New to Celebrity - Aqua Class?

[tukogirl]

I’ll new to celebrity and am looking at a Greek cruise on Reflection next year. I’d love a quick primer on the Aqua class benefits over a regular veranda room. 

[Arizona Wildcat]

5 minutes ago, tukogirl said:

I’ll new to celebrity and am looking at a Greek cruise on Reflection next year. I’d love a quick primer on the Aqua class benefits over a regular veranda room. 

Mostly so you eat at Blu.  Smaller and more personalized.  Access to spa area of value to some.   Cabins almost the same size.  Wife and I love Blu.

[TeaBag]

We have just been on Eclipse and we were in AQ class.  To start with, your assigned dining room will be Blu for breakfast and dinner.  We like the smaller size of the room.  You will have access to Persian Gardens.  You will receive 5 points/day.

[emmas gran]

AquaClass guests enjoy eXhale^® bedding, premium bath amenities, including a massaging showerhead, complimentary fitness classes, and a spacious private veranda. Plus, complimentary dining at Blu, unlimited access to the Persian Garden, and personal spa concierge.

[CruisingWalter]

We had an Aqua Class on our last sailing on Equinox and have sailed Reflection in the past. The Blu Dining Room is a nice upgrade over the MDR. Much smaller and we found the food quality better than the MDR. That alone made the upgrade worth it for us. The cabins are quite nice too, they're basically the same as the Veranda stateroom but with the added perk of eating in Blu and a few other smaller perks. But you do get Blu which you cannot get into with a standard verandah cabin. 

 

I'm not sure which lines and ships you've sailed so far, but overall you'll find Reflection feels a bit like a luxury resort and is well appointed throughout. That series of ships, the Solstice Class, has my absolute favorite bar at sea, the World Class Bar where the mixologists do not put on a show. They simply take their time and make incredible cocktails that are better than anything you'll find at sea. The star of those ships for us is the Solarium indoor pool. Incredibly lovely to lounge the day away, though with your itinerary, I don't think there will be much time for using that space during the day. 🙂

 

The specialty restaurants are also quite good though we avoid Le Petit Chef because it's such a gimmick. We much prefer the original QSine tapas concept that has vanished from all the ships. Tuscan Grille is decent Italian food and I would recommend having lunch there if you have a sea day vs. the full priced dinner. Murano is more of a dinner experience, Sushi on Five is great if you like sushi. The Lawn Club Grill was ok when we did it, but from what we understand, they've upgraded the experience since we last did it. 

Edited May 16, 2022 by WheresWalter

[SCGirl3211]

Eating in Blu is worth the Aqua Class upgrade in and of itself!  It's so relaxing to start your morning eating breakfast with white tablecloths and by servers who already know what you want!  The afternoon snacks are nice too as well as water being replenished each day.  

[Mimiya11]

Blu is the main reason to try AQ.  Food and service are great.  We really enjoyed not having to deal with major line ups for breakfast on port intensive days.  Just wish they were open for lunch on sea days like Luminae (suite dining room) as it got crazy at the buffet.   Suggest to use any on board credit for a specialty lunch to avoid the buffet on sea days if the ship is full

The Persian Gardens access was no big deal to us, especially since we were on a Baltic cruise and we were off the ship more than on. 

Good luck choosing,  Always wonderful to look forward to a cruise.  

 

[zitsky]

5 hours ago, WheresWalter said:

We had an Aqua Class on our last sailing on Equinox and have sailed Reflection in the past. The Blu Dining Room is a nice upgrade over the MDR. Much smaller and we found the food quality better than the MDR. That alone made the upgrade worth it for us. The cabins are quite nice too, they're basically the same as the Veranda stateroom but with the added perk of eating in Blu and a few other smaller perks. But you do get Blu which you cannot get into with a standard verandah cabin. 

 

I'm not sure which lines and ships you've sailed so far, but overall you'll find Reflection feels a bit like a luxury resort and is well appointed throughout. That series of ships, the Solstice Class, has my absolute favorite bar at sea, the World Class Bar where the mixologists do not put on a show. They simply take their time and make incredible cocktails that are better than anything you'll find at sea. The star of those ships for us is the Solarium indoor pool. Incredibly lovely to lounge the day away, though with your itinerary, I don't think there will be much time for using that space during the day. 🙂

 

The specialty restaurants are also quite good though we avoid Le Petit Chef because it's such a gimmick. We much prefer the original QSine tapas concept that has vanished from all the ships. Tuscan Grille is decent Italian food and I would recommend having lunch there if you have a sea day vs. the full priced dinner. Murano is more of a dinner experience, Sushi on Five is great if you like sushi. The Lawn Club Grill was ok when we did it, but from what we understand, they've upgraded the experience since we last did it. 

 

Walter, do you need a reservation to eat lunch at Tuscan Grille? (on a sea day)?  Do they take reservations for lunch?  Thank you.

[Fly and Sail]

On a related note, BLU Breakfast ended at 9am and some days (Alaska Time Zone) even at 8:30am which I find insane. Can't remember the times BLU had on EDGE but their opening times are grotesque in the morning. IMHO the breakfast should be offered until at least 11am. I'm on holiday and not in a boot camp.

[MarKay525]

3 hours ago, Mimiya11 said:

Blu is the main reason to try AQ.  <snip> Just wish they were open for lunch on sea days like Luminae (suite dining room) as it got crazy at the buffet.  

 

 

If I remember correctly, there is a Main Dining Room open for lunch on sea days. Are those in Aqua not allowed to eat there even though their designated dining room is closed?

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, Fly and Sail said:

On a related note, BLU Breakfast ended at 9am and some days (Alaska Time Zone) even at 8:30am which I find insane. Can't remember the times BLU had on EDGE but their opening times are grotesque in the morning. IMHO the breakfast should be offered until at least 11am. I'm on holiday and not in a boot camp.

What are the opening hours for breakfast at the MDR?

[NutsAboutGolf]

Generally, the OV buffet is open 3-4 hours for breakfast, 2.5 hours for lunch and 3.5 hours for dinner.

 

For MOST other restaurants, like the MDR, Blu and Luminae, breakfast and lunch are only open for 90mins.

[D C]

14 hours ago, tukogirl said:

I’ll new to celebrity and am looking at a Greek cruise on Reflection next year. I’d love a quick primer on the Aqua class benefits over a regular veranda room. 

 

 

13 hours ago, emmas gran said:

AquaClass guests enjoy eXhale^® bedding, premium bath amenities, including a massaging showerhead, complimentary fitness classes, and a spacious private veranda. Plus, complimentary dining at Blu, unlimited access to the Persian Garden, and personal spa concierge.

 

This is essentially it. A different main dining room, access to the Persian Garden (saunas & such), and some slightly different in-room items are the bulk of it.  

 

Room locations are often considered to be inferior to others. 

Blu is loved by some (see below) while others (like us) feel it's all hype and the 'spa inspired' menu is inferior to the MDR menu.  There are far better rooms for less $ imho.  Look for a normal veranda 'on the hump' with an angled balcony, or perhaps a sunset veranda (long walk, but great view out the rear of the ship).

 

4 hours ago, SCGirl3211 said:

Eating in Blu is worth the Aqua Class upgrade in and of itself!  It's so relaxing to start your morning eating breakfast with white tablecloths and by servers who already know what you want!  The afternoon snacks are nice too as well as water being replenished each day.  

 

 

[Fly and Sail]

17 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Generally, the OV buffet is open 3-4 hours for breakfast, 2.5 hours for lunch and 3.5 hours for dinner.

 

For MOST other restaurants, like the MDR, Blu and Luminae, breakfast and lunch are only open for 90mins.

 

This system has to be completely overhauled. Especially since BLU doesn't serve lunch I think it's totally unacceptable to offer a 90 min breakfast window from 7:30-9:-00am.

[zitsky]

I certainly have no interest in using the buffet.  That's why I book Aqua.  No one bows when I go into the buffet.  🙂

[Fly and Sail]

3 minutes ago, D C said:

 

 

 

This is essentially it. A different main dining room, access to the Persian Garden (saunas & such), and some slightly different in-room items are the bulk of it.  

 

Room locations are often considered to be inferior to others. 

Blu is loved by some (see below) while others (like us) feel it's all hype and the 'spa inspired' menu is inferior to the MDR menu.  There are far better rooms for less $ imho.  Look for a normal veranda 'on the hump' with an angled balcony, or perhaps a sunset veranda (long walk, but great view out the rear of the ship).

 

 

 

 

You can always order from the regular MDR menu which is what I do in 2/3 of all cases. Especially on Solstice Class ships and the Millennium I feel that the MDR is unbearable and BLU pretty much the only way to go apart from specialty dining.

 

On EDGE it doesn't matter apart from the rather nice Thermal Spa. In the end the discrepancy for AQC should not be more than a daily visit to a specialty restaurant otherwise one should book a nice veranda cabin and be done with it. YMMV

[zitsky]

11 minutes ago, Fly and Sail said:

 

You can always order from the regular MDR menu which is what I do in 2/3 of all cases. Especially on Solstice Class ships and the Millennium I feel that the MDR is unbearable and BLU pretty much the only way to go apart from specialty dining.

 

On EDGE it doesn't matter apart from the rather nice Thermal Spa. In the end the discrepancy for AQC should not be more than a daily visit to a specialty restaurant otherwise one should book a nice veranda cabin and be done with it. YMMV

What do you find unpleasant about the MDR?  I’ve never used it.

[Fly and Sail]

24 minutes ago, zitsky said:

What do you find unpleasant about the MDR?  I’ve never used it.

 

Size, crowd of people, waiting times, speed of service (slow).

[Northern Aurora]

3 hours ago, MarKay525 said:

If I remember correctly, there is a Main Dining Room open for lunch on sea days. Are those in Aqua not allowed to eat there even though their designated dining room is closed?

 

 

You remember correctly -- the MDR is open for lunch on sea days.  And those in Aqua staterooms are certainly allowed to dine there for lunch.

[tukogirl]

Thanks so much to all!  This is such helpful information.  I'm going to start comparing rooms now!