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is aqua or concierge worth it ?


sullyd
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We sailed our first ever cruise aqua class on an S class ship at the beginning of the year. I loved breakfast in blu although my husband preferred the choice in the buffet. We both enjoyed dinner in blu & I liked the Persian gardens.  We only upgraded because it was only $150 pp for 11 night cruise. We dont have anything to compare it with but we have booked aqua again for our 2022 cruise. This time on M class in one of the aft cabins with the large balconies. We will see if we enjoy it as much! 

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On 9/14/2020 at 9:21 PM, DrKoob said:

We book Aqua on S-class because we want Blu.

 

Have to agree. We've only done it one time - on the Summit - but really enjoyed eating there. Portions were just a tad on the small side but, hey, you're on a cruise ship so no lack of food if still hungry. We booked Aqua again for this coming May (hoping we get to do it..just like all the rest of us).  I enjoyed the Persian gardens a few times as well. 

Edited by OnTheJourney
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On 9/17/2020 at 1:45 AM, anniedave said:

We sailed our first ever cruise aqua class on an S class ship at the beginning of the year. I loved breakfast in blu although my husband preferred the choice in the buffet. We both enjoyed dinner in blu & I liked the Persian gardens.  We only upgraded because it was only $150 pp for 11 night cruise. We dont have anything to compare it with but we have booked aqua again for our 2022 cruise. This time on M class in one of the aft cabins with the large balconies. We will see if we enjoy it as much! 

M class Aqua aft balconies are the best. That is the only time I will book Aqua.

 

Laura

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Ill book aqua based off price,  I do use the Persian gardens every day when on the ship so that is a bonus and the breakfast I do prefer in the AQ Blu dining room overall.  The room to me is not that important, I look at rooms as a place to store my things and sleep in.  The rest Im good with, tho do at least prefer a balcony overall.  Any Aft balconies are great and been in both regular and concierge ones.  Have not been on the M class for a while, mostly have sailed S class the last few years.  Im booked next year, lift and shift from this year on the Connie for 21 days B2B but in reg balcony room.  Would have liked to get a AQ room but the price Im paying about 100 pp per day with all 4 perks Im not going to complain.  Ill probably play around and bid for an upgrade when it gets to that time, would at least like a Concierge room since those are bigger, 440ish days away, sigh.   

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On 9/15/2020 at 5:01 AM, Cruise a holic said:

Having sailed both multiple times, the perks include extra captains club points for both.  The location of the Concierge class cabins is better, and supposedly you get better towels and linens.  AQ gives you some additional (useless) perks in your cabin, smelly atomizer, horrible tea- The biggest difference for AQ is Blu- which we didn't enjoy.  Some people rave about the mixed cereal- which we can eat at home- so really not special.   Tables for two on top of each other- one long row- food not great at all IMO.  You do get access to the persian lounge- which we used once.  The location of the cabins, especially on the M class ships isn't ideal.  Priority boarding with both- doesn't really save you much or any time.

 

If you do not need the CC points, and cannot do a suite- I would highly recommend a well located balcony cabin and with the money saved, book multiple dinners in speciality restaurants.

 

My opinion, others might disagree.

Your comment about the mixed cereal leads me to believe that you have not sailed in AQ in years - if you are referring to the muesli cart it was discontinued years ago.   If that is the case your opinion, while of course valid, is so outdated as to not be relevant anymore.   A lot has changed in that time.

 

When we can't afford a suite (which is usually!), we always sail in AQ specifically for Blu.  We love the service, the food, the quieter atmosphere.  I do agree that on M class the locations are not ideal, other than the cabins on Deck 11, which we love and book whenever available.  None of the other AQ perks really mean anything to us (points are irrelevant for us as we are Elite Plus and would have to sail in suites until we die to ever get to Zenith🙃)

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22 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

Your comment about the mixed cereal leads me to believe that you have not sailed in AQ in years - if you are referring to the muesli cart it was discontinued years ago.   If that is the case your opinion, while of course valid, is so outdated as to not be relevant anymore.   A lot has changed in that time.

 

When we can't afford a suite (which is usually!), we always sail in AQ specifically for Blu.  We love the service, the food, the quieter atmosphere.  I do agree that on M class the locations are not ideal, other than the cabins on Deck 11, which we love and book whenever available.  None of the other AQ perks really mean anything to us (points are irrelevant for us as we are Elite Plus and would have to sail in suites until we die to ever get to Zenith🙃)

We did sail three times in Aq.  The mixed cereal “ museli” wasn’t what we eat.  We eat very low carbs so not interested.  We eat in Luminae now and some dinners in sp restaurants.  Our favorites are on the silhouette and reflection as we really enjoy the lawn club grill.  When we did eat dinner in Blu, we sat in a row of tables for two near the windows.  Again to each his/her own.  Again If my budget was an issue, I much prefer a well located balcony cabin, with cabins above and below.  
 

glad you enjoy aqua class- we don’t   we are also elite plus.  Will also probably will never get to Zenith.  Celebrity should have a level inbetween elite plus and zenith 

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On 9/14/2020 at 5:52 PM, Caribbean Chris said:

Aqua, yes.

Concierge, no.

 

With Aqua, you have and good room location and dinners nightly in the small Blu restaurant. Also use of some spa facilities without paying more.
 

With Concierge, other than a good room location, there’s not much beef IMHO.

 

this.

if you dont need a Concierge, it's not worth the price.

 

i didnt find the little extras that came with it (ie: little snacks delivered to your room around 2pm) to be worth it.

i never needed the Concierge.

This was on the Edge.

 

heck, sometimes the price increase for Aqua isnt worth it.

 

edit:

i loved the 4 MDR concept of the Edge with each MDR having their own signature dish.

Sea bass is my favorite dish in general. i could eat sea bass till the cows come home. and one of the MDR's has seabass everyday.

for me, dont know if Blu would be worth the price increase on the Edge since i would be very happy with seabass 

 

Edited by fstuff1
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We sailed in Aqua class on Summit in February (post revolution).    We loved it.    The room was very comfy.  The cabin attwndant service seemed a cut above, although that could just be the attendant.   
 

I will agree with some of the Blu reviews on one point...I thought the food was only marginally better than the MDR.    The service and atmosphere in Blu, however was superior.  Christian, the Maitre Di in Blu was the best we have ever had on any cruise.    They were very accommodating to any dietary restrictions our group had.     I like that they didn’t try to impress you with the quantity of food, but rather quality of service.   
 

All in all, we very much liked Aqua.    In the end though it is a dollar trade off.   If we have to pay too much over a standard veranda room, then we would not upgrade.     Make it a reasonable price, and we’re in Aqua every time.  

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Booking concierge or aqua was a bigger deal when we were chasing points. Now not so important, but we do enjoy the little perks mentioned in the above posts when there is a small difference in cost. We've stayed in a range of veranda cabins, concierge, and aqua over the years on both M and S class ships. If concierge is less than $100 pp difference from veranda then that's what we book. If aqua is less than $100 pp difference from concierge then we book aqua. When staying in aqua we tend to just eat our meals at Blu as my DH is a big Blu fan. It's also great to be able to pop into Persian Gardens according to our schedule. If we book veranda or concierge then we book a couple of nights in specialty restaurants. However, on our last 2 cruises (2 different ships) we found our meals in MDR to be more than satisfactory and ended up not booking any specialty restaurants at all during those trips. My point is that no matter what you decide you'll likely have a great trip!

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On 9/14/2020 at 4:37 PM, sullyd said:

we are thinking about it for 5 day dec. 2021.

 

We like Blu as dining room because with the small venue the service feels more attentive and they get to know you more. Also gets you a breakfast, same issue.  No great advantage to concierge over veranda at all.  So, other than Blu for Aqua, the small benefits of these classes over veranda are not worth much of a higher price.

 

- Joel

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We have sailed both

We really enjoy Blu so that helps Cannot stand MDR

We have also done a Concierge room and then ate all dinners in specialty restaurants for the 10 days.

If given the choice - it will depend on room location.

The problem with the S class aqua rooms is they have public decks above them.

On the M class- the deck 11 is very location dependent as folks cut through/slam the doors (wind) and noise from the bar and trough below - and movies above can drive us inside from our balcony.

We used the spa twice -- now post covid we will be interested to see how they handle the spa/persian gardens

As far as perks and boarding-- we have found boarding process can vary... 

Edited by Fogfog
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2 hours ago, cl.klink said:

 

....  No great advantage to concierge over veranda at all.  So, other than Blu for Aqua, the small benefits of these classes over veranda are not worth much of a higher price.

 

 

Except for someone who want to reach Elite level in Captain's Club you can get there with 60 nights (9 - 7 day cruises) in Concierge or Aqua vs 100 nights in a veranda room.  Granted price is a factor, but for a few dollars more, someone can speed up reaching Elite or Elite Plus if that is a goal.

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15 minutes ago, garyl62 said:

 

Except for someone who want to reach Elite level in Captain's Club you can get there with 60 nights (9 - 7 day cruises) in Concierge or Aqua vs 100 nights in a veranda room.  Granted price is a factor, but for a few dollars more, someone can speed up reaching Elite or Elite Plus if that is a goal.

 

True. You'd have to decide how much that's worth spending, I guess.  If the average difference for a 7 day cruise between veranda and concierge was, say, $200 pp ($400 for a couple) and for aqua was $300 pp ($600 for a couple), then nine 7-day cruises (63 days) on concierge vs. fifteen 7-day cruises (105) days on veranda would cost an extra $1200 pp ($2400 for a couple) and on aqua would cost an extra $1800 pp ($3600 for a couple).

 

- Joel

 

Edited by cl.klink
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5 hours ago, Fogfog said:

We have sailed both

We really enjoy Blu so that helps Cannot stand MDR

We have also done a Concierge room and then ate all dinners in specialty restaurants for the 10 days.

If given the choice - it will depend on room location.

The problem with the S class aqua rooms is they have public decks above them.

On the M class- the deck 11 is very location dependent as folks cut through/slam the doors (wind) and noise from the bar and trough below - and movies above can drive us inside from our balcony.

We used the spa twice -- now post covid we will be interested to see how they handle the spa/persian gardens

As far as perks and boarding-- we have found boarding process can vary... 

I guess it depends on your individual experience.  We have sailed in the Deck 11 AQ cabins multiple times, all on the sides near the elevators.  Never once had an issue with slamming doors, and we were too far from aft to get any noise from below.  We also have never found the movies above to be an issue, although I have heard others say they've had problems.  On a couple of cruises we could hear some movie noise, but it was so muted it was very much background and never disturbed us at all.  

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5 hours ago, cl.klink said:

 

True. You'd have to decide how much that's worth spending, I guess.  If the average difference for a 7 day cruise between veranda and concierge was, say, $200 pp ($400 for a couple) and for aqua was $300 pp ($600 for a couple), then nine 7-day cruises (63 days) on concierge vs. fifteen 7-day cruises (105) days on veranda would cost an extra $1200 pp ($2400 for a couple) and on aqua would cost an extra $1800 pp ($3600 for a couple).

 

- Joel

 

Can't agree more with you Joel, for us we look at concierge for about $100 pp over veranda. Not sure the extras on the sailing are worth that, but with the CC points we're willing to pay that much more. The other thing to look at is a veranda with a comparable location. Sometimes a A1 veranda is more $ than a C2 concierge and the C2 is in a better location. 

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8 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

 

How would you compare it to Deck 9 AQ (unless you've never done 9) ?  Just curious. I try to stay a bit closer to midship on account of motion issues. 

In what sense are you looking to compare? 

 

We've done deck 8 and 11 across several m-class cruises.  We enjoy the view from higher up.  The short walk down the back staircase to the Sunset Bar and Oceanview.  The simple walk out front for an outdoor walk.  

 

Steps away vs staircases away from where we spend the most time. 

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I cannot answer that for someone else as it depends upon how you value various services and, of course, it depends on how the price compares with other classes at booking time.  I've seen Aqua less expensive than Concierge at times even though Aqua has more/better perks, so supply and demand I suppose.  I have cruised in both Concierge and Aqua. 

 

For us, Aqua was well worth having Blu as our dining option for breakfast and dinner.  We thought the service was marvelous and dinner on most nights (though admittedly, not all) was every bit as good as what we had in Murano.  We do not use the Persian Garden and the afternoon mystery canapes provided for both the Concierge and Aqua classes have no value for us, so Aqua is chosen by us primarily for Blu. 

 

I would not pay for Concierge again UNLESS it was to get a particular cabin location, as we've done with next year's Alaskan cruisetour (which we may or may not take).  We wanted a cabin in the middle aft of the ship and a larger veranda, and the Concierge cabins fit the bill. 

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We really enjoy Blu, so we choose AQ when it is a reasonable price (for us).  On S-Class, we book one of the angled cabins for the larger balcony, and on M-Class, we love the aft cabins on 11 with oversize balconies.  If you are close to reaching a higher Captain's Club level, the double points for AQ or Concierge might be worth it.  Several years ago, we had a C-Class cabin on the Reflection in early January.  Using C-class, we would become Elite on that cruise.  The New Year's Eve cruise immediately before that unexpectedly dropped in price, so we booked a back-to-back in the same cabin, and we were Elite for the second cruise.

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1 hour ago, Jazzbo said:

We really enjoy Blu, so we choose AQ when it is a reasonable price (for us).  On S-Class, we book one of the angled cabins for the larger balcony, and on M-Class, we love the aft cabins on 11 with oversize balconies.  If you are close to reaching a higher Captain's Club level, the double points for AQ or Concierge might be worth it.  Several years ago, we had a C-Class cabin on the Reflection in early January.  Using C-class, we would become Elite on that cruise.  The New Year's Eve cruise immediately before that unexpectedly dropped in price, so we booked a back-to-back in the same cabin, and we were Elite for the second cruise.

Have you been in the M-Class deck 11 aft cabins on a revolutionized ship with the bacon strips replacing the canopy over the Sunset Bar?  Balcony privacy seems to have taken a big hit, at least when viewed from deck 10.  I realise the balconies are pretty deep though. 

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Just now, D C said:

Have you been in the M-Class deck 11 aft cabins on a revolutionized ship with the bacon strips replacing the canopy over the Sunset Bar?  Balcony privacy seems to have taken a big hit, at least when viewed from deck 10.  I realise the balconies are pretty deep though. 

Yes, we were in 1138 on the Summit in April 2019 just upstairs from the Sunset Bar.  I prefer the canopy over the Sunset Bar because I like to sit in the shade there, but the balcony is so deep that you have privacy if you're sitting closer to the cabin.  We loved the convenience of one of us being able to go down the steps to the Sunset Bar to bring drinks back to our balcony.  In fact, we are currently booked on a TA on the Constellation out of Rome in October 2021, and I saw that 1138 became available over the weekend, so I asked our cruise agent to change us to 1138.  Yay!  I think 1140 has an even bigger balcony.

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5 hours ago, sullyd said:

Thank you all for the valuable info, hopefully we will all be sailing again soon !

Clearly I am bored, but for curiosity sake I checked out the Jan 15, 2022  7 dar, carib., which I will be on.  Anyway here is how the cost difference shakes out:

Aqua - $4,486

Concierge - $4186

 

BOTH include identical ammenities:  classic drink package, pre-paid grats, trip insurance.  So I think the biggest difference is having access to Blu if you go Aqua, and almost everyone on here has said it is great.  Happy decision making!!

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1 hour ago, LGW59 said:

Clearly I am bored, but for curiosity sake I checked out the Jan 15, 2022  7 dar, carib., which I will be on.  Anyway here is how the cost difference shakes out:

Aqua - $4,486

Concierge - $4186

 

BOTH include identical ammenities:  classic drink package, pre-paid grats, trip insurance.  So I think the biggest difference is having access to Blu if you go Aqua, and almost everyone on here has said it is great.  Happy decision making!!

Personally, I think the $300 would be better spent on specialty dining than on Blu, but not everyone would share that opinion of course. 

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