Aqua Class Experience

[fabby50]

Hello!  I have not cruised Celebrity before (have cruised several other lines) and I have questions about the Aqua class experience overall, the ship would be the Solstice.  A little background.  I have typically gone to a health spa to celebrate my milestone birthdays, spend 7 to 10 days celebrating I made it so far, taking fitness classes, eating great healthy food, getting pampered in the spa, etc.  Due to the pandemic, the spa I have favored closed and will not reopen.  I am in California, and other options here are out of my price range ($7K or higher for a week and that's without any spa treatments).  My 65th birthday is coming up in November and in my search, saw a commerical for the Aqua class, GOOP, etc. Celebrity is promoting.

 

Can anyone tell me if this is good marketing hype or can I replicate my past experiences for a reasonable price (the quote I got was approximately $3,500 a week for a single cabin) going Aqua class?  How are the classes, food, spa, relaxation areas, etc.?  Can a rapidly aging lady that's in pretty good shape come home feeling renewed, definitely not 10 pounds heavier, and ready to face her next decade?

 

I am not really concerned about the ports, I've been to them many times.

 

Thank you for any insight you can provide.

[Ferry_Watcher]

It's hype.  I sail Aqua Class, and basically do it in order to have breakfast and dinner in the dedicated restaurant called, Blu.  The other reason is that Celebrity limits the number of passengers in Aqua Class rooms to two (2), so there are very few kids on the dedicated stateroom deck  or in Blu.  Parents, can of course book additional rooms for younger family members, but in general, Aqua Class and Blu tend to be very few families and more couples and like yourself, a sols traveler.

 

Honestly, if you want that clean food, fresh air, exercise experience, look into Rancho La Puerta - just over the border from San Diego - amazing!

[fabby50]

I also should have mentioned that I am pretty much a vegan, occasionally I will eat am omelet, so any insight on how the vegetarian/vegan cuisine is would also be appreicated.

[zitsky]

Fabby it's a lot of marketing.  I don't think the Goop stuff is available on every cruise, someone please correct me?  **BUT** They are making things available like yoga mats.  But I think it's what you make of it.  You can use the fitness center, spa etc as much as you can.  I do it mostly for BLU restaurant.  I like the massage.  But I'm not a big fan of the spa (steam room, sauna etc).  Usually because I get yelled at for talking too loud.  😭

[Poconolady]

You probably could make the cruise into a “spa resort” type week, but it will cost a fortune, once you add on every spa experience you want. Blu can fulfill your vegan diet needs for breakfast and dinner, and you can certainly find fruits and vegetables galore in the Oceanview buffet for other times. Im not sure about Goop, but would assume it is only available on certain ships for certain sailings.

Basically, you can be as healthy as you like on a cruise, but sometimes it takes a lot of effort to do so.

[chimchimtx]

I think the commercial may have been misleading.  For aqua class, access to the spa is included but only for use of the common rooms such as the sauna, and thermal loungers.  Spa treatments are not included. As mentioned earlier, they are pricey.  Very pricey. If you are choosing the vacation based on that I believe you will be disappointed as you will need to tack on hundreds of dollars per day for treatments.

 

What you will have access to is the fitness classes, in-room exercise equipment (yoga mats, weights, etc).  You will also have access to Blu which is suppose to provide a healthier fare than other dining rooms but looking at the menu is not terribly so.  

 

If you want a cruise with some spa like amenities, then try it out.  If you are looking for a true wellness retreat type experience I think you will be disappointed.

Edited May 12, 2022 by chimchimtx

[chefchick]

Fabby, you may want to look into Virgin Voyages.  They have a very different product than Celebrity (and I will admit, I haven’t cruised them yet) but they are marketing to adults only and seem to be very wellness and fitness focused as well as having a more robust vegan/vegetarian dining program.  I will say that a cruise on any line is what you make of it (meaning if you focus on wellness it can be achieved just as easily as overindulgence). Hope you enjoy your birthday no matter where you celebrate it 🥂

[cruznoob57]

So if you're NOT in Aqua class and just regular class, do you still have access to a treadmill or stationary bike (like in a hotel where you would have access to their exercise room)? 

[FlorenceItaly]

6 minutes ago, cruznoob57 said:

So if you're NOT in Aqua class and just regular class, do you still have access to a treadmill or stationary bike (like in a hotel where you would have access to their exercise room)? 

Yes

[Guppy99]

10 hours ago, fabby50 said:

Hello!  I have not cruised Celebrity before (have cruised several other lines) and I have questions about the Aqua class experience overall, the ship would be the Solstice.  A little background.  I have typically gone to a health spa to celebrate my milestone birthdays, spend 7 to 10 days celebrating I made it so far, taking fitness classes, eating great healthy food, getting pampered in the spa, etc.  Due to the pandemic, the spa I have favored closed and will not reopen.  I am in California, and other options here are out of my price range ($7K or higher for a week and that's without any spa treatments).  My 65th birthday is coming up in November and in my search, saw a commerical for the Aqua class, GOOP, etc. Celebrity is promoting.

 

Can anyone tell me if this is good marketing hype or can I replicate my past experiences for a reasonable price (the quote I got was approximately $3,500 a week for a single cabin) going Aqua class?  How are the classes, food, spa, relaxation areas, etc.?  Can a rapidly aging lady that's in pretty good shape come home feeling renewed, definitely not 10 pounds heavier, and ready to face her next decade?

 

I am not really concerned about the ports, I've been to them many times.

 

Thank you for any insight you can provide.

You will get a few complimentary classes. You will have access to the Persian Gardens. You will have to pay  extra for all spa services. there is a clean cuisine menu offered in Blu, the complimentary restaurant for Aqua guests.

[Guppy99]

9 hours ago, zitsky said:

Fabby it's a lot of marketing.  I don't think the Goop stuff is available on every cruise, someone please correct me?  **BUT** They are making things available like yoga mats.  But I think it's what you make of it.  You can use the fitness center, spa etc as much as you can.  I do it mostly for BLU restaurant.  I like the massage.  But I'm not a big fan of the spa (steam room, sauna etc).  Usually because I get yelled at for talking too loud.  😭

not true. The goop stuff is available on all ships, but there simply is no room to use it in your cabin. You can use it is the gym.

[fabby50]

Thank you all for your input!  I am weighing my options - my feeling right now is that I'm going to wait to see if there is a sale, I might wait to go until January if I can get a good deal.  With any savings, I can get more spa treatments 🙂  If I do go, I will make sure to report back on turning the Aqua experience into a health spa experience.

[zitsky]

If you read the forum you’ll see a lot of people happy with Celebrity.  I’ve only been on once because of cancellations but it was good.

 

And there are sales sometimes.  (But no sails.). 🙂

 

 

Edited May 13, 2022 by zitsky

[NutsAboutGolf]

Book a balcony and when moveup comes around, I think it's currently still 21 days within the sail date, bid for AQ assuming the price is right.

 

If you don't get AQ, on the day of embarkation, you could always wake up early, go to Target/Marshalls, buy a thick robe, air fresheners, a yoga mat, etc.  Then buy a specialty dining package to replace Blu.

 

As relaxing as the Persian Garden is, there CAN be four sources of noise:

1) Pax that don't respect being quiet, on my last sailing a lady was in the lounger, answered her cell phone and spoke loudly, a neighbor politely asked her to go outside and she ignored the request...I'm sure you can leave and get the spa staff

2) If the scent diffusors run out of water they beep every 20 seconds

3) Many fall asleep, if they do, many can snore, some aren't loud, some are very loud

4) In the steam room, strangers may strike up loud conversations

[Lilactime]

I really enjoy Celebrity, but it wouldn't take the place of being at a spa.