Newbie-Aqua vrs. Concierge vrs. regular balcony

[horatio123]

In final planning stages for a May 2016 Western Med....The above are my options. Your experiences or opinions? Are the rooms of the same quality? This is for the Equinox. I can be on deck 11 mid ship in Aqua, on deck 9 regular balcony midship or in concierge but not midship at all. I know the offering differences for each but still want some subjective feedback to your experiences. Difference between regular balcony and aqua is 1500. Both packages do include premium beverage, gratuities, spending credit and free internet. My cruise is a 10 day with 1 day at sea if that matters.

[tbmrt]

In final planning stages for a May 2016 Western Med....The above are my options. Your experiences or opinions? Are the rooms of the same quality? This is for the Equinox. I can be on deck 11 mid ship in Aqua, on deck 9 regular balcony midship or in concierge but not midship at all. I know the offering differences for each but still want some subjective feedback to your experiences. Difference between regular balcony and aqua is 1500. Both packages do include premium beverage, gratuities, spending credit and free internet. My cruise is a 10 day with 1 day at sea if that matters.

 

The only reason we don't choose Deck 11 is that from what I understand there is no sun due to the big overhang.

[CYNSport]

We usually book Aqua, always mid-ship. We were on the Reflection eastern Med in 2013 in AQ. We like the overhang (not sun lovers) and we love eating in Blu. Also, AQ has a wonderful shower head. We've been on the Equinox 3 times, once in concierge and twice in Aqua. Rooms are otherwise the same between Concierge and Aqua. We booked concierge once, but the only benefit we found useful was getting extra Captain's Club points as we worked towards Elite status.

 

One thing to consider is what is above your stateroom. Some AQ rooms are under areas of the pool that some find noisy. So, for the price difference, I would think about how much you would enjoy the benefits of each category.

 

The regular balcony rooms are the same, I think (we haven't booked one), except for the shower and the other category amenities. $1500 is a big difference, so lots for you to consider.

 

 

 

Have a great trip!

[orangebeach8]

In final planning stages for a May 2016 Western Med....The above are my options. Your experiences or opinions? Are the rooms of the same quality? This is for the Equinox. I can be on deck 11 mid ship in Aqua, on deck 9 regular balcony midship or in concierge but not midship at all. I know the offering differences for each but still want some subjective feedback to your experiences. Difference between regular balcony and aqua is 1500. Both packages do include premium beverage, gratuities, spending credit and free internet. My cruise is a 10 day with 1 day at sea if that matters.

Unless you're getting a great deal on concierge or aqua, I'd opt for just the balcony. We had concierge on our TA (had a great deal) and the only real difference was a gift of a bottle of sparkling wine and footstools on the balcony. I can't imagine paying all that extra money just to eat in a different restaurant and to have a different shower head. Of course, to some people it might be important. The staterooms are the same.

[wallie5446]

We normally book a standard balcony cabin, as they are the exact same size, 194 sq ft, as every other Concierge or Aqua cabin. Except the ones on the angle of the hump have a bigger balcony.

 

The few so called upgrades are not worth more than a couple hundred $$ to us. Now with and Aqua category cabin to get a different dinning room from the MDR, called BLU.

 

On our next Equinox sailing we are just down the hall in 1634 on deck 11. But for $1500 less would have glad to move back to deck 8 where we were last year, or deck 9 in 2013.

 

FYI: on an S-Class ship the cabin location ( aft-mid-forward ) is not as critical as a smaller shi

[terigo]

If the price is a very small difference, I might book aqua or concierge, just for the extra loyalty points. Otherwise, the price would make it unattractive to us. We were upgraded to aqua on one of our cruises on the Equinox, found we just did not care much for the Blu menu, and wound up switching midcruise to the main dining room. If we had had to pay a substantial difference, we would have been pretty disappointed.

Balcony, concierge, and aqua are all the same size.

Edited October 13, 2015 by terigo

[CathyCruises]

Yep, there is no way I would pay $1500 more for aqua. To me the most critical thing is being midship so if you can get a regular balcony midship, I would jump on it.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I agree. We've found that often times, the Aqua Class category is cheaper than the higher Concierge Class categories. Even though it's cheaper, I don't like the location of the cabins.

 

Go with a regular balcony and spend that money on first class airfare (if you're flying). If you can, get a pie-shaped balcony cabin. That little bit of extra space out there makes a big difference.

Edited October 13, 2015 by DrivesLikeMario

[need2cruisesoon]

Save your money and go with the standard balcony unless there is a deal to be had with the higher class cabins.

We did 10 nights in a Concierge aft and but doing it again would choose standard.

[bigbenboys]

It really is a personal thing. We like C2 cabin 2105 or 2107 on Equinox. Close to the pool and buffet up deck up. We have been booking Aqua A1 cabins now. On the S-class ship we book our cabins center center on deck 11. We like Aqua for the rooms can only hold 2 people and deck 11 does not have any inside cabins. We like the service in Blu very much. 1500 breaks down to 75 pp per day.

[ShawninFL]

We were in AC this past Thanksgiving and loved it. The bathroom was awesome for a cruise ship. I enjoyed Blu; however, my other half prefers the main dining room over Blu. I would happily book AC for the right price, but not $750 per person. Also, I don't know if everyone realizes Blu is spa cuisine. My opinion is it's much lighter fare which results in a lot less flavor. As I said, I enjoyed it, but for many people it's not really an "upgrade".

[Aquahound]

If the price is a very small difference, I might book aqua or concierge, just for the extra loyalty points. Otherwise, the price would make it unattractive to us.

 

Unless you're getting a great deal on concierge or aqua, I'd opt for just the balcony.

 

I totally agree with these posts. I know my opinion isn't shared by all, but I think Aqua and especially Concierge Class are overrated. I only book these categories if they are close to the price of a standard veranda.

[Champagne Cruiser]

When the price difference is not too much we always book Aqua Class. We like Blu very much. Blu is especially nice for breakfast. Also love the Persian Garden in the S class. At $75 a day I would book a veranda and perhaps try a specialty restaurant.

[horatio123]

You have all been most helpful...thanks for helping make the proper decision....will not take the 1500 Aqua upgrade....

 

Tell me something...are the beds king or queen?

[WALKER1313]

Book the balcony. Then check for price drops on the aqua stateroom and switch to that stateroom if the price difference becomes small enough. (Make sure you keep your perks)

[alcpa1]

Horatio13,

The beds are two twins pushed together which can be separated if you wish.

[locknutore]

I might book aqua or concierge, just for the extra loyalty points.

[dkjretired]

Yep, there is no way I would pay $1500 more for aqua. To me the most critical thing is being midship so if you can get a regular balcony midship, I would jump on it.

 

I agree, use the money for some specialties, cabins are the same.

[rjrpar]

Just my opinion but I think it is crazy to spend $1500 for AQ