Blu, Worth the Upgrade?

[Elaine0138]

We have sailed a few times in AQ and always loved Blu, but the last time in November we weren't happy with the menu's and the service was a bit hit and miss.

[rhblake]

Sailed AQ only once and found Blu to be too crowded, too noisy, service too slow and portions too small.

[cheriooo]

We always sail in Agua class primarily for Blue. As discussed in several posts the food in Blue is nicely portioned, prepared in a "lighter" manner. The staff usually is excellent. Unlike the MDR you can actually have a conversation with folks next to you without all the noise in MDR. The other amenities with Aqua class aren't all that exciting but eating in Blue to us is.

[junetraveler2014]

Aqua is OK not great. cc cabins are in a better location. Blu is also OK. Dw and I prefer buying the three night specialty restaurant package, have dinner while out and about and one night in MDR. Satisfies our pallet and dining experience. No matter which you pick you will have a great time!:cool::cool::cool:

[sn2792]

We did BLU on our last cruise and loved it. My DH doesn't want to do anything but AQ now so we can eat in BLU. We liked the smaller portion sizes and the service was excellent. We never left hungry, however you could always order extra entrees or appetizers if you want more food.

 

We really enjoyed eating breakfast there away from the hustle and bustle of the buffet. Also like the more casual dress code there as well. My DH took a casual sport coat with him which he wore on formal nights even though it wasn't necessary.

[johhnnyt]

Blue is nice but not really any different than MDR except portion size. Tried AQ on two sailings and ended up eating in MDR half the time anyway, as we just weren't all that impressed by Blue. No better or worse than other dining options

Instead I found the specialty dining venues a better quality meal, and even after eating at them 6 or more times a cruise still found it less expensive then booking the AQ fare

[tomko2]

We are sailing on Celebrity Constellation in March - A1 class. Our first cruise on Celebrity. (just off our 29th RCL cruise this morning:)).

 

So we are newbies with Celebrity and trying to learn all we can ahead of time to make the most of our cruise. Really appreciated the posts above as Blu is one of the major plus points of Aqua Class as we understand it.

 

We have a beverage package so will be trying out the various bars.

 

Any "must see or do" suggestions.

 

Also, my hubby has great expectations for Blu however he is also a carnivore (tall & thin but can eat half a cow). Will he be able to order larger meat portions?

 

Thank you all

Kathy:)

[cruisetimeforme]

We recently changed our booking from being in Aqua class back to standard balcony cabin for an upcoming cruise after sailing the Reflection recently. Had Ultimate dining pkg and felt the service and food in specialty rests along with a definite table for two with much more privacy than Blu a better choice for us. The menu never looks that great to either of us. also bfast ends pretty early in the am and I'm the type that has to wake up and smell the coffee before even thinking about eating. When we have sailed AQ in the past we did enjoy it but didn't like the tables so close together as others have commented. The food was ok but I'd still rather enjoy eating in the various specialties as opposed to the same one place each day let alone twice

[varoo]

We are sailing on Celebrity Constellation in March - A1 class. Our first cruise on Celebrity. (just off our 29th RCL cruise this morning:)).

 

So we are newbies with Celebrity and trying to learn all we can ahead of time to make the most of our cruise. Really appreciated the posts above as Blu is one of the major plus points of Aqua Class as we understand it.

 

We have a beverage package so will be trying out the various bars.

 

Any "must see or do" suggestions.

Blu is on the port side of deck 5 and the main dining room's select dining area is right across from it on the starboard side of deck 5.

 

Both will have their dinner menus posted out in the hallway each afternoon, so it is easy to walk across from one to the other and compare them.

 

Also, my hubby has great expectations for Blu however he is also a carnivore (tall & thin but can eat half a cow). Will he be able to order larger meat portions?

You can order more of whatever you want. No problem. Sometimes we order all the appetizers and skip the entree, or order extra entree and skip the appetizers or salad, or whatever combination we are in the mood for that strikes our fancy on any day.

 

Edited February 10, 2014 by varoo

[baldercash]

Blu is clean cuisine. Was told by thehead chef that the food comes from the same source and is the same as used in the MDR. The difference is how it is prepared. Olive oil will used instead of grease, skim milk instead of cream if possible and etc.

 

The food may come from the same freezer but I don't believe the cuts and fish are the same.

On our cruise in December they offered venison and a boneless shank wrapped in bacon I didn't see either of those on the menu for the MDR.

The night I had Halibut at Blu they offered Tilapia in the MDR which was never offered in in Blu but Red Snapper, Ahi tuna and Sword fish were

They offered pheasant in Blu what night do they offer that in the MDR or the Stone Crab app?

Totally different quality of produce used in Blu.

[ivycruise]

Our first exposure to Blu was last year on our Reflection cruise. While we thought it was good what we enjoyed more than the food was the ambiance. Smaller than the main dining room with excellent service. We at first were taken aback at how close the tables were but it turned out great as we found ourselves talking and meeting some great, entertaining, interesting people from around the world.

 

We enjoyed Blu more this year on the Silhouette. Staff was just fantastic and for some reason, we thought the food better this year. And once again met some great people at dinner.

 

We're sold now on Aquaclass and not just because of Blu, my wife loves the Hansgrohe® shower panel!

[ghstudio]

Once we tried aqua class, we only book aqua class because we like the ambiance (lack of noise, large trays being carried around, etc) and the food is prepared with slightly smaller portions and less rich sauces. Each cruise, we succumb to a wonderful sounding item in the MDR and we try it, only to decide it was a mistake....noise, incredible amount of activity, food doesn't match the description.

 

However, it's obviously a personal choice...some prefer the MDR and see no value or negative value to Blu. We think it's worth a bit of extra money and we don't find the need to go to a specialty restaurant unless we really want a change (and they make us an offer we can't refuse).

 

Now we get to the reflection. We aren't at all anxious to sail on the reflection because, as I said, we prefer Blu. The reflection seems to have a unique, created by celebrity, problem....the ship has more aqua class passengers and they didn't increase the size of blu....well to be truthful, they did, but only added 10 seats rather than the 24 they said they were going to add (if my memory is right). The result is that there seems to be a problem if you arrive at anything near a peak time. They have a real problem on the first night because they assign all blu passengers to early or late seating times for that night...but blu can't seat all the aqua passengers in two seatings!!!! Thus, they offer aqua passengers a 50% discount on specialty restaurants the first night in the hope that enough choose the discount so they can seat everyone else. (note: there is no reason to assign everyone to early or late seating even on the first night, but someone in HQ thinks it's a good idea so they do it anyway, even though the folks in Blu don't know why it's done..but I digress).

 

So my message is that on any ship other than the reflection, we think aqua/blu is worth some extra money. If we do find ourselves on the reflection, we'll just eat in the MDR and probably book a regular verandah cabin.

[Alsmez]

We just did a cruise on Reflection in AQ and I reviewed Blu extensively here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1981587

 

Long story short, it's definitely an upgrade to the MDR, but we would consider doing the Ultimate Dining Package with a regular balcony room if the price of AQ is too high for future cruises. Since the UDP is $30/day, I would probably only consider AQ if it were close to or less than $30/day more than a regular balcony.

[Lightngsvt]

I think we did the Ultimate last year as we only ate one evening in the MDR. $30/day x7 = $210 which is generally a lot less than the advertised rates to upgrade. Qsine, The Lawn Club, Tuscan, etc were fabulous though I wasn t a huge fan of Murano honestly. Based on the replies it does sound like it would be worth trying AQ if the price was right to see for ourselves.

 

Not derail my own thread but do you feel the other amenities of AQ (or CC) are worth the upgrade? We did CC but Im not sure if we took advantage of many of the amenities.

[dinosaurdem]

Blue is nice but not really any different than MDR except portion size. Tried AQ on two sailings and ended up eating in MDR half the time anyway, as we just weren't all that impressed by Blue. No better or worse than other dining options

Instead I found the specialty dining venues a better quality meal, and even after eating at them 6 or more times a cruise still found it less expensive then booking the AQ fare

 

Agreed.

[tomko2]

We just did a cruise on Reflection in AQ and I reviewed Blu extensively here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1981587

 

Long story short, it's definitely an upgrade to the MDR, but we would consider doing the Ultimate Dining Package with a regular balcony room if the price of AQ is too high for future cruises. Since the UDP is $30/day, I would probably only consider AQ if it were close to or less than $30/day more than a regular balcony.

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to write such a comprehensive review. I think my hubby will be a tad disappointed as he has very high expectations of Blu. I am not going to say anything in advance of the cruise but I will come back here and post our thoughts after our March cruise.

Very much appreciated everyone's comments = thank you.

Kathy:)

[Lightngsvt]

Right now an A1 cabin is about $150 more then CC (not sure C1 or C2), is Aqua worth that upgrade?

[varoo]

Right now an A1 cabin is about $150 more then CC (not sure C1 or C2), is Aqua worth that upgrade?

It would be worth it to me, unless the only aqua cabins available were in an undesirable location.

 

[galavant3]

Right now an A1 cabin is about $150 more then CC (not sure C1 or C2), is Aqua worth that upgrade?

 

I would only book Aqua Class so for me it is well worth it. I recommend booking the A1 (what is the A2 price?) and decide for yourself. You might find that it was $150 well spent!

[Cruise a holic]

Last year we cruised the Silhouette to the western caribbean and loved it! We were in Concierge Class and not sure we really took advantage of most of the amenities. We are looking at a last minute cruise in about 6 weeks to the eastern on the Reflection and are considering Aqua Class this time. The spa amenities sound nice, but Blu seems to be a nice bonus (we ate at the specialties every night except one last year).

 

I've good and bad reviews about Blu, what are the latest opinions? My wife has gotten more health conscious and is working out regularly and eating healthy and she is concerned about the cruise because of all of the amazingly delicious and unhealthy dining options. Is Blu really that much healthier than the MDR or other specialty restaurants? Will the MDR do lighter fare? Oh man Im not sure if Ill be able to skip the gelataria!

Having dined in blu on multiple cruises, IMO if price is the same switch. Blu is just ok. Tables close and service just ok.

 

If you can, book cc or balcony and with the money you save buy the unlimited specialty dining package The cost is $29pp per day. It includes all venues including specialty restaurants including bistro on five for lunch,breakfast or dinner and the lawn grill. In addition to at least one specialty restaurant like muranos for lunch Also includes a special tea event.

You can only book onboard.

 

Enjoy your cruise

Edited February 15, 2014 by Cruise a holic

[Lightngsvt]

I wasnt aware of the unlimited specialty dining pkg, last year we had the 5 night pkg I believe. I was mistaken the price difference between C1 and A1 is only $40, between C3 and A1 is $170. A1 has 2106, 2107, 2120, 2146, 2148 left plus a couple aft cabins where almost all CC cabins were aft.

[gkjta]

We are just off the Summit where we had an Aqua Class room. This was our first Celebrity cruise so maybe I'm not as knowledgeable of all the other options but I would definitely pay more to dine in BLU again and I think I am speaking for all of us in our small group. I was hesitant when we first booked but got a good price for an Aqua Class and the idea of "healthier" eating appealed to us. The food was good - I always found something that I wanted to try and I do feel the food was prepared in a healthier manner. Was there items in the main dining room that I wish I could have had? Yes - but the atmosphere of BLU and the service were hands down the best we have ever had and we cruise 2-3 times a year. After only a day or two - the service staff knew us all by name - had things ready for us that they knew we wanted and just made us feel at home..........Some of you are going to say that sounds like set-time dining where you have the same wait-staff each night. This is the advantage of that but able to eat at whatever time you want. We never had to wait to dine and I saw several nights with long lines in the main dining room. I'll answer any questions that anyone has - I was curious going into it but I was sold after this cruise.

[Ruthk]

We are just off a 2 wk. sailing on the Eclipse and it was our first time in Aqua. We booked it because it was the same price as CC. My thoughts about Blu are that the food is mostly excellent, there were misses, most people returned the osso bucco saying it was too salty, and another night every one complained about the veal chops being very tough. The fish was always excellent. The two hostesses were wonderful and the staff was also flawless. I found Blu to be a bit loud and I think service could have been a bit quicker, not every night I want to linger over dinner. Yes, the tables are very close together, but that made it fun, you got to meet the people next to you and have a bit of a conversation. I thought the people were a tad bit more dressed up in Blu and on formal night, every man that I saw had a jacket. Aqua cabins are not in great locations so this is quite a great marketing ploy - undesirable cabins matched up with a good restaurant.

[NYAS]

We sailed Silhouette Aqua on a Transatlantic in 2011 and enjoyed Blu. We were in a far froward cabin, which may be considered undesirable by some, but our location allowed us to take full advantage of the Relaxation Room, which was like a private retreat just steps away from our cabin, with a phenomenal view across the front of the ship. This was especially appreciated on the many sea days of a TA as well as approaches to select ports, such as passing through the Straits of Gibraltar (at sunset) and entering New York harbor (at dawn). Access to this room is a perk for AQ passengers and to those waiting for treatments in the spa. I am not certain that "Solticized" M-class ships offer this amenity.

[jackdiamond]

In my opinion, if the fare difference is as much as $75.00, per day per couple then that is a fair deal.