Experienced Aqua Cruisers

Is eating in Blu THAT much better than the MDR? What is the food/menu like? I'm trying to decide if I should upgrade and try it. Thank you for your opinions.

We think it's better.

That said if the cost of AQ was approaching the cost of specialty dining most nights we'd pass,

Only way we will sail is Aqua, so we can eat in Blu. Partly for the great food and able to sit at a smaller table, as sorry to say were not your typical cruiser and want to chat with everyone,lol So it is nice to have that table for 2. But we do love the food and service. Cabin was fine, but nothing overly special.

Ensure you take a look at the Cabin spreadsheet for the S-class ships https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/lv?key=0AtHczoNeooladEEyVmQwWmJhaGItbFZPUFNudTFZcEE&type=view&gid=0&f=true&colid0=1&filterstr0=1549&sortcolid=-1&sortasc=true&rowsperpage=250

We prefer the aft of the ship ,as ur not under the pool/weight room, so tends to be quieter.

Is eating in Blu THAT much better than the MDR? What is the food/menu like? I'm trying to decide if I should upgrade and try it. Thank you for your opinions.

There is an example menu for Blu available to review on the Celebrity website as well as an MDR example menu. That will give you a basis to compare food.

Most people that prefer Blu will state that the food quality / presentation is the major factor for why they choose Aqua/Blu accommodations. Other factors such as a smaller, more intimate dining venue play a big factor. Others go so far as to say the service is better or prefer the "always Smart Casual" dress code. I've had excellent meals and great service in both the MDR and Blu. Although my past two cruises were Aqua Class, my next cruise is in the MDR for a 9 day Eastern Caribbean itinerary.

Decisions largely come down to price vs. "perceived" value. If the difference is small and in your budget, try Aqua. If not, enjoy the MDR.

Worst case, you don't like Blu, and then you work with the Maitre D to eat in the MDR.

Enjoy your cruise.

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My wife and I have spent 28 days dining in Blu on Reflection and Eclipse in the last three years. We like it for the beauty of the dining room, the any-time service hours, and the professional family atmosphere associated with a well run family owned restaurant. You get to know your fellow diners and the staff well over a 14 day period, as people tend to dine around the same time most nights.

I am a 60 year old midwestern male with traditional tastes in food, but I found something to enjoy on each night's menu. I particularly enjoy the appetizers, soups, and desserts on this menu. I tried many things I would not normally order at home and enjoyed most of them. It is a good dining experience for trying new things. I believe sample menus are available on the Celebrity website and this board. The only suggestion I would make to improve Blu is that the breakfast menu, which is quite good by the way, is a little repetitive and has been the same for all 28 days we have been in Blu. Perhaps it is time to change a few things on this Celebrity!

I would urge you to try Blu and Aqua Class if the price is right. I also enjoyed the Persian Garden access that comes with the package. Happy Cruising.

Recently back from 10 nights on the Equinox in the MDR. It was fine, no issues. But, we've sailed in Aqua and like it much better. The food is a bit better but it is more like eating in a restaurant versus a banquet hall. The MDR is much better than a banquet hall but the atmosphere is the same.

Last time we were in Aqua we wanted to eat in the MDR 1 night (didn't know we could order off the MDR menu). Anyway, what we noticed was how loud it was. So it's not just the food.

Our next booking I originally had CC cabin but the price dropped so the difference for Aqua was only $200 total for the 10 nights. I had to jump on it.

If the price is close, go for it. But if not, just spend a few nights int eh specialty restaurants with the money saved.

enjoy,

We've been in aqua class for our last six or seven cruises on S and M class ships. We generally eat in the MDR once each cruise for various reasons.

I don't think there is any difference in the quality of the food. The difference is as someone put it above, it's eating in a restaurant with better service; it is much quieter...you can actually talk in a normal voice; and although you hear little about it, one of the best features is the full served breakfast. For us, it's an easy decision and we book aqua.

Having said that...celebrity has 14 nights of menus for blu (and for the MDR)...and maybe they change one entree on one of the menus every 6 months. We are a bit aqua'd out (read that as bored with the menu) so we actually booked our next celebrity cruise in CC just for a change. It is possible to have too much of a good thing :)

Here's my 2 cents worth- My husband and I are experienced cruisers as well, and we book Aqua Class strictly to dine in Blu. The food comes out hot and as we ordered it. This is especially appreciated for me at breakfast- no buffet lines and no cold eggs! The service is sometimes a bit slow, but it is always worth the wait. I enjoy sitting just the two of us, but also enjoy talking to other diners. We are on the Eclipse for 2 weeks during the March 1 sailing, woo hoo! It would be very hard to go back to the MDR for me- well worth the extra cost, IMHO.

Service was excellent, and yes maybe service was at a relaxed pace at time..but my rum/coke stayed topped up!! :-)

For us its the smaller, quiet dinning room along with the resort casual dress.

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Our first three Celebrity cruises we ate in MDR and thought it was very good. Always had some good items.

On last cruise on Equinox, we ate in Blu. We LOVED it!! Great choices for entrees, fantastic service and loved the smaller dining room. One huge difference was that when we got our food, items intended to be hot - were piping hot!! Not something we had seen regularly in the MDR since they are typically carrying your food across a long distance to your table.

We loved it so much that we booked two more cruises on board in AQ.

Will be trying Blu for the first time in May. I had booked a veranda cabin and my TA said she would upgrade us to Blu at her expense so it was an offer I could not pass up. This is on Summit. Then along with the 1-2-3 promotion she gave us another $100 OBC. Then she called Celebrity and got them to upgrade us from deck 9 aqua to deck 11 aqua. A win,win situation.

Laura

For me it depends on the ship and the cost difference between a verandah and an aqua class cabin.

On ships that have 4 specialty restaurants for dinner (Murano, QSine, Tuscan Grill, Lawn Club), plus Bistro on 5 and the Porch, we usually opt for a verandah cabin and use the savings to book specialty restaurants even if the cost difference is fairly close (which it usually isn't)

On ships that may only have 2 specialty restaurants, if the cost different is within 200.00, we would usually book Aqua.

We do enjoy Blu for breakfast, but I am the only one who uses the Persian gardens and being Elite I get a coupon for that.

We only book Aqua mainly because of Blu. You do get personal service with a table for two. We don't order all the courses so you order want you want and go. You don't have to wait for everyone at a table of 6 or 8 to order and eat all the courses. Also eat when you want no schedule. Another big plus no formal wear. Smart casual all the time.

We were on the Silhoutte in December and ate at Blu six of the seven nights.

The first night the filet mignon was great. Other than that the rest of the meals were disappointing or terrible. (The lobster tail was inedible, and my other choice of veal scalapini, the waiter said I wouldn't like) We waited one

morning 40 minutes for a bagel and cream cheese and was told that the kitchen was very slow. We were able to order from the MDR only apetizers or

soups, but not entrees. I did think the staff was very nice. After reading reviews of Blu on cruise critic, I scratch my head and say I what happened the week I cruised. We did enjoy our dining experience in Murrano.

I always feel obligated to chime in on these threads. We booked AQ a few years ago to try Blu. The food was okay, some nights there wasn't anything that jumped out at me, but it was fine.

BUT, we really missed the camaraderie of a large table and making new friends. Yes, everyone will tell you that you can speak to the people at tables (very) close to you in Blu, but that never happened to us even though we are very friendly. We'd get a brief nod and then the 'we want to be alone' body language. DH and I eat our meals alone together most days and nights, and we look forward to dinner every night at a large table with a lot of chatting, sharing stories, etc. There are lots of food choices and I never leave hungry!

I'm sure we're not the only ones who feel that way, but may be the only ones who chime in.

We are great fans of Blu and book Aqua Class so it will be our assigned dining room. While we prefer the "cleaner" fare in Blu over the MDR neither my husband nor I can tolerate the noise level in the MDR of the M-class ships during dinner (While we have cruised on S-class ships, since we book Blu, we have only had lunch in their MDRs.). While we can tolerate noise and din at venues as sporting events we just want to dine in a more serene atmosphere.

And we have had no problems meeting other passengers while dining in Blu.

We are great fans of Blu and book Aqua Class so it will be our assigned dining room. While we prefer the "cleaner" fare in Blu over the MDR neither my husband nor I can tolerate the noise level in the MDR of the M-class ships during dinner (While we have cruised on S-class ships, since we book Blu, we have only had lunch in their MDRs.). While we can tolerate noise and din at venues as sporting events we just want to dine in a more serene atmosphere.

 

And we have had no problems meeting other passengers while dining in Blu.

Yes, the tables are close to chat..or not chat...and there are bigger tables away from the windows if u so desire that

We have booked AQ twice, once on an S class ship and once on M class. We also ate breakfast in Blu the one time we had a Sky Suite (we couldn't do dinner as we were traveling with someone who was in a regular balcony).

We enjoyed the S class Blu experience a lot, and enjoyed the M class experience even more. We liked the smaller venue, the (usually) better service, and the quality of the food. We don't like how the tables for two are jammed together in S class, but overall preferred the ambiance of Blu to the MDR.

It sounds strange, but we particularly like the breakfast in Blu as well. It is much more quiet and peaceful than either the buffet or MDR. It is a real treat for us to have our breakfasts in Blu.

The other AQ amenities are pretty worthless to us - some are nice to have but I wouldn't pay any extra for them (particularly the M class spa).

All that said, for many years we ate in the MDR and still do when we travel three to a room with our son. But overall we prefer dining in Blu so will pick AQ if there are just the two of us, and if the pricing is not too much more than other balcony cabins. How much is too much? That's an individual decision. I would say maybe $100 more pp for a 7 day cruise, but even that would vary depending on the price overall, perks, etc..

We have sailed 6 times in Aqua. On the first 5 cruises food, service and general quiet ambiance of the restaurant were very good to excellent.

Recently on the Eclipse, food was hit or miss with more misses than hits. Lacked ambiance, lights turned way up, noisy, waiters running, sommeliers hard to find and there were empty tables! We ate in the MDR on 2 nights very good food, nice quiet table for 2, with waiters who didn't seem to be constantly running and a sommelier who suggested different wines to pair with each course. Not sure we will book AQ again.

We will only book Aqua and Blu because "it is always just the Two of Us...we like it that way.

You have to decide for yourself if the price of the cruise is worth it.

I would rather eat in MDR and specialty venues, unless the price is the same as a regular veranda. I did like the shower in AQ.

We love Blu and have always booked Aqua Claas because of it. The food is always tasty and there is plenty of variety. The view is always amazing and the staff is always wonderful. Breakfast is another great meal to be had. The smoothies are nice (I'm not going to over state what they are) and I like the freshness of what is offered.

The only warning would be not to order scrambled eggs unless your waiter can first assure they will be fresh eggs. That goes for room service too.

On our last cruise I tried to check the MDR menu to see if there might be something to try there, but I've always decided on Blu.

Blu to us us like a specialty resturant. Here are a few photos.

Here are a few menus.

http://www.beyondships2.com/celebrity-silhouette-blu-menus.html

And here is a nice review of Blu. (One correction to the review. You CAN NOT be invited into Blu. It is for those in Aqua a Class and those in suites on a space avaliable basis.)

http://www.beyondships2.com/celebrity-silhouette-blu-review.html

We are traveling with 2 other couples we all booked Aqua on Summit. Any issue with us getting a table for 6 in Blu? It's the first time in Aqua for all of us.

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