May Retreat guests eat in the MDRs?

[Syd58]

We are booked on the Edge for an upcoming cruise, in the Retreat. Although we look forward to dining at Luminae, we would like to have some meals in the MDRs. We cannot make reservations in advance according to our TA, but I’m wondering if we can use our any time dining and just show up, or (preferably) make reservations once on board?

[PTC DAWG]

Yes to all questions..

[Rick&Jeannie]

Absolutely!

[jelayne]

We have just showed up and haven't had but a few minutes wait.  We do eat late so not during peak times.

[justcrusn]

but why would you???

lol

(I can think of some reasons, but lumina is SOOOO good......)

[39august]

And you should let the maitre d' in Luninae know in advance.

[Chrissi3010]

You can order everything from the MDR menue in Luminae... 

[RK-NC]

1 hour ago, Chrissi3010 said:

You can order everything from the MDR menue in Luminae... 

I have read on other CC threads that on Edge class ship Lumnae you can't order from the MDR menus. 

[RK-NC]

2 hours ago, 39august said:

And you should let the maitre d' in Luninae know in advance.

Respectfully, may I ask, why is this necessary? 

[cruisestitch]

2 hours ago, Chrissi3010 said:

You can order everything from the MDR menue in Luminae... 

that varies by ship

[cruisestitch]

1 hour ago, RK-NC said:

Respectfully, may I ask, why is this necessary? 

if you have been sitting at the same table every night, and now you’re not going to be there, it is helpful for them to know so they might be able to seat someone else there.

[waterbug123]

1 hour ago, RK-NC said:

I have read on other CC threads that on Edge class ship Lumnae you can't order from the MDR menus. 

We were on Apex last summer and were able to order some MDR items in Luminae.

[INSIDERS CABIN]

Wondering why people do this?  Just to change it up a bit!

 

And, because the dining rooms are so pretty, and the specialties of each are interesting, although imo not as good in 2024 as2019. And we do run into staff we remember and enjoy from other trips. We love the ambience of Normandie especially, but enjoy visiting the others too. We check all the menus and roam from Luminae to specialty restaurants to Blu to MDRs . Although very good, the menus haven’t changed much over the years in Luminae.

[Liao]

38 minutes ago, waterbug123 said:

We were on Apex last summer and were able to order some MDR items in Luminae.

Was your waiter training for the marathon.

[RK-NC]

16 hours ago, INSIDERS CABIN said:

We love the ambience of Normandie especially, but enjoy visiting the others too. We check all the menus and roam from Luminae to specialty restaurants to Blu to MDRs . Although very good, the menus haven’t changed much over the years in Luminae.

 Thanks for this! We want to roam around too but had decided we might skip Normandie. We'll reconsider! 

[TheHawk1]

We did this last year with on Edge with no issues.  When you're on a 10 day cruise, the formality (some might say stuffiness) of Luminae can get to be a bit much, so a break every few days is a nice change. We visited both Normandie and Cypress, enjoyed the meals and fine service.  In fact, when we requested a window table one night in MDR, we heard the hostess on her walkie talkie say "VIP needs a windows seat" and we were seated in under 5 mins (we did have a reservation for that night).  It made us feel special... what's not to like about that?

[Jim_Iain]

18 hours ago, RK-NC said:

I have read on other CC threads that on Edge class ship Lumnae you can't order from the MDR menus. 

Recently it depends on the Maitr'D.    When on Edge in Nov/December they would allow us to order fro MDR, Blu or Luminae.   They would bring all the menus to our table the night before or at lunch so if we wanted something from the other kitchens, they would arrange for it without disrupting the dinner service.   

[waterbug123]

16 hours ago, Liao said:

Was your waiter training for the marathon.

No, just providing excellent service.

[gmbhardy]

We enjoyed the MDRs on the Beyond much more than Luminae. We found the Luminae menu extremely pretentious (chicken liver custard) and the service atrocious. Most nights I wasn’t served my wine until well into the meal, in fact on the first night it wasn’t until dessert. The sommelier was the only person authorized to pour wine and unfortunately the poor guy couldn’t keep up. We sail in suites quite often and have dined in some pretty nice restaurants but Luminae just wasn’t our cup of tea.

[bigbenboys]

On 3/26/2024 at 10:49 AM, justcrusn said:

but why would you???

lol

(I can think of some reasons, but lumina is SOOOO good......)

My MIL and her sister were in a non suite cabin. I informed the Maitr'D and our butler. We went on prime rib night. I was great. Other reason is limited food option in Luminae on the Edge class ship. I saw what Jim said on #17. I'm crossing my fingers that I might be able to order off the MDR menu on our June Apex cruise. Friends picked Apex for Iceland. 

[Plato123]

We normally eat in Luminae but several years ago we decided to try the MDR to see what thed service there was like. It was later in the cruise and we were seated at a table with several others who clearly looked at us as outsiders as we must have displaced a couple who they had regularly been dining with. We now stick to Luminae, but (on S class ships) occasionally will order off the MDR menu.