What would you pay to dine in Blu if it were a specialty restaurant?

[Cruise a holic]

On 12/5/2023 at 8:03 AM, NMTraveller said:

How far away are the two tops in Blu?  Are they spaced as well as the specialty restaurants?  The two tops in the MDR are way too close.

 

 

The money you save if you book a well located balcony cabin, you can use to book specialty restaurants.  I found some dishes in Tuscan, especially the pasta good to very good.  Found blu with two top tables in a close row- not at all private.  Save your money.  Get a better located cabin.

[NMTraveller]

1 hour ago, Cruise a holic said:

The money you save if you book a well located balcony cabin, you can use to book specialty restaurants.  I found some dishes in Tuscan, especially the pasta good to very good.  Found blu with two top tables in a close row- not at all private.  Save your money.  Get a better located cabin.

I prefer specialty over Blu by a longshot.  I prefer Blu over mdr and ovc by a long shot.

 

For the cruise I am on I am dining in specialty 70%.  The rest in Blu and room service.  Room service is a must for early morning excursions.

 

 

Edited December 31, 2023 by NMTraveller

[tomcruiser1234]

I would pay $10 per day per cruise just to be able to sit and enjoy the sit down breakfast in Blu.  I love to read for an hour and get served coffee in the morning. 

[OnTheJourney]

On 12/31/2023 at 5:43 AM, IDL said:

Celebrity seems very focused on testing price elasticity on everything with the guiding principle of charging what ever the market will bear. 

Euphemistic for saying that they'll make as much money as they can wherever they can! 

[OnTheJourney]

On 12/31/2023 at 8:30 AM, tomcruiser1234 said:

I would pay $10 per day per cruise just to be able to sit and enjoy the sit down breakfast in Blu.  I love to read for an hour and get served coffee in the morning. 

I'd say that sounds very worth the $10. Probably one of the things we like best about it (though not sure we'll do it again - I'd like to try suite level) is the more relaxing and less crowded venue for breakfast and dinner. That said, we still sometimes went to the buffet if we wanted something additional after either meal or else just for more variety. Blu is nice but limited menu options. We weren't as impressed overall the last time, and the whole thing I got into in a previous thread about them opening earlier than the stated time for dinner didn't sit well with me. If I have to wait in a long line for Blu might as well go to the dining room especially if I have a reserved table for MTD.

[IDL]

24 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

I'd say that sounds very worth the $10. Probably one of the things we like best about it (though not sure we'll do it again - I'd like to try suite level) is the more relaxing and less crowded venue for breakfast and dinner. That said, we still sometimes went to the buffet if we wanted something additional after either meal or else just for more variety. Blu is nice but limited menu options. We weren't as impressed overall the last time, and the whole thing I got into in a previous thread about them opening earlier than the stated time for dinner didn't sit well with me. If I have to wait in a long line for Blu might as well go to the dining room especially if I have a reserved table for MTD.

Just to frame the issue; checked the price of Aqua vs. veranda on an 8 day Beyond cruise and it is $75 per day, per cabin.  I, as many others, consider the only tangible benefit of Aqua class to be dining at Blu and $75 a day is certainly substantial enough to decide if the food and ambience of a smaller dining room is worth the upcharge.  No right or wrong answer but price creep on everything related to cruising is the reality. 

[hcat]

On 12/31/2023 at 8:30 AM, tomcruiser1234 said:

I would pay $10 per day per cruise just to be able to sit and enjoy the sit down breakfast in Blu.  I love to read for an hour and get served coffee in the morning. 

you might pay that but to enjoy BLU breakfast you must book AQ Class..hope that never changes!

 

you can sit down  in the mdr  and be served for bkfst..

[Ex-Airbalancer]

I like the breakfast in OVC , atleast you can hot eggs there which is impossible in any seat down dinning 😁

[OnTheJourney]

2 hours ago, IDL said:

t is $75 per day, per cabin.

You said Aqua vs. veranda. I'm confused on what you mean. Aqua class rooms (I think anyway) all have verandas. So you're talking about Aqua compared to regular veranda room. What price are you quoting? Is the $75 for an Aqua (veranda) room or non-Aqua veranda? 

[OnTheJourney]

2 hours ago, IDL said:

I, as many others, consider the only tangible benefit of Aqua class to be dining at Blu

Unless one is really into using the Persian Garden as well, although that's not very expensive for non-Aqua guests to visit. With aqua, I generally only get to the PG once during a cruise anyway, so unless DW and I feel really enamored of continuing to eat in Blu (not sure of that based on the last cruise experience), I might as well just pay once to use PG if I want. First time in Aqua we really liked it alot - they brought nibbles to the room every day, and also really good iced tea. All that went bye-bye after covid, so what really am I paying extra for (besides Blu and PG access)? The other thing is, I'm tired of the smaller room size with Aqua - at least referring to A1 or A2 - if those designations are even appropriate. I don't really book a cruise based on this sort of (perk) stuff anyway, but moreso go by the itinerary and when the cruise best fits our schedule.

 

This is why I really like Viking for what they DON'T try to do. They don't mess around with a tier system, different passenger levels, etc...no "aqua" class, "suite" class, "whatever other" class. There's nothing like the RCL "key". Keeps it simple. You book the room category you want and everyone has access to the specialty restaurants and whatever else is taking place onboard. Wine and beer with lunch or dinner also. No limited access to "diamond" or "concierge" lounges (yes, agreed that you've surely paid for the specialty restaurants - and the drinks - as part of the higher cruise fare). Reserving the entire front of a ship for one class of passengers like X does, for me, is too much like a throwback to the old days of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class passengers that were limited to specific sections of the ship.

Edited January 22 by OnTheJourney

[tomcruiser1234]

6 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

Unless one is really into using the Persian Garden as well, although that's not very expensive for non-Aqua guests to visit. With aqua, I generally only get to the PG once during a cruise, so unless we're really enamored of continuing to eat in Blu (not sure based on the last cruise experience), I might as well just pay once to use PG if I want. First time in Aqua we really liked it - they brought nibbles to the room every day, and also really good iced tea. All that went bye-bye after covid, so what really am I paying extra for (besides Blu and PG access)? 

Well said. We priced a 7 day veranda vs. aqua.   For the $500 more. I’ll take going to a specialty restaurant 3 times and stay in the same size cabin.  Elite/Eliteplus. Can use PG once on a port day. 

[IDL]

28 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

You said Aqua vs. veranda. I'm confused on what you mean. Aqua class rooms (I think anyway) all have verandas. So you're talking about Aqua compared to regular veranda room. What price are you quoting? Is the $75 for an Aqua (veranda) room or non-Aqua veranda? 

Yes the delta/upcharge is $75 per day for an Aqua class cabin vs. a regular veranda cabin.  The size of that price delta is how I decide whether to book Aqua class or not. 

[mtnlvr53]

On 12/11/2023 at 10:09 PM, sandbug2 said:

My sister and I are trying Aqua class for the first time.  She is great, however, at meals we like to meet others and have a different conversation for a bit.  Does Blu have tables where you can join others like the MDR?

Our experience on the Apex is that the tables (2 tops) are relatively close. They frequently set you in the same space every evening/breakfast. The good news is if you like your neighbors you are close enough to have friendly conversation but not so close that you absolutely HAVE to. Because of this they have the same waiter assigned to you every night. So they know what you like to drink and if you like dessert,  I have dietary restrictions (celiac and no shellfish) and they were VERY accommodating: offering to specially prepare food if you order the night before or to bring in food from any other the other dining rooms (not Luminae). If you don't show up they do get a bit concerned: are you okay? Was the food not to your liking, etc. They also said hello and called you by name both in the restaurant or in the halls or other venues. So, if you like that personal service, it might very well be worth the extra that it costs you. 

Oh, I also liked the breakfast on sea days or days where you don't have early excursions. Very relaxing and tasty since it is prepared for you. (And since they started charging for room service it is an added perk)

 

Janet

[Alsmez]

On 12/4/2023 at 4:28 PM, LB_NJ said:

I'm asking because this is my round-about way of trying to figure out what Aqua is worth to us on a M class ship.

 

To us the only real benefit of Aqua would be Blu.  Also, given the location of Aqua cabins on M class ships they would mostly be worth less to us than regular Veranda cabins.

 

On M class ships Tuscan Grill is, for us, the only specialty restaurant we would dine in so a specialty restaurant package doesn't make sense on a cruise over a few days..

 

For comparison purposes Tuscan Grill seems to be about $50 per person plus gratuity.

 

I probably wouldn't sail an M-class ship outside of Aqua or a suite due to the lack of specialty dining options. On an S-class or E-class ship, I might pay $20-25 for Blu if I was bored with the specialties. As others have noted, Blu is really only a step or two above the MDR, but when your options are limited...

[Cruise a holic]

On 1/22/2024 at 3:08 PM, IDL said:

Yes the delta/upcharge is $75 per day for an Aqua class cabin vs. a regular veranda cabin.  The size of that price delta is how I decide whether to book Aqua class or not. 

For $75 per day, you can purchase an unlimited specialty restaurant dining package- have all dinners and lunch at specialty restaurants.  

[LB_NJ]

FYI, I posted this question because I wanted to have an idea how much extra to pay for Aqua over a regular veranda.

 

We went ahead and bid on Aqua in a move up. We got the bid.

 

So far I definitely like Blu better than the MDR.

 

I am still willing to sail Celebrity in a regular cabin but will definitely go to Aqua if the cost difference isn’t too great.

 

I like having 2 bottles of water delivered every day however, for us the only real benefit is Blu.

 

For us the one downside on Constellation is cabin location under such a large overhang.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

35 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

FYI, I posted this question because I wanted to have an idea how much extra to pay for Aqua over a regular veranda.

 

We went ahead and bid on Aqua in a move up. We got the bid.

 

So far I definitely like Blu better than the MDR.

 

 

For us the one downside on Constellation is cabin location under such a large overhang.

Depending on the cruise the overhang can come in handy 😁

[luv4cruises]

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[baypeople]

On 12/5/2023 at 7:55 AM, zitsky said:

Celebrity takes cabins in the worst locations under the pool, calls them Aqua and charges a lot more.

 

But the restaurant?  Who doesn’t want to avoid the buffet or skip the specialty restaurants or at least have a choice?  If I had to eat at the buffet for every meal I would never cruise.

Just came off of Equinox in an Aqua cabin.  Blu was fabulous - food service, personalization.  Balcony chairs have foot stools.  Two bottles of water every day in the cabin.....Will never go back to Concierge or regular veranda!  Also, cabin was midship (1591) under the pool --- never heard a sound!

[D. B.]

Celebrity would have to Pay Me to eat again in Blu.

   The menu was just plane strange, and we ended up most nights ordering off the MDR menu.

   The room was cramped and noisy with a lot of guests well sauced up at the Bar before dinner.

  Now  we just book basic Veranda cabins and spend the saving on specialty dining.