Aqua Class vs. standard

[keesar]

2 hours ago, davy jones said:

Thanks for the responses.  

 

It looks like most believe that cuisine and atmosphere in Blu is worth another $125 pp over the MDR and any use of the spa would be a bouns.

 

There are fewer options for menu choices in Blu as compared to the MDR.  But the food is really good and the portions are just right for us.  As the the atmosphere, it is not intimate.  Tables are really close together but the noise level is less than the MDR.  

[Redtravel]

Tried aqua class once. Blu room was nice. Service was excellent. We also liked the smaller dining room.  We didn’t like the location of aqua class cabins. The cabins are on higher decks.  We prefer lower decks for a smoother ride. We also were not impressed by the food. We often asked if we could order from the regular MDR menu.  

[drakes2]

On 3/4/2022 at 3:18 AM, keesar said:

One of the things we miss about the MDR is dining at a large table with others every night.

We had a pre cruise dinner a couple years ago with several from our roll call. Had a great evening and dinner. Once onboard one of the couples had Aqua class therefore dined in Blu.  Didn't like the atmosphere and kept returning to have dinner with the rest of us in the MDR.  Sometimes its more about the company than the food. 

[cachouonacruise]

My wife and I are not fans about spas, so Aqua Class was not something that we would have booked. However, on Infiniti, on our Alaska cruise, we were upgraded from an Oceanview Cabin to Aqua class. Hard to refuse.

 

What we enjoyed: 

Cabin size and location: on M class ships, Aqua and Concierge class cabins are a bit larger than the standard balcony cabin.

 

Our cabin was on deck nine, right below the overhang. So we really were well protected from the elements ( wind, and occasional rain showers).

 

What we experienced: 

 

Blu was a very interesting experience. Service and food were excellent!!! However, unlike the Main Dining Room, it does not offer, the standard dining service at a specific time. So, for people hoping to be assigned at a large table with unknown table mates, it would be more difficult to plan, since the Blu concept is more like a "Any time dining" concept. 
 

Since tables are assigned on a first come first serve basis in Blu, you will not likely always have the same table, and, may be served by different people. But, staff at Blu is somewhat limited, so you quickly get to know them all and our service was excellent, especially the Blu Maitre D. A point to consider, Tables are really located close to each other ( at least before the pandemic). 

 

My wife and I are creatures of habit, so we really enjoy the traditional seating concept, for the location, the same personnel etc. So, for us Blu experience was not really a hit.

 

So, in answer to your question, the answer is:  in relation to the added cost, how much more will Aqua Class enhanced your travel experience? Good luck in selecting what works best for you! 

 

 

 

Access to the spa. Someone has mentioned it before, the Spa on M class ship, is located in middle of the ship, so there is no access to a view of the ocean while relaxing on the famous ceramic chairs.

 

( Forgot to mention, but just in case, Aqua and Concierge Class offer 5 Captain Club points per nights versus 3 in regular veranda.)

[alto400]

We upgraded to Aqua Class on our second cruise and would never go back to a standard cabin. We love the food and level of service in Blu and have always found that we can chat we our immediate neighbours if we feel like it. If you choose to dine at a busy time they will sometimes ask if you mind sharing, which we usually don't, and then the experience is similar to the select dining in the MDR but calmer and much less noisy. Our last cruise before lockdown was on Azamara. My husband had one meal in the MDR, which is smaller than on Celebrity, and said he would only dine in the speciality restaurants from then on as he hated the noise and number of diners (and Celebrity MDRs are much larger). This is very surprising as he is generally very sociable, I am the quiet one. We got far too much to eat in these speciality restaurants and, of course, the menu never changes. Fortunately we had a suite and could dine in any speciality restaurant for free. I wouldn't like to book a standard cabin on Celebrity and then dine in speciality restaurants every night as I would either get very fat and bloated or end up wasting a lot of food I had spent money on! As it happens we ended up eating in the buffet a couple of times as the Azamara buffet was far superior to the Oceanview.

 

Our first cruise in Aqua was on Deck 9 (M class). We were not keen on the overhang tbh as we felt it restricted our view a bit, but we love the Deck 11 location. I can only speak for the M class ship Aqua experience though.

 

We are venturing into a suite for the first time with Celebrity next month - so it may be that we never go back to Aqua ........

 

[39august]

You can request a specific table, don't have to take whatever is offered at first. We found one we liked and stayed with it the entire cruise. We do not like the very, very close 2 tops.

[D C]

Creatures of habit, I suppose, so we probably arrived at a similar time each night, but we have always been seated at the same table each night in Blu. Mere inches away from the couple at the next table.  Downright impossible to have a private conversation in that setting.  That, plus the menu as the main reason, are why we don't care for Blu.

[Redtravel]

Tables that are inches apart would turn me off. I hate sitting that close.  Even before the pandemic, Blu tables were too close for me. Now, I would freak out if I were seated at a table inches from the next table.  

[alto400]

I think that people are exaggerating just how close the tables are in Blu. They are close but I would dispute that the ability to have a private conversation is any less than in the MDR. We love the menus in Blu, but everyone is different and that is why it is good to have the choice of MDR/Speciality/Blu/Luminae.

[Cruise a holic]

On the summit, some of the AQ cabins are poorly located so be careful.  I found Blu, on the summit not great and the tables, last time we dined in blu, for two are in rows next to the windows, very close.  We dined in blu thinking you weren't on top of your neighbor.  But we had people, uninvited chiming in to our conversation.  This never happed in sp restaurants or luminae.  IMO if you can't do a suite, consider a balcony cabin and dine in sp restaurants.

 

But to each his/her own.  

[dkjretired]

On 3/3/2022 at 10:05 PM, D C said:

We've booked aqua on summit DESPITE being assigned to Blu. The 'fresh' or 'healthy' flair to the Blu menu simply isn't appealing to us.  We'd rather eat in the MDR or buffet. 

 

Even with Persian Garden access, we rarely used it.  

 

Essentially, we book Aqua on m-class ships to be on deck 11.

 

It’s not really “healthy “ food, that’s just hype.

[drakes2]

13 minutes ago, dkjretired said:

It’s not really “healthy “ food, that’s just hype.

Agreed. Sauces made with butter and cream are not low fat.  A friend had Aqua class but only had breakfast in Blu. Also there are no windows looking out to the ocean.

[JamieLogical]

11 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

Agreed. Sauces made with butter and cream are not low fat.  A friend had Aqua class but only had breakfast in Blu. Also there are no windows looking out to the ocean.

 

Huh? I have only dined in Blu on an M-class ship, but there were definitely windows....

[drakes2]

4 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Huh? I have only dined in Blu on an M-class ship, but there were definitely windows....

Never been on M class ships but a friend was on the Edge and said no windows.

[39august]

Windows on M and S class ships. 

[drakes2]

3 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

Never been on M class ships but a friend was on the Edge and said no windows.

I just looked up the Blu restaurant on Edge and yes there are windows so don't know what this person meant. 

[JamieLogical]

5 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

Never been on M class ships but a friend was on the Edge and said no windows.

 

I just looked up a video of Blu on Edge and there are five large windows, though it does look like the first two might be obstructed by a life boat.

 

Edited March 7, 2022 by JamieLogical

[D C]

5 hours ago, alto400 said:

I think that people are exaggerating just how close the tables are in Blu. They are close but I would dispute that the ability to have a private conversation is any less than in the MDR. We love the menus in Blu, but everyone is different and that is why it is good to have the choice of MDR/Speciality/Blu/Luminae.

 

5 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

On the summit, some of the AQ cabins are poorly located so be careful.  I found Blu, on the summit not great and the tables, last time we dined in blu, for two are in rows next to the windows, very close.  We dined in blu thinking you weren't on top of your neighbor.  But we had people, uninvited chiming in to our conversation.  This never happed in sp restaurants or luminae.  IMO if you can't do a suite, consider a balcony cabin and dine in sp restaurants.

 

But to each his/her own.  

This is about the spacing I recall.  Someone with thin legs COULD squeeze between the tables, but there isn't much space there.   Whole row of windows on the M-class, too.

[fstuff1]

On 3/3/2022 at 10:41 AM, davy jones said:

We're thinking about Aqua class cabins vs. standard on Summit.  The big selling points are spa access and Blu.

 

Is the upgrade worth it?  I'd like to hear thoughts on Blu vs the MDR.

 

How is the spa access?  What can you do that standard passengers can not do?

 

following since i plan on being on the summit in aug for greenland transatlantic.

will probably be deciding aft balc vs aqua

[fstuff1]

On 3/3/2022 at 5:47 PM, DaKahuna said:

You do not.  You get the room you are assigned but you can work from there to try and change rooms.  

 

how do you change rooms when winning a bid?!

 

[39august]

You may be allowed to change cabins after being assigned,  if there are other cabins in the SAME category available for booking. 

[Luvcrusn]

4 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

 

how do you change rooms when winning a bid?!

 

You can't unless you happen to luck out once on board and go to guest services and they have a more desirable one in your category still available. That's something you agreed to when you place your bid. Sometimes in these less than full sailing times it's possible, but I'd not count on it.

[D C]

8 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

 

how do you change rooms when winning a bid?!

 

 

3 hours ago, Luvcrusn said:

You can't unless you happen to luck out once on board and go to guest services and they have a more desirable one in your category still available. That's something you agreed to when you place your bid. Sometimes in these less than full sailing times it's possible, but I'd not count on it.

People often report being able to change their room through their travel agent or by calling celebrity directly. No guarantees, but it's quite possible.