Food Quality in Blu Restaurant

[pmarrsouth]

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

They really like sauces in Blu, don’t they?

Flavor is nice 

[rxlowry]

This gnocchi dish was outstanding!  Blu isn’t “meat and potatoes” which is probably why we liked it so much!

 

[zitsky]

13 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

I don’t understand.  This is the list of items from the Blu menu.

And you couldn’t find anything to eat from that list?

[Mike45LC]

3 hours ago, zitsky said:

And you couldn’t find anything to eat from that list?

I said I'd end up with the chicken.  Yes, everything else was not on my very limited list of edible food. I am allergic to all sea food, both the fish and the shell fish.  [I have never tried duck, which is kind of a water animal, and I do not know if it would trigger my allergies -- not worth the risk.]  I do not eat pork.  I do not eat unknown foods because of the sea food and pork restrictions.  So I am a very picky eater, and usually go with the beef selection or the chicken breast, to be safe.  

[pmarrsouth]

When you consulted with the MD before the first nights dining about your dual food intake options, what was their reply? They were unable to accommodate?

 

[zitsky]

2 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

I said I'd end up with the chicken.  Yes, everything else was not on my very limited list of edible food. I am allergic to all sea food, both the fish and the shell fish.  [I have never tried duck, which is kind of a water animal, and I do not know if it would trigger my allergies -- not worth the risk.]  I do not eat pork.  I do not eat unknown foods because of the sea food and pork restrictions.  So I am a very picky eater, and usually go with the beef selection or the chicken breast, to be safe.  

You’re a picky eater?  That’s the understatement of the year.  😂

[Mike45LC]

22 minutes ago, zitsky said:

You’re a picky eater?  That’s the understatement of the year.  😂

I did say "very picky."   I know!

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, Mike45LC said:

I did say "very picky."   I know!

I’m wondering what your requirements are for drinking water?  Do you only drink water from glaciers harvested at the South Pole?  😂

[FeebeeH]

Do you have to pay for coffee in Blu?  I've noticed on Celebrity's app there is a charge for coffee (Single Espresso $4, Double Espresso $5, Cappuccino $5 etc.) - is this charge applicable only if you don't have a drinks package (we have AI)?  Fine for me as I don't drink it but my husband loves his coffee after dinner.

[keesar]

2 hours ago, FeebeeH said:

Do you have to pay for coffee in Blu?  I've noticed on Celebrity's app there is a charge for coffee (Single Espresso $4, Double Espresso $5, Cappuccino $5 etc.) - is this charge applicable only if you don't have a drinks package (we have AI)?  Fine for me as I don't drink it but my husband loves his coffee after dinner.

There is no charge for regular or decaf coffee in Blu. 

[jean87510]

8 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

I did say "very picky."   I know!

I have the exact same issue and this was why I will probably not book AQ again.  I ended up ordering off the MDR menu every time I was there as allergic to nuts, shellfish, and have had reactions to fish.  Everything seemed as if it had nuts or seafood in it.   It isn't being picky.  I'm good with chicken, beef, fresh vegetables.  I just can't do the sauces but am used to that.  

[hcat]

My husb is highly allergic to lobster..does ok with crab cakes and shrimp cocktail.  Has to ask if  soups or other dishes have any lobster.

Food allergies are scary and we think X treats them seriously. Being picky is being careful!   Fortunately,  we never had any issues in BLU.

 

Recently, I  see pics  from BLU of many foods buried  with sauce and gravies....that may add flavor but also salt and possibly sugars. I will ask for any sauce or gravy to be put on the side.  Same with salad dressing if possible.

[Miss SeaBee]

On 9/17/2023 at 9:23 PM, Cruisegirl6 said:

We were on the Beyond and the Edge the this year and Blu menu we were unable to ask for the MDR items like onion soup or ceasar salad, and the menu was very limited.  The items were not appealing to us and unlike the MDR where you can get chicken/steak/salmon every night we were unable to get any of those items.  Blu was very noisy in both cruises so we only dined one evening in Blu on each cruise and our service both times were so so, I have no idea why people rave about it as we found the MDR so much better in service, items offered and food tasting better.  We are booked on the Equinox and will give it a try, but from what I hear on this class of ship we are allowed to ask for the "everyday items" on the MDR, if this is true it will work out perfectly for us, if not, we be back in the MDR.

The spa stuff included in Aqua for us was useless a joke, because the treatments you still have to pay for but the only thing we did like about Aqua was the shower in these class of ships, the best shower in all our other 98 cruises we taken.  I would take Aqua for the showers, but unsure if those showers are in the class of ship we are currently booked on.

I agree with you! I know we are in the minority, but I only cruised once in Aqua, and never again. I did not care for Blu. Much prefer MDR!

[Guera53]

How can we find a specialty dining package? Does it include every specialty restaurant? I just haven’t seen it offered as a package in my app.

[D. B.]

On 9/17/2023 at 6:36 PM, zitsky said:

I’d like to hear from someone who spent more than one day in Blu.

we did Blu 6 nights and ordered from the MDR menu 5 nights.

  The menu Items in Blu were just plain strange.

 Never doing Aqua again.

 Just saving the money for other things onboard.

[Luvcrusn]

14 minutes ago, Guera53 said:

How can we find a specialty dining package? Does it include every specialty restaurant? I just haven’t seen it offered as a package in my app.

The packages are offered in the cruise planner on the X website. All specialty restaurants are included. You can also purchase single reservations to specific restaurants. If you purchase a package, the reservations must be made on board. We do it as soon as we board and haven't had issues getting the reservations we want.

[pmarrsouth]

Some very strange dishes in the last couple of nights in Blu:

 

Lamb:

 

 

Ribeye: 

 

 

Salmon:

 

 

Pork:

 

 

Delighted to have been able to taste such things for the first time

 

The kitchen is quite happy to serve people plain chicken & beef every night if one wishes. Saves them both time and $$$

 

Also many people are asking for different sauces/sides/presentations for their mains each night. Don’t like tomato, ask for your dish without it. Have yet to hear of any pushback 

[amandas friend]

On 9/17/2023 at 11:22 PM, NMTraveller said:

We found the thermal suites on Edge to be very crowded when compared to S class.

I thought Edge was crowded in most areas of the ship. 

[TourDeCruise]

On 9/18/2023 at 8:59 PM, pmarrsouth said:

We are currently on the Millennium from Vanc to Tokyo in AQ. Have had 3 nights so far in Blu

 

Soups - Could use more flavor overall. I had a corn veloute on day 2, lack of flavor until I hit the single piece of chorizo in it which complimented the dish nicely (needs more chorizo!)

 

Starters - Overall quite decent. Some excellent dishes like the lobster salad on soba noodles

 

 

Mains - Blu is really standing out here. I had herb crusted lamb chops last night, medium rare, which were incredible. My fiancé had the glazed salmon, which she loved. The previous night the short rib really melted in your mouth

 

 

 

 

0 complaints about service, the staff are fantastic and do not ask for our keycards when ordering drinks as they have remembered our room numbers

 

Obviously it will be busy around 7:30pm and one would expect a bit of a wait (enjoy a drink in Cellar Masters with the pager beside you). Come at 5:30/6 or 8:30 and there is no wait

 

A lot of people mention the smaller portion sizes as a negative / cost cutting. Order more than 1 dish, they will serve you as much as you want. We are continually ordering 2-3 starters each and a couple of mains each (there is 0 need to do this, we are just enjoying all the delicious food and then not enjoying so much the gym each morning)

 

We have yet to order from the MDR menu due to there being so many interesting dishes each night on the Blu menu

We usually always book Aqua Class and prefer the AQ menu to the heavier Luminae menus. The lobster on soba noodles is one of my very favorites along with branzino. I make the lobster on soba noodles an entree, sometimes just ordering a double order as my entree (sometimes one order is enough as an entree if pairing with another appetizer). We enjoy the Thermal Suite Spa / Persian Gardens on the Edge and S-class ships, but not so much on the M-class ships. For these reasons (menu and spa), AQ is ideal for us on E-class and S-class ships.

[hobgoblin]

I have pretty much done with Blu after about 10 years sailing Aqua class .

The menu is always the same ,strange combinations ,often main dining room is better and the general dining experience is not all that great either ,often very crowded ..

I would recommend you look at the menus for Blu before booking unless you really are keen on the spa .

 

[Cruisegirl6]

21 hours ago, hobgoblin said:

I have pretty much done with Blu after about 10 years sailing Aqua class .

The menu is always the same ,strange combinations ,often main dining room is better and the general dining experience is not all that great either ,often very crowded ..

I would recommend you look at the menus for Blu before booking unless you really are keen on the spa .

 

Agree totally, Blu items on menu extremely lacking and disappointing.  I also feel the MDR is more diversified and much better.

[hcat]

diff tastes.. variety is good

 

After many cruises on  X , we were so unhappy with the crowds, constant  din,  &  shared tables in the MD. 

 

Then X introduced BLU.. It was and is a great fit for us.. sometimes the experience was better than others but  always something we like.

 

.Have noticed photos of food swimming in sauce and gravies recently,  but we will order sauce on the side on ASCENT . Hope BLU is not ruined or diverted from its clean cuisine original concept.

 

BLU  did have a bad location..bad view, drapes always closed &  poor acoustics on EDGE (which may have been remedied,)  It was excellent on BEYOND.. and much better for us than Luminae.

[Norwich Cruiser]

Dined in BLU on Edge yesterday it was pretty good that’s all won’t go again.

[shipmate13]

We were in the Blu restaurant on one of our cruises for the entire cruise.  Every night we asked for the menu from the main dining room instead of what they had in that dining room.  We were a party of 5 couples and only a couple of our friends actually ordered from the Blu menu once or twice.  It was not appealing to us.  We did like the dining room itself as it was very beautiful and quiet.  The food was a miss.  

[Oceangoer2]

On 9/20/2023 at 9:18 PM, Mike45LC said:

I did say "very picky."   I know!

I agree with you and you shouldn't apologize for your diet.  I just looked at the Blu menu for our sailing date...would have had a poor choice most nights.  I don't eat fish or shellfish...no pork, lamb, veal.  Beef and white meat chicken or pastas...but I LOVE SAUCES (la sauce c'est tout) and well prepared and presented dishes....so that would entice me....maybe.  Just because someone  prefers to dine healthily, exercises, enjoys the spa, and would like to try Blu...doesn't mean they have to be satisfied with a few menu choices, so Aqua would disappoint me in that area.  Good to know the MDR menu is available.

Edited September 26, 2023 by Oceangoer2