flames9

Traditional dining on RCCL led us to Celebrity and BLU (Aqua) On our 2009 Alaska cruise on RCCL we made the mistake of ordering in the 1st night! 2nd night we go for supper, at our assigned table and time....Not exactly sure what happened if the Maitre D gave away our seats or those people at the table just invited 2 new people....so no spots for us...ushered off to another table.....Maitre D then assigned us a new table fro 3rd night.....get to that table on the 3rd night....We sit down..get weird looks....guess those people at that table had invited their new friends......they were not pleased at all, made us look like idiots, and maitre D just stood there and did nothing, even though he had been the 1 that assigned us that table! Good times,lol

We have found that on cruises with a lot of Europeans and South Americans that early dining has a lot of empty tables. Many of them wish to eat late.

 

I am used to getting up at 6am and bed by 11pm, so I like te eat about 6:30pm or no later than 7.

 

lol...having lived in Nicaragua and now Ecuador...yep they enjoy eating later!! Goto a restaurant here at 1800, and its near empty,lol Works great for us

We are sailing with the same 2 couples we sat with in the MDR last year, and this will be all 6 of us, first time in an Aqua cabin and Blu.

 

Christine what you described sounds like many other threads I have read with comments about Blu, being a cramped, and noisy room. Yes it is a concern. We all have bought the 3 night specialty pkg. None of us has ever done select either. So one way or the other, this will be an exciting and different sailing for us!

EW

 

BLU on the Silhouette in 2013 was very quiet....relaxing....Great service

We saw plenty of negative posts here on CC before our first Celebrity cruise in May 2013 (The Med) on Silhouette....1 would read the dress police were everywhere..slow service....on and on...lol We had a great time....was it 100% perfect, no, but sure beats being at work!! :D

come on over....http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2041194&page=63 post #1246 has whats open now...I'm sure more will start up!!

The key is finding a good TA. We love ours..She used to actually own the company at 1 time, sold it, and stayed on as an agent. I can email her and she replies back right away..even on her days off. On our AQUA class room we got the 1.2.3. go promo, same price that Celebrity was offering..plus $500 OBC back from her. I have found better deals by a bit from other TAs..but I trust her and we like her personal touch. When dealing with a TA, ensure the $$$ (credit card) goes directly to the cruise line--if not run!!

http://metronews.ca/news/halifax/1392717/video-introducing-the-doughnairnut-as-halifax-eatery-develops-one-of-a-kind-dish/

 

This might interest you. Got to love donairs!!!!

 

I just made Donairs at home a few weeks back....Lived at Venus Pizza across from the base.....They came out pretty good..not exact..but good enough to make again!!

Include all the Donairs one can eat? Miss my Navy days on course in Halifax,lol

Simple rule when dealing with TAs----the $$$$ goes DIRECTLY to the cruise ship....should never be deposited into the TA company bank at all.....right to the cruise ship..if not..run

We prefer the A2 back aft on the S class ships...of course have only done it once,lol..in cabin 1648......have 1650 on our British Isles cruise this august. 1648 was super quiet.

Thank you for all of your replies. We are not too bothered by amenities but it is nice to know what to expect.

 

flames9, thank you for your spreadsheet, we are on Eclipse in 1521 so I shall be interested to see if we experience any noise.

 

Looking forward to trying a different cruise line and we intend to enjoy ourselves regardless of what we find. A cruise always beats being at home doing chores.

 

I have nothing to do with that spreadsheet,lol I think it Mysticks 1 started it..and then another added the spreadsheet...whomever it was has been doing a great job...but sure is not me,lol

I think the only big differences between the 2 are..1) upgraded shower in Aqua--has multiple jets 2) the restaurant BLU...which we enjoy..it is anytime seating, plenty of tables for 2...and u can order some items from the MDR that may not be on the BLU menu such as Caesar salad..shrimp cocktail!!

 

And pay attention to where ur cabin is..can be a bit noisy in some areas https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AtHczoNeooladEEyVmQwWmJhaGItbFZPUFNudTFZcEE#gid=0

[quote name='nordski']Sadly, I guess, we must therefore fit under your "some folks" category.[/QUOTE]

lol....We loved BLU..only reason we sail Celebrity..of course have only sailed it once in 2013 on the Silhouette, but the food and service was very good! Good food is very subjective, doesnt really matter if ur a food expert or not..what one thinks is great..may be lacking to others.

if it is from a Travel agent....very good chance it can go back to you on ur credit card!!

Maybe you guys will believe this, http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6359.

 

1 part of that newsbrief states "Cruise Critic members also are reporting that Celebrity Cruises, which is owned by the same parent company as Royal Caribbean International, will raise its recommended gratuity guidelines."

 

Maybe CC member should start reporting free Premium drink packages with every cabin!!

Some of the Aqua cabins on the S class ships can be a bit nosiey, ie under the gym or Pool.....So ensure u taker a look at the main Celebrity page here on CC and take a look at the S cabin Spreadsheet sticky!

 

BLU is the reason why we sail Aqua class! No reservations required and the dress is always smart casual...even on formal nights, but feel free to dress up,many do, many don't

 

One can order soem items that are not on the BLU menu such as Cesar salad, shrimp cocktail (and others)

 

I don't think the Aqua cabins themselves are anything special..the shower with multiple nozzle heads is nice!!

 

BLU is the selling point for us...many tables for 2, great service and food.

We enjoyed BLU so much, didn't really care to try go anywhere else...but did try Quisine and we were not impressed...Presentation was cool, but it was soo greasy, sort of ruined the rest of the night as we felt a bit ill!

We are not big cruisers. Did Alaska on RCCL.....Med on Celebrity. Not sure 1 is much classier than the other. Lot of it is just a marketing ploy. I know if you book Aqua class, like we did...your assigned dining is BLU....which is smart casual every day--even on formal nights...Yes some do put on a suit/tux..many don't.....Totally up to u! As well, the specialty restaurants remain smart casual! I'm just a common RN,lol

On our last cruise, the head of the Park West operation was introduced as a ship's officer...(I almost choked).

 

If you are considering buying "art" from Park West, do your due diligence....start by just googling "park west gallery" and add the word reputation or review, etc....and check out the artists they talk up BEFORE YOU BUY. Believe me, even at 75 cents a minute, using the ship's internet to research before you buy will be well worth the cost.

 

That is fine..most cruise ships officers are nothing that special...still not sure why people get excited over them??

Pretty much fraud! You may say that is drastic, but they advertised something and now not delivering it! And as many on here have stated, they changed their cabins because of what they were told. I would be pretty ticked off. Start organizing a big twitter campaign.....Many of these companies could care less if you complain on a forum or emailing them....take it public, and they change their tune. Modern luxury--yep..can't offer a workable website and can't even manage how 1 dining room is going to be operated. Great leadership there!

Ur best to find your roll call---which is a forum for ur sailing date, thus find others that may be interested--or already started their own....and many start up private tours, u can join...best of luck..http://www.cruisecritic.com/rollcalls/?cruise_line_id=9

I just used this quote on another thread about forgetting or remembering a certain experience on a Celebrity cruise from ten to twenty years ago.

Do you have pictures or memorabilia from a Celebrity cruise in the 90's or just a picture of an event that will help us remember the old days... (Please, this is not meant to be another attack on Celebrity or "Modern Luxury" but a stroll down memory lane).

 

Here is a picture of the harpist who played in Murano..[/quote

 

On the " Modern Luxury refit thread " I mentioned that it would be nice to have a harpist playing instead of being greeted by a rap DJ and noisy drum banger upon boarding

 

I was trashed as being nursing material or worse yet in the Elysian fields...

 

to me this was modern luxury... elegant, classy accomplished harpists.....thanks for the memories!

 

I'm a RN....what exactly is "nursing material?" Must be a high standard, as I know many failed out from my program,lol

Hi we have the classic beverage pkg. Can we get bottled water to bring off the ship? Or do I need to bring my own empty water bottles? If I bring my own refillable bottles can I get the soda into them? I hate to walk around the ship with an open glass as I am sure to spill it! any thoughts on this?

 

We always grabbed a bottle to take off the ship with us on the Med cruise..and we had the Classic pkg!! Quite often they had a table set up by the departure area

Celebrity calls themselves Modern Luxury..but the same webpage issues have been around since I first started looking at Celebrity in 2012. And a fair # of inconsistencies between the ships that cause people frustration. of course those frustrations are only known by CC members,lol 1st world problems I realize and most are not a concern to me, as we only care about Blu and the ports.

So heres another AQ blu question. In my reservation I can book a time for dinner each night. Am I booking in Blu or the MDR? It seems like it is in the MDR as there is no mention of Blu there?

 

its a typical Celebrity software limitation! It appears ur in the MDR...but in reality, as an AQUA class customer, ur in BLU....You would think after a few yrs they would fix this..but nope!! Just play the game and select a time...