Is Luminae over-rated or under-rated?

[Oville]

1 hour ago, LGW59 said:

Without naming it, my company recently fired him as a client, and no not spilling confidential information, it was all over the news.  

Do you work in Back bay?

[Aloha 1]

On 3/9/2022 at 8:38 PM, terrydtx said:

Overall,  I would say the same but we haven't cruised on any of the luxury lines, known for their known excellent cuisine. 

You need to try Oceania or Regent to get a good opinion. We have and are a little apprehensive about the food quality on Edge in Luminae compared to them. We are Elite+ but our last X cruise was in 2015 on reflection where we pioneered the Sushi on 5 concept. We had a group of 12 all in the Reflection Suite area and we got a special invitation to try the experimental menu at The Porch one sea day. Loved it. Also felt Luminae was very good. Then we cruised on  Oceania and Regent and realized Celebrity had to step up it's game to compete. We had an FCC to use so we booked a July cruise in Europe on Edge in a CS. Now thinking we should avoid Luminae and maybe just go to the SR's.

[terrydtx]

15 minutes ago, Aloha 1 said:

You need to try Oceania or Regent to get a good opinion. We have and are a little apprehensive about the food quality on Edge in Luminae compared to them. We are Elite+ but our last X cruise was in 2015 on reflection where we pioneered the Sushi on 5 concept. We had a group of 12 all in the Reflection Suite area and we got a special invitation to try the experimental menu at The Porch one sea day. Loved it. Also felt Luminae was very good. Then we cruised on  Oceania and Regent and realized Celebrity had to step up it's game to compete. We had an FCC to use so we booked a July cruise in Europe on Edge in a CS. Now thinking we should avoid Luminae and maybe just go to the SR's.

We were booked on Oceania Marina for a Baltic cruise this August, the 10 night cruise in a Penthouse Veranda was about the same price as a Celebrity Sky Suite 12 night cruise. O had the more interesting itinerary. We canceled in January because of the Ukrainian war and not wanting to stop anywhere in Russia. We then booked the Reflection for 10 days in a Sky Suite as our replacement.  We still want to try O, they are almost competitive with the Retreat on Celebrity and have very good ratings.  Looked at Regent but they are just soooooo expensive. My sister loves Viking Ocean and they have decent pricing, but they want full payment 12 months in advance and I do not want to help finance their new ship building. I still think that until Celebrity lets us down we will stay with them in the Retreat for awhile longer.

Edited March 13, 2022 by terrydtx

[chemmo]

10 minutes ago, Aloha 1 said:

You need to try Oceania or Regent to get a good opinion. We have and are a little apprehensive about the food quality on Edge in Luminae compared to them. We are Elite+ but our last X cruise was in 2015 on reflection where we pioneered the Sushi on 5 concept. We had a group of 12 all in the Reflection Suite area and we got a special invitation to try the experimental menu at The Porch one sea day. Loved it. Also felt Luminae was very good. Then we cruised on  Oceania and Regent and realized Celebrity had to step up it's game to compete. We had an FCC to use so we booked a July cruise in Europe on Edge in a CS. Now thinking we should avoid Luminae and maybe just go to the SR's.

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?

 

[Aloha 1]

2 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

They say never meet your heroes and this is especially true for Musk.  I am a huge fan of his achievements and have been a Tesla stock holder for nearly a decade.  I live six miles from SpaceX's HQ, have many friends who have (or had) work at SpaceX and he had to sign an agreement at my work, didn't meet him but was in the same room as him and saw first hand his his mannerisms/how he interacts with people.  He is brilliant yet is not friendly, fun, a people person, he prefers to avoid interaction, etc.  He's always been deemed "difficult" which is what the SNL crew said when working with him.  Look at him in the work picture, intentionally stood off to the side, only person not smiling.  Also an one article:

 

 

 

 

Elon Musk is on the Autism spectrum. He is considered to have Asperger's Syndrome. Those who have it typically exhibit brilliance but lack interpersonal skills.

[Aloha 1]

22 minutes ago, 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 just got off a Regent Carib cruise. Food was stellar and far above X. Lobster Nachos for lunch anyone? All the SR's are included as are all the shore excursions and the drinks ( top shelf). Their Pan Asian SR, Pacific Rim, was outstanding as was Compass Rose, the MDR.

We've sailed Oceania 6 times. Equal to Regent with the additional fact that you can go to the Terrace ( their buffet) for dinner and have grilled to order lobster, steaks, lamp chops, fish and shrimp any night and no need to dress. 

 

Also, keep in mind that both O and R sail with fewer passengers per ship than X,. Example, O's Riviera and Marina are about the size of the Millenia Class but sail with half the passenger load. Regent's newer ships, Explorer and Splendor, sail with 750 passengers and are slightly smaller than the O ships. in each case, it makes for a more personalized experience.

 

We have previously enjoyed X but as their costs have increased we started looking for more" bang for the buck".

I'll post my comparison after we cruise both X and O back to back in July. Just glad to be back at sea.

Edited March 13, 2022 by Aloha 1

[chemmo]

14 minutes ago, Aloha 1 said:

We just got off a Regent Carib cruise. Food was stellar and far above X. Lobster Nachos for lunch anyone? All the SR's are included as are all the shore excursions and the drinks ( top shelf). Their Pan Asian SR, Pacific Rim, was outstanding as was Compass Rose, the MDR.

We've sailed Oceania 6 times. Equal to Regent with the additional fact that you can go to the Terrace ( their buffet) for dinner and have grilled to order lobster, steaks, lamp chops, fish and shrimp any night and no need to dress. 

 

Also, keep in mind that both O and R sail with fewer passengers per ship than X,. Example, O's Riviera and Marina are about the size of the Millenia Class but sail with half the passenger load. Regent's newer ships, Explorer and Splendor, sail with 750 passengers and are slightly smaller than the O ships. in each case, it makes for a more personalized experience.

 

We have previously enjoyed X but as their costs have increased we started looking for more" bang for the buck".

I'll post my comparison after we cruise both X and O back to back in July. Just glad to be back at sea.

Thanks for your response…look forward to reading your reviews.

[HMR74]

The real test for X will be with the Beyond. Mgt has said they are going after the premium large ship segment.

 

If the  ship can offer more "things " like the "bigger sunset" bar experience where you can find your own space, and the same idea with Eden, and then can truly go upscale with Luminae, thiings can go well for X, but if all they offer will be higher prices, then it boils down to value.

 

IMO the spa is getting too cutesey and I  from a business perspective wonder if it wil draw customers on a broad based basis where the ship devotes a lot of space to it. We are on it next year for eastern med after a TA. only one sea day eastern med means no real time to enjoy the spa, which on the 7 day crossing we will each buy a 7 daypass if they have them then.

 

The Aqua suites are the same as sky suites at several hundred dollars more PP. So it will be interesting  to see how much they charge for daily or weekly passes.

 

all in all it wil be interesting to see how much of the premium big ship strategy is pricing, and how much is actual product delivered. It has to be more than the big name chefs private high priced specialty restaurant. It should be applied everwhere including the MDR's.

 

Some of that higher suite pricing on Beyond does reflect the  upper level forward section being the somewhat self contained Retreat. Too bad they scattered sky suites all over the ship rather than have them at upper and forward levels, closer to where upper premium suites are.The way they did it, with S1, S2 and S3 at same pricing (except cabins at the magic carpet getting a lower price)  I am not sure I understand that pricing and level concept.

 

I will remind us all that food and energy costs have increased substantially and as well health protocols have increased requiring more costs.

 

I guess late  next month we will hear first hand how much better Beyond is vs Apex or Edge. My other observation is a lot of the extra space of being 20 meters longer allowed for more cabins, not necessarily common space, although the guest to crew ratio wil be better for guests on Beyond than Apex or Edge.

 

 

 

Edited March 13, 2022 by HMR74

[Bo1953]

3 hours ago, Aloha 1 said:

Elon Musk is on the Autism spectrum. He is considered to have Asperger's Syndrome. Those who have it typically exhibit brilliance but lack interpersonal skills.

Thank you for pointing this out...

 

He, Elon, has stated this and understands this makes it a 'challenge' to work with. Those who do not understand this issue and others like him, will never be able to interact and appreciate the challenges they are overcoming in one way or another.

 

bon voyage

[mfs2k]

4 hours ago, HMR74 said:

I guess late  next month we will hear first hand how much better Beyond is vs Apex or Edge

Beyond will have its honeymoon until everyone starts talking about Ascent prior to its launch in December 2023. 

[TeeRick]

15 hours ago, HMR74 said:

The real test for X will be with the Beyond. Mgt has said they are going after the premium large ship segment.

 

If the  ship can offer more "things " like the "bigger sunset" bar experience where you can find your own space, and the same idea with Eden, and then can truly go upscale with Luminae, thiings can go well for X, but if all they offer will be higher prices, then it boils down to value.

 

IMO the spa is getting too cutesey and I  from a business perspective wonder if it wil draw customers on a broad based basis where the ship devotes a lot of space to it. We are on it next year for eastern med after a TA. only one sea day eastern med means no real time to enjoy the spa, which on the 7 day crossing we will each buy a 7 daypass if they have them then.

 

The Aqua suites are the same as sky suites at several hundred dollars more PP. So it will be interesting  to see how much they charge for daily or weekly passes.

 

all in all it wil be interesting to see how much of the premium big ship strategy is pricing, and how much is actual product delivered. It has to be more than the big name chefs private high priced specialty restaurant. It should be applied everwhere including the MDR's.

 

Some of that higher suite pricing on Beyond does reflect the  upper level forward section being the somewhat self contained Retreat. Too bad they scattered sky suites all over the ship rather than have them at upper and forward levels, closer to where upper premium suites are.The way they did it, with S1, S2 and S3 at same pricing (except cabins at the magic carpet getting a lower price)  I am not sure I understand that pricing and level concept.

 

I will remind us all that food and energy costs have increased substantially and as well health protocols have increased requiring more costs.

 

I guess late  next month we will hear first hand how much better Beyond is vs Apex or Edge. My other observation is a lot of the extra space of being 20 meters longer allowed for more cabins, not necessarily common space, although the guest to crew ratio wil be better for guests on Beyond than Apex or Edge.

 

 

 

BEYOND is slightly larger but not much different than EDGE and APEX.  They are all premium large ship market.  I am not expecting much of a significant difference.

[terrydtx]

18 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

BEYOND is slightly larger but not much different than EDGE and APEX.  They are all premium large ship market.  I am not expecting much of a significant difference.

The biggest difference is the Beyond will have the Luminae, Retreat lounge and the Retreat sun deck and pool all together in the 3 top decks forward. Luminae will not be located on Deck 12 like the Edge and Apex. 

[HMR74]

20 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

BEYOND is slightly larger but not much different than EDGE and APEX.  They are all premium large ship market.  I am not expecting much of a significant difference.

As I think I implied, much of the premium ship strategy could be to justify higher  pricing.

 And pricing is up quite a lot.  That said, if crew to guest ratio is vastly improved, that improves the service level. Then improve the food value with higher quality  and thats a decent value proposition. I do not thing any other cruise line has an Eden venue including the size of it, and if thats your thing, then its worth it.

 

After the dust settles of people using FCC we will have a clearer picture of true demand for the premium big ship and if ther is differentiation for the extra price. It may also be that other cruise lines have not increased their prices and may have to to stay profitable with higher food and fuels prices.

Time wil tell

 

I have to check out other smaller premium cruise lines  where I end up using the X FCC on a basic carribean get away. its called due diligence. My problem is I do not want to pay a much larger deposit 5 months ahead of the cruise with penalties starting at 5 months where I buy the insurance 5 months ahead of time.

 

[HMR74]

15 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

The biggest difference is the Beyond will have the Luminae, Retreat lounge and the Retreat sun deck and pool all together in the 3 top decks forward. Luminae will not be located on Deck 12 like the Edge and Apex. 

Actually Luminae has the premium ship location, no longer on deck 5  on S ships  but with a panoramic big window view. Which beats the one deck lower side of ship location on Edge and Apex that has an overhang which darkens Luminae.

 

 

As I said early, one surprise is they scattered Sky Suites all over the ship rather than putting them forward on levels 9 and 10 and 11 (with other cabins on 12 to separate the regular pool deck and Oceanview Cafe from the suites for noise control. And another surprise is S1 S2 and S3 are so far priced the same.

Edited March 14, 2022 by HMR74

[HMR74]

Somewhere in this mess of differences and price I think, percieve, there is true value.

 

The real test is when we get home, my wife raves about the trip to me. ( I do all , literally all the planning for our vacations. I do show her the shore excursions I think we want and the pre and post cruise AirBnbs and Vrbos where we stay.)

 

How do you put a price tag on happiness?  Which we know is subjective.

 

 

 

 

 

[TeeRick]

32 minutes ago, HMR74 said:

Somewhere in this mess of differences and price I think, percieve, there is true value.

 

The real test is when we get home, my wife raves about the trip to me. ( I do all , literally all the planning for our vacations. I do show her the shore excursions I think we want and the pre and post cruise AirBnbs and Vrbos where we stay.)

 

How do you put a price tag on happiness?  Which we know is subjective.

 

 

 

 

 

Well - Happy Wife, Happy Life.

[HMR74]

15 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Well - Happy Wife, Happy Life.

Truer words have never been spoken.

 

[Oville]

18 hours ago, Aloha 1 said:

 

Also, keep in mind that both O and R sail with fewer passengers per ship than X,. Example, O's Riviera and Marina are about the size of the Millenia Class but sail with half the passenger load. 

This statement is simply not true regarding the size of the ships.

[Aloha 1]

1 hour ago, Oville said:

This statement is simply not true regarding the size of the ships.

Riviera/Marina: 66,000 tons, 784 ft. long, 1250 passengers at double occupancy

Millennium: 90,000 tons, 965 ft. long , 2218 passengers at double occupancy.

 

Note I stated "about" as to size.

 

Edited March 14, 2022 by Aloha 1

[terrydtx]

20 minutes ago, Aloha 1 said:

Riviera/Marina: 66,000 tons, 784 ft. long, 1250 passengers at double occupancy

Millennium: 90,000 tons, 965 ft. long , 2218 passengers at double occupancy.

 

Note I stated "about" as to size.

 

No way I would consider the above dimensions and passenger counts as "about" the same in size.

Edited March 14, 2022 by terrydtx

[RichYak]

16 minutes ago, Aloha 1 said:

Riviera/Marina: 66,000 tons, 784 ft. long, 1250 passengers at double occupancy

Millennium: 90,000 tons, 965 ft. long , 2218 passengers at double occupancy.

 

Note I stated "about" as to size.

 

For perspective using the same ratios: if Riviera were a person who is 6 ft tall and weighs 200 lbs, Millennium would be 7 ft 4 inches tall and weigh 273 lbs. Quite different if you ask me.

[kwokpot]

13 minutes ago, Aloha 1 said:

Riviera/Marina: 66,000 tons, 784 ft. long, 1250 passengers at double occupancy

Millennium: 90,000 tons, 965 ft. long , 2218 passengers at double occupancy.

 

Note I stated "about" as to size.

 

Those would not be considered in the same tonnage class. Riviera/Marina would be closer to Celebrity's Century Class, and no one considers Century class comparable to Millenium class. Generally to be considered in the same tonnage class the variation is  several thousand tons, not almost 30,000 tons, the difference being the size of Oceania's Regatta class. 

[HMR74]

another metric is passenger to crew

edge is 2.12

Apex 2.20

Beyond 2.28

Reflection (for Solstics Class) 2.43

does it mean edge service is better? or regardless of ship size and pass count, they only need a certain number of Bridge crew, engine crew etc, while a variable crew count is for number of cabins  etc.

Sky Princess is 2.8

 

Or a landscaping crew is needed for edge class for rooftop garden and Eden.

If I was buying a cruise line I'd want to do due diligence, and thats different than buying space on a cruise.

But often the passenger to crew ratio is used--

Oasis is huge but has different things for different folks--

Beyond is getting bigger but perhaps its the redesign of Retreat et all that will get the better pass to crew ratio,

On Reflection, the top cabin level is mostly suites, while it is scattered on Beyond and Edge and Apex.

Is the butler cabin  service as responsive on edge class  vs Solstice class, or do they get tired running all over the place. At least on each deck, most sky suites are adjacent in 3-4 groups.

Just some questions that just popped up.

 

 

 

 

[TrulyBlonde]

23 hours ago, LGW59 said:

He certainly is a brilliant man, no doubt about that.  My husband is an aerospace engineer, he works on developing the programming for all this rocket ship stuff, far far above my paygrade, but he loves it and is in awe of Elon Musk and his vision for the space program.

I follow Elon on Twitter. He is hilarious and I admire/in awe of him too.

Now as to those that never eat in the buffet: Sometime you just need a piece of pizza! Grab a cocktail, get a slice, and sit on the back deck and enjoy the sun and the view.

[Oville]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

No way I would consider the above dimensions and passenger counts as "about" the same in size.

I’ve been on Riviera and it is significantly smaller than M Class and probably C Class.  I will say the speciality restaurants are better than Celebrity but the MDR is on par and very crowded.  We were one and done.