Opinions on new Luminae menus on Equinox

[TinaM67]

We have booked our first suite ever (a Sky Suite) on the Equinox mainly for the Luminae experience. I saw a post recently that reported the new menus (starting in Oct 2019?) are not nearly as good as the previous menus.

 

Now I am having second thoughts about spending all the extra money if the Luminae dining experience is a victim of more cost-cutting.

 

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jelayne]

There is a recent post that includes all the menus, including those for Luminae.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 21, 2020 by jelayne

[TinaM67]

OK, I guess I wasn't very clear. I've seen the actual menus, but I was looking for opinions about recent dining experiences with the new menus.  Quality of food, quality of service.  

 

That's a helpful link, though.

 

Thanks.

Edited January 21, 2020 by TinaM67

[Oville]

48 minutes ago, TinaM67 said:

We have booked our first suite ever (a Sky Suite) on the Equinox mainly for the Luminae experience. I saw a post recently that reported the new menus (starting in Oct 2019?) are not nearly as good as the previous menus.

 

Now I am having second thoughts about spending all the extra money if the Luminae dining experience is a victim of more cost-cutting.

 

Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

 

What’s new about the Luminae menus on Equinox vs other ships.

[Oville]

3 minutes ago, TinaM67 said:

OK, I guess I wasn't very clear. I've seen the actual menus, but I was looking for opinions about recent dining experiences with the new menus.  Quality of food, quality of service.  

 

Thanks.

Again, what new menus?

[Phxazzcruisers]

we are currently on Solstice in a Suite, and one of the reasons for booking a Suite is just to eat in Luminae.

As always, the food and service are excellent.  We love the quiet atmosphere of Luminae  over the noise and confusion of the MDR.  We have been on over 46 Celebrity cruises and have not noticed a deterioration of food quality or service in Luminae.  Our opinion

[Jim_Iain]

We experienced the "New" menus on Edge in Luminae and there really isn't as many changes as some think.  Yes there have been some changes but not enough that you would notice.    The quality of the food, service and ambiance has not changed in the least.   

 

Check out this link and go to the photos they have posted.   They have pictures of the actual meal both before and after (which are sometimes difficult to imagine from Celebrity's description).  

 

 

 

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I ate in Luminae on the Equinox last November.  Best Luminae experience I've ever had.  The staff was awesome.  Did not notice a big change in the menus.

[MarLieb]

I can't speak to Luminae on the Equinox, but we sailed on the Summit in December 2018 and then the same week in December 2019.  I thought the food in Luminae was far better in 2019 than 2018.  I remembered the food being quite mediocre in 2018, but it was the opposite in 2019.  I literally couldn't believe how good it was for cruise food.  The only things we did not like were the Daniel Boulud items that were offered every night at the bottom of the menu (it was a chicken tagine that didn't taste like a chicken tagine).  Everything else was spectacular.

[Jim_Iain]

14 minutes ago, MarLieb said:

I can't speak to Luminae on the Equinox, but we sailed on the Summit in December 2018 and then the same week in December 2019.  I thought the food in Luminae was far better in 2019 than 2018.  I remembered the food being quite mediocre in 2018, but it was the opposite in 2019.  I literally couldn't believe how good it was for cruise food.  The only things we did not like were the Daniel Boulud items that were offered every night at the bottom of the menu (it was a chicken tagine that didn't taste like a chicken tagine).  Everything else was spectacular.

Have to agree with you on the Daniel B specialty items with the exception of the Desert.    It is by far my favorite desert.  Pistachio Ice Cream, Meringue and Raspberries.

[TinaM67]

Thank you all so much for your replies,,, I feel much better.

 

I don't know how to pull a quote from another thread, but post #30 from "Thoughts about Suites" is what worried me:

 

"Luminae on Equinox last year was wonderful. However, with the terrible new menus, it seems that Miami has changed the serving process in Luminae. Just finishing up a 10 day cruise in the Penthouse on the Reflection. Luminae was very poor. EXTREMELY slow service. Seems they have cut the staff. The “runner” who used to get orders from the kitchen no longer exists. The waiters now do it. Hostess is now cleaning and resetting tables. maitre’d was serving bread. Makes for a very slow service. Along with the new menus, Luminae is no longer worth visiting. "

 

On second look, I see that the second Luminae experience mentioned is on the Reflection, so there's that.  Anyway, from all of the above reassurances, I will put my fears to rest.

 

 

 

[MarLieb]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

Have to agree with you on the Daniel B specialty items with the exception of the Desert.    It is by far my favorite desert.  Pistachio Ice Cream, Meringue and Raspberries.

 

I should amend my post - I didn't try that dessert!  After the tagine, I gave up on the Daniel Boulud items.  We'll be back on the Summit in December, so I'll give it a try then - thanks for the recommendation!

[CruzeBoozer]

We were on Equinox this past November over the Thanksgiving holiday and the food, service, and staff in Luminae were excellent.  We ate almost every meal we could in there and tried many of the entrees between three of us.  I don’t think you will be disappointed unless something has materially changed.

[mac_tlc]

We are on Equinox now in our first Sky Suite and are really enjoying Luminae. Service has been very good, and the relaxed and quieter atmosphere is wonderful. Can’t compare to the old menus, but imho, the dessert choices could use some improving. 
 

mac_tlc

[hrhdhd]

2 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

Can’t compare to the old menus, but imho, the dessert choices could use some improving.

 

Totally agree with this. In December, I didn't have dessert most nights, and if I did, I just had a scoop of ice cream or the creme brulee from the MDR.

[barric]

We were on the 1/18 Equinox sailing.  Usually we book Aqua because of Blu, but we had a successful upgrade bid for a suite and thus had Luminae for our first time.

Service:  very slow for the first couple days until we complained about this to the Concierge.  He explained that the default was to "allow time for digestion".  In other words, slow service.  He agreed with us that he also loses his appetite if the meal is too drawn out.  Next time we went for dinner:  MAGIC.  Great, prompt service both for food and drinks.  And it remained that way for the rest of the cruise.

 

So, if you are dining in Luminae, let the servers know how you would like your meal to proceed.  They will remember and accomodate.

 

Menu:  We seniors are foodies, preferring interest and quality to quantity.  We were satisfied by Luminae.  But on two occasions we asked to see the MDR menu.  Equinox is one of the ships with common kitchen for the restaurants.  This worked perfectly for us, allowing us to get excellent food with fast service.  

Food:   we thought the appetizer selections in Luminae were only fair.  But when we added the MDR menu, all was OK.  Some of the Luminae  food was overly fancified.  eg, a Salmon sashimi  was generous but covered in a mayo based sauce with other flavors.  Came across like spicy tuna or egg salad.   I just wanted wasabi and soy sauce.  A few other dishes were overly primped, but all in all we did very much like Luminae.