Aqua Class Worth Extra Cost?

[twopats]

We are booked in an aqua class veranda but note the cost is well in excess of a normal veranda. Do those of you who have sailed in both classes in the S ships think it is worth it? We loved the Luminae on our last cruise where we snagged a suite at the last minute so wonder how The Blue will compare.

Trish

[TLCOhio]

We are booked in an aqua class veranda but note the cost is well in excess of a normal veranda. Do those of you who have sailed in both classes in the S ships think it is worth it? We loved the Luminae on our last cruise where we snagged a suite at the last minute so wonder how The Blue will compare.

Trish

 

Appreciate your good question. What is "well in excess" of normal mean exactly for your wallet?? $50 pp more? 10% or 20% more? Aqua is nice and better. BUT, worth it??

 

Tell us more about your length of cruise, where you are sailing, personal interests/style, amount of budget flexibility (wallet size), etc. It's all a highly "personal decision" as to what you can afford, value, like, desire, etc. The cost difference on a regular balcony versus one via Aqua varies greatly as the Celebrity computers set and adjust pricings depending on customer demands/bookings.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 149,336 views for this posting.

[Cruise a holic]

The best part IMO about Blu is that it is more like a regular restaurant then a catering hall. However IMO not nearly as nice or as good as Luminae- The other perks aren't great- Both the CC and Aqua Class cabins are larger then a regular balcony cabin on the M class- but the same on the S class. If you want more points that will bring you closer to Elite-both CC and Aqua offer more then a regular balcony.

 

With AQ you get access to the Persian garden- which is a few tiled lounge seats, with a small sauna ,steam room and showers. We used it once- you also get some additional amenities in your cabin. Iced tea- which IMO horrible and some canapes- daily if you want them. You get lip balm, and a hand held shower in your bathroom. The location of the cabins is under the pool and gym and can be noisey at night and early in the morning-so make sure you pick a location under for example the hair salon to avoid noise. If not booking a suite, we book a well located balcony cabin and purchase the unlimited specialty restaurants which you can do on board.

 

Enjoy your cruise

Edited July 16, 2016 by Cruise a holic

[jelayne]

For us the reason to book Aqua is Blu. We like Luminae, but we also like Blu.

Luminae is a bit quieter and slower paced than Blu. Blu is, IMHO, a lot better than the MDR.

 

That being said, our next cruise is in a regular veranda. As much as we like Blu it is not worth the $2K more they are asking. Final payment is coming soon-if prices drop substantially we will upgrade.

[thmpsn]

If you can get Aqua for approx $200 pp it's worth it.

Jim

[QuakerBoy]

I agree with previous post. I might spend $200 more, but that would be the max, and only if I could get a decent cabin assignment, and not one of those questionable Aqua locations below the noisy gym or Oceanview Cafe. Any more of a spread than that I would pass on Aqua and save the $ or apply it to specialty restaurants, spa services or elsewhere. Strangely, many Concierge and 1A balcony cabin locations are better than most Aqua's.

[Arzeena]

We are booked in an aqua class veranda but note the cost is well in excess of a normal veranda. Do those of you who have sailed in both classes in the S ships think it is worth it? We loved the Luminae on our last cruise where we snagged a suite at the last minute so wonder how The Blue will compare.

Trish

 

Blue is fantastic. We love it.

Edited July 16, 2016 by Arzeena

[TeaBag]

We like Blu better than Luminae.

[Blondie008]

We paid an extra £400GBP+ per person for Aqua - worth every penny for BLU

The SPA is not up to much - but BLU rocks! Service and Food worth every penny!

I should add we are former suite cruisers for many years - Aquaclass gives us that nice dining feeling without us having to get a proper suite - Just us two now - and more time to cruise - flights across the world 2-3 times a year don't come cheap - so Aquaclass is our happy medium.

Edited July 16, 2016 by Blondie008

[OBX-Cruisers]

Will echo previous posts about BLU as a great perk for Aqua Class. We are on a 13 night TA in October and paid about $400 pp more for Aqua vs. Veranda..........

Worth it?? I debated the same question since we could have gone to a specialty restaurant for 9-10 nights for the same price difference.

We like Blu because you will have the same waiters if you go about the same time each night like we did on our last cruise, likely see the same general group of people and the waiters will know your preferences etc. In addition to those benefits of BLU, the atmosphere is just plain superior to the MDR both in appearance and DEFINITELY in a lower and more bearable noise level.

Although we did not use the Aqua Spa last time, we plan to do that this time as a major additional benefit of Aqua.

[momperson2]

We are booked in an aqua class veranda but note the cost is well in excess of a normal veranda. Do those of you who have sailed in both classes in the S ships think it is worth it? We loved the Luminae on our last cruise where we snagged a suite at the last minute so wonder how The Blue will compare.

Trish

 

Our previous cruises were Aqua class. We LOVE it. The first time we actually got bump up from a regular 8th deck balcony, to Aqua. Love it so much our next cruise we went right to Aqua. Back then the difference in price was less than $400 for the two of us. However, our next cruise (April 2017) the cost is over $1,100 more. We were able to book a 9th deck, on the slant, with the largest balcony. We are also getting $650 shipboard credit plus classic drink package. I will continue to look to see if Aqua class drops-- but with the extras we got, and room we will stay put.

Will truly miss the Blu and priority boarding. The garden is nice as wine in room too. But losing the plus's we have (large SBC, and drink pkg) isn't worth it.

We have seen like first time we cruise the Aqua price drop below what we paid

[bigbenboys]

We book Aqua or Sky Suites. We like Blu. We love Luminae. Each night in Luminae give us Luminae and MDR menus. I pick food off of both menus. Our next cruise we are in Aqua. I have looked at Sky suites now after final payment. The cost to upgrade to the Sky suite is $1700 more pp for a 12 night cruise. Still hoping the price my drop.

[Go-Bucks!]

After a price drop, we upgraded to Aqua from a regular veranda. The actual veranda cabin is nicer (triple sized balcony on the middle hump of Silhouette), but we wanted the perks that Aqua offers. We did get one of the better Aqua cabins that has other cabins above it.

 

The reason we changed is that if we had stayed in the veranda cabin we were going to buy a pass to the Persian Gardens ($299pp) plus unlimited Internet (another $299pp). These were included in our Aqua cabin plus as a Go Big perk. We also got $800 in OBC and, of course, get to eat in Blu (our favorite)! So, if we can get a deal like this, it's actually cheaper to be in Aqua. :D This will be a cool weather cruise, so having a huge balcony isn't as important as if we were on a warmer one.

Edited July 17, 2016 by Go-Bucks!

[illiniwahoo]

Just to clarify, not all aqua class cabins have the bigger balconies - depends on exact location so look carefully before you book.

 

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[Miaminice]

To many THIS is the reason to book Aqua Class - Blu Restaurant. Much quieter and way more relaxed as MDR. Plus better, nicely presented food - see for yourself...

 

[YOUTUBE]IZ5eFfLRz0k[/YOUTUBE]

[GordonJasmine]

We loved Blu and will always book an Aqua Spa cabin. Also loved Persian Gardens and used it every day. And the relaxation room. Had all our lunches at the Aqua Spa cafe. They were healthy and delicious. Yum!

[simon stingray]

To many THIS is the reason to book Aqua Class - Blu Restaurant. Much quieter and way more relaxed as MDR. Plus better, nicely presented food - see for yourself...

 

[YOUTUBE]IZ5eFfLRz0k[/YOUTUBE]

 

Those tables for 2 look VERY close together-that's one of the reasons we have never been tempted to try Aqua.

 

In the MTD we always go select dining and ask for a quiet table for 2 not too close to the others. We also dine in one the speciality restaurants every 2nd or 3rd night where this is not an issue.

 

Perhaps we are not as sociable during dinner as everyone else:)

[El Crucero]

We loved Blu and will always book an Aqua Spa cabin. Also loved Persian Gardens and used it every day. And the relaxation room. Had all our lunches at the Aqua Spa cafe. They were healthy and delicious. Yum!

 

Just to be clear, only S class ships have a relaxation room. The Persian Gardens are better on S class ships because they have windows that look out to sea. And the Aqua Spa Cafe for breakfast and lunch, near the adults only pool, is open to everyone.

[Mynki]

We were really pleased in Luminae on our last cruise, but have just returned form a trip in AQ.

 

I can honestly say that the service in Blu on the Eclipse was better than our experience in Luminae on Millennium last november.

 

We sail in suite class next january and I sincerely hope the Luminae staff asked us if we've sailed with Celebrity before so I can tell them how good the service was in Blu so they know where the bar has been set.

 

Is it worth it? Blu is far nicer than the busy MDR and service quality shows. So if it is only a couple of hundred pounds more than CC etc I'd say it's a no brainer.

[maadimom]

We took the Solstice on a New Zealand cruise a year and half ago. First time in Aqua class. Loved it! Loved Blu and everything. Booked Constellation Aqua class for Med trip last September. Loved it! Loved everything. I think the price for Aqua on both cruises was minimally higher. I know the NZ cruise was only a few hundred more, and I think it was $600 more on the Med.

 

BUT.....

 

Looking at all our future cruise plans, and the 2K+ they are asking for Aqua is crazy. We loved our experiences with Blu, especially the breakfast, however, it is NOT worth the extra money for us. Most of our cruise choices are port intensive, so Blu is really the only perk we have. We have opted on regular verandas and will simply dine in the specialty restaurants with the money saved.

 

That saying, I always check the Aqua price as I would quickly snag one if a great one shows up!

[Mynki]

2k+???

 

That's interesting. We have just booked two Asian cruises in 2018 in AQ. The price per person was around $140 per person more over a CC state room and they're both 14 night cruises so just $10 pppn more.

[maadimom]

2k+???

 

That's interesting. We have just booked two Asian cruises in 2018 in AQ. The price per person was around $140 per person more over a CC state room and they're both 14 night cruises so just $10 pppn more.

 

Don't know exactly why you are questioning me, but I will provide more details. Looking at Aug 2017 on Eclipse to Norway, 8 days. A standard veranda 2C is $2399 pp. An A2 is $3199. That is only $1600 for the two of us and not $2000 like I said. Forgive me for rounding, but after adding taxes etc., I was thinking that was a fair assessment. Either way, $1600 is not worth the perk of eating at BLU to us as that is mostly what we enjoy about Aqua.

[Miaminice]

Those tables for 2 look VERY close together-that's one of the reasons we have never been tempted to try Aqua.

 

They are close enough to have a conversation if desired but far enough apart to be on your own.

 

We have had both - sometimes we had interesting chats with people, other times it was just hello and good bye.

[Miaminice]

BUT.....

 

Looking at all our future cruise plans, and the 2K+ they are asking for Aqua is crazy.

 

Fortunately that is not always the case. We booked AQ on seven cruises for a price which seemed reasonable to us.

 

However, we now booked our first Celebrity cruise (Japan 2017) in a regular balcony stateroom because more than 800 Euro per person for a ten day cruise exceeded what we are willing to pay.

 

If the price comes down, we might change if not we can go to specialty restaurant every night for less.

 

We love AQ and are hooked since we first booked it - but I guess everybody has to deceide how much it is worth for himself.

 

 

.

[El Crucero]

Looking at all our future cruise plans, and the 2K+ they are asking for Aqua is crazy.

 

Yes, it is a matter of supply and demand. Sometimes the price for Aqua is high and sometimes it is almost the same price as veranda.

 

We are hooked on Aqua class and Blu, so we shop for the best deal in Aqua wherever that itinerary might take us. We recently paid more for an Aqua stateroom than what we would normally do, but that was because it was a round trip itinerary from a local port and we did not have to figure in the cost and inconvenience of a flight.