Complaint about Blu

[kirtihk]

On 5/19/2023 at 4:14 AM, debsjc said:

It's strange people would want to eat that early. I would wait till they had all gone, and go in around 7.30-8pm 

That's what we've been doing, too.

[shellunderwater]

On 5/18/2023 at 9:43 PM, OnTheJourney said:

DW and I just did the May 6 sailing on the Summit out of Bayonne. It was the 2nd time we elected to do Aqua Class being that the first time, several years ago, we really enjoyed eating there. This time, however, it wasn't quite the same experience. My main complaint is that, instead of opening at 5:30 as stated, they decided to always open much earlier because of the line of people that forms. What seems to have happened on the cruise is that people start hanging around already by 4:30, and by 4:45 there's already a line. That's crazy. I think Blu got themselves into a bad situation by opening early for these folks. Then, if you get there by like 5:15 or even shortly after 5:00, forget about any hechance of getting a window seat, which is one of the things we really enjoyed the first time. I was dumbfounded to get there one of the first nights close to 5:30 and saw that the restuarant was not only already open but basically nearly every table full. I questioned it several times but was always told that "since there's a long line that forms they decide to open early". I say...the heck with these people that show up nearly an hour early. Let 'em wait!  I think they should stick to the 5:30 time. People would quickly come to realize that there's little point of gathering with their cocktails that long before the scheduled opening time! It was most disappointing. 

 

We're thinking that we might not even do it again and instead go back to MTD unless it still only starts at 6:00. So another issue is that, by letting people in early, they're really not ready. Several evenings the wait staff came around apologizing that the bread wasn't made yet and so would arrive a bit later. My wife had salmon the one night that was way undercooked. Another somewhat unrelated issue is that the food was, for the most part, barely warm most of the time. Same for breakfast. Everything cooled off really quick. We've never done suite level so maybe that would be worth a try. NO complaints about the service in Blu (except for being considerably longer between courses than was the case on other cruises) and the food was, generally speaking, quite good.

 

As to Aqua in general, not sure it's worth it as much as before. We don't use the spa at all, and I generally get to the persian garden at least once. We chose Aqua both times basically for Blu. Used to be (really good) iced tea in the room each day and always some sort of 'nibbles' brought to the room in the afternoon. This time, nada. I realize all lines have cut back on amenities, but, what was I paying all the extra money for? Several nights I ordered from the MDR menu anyway. It just was not quite the experience we expected for the extra money. Anybody else experience similar? 

So you'd rather they not open early and the people who got in line ahead of you still get in before you and still get the window seats ahead of you.

 

Got it.

[sanger727]

On 5/19/2023 at 1:17 PM, OnTheJourney said:

You may have misunderstood. We DID arrive early once we saw how things were going. Generally we were down there between 5:00 - 5:15. By quarter after or so they were usually already open and I'd say even half-full. 

 

I really didn't expect a defensive attitude to show up on this particular thread, though should have since that's how social media is nowadays. Sorry if I ruffled anyone's feathers who has had wonderful experiences in Blu. There also seems to be somewhat of an attitude against people who want to eat real early. 

 

No, I understood. You originally wanted to arrive around 5:30 and be one of the first to be seated so you could request a window seat. Many of the other diners on your cruise were willing to queue up well ahead of 5:30 and celebrity opened the venue early - which pushed you to be ready earlier than preferred.

 

You are also operating with an assumption that if celebrity didn't open the venue early, people wouldn't continue to queue early. I don't think that's a valid assumption. We also like to eat early, right around when the dining room opens and get our preferred seats/dining team. We would usually go down a half hour before to get a cocktail, but somewhere within view of the dining room. If a queue started, we would jump in. If they didn't, we would wait in the lounge until it opened. 

 

It stikes me as entitled to assume that you can show up to a venue at the opening time and also get to be one of the first ones seated. that may be true most of the time, but this is really up to your fellow cruisers - not celebrity. 

Edited May 23, 2023 by sanger727

[terrydtx]

On 5/19/2023 at 3:14 AM, debsjc said:

It's strange people would want to eat that early. I would wait till they had all gone, and go in around 7.30-8pm 

We sail in suites and dine in Luminae, we have found if we wait until 6:30 to 7pm we can usually get a window seat in Luminae after the early birds are finishing and leaving. Since the first to enter Luminae usually take the few window tables, they are also the first done with their meal and leaving by 6:30-7pm. Luminae on our last couple of cruises had people lining up 30 minutes or more early to enter, time we used to enjoy a pre diner drink in the Retreat lounge. Before we started cruising in Suites, we only booked Aqua for Blu and used the same 6:30-7pm strategy for dining. When we did book Aqua I resented that Suites passengers were allowed to dine in Aqua, but now that we book suites, I would never take up any seats in Blu by dining there instead of Luminae.

Edited May 23, 2023 by terrydtx

[Cruise a holic]

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

We sail in suites and dine in Luminae, we have found if we wait until 6:30 to 7pm we can usually get a window seat in Luminae after the early birds are finishing and leaving. Since the first to enter Luminae usually take the few window tables, they are also the first done with their meal and leaving by 6:30-7pm. Luminae on our last couple of cruises had people lining up 30 minutes or more early to enter, time we used to enjoy a pre diner drink in the Retreat lounge. Before we started cruising in Suites, we only booked Aqua for Blu and used the same 6:30-7pm strategy for dining. When we did book Aqua I resented that Suites passengers were allowed to dine in Aqua, but now that we book suites, I would never take up any seats in Blu by dining there instead of Luminae.

Since you dine in luminae, blu IMO not nearly as good.  More comfortable in Luminae and the food better.  But we also enjoy dining in specialty restaurants during our cruise- and miss some dinners in luminae.

[OnTheJourney]

6 hours ago, shellunderwater said:

Got it.

No you don't quite have it. I contend that IF they would stick to the STATED opening time (and several here agree with me that they should) I suspect you wouldn't have a line forming quite so early cause there'd be no need to. Why stand in a long line for 45 minutes if you know they won't open ahead of time? People started to see that if they queue up the place will indeed open, and so I suspect that gradually the cycle has been pushed earlier and earlier. Once again, I'm only going on one prior experience in Blu, which was much nicer overall. 

[OnTheJourney]

4 hours ago, sanger727 said:

You originally wanted to arrive around 5:30 and be one of the first to be seated so you could request a window seat.

That's exactly the way it happened...every night... when we were in Blu 4 years ago.  I think it's probably time for this thread to be closed. I never expected to be placed in a defensive position. It's not that big a deal, but merely just an obsevation, as others agreed with, that the place should follow the stated schedule and open on time. If the bread isn't ready to bring out to the tables and you've got wait staff feeling the need to go around apologizing because it's not ready yet, that alone seems reason enough to stick to the 5:30 time. They've gotten themselves in a mess. Pretty soon they'll be opening by 4:45 the way things are going. 

Edited May 23, 2023 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

I suspect some of the criticism taking place in this thread is from longtime Celebrity fans for whom I've ruffled a few feathers. If so, my sincere apologies. Let's leave it at this.....everything about Blu is utterly and unquestionably fantastic. I'll just wait in line next time with a happy grin on my face. 😁

Edited May 23, 2023 by OnTheJourney

[markeb]

53 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

No you don't quite have it. I contend that IF they would stick to the STATED opening time (and several here agree with me that they should) I suspect you wouldn't have a line forming quite so early cause there'd be no need to. Why stand in a long line for 45 minutes if you know they won't open ahead of time? People started to see that if they queue up the place will indeed open, and so I suspect that gradually the cycle has been pushed earlier and earlier. Once again, I'm only going on one prior experience in Blu, which was much nicer overall. 

 

FWIW, I'm the guy who'd not only not open the door early, I'd have ship's safety clear the hallway to keep them from blocking an egress route. But that's just me. So I guess I'm with you on opening at the stated time.

 

On the other hand, have you been to a concert, sporting event, movie theater, theater, etc. recently? Or boarded an airplane? Even at events where there are assigned seats and no real reason to get there early, people queue way ahead of gate times. I don't know why. It takes the same time to get through the rate limiting step (security if it's there, and showing your ticket). The difference is how long you stand before you can enter. And I've always been through in plenty of time to get a beer, buy merch, use the bathroom, and find my seat.

 

I just don't think that not opening the doors early does anything for what you observed. People would still be there early. 

[phoenix_dream]

2 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

Since you dine in luminae, blu IMO not nearly as good.  More comfortable in Luminae and the food better.  But we also enjoy dining in specialty restaurants during our cruise- and miss some dinners in luminae.

A matter of opinion.  Overall I far prefer the Blu menu and find the food just as good. On ships where we can, we often order off the Blu or even MDR menu while in Luminae. 

[phoenix_dream]

1 hour ago, OnTheJourney said:

I suspect some of the criticism taking place in this thread is from longtime Celebrity fans for whom I've ruffled a few feathers. If so, my sincere apologies. Let's leave it at this.....everything about Blu is utterly and unquestionably fantastic. I'll just wait in line next time with a happy grin on my face. 😁

I fail to see how comments relate to being a longtime Celebrity fan, or not.  I think many felt it was a bit of an entitled attitude.  Don't need to be a longtime fan to see that. 

[OnTheJourney]

33 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

I think many felt it was a bit of an entitled attitude

I had really hoped it wouldn't have come across that way, especially since I don't consider myself to be one of those people out there who DO seem to feel like they're entitled to all sorts of things. That said, did I miss not being at the window each night like my first experience with Blu? Yes...for sure, but I probably came across as overemphasizing that point. 

[Orator]

There are strict rules that govern the hours worked. If they open 15 minuets early they must find the 15 minutes from something else. There is a domino effect of every decision how to use staff.

[paulh84]

I’m failing to see the correlation between opening early and encouraging people to wait in line. People wait in line to get tender tickets, for shows, for walk offs, for meals, etc. You wanted to be first in line at 5:30 to get your coveted window seat and other people beat you to it. Had you been the one in front of the line, there would be no complaint. You’re on a ship with thousands of people. Not everyone can get the prime spots. 

[OnTheJourney]

2 hours ago, markeb said:

I'd have ship's safety clear the hallway to keep them from blocking an egress route.

EXCELLENT point!!  

[jmfdr]

On 5/19/2023 at 4:14 AM, debsjc said:

It's strange people would want to eat that early. I would wait till they had all gone, and go in around 7.30-8pm 

Our preferred dining time is between 6:30-7:00.  However, our experience in Blu is if we wait until those times  there is always a waiting time; it seems to get backed up even more by 7:30-8:00.  Seems like lines clear out by 8:00.  So we started heading to Blu by 6 pm. I know every cruise is different, but this was our experience on our last two cruises in Aqua.  

[OnTheJourney]

39 minutes ago, paulh84 said:

You wanted to be first in line at 5:30 to get your coveted window seat and other people beat you to it.

I give up on adequately trying to convey my thoughts on this. Had they opened up at 5:30 as they should, we'd probably plan to get down there by 5:15-5:20. Then, if there'd be a line (which I expect wouldn't be all that long cause people would KNOW they're not gonna open early), so be it. If we didn't get a window seat, so be it. The room still would not be near as full once we got in. However, we found ourselves getting ready in our room by a bit after 4:00 already - really earlier than we prefer (so I guess now I'll get harangued once again about wanting to eat so early). Our intention was to be there by as close to 5:00 as possible since shortly after is when they opened. I would have never expected running into this situation based on our previous experience. It just pushed our schedule up too far. By the time we finished eating around 6:45 or even closer to 7:00, there were also a good many people waiting for tables as someone else just commented on.

 

Noone seems to be concerned about the waitstaff having to go around and apologize that the bread baskets weren't ready because of opening early. Rather, the focus is on my being accused of being ticked off becuase of not getting a window seat. That is not the biggest issue here. Stick to the schedule, Celebrity! That Celebrity Today is missing the boat with certain things, one of which is not mentioning ANYthing about daily tea (basically amounts to just putting out scones. Sail with Viking if you want a real afteroon tea experience). Nothing about it on the app either.

 

I guess some of my frustration is not having been as happy overall with Aqua class this time compared to our first experience. No afternoon canapés, no iced tea in the room...so...some of what has been taken away is what made it feel a bit special. OK...I'm done now on this topic. No further replies forthcoming. We've run our course on this. 

Edited May 23, 2023 by OnTheJourney

[mayleeman]

@OnTheJourney We used to arrive early for Southwest flights back when it truly was first-come-first-choice. My wife and I watched many movies on DVD players over the years while sitting next to the wall where one or even 2 flights boarded before ours. We had a target of 4 hours before flight time. We were taking cross-country flights, we are both over 6 ft tall, and the only seats comfortable for 4 to 5 hours were the exit rows.  

 

Ah, the good old days.

 

PS: Neither we, nor the hundreds of people who lined up hours early behind us over the years  expected the plane to take off early!  

Edited May 23, 2023 by mayleeman

[bEwAbG]

2 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

I give up on adequately trying to convey my thoughts on this.

 

 

I think you've conveyed your thoughts just fine.  Most everyone just disagrees with the premise that there wouldn't be the same number of people lining up even if they opened at the stated hour.

[Cruise till you drop]

13 hours ago, markeb said:

 

FWIW, I'm the guy who'd not only not open the door early, I'd have ship's safety clear the hallway to keep them from blocking an egress route. But that's just me. So I guess I'm with you on opening at the stated time.

 

On the other hand, have you been to a concert, sporting event, movie theater, theater, etc. recently? Or boarded an airplane? Even at events where there are assigned seats and no real reason to get there early, people queue way ahead of gate times. I don't know why. It takes the same time to get through the rate limiting step (security if it's there, and showing your ticket). The difference is how long you stand before you can enter. And I've always been through in plenty of time to get a beer, buy merch, use the bathroom, and find my seat.

 

I just don't think that not opening the doors early does anything for what you observed. People would still be there early. 

But Aqua class passengers are more special than all others, need to be catered to, walk on water, and should all have window seats.

 

I love rich people problems 😂 

 

 

Edited May 24, 2023 by Cruise till you drop

[terrydtx]

11 hours ago, mayleeman said:

@OnTheJourney We used to arrive early for Southwest flights back when it truly was first-come-first-choice. My wife and I watched many movies on DVD players over the years while sitting next to the wall where one or even 2 flights boarded before ours. We had a target of 4 hours before flight time. We were taking cross-country flights, we are both over 6 ft tall, and the only seats comfortable for 4 to 5 hours were the exit rows.  

 

Ah, the good old days.

 

PS: Neither we, nor the hundreds of people who lined up hours early behind us over the years  expected the plane to take off early!  

Thanks for reminding  me why we never fly Southwest, even though you can now pay extra to be in the first seating and boarding group. Maybe Celebrity could use that concept for guaranteed window seating in Blu? 

[kirtihk]

5 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

But Aqua class passengers are more special than all others, need to be catered to, walk on water, and should all have window seats.

 

I love rich people problems 😂 

 

 

If anyone is not comfortable with multiple aspects on a cruise, depending on what those items are, it's ether the cruise is not the best choice of a holiday, or a cruise line needs to improve in those areas.  It's so sad that some individuals (I believe they are in marginal group) point fingers and "push" people around (thinking it's a way of criticizing) these days.  What happened to manners?  To make sure I will not be a rage target now, here is my thoughts on nagging: I decided a few years ago not to complain (even in my head) about anything during a cruise unless it's a matter of a really very low comfort (like not a working air conditioner on a Caribbean cruise, and even then, I would not complain but rather politely address the issue asking to either fix the air conditioner or move us in a different available cabin in our or higher category like it occurred on our Paul Gauguin cruise a few years ago when temperature in our ocean-view cabin was 82F on an embarkation day).  As I repeatedly say, on a cruise every minute counts (so, complaining is ruining those precious minutes of enjoyment).

Edited May 24, 2023 by kirtihk

[Octavias]

5 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

If anyone is not comfortable with multiple aspects on a cruise, depending on what those items are, it's ether the cruise is not the best choice of a holiday, or a cruise line needs to improve in those areas.  It's so sad that some individuals (I believe they are in minority) point fingers and "push" people around (thinking it's a way of criticizing) these days.  What happened to manners?  To make sure I will not be a rage target now, I decided a few years ago not to complain (even in my head) about anything during a cruise unless it's a matter of a really very low comfort (like not a working air conditioner on a Caribbean cruise, and even then, I would not complain but rather politely address the issue asking to either fix the air conditioner or move us in a different available cabin in our or higher category like it occurred on our Paul Gauguin cruise a few years ago when temperature in our ocean-view cabin was 82F on an embarkation day).

I agree.  I can’t believe how some people have raked the op over the coals because she expressed disappointment at not getting a window seat on a cruise and explained why she thought that was.  She isn’t the one making this a big deal in my opinion, she just shared her disappointing experience and now is defending herself from the onslaught.   Geesh.   

[FeelingCruisy]

I thought I throw in my 2 cents on Blu.   Celebrity Solstice, April 8, Mexican Riviera.   We have 21 cruises with Celebrity and have done main dining and Luminae and never Blu.

So it was our first time.   

The good:

Always seated quickly, some times windows some not, no matter.  Friendly matri-d.

Beautiful restaurant, tables turned over quickly.

The bad:

Under staff is the main problem.  No enough waiters. And because of that, their hearing also seemed impaired and orders where coming out wrong, bread with no butter, water not refilled, and after repeatedly requesting for these minor inconveniences, never came.  No dedicated waiter, doesn't matter, but we felt judged.  Service is extremely biased.  Harsh, unbelievable, but unfortunately true.  Same with restaurant manager.  Ok, and I'm not making this up - Twice I was reprimanded by the waiter after asking for my butter for bread because they never arrive even after we started the main.  First time I swallowed my response but when it happened again, I responded back in his same tone and he backed off some.   Restaurant manager got involved and problem resolved and we never sat at that waiters table again.  I would say this was the first time we complained about the restaurant on Celebrity.   

Food: 2 days were excellent.  Great lamb chops.   Cooked the way I liked it.   The rest of the days, was mediocre.   The menu itself sounds really really good but what was translated on the plate is NOTHING like how the menu described it.  Especially true for the appetizers.   I've always salivated reading the Blu menu before we tried it.  I won't anymore.  And this has nothing to do with the dreadful service.   

Breakfast, while is nice to have breakfast in Aqua, I didn't see much difference from the main dining.  In fact main dining was way much quicker.  

We both agreed that we would actually think twice even if it was a free upgrade to Aqua moving forward.   The spa, sure it was ok, ended up going once.  Not a big deal.   Bottle waters and champagne was a nice touch.   

[sanger727]

20 hours ago, markeb said:

 

I just don't think that not opening the doors early does anything for what you observed. People would still be there early. 

 

Right, this is up to the passengers, not Celebrity. The assumption that people would not queue early if they did not open early is and assumption, and IMO, not likely to be true. But at the end of the day, there is no way to know. It's just a debate on if people queued early, and potentially blocked the hallway - is the staff better off seating them and starting drinks, even if bread and dinner service isn't ready quite yet. Or allow them to wait and have a large crowd seated all at the same time with servers running themselves ragged getting drinks served to everyone. I think that either way, someone will complain. 

Edited May 24, 2023 by sanger727