Aqua Benefits

[W283386]

The Celebrity website use to have a chart showing what benefits came with an Aqua Class, Concierge Class and a standard stateroom.  I have been unable to track it down.  We will be in Aqua in 3 weeks and want to make sure I take advantage of all the benefits.  I understand Blu and the Persian Gardens.  What else should I be looking or asking for?

[Luvcrusn]

You'll get a bottle of bubbly. It won't be waiting in your room on embarkation day, but you can request that it be brought whenever you want it. We trade ours out for prosecco or a bottle of red. You'll get welcome bottles of water that won't be replenished daily like they used to. Don't confuse them with the large bottle which is an extra charge. There's a pillow menu which I've never seen in print, but you can ask your stateroom attendant for what you want. We always ask for the molded memory foam pillows. There's the afternoon delivery of savories. We ask for a cheese plate instead. There's slippers (one-size-fits-almost-no-one) that are serviceable for flopping between the shower and bedroom. There's afternoon delivery of flavored tea.  You'll receive lip balm, a spa bag as well as a tote bag and a seapass holder (now a rubber thing that you can stick onto the back of your phone). You get an expanded room service menu. Priority embarkation where available. We've been offered a 50%off first night specialty dining discount. 

[keesar]

The sparkling wine has been in our room upon entering our room for the last few cruises.  You are right on with  the major perks being dining in Blu and visiting the Persian Gardens.  I would not get excited about any of the other "perks" as they are more like fluff.  We have received a 30%  first night specialty restaurant discount over the last few cruises.  It ends up being related to the laws of  supply and demand.  

 

Have a great trip!

[Luvcrusn]

On embarkation day you'll find a note from the maître d of Blu with a dining time. That is for the first night only. Blu is a dine when you wish venue and doesn't take, nor do you need reservations. If the first night time isn't to your liking you may still go when you want without issue and without notifying anyone. They only do that to ease the confusion of first night on board.

[dkjretired]

1 hour ago, W283386 said:

The Celebrity website use to have a chart showing what benefits came with an Aqua Class, Concierge Class and a standard stateroom.  I have been unable to track it down.  We will be in Aqua in 3 weeks and want to make sure I take advantage of all the benefits.  I understand Blu and the Persian Gardens.  What else should I be looking or asking for?

 

If you go to the link provided below just click on the tab for each stateroom category and they will tell you amenities and perks.  Keep in mind Aqua get most everything that Concierge does, main exception being embarkation lunch is exclusive to Concierge, AQ cabins do not get it.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/staterooms

 

Remember Blu is your assigned dining room, you do not have a seat assigned to you in the MDR.  Blu is anytime dining every day. 

Edited November 20, 2018 by dkjretired

[jelayne]

Everyone talks about Blu and the Persian Garden  which are great, but the jetted shower is a plus as is the fogless mirror.

[OneParticularHarbour 71]

12 hours ago, Luvcrusn said:

You'll get a bottle of bubbly. It won't be waiting in your room on embarkation day, but you can request that it be brought whenever you want it. We trade ours out for prosecco or a bottle of red. You'll get welcome bottles of water that won't be replenished daily like they used to. Don't confuse them with the large bottle which is an extra charge. There's a pillow menu which I've never seen in print, but you can ask your stateroom attendant for what you want. We always ask for the molded memory foam pillows. There's the afternoon delivery of savories. We ask for a cheese plate instead. There's slippers (one-size-fits-almost-no-one) that are serviceable for flopping between the shower and bedroom. There's afternoon delivery of flavored tea.  You'll receive lip balm, a spa bag as well as a tote bag and a seapass holder (now a rubber thing that you can stick onto the back of your phone). You get an expanded room service menu. Priority embarkation where available. We've been offered a 50%off first night specialty dining discount. 

Who do you trade your sparkling wine out with?  The stateroom host?  Is this ok to do?  We  never drink the sparkling wine we’ve received on different cruise lines but never thought to ask to trade it for something else.  Would be nice to get just a regular bottle of wine if we could.

[Luvcrusn]

Most times we take the bottle to Blu with us and ask the sommelier in Blu. On occasion we have asked our stateroom attendant to do it. We've never had any problems trading it, they've always happily done it. Enjoy! Cheers!

[OneParticularHarbour 71]

Good to know, thank you!

[jakesnana]

1 hour ago, Luvcrusn said:

Most times we take the bottle to Blu with us and ask the sommelier in Blu. On occasion we have asked our stateroom attendant to do it. We've never had any problems trading it, they've always happily done it. Enjoy! Cheers!

 

I tried to do this on my 10/28 Infinity cruise (as I read about it here).  I asked the sommelier in Blu if I could change it out for a bottle of Prosecco or Moscato and he said he could, for an upcharge.  We ended up getting a $35 credit on a $60 bottle of Moscato.  I was not very impressed by their lack of flexibility and I won't do that again.  No where on God's green earth is a bottle of Moscato worth $60 :(

[ghstudio]

We have had the sommelier in Blu or the MDR offer to give us $28 towards another bottle of wine....once they offered to exchange it for a bottle of "house" red or white.  As far as the $60 for Muscato, no wine on board is worth the price they charge....welcome to cruising (and generally buying bottles of wine at restaurants).

[Luvcrusn]

The last time we did it was in Blu on Reflection. At that time the sommelier traded it for prosecco and there was no additional charge.

[SoberJulie]

[2+2]

Is there some place to eat on embarkation day for Aqua class soon after we board.  Or is the buffet the only place. It is usually so crowded then. Any secrets. This well be our first Celebrity cruise. 

[Luvcrusn]

9 minutes ago, 2+2 said:

Is there some place to eat on embarkation day for Aqua class soon after we board.  Or is the buffet the only place. It is usually so crowded then. Any secrets. This well be our first Celebrity cruise. 

Sorry. There's the OVC (buffet), Mast grill, spa cafe in the solarium. For an extra fee Sushi on 5 or the Porch may be open.

[TickledBlue]

13 hours ago, 2+2 said:

Is there some place to eat on embarkation day for Aqua class soon after we board.  Or is the buffet the only place. It is usually so crowded then. Any secrets. This well be our first Celebrity cruise. 

We always arrive and board early and go to the buffet right away.   In our experience, the buffets on embarkation day at that time hasn't been too bad, especially on a Celebrity cruise. 

[Yoshikitty]

Probably another hidden perk in Aqua:

 

last month on Solstice, there was a „receive 30% off“ for Murano, Silk Harvest and Tuscany Grill on the buzzer that you get when you have to wait for a table.

[CEOofVacation]

We have also been offered 50% off for specialty dining on the first night.  Our Blu server said he could get "great" discount on other nights for us as well.  Since we enjoyed his service so much in Blu we were not going to go to specialty dining and not have him!

[keesar]

Discounts are related to supply and demand.  We have been able to get 30% on the first night only.  There were large groups who had "rented out" the entire night of all the specialty restaurants.  That made a difference in the availability on other nights and...discounts being available.

[lisiamc]

On 11/20/2018 at 9:25 PM, SoberJulie said:

 

Some of these things, such as the Interactive Television system, the mini-fridge and the hairdryer, seem to be the same as those offered in regular cabins.  We moved cabins from a balcony cabin to Aqua on our last b2b, and the shampoo, etc was exactly the same.  We did get shower gel as an addition, but it comes in tiny little plastic bottles that only last a day or two, so we used the soap instead, since it was a small chance to cut down on use of plastic.

 

Our aromatherapy diffuser seemed to be a handful of dry, unscented reeds leaning against the side of a shelf near the mirror.  We did have a very comfortable bed with nicer bedding, and plush cotton dressing gowns, so that was good.  The main advantage for us is access to Blu.  That’s the bit we really love.

Edited November 22, 2018 by lisiamc

[puli]

what are the automatic tips for an Aqua cabin? We will be on the Eclipse in the fall for  a 9 day cruise and  can opt for paid gratuities or $150 per person OBC...= $300 which I think is more money than the paid gratuities!

[cruiserchuck]

22 minutes ago, puli said:

what are the automatic tips for an Aqua cabin? We will be on the Eclipse in the fall for  a 9 day cruise and  can opt for paid gratuities or $150 per person OBC...= $300 which I think is more money than the paid gratuities!

 

The automatic tip is $15.00 per person per day in Aqua.  So for a cruise less than 10 days, $300 OBC is a better deal.

Edited January 9, 2019 by cruiserchuck

[cangelmd]

We love AQ. Be sure to at least try the Persian Garden. We only make it there once per cruise, but it is quite relaxing. We also enjoy the tea, we thought it was a bit silly at first, but found it quite refreshing in the Caribbean.

 

You might want to pack some earplugs if you are a light sleeper.  AQ cabins are at least partly an attempt to upsell cabins below public areas. I’m a very light sleeper, and the staff arranging deck chairs an bringing in towels woke us up in the morning. I would wake up, think oh, it’s about 6 and go right back to sleep. The convenience of being on a higher deck outweighed the rolling carts. Earplugs tend to give me a headache, so I was happy to wake up and go back to sleep. If you think this may be an issue,  bring plugs. The noise never bothered us at any other time.

 

we are in a suite on our next cruise,  it will have to be really great to justify the cost, AQ is our “sweet spot” of cost and service.

[Jim_Iain]

On ‎11‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 6:02 AM, OneParticularHarbour 71 said:

Who do you trade your sparkling wine out with?  The stateroom host?  Is this ok to do?  We  never drink the sparkling wine we’ve received on different cruise lines but never thought to ask to trade it for something else.  Would be nice to get just a regular bottle of wine if we could.

We always swap it out.   You can also take it to dinner with you and swap it the will advise you of the credit value.

[puli]

31 minutes ago, cangelmd said:

We love AQ. Be sure to at least try the Persian Garden. We only make it there once per cruise, but it is quite relaxing. We also enjoy the tea, we thought it was a bit silly at first, but found it quite refreshing in the Caribbean.

 

You might want to pack some earplugs if you are a light sleeper.  AQ cabins are at least partly an attempt to upsell cabins below public areas. I’m a very light sleeper, and the staff arranging deck chairs an bringing in towels woke us up in the morning. I would wake up, think oh, it’s about 6 and go right back to sleep. The convenience of being on a higher deck outweighed the rolling carts. Earplugs tend to give me a headache, so I was happy to wake up and go back to sleep. If you think this may be an issue,  bring plugs. The noise never bothered us at any other time.

 

we are in a suite on our next cruise,  it will have to be really great to justify the cost, AQ is our “sweet spot” of cost and service.

we are under the Persian garden so hopefully not noisy