Staff and Guests ) and never had a bad cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

I don't disagree with any of those.  After 12 cruises, we're treating ourself to a suite next because the price differential wasn't that much and it was a good opportunity to experience suite living.

We''ll see if it's true "Once you go Suite, you never leave the Retreat"

[Lastdance]

Food is very subjective.  I am not a big eater, but have always found something to eat in Luminae.  Whether it be a special order item, one on the menu with a change, or a salad with salmon, Luminae has yet to be an issue, but I always check the menus ahead of time, as I do for special orders.  Getting a great waiter and meeting the restaurant manager is very important too. Just be proactive and plan ahead. Yes, my DH and I do Blu, along with the main dinning rooms and specialty restaurants too, but usually only do long cruises and not just 7 days.  My DH is just a meat and potatoes guy, along with a veggie!  
 

 

[Cruise a holic]

5 hours ago, KKB said:

This is one reason we have not chosen to consider a suite on Eclass.

We loved the 4 small MDRs & found the food the best we have had in MDR on any line. Service was exceptional--but it was all over the ship last summer.

I am a foodie & looking at Luminae menus I'm not as excited as I feel I should be. 

Plus Retreat has been running FULL while the rest of the ship is around 50% or so.

Therefore the value of Retreat is diminished at this time.
Once ships run at full, Retreat value increases, imo.

On the Equinox we entirely did speciality restaurants--the cost is reasonable.

On Connie we LOVED Blu.

(so no, we have not eaten at Luminae, but I these are the reasons it gives me pause)

My nephew was on the apex last week.  He dined in Luminae, but tried one main dining room .  Said while they say- one is greek- french etc.  The basic menu is the same and one or two dishes vary based on the restaurant type.   But so much better as no more grand ballroom.

[hrhdhd]

1 hour ago, mfs2k said:

 

I don't disagree with any of those.  After 12 cruises, we're treating ourself to a suite next because the price differential wasn't that much and it was a good opportunity to experience suite living.

We''ll see if it's true "Once you go Suite, you never leave the Retreat"

I hope you enjoy the suite. When I am with DH, we do suites. Solo, I am fine in an OV. I eat just as well and get wonderful service in the cheap seats. 

 

I will be in the cheap seats tomorrow on Apex; I can't wait!