Aqua Class Dining Questions

[Bgwest]

We've never tried Aqua Class but are considering doing so. Understand that this includes dining in the Blu restaurant. 

 

Does Blu serve breakfast, lunch and dinner?

 

If the urge strikes, are we still able to utilize the MDR?

 

We currently have a concierge class booking with Anytime Dining. If we upgrade to Aqua, will be be able to keep the Anytime Dining in the MDR or we will be forced into a fixed dining time in the MDR should we opt to go there?

 

Much appreciated!!

[PinkSandGirl]

Hi!  Blu serves breakfast and dinner.  No lunch. 

 

As far as getting the MDR Menu, it depends on the ship. M-class, yes.   Based on my experience, S-class, yes.  There are usually the classics that are available no matter which ship you are on.  

 

We asked the first night, on the Equinox,  for the MDR Menu and then after that they would bring us both when we were seated.  

 

We enjoyed Blu...the food, service and ambience.   We had always enjoyed the MDR on other cruises.  When we experienced Blu, we all decided, going forward we need either Aqua or Suites to have access to Blu.  

 

We had the same table and waitstaff each night and went pretty much the same time.  We chose to do it this way.  You can have different servers and different times, but we like having the same servers.  

 

It was an excellent experience all around. 

 

🍹

Edited June 18, 2022 by PinkSandGirl

[Mr. Click]

Blu is breakfast and dinner, maybe lunch on a sea day.  It is the main reason most people book in Aqua. It is all anytime dining with no reservations.   Just show up and you want.

 

If you want to go to the MDR you would need to clear it with your maitre' de but it can be done.

[gold1953]

5 hours ago, Mr. Click said:

Blu is breakfast and dinner, maybe lunch on a sea day.  It is the main reason most people book in Aqua. It is all anytime dining with no reservations.   Just show up and you want.

 

If you want to go to the MDR you would need to clear it with your maitre' de but it can be done.

There is never lunch in Blu on any day.

[alto400]

1 hour ago, gold1953 said:

There is never lunch in Blu on any day.

It is extremely unusual, but they did do lunch in Blu on one occasion when we were not able to stop at a port. I don't know if this was a one off or if it always happens when a port is missed as, so far, this has only happened to us that once.

[gold1953]

50 minutes ago, alto400 said:

It is extremely unusual, but they did do lunch in Blu on one occasion when we were not able to stop at a port. I don't know if this was a one off or if it always happens when a port is missed as, so far, this has only happened to us that once.

I have sailed Aqua but not missed ports. In all the Blu discussions this has never come up

[Miaminice]

1 hour ago, gold1953 said:

I have sailed Aqua but not missed ports. In all the Blu discussions this has never come up

it does happen. Rarely, but yes it happens. We had lunch in Blu on very rare occasions. Not the norm though.

 

Currently on Apex in Blu and it is fantastic.

[jelayne]

18 minutes ago, Miaminice said:

it does happen. Rarely, but yes it happens. We had lunch in Blu on very rare occasions. Not the norm though.

 

Currently on Apex in Blu and it is fantastic.

We have attended a lunch with some Officers in Blu on 1 occasion but it was not open except for those invited to the lunch.  
 

[Miaminice]

13 minutes ago, jelayne said:

We have attended a lunch with some Officers in Blu on 1 occasion but it was not open except for those invited to the lunch.  
 

As someone stated above and I can confirm, it does happen but is very rare. Maybe once or twice on all of our cruises. 

[tkere]

On the Edge class ships you can order from the main dining room menus as well in BLU.  Its a healthy spa like menu in blu but they will offer vegetables and potatoes, etc instead of the salad.  My hubby the carnivore was quite happy!

[terrydtx]

13 hours ago, Mr. Click said:

Blu is breakfast and dinner, maybe lunch on a sea day.  It is the main reason most people book in Aqua. It is all anytime dining with no reservations.   Just show up and you want.

 

If you want to go to the MDR you would need to clear it with your maitre' de but it can be done.

Blu is not open ever for lunch even on sea days. The Luminae is open for lunch on sea days. Look in the Celebrity app and you will not see any lunch available in Blu. This was one of several reasons why we stopped booking Aqua and went to the Retreat, we did not like, not having lunch access in Blu on sea days. On port days we eat on shore to sample local food.

Edited June 18, 2022 by terrydtx

[cruisestitch]

I have been to an invitation-only lunch in Blu which was not open to Aqua passengers.  They were simply utilizing the room since it was available.

 

to get back to the OP’s question.  If you wish to breakfast at the MDR, or lunch there on the sea days when it is open, there is no problem doing so and it is all open seating for those meals.  If as an Aqua passenger you wish to have dinner in the MDR instead of in able coordinate that with the Aqua MaitreD who will make the arrangements for you since you do not have a table assignment there. 

[pisces223]

We cruised to Alaska on Solstice out of Seattle last month (May 20). We had Aqua Class. The first night we ate at Blu, but were put off and decided not to dine there. Instead we went to the Main Dining Room every night. We did not need to consult with the maitre d of Blu. We just went to the mdr and got a table each night. No problem for anyone.

[cruisestitch]

When ships sail far below capacity, adjustments are easy As the ships begin to get more full it will again become necessary to coordinate with the Blu staff to get you an MDR table, since the MDR numbers will grow.  Aqua passengers do not have MDR table assignments, so staff will need to determine when and where to place AQUA passengers and how to reassign their gratuities.

 

 

[keesar]

I sure hope those cruisers that dine in Blu and then order off the MDR menu tip the staff generously as it is a good walk to the MDR kitchen to get the food and the staff member has been taken away from helping in Blu.  

[terrydtx]

3 minutes ago, keesar said:

I sure hope those cruisers that dine in Blu and then order off the MDR menu tip the staff generously as it is a good walk to the MDR kitchen to get the food and the staff member has been taken away from helping in Blu.  

Blu is not that far from the MDR kitchens like Luminae is on the E Class ships.

[Bgwest]

Thanks to everyone for all of the responses.
I should’ve been a little more specific. We are on the Equinox for the cruise we are considering upgrading on. 

Lunch is not a concern for us. If we do lunch at all it’s usually the buffet. I appreciate all the lunch comments but they are not germane to our particular interest.

 

And I guess I wasn’t particularly clear at all on the MDR part. We are not at all interested in having the MDR menu brought to us in Blu, but rather leaving Blu on a night or two and moving to the MDR. In response to the many comments about not having table assignment in the MDR if we move, we currently have Anytime Dining (Select, I believe it’s called) in the MDR. Part of my question wonders if we upgrade to Aqua/Blu, will we be able to maintain the anytime dining that is part of our current reservation in the MDR should we decide to go there.

 

[gold1953]

1 hour ago, Bgwest said:

Thanks to everyone for all of the responses.
I should’ve been a little more specific. We are on the Equinox for the cruise we are considering upgrading on. 

Lunch is not a concern for us. If we do lunch at all it’s usually the buffet. I appreciate all the lunch comments but they are not germane to our particular interest.

 

And I guess I wasn’t particularly clear at all on the MDR part. We are not at all interested in having the MDR menu brought to us in Blu, but rather leaving Blu on a night or two and moving to the MDR. In response to the many comments about not having table assignment in the MDR if we move, we currently have Anytime Dining (Select, I believe it’s called) in the MDR. Part of my question wonders if we upgrade to Aqua/Blu, will we be able to maintain the anytime dining that is part of our current reservation in the MDR should we decide to go there.

 

you will be assigned to Blu and lose the mdr select

[cruisestitch]

you do not maintain the anytime dining bookings you may have made pre cruise.

 

Blu is all open seating. No reservations are needed or taken unless you have an an usual situation like a group that all wants adjacent tables.

 

If you book Aqua, you may see on the app a place where you can make nightly dinner reservations. This is an artefact  of a previous booking system and is not relevant to Blu.  Even if you fill all of them out and you think you have made nightly reservation requests, you will find when you go to Blu that you have not.

 

Now on a night or two, that you might want to go eat in the MDR, simply tell the blue maître d’ and they will fix it for you. Remember that you don’t have a dining assignment in the MDR, Neither in the select dining nor in an assigned table in fixed seating. They will find you a table if you ask for one.  It might be in select, or it might be in the part of the dining room given over to fix dining. It will depend on how the crowds are going where it might be easier to seat you.

 

They try to keep things balanced out so that those who have signed up for select dining don’t have too long a wait. Adding extra people in from Blu might not be feasible on a given night so they would have you sit in the fixed dining area that night.

 

it’s all a balancing act and keep in mind that they can’t move people from the MDR to Blu to take your spot there.  

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 18, 2022 by cruisestitch

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, Bgwest said:

Thanks to everyone for all of the responses.
I should’ve been a little more specific. We are on the Equinox for the cruise we are considering upgrading on. 

Lunch is not a concern for us. If we do lunch at all it’s usually the buffet. I appreciate all the lunch comments but they are not germane to our particular interest.

 

And I guess I wasn’t particularly clear at all on the MDR part. We are not at all interested in having the MDR menu brought to us in Blu, but rather leaving Blu on a night or two and moving to the MDR. In response to the many comments about not having table assignment in the MDR if we move, we currently have Anytime Dining (Select, I believe it’s called) in the MDR. Part of my question wonders if we upgrade to Aqua/Blu, will we be able to maintain the anytime dining that is part of our current reservation in the MDR should we decide to go there.

 

On the Equinox in Blu you can order any night from the MDR menu. The service and ambience in Blu is much better than the MDR, so IMO you should dine in Blu and the nights you want the MDR entrees just order them in Blu. We did that one night in Luminae last year on the Equinox but it was a mistake as the MDR entrees we ordered were terrible. My wife ordered the Veal Oscar and it was nothing like any veal Oscar she had ever seen. I can not remember what I ordered but it was disappointing.  I did order the escargot from the MDR menu a couple of nights and they were delicious.

Edited June 18, 2022 by terrydtx

[Redtravel]

Many people love aqua class. We tried Aqua once on Summit.  It wasn’t for us.  Blu is a nice venue. It’s quieter than MDR. However, we prefer the MDR menu.  Luckily on M ships you can order from either menu.  Blu and MDR share a kitchen. On S and E ships, you can only order from Blu menu. We also didn’t like our cabin location on deck 11 aft.  Vibration, small uncovered veranda, and noise from movie deck above were unwelcome. Also often walked through buffet to access pool deck.  If you like aqua, book on deck 9.  I prefer concierge class on M ships for the larger cabin space. Also, like the embarkation lunch in MDR.  

[Miaminice]

7 hours ago, Bgwest said:

Thanks to everyone for all of the responses.
I should’ve been a little more specific. We are on the Equinox for the cruise we are considering upgrading on. 

Lunch is not a concern for us. If we do lunch at all it’s usually the buffet. I appreciate all the lunch comments but they are not germane to our particular interest.

 

And I guess I wasn’t particularly clear at all on the MDR part. We are not at all interested in having the MDR menu brought to us in Blu, but rather leaving Blu on a night or two and moving to the MDR. In response to the many comments about not having table assignment in the MDR if we move, we currently have Anytime Dining (Select, I believe it’s called) in the MDR. Part of my question wonders if we upgrade to Aqua/Blu, will we be able to maintain the anytime dining that is part of our current reservation in the MDR should we decide to go there.

 

To be precise: when you are in AQ you can also go to the MDR at any time. A reservation or assigned table is not required. You do not lose that when booking or upgrading to AQ.

[Fly and Sail]

Also keep in mind that BLU closes breakfast at 9:30am which is the most outrageous thing on holiday.

[Veinless]

4 hours ago, Fly and Sail said:

Also keep in mind that BLU closes breakfast at 9:30am which is the most outrageous thing on holiday.

Wow that’s crazy. I can’t imagine eating so late.

[WestLakeGirl]

10 hours ago, Miaminice said:

To be precise: when you are in AQ you can also go to the MDR at any time. A reservation or assigned table is not required. You do not lose that when booking or upgrading to AQ.

Maybe, maybe not. When the ships are sailing full it isn’t unusual to have Select dining overfull. People who have chosen select might find that if they show up without a reservation there could be a half an hour or even an hour wait. They give you a beeper and ask you to go to wait in a lounge.

 

If you are an Aqua class passenger, and you don’t make arrangements to dine at the main dining room, you could have an unpleasant surprise.

 

If this ship isn’t full, they may be able to accommodate you with no prior arrangement but you have a place in Blu so in essence you are asking for a second dining arrangement which may or may not be easy to get.