Aqua class parents, regular class kids

[Avery's mom]

For our upcoming cruise, I'll be bringing my 2 teenage nieces and my 10 year old daughter. All experienced Celebrity cruisers:) We will be in Aqua Class and they will be in the inside directly across the hall from us.

 

We really don't want to be in one cabin - unless it were a suite - which won't work with a group of 5:( And we can't put 3 in Aqua Class, so what makes the most sense is to put them across the hall in an inside cabin.

 

However, my question is, "Since we're assigned to Blu and they are not, can we dine together in Blu or will we all have to go to the MDR to dine together?"

 

I won't want them to eat alone - what's the point of bringing them all if we can't be together? However, I don't want to pay more for AQ if we won't be able to dine in Blu, if they're not allowed.

 

Does anyone have any experience or insight for me?

 

Thank you!

[cruise kitty]

Hi, you have to be booked in an AQ cabin to eat in Blu, (or booked in suite, if space is available) no extra guests allowed.:)

[MicCanberra]

Hi, you have to be booked in an AQ cabin to eat in Blu, (or booked in suite, if space is available) no extra guests allowed.:)

Agree, perhaps a compromise, some nights you eat together in the MDR and others the kids either eat room service, go to the buffet (prior to you eating) and you go to BLU or they manage on their own, thye are teenagers on a ship after all. :D

[Oville]

Can you book a cabin with 2 teens and a 10 year old? Nothing judgmental, just thought someone needed to be 21.

[CaptData]

Can you book a cabin with 2 teens and a 10 year old? Nothing judgmental, just thought someone needed to be 21.

 

Yes, you can as long as they are connected to you or very near you (example across the hall, which is the case here).

[jveevers]

For our upcoming cruise' date=' I'll be bringing my 2 teenage nieces and my 10 year old daughter. All experienced Celebrity cruisers:) We will be in Aqua Class and they will be in the inside directly across the hall from us.

 

We really don't want to be in one cabin - unless it were a suite - which won't work with a group of 5:( And we can't put 3 in Aqua Class, so what makes the most sense is to put them across the hall in an inside cabin.

 

However, my question is, "Since we're assigned to Blu and they are not, can we dine together in Blu or will we all have to go to the MDR to dine together?"

 

I won't want them to eat alone - what's the point of bringing them all if we can't be together? However, I don't want to pay more for AQ if we won't be able to dine in Blu, if they're not allowed.

 

Does anyone have any experience or insight for me?

 

Thank you![/quote']

 

Agree with others that unless in AQ, they cannot dine in Blu.

The idea of also having an Inside "across the hall", may not be possible as all AQ are on deck 11 (S Class, Solstice, Eclipse, Sihouette, Equinox) and there are only 5 Insides on Deck 11, not across the hall but accessed from a separate corridor from the front. The Relection has a few more towards the rear. Millennium Class and Century Class Ships (those that have now been Soltizied and have AQ) may be different.

[Czech Precision Forge]

If for any reason it is not possible to put the under 18's in their own cabin, it is always possible to formally book one adult from the parents in each cabin. Then on board you can sleep as you see fit, so long as the kids in their cabin aren't disruptive and require intervention from the crew or attract complaints from other passengers. However, this may prevent the second adult from dining in Blu on a technicality (which I am sure could be negotiated with the Maitre D in Blu because they are limited in capacity, so minus one child + one adult will make zero difference).

 

 

I would book assuming you have to dine together in MDR and as a couple in Blu. If you have any doubts, from our experience it is not worth booking Aqua if you do not intend to dine regularly in Blu. Blu is different, but we prefer more the"classic" menus of the MDR.

 

On board you can very politely and in a low key way ask about the entire group dining in Blu. Maybe they won't let you do this every night, but if you show up early when Blu is not busy, they may be more likely to accommodate your request.

[schoolinmy3]

If for any reason it is not possible to put the under 18's in their own cabin, it is always possible to formally book one adult from the parents in each cabin. Then on board you can sleep as you see fit, so long as the kids in their cabin aren't disruptive and require intervention from the crew or attract complaints from other passengers.

 

On board you can very politely and in a low key way ask about the entire group dining in Blu. Maybe they won't let you do this every night, but if you show up early when Blu is not busy, they may be more likely to accommodate your request.

 

We are a family of 5 and when our children cruise with us we always book an interior for them and a veranda or suite for us. When my oldest was not yet 21 we had to put an adult's name on each booking. After embarking we would go to the front desk and have the names switched. It was not a problem and we were not on the same decks. (This was on HAL) This way we officially had two adults in one and kids in another after boarding. We couldn't book them this way however. Now it is much simpler as my oldest son will be 22 on our next cruise.

[cruisestitch]

Politely requested or not, the non Aqua guests will not be admitted to Blu. It probably is not worth the money for the adults to book Aqua and then end up in the MDR in order to eat together as a family, IMO

[hcat]

AQ cabins are limited to two per cabin to control numbers and that other person can be a child or teen but no more than 2 per cabin...only those in the AQ cabin can access BLU as other cabin is not a suite...

Op is going to have a dilema..

 

We pay more to be in AQ to have BLU..otherwise AQ not worth it!

 

We dine early & BLU is quite busy at opening time as well as later in the evening...

[Hapytocruise]

Politely requested or not, the non Aqua guests will not be admitted to Blu. It probably is not worth the money for the adults to book Aqua and then end up in the MDR in order to eat together as a family, IMO

 

Agree - if you want to dine together (which I assume you do as that is part of the fun and experience) why bother booking Aqua. If you want a bit of an upgraded (robes, towels, extra cruise point) experience book Concierge and select dining. You dine in the MDR as a group on your own time schedule. Plus lots more inside cabins avail across the hall.

[dkjretired]

Celebrity's policy allows children to stay and be booked in a cabin adjacent to their parents and they consider across the hall to be adjacent. There is an entry in the web site but the search function has been down for about three weeks. As others have said the children would not be allowed to eat in Blu and this is the one thing that Celebrity actually enforces very strictly on their ships. If you booked in a suite with all five of you then you would have access to Blu on a space available basis.

[Jade13]

We are a family of 5 and when our children cruise with us we always book an interior for them and a veranda or suite for us. When my oldest was not yet 21 we had to put an adult's name on each booking. After embarking we would go to the front desk and have the names switched. It was not a problem and we were not on the same decks. (This was on HAL) This way we officially had two adults in one and kids in another after boarding. We couldn't book them this way however. Now it is much simpler as my oldest son will be 22 on our next cruise.

 

The policy is totally different than HAL. On celebrity you can place teenage children in their own cabin as long as it is in the same quadrant as yours. There used to be an age minimum, maybe age 14.

 

To the OP, I would not pay extra for AQU if you will not be dining in BLU.

[subtchr]

I am with the other posters - why book Aqua if you will not want to eat in Blu? We sailed on Solstice with our son and his partner, and we booked Aqua because they did, and we wanted to dine together most nights.

 

We ended up enjoying Blu very much, but if I was traveling with others who did not want to (or, in this case, cannot because of numbers) book Aqua, I would book a regular verandah.

 

Please let us know what you decide!

[Avery's mom]

I am with the other posters - why book Aqua if you will not want to eat in Blu? We sailed on Solstice with our son and his partner, and we booked Aqua because they did, and we wanted to dine together most nights.

 

We ended up enjoying Blu very much, but if I was traveling with others who did not want to (or, in this case, cannot because of numbers) book Aqua, I would book a regular verandah.

 

Please let us know what you decide!

 

It isn't that we don't WANT to dine in Blu. We DO. However, we cannot book all 3 girls in an AQ cabin, thus we can't book our family all together in the same AQ class. We originally wanted a suite - this is on the Summit - however, none of the suites sleep 5. So, in order to have some sort of "nicer experience" as we are celebrating my birthday, I said I would be OK with AQ.

 

So, we all want to dine in Blu, however, due to the number in our party, I don't see how we can make this work. Last time we sailed Celebrity, we had a Royal Suite. While my sister and her family were in an OV, we were all able to enjoy daily tea in our cabin, and have dinner in our suite even though only we had the suite. I didn't realize that dining in Blu would be handled that much differently.

 

The only other way I could see this working is if we booked a Sky Suite for us (with 3) and an AQ for the kids (yes, I know that one of us has to be on paper as the adult in the cabin). However, there aren't any cabins close together (even on the same deck) with those classifications.

 

For a lot more money, we could book a Royal Suite with an adjoining Concierge Class cabin. However, I'm not sure the hubby would go for doubling the budget:(

[cruisestitch]

You have summed up your dilemma exactly. Could you could get another adult to come along and get 3 AQ cabins?

[uktog]

I can see your dilemma and as you are booked already this is quite a downer for your trip.

When you booked, who did you book with, did you make it clear what your expectations were (ie all travelling together, expecting to eat together in Blu etc) If they did not advise you correctly, maybe they need to help make the move to somewhere where you can all be in blu easier on your DHs wallet

[Avery's mom]

You have summed up your dilemma exactly. Could you could get another adult to come along and get 3 AQ cabins?

 

Thanks for the suggestion - but I can't imagine anyone who would fit the bill here.

 

We may change ships/lines to make this work.

[Orator]

Your TA should have informed you of the AQ rules when you discussed booking your cruise. Obviously they didn't. To the best of my knowledge no other line offers a concept like Aqua Class with dining in a Blu type restaurant. I would either change my cabin selection for the Celebrity cruise or look to another line. My choice would be to remain on Celebrity. Perhaps look at an FV Cabin. Royal Caribbean might be a good option for the kids. Many love the Oasis class ships (too large for me) and I would check it out. Probably would cost a bit more. Hope you enjoy your cruise no matter what choice you make.

[4cats4me]

When I booked AQ it was represented to me by my T.A that AQ would be child free due to the nature of two-max per cabin. :confused: I am NOT anti-child

BTW. I just thought it was interesting of my T.A. To volunteer that info

[Orator]

When I booked AQ it was represented to me by my T.A that AQ would be child free due to the nature of two-max per cabin. :confused: I am NOT anti-child

BTW. I just thought it was interesting of my T.A. To volunteer that info

 

Your TA is WRONG! Children are allowed in Blu. Suite passengers may and do bring their children to Blu. I'll be back in Blu in 10 days and fully expect to see children.

[ariawoman]

The booking engine for RCL/Celebrity will NOT let you book any cabin unless 1 passenger in the cabin is 21. They will be able to swap once on board to have the right access to the right cabin, however, since they are across the hall.

 

As for Blu, unfortunately you're out of luck there - since that's only for Aqua and for suite on an as available basis.

 

I agree with the others - let them eat on their own a few times, i'm sure they can handle it - if they are well behaved children generally. :-)

[4cats4me]

Your TA is WRONG! Children are allowed in Blu. Suite passengers may and do bring their children to Blu. I'll be back in Blu in 10 days and fully expect to see children.[/

 

I have no beef with children, really, I don't. :D

[Avery's mom]

On NCL Epic, we stayed in the Haven, where kids are more than welcome. Thus, we had access to our own excellent restaurant, the Epic Club. Thus, I wanted something similar with the Summit. I was hoping to avoid the mega ships for this trip, since we've done Allure and the Epic and this was meant to be a relaxing trip, more than a go-go-go trip. I also wanted to visit Bermuda, as we've not been there yet. However, the other options aren't nearly as appealing (Grandeur, Dawn and Breakaway)

 

My young ladies do appreciate fine dining, etc..and enjoy being pampered. I thought that AQ would be a good fit for all of our interests. I looked at the FV, however, my husband and I do want some privacy:)

 

Considering the AQ is a little less than CC on our sailing, it wouldn't be any more money for AQ, I would just feel that we can't utilize all its features because of our family size.

 

Thanks to all who've responded - I really appreciate it!

[phoenix_dream]

However, this may prevent the second adult from dining in Blu on a technicality (which I am sure could be negotiated with the Maitre D in Blu because they are limited in capacity, so minus one child + one adult will make zero difference).

 

On board you can very politely and in a low key way ask about the entire group dining in Blu. Maybe they won't let you do this every night, but if you show up early when Blu is not busy, they may be more likely to accommodate your request.

Certainly would not hurt to ask, but I agree that this is one area where Celebrity tends to actually be consistent. We recently sailed in a SS (our first!) and our butler tried to get the Maitre D in Blu to allow our traveling companion to eat dinner there with us, space permitting. She was an elderly lady, traveling alone (so paying single supplement), and is an Elite Captains Club member. None of that mattered - it was a rules are rules thing. And we observed that Blu was not particularly busy for that cruise either so if an exception were to be made, it would have been a good time for it. No dice. Not complaining, just saying.