Blu versus specialty restaurants

[MVPinBoynton]

I am interested in knowing the Blu breakfast hours. I am hoping they are open early enough to be able to go there instead of the buffet when we have early tours booked.

 

Well, I was able to answer my own question; since I have all my old Celebrity Today dailies. It appears that on sea days, Blu breakfast is served at 8:00 and on early port days 7:30. Since we always go for early excursions, we won't get to have breakfast in Blu a lot of mornings. Oh well, the Oceanview breakfast is still good and fast.

Edited September 4, 2016 by MVPinBoynton

[FlorenceItaly]

I am interested in knowing the Blu breakfast hours. I am hoping they are open early enough to be able to go there instead of the buffet when we have early tours booked.

 

Well, I was able to answer my own question; since I have all my old Celebrity Today dailies. It appears that on sea days, Blu breakfast is served at 8:00 and on early port days 7:30. Since we always go for early excursions, we won't get to have breakfast in Blu a lot of mornings. Oh well, the Oceanview breakfast is still good and fast.

 

We love BLU for dinner, but, breakfast is just okay, imo. On our last cruise(and first time in AQ), we had breakfast in BLU one time. The hours are so limited. For us, I found we preferred breakfast on the balcony. Perhaps this is something you may want to consider. We really enjoyed it. We are big coffee drinkers, so always requested two pots.

[MVPinBoynton]

We love BLU for dinner, but, breakfast is just okay, imo. On our last cruise(and first time in AQ), we had breakfast in BLU one time. The hours are so limited. For us, I found we preferred breakfast on the balcony. Perhaps this is something you may want to consider. We really enjoyed it. We are big coffee drinkers, so always requested two pots.

 

Thanks for that info. I have always seen people raving about the Blu breakfasts, especially the table side muesli. I will probably just go there on sea days, if I like it. We have never tried breakfast on our balcony. I might have to try that on our upcoming cruises, especially on the TA.

[CapeCodCruiser]

On our TA next year it would be $500 per person more to switch from Concierge to Aqua. That's $30/day per person - I think we'll put that towards specialty restaurants.

 

Some day we'll try Blu!

[ghstudio]

We have often sailed in Aqua...enough that we have actually tired of some of the menus. Recently, we have been booking 1A cabins on solstice class ships and we have decided that Blu is worth about $200 a person ($15-20 a day)...for the breakfasts, for the quieter, more personal atmosphere. We do not book aqua to reduce the wait for dinner..in fact on recent cruises we have been given a table in select dining without wait and our experience on similar cruises was always a wait of up to 30 minutes (we dine at 7-7:15) in Blu....and we find the food comparable with perhaps more choices in the MDR. I think the food difference between blu and MDR used to be significant, but recently I find the quality of the meats, etc pretty much the same.

 

It's different on the M-class ships....we book either concierge or aqua for the larger cabins...and we prefer the aft A1's although we haven't been in one since the conversion of the deck above to a movie theater. Most of the A2's are under the pool deck and we've had chair scraping and other noise early in the morning. I have to agree that they took the worst concierge cabins, perfumed them with Blu and now sell them at a premium. There are some good A2 cabins....the ones under the buffet areas which are the ones we book, if we are in an A2 which doesn't happen now with the one category upgrade offer for captain club members.

 

One hidden difference between aqua and a regular balcony cabin using select dining....if you book select dining, you have to pay gratuities (if you haven't chosen free gratuities) with final payment....so you can't use non-refundable OBC to pay gratuities. In aqua class, they charge the gratuities to your on board account (important note: if you are in aqua, choose early or late seating...don't choose select. It has no bearing on what happens on the ship...blu is always come when you want. It only effects billing and when they apply the tips.)

Edited September 4, 2016 by ghstudio

[chamima]

We have often sailed in Aqua...enough that we have actually tired of some of the menus. Recently, we have been booking 1A cabins on solstice class ships and we have decided that Blu is worth about $200 a person ($15-20 a day)...for the breakfasts, for the quieter, more personal atmosphere. We do not book aqua to reduce the wait for dinner..in fact on recent cruises we have been given a table in select dining without wait and our experience on similar cruises was always a wait of up to 30 minutes (we dine at 7-7:15) in Blu....and we find the food comparable with perhaps more choices in the MDR. I think the food difference between blu and MDR used to be significant, but recently I find the quality of the meats, etc pretty much the same.

 

It's different on the M-class ships....we book either concierge or aqua for the larger cabins...and we prefer the aft A1's although we haven't been in one since the conversion of the deck above to a movie theater. Most of the A2's are under the pool deck and we've had chair scraping and other noise early in the morning. I have to agree that they took the worst concierge cabins, perfumed them with Blu and now sell them at a premium. There are some good A2 cabins....the ones under the buffet areas which are the ones we book, if we are in an A2 which doesn't happen now with the one category upgrade offer for captain club members.

 

One hidden difference between aqua and a regular balcony cabin using select dining....if you book select dining, you have to pay gratuities (if you haven't chosen free gratuities) with final payment....so you can't use non-refundable OBC to pay gratuities. In aqua class, they charge the gratuities to your on board account (important note: if you are in aqua, choose early or late seating...don't choose select. It has no bearing on what happens on the ship...blu is always come when you want. It only effects billing and when they apply the tips.)

 

 

I'm pretty sure this was changed last year so that you could also pay gratuities for Select on board.

 

The original OP was asking if Blu was a better option than Specialty restaurants for some one with food issues. I think having the same waiter in the smaller dining room is a better choice for those needs.

[shipshape sam]

Thanks for that info. I have always seen people raving about the Blu breakfasts, especially the table side muesli. I will probably just go there on sea days, if I like it. We have never tried breakfast on our balcony. I might have to try that on our upcoming cruises, especially on the TA.

 

Have not sailed recently, but as I recall from our last sailing, buffet opened at 6 am for continental only and hot food started at 7 am. Not sure when you are having to get off ship, but in a pinch, buffet is okay. Maybe room service would work. DW loves to sit and eat on balcony. I go to buffet and get my eggs made to order and bring back to room so we eat together.

 

I too have read about breakfast in Blu and it is a mixed endorsement.

[shipshape sam]

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.

 

Our experience and how it was described to us in the MDR one evening on our 14/15 day cruise was limited MDR and training for new wait staff, with emphasis on training for new wait staff. That is why we as a MDR table tried it one evening. The menu was limited and it did offer many of the same items as MDR albeit limited. Where it was prepared is another issue.

 

Interesting comment about Casual dining. Guess they learned some things from that experience.

Edited September 5, 2016 by shipshape sam

[dkjretired]

Our experience and how it was described to us in the MDR one evening on our 14/15 day cruise was limited MDR and training for new wait staff, with emphasis on training for new wait staff. That is why we as a MDR table tried it one evening. The menu was limited and it did offer many of the same items as MDR albeit limited. Where it was prepared is another issue.

 

Interesting comment about Casual dining. Guess they learned some things from that experience.

 

Not my experience, never saw MDR items done in the casual dining. We had numerous discussions on this years ago. Below is one discussion from 2008 where several people stated the Menu is not the same as in the MDR.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=713961&highlight=casual+dining

Edited September 5, 2016 by dkjretired

[LA_CA_GAL]

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

 

We went at any time and were always seated right away.

[ghstudio]

Blu has several "always available" items that are also in the MDR...like onion soup....but I have never seen anything on their daily menu that is the same as the MDR.

 

As far as waiting...you can have a wait in select dining and you certainly can wait for Blu....depends on the cruise and the passenger set. Some nationalities eat early....some late and that can vary. If all the tables are full, you are going to wait....and blu does not take reservations. Select dining does take reservations, however it's not really a reservation in the classic sense...they don't hold a table for you. It means that you get in a priority line. Now you can request the same waiter or the same table and sometimes they can make that happen but they aren't going to hold your table for 2 if there are 2's waiting for a table.

 

Both restaurants handle dietary issues very well....that's almost a non-concern....it's one of the things Celebrity does consistently well.

[shipshape sam]

Not my experience, never saw MDR items done in the casual dining. We had numerous discussions on this years ago. Below is one discussion from 2008 where several people stated the Menu is not the same as in the MDR.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=713961&highlight=casual+dining

 

Maybe they had a couple of variations to see which version passengers responded to. Interesting conversation and not our experience nor based on this current thread, others.

 

I do not think our table of eight would have responded to a sales pitch from the maitre de that might have been something like:

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are offering a 'Casual dining experience' located in our buffet area, but corded off to keep those buffet people away. It will be a more limited menu than your dining experience here in the MDR and your service will be by wait staff that are in training and finally it will cost you an additional few dollars vs nothing if you choose to eat here in the MDR with more options and trained wait staff. Yes it is casual, so you will be able to wear the same type of attire you have on this evening.

 

Let me know if you would like to try it?

 

Not sure we as a group of 8 would have thought that a good option. Anyway, I hope your experience was fine. We tried whatever they called it and were gracious to the wait staff in training as they also had senior staff with them while serving to teach/correct them. We did have a few 'teaching moments'. We thought we were helping out. Now, per your account, we were taken advantage of and paid for that! And to make sure we respectfully still disagree, our food was similar to the MDR. Not sure how you would know the difference in rolls/butter, basic salads, basic entrees, desserts, coffee from those items being served in MDR.

[minidonuts85]

Even with 8am port times and the need to get off of the ship to an excursion in a hurry, we did breakfast in Blu. Just arrived right at opening, sat at the window and watched the ship pull in. They didn't mind us having our beach bags in tow and sandals/shorts on for our day ahead.

 

The smoked salmon/asparagus frittata and tableside muesli was a nice fuel-up for the day!

[dkjretired]

Maybe they had a couple of variations to see which version passengers responded to. Interesting conversation and not our experience nor based on this current thread, others.

 

I do not think our table of eight would have responded to a sales pitch from the maitre de that might have been something like:

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are offering a 'Casual dining experience' located in our buffet area, but corded off to keep those buffet people away. It will be a more limited menu than your dining experience here in the MDR and your service will be by wait staff that are in training and finally it will cost you an additional few dollars vs nothing if you choose to eat here in the MDR with more options and trained wait staff. Yes it is casual, so you will be able to wear the same type of attire you have on this evening.

 

Let me know if you would like to try it?

 

 

 

Not sure we as a group of 8 would have thought that a good option. Anyway, I hope your experience was fine. We tried whatever they called it and were gracious to the wait staff in training as they also had senior staff with them while serving to teach/correct them. We did have a few 'teaching moments'. We thought we were helping out. Now, per your account, we were taken advantage of and paid for that! And to make sure we respectfully still disagree, our food was similar to the MDR. Not sure how you would know the difference in rolls/butter, basic salads, basic entrees, desserts, coffee from those items being served in MDR.

 

Actually, the buffet then for dinner was not like the buffet now so was not all that crowded.. It was very limited for dinner and only after Casual Dining was eliminated did they expand the buffet. There was even a major press release when they did it.

 

By the way, I only presented one thread, could go back and find 10 more of the same. I am speaking of the entree's only which were never the same in either casual or the buffet after casual was gone.