Aquaclass: Blu vs dining room

[jackdiamond]

John, on our April Equinox cruise my wife suffered some lumbar problems; hence, I ate most breakfasts and dinners alone. However, I did not suffer from want of companionship.

[blythe]

We just completed the April 11 cruise on equinox, an 11 night Western Carib cruise. We were in AquaClass and Blu for the first time and generally, enjoyed it very much. Blu was kind of a mixed experience for us. Food is such a subjective topic that all I can offer is my own personal opinion. We were a little disappointed with the limited selections but always ended up with plenty to eat. My husband did not really care for any of the fish dishes that he had, and we both like and prepare fish often at home. Desserts were hit or miss and I usually ended up just getting ice cream. It's probably just the luck of the draw. I enjoyed some of the items that I ordered and did not enjoy some. That's just a matter of personal taste.

Our main disappointment was with the service. It was chaotic and very inconsistent. At some meals we had good service and other times it was disorganized and lacking. The primary problem we encountered was after the main course, when we had ordered coffee and dessert, there was usually a major "lag time" that occurred. For example: one evening, one server brought the cups for coffee, the waiter brought the dessert and by the time someone else brought the coffee we had already finished dessert. One evening no one ever brought a refill and we finally left. I cannot really fault any one server as they were all working like mad to serve the passengers. I never ever saw anyone standing around or slacking off. They really do try their best to provide excellent service. I think it is more of a "systems" issue. When they are quite busy the system has weak spots. This is probably just a manpower issue.

Interestingly, the very best meal we had in Blu was on the last night of the cruise. Our server was a female assistant waiter who served us entirely by herself (except for the wine, of course) and service couldn't have been better. She did everything, was efficient, very charming, made excellent recommendations and was just perfect.

Anyway, we enjoyed AquaClass, and Blu was usually OK but it did fall a little short of our expectations. I know this is long-winded but it really illustrates what we all know: that different cruisers can have such different experiences and different interpretations of those experiences. Whatever you do, I wish you a wonderful cruise!

[dkjretired]

Hi Wanda! Nice to see a friendly, familiar face :D

Were you and John select dining or did you have assigned time in Blu? We booked AQ for our Panama Canal trip next April and I am still a little confused about the times. Did you guys choose a table for two?

 

No need to be confused, in Blu you go whenever you want for dinner. You will receive a letter explaining the anytime dining when you arrive in your cabin. First night they ask you to go at the assigned early or late dining so they can get an idea of what they are dealing with. That is not a hard and fast rule as you can still go when you want. Also, absolutly no reason to choose Select dining in Blu and thus you can save yourself from paying gratuities ahead of the cruise unless you want to...

[dkjretired]

You can eat in Blu and enjoy the atmosphere and still order items from the MDR. Best of both worlds right?

 

Latest reports back on this board are that on some ships they are not doing that anymore...

[Cruisini]

No need to be confused, in Blu you go whenever you want for dinner. You will receive a letter explaining the anytime dining when you arrive in your cabin. First night they ask you to go at the assigned early or late dining so they can get an idea of what they are dealing with. That is not a hard and fast rule as you can still go when you want. Also, absolutly no reason to choose Select dining in Blu and thus you can save yourself from paying gratuities ahead of the cruise unless you want to...

 

Thanks Don!

[spammie]

Hi Pam. We LOVED Aqua Class and the best part was eating in Blu. On your reservation you have to select early or late seating (not Select) but you go any time you want between 6pm and 9:30pm. The first night they left a card in our cabin telling us to report to Blu for dinner at 7:30pm. After the first night we went whenever we wanted. Wanda

[Eileenrae]

For those of you who have done Aquaclass, which food do you like better? Blu or main dining room.

 

 

Hands down.....BLU!!!

[Daisy Ray Cruiser]

Latest reports back on this board are that on some ships they are not doing that anymore...

 

I sailed on the April 10 Solstice Eastern Caribbean cruise.

While I never ordered a complete meal from the MDR, I did get a few substitutions. There was no problem there.

[John73]

John, on our April Equinox cruise my wife suffered some lumbar problems; hence, I ate most breakfasts and dinners alone. However, I did not suffer from want of companionship.

 

There was definitely the ability to talk to other people in Blu. But what I missed was the consistency of table mates and being able to have ongoing conversations each night. I really enjoyed my July '10 Solstice cruise where most of my MDR tablemates were in the MDR each night and we were able to build past the questions like "Is this your first cruse" etc and instead talk more in depth each night. By the mid part of that cruise we (tablemates) were going to shows together and hanging out together outside of just our MDR dining time. That was what I missed in Blu. All but one night I had a different set of people around me for dinner. I did enjoy the one couple who sat next to me on two nights though, especially since one of them was a fellow Texas Aggie :)

[tiggerman101]

Anyone know what they do with a solo cruiser in AQ? I am on the Eclipse for a solo trip and choose the Aqua Class because it was a great price and I liked the little extras. Then I found out about Blu which sounds nice, but I keep wondering about the seating. I am perfectly fine with dining alone at times, but I wouldn't mind being at a larger table with others as well. Does anyone know how they handle this? Can I also show up at the MDR and be seated at a large table? Thanks for any insight into this.

[Adammara]

When we were on Eclipse last year, there was a gentleman on his own. The tables are that close that you can chat to your neighbours if you want to, and we were sat next to him a couple of times and always chatted. We have only had one or two couples in Blu with it soon became clear they did not want to talk. The gentleman seemed to be chatting to his neighbours most nights, and eventually joined a larger table.

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise, to us, Aqua and Blu are a fantastic combination, hence our 2 trips in Aqua already, and 5 more booked! We go on Tuesday and are really looking forward to dining in Blu again.

 

Richard

[UofMGoBlue]

If you chose Aqua Class, do you have to eat at Blu every night for dinner or is the main dining room still an option?

[chive]

You can choose the MDR as your only option, with a traditional early or late seating. You can choose Blu and also use Select dining if you want to. You will still be able to dine in Blu for breakfast.

[UofMGoBlue]

You can choose the MDR as your only option, with a traditional early or late seating. You can choose Blu and also use Select dining if you want to. You will still be able to dine in Blu for breakfast.

 

If you choose MDR (traditional seating), can you treat Blu as a specialty restaurant and dine there occassionally (assuming you are in an Aqua Class cabin)?

[dylanvillan]

Did I read somewhere you can eat in Blu if you are in a suite?

 

Thanks.

[2theship]

Did I read somewhere you can eat in Blu if you are in a suite?

 

Thanks.

 

I believe it's an option if space is available (I've heard it's often not). Suite passengers pay an $5.00 per person charge to dine in Blu.

[italyforme]

We enjoyed Blu for the breakfasts and ate there every morning; the service was great and the menu was nice but it was only available until 9:00 am which is early for a sea day (we had three sea days).

 

Each evening that we weren't in a specialty restaurant, we compared the menus for Blu vs the MDR and always selected the MDR, so many more choices. We also wanted to dine with fellow passengers who were not AQ class and, so, we couldn't invite them to join us at Blu (the one night we were on our own, we dined in the MDR alone for the menu). Because of this and because we purchased a package of the three specialty restaurants (LOVED Silk Harvest), we never had dinner at Blu.

 

Really enjoyed the privacy of Blu, but probably wouldn't book AQ again just for the restaurant.

[dkjretired]

If you choose MDR (traditional seating), can you treat Blu as a specialty restaurant and dine there occassionally (assuming you are in an Aqua Class cabin)?

 

You can but the question has to be asked why would you pay so much extra money (assuming you did) and not partake of the best and most worthwhile benefit of an AQ cabin...

[UofMGoBlue]

You can but the question has to be asked why would you pay so much extra money (assuming you did) and not partake of the best and most worthwhile benefit of an AQ cabin...

 

I travel solo and like the amenities of the Aqua Class, but don't want to dine alone every night.

[poohbear3]

If in aqua class and want to dine in mdr, say with other guests who aren't in aqua class, do you have to prebook?

[bigbenboys]

You can eat in Blu and enjoy the atmosphere and still order items from the MDR. Best of both worlds right?

 

We have not booked Aqua Class. We book C1 or C2 normally. I've seen some people say you can get food from the MDR in Blu, others have said no. We travel with 4 to 10 people. Not all would like Blu. For me if I can get my Escargots and Crème Brûlée every night Blu just would not work for me. Richard

[kitkat9438]

We have not booked Aqua Class. We book C1 or C2 normally. I've seen some people say you can get food from the MDR in Blu, others have said no. We travel with 4 to 10 people. Not all would like Blu. For me if I can get my Escargots and Crème Brûlée every night Blu just would not work for me. Richard

 

I think you will find that more people were able to get their special requests accomodated at Blu than not. We were able to request creme brulee, caesar's salad and anything else we wanted and they were happy to get it for us. You can also dine with your friends in the MDR if they are not in Aqua. Just go see the head maitr'd on embarkation and get assigned to their table. My friend even requested something from Blu in the MDR and our waiter got it for her. Shhh don't tell anyone. :D

[helpthejuggler]

Just supposing Blu were a Speciality restaurant and open to everyone willing to pay what charge would you pay? If it is the main AQ perk we could then decide if the extra cost is good value.

 

Would you pay for Breakfast?

[itsandreas]

Did I read somewhere you can eat in Blu if you are in a suite?

 

Thanks.

 

We checked this before booking our back to back later this year. According to the Celebrity website at the time, suite guests could dine free for breakfast and with $5 gratuities/person for dinner.

 

Of course, once I found that on the website, we both read it, convinced ourselves, booked, and promptly couldn't find the website link again!

:o

[John73]

Anyone know what they do with a solo cruiser in AQ? I am on the Eclipse for a solo trip and choose the Aqua Class because it was a great price and I liked the little extras. Then I found out about Blu which sounds nice, but I keep wondering about the seating. I am perfectly fine with dining alone at times, but I wouldn't mind being at a larger table with others as well. Does anyone know how they handle this? Can I also show up at the MDR and be seated at a large table? Thanks for any insight into this.

 

You'll likely be seated at a table for 1. At least that was my experience as a solo traveler on the Solstice in November. I guess its possible to be seated at a larger table but I'd bet the odds of that are smaller than in the MDR.