Which cabin type would you pick?

[FSU Girl]

For my upcoming honeymoon cruise to Europe I’m conflicted on which type of cabin to get. I’ve never sailed in a suite before and I’m not sure if a honeymoon is worth the extra cost or not.

 

Sail in Sky Suite - our most expensive option. It’ll be around $12,000 for the two of us.

Pros:

• Bigger cabin
  
• Having a butler
  
• Getting to try the suite restaurant that gets great reviews
  
• Make the honeymoon feel extra special?
  

Cons:

• Really expensive. More than double the cost of my most expensive cruise.
  
• We aren’t demanding people and might never use our butler for anything so this perk might be a waste
  
• We’ve never sailed on Celebrity before so we will probably try their specialty restaurants a lot and might not be in the suite restaurant a lot.
  
• It’ll be a Europe cruise so long port days and not on the boat that much
  

Sail in Aqua Class - this is around $7,000 for the two of us

 

Pros:

• It’s less expensive than sailing in the suite. Could use the savings elsewhere.
  
• They have their own special restaurant
  
• Maybe make honeymoon feel extra special?
  
• Are the rooms bigger than a standard balcony room?
  

Cons:

 

• Some of the same as the suite.
  
• Have read bad reviews of Blu
  

Sail in concierge - this will be $600 more than a standard balcony room. Is this amount a good price to jump from standard balcony to this? Or not worth it? I don’t really understand the extra benefits to this type of cabin

 

 

 

Sail in balcony - it will cost around $6,000 for two. We loved having a balcony on our only cruise we’ve taken together and I don’t think we’d go below this. This would be our cheapest option.

Pros:

• This is our cheapest option that will save a lot of money to use elsewhere
  
• I’m very used to sailing in a normal cabin so I wouldn’t really know what I’m missing
  
• Port intensive itineraries means I probably won’t be in my room much at all, but most of the cruise I’ve looked at have 4 sea days so will use balcony then
  
• Get to try the MDR and not feel like we are missing out if we spend a lot of our time in specialty restaurants
  

Cons:

• This is a special cruise for our honeymoon and we want to go all out, it’ll be our first time to Europe together. Being in a standard balcony might feel less special
  
• My future hubby is very tall and seems to hit himself on everything in a small cabin. I’m worried that the room will be really small and he could get hurt. He’d never say so but it’s a concern of mine. I don’t want him getting hurt on our honeymoon
  
• He really wants to do a suite and if he feels it’s too expensive might pick a different cruise line and I really like the sound of celebrity
  

 

 

So If you were me which option would you pick?

[Sammigar]

If the ship is M class, the concierge cabins are bigger and worth the upgraded cost. If it's a Solstice class, they're the same size, just better positioned. Also if you have tender ports, Concierge will get you on there quicker than a regular balcony stateroom.

 

Congratulations! Enjoy your cruise.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Unless you choose a suite, the Aqua and balcony cabins will be the same size. Neither I nor my DH are so tall that we worry about ceiling height but a sky suite has the shower in the tub, vs just a shower, so the head room would be less.

 

If you would not make use of the butler, are on a port intensive cruise, and would like to try the specialty restaurants I would recommend a balcony cabin with a specialty dining package. If you are not interested in the specialty restaurants I recommend an Aqua class cabin for the smaller Blu dining venue.

[Cruise Junky]

I wouldn't pay that for a suite in Europe but that's me. S Class or M Class? makes a difference to the Concierge cabin.

 

If it's an S class I love the 1As cabins on the hump and I'd pay the extra for a 6 or 7 night dining package. If I couldn't get a hump cabin I'd probably go Aqua. If M class, If I could get an aft facing Concierge, I'd go for that.

Edited December 1, 2017 by Cruise Junky

[raynvic]

My experience with a European cruise is that you spend very little time in your cabin except to sleep. Most of the time is spent off the ship and by the time you get back you are exhausted.

[FSU Girl]

I’m not sure if it will be a m class or s class yet. We haven’t settled on which itinerary to pick and there are a couple on both that we’re interested in.

 

But all these responses are great :)

[RickT]

I’m frugal so would just pick a nice standard verandah and use the money I save on specialty restaurants and in the ports. That said, if you are OK with the $1K upswell to Aqua that would be $ well spent. Blu is a smaller, more intimate dining venue and would be great for a honeymoon.

 

You’ll get lots of opinions and none will be bad, but it comes down to what your priorities are.

[ClaudiaB]

For that price difference, get Aqua Class. There is not a con to Blu. Here on Cruise Critic you will read some negative reiews, but the vast majority love Blu. We do. And the overwhelming vast majority of passengers on the ship don't do Cruise Critic and most of those love Blu.

You can get some specialty restaurants and great excursions with the savings.

We love the sky suites but wouldn't get one with that much price difference. We are independent and rarely use our butler but we don't sail sky suites for butlers. We like Luminae (but Blu is nearly as special) and Michael's Club is great. Depending on the MC concierge, you can have a really wonderful time: special concerts and teas, any tour you want - if you want a bridge tour, just ask. Galley tour, engine room control room - no problem.

 

The best thing would be as soon as you get on inquire about getting on the list for the Chef's Table. It'll be about $250 a couple with paired wine and menu prepared especially for you and about 4 other couples. It's an amazing evening.

 

AQ cabin on s class are same size but have a better shower. Plus access to all the spa facilities that some of which are pay venues. By far the best perk of AQ is Blu. And Blu is wonderful.

[ClaudiaB]

Unless you choose a suite, the Aqua and balcony cabins will be the same size. Neither I nor my DH are so tall that we worry about ceiling height but a sky suite has the shower in the tub, vs just a shower, so the head room would be less.

 

Just to be perfectly clear, my DH is 6'3" and we've had 7 sky suites and he's never had any issue with the head room in the tub/shower.

[Cruise Raider]

I am a bargain traveler but for your honeymoon, I would go with Aqua Class ... and would go for the A2 vs the A1 category ... those ones just aft of midship as you won't be bothered by noise from the pool deck or gym above your room.

 

What I love about Aqua Class ... which also available in concierge:

 

Footstools on the balcony

Extra captain's club points

Priority boarding / tendering

Priority seating in the MDR (mostly for concierge)

Pillow menu

 

But what I really love about Aqua that you can't get in concierge:

 

Blu ... I love Blu!! I do really love the specialty restaurants, too!

Persian Gardens entry

Relaxation room entry

In room showers

 

With all that being said, the concierge cabins with an aft view are pretty spectacular. And $1000 savings will buy you a LOT of specialty dining.

Whichever you choose, congratulations and have a wonderful cruise.

[rose6]

Suggest you go with the standard balcony. European cruises are so port intensive, you may spend very little time in the cabin. We did Aqua class one year to celebrate our 25th anniversary and felt that it was not really worth the extra money. My husband actually preferred the wider range of food options in the MDR. We have done about ten cruises on Celebrity and our preferred choice is the regular balcony cabin in a mid ship location. Get your marriage off to a good start and live within your means. A suite is a luxury purchase--not a necessity to have a wonderful honeymoon experience.

[NantahalaCruiser]

My wife and I have been in Aqua for our last four cruises and we love the Blu. But the price difference for Aqua has risen to the level that you should seriously consider dining in specialty restaurants rather than booking Aqua.

 

For the $500 or more per person difference you could get a dining package and dine in a specialty restaurant on every night of a 14 night cruise and still have money left over for other purposes.

 

But no matter what you choose, you will be certain to have a wonderful cruise.

[miched]

We have mostly sailed in regular balconies on other lines before sailing on celebrity. It was a S Class (Solstice, Silhouette, Eclipse, Equinox, Reflection). We paid extra for the Aqua because it supposed to be a step better, many extra perks, and a promise of healthier dining.

 

First off we were hooked as soon as we walked on the ship. They handed us a glass of “Champagne” and then walking into the atrium we went WOW!

 

When we went into our cabin there was a bottle of “Champagne” sitting in a bucket on ice ( they no longer do that but is still provided when you request it). All of the veranda type cabins on the S Class are the same size but some have larger balconies. My wife fell in love with the heated stone loungers in Persian Gardens. The shower panel in the shower really tickled her fancy 😜 and the fog free mirror was a novelty. The foot stool on the balcony was a bonus. We loved everything about the cabin.

 

 

Then when dinner came and we went to Blu and we were hooked on AQ. We sailed in a regular veranda on our last cruise because of the price difference and it was a “add on” to a crusie where we were in AQ. We wanted to try regular veranda and the MDR. Chances are we will only book one again if there is a drastic price difference between a regular veranda and AQ. We have now sailed on over 20 cruises on Celebrity and all except for the last one was in AQ.

 

Blu is a little more intimate but we also had a table for two in the MDR. Can’t say that they service was any better in Blu or that it was healthier food. We enjoyed the MDR and also found that dining there for breakfast was actually better. We got the same sweet rolls, juices and the menu had more choices.

 

We never felt the need to dine in a specialty restaurant or pay extra for a suite but we did take advantage of 50% off the first night in Murano because of our B2B Cruise. It was a nice experience but not worth the full price of $50 pp. In Aqua you are usually always given a discount for the first night to dine in a specialty restaurant instead of Blu but in the past we have never took advantage of it.

 

For your honeymoon I would highly recommend the AQ for the price difference. It may not have some of the space or perks of a suite but I am sure that you will feel like royalty compared to the other cruises you have been on. The other is the bed is probably the same size and that is really all you need. 😍

 

Hope this helps you decide. In the end no matter what you decide it will be a great start to a lifetime together.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🛳🇺🇸🌅

Edited December 2, 2017 by miched

[jelayne]

If it was us I would choose Aqua- A2 on S class so cabins above & below. We like the Suites but the premium is more than we would pay.

 

The thought of a regular veranda with speciality dining could be a good option depending on the ship. MClass ships have 2 speciality restaurants, the S-Class Eclipse, Equinox, Solstice have 3 and the Reflection & Silhouette have 4. The menus don’t change so the variety could be lacking. We personally don’t care for Silk Harvest and enjoy Qzine occasionally with a group. The food in Blu, in our opinion, is excellent and better than some of the speciality restaurants, the menu changes daily and we have always had excellent service.

[sealover155]

How special to have a honeymoon in Europe and to celebrate it on a cruise! Congratulations!

 

 

Regardless of stateroom category, the ship we choose is really important. With that said, I would urge you to strongly consider choosing one of the "S" class ships. My personal favorite is Silhouette but we've loved them all. My reason for saying this is Murano, which is just the the most romantic and special restaurant, and is, unfortunately now unavailable on the "M" class ships. We love the beautiful linens and stemware, soft lighting, etc. The experience is difficult to duplicate anywhere - very personal, elegant and delicious. If you dine there a couple of evenings they will let you special order for a future dinner such as Steak Diane. You will feel pampered.

 

 

I also think it's worth seriously considering the value of Michael's Club available exclusively for suite guests. With so many long port days, being able to relax and be pampered at the end of the day in an exclusive setting may be appealing to you. The Concierges there can perform a myriad of very special services- you may wish to do a search on this.

 

 

If you choose the "M" class, be sure to select Concierge Class or above as the standard balcony rooms are about 20sq. Ft. smaller than Concierge or Aqua and very noticeable. We have only experienced Aqua on "S".

 

 

Whatever you decide will be lovely. There is just no way you can lose! BTW, I'm an FSU gal too.

[Sox59]

Blu Blu Blu....

 

 

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[bEwAbG]

For a honeymoon, I'd forget the cruise, splurge on Business Class airfare and park myself in a nice hotel in a major European capital and do some day trips instead. Flying to Europe to do a port-intensive cruise doesn't seem like honeymoon material to me. You'll be exhausted unless you stay on the ship for most of the trip, and cruising is more of a "taste of Europe" trip than anything.

 

But, to answer your question, I would not pay the price premium for a suite. You can get those for half that cost on a Caribbean sailing if you want to experience them later. Aqua would be the way to go on M-Class. You could probably bump down to a regular room + specialty dining on S-Class. The tip to consider the number of restaurants on each ship is a good one. Also, you may not feel like a full meal if you've been running around a port city all day, especially later on in the trip. That would be a good argument for either the MDR or Blu.

[Cruise Junky]

For a honeymoon, I'd forget the cruise, splurge on Business Class airfare and park myself in a nice hotel in a major European capital and do some day trips instead. Flying to Europe to do a port-intensive cruise doesn't seem like honeymoon material to me. You'll be exhausted unless you stay on the ship for most of the trip, and cruising is more of a "taste of Europe" trip than anything.

 

.

 

I was thinking that too. Don’t think it would be my first choice for a honeymoon. Now hanging out on a Greek island for a while would be nice and romantic.

[Shadow9612]

I recommend concierge or Aqua, on a S-class ship. Silhouette and Equinox are my favourite. Reflection felt a bit busier.

 

Personally I don't feel Blu is worth the extra charge of Aqua, but many many people comment here they love it. I tried years ago, but wasn't overly impressed, so I like concierge.

 

There are many who feel that concierge is not worth the extra $, so it always comes down to personal preference.

 

I think the main point is the suite premium is too high - plus what if you get addicted to suites ;). Balcony / concierge / Aqua are all good choices.

 

With a port intensive cruise, you're not in the room as much.

 

With the money you save, consider adding a day or 2 pre- or post-cruise in the embarkation port in a nice hotel which could be a nice honeymoon treat!

 

Congratulations on your wedding and enjoy Celebrity!

[GUT2407]

Easy for us Concierge

[Turangi!]

Okay, I’m going to get flamed for this, but look at your budget and look seriously at Azamara for your honeymoon cruise. For the amount you are thinking of spending, I would look at AZ ... we have done many Celebrity cruises (and love Celebrity) but AZ is more upscale and you get more for the $$$ when you are spending the bigger dollars. Europe is port intensive and Azamara gets you into smaller ports and does late nights or overnights. Having done the Baltic on both, Azamara was worth the extra $$$. As it’s the same company, your Celebrity status is equal and loyalty points accrue to both lines. The only downside is that the rooms are smaller, but you are never there except to sleep. The experience on AZ is much more intimate and the staff is always fabulous. If you are splurging for the Honeymoon, I would go for the EXPERIENCE of the “boutique” ship.

 

We just did Aqua in an A1 Aft Balcony... Blu was lovely but I’m not sure we will spend the extra $$$ unless it is a great deal.... the suggestion to spend the money on a dining package is a better option.

 

Again with a port intensive Europe itinerary, we just wanted to eat (not dine) when we got back from an intensive day of touring. Cruising Europe is about long days of touring famous places... the ship is a floating hotel, but you are off before 9... no leisurely breakfast, out for lunch and back just before the ship sails so you need to look at the itinerary first and look at how much time you spend on the ship ... before spending the splurge $$$ on a bed and bath!

 

TOO many choices...but congratulations and best wishes for a happy marriage and a great honeymoon!

 

Turangi!

 

 

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[swigso]

All good suggestions, here is my 2cents worth,

You will be in a brand new port each day so will not be

spending much time in your cabin. If you are on an S class (the Reflection has great sailings from Rome) I would grab the best A1 (Aqua ) cabin you can .

The first cabin off the hump eg 1610 has huge balcony, as does 1552. Don’t book a midship cabin on decks 6,7,8 as smoking area is directly below these.

Then keep watching the prices, European Cruises lots of times have large price drops prior to sailing.

And as has been said spend a few days pre cruise and in Blue ask for a quiet table along the back wall away from the windows if you want a nice quiet dinner.

Blu is fantastic and also has a great breakfast.

[upwarduk]

The first cabin off the hump eg 1610 has huge balcony, as does 1552. Don’t book a midship cabin on decks 6,7,8 as smoking area is directly below these.

 

The smoking area is on deck 5 PORT side only.

 

On all decks, there are larger angled cabins off the hump. My favourite is the 1A balcony category on deck 7,8,9.

 

 

We have chosen a 2C for our next cruise as it is on deck 6, so is partially obstructed by a lifeboat ( you can’t see the sea below the balcony, but you can see directly out) but £££ came into that choice.

 

If you go with the Azamara reccomodation, just check how long the cruise is, as many Mediterranean cruises are only for 7 days, so many passengers do a back to back. (B2B)

We have done 1 Azamara cruise and wish we could afford another, but you do get free drinks, included shuttles in ports and tips.

Edited December 2, 2017 by upwarduk

[chemmo]

You have been given lots of things to think about! Some excellent advice....

 

All I would add is remember it is your honeymoon cruise and you will never have another one.

 

Firstly re itinerary and sightseeing....You can (and probably will) revisit ports and sights again so find time for some relaxation. Choose some full day hard sightseeing days but on others take off the pressure. Just take walks and enjoy romantic lunches with wine looking at the scenery and soaking in the atmosphere. When I think back on our early traveling days it is a rustic meal in Plaka, a drink at a tiny bar in a mountain village in Crete and strolling hand in hand through picturesque small towns I remember and treasure more than all the ‘big sites’. Call me an old romantic but after 37 years of marriage we still like to do these things....I would suggest the Adriatic and Eastern Med cruises may lend themselves better to this type of cruise than the Western Med.

 

 

Re room choices...we always book suites because we spend time in them, enjoy Michael’s Club and the additional dining options....They are only worth the money if you are going to use the perks. If you want to try out different bars (which we wanted to do when we first cruised Celebrity) then you will not use Michael’s enough to get ‘value’ from it. Likewise with dining it is nice in Blu and Luminae but if you are paying a premium for that dining then you are then less likely to try other venues...

 

For what it is worth, my advise would be to go for the best balcony cabin you can...I agree with those who have suggested looking for ones with larger balconies, ideal places for romantic breakfasts and late night star gazing last drinks.....With the money you have saved go for a few speciality meals and enjoy!

 

Sincere best wishes for your wedding and honeymoon cruise. My apologies if this post is focusing too much on romance but it is your honeymoon not just a sightseeing cruise!

[4774Papa]

For my upcoming honeymoon cruise to Europe I’m conflicted on which type of cabin to get. I’ve never sailed in a suite before and I’m not sure if a honeymoon is worth the extra cost or not.

 

Sail in Sky Suite - our most expensive option. It’ll be around $12,000 for the two of us.

Pros:

• Bigger cabin
  
• Having a butler
  
• Getting to try the suite restaurant that gets great reviews
  
• Make the honeymoon feel extra special?
  

Cons:

• Really expensive. More than double the cost of my most expensive cruise.
  
• We aren’t demanding people and might never use our butler for anything so this perk might be a waste
  
• We’ve never sailed on Celebrity before so we will probably try their specialty restaurants a lot and might not be in the suite restaurant a lot.
  
• It’ll be a Europe cruise so long port days and not on the boat that much
  

Sail in Aqua Class - this is around $7,000 for the two of us

 

Pros:

• It’s less expensive than sailing in the suite. Could use the savings elsewhere.
  
• They have their own special restaurant
  
• Maybe make honeymoon feel extra special?
  
• Are the rooms bigger than a standard balcony room?
  

Cons:

• Some of the same as the suite.
  
• Have read bad reviews of Blu
  

Sail in concierge - this will be $600 more than a standard balcony room. Is this amount a good price to jump from standard balcony to this? Or not worth it? I don’t really understand the extra benefits to this type of cabin

 

 

 

Sail in balcony - it will cost around $6,000 for two. We loved having a balcony on our only cruise we’ve taken together and I don’t think we’d go below this. This would be our cheapest option.

Pros:

• This is our cheapest option that will save a lot of money to use elsewhere
  
• I’m very used to sailing in a normal cabin so I wouldn’t really know what I’m missing
  
• Port intensive itineraries means I probably won’t be in my room much at all, but most of the cruise I’ve looked at have 4 sea days so will use balcony then
  
• Get to try the MDR and not feel like we are missing out if we spend a lot of our time in specialty restaurants
  

Cons:

• This is a special cruise for our honeymoon and we want to go all out, it’ll be our first time to Europe together. Being in a standard balcony might feel less special
  
• My future hubby is very tall and seems to hit himself on everything in a small cabin. I’m worried that the room will be really small and he could get hurt. He’d never say so but it’s a concern of mine. I don’t want him getting hurt on our honeymoon
  
• He really wants to do a suite and if he feels it’s too expensive might pick a different cruise line and I really like the sound of celebrity
  

 

So If you were me which option would you pick?

We have cruised in a Sky Suite, Aqua and Balcony on M class ships. Once in a Sky Suite due to an upgrade, once in Aqua due to an upgrade (didn't pay anything for the Aqua upgrade, paid $800 total for Suite upgrade). All other cruises in balcony.

The Suite was nice, but we didn't need a butler. Luminae was great, but we missed dining with our CC friends from the roll call. BLU was good, but not worth the extra cost.

 

Suites just cost too much. We would rather travel more times and do balconies.