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IS AQUA CLASS AND BLU WORTH IT? and want to try aqua class and blu


cheeseheads4ever
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Aqua gets you 5 captn club points per night (same as concierge). I've done it one time and I liked it. We enjoyed Blu for dinner, for breakfast meh... Never used the Persian Gardens since it was on an M-class ship. The persian gardens are like a dark cave on those ships. I hear the rooms are larger but honestly I didn't notice any difference except for the fancy shower. I would certainly do it again if the price was not that much more than a regular Veranda cabin. I don't think it's worth more than $20 or $30 a night over a standard Veranda Cabin. If I can get it for that I will book it, otherwise I will take the standard cabin and use the savings towards specialty dining.

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Loved Blu restaurant. That’s the only reason I go Aqua class. We had it on the Infinity, got a deal same rate as concierge class, never used the Persian garden and ask for tea not to be delivered to the room.. do enjoy the afternoon snacks. This time we are going in a Sky Suite on the Reflection. Looking forward to Luminae. Rate is much more, but celebrating my DH 75th BD.

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We sail in AQ most of the time because we enjoy Blu for breakfast & dinner. The smaller dining room, less noise, more personal service and IMHO better food makes it worth it the extra cost.

 

Our 1st cruise on X was in Aqua & we were hooked. We have done 18 cruises 3 in verandas (MDR) 2 in suites (Luminae) and 13 in AQ. Don’t know that we would do the MDR again, not because of the food- it’s good. We just prefer the smaller venue and more personal feel. If the price for AQ was too much we would book a veranda and purchase a speciality dining package with the savings.

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For me, Aqua is the only way to go because of Blu. Great service, never had a complaint about the food, and tables for 2. Without Blu, we would have to use the specialty restaurants which would cost more than the extra cabin cost.

 

However, if you like to sit with different people at dinner I have to say there are not very many large tables available. Depends on what you are looking for.

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Yes worth it if a few hundred more than a regular veranda. Otherwise buy a specialty dining package.

 

Absolutely! We enjoyed Blu on Equinox - including breakfast - but if the Aqua price is comparable with standard balcony plus a dining package, for us the latter is a no brainer. Blu is nice, but not that nice!

 

Stuart

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We got a price drop upgrade to Aqua last year and we did love dining in Blu. When I went to book our next cruise I wanted to book Aqua but the price difference was over $2,000. That was going from a 1A to an A2. Sorry, not doing that just for a nicer restaurant. It all comes down to the cost of the upgrade for me.

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We did the Infinity Panama Canal cruise in April. We had to wait every night at least a half hour or more to dine in Blu, it was always crowded. To me the food wasn't that much better than the Main Dining room. Breakfast got boring after a few days.

 

Karen

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Having cruised Aqua a lot on Celebrity, my feeling is that it is only "worth it" if the price is not much more than a regular veranda. Looking at prices these days, the price difference is way more than it would be worth to me. I am tired of the Blu menu and would much rather use the price difference money on specialty restaurant dining packages. But you get all different opinions on what "worth it" means. To each his own.

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Keep in mind with Blu you need no reservations no planning ahead like all the Speciality Restaurants. The AQ staterooms are a little nicer and on the M class ships much larger than a standard balcony. For us, Blu alone is worth an extra $100.00 a night. On an average 10 night cruise, we may wait twice for 15-20 minutes to be seated.

Edited by southernbreezes
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BLU and aqua are not worth nit if they it is more than the $30 per person to use speciality.

 

My experience was that breakfast was rubbish, only went once, took ages food not good and presented even worse.

 

Best two evening meals that I had were off the MDR menu and never appeared on the BLU menu. We were on M class which meant that we could always eat off MDR menu they share the same kitchens, I understand this is not true on S class.

 

The tables were quite close together in BLU and I understand that it is even more difficult in S class to tell which table is really yours.

 

That magnificent shower in Aqua sprayed water under the poorly fitting, dated shower onto the bathroom floor and it took two bath towels to mop up the mess the one time I figured out how the jets worked.

 

On M class the persian gardens, which I really looked forward to using, were a waste of time. I understand they are better on S class.

 

If I cruised again with Celebrity, not likely, I would go for a less balcony cabin and use the difference in money to spend some nights in speciality restaurants, that was a fantastic experience.

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Here's another idea: for a short "sampler" cruise, why not book a Sky Suite and use your perks to alternate between Luminae and Blu? [Just remember that in Luminae you can order freely between the Luminae and MDR menus]. That way you'll also have a chance to sample Michael's Club in its latest incarnation.

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Yes worth it if a few hundred more than a regular veranda. Otherwise buy a specialty dining package.

 

 

 

Exactly my opinion.

We have enjoyed Aqua the last two cruises. However,when we cut out that we did not really use the Persian garden and Blu was not as good the last cruise we decided to save the extra dollars that Aqua would have cost and added a nine day specialty dining package instead to our next cruise in September.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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Exactly my opinion.

We have enjoyed Aqua the last two cruises. However,when we cut out that we did not really use the Persian garden and Blu was not as good the last cruise we decided to save the extra dollars that Aqua would have cost and added a nine day specialty dining package instead to our next cruise in September.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

That is a good alternative for us on the Reflection or Silhouette. But on ships with silk Harvest (yuck) that leaves just Tuscan & Murano and for a 10+ nights that doesn’t work for us.

 

We had a bad Blu cruise in fall 2016 & seriously thought about changing our bookings in AQ. Ultimately didn’t & Blu on the Reflection TA was wonderful. So a less than expected experience in any dining venue on one. Ruined could be entirely different on another cruise.

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  • 9 months later...

Has anyone stayed in Cabin 1625? And did you like the location for Blu and Persian gardens. I am a first time cruiser and am concerned about noise, location and like the idea of an overhang on the balcony to shade the sun as I live in the Sunshine State.

Edited by dougflrn
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Has anyone stayed in Cabin 1625? And did you like the location for Blu and Persian gardens. I am a first time cruiser and am concerned about noise, location and like the idea of an overhang on the balcony to shade the sun as I live in the Sunshine State.

 

 

1625 is quiet and close to the elevators. Persian Gardens is one deck up. Blu is on deck 5 aft.

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If the price is right a four day cruise in Aqua would be the ideal way to sample Blu.

 

So much depends on the skill of the chefs on board the ship and how they match up with your taste. The food on a recent Equinox Cruise was outstanding in every venue from the buffet to the MDR to Murano and Tuscan Grille. That was not the case on our May cruise on the Summit. I definitely recommend Aqua just so you can see for yourself and get some idea whether you would want to repeat in the future

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I have done MDR, Luminae and Blu. We love Luminae and Blu. Aqua class is now our minimum stateroom booking. The service in Blu is unsurpassed. If Aqua is too expensive on a cruise, we just do not book that cruise. Nothing wrong with MDR and we enjoyed MDR but after being spoilt by Blu, there is no going back.

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