How is Luminae on a formal night?

Day three of our cruise was the first formal night or as Celebrity refers to it, Evening Chic night. I mixed and matched from the Luminae menu and the MDR menu for dinner tonight.

A little amuse-bouche again to start things off:

Shrimp Cocktail from the MDR's Timeless Starters section. You may see the same section of standard appetizers called "Classics" or "Always Available" on other cruise lines. Points for presentation and the taste was good. I do wish however that there was a little bowl or dish for the cocktail sauce versus just a spoonful doled out onto the plate.

From the Luminae appetizer list - Chilled Lobster Salad with hearts of palm, cilantro, pineapple, and vanilla dressing. Sounds like an odd combination doesn't it? It was more tasty than I would have expected given the flavors listed. The pineapple cuts were small so you didn't get overwhelmed with the flavor but it provided the tart citrus taste you would get if you like to squeeze a lemon over your seafood. Hearts of palm and the small lobster cuts were tender and bite size. One of those dishes you never expected to like but then find yourself sad when it's finished.

Dad's main entree from the Luminae menu - Fennel Crusted Grilled Lamb Loin with carrot puree, haricot verts, and natural jus. At first glance I thought this dish looked like someone spilled mustard  and it ran all over the plate with the meat juices.  However, Dad enjoyed the taste of the entire dish. Even tried a few of the haricot verts once I explained that they're just fancy green beans.

My main entree came from the MDR menu. Are you sensing a theme to my dinner choices tonight?

Shrimp Scampi - White wine-garlic sauce, cherry tomatoes, parsley; served over linguine. Nice sized shrimp that were tender and cooked well. The pasta had a good bite to it. I just wish there was more of it. I would have liked more of an obvious garlic taste than there was but I understand how tough it can be to have to cook in large quantities for a variety of palates. 

While we waited for the dessert course, one of the little extras for evening chic night is a plate for the table of a treat sampler. A mix of macarons, a linzer style cookie, and a variety of flavored chocolate truffles. 

I didn't note what Dad's dessert was called but it was a sort of chocolate hazelnut mousse cake that he requested to be served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Hmm, I wonder if you could ask for the vanilla ice cream and peanut butter on the side trick for this dish like people do with Carnival's Chocolate Melting Cake? Mmm, take notes Celebrity Cruise Line! Would love to see such an option on our next Celebrity cruise. 

A nice table by the window watching the waves until it got dark. The lights dimmed to create a more formal or fancier (perhaps leaning toward romantic?) atmosphere. Our service was fairly good tonight despite being a popular time for Luminae diners. While most cruise lines will offer a menu with more upscale dishes on a formal night, the trend has been lately that the most popular lobster tail won't be on the menu until the second formal night of the cruise. With the use of an app that many cruise lines have adopted these days, it's easy to see a week's menu at a glance allowing you to decide whether to participate in formal nights or keep it casual.