Do you love Aqua class?

[Ugaaucruisers]

Do you love Aqua class and why?  Trying to decide if we should try Aqua on our next cruise, which will be on Summit.

Thx

[cruiserchuck]

For us, the main advantage is eating in Blu.  We like the food much better there than the MDR, and it is a much smaller room, and not as packed in.

[jelayne]

Yes, we enjoy AQ.  On our 1st Celebrity Cruise we upgraded to AQ on the way to the airport and since then, with the exception of 1 B2B we have booked AQ or a Suite.  
 

We are not spa people and have never taken advantage of the Persian Garden.

We book AQ for Blu.  We enjoy the smaller and quieter  dining room, we like the food and the ease with which they can tweak a menu item.  

[Maggie North]

We prefer Aqua Class when we’ve sailed on Silhouette and Equinox as we LOVE Blu Restaurant on those ships, as well as the location of the cabins. On Edge, we enjoy the Four Dining Room concept so much, that we ‘rough it’ with an inside cabin, then purchase separate Persian Garden access with our savings.

[Miaminice]

YES! Our reason BLU!!! Love the smaller restaurant and less rushed ambiance.

We only skip Aqua on Edge - due to the great 4 dining room concept.

 

[pete_coach]

We booked into Aqua once. A lot of extra money just to eat in Blu. Oh wait, you got different toiletries too LOL.

The spa is not free, you just get priority.

You can eat at the other specialty restaurants if you feel the main dinnig room is such a poor place to eat.

So, for us, it was not worth it.

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, pete_coach said:

We booked into Aqua once. A lot of extra money just to eat in Blu. Oh wait, you got different toiletries too LOL.

The spa is not free, you just get priority.

You can eat at the other specialty restaurants if you feel the main dinnig room is such a poor place to eat.

So, for us, it was not worth it.

In my experience, having an Aqua class stateroom included access to Persian Gardens at no additional fee.  Has this changed?

[Georgia_Peaches]

We booked an Aqua class stateroom for our first ever Celebrity cruise.  Like others, we enjoyed the concept of having a more intimate dining room.  It is beautifully decorated and very serene.  I wasn't overly impressed with the food, though...subjective of course.  We enjoyed access to the thermal area and some of the other little perks in the stateroom as well.

[bikerunner]

See I find the food similar but will book it because of the thermal suites, Persian gardens mainly especially if the price works for the upgrade.  Blu is nice, and small restaurant feel is a bonus,  but I tend to eat in specialty and also the ocean view cafe for dinner also a few times, the food there has really improved for dinner choices.   I like the different little amenities, the ice tea is a nice bonus, I drink herbal teas all the time so its refreshing.  Hoping they still have the yoga mats in the rooms, my roomate does a lot of yoga and have one of the oversized decks in the AQ on the Reflection

[jmbklj]

We just returned from our 1st Celebrity cruise on the Summit.  We've cruised a lot but mainly on Holland America, Windstar most recently and Princess years ago.  I love an Aft-facing cabin, so we booked one in Concierge Class.....and you can't book an aft-facing cabin and Aqua Class together. 

 

I  must say I was disappointed with the food on Celebrity in the buffet and the main dining room.  We didn't eat in any of the specialty restaurants and I don't think one should have to do so to get good food.  I was surprised because I heard the quality of food and offering was one of Celebrity's strengths.

 

The other food related item that concerned me is the self service in the buffet, especially in view of the coronavirus we're experiencing.  One night in the main dining room, we were visited by the chef and one of the officers who were asking for feedback on the ship's food service.  As a first time Celebrity cruiser, I told them I was horrified that passengers served themselves at the buffet.....versus the HAL method where the employees serve passengers - much more hygienic.  It's easier to control the hygiene of employees than to control the hygiene of passengers.  I'd rather be safe than sorry, even if it slightly slows buffet serving times.

 

 

Edited March 24, 2020 by jmbklj

[pete_coach]

45 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

In my experience, having an Aqua class stateroom included access to Persian Gardens at no additional fee.  Has this changed?

Yes, you had access to Persian Gardens...along with everyone else. Not a benefit in my mind as it was mostly full and there didn't seem to be a time limit.

 

[whitbob]

Yes, we love Aqua Class. Our first large ship cruise was on Celebrity in the Baltic.  We saw a sale, and booked into AQ not really knowing what it was, and have now been on 7 trips, all Aqua.  We enjoy Blu and use Persian Gardens, usually when returning early from shore excursions, as it is not as crowded on port days.

 

We also like the cabin placement on the ship. Many people have made negative comments about noise from the pool or gym, which we have never noticed.  We enjoy the overhang, as it protects from the sun and rain, giving us more balcony time.

[jelayne]

24 minutes ago, pete_coach said:

Yes, you had access to Persian Gardens...along with everyone else. Not a benefit in my mind as it was mostly full and there didn't seem to be a time limit.

 

Persian Garden isn’t available to everyone.  Aqua Class, those who purchase a pass and I believe those who had a spa treatment that day.  

[kluv2cruz]

We enjoy Blu - we’ve almost always been greeted by name (which now on Princess with the medallion they can do too!), and because of this we too made it a game to remember their names and greet them each morning and evening. I think the food is similar to the MDR it’s just so much more personal. They remember you like beef medium rare, and extra vegetables. They remember you always have fresh squeezed at breakfast plus a latte. And, if you’re a wine drinker (we’ve always had the drink package), and like more than a glass, usually, you don’t have to beg for the sommelier to come to your table - they remember what you like and like a good host, make sure you have as much as you like. When we’ve had lunch in the MDR and decided on wine with lunch, you have to flag the bar server down, then you get the standard small bar pour, then you’re unlikely to get a 2nd glass, unlike Blu where you just get more poured if they see you want more. They walk around with multiple bottles in their hand! It’s like going to a nice restaurant every day for breakfast & dinner. You sit only with your travel mate so if there’s just 2 of you, sometimes you strike up a convo with your neighbours and sometimes not. 
 

We do use the heated beds a bit. I also like the spa waiting area chaises longues right at the front of the ship. Quiet, calm, great view, and a great place to read a book and snooze, repeat. And occasionally folks come in before or after their treatment and that’s fun to be a fly on the wall imagining about that $200 massage or couples mud treatment etc.

 

You also get preferential boarding but as we’re both elite that’s less of a feature but until we were elite, it scooted us on to the ship a bit quicker.

[dkjretired]

33 minutes ago, pete_coach said:

Yes, you had access to Persian Gardens...along with everyone else. Not a benefit in my mind as it was mostly full and there didn't seem to be a time limit.

 

To be clear, the others had to pay extra,you did not in Blu

[NantahalaCruiser]

Wife and I have enjoyed AQ mainly for the more intimate and quieter Blu restaurant. While food is always subjective, we feel it is a bit nicer than the MDR.  Also agree with others that the wine service is generally much better than in the MDR.

 

However, the pricing on our last cruise was ridiculously out of sight - $100 per person per day greater than a 1A cabin on the slant with a huge balcony.  For that price difference I could have eaten two dinners per night in two different specialty restaurants and still saved a few bucks.

 

We will continue to book an AQ cabin, if the price is not outrageous.  Our max price difference is about $35 - $40 per person per day.

 

[pete_coach]

12 minutes ago, dkjretired said:

To be clear, the others had to pay extra,you did not in Blu

? Aqua cost a lot more....to be clear... 🙂

As I said initially, the price difference between Aqua and a standard cabin, you could have eaten in specialty restaurants as well as Blu and had money left over 🙂

 

[pete_coach]

26 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Persian Garden isn’t available to everyone.  Aqua Class, those who purchase a pass and I believe those who had a spa treatment that day.  

Yes...and that can be a lot of people. Point was it is often full.

[jonesdee]

We love Aqua class because we enjoy the intimate setting of Blu and relaxing in the Persian Garden. On the Summit we like the slightly larger cabin. We booked an aft facing Aqua on Summit because we got a good deal. We were very excited because usually we feel Aqua cabins are too expensive to justify the cost of Blu and Persian Garden. We like to spread the vacation dollars around. Probably not taking the sailing due to COVID. Waiting for Celebrity to cancel. Sad but resigned. 
 

hope everyone is safe and well. 

[captdave]

Aqua 1 is our favorite for the last 5 years, since they redid the Summit.  Cabin 1140 Aqua 1 view of Bermuda.

 

The food at Blu is great, can never go back.

 

 

CaptDave

[RosieRoo]

1 hour ago, jmbklj said:

We just returned from our 1st Celebrity cruise on the Summit.  We've cruised a lot but mainly on Holland America, Windstar most recently and Princess years ago.  I love an Aft-facing cabin, so we booked one in Concierge Class.....and you can't book an aft-facing cabin and Aqua Class together. 

 

There are aft facing AQ cabins on deck 11 on the Summit. 

[Fogfog]

We enjoyed AQ very much and mostly for Blu

In our last few sailings (Celebrity and others) we haven't made much use of the spa--though included as unlimited with our room.

BLU food is a good fit for us. 

We also really enjoy Murano

[Mimiya11]

2 hours ago, jmbklj said:

We just returned from our 1st Celebrity cruise on the Summit.  We've cruised a lot but mainly on Holland America, Windstar most recently and Princess years ago.  I love an Aft-facing cabin, so we booked one in Concierge Class.....and you can't book an aft-facing cabin and Aqua Class together. 

 

I  must say I was disappointed with the food on Celebrity in the buffet and the main dining room.  We didn't eat in any of the specialty restaurants and I don't think one should have to do so to get good food.  I was surprised because I heard the quality of food and offering was one of Celebrity's strengths.

 

The other food related item that concerned me is the self service in the buffet, especially in view of the coronavirus we're experiencing.  One night in the main dining room, we were visited by the chef and one of the officers who were asking for feedback on the ship's food service.  As a first time Celebrity cruiser, I told them I was horrified that passengers served themselves at the buffet.....versus the HAL method where the employees serve passengers - much more hygienic.  It's easier to control the hygiene of employees than to control the hygiene of passengers.  I'd rather be safe than sorry, even if it slightly slows buffet serving times.

 

 

 

Not sure if you were on the Summit's March 7th sailing.  But am with you regarding the buffet.   We were on HAL last year (our only time) and while we love Celebrity I agree re the buffet!!  HAL has it right!!  The thought of touching all those serving spoons regardless of whether people used sanitizer makes me quite ill especially now.  I would hope all cruise lines would follow HALs lead on that.  

 

Regarding the OP question.  We love AQ and if it is not a crazy amount more we go that way primarily for Blu.  I must say the Persian Gardens on the Summit was a big disappointment as compared to the Reflection.  Went once and that was it.   But must say the Summit's BLU management and staff were outstanding.   

 

 

[Ugaaucruisers]

1 hour ago, captdave said:

Aqua 1 is our favorite for the last 5 years, since they redid the Summit.  Cabin 1140 Aqua 1 view of Bermuda.

 

The food at Blu is great, can never go back.

How was it being over the Sunset Bar?  Any smoking issues?  The Aft facing are sold out on our upcoming cruise, so deciding on port or starboard in an A1.  Any thoughts?

 

CaptDave

 

[mchell810]

1 hour ago, captdave said:

Aqua 1 is our favorite for the last 5 years, since they redid the Summit.  Cabin 1140 Aqua 1 view of Bermuda.

 

The food at Blu is great, can never go back.

 

 

CaptDave

 

The color in your photo is just AMAZING.  Is it enhanced? Or are you just a great photographer!