Aqua Class questions -sorry but...

[PMT51]

I never thought I would sail Aqua Class so I never paid attention to questions about Aqua Class and Blu. However, yesterday I snagged a great upgrade to Aqua Class. Please indulge me and answer again. 

 

Is seating in Blu similar to select dining in MDR, meaning if you show up without reservations at a popular time and they are full you get a pager?

 

Can we still eat in the MDR if we let Blu know in advance?

 

Can we order off of the MDR menu?

 

Is the dress code stricter than the MDR?

 

Do they have wine that I can get with the premium drink package, or are they over the max price?

 

Are breakfast omelettes made to order?

 

What is the relaxation lounge on Solstice like?

 

What are the afternoon canapés like?

 

What is your favourite thing about Aqua Class?

 

Thank you all. 

 

[cruiserchuck]

Is seating in Blu similar to select dining in MDR, meaning if you show up without reservations at a popular time and they are full you get a pager?  Yes

 

Can we still eat in the MDR if we let Blu know in advance?  Yes.

 

Can we order off of the MDR menu?  On some ships we have been able to.

 

Is the dress code stricter than the MDR?  No.

 

Do they have wine that I can get with the premium drink package, or are they over the max price?  Yes, they have wine below the max.

 

Are breakfast omelettes made to order?  Yes.

 

What is the relaxation lounge on Solstice like?  Nice, but often crowded.

 

What are the afternoon canapés like?  

 

What is your favourite thing about Aqua Class?  Blu.

[dkjretired]

7 minutes ago, cruiserchuck said:

Is seating in Blu similar to select dining in MDR, meaning if you show up without reservations at a popular time and they are full you get a pager?  Yes

 

Can we still eat in the MDR if we let Blu know in advance?  Yes.

 

Can we order off of the MDR menu?  On some ships we have been able to.

 

Is the dress code stricter than the MDR?  No.

 

Do they have wine that I can get with the premium drink package, or are they over the max price?  Yes, they have wine below the max.

 

Are breakfast omelettes made to order?  Yes.

 

What is the relaxation lounge on Solstice like?  Nice, but often crowded.

 

What are the afternoon canapés like?  

 

What is your favourite thing about Aqua Class?  Blu.

 

Dress code is actually more lax than MDR since Blu is smart casual every night, no evening chic nights. 

 

As stated you can eat in the MDR but be advised you do not have a seat reserved for you there.   

Edited March 12, 2020 by dkjretired

[jelayne]

7 minutes ago, PMT51 said:

I never thought I would sail Aqua Class so I never paid attention to questions about Aqua Class and Blu. However, yesterday I snagged a great upgrade to Aqua Class. Please indulge me and answer again. 

 

Is seating in Blu similar to select dining in MDR, meaning if you show up without reservations at a popular time and they are full you get a pager?

Blu is open seating, show up when you are ready.  We have rarely had to wait more and 2-3 minutes, but if there is a wait you will be given a pager.

Can we still eat in the MDR if we let Blu know in advance?

 Ask the Matre D to arrange it.

Can we order off of the MDR menu?

Probably not on the S class ships as Blu and its kitchen are on Deck 5 Aft, the MDR kitchen is on deck 2 mid ship.  In order to get food from the MDR a wait staff would have to go half way across the ship, down 3 deck ad back.  They do however have a number of the most populare items from the MDR in Blu  like cesear salad, shrimp cocktail, escargot, onion soup, French fries come to mind.

Is the dress code stricter than the MDR?

No dress code is the same

Do they have wine that I can get with the premium drink package, or are they over the max price?

Yes they have wines on both the Classic and Premium package

Are breakfast omelettes made to order?

Yes

What is the relaxation lounge on Solstice like?

Forward facing room with some lounge chairs, used primarily for the waitng area for those with spa appointments

What are the afternoon canapés like?

Not great.

What is your favourite thing about Aqua Class?

Blu.  We are not spa people we book AQ solely for Blu.

Thank you all. 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

6 minutes ago, dkjretired said:

Dress code is actually more lax than MDR since Blu is smart casual every night, no evening chic nights.  

We’re on the Equinox now in Aqua and just called customer service about your comment which we are all for but wanted to confirm before I put my tie back in the drawer. They said the Chic Night dress code is applicable in all restaurants other than the buffet rather than just the MDR. 

[keesar]

6 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We’re on the Equinox now in Aqua and just called customer service about your comment which we are all for butwanted to confirm before I put my tie back in the drawer. They said the Chic Night dress code is applicable in all restaurants other than the buffet rather than just the MDR. 

 

Agreed.  There was a sign at the entrance to Blu citing the dress code.  This was on the Equinox.

 

Actually, the late afternoon snacks were an improvement on a recent cruise.

[whitbob]

Ken,

you are on vacation, put the tie back in the drawer and relax.  😊. No one will notice.

[dkjretired]

22 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We’re on the Equinox now in Aqua and just called customer service about your comment which we are all for but wanted to confirm before I put my tie back in the drawer. They said the Chic Night dress code is applicable in all restaurants other than the buffet rather than just the MDR. 

 

If you know anything about Celebrity Customer service they are often wrong and this is one of those cases.   The dress code in Blu, Luminae and all specialties has been smart casual every night for years.  If a ship put up a sign they are doing it contrary to Celebrity's written policy.   This isn't even an issue anymore its so old. 

 

Here is a link to all restaurants on the Celebrity ships.  If you check on each one you will find they are all Smart Casual with the exception of the MDR which indicates smart casual or evening chic.   You may put your tie away. 

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/eat-and-drink/restaurants-and-cafes

 

Here is the link specifically for Blu.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/eat-and-drink/restaurants-and-cafes/blu

 

The beauty of their dress code is you have a lot of leeway but you should get the correct info as to policy.  

Edited March 12, 2020 by dkjretired

[Ken the cruiser]

30 minutes ago, dkjretired said:

 

If you know anything about Celebrity Customer service they are often wrong and this is one of those cases.   The dress code in Blu, Luminae and all specialties has been smart casual every night for years.  If a ship put up a sign they are doing it contrary to Celebrity's written policy.   This isn't even an issue anymore its so old. 

 

Here is a link to all restaurants on the Celebrity ships.  If you check on each one you will find they are all Smart Casual with the exception of the MDR which indicates smart casual or evening chic.   You may put your tie away. 

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/eat-and-drink/restaurants-and-cafes

 

Here is the link specifically for Blu.

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/eat-and-drink/restaurants-and-cafes/blu

 

The beauty of their dress code is you have a lot of leeway but you should get the correct info as to policy.  

Here is the sign in front of Blu which is also the same in front of Luminae. But it’s nice to know I don’t have to wear a tie, just a button down shirt with slacks. 
 

However, we did check with  a specialty restaurant Matre D and all specialty restaurants are always smart casual. 
 

 

[Jim_Iain]

Hope you enjoy Aqua.   You will definitely feel pampered.

 

One of your questions re the canapés.    Personal opinion -  Yuck     we ask the attendant not to deliver.    They also have a daily flavored  tea that we ask to be eliminated.   Just personal preference. 

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, keesar said:

 

Agreed.  There was a sign at the entrance to Blu citing the dress code.  This was on the Equinox.

 

Actually, the late afternoon snacks were an improvement on a recent cruise.

We agree. The canapés on this cruise on the Equinox have been quite tasty!!

[dkjretired]

35 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here is the sign in front of Blu which is also the same in front of Luminae. But it’s nice to know I don’t have to wear a tie, just a button down shirt with slacks. 
 

However, we did check with  a specialty restaurant Matre D and all specialty restaurants are always smart casual. 
 

 

 

 

I'm not doubting that these signs are up, many times these ships just go rogue.   Another example is having 3 chic nights on longer cruises when Celebrity's written policy is that any cruise of 7 or more nights shall have 2 chic nights.   

 

Its funny but the smart casual everynight in Blu actually predates the current dress code of smart casual and evening chic.   Back when Celebrity had the three dress codes and Blu was instituted the dress code was informal under that code.   We actually had many threads on these boards where people said they were booking Blu so they didn't have to dress up.   

[dkjretired]

37 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Hope you enjoy Aqua.   You will definitely feel pampered.

 

One of your questions re the canapés.    Personal opinion -  Yuck     we ask the attendant not to deliver.    They also have a daily flavored  tea that we ask to be eliminated.   Just personal preference. 

 

We have asked for shrimp instead of the canapés, agree with Jim, they are yuck.  

[keesar]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We agree. The canapés on this cruise on the Equinox have been quite tasty!!

 

Some posters probably have not tried them lately.  Many cruisers on Equinox raved about the quality of the canapés on our recent cruise.  Outstanding!

[HS2BS]

Ask for cheese & crackers - hard to ruin that!

 

Hal

[MamaFej]

I'm glad to hear that the quality of the canapés seems to have been improved. We've been Team Cheese and Crackers, but maybe we will try the canapés next time we are in Aqua or Concierge.

 

Regarding the flavored tea pitcher, we asked our steward to just bring a pitcher of ice water instead. This, plus a full ice bucket, kept us from needing to fill our water flasks one cup at a time in the buffet on our last (first Aqua) cruise. 

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, HS2BS said:

Ask for cheese & crackers - hard to ruin that!

 

Hal

 Not really 3 types of cheese 1 terrible  and 2 packages of stale saltines.  We just pass on the canapés.  If we want canapés we go to the OV and get something to take back to the balcony.

[Ken the cruiser]

3 hours ago, dkjretired said:

 

 

I'm not doubting that these signs are up, many times these ships just go rogue.   Another example is having 3 chic nights on longer cruises when Celebrity's written policy is that any cruise of 7 or more nights shall have 2 chic nights.   

 

Its funny but the smart casual everynight in Blu actually predates the current dress code of smart casual and evening chic.   Back when Celebrity had the three dress codes and Blu was instituted the dress code was informal under that code.   We actually had many threads on these boards where people said they were booking Blu so they didn't have to dress up.   

What’s interesting about this discussion is that I’ve been wearing a nice polo shirt and dockers every night in Blu, except for the 2 chic nights where I wore a button down shirt and dockers, not knowing they were not considered as official smart casual clothes and no one has said anything. So if you like wearing polo shirts, you’re good to go as well. 

[MamaFej]

6 minutes ago, jelayne said:

 Not really 3 types of cheese 1 terrible  and 2 packages of stale saltines.  We just pass on the canapés.  If we want canapés we go to the OV and get something to take back to the balcony.

We got the cruddy, stale packaged "Zesta" saltines the first day on our last cruise, but I saw on the second day that the guy delivering plates had a box of "good" crackers. I asked for better crackers and got them for the rest of the cruise. Our plates always had some nice fresh or dried fruit.

 

I respect reasonable cost-cutting measures and efforts to reduce waste, but those packaged crackers... blecch!

[gek]

4 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here is the sign in front of Blu which is also the same in front of Luminae. But it’s nice to know I don’t have to wear a tie, just a button down shirt with slacks. 
 

However, we did check with  a specialty restaurant Matre D and all specialty restaurants are always smart casual. 
 

 

 

Long sleeves for smart casual? Where did that come from? I can't remember every having worn long sleeves in Blu on any night. I think someone;s just copy/pasted something without thinking about it. 

[Vagabond Knight]

Seems you've had most questions answered, but I'll throw in a couple of comments.

 

I HAVE seen people in shorts turned away from Blu so yes, there is some enforcement of the dress policy.  Whether or not it's more strictly enforced than the MDR, I have no idea.

 

We have not been at all impressed with the canapés.  We asked our steward to set us up with cheese and crackers instead on the last cruise, which was a great improvement.  Whatever that tea stuff is, we've stayed away from that as well.

 

Our favorite thing about Aqua is Blu.  Dinners in there are usually quite delicious, with great service, and the nice quiet sit-down breakfast in there is a very relaxing way to start the day.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, gek said:

Long sleeves for smart casual? Where did that come from? I can't remember every having worn long sleeves in Blu on any night. I think someone;s just copy/pasted something without thinking about it. 

Nope, that was a picture of the sign outside the Blu restaurant on the Equinox I took tonight. Obviously, they don’t strictly enforce it to the letter, but that’s what it said. There was a similar one outside Luminae with the only difference being the name of the restaurant posted on the sign. 

[gek]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Nope, that was a picture of the sign outside the Blu restaurant on the Equinox I took tonight. Obviously, they don’t strictly enforce it to the letter, but that’s what it said. There was a similar one outside Luminae with the only difference being the name of the restaurant posted on the sign. 

Yes, I didn't mean you had copy/pasted it but whoever created the sign may have. It's not the first time I've seen a sign at a restaurant which was completely different to Celebrity's published dress code. Not that anyone pays attention to the signs.