Is Aqua Class Worth It?

[zitsky]

22 hours ago, pnjfronce said:

We have done Aqua a few times. Very disappointed with our experience at Blu on our Sept Solstice cruise. Food not outstanding and service poor. Took us 10 min to get coffee with our first breakfast. Our table settings always missing items….cups,spoons,salt/pepper,butter,cream,etc. Voiced our disappointment to manager. Hesitant to book Aqua again.

So you complained about service.  Did they do anything?

 

I book Blu to avoid eating in the buffet.

 

Is it true that any Aquaclass booking is AI?

[HS2BS]

Not true - there is two separate Aqua cabin types A1 &  A2, 

 

Hal

[wineoclock]

6 hours ago, lexmiller said:

We definitely feel that Aqua Class is worth the upcharge on the Millennium and Solstice class ships - but definitely NOT worth it on the Edge class ships.  We love Blu - for us, Blu is the primary reason we love Aqua.  Sure, the bottle of sparkling wine (which we always have our steward exchange for a bottle of red), the afternoon canapes which you can tailor to your personal preferences, no charge in the Persian Garden - nice, but not worth the price - it’s all about Blu for us as we love the smaller dining area, the more intimate feel.  We do not adhere at all to the supposed idea that the food in Blu is “healthier” - Celebrity as a fleet has in general made a commitment to healthy meals, to smaller portions - if you want extra, you can order additional dishes - no matter what dining room you’re in.  We find the food in Blue to be no more and no less “healthy" than the food in the main dining room.  

On the Edge Class ships, Aqua cabins all have the infinite verandas (the rooms that have huge windows that open) - no traditional balconies - that, we don’t like.  Plus, the Blu dining room on the Edge class ships has no windows - well, yes, Blu has windows but they are curtained and look out at  the life boats - so, no view.  On the S and M class ships, the views from Blu, even if you’re not seated directly at a window, are beautiful.  Additionally, on the Edge Class ships, we really love the new plan of four main dining rooms - love it, we’ve enjoyed that very much.  Our plan in general on Edge Class is booking a sunset veranda for an incredible traditional balcony, and dining in one of the four main dining rooms or booking specialty dining.  (We love Retreat on Edge Class, but we can’t swing that $$ very often.)  So for us, Aqua on Edge Class is a definite and resounding “no” because of the “no traditional balcony” and because Edge Class has so many lovely dining options - think Eden for specialty - and the four main dining room plan, love that.  

Very interesting post. I too like a traditional balcony so if I was on E class would stump for Retreat or get a SV. 

[hcat]

2 hours ago, HS2BS said:

Not true - there is two separate Aqua cabin types A1 &  A2, 

 

Hal

I think we  have gotten A2 pricing for an A1.

 AQ cabin locations can be tricky..research pays off!

[pnjfronce]

4 hours ago, zitsky said:

So you complained about service.  Did they do anything?

 

I book Blu to avoid eating in the buffet.

 

Is it true that any Aquaclass booking is AI?

 

[pnjfronce]

We did complain and felt service improved slightly. Still spotty. Still would not book Aqua again after our experience.

[zitsky]

10 minutes ago, pnjfronce said:

We did complain and felt service improved slightly. Still spotty. Still would not book Aqua again after our experience.

There are comments on here that say maybe service post Covid is not as good as it was before.

[tugboat]

On 9/24/2022 at 2:25 PM, Nashna said:

We enjoy dining in Blu.  On our January Apex cruise in Aqua we found that the Infinity Veranda was just not for us as we enjoy sitting and reading on the balcony.  Our next two cruises are on Edge class ships, and we have opted for Sunset Veranda staterooms.  While on the Apex, we spent one night in Tuscany and enjoyed the experience.  If we go on any ship other than an Edge Class, we will book Aqua Class.  

Infinite Veranda will be on the new RCL Icon class, all the new ships with Celebrity and Royal will have then on them

[lexmiller]

On 9/24/2022 at 3:25 PM, Nashna said:

We enjoy dining in Blu.  On our January Apex cruise in Aqua we found that the Infinity Veranda was just not for us as we enjoy sitting and reading on the balcony.  Our next two cruises are on Edge class ships, and we have opted for Sunset Veranda staterooms.  While on the Apex, we spent one night in Tuscany and enjoyed the experience.  If we go on any ship other than an Edge Class, we will book Aqua Class.  

Yes, agree totally.  I wrote a detailed post on this thread to your point.  Aqua on M and S class is excellent.  But on E class, a big NO for us.  Again, I wrote a detailed point by point on this thread.  

[zitsky]

2 hours ago, lexmiller said:

Yes, agree totally.  I wrote a detailed post on this thread to your point.  Aqua on M and S class is excellent.  But on E class, a big NO for us.  Again, I wrote a detailed point by point on this thread.  

What are the breakfast choices on E class?  just the buffet?  Or are the 4 MDR restaurants open for breakfast?  What’s a good choice before a morning excursion?

[Bobsgonecoastal]

On 9/24/2022 at 12:25 PM, Nashna said:

We enjoy dining in Blu.  On our January Apex cruise in Aqua we found that the Infinity Veranda was just not for us as we enjoy sitting and reading on the balcony.  Our next two cruises are on Edge class ships, and we have opted for Sunset Veranda staterooms.  While on the Apex, we spent one night in Tuscany and enjoyed the experience.  If we go on any ship other than an Edge Class, we will book Aqua Class.  

Nasha, Completely agree, we sail exclusively in Aqua, but only sail M&S classes.

if for some reason we ever sail Edge class, it won’t be in an infinite veranda cabin.  
after 20 cruises on X, we experienced all kinds of changes and schemes to increase profit.  The latest one hurts Aqua cruisers who are also Elite and above by not allowing them to book a stripped cruise only fare.  They are still required to pay for the all included package which negates the best elite amenities, drinks and WiFi.  Makes you wonder what they have planned for us next.

[Mimiya11]

On 9/25/2022 at 6:36 AM, wineoclock said:

We have also booked Aqua for May cruise & couldn’t justify cost of retreat however this thread is making me have a rethink!

Don't let a few negative comments on this board make you rethink your choice. 

It is absolutely worth trying if the cost difference is not significant.   

 

[3CanadianBears]

If booking Aqua class are you restricted to eating in Blu or can you still go to the MDR? Thanks. 

[thebutlerdidit]

19 hours ago, zitsky said:

Is it true that any Aquaclass booking is AI?

 

 

19 hours ago, HS2BS said:

Not true - there is two separate Aqua cabin types A1 &  A2, 

 

Hal

 

 

I think zitsky was referring to AI (Always Included) and not the A1 AquaClass cabin category.

[deultgen]

It is really difficult to answer an "is it worth it question"

 

We have sailed Aqua Class four times, so for us, YES its worth paying something more than a standard balcony room to dine in Blu, have access to the Persian Garden and a couple other amenities.   

 

At the same time, on nearly ever sailing being advertised, the cost of Aqua Class is FAR, FAR above a standard balcony room, in many cases in the cruises we are currently looking at in Jan/Feb Caribbean, the cost for AQ is double a standard balcony room.  So, for us currently the answer is NO we have been priced out of AQ class for future cruises.  

 

Actually, on each of the 3 sailings we are looking at for winter 2023, we could book a balcony room and dine in a specialty restaurant EVERY NIGHT for far less than a AQ Class stateroom.  

[zitsky]

39 minutes ago, thebutlerdidit said:

 

I think zitsky was referring to AI (Always Included) and not the A1 AquaClass cabin category.

Yes I’m asking to confirm if ALL Aqua class cabins on Celebrity cruise lines include ALL INCLUDED.

[zitsky]

55 minutes ago, 3CanadianBears said:

If booking Aqua class are you restricted to eating in Blu or can you still go to the MDR? Thanks. 

The advice I’ve read is to give the staff at the MDR prior notice that you want to eat there.  But yes it should be possible.

[D C]

Not for us, unless the price is nearly the same as a normal veranda and we can get deck 11 on an M-class. 

 

Our opinion:

Blu is different, not better. 

Persian Garden is a 'rare, if ever' for us

Afternoon canapés are often unappealing, and have sat a long time before we get to the room

The 'champagne' is lower tier than available with the beverage package. 

The extra points are nice, and we'd be short of elite had we not booked Aqua on a few occasions. 

[hcat]

13 hours ago, zitsky said:

What are the breakfast choices on E class?  just the buffet?  Or are the 4 MDR restaurants open for breakfast?  What’s a good choice before a morning excursion?

Buffet,  EDEN cafe,   for Elite guests..the  lite breakfast in Tuscan,   and one of the big MDRS..( it was pretty good) .   Cafe Baccio for pastries and coffee.  Room service

[kebrown]

2 hours ago, 3CanadianBears said:

If booking Aqua class are you restricted to eating in Blu or can you still go to the MDR? Thanks. 

We just dined in Blu on the Reflection and we were able to order from the MDR menu while dining in Blu.  Each night when they gave us the Blu menu, we asked for a menu from the MDR as well.  If we saw something on the MDR menu we wanted instead, we gave our order to the waiter in Blu and he brought it to us.  We ordered from the MDR menu while in Blu several nights on the Reflection and it was not a problem.

[MamaFej]

We disembarked the Summit on the 21st after 33 days aboard: B2B2B. The first and third cruises were in Aqua, the middle one was with MDR dining. Although Blu was not up to the usual standards, we realized just how much better it was than the MDR (in this instance) very early in the cruise. Even with a reserved table for 2 each evening, service was woefully slow, with only 1-2 visits from the overwhelmed sommelier at each dinner. She definitely lacked the knowledge and expertise of the awesome Blu sommelier, Nandha. There was no sense in even trying to pair wines with courses. The slow service  is NOT the fault of the crew; they were working their tails off, there just weren't enough of them. I imagine there were not enough folks in the kitchen, either. We wound up eating most meals up in OVC. One night, we did the awesome Veuve Clicquot dinner. We, of course, let the MDR know that they could give away our table on those nights. 

 

We were so very happy to get back into Blu on cruise 3! Most of the Blu Crew were still there from the first cruise and eagerly greeted us, stopping by to say hello, even when we weren't in their section. It was delightful. We checked prices on our future cruises to see if we should change the regular or Sunset Veranda ones to Aqua, but the apples to apples price differential wasn't reasonable. We will do lots of specialty dining, instead. 

 

We normally enjoy Persian Garden a few times on each Aqua cruise, but skipped it this year. The idea of being in a warm, moist environment with Covid viruses clinging to droplets suspended in the air was not attractive to us. There were loads of obviously sick folks onboard, increasing as each cruise progressed, and several people on each Roll Call reported testing positive once getting home. I imagine there were also quite a few asymptomatic spreaders. We hope that we will be able to enjoy Persian Garden on our few Aqua cruises next year. 

 

I'm not exactly sure what our "worth it" price differential per day is, and it probably varies by length of cruise and itinerary, but I know it when I see it. 

 

[Purplsmurf]

4 hours ago, Mimiya11 said:

Don't let a few negative comments on this board make you rethink your choice. 

It is absolutely worth trying if the cost difference is not significant.   

 

When we changed ours from a SS, we chose Aqua because it was actually cheaper than a veranda! I have never seen that. Now it is about $2k more than we paid,  but paid the same price as a veranda currently so we are sticking with it to try it out. We shall see how it goes!

[wineoclock]

Some great observations here. There are no accessible SS left on my May cruise so we went for Aqua. If an accessible one becomes available then I will consider cost for an upgrade. However I’ve have wanted to try Aqua as becoming priced out of the suites so we shall see. 

[thebutlerdidit]

2 hours ago, wineoclock said:

Some great observations here. There are no accessible SS left on my May cruise so we went for Aqua. If an accessible one becomes available then I will consider cost for an upgrade. However I’ve have wanted to try Aqua as becoming priced out of the suites so we shall see. 

 

I think you’ll love your accessible AquaClass cabin. My husband and I did a B2B in one in 2017. The Blu staff was delightful and accommodating. The first night we were seated at a table that was easy for us to maneuver his power chair to. Every day when we entered the staff would quickly whisk one of the chairs away and seat us. It was a wonderful last cruise experience for him.

[upwarduk]

6 hours ago, zitsky said:

Yes I’m asking to confirm if ALL Aqua class cabins on Celebrity cruise lines include ALL INCLUDED.

Do a dummy booking and when you make your cabin choice you will see a banner on top of the illustration that says All Included for Aqua cabins.

Inside, Ocean View, Balcony & Concierge all have a banner that says, Cruise Only.

When you go through the booking process, you then have the option to add All Included, to your non Aqua choice.

If you choose Cruise only, there is then an option to add gratuities now or later.