Is BLU alone worth the Aqua upgrade?

[LeCricket]

Thanks for the input everyone! :)

 

 

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[phoenix_dream]

You will get a lot of different opinions. Ours is that we always book Aqua Class if possible, primarily due to Blu. We love the dinners, and also enjoy being able to eat a nice relaxing breakfast there rather than the noisy MDR or the buffet. The other 'perks' are meaningless to us and often the room locations are not as good as some balconies or CC rooms (which I do believe is why they created AQ in the first place)

[slikcruiser]

Someone once said about Aqua

 

“They took the worst cabins and gave them the best restaurant”

 

It’s not far off. The cabins aren’t any better, the other perks are mostly fluff, so Blu is THE reason to book Aqua class.

 

We love Blu, once walking by the mdr my dw jokingly remarked “please don’t make me eat down there”.

 

We have had many nice meals in the mdr so it was entirely a joke but she loves the Blu experience.

 

 

 

I’ll probably have a similar feeling about luminae once we eat there......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[bboop51]

For us it's a yes. We love Blu. That's why they make generic Breyers Ice Cream and Ben and Jerrys. Everyone has a right to pay for what they like.

 

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[bboop51]

BTW.. The ice cream was just an example. I can't eat ice cream anymore . But, I would just as soon have Breyers Vanilla as any B and J flavors, when I could.

 

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[miXterOB]

Absolutely!

As has already been stated...service and food is wonderful in Blu.

Just did my 3rd Aqua Class cruise on Equinox last month and was totally happy with the choice.

It was my PIC's first cruise and she has a serious food allergy to anything in the onion and garlic families. Our server and the Blu chefs were stellar in making sure her dining experiences were exceptional. Server presented the following night's menu and she chose appetizer(s) and entree(s) she wanted which usually required adjustments for her allergies. Not only were those items perfect...they always gave her a taste of other ones adjusted for those allergies. She was blown away.

She was SO taken with Blu and Celebrity...we booked a 12 nighter for later this year.

[Cruzinram]

No!

[TomMMD]

I'm in an Aqua class for our upcoming cruise. First on Celebrity. I thought we could hop from Blu to the MDR easily, but apparently I'm wrong. I have read that MCR dinners can be arranged, but we can't show up for My Time Dining (or whatever it is on X) on a whim. I have been excited about Blu, but also the option for both dining rooms. The upgrade to Aqua isn't too much, about $200 for the cabin, so I'm kinda thinking to just stay where I am, but I'd like to know your thoughts before I decide.

 

 

 

We have been booking Aqua since they started it, except for August 2017 when we went with our grandkids. It is not really great for a 7 & 19 year old.

 

My take is that the food in the MDR is excellent — every bit as good as in BLU — but it is a bit of a cattle call with perhaps just under 1,000 people eating all at once.

 

The ambience in BLU is much superior. We had pretty indifferent service in the MDR even after bringing our concerns to the attention of the maitre d’ The service & attention is much better in Aqua.

 

 

 

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[shipshape sam]

Just off Silhouette (S class) and our first time sailing in Aqua Class for 12 nights. As stated before, opinions are all we have and you should consider trying Aqua Class to gain yours! We enjoyed a number of the entrees in BLU and the service was always great! We also found that more nights than not, the entrees were unappealing to us, maybe I am a picky eater. Did not check MDR for comparison, so we still may have had the better menu for us at least. Lobster on the penultimate night was delicious abet small.

 

For us, we also tried using the Persian Garden spa facilities another Aqua class included perk. It was nice too. Our only issue was making the time to use it which was our issue. It was never busy and we enjoyed the experience.

 

The cabin is similar to previous rooms to my understanding other than we had a different shower head and the bathroom may have been bigger, etc. We got some flowers one day too for the room. All are Aqua Class perks.

 

Our opinion is that if it is cheap, like $10 and maybe up to $15, we would consider it again.

 

I did a comparison of the Escargot in BLU and MDR as it tasted different from my memory (in hindsight it could have been that our last 2 cruises were on Royal, not Celebrity). Went to MDR midway through late seating, got right in, sat next to a couple we met earlier in evening as it turned out and we had Escargot and desert (soufflé), There was no difference in either for us.

 

I think if I were sailing again, I would consider booking a standard veranda and booking speciality restaurants, trying that combination. We tried 3 of the 6 onboard and did Murano's a second time. Our cost was $125 for the 4 dinner package and would think we could get a 6 dinner package for close to $200. Granted we also ate in BLU for breakfast a few times for the fresh juice, but we could have gotten that next door in the Captain's Club breakfast offering. I actually liked the Oceanview Cafe this cruise for breakfast with the variety and me seeing the food I was getting. It is busier and noisy if seated inside which we did once. Otherwise we sat outside for our breakfast/lunch. Never had an issue with seating where we wanted other than on Embarkation day for lunch.