Is Luminae over-rated or under-rated?

[chemmo]

3 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

When I first saw this thread, I thought “How about Not Over or Under Rated”, but rated just fine?!  
 

den
 

 

We can always rely upon your posts to give a balance…You are probably right!

Edited June 19, 2022 by chemmo

[terrydtx]

4 hours ago, jelayne said:

Personally, I wouldn’t want a coffee maker in the cabin.  I make coffee at home, but I don’t have room service at home.   I prefer having coffee delivered to my cabin when I’m on vacation. 

I agree, have you ever stayed in hotel with a coffee or espresso maker that made a decent cup of coffee? I have stayed in many 4 and 5 star ones and I can't think of one memorable cup from any in room coffee maker. Not once have I let a bad coffee maker in my hotel room ruin my whole vacation experience.😁

Edited June 19, 2022 by terrydtx

[the_dylaness]

22 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Which ones have a coffee maker in the cabin?  I have been in suites on NCL, Royal and HAL none had coffee makers except the high end most expensive suites. I also do not recall inside dining tables in those same lines with entry level suites the size of a Celebrity Sky Suite. While the  Celebrity Sky Suite is the entry level suite, the Celebrity Royal and above suites have espresso coffee makers and dining tables.

 

The 2 Bedroom Family Villas in the Haven and also the one called something like the "Spa Villa" in the Haven on NCL have Nespresso coffee makers, at least as of our last sailings on them.  They also have small but dining-height indoor tables/chairs.

[terrydtx]

1 minute ago, the_dylaness said:

 

The 2 Bedroom Family Villas in the Haven and also the one called something like the "Spa Villa" in the Haven on NCL have Nespresso coffee makers, at least as of our last sailings on them.  They also have small but dining-height indoor tables/chairs.

Those are not hardly the entry level lower cost suites I was mentioning.

[2inTul]

51 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Those are not hardly the entry level lower cost suites I was mentioning.

Penthouse Suites are the lowest category true suite on NCL (in or outside The Haven) . Every one that I have been in have a coffee machine, (Saeco or Nespersso) and a dining table with chairs.

[twodjs]

terrydtx - you asked me about lines with coffee makers in suites - I gave you 3 examples - then you poo poo them because they aren't "main line" cruiselines. But they are all at a lower price point than the Celebrity Suite I booked. Yes, other perks on the ships differ (yes we were on Quantum of the Seas a month ago in a Grand Suite with a coffee maker). Celebrity clearly states for the Celebrity Suite on Solstice that amenities include in-suite specialty coffees. Suites on other lines at a much lower price point than $2000/night include coffee or cappuccino makers. Cleverly worded so that I fully expected that to be the case in our Celebrity Suite. We were looking forward to our cruise - Sad, because we're Elite Plus on Celebrity and this was our first splurge on a suite. The complete lack of any upgrading of the suite and several other issues will prevent us from booking future Celebrity cruises. The value is simply not there for us.

[LGW59]

10 minutes ago, twodjs said:

terrydtx - you asked me about lines with coffee makers in suites - I gave you 3 examples - then you poo poo them because they aren't "main line" cruiselines. But they are all at a lower price point than the Celebrity Suite I booked. Yes, other perks on the ships differ (yes we were on Quantum of the Seas a month ago in a Grand Suite with a coffee maker). Celebrity clearly states for the Celebrity Suite on Solstice that amenities include in-suite specialty coffees. Suites on other lines at a much lower price point than $2000/night include coffee or cappuccino makers. Cleverly worded so that I fully expected that to be the case in our Celebrity Suite. We were looking forward to our cruise - Sad, because we're Elite Plus on Celebrity and this was our first splurge on a suite. The complete lack of any upgrading of the suite and several other issues will prevent us from booking future Celebrity cruises. The value is simply not there for us.

Complimentary in-suite specialty coffees means they will deliver to your suite and sad you had to toss in “sad, because we’re Elite Plus”.  No one cares about that except you.

[terrydtx]

5 minutes ago, twodjs said:

terrydtx - you asked me about lines with coffee makers in suites - I gave you 3 examples - then you poo poo them because they aren't "main line" cruiselines. But they are all at a lower price point than the Celebrity Suite I booked. Yes, other perks on the ships differ (yes we were on Quantum of the Seas a month ago in a Grand Suite with a coffee maker). Celebrity clearly states for the Celebrity Suite on Solstice that amenities include in-suite specialty coffees. Suites on other lines at a much lower price point than $2000/night include coffee or cappuccino makers. Cleverly worded so that I fully expected that to be the case in our Celebrity Suite. We were looking forward to our cruise - Sad, because we're Elite Plus on Celebrity and this was our first splurge on a suite. The complete lack of any upgrading of the suite and several other issues will prevent us from booking future Celebrity cruises. The value is simply not there for us.

You just need to move on, you have been making posts and whining all over CC about how your cruise was ruined because of no coffee maker or kettle in your Celebrity Suite. BTW I have looked at listed amenities on the Celebrity website for a Celebrity Suites and I failed to see anywhere that a coffee maker is included. If it says specialty coffees are included, we got those when our butler brought us espressos and Capuchinos to our Sky Suite.  Celebrity is obviously not for you in a suite. I have wasted enough time with your posts and will waste no more. 

[terrydtx]

1 minute ago, LGW59 said:

Complimentary in-suite specialty coffees means they will deliver to your suite and sad you had to toss in “sad, because we’re Elite Plus”.  No one cares about that except you.

Thank you, we got specialty coffees delivered to our cabin by our butler no problem from Cafe El Bacio. This guy has whined all over CC about his no coffee maker in his cabin. 

[bigbenboys]

We were just on Millie in Alaska. The best weather ever. Luminae works best our tastes. Having both Luminae and MDR menus are a plus. I asked in Luminae about the salmon on board and if it was Pacific or Atlantic. I was told that what was on board was Atlantic salmon (cost). Two night later they had local Pacific salmon in Luminae. It was a nice treat.

[terrydtx]

41 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

We were just on Millie in Alaska. The best weather ever. Luminae works best our tastes. Having both Luminae and MDR menus are a plus. I asked in Luminae about the salmon on board and if it was Pacific or Atlantic. I was told that what was on board was Atlantic salmon (cost). Two night later they had local Pacific salmon in Luminae. It was a nice treat.

Now getting local pacific salmon is a treat for sure. I bet the MDR didn't have it either. I do not care for the farm raised Atlantic salmon at all. One of the best fish dishes we have eaten in Luminae is the crispy Branzino that was cooked perfectly.

[Baynanno1]

"Is Luminae over rated or under rated " was the title of this thread.

 

I skipped forward from page 10, where the topic had been lost, to page 20 and am pleased to see the previous two posts have actually returned to the subject matter.

[Denny01]

@twodjs, please explain your decision on not cruising Celebrity again. If you are Elite+ And this was your first Retreat cruise which you didn’t enjoy, why step away? You obviously enjoyed the ‘standard’ SRs and the Line to have reached E+, so not really tracking for me. Go standard SRs. 

 

We enjoy Celebrity and went Aqua on a cruise. Did not enjoy the dining that much more than the MDR….just us, and especially on the Edge Class with 4 MDRs - love them! But I didn’t go that route of walking away because Aqua wasn’t ‘my thing’. 

 

And @Baynanno1, forgive me, I just couldn’t help myself going back to the ‘I want to make my own coffee’, ‘I want to do my own laundry’, ‘I want to…..’. I’m looking forward to my first Retreat cruise coming up this Oct. Picked Retreat for a TA to Fully enjoy the experience. I hope the Luminae is everything I’ve been reading on.

 

What is your favorite dish??

 

den

[terrydtx]

26 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

I’m looking forward to my first Retreat cruise coming up this Oct. Picked Retreat for a TA to Fully enjoy the experience. I hope the Luminae is everything I’ve been reading on.

Denny, I can assure you that Luminae is the finest dining experience of any no specialty restaurant in our 20 cruises to date. After our first retreat experience last year on the Equinox, we felt the two dinners we did in Murano and Tuscan were a waste of our money as the service was nowhere near to what we had in Luminae and the food was good but IMO no better than Luminae. The night we went to Murano we had the Herb crusted rack of lamb, three nights later it was served in Luminae and it was much better prepared and tasting in Luminae. The first night fillet of beef was one of the best fillets outside of Ruth Chris Steak house I can remember. On the last night I had the seared duck breast and again it was delicious. The only bad dish I had was the Daniel Boulud Moroccan Chicken, would never order it again. Do not listen the whiners in the above posts the retreat is excellent, Luminae is a fine dining experience and worth every penny.

[canderson]

Due to the cabins we select, we are privileged to be able to eat in any of the ship's restaurants without need to consider 'value' when we cruise, and continue to gravitate to Luminae vs. the other 'specialty' restaurants. 

 

That said, we have yet to sail in an Edge class ship where the Luminae menu is restricted due to the geography, which might change our approach.  We have spotted and really enjoyed some gems from the MDR that we've ordered from Luminae on non-E-class ships.  Our current MDR favorite is the 'pulled lamb'  rolled in a tube of phyllo and presented 'vertically'.  If I were at home, I'd pop up a photo.  About once per week in the Luminae rotation, we don't see anything that jumps out at us, and have benefited from the availability of other options when that happens.

 

That said, in spite of our otherwise great experiences in Luminae, +1 to the comment about the Moroccan Chicken.  With so many negative comments, I honestly don't know how Celebrity can't know by now that they're killing it by horribly overcooking it.  You get better chicken at KFC.

 

[HMR74]

2 hours ago, canderson said:

Due to the cabins we select, we are privileged to be able to eat in any of the ship's restaurants without need to consider 'value' when we cruise, and continue to gravitate to Luminae vs. the other 'specialty' restaurants. 

 

That said, we have yet to sail in an Edge class ship where the Luminae menu is restricted due to the geography, which might change our approach.  We have spotted and really enjoyed some gems from the MDR that we've ordered from Luminae on non-E-class ships.  Our current MDR favorite is the 'pulled lamb'  rolled in a tube of phyllo and presented 'vertically'.  If I were at home, I'd pop up a photo.  About once per week in the Luminae rotation, we don't see anything that jumps out at us, and have benefited from the availability of other options when that happens.

 

That said, in spite of our otherwise great experiences in Luminae, +1 to the comment about the Moroccan Chicken.  With so many negative comments, I honestly don't know how Celebrity can't know by now that they're killing it by horribly overcooking it.  You get better chicken at KFC.

 

sometimes the simple pleasures of life are the best. Not KFC, but broasted chicken. Years ago I almost had my wife convinced we should buy a unit that broasted the chicken. Favorite meal is chicken and when I BBQ, my wife makes certain I do not overcook it but we know it has to be cooked.

Now, I have a Ronco (remember that) Showtime BBQ and do everythign from chicken on the spit to steaks, including standing rib roast to burgers and fish.

 

My main comment on Luminae is X needs to up the game there becuase its upped the game elsewhere on board. They need to find  a way to make it really more special --yet I guess Le Voyage stands in the way. There is little room to maneauver.

 

BTW, Luminae is more than dinner, its Breakfast, Lunch and cabin service too. Blu skips lunch whether in port or at sea. But Blu pretty good also.

 

 

 

[Baynanno1]

3 hours ago, Denny01 said:

We enjoy Celebrity and went Aqua on a cruise. Did not enjoy the dining that much more than the MDR….just us, and especially on the Edge Class with 4 MDRs - love them! But I didn’t go that route of walking away because Aqua wasn’t ‘my thing’. 

 

And @Baynanno1, forgive me, I just couldn’t help myself going back to the ‘I want to make my own coffee’, ‘I want to do my own laundry’, ‘I want to…..’. I’m looking forward to my first Retreat cruise coming up this Oct. Picked Retreat for a TA to Fully enjoy the experience. I hope the Luminae is everything I’ve been reading on.

 

What is your favorite dish??

 

den

 

Apologies in advance, as this will go slightly off topic!

 

I came to the thread looking for information on Luminae, as although we are Elite+ our first Retreat cruise will be later this year. So I don't yet have a favourite dish, but am very interested in the Crispy Branzino Fish mentioned by several people in this thread.

 

Perhaps you might share your thoughts after your cruise?

 

We have cruised in Aqua and enjoyed several dinners seated by and conversing with a French-Canadian couple. Apart from that I agree Aqua was not really our thing.

[Denny01]

2 minutes ago, Baynanno1 said:

 

Apologies in advance, as this will go slightly off topic!

 

I came to the thread looking for information on Luminae, as although we are Elite+ our first Retreat cruise will be later this year. So I don't yet have a favourite dish, but am very interested in the Crispy Branzino Fish mentioned by several people in this thread.

 

Perhaps you might share your thoughts after your cruise?

 

We have cruised in Aqua and enjoyed several dinners seated by and conversing with a French-Canadian couple. Apart from that I agree Aqua was not really our thing.

Will do. But of course, dining favorites is sooo subjective. My wife gives the Evil Eye anytime I even mention Five Guys burgers. 
 

the lamb mentioned before sounds like one I’ll try for sure

 

den

[canderson]

41 minutes ago, HMR74 said:

My main comment on Luminae is X needs to up the game there becuase its upped the game elsewhere on board. They need to find  a way to make it really more special --yet I guess Le Voyage stands in the way. There is little room to maneauver.

Ah, but Le Voyage is found on only on Beyond.  So it should stand in the way of nothing for the many other Celebrity ships. 

 

We used to frequent the ship-named specialty restaurants on the M class ships - which at the time, were the only option to the MDR, and enjoyed them a great deal.  My goat cheese souffle doesn't always quite match up, but it's close.

 

Yes, I remember Ron Popeil well!  I still have my dad's Pocket Fisherman around here somewhere.

 

[HMR74]

10 minutes ago, canderson said:

Ah, but Le Voyage is found on only on Beyond.  So it should stand in the way of nothing for the many other Celebrity ships. 

 

We used to frequent the ship-named specialty restaurants on the M class ships - which at the time, were the only option to the MDR, and enjoyed them a great deal.  My goat cheese souffle doesn't always quite match up, but it's close.

 

Yes, I remember Ron Popeil well!  I still have my dad's Pocket Fisherman around here somewhere.

 

correcto-and there are no rennovations planned other than for I think refelection. But where would they put it?  The answer depends on whats making the most profit and least profit for X ongoing after the initial halo effect.  Eden a big winner based on space being  allocated.

 

Cruise lines stocks have been hammered the past couple of months. Oil and food costs dinging them all . So far. X seems to be dealing with it from pricing perspectives and occupancy levels seem to be going up, but far from what they need. . That might be a stretch if cancellations start moving up. Airline flt cancellations are problematic.

 

Lots of moving pieces. Whack a Mole style. One problem  goes away and another problem pops up.

 

As I said in an earlier post, I am thrilled I am out of corp management. too many issues on different levels to deal with including keeping customers/guests coming back

 

 

 

[Cap_D]

For 10-14k on up Celebrity should be providing Jura Fully Automatic Espresso Makers in every room, Luminae should always be fresh wild caught salmon (in season) and the best of whatever is ordered, some noise dampening, and so on. 

 

Don't want want the convenience of a coffee maker and instead want it delivered to your room (and interact with the host), okay with frozen farm raised salmon, or whatever else one is content with, go for it.  They can remove the coffee maker, just like they can remove down pillows or alcohol.  But at 14k or whatever anyone is paying there shouldn't be a need to justify or accept the false scarcity, mindgames, and barriers that are created for Retreat passengers identified on this thread.  

 

To whomever writes back and says sorry you didn't like your cruise, find a different cruise line, can't you pay for gelato, I don't drink coffee, I bring my own via, you need to get an icon suite, what do you expect Viking?, I like when a guy knocks on my door at 630 with a pot of coffee, oil prices, stock price, supply chain, and so on...the point is for thousands a day, none of this should be even ripe for debate or discussion.  They have the resources and are charging enough for food to be cooked to order, for the dining room to be comfortable, to provide coffee makers, and provide more than a lenders bagel or a few lays potato chips and a slice of salami at the lounge for an hour a day.   Whatever it takes for Luminae, and Retreat by extension, to knock your socks off.

 

Simply put the premium experience should be premium.  It's not made premium simply because they call it premium, license a sous vide menu from a chef, put a .20 chocolate on the pilow, only have lobster one random night a cruise, make you request something the retreat host has on their iPad, it's a relative improvement over whatever someone had a decade ago when they first sailed or because it's on a 20 year old ship that is perceived to be more cozy, or a new ship. 

 

Celebrity needs to give the customers what they want, and it should be as good or better than just about anthing else going.  

 

[Gracie115]

12 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Denny, I can assure you that Luminae is the finest dining experience of any no specialty restaurant in our 20 cruises to date. After our first retreat experience last year on the Equinox, we felt the two dinners we did in Murano and Tuscan were a waste of our money as the service was nowhere near to what we had in Luminae and the food was good but IMO no better than Luminae. The night we went to Murano we had the Herb crusted rack of lamb, three nights later it was served in Luminae and it was much better prepared and tasting in Luminae. The first night fillet of beef was one of the best fillets outside of Ruth Chris Steak house I can remember. On the last night I had the seared duck breast and again it was delicious. The only bad dish I had was the Daniel Boulud Moroccan Chicken, would never order it again. Do not listen the whiners in the above posts the retreat is excellent, Luminae is a fine dining experience and worth every penny.

 

 

Yes.... what you said.....

[Whinenowine]

On 6/19/2022 at 6:20 PM, bigbenboys said:

We were just on Millie in Alaska. The best weather ever. Luminae works best our tastes. Having both Luminae and MDR menus are a plus. I asked in Luminae about the salmon on board and if it was Pacific or Atlantic. I was told that what was on board was Atlantic salmon (cost). Two night later they had local Pacific salmon in Luminae. It was a nice treat.

 

I'm happy to hear this!  52days left until our turn on Millie. We tend to go 50/50 Luminae/speciality restaurants, but I'm a huge fan of fresh Pacific salmon, so that fish at Luminae would trump all other restaurants that evening....unless of course they also served it at Sushi on 5, in which case I'd have to double dine.

[mfs2k]

Now that I’ve experienced 8 nights on Beyond with 5 nights dining in Specialty restaurants and 3 in Luminae I will say Luminae has moments of being over rated and moments of being significantly under rated. 
The food and service have both impressed me and disappointed me but mostly I’ve been very happy with the experience. The staff tries so hard to please and usually they succeed. 

Edited November 3, 2022 by mfs2k

[jelayne]

2 hours ago, mfs2k said:

Now that I’ve experienced 8 nights on Beyond with 5 nights dining in Specialty restaurants and 3 in Luminae I will say Luminae has moments of being over rated and moments of being significantly under rated. 
The food and service have both impressed me and disappointed me but mostly I’ve been very happy with the experience. The staff tries so hard to please and usually they succeed. 

We have always found the service excellent but the menu, for one who can eat no fish or seafood,  very disappointing. Our Beyond TA most evenings in Luminae I had the kids filet, which I could get in any dining room.

Best meal we had was Fine Cut with LeVoyage a very close 2nd.  Food was excellent at both but LV was very noisy in that small venue with mostly hard surfaces.  On the other hand we had a table in a quiet corner of FCS so no noise from the Grand Plaza.  Which restaurant did you enjoy the most?