Which upgrade would you choose?

[turning46]

We (dh and I) will sail the Silhouette this April, for a 7-day West Caribbean cruise. We are currently in a C-2 cabin (1082). We have the option to upgrade to a C-1, which is one of the cabins at the VERY back of the ship (1674) for free, OR to upgrade to AQ for 100/pp.

 

We don't have any mobility problems, and I don't know where the AQ cabin would be. We've sailed on one cruise before, and we were C-3.

 

What would you do? Thanks for any thoughts/advice!

[shoelover536]

Some people are crazy about aft cabins. I would say s=choose AQ for Blu. 100pp is pretty good!

[ariawoman]

I'm too scared of the movement in the aft of the ship, so i'd stay put in my C2. I am good with the MDR, don't think I'd enjoy Blu. Maybe see if the AQ perks are worth it to you.

[CaribbeanBound]

All are good options depending upon what's important to you.

 

We did Aqua class for the first time last year. Our AQ room was nice and we loved the veranda. For $100 I would indeed do it again. For $500? No.

 

We did enjoy Blu and thought it was a cut above the normal MDR experience.

 

We also enjoyed Persian Gardens and used the various steam rooms 3 or 4 times, but wouldn't pay more than $10/day for them.

[phoenix_dream]

If you have never done AQ before, then for this price I think I would try it. If you find you don't like Blu for dinner, ask the maître 'd to switch you to the MDR instead (but most like it). Not everyone realizes it, but the breakfast in Blu is a very nice perk as well. Much more comfortable than the buffet, and much better service and usually better food than the MDR.

[4774Papa]

AQ would be my choice.

[ALANG]

For $100/pp AQ would be a no brainer for me.

[riclop]

For 100pp its an easy choice AQUA!!!

[miched]

For $15/day pp extra to have the opportunity of dining in Blu for breakfast and dinner plus use of the Persians Gardens, is a no brainer. For my wife the shower panel is worth AQ.

 

 

🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[dodger1964]

I would take aft cabin. But to each his own. Some of the AQ cabins don't get the best reviews for location and noise.

[ClaudiaB]

Well aft cabins are always our choice but we stay in the sky suites there and eat in Blu anyway so the best of both worlds. Never have felt the motion that people seem to fear about aft cabins. It's a HUGE ship and maybe that's part of it, but maybe we're just lucky. Even in 20 ft. seas on the highest deck we haven't had an issue with motion. To be quite candid, I "like" the motion. That's why cruising is so much fun for me.

 

For that little bit of $$ it's hands down a no-brainer for me. Choose the AQ class cabin. Blu is wonderful. There are a lot of people who have never eaten there who are under the impression that it is a health food place only. It's a smaller restaurant with more personal service and in most cases the portions are more than enough. And many of the dishes are simply fabulous. As is the chocolate cake they have every night. Sounds pretty normal enough, but last cruise I decided I'd order it. OMG. Thick chocolate ganache and rich moist cake and wonderful buttercream. You'll find many threads about Blu. Nearly everyone loves it. You're likely going to be in that category too. Have a great cruise and enjoy your fabulous upgrade!

[Xfedcruiser]

We would take the aft. We love it for the view of the wake. We have done Aqua and actually prefer the MDR over Blu. Blu is a very nice venue with excellent service (better than MDR), but we actually prefer the food in the MDR. For us, many of the Aqua benefits aren't benefits that we care to take advantage of. Look at the Aqua benefits and see if they are worth it to you. If you don't care about them, then go aft. If you cruise in the future, you will likely have more opportunities for an Aqua cabin than an aft cabin.

 

You have two wonderful choices, and neither is bad. Please let us know what you finally decide.

[CU64]

some of the AQ cabins are below pool area and Jacuzzi noise

I would check that before I ever booked any cabin

personally, I think BLU overrated, much prefer Sp rest and you can buy a

Pass to Persian Gardens/ the panel in shower is very nice if that is important

to you

 

try it once and see what you think but check the cabin location

Barb

[turning46]

Thank you all for chiming in. We did go ahead and book the AQ cabin. It's aft, so we have a bit of a hike to certain things, but we're not below the pool or gym or anything. I am very much looking forward to April!

[A Sixth?]

For $100/pp AQ would be a no brainer for me.

 

Ditto! :D

[cruisetimeforme]

Good decision. Enjoy all the Aqua class experience it has to offer, it could be hard to get that kind of price again so might as well do it now

[Hlitner]

Ok, gonna get flamed for this but we have never understood the big deal about an aft cabin (and we have had them). On an aft cabin you have about a 180 degree view behind the ship. On a side cabin you have about the same amount of view (only it is on the side). On the aft you have potentially more vibration due to the props. On a cabin amidships or forward this is not much of an issue. On an aft cabin you might possibly get some soot on your veranda if they are incinerating nasty things ( this is not supposed to happen but it does). Also, when you stay in an aft cabin you are about as far as you can get from the entertainment venues located towards the bow. And depending on the ship and your cabin your veranda may not even be private (this varies depending on the type ship).

 

So yes, we once tried an aft veranda. It was fine, we had no issues, thought it was no big deal, and have never done it again.

 

And there is another issue. We are often having breakfast on our veranda as a ship arrives at a port. From the side we usually have a pretty decent view the port and enjoy watching the ship maneuver to get into a port or anchorage. If you have an aft veranda you will usually have a nice view of the ship's wake and the sea. But you will not see much of a port until late in the day when the ship departs (at which time we are often taking a shower).

 

Hank

Edited February 23, 2014 by Hlitner