Luminae first time may be last

[Host Jazzbeau]

However much you like Luminae, the fact the menu needs to be supplemented by the MDR menu clearly reflects something is wrong!

 

What you are requesting would most likely mean they would reduce the culinary scope of Luminae. What's wrong with offering both the adventuresome Luminae items plus the more mundane MDR menu? This way both the adventuresome and the "meat and potatoes" crowd can have what they want. The only ones being left out now are those who (for reasons I can't figure out) refuse to make use of the latitude that Luminae was always designed in incorporate.

[Cruise a holic]

I agree with the poster who made it clear that Not "lots of people" are complaining about the food in Luminae. In addition, those couple of folks are offered substitutes- not so in MDR. In Blu while you can order from MDR,( if the waiter is willing to get you a substitute) you cannot oder from Luminae.

 

Bottom line- for service and food of all of the "free" dining venues, Luminae is best.

[Gracie115]

Food is good quality and well presented but the menu turned over in less than a week .

 

This just makes no sense to me....have cruised twice with Luminae and both were 16 night cruises and there were NO repeats until the 15th & 16th nights.....and those were the best of the previous 14...when and on what ship did you cruise that you had a menu that turned over in less than a week?

[Schmoe38]

I just returned from a cruise in a suite and tried Luminae for the first time. The dinner menu is very limited with 3 appetizers, one soup, 5 entree's, and 3 deserts compared to double the number of choices on the MDR menu. After a bad meal on 5/11 where I only saw a soup and steak for dinner that looked good. The soup was too spicy for us to eat. The steak was so tough the wife only ate 1/4 of it. I was so disgusted we got up an left before finishing the main course and I penned a letter to the hotel manager. We met him the next after now and I told him as a former Grill class passenger on Cunard I was very disappointed in the selection and quality of the food I was getting in Luminae. He promised they would do better. I requested a MDR menu for the rest of the cruise and ordered items from both to have a decent meals for the rest of the cruise. Breakfast was OK, except for the has browns that I set back and the biscuits and gravy that I will never order again. We ate the next night in the Tuscan Grill and it was the best dinner we had on board. The crab cakes in the Tuscan Grill were superior those I had in Luminae. I am booked in a suite on the Silhouette next year for my 75th birthday and will try Luminae one last time. If it is not improved I will go back to Aqua call and the Blu. I asked my wife when we got home which she liked better and she said Blu.

 

Island Princess 5/4/17, Silhouette, 2/26/17, HAL 56 days, RCCL 104 points, NCL 28 days, Princess Elite 228 days, Royal 14 days, Cunard 49 days, Celebrity Elite+ 28 cruises

 

The nice thing about Cruise Critic is that it allows us to share our personal experiences with others in order that we may all be better for it. I am sorry you and your wife did not have a good experience in Luminae, but I sincerely believe you may have overreacted after the "bad" meal on 5/11. The soup that was "too spicy" was a personal taste preference and hardly warranted a letter to the hotel manager. The same holds true for the tough steak. Your option at the time, was to send it back in the same manner as you did with the hash browns. The two of you chose to leave early in a "disgusted" state and make a more serious issue out of this by putting it under correspondence. That would not have been my choice.

 

I can totally understand that this was an emotional time for the two of you, and in these times, you deal with them in the manner to which you feel is most appropriate. I can also understand that once you have had a bad experience, it is difficult to be entirely neutral in your evaluation moving forward.

 

The bright side is, the two of you have decided to give the process another chance, and what better present for your 75th birthday, than to have the experience in Luminae for which it was intended.

 

 

 

Randy

[TobyKnits]

There actually is a soup that is very spicy in Luminae. I don't recall exactly how they described it on the menu, but it is a Thai green curry soup. The flavor was delicious, yet it was at the top end of what I can handle for spice.

Completely subjective to one's tastes, yet if it helps at all I'd describe it as at least 3/5 stars for spiciness. Unfortunately for me it also seemed to have been made with heavy cream and not coconut milk...my fault, I should have asked.

 

My suggestions to Celebrity would be,

Rewrite the menu to better describe the food.

Introduce 4/5 everyday items exclusive to Luminae (this could be based on items they know people are requesting, a decent steak and fish dish would be a start).

 

This is a great suggestion. My husband and I really enjoyed Luminae, but it could use some lighter dishes and more standard fare for those that aren't adventurous. Both my husband and I are adventurous eaters, it was from others that we heard requests for a simpler meal. On a 10-14 day cruise I could use a lighter meal once in a while too!

 

As a side note, on Infinity last fall the staff was strongly discouraging orders from the MDR, to the point of telling guests no for several nights before giving in and allowing it.

[patchit]

I was just on Summit in April and experienced Luminae for the first time. Service was excellent. Food was very, very good (mostly). Hot items were not hot, though. I would have liked more choices on the menu. On the last night the maitre'd (sorry spelling) brought the chef to our table and asked for our input and I told him more choices would be welcome . But, I thought the menu was interesting and inspired. The only thing I ordered that I didn't care for was Moroccan Chicken....not much flavor.

 

Maybe they are hearing that more choices are wanted and will follow suit. Time will tell. My next cruise is in an Aqua class cabin so I'll have to wait till 2018 when I have my next suite to see if "they" are listening.

[Gonzo70]

Maybe they can accomplish the additional choices by finally procuring some ingredients at ports of call and featuring unique dishes with these locally sourced ingredients (it was announced this would occur when details of Luminae were initially released by Celebrity). This would be extremely welcomed by many.

[chemmo]

What you are requesting would most likely mean they would reduce the culinary scope of Luminae. What's wrong with offering both the adventuresome Luminae items plus the more mundane MDR menu? This way both the adventuresome and the "meat and potatoes" crowd can have what they want. The only ones being left out now are those who (for reasons I can't figure out) refuse to make use of the latitude that Luminae was always designed in incorporate.

 

I am having some difficulties with your post...Why would adding more items reduce the 'culinary scope' of Luminae? Also referring to those who are at present struggling with the Luminae offers as 'the meat and potatoe crowd' I find almost belittling....What I was saying is based on personal knowledge of 24 nights of Luminae menus over two cruises. Quite simply some nights we found the menu limited. After talking to others in Michael's Club and reading posts on CC many others feel the same.

 

I made it very clear in my post that I understood taste was subjective and that I valued the ambiance and service in Luminae. But why, if a significant number of guests can't find meals they want on the Luminae menu shouldn't they revise it? Why should guests be paying for Luminae and then ordering from MDR. It just doesn't make sense...

 

As I said in my initial post on this thread why not just add a few more items?...

[lovecruzin]

Maybe they can accomplish the additional choices by finally procuring some ingredients at ports of call and featuring unique dishes with these locally sourced ingredients (it was announced this would occur when details of Luminae were initially released by Celebrity). This would be extremely welcomed by many.

 

We were in Luminae for the first time on our recent Alaska cruise. DH knew he could order the salmon from the MDR but kept thinking they would have a fresh salmon "special". Come to find out at the Top Chef Challenge they had brought on fresh salmon in Ketchikan. That would have been a perfect opportunity to feature something local.

[Chunky2219]

This just makes no sense to me....have cruised twice with Luminae and both were 16 night cruises and there were NO repeats until the 15th & 16th nights.....and those were the best of the previous 14...when and on what ship did you cruise that you had a menu that turned over in less than a week?

Silhouette, 9 days finishing in Amsterdam 2nd May. The lunch menu was exactly the same on Day 8 as on embarkation day. Duck confit sandwich was one choice and although the fries were good, tasting like they had truffle oil on them the first time, the second time they were more mundane. Other choices were also exactly the same.

 

We did QSine and Blu the final two evenings so maybe the dinner menu didn't turn over but with such a small number of choices and such similarity in fare, we were bored within the week. Of course, a good suite restraurant would be dropping menus in cabins in advance so that you could plan, but Luminae hasn't got that slick yet.

 

 

.

[Gracie115]

Silhouette, 9 days finishing in Amsterdam 2nd May. The lunch menu was exactly the same on Day 8 as on embarkation day. Duck confit sandwich was one choice and although the fries were good, tasting like they had truffle oil on them the first time, the second time they were more mundane. Other choices were also exactly the same.

 

We did QSine and Blu the final two evenings so maybe the dinner menu didn't turn over but with such a small number of choices and such similarity in fare, we were bored within the week. Of course, a good suite restraurant would be dropping menus in cabins in advance so that you could plan, but Luminae hasn't got that slick yet.

 

 

.

 

ah....you were talking about the LUNCH menu...didn't realize that....we only ate lunch there a few times....but I knew it didn't change much....

 

I didn't see the "similarity" in DINNER fare that you speak of, always something interesting to try and the one time I tried something I didn't like(which the server recommended against) it was replaced very quickly. Sorry you didn't like it much, we found it very good, with excellent service and a staff that wanted nothing more than to please its guests.... Can't wait till we sail again....:)

[Host Jazzbeau]

I am having some difficulties with your post...Why would adding more items reduce the 'culinary scope' of Luminae? Also referring to those who are at present struggling with the Luminae offers as 'the meat and potatoe crowd' I find almost belittling....What I was saying is based on personal knowledge of 24 nights of Luminae menus over two cruises. Quite simply some nights we found the menu limited. After talking to others in Michael's Club and reading posts on CC many others feel the same.

 

I made it very clear in my post that I understood taste was subjective and that I valued the ambiance and service in Luminae. But why, if a significant number of guests can't find meals they want on the Luminae menu shouldn't they revise it? Why should guests be paying for Luminae and then ordering from MDR. It just doesn't make sense...

 

As I said in my initial post on this thread why not just add a few more items?...

 

Sorry I offended you. It was inadvertent -- that part of my post wasn't aimed at you. There have been many comments about Luminae (in this and other threads), and I have gotten the impression that many [most?] of the complaints were from people who objected to the richness of the preparations. Your suggestion wouldn't help them, because it would just add a wider variety of "too rich" things. But one part was directed at your suggestion: my [perhaps cynical] fear that if they add more menu items, they will do less well in preparing all of them. Consider the difference in quality between a diner [100s of choices, none of them good] and a more focused restaurant that does a few things and does them very well. Food for thought? [pun intended!]

Edited May 19, 2016 by Host Jazzbeau

[livingasia]

Maybe they can accomplish the additional choices by finally procuring some ingredients at ports of call and featuring unique dishes with these locally sourced ingredients (it was announced this would occur when details of Luminae were initially released by Celebrity). This would be extremely welcomed by many.

 

I suspect the 'marketing speak' was done without any reference to the logistics guys who actually ensure the ship is stocked up 365 days a year. It is a nice idea but doing an Asian cruise one of the first things I noticed was that the Evian water + tins of coke were all US sized. i.e somehow they have shipped all that stock over from the USA. The exact same items are available in Singapore where the ship is based albeit metric size containers.

 

Furthermore I was expected to see Asian sourced items but could not think of any other than fresh fruit and vegetables. I guess this is all sourced in Singapore and loaded on turnarounds. I was quite impressed the wine list was as well populated as it was. Keeping the ships based all over the world, fully stocked is not a simple task. I get the impression that getting the chef to go to the local market is a nice idea but probably not that realistic given the need to sometimes cancel ports etc. In reality, this would all need to be planned for and in my example sourced and loaded in Singapore. The problem is it creates a lot of regional variation and I get the distinct impression, Celebrity does not work that way.

 

As I say, I suspect marketing came up with that notion without talking first to the guys who would make it happen.

[chemmo]

Sorry I offended you. It was inadvertent -- that part of my post wasn't aimed at you. There have been many comments about Luminae (in this and other threads), and I have gotten the impression that many [most?] of the complaints were from people who objected to the richness of the preparations. Your suggestion wouldn't help them, because it would just add a wider variety of "too rich" things. But one part was directed at your suggestion: my [perhaps cynical] fear that if they add more menu items, they will do less well in preparing all of them. Consider the difference in quality between a diner [100s of choices, none of them good] and a more focused restaurant that does a few things and does them very well. Food for thought? [pun intended!]

 

Thanks for your response....I don't know what your personal experience of Luminae is....our concerns were not about rich sauces, we enjoy rich sauces and spicy food. What we found wrong was twofold;

 

Firstly, as I said some night there really was a limited choice..

 

Secondly, we did have issues with the balance of some dishes....vegetables seemed to be added as a visual afterthought on some dishes, others had no vegetable content at all, I had a prawn and linguini dish which was far too much linguini and not enough prawns....

 

We didn't hate Luminae, we did enjoy some food there. The point I have been trying to make is that if a restaurant has a 'balanced' menu a secondary menu (MDR) just should not be needed. I have never known any other restaurant, land or sea need a 'supplementary' menu because people can't find what they want on the original! I am not suggesting Luminae gets rid of its present menu but that it does consider a review...

 

With more suite cruises booked Luminae is not a deal breaker for us. We will eat in it sometimes but also enjoy the specialities....Again, as previously stated no concerns at all about the ambiance and service.

[goody1]

What you are requesting would most likely mean they would reduce the culinary scope of Luminae. What's wrong with offering both the adventuresome Luminae items plus the more mundane MDR menu? This way both the adventuresome and the "meat and potatoes" crowd can have what they want. The only ones being left out now are those who (for reasons I can't figure out) refuse to make use of the latitude that Luminae was always designed in incorporate.

 

What a condescending post. I do not consider myself a "meat and potatoes " crowd, however I eat in the mdr due to the fact our budget only goes to a 1A.

[hcat]

From a purely selfish viewpoint, we hope most suite guests find Luminae perfect ...so that BLU will not be stressed with suite guests preferring to dine there. While BLU is "space available " for suite guests, it can get crowded at certain times..making the BLU experience more hectic than desired .

 

We find the Blu menu works for us.. just hoping for a few new items...We enjoy the lighter type of food prep compared to MDR..less salt, sauce gravies. Cleaner foods, great service in a smaller space than MDR.

 

Although nothing we have heard so far would entice us to stretch our budget for a suite with Luminae it is a positive that there are choices to suit a range of tastes and budgets.....I am sure Luminae will aim to please its guests to a high standard if not already doing so on most ships...

 

Might also be nice if MDR could offer a sample dish with recipes from Luminae and/or BLU so MDR guests could compare ...might be interesting!

Edited May 19, 2016 by hcat

[TeeRick]

There actually is a soup that is very spicy in Luminae. I don't recall exactly how they described it on the menu, but it is a Thai green curry soup. The flavor was delicious, yet it was at the top end of what I can handle for spice.

Completely subjective to one's tastes, yet if it helps at all I'd describe it as at least 3/5 stars for spiciness. Unfortunately for me it also seemed to have been made with heavy cream and not coconut milk...my fault, I should have asked.

 

 

 

This is a great suggestion. My husband and I really enjoyed Luminae, but it could use some lighter dishes and more standard fare for those that aren't adventurous. Both my husband and I are adventurous eaters, it was from others that we heard requests for a simpler meal. On a 10-14 day cruise I could use a lighter meal once in a while too!

 

As a side note, on Infinity last fall the staff was strongly discouraging orders from the MDR, to the point of telling guests no for several nights before giving in and allowing it.

I have recently experienced Luminae on Reflection (Nov) and just off Infinity last week for over 15 days. The menu really changed every night perhaps with a dish repeated here and there. We truly enjoyed Luminae on both ships. Nevertheless we asked for the MDR menu both times on our first night at Luminae just to see our total options. This was never a problem with the staff and every night forward it was brought to us without asking for it again. On some occasions we asked the Luminae staff for a modification or an off-menu item from a previous night. We always were accommodated with a smile.

 

I think with all of the discussion here about food choices and personal tastes we are missing the point just a bit here. Luminae has been to me a very special service experience - it is more about the great staff and their outstanding service. The food choices from Luminae or MDR menus on any given day allow for plenty of selection to suit any taste.

[H2OH!]

I think with all of the discussion here about food choices and personal tastes we are missing the point just a bit here. Luminae has been to me a very special service experience - it is more about the great staff and their outstanding service. The food choices from Luminae or MDR menus on any given day allow for plenty of selection to suit any taste.

 

I could not agree more!!

 

Luminae's service is very special and we loved every minute of it. We usually asked to see both menus and often ordered off of both. It was perfect!! We looked forward to going and just relaxing with great service, good food and a quieter atmosphere. :)

Edited May 19, 2016 by H2OH!

[hvbaskey]

My first experience with Luminae was on the Celebrity Equinox 2015, we LOVED it - couldn't have asked for better service and outstanding quality of food. We swore we would never look back from that point forward ...

 

Fast forward to May 2016 - Luminae on the Constellation. BLECH! the food was very good - no issue there. But the service? I was appalled. I had to continuously ask for water and bread - the "basics" of any food service. I was lucky to get ONE glass of wine for the evening. I know others had stellar service, but ours was a complete put-off. So much so, that we only dined in Luminae 3 nights out of 10. We gave a third chance (3 times lucky, or 3 strikes) and it was a complete strike-out. The waiter was completely rude when he kept offering us meat/fish dishes after us *repeatedly* stating that we were Vegetarians. THEN he went on and on and on of how wonderful meat is and all the different meats that HE loves. Offensive and rude!

 

To compare the Luminae to other dining venues that we had on the same trip: Ocean Liners, Tuscan Grille, Blu, and Bistro on Five; Luminae provided the worst service of them all.

 

So, although I began as a *huge* fan of Luminae, this past trip was rather off putting. We have another Suite booked for our next cruise, so will give it another go as it will be differently staffed and we are hoping for the experience that we fell in love with and put this last one behind us.

 

Mixed feelings,

 

Heather

[Gracie115]

I think with all of the discussion here about food choices and personal tastes we are missing the point just a bit here. Luminae has been to me a very special service experience - it is more about the great staff and their outstanding service. The food choices from Luminae or MDR menus on any given day allow for plenty of selection to suit any taste.

 

EXACTLY how we felt about it too.....staff was amazing on both Eclipse and Reflection....can't wait for our B2B on Equinox!!!:D

[lemons]

Thanks for your response....I don't know what your personal experience of Luminae is....our concerns were not about rich sauces, we enjoy rich sauces and spicy food. What we found wrong was twofold;

 

Firstly, as I said some night there really was a limited choice..

 

Secondly, we did have issues with the balance of some dishes....vegetables seemed to be added as a visual afterthought on some dishes, others had no vegetable content at all, I had a prawn and linguini dish which was far too much linguini and not enough prawns....

 

We didn't hate Luminae, we did enjoy some food there. The point I have been trying to make is that if a restaurant has a 'balanced' menu a secondary menu (MDR) just should not be needed. I have never known any other restaurant, land or sea need a 'supplementary' menu because people can't find what they want on the original! I am not suggesting Luminae gets rid of its present menu but that it does consider a review...

 

With more suite cruises booked Luminae is not a deal breaker for us. We will eat in it sometimes but also enjoy the specialities....Again, as previously stated no concerns at all about the ambiance and service.

 

You are exactly correct in all your points IMO. Very balanced suggestions and a fair and balanced description of solutions based on your and others experiences. I appreciate that during open discussions. Thanks.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Might also be nice if MDR could offer a sample dish with recipes from Luminae and/or BLU so MDR guests could compare ...might be interesting!

 

I think this would be a marketing "no-brainer" for Celebrity. They clearly want to entice passengers to upgrade themselves to the more expensive cabins -- so show them what they're missing. As it is, you have to take the risk of booking a more expensive cruise just to try Blu or Luminae.

[Debde]

What's wrong with offering both the adventuresome Luminae items plus the more mundane MDR menu? This way both the adventuresome and the "meat and potatoes" crowd can have what they want.

 

Yes, yes and yes!!! That's me, simple comfort food where my husband will test the waters!! ;)

[Cruise a holic]

Agree with you! Another idea might be to invite a few different people to dine in Luminae or Blu to get the true "flavor" of each restaurant and level of service- In addition a few guests should also be invited to the Suite lounge daily. Those few invited guests should not take away from the experience that those guests paying for the access receive.

 

I think especially those guests who are loyal to Celebrity- should be those included in this group. Also, Celebrity should consider inviting some neewbies into the Elite lounge every day. This could help convert them to future celebrity guests.

Edited May 20, 2016 by Cruise a holic

[CHEZMARYLOU]

It seems to me that on most sailings suites are commanding a high price yet are pretty much booked well in advance of the cruise so not much incentive for Celebrity to offer Luminae or MC to others, especially those new to Celebrity, to entice them to sail in suites.