Blu dining/Aqua class rooms

[AirForce mom]

What did you like about dining in Blu? Are you able to get 'regular' dining choices or is it all 'clean'? What was your favorite thing(s) about your Aqua class room?

[vulcan1971]

What did you like about dining in Blu? Are you able to get 'regular' dining choices or is it all 'clean'? What was your favorite thing(s) about your Aqua class room?

 

 

Did you, by chance, happen to do any searches and read through the results of your searches on this topic? There are many threads that fully discuss this topic.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus on the T-Mobile 4G LTE Network using Tapatalk Pro

[dkjretired]

What did you like about dining in Blu? Are you able to get 'regular' dining choices or is it all 'clean'? What was your favorite thing(s) about your Aqua class room?

 

Favorite thing about the AQ rooms was Blu. The menu is in my opinion not necessarily Clean, there are sauces on the foods every night. Also, there are three every night basic items in Blu, a steak, salmon dish and a chicken dish.

[huskerc]

I've always found Blu to be a bit better with handling special requests--for example if there's a dish you would prefer the sauce to be left off of.

[warmwinds]

The best part about Blu was how convivial it was. We always enjoyed being at large tables in the MDR until we were not (got spooked as to how lucky we always were with tablemates), so for many cruises chose a table for two.

 

Blu was the best of both worlds... a table for two, next to almost always different people every night, most of whom were very friendly (some you could tell simply wanted to be left alone and we respected that).

 

So it was musical chairs in the dining room in the best possible way.

 

And the food was not "spa" food - we never felt it was a carrot stick and a slice of plain chicken breast on the plate. We liked the food very much, there were so many choices, and every day we would also look at the offerings in the MDR and never felt deprived.

[caritsa]

We were Aqua class on our last ten day cruise and ate in Blu. One night we ate in the main dining room with some friends we had met. We really noticed how loud it was compared to Blu and the food didn't seem as hot or as freshly prepared as we were used to. After that we decided we will always go Aqua class just for Blu restaurant.

[thebutlerdidit]

Room-wise, I enjoy the little extras (never have to pack slippers or lip balm!) and the fog-free mirror in the bathroom, as well as the massaging shower heads. In Blu, I enjoy the decor, the ease of getting a table for two, and the service. I've never heard anyone mention a positive breakfast experience in the main dining room, but I love breakfasting in Blu.

[fleckle]

In addition to the features of Blu that have already been mentioned, I like that it is a smaller, quieter room, providing the atmosphere of dining at a fine restaurant as opposed to the large, noisy banquet hall vibe of the main dining room.

 

 

But I still think the tables in both are crowded too closely together.

When there is not even room for the waiter to walk between the tables, that is too close in my opinion.

[DaKa2002]

What did you like about dining in Blu? Are you able to get 'regular' dining choices or is it all 'clean'? What was your favorite thing(s) about your Aqua class room?

 

DW's favorite thing about the Aqua class is the access to the Persian Gardens that is included with the room. The room itself was not that much different than the veranda rooms we had sailed in before. Breakfast and dinner in Blu is a fantastic plus in my opinion; MDR experiences have been questionable on many cruises. The 2 tops in Blu were close enough to talk to neighbors on one side, if the 4 of you wished; there was adequate room for the servers in the aisle on the other side of each pair of 2 tops, IMHO.

 

One additional note: we like the Persian Gardens in the "S" class ships much better than the "M" class ships!

[happymom]

This will be our first experience with Aqua. We choose this as my husband has certain dietary requirement and we were told that they would be easier to meet in Blu. I'm hoping that is true. I've had lots of problems using the search section of CC so I'm happy to read any information anyone has.

[TeaBag]

We liked the small dining room that is Blu and the window tables. we loved the Lobster on formal night. Also liked the meusli made table side for breakfast.

[tgmtgm]

I enjoyed the actual Blu dining space, and perhaps I'm the odd man out, but I wasn't that overly impressed with the food. Tasty and presented nicely, but not that much better than the mdr. Ironically, the best dish I had in Blu was the beef Wellington I requested from the mdr menu one night when nothing on that night's menu interested me. It was one of the best cuts of meat I have had on any cruise- super tender and full of flavor.

 

 

Tony

[wally_bushy]

We used Blu mainly for breakfast..seemed a bit more civilised way to start the day.

Dinner did not excite us too much but it is nice to have the option of a quiet place.

We rarely cruise for less than 14 days so alternatives are welcome.

[renaroo]

The menu is in my opinion not necessarily Clean, there are sauces on the foods every night.

 

The sauces could be clean. Just depends on if the ingredients in the sauce are whole, natural foods. I'm booked in AQ for the first time in June. Based on everything I've heard, Blu sounds great!

[OhioDogLover]

We have travelled Aqua twice and have two more booked. We will always try to go Aqua whenever possible. As far as the room is concerned, DH (who is much taller than I am) loves the shower. It would be worth it just for that. They serve iced tea in the cabin every day, which we happen to like. There is also the bottle of wine the first day. (DDIL really got a kick out of that one.) Others have posted about other amenities.

Blu is great, IMHO. You can get the MDR items (at least we have been offered them), if you want them. We really like the food in Blu, and have found the beverage service to be really good there. It didn't taste like spa food to either DH or me. Also, the service was terrific. Some people don't like it, but I would suggest that you give it a try and see for yourself.

 

Ohiodoglover

[Palms2Pines2Sea]

We have found the service in Blu, at dinner AND breakfast, to be vastly superior to the MDR. The service staff has less distance to travel, which translates to more time with the passengers. And as noted by many, it is much quieter, and much more intimate. For us, Blu is more like dining out!

[huskerc]

Agree on the service. It's the primary reason for us preferring Blu. The food is a step up, but on its own not enough to justify the premium for aqua class in most cases.

[ghstudio]

We have travelled Aqua twice and have two more booked. We will always try to go Aqua whenever possible. As far as the room is concerned, DH (who is much taller than I am) loves the shower. It would be worth it just for that. They serve iced tea in the cabin every day, which we happen to like. There is also the bottle of wine the first day. (DDIL really got a kick out of that one.) Others have posted about other amenities.

Blu is great, IMHO. You can get the MDR items (at least we have been offered them), if you want them. We really like the food in Blu, and have found the beverage service to be really good there. It didn't taste like spa food to either DH or me. Also, the service was terrific. Some people don't like it, but I would suggest that you give it a try and see for yourself.

 

Ohiodoglover

 

It is the rare exception, rather than the rule that you can get MDR dishes in Blu.

[Max Circus]

Just off Equinox and loved dining in Blu. Such attentive service and every thing that should have been hot was piping hot. Hadn't experienced that before in MDR - for logical reasons because they are carrying the food usually from a far distance to your table.

 

I never felt like the food was forced to be "healthy". On our first night I had once of the best beef dishes I ever had and it had plenty of sauce. :)

 

I did find (and like) that in general the portions are smaller. My wife and I usually will try to share a separate entrée of salad in addition to what we ordered, but in MDR they are always very large. In Blu, most nights we got the pasta entrée as a separate side and it was perfect.

[vulcan1971]

I just returned from 16 days on Constellation in Aqua Class (NOV 2014). It was not "rare" for us to order and receive our favorite items from the MDR every day menu. Those items included: french onion soup, escargot, shrimp cocktail, caesar salad, as well as any of their regular desserts.

 

Sometimes the Blu menu after 16 days is just not appealing on a particular day and you want some comfort food.

[warmwinds]

Vulcan, every thing you mentioned is on the Blu "anytime" menu (as well as some other choices of main courses and desserts), they weren't anything special they got from the MDR. I was thinking the Beef Wellington, or any fancier entrée, from the MDR would be rare to get because it would open up the can of worms for them that someone (many someones) would see it and say "oh I want that, too".

[vulcan1971]

Vulcan, every thing you mentioned is on the Blu "anytime" menu (as well as some other choices of main courses and desserts), they weren't anything special they got from the MDR. I was thinking the Beef Wellington, or any fancier entrée, from the MDR would be rare to get because it would open up the can of worms for them that someone (many someones) would see it and say "oh I want that, too".

 

warmwinds -

 

I just went out to the Celebrity website where you can view an example menu from the different ship restaurants. See the link I have pasted below for Blu:

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/onboard-celebrity/cruise-restaurants-blu#top

 

When you scroll down through the menu to the section labeled as "Classic Favorites" there are 3 entrees listed. Is this the "every day" menu you were referring?

 

I was referring to the left side of the MDR menu. Those selections that are labeled as available "every day" in the MDR are what I have been successful at ordering while seated in Blu.

 

On the Constellation, there is absolutely no issues because the MDR and Blu are served from the same kitchen. On S-Class ships, a bit more of a challenge for the Blu waiter as they have a bit further to travel... however, I had no issues in 2013 while on the Reflection to have french onion soup or shrimp cocktail.

[Max Circus]

I just returned from 16 days on Constellation in Aqua Class (NOV 2014). It was not "rare" for us to order and receive our favorite items from the MDR every day menu. Those items included: french onion soup, escargot, shrimp cocktail, caesar salad, as well as any of their regular desserts.

 

Sometimes the Blu menu after 16 days is just not appealing on a particular day and you want some comfort food.

 

This was my experience on Equinox - although we only ordered from NDR menu one night (escargot).

 

We saw one couple who on at least two nights ordered only from MDR menu.

[phoenix_dream]

I have found the experience in Blu to vary depending on whether the ship is M class or S class. Here's a recap of what I have experienced (based on two AQ sailings, and one SS):

 

S class - spa area much nicer than M class, and includes the warm loungers you see in the pictures (although they are very crowded). Balcony includes footstools. Nice upgrades to shower area in bathroom. Dining area has very close tables which can be fun or uncomfortable depending on the circumstances. MDR items generally are more difficult to get. On our cruise on S class we were told no, period. Reason - location of the MDR kitchen compared to the Blu restaurant.

 

M class - much nicer, more comfortable physical space in Blu. More room between tables and many more tables by the windows. On our cruises, better service but I think that was just luck of the draw and not dependent on type of ship. Restaurant 'carved' out of upstairs MDR so they share the same kitchen space which makes MDR menu items more likely to be available. No footstools on balconies. Bathrooms have glass shower doors and upgraded shower heads but nowhere near as nice as S class (even the new AQ rooms added when Solsticizing). Spa area ok, but nowhere near as nice as on S class - no heated loungers like the advertisements.