LIVE food photos from the Eclipse | South Pacific | 14-26 January 2023

[nz1]

After leaving the party at Michael’s, we headed to Luminae. I must say I love the shape of the butters! Almost like the classic beehive shape.

 

 

To start, we had an amuse bouche which was like a liquified cheese with basil, tomato and sweet pearls - no idea actually what this was but it tasted ok.

 

For my appetizer, I chose the roasted squab with pearl barley risotto, truffle, and port wine pan sauce. This was quite rich but I preferred the squab I had on a previous cruise in Blu that had a much lighter sauce to accompany it. My partner had the classic caesar salad and I must admit I sort of wish I had that instead!

 

 

For the main I chose the fennel-crusted grilled lamb loin that came with carrot purée, haricots verts, and natural jus. The lamb was sensational.

 

 

My partner had the cauliflower steak which was accompanied with curried yoghurt, pepitas, raisins, and cilantro gremolata. I didn’t have food envy this course 😂 But apparently it was good.

 

We skipped dessert as nothing tempted us quite enough to justify the calories and we had our eye on some of the delights from Cafe Al Bacio anyway 😊

 

[asnaleah]

I had that lamb loin dish last month. It was fantastic!

[Redking]

7 hours ago, dcbiker97 said:

You're in for a treat having Gordon as your butler. We sailed with him in November on our Sydney cruise and he was just fantastic.

He's wonderful. There were quite a few supply challenges on embarkation day which he has navigated like a pro.

 

We requested potato chips/crisps which they didn't have and he has given us a packet from his own personal supply!

 

[nz1]

3 minutes ago, Redking said:

He's wonderful. There were quite a few supply challenges on embarkation day which he has navigated like a pro.

 

We requested potato chips/crisps which they didn't have and he has given us a packet from his own personal supply!

 

 

Wow - now that’s service!!! Smith’s chips are delicious!!

[hcat]

16 hours ago, nz1 said:

No great photos from lunch as we tried the buffet out - which was very busy. So instead, for all those tea lovers out there - here’s what I found in Michael’s Club after lunch.

 

 

There are more in the range, including the African Solstice rooibos 🥰

 

Great thread..great idea!

 

. This is our fav tea.we use it at home..a bit of an indulgence!

 

We disliked Luminae on BEYOND ( mostly the menu, preparation  and presentation)  but it  seems you are having a better experience on your cruise.

 

Would like to see the buffet.lunch and dinner.. Are the offerings limited? Empty serving stations?  Grill choices? 

[hcat]

41 minutes ago, nz1 said:

After leaving the party at Michael’s, we headed to Luminae. I must say I love the shape of the butters! Almost like the classic beehive shape.

 

 

To start, we had an amuse bouche which was like a liquified cheese with basil, tomato and sweet pearls - no idea actually what this was but it tasted ok.

 

For my appetizer, I chose the roasted squab with pearl barley risotto, truffle, and port wine pan sauce. This was quite rich but I preferred the squab I had on a previous cruise in Blu that had a much lighter sauce to accompany it. My partner had the classic caesar salad and I must admit I sort of wish I had that instead!

 

 

For the main I chose the fennel-crusted grilled lamb loin that came with carrot purée, haricots verts, and natural jus. The lamb was sensational.

 

 

My partner had the cauliflower steak which was accompanied with curried yoghurt, pepitas, raisins, and cilantro gremolata. I didn’t have food envy this course 😂 But apparently it was good.

 

We skipped dessert as nothing tempted us quite enough to justify the calories and we had our eye on some of the delights from Cafe Al Bacio anyway 😊

 

Sounds like X  is back to game birds again...we have lots of them in our backyard..to observe not consume...

[nz1]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

Great thread..great idea!

 

. This is our fav tea.we use it at home..a bit of an indulgence!

 

We disliked Luminae on BEYOND ( mostly the menu, preparation  and presentation)  but it  seems you are having a better experience on your cruise.

 

Would like to see the buffet.lunch and dinner.. Are the offerings limited? Empty serving stations?  Grill choices? 

An indulgence to say the least! I looked up the prices online 😳 But, life is too short to drink bad tea!

 

It’ll be interesting to see how we find Luminae over the course of the cruise - the menu tonight doesn’t appeal much so might try something else instead, like the buffet if it’s quiet enough up there.

 

When we ate in the buffet at lunch yesterday, all stations appeared to be open and lots of range in each zone. Will be particularly interested to see if the offering is just as good at dinner time.

[nz1]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

Sounds like X  is back to game birds again...we have lots of them in our backyard..to observe not consume...

It does seem a little weird to eat pidgeon… It’s definitely not something usually on the menu back home in New Zealand! 🐦

[Swordfish1949]

I truly appreciate the time you're taking from your vacation to share with us. Great post!

 

[Jim_Iain]

22 hours ago, nz1 said:

@Redking Wow your suite looks incredible!!

 

I think you accidentally posted in the “live food thread” rather than your actual live cruise report thread! Sorry if I confused things!! 

LOL -- I"ve done that myself.  

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, nz1 said:

It does seem a little weird to eat pidgeon… It’s definitely not something usually on the menu back home in New Zealand! 🐦

 

Luminae does take a little poetic license on description and name.   You should later have Guinea Hen on the menu -  definitely not a Guinea Hen  probably a Cornish Game Hen would be what is served.   It's one of Iain's pet peeves as he loves a real Guinea Hen   A Guinea Hen is a totally different shaped bird.

 

 

[nz1]

30 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Luminae does take a little poetic license on description and name.   You should later have Guinea Hen on the menu -  definitely not a Guinea Hen  probably a Cornish Game Hen would be what is served.   It's one of Iain's pet peeves as he loves a real Guinea Hen   A Guinea Hen is a totally different shaped bird.

 

 

 

You’re spot on, Jim! It’s on tomorrow night - Grilled Guinea Hen with spaghetti squash, pepitas, and sherry vinegar. Not really tempting me…

[hcat]

Actually,  I was wrong in my comment..we do have young pigeons here,  but I was thinking of Quail which we have seen on Celeb menus in the past.  They equate to the bob white that are  free in our backyard..Fla USA

 

Hope the dinner buffet does not disappoint!

As for   Beyond Luminae,  I managed with  salmon, other fish and the  tiny but sweet lobster tails..Our best meal on board was dinner in BLU

[nz1]

We had a late breakfast in Luminae today, though seems like that was the case for a lot of people as it was very busy.

 

 

Starting off with the delicious apple turnover again, with some pineapple juice. Really, I would be happy with one of these and coffee for breakfast!

 

 

Followed by scrambled eggs, pork sausages, and fingerling potatoes. A garnish of mushroom and asparagus happened to come with it but I could’ve done without those additions 😂

 

 

The scrambled eggs were excellent - among the best I’ve ever had. Such a simple dish but a good test as often restaurants and cafes don’t manage to do a great job with them (or use the powdered equivalent). That was certainly not the case in Luminae. Delicious.

And when the pastry basket turned up again, how could I resist a warm pain au chocolat 🤷‍♂️

 

 

Flaky, with soft dark chocolate inside. Heaven!

[dcbiker97]

6 hours ago, Redking said:

He's wonderful. There were quite a few supply challenges on embarkation day which he has navigated like a pro.

 

We requested potato chips/crisps which they didn't have and he has given us a packet from his own personal supply!

 

That’s Gordon. We had sailed with him before and he remembered some health and food challenges that my partner had. He actually had a relative of his go shopping in Sydney to pick up a few items to have in our room before we even got on the ship. This is a the sort of thing you’ll never forget. 

Edited January 16, 2023 by dcbiker97

[Redking]

1 hour ago, nz1 said:

 

You’re spot on, Jim! It’s on tomorrow night - Grilled Guinea Hen with spaghetti squash, pepitas, and sherry vinegar. Not really tempting me…

Would you believe I quite like the sound of it. I'm gluten intolerant and love spaghetti squash, assuming that's what I know it to be 🤣 Can't believe day 4 will be our first night dining in Luminae.

[nz1]

16 hours ago, Redking said:

Would you believe I quite like the sound of it. I'm gluten intolerant and love spaghetti squash, assuming that's what I know it to be 🤣 Can't believe day 4 will be our first night dining in Luminae.

I’ll be interested to hear what you think of it if you order it 😄

[nz1]

Day 3: We decided to try the OVC for lunch again but a little bit later on to avoid the rush. Again, there was great selection and every station appeared to be open and filled to the brim with appetising options.

 

I was keen to try the pizza to compare it to the pizza on the Majestic Princess last month. While it was pretty tasty, it wasn’t quite at Princess’ level! Also had some nicely herbed potato slices and some broccoli for good measure.

 

Very pleasant sitting at the aft and watching the gorgeous blue South Pacific ocean!

 

Edited January 16, 2023 by nz1

[nz1]

Day 3: We had saved some room for afternoon tea so tried that in Michael’s Club.

 

Soon after sitting down, two trays of various savoury and sweet delights were placed on the table, along with the wonderful Tea Forte teas - Earl Grey and African Solstice.

 

 

 

A lovely selection and pleasant way to spend some time on a sea day ☺️

[Wink87]

20 minutes ago, nz1 said:

Day 3: We had saved some room for afternoon tea so tried that in Michael’s Club.

 

Soon after sitting down, two trays of various savoury and sweet delights were placed on the table, along with the wonderful Tea Forte teas - Earl Grey and African Solstice.

 

 

 

A lovely selection and pleasant way to spend some time on a sea day ☺️

I'll have to try that on our Feb cruise. This will be our first time in CS and Retreat. I am loving your food pics!

[nz1]

20 minutes ago, Wink87 said:

I'll have to try that on our Feb cruise. This will be our first time in CS and Retreat. I am loving your food pics!

Definitely! It’s everyday between 3:30pm and 4:30pm 😊

[Jim_Iain]

19 hours ago, Redking said:

Would you believe I quite like the sound of it. I'm gluten intolerant and love spaghetti squash, assuming that's what I know it to be 🤣 Can't believe day 4 will be our first night dining in Luminae.

 

Actually it is nice if you like Cornish Game Hens-  looks like a small chicken and is mostly white meat. 

 

Guinea Hen's which are also delicious are lean and tender dark meat and flavor reminiscent of Pheasant.  

[Northern Aurora]

We were on the first April 2022 Eclipse sailing when the ship returned to passenger operations.  That was the famous/infamous "barnacle cruise."  The Luminae maitre'd on that sailing was one of the best ever, as was the entire Luminae staff.  We will be returning to the Eclipse in March for a B2B2B2B, and wonder who the Luminae maitre'd is on your sailing?  Sommelier?  Any standout waitstaff?

[nz1]

24 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

We were on the first April 2022 Eclipse sailing when the ship returned to passenger operations.  That was the famous/infamous "barnacle cruise."  The Luminae maitre'd on that sailing was one of the best ever, as was the entire Luminae staff.  We will be returning to the Eclipse in March for a B2B2B2B, and wonder who the Luminae maitre'd is on your sailing?  Sommelier?  Any standout waitstaff?

I haven’t caught the name of the maître d’ but the “host” is Tarun and we’ve been very well looked after by Kavi and Eva 😊

[hcat]

4 hours ago, nz1 said:

Day 3: We had saved some room for afternoon tea so tried that in Michael’s Club.

 

Soon after sitting down, two trays of various savoury and sweet delights were placed on the table, along with the wonderful Tea Forte teas - Earl Grey and African Solstice.

 

 

 

A lovely selection and pleasant way to spend some time on a sea day ☺️

very nice..very posh!