Blu versus specialty restaurants

[PhD-iva]

Am trying to decide whether I should book Aquaclass on the Millennium to get access to Blu, or a cheaper veranda stateroom and pay for several specialty restaurants. My experience in Blu on the Solstice in 2009 was great, and my MDR experience on the Reflection in 2013 was a big disappointment. That was a primary reason why our latest cruise was on Oceania, and the food was the best I've ever had onboard. I especially was pleased with the buffet style cafeteria (I forget the name), as several Grand Dining Room dinner entree options were also available. The food varied daily, as opposed to my memories of the Reflection and Solstice versions of their buffet venue.

Access to a variety of food options is important, as I have cancer treatment-related "issues" and it's hard to know in advance what will work for me and what won't. So, my questions are:

Does the lunch and dinner menu in the Oceanview cafe vary during a 7-day cruise? Are MDR options offered in the Oceanview cafe? Does the MDR offer many dinner options? On Oceania, there must have been 6 or 8 different dinner entree options each night(w a few, like ribeye steak, being available every night of the cruise). Thanks for your feedback.

 

 

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[dkjretired]

Am trying to decide whether I should book Aquaclass on the Millennium to get access to Blu, or a cheaper veranda stateroom and pay for several specialty restaurants. My experience in Blu on the Solstice in 2009 was great, and my MDR experience on the Reflection in 2013 was a big disappointment. That was a primary reason why our latest cruise was on Oceania, and the food was the best I've ever had onboard. I especially was pleased with the buffet style cafeteria (I forget the name), as several Grand Dining Room dinner entree options were also available. The food varied daily, as opposed to my memories of the Reflection and Solstice versions of their buffet venue.

Access to a variety of food options is important, as I have cancer treatment-related "issues" and it's hard to know in advance what will work for me and what won't. So, my questions are:

Does the lunch and dinner menu in the Oceanview cafe vary during a 7-day cruise? Are MDR options offered in the Oceanview cafe? Does the MDR offer many dinner options? On Oceania, there must have been 6 or 8 different dinner entree options each night(w a few, like ribeye steak, being available every night of the cruise). Thanks for your feedback.

 

 

 

 

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Perhaps you are thinking of another cruise line but Celebrity has never offered Main Dining room meals in the Buffet area. There is a nice selection but not MDR meals.

[PhD-iva]

Oceania's buffet style venue offered Grand Dining Room options, which was quite nice. Does Celebrity's Oceanview cafe buffet offerings change on a daily basis? I remember the food was good, but I seem to recall it was always the same menu, although I might be thinking of HAL's Westerdam in 2005. Thanks for your input.

 

 

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[jelayne]

The lunch items in the Oceanview vary some, primarily what carved meat, veggies & starches. They also have the standard pasta, pizza, salads, sandwiches & soups. There are normally some Asian and Mexican items.

 

In your situation I think I would opt for Blu. The smaller dining room make it easier for them to alter a menu item or make something that appeals to you. Breakfast in Blu is also very good.

 

Both the MDR and Blu have "everyday" items - steak, chicken and salmon.

[rwb]

Regarding the MDR, the current dinner menus typically have nine entrees per night. You can view the actual menus -- including the specialty restaurants -- at thepreismans.com which kindly includes a complete set of bar and food menus every few months. The sequence of menus will vary by sailing and some individual items may vary by ship or by sailing, but not many.

 

Regarding the lunch buffet, some offerings will be available every day and perhaps 6-8 others will be changed. Breakfast offerings don't vary much from day to day but there are a few stations that will rotate different offerings. The Oceanview will typically offer some of the MDR items at lunchtime. In several hundred nights on Celebrity I have only eaten dinner in Oceanview once, so I can't say if it offers MDR items at night, but I assume so.

 

Blu has a much more limited menu than the MDR but you will find it easier to get something customized, which in the MDR is generally limited to vegetable substitutions or sauceless entrees that don't require actually cooking something unique.

Edited September 1, 2016 by rwb

[Cruising Princess]

On Millie there are only two specialty restaurants which get expensive if eaten in often and repeative. My recommendation is to book AQ class. Blu is great and they will assist in any dietary needs. If you are nice to your server you can order something off the MDR menu too.

[shipshape sam]

Perhaps you are thinking of another cruise line but Celebrity has never offered Main Dining room meals in the Buffet area. There is a nice selection but not MDR meals.

 

Actually they did, at least on one sailing that we happened to be on. It was located on the back port side section of the buffet area and it was a training area for wait staff. It was on Infinity as I recall. I am trying to remember if it was 2006 or 2009. The menu was more limited, but it was sit down seating and wait staff service vs buffet style food. We tried it one night as a group, thus our whole table from the MDR ate there that night.

 

Not sure how long they tried this either.

Edited September 1, 2016 by shipshape sam

[PhD-iva]

Thank you to all for your input. I appreciate all viewpoints!

 

 

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[4cats4me]

Perhaps you are thinking of another cruise line but Celebrity has never offered Main Dining room meals in the Buffet area. There is a nice selection but not MDR meals.

 

 

 

Yes, they did offer MDR meals in the buffet area when we were on the Infinity in 2001 in Alaska

 

 

 

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Edited September 2, 2016 by 4cats4me

[chamima]

I'd go with Blu.

My husband is a vegan with some other restrictions.

We talk to the Maitre D' in Blu at the beginning of the cruise and after that they usually (we did have a problem on one cruise but I attribute that to a Maitre D' who was on their way out and should have already left) are extremely accommodating.

We've found not so great success in the specialty restaurants so have stopped eating there.

It's much easier to have the same staff who are used to your dietary requirements than to change every night.

 

 

As far as the buffet - we don't eat dinner there but the lunches are pretty much the same every day.

[DZalumni]

We dine in Blu for one reason and have been very hesitant to step up to a suite for this reason as well.

Typically there are no kids in Blu, this is due to Aqua class only allowing two people per room, whereas a sky suite (same room as aqua class) can have 3 people and increases your odds of running into children in the suite dining room.

We have yet to encounter any children in Blu.

We joke that it's our child free dinning :)

[shipshape sam]

We are going with Aqua Class on our January 2018 cruise. We want to try Blu access and spa access along with the Go Best promo.

 

We have in past booked mostly standard veranda's and book specialty restaurants as our desire/taste/opportunity arrises. We have really enjoyed that flexibility. We also have not used spa facilities.

 

So, if you have not tried Blu via Aqua Class, I would try it at least once.

[mafig]

my MDR experience on the Reflection in 2013 was a big disappointment. That was a primary reason why our latest cruise was on Oceania, and the food was the best I've ever had onboard. I especially was pleased with the buffet style cafeteria (I forget the name), as several Grand Dining Room dinner entree options were also available. The food varied daily, as opposed to my memories of the Reflection and Solstice versions of their buffet venue.

 

 

 

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I agree about the MDR on Reflection. We were disappointed. I chalked it up to the addition of Blu and Luminae....they had to cut somewhere I suppose (although they also cut that nice daytime brunch in the MDR).

 

Anyway, we're also considering Oceania.

What ship were you on?

Did you do a review?

Edited September 2, 2016 by mafig

[gdpups]

What we usually do now is book Aqua for Blu on an "M" class ship and we book the Ultimate Dining Pkg on most "S" class ships because they have more options for specialty dining. I was lucky to be able to upgrade to a suite on our Europe cruise last year and really enjoyed Luminae, but that would only be an option for us if the price was right!

[PhD-iva]

Mafig, we were on the Marina departing Copenhagen 21 June in a Concierge class stateroom. It was a nine day Baltic cruise. I'm sorry I did not do a review, but I do highly recommend Oceania. It is more expensive, but it includes the airfare which can be pricey when booking open jaw flights. Fewer, more well-behaved children. No up selling ever, no one trying to sell you photos. No entertainment to speak of either, although this doesn't bother us. They have very nice string quartets playing here and there. Smaller ships, so no long lines anywhere. Afternoon tea is fabulous and the specialty restaurants are no extra charge. The food was really good, although we had one bad experience in the Asian specialty restaurant. The excursions are way over priced and not a good value, so book 3rd party excursions.

I'm not sure whether I will ever convince my husband to spend that much again to return to Oceania, but I sure will try hard!

 

 

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[4cats4me]

We dine in Blu for one reason and have been very hesitant to step up to a suite for this reason as well.

Typically there are no kids in Blu, this is due to Aqua class only allowing two people per room, whereas a sky suite (same room as aqua class) can have 3 people and increases your odds of running into children in the suite dining room.

We have yet to encounter any children in Blu.

We joke that it's our child free dinning :)

 

 

 

We saw one baby, 11 months, in BLU before, but no school-aged children, now that you mention it. Yay. Another good reason to go AQ

 

 

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Edited September 3, 2016 by 4cats4me

[LuAnn]

are our #1 choice on X...because of "Blu"...we don't take advantage of the spa because of DH heart issues...but we love the small dining room with Blu and the individual attention we receive. BTW...we have sailed O and love it...but it is so much more expensive we only sail them for T/As which can fit in our price range!!! We have a holiday cruise booked on X this year...and AQ was WAY over-priced...so didn't book it...will watch for price breaks to see if I can switch!! Personally I think the $50 pp for the "special" restaurants is very expensive...but then we don't eat out often at home!!! :) LuAnn

Edited September 3, 2016 by LuAnn

[MVPinBoynton]

Regarding the MDR, the current dinner menus typically have nine entrees per night. You can view the actual menus -- including the specialty restaurants -- at thepreismans.com which kindly includes a complete set of bar and food menus every few months. The sequence of menus will vary by sailing and some individual items may vary by ship or by sailing, but not many.

 

 

Thanks for the plug. :D We will be doing our first cruise with Blu next month, so looking forward to finding out for myself how good it is; and taking photos of the menus and food itself. I have always been pleased for the most part with the MDR food. However, after cruising with Oceania several times, the X food was not as good as O's.

 

We have only eaten dinner in the Oceanview a few times when we were on late returning excursions. I seem to remember that there were some items available that were also availavble on the MDR menu. I will check more closely next month's cruise and on the TA following it.

[dkjretired]

Thanks for the plug. :D We will be doing our first cruise with Blu next month, so looking forward to finding out for myself how good it is; and taking photos of the menus and food itself. I have always been pleased for the most part with the MDR food. However, after cruising with Oceania several times, the X food was not as good as O's.

 

We have only eaten dinner in the Oceanview a few times when we were on late returning excursions. I seem to remember that there were some items available that were also availavble on the MDR menu. I will check more closely next month's cruise and on the TA following it.

 

Celebrity has never had MDR items in the buffet, would be nice if they did, seems like it wouldn't be difficult.

[MVPinBoynton]

Celebrity has never had MDR items in the buffet, would be nice if they did, seems like it wouldn't be difficult.

 

I guess that we will have to disagree on that. I seem to recall that they did have some of the same items on occasion, so I will have to take the time to go up there several times and check it out. Since evening dining in the buffet isn't something that we do, I will look forward to seeing what is offered up there.

[luv2cruisemore]

We're on the Connie now in the Adriatic in an Aqua cabin (8/28 sailing from Venice) and eating in Blu for the first time. We are very impressed with the food, the service and the intimacy. No need to supplement with a Specialty Restaurant.

 

We find the food healthier. The portions are small but we can still order as much as we want. Whether we repeat in Aqua/Blu may depend on the pricing.

[harz99]

Celebrity has never had MDR items in the buffet, would be nice if they did, seems like it wouldn't be difficult.

 

Certainly did on the M class ships; wasn't the full menu though. As posted above, it was a small roped off and fully laid up area. And was used for on the job training for junior wait staff under supervision. Probably prior to Select dining becoming available.

Edited September 3, 2016 by harz99

[Lastdance]

We really enjoy The food in Blu. Sometimes Luminae's food is just too heavy for us. Switching back and forth works fine.

 

 

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[dkjretired]

Certainly did on the M class ships; wasn't the full menu though. As posted above, it was a small roped off and fully laid up area. And was used for on the job training for junior wait staff under supervision. Probably prior to Select dining becoming available.

 

You are talking about Casual dining which was eliminated when the Solstice ships were introduced. It was a waiter service, cost $2.00 per person and was very nice but totally separate from the Buffet which at that time was extremely limited for dinner. They also requested reservations but were not required. By the way, the menu's in the causal dining had nothing to do with the MDR, totally different. Ate there many times. Not only had the Casual dining on the M class ships but also Horizon and Zenith which is where they started.

Edited September 3, 2016 by dkjretired

[dog]

I've booked Aqua class---do I need to book Blu or do you just go when you want? What meal times are they open for?

Please direct me to the place I can read about Blu.

Thanks

dog:)

 

Found the answer;open seating

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/onboard-celebrity/cruise-restaurants-blu

Edited September 4, 2016 by dog