Aqua class vs Concierge cabin ?

[Nick2000]

Hi

 

What is difference between those to classes ? Especially on Equinox?

 

Thanks

[GUT2407]

Aqua get to eat in Blu.

 

Concierge really give you little over balcony. Embarkation lunch, canapés, a few other Nic Nacks

[Miaminice]

Concierge gives you little over a regular stateroom than maybe a better location. On S-Class it is not larger than any other stateroom. For us Concierge is not worth the money. Others like it because of embarkation day lunch in MDR (expensive lunch :)) or because of the extra points you get.

 

On Aqua you have the same amenities (except that one lunch) plus the AQ extras.

THE main reason for 98 % of repeat Aqua cruisers in BLU-Restaurant. Much more personal, much quieter and less rushed than MDR.

 

We booked AQ once and got hooked on BLU. On our last cruise we could not book AQ and missed BLU from day one.

[cangelmd]

Technically Concierge gets some sort of earlier/shorter embarkation line, but based on this board that often doesn't matter - either the regular line is as short or shorter... or maybe people who post here just get to the port so early it doesn't matter ;)

[GordonJasmine]

Don't forget the free Roman Gardens. Wonderful!!!

[jelayne]

Don't forget the free Roman Gardens. Wonderful!!!

I think you mean the Persian Gardens which is a perk of Aqua Class.

[GordonJasmine]

Sorry. I don't know where "Roman" came from.

[HS2BS]

Some of the Aqua cabins are in very undesirable locations! Such as forward under the gym, spa cafe and changing rooms. No longer get unlimited Aqua and the Blu menus have recently been updated but still heavy with strange(gamey) entrees. But, usually no children except when guests from a suite elect to dine there; so yes, it is much quieter and service is the main reason to choose this category.

We book concierge or a regular balcony cabin now and eat in the mdrm or in a speciality restaurant for a change in nightly dining. The price then levels out when this is done, as most of the cabins are the same except for location.

 

Hal

[TommyD3]

Some of the Aqua cabins are in very undesirable locations! Such as forward under the gym, spa cafe and changing rooms. No longer get unlimited Aqua and the Blu menus have recently been updated but still heavy with strange(gamey) entrees. But, usually no children except when guests from a suite elect to dine there; so yes, it is much quieter and service is the main reason to choose this category.

We book concierge or a regular balcony cabin now and eat in the mdrm or in a speciality restaurant for a change in nightly dining. The price then levels out when this is done, as most of the cabins are the same except for location.

 

Hal

Especially on M class ships ALL AQ cabins are on deck 9 directly under the pool, gym and buffet. There are some A2 on S class ships that are under cabins :), but A1's are under pool, gym and buffet !!!

[39august]

We just did our first X cruise in concierge class. We prefer higher decks so will probably continue to book this category for that alone. Don't care about points as we would never make Zenith. As Pinnacle on RCI we get Elite status and that is fine. Tho' we are booked in aqua for a couple of cruises upcoming, I doubt that we will so enamored of Blu that we feel paying the difference in concierge and aqua class will be worth it to us on future cruises. Yes, many aqua cabins are in undesirable locations, but on Reflection, the choices are better.

[warmwinds]

Especially on M class ships ALL AQ cabins are on deck 9 directly under the pool, gym and buffet. There are some A2 on S class ships that are under cabins :), but A1's are under pool, gym and buffet !!!

 

There are AQ cabins on Deck 11, too.

[Hlitner]

We dislike most of the A1 cabins on the S-Class ships. To us, the less expensive A2 cabins aft of the pool are our choice since they are one more deck removed from the nasty overhang (on the pool deck) and not under the pool deck (from where you can sometimes here scraping chairs). We prefer the Concierge cabins on Deck 10...or regular cabins on lower decks. We have always felt that Celebrity pulled a great "con" by getting folks to pay more money for those A1 cabins...which to us, are among the worst located cabins on the ship (we hate having that large overhang over our balcony).

 

Some folks book Aqua for access to Blu (we have done this many times). But experience has taught us that Blu is generally not worth the extra money (over a Concierge or even regular balcony cabin). In most cases you can book a regular (of even Concierge) cabin and purchase an alternative dining package (look for the 20% Off sales). The alternative dining will then cost you about $25 - $30 per meal (depending on how many meals you purchase) which is generally a lot less than you will pay for those Aqua Cabins in an inferior location. And most will tell you that dining in Murano is a world better than Blu.

 

We do like Blu for breakfast, but the reality is that the selection in the Lido (for breakfast) is far superior to Blu with the exception of the Muesli. We recently spent 21 days on the Reflection where we had 14 meals pre purchased on dining packages which cost us $25 per meal. Our savings from NOT booking Aqua Class more then covered the dining package (with money left over). We dined 10 times in Murano (always wonderful) twice in Qsine, once in the Lawn and once in Tuscan (we have never liked Tuscan and this was no exception). We had 4 Chic nights where they had excellent MDR menus so we dined in the MDR on those nights....and the other two nights were also in the MDR.

 

From a food perspective it was one of the best Celebrity cruises ever (we are Elite Plus) and far better then our previous experience in Aqua Class (on 4 cruises). DWs comment at the end of the cruise was, "I would not want to go back to Aqua Class." We think Celebrity needs to really improve the dinners (and dinner menu) in Blu...to justify the extra cost of Aqua.

 

Hank

Edited January 9, 2018 by Hlitner

[goofysmom99]

I book C2 cabins on the back side of the hump to be nearer the elevators and have a longer balcony; even when it's raining, I can usually sit outside and not get wet. Re Blu and MDR, having taken a few B2B cruises with 2 weeks in Blu followed by 2 weeks in MDR, the food was the same. Really. The ambiance and presentation in Blu are much nicer, but no more than, say, $200-300 nicer to me. It's often well over $1000 more. Example of "same" - one of my favorite soups is corn chowder. In Blu, the corn is on the bottom of the bowl and your waiter pours the liquid over it, with great panache, from a little carafe. In MDR, it's just a bowl of soup, but it tastes the same. Same for short ribs, chicken, fish, etc. Back in 2003 on the Summit, our cabin steward changed the number plaque on our door mid-cruise to one with "Concierge" below the number. Cabin was below the pool and we had decided to never to book one there again. Now that same cabin is Aqua. Definitely nicer shower in Aqua, though. I agree with others that X had to do something to make people WANT to book those cabins. It's marketing genius for X to have people pay more for inferior cabins. When I was in business, one the most successful marketing phrases was "it has a preferred South (or North, East, West) exposure." Creating a need and the perception of exclusivity = Marketing 101. One of these days, I hope to reach Zenith and then I'll book something less than Concierge, but still with a long balcony near the elevator.

 

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