Aqua vs Balcony - Alaska on Infinity

[hopeless holiday booker]

I know people ask this a lot but I'm hoping you're not fed up with answering. On our recent cruise we booked an Aqua Class A1 1140 for next summer. It came with the full benefits obc/premium drinks/free internet. We have never booked a Aqua Class before but the room is something special - at the back and bang in the middle. My question is - would we be wise to take a balcony, saving roughly £500/$784 and use that money for trips in alaska. Money is always an issue but in this case I don't want to cut of my nose to spite my face (if you know what that means!). thanks in advance.

[bigbenboys]

I would stay where you are. I was just on the Summit on Deck 11. We were in 1114. We liked being on deck 11. I know the aft cabins have a larger balconies. You might hear some sounds from the aft bar if you out on your deck. But the weather is colder in Alaska. Many people love 1140. I liked good access to the food and bar one deck down. There are aft stairs down to the aft outdoor deck on 10. Not many people ever go up to deck 11 Aft.

 

The other question is will you still get the full benefits obc/premium drinks/free internet? As I'm thinking your from the UK? The free internet will work great for you two. Checking email and posting to Facebook. Some people have even done face time with iphones. The premium drink package give you more beer options that UK residents might like. Blue Moon• Red Stripe• Sam Adams• Dos Equis• Guinness Stout• Newcastle Ale• Stella Artois• Sierra Nevada•

 

Here is a link to the Classic and Premium packages.

https://secure.celebritycruises.com/celebrity/media/celebrity/shared_assets/pdf/Classic-Premium-Bev-Pckgs.pdf

[jelayne]

I would stick with the aft Aqua cabin. We did Alaska last year in an aft cabin & the views are spectacular. A cup of coffee on the balcony and the views of both sides & aft from your balcony - only way to go IMHO.

[Cruise Raider]

Since you got such a great cabin, I think I would also opt for Aqua Class. I just love Blu -- and you will definitely want to take advantage of getting the chill out of your bones in the Persian Gardens after a day out viewing the glacier.

However, if your AQ cabin was down on deck 9, I would save the money and use it for the specialty restaurants and spa entrance.

[alcpa1]

There are two cruises where there is no better cabin than 1140. One is the Panama Canal and the other is Alaska. I wouldn't trade either of those two experiences for anything. We love Aqua and Blu and all the trappings but a deck 9 Aqua cabin just doesn't give you the benefits of the Hubbard Glacier that you will experience from 1140.

I don't know your itinerary but if you go to Icy Straits head to your balcony for the breathtaking sail away through the narrows.

I encourage you to keep your cabin and defray some of the excursion expenses by booking tours with your Roll Call friends. That's the best of both worlds.

Have a wonderful cruise!

[greydog]

Just off Summit Deck-9 Aqua. For Alaska, where we had many rainy days last May, the overhang for Deck-9 AQ will shelter you. Our balcony in May was little benefit due to cool breezy drizzly weather. You may have some noise issues through ceiling in some Deck-9 locations however. HAPPY CRUISING

[ClaudiaB]

Keep the cabin. We love aft views best and quite often stay in the corner aft S1 suites. No better place for sail-in and sail-away. We've had the center aft location before too.

 

Bring your layers (you can use a Space Bag to suck out the air and conserve luggage space) including some gloves and something for your ears, even if just for that day out in the glacier/fjord.

 

We've done two Alaska cruises on Infinity and they are memorable. Next time we're sailing one-way and then renting a car for a couple weeks and heading into the interior. No crowded bus cruise tours for us!

[hopeless holiday booker]

Thank you all. I didn't expect the response that I got! I'm going to keep my cabin and our benefits, try Blu and enjoy the views.

[rockdoctor]

We were in C1-9162 and loved it. Noticed no noise from the Oceanview Bar, wake views and the sight of Grand Pacific Glacier as we sailed out of GB were amazing.

[Mynki]

 

The other question is will you still get the full benefits obc/premium drinks/free internet? As I'm thinking your from the UK? The free internet will work great for you two. Checking email and posting to Facebook. Some people have even done face time with iphones. The premium drink package give you more beer options that UK residents might like. Blue Moon• Red Stripe• Sam Adams• Dos Equis• Guinness Stout• Newcastle Ale• Stella Artois• Sierra Nevada•

 

 

This made me chuckle somewhat...

 

Have you any idea how many beers we brew in the UK? :D

 

Here, Stella Artois is considered very poor quality. Guinness and Newcastle Brown are not really seen as premium beers, nor is Red Stripe. Red stripe, Sam Adams, Dos Equis and Sierra Nevada along with all of the others mentioned are sold in our supermarkets.

 

Funnily enough, the supermarkets here in the UK probably have around three times as many beers stocked than any of the supermarkets I've ever visited in the US. Often featuring true 'premium' beers being fortunate enough to be able to purchase a very large range of beers from Belgium and Germany as well as UK traditional real ales.

 

UK customers are also able to obtain all four perks to. ;)

[vivi9909]

We stayed in 1140 and 1141 for our two previous cruises on the Summit. We agree with all the previous comments encouraging you to keep 1140, especially for an Alaska cruise.

 

As mentioned, Blu is also a very valuable benefit.

 

Moreover, if you plan additional cruises on Celebrity and are aiming to reach a higher Captain's Club level, you will obtain more points in Aqua than in a standard veranda.

[rnrcruzin]

We will be in 1140 for our Panama Canal trip in a few weeks. We'll try not to leave a mess.

[midwestchick]

We were in 1140 on our Bermuda cruise in June and loved it. Sometimes we could hear the music from the bar, which we enjoyed..otherwise, noise was not a problem. Deck 11 is very quiet, especially at that end of the ship. The only real problem is the way the water leaks out of the bottom of the shower...just use a towel or bath mat to collect it so you don't slip on the wet floor.

You will need to pack a 24" bungee cord to hold the slider door open or it slams shut. Also pack a basket with a rope so you can drop it down for the bartenders to put your drinks in....lol. ;)

[searoses]

I always jump in on alaska cabin questions.....aft is the way to go.....much of the way we had a 180 degree view that was priceless......it got dark very late at night.....you will not regret keeping your cabin!

[yorkyred]

Are Aqua cabins honestly worth the extra ? I know it's personal choice but an extra £1000 for our cruise next year. Blue and the Persian garden would have to be pretty spectacular for us to concider that price hike. Other than that I can't see where the extra value is coming from.

[Mynki]

It's all subjective. What cruise are you sailing on? I probably wouldn't pay an additional £1000 if it was over 7 nights or less, if it was longer with a lot of sea days I probably would.

[yorkyred]

It's all subjective. What cruise are you sailing on? I probably wouldn't pay an additional £1000 if it was over 7 nights or less, if it was longer with a lot of sea days I probably would.

 

Hi, it's a 14 night Israel and med cruise. I do get that it's subjective and I know people seem to love Blue. Just seems quite a jump in price.

[hopeless holiday booker]

Hi, it's a 14 night Israel and med cruise. I do get that it's subjective and I know people seem to love Blue. Just seems quite a jump in price.

 

£1000 extra from a regular balcony is not worth it in my opinion. That seems a lot extra - double what ours is but I guess mine is £500 for an alaskan week. It does seem to me though that the views for Alaska make it worth it. We haven't been in Aqua before and the extras are not what appeals most although I'm interested to try Blu and I think with the weather I would probably use the persian garden. I'll tell you in a years time weather it''s worth it.

 

RNRCRUZIN - leave a sock under the bed and I'll try and remember to look and see if it's still there!

[granddutchess]

We had an Aqua cabin for our Infinity sailing to Alaska. Hands down the best ever. Love Blu. Worth it all the way.

[Mynki]

Hi, it's a 14 night Israel and med cruise. I do get that it's subjective and I know people seem to love Blue. Just seems quite a jump in price.

 

So you're looking at £35.71 per person per night extra. For that you'll get :-

 

An improved bathroom with better toiletries and shower.

 

Free bottled water and tea.

 

All of the 'fluff' associated with Concierge Class rooms.

 

Access to Blu, quite possibly AQ's biggest benefit. Personally I prefer it over the MDR, especially at breakfast time. I find the food and service better too.

 

Access to the Persian Gardens.

 

An extra 28 Captains Club points each. Remember if you're already a CC member you can pay for an A2 and get an upgrade to an A1 cabin if available. This seems to be worth around £30 to £80 depending on individual sailing. :D

 

So it's upto you to determine if it's worth it or not. :) Having the option to use Blu or the MDR is nice, remember you're not stuck in Blu every day as some people seem to think .

 

How much time you'd spend in the Persian Gardens is also a big factor.

[yorkyred]

So you're looking at £35.71 per person per night extra. For that you'll get :-

 

An improved bathroom with better toiletries and shower.

 

Free bottled water and tea.

 

All of the 'fluff' associated with Concierge Class rooms.

 

Access to Blu, quite possibly AQ's biggest benefit. Personally I prefer it over the MDR, especially at breakfast time. I find the food and service better too.

 

Access to the Persian Gardens.

 

An extra 28 Captains Club points each. Remember if you're already a CC member you can pay for an A2 and get an upgrade to an A1 cabin if available. This seems to be worth around £30 to £80 depending on individual sailing. :D

 

So it's upto you to determine if it's worth it or not. :) Having the option to use Blu or the MDR is nice, remember you're not stuck in Blu every day as some people seem to think .

 

How much time you'd spend in the Persian Gardens is also a big factor.

 

Looking at the list only Blue and the Persian gardens would have any value to us. We would usually only book a low cat balcony, we have a drinks package anyway, not bothered about the fluff or toiletries or captain club points( I've not even signed up at this point).

So I guess it's just a case of is Blue and the Persian Gardens worth £70 a day.

Thanks for the input.

[Mynki]

Captains Club is worth joining just for the one category upgrade (upto Aquaclass) alone, so I would sign up if you think you'll be sailing with Celebrity again.

 

If you've booked through a US travel agent and the prices come down you might be able to switch from a regular to an AQ balcony for less than the cost currently if you get a bit of luck. Without the loss of your deposit too.

 

Alternatively the cost of an AQ room may decrease and you can rebook as long as it's before final payment day.

 

No guarantees either way though.

[yorkyred]

Captains Club is worth joining just for the one category upgrade (upto Aquaclass) alone, so I would sign up if you think you'll be sailing with Celebrity again.

 

If you've booked through a US travel agent and the prices come down you might be able to switch from a regular to an AQ balcony for less than the cost currently if you get a bit of luck. Without the loss of your deposit too.

 

Alternatively the cost of an AQ room may decrease and you can rebook as long as it's before final payment day.

 

No guarantees either way though.

 

Many thanks, I've signed up just now. We have a Caribbean cruise on Eclipse booked for this November and intend booking the Isreal cruise for next year. Our pre cruise experience with Celebrity has been poor and I started another thread about this. However it seems the actual experience when on board is better and as such I would hope Celebrity will now become our cruise line of choice.

[Mynki]

Many thanks, I've signed up just now. We have a Caribbean cruise on Eclipse booked for this November and intend booking the Isreal cruise for next year. Our pre cruise experience with Celebrity has been poor and I started another thread about this. However it seems the actual experience when on board is better and as such I would hope Celebrity will now become our cruise line of choice.

 

In that case, when you're ready to book the holy land cruise next year, decide what category of stateroom you require and arrange for your travel agent to book one category less, whilst arranging the one category upgrade.

 

Oh and enjoy your free scoop of complimentary gelato. They're rather good! :D

[biker1972]

Sometimes when you book can be just as important as what you book. I have an AQ booked for Alaska in 2016 which was reserved shortly after bookings opened. By booking early the AQ offered the drink package, paid gratuities, $300 obc as well as my elite benefits of 90 minutes of free internet (+90 for my spouse) and a bag of laundry (+ a bag for spouse as well as getting an A1 for the price of an A2. Price was less than a C1 (aft) and included Blu. No brainer!