Is Luminae over-rated or under-rated?

[canderson]

8 hours ago, HMR74 said:

Answer me this : I am still trying to find a way to use an extender router for wifi so I can run 2-3 devices off one connection. eg, I want to use PC and keep phone on wifi. I could do that 9 years ago on a Yangtze river cruise. There was once a thread  for optimizing wifi.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N5RCZQH

has worked for several of us.  Jim_Iain started this specific trend, as I recall.

 

[HMR74]

27 minutes ago, canderson said:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N5RCZQH

has worked for several of us.  Jim_Iain started this specific trend, as I recall.

 

Thanks, I have printouts somewhere on others but if this has worked, no reason to reinvent the wheel.

Just get tired of switching from phone to ipad to PC and too cheap to spend on another "device" or two, or use my wifes.

 

I use "Magic Jack" voip which has an App to receive calls forwarded from desk at home. Could use in cabin but not on balcony. This extender might help.

Edited March 17, 2022 by HMR74

[Cookie002]

17 hours ago, terrydtx said:

I am sorry but you are right we had booked an A1 Concierge level veranda, it is hard to keep so many cabins designations straight.

What an absolutely decadent problem to have! Lol :>)

(absolutely no sarcasm intended in case that did not come across- just wishing I had that problem!)

[terrydtx]

2 minutes ago, Cookie002 said:

What an absolutely decadent problem to have! Lol :>)

(absolutely no sarcasm intended in case that did not come across- just wishing I had that problem!)

I am so upset that I reported you to the admins, now that is real sarcasm and I took no offense. LOL

 

That is why after this summer we are sticking to mainly one cruise company (Celebrity) to keep everything straight.

[darren42]

On 3/16/2022 at 8:59 PM, canderson said:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N5RCZQH

has worked for several of us.  Jim_Iain started this specific trend, as I recall.

 

If your PC is using windows 11, you can share the inbound wifi by selecting WIFI Hotspot and then select share from wifi. Name the hotspot the same as you use at home and all your devices will automatically connect. Although you must leave the PC on all the time

[GeorgiaPeach51]

On 3/13/2022 at 4:21 PM, chemmo said:

Look at the Luminae menus, go there when you see choices you like and book your speciality restaurants around them. Best of both worlds.
 

Looking at the total ‘cruise experience’ how would you rate Oceania and Regent to Celebrity?

 

We have just finished our first Regent cruise and agree that the food blows X out of the water, including Luminae.  No contest.  We have only done a Sky suite on X twice. The first time Luminae was good.  The second time it was not.  That, and the sky high suite prices on Celebrity led us to try Regent.  

Now our game plan is to do both cruise lines, but on X we will do only regular veranda cabins.  No more high prices for suites that ultimately disappoint us.  If I’m going to pay big bucks for a suite I prefer the “whole ship is like the Retreat” approach of Regent to the suite experience on X being confined to the Retreat area.  But we like enough of Celebrity to continue to book as long as we can avoid the E class ships....not a fan.

 

It is good to have choices, and variety can be a good thing.  After you have done a kajillion Celebrity cruises it is human nature to look around to see what else is out there, don’t you think?

 

Joanie

 

[SHIP TRAVELER]

We like the food and generally the service in Luminae.  We like the Luminae on S class better than the Luminae on E class.  We hated waiting for someone to come out of the single shared sex bathroom on E class.  We didn't like being a room number at the check in desk.  On Reflection we were greeted by name (even in S2) after day one and seated at the same table with the same waiter.  On Apex, it was like checking in at select dining, what is your room number? every night, we were never greeted by name. 

We did miss being able to order from MDR menu.  The always available entree choices were bland, always backed by mashed potato and steamed veggie. We did feel that the Apex was noisier , busier feeling and more casual (shorts on men) than the Reflection so it was not quite the same overall experience.  That said really nothing not to love about either, just some comparisons of what we saw as differences.

[Redtravel]

Having tried all restaurants on the ship with the exception of the new Daniel venue. We do like the smaller dining areas like Blu and Luminae. Service is good and it is quieter.  We often ask for items from the main dining room menu.  We really like MDR menus.  Now we book concierge on M ships, veranda on the rest. It is the best fit for us.  Not being a sun person, the Retreat isn’t a big attraction. My favorite spot is at the coffee bar or on my veranda with a good book and a great cup of Forte tea.  

[TeeRick]

2 hours ago, GeorgiaPeach51 said:

We have just finished our first Regent cruise and agree that the food blows X out of the water, including Luminae.  No contest.  We have only done a Sky suite on X twice. The first time Luminae was good.  The second time it was not.  That, and the sky high suite prices on Celebrity led us to try Regent.  

Now our game plan is to do both cruise lines, but on X we will do only regular veranda cabins.  No more high prices for suites that ultimately disappoint us.  If I’m going to pay big bucks for a suite I prefer the “whole ship is like the Retreat” approach of Regent to the suite experience on X being confined to the Retreat area.  But we like enough of Celebrity to continue to book as long as we can avoid the E class ships....not a fan.

 

It is good to have choices, and variety can be a good thing.  After you have done a kajillion Celebrity cruises it is human nature to look around to see what else is out there, don’t you think?

 

Joanie

 

Joanie - your vacation, your money and your choice.  Too many people here get all twisted out of shape about things they do not like on Celebrity or what they think has changed or what they lost as upper loyalty members.   Or about E-class.  As you have done,  they can easily just try another cruise option.

[misterkevin]

On 3/10/2022 at 4:57 PM, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

At one point it was sous vide, which is usually the best way to cook chicken as long as you add some flavoring and sear it, but this was probably sous vide and frozen prior to being brought on board.  No idea if this is still the case.

 

We had Boulud's Moroccan chicken in Luminae on the Summit in March. It was definitely not prepared sous vide. It was unfortunately dry but not tasteless. This is not a Boulud signature dish, and I'm confident he would take his name off this dish if he tried it when I did. It was much better on the Equinox when we had it in 2019.

 

That being said, the I can confirm that the Daniel Boulud carrot prawn veloute soup and raspberry pistachio vacerin are delicious. The first looks plain but is bursting with flavor, and the dessert is light and beautiful to behold.

[Morganw42]

On 3/4/2022 at 3:52 PM, terrydtx said:

That has been our experience too and why we haven't moved on to more premium lines like Viking Ocean and Oceania. The Retreat and Luminae have kept us loyal Celebrity customers. We have 6 future cruises booked on Celebrity Suites in the next 2 years, with more planned. We canceled an Oceania cruise this year to switch to the Reflection in August. The only reason we still have a HAL cruise booked this year was to use up a FCC and we have a suite booked with very very few amenities compared to Celebrity.

Funny you mention Viking Ocean.  We sailed with them in 2019 and it was the worst cruise experience we've ever had.  We're sailing with X again in a Retreat room for slightly less than the Viking cruise cost and are so excited to be on X again.  

[mfs2k]

On 3/21/2022 at 9:58 AM, GeorgiaPeach51 said:

We have just finished our first Regent cruise and agree that the food blows X out of the water, including Luminae.  No contest.  We have only done a Sky suite on X twice. The first time Luminae was good.  The second time it was not.  That, and the sky high suite prices on Celebrity led us to try Regent

How does the price on Regent compare to a Sky suite on Celebrity ?

[HMR74]

49 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

How does the price on Regent compare to a Sky suite on Celebrity ?

Be sure to compare apples to apples time wise. If you booked  a year ago before inflation on fuel and food hit, the prices everywhere have gone up quite a bit.

 

prices now are sufficiently high that I would consider a land based trip.

[terrydtx]

56 minutes ago, Morganw42 said:

Funny you mention Viking Ocean.  We sailed with them in 2019 and it was the worst cruise experience we've ever had.  We're sailing with X again in a Retreat room for slightly less than the Viking cruise cost and are so excited to be on X again.  

We decided to give Viking Ocean a try after friends highly recommended them. We booked a Greek cruise for September 2020 in 2018 when we got a great price and pre-payment was only 6 months out. That cruise was canceled by the pandemic, and we are glad it was. We now have booked 6 Celebrity cruises post Covid all in Sky Suites in the Retreat for less than what similar VO cruises in standard no suite cabins. Now that VO requires final payment 12 months out, which is ridiculous, I seriously doubt we will ever give them a try. We do have a Viking River cruise next year, but their river cruises are totally different than Viking Ocean.

[HMR74]

10 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We decided to give Viking Ocean a try after friends highly recommended them. We booked a Greek cruise for September 2020 in 2018 when we got a great price and pre-payment was only 6 months out. That cruise was canceled by the pandemic, and we are glad it was. We now have booked 6 Celebrity cruises post Covid all in Sky Suites in the Retreat for less than what similar VO cruises in standard no suite cabins. Now that VO requires final payment 12 months out, which is ridiculous, I seriously doubt we will ever give them a try. We do have a Viking River cruise next year, but their river cruises are totally different than Viking Ocean.

We looked at Oceana but did not follow thru as their policy was also full pay 6 months out but also I recall at least double the deposit over X. With all the uncertainty we had and still have I just did not want to lock up more $$.

 

its also that X esp the beyond has more and a variety of things to do on board than the premium ships that are smaller.

 

it is nice we have good choices.

Edited June 9, 2022 by HMR74

[terrydtx]

14 minutes ago, HMR74 said:

We looked at Oceana but did not follow thru as their policy was also full pay 6 months out but also I recall at least double the deposit over X. With all the uncertainty we had and still have I just did not want to lock up more $$.

We also looked at Oceania for a Baltic cruise this year and the fully refundable deposit was $1500 at the time with FP only 90 days out. However,  their cost per day for non suites were higher than Celebrity Sky Suites with all the included amenities. Oceania did not include gratuities and drink packages in their pricing. On some O cruises like in New Zealand and Australia, their cost per day is double what we are paying for our Sky Suites on the Edge in early 2024. With the high cost of airfare to Sydney, we can not justify paying double for the O cruises.

Edited June 9, 2022 by terrydtx

[Beamafar]

Folks, this thread is about Luminae - not Celebrity vs other lines

 

I understand that threads can get derailed but perhaps it would be better to start a new thread on the topic so this one can get back to the original subject, which is the one I’m interested in.  

[HMR74]

24 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We also looked at Oceania for a Baltic cruise this year and the fully refundable deposit was $1500 at the time with FP only 90 days out. However,  their cost per day for non suites were higher than Celebrity Sky Suites with all the included amenities. Oceania did not include gratuities and drink packages in their pricing. On some O cruises like in New Zealand and Australia, their cost per day is double what we are paying for our Sky Suites on the Edge in early 2024. With the high cost of airfare to Sydney, we can not justify paying double for the O cruises.

What are the most critical issues on selectign a cruise company or ship to book

 

Itinerary

Service

Food

Condition and amenities of ship

Cost

Intangibles (is the vibe right for you)

 

Rank them however you may wish, but they all figure in and for the people wanting to discuss only specifically Luminae, it is fair to compare Luminae to the smaller premium ships because when you book you book the"package" . And according to X CEO Perlo the X strategy is to go to Premium large ship vs premium smaller ship.

So things like food do matter, as well as comparative price andentertainment which by nature of the smaller ship probably cannot compare.

 

So do you prefer small ship vs large ship.

 

Oh, and lifes decisions and preferences are subjective.

 

 

 

 

For the

[mfs2k]

4 hours ago, Beamafar said:

Folks, this thread is about Luminae - not Celebrity vs other lines

 

I understand that threads can get derailed but perhaps it would be better to start a new thread on the topic so this one can get back to the original subject, which is the one I’m interested in.  

rawr

[LGW59]

On 3/4/2022 at 7:34 AM, mfs2k said:

I’ve read many posts by people who have said they love the exclusivity and service in Luminae but they weren’t crazy about the menu. Some have said they prefer Blu’s food and menu. Some prefer the MDR or recommend meals in the specialty restaurants. Others have been quite happy with the menu in Luminae. 

As a reader of these posts, booked in an E class Sky suite in October for 9 nights, I now have concerns based on the opinions you’ve all expressed. I’m looking forward to breakfast in Luminae but dinners, not so much. We like good and interesting foods but we also like basic too sometimes. There’s nothing wrong with a Caesar Salad, a decent steak, sautéed vegetables and roasted potatoes. (On one night)

I don’t need a Black Forest balsamic glaze on my sliced filet or candied shallots on my Brussels sprouts.

I just want delicious food, decent portions, and a server who is competent. 

 

What was your experience?  Should I be excited or prebook 8 nights in specialty restaurants?

Curious to know how you will decide who is correct re the over-rated v under-rated opinions.  Perhaps once you board, you decide for yourself.

[mfs2k]

4 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Curious to know how you will decide who is correct re the over-rated v under-rated opinions.  Perhaps once you board, you decide for yourself.

 

After reading all the responses, I don't think there is a correct answer. 

 

Like with everything else in the world these days, I think everyone has an opinion and wants to express it.  Few minds will be changed. 

 

Yes, I'll formulate my own opinion when I'm on board, but I'm hedging my bets and have already reserved 4 of our 9 dinners in specialty restaurants. If we don't like Luminae I now am very familiar with our options.

[LGW59]

4 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

 

After reading all the responses, I don't think there is a correct answer. 

 

Like with everything else in the world these days, I think everyone has an opinion and wants to express it.  Few minds will be changed. 

 

Yes, I'll formulate my own opinion when I'm on board, but I'm hedging my bets and have already reserved 4 of our 9 dinners in specialty restaurants. If we don't like Luminae I now am very familiar with our options.

I will hope that you will be pleasantly surprised

[HMR74]

5 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

I will hope that you will be pleasantly surprised

almost everything in life is subjective.

 

I like baby backs that are chewy, wife and kids and grandkids like fall off the bone.

 

Who is right? The family says they are because they are the majority.

 

What do they like in a vacation? Anything I pay for.

 

My priorities are set.

 

Seriously, someone has to have rather high standards, and be too picky,  to not like Luminae, or Blu or one of the  4 MDRs on Edge Class and of course specialty dining. I am ok with buffet if not too busy which is an oxymoron at breakfast and lunch. Yogi Berra; "Nobody goes there anymore its too crowded"

 

 

 

[chemmo]

29 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

 

After reading all the responses, I don't think there is a correct answer. 

 

Like with everything else in the world these days, I think everyone has an opinion and wants to express it.  Few minds will be changed. 

 

Yes, I'll formulate my own opinion when I'm on board, but I'm hedging my bets and have already reserved 4 of our 9 dinners in specialty restaurants. If we don't like Luminae I now am very familiar with our options.

A very balanced approach giving you enough nights in Luminae to experience a range of their offerings and pick up on the general service level and ambiance…Also (I don’t know if this is part of your reasoning too) it is nice not to dine in the same venue every night, you will get a real flavour of the full ship’s dining options.

 

Sincere best wishes for a fantastic cruise…

[Gracie115]

On 3/4/2022 at 9:09 AM, SueMo said:

  For example, tonight the appetizers include trout, octopus, kale, and beets.  

 

You should have tried the octopus.......it's AMAZING!!!