Upgrade from Family Veranda to Aqua class aft?

[EWR224]

My last post I asked your opinions on upgrading to a family veranda and I took everyone's advice and jumped on it! 

 

Well, it now looks like I can upgrade from the family veranda to Aqua class aft for no additional cost.  What do you all say?  There are 2 of us in the cabin and we will be on the Constellation.

 

Thanks for your help, again!

[warmwinds]

What's more important to you - having a bigger cabin and deck or eating in Blu?

[ECCruise]

Depends on your focus.

If it is food, upgrade.  Blu is better than the MDR.

If it is accommodation, stay where you are.  The  room and balcony are far superior.

[jelayne]

Personally, I would stay in the FV.  We gave up AQ on a previous cruise when a FV opened up and didn’t regret it.

[EWR224]

17 minutes ago, warmwinds said:

What's more important to you - having a bigger cabin and deck or eating in Blu?

 

17 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

Depends on your focus.

If it is food, upgrade.  Blu is better than the MDR.

If it is accommodation, stay where you are.  The  room and balcony are far superior.

 

We really aren't that interested in Blu.  We were planning to eat in the MDR, at a large table, to meet some fellow cruisers.

I just wanted to ask opinions since the Aqua class aft cabins also seem to have a bigger balcony.

Thanks!

[ECCruise]

3 minutes ago, EWR224 said:

 

 

We really aren't that interested in Blu.  We were planning to eat in the MDR, at a large table, to meet some fellow cruisers.

I just wanted to ask opinions since the Aqua class aft cabins also seem to have a bigger balcony.

Thanks!

The only cabins that have the larger balconies on the M class ships are those that face directly aft.  And those are either FV or Concierge (C1).

Stick with what you've got..

[hcat]

Is there any chance you will lose the Fam Veranda to a family  of more than 2?   Surprised they let 2 only book it..

 

I would look carefully at AQ class aft location to make sure there are no nearby  noise issues.. If no issues, we'd prefer  AQ class with BLU  ..If S Class ship, the Persian Garden would also be a great feature of booking AQ class 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

I’m Curious because I have a bid in to move up from an ocean view to a FV. What category were you in and how much was your successful bid? Also, how far out from your sailing did you get notified?  To answer your question, I would prefer the FV. 

[jelayne]

9 minutes ago, EWR224 said:

 

 

We really aren't that interested in Blu.  We were planning to eat in the MDR, at a large table, to meet some fellow cruisers.

I just wanted to ask opinions since the Aqua class aft cabins also seem to have a bigger balcony.

Thanks!

 The aft deck 11 AQ do have large balconies.  We were in one last week and the movie screen is above those cabins.  We could hear the movie when on our balcony and when inside the  cabin we normally didn’t hear the dialogue but heard the bass and reverberation of the music inside the cabin.

 

Every afternoon at 4 there was a movie on 12 and below us at the a sunset bar there was a duo performing which we could also hear clearly.  Bohemian Rhapsody competing  with folk singing doesn’t make for a pleasant cocktail on the balcony.

Edited July 12, 2019 by jelayne
Correction

[warmwinds]

The AQ afts (true afts, facing the wake) have larger balconies than most other AQ and C1 cabins.

 

The C1 true afts have bigger balconies than those.

 

The FV's have even bigger balconies (the Corner FV's are the biggest).

 

If you have no interest in eating in Blu not sure why you are even considering it.

[PelicanLvr]

20 minutes ago, EWR224 said:

 

 

We really aren't that interested in Blu.  We were planning to eat in the MDR, at a large table, to meet some fellow cruisers.

I just wanted to ask opinions since the Aqua class aft cabins also seem to have a bigger balcony.

Thanks!

Stay put in the FV.  Best balconies on the ship. 

 

Aft AQ balconies are not nearly as good as the FVs....especially if you have a corner FV.

[EWR224]

11 minutes ago, hcat said:

Is there any chance you will lose the Fam Veranda to a family  of more than 2?   Surprised they let 2 only book it..

 

I would look carefully at AQ class aft location to make sure there are no nearby  noise issues.. If no issues, we'd prefer  AQ class with BLU  ..If S Class ship, the Persian Garden would also be a great feature of booking AQ class 

 

When we moved to the family veranda from a regular veranda it was after final payment and a price drop.  Instead of a $90 up charge  p/p Celebrity charged us $140 p/p because there were only 2 of us in the cabin.  I hope they honor it?

 

 

11 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

I’m Curious because I have a bid in to move up from an ocean view to a FV. What category were you in and how much was your successful bid? Also, how far out from your sailing did you get notified?  To answer your question, I would prefer the FV. 

 

We did not do any move up bids.  I have just been watching availability for our sailing after final payment.  

 

9 minutes ago, jelayne said:

 The aft deck 11 AQ do have large balconies.  We were in one last week and the movie screen is above those cabins.  We could hear the movie when on our balcony and when inside the  cabin we normally didn’t hear the dialogue but heard the bass and reverberation of the music inside the cabin.

 

Every afternoon at 4 there was a movie on 12 and below us at the a sunset bar there was a duo performing which we could also hear clearly.  Bohemian Rhapsody competing  with folk singing doesn’t make for a pleasant cocktail on the balcony.

 

This is great information!  

 

 

[EWR224]

2 minutes ago, warmwinds said:

If you have no interest in eating in Blu not sure why you are even considering it.

 

This is only my second cruise with Celebrity. 

 

I am cruising with a friend and thought we might prefer the MDR at a big table for the social aspect of meeting more folks.  However, the food at Blu sounds wonderful from the great reviews on these boards.

 

Since the Aqua veranda, that is available, is aft and also looks large, I decided to consider the "upgrade"

 

I wanted to get some advice/opinions from experienced Celebrity cruisers.  Thanks to all for the helpful feedback!

[awhfy]

Personally I’d stay with the much larger Family Veranda. My DH & I are not fond of Blu or the small dining area

[bigbenboys]

52 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

The only cabins that have the larger balconies on the M class ships are those that face directly aft.  And those are either FV or Concierge (C1).

Stick with what you've got..

It is my understanding that aft deck 11 has Aqua 1 (A1) cabins with larger balconies. Did make changes to deck 11?

[ECCruise]

4 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

It is my understanding that aft deck 11 has Aqua 1 (A1) cabins with larger balconies. Did make changes to deck 11?

Yes I forgot about those. Larger than normal balconies but not as big as the FVs. And don't think have as big cabins as FV. 

Edited July 12, 2019 by ECCruise

[warmwinds]

You will have people to talk to in Blu, if you so desire.  You'll sit next to different people every night, and most are willing to strike up a conversation.  At a big table in the MDR you'll have the same people every night.

 

Are you in a corner FV or the one next to it?

Edited July 12, 2019 by warmwinds

[EWR224]

1 hour ago, warmwinds said:

Are you in a corner FV or the one next to it?

 

The one next to the corner on deck 8 aft.

[Turtles06]

4 hours ago, hcat said:

Is there any chance you will lose the Fam Veranda to a family  of more than 2?   Surprised they let 2 only book it..

 

Celebrity opens up the FVs to booking by fewer than five if/when they determine they are not likely to sell those staterooms to a larger group.  My wife and I (and other couples) snagged FVs on a TA on the Infinity some years ago, months before final payment.  I'm sure the computer algorithms could predict there would be very few families traveling with a bunch of kids on that cruise (which is the case on most TAs).  

[Cruise Junky]

Do not give up the FV

Edited July 13, 2019 by Cruise Junky

[excitedofharpenden]

6 hours ago, EWR224 said:

 

This is only my second cruise with Celebrity. 

 

I am cruising with a friend and thought we might prefer the MDR at a big table for the social aspect of meeting more folks.  However, the food at Blu sounds wonderful from the great reviews on these boards.

 

Since the Aqua veranda, that is available, is aft and also looks large, I decided to consider the "upgrade"

 

I wanted to get some advice/opinions from experienced Celebrity cruisers.  Thanks to all for the helpful feedback!

Absolutely stay put.

 

Phil

[chrismakris]

If the AQ cabin is the one directly in the middle or on either side of it I would jump on it in a heartbeat.  The balconies are much bigger and it’s a great view. The food in Blu is amazing and you will get to meet people in Blu. 

 

The Oceanview Cafe is right below you but I never had an issue with noise. 

[Turtles06]

1 minute ago, chrismakris said:

The Oceanview Cafe is right below you but I never had an issue with noise. 

 

See the comments above re noise from above from the outdoor movies and noise from below from live music at the Sunset Bar. 

[upwarduk]

I have never been in Aqua, but I would say stay with the FV, as you have 2 rooms, so plenty of space for you to use as you desire. ie a room each? 

Edited July 13, 2019 by upwarduk

[ECCruise]

9 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Celebrity opens up the FVs to booking by fewer than five if/when they determine they are not likely to sell those staterooms to a larger group.  My wife and I (and other couples) snagged FVs on a TA on the Infinity some years ago, months before final payment.  I'm sure the computer algorithms could predict there would be very few families traveling with a bunch of kids on that cruise (which is the case on most TAs).  

Yes, you never know when they are going to open the FVs for booking for less than 5.  We have one booked for the 2 of us on a sailing in February 2021. 

But to chime in again, no way I would give up all that room for AQ, especially on Deck 11 which seems to be geographically challenged. 😏