Aqua or Concierge

[Cruiseme0613]

We are booked on the Constellation in Concierge Class room on deck 8. I noticed that the Aqua Class guarantee price has dropped a lot, and would now only cost us $140 more to book AQ. I'm just wondering if I should take advantage of it! AQ staterooms seem to only be on decks 9 and 11. I picked deck 8 for CC because I thought it might be a quiet option. Are there problems with noise on decks 9 and 11 because of everything going on on deck 10?

 

Also, I am really excited about the possibility of Blu, but DH is concerned with the smaller portions. He doesn't go on cruises to be concerned with eating in moderation. Do they allow you to order more than one appetizer/salad or even two entrees? We are new to Celebrity, and he is used to Carnival. So I just want to prepare him. I know he could always go to the buffet if he wasn't pleased with Blu that evening, I just want him to enjoy it as much as I do!

 

Other than Blu and access to the thermal spa, are there any other perks that booking an AQ gives you over booking CC? Are there any benefits of CC that AQ doesn't get?

 

Thanks!!

[jelayne]

AQ gets all benefits of CC plus those of Aqua. Your husband will not leave Blu hungry. The portions are good sized and he can order more than 1. IMHO the service and atmosphere are better than the MDR.

 

We have not don't AQ on the Constellation so can't comment on deck 9 and possible noise. For $140 I would move to AQ- our first cruise on Celebrity we upgraded to AQ at the last minute & loved it.

[hcat]

We moved from a midships AQ cabin on Connie this past Jan. It was right under the pool deck and the bandstand.....From the minute we walked in, the place vibrated from the loud dj and dancing above us and then zumba...We immediately called guest services and the person they sent to observe could not even stay in our cabin due to the noise.. By dinner were lucky enough to get an AQ cabin further forward that was nice and quiet...others not so lucky!

 

We enjoy AQ class and BLU but try to stay away from the potential noisy spots...If you can get a good location, go for it!

[Cruiseme0613]

AQ gets all benefits of CC plus those of Aqua. Your husband will not leave Blu hungry. The portions are good sized and he can order more than 1. IMHO the service and atmosphere are better than the MDR.

 

 

 

We have not don't AQ on the Constellation so can't comment on deck 9 and possible noise. For $140 I would move to AQ- our first cruise on Celebrity we upgraded to AQ at the last minute & loved it.

 

 

Thanks!!

[Cruiseme0613]

We moved from a midships AQ cabin on Connie this past Jan. It was right under the pool deck and the bandstand.....From the minute we walked in, the place vibrated from the loud dj and dancing above us and then zumba...We immediately called guest services and the person they sent to observe could not even stay in our cabin due to the noise.. By dinner were lucky enough to get an AQ cabin further forward that was nice and quiet...others not so lucky!

 

 

 

We enjoy AQ class and BLU but try to stay away from the potential noisy spots...If you can get a good location, go for it!

 

 

That's what I was worried about! With it being a guarantee cabin, chances are we might get put in a noisy area. Thanks for the response!!

[alcpa1]

Aqua cabins on deck 11 are QUIET but the balconies, with the exception of the A1 aft cabins, have a very shallow overhang.

Now for the deck 9 cabins. Those aft of 9108 on the starboard or corresponding cabins on the port side are under the carpeted Lido Café and very quiet.

We have also stayed under the pool deck portion and the itinerary has a lot to do with music or noise from above. Furniture movement around 5:30 - 6:00 am is a generalized complaint. Ear plugs help.

Before you jump into a guarantee check the available cabins and their location. Celebrity generally assigns cabins quickly and changing cabins within the same class is permissible if available. (The cruise line site for the UK usually has more cabin listings BTW.)

Unless your DH has the appetite of the entire African Delta he will have plenty of food in BLU. The portions are not small. The preparation is the differential and for $140 I'd recommend you jump on the change.

The Aqua class cabins have an enhanced shower with multiple jets. Many leak but your cabin steward knows this so don't freak when the floor resembles a wading pool.

You will get a bottle of bubbly which some wine stewards in Blu, depending on the steward and ship, will exchange for a credit for a better wine of your choice.

Afternoon canapes are available if you are in your stateroom and your cabin steward has your schedule. They are nothing to write home about but a request for a cheese plate or other selections are available.

I think you have the other perks. Blu is the biggest advantage. If you choose to eat in the MDR at any time the Blu maître 'd will arrange this for you. The only other perk that I can think of is the possibility of a discount for night one dining in one of the specialty restaurants.

Enjoy!

[Cruiseme0613]

Aqua cabins on deck 11 are QUIET but the balconies, with the exception of the A1 aft cabins, have a very shallow overhang.

 

Now for the deck 9 cabins. Those aft of 9108 on the starboard or corresponding cabins on the port side are under the carpeted Lido Café and very quiet.

 

We have also stayed under the pool deck portion and the itinerary has a lot to do with music or noise from above. Furniture movement around 5:30 - 6:00 am is a generalized complaint. Ear plugs help.

 

Before you jump into a guarantee check the available cabins and their location. Celebrity generally assigns cabins quickly and changing cabins within the same class is permissible if available. (The cruise line site for the UK usually has more cabin listings BTW.)

 

Unless your DH has the appetite of the entire African Delta he will have plenty of food in BLU. The portions are not small. The preparation is the differential and for $140 I'd recommend you jump on the change.

 

The Aqua class cabins have an enhanced shower with multiple jets. Many leak but your cabin steward knows this so don't freak when the floor resembles a wading pool.

 

You will get a bottle of bubbly which some wine stewards in Blu, depending on the steward and ship, will exchange for a credit for a better wine of your choice.

 

Afternoon canapes are available if you are in your stateroom and your cabin steward has your schedule. They are nothing to write home about but a request for a cheese plate or other selections are available.

 

I think you have the other perks. Blu is the biggest advantage. If you choose to eat in the MDR at any time the Blu maître 'd will arrange this for you. The only other perk that I can think of is the possibility of a discount for night one dining in one of the specialty restaurants.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Thanks for the info!! DH definitely doesn't have that big of an appetite. Lol. He was concerned about "spa dining", and a lighter menu. Hehe.

 

I'm thinking I might book the guarantee tomorrow. Thanks for the info about the UK site!

[Cruiseme0613]

Aqua cabins on deck 11 are QUIET but the balconies, with the exception of the A1 aft cabins, have a very shallow overhang.

 

Now for the deck 9 cabins. Those aft of 9108 on the starboard or corresponding cabins on the port side are under the carpeted Lido Café and very quiet.

 

We have also stayed under the pool deck portion and the itinerary has a lot to do with music or noise from above. Furniture movement around 5:30 - 6:00 am is a generalized complaint. Ear plugs help.

 

Before you jump into a guarantee check the available cabins and their location. Celebrity generally assigns cabins quickly and changing cabins within the same class is permissible if available. (The cruise line site for the UK usually has more cabin listings BTW.)

 

Unless your DH has the appetite of the entire African Delta he will have plenty of food in BLU. The portions are not small. The preparation is the differential and for $140 I'd recommend you jump on the change.

 

The Aqua class cabins have an enhanced shower with multiple jets. Many leak but your cabin steward knows this so don't freak when the floor resembles a wading pool.

 

You will get a bottle of bubbly which some wine stewards in Blu, depending on the steward and ship, will exchange for a credit for a better wine of your choice.

 

Afternoon canapes are available if you are in your stateroom and your cabin steward has your schedule. They are nothing to write home about but a request for a cheese plate or other selections are available.

 

I think you have the other perks. Blu is the biggest advantage. If you choose to eat in the MDR at any time the Blu maître 'd will arrange this for you. The only other perk that I can think of is the possibility of a discount for night one dining in one of the specialty restaurants.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

You weren't kidding about there being more rooms available on the UK site. Wow! It's crazy how many more rooms are open!

[Wiltonian]

You weren't kidding about there being more rooms available on the UK site. Wow! It's crazy how many more rooms are open!

 

But the downside is that people booking GTY cabins through the UK site can't change them once they're allocated. The grass isn't greener on the east side of the Atlantic! ;-)

 

Stuart

[Miaminice]

I would go for AQ in a heartbeat!

 

To us the Concierge Class perks are nothing special... BLU however got us hooked ;-) Great food, no rush, quiet... very nice.

 

For some more information on AQ on Millennium Class and pictures of BLU and the food click here: http://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/South-America-01/south-america-01.html

[Iamcruzin]

We are booked on the Constellation in Concierge Class room on deck 8. I noticed that the Aqua Class guarantee price has dropped a lot, and would now only cost us $140 more to book AQ. I'm just wondering if I should take advantage of it! AQ staterooms seem to only be on decks 9 and 11. I picked deck 8 for CC because I thought it might be a quiet option. Are there problems with noise on decks 9 and 11 because of everything going on on deck 10?

 

Also, I am really excited about the possibility of Blu, but DH is concerned with the smaller portions. He doesn't go on cruises to be concerned with eating in moderation. Do they allow you to order more than one appetizer/salad or even two entrees? We are new to Celebrity, and he is used to Carnival. So I just want to prepare him. I know he could always go to the buffet if he wasn't pleased with Blu that evening, I just want him to enjoy it as much as I do!

 

Other than Blu and access to the thermal spa, are there any other perks that booking an AQ gives you over booking CC? Are there any benefits of CC that AQ doesn't get?

 

Thanks!!

 

When I book my C2 on the Summit the price difference for Aqua was only $50pp. I flirted back and forth with the idea but decided to book CC on deck 8. We don't like the back of the ship because of vibration and the idea of being under public areas and uncertain of the noise level I decided that CC was my best choice. We don't get to cruise oftern so I try to factor in what would cause the least unexpected problems. Sleeping under the pool deck is just asking for problems. I don't think eating in Blu or the special shower head would make up for all of the noise.

[Miaminice]

I don't think eating in Blu or the special shower head would make up for all of the noise.

 

That is supposing there is noise...

We had an AQ stateroom under the pool deck on Constellation. While I really didn´t like the overhang that came with it, we had no issues of noise at all.

 

On Infinity we had an AQ stateroom on Deck 11. No roof, no noise, no vibrations, no problems - just perfect! :)

[Finabear]

We went aqua on our first Celebrity cruise and absolutely loved it. I eat fairly "clean" but my husband certainly does not and he had concerns about the food in Blu. Not to worry. He LOVED the food and so did I. I don't think the portions were smaller but the food was fresher/hotter/colder/tastier than any food on any of our previous cruises. We can't wait to do another Celebrity cruise - aqua, of course.

As for the cabins. We did aqua gty and were assigned abin 9075 (Summit). Quiet, huge overhang. I love that overhang but some may not. Balcony on the small side but reclining chairs so I was able to make it work easily.

Would we do gty again? Maybe. Depends of the cost. If I could pick my cabin for just a little more I would pick it. Big difference in cost I would take the chance and do gty.

[notsomadhatter]

Thanks for the info!! DH definitely doesn't have that big of an appetite. Lol. He was concerned about "spa dining", and a lighter menu. Hehe.

 

I'm thinking I might book the guarantee tomorrow. Thanks for the info about the UK site!

 

Make sure you check out the Blu menus. We thought about it before our first and second X cruises. After looking at the menus each night onboard I was very happy that we didn't. They didn't not impress me. We have friends that swear by it but they are very simple eaters and place a larger value on having the smaller dining room.

[Cruiseme0613]

Thank you everyone for such informative replies!! I have another question. From what everyone is saying, Celebrity is quick to assign rooms. My question is, do they assign the rooms before we pay in full? Our final payment isn't due until October. Is there any chance we will get a room assignment before then?

[swigso]

Hi

Blu on the M class is a bit different than S class.

If you are happy with your CC cabin consider the Ultimate Dining Package

@$29pp per day you can dine in any of the speciality Restaurants as well as

Bistro on 5, on the shorter Connie sailings may work out better, especially

if your Husband enjoys his food

[thebutlerdidit]

Thank you everyone for such informative replies!! I have another question. From what everyone is saying, Celebrity is quick to assign rooms. My question is, do they assign the rooms before we pay in full? Our final payment isn't due until October. Is there any chance we will get a room assignment before then?

 

I would call your chances excellent! However, even if you don't get assigned before final payment you can still request a room change within your assigned category.

Edited August 16, 2015 by thebutlerdidit

[Finabear]

Make sure you check out the Blu menus. We thought about it before our first and second X cruises. After looking at the menus each night onboard I was very happy that we didn't. They didn't not impress me. We have friends that swear by it but they are very simple eaters and place a larger value on having the smaller dining room.

 

I admit I was often not impressed with the menus either but Simeon and Oxana's (our usual waiters) recomendations were always correct and the food was delicious. We loved the small dining room and usually sat by a window. We had some wonderful evenings of conversation with other cruisers as the tables are close. Can't say enough good things about Blu.

[celebrity]

Hi

Blu on the M class is a bit different than S class.

If you are happy with your CC cabin consider the Ultimate Dining Package

@$29pp per day you can dine in any of the speciality Restaurants as well as

Bistro on 5, on the shorter Connie sailings may work out better, especially

if your Husband enjoys his food

 

Please explain how Blu differs on M class vs S class.

Thanks

[DevinMills]

Thank you everyone for such informative replies!! I have another question. From what everyone is saying, Celebrity is quick to assign rooms. My question is, do they assign the rooms before we pay in full? Our final payment isn't due until October. Is there any chance we will get a room assignment before then?

 

We booked our suite guarantee in April for Oct cruise and we're assigned S1 immediately. This was months before final payment.

[Mynki]

AQ vs CC for only $140? That's a no brainer for me. The perks in CC have been described quite fairly as 'fluff' by several poster on here., the exception being the additional 3 Captains Club member points, possibly. AQ will give you all those plus free bottled water, tea, a better bathroom, Persian garden access and of course Blu.

 

If you're a foodie it makes a lot more sense to go Aqua Class. Personally I found the food to be better in Blu than the MDR. Service was considerably better, especially at breakfast time. It is also less crowded. But the real thing to bear in mind, and that a couple of people appear to have missed is that you can check the Blu and MDR menu daily and choose which you prefer on that particular day.

 

If you book CC you won't have the luxury of making the choice on a daily basis and will be limited just to the MDR.

 

Personally I'd pay considerably more than $140 to upgrade from CC to AQ.

[Mynki]

We booked our suite guarantee in April for Oct cruise and we're assigned S1 immediately. This was months before final payment.

 

We booked an AQ1 for November. There was a big price drop last week and we managed to bag a big discount and a guaranteed W class Sky Suite. We were assigned an S1 cabin within a couple of days.

 

However, this was 6120 (m class ship) which has a partially obstructed view. I called our US travel agent who managed to call Celebrity and get us moved to 6145 an S1 with larger than normal bathroom and balcony all without loss of deposit and perks. So I'm feeling lucky and happy right now...

 

I won't be using UK based travel agents in the future because we wouldn't have got the same deal using them.

[springfire]

Looking forward to our transatlantic cruise and we will be in AQ cabin. I will have a much better opinion after this trip.

[KKB]

I was able to upgrade from CC for only $20pp!! (for the whole cruise!) We were on deck 11 & I'm glad as I prefer an open balcony. We have dined as a couple at a table for 2 on other lines & don't care for it but we have always had a great time as a couple at specialty restaurants & at Blu.

 

We enjoyed the MDR this last trip & found the food to be very good--I don't think Blu is distinctively better but I like the intimacy of the room better. And if I wanted escargot or something on the MDR menu, they could get it (M class MDR & Blu kitchens are adjoined so this isn't a big issue).

 

Hoping to catch a well priced upgrade to AQ or a Family Suite (Mom & Dad snagged one of those last year--wasn't sure about the back of the ship, but the larger room & HUGE balcony with both cover & sun were fantastic!)

[closecruiser]

We did a cc gty, final payment is do end of Sept. How can I check to see if a cabin has been assigned. If I put in my reservation number, nothing comes up. Do I have to wait till final payment?

 

Thanks.