Luminae dining can I invite my single cousin to join?

[Premier1vaCruiser]

My family, my DH, DS and myself are booked in the Royal suite.  My single cousin has booked a Concierge balcony will be traveling with us.  Is there a way he can buy a special pass to get into the dining room with us or the retreat.  I booked specifically to get these perks.  I don’t want my cousin to have to dine separately.  Advise please. 
 

[Georgia_Peaches]

Yes, you can invite your cousin to join and there is a specialty restaurant fee that applies.  Not sure what it is these days. 

[Veinless]

You may certainly invite them, but Luminae may not let them in. It’s the thought that counts. 

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Dinner used to be $30 and it is on a space available basis. Breakfast and lunch are around $10 & $20. He will not be able to join you in the Retreat.

[wrk2cruise]

It's $30 dinner $20 lunch and I think $10 for breakfast.   Since you are in a Royal Suite you may want to call the Shoreside Concierge and see if the $95/day rate is available to you for retreat privileges.   It's sometimes available for upper suites when a family member is traveling  in a non suite category.

[George C]

You can also eat in any specialty restaurants and he or you can pay that price , those in royal suite eat for free .

[hrhdhd]

14 minutes ago, Veinless said:

You may certainly invite them, but Luminae may not let them in. It’s the thought that counts. 

Agreed, but adding a 4th to a table for four seems less of an issue than inviting a number of additional people.

[TeeRick]

Talk to the Luminae maitre' D and to the Retreat concierge or your suite manager.  Maybe because you are in a RS they will bend the rules for you and your cousin a bit.  Not likely but hey you just never know until you politely ask.

[rbelshaw]

I was solo in an RS last week, sailing with three non-suite sisters on board.   Butler arranged for a Luminae table for four, with the understanding I would be paying the freight for my "steerage sisters". The charges for their three dinners and wine never showed up on my account. When I went back to inquire,  the Maitre d' informed me that management had approved "comping" the meal.

 

This may be because it was the only meal I was able to take in Luminae due to the need to closely supervise my younger (60's) sisters.

 

I prefer to think it was my Irish charm and boyish good looks.

[cruisestitch]

You never know.  A smile can go a long way.  Expect to be charged and express your gratitude when you aren’t.

[stl82]

3 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

It's $30 dinner $20 lunch and I think $10 for breakfast.   Since you are in a Royal Suite you may want to call the Shoreside Concierge and see if the $95/day rate is available to you for retreat privileges.   It's sometimes available for upper suites when a family member is traveling  in a non suite category.

I did get the Retreat Package for our daughter, who was in a veranda stateroom. $99/day, and a limit on how many are available on a cruise. The Shoreside Concierge made me aware of this when he contacted me prior to the cruise. The package allows access to Luminae, Retreat Lounge and sun deck, but no butler, drink or wi-fi packages. 

[dlh015]

6 minutes ago, stl82 said:

and a limit on how many are available on a cruise.

Just to get clarification:  Was this limit in reference to how many you personally can have on the cruise or how many were available has a total for suite guests on the cruise?

 

Thanks...

[stl82]

40 minutes ago, dlh015 said:

Just to get clarification:  Was this limit in reference to how many you personally can have on the cruise or how many were available has a total for suite guests on the cruise?

 

Thanks...

There is a limit on how many Retreat upgrade packages are available on each cruise. The concierge said on our cruise there is a limit of 10. I have no idea how many were sold.

[dlh015]

18 minutes ago, stl82 said:

There is a limit on how many Retreat upgrade packages are available on each cruise. The concierge said on our cruise there is a limit of 10. I have no idea how many were sold.

Thanks! That was precisely what I wanted to know...

[hcat]

Luminae may not be worth paying a daily upgrade;  It was  a  disappointment on our recent BEYOND cruise,  no bread baskets on the table,  mushy shrimp cocktail..,We mostly ate from  the always available menu.  Food prep and service were  very good.....just not our type of food..  BLU was much better  and we enjoyed Raw on Five.

[miched]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

Luminae may not be worth paying a daily upgrade;  It was  a  disappointment on our recent BEYOND cruise,  no bread baskets on the table,  mushy shrimp cocktail..,We mostly ate from  the always available menu.  Food prep and service were  very good.....just not our type of food..  BLU was much better  and we enjoyed Raw on Five.

We recently sailed on the Equinox in a suite.   Agree with you.   Many nights we would order from The MDR, or just have the the always available standard filet.   Tried the always available chicken dish by that celebrity chef.   Once and done.  Try it but  wouldn’t recommend it.  It was chicken. 
 

Our issue may also be because we have been in Luminae many times.  The menu is getting  boring and since we have tried most of the entrees there are very few that we would order again.  Nothing has ever really stood out. 
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[ISABELLA]

6 hours ago, rbelshaw said:

I was solo in an RS last week, sailing with three non-suite sisters on board.   Butler arranged for a Luminae table for four, with the understanding I would be paying the freight for my "steerage sisters". The charges for their three dinners and wine never showed up on my account. When I went back to inquire,  the Maitre d' informed me that management had approved "comping" the meal.

 

This may be because it was the only meal I was able to take in Luminae due to the need to closely supervise my younger (60's) sisters.

 

I prefer to think it was my Irish charm and boyish good looks.

Maybe your solo supplement paid for your sister's meal...

 

 

 

[SusieAV8R]

2 hours ago, miched said:

We recently sailed on the Equinox in a suite.   Agree with you.   Many nights we would order from The MDR, or just have the the always available standard filet.   Tried the always available chicken dish by that celebrity chef.   Once and done.  Try it but  wouldn’t recommend it.  It was chicken. 
 

Our issue may also be because we have been in Luminae many times.  The menu is getting  boring and since we have tried most of the entrees there are very few that we would order again.  Nothing has ever really stood out. 
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

1 hour ago, ISABELLA said:

Maybe your solo supplement paid for your sister's meal...

 

 

 

BINGO!!!  You hit every one of our "comments".

[SusieAV8R]

8 hours ago, stl82 said:

I did get the Retreat Package for our daughter, who was in a veranda stateroom. $99/day, and a limit on how many are available on a cruise. The Shoreside Concierge made me aware of this when he contacted me prior to the cruise. The package allows access to Luminae, Retreat Lounge and sun deck, but no butler, drink or wi-fi packages. 

I think X is going to have to make a decision:  Retreat is either exclusive for suites or is available to anyone else who can pay.  You are kidding yourself if you think this not does not put a stress on the services and diminish the Retreat Experience X is trying to sell.  If I had to sit and wait for 20 minutes to get a table in Luminae because pzs were bringing outside guests, even with X's blessing, it would diminish my experience!

[SusieAV8R]

15 minutes ago, SusieAV8R said:

I think X is going to have to make a decision:  Retreat is either exclusive for suites or is available to anyone else who can pay.  You are kidding yourself if you think this not does not put a stress on the services and diminish the Retreat Experience X is trying to sell.  If I had to sit and wait for 20 minutes to get a table in Luminae because pzs were bringing outside guests, even with X's blessing, it would diminish my experience!

paz

[alcpa1]

Don't forget you can always arrange dinner in the comfort of your cabin.

[wrk2cruise]

9 hours ago, SusieAV8R said:

Retreat is either exclusive for suites or is available to anyone else who can pay.

 

Is there a difference?  Rhetorical question.

[rbelshaw]

16 hours ago, ISABELLA said:

Maybe your solo supplement paid for your sister's meal...

 

 

 

 I tried the "cabin for two" approach initially, as I know from this forum it had been granted in the past, and was contemplating hosting one sibling at a time. I was informed that this option was no longer available.

 

To the best of my recollection, I booked this trip during a "no solo supplement" sale. I'll try to track down my invoice to confirm.

 

 

 

 

[rbelshaw]

15 hours ago, SusieAV8R said:

I think X is going to have to make a decision:  Retreat is either exclusive for suites or is available to anyone else who can pay.  You are kidding yourself if you think this not does not put a stress on the services and diminish the Retreat Experience X is trying to sell.  If I had to sit and wait for 20 minutes to get a table in Luminae because pzs were bringing outside guests, even with X's blessing, it would diminish my experience!

My understanding, and I can't recall how I came by it - most likely the shore-side concierge - is that the per-diem  Retreat tickets, along with dining accommodations for guests of Retreat PAX, are only available when there are many unsold suites. I was surprised at how empty Luminae was when we were seated at 8:00 - less than 25% of the tables were occupied.

 

 

 

[C4HCG]

17 hours ago, SusieAV8R said:

I think X is going to have to make a decision:  Retreat is either exclusive for suites or is available to anyone else who can pay.  You are kidding yourself if you think this not does not put a stress on the services and diminish the Retreat Experience X is trying to sell.  If I had to sit and wait for 20 minutes to get a table in Luminae because pzs were bringing outside guests, even with X's blessing, it would diminish my experience!

Haven’t they made that decision and it’s the latter judging by comments in this thread? They’re trying to run a business and if they have capacity why not sell access in this way, makes absolute sense.