New To Celebrity Questions

[PGI GUY]

We are experience cruisers with over 35 different cruises,  however it has been a long time since we have been on Celebrity. We are booked on the Silhouette in Aqua class on deck 15 for a transatlantic voyage in October. Are we supposed to eat most meals in Blu except for a reservation in a specialty restaurant or can we also go to the main restaurant with anytime dining for a change from Blu? We have the basic drink package, do each of the restaurants have a list of the wines by the glass available in that restaurant? We normally travel with Viking Ocean and would appreciate any tips from experienced Celebrity cruisers, especially why Aqua class cabins are special.

[redjetz]

18 minutes ago, PGI GUY said:

. Are we supposed to eat most meals in Blu except for a reservation in a specialty restaurant or can we also go to the main restaurant with anytime dining for a change from Blu? We have the basic drink package, do each of the restaurants have a list of the wines by the glass available in that restaurant? We normally travel with Viking Ocean and would appreciate any tips from experienced Celebrity cruisers, especially why Aqua class cabins are special.

Hi. The ONLY reason to book Aqua class is to dine in Blu, in my opinion. The cabin is the same as a veranda stateroom, nothing special except sometimes less desirable locations. Blu is your assigned main dining room. If you want to dine in one of the MDRs, talk to the maitre’D to see if there is room for you. You can check the app for available wines.

 

 

[bigbenboys]

AquaClass has Blu as their assigned dining room. Normally on Silhouette while dining in Blu you can order off the Main Dining Room menu. If you want to dine in the MDR. I tell the maitre d in Blu when I'm going to dine in the MDR or one of the specialty restaurant. You will dine in the Select section of the MDR. I believe Select dining room is on deck 4.

 

Most AquaClass cabins are on deck 11. Aqua Sky Suites are on the 12.

 

It is best to talk to the sommelier about your wine likes and what drink package you have. 

[jwlane]

38 minutes ago, PGI GUY said:

 We are booked on the Silhouette in Aqua class on deck 15

I don't think so.

[mrgabriel]

We normally eat in Blu or Specialty Dining for dinner. Blu is also open for breakfast, which is a relaxed way to start the day.

 

For lunch, you can eat in main dining, the buffet, the mast grille (hamburgers on the deck), or some of the specialty dining restaurants will be open such as Sushi on 5 and the Porch. If you eat in the MDR for lunch you just show up and you can sit with or without other people.

 

For wine, you'll be able to see many of the options on the app. If there's something on the Premium wine (or liquor) menu that you prefer, you will be charged only the difference between the allowance for the Basic package and the cost of the premium item, plus the incremental gratuity.

[cruisestitch]

Remember that Blu is not open for lunch and the MDR only serves lunch on sea days, not port days.

[TeaBag]

If you need a break from Blu book the Lawn Club Grill (fee based).  Unless you have friends who cannot dine in Blu, I don't know why you would want to eat in the MDR when you are paying for AQ class.

[PGI GUY]

Thank you all for your feedback, sorry for the cabin location error regarding the deck number. On what deck is the Blu dining room located.

Any other tips would be appreciated.

[39august]

Blu is on deck 5 toward the aft. Breakfast and  dinner daily.  You should be able to order off the MDR menu in Blu on Silhouutte if you choose. I think you will find the dining experience in Blu superior to the MDR. I see someone mentioned the Lawn Club Grill as a specialty restaurant. That venue is open air so can be windy and either hot or cold depending on weather. We prefer the other specialties on Sillhoutte, the Porch, Tuscan Grill or Murano. There is also a nice, less expensive, Japanese restaurant called Sushi on Five...lots more than just Sushi. We like lunch there at least once a cruise. There is also a complimentary hamburger, hot dog place on deck 14 called the Mast Grill and a complimentary "healthy food' place open daily for lunch and breakfast called the Spa Cafe. It is open to all guests, not just for spa cabins.

[Laurab23]

I love Sushi on Five and I don't eat fish! They have some chicken items that are so good.

 

Laura

[agape01]

If you are not able to order off the MDR menu while at Blue, you could always order what you may want to eat at Blu and then head over to MDR for another round. 

While experiencing Blu for the first time some years back on the Solstice, what my traveling companion and I did was to have one round of what is good at OC then head down to Blu for another round. As for Dinner, the menu at Blu was much better than MDR.

[tigervixxxen]

10 hours ago, PGI GUY said:

Thank you all for your feedback, sorry for the cabin location error regarding the deck number. On what deck is the Blu dining room located.

Any other tips would be appreciated.

We were in Aqua on Silhouette, the room number starts with 15 but it was actually deck 11, which I found confusing but that’s just how they do it. If you get Jason as your room steward he’s excellent. 
 

You can check the menus for any restaurant in the ap and they will bring you any dish from the MDR no problem, we basically used it as a secondary menu to expand our choices. So no need to go to the MDR if you specifically want something from that menu. 
 

Blu is a smaller restaurant and beautifully decorated, I wouldn’t leave it just for the MDR. I found the quality in food similar though but with a few more healthier/continental choices in Blu. A specialty restaurant would be of higher quality and as such things can be hit or miss but the food was generally good. 
 

The afternoon snacks are delivered around 3pm to Aqua guests, nothing extraordinary but something to get a bite of.  

Edited July 18, 2023 by tigervixxxen

[wineoclock]

We were on Silhouette in Aqua for the first time in May. Did not get any snacks delivered. Blu was excellent, as good as Luminae imo. 
 

We dined in Tuscan & Murano. Personally thought Tuscan wasn’t worth the upgrade as Blu so good.
 

Lunch in OV was decent on sea days but not what we are used to in Luminae. I suspect will be same for you if coming from Viking. 

 

Silhouette is a beautiful ship & I wouldn’t hesitate to do Aqua again on S class. 

[PGI GUY]

Again, thank you to all who have passed along your tips and advice, it has been very helpful.

[broadwaybaby123]

On 7/17/2023 at 9:46 AM, PGI GUY said:

We are experience cruisers with over 35 different cruises,  however it has been a long time since we have been on Celebrity. We are booked on the Silhouette in Aqua class on deck 15 for a transatlantic voyage in October. Are we supposed to eat most meals in Blu except for a reservation in a specialty restaurant or can we also go to the main restaurant with anytime dining for a change from Blu? We have the basic drink package, do each of the restaurants have a list of the wines by the glass available in that restaurant? We normally travel with Viking Ocean and would appreciate any tips from experienced Celebrity cruisers, especially why Aqua class cabins are special.

1.) From what I gather you have the choice of eating either in Blu or the MDR

2.) From what I remember, there is a wine listing at each restaurant, but I'll be going on Celebrity for the first time in 6 years, so things may have changed.

[39august]

There is a wine list for each dining venue. However, you can usually get whatever wine is in your drink package regardless of the "wine list".  Or, of course,, any other wine not on your list and pay the up charge. 

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, 39august said:

There is a wine list for each dining venue. However, you can usually get whatever wine is in your drink package regardless of the "wine list".  Or, of course,, any other wine not on your list and pay the up charge. 

 

I'm wondering what you mean by this?  How do you order a wine (glass or bottle) that is not on any list?  Do you mean, check the app for all restaurants and pick something from one of them?  For example, I will be on Eclipse in Blu in December.  I would certainly like to be able to order any wine from any place.

[cruisestitch]

There is some flexibility in allowing you to order wines that are served in other venues. But there are other wines that are simply not available outside their original venue.  Roxanne, a wine from Sting’s winery, is only served in Tuscan.  

[redjetz]

Sometimes a few of the wines that are listed are simply not available, which is disappointing. But if you frequent the same bars and get to know the bartenders, “sometimes” they will make the effort to locate the unavailable wine in some back storage area. We have always rewarded those bartenders for their efforts 😉

[39august]

Yes, my point exactly. Ask for the wine you want and if it is possible to get it, most bar staff will try to find it for you. Anyway, that has always been my experience. Maybe I've just been lucky. The one place I cannot speak for is the wine service in the MDR, as we never eat there.