Blu Dining Questions

[Sam13010]

We have a group of 36 friends who are going on the Millennium to Alaska. We are all staying in Aqua Class. My questions are:

1. How long does a BLU meal last (Could we be seated at 6:30 and still make the show?)

2. Did you make reservations every night (With whom?) or tell them you are coming at the same time every night.

3. Are the large 8-10 person tables hard to reserve?

4. I understand you can eat the MDR Menu as well as the BLU Dining Room menu in BLU. Is that correct?

 

[Loracpin2]

17 minutes ago, Sam13010 said:

We have a group of 36 friends who are going on the Millennium to Alaska. We are all staying in Aqua Class. My questions are:

1. How long does a BLU meal last (Could we be seated at 6:30 and still make the show?)

2. Did you make reservations every night (With whom?) or tell them you are coming at the same time every night.

3. Are the large 8-10 person tables hard to reserve?

4. I understand you can eat the MDR Menu as well as the BLU Dining Room menu in BLU. Is that correct?

 

You DO NOT make reservations for BLU. It is first come first serve and there are very few tables for 8-10. If you don't get there early you can be in for a very long wait!

[WestLakeGirl]

They do appreciate knowing that you plan to be there at the same time every night especially with a group such as yours.  The show will probably be at 9 so 6:30 works for that timing

[jelayne]

20 minutes ago, WestLakeGirl said:

They do appreciate knowing that you plan to be there at the same time every night especially with a group such as yours.  The show will probably be at 9 so 6:30 works for that timing

Are they only doing 1 show a night?

[RichYak]

49 minutes ago, Sam13010 said:

We have a group of 36 friends

A group of 36 should not expect to be seated for dinner all at the same time.

[NutsAboutGolf]

You should talk to the M'D as soon as you can; generally they don't do reservations at all but may make one for a table of 8-10.  Shows are generally at 7pm and 9pm, they should appear in the X app.  On a recent 'Nox cruising, I didn't need to talk to the Blu M'D to eat at the MDR, just showed up and no questions asked by the MDR host.

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 minutes ago, RichYak said:

A group of 36 should not expect to be seated for dinner all at the same time.

 

Good point; I'd imagine they'd only do one single 8-10 table.

[gold1953]

Blu is a very small venue and it is first come basis. I think only 2 tables for 8 . Glad I am not Aqua on this cruise . Many arrive for 5pm as do we . You may not be able to do this with your groups as reservations are not taken.

[bigbenboys]

Looking on line at the seating in Blu on Millie. It looks like Blu holds 86 people.

[gold1953]

3 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

Looking on line at the seating in Blu on Millie. It looks like Blu holds 86 people.

yes, small and as I recall 2 tables for 8, lots of 2 top and 4

[Fly and Sail]

You obviously won't be able to arrange a group table for 36 pax. This will be broken down into many smaller tables of 4-8 pax capacity. If you go early you might be able to accomplish that but keep in mind you can't make reservations for BLU. Getting the MDR options will take additional time. That being said 1:30h is ample time for dinner at BLU.

 

Btw 36 people are roughly 30% capacity of the entire restaurant. You get the picture.

[Loracpin2]

Maybe it's me but, one would summize that whoever booked these reservations for a Group of 36 in AQ whether a Celebrity rep or a TA,  would have explained the concept pf Dining in BLU. 

[Orator]

I have experienced groups of more than 20 in Blu and the experience wasn’t ideal for us. They were very noisy and acted like they owned the place. They tended to arrive together and that affected service. I would urge the group to recognize that there are others not in the group who paid a great deal for their vacation.

I hope that the group has a wonderful experience.

[Mark_T]

1 minute ago, Orator said:

I have experienced groups of more than 20 in Blu and the experience wasn’t ideal for us....

We've had similar experiences, and I'd have to say that I don't think there was any intention to be disruptive, merely arriving as a single group and continuing their conversations across the tables was sufficient to disrupt the experience and ambiance for the rest of the guests.

 

It would be wonderful if it was possible to let everyone arrive in smaller groups over an hour and then all go to the 9pm show, just to give the staff a fair chance to cope.

[jelayne]

I think I would be changing my reservation to not be in AQ. 

[Fly and Sail]

1 hour ago, Mark_T said:

We've had similar experiences, and I'd have to say that I don't think there was any intention to be disruptive, merely arriving as a single group and continuing their conversations across the tables was sufficient to disrupt the experience and ambiance for the rest of the guests.

 

It would be wonderful if it was possible to let everyone arrive in smaller groups over an hour and then all go to the 9pm show, just to give the staff a fair chance to cope.

 

Not sure if it really makes a big difference when the guests arrive but one should realize that arriving at once with a large group means that they will wait a lot longer to be served. By the time the first batch of the group is finished with a course the last are just getting served. And waiting around to leave together isn't ideal for a venue like BLU as other have already mentioned the capacity of that restaurant is less than 100.

 

I'd probably check with the Maitre'D of the MDR if they can provide larger seating arrangements if so desired. While BLU is an interesting feature, it's menu isn't for everyone which first timers might figure out very quickly.

[jelayne]

9 minutes ago, Fly and Sail said:

 

Not sure if it really makes a big difference when the guests arrive but one should realize that arriving at once with a large group means that they will wait a lot longer to be served. By the time the first batch of the group is finished with a course the last are just getting served. And waiting around to leave together isn't ideal for a venue like BLU as other have already mentioned the capacity of that restaurant is less than 100.

 

I'd probably check with the Maitre'D of the MDR if they can provide larger seating arrangements if so desired. While BLU is an interesting feature, it's menu isn't for everyone which first timers might figure out very quickly.

On  the M class you can order from either the Blu or MDR menu.

Edited June 19, 2022 by jelayne
Typo

[Fly and Sail]

1 minute ago, jelayne said:

On  the M class you can order from either the Blu or MDR menu.

 

Yes you can but it takes extra time to show up and is often not the same temperature quality. To have a large group do mix & match from the MDR & BLU would pretty much bomb the system.

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, Fly and Sail said:

 

Yes you can but it takes extra time to show up and is often not the same temperature quality. To have a large group do mix & match from the MDR & BLU would pretty much bomb the system.

I’ve never noticed that it took longer or wasn’t hot, the kitchen are very close together.  Now on S class it could take longer and not be very hot as Blus kitchen is on Deck 5 aft and the MDR kitchen is Deck 2 mid ship

[Peteymil]

9 hours ago, Loracpin2 said:

You DO NOT make reservations for BLU. It is first come first serve and there are very few tables for 8-10. If you don't get there early you can be in for a very long wait!

And the 8-10 are not together. But you can try and get tables in the same general area. It is first come, first serve.