First time on Apex, first time Retreat quest a couple of questions

[NCteacherlovescruising]

14 minutes ago, Retired888 said:

From our experience, you can ask for deviations from their menu in Luminae.  They will bend over backwards to make sure you get what you want.  I am gluten intolerant and every morning I get gluten-free muffins and gluten-free bread.  In the evening, they could make almost anything on or off the menu for me.  On one cruise, our server knew that I liked curry and asked me if I wanted chicken curry the following evening.  He also brought out other sides like curried lentils for my meal.  When they were serving lobster, we had 3 lobsters each, with the 4 extra lobsters brought to our table after we were served our entrees.  We didn't even ask for the extra lobsters.  🙂

That’s amazing!  Hope we get such excellent service!

[mfs2k]

1 minute ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

We have used some onboard credit for an excursion and a specialty restaurant as well. Not sure what we will do with all the rest. 

Book another specialty restaurant 🙂  or another excursion.

I have 4 specialty restaurant reservations booked using onboard credit for our 9 night cruise.

I also booked the behind the scenes ship tour. 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 minute ago, mfs2k said:

Book another specialty restaurant 🙂  or another excursion.

I have 4 specialty restaurant reservations booked using onboard credit for our 9 night cruise.

I also booked the behind the scenes ship tour. 

We’re considering booking more excursions, even though we normally book private. It seems silly to book specialty dining when so many are saying Luminae will give us about anything we want. I guess we’ll see if that’s the case for us. We have booked the steakhouse and Le Petit Chef looks interesting, so possibly that as well. I’m sure my husband will want to do the sushi place. 🤢 Is there an Italian restaurant on the Apex?  I can see me using some in the spa or shopping. It’s a shame we can’t use it to book a future cruise!

[txtechmk]

Be sure to book one dinner at Eden.  It was fabulous!  One of the best meals I had!

[irvington]

This is great to know we could replace the mini bar contents with bottled water. 

[wineoclock]

Apart from Raw on 5 I’ve booked each of the restaurants on our 12 night cruise on Apex. I know we are paying for Luminae but I still want to try the other restaurants. 

[39august]

NCteacher- you can also use your OBC in the casino. Just ask the cashier how to do it. It's different procedure for slots or tables. We use it for roulette every cruise. Lots of fun to gamble with their money!

[McGarrett5oh]

Is laundry provided (without cost) for Sky Suite Retreat cabins?  Thanks!

[wineoclock]

No it isn’t as it’s upper suites only. However if you have elite status or above then you do get some laundry perks 

[charleysmom]

On 9/10/2022 at 5:02 PM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

This will be our second Celebrity cruise and first time in the retreat, which leads to some questions.  I'm somewhat of a picky eater and my husband is a foodie.  I'm sure he will love the menu in Luminae, but I will need to order off the other menu in there a few nights.  (At least I read on here there is paper menu I can request with more basic items like steak and chicken.)  I assume I can get mashed or baked potatoes, a ceasar salad (from the children's menu) and basic vegetables (green beans, asparagus, broccoli, etc.) if I let them know in advance.  Is this correct?  On Evening Chic nights will they offer prime rib or lobster like the MDR?  What night's would that be on a 7 night cruise?  When you stay in a suite, do you book any specialty dining or is the food and service as good or better in Lunanie?  I love steaks and Italian, would you recommend a particular restaurant for me or just stick with Luninae?  Is the menu on the app typically all that is offered?

 

Is the retreat sundeck usually crowded like the other pool area?  Will there be a lot of kids at the pool during a spring break cruise or will it still be an older crowd?  I don't mind being in the sun, will I need to get up early to get a lounger near the pool?  I will slather on sunscreen and hope to go home with a bit of color.  

 

What on earth will I use a butler for?  I don't want anyone unpacking for me.  Will they bring specialty coffee or alcoholic drinks to our room?  Remove the items from our mini fridge so we can stock it with water bottles?  Maybe bring our breakfast?  If I would like a spa appointment, should I expect the butler or concierge in the lounge to make it, or is that something I would need to schedule myself?  We usually just book verandas, so this will be a completely new experience for us.  

We’re on the same cruise, also in Retreat and really looking forward to it! We were in a Sky Suite on the Equinox and loved it! Very, very difficult to go back! What cabin are you in?

 

Ann

[NCteacherlovescruising]

On 10/2/2022 at 4:41 PM, charleysmom said:

We’re on the same cruise, also in Retreat and really looking forward to it! We were in a Sky Suite on the Equinox and loved it! Very, very difficult to go back! What cabin are you in?

 

Ann

9207 You?

[TheHawk1]

On 9/11/2022 at 5:21 PM, PTC DAWG said:

Expand that food palette, cruises are a perfect time to try different things. 

Sorry, but this is just something foodies say to others who they consider to be less sophisticated. For example, there are lots of appetizers in Luminae where the description is either carpaccio or tartare. No matter how they try and dress it up, I’m not expanding my palette to eat anything raw. 
 

I sympathize with the OP, in that I’ve also perused the Luminae menu in advance of my upcoming first Retreat sailing on Edge and there are more dishes on the MDR menu that I would probably enjoy instead. I’m hoping the suite restaurant experience doesn’t turn out to be a disappointment.

[love2crews.]

On 10/2/2022 at 1:26 PM, wineoclock said:

No it isn’t as it’s upper suites only. However if you have elite status or above then you do get some laundry perks 

What rooms have laundry perks?

 

And what are those perks?  Unlimited laundry or a set limit (ex. 1 bag per sailing)?

[wineoclock]

When we were in PH it was pretty much unlimited although I think officially it was 2 bags per person per cruise at the time. 
 

Laundry perks I think are RS & above. 
 

 

[chemmo]

2 hours ago, TheHawk1 said:

Sorry, but this is just something foodies say to others who they consider to be less sophisticated. For example, there are lots of appetizers in Luminae where the description is either carpaccio or tartare. No matter how they try and dress it up, I’m not expanding my palette to eat anything raw. 
 

I sympathize with the OP, in that I’ve also perused the Luminae menu in advance of my upcoming first Retreat sailing on Edge and there are more dishes on the MDR menu that I would probably enjoy instead. I’m hoping the suite restaurant experience doesn’t turn out to be a disappointment.

I totally understand what you are saying. The MDR menu is well written. You know when you order what to expect.

 

One of the problems with the Luminae menu is it is ‘playfully’ written. Perhaps an attempt to be more upmarket? Sometimes it is hard to know exactly what you are ordering. Also when it arrives you can find it is different than you expected. When we first cruised Luminae I would ask the waiter to describe the dishes. Some were great and would, others would simply say “Try, if you don’t like I will bring you something else”. Also the veggie content of some dishes is a garnish rather than a portion. If you don’t know which dishes have limited veggies then you don’t know when to order extra sides…
 

Unfortunately, I think this can make diners conservative, they decide to ‘stick to something they know’ rather than try things they are unsure of. No one wants to spoil the ‘flow’ of the meal by sending a dish back…

 

My advice to all new Luminae cruisers is to look at some of the Jim_Iain pictorial reviews and actually note what looks nice and what wouldn’t appeal.
 

Once on board do ask your waiter to describe dishes you are uncertain about. Also if you fancy a fish or chicken dish but are unsure about the sauce ask for it on the side. We generally got into the habit of asking for a salad between us each every with the entree so if  the veggies were limited we supplemented it with the salad. If there was enough veg on the plate then a salad is still always nice!

 

On just rereading my post it sounds negative, I don’t mean it to be. Luminae has a nice ambiance, great staff and good food. Unfortunately whoever wrote the menu didn’t realise that when ordering food most of us would like a menu that gives us more idea of what to expect!

 

 

Edited October 5, 2022 by chemmo

[levramosis]

9 hours ago, chemmo said:

I totally understand what you are saying. The MDR menu is well written. You know when you order what to expect.

 

One of the problems with the Luminae menu is it is ‘playfully’ written. Perhaps an attempt to be more upmarket? 

I wouldn't say it's playfully written but it's written to a different sort of audience. I don't understand half of it either but my wife understands all of the fancy food words, so I get translations. Reviewing it again, I'd call it fancifully written. I'd rather it just be in simple language but *shrug* damn the food is good. I can't wait to be there again. Luminae is one of my happy places. Along with relaxing (and often falling asleep) on the T-pool bubble loungers.

 

One way you could approach this is to review the Luminae menus available online before going, and get a definition from Google for any terms you don't understand. Putting in "define bucatini" or "define hamachi" will get you a good idea what you'd be getting pretty quick. Beyond that, the waitstaff know the menu well so ask questions about how things are served etc.

 

Portions are not large, which might suit light eaters but we usually order extra entrees to share or doubles if we know we like something. Remember you'll have 3-6 courses depending how you order.

 

If you like wine or related after-dinner beverages it pays to get friendly with the sommelier. One thing that has made a difference between an average cruise and an outstanding one for us is the enthusiasm of the Luminae sommelier. When they more-or-less call it in it's not great but an engaged sommelier is worth their weight in gold, maybe more.