Aqua class vs concierge vs verandah

[Cruisenjimmar]

Hi to all, we are in Aqua spa on this cruise. New to Celebrity but this is # 20 for us. Hope to meet some CC members on board or prior to cruise date. Jim & Marlene are grounded in Tarpon Springs Florida. Hope to get responses. Ciao for now.

[Texed]

Hi to all, we are in Aqua spa on this cruise. New to Celebrity but this is # 20 for us. Hope to meet some CC members on board or prior to cruise date. Jim & Marlene are grounded in Tarpon Springs Florida. Hope to get responses. Ciao for now.

 

Here is the link to your roll call:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1839176

[NOSaints1]

What about the Summit would you get Aqua or CC?

 

 

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[Chitown12562]

I guess we are part of the few who would only get AQ. We love all of the perks and won't take less. We have great restaurants in our area. We also don't mind eating chilli dogs. But when is comes to food we preference Blu over almost all of the specialty restaurants. Lawn Club being the only one we'd book, as we haven't tried it yet and I love to cook/grill.

 

The shower, the Persian Gardens, Blu, love it all! We may get a suite one day, but right now it's AQ or nothing.

Edited August 11, 2014 by Chitown12562

[Sloop-JohnB]

Mr Sloop & I are part of a distinct group of Celebrity Pax that LOVE Concierge Class and seek it out.

 

It all started with our first Celebrity Cruise on the Splstice in 2012, when we were looking for a romantic getaway and we were attracted to the extra perks & amenities that Concierge offered... And it was at an excellent price just $ 50 more per person ($ 100 more for the cabin) vs taking a Veranda Cabin.

 

The $ 100 difference was a real bargain, when you consider that one of the Celebrity Bon Voyage Pkgs that had some of the same elements (Bubbly, Fruit Basket & Flowers) was more than $ 100... And there were additional little things that also came with Concierge Class at the time (Priority Check-In - Priority Tendering - Plush Bathrobes - Extra Toiletries - Pillow Menu - Expanded Room Service Menu - Afternoon Hors d'ouvres - Binoculars & Umbrella - Balcony Footstools -Departure Day Lounge Area etc)

 

We were sold !!

 

Our second cruise on the Summit In 2013 we also went Concierge Class and loved it too.

 

We have two upcoming cruises on the books now...

 

Constellation in December and the Summit again in Spring 2015. For both we looked at Concierge Class... But recently upgraded on the Constellation to Aqua Spa as there was a Sale (Aqua actually costing less than Concierge)

 

Figured at the price, this was a good time to try Aqua Class... Will certainly report back here on CC after our cruise.

 

Would we sail in a regular Veranda Stateroom... YES

 

It would all come down to the Cruise Itinerary & Price. In my opinion doing so on an S-Class ship would be a tad easier than on an M-Class Ship for some obvious reasons:

 

On S-Class all the non-suite cabins are the same size and pretty much identical in layout... And the C2 "hump" and "bump" cabins on the angles that have the bigger balconies and our favourites have "cousins" in Veranda Class that can be got much cheaper.

 

On M-Class it would be a tad more difficult as our beloved Aft Sunset C1s don't have a Veranda equivalent... And a standard Veranda Cabin has few less room in it (square footage) than a Concierge or Aqua Class Cabin.

 

We have come to realize tho if we are to cruise for example in Europe in 2016 that a regular Veranda Class Stateroom is perhaps the way to go to keep costs down (a European Vacation being a real splurge for us as we will no doubt be away for about a month)

 

Will we miss some of the amenities... Perhaps. But many of them can be easily replaced on our own... Such as bringing our own Bubbly aboard, and picking up a late afternoon plate of snacks in the Buffet in lieu of the delivered Hors d'ouvres.

 

For us the perks with Concierge Class are nice... And we like them when the price is right. But for us the real perk to Concierge, Aqua and above seem to be found mostly in the location of the cabins. It is sort of like real estate in that regard... It all comes down to location, location, location and what trade offs one is ultimately willing to make in regards to amenities and price.

 

Hope this helps someone,

 

Cheers!

[Big_G]

I would book AQ to get it out of your system. We did on our first Reflection and enjoyed it very much. After that we wanted to try the specialty restaurants so we haven't booked it since.

[dkjretired]

What about the Summit would you get Aqua or CC?

 

 

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If the price was about the same, I would definitely do Aqua since you get all the CC benefits plus the Aqua benefits which includes Blu. Blu is your own restaurant and is like eating in a Specialty restaurant every night.

 

When determining what you want, you need to look at what you do on the cruise. Wife and I are generally only in our cabin to sleep and dress so I start with an inside cabin. Anything else is just gravy. We are in AQ on our cruise in two weeks as I got a good price plus the perks from TA and Celebrity.

 

Concierge cabins are great on Summit if you spend a lot of time in your cabin and get a good size cabin with a decent size balcony. If a veranda is important, excellent choice since the perks are really highly overated in Concierge. For example, there is a Concierge to help you but he/she is available to everyone on the ship. Expanded breakfast menu is not so expanded anymore, the rest of the cabins get everything you get except maybe a smoothy. I found the hors d'oerves in the afternoon to be barely edible. The priority check in only means a separate line, which sometimes is longer than the regular cabin lines. Unless the price is good Concierge is a lot of hype.

[HokiePoq]

If the price was about the same, I would definitely do Aqua since you get all the CC benefits plus the Aqua benefits which includes Blu. Blu is your own restaurant and is like eating in a Specialty restaurant every night.

 

When determining what you want, you need to look at what you do on the cruise. Wife and I are generally only in our cabin to sleep and dress so I start with an inside cabin. Anything else is just gravy. We are in AQ on our cruise in two weeks as I got a good price plus the perks from TA and Celebrity.

 

Concierge cabins are great on Summit if you spend a lot of time in your cabin and get a good size cabin with a decent size balcony. If a veranda is important, excellent choice since the perks are really highly overated in Concierge. For example, there is a Concierge to help you but he/she is available to everyone on the ship. Expanded breakfast menu is not so expanded anymore, the rest of the cabins get everything you get except maybe a smoothy. I found the hors d'oerves in the afternoon to be barely edible. The priority check in only means a separate line, which sometimes is longer than the regular cabin lines. Unless the price is good Concierge is a lot of hype.

 

 

Your outlook is pretty much ours. We are trying CC and AQ on our two upcoming cruises as the cost differential was not that great at the time of booking. Other times we've taken inside or OV as the cost was so much higher for balconies and up. On our summer cruise for 2015 on HAL, it was double for a balcony and with 23 hour daylight, an inside might be the best choice anyway.

[Kathamo]

I have sailed twice with Celebrity - the first time in Concierge (on the Century) and the second time in a plain veranda (on an S-class ship). I have also considered Aqua but after reading many of these discussions, my conclusion is that I am happy to stick with veranda cabins.

 

For me, I like the atmosphere of the MDR, the excitement of meeting new friends at a large table, the sense of occasion on formal nights, the rapport developed with the same waiter night after night, and the variety of menu choices. I also happen to like the food, even though I am urban foodie with very high standards. Conversely, I have heard that that the selection at Blu can feel limited (even if slightly more refined), people keep to themselves, and because it's a smaller venue, it's more subdued; my kind husband would probably get very bored if he didn't have anyone else to talk to night after night. They are two different experiences that may attract different folks. All things considered, I personally wouldn't want to give up the MDR experience, and can go to a specialty restaurant if I need a break. Others may have different priorities, especially if maximum spa time is important to you.

 

P.S. I also did not miss most of the perks of a Concierge cabin when I switched to veranda - the room and service were still lovely. The flowers were nice in Concierge, but they also took up valuable counter space. The only thing I missed was the expanded room service menu in Concierge class, since I like to have a fairly big breakfast on the veranda most mornings.