Eating in Main Dining Room with an Aqua cabin

[cruisestitch]

2 hours ago, mrgabriel said:

 

Suite guests don't automatically get access to Blu. It's on a space-available basis. 

And that emphasizes the reason why if you’re not going to eat in blue, you should let the Maitre D know.  Suite passengers can eat there on a space available basis and they need to be able to evaluate how much space is available.  So if you were going to eat in the main dining room, or a specialty, on any given night, letting them know helps them to be able to accommodate everybody who wants to eat in Blu.

[hcat]

only night we would prefer MDR over BLU is for the Prime Rib..not usually served in BLU..

[mahasamatman]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

only night we would prefer MDR over BLU is for the Prime Rib..not usually served in BLU..

 

On the final night of our last Infinity cruise, Blu had prime rib but no other dining room did.

[phoenix_dream]

6 hours ago, arealcheapskate said:

I'm reading a lot of retreat people also eating in Blu / having no issues eating in Blu. Is this common as well? 

I can speak for myself.  While I love the service and the less crowded dining space in Luminae (except for E class where Luminae is very crowded and very loud), I really don't care for the menu most nights.  I like the Blu menu much better.  On ships where I can get MDR dishes as well I will generally stay in Luminae.  If not, I will sometimes head over to Blu.

 

There are pros and cons to this.  IMHO it is a rare (not never, but rare) case where a suite guest is denied Blu dining, especially for upper level suites.  This can sometimes lead to Aqua guests having to wait for a table.  On one Reflection cruise awhile ago, they were letting in several suite guests while there were lines of 10-12 people trying to get in, with waits of over a half hour.  To make matters worse one large table of suite guests insisted on dining in Blu and ordering off the MDR menu, which required the waiters to go to a different kitchen.  It was very frustrating for the staff and other diners.  (and I'm not assuming any of this stuff - I heard the info directly from my waiter at the time).

[Shiba_Lover]

I can also add that I travel in the Retreat suites, and on the last trip on Apex - have eaten in the MDR twice.  Why - well, I just felt like trying it out.  I had never eaten in the MDR before so wanted to try it.  They had 4 different rooms, and just thought I would give it a try.   After multiple cruises on all the classes of ships, I realized I had never eaten in the MDR.  I peaked in, and the rooms were really pretty.  So I thought - hey - let's check it out.  Service and food were good.  No issues or problems.  I also spoke with some other Retreat guests who had friends in an infinite veranda cabin - and they were going to the MDR to dine with them each night.  So there are reasons people may choose to go to the MDR, even if just to check out the room itself.

Edited April 14, 2023 by Shiba_Lover