Reflection Luminae Construction Feb 7 2015

[labates629]

Thanks Bonsat for the feedback, that is very encouraging! Hope you enjoyed your cruise.

 

 

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[iandjm]

The one big negative of the new restaurant is that it appears a section of one side of the main restaurant looses it's windows. This will lead to dark corners with only artificial lighting :mad: Nearly as bad as on Cunards Queen Elizabeth and Victoria, with the galley running down one side of the restaurant.

Edited February 15, 2015 by iandjm

[May B]

Arno, or bonsat, or anyone who wishes to chime in.

 

Can you confirm for me this rough schedule in the MDR?

 

Night one, prime rib.

Night two, formal night, tournedos, lamb, shrimp scampi.

Night three, Top Chef.

Night four, dunno -- highlights?

Night five, dunno -- highlights?

Night six, second formal night? beef Wellington and lobster?

Night seven, dunno -- highlights?

 

Thx! We're planning to try Qsine and the Lawn Club this time and want to be poised to book, when we board.

[kenevenpar]

The one big negative of the new restaurant is that it appears a section of one side of the main restaurant looses it's windows. This will lead to dark corners with only artificial lighting :mad: Nearly as bad as on Cunards Queen Elizabeth and Victoria, with the galley running down one side of the restaurant.

 

It is usually dark outside (after sunset) when we eat in the MDR, so I can't imagine a difference. If you eat early, depending on time of year and location of cruise, I suppose there could be a bit of difference.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

It is usually dark outside (after sunset) when we eat in the MDR, so I can't imagine a difference. If you eat early, depending on time of year and location of cruise, I suppose there could be a bit of difference.

 

If you are cruising in June July, the sun does not go down until after 9:30 or later in a lot of areas

[TommyD3]

Arno, or bonsat, or anyone who wishes to chime in.

 

Can you confirm for me this rough schedule in the MDR?

 

Night one, prime rib.

Night two, formal night, tournedos, lamb, shrimp scampi.

Night three, Top Chef.

Night four, dunno -- highlights?

Night five, dunno -- highlights?

Night six, second formal night? beef Wellington and lobster?

Night seven, dunno -- highlights?

 

Thx! We're planning to try Qsine and the Lawn Club this time and want to be poised to book, when we board.

 

That is correct.

I will add that night four is the menu with the Turkey Parmesan and night seven is the menu with a Turkey meal and the Veal Cordon Bleu.

[May B]

That is correct.

I will add that night four is the menu with the Turkey Parmesan and night seven is the menu with a Turkey meal and the Veal Cordon Bleu.

 

That helps me, Tommy. Thx.

 

This is our problem: we always enjoy our dinners in the MDR! But this will help us decide what nights to veer off our usual plan. Again, thx.

 

--May

[JonAlone]

As a shareholder, this makes zero sense. Taking a ship out of service costs hundreds of thousands of dollars per day. It just isn't going to happen, and is one of the nuances of a cruise vacation. Hotels remodel and don't close down entirely either.

 

You have a very unrealistic expectation with regard to such matters.

 

From the year end 10K filing by RCL:

• The only real savings would be from food savings which averages about $12.75 per person per day or $35,700 per day. So an argument can't be made that the expense are an important figure to compare to the rvenues as an offset being generated. Also the food cost includes the cost of feeding crew, so I'd say let's only take 2/3 of this figure as savings, as the other 1/3 is still being spent to feed crew and staff.
  

 

 

I love the fact that the food budget is $12.75 per day.... for I am guessing 4 - 5 meals on average... ( 6 - 7 if from Florida)

 

How then can they justify another $35 - $45 for Speciality dining venues?? The cost of 4 days food?? perhaps 20 - 30 meals?

[JonAlone]

I am also a little concerned about disruption. Not so much from the actual construction process, but disruption due to increased wait times for Select dining because of the reduced space in the dining room. This is my first Celebrity cruise (2/28 sailing) and I was really looking forward to it, now I am a little concerned this will detract from the experience.

Although whatever happens it will beat snowy Chicago I'm sure :)

 

I am concerned that Arno and others who are regular cruisers on Celebrity are more forgiving too as shareholders.

 

Celebrity do not advertise their cruises as "Ships undergoing modernisation" or "Under partial development" - They advertise as being super luxury holidays for new cruisers expecting the best possible experience, especially when celebrating a special occasion such as a wedding party, of a major birthday or anniversary! Nice to have your life experience, for which many may have saved over a period of time, spoiled by construction work and hoardings in the MDR !!

 

They wouldn't put a London bus on the streets with a section closed off for repair or alteration - Why a - QUOTE - "Cruise of a lifetime!" ??????

[JonAlone]

This is what the press release says regarding this

"With handcrafted dishes that are made from scratch, the unique menus will also feature locally sourced regional and seasonal ingredients inspired by the destinations Celebrity sails to among the world’s seven continents."

 

You can be fairly sure that the "locally sourced regional and seasonal ingredients" will all be routed via the purchasing department in Miami.

 

You won't see the chef visiting the local market with his basket to pick local product. If you think about it he would be picking enough for 90 people. It would take a small army of kitchen porters to carry it all back to the ship.

 

Gordon

 

Ha!!

 

We went to Chef's Table in Elite Plus Lounge twice last September on Oasis of the Seas TA from Ft Lauderdale to Barcelona. This too was supposed to be the Chef's selection of the finest ingredients of the day, and the best possible available menu specially prepared and wine matched with the finest cellar offerings.

Amazing how the menu was exactly the same, as was the speech from the chef and the list of wines chosen, on day 5 and day 11 of a non-stop Transatlantic sailing!

I guess the scallops and sole were (hopefully) frozen or we would have been very sick!

I guess the chef chose from the finest ingredients in the freezer - and this was probably on instruction from Miami too.. Not quite as advertised either! And with an average spend of $12.75 per day on Celebrity, the $80 per head surcharge was a little excessive on Royal Caribbean.

Edited February 17, 2015 by JonAlone

[kenevenpar]

If you are cruising in June July, the sun does not go down until after 9:30 or later in a lot of areas

 

My point really was, although not stated, that the MDR lighting must have been designed to provide proper lighting when there is no natural light.

[rockdoctor]

Great observation by cle-guy on seat availability. On two of our recent cruises, our 8-top had to be rearranged, once to accomadate different language speakers. Was completed by the third night. We ended up with a 6-top. Seems tables around us were never full, even in early seating.

[rockdoctor]

To Yorkshire-Pudding question about upgrades and upsells for suites. We have never had a gratis upgrade on any cruise line, including Celebrity. Even with a Skysuite, we were offered an upsell to a full suite.

[vulcan1971]

I am concerned that Arno and others who are regular cruisers on Celebrity are more forgiving too as shareholders.

 

 

 

Celebrity do not advertise their cruises as "Ships undergoing modernisation" or "Under partial development" - They advertise as being super luxury holidays for new cruisers expecting the best possible experience, especially when celebrating a special occasion such as a wedding party, of a major birthday or anniversary! Nice to have your life experience, for which many may have saved over a period of time, spoiled by construction work and hoardings in the MDR !!

 

 

 

They wouldn't put a London bus on the streets with a section closed off for repair or alteration - Why a - QUOTE - "Cruise of a lifetime!" ??????

 

 

Not sure how long you have been around these boards and reading various topics and posts made by commenters (such as Arno), but he is not someone to gloss over real issues or make a fuss over items that don't give merit to do so. Quite an even keeled cruiser, and someone who cruises with such frequency to know what is a trend or a fluke issue.

 

I would trust his, and others, first hand assessment while on the ship to your unfounded concerns.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus on the T-Mobile 4G LTE Network using Tapatalk Pro

Edited February 17, 2015 by vulcan1971

[Cindy]

I am concerned that Arno and others who are regular cruisers on Celebrity are more forgiving too as shareholders.

 

Celebrity do not advertise their cruises as "Ships undergoing modernisation" or "Under partial development" - They advertise as being super luxury holidays for new cruisers expecting the best possible experience, especially when celebrating a special occasion such as a wedding party, of a major birthday or anniversary! Nice to have your life experience, for which many may have saved over a period of time, spoiled by construction work and hoardings in the MDR !!

 

They wouldn't put a London bus on the streets with a section closed off for repair or alteration - Why a - QUOTE - "Cruise of a lifetime!" ??????

 

What I've found over the years is that there's ALWAYS some type of maintenance/refurbishment/construction taking place on a ship. Some projects are to a greater degree and more intrusive than others, but the projects always exist. From the lack of complaints about the Luminae construction, I have to assume it's being handled better and with less disruption to passengers than other recent major projects, like the Oasis refurb. and subsequent trans-Atlantic.

 

I wouldn't think of Arno as a cheerleader, but rather someone who provides balanced information that you can rely on.:)

[floridianny]

We are currently on the Reflection. The construction in the dining room is not an issue. And as the above posters stated, there is always some type of maintenance going on. We are in St.Thomas today and everything has been wonderful. The crew is fantastic and everyone seems to be having a great time. We were able to get the two specialty restaurant reservations we wanted when we got on board. We arrived at noon on Saturday and were on the ship in about 15 minutes.

This is our second time on the Reflection. We enjoyed it so much last year we booked again for this week.

For those boarding in the future, no worries. If you decide to enjoy your cruise, you will:)

[LabGuy64]

My first impression is MEH......it seems a bit bland.....anyone else feel the same?

[need2bespoiled]

My first impression is MEH......it seems a bit bland.....anyone else feel the same?

 

Are you onboard? Have you actually seen the room?

 

Anyway, many restaurants seem bland, especially in day light. Have you seen Quisine, especially on M-Class ships during the day? YUCK. Even many really nice Michelin star restaurants are pretty bad during the day, when empty, but an entirely different game when full of people.

 

I'll reserve judgement until April when I am sitting sipping some bubbly and eating dinner.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[LabGuy64]

I did say....FIRST IMPRESSION....I will reserve final judgement....are you knowkwd out by what you see so far?

 

 

Are you onboard? Have you actually seen the room?

 

Anyway, many restaurants seem bland, especially in day light. Have you seen Quisine, especially on M-Class ships during the day? YUCK. Even many really nice Michelin star restaurants are pretty bad during the day, when empty, but an entirely different game when full of people.

 

I'll reserve judgement until April when I am sitting sipping some bubbly and eating dinner.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[uktog]

The food I eat and the wine I drink is 10000 time more important to me than the colour or design scheme of the room I enjoy it in :)

Roll on May

[May B]

My first impression is MEH......it seems a bit bland.....anyone else feel the same?

 

I must've missed something. Please advise.

[maggie.1008]

Would love to see more pictures.

[Karynanne]

The "pictures" originally seen, were renderings of the new venue. The finished product may look quite a bit different.

 

I have always felt that the MDR, during the daytime hours, was a bit plain. But at night, it is beautiful.

 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

[jenniebnyc]

Thanks for sharing pics and insights. I am excited for the new suite dining area and hope it lives up to expectations.

 

I do think that there needs to be some strategic planning in order to make this area a success. As we know, the ceilings are low and the lighting is dim. We should have some concern over sunlight/lighting bc we are not only eating here for dinner, but for breakfast and lunch too. From the draft pics that X has shared, it does not look like there is much room between tables, so that is a bummer. To me, it looks like a BLU set-up with banquettes and a ton of square tables for two. No round tables that I have seen...another bummer. As other posters have stated, I too, am more concerned about the food and service than the decor, BUT that low ceiling does bug me. On past cruises, we tend ask for a table near captains table in MDR so we have that open feeling while dining, so this will be a change to sit under that overhang.

 

I hope they keep the food simple and elegant. X tends to create menus that are more intricate then they have to be...for chefs that might not have the experience on how to execute properly. They tend to sound delicious and then when you get your plate, it's like, um ok, not what I expected. My main comment to X has always been that serving food hot is so important. If they can just get this piece right, they will go a long way. Can anyone confirm that the meal will be made to order? the last time we ate in MDR, I just told our waiter to put my food in microwave for 2 minutes on his way out of the kitchen. This seemed to work, but hot fresh food in suite dining room would be a treat!!

 

I am a foodie. Love all types of cuisines. I can get foie gras and truffles at any time. Meaning, if you can't to it right on the ship, don't do it. Keep it simple. Simple can be good! Looking forward to the new changes!!!

[20pluscruises]

My first impression is MEH......it seems a bit bland.....anyone else feel the same?

 

It reminds me of Blu on the Summit. If you are comparing the Reflection Blu to the Summit Blu I could understand the "a bit bland" comment. However, Summit Blu has the crystal lighting, white tablecloths, wine rack and the look of an elegant restaurant. I don't think anyone will be disappointed once it is completed. It's amazing how the extra finishing touches can transform a room.