Aqua class or drink package?

Be very careful some of those middle cabins can be very noisey from what is happening above. Think carefully and look at what is on the deck above.

If the AQ cabin you are offered is on deck 11 on Reflection, you will be fine as there is another deck of cabin (decks 12) between you and the pool deck. We stayed in 1559 on Reflection and it was very quiet. I was originally in a cabin on deck 12 and switched to deck 11 when a cabin became available because of the warnings about noise from above.

I enjoyed AQ so much that I was more than a little worried about sailing in a 1A csbin on our last cruise. My fears were unfounded. I do like the shower in AQ but managed just fine with the standard shower. I enjoyed the Persian Garden but managed without it.

The biggest concern I had was moving back to the MDR from Blu. Blu is more cozy (some people dislike the closeness of the tables for 2) and we did find the noise level in the MDR to be way too loud. However, we had select dining so we asked to be seated in different sections in the MDR the first few nights, hoping to find a good spot. By night 4, we were pretty frustrated. We did specifically request seating in a quieter section of the MDR - and thankfully were seated in the "private" area in the back of the MDR. It is much more like Blu and met our needs. It is quieter and less hectic than the sections in the front of the MDR and around the cut out which overlooks the lower level of the MDR. We stayed in that section for the remaining nights of our cruise. As an aside, the food in the MDR was very good for both dinner and breakfast. We did not feel the need to go to any of the specialty restaurants throughout our cruise.

We are bouncing between a 1A veranda cabin, AQ and CC on our next few cruises. For me, it comes down to getting the best value on each cruise and I do set an upper limit on what the cost of the cruise will be each time I make a reservation. When I booked an upcoming cruise for next summer while onboard our last cruise (so that I got extra OBC) the cost of an A2 cabin was the most I wanted to spend for that cruise. My reservation was made in May as a 2A cabin with two perks. By July, I was able to,upgrade to a 1A, then a C2 and finally an A2 csbin - and add "Go Best" perks - for less than the cost at the time of the original booking. I watch for price drops on a regular basis and jump on them whenever I find them.

Unfortunately, that is always the case. But it is well worth the time spent checking on pricing at least once or twice a week, in my experience.

As a previous poster stated, you can politely ask Celebrity if it is possible to keep your beverage package if you take the AQ cabin. The worst thing that happens is they say no. Personally, I would hate to give up the beverage package and would stay in a regular veranda cabin if that was the bottom line. Try to get Select dining if you are in a veranda cabin so you have more flexibility with respect to dining time and location within the MDR.

Enjoy your cruise!

We also appreciated the beverage package, not just for alcohol, but able to get water and at breakfast fresh juice and a decent coffee, rather then the tepid, horrible brown stuff that comes from the urns.

I asked if we can keep the package and they said no :( We do have obc which we got initially with 2A, so our dilemma is either stay in ac and spend part of them on bererages or go back to 2A and spend them on tours and maybe specialty restaurants.. We always stay in usual veranda cabin with no beverage included, so both things - would be new for us.. Is coffee also so horrible for breakfast in BLU?

Where are you from? Many Americans are fine with the regular coffee. It's most the Europeans/Australians that hate the coffee.

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Where are you from? Many Americans are fine with the regular coffee. It's most the Europeans/Australians that hate the coffee.

 

 

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We are Europeans, used to sligtly different coffee:) but this is not a huge problem at all..

So many useful responses! I normally sail Concierge Class, but tried Aqua once. To me it wasn't worth the extra cost. I wouldn't give up the beverage package (for Blu and the Persian Garden) since the cruise is 14 days and you could buy a pass for Persian Garden.

Another poster mentioned convenience of the beverage package and not needing to sign for everything. I agree. Keep in mind also, that in addition to alcohol, the beverage package also allows for bottled water to take on excursions, espresso based drinks (I find the coffee in Oceanview just fine, but it's been noted that some European guests don't enjoy it as much - so the espresso based drinks are a bit stronger), and even some extra indulgences like the Affogato at Al Bacio - if you have never tried it, be warned, it's addicting ;)

Keep the 2A and drink pkg! The cabins are the same 194 sq ft, and tho having Blu as your dining room is nice, it is not that much different from the MDR.

Agreed - I note that most Aqua passengers love Blu. I found the menu to be less varied compared to MDR.

You can still eat in the MBR if you are in Aqua Class.

FWIW, you can still eat in the MDR. Just let the Blu maître d know. You will go to the Select dining entrance. You can also make a select dining reservation in the MDR if you wish.

Is this new? when I sailed Aqua (about 4 years ago), they specifically would not let us do that. Having the option now, is wonderful though.

We ate off MDR menu several times when in Blu best meals we had (says something about the Blu menu) without any problems, but think that might be because we were on Constellation (M class) so that the galleys are on same floor. They have actually pinched a bit of MDR to make Blu.

Is there a cost associated with the upgrade? If so it'll be more than the cost of losing the beverage package. If you book with aqua, you will no longer be able to eat in the MDR, your assigned dining room will be blu. The Persian gardens is the spa area.

 

Another option if you aren't sure you want to eat in the MDR every night but want to keep the bev package is to get one of the specialty dining packages. You could get around 6 nights for the cost you are quoting.

 

 

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You are not restricted from eating in the MDR. We did both. Mostly Blue though.

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You are not restricted from eating in the MDR. We did both. Mostly Blue though.

 

 

 

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People who aren't assigned to the anytime dining section of the MDR, yet choose to eat there anyway, contribute to the long waits. If you can order from the MDR menu in BLU, that sounds like a better solution.

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People who aren't assigned to the anytime dining section of the MDR, yet choose to eat there anyway, contribute to the long waits. If you can order from the MDR menu in BLU, that sounds like a better solution.

 

 

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To each his own. If we did decide to eat in MDR( if we had friends that were not in Aqua Class), we would book a reservation for a later time. Nothing to do with making lines longer. Just like people in Suites, can reserve a time in Blu, if there is something available.

Nothing is written in stone. I certainly don't begrudge anyone in a suite if they want to eat in Blue.

You are not restricted from eating in the MDR. We did both. Mostly Blue though.

 

 

 

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I just wonder why anyone would deliberately want to pay for AQ intending to eat in the MDR. Just go for concierge eat in MDR and use the difference to eat in the speciality restaurants.

I just wonder why anyone would deliberately want to pay for AQ intending to eat in the MDR. Just go for concierge eat in MDR and use the difference to eat in the speciality restaurants.

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I just wonder why anyone would deliberately want to pay for AQ intending to eat in the MDR. Just go for concierge eat in MDR and use the difference to eat in the speciality restaurants.

Like I mentioned earlier, most people aren’t deliberately booking Aqua and eating in MDR. Some friends, like ourselves, didn’t book Aqua, and so eating with them in MDR was important to us to be with friends. And to answer the remark about making the lineups longer because we wanted to have dinner with friends the odd time, That’s why you reserve a table later on so it doesn’t impact regular diners who want to eat at the two regular sittings.

And, also, Suite members can do the same. If there is seating available they can eat in Blu also. Bon Appetite, I say to everyone. [emoji1063]❤️

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Aqua 1 Deck 11 Cabin 1140 Summit NYC to Bermuda May 8, 2016.

 

Once you go Aqua 1 you'll never go steerage again, be warned.

 

In our case we were Aqua 1 with the 123GO Package & Premium Drinks Upgrade, doesn't get better than this.

 

CaptDave

I would respectfully disagree. We did Aqua on our recent Infinity cruise and while we loved Blu I would not trade Blu for the loss of a beverage package especially on a 14 nite cruise. The other perks of Aqua are mostly fluff (unless you actually use the Persian garden). I found the food to be a little better most nights, the appetizers were better and reasonable in size where as most of the MDR apps are laughable in size. The atmosphere is much better "if" you enjoy eating without table mates. 2 glasses of wine each with dinner on a 14 nite cruise is about $500 alone. A few drinks by the pool or in the evening in the lounge and very soon you can have a sizable bar bill. Also remember that beverage package pays for your coffees at Cafe Al Bacio, after dinner cappuccinos (or whatever) and your water and juices. For me, not a chance I would take that offer.

I would respectfully disagree. We did Aqua on our recent Infinity cruise and while we loved Blu I would not trade Blu for the loss of a beverage package especially on a 14 nite cruise. The other perks of Aqua are mostly fluff (unless you actually use the Persian garden). I found the food to be a little better most nights, the appetizers were better and reasonable in size where as most of the MDR apps are laughable in size. The atmosphere is much better "if" you enjoy eating without table mates. 2 glasses of wine each with dinner on a 14 nite cruise is about $500 alone. A few drinks by the pool or in the evening in the lounge and very soon you can have a sizable bar bill. Also remember that beverage package pays for your coffees at Cafe Al Bacio, after dinner cappuccinos (or whatever) and your water and juices. For me, not a chance I would take that offer.

I think you are right.❤️[emoji1063][emoji484][emoji482]

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I don't know what the OP decided, but I agree, no way would I give up a beverage package for Aqua class, especially not on a 14 night cruise!

some extra indulgences like the Affogato at Al Bacio - if you have never tried it, be warned, it's addicting ;)

Unfortunately the Affogato is no longer on the Cafe al Bacio menu :(

Unfortunately the Affogato is no longer on the Cafe al Bacio menu :(

Oh no! [emoji33] [emoji27]

This makes tomorrow being the start to a work week even harder ;)

Unfortunately the Affogato is no longer on the Cafe al Bacio menu :(

When was it removed ? We managed to get them on our classic package on Reflection last month (September).

Hello

We got an offer for our upcoming cruise in november on reflection to be upgraded to aqua clas (currently we have 2A veranda cabin on the hump), but if we take it we will lose 'so called perk' of classic beverage package that we got with our 2A cabin (booking onboard). Never been to aqua class, is it worth it?

Thanks

Is it not possible to change to AQ and buy the drinks package? Fourteen nights of signing for drinks would be very annoying and lets be honest, most of us have no idea what we'll fancy drinking tomorrow, let alone over a fourteen night cruise in the future.

AQ is a much better experience than cabin classes below. You only need to read the hundreds of threads discussing this to see that the overwhelming majority prefer it. Breakfast in Blu is a far more civilised affair than the MDR and the cattle... I mean buffet.

As for cabin location, this is a valid point. However ignore sweeping statements. Instead find out which cabin numbers are available to you and then peruse the stickied threads on this forum to get detailed advise about the individual AQ cabins. Tip : Also search for reviews for cabin numbers either side and in the same location to glean more information.

Service is superior in Blu, and on nights that you might prefer offerings from the MDR menu you can simply dine there without any issues. Service from the sommeliers is noticably better than when in the MDR too and the staff seem more attentive.

I appreciate there are cost implications, but you'll have a more enjoyable cruise experience if you switch to AQ and purchase the drinks package in addition.

Have fun regardless of what you choose to do.

For us Aqua is the answer as we are not drinkers.. one a day would keep us very happy , We fill our own insulated cups with ice and water from the tap. DH has never had a hot drink in his life. Blu works because it is quite. MDR is difficult for any person with hearing aides. Just too much noise pouring in

Was this on a Caribbean cruise which substituted ports due to the hurricane? If so, negotiate! We just got upgraded (not on Reflection) for no extra cost and no loss of perks.

You should not loose any book on board OBC.

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BLU on Reflection is very nice as is the Persian Gardens,,,new menu offerings are also okay.

But if you already have a great cabin, I would not switch ...esp for a long cruise, And with the Classic Package you get unlimited bottled water...no longer a BLU perk ...at least it wasn't on Infinity .

BLU on Reflection is very nice as is the Persian Gardens,,,new menu offerings are also okay.

 

But if you already have a great cabin, I would not switch ...esp for a long cruise, And with the Classic Package you get unlimited bottled water...no longer a BLU perk ...at least it wasn't on Infinity .

Not on Constellation either, just two bottles on arrival.

Also you can get a decent coffee in a morning, or any time, if the served coffee is not to your taste, it was not to mine.