Celebrity Summit Live report 4/4/15 - First Luminae and new suite benefits sailing

[MiaPortia]

Hi, Jenna – Your cheese plate looks absolutely fantastic, and thank you so much for sharing that yummy photo with us all! :) Whether from a cheese cart -- or as a chef’s choice selection -- we hope that Luminae will be incorporating this deliciously enjoyable component into their leisurely, epicurean experience. :) :)

Edited April 10, 2015 by MiaPortia

[need2bespoiled]

The "Celebrity Difference"

 

I'm sitting in Cafe Al Bacio indulging. In a scone with jelly and cream (I brought from my cabin), free gelato, and fresh brewed ice tea forte. Simple indulgent. I was watching passengers board for their last night. It started to shower, not too hard but still raining when all of a sudden umbrellas started to pop up. Lots of them. I thought who remembered or thought to bring an umbrella today? Then I saw crew walking down the line, passing out umbrellas all the way through the gate. Maybe they do this on "the other lines" but my guess is no, it's the "Celebrity Difference" that keeps bringing us

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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[hcat]

Still enjoying this thread (great job Jenna)!) but we aee concerned with mention that BLU menus may be changed to possibly be more like Luminae....

 

While we would not mind some variety in the daily appetizer plate and menu items that have not changed, we prefer the less gourmet type choices of BLU... ..no .rich gravies/sauces etc.. BLU offers fairly healthy eating that tastes great...no salt issues! Perfect portions. Also many choices, great salad entrees...it is a winning formula so hope not too many changes ahead...ok to freshen it up but hope the menu format and overall food style does not change .

[need2bespoiled]

Who said anything about Blu being more like Luminae? I've been diligent about reading every reply in this thread and can't remember that. Improve does not equal assimilate and I doubt they will. It does however have room for improvement. Who breads and deep fries a duck beast anyway? Furthermore the portion sizes in Luminae seem perfect to me with one exception I mentioned for a main.

 

Let's not start any rumors for a menu (Blu) that has never been seen.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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[CHEZMARYLOU]

I agree, a cheese course or as an offering for dessert, would be a welcome addition. We do like our port and cheese. :D

[Tudorcruisers]

Fantastic review, thank you so much. I'm looking forward so much to our trip in August after reading everything about the new restaurant.

[hcat]

Who said anything about Blu being more like Luminae? I've been diligent about reading every reply in this thread and can't remember that. Improve does not equal assimilate and I doubt they will. It does however have room for improvement. Who breads and deep fries a duck beast anyway? Furthermore the portion sizes in Luminae seem perfect to me with one exception I mentioned for a main.

 

Let's not start any rumors for a menu (Blu) that has never been seen.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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I may have phrased it wrong(sorry), but it is our concern that they might try to emulate Luminae...we can appreciate the menu and richer items shown from Luminae but we eat much more simply....salad, veggies, sometimes soup (love the ones at Bistro) plain entrees which can still taste great, and rarely dessert...

 

.just hoping BLU retains its identity...,our next 3 cruises will be in AQ...so I guess we'll be experiencing it all first hand,,,,..wish we could indulge more but health reasons dictate otherwise...

 

still salivating over those desserts! They look yummy!

[wallie5446]

The "Celebrity Difference"

 

I'm sitting in Cafe Al Bacio indulging. In a scone with jelly and cream (I brought from my cabin), free gelato, and fresh brewed ice tea forte. Simple indulgent. I was watching passengers board for their last night. It started to shower, not too hard but still raining when all of a sudden umbrellas started to pop up. Lots of them. I thought who remembered or thought to bring an umbrella today? Then I saw crew walking down the line, passing out umbrellas all the way through the gate. Maybe they do this on "the other lines" but my guess is no, it's the "Celebrity Difference" that keeps bringing us

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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Ah yes! The small touches we remember not until returned to our sight line!

Thanks for bringing back the fond memory.

EW

Edited April 11, 2015 by wallie5446

[MiaPortia]

I agree, a cheese course or as an offering for dessert, would be a welcome addition. We do like our port and cheese. :D

 

Ditto. . . a fine port unequivocally complements the cheese and fruit course!! :) :) Mia

Edited April 11, 2015 by MiaPortia

[BosoxI]

This should not be a problem in any dining room. It is a known factor that too much salt kills! They should reduce the salt and allow those who eat salt use the shakers.

 

Except that some dishes do need salt in the preparation phase; adding it at the table is not the same. I just don't like chefs who over salt instead of using herbs and spices.

[BosoxI]

And, those of us who are on salt-restricted diets don't necessarily face a life-time of eating bland food. We just get creative with herbs, spices, and foods with great flavors and textures. My dinner guests do not lunge for the salt shaker -- even though I use salt VERY sparingly in my food preparation. Surely a top-tier professional chef can obtain similar results! ;)

 

Hear, hear. Exactly right.

[csfedyshyn]

How much is the internet packages on board? We need to stay in touch with the office. We get in the summit the day you leave.

[Moobaby214]

Jenna,

 

You have been relatively quiet today, you must be having a fun day or they turned off your free internet. :D

 

Looking forward to more,

Aaron

[need2bespoiled]

Sorry Aaron, tonight's meal review is coming :p

 

Unlimited internet costs $299 for a 7 day cruise. Other pa page prices are available. Internet is slow at times and fast at others. You'll get an email with pricing pre cruise.

 

We had dinner with guests so I have to write the review now :) hold on to your britches.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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[need2bespoiled]

Tonight's menu.

 

A few general notes. First, they're starting to hit their stride. There were a few salty tastes but not where we'd necessarily expect them and they asked about taste. Our companions ordered many items off the menu and were well accommodated. A few examples include grilled salmon, side of broccoli, sautéed spinach.

 

The Amuse-Bouche was a potato crochet. The breaking was a tad salty.

 

 

I was going to order the mushrooms but the server said other tables didn't like it but they did the pizetta so I tried that abs it was very good. Definitely not what was expected from the menu description but I t was tasty. No pic, but Dee has the fennel soup. It was rich and tasty and not salty at all. They even asked a out the salt, maybe done in is reading this? Lol.

 

Our companions (who by the way think I am nuts taking pictures of food) had the sashimi which looked beautiful, but no pic as I wasn't going to ask. They both left their plates empty and said it was good.

 

I had the fried rice for my second. I LOVE fried rice. When I saw it, asked for a spoon (that's how it's done in Southeast Asia) and dug in and forgot the pic. YUM! It was so good, came with a soft fried egg, herbs and greens on top and I mixed it all up, a little like Bimibop. Surprisingly it tasted very low in salt.

The pizetta:

 

I then had the chicken as did on our our companions. The skin has just the right amount of crisp. The chicken was juicy and well seasoned. I think some may say the skin was salty but it didn't have to be eaten. The spatzel was good, but I'm no connoisseur.

 

Another bone in, very generous portion

5f2fb9be20.jpg[/img]

 

Dee had the pasta. I asked if it was a white sauce and told "not really". Dee said it was like a cross between red and white sauce. I had a taste and it was good.

 

 

Next up dessert....

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

Ps sorry about typos, it's late, I'm tired and posting this from my phone in bed.

 

 

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Edited April 11, 2015 by need2bespoiled

[cruise kitty]

The "Celebrity Difference"

 

I'm sitting in Cafe Al Bacio indulging. In a scone with jelly and cream (I brought from my cabin), free gelato, and fresh brewed ice tea forte. Simple indulgent. I was watching passengers board for their last night. It started to shower, not too hard but still raining when all of a sudden umbrellas started to pop up. Lots of them. I thought who remembered or thought to bring an umbrella today? Then I saw crew walking down the line, passing out umbrellas all the way through the gate. Maybe they do this on "the other lines" but my guess is no, it's the "Celebrity Difference" that keeps bringing us

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

What a lovely post :)

 

I'm enjoying your thread so much, & there was something very relaxing & peaceful in this particular post, thanks for sharing!

[need2bespoiled]

 

This is the chocolate Carmel custard. with pretzel ice cream.

 

I tasted it and agreed with the companion who ordered it, too chocolatey if that's possible?

 

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/04/10/b58b04ff6632f32d44ff4c988b165c7d.jpg[/img

 

Dee had the hibiscus parfait but I forgot a pic. She didn't love it but ate it so go figure. No one ordered the green tea cake. I won the dessert ordering game by ordering a scoop of the peanut butter ice cream from the previous nights dessert menu and a scoop of chocolate. Soooo good together!

 

We've enjoyed breakfast so much we're going to try and go by 0745 before they close at 0800 and that will conclude the guest cruise for us. We're excited to try some new dishes and hopefully see some new menus. I'll post more for sure and do a bistro on 5 thoughts as we'll definitely do lunch there on port days when we stay on the ship.

 

We've planned to walk off as late as possible and asked to be walked back in as soon as the ship is at zero count. We're told the challenges from earlier in the season have been resolved by making everyone (b2b cruisers) wait onboard together and then go off together so they know they're at zero count. We told the Michael's Club Concierge we'd come right away as soon as they're ready and she calls us.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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[Project_gal]

This is far from saltgate and seasoning is such a fine line and personal preference. It could be the chef or recipe. Next cruise could be under seasoned which can be remedied but is also an issue. I'm just reporting our opinion on the current sailing in which their definitely still working on recipes, service, and even furnishings.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

Jenna

 

You are being wonderfully restrained in your comments on the seasoning of the food in Luminae but it is still a far cry from "The Suite Class chef can provide a tailor-made experience to suite guests and prepare a dish to their liking" which was promised in the original Suite Class press release and is still included in the latest, revised FAQs. Adjusting the seasoning for a guest is surely the least one could request and so easy that it should not be a problem even during the first week of the restaurant especially when Dee has a medical reason for requiring less salt. How would they cope with food allergies with a limited menu and no everyday items?

 

Let me add my thanks to those of everyone else for your posting this very live review. I hope that you are enjoying it as much as your readers. Have a great second week!

 

PS With the time zone difference I am behind everyone else in responding and I see that, in your later posts, things may have started to turn round but I still think that it should not take a week to respond to such a basic request. Celebrity have had a very long time to get this right.

Edited April 11, 2015 by Project_gal

[uktog]

Your point about food allergies is very well made Sue

 

I have loved Jenna's thread, it has been really helpful not least because of the alarm bells sounding about the excessive use of nuts, our problem. Thanks for all your hard work Jenna (and Dee).

 

With such a limited choice, I noted some night nuts in all desserts and in most starters, we are going to be constantly needing to pre arrange meals ahead for DH. Now the cruise line is good at that, however the offerings are typically much less imaginative and low cost. If he gets one more chunk of melon wrapped in Parma as his amuse Bouche alternating with his starter, I fear where he might stick the stick.

 

We are not asking for mega special, just a less lazy approach, ice cream is always what he is given there are lots of nut free desserts that could be done (-and in his case, it is only if he bites or chews a nut, though the reaction would be severe so cross contamination or trace is not an issue, just the actual nut or concentrated oil extracts). There is also ignorance asto what is a nut, had a quite heated debate with one MD who would not allow him to order a dessert with coconut. We could not get him to understand he could eat that - but no out came the strawberry ice cream!

 

I am hoping because we have as always notified them in advance, the chefs in Luminae can try harder, not holding out too much hope, our experience in Murano has been quite poor in this respect.

 

Just to add personally the wine by the glass selection was not great. It's silly putting one 50 cents over the premium package limit. It's one I drink and used to have within the package, oh well I hope the poor sommelier enjoys his nightly $1 paperwork. I would have preferred a much better list, the concept of pairing which was hyped in the pr seems to be missing in action along with lunch most days

 

This should be an interesting experience and we will report back in May

Edited April 11, 2015 by uktog

[need2bespoiled]

Looks like I left off a tag last night and it's too late to edit unless Andy or Walt wants to fix it so THIS is the Carmel. dessert.

 

 

As far as allergies and dietary restrictions go, they asked about allergies early in the week, first day I'm sure but we have none. We didn't bring up salt as this issue is new to us. Dee's first high blood pressure reading was about 2 weeks before we sailed at her annual checkup. She's had three follow ups without much change so it is a concern. It was high enough the doctor has asked for monthly visits unto it comes down. The dishes that were salty were still salty BUT once we said something they would ask if it was "too salty". When dishes were requested like "can I have a piece of grilled salmon" they were not simply brought from the MDR menu, they were prepared by the restaurant chef with accompaniments and presentation like we've seen in other dishes.

 

I do think they need to provide what was promised including lunch and tailor made experiences but they've barely had service open a week. Let's let them walk before they can run and see hie week 2 goes. Day 7 was so far past day 1, thankfully I'm still very hopeful it can be all that was promised. My need to workout more not withstanding. You all owe me some gym time!

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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[Project_gal]

Looks like I left off a tag last night and it's too late to edit unless Andy or Walt wants to fix it so THIS is the Carmel. dessert.

 

As far as allergies and dietary restrictions go, they asked about allergies early in the week, first day I'm sure but we have none. We didn't bring up salt as this issue is new to us. Dee's first high blood pressure reading was about 2 weeks before we sailed at her annual checkup. She's had three follow ups without much change so it is a concern. It was high enough the doctor has asked for monthly visits unto it comes down. The dishes that were salty were still salty BUT once we said something they would ask if it was "too salty". When dishes were requested like "can I have a piece of grilled salmon" they were not simply brought from the MDR menu, they were prepared by the restaurant chef with accompaniments and presentation like we've seen in other dishes.

 

I do think they need to provide what was promised including lunch and tailor made experiences but they've barely had service open a week. Let's let them walk before they can run and see hie week 2 goes. Day 7 was so far past day 1, thankfully I'm still very hopeful it can be all that was promised. My need to workout more not withstanding. You all owe me some gym time!

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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Jenna

 

I did an extra quarter hour for you on the treadmill this morning. Hope it helped!

Edited April 11, 2015 by Project_gal

[BosoxI]

I am in awe of what you have provided in this thread, Jenna. I am looking forward to this experience but our next trip in a suite will not be until January. I'll have to refer back to your marvelous pictures in the mean time. This was a Herculean effort on your part and I think I can safely speak for all of us 'thanks a million"

[MiaPortia]

Absolutely agree that lunching in Luminae -- whether during sea days or while in port -- is an essential element of suite benefits. For us, port days are sometimes treated (in whole or in part) as “sea days,” and we simply prefer to have a quiet lunch onboard after spending several hours out and about. The intimate dining experience that Luminae offers is often the keystone of the cruise experience and should include lunch each day! :)

[hcat]

The breads and pastries look so fabulous...like old days on x...great photograpy...

 

.Hope they taste great as well...do they have their own baker for this venue..? I must limit carbs but enjoy a treat now and then!

[hulamoon]

Thank you Jenna for your hard work and detail about the menu and experience. I do hope your b2b was flawless today.