MDR vs. Blu

[Oceansaway17]

1 minute ago, NJRonbo said:

 

It's my understanding from the many replies I have read that, at least on the Milleniium Class ships (I am sailing Summit), the kitchens are adjoining so it makes the process quite easy.

well yes I have heard this too but I suppose I just did not want to bother the staff.

 

Besides, I did enjoy the various flavored butter and bread which one can get in MDR too.

[2Long2NxtCrz]

After reading through all of the replies here, I want to make sure I understood. If we upgrade to AQ on our upcoming Beyond cruise we can eat in Blu, but we do not have to. And Blu serves breakfast daily which would save us dealing with the buffet.

 

This will be our first cruise on an e-class and I really love the 4 MDR format with the specialized items in each MDR, but I'd love to treat hubby to the Thermal Suite. I just didn't want to limit our dinner options to Blu if that's allowed.

[NutsAboutGolf]

3 minutes ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

After reading through all of the replies here, I want to make sure I understood. If we upgrade to AQ on our upcoming Beyond cruise we can eat in Blu, but we do not have to. And Blu serves breakfast daily which would save us dealing with the buffet.

 

This will be our first cruise on an e-class and I really love the 4 MDR format with the specialized items in each MDR, but I'd love to treat hubby to the Thermal Suite. I just didn't want to limit our dinner options to Blu if that's allowed.

 

Aqua = Blu, while you could opt to eat in the MDRs, you also could order off the MDR menus in Blu.  Blu is open for breakfast but like the breakfast and lunch in the MDR, Blu for breakfast is only open for 90mins

Edited November 30, 2022 by NutsAboutGolf

[2Long2NxtCrz]

10 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Aqua = Blu, while you could opt to eat in the MDRs, you also could order off the MDR menus in Blu.  Blu is open for breakfast but like the breakfast and lunch in the MDR, Blu for breakfast is only open for 90mins

Thank you for that.

 

I just wasn't sure if we could get the specialties that are unique to each MDR on Beyond in Blu. If so, then we can give it a try and see what we think. We enjoy the MDR on Celebrity but I usually make reservations as soon as they open and sit in the same table every night, which means we get great service and the waitstaff know us. That's obviously hard to do with 4 different MDRs, so Blu  might be a better option.

[Mike45LC]

21 minutes ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

Thank you for that.

 

I just wasn't sure if we could get the specialties that are unique to each MDR on Beyond in Blu. If so, then we can give it a try and see what we think. We enjoy the MDR on Celebrity but I usually make reservations as soon as they open and sit in the same table every night, which means we get great service and the waitstaff know us. That's obviously hard to do with 4 different MDRs, so Blu  might be a better option.

When I cruised on Edge in 2019, each of the four MDRs had its own unique specialty items.  I read on this forum (but do not have personal knowledge) that each of the MDRs now offers all of the unique specialties from all four of the MDRs.  This would make the menus awkward and over large!

 

I also read on this forum that Blu does not have the full MDR selections, that Blu's main dining room selections are either the daily selections or the always selections.  I do not recall which it was supposed to be.  

 

Same table every night in a MDR:  this would keep you from exploring each of the several MDRs.  I wanted to try each one!

[2Long2NxtCrz]

33 minutes ago, Mike45LC said:

When I cruised on Edge in 2019, each of the four MDRs had its own unique specialty items.  I read on this forum (but do not have personal knowledge) that each of the MDRs now offers all of the unique specialties from all four of the MDRs.  This would make the menus awkward and over large!

 

I also read on this forum that Blu does not have the full MDR selections, that Blu's main dining room selections are either the daily selections or the always selections.  I do not recall which it was supposed to be.  

 

Same table every night in a MDR:  this would keep you from exploring each of the several MDRs.  I wanted to try each one!

I watched a video of folks dining on Beyond in a couple of the MDRs and the unique items for each style of restaurant were very interesting to me, plus the different ambience. I suspect we wouldn't be able to get those unique items in Blu, which makes sense, and that's why I was asking the original question.

 

I'd like to try Blu, maybe in place of our Cosmopolitan night as well as the others. It's a new ship and I'd like to try as much of it as possible without shelling out a ton on specialty dining.

 

With the single MDR having the same wait staff is a benefit. Hard to do on Beyond and really not what we want. I'll have to report back what I think.

[zitsky]

I will do Aqua on Beyond in May because I didn’t want the buffet for breakfast.  And I liked the food at dinner on my last cruise.

 

Did someone say one of the MDRs offers lunch?

[Alsmez]

On 11/14/2022 at 1:19 PM, LB_NJ said:

Aqua over a regular Veranda.  To us the real difference is Blu and wondering how much better it is then the regular MDR

 

Blu is better than the MDR, without question. Whether you will like the menu in Blu more is totally subjective, but the actual quality of the food and preparation (cooked to order vs. banquet style) is absolutely higher in Blu. (How much better depends on a number of factors, including the crew doing the cooking and serving, number of pax, etc.)

 

That said, the specialty restaurants (some of them, anyway) are generally better than Blu, and can often be had for a lower price. Dining packages covering all of your dinners can usually be had for $50 pppd, whereas the upgrade to AQ from a regular balcony is frequently upwards of $100 pppd.

 

One caveat - which ship are you sailing? The M class doesn't have a big variety of specialties to choose from, so on those ships I'd probably do AQ. On the S class, specialty all the way - you can effectively make Murano (by far the best restaurant on board) your MDR if you want, or alternate with Tuscan, The Porch, etc if you prefer. We ate most of our meals there on our last S class cruise and got to know our servers for a very personalized experience. We haven't sailed E class yet but we would do specialty there over Blu as well.

[Mark_T]

7 hours ago, Alsmez said:

On the S class, specialty all the way - you can effectively make Murano (by far the best restaurant on board) your MDR if you want, or alternate with Tuscan, The Porch, etc if you prefer. We ate most of our meals there on our last S class cruise and got to know our servers for a very personalized experience

That is our preference these days as well.

 

We don't value The Retreat sun-deck, and the Luminae food/service really doesn't justify the prices they are asking for suites recently...

[Mark_T]

1 minute ago, Mark_T said:

That is our preference these days as well.

 

We don't value The Retreat sun-deck, and the Luminae food/service really doesn't justify the prices they are asking for suites recently, at those prices I'd rather return to cruising with Regent...

 

[Alsmez]

2 hours ago, Mark_T said:

Luminae food/service really doesn't justify the prices they are asking for suites recently...

Agreed. We were in a suite on our last cruise (pre-Covid) on Summit, because the price was just a couple hundred dollars more than AQ and we wanted to try it. The price shot WAY up shortly after we booked (basically because X announced the Edgification schedule) and now suites are generally way more than we're willing to pay. Luminae was a very nice experience but not better than Murano/specialties, and the rest of the suite benefits are not worth the price of admission for us.

[D C]

On 11/14/2022 at 1:19 PM, LB_NJ said:

I am sure this has been asked in the past however wondering if there are different answers post COVID.

 

Thinking about Aqua over a regular Veranda.  To us the real difference is Blu and wondering how much better it is then the regular MDR.  I realize this is somewhat subjective however would like to get some detailed feedback about the food differences.

 

Blu isn't better. It's different. Whatever 'spa inspired' means is beyond us, and generally isn't to our taste.  And it's certainly not a healthy menu by any means. 

 

Some people prefer the difference of Blu, we do not and many others share our opinion if you look at the number of "order from the MDR" comments that are made in Blu-related threads. 

 

 

[D C]

21 hours ago, 2Long2NxtCrz said:

After reading through all of the replies here, I want to make sure I understood. If we upgrade to AQ on our upcoming Beyond cruise we can eat in Blu, but we do not have to. And Blu serves breakfast daily which would save us dealing with the buffet.

 

This will be our first cruise on an e-class and I really love the 4 MDR format with the specialized items in each MDR, but I'd love to treat hubby to the Thermal Suite. I just didn't want to limit our dinner options to Blu if that's allowed.

Someone will surely correct me if I'm wrong, but with Aqua on Edge class you do NOT get access to the Thermal Suite.  On other classes you get Persian Garden access, but not on E-class. 

[NJRonbo]

1 minute ago, D C said:

 

Blu isn't better. It's different. Whatever 'spa inspired' means is beyond us, and generally isn't to our taste.  And it's certainly not a healthy menu by any means. 

 

Some people prefer the difference of Blu, we do not and many others share our opinion if you look at the number of "order from the MDR" comments that are made in Blu-related threads. 

 

 

I haven't been in Blu yet.  However, from everything I have read including looking over the menu...

 

From an ambiance and service standpoint, Blu sounds like a much better place to dine than the Main Dining Room and was one of the reasons why I upgraded from concierge to AQ.

However, unless you are health-conscious, Blu looks like a dismal, unappetizing offering.

 

Bring on the portions, gravy and fat!  I am on vacation.  I'll be dining in Blu but ordering off the MDR menu.

[NutsAboutGolf]

21 hours ago, zitsky said:

I will do Aqua on Beyond in May because I didn’t want the buffet for breakfast.  And I liked the food at dinner on my last cruise.

 

Did someone say one of the MDRs offers lunch?

 

It's in the app.  Might be outdated info but it was the Cosmo; like breakfast it's only open for lunch for 90mins

[zitsky]

23 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

It's in the app.  Might be outdated info but it was the Cosmo; like breakfast it's only open for lunch for 90mins

Cosmo doesn’t show lunch in my planner next May.

 

Thanks.

Edited December 1, 2022 by zitsky

[NutsAboutGolf]

45 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Cosmo doesn’t show lunch in my planner next May.

 

Thanks.

 

Do the other three show a lunch menu?

[Mike45LC]

3 hours ago, D C said:

Someone will surely correct me if I'm wrong, but with Aqua on Edge class you do NOT get access to the Thermal Suite.  On other classes you get Persian Garden access, but not on E-class. 

On the Edge in summer of 2019, access to the Thermal Suite (if that is the proper name for the sauna/steam rooms/heated loungers, the E equivalent to Persian Garden) was included in the Aqua fare.   I used both sauna and steam, although our cruise was in the middle of a European heat wave, and just stepping outside was like stepping into a dry sauna!

[K&RCurt]

We were on Reflection in an Aqua cabin the week of Nov 13-20 and loved Blu.  We were sailing with friends and there were 4 of us for dinner 5 of the 7 nights (With one night at the Porch and one in Tuscan Grill.)  We were seated at a round table that was set up for 5 people (Why 5?) almost every time we ate in Blu, breakfast and Dinner, and had the same waiter every time.  The service was exemplary, the Hostess knew our names and cabin numbers after the first night, the Manager checked on on every time we were there and we felt the food and menu selection were wonderful.  And to whoever said they did not offer Beef and Chicken every night, they did indeed have a Steak, a roasted chicken dish and Salmon on the menu every night.

 

We also went to the Persian Garden several times and the heated Loungers, Aromatherapy room, steam room, Cold room and rain shower were awesome in our opinions.

 

I guess to each there own, but we are discussing changing our 2024 Mardi Gras cruise on Constellation from Concierge to Aqua now. 

Edited December 2, 2022 by K&RCurt

[zitsky]

2 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Do the other three show a lunch menu?

Nice try!  I can only be stupid so many times.  I checked all the MDRs.  None showed lunch.  Might be too soon?  I don’t know.

[NutsAboutGolf]

9 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Nice try!  I can only be stupid so many times.  I checked all the MDRs.  None showed lunch.  Might be too soon?  I don’t know.

 

You know what they say, "there's no such thing as a free lunch" 🙃

[zitsky]

3 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

You know what they say, "there's no such thing as a free lunch" 🙃

I would go to the Mast Grill but people say it’s disgusting and besides my parter is too stuck up to eat there.  😭

[NutsAboutGolf]

42 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I would go to the Mast Grill but people say it’s disgusting and besides my parter is too stuck up to eat there.  😭

 

The hot dog is disgusting, I can't think of anything worse on the ship.  The burger is just flavorless and can be dry, not worth the calories

[boxkite]

Another vote for Blu. Yes, the tables for 2 are close together, but for us it was an opportunity to meet others and discuss how their cruise was going etc each day.

 

The food is good to great and better than the MDR in our humble opinion.

 

I do know the service is better than MDR!

 

A big benefit for us was the breakfast each morning, many items to choose from.

 

Speaking of breakfast, another benefit not often mentioned is the expanded Aqua Class Breakfast Room Service menu which includes almost everything served in Blu itself.

[zitsky]

19 minutes ago, boxkite said:

Another vote for Blu. Yes, the tables for 2 are close together, but for us it was an opportunity to meet others and discuss how their cruise was going etc each day.

 

The food is good to great and better than the MDR in our humble opinion.

 

I do know the service is better than MDR!

 

A big benefit for us was the breakfast each morning, many items to choose from.

 

Speaking of breakfast, another benefit not often mentioned is the expanded Aqua Class Breakfast Room Service menu which includes almost everything served in Blu itself.

Close enough to talk.  Close enough to get Covid.