I have traveled on both the AQUA class on Celebrity (January 2022) and in the YACHT CLUB class (May 2023) - comparing the two in the quickest manner would be best explained in that I have booked the YACHT CLUB cruise again for Mar 2023.
The AQUA CLASS experience is nice and until my tour in May of this year was surely my favorite. Basically, the rooms were enhanced and quite nice in the Aqua Class and the BLU Restaurant was very nice. Surely both the ROOM AND THE RESTAURANT were nice and the experience was one that I would repeat.
The YACHT CLUB experience offers a LOT MORE bang for your buck, so much so that my wife has indicated that we could either REPEAT THE SAME TRIP or find something with this class. The experience is much more inclusive, including priority boarding (you pass the lines), a separate area for Yacht Club guests, a separate bar (Top Sail Lounge) and separate restaurant (which was excellent). Additionally, you get "head of the line service" on most venues, including reserved seating at the evening shows. The Yacht Club Class gives you a lot of options in the dedicated areas. Although our ship / sailing was full, there were no lines, little noise, a relaxed atmosphere where the employees do get to know you.
Basically Aqua Class give you a nicer room than regular Celebrity (rooms are comparable to the Yacht Club Rooms - no major differences either way) and a nice dining venue for breakfast and dinner. The YACHT CLUB CLASS give to a total experience from avoiding lines to two private dining venues (pool and Yacht Club) to tremendous service.
MY PERSONAL OPINION is that there is no doubt that there are dramatically more benefits / perks in the Yacht Club. Compare the pricing and our feeling was/is that for $600-700 more per person (I don't think it is that much) there is NO COMPARISON. There are a lot of good reviews and information on the Yacht Club Class on YouTube - Do your research!
