Advice from seasoned Celebrity cruisers

[lorib927]

I have 14 cruises under my belt but none of them Celebrity. I am planning one for 2014. My husband and myself are dedicated "foodies" and clean eaters. The Blu menus look awesome, but since this will be our first Celebrity cruise, should we get the regular balcony cabin at less $ and try the MDR since this is our first Celebrity, or just go ahead and upgrade to what we know sounds great to us. I'm just assuming once Blu, always Blu, once you experience it you will want it, at least from reviews I have read here. Any thoughts from loyal Celebrities?:o?

[Andy]

I have 14 cruises under my belt but none of them Celebrity. I am planning one for 2014. My husband and myself are dedicated "foodies" and clean eaters. The Blu menus look awesome, but since this will be our first Celebrity cruise, should we get the regular balcony cabin at less $ and try the MDR since this is our first Celebrity, or just go ahead and upgrade to what we know sounds great to us. I'm just assuming once Blu, always Blu, once you experience it you will want it, at least from reviews I have read here. Any thoughts from loyal Celebrities?:o?

 

Hi Lorib927,

 

Welcome to the Celebrity Forum. As you enjoy "clean cuisine", then I suspect that BLU is exactly what you are looking for. And yes, once you try it, you will probably always want it :). I'd also like to mention that the MDR cuisine is excellent too - so you won't go wrong either way. I've only dined in BLU once, but it was a terrific meal.

 

I'm sure other members will share their insights. I hope this helps. Enjoy your Cruise !

[ghstudio]

The food in Blu is quite good...on the solstice class ships, the kitchen is right there so food is served hot. The dining room is much smaller with lower ceilings so the ambient noise is very much quieter than the MDR. Aqua/Blu makes the cruise almost a small ship experience to us. We have many celebrity cruises under our belts but once we tried blu, we are hooked...as much for the quiet, the flexibility, the personal greeting as for the food.

[Grumpy100]

Never tried Blue and don't think the difference in price is worth the Aqua or Concierge class rather than a normal balcony. We think the food in the MDR is awesome so don't really care to pay the extra. To each their own. We have been on three celebrity so I am sure there are alot of more experienced cruisers out there than me.

[David Owl]

Food and service in Aqua are very good and the quieter atmosphere are very welcome, but one of the other benefits that we experienced was that as long as we arrived by 6.30 we were virtually guaranteed a table by the window. This was especially good when sailing through the fjords. Should also mention the relaxation room if you want to really relax. Just booked our second Aqua cruise and can't imagine anything else now.

[Gordo]

Great question as we have been very curious about this as well.

[CathyCruises]

To be fair and balanced ;), while we enjoyed the food in Blu, we prefer having a large table and making new friends, so we have only booked AQ once. The MDR food is adequate and suits our primary purpose of a fun evening meal. We eat alone together every night, so it is fun for us to eat with a large group and get to know people, some of whom we have stayed friends with for years. Just a different perspective. We feel that the standard balcony cabins more than meet our needs/wants/desires!

[ClaudiaB]

We love Blu and eat in there or the specialty restaurants. We book S1s normally (we like the space and the corner aft location on the S class ships), but if we didn't we'd book Aqua for Blu. Definitely worth it to us.

 

We LOVE sitting at a big table and having a great time with new tablemates, but with so many specialty restaurants on the ships we've ended up alone at a large table in the MDR on more than one occasion. We love the specialty restaurants a lot and go to all of them at least once, but it does make the camaraderie (sp?) at one's MDR table a little different than in past years.

 

We love the food there and the service is much more personalized and special - and you can go in any time you want to. They're really good about customizing things and letting you order your favorites. One of the waiters in Blu on our last transatlantic cruise on Eclipse discovered I love raspberries and every meal I had a little bowl of them, and even at breakfast he brought them to me with some granola and yogurt. Service and attention to detail is much easier to do when they're only serving a couple hundred (at most).

 

Sorry you have to wait so long to sail Celebrity.

[lorib927]

Thank you everyone for your replies. I have 2 cruises already booked with Carnival to officially get to Platinum but this Celebrity cruise will be our 8th anniversary and (I HOPE) a surprise for my sweet husband. One of the things we love most about cruising is meeting people from other places and learning about different cultures, so I don't want to miss that, but I would love the BLU experience as well.We will figure it out. Thanks much!

[richsea]

To be fair and balanced ;), while we enjoyed the food in Blu, we prefer having a large table and making new friends, so we have only booked AQ once. The MDR food is adequate and suits our primary purpose of a fun evening meal. We eat alone together every night, so it is fun for us to eat with a large group and get to know people, some of whom we have stayed friends with for years. Just a different perspective. We feel that the standard balcony cabins more than meet our needs/wants/desires!

 

I totally agree! I love my wife to death, but we both love eating with a large group when we don't sail with family, so a standard cabin or concierge class is perfect for us. I am also not a fan of the deck below the pool, with that overhang, where many of the AQ rooms are located.

[LPast50]

I did enjoy breakfast in BLU but did not enjoy dinner in BLU. I found out I preferred the food in the MDR.:eek:

[Kevnzworld]

I have a slightly different take than the previous replies. I am not a fan of the seating arrangements in Blu, unless you get a window seat or eat with a group of friends. The tables for two are situated uncomfortably close. I also consider myself a foodie, and I found the food in Blu good, not great.

I've sailed twice in AQ, and I found myself eating in specialty restaurants at least half the time on a two week cruise.

I ate in the MDR a few times and I thought it was good. This upcoming cruise in October I opted for a regular veranda/MDR for the first time. I am traveling alone, and will save approximately $ 800. ( single supplement 200% ).

I look forward to the experience of sitting at larger tables and meeting other people.

[SFCAcruiser]

Although the two of us enjoyed Blu, we would not be willing to spend what we consider to be "too much" extra for AQ. How much is "too much"? Everyone has their own definition of this, but on one cruise I am looking at later this year, AQ is about $600 per person more than the price of a decent regular balcony. For me, that is way too much, but others are paying the price since AQ is not empty. ;)

[Grumpy100]

Although the two of us enjoyed Blu, we would not be willing to spend what we consider to be "too much" extra for AQ. How much is "too much"? Everyone has their own definition of this, but on one cruise I am looking at later this year, AQ is about $600 per person more than the price of a decent regular balcony. For me, that is way too much, but others are paying the price since AQ is not empty. ;)

 

I agree and think it is usually about $400 - $600 difference per person for the Aqua class. You could almost get another inside room for that depending on which cruise you are on.

Maybe if I win the lottery then that will be the case but not until then...

[stipmom]

Alot would depend on the price differential. I have over 20 Celebrity cruises under my belt but my last one was the first time in Blu. My next cruise is in a regular balcony because I have heard the menus have changed and want to try them out.

 

One of the pros of Blu is that it is considered a specialty restaurant so you do not have to dress for formal night

[New Hampshire]

I'm a Celebrity veteran and have never sailed Aqua. We love the MDR. It's improved greatly with the most recent menu changes. We also eat in the Specialty restaurants three nights on each cruise. I would try Aqua in the future if the pricing is right, which I have seen from time to time.

[Jenna109]

By booking in Aqua and having a dining room which is not open to others is this the same class system as on Cunard ships? I had not realised that Celebrity had dining rooms which were only open to those who booked a certain level of cabin.:eek:

[C 2 C]

My husband and myself are dedicated "foodies" and clean eaters. The Blu menus look awesome, but ?

 

My advice would be to let price be your guide.

We were on Solstice when Blu was first introduced and we were not overwhelmed by some of the the food choices. If you are true foodies I would suggest getting a balcony and sample the different specialty restaurants on board. AQ on some cruises are a very expensive upgrade and some locations are not desirable.

 

Look at the price differential between a good balcony cabin and the specialty dining packages available as opposed to committing yourself to Blu.

However on an upcoming cruise the price for upgrading to Blu was an exceptional opportunity to live healthy... :rolleyes: :D

[dkjretired]

By booking in Aqua and having a dining room which is not open to others is this the same class system as on Cunard ships? I had not realised that Celebrity had dining rooms which were only open to those who booked a certain level of cabin.:eek:

 

No, Blu was created for AQ cabins to have a healthy eating location in keeping with the overall philosophy of the AQ cabins. The only others who can eat there are suites on a space available basis but it is not a class system as on Cunard. If it was, suites would be able to eat there first and then AQ but many suite customers have been turned away from Blu.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Never tried Blue and don't think the difference in price is worth the Aqua or Concierge class rather than a normal balcony. We think the food in the MDR is awesome so don't really care to pay the extra. To each their own. We have been on three celebrity so I am sure there are alot of more experienced cruisers out there than me.

I agree as well ....

[BrendaJ]

I agree with the poster who mentioned that dining in Blu was a bit like a small ship experience. After having cruised several times with Azamara, we thought we'd be spoiled and maybe not enjoy Celebrity as much as we used to, but we were Aqua on our last cruise and really loved it. The food was excellent and service was very personal; we got to know everyone working in the venue.

 

We also usually enjoy sitting at large tables and meeting others, and we found that the tables for two that are fairly close together in Blu made it possible to meet other people, several of whom we ended up arranging to dine with on subsequent nights. We seldom ended up having dinner alone, as you get to see the same people at the same time every night, and get to know them over the course of a week.

 

We found that Blu was so great for just arriving whenever you like and being seated immediately. And although I've always enjoyed the breakfast buffets on Celebrity, having a sit-down breakfast every day in Blu, with the great yogurt parfaits, etc. was a real treat. DH was still able to order his bacon and sausages, while I was able to eat a little healthier. Oh who am I kidding? I'd order the yogurt parfait and then help him eat his bacon. :)

[TeaBag]

If you do not want to pay extra for AQ, you could book a verandah and try the MDR for dinner. For breakfast and lunch, since you like to "eat clean" you could dine at the Aqua Spa cafe. This is free for all passengers and the food is healthy and great. You can get cooked items too but you have to order and sometimes there is a little bit of a wait. Should you find the MDR not to your liking, then there are the specialty restaurants which cost extra. We really like the MDR food, although it has declined a bit compared to the 90's. We haven't eaten in Blu yet, but this is soon to change. HTH.

[BobandBobbie]

Hello...

We have not sailed Celebrity before and we need some advise... We're looking at the repositioning cruise Miami to Rome on April 20, 2013.

One quote is for Deck 6, another for Deck 9.

One TA tells us it's Category 2B (room6232) while the other is 1A (room 9264.

The difference is nearly $500.

Any ideas, suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Bob and Bobbie

[ghstudio]

The rooms are identical sizes, the balcony on the 9th deck is slightly larger (good) and perhaps a little less private (? good) because you are at an angle. Being on a higher deck doesn't matter and they are both located midship.

 

Let your wallet be your guide. yes the larger balcony is worth something if you are going to use it...how much is up to you. Given the choice and since we don't use the balcony all that much, we would pick 6232. Many would pick 9264.

[BobandBobbie]

Hello...

We have not sailed Celebrity before and we need some advise... We're looking at the repositioning cruise Miami to Rome on April 20, 2013.

One quote is for Deck 6, another for Deck 9.

One TA tells us it's Category 2B (room6232) while the other is 1A (room 9264.

The difference is nearly $500.

Any ideas, suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Bob and Bobbie