Regular Room vs Aqua Class

[SunSeekerEBS]

This is our first Celebrity cruise and our TA asked us if we would like to pay $500 more for an Aqua Class cabin. I was wondering what people who have traveled on Celebrity think. Is it worth it and if so, why? If you think it's not worth it, I'd also like to hear why. This will most likely determine whether we upgrade or not.

 

Thanks in advance for any insight you can give!

[AlanAllyn]

We did Aqua class earlier this month on the Equinox. The extras were nice, but I would not pay $500 for that. We ended up paying only $100 per person more tha the cheapest balcony.

[jackdiamond]

On the other hand, I believe that the surcharge for the other specialty restaurants is 35.00, per day per person; hence, even an additional $500.00, per couple is not that bad. Simply stated, $700.00, as opposed to $500.00. Additionally, the breakfast in Blu is outstanding.

[Phxazzcruisers]

Breakfast and dinner in Blu is a GREAT perk of Aqua Class. You have to decide, however, if it is within your budget.

[eandj]

Depends on what interests you when you look at the list of what is included in Aqua. And... what you could use that extra 500 for if not to upgrade. If money is no object, go for it. If you can use the $$ for flights or pre or post nights don't upgrade. It's totally an individual decision.

 

Seeing its your first X cruise, I'd go just the balcony and see how you like it. Once you go Aqua, you won't know what the basic X is like. Which for most of us is a great product! Again, it's a personal decision.

[Fblack]

The food in the regular dining room is fine. And while Blu is in it's own dining room, it's food does not compare to the food in Tuscan Grill or Murano. Not a good comparison. I declined to pay nearly $1,000 more for an Aqua class and was quite happy eating a few times in Tuscan Grill and the MDR.

[SunSeekerEBS]

Thanks everyone for your insight. Fblack, I didn't understand...did you think that Blu is better, worse or the same as the Tuscan and Murano? Seems like the champagne, the hors derves, the priority embarkation/disembarkation and upgraded mattress and showerhead are enticing but I don't know much about the spa or the food. Maybe the normal showerhead and mattress are so comparable that an upgrade is not necessary. I guess dh and I will have to talk about it again. I guess I mostly don't want to end up with a teenie balcony. :)

[librarylady19]

I enjoyed all the aquaclass perks but couldn't afford to pay $500 extra for them. While they certainly upgraded the whole cruise experience, I am sure I would still have enjoyed the cruise without Blu, the awesome shower or the free spa facilities. As many others have said - it's worth a bit extra but maybe not that much!

I really liked Blu but also enjoyed lunch in Bistro on Five ($5pp) and lunch in MDR. We tried Silk Harvest but weren't blown away; cuisine was on par with PF Changs and service was somewhat slow (guess we were spoiled by Blu). Next time, I'll try Tuscan Grill and Muranos instead.

[roomservice]

The main dining Room experience is a disappointment. Too rushed, felt like cattle most of the time. It is not the waiters fault, not enough time and not enough staff. It appears the waiters prefer this, tho, as more wait staff would decrease their salarys. Food is spotty at different times. Not consistant.

 

Now, the Tuscan Grill is fabulous! At least a 200.00 plus dinner or more. for two. The service excellent, and staff more than friendly and helpful.

Dining here every night would be a treat.

Also, the French restaurant was excellent. It was a 2 to 3 hour dining experience. Lovely. (do not order fish) The waiter had no personality, and was not accomadating. Just doing his job. :(

 

Room Service was a delight every morning for breakfast on the balcony. :) Somewhat disappointing was that the steward/waiter did not set up the table, left the tray and left. Previous cruises more service.

 

You are not ALLOWED to eat at Blu unless you have Aqua Service.

 

I would probably have a regular balcony room, and not pay the additional 500.00 for Aqua Spa and eat in the better restaurants every other night.

If $$ were not object go for the best.

It is costly with all the extras one pays besides the cruise price. One couple ordered one photo at 19.00 and said they were charged 450.00 just for tips, and incidentals... no other purchases.. they were frugal..

[jackdiamond]

We are experienced cruisers (elite on Celebrity and diamond on Royal, as well as cruises on Plrincess and HAL); and, I would predict that once you have booked AQ on the S class or CC-1, on the M class that you will never look back.

[Fblack]

Someone said that eating at Tuscan Grill and Murano daily would cost $500 extra and they would pay $500 extra to eat at Blu. Implying Blu was as good as the specialty restaurants. Blu, while nice, does NOT compare to Tuscan Grill or Murano.

 

We are Elite on Celebrity and cruise often. For me, there is some price where it makes sense to pay extra for Aqua Class. That number is not $500 extra for an Aqua class cabin. So we elected to take a Sunset Veranda which was very nice.

[brandba]

We were on Solstice last summer and were in Concierge Class. We thought the food in the main dining room was excellent as was the service. We had the late seating and never felt rushed, the wait staff was fabulous and catered to every whim. We also ate at Murano and Tuscan Grill. Both were excellent, although we both thought Murano was a bit stuffy. We booked on the Eclipse for this coming July and took the Concierge Class room again.

[WehoAtlantis]

We booked Aqua Class and loved it. My cruise review should be up soon. I just submitted it.

 

Happy Cruising,

 

Mike

[Orator]

Keep an eye on prices. For my Equinox cruise the price differnce between AQ and a balcony was minimal. AQ was great, but spend only what you find reasonable. If you have to ask if it is worth the extra cost, it probably isn't to you.

[teajak]

Two weeks ago we booked Solstice Aqua class for $1099. base price for 1/10/2010,it was cheaper than concierge or balcony class Ia-IB-2B or 2C.The only cheaper was the SV for $999.. There is no way to figure how they arrive at the prices. We were thrilled to get the Aqua class at this price. They also had this price for 1/24/2010, but that is for the Paula Dean cruise and I wouldn't go on that group cruise for any price, LOL.

[AJD]

We are big fans of =X= specialty restaurants, leisurely dining and the Persian Gardens on M class ships. We thus booked Aqua class for the Equinox TA thinking that it would suit us perfectly and being just a bit concerned that we might never again be happy with anything less. In fact Aqua class did not live up to our expectations, we were completely underwhelmed, perhaps just expecting too much. See my review http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=60135

 

We plan to stick with a standard balcony for the Eclipse TA and spend what we save on its specialty restaurants.

[Fblack]

AJD:

 

Thanks for the review and telling the truth about Blu. On the Equinox we enjoyed the MDR and heard a few friends have similar complaints about Blu. Two changed to the MDR. Our friends said the menu on Blu was not to their liking several nights. They thought the seating was very tight, and also had some cold food. We even ate there once and the food was really not any better than the MDR and not even close to Tuscan Grill.

 

For some reason, people seem to defend Blu like it was a fine specialty restaurant. It has it's followers, but as I said, it's not worth $500 more to get an Aqua Class cabin.

[Loucat]

We are just off Solstice yesterday. I would not book an Aquaclass again. It is not worth the extra money. Blu was OK-not great. We did eat in the Tuscan Grille which was wonderful-best meal of the sailing.

The other "perks" in an Aquaclass include access to the Persian Gardens ( heated tiled lounges) and the Relaxation Room-DH used the Gardens once. It was a New Years sailing, so the price was higher than usual. Oh well- it was another cruise experience to learn from.