Any Thoughts About Luminae on Constellation?

[JDPCruisers]

Would appreciate any thoughts from recent or current cruisers regarding the food and service in Luminae on the Constellation?

[FlyingCruiser2]

We were on in March (hope that's recent enough).  We thought the food and service was great - especially the service.  For example on lobster night, we heard a lot of people complain about the MDR - small, cooked wrong, had to pay for additional....but in Luminae, we asked when ordering if we wanted 2, and it was butter-poached and perfectly done.

 

Also, one night early in the cruise my wife asked about a recipe for one dish.  The final night our Luminae server tracked us down at one of the specialty restaurants to give us the printed recipe.

[JDPCruisers]

3 hours ago, FlyingCruiser2 said:

We were on in March (hope that's recent enough).  We thought the food and service was great - especially the service.  For example on lobster night, we heard a lot of people complain about the MDR - small, cooked wrong, had to pay for additional....but in Luminae, we asked when ordering if we wanted 2, and it was butter-poached and perfectly done.

 

Also, one night early in the cruise my wife asked about a recipe for one dish.  The final night our Luminae server tracked us down at one of the specialty restaurants to give us the printed recipe.

Thanks, and, yes, certainly recent enough. We were on Edge for 24 days in April and it was as great as our previous cruises, so just checking on the Connie as this will be our first time sailing in December. With the changes that we're hearing about we're waiting to experience ourselves before making any judgments but always interested in other thoughts. If you don't mind my asking, your first time on the Connie or having cruised her before? Any other thoughts on you experienced with your suite, service, Michaels Club, etc?

[FlyingCruiser2]

2 hours ago, JDPCruisers said:

.........

 

If you don't mind my asking, your first time on the Connie or having cruised her before? Any other thoughts on you experienced with your suite, service, Michaels Club, etc?

 

This was our first time on Connie and first time with Celebrity, and we were in a PH.  Our previous comparable cruises have been HAL (Pinnacle Suites), Virgin (Massive Suite), and other lines suites.

 

Have to say we've liked Celebrity the best.  The inclusions of the drink package, tips, stocked bar, obc credit, and especially the unlimited Specialty Restaurants made it the best value.  The cabin was considerably nicer than the others mentioned above, fantastic balcony that takes up half the width of the ship.  Service was fantastic from our Butler (although we asked for very little compared to requests I've read about). 

 

Not much interaction with Michael's club and the Retreat Concierge - except for one thing he did that went WAY beyond.   Before leaving they emailed us about preferences for the bottles that they provided.  One of our requests was for Mezcal, asking for one that was a Joven (least aged).  When we got on the ship there were two bottles of Mezcal (plus our other requested spirit) and both were good brands.  As we visited different bars on the ship - only one of them had Mezcal and it was a different brand then they furnished us.  I had assumed they would have given us a brand from the ship's normal bar stock.  When I asked the Retreat Concierge about this, he told me that he had sent someone off the ship to a liquor store during turnaround to get our bottles - that he wanted us to have a good brand of them.  Needless to say, he was mentioned on survey and tipped well.

 

Bottom line is that our experience did change our preferred line to Celebrity, but likely just the smaller class of ships like Connie.  

 

Back to Luminae - another difference you'll have on Connie is that you can order from the MDR or BLU menus.

 

 

 

[Carlett]

We are currently on the constellation and have gone to Luminae for dinner twice and lunch once.   We’ve been impressed with the service and quality of the food served. The presentation and taste has been better than what we expected.  We had low expectations before boarding after reading negative reviews about the Constellation, and must say that the ship is in excellent condition considering her age.  The crew is friendly and the atmosphere is warm and inviting.  We would sail her again in a heartbeat and recommend Luminae.

[agape01]

I am going to be on the Millennium this coming Nov and I am wondering whether does the Signature Dishes from Chef Daniel Boulud change nightly? 

[DaKahuna]

8 hours ago, agape01 said:

I am going to be on the Millennium this coming Nov and I am wondering whether does the Signature Dishes from Chef Daniel Boulud change nightly? 

 

No, The appetizer, entre, and dessert are the same every day.  

 

[JDPCruisers]

18 hours ago, FlyingCruiser2 said:

 

This was our first time on Connie and first time with Celebrity, and we were in a PH.  Our previous comparable cruises have been HAL (Pinnacle Suites), Virgin (Massive Suite), and other lines suites.

 

Have to say we've liked Celebrity the best.  The inclusions of the drink package, tips, stocked bar, obc credit, and especially the unlimited Specialty Restaurants made it the best value.  The cabin was considerably nicer than the others mentioned above, fantastic balcony that takes up half the width of the ship.  Service was fantastic from our Butler (although we asked for very little compared to requests I've read about). 

 

Not much interaction with Michael's club and the Retreat Concierge - except for one thing he did that went WAY beyond.   Before leaving they emailed us about preferences for the bottles that they provided.  One of our requests was for Mezcal, asking for one that was a Joven (least aged).  When we got on the ship there were two bottles of Mezcal (plus our other requested spirit) and both were good brands.  As we visited different bars on the ship - only one of them had Mezcal and it was a different brand then they furnished us.  I had assumed they would have given us a brand from the ship's normal bar stock.  When I asked the Retreat Concierge about this, he told me that he had sent someone off the ship to a liquor store during turnaround to get our bottles - that he wanted us to have a good brand of them.  Needless to say, he was mentioned on survey and tipped well.

 

Bottom line is that our experience did change our preferred line to Celebrity, but likely just the smaller class of ships like Connie.  

 

Back to Luminae - another difference you'll have on Connie is that you can order from the MDR or BLU menus.

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing. So glad to hear you had a positive experience as all of ours on Celebrity have been great, so far. We have not sailed in a PH before but folks we've met all said it was great. We're in a Sky Suite and with the changes they've made we will not have a dedicated butler or mini fridge stocked, which we have had that level of service including great Concierges, so we'll see what we get. We, too, don't have a lot of requests, but cookies and night and the occasional pizza in the room after a late night was always welcomed and our Butler, which we've had the same on all but one of previous cruises. On the smaller ships, typically, you can order of all MDR and Blu menus when in Luminae. That has always been a plus for us. Happy future cruising!

[agape01]

16 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

No, The appetizer, entre, and dessert are the same every day.  

 

Thanks for this heads-up.

[JDPCruisers]

16 hours ago, Carlett said:

We are currently on the constellation and have gone to Luminae for dinner twice and lunch once.   We’ve been impressed with the service and quality of the food served. The presentation and taste has been better than what we expected.  We had low expectations before boarding after reading negative reviews about the Constellation, and must say that the ship is in excellent condition considering her age.  The crew is friendly and the atmosphere is warm and inviting.  We would sail her again in a heartbeat and recommend Luminae.

That's great to hear! Luminae has always been a favorite with us and looking forward to being back. If you don't mind my asking, what type of suite are in? Have you noticed any of the recent changes?

[Carlett]

We are sailing in a celebrity suite.  We haven’t noticed too many changes on our end.  Our butler Vishal, has been exceptional, truly one of the best we’ve had on Celebrity.   We are pretty low key and don’t require much looking after and he’s constantly checking  with us to see how we are, and if we need anything.  Michael’s Club is well staffed and we haven’t noticed any cutbacks yet, but, we usually stop by just for a cocktail and leave. We haven’t made it to tea time or any of the other special events yet.  We have been looking for cutbacks since there is so much conversation on this subject.  It could be more coming and just hasn’t hit yet on this cruise.   The food at Luminae has been wonderful.   We haven’t had a bad meal yet on this cruise, other than the veggie burger from the grill that was not that exciting.   😊

[JDPCruisers]

42 minutes ago, Carlett said:

We are sailing in a celebrity suite.  We haven’t noticed too many changes on our end.  Our butler Vishal, has been exceptional, truly one of the best we’ve had on Celebrity.   We are pretty low key and don’t require much looking after and he’s constantly checking  with us to see how we are, and if we need anything.  Michael’s Club is well staffed and we haven’t noticed any cutbacks yet, but, we usually stop by just for a cocktail and leave. We haven’t made it to tea time or any of the other special events yet.  We have been looking for cutbacks since there is so much conversation on this subject.  It could be more coming and just hasn’t hit yet on this cruise.   The food at Luminae has been wonderful.   We haven’t had a bad meal yet on this cruise, other than the veggie burger from the grill that was not that exciting.   😊

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear all is going well on your cruise and the changes haven't affected you. Enjoy!

[SusieAV8R]

On 9/6/2023 at 2:48 PM, FlyingCruiser2 said:

 

This was our first time on Connie and first time with Celebrity, and we were in a PH.  Our previous comparable cruises have been HAL (Pinnacle Suites), Virgin (Massive Suite), and other lines suites.

 

Have to say we've liked Celebrity the best.  The inclusions of the drink package, tips, stocked bar, obc credit, and especially the unlimited Specialty Restaurants made it the best value.  The cabin was considerably nicer than the others mentioned above, fantastic balcony that takes up half the width of the ship.  Service was fantastic from our Butler (although we asked for very little compared to requests I've read about). 

 

Not much interaction with Michael's club and the Retreat Concierge - except for one thing he did that went WAY beyond.   Before leaving they emailed us about preferences for the bottles that they provided.  One of our requests was for Mezcal, asking for one that was a Joven (least aged).  When we got on the ship there were two bottles of Mezcal (plus our other requested spirit) and both were good brands.  As we visited different bars on the ship - only one of them had Mezcal and it was a different brand then they furnished us.  I had assumed they would have given us a brand from the ship's normal bar stock.  When I asked the Retreat Concierge about this, he told me that he had sent someone off the ship to a liquor store during turnaround to get our bottles - that he wanted us to have a good brand of them.  Needless to say, he was mentioned on survey and tipped well.

 

Bottom line is that our experience did change our preferred line to Celebrity, but likely just the smaller class of ships like Connie.  

 

Back to Luminae - another difference you'll have on Connie is that you can order from the MDR or BLU menus.

 

 

 

We sailed in PH on Connie Nov-Dec. 2021 and will be in a B2B2B (21 days) in the same PH suite.  What FlyingCruiser2 said is typical of our experience in a PH suite on an M-class ship.  (Actually that's our favorite class since the PH is located in the stern of the ship and thus has the very large balcony and it has a  Butler's pantry.). That said, the benefits FlyingCruiser2 listed are basically limited to pax in RS and PS; not true from our experience in CS (i.e. Stocked bar in suite, included bottles of alcohol if suite set up package not purchased, etc.). It was possible to order from MDR when in Luminae when we cruised M-class in April.  DH and I didn't find Luminae food all that exciting on occasion; so we often had dinner in the Ocean View Cafe if we didn't want eat in Tuscan Grill (again).  (Petit Chef for us was done once and that was enough.). Additionally, pre and post covid, on M-class Luminae, it has been hit or miss on whether our waffles, Eggs Benedict or omelettes arrive at the table hot, so we would go to OV for a large number of breakfasts to have it cooked as we stand there.

[MrsB05]

Where is Luminae located on Constellation? 

I know there isn't a Retreat Lounge per se, is it Michael's Club?

TIA

[bEwAbG]

10 minutes ago, MrsB05 said:

Where is Luminae located on Constellation? 

I know there isn't a Retreat Lounge per se, is it Michael's Club?

TIA

 

Luminae is carved out of the main dining room space, deck 4.  Michael's Club is the Retreat lounge space on non-Revolutionized ships.   

[bigbenboys]

The 2 things that I like about all M Class ships are that Luminae and Blu were carved out of the MDR. Most of the times this allows you to order off the MDR menu also. The other thing is that most of the suites are located aft deck 6.

[FINTPOPE]

On 4/6/2024 at 11:12 PM, MrsB05 said:

Where is Luminae located on Constellation? 

I know there isn't a Retreat Lounge per se, is it Michael's Club?

TIA

The Constellation is currently in dry dock and Michael's Club is being renamed The Retreat Lounge

[MrsB05]

30 minutes ago, FINTPOPE said:

The Constellation is currently in dry dock and Michael's Club is being renamed The Retreat Lounge

Thanks!

[MrsB05]

57 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

The 2 things that I like about all M Class ships are that Luminae and Blu were carved out of the MDR. Most of the times this allows you to order off the MDR menu also. The other thing is that most of the suites are located aft deck 6.

Thanks.  We ended up on Deck 8 but I did see a lot of suites on Deck 6.

[miched]

5 hours ago, FINTPOPE said:

The Constellation is currently in dry dock and Michael's Club is being renamed The Retreat Lounge

The big winner is not designed by Kelly Hoppen.   I wonder why they made that comment????🙄

 

Adding 12 more cabins with a capacity of 4 people will also add 12 to 48 more passengers in Luminae with the normal being 24.   The area isn’t that large and If they add more tables it will be very congested 

 

Happy  to see that they are going to have a walk in shower instead of those dangerous  bath tubs. 
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited April 8 by miched

[Gracie115]

On 9/6/2023 at 12:00 PM, JDPCruisers said:

Thanks, and, yes, certainly recent enough. We were on Edge for 24 days in April and it was as great as our previous cruises, so just checking on the Connie as this will be our first time sailing in December. With the changes that we're hearing about we're waiting to experience ourselves before making any judgments but always interested in other thoughts. If you don't mind my asking, your first time on the Connie or having cruised her before? Any other thoughts on you experienced with your suite, service, Michaels Club, etc?

I suspect you will find Luminae even better on the Connie.  You will have far more choices as the MDR menu is also available on M & S class ships in Luminae.  Also it is a MUCH smaller venue so it is quieter and the service is better.  We have had 2 cruises on Apex and were disappointed in Luminae after several cruises on the older classes.  

[FINTPOPE]

I'd be interested to know if they are extending Luminae as they are adding 12 new suites (previous ultra deluxe vernada cabins) in the current dry dock refurb.  This is what they have done on Infinity, but is not mentioned on the list in above posts.

[DaKahuna]

On 4/6/2024 at 6:12 PM, MrsB05 said:

Where is Luminae located on Constellation? 

I know there isn't a Retreat Lounge per se, is it Michael's Club?

TIA

 

 https://www.celebritycruises.com/cruise-ships/celebrity-constellation/deck-plan

 

 Both are located on Deck 4 port side. 

 

 Michael's Club is the lounge for Suite Guest on non-revolutionized ships such as the Constellation.   

 

[DaKahuna]

On 4/8/2024 at 6:24 PM, miched said:

The big winner is not designed by Kelly Hoppen.   I wonder why they made that comment????🙄

 

 I would be willing to bet it has to do with all the negative feedback they have received regarding the Kelly Hoppen designed spaces.  

 

 

[miched]

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 I would be willing to bet it has to do with all the negative feedback they have received regarding the Kelly Hoppen designed spaces.  

 

 

Do you think?    I am sure that they regret commissioning her.   
 

Too bad they let her ruin the other ships during their upgrading before waking up.  
 

I do have to congratulate Kelly   for giving them a bigger con job than P. T. Barnum, and snow job than Colonel Parker.  Shame on those that approved the final designs.  They should all be canned.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅