Real Benefits of Aqua or Concierge?

[KazAllen]

Hi All,

Can someone tell me the Real Benefits of upgrading from a normal Verandah Cabin to either Concierge or Aqua - are the cabins or balconies any bigger? Thinking of trying to do this after final payment and closer to the cruise date (March 2017 on Solstice) if the category drops in price. Can this be done for Aussies?

Thanks. :confused:

[cruisestitch]

I can't comment on what Australians can or can't do, but i can tell you that the main benefit of Concierge on an M class ship is that the room is about 10% larger. On an S class ship the rooms are the same size as all the other balcony rooms.

 

Most will tell you that the main benefit of Aqua is that Blu is then your dining room. There is also the access to the Persian Gardens. The room size is the same as other verandah rooms.

[Kentucky816]

We have stayed Aqua cabins and for us it is a must for us because of Blu. It is so nice to go down for breakfast in the morning with a set table usually by the window and order off the menu, instead of dealing with buffet. Especially if you like made to order omelets. Dinner is wonderful too.

[Pushka]

It is really hard for us Aussies to do very much with our bookings once made. Generally up to 90 days prior you can cancel and receive deposit back. But the operators I have had wont let us upgrade the original booking. They certainly wont transfer any original booking deals (eg 123, OBC etc) over. Your best bet if you want to change closer to the date is to check the last date before deposit refund cuts out and cancel and rebook. Celebrity does refund within the week.

 

We are in Aqua in a few weeks time. Looking forward to trying out Blu and the fancier showers. I understand the room size is the same for CC and Aqua as for all regular cabins.

Edited May 28, 2015 by Pushka

[QuakerBoy]

Have done all three cabin classes and for my money, I will be very happy with a standard veranda cabin in a decent location unless the price difference to upgrade is very minimal. Concierge "perks" are a joke, and, unlike many, we found Blu to be just OK.

[ClaudiaB]

The extra points helped us get to the elite status which gave us perks which to us unretired people is very helpful and valuable. If we couldn't stay in touch with at least email we wouldn't be able to cruise.

 

We generally pick suites nowadays but at the beginning of our cruising days we had veranda and concierge and aqua cabins and picked the latter two for the location on the ship PLUS the points.

 

We really can be happy in anything except the only thing we want at a minimum is a balcony.

[kenevenpar]

For us:

 

Concierge has virtually no valued perks. We only book if the 123 type perks make it a better deal than a Verandah.

 

Aqua holds no appeal for us. The price and perks (123) would have to be very good. Others love this class because of BLU.

 

In most cases we would select a regular verandah, unless the net price of CC, AQ or a suite make it too good an offer to pass up.

[NLH Arizona]

For me booking a Concierge cabin is all about location.

[gergles]

The only real tangible perk of CC (on an S-Class) worth anything IMO is that you get footrests on the balcony :D

 

You also get some extra Captain's Club points.

Edited May 28, 2015 by gergles

[bigbenboys]

For me booking a Concierge cabin is all about location.

 

For us it also about location. We are doing more Aqua than Concierge. Dining when you want in Blu and not having any formal nights.

 

We have used the binoculars and umbrella. The sparkiing wine is nice for the 1st evening without having a captains club event.

[dkjretired]

As others have said, on the M class ships, cabins and locations can have more room and be in better locations. Perks are not anything to write home about. S class no real difference. Aqua class is a benefit due to Blu which is like eating in a Specialty every night or at the very least eating in Celebrity MDR's 20 years ago.

 

It should also be pointed out that sometimes Celebrity does promotions where benefits kick in at Concierge or Aqua as opposed to having a veranda cabin. If you can get a CC or AQ cab in for 150more pp which might include a drink package, that is a benefit.

 

If it was me, based on the prices I would give AQ a try.

[Laurab23]

We are doing Aqua next week because of the deal we got. For $100 more pp we got all the perks of 1 2 3,upgrading from regular to cc then our TA upgraded us to Blu for free plus she gave us another $100 obc and upgraded us to the higher aqua level,deck 11 aft at no extra charge. So Aqua was an obvious choice for us.

 

Laura

[luvtravel]

For us it also about location. We are doing more Aqua than Concierge. Dining when you want in Blu and not having any formal nights.

 

We have used the binoculars and umbrella. The sparkiing wine is nice for the 1st evening without having a captains club event.

 

Wondered if I could ask for clarification or confirmation of no formal nights if dining in

Blu. This is our first Celebrity Cruise...have done several Azamara which we like for a number of reasons...but no formal nights is a big one. We are booked in Aqua and this may be the best perk for us. Noticed that all our cruises on Royal Caribbean did not help us with points on Celebrity, although Azamara did. Thanks!

[wallie5446]

Blu is Resort casual all the time, tho many do don the suit and cocktail dress.

[Kiwi Kid]

If it's the same as NZ, then the simple answer is no. But what do you lose if you cancel now and book with a USA agent? Have done so successfully on 5 occasions without issue. Upcoming cruise in July I have changed about 6 times as better offers became available. We are in Concierge Class, on a 1,2,3 deal, great position for less than we were originally paying on an Opaque fare.

 

Good luck

[sunshine nana]

We booked Concierge to get an aft balcony on M class. Location was the reason. We have 123 and will use our substantial OBC for specialty restaurants if we don't like the MDR. Last cruise on Silly, our traditional MDR was great for food and service. We were in an S1 and could have eaten in Blu, but each night we checked both menus and chose the MDR.

[2theship]

Once we tried Aqua Class, we stuck with it because we love Blu. The food is prepared to order and special requests are not a problem. The breakfasts there are great. I also love the Persian Gardens. It's not a great on the M-Class ships but it's also not as crowded.

 

We sailed in a Concierge cabin once when there was a price drop and we could switch from our balcony cabin and save money. It wasn't until later that we learned about the extra Captain's Club credit which made that cruise be the one to put us over into Elite.

 

The 123 All Inclusive deals X was offering earlier this year made AQ too good a deal to pass up.

[plan09]

We are doing Aqua next week because of the deal we got. For $100 more pp we got all the perks of 1 2 3,upgrading from regular to cc then our TA upgraded us to Blu for free plus she gave us another $100 obc and upgraded us to the higher aqua level,deck 11 aft at no extra charge. So Aqua was an obvious choice for us.

 

Laura

 

What a great endorsement of your TA. Hope you enjoyed your cruise.Please send me the contact.

medtrip2015@gmail.com

[Trilee]

It is really hard for us Aussies to do very much with our bookings once made. Generally up to 90 days prior you can cancel and receive deposit back. But the operators I have had wont let us upgrade the original booking. They certainly wont transfer any original booking deals (eg 123, OBC etc) over. Your best bet if you want to change closer to the date is to check the last date before deposit refund cuts out and cancel and rebook. Celebrity does refund within the week.

 

We are in Aqua in a few weeks time. Looking forward to trying out Blu and the fancier showers. I understand the room size is the same for CC and Aqua as for all regular cabins.

 

We booked an Aqua room (starboard, above Persian Garden) later this year, mainly for Blu and the Persian Garden, so I hope you'll do a review after your cruise. Have a wonderful time!

[Trilee]

That would be the PORT side ... :-)

[Pushka]

Thankyou - will post a report and pix.

[Cruizen Susan]

Reasons I book Aqua:

 

1. Blu

2. Extra Captain's Club points

3. Location (Concierge too!)

4. The latest reason and best reason for the past couple years: Qualifies us for the 1 2 3 promo, giving tons of SBC, paid gratutities, and the classic beverage package. In most cases, this promo results in a value that far exceeds a regular verandah cabin, if we did not receive the 1 2 3 perks.

[luvtravel]

Blu is Resort casual all the time, tho many do don the suit and cocktail dress.

 

Thanks for the clarification on dress code...great to have that option. As we haven't been on Celebrity before, this will be our first time and in Aqua Class...can you describe what Persian Gardens is ....a swimming pool? Thanks so much!☺️

[Iamcruzin]

I don't see any advantage to Concierge Class other than it being more cost effective due to the all inclusive promotion. There are plenty of verandas in good locations. I would love to try Blu and it was only $50 pp more to book Aqua which is a good deal considering the specialty restaurants are $50 pp for one night. However I'm not willing to take a chance of being in a bad location which is the majority of the rooms in Aqua. We don't like to be too high up or too far forward or Aft. Our next cruise is to Bermuda and it can get rough on some of the sea days. Also I would never book anything under the pool deck. I have been reading that they are showing movies on the upper deck close to the Aqua rooms on the Summit. What genius came up with this idea?:rolleyes:

[Cruizen Susan]

I don't see any advantage to Concierge Class other than it being more cost effective due to the all inclusive promotion. There are plenty of verandas in good locations. I would love to try Blu and it was only $50 pp more to book Aqua which is a good deal considering the specialty restaurants are $50 pp for one night. However I'm not willing to take a chance of being in a bad location which is the majority of the rooms in Aqua. We don't like to be too high up or too far forward or Aft. Our next cruise is to Bermuda and it can get rough on some of the sea days. Also I would never book anything under the pool deck. I have been reading that they are showing movies on the upper deck close to the Aqua rooms on the Summit. What genius came up with this idea?:rolleyes:

 

I do my homework well and book early. That way, I get Aqua PLUS location location location. My next cruise is 1605, midship, extra large balcony. Check it out :)