Celebrity Reflection- Aquaclass worth it?

[mrsavoigt]

Hello! My husband was looking and really feels like we need to do the aquaclass on the cruise. However, I think that we will be just fine during a regular balcony. The price difference is huge, $600/person.

 

What are your thoughts?

[kenevenpar]

For us, $600pp would not be worth it, unless it qualified us for a promotion (123go - all three perks), and a regular balcony does not. Even then, 600 for a 7 day cruise would be an awful lot. Some will say the real value in AQ is dining in Blu; we don't think Blu is that important to us.

[CathyCruises]

You will find two schools of thought. Those who feel that dining in Blu is totally worth the up charge, and those like me who are very happy in the MDR and don't find the additional 'perks' to be worth much at all. Some people like the thicker bathrobes and the different shower; those things don't mean anything to me. We have dined in Blu, but we prefer dining at a large table in the MDR and making a group of new friends. Ae ermine says you can talk to the people on either side of you in BLe since the tables are so close together but that never happened to us, and we're pretty open and friendly.

 

The cabins are identical so there's no reason to pay more on that account. If you think you want a different dining experience, for way less than the U p charge you could do a specialty dinner package for a little variety.

 

I have done every cabin on Celebrity from insides to Sky Suites, including CC and AQ, and I have come to the conclusion that a standard balcony cabin is the best value and has everything we need. Some people get sucked in by 'priority boarding' and things like that, but there are many people here who will tell you that that is relatively meaningless since sometimes the regular lines are shorter. Like many of the perks, it sounds good in theory but really doesn't mean much at all in reality.

 

But I'm sure many people will post about how they would only cruise in AQ and how fabulous Blu is, etc., so you will really have to make up your own mind.

[kenevenpar]

How many days is the cruise?

[purpletequila]

Hello! My husband was looking and really feels like we need to do the aquaclass on the cruise. However, I think that we will be just fine during a regular balcony. The price difference is huge, $600/person.

 

What are your thoughts?

 

$1200? Nope. Never. I'd go with the regular balcony room and buy spa passes for the week. In fact, that is what I'm doing. lol

[mrsavoigt]

It's a 7 day cruise. It's also our first cruise and my husband is very food oriented. I'm hoping that the speciality dining package will be good enough. That seems like a good option.

[gdpups]

We've done both and for us it depends on the cruise and situation. You haven't given too much information about the cruise, but an option like we just did this time on our upcoming Bermuda cruise is we booked a balcony and watched prices and when a good deal came along for Aqua class we jumped on it and upgraded. That tends to work if there are Aqua cabins that aren't selling well. Just be aware some Aqua cabins can be under the pool deck with noise from above, so you'd need to be careful about the cabin you select.

 

For our upcoming Equinox cruise to Europe we have one of the hump cabins with the large balcony. We figure it's very port intensive, so instead of booking Aqua (for a huge price difference) we have a 5 night specialty dining pkg booked and if we feel we need even more time in the specialty restaurants there are usually deals to be had on a 13 night cruise. For Europe we also might like to eat in port a bit more, especially since our cruise has two overnighters in ports.

 

We had a regular cabin on Silhouette once and did the ultimate dining pkg which includes unlimited dining in any of the specialty restaurants. That's a good option on the "S" class ships (Reflection) because they have so many specialty restaurants and we liked the variety.

 

As much as I enjoy Blu, if it's just a 7 night cruise I'd be hard pressed to pay an extra $1200 for Blu.

[mrsavoigt]

It's the 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise. It's actually the Top Chef cruise, which is the main attraction for us. Seems like a great foodie trip! I'm glad that the general consensus is that it's not worth the money for this trip. We can always watch it to see if there is a price drop, but for now, it's too much.

[thebutlerdidit]

I would also vote no to Aqua Class at that premium price. There was never that much of an upcharge until recently, when the all-in promo had all 3 benefits kick in at the concierge and above. I've been in Aqua on 3 of the Solstce-class ships and will in Aqua class on the Summit in December. We do love dining in Blu! But there was a $600 per person price difference between balcony and Aqua for our Pacific Coast cruise in 2016, and we were out at that price. We chose the 2C balcony despite the smaller cabin size. You can do an awful lot with $1200, I thought that was crazy!

[vulcan1971]

I loved Aqua Class on the Reflection (15 day cruise), but not on my recent Constellation cruise (16 days). However, since you are only on a 7 day cruise and it is already food oriented due to the Top Chef attractions, I would definitely save the money and go with a Veranda or Concierge Class cabin. Take the money you save and enjoy excursions, specialty dining, or whatever your heart desires.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[redjetz]

I love Aqua Class because of Blu but only if the cost is $200 pp or less more than a veranda cabin on a longer cruise. Spend the money on the specialty dining, reserve an Alcove, splurge on a good bottle of wine with the cost differential :-)

 

And enjoy Reflection!

[Diane Rose]

Love Aqua, and especially love Blu. But not for a $600 price difference. Book a concierge class cabin and use the money for specialty restaurants, IMHO.

 

Diane

[miched]

Always have sailed in AQ but also am flexible enough to be able to book bargain rates, and $600 extra pp for 7 days is way too much.

 

We have been in many cabins thru the cabin crawls and on the Reflection the regular balcony and AQ cabins are the same size.

 

If the AQ came with the drink pack, gratuities and $300 OBC than it may be worth it if the balconies don't qualify for the promo.

 

On the Reflection they were offering the Ultimate Dining Package for $29 pp/day and entitled you to have all of your meals in the specialty restaurants. Don't know if it is still being offered. It had to be booked ASAP when boarding as the amount they sold was limited.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

[hcat]

We also usually cruise AQ...most recently on Connie and Reflection.,,

but for $1200 for two we might go for Concierge or a reg balcony cabin and get a Specialty Dining package,,.,..not worth 1200 unless perks tip the arithmetic.,.esp for a 7 night cruise!,,

[purpletequila]

It's the 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise. It's actually the Top Chef cruise, which is the main attraction for us. Seems like a great foodie trip! I'm glad that the general consensus is that it's not worth the money for this trip. We can always watch it to see if there is a price drop, but for now, it's too much.

 

Oh you definitely won't miss Blu then. I found it kind of bland when I had a suite a couple of years back and they allowed us in. However, on my most recent cruise, there was a Top Chef night in the dining room and it was FANTASTIC!

[CathyCruises]

Just so you know, the perks in Concierge Class that some have recommended here are just as ephemeral as most of those in AQ.

 

The only difference is that on M class ships, the CC cabins are about 15% larger than the standard balcony cabins. And you get extra points toward Elite.

[royalcruz]

I've never booked in Aqua class because I figure that it's more fun to spend the extra money on specialty dining. No matter how good Blu might be, I wouldn't want to eat in the same venue every night. Also, in the Caribbean, I prefer the lighter weight waffle weave bathrobe anyway.

[Honeybearhollow]

$600 pp extra for a 7 day cruise is definitely not worth it, IMO. However, I really enjoy Blu and the spa relaxation room and the Persian Gardens, so it is worth some extra to me. We are paying $3-400 extra pp for a 15 day TA, in which there are lots of sea days. Blu is not so much about the food to me, as the atmosphere. I like the tables for two, the service, the quieter, smaller feeling of specialty dining. I especially love the breakfast. We have tried the balcony and MDR and it was okay. The bathrobe was awful and very small and the towels were a little flimsy. We do love the hump cabins. We did the dining package along with it and it was a good deal, but we were disappointed with it. You do not have a choice in restaurants. You have to dine in Tuscan the first night, then you choose a night for each of the others, but you have to have Tuscan again a second time. It was just okay. We did not care much for the other restaurants and realized that we only really like Murano, so I, personally, would not do the package again. Concierge is only worth the money if you get perks you would not get otherwise and/or it is very little more. Even then, I would only want a C2 hump room. Just my opinion.

Edited April 9, 2015 by Honeybearhollow

[Jetswdo]

For us: If cruising when ship will have a lot of children on board- then we would pay for aqua, and put up with whatever the cost. The dining room Blu is very quiet-- Aqua class is 2 to a room, so usually no kids or very few. On the Reflection late June 2013- We were aqua 2, loved the aft to mid ship location. There were no children running through the halls-- Price includes the spa- I didn't make use of it, but my dh went every day.

 

I think though if we go on a cruise not doing school vacation time, on Celebrity, we probobly would not spend $600 per person extra-- Just pay for ultimate restaurant package and get a regular veranda cabin with good location.

[ImpulsivePuppy]

I've done one Solstice Class cruise and was truly impressed with the MDR, both the service and the food. For mass market it is truly the best. I'm doing my first Aqua Class this October on a Trans Atlantic. The difference in price from a balcony was so nominal it was a no-brainer. But 600pp for a one week is absurd, IMO. Have a great time!

[illiniwahoo]

Especially since this is your first cruise, and the price difference is obscene, I vote no Aqua class. For frequent cruisers, or small price differences, I think aqua class is nice to shake things up and try a new experience. With $1200 you are well on your way to a second cruise!