Aqua Class when cruising resumes

[MSTEG]

I wonder what life will be like for Aqua class passengers when cruising resumes?

 

What will the "new normal" look like?

 

Will Celebrity bump people with existing Aqua class reservations to reduce the overall passenger head count as cruising re-starts?  How will that be determined?

 

How will Celebrity accomodatea dining in Blu with the extra table spacing requirement?  Maybe three fixed time dinner seatings, or use other venues / space for dining?

 

Will access to the Persian Garden have to be by reservation only for a set time limit?

 

Eliminate Aqua class all together 😩 ?

 

Any other thoughts?

[marieps]

I posted on an earlier thread about Blu's very tight seating arrangement.  They may be forced to take reservations, and open earlier.   Suite passengers may not get in at all.  I don't think breakfast will be a problem. 

[LXA350]

At the begining ships will not be full including Aqua Class and if restrictions will remain in place then cabins will be blocked off.

 

What I could see though is that Blu will be open in futue also for lunch, at least on Sea Days given that the capacity of Ocean View or whatever th new concept there will be needs to be reduced.

 

Aqua Class will not be removed, it brings good revenues to the company.

[NantahalaCruiser]

What ever they decide to do, to respond to the COVID19 challenges, I doubt that the impacts on AQ passengers will be any different than other classes of cabins.  Whatever they need to do in the MDR will also need to be done in Blu.  If they need to cut back on capacity, they will need to cut back on the capacity at all cabin levels.

[bikerunner]

Personally I think they will take every other person and make them walk the plank.    I heard that from someone.  Who knows what.  Lots of venues are tight theater pool lounges.  All will be affected all we can do is wait and see what will happen 

[Fouremco]

What will happen with any category of cabin is open to speculation at this point in time. Lots of discussion on numerous threads.

[Arizona Wildcat]

Looking at reduced passenger count when cruising begins, the question would be which cabins are the most profitable.  Since inside to Aqua are pretty much the same one needs to ask the cost to Celebrity of the Aqua and Concierge amenities vs Veranda?

 

[Covepointcruiser]

Pending the CDC decision, we can only speculate.   There may be a new “fit to sail” letter required and this will cut down on passengers.   It seems that most people at risk on CC are delaying cruising until there is a treatment or a vaccine.   This alone will cut down on the passenger count.

[bigbenboys]

My thought is that limiting cabins and suites to only 2 guest would be a start. 

[phoenix_dream]

No one knows.  Personally, I don't see Aqua Class being treated any differently than any other type of cabin (besides suites perhaps) when Celebrity opens.  I can't know, but I would expect they will cut capacity on those cabins the same as others.  They will need to find some way to reduce the seating in Blu.  I don't think reservations would help much, but who knows.  Expanding hours would bring the dining times to the point of ridiculous I think.  Just how early or how late does one want to dine?!?  Whether cutting passenger counts is enough remains to be seen.  Hope they prohibit suite guests - that is long past due anyway IMHO, ever since Luminae was introduced.    That was the main reason it was implemented in the first place as suite guests were rightly not happy that a lower class cabin had a specialty-type restaurant and they didn't.  Well, now they do, so it's time to stop that practice as I have seen it overwhelm the Blu capacity on a number of cruises.  Not all maître d's follow the 'space available' rule that's for sure.

 

We are regular AQ passengers, so I wonder as well.  The big question, besides the overall when will they sail and what precautions will be onboard, is how do they plan to reduce the passenger count on cruises already booked past the capacity limit.  No matter what they do many will not be happy.

[TeaBag]

I agree, it's time to stop suite guests from dining in Blu.  They have their own restaurant as well as every other eating are on the ship except Blu.  If they have to eat in Blu then book Aqua.  Enuf said.

[luckyinpa]

4 hours ago, marieps said:

I posted on an earlier thread about Blu's very tight seating arrangement.  They may be forced to take reservations, and open earlier.   Suite passengers may not get in at all.  I don't think breakfast will be a problem. 

 

6 ft seating between tables, pool deck, etc etc would make me book many many more cruises! i love the idea of private space just for me. i hope they keep tables spaced forever. when looking at booking X i saw the private dining rooms spacing and how close it is and wondered why anyone spends 20K for a suite to be 6 inches from strangers while eating. 

[Beeline Cruiser]

27 minutes ago, TeaBag said:

I agree, it's time to stop suite guests from dining in Blu.  They have their own restaurant as well as every other eating are on the ship except Blu.  If they have to eat in Blu then book Aqua.  Enuf said.

 

I don't like it! We should get to eat in Luminae when they do this, right?!?

[TeaBag]

45 minutes ago, Beeline Cruiser said:

 

I don't like it! We should get to eat in Luminae when they do this, right?!?

Absolutely!  After all, Blu is not open for lunch so why not welcome us in Luminae as a trade off for those who eat dinner in Blu?😃

[Ken the cruiser]

I just don't get why someone who can dine in Luminae would even want to eat in Blu. 

[jagoffee]

Celebrity would have plenty of capacity in the MDR for lunch, so there would be no reason they would need to staff the Blu dining room and kitchen for lunch.

 

If I was running Celebrity and I needed to reduce the passenger load, I would focus on the less expensive cabin categories.  They may need to get a little creative for the AC and suite categories due to the unique dining rooms.  Perhaps convert a specialty restaurant or part of the MDR on a temporary basis.

[MSTEG]

Maybe I could have changed the wording in my OP title to read 

Aqua Class when cruising first resumes

Right now most Aqua cabins are already booked for scheduled cruises in August and Sept, etc.  I know many people will likely  cancel their booking or move them to a future sailings but how will Celebrity handle those AQ passengers that remain booked and expect to sail soon? 

Going forward I'm sure Celebrity will adjust what needs to be done and maybe take fewer AQ reservations or expand Blu but what will life be like for those first AQ folks who do sail on those first cruises?

By MSTEG, 16 hours ago in Celebrity Cruises

 

[phoenix_dream]

10 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I just don't get why someone who can dine in Luminae would even want to eat in Blu. 

I get it.  For us, the menu in Blu is much more to our liking. But I don’t think it should be allowed due to crowding issues.

[marieps]

11 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I just don't get why someone who can dine in Luminae would even want to eat in Blu. 

I've never tried Luminae, but get to do so (hopefully) on Connie in February.  I know the Blu menu by heart.  Will welcome a change and a comparison.

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, MSTEG said:

Maybe I could have changed the wording in my OP title to read 

Aqua Class when cruising first resumes

Right now most Aqua cabins are already booked for scheduled cruises in August and Sept, etc.  I know many people will likely  cancel their booking or move them to a future sailings but how will Celebrity handle those AQ passengers that remain booked and expect to sail soon? 

Going forward I'm sure Celebrity will adjust what needs to be done and maybe take fewer AQ reservations or expand Blu but what will life be like for those first AQ folks who do sail on those first cruises?

By MSTEG, 16 hours ago in Celebrity Cruises

 

As I said previously, this applies to all categories of cabins, not just Aqua, and is subject to speculation in several threads. If Celebrity wanted to cruise initially with a reduced passenger load, there are several ways in which they could approach it. If they want to sail at 50% load, for example, they could bounce the 50% of passengers ship wide paying the lowest fares. Alternatively, they could bounce 50% of the passengers per deck paying the lowest fares. In the first scenario, no one in Aqua would be bounced, but in the second scenario some would definitely get the heave-ho. The first scenario would provide a greater financial benefit for Celebrity, but the second provides better distancing on all decks. Given the choice, Celebrity would probably go with the first scenario, but if CDC imposes its will, they might be obliged to go with the second.

 

The point is, it's anyone's guess at this point, but never consider Aqua in isolation.

[bigbenboys]

I enjoyed Aqua and Blu when it started. I liked the nicer towels, that shower and unlimited bottled water. What I liked about Blu was there was no set time for dinner. That was the main reason for us to book Aqua. The Blu menu is ok. I enjoyed having prime rib the 1st night. Rarely happens in Blu. To much game birds for my liking. I dont want to eat pigeon, quail are so cute. Same with lamb and veal. Dont get me wrong. If I was invited to a dinner and the choices were lamb or veal I would eat it. Luminae menu is much more to my liking. I can also order off the MDR menu if I need too, except the Edge Class. I personally only dine in Blu when booked in Aqua. Blu and Luminae needs to be open for lunch all days. 

I see one of the problems is staffing. One evening in Luminae I asked the maitre d where is Margaret. He said he did not know. I said I know, she is up in the entrance of the Oceanveiw cafe with the squirt bottle. It did not take long before I saw Margaret at my table.

[wrk2cruise]

18 hours ago, Beeline Cruiser said:

 

I don't like it! We should get to eat in Luminae when they do this, right?!?

 

There is a long thread about this, no need to keep harping on it here.  Suite guests pay much more than AQ and it currently is a benefit for suites.

[Beeline Cruiser]

5 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

There is a long thread about this, no need to keep harping on it here.  Suite guests pay much more than AQ and it currently is a benefit for suites.

 

Yeah, you take our seats in Blu, should we pause for dramatic effect when you walk in?? LOLOL

[terrydtx]

17 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

There is a long thread about this, no need to keep harping on it here.  Suite guests pay much more than AQ and it currently is a benefit for suites.

In M and S class ships Suite guests can order from both the Blu and MDR menu items for dinner in Luminae, so why do they need to take up the limited space in Blu?  The Celebrity web site says AQ Class passengers get "exclusive" use of BLU for breakfast and dinner. To me Exclusive means exclusive for only AQ Class passengers. The Blu as a benefit for Suite guests should have ended when X added Luminae to the whole fleet for Suite guests and needs to be implemented in the post Covid virus sailings to maintain social distancing in Blu.

[capsplace]

For whatever it is worth, we have a booking in April 2022 in Aqua 1.  Been checking fares to see if any reductions.  In doing so, I also look at cabin selections in A1 to see if a more favorable cabin opens up.  Over the weekend, and again today, it shows NO A1 cabins available.  Last week, there was roughly 60% available.  Perhaps this is an attempt to limit passengers, or maybe a group booking.