So what's your favorite thing about Aqua Class?

Just booked a Panama cruise on Infinity and this time decided to try Aqua class over Consierge. Would love any advice, or favorites or ????

Am very excited to try Blu, so if you have any dishes that you particularly enjoyed and would recommend, please pass them on.

Many awesome friendships have developed over the years with new friends by "eating together" at dinner, does this happen in Blu too?

Our favorite dish in Blu is the Short ribs; both when it is an appetizer and when it is a entree.

We have met many people in Blu and have had dinner and/or drinks with them on occasion during the cruise. It is unlikely you will be seated next to the same people every night at dinner every night. We have found the friendships that can develop by dining with the same people 10 nights in a row are less likely to occur in Blu.

Sadie,

My wife and I have made Elite level last year. We have done Aqua Class at least 5 times. I would say the best thing that we like about Aqua is Blu. Yes you still meet other people even at tables for two because the tables are very close. Also the Aqua Class cabins are usually located near the buffet and the pools. All of our cruises on Celebrity have all been on Solstice class ships. Although we will be sailing on Infinity in March 2017 on cruise from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso, it will be interesting to see how they compare. Have a nice cruise.

Since there are no assigned times in Blu, you will not see the same people all the time. For the most part, the tables are for two but the separation is so small that we often strike up a conversation with people near us. If they're not interested in chatting, we let it go with a "good evening" but often our neighbors want to talk.

Personally, I prefer Blu on the M-Class ships like the Infinity. It's hard to put my finger on, I just think it's nicer than on the S-Class ships. On the first night of almost all cruises, there is a filet mignon featured on the menu. If you are a beef eater, do not miss it! It's spectacular!

Unlike the MDR, food in Blu is prepared to order so if an entree appeals to you but the sides don't just ask and they'll provide something else. There are some "everyday" items that are not listed on the menu. If your server does not tell you what they are, ask.

Breakfast in Blu is the same everyday but it's always very pleasant. Some ships are still offering the "Tableside Muesli" and while it's not something I want every day, I have to have it at least once per cruise.

You will hear that the Persian Gardens on the M-Class ships are nearly as nice as those on the S-Class. While to a certain degree that's true, it's not crowded and is a wonderful place to go and relax.

Breakfast in Blu.

Blu. The French Toast for breakfast, short ribs for dinner.

Well, it's not Concierge and the lamb chops are great

......

 

Personally, I prefer Blu on the M-Class ships like the Infinity. It's hard to put my finger on, I just think it's nicer than on the S-Class ships. On the first night of almost all cruises, there is a filet mignon featured on the menu. If you are a beef eater, do not miss it! It's spectacular!

 

 

....

I agree with "2theship" -- we've been in Blu on both M- and S-class ships, and I prefer Blu on the M-class ships. Just smaller and more cozy on a M-class ship.

But one of my favorite Blu dishes is a brie and thyme tart. It is offered once on the fourteen day menu rotation. While it is vegetarian it is not low calorie.

And the Blu filet mignon is better than some of the filet mignon in Tuscan.

We have been booking Aqua, Concierge or Suites. We like the location for the Aqua cabins. I like the dining experience in Blu. The serves is great. The food is pretty good.

Blu: Most 1st nights they have filet mignon. I would much rather have prime rib from the MDR. But I would not ask for it. Also Blu tend to have more pigeon, pheasants and quail on the menu. They have the every night menu as the MDR. Also Escargot, French Onion soup and Shrimp cocktail that are not on the menu.

Location is important to us. We like upper decks center aft. We really like deck 11 on the M Class. Aqua Class being one deck above (A1 Aqua Class on M Class) or one deck below the Oceanveiw Cafe and bars.

Our next cruise we are on deck 6. Never had a suite or cabin that low. Just not sure. Maybe we will love it, must keep a open mind.

Our next cruise we are in a suite. Then 3 cruises in Aqua. Then back to suites for a b2b.

We have only done aqua once and we loved it and the best part for us was blu, hands down. We loved the menu but I think the staff is what really made it memorable. The maitre d' managed to save our quiet table for 2 every night. Which meant that we had the same wait staff the entire cruise and they were amazing. Perfect in fact. I think for the final 2 or 3 nights we pretty much just told them to bring us whatever they recommended. My wife casually mentioned on the 2nd night that I'm a pasta guy so he just brought out the pasta dish every night as a 3rd entree as a "share" plate for us.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Really begins and ends with Blu. Love it, especially for breakfast. The food is great and I really like the feel of the place. A lot less hectic then the MDR. Just feels more relaxed to me.

What we like best about Aqua is Blu, Blu, Blu! Tables for two are plentiful and they tend to be placed rather close. You can either engage in conversation to the people next to you or not, your choice. You will be eating next to different people every night because there is no assigned seating in Blu. You will have an opportunity to meet a lot of interesting people, if you wish. Even though there is game fowl entree on the menu some nights, (which I am not a fan of), there are plenty of other excellent options from which to pick.

There is a roasted beet and smoked chicken salad appetizer that I love. I bought the cookbook for that one recipe!

I also like AQ for the spa perks, and although the M-class ships don't really have a true Persian Garden, they still offer several aromatherapy steam chambers that I enjoy for a few minutes each day. It gives me a moment to stop, breathe, meditate, before I am bombarded with more food, music, and all of the other excitement of being on the ship.

We've been in Aqua class only once. DH liked Blu and the persian gardens so much we've upgraded from concierge to aqua for our next cruise.

Wow everyone!! Thanks so much for the wonderful information!! Went back and forth between trying Oceania, as this is my "retirement" trip,.... but we are and have been very loyal to Celebrity. In fact haven't been on anything else!

We're on deck 11 on Infinity for the Panama cruise and can hardly wait.:D

We love the Persian Gardens so we'd end up buying a pass anyway and of course we love Blu.

Breakfast: Tableside Muesli and Smoked Salmon and Asparagus Frittata. We usually went at 7am on Port days to fuel up. They didn't mind us having our beach bag in tow and we had a nice window spot to watch the ship pull in.

Dinner: So many! The rack of lamb is some of the best we've had. One of our most memorable meals was each getting the rack of lamb and a Blue Crab Risotto to share. The Ribeye was great, Beef Carpaccio, crabcake, crab martini cocktail and on and on.

Loved Blu on our one aqua class sailing, and we have booked AQ again for 2018. I actually did not end up going to the persian garden a whole lot last time, I feel like I can't remember why but I think it was a pretty port intensive cruise (its been a while so memory is foggy.) Probably will go more this time, only 3 ports in 7 days.

Also it is silly but I kind of liked the little spa amenities in the bathroom. The chapstick was great and the spray stuff (I don't even know what it was for) smelled nice. I ended up bringing the tiny bottle home and used as a bathroom spray, once it was empty I refilled it with some eucalyptus spray and now it goes on every cruise as a "bathroom freshening" spray!

Plus we loved the food in Blu and the smaller atmosphere. We don't usually do specialty restaurants (actually I never have but will try next month on NCL) so it was a good compromise. I liked that they had game birds and such, I love having unusual things on a cruise ship, I can get a good filet at a million places at home but who has delicious squab?!

We enjoy the Persian Gardens, Relaxation Rm (S class), nice shower...and almost always BLU.

On Infinity in Oct..BLU disappointed & after the filet mignon...downhill..esp service. We ate out of BLU 4 of 9 nights...We are convinced it was an aberration and will try Infiny BLU again..

AQ still works best for us!

Like many others we loved meals in BLU. The food was a bit better and the service was just wonderful. We ended up in Aqua on our last cruise when the price dropped about $1800 after final payment. The Persian Gardens and the relaxation room were a waste for us, the Gardens were too hot and other pax thought it was fun to play games on their phones at full volume in the relaxation room...not so relaxing for those wanting a bit of quiet time to watch the sea go by. I looked into for our next cruise and the price difference was over $2000 so we are back in a veranda. I can do a lot of specialty dining for a whole lot less than 2 grand..... For us it comes down to the value. We are putting the savings towards another cruise, hopefully to include Iceland.

I like everything about it ... proximity to the gym (yes I go daily), Persian Gardens (use the thermo beds, sauna, steam room), shower upgrade, and of course Blu.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We just completed our second cruise in Aqua (first was 2 years prior), both on the Millennium. Because we enjoyed our first cruise eating in Blu, we deliberately booked Aqua again and were not pleased. The "clean cuisine" concept seems to have been abandoned, as most every dish was overburdened with some sort of sauce that was usually inappropriate for the main meat or fish ingredient. That said, the limited number of entrees quickly reduces your options. Finally, despite the calmer, quieter atmosphere in general that one finds in Blu, the much-mentioned extreme proximity of two-tops produces just too many unsolicited and extended conversations with neighbors. (Obviously, if you love meeting people on cruises, you will adore this factor. We have nothing against meeting people, so long as they don't interrupt our meals.)

An additional factor when booking Aqua on Millennium is cabin location. Your choices are limited: forward on deck 9 or aft on deck 11. Our first cruise was on deck 9, and we hated the very large overhang of the deck above. As well, the jogging track was above us and the incessant pounding noise was very annoying. Accordingly, we chose deck 11 this time. Located aft of the stack, our balcony was subject to frequent coatings of soot. Our excellent steward did his best to clean it up, but there was a limit to what he could do.

As a result of the above, we decided to return to Concierge Class should we book with Celebrity again. There simply was not enough net advantage to justify paying Aqua prices again.

We just completed our second cruise in Aqua (first was 2 years prior), both on the Millennium. Because we enjoyed our first cruise eating in Blu, we deliberately booked Aqua again and were not pleased. The "clean cuisine" concept seems to have been abandoned, as most every dish was overburdened with some sort of sauce that was usually inappropriate for the main meat or fish ingredient.

Interesting. The menu in Blu has not been changed in the last five years. Or at least it hadn't back in july this year. Has it been changed since then?

As a result of the above, we decided to return to Concierge Class should we book with Celebrity again. There simply was not enough net advantage to justify paying Aqua prices again.

For people reading this I'd be a little bit wary of this kind of sweeping statement. Whilst it's true Aqua class is regularly more costly than concierge class, in reality you will sometimes find that aqua class cabins are cheaper than some concierge class rooms!

We sailed in Aqua Class for the first time last year... we met a wonderful couple from NY and ate each night with them in BLU...we all had a drink package and the sommelier was attentive and the wait staff was as well. We have booked the next three cruises in Aqua class... I guess we found our spot.[emoji924][emoji924][emoji924]

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Interesting. The menu in Blu has not been changed in the last five years. Or at least it hadn't back in july this year. Has it been changed since then?

 

 

For people reading this I'd be a little bit wary of this kind of sweeping statement. Whilst it's true Aqua class is regularly more costly than concierge class, in reality you will sometimes find that aqua class cabins are cheaper than some concierge class rooms!

I don't know if the menu has changed. I'm just saying that was the impression we got. We found the sauces to be oppressive.

I am aware of the price anomalies that appear. I agree that concierge rooms can sometimes be higher than aqua. We watch those prices (and those of verandas) and look for the best buy. For us, though, Blu has lost its appeal as an added attraction of aqua.