Apex Luminae review please

[Carol28]

We will be in our first Retreat suite soon.  I'd like to know how enjoyable the Luminae is as I'm wondering how many specialty restaurants to book. Please share your reviews.  I also just read someone asking if one can see a show from the Eden restaurant. What did this mean? Is there a show in the Eden? If so, whst time would that be? Please help me plan!

[Cruise a holic]

We really enjoyed Luminae on our recent Apex cruise.  Service great- however we sailed for two weeks and found the menu, while tasty boring.  We dined in the following specialty restaurants and enjoyed them. Eden, the show isn't visible while dining, but worth seeing, after dinner.  It gets very crowded.  Not sure about the times of the show.   The food in Eden was very good.  Also dined at the rooftop grill loved it, but if the weather isn't great can be windy.  The steak house was also very good.  We like Le Petite chef- a nice experience.  We do not eat sushi and didn't dine in that restaurant.  I would definately suggest that you have a few dinners in the specialty restaurants.

 

Enjoy your cruise!  The retreat is a wonderful experience.  Will be on her again in March.

Edited February 4, 2023 by Cruise a holic

[txtechmk]

We love sailing in The Retreat!  We also love eating in the Luminae!  While the menus are not large, there is usually something we can eat.  If not, you can always choose the standard filet or chicken breast.  On our last cruise, we got to know our waiter really well.....and he knew I loved seafood and my husband loved pasta.  One night there was not anything on the menu to our liking, so the waiter said he would bring me a sea bass and my DH some spicy spaghetti.  It was perfect.  We did eat in Eden one night and it was fantastic!  Don't miss out on that one!  The steakhouse was okay, good, but nothing special since we eat a lot of good steaks in Texas.  Le Petite Chef is good for the experience......may not do again however.  

[George C]

I much refer Luminae on M class over E class, but agree outdoor retreat is fantastic have done Edge in penthouse and Beyond in sky suite. We love Le petit chef have done that on last 3 cruises.

[miched]

We were on the Apex for 4 B2B for a total of 28 days dining. In Luminae.    We don’t done one time in a specialty restaurant.  They cost too much and I paid a lot for Laminae.   We have dined in some of the specialty restaurants before and they are nice but don’t need to do it again.   
 

If it is your first time in Luminae save the specialty restaurants for the next time or when in a lower category.  
 

This is my opinion and I am sure others with disagree

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[jalves]

We sailed on Apex in mid-January and ate in Luminae every night except for three.  The three nights we didn't eat there we did La Petite Chef (fun, good food), Eden (excellent food), Prime Cut (very good).  

 

We had excellent food and service in Luminae every time we ate there.  

[Carol28]

13 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

We really enjoyed Luminae on our recent Apex cruise.  Service great- however we sailed for two weeks and found the menu, while tasty boring.  We dined in the following specialty restaurants and enjoyed them. Eden, the show isn't visible while dining, but worth seeing, after dinner.  It gets very crowded.  Not sure about the times of the show.   The food in Eden was very good.  Also dined at the rooftop grill loved it, but if the weather isn't great can be windy.  The steak house was also very good.  We like Le Petite chef- a nice experience.  We do not eat sushi and didn't dine in that restaurant.  I would definately suggest that you have a few dinners in the specialty restaurants.

 

Enjoy your cruise!  The retreat is a wonderful experience.  Will be on her again in March.

Thank you!  We have booked Eden and next we will book the Rooftop grill.  We are on the cruise for 7 days only.  Does the Luminae menu change every night? Is it open for breakfast and  lunch? On RCCL's Coastal Kitchen the menu rotates every four days. (Actually, that's the lunch menu, not sure about the dinner menu.) My husband usually likes a steakhouse on a ship, so, if the Luminae menu is boring, we will probably do that.  Do you know if I book a reservation online now and we choose not to go, will we get a refund (we'd pay with our OBC.) 

I've heard positive and negative reviews of Le Petit Chef. Some say it's for kids; others say it's an experience but the food is just so-so, and others thought it was excellent.Maybe it's good for lunch. 

 

[Cruise a holic]

The advantage of booking on line is that you get the time and date you want.  If you aren’t booking a package of three or more dinners which you pick on board.  You can use your on board credit to book on line if shipboard credit.  If you use credit and change your mind it is easily refunded .  

Edited February 5, 2023 by Cruise a holic

[39august]

Luminae is open for breakfast and dinner every day. Lunch on sea days. We won't go to a specialty when in a suite again. The prices are way too high and the service in Luminae is better. You can make a special dinner request for the next day, and if the chef can make it, he will. 

[txtechmk]

To answer your previous question.....yes, the Luminae menu changes every night. 

[jelayne]

I agree the service in Luminae is very good, however for me the menu is very limited. I can’t eat any fish or seafood 

which reduces a already limited menu to very limited.

On the S and M class I order from the MDR at least 4 out of 7 nights, however on the E class that isn’t an option so I order from the Kids menu.