EDGE AQUA CLASS REVIEW ....1/27/19, Eastern Carib...by Hcat

[vtcruising]

11 hours ago, hcat said:

I do like my flowers!.. they also add fragrance. Hah , I .just realized we never got the reed diffusers,   an AQ perk. Maybe we should insist they take us back!

 

The new daily tea is fresh brewed..much better than the packaged stuff  that no one liked   Also  had  tons of fruit, refreshed daily , and decent canapes..including shrimp cocktail on my b day   Ricky treated us right!

Wow, sounds like Ricky was amazing!

[hcat]

Background:

We have booked AQ Class from the time it was introduced, and have experienced BLU  on S Class  ships ...where it was included from the beginning,  and  on M  Class ships...where it was added in as a carve out of the MDR.  All are very nice, but for a time  BLU Reflection was crowded due to AQ suites ( later re- classified),  and also when suite guests were being walked in by their concierge en masse....pre the addition of Luminae. The group  walking in stopped  fairly quickly, and suite guests were  again admitted subjecte to space being available.

 

How BLU works

BLU is open to AQ Class guests exclusively, and as mentioned it  accomodates suite guests subject to space being available.  Guests are not permitted and it cannot be reserved as a Specialty restaurant.

 

It serves breakfast and dinner...never lunch...unless booked for a private event. Service is very personalized and we try to get the same server team and gen seating area for the duration of the cruise.  The tables for two are close together so folks can either socialize or be private if they prefer.  We always meet interesting and friendly  people and love the way this works! There are larger tables too...and even 2 or 3 larger  ones for groups  of 10 or 12 who  usually need to speak to the maitre d ahead of time.

 

Menus in General:

There have been a few tweaks to the menu over the years but food generally remains excellent;  lighter on salts and gravies, plain  steamed veggies, etc.  Some nights the menus are more interesting than others, but everything usually tastes great! There used to be a heavy presence of game bird entrees but  BLU  now has a good balance of  beef, poultry, fish, pastas.  BLU has excellent soups, appetizers  and salads. 

 

There are reg Celeb favorites you can always order like onion soup, shrimp cocktail , steak, salmon , crene brulee, etc.  We don' t usually do dessert but they have a wide selection including sugar free choices. 

 

Chic night  #1 offers filet mignon ( vs prime rib in mdr), Chic # 2  is   lobster tails.. they also offer  rack of lamb, short ribs   excellent duck, etc  There is great sommelier service at dinners

 

Dinner menus change  each night...but on a b2b you will get the same 7 day rotation, unless one itin is longer.

 

 The breakfasts are always very good,   and made to order. It's a  very complete set menu that does not change There are NO waffles, but great pancakes and French toast and no longer muesli made tableside . Great pastries and  all types of juices, plus two delicious breakfast parfait choices.berries, nuts, cereal  etc ...

 

Next up BLU on EDGE...hopefully with photos!

Edited February 7, 2019 by hcat

[Phffftttt]

17 hours ago, hcat said:

Cabin was 9257..  port side,( non MC  side),  slightly aft.  Our heads were  to the forward- going wall. So we travelled backwards..no problem!

 

Slept like babies.  Never saw that we received a non cashmere mattress as we requested but there was  no allergic reaction so I was fine. Dh felt the comforter was too heavy..I thought it was fine,  but felt the sheets were scratchy, I prefer a 100 % high count  soft percale.  What they had before was great!  The firm mattress was very much like what we use at home., perfect.  We felt lost in the King bed.,we  have a cozy  Queen at home!

 

I  can't believe X now advertises and sells the  mattresses..see the Shopping Lady!

 

Promise, I will be  filling out the Vt cruiser spread sheet at the sticky...eventually.

 

9257 was a very nice cabin.  Good location..very quiet,  easy walk to mid ship elev lobby, no service areas or machine noise nearby,  best attendant ever... Ricky. I have already rec him for butler training..that's how good he was!

 

Thanks to Vt cruiser,  we moved to this cabin pre cruise from one in AQ just above on deck 10....but that  one was  2  cabins behind a  bump out area..cabin next to it was  later marked obstructed view so I am so grateful to Vt cruiser who helped us decide to change.  Our view was  perfect....window open or closed..just  a lovely view and no birds ever flew in!

 

Going to try again  to post photos later.. I sent them to my phone,,,

 

We were in Cabin 9259 in Dec and Ricky definitely was amazing!  

 

The bed in Cabin 9259 was next to the closet.  We thought it was difficult to use the closet. We used the drawers for most stuff so it wasn't too bad. 

[hcat]

Guess we lucked out with Ricky and the bed by balc..

Hope our Sunset Veranda Cabin  in Nov is bed by  balc..which we think it is???

 

Dh has all the camera photos on the laptop now ( another ordeal b/c his laptop is not set up for photos..no photo manager)  ..,pso hopefully I can post the BLU photos after dinner!

[piper]

Thanks for all of the info! We are on the TA in April, cabin 9263.  Sounds like some good and not so good aspects to the cabins, but we will deal with whatever it is!

[Lastdance]

21 minutes ago, piper said:

Thanks for all of the info! We are on the TA in April, cabin 9263.  Sounds like some good and not so good aspects to the cabins, but we will deal with whatever it is!

 

See you  on the TA in April!

[hcat]

BLU on EDGE...

Location: 

Positive is that it is located away from the Grand Plaza so there are no issues with  Martini Bar area noise.  

 

But you have to walk or guide your scooter through the creepy dark trees to get there each and every time..which is also the route to EDEN ..aft of the ship. The tree forest really gets old fast!

 

There are some chairs and seats just outside  the entrance where you can wait for it to open. Most of the seats are very low so not so easy to use .

 

Sorry  to report that  BLU has a  not very nice location compared to ALL other dining venues on EDGE . The few times the shades were open you can spot the sea from a handful of seats   The windows look out on the lifeboats, davits,   window washer unit and sparsely furnished outdoor tables..never saw anyone sit out there .  To add further  insult , they start the BLU  window washing at breakfast time with a loud high power spray . .so shades no longer opened! Disappointing!

[hcat]

Forgot to mention you can avoid the forest by using a stairway  located on Deck 4 near the Cosmopolitan Dining Rm..we never tried that...but seems less direct.

Edited February 7, 2019 by hcat

[hcat]

BLU LAYOUT

The Restaurant has a beautiful entry but is sep from the hallway by a mesh curtain. Some tables are located right along the curtain wall.  There are the usual window tables..but shades remain down due to the terrible view.  There are two diff areas with larger tables,   and a few tables with banquette seating.

 

 BLU decor is beautiful..nice seats, chandeliers, the BLU roses, crystals.   The china is beautiful as are the tabke settings .There are no interior walls installed to buffer sound.  The sound is not coming in from the hallway but from the din inside BLU itself.

 

CROWDING:  The resatuarant is at full capacity  a few minutes after opening. Staff is able to get everyone seated quickly so there are usually short or no lines.  Saw some folks turned away but not sure of the reason. We were full!

 

ACOUSTICS:

Biggest downfall is the hi level of sound to the point of  distraction . The acoustics  are terrible and  the  loud din is constant...some areas  are worse than others..most very bad .  The staff and maitre d are aware but  did not report any mgmnt plans  for resolving the situation

 

Sorry to say this  loud environment makes BLU a  much less attractive perk of Aquaclass!  All the good food and great service cannot overcome the loudness of the room.! 

(We are glad we  did not book AQ class for our next EDGE cruise)

[hcat]

[hcat]

[hcat]

[hcat]

If I locate the photos of the life boat abd window washer view..I will post it tom.

 

Next up...Thermal Suite..a favorire space on this ship...so perfectly done..so Zen!

 

And altho the Solarium is not an AQ perk..we  enjoy it 

[vtcruising]

54 minutes ago, hcat said:

BLU LAYOUT

The Restaurant has a beautiful entry but is sep from the hallway by a mesh curtain. Some tables are located right along the curtain wall.  There are the usual window tables..but shades remain down due to the terrible view.  There are two diff areas with larger tables,   and a few tables with banquette seating.

 

 BLU decor is beautiful..nice seats, chandeliers, the BLU roses, crystals.   The china is beautiful as are the tabke settings .There are no interior walls installed to buffer sound.  The sound is not coming in from the hallway but from the din inside BLU itself.

 

CROWDING:  The resatuarant is at full capacity  a few minutes after opening. Staff is able to get everyone seated quickly so there are usually short or no lines.  Saw some folks turned away but not sure of the reason. We were full!

 

ACOUSTICS:

Biggest downfall is the hi level of sound to the point of  distraction . The acoustics  are terrible and  the  loud din is constant...some areas  are worse than others..most very bad .  The staff and maitre d are aware but  did not report any mgmnt plans  for resolving the situation

 

Sorry to say this  loud environment makes BLU a  much less attractive perk of Aquaclass!  All the good food and great service cannot overcome the loudness of the room.! 

(We are glad we  did not book AQ class for our next EDGE cruise)

I had heard the Blu noise thing from others onboard - hope they put in the noise-buffering walls on the next E Class ships (like the paint can wall in other Blu's). One person I talked to said that they had factored in those extra outside seats when planning the size of Blu and since they aren't being used, the venue tends to be more crowded.

 

What time did you usually go for dinner? Where did you usually sit?  Was breakfast crowded as well? Thanks for the excellent reporting!

[Oville]

Hcat, interestingly Luminae was also very loud when full, significantly more so than M or S Class ships.  Katie

[jelayne]

It sounds as you may have been at Blu in early evening.  We dine after 8 and never found Blu full and had no issues with noise.   Most nights at 8-8:30 Blu was about 30-40% full.  We thought it was the best Blu experience we have had.

 

Edited February 8, 2019 by jelayne

[Oville]

2 minutes ago, jelayne said:

It sounds as you may have been at Blu in early evening.  We dine after 8 and never found Blu full and had no issues with noise.   Most nights at 8-8:30 Blu was about 30-40% full.  We thought it was the best Blu experience we have had.

 

Great to hear, we are on Edge in AQ in April and eat between 8-8:30, hopefully we’ll have your experience.  Thanks

[hcat]

We eat early..6 pm..and go to the 9 pm show..(we arrived  at the theater early to beat the crowds and had our after dinner drinks at our seats, waiting for show time, )

 

,,One night BLU told us it would be quieter if we came  later  .  So we tried 6:30    So  wrong!  Took 60 minutes to get our entrees,,,we were not starving but sitting so long in the noise was torture!

 

Breakfast was no problem....not crowded, no noise,  prompt service.

 

We ate lunch in Cosmopolitan  twice,..although crowded  the noise level was lower, and Elite  breakfast in Tuscan was a total treat..,amazing  space!  Lots of sep areas..can't wait to have dinner there in Nov,,

 

Must also note that the whole Grand  Plaza  / martini bar area was  ridiculously loud,....poor design bad acoustics,,could not hear the  nearby performersl  in contrast  the theater acoustics were perfect! Loved the theater,.,.altho it is small!

[hcat]

19 minutes ago, jelayne said:

It sounds as you may have been at Blu in early evening.  We dine after 8 and never found Blu full and had no issues with noise.   Most nights at 8-8:30 Blu was about 30-40% full.  We thought it was the best Blu experience we have had.

 

Wow.,,with my type 2,  that late hr would never work. I try  keep my food consumption window to 7 am  through 7  pm...but glad you enjoyed BLU..

Did you go to the early shows?  Much less crowded than the 9 pm!

Edited February 8, 2019 by hcat

[hcat]

I found the  Blu ugly view pic...but still struggle with getting photos uploaded...a mystery to me?  Never had so much trouble before???

[vtcruising]

22 minutes ago, jelayne said:

It sounds as you may have been at Blu in early evening.  We dine after 8 and never found Blu full and had no issues with noise.   Most nights at 8-8:30 Blu was about 30-40% full.  We thought it was the best Blu experience we have had.

 

We had a bad start to AQ on the Reflection a year and a half ago. The first two nights we went to the early show and went to Blu at 8:15 (were with another couple). We had to wait and then when we got in, it was full and noisy. We asked after the second dinner when a quieter time would be - they told us what time had been quiet on that cruise so far (I can't remember the time), but we tried that the next night and we were placed at a wonderful table for 4 behind the paint can wall. What a difference! There was no wait, the area was much quieter and we had the best waiter and sommelier back there. It was an extremely pleasant experience for the rest of the cruise (10 or 11 night Med). 🙂

[vtcruising]

5 minutes ago, hcat said:

I found the  Blu ugly view pic...but still struggle with getting photos uploaded...a mystery to me?  Never had so much trouble before???

I peeked out of one window:

 

[hcat]

When we started cruising we took late seating for a few yrs.,but ended up eating a mini dinner( usually sushi) at the buffet around 5:30..,, We are much happier at 6 pm &: can keep to our 12 hr eating  window,  something new we are trying recently!

 

Never had a loud experience in BLU.   til now.. and never waited an hr to be served,,. Dining at a quieter time may work  for some but the room needs work.. I am going to e mail my last 2  BLU shots to you..hope you dobt mind, but I'd   to have them posted to end my BLU segment.,

[hcat]

See you had one too!

We always loved the morning views and sunsets on the other ships!

All the  EDGE mdrs have great window views!

[vtcruising]

1 minute ago, hcat said:

See you had one too!

We always loved the morning views and sunsets on the other ships!

All the  EDGE mdrs have great window views!

I just can't understand why they couldn't have given Blu better views. Maybe they figured since AQ has free access to the upgraded Thermal Suite (that others have to pay big bucks for), people would forgive the Blu view.