Concierge vs. Aqua Class. Which is a better choice

[4774Papa]

We had a wonderful trip to Japan in 2015 along with a Japan and China cruise:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=518503&et_cid=2531924&et_rid=17221689&et_referrer=Boards

 

I never saw a good reason to pay extra for Concierge.   Aqua is good with Blu, but I wouldn't pay a lot more over a veranda.

[korryp]

I never saw a good reason to pay extra for Aqua. Concierge is fabulous. Tried Blu a few times when we used to do Aqua but it does not speak to us or are travel companions

For us a cruise is not the time to eat healthy or small portions. We used to be told just order of the MDR menu. Then why pay extra for Aqua. 

 

[D C]

18 hours ago, korryp said:

I never saw a good reason to pay extra for Aqua. Concierge is fabulous. Tried Blu a few times when we used to do Aqua but it does not speak to us or are travel companions

For us a cruise is not the time to eat healthy or small portions. We used to be told just order of the MDR menu. Then why pay extra for Aqua. 

 

Can we get Aqua without having to eat in Blu?  I've not been impressed with the theme of the menu. 

 

There are times when Aqua is the same price as, or only slightly more than Concierge. We've considered it for the room location on 11, but decided against it to avoid Blu. 

[korryp]

Yes you can pay for Aqua and just eat in MDR. We sort of did this last b2b. We received Aqua cards instead of concierge for some reason and eat in both restaurants but ate in the MDR 80% of the time. 

[bigbenboys]

On 12/25/2018 at 1:27 AM, yorky said:

Look at what’s above you, pool deck with chairs getting moved around.

Might you be thinking the S class ships. We are taking the M class ships. Deck 11 has A1 cabins. Most of the A2's are on deck 9. We have had 1114 and 1116 on the M class ships. We have the location. Down the back stairs to the bar and food. Take the elevator down to deck 5 for Blu. My only problem booking now is that we dont know where they are going to put The Retreat. We should know sometime in the next few months the new layout of Millie. As Millie is the 1st ship in the fleet to get the Revolution update during dry dock.

[D C]

Annnndddd..... we just booked Aquaclass on the Summit and paid a little extra to get Deck 11.  Totally worth it for the location.  And we don't even like Blu.     I hope they can figure out some meat & potato dinners for us. 

[Ereggae]

FYI, post-revolution you will find Aqua rooms on Deck 10 in addition to decks 11 and 9, which will be located on the right side of the spa, which will be downsized.  The Millenium deck plans were posted in another thread and the Summit is similar.  Hope Blu doesn't  become a nightmare like the main dining room.  It's all about making money now and not pleasing the passengers.

[D C]

1 hour ago, Ereggae said:

FYI, post-revolution you will find Aqua rooms on Deck 10 in addition to decks 11 and 9, which will be located on the right side of the spa, which will be downsized.  The Millenium deck plans were posted in another thread and the Summit is similar.  Hope Blu doesn't  become a nightmare like the main dining room.  It's all about making money now and not pleasing the passengers.

That's disappointing on multiple fronts.  The # of pax in Blu, and the reduced size of the spa area.  Cram more people in, I guess.

 

Haven't found the Millenium plans yet.   Wouldn't be interested in those rooms anyhow. Too far from the Sunset Bar :) (Or whatever it's called on the various ships)

[Ereggae]

Yes it is sad.  They have started to sell the deck 10 cabins but I will stay on 11.  Quick step down to Sunset Bar and elevator convenient to Blu.  This may very well be my last cruise as I was curious to see the changes.  I started seeing a decline when the drinks packages and prepaid tips came into play.  Staff literally begs for reviews of “10” as the tips are now given based on merit.  One bad review means a lot less pay.  Bartenders have no incentive to hustle as their tips are already included.  

 

You can find them in this thread: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2617998-edgerevolutionized-ships-hmmm/

Edited January 29, 2019 by Ereggae

[lovemylab]

I'm another one that doesn't see the value in concierge class over a regular balcony.   Benefit of Aqua Class is Blu, Persian gardens and the veranda seating comes with foot stools.  You have to decide how much extra these are worth to you. 

 

If the price between a balcony and Aqua is substantial, I'd opt for the balcony and dine in the specialty restaurants each night.

[Ereggae]

The main dining room was a disaster on our last cruise.  Anytime dining folks had to wait over an hour to be seated and maitre’d was very rude .  Thankfully we were in Blu as the folks waiting were packed into the Rendezvous Lounge.  Staff cutbacks were very evident.  Persian Gardens was always full.  No chance to enjoy.

[catugirl]

Recently returned from a cruise on Infinity with a friend from my childhood.  Infinity is as old as Millenium.  We were in a Concierge cabin, and the only good thing I can say about being in Concierge is we had priority embarkation.  Food in the MDR was mediocre at best.  I actually got food poison there one night and had a miserable 24 hours.  DH and I usually cruise in Aqua Class, and it is so worth the money to have a smaller, calmer dining venue (Blu) with wonderful food and to have access to Persian  Gardens.  We also liked having complimentary bottled water and iced tea in our cabin every day, and of course, priority embarkation.  We will only be cruising in Aqua Class or a suite from now on.  We will also not be cruising on an old ship again.  Infinity was not in good shape.

[korryp]

Amazing that the food comes out of the same kitchen. We did the tour and a woman asked how many kitchens. The one we were in did both the MDR and BLU. Kind of the reason you can order from the MDR menu in BLU. 

[Nymich]

If you don't need a table for 2 in MDR go with the Concierge.  If you do...…..AQUA

[dkjretired]

7 hours ago, korryp said:

Amazing that the food comes out of the same kitchen. We did the tour and a woman asked how many kitchens. The one we were in did both the MDR and BLU. Kind of the reason you can order from the MDR menu in BLU. 

 

Depends on the class of ship, the S class ships have their own kitchens  Initially when the Solstice class ships were launched, you could not get items from the MDR, you can now.   M class ships, Blu was added during rehabs, therefore same kitchen. 

[lisiamc]

10 hours ago, catugirl said:

Recently returned from a cruise on Infinity with a friend from my childhood.  Infinity is as old as Millenium.  We were in a Concierge cabin, and the only good thing I can say about being in Concierge is we had priority embarkation.  Food in the MDR was mediocre at best.  I actually got food poison there one night and had a miserable 24 hours.  DH and I usually cruise in Aqua Class, and it is so worth the money to have a smaller, calmer dining venue (Blu) with wonderful food and to have access to Persian  Gardens.  We also liked having complimentary bottled water and iced tea in our cabin every day, and of course, priority embarkation.  We will only be cruising in Aqua Class or a suite from now on.  We will also not be cruising on an old ship again.  Infinity was not in good shape.

 

Slight thread hijack, but I’d venture to say that what you had was some other kind of gastric upset, maybe even a Noro-type virus, rather than food poisoning.  The MDR serves the same food in huge batches to hundreds of people every night.  If it had been food poisoning, several hundred other passengers would have all had it with you, and it would have been a Big Deal.  Whatever happened to you, I’m sorry that you suffered with it.

Edited January 30, 2019 by lisiamc

[D C]

6 hours ago, Nymich said:

If you don't need a table for 2 in MDR go with the Concierge.  If you do...…..AQUA

That's partially true.   The Blu tables are so close together that you might as well be dining with the 2-top that's next to you.  Private conversation is a bit out of place.

 

And there are a reasonable number of 2-tops in the MDR if you go with select dining.  That might vary by ship though. 

 

 

 

Concierge vs a normal balcony gets very little that's tangible.  Room location (subjective), priority embarkation (subjective), champagne, and more Captain's Club points (quicken your way to that discounted bag of laundry benefit).  For what is often a very slight increase in price, it's often worth it. 

 

 

[mfs2k]

5 minutes ago, D C said:

priority embarkation (subjective)

 

Apparently priority embarkation isn't as important in cruising as it used to be.  My history of cruises between 1985 and 2012 were filled with hours long waits to board.  Glad this process has improved for everyone.

[dkjretired]

1 hour ago, mfs2k said:

 

Apparently priority embarkation isn't as important in cruising as it used to be.  My history of cruises between 1985 and 2012 were filled with hours long waits to board.  Glad this process has improved for everyone.

 

All it is on Celebrity is a separate line, often the regular lines are shorter.

[Orator]

On an M Class ship like Millennium the cabin is larger and there is a footstool on the balcony. You receive 5 points a day rather than 3. You also get sparkling wine and upgraded bathroom amenities. Afternoon snacks that are IMHO horrible. You get all the Concierge benefits in Aqua Class plus Blu and Persian Gardens. On the M Class ship Blu and MDR share the same Galley so you can order from either menu. Take Aqua Class!!!

[D C]

2 hours ago, mfs2k said:

 

Apparently priority embarkation isn't as important in cruising as it used to be.  My history of cruises between 1985 and 2012 were filled with hours long waits to board.  Glad this process has improved for everyone.

 

1 hour ago, dkjretired said:

 

All it is on Celebrity is a separate line, often the regular lines are shorter.

Concierge has a separate queue for check-in, and a separate line for boarding.

If you board early, like we tend to do, you board before the lowly regular balcony group.  Gets vacation started *that* much sooner 🙂

[Orator]

13 minutes ago, D C said:

 

Concierge has a separate queue for check-in, and a separate line for boarding.

If you board early, like we tend to do, you board before the lowly regular balcony group.  Gets vacation started *that* much sooner 🙂

Most people now have "Priority" Embarkation. Only the Suite/ Zeniths have real priority. So book a Suite, or reach the Zenith level to get on before the "lowly Concierge".and start your vacation even sooner.

[Nymich]

2 hours ago, D C said:

That's partially true.   The Blu tables are so close together that you might as well be dining with the 2-top that's next to you.  Private conversation is a bit out of place.

 

I knew as soon as I posted this somebody would pick it apart for the tables that are close lol.  Doesn't bother us if we get one of those we still have a great time.  Little to no waiting and if we want to talk to the neighbor we do if we don't then we don't.  Going on our fourth aqua in a few weeks so we have already been putting our money where our mouth is!

 

 

 

[D C]

10 hours ago, Nymich said:

 

And we've eaten in Blu and enjoyed ourselves.  But we did notice that our conversation wasn't the same as it would have been if we had a more private table. 

[catugirl]

On our cruise January 5-10 we ate one night at a table for two in the MDR and we were less than two feet from the table next to us, so the closeness of tables is not limited to Blu.  Fortunately we enjoy talking to new people.