Silhouette help - Concierge or Aqua?

[KayJay4]

Hi,

We have sailed on Celebrity a few times before and last time we were Concierge Class.  This time we are travelling with friends and they are first timers. They mentioned Aqua Class.  I remember as Concierge we had welcome wine, flowers and fruit, and canapes each night. Oh, and a nice welcome lunch.  Not sure if Aqua would be better? I don't know anything about Blu, and I thing the access to the spa lounge may be a little crowded?  Has anyone been Aqua on Silhouette who could let me know what they think of the differences? Much appreciated.

[cruiserchuck]

The main advantage of Aqua is that you get to eat breakfast and dinner in Blu.  It is a much smaller room (seats about 150) and the service is better, and the food is slightly healthier.  You get everything you get in concierge (except the welcome lunch.)  If the price difference is not too much, Aqua is the way to go.

[dkjretired]

1 hour ago, KayJay4 said:

Hi,

We have sailed on Celebrity a few times before and last time we were Concierge Class.  This time we are travelling with friends and they are first timers. They mentioned Aqua Class.  I remember as Concierge we had welcome wine, flowers and fruit, and canapes each night. Oh, and a nice welcome lunch.  Not sure if Aqua would be better? I don't know anything about Blu, and I thing the access to the spa lounge may be a little crowded?  Has anyone been Aqua on Silhouette who could let me know what they think of the differences? Much appreciated.

 

Aqua class gets everything that Concierge gets except for the embarkation lunch.  Blu is almost like eating in a Specialty  restaurant  every night with a rotating menu. It is smaller and food is more cooked to order. If the price is reasonable I would grab it in a minute. Also, if you choose Blu make sure you both do as non AQ patrons can’t eat in Blu.

[keesar]

3 hours ago, KayJay4 said:

Hi,

We have sailed on Celebrity a few times before and last time we were Concierge Class.  This time we are travelling with friends and they are first timers. They mentioned Aqua Class.  I remember as Concierge we had welcome wine, flowers and fruit, and canapes each night. Oh, and a nice welcome lunch.  Not sure if Aqua would be better? I don't know anything about Blu, and I thing the access to the spa lounge may be a little crowded?  Has anyone been Aqua on Silhouette who could let me know what they think of the differences? Much appreciated.

 

Blu is a smaller dining area which has nice views of the water.  Breakfast is really tasty and they have served fresh squeezed orange  and grapefruit juices.  However, there are fewer choices available for dinner as compared to the MDR.  Another drawback is that the tables can be very close to each other.  Price dictates the difference for us.  Be aware that the rooms in Aqua can be under busy areas of the ship.

 

In my opinion, Blu is not a specialty restaurant and does not come close to one.  It is a nice dining area.  

[jelayne]

Blu is the main reason we book AQ better service, not as noisy, able to modify the menu items.  The menu rotates and if nothing appeals to you there are the same 3 everyday items like the MDR (chicken, salmon, beef) you can also get the shrimp cocktail, escargot, French onion soup and Caesar salad that are offered in the MDR if you want. 

[helen haywood]

This is a totally personal choice.  We tried AQ and didn’t like the food in Blu.  The service, however, was excellent.  We ate our last three nights in the MDR.

 

 What I did like was our cabin which was under the Solarium (not the Spa Cafe area) and had the large overhang.  Again, a personal choice, but since I’m fair and have already had one Mohs surgery I want shade on my balcony.  The overhang meant I could use the balcony 24/7.  There was always shade and it never got too hot.  

 

Another thing we’ve since realized is that since AQ cabins are only double occupancy you are unlikely to have children in the cabins next to you.  On our two last cruises we were unfortunate to have screaming toddlers next to us.  A normal thing and the parents were doing the right thing to bring the toddler back to the cabin...but we could hear it all in our cabin and on the balcony.

[KayJay4]

Thanks for your help everyone. I'm no wiser. May have to leave it to my friends. I personally am nervous about the cabins being susceptible to noise from above as I am such a light sleeper. That's my only worry. They would be more bothered about having a cabin that had a shaded balcony so I might check that out.  The fact that they are only double occupancy is a plus though! Thanks again :)

[2flacruisers]

On 5/24/2019 at 10:32 PM, helen haywood said:

This is a totally personal choice.  We tried AQ and didn’t like the food in Blu.  The service, however, was excellent.  We ate our last three nights in the MDR.

 

 What I did like was our cabin which was under the Solarium (not the Spa Cafe area) and had the large overhang.  Again, a personal choice, but since I’m fair and have already had one Mohs surgery I want shade on my balcony.  The overhang meant I could use the balcony 24/7.  There was always shade and it never got too hot.  

 

Another thing we’ve since realized is that since AQ cabins are only double occupancy you are unlikely to have children in the cabins next to you.  On our two last cruises we were unfortunate to have screaming toddlers next to us.  A normal thing and the parents were doing the right thing to bring the toddler back to the cabin...but we could hear it all in our cabin and on the balcony.

Am I to understand, if you don't like the menu in Blu, you have the option of eating in the MDR?  Once you switch, do you have to stay, or can you switch it out regularly?

[helen haywood]

Different people may have had different experiences....  I can only say that in our experience on Equinox, in AQ, we made a reservation for the first night in the MDR as that has a menu we like on that night.  No problem dining there.  Showed up the second night at Blu and no problem there either.  The Blu hostess isn't going to ask where you were....you could have eaten in the Buffet, room service, a specialty restaurant....  So my understanding is you can go to either.  Others have said to have the hostess in Blu contact the MDR for you....we did not do this.

[Cruise a holic]

Hello,

We are not fans of AQ- however on a first cruise- it might work for some.  You have access to Blu which is more like a private dining room and some spa type perks-  However, the cabins are not in the best location.  CC cabins you can get a much better location, with cabins above and below. 

 

However, nothing wrong with a well located balcony cabin.  The money saved can go towards a dining package.  The food in the specialty restaurants are far superior to the MDR or Blu.  You also do not have to worry about a bad location.

[kathynorth]

On 5/25/2019 at 6:15 AM, KayJay4 said:

Thanks for your help everyone. I'm no wiser. May have to leave it to my friends. I personally am nervous about the cabins being susceptible to noise from above as I am such a light sleeper. That's my only worry. They would be more bothered about having a cabin that had a shaded balcony so I might check that out.  The fact that they are only double occupancy is a plus though! Thanks again 🙂

 

Hi KayJay4, IMO the greatest benefit to Blu is that you can choose what time you sit to eat instead of the MDR early/late seating. You can also pace your meal fast/slow based on your personal preference. We love eating breakfast in Blue. We also enjoy the flexible access to the Persian Gardens and we just avoid the super busy times. 

 

With that said one needs to decide what you consider to be the value of the concierge or aqua benefits you wish to access. We've booked standard verandas, concierge or aqua based on rates at the time of booking. If we find a concierge or aqua cabin that is slightly more than a veranda then we book it. If not then we stick with the standard veranda. 

 

We always try to have another cabin above ours so we don't have chairs scraping overhead.

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, Cruise a holic said:We are not fans of AQ- however on a first cruise- it might work for some.  You have access to Blu which is more like a private dining room and some spa type perks-  However, the cabins are not in the best location.  CC cabins you can get a much better location, with cabins above and below. 

 

Because of the location of the AQ cabins, we have never chosen them.   

[helen haywood]

3 hours ago, kathynorth said:

 

Hi KayJay4, IMO the greatest benefit to Blu is that you can choose what time you sit to eat instead of the MDR early/late seating. 

You can opt for Select Dining in the MDR and go whenever you want as well.

[GerScot]

2 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Because of the location of the AQ cabins, we have never chosen them.   

We are the same, particularly on a longer cruise cabin location is really important to us.

[kathynorth]

34 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

You can opt for Select Dining in the MDR and go whenever you want as well.

 

Yes, thanks for the correction. I should have said same as select dining you can choose what time you sit to eat instead of the MDR early/late seating.

Edited July 31, 2019 by kathynorth

[NantahalaCruiser]

8 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

Hello,

We are not fans of AQ- however on a first cruise- it might work for some.  You have access to Blu which is more like a private dining room and some spa type perks-  However, the cabins are not in the best location.  CC cabins you can get a much better location, with cabins above and below. 

 

However, nothing wrong with a well located balcony cabin.  The money saved can go towards a dining package.  The food in the specialty restaurants are far superior to the MDR or Blu.  You also do not have to worry about a bad location.

The aft A2 cabins (1621-1647 & 1624-1650) also have cabins above and below and are in better locations than the aft C2 cabins on decks 11&12; of course aft C1 and slant hump C2 cabins are in a much nicer locations!

[ShawninFL]

To us, neither CC or AQ are worth much over a standard balcony.  I have always liked Blu, but my husband does not care for it but will eat there.  I see absolutely no reason to pay extra for CC.  To me, I don't see anything of value that I'm receiving, so I'd only book CC if it was roughly the same price as a standard balcony since you do get 5 Captains Club credits for each night instead of just 3.  Now I would pay about $100.00 more a person for AQ as I like Blu and will use the Persian Gardens once or twice on a cruise.

[alcpa1]

I have been on the Silhouette.

The first thing I would do is check out which Aqua cabins are available. If there are two cabins that you and your friends like then I suggest you book Aqua. Not all the cabins are under the pool.

For the first time since Aqua cabins were designated we opted for a standard balcony. It was in a good location but we didn't care for the food or service in the MDR.

Our next Celebrity cruise is in an Aqua cabin.

[jelayne]

9 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Because of the location of the AQ cabins, we have never chosen them.   

Many AQ cabins have cabins above & below them, others are under the  beauty salon,  treatment rooms,  Persian Garden, retail area, etc and are very quiet.  

We book AQ frequently as we find Blu more enjoyable than the MDR, better service,  more personalized and in opinion better food.  You can get some of the MDR items in Blu even if they aren’t on the menu, French onion soup, Shrimp cocktail, French fries, ceasar salad come to mind.

[lolane1]

I'm also a fan of AQ, specifically for access to Blu.  I really like the food, service, and atmosphere- all worth the extra price for me.   Once we traveled in Aqua class, we couldn't go back.  Have two cruises booked in the near future.   

 

 

[aml3679]

Aqua Class for our cruise was $500 extra each - no way.

[NantahalaCruiser]

On 8/2/2019 at 5:31 AM, aml3679 said:

Aqua Class for our cruise was $500 extra each - no way.

Ours was $1000 pp more!

[jdacombe]

My wife, son and I will be going on the Norwegian Fjords cruise on the 25th August, I booked this particular cruise back in November last year and will be in a Concierge Class stateroom, this was when a third passenger went at half fare offer was on.

 

The main reason for booking a CC stateroom was that for the 3 of us the total fare came to around £3,000, which I thought was good value for that type of stateroom and strangely enough was (at that time) cheaper than a lot of the standard balcony staterooms.

 

I chose a (hopefully) good location towards the aft of the ship that only had staterooms above and below and not an obstructed view from the balcony. The choice of an embarkation lunch in the MDR was also a deciding factor as our son has Aspergers Syndrome and is uncomfortable in a crowded environment and we wanted to get him slowly integrated into cruise life without the hustle and bustle of the buffet.

[Cathy p]

I love Blu and hubby does not. We have never had a problem getting a menu from the MDR and letting him order from that. We always get the hanging balcony with the shade as well and love the Persian Gardens.This is our 2 cents and our first time on this ship. We loved the Constellation and the Infinity.    

[Nymich]

Done quite a few now in Blu and honestly it is Blu and Persian Gardens period.   All the other so called perks do not amount to a hill of beans but sound good.   We never found Persian to be over crowded but sometimes people go up there to sleep and snore which sucks if you are there at the same time.  Have a great cruise!