What would you pay to dine in Blu if it were a specialty restaurant?

[vjmatty]

On 12/12/2023 at 5:31 AM, hcat said:

no but some tables are close..people are  often friendly (hit or miss) ...but proximity means less privacy! 

I actually like this better than a large MDR table with other passengers. Conversation is there if you want it but you aren’t tied to their service schedule. And you don’t get the same people every night. 

[Pinboy]

37 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

I actually like this better than a large MDR table with other passengers. Conversation is there if you want it but you aren’t tied to their service schedule. And you don’t get the same people every night. 

We now request a table for 2 in the MDR and only have to listen to one Complainer ( but usually none).

Years ago we sat with another couple—( a one night stand) because 

within 2 minutes he “ ticked “ me off and I was almost(??) ready to punch him in the nose — but , but, ya shoulda seen the size of his muscles — and besides, I’m not a good swimmer.
 

 

[Orator]

To focus on the original question posed by the OP. It would depend on the menu. I would pay from $0 to $5.00 per person.

[NutsAboutGolf]

I'll answer the question with another question, how many would NOT book AQ class if Blu was NOT inclusive?

[C-Dragons]

42 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

I'll answer the question with another question, how many would NOT book AQ class if Blu was NOT inclusive?

We would not.

Blu, as well as Luminae, are supposed to be exclusive to guests paying for Aqua class and Retreat (Suite) accommodations. They are not very large venues and many times guests have to wait to be seated for lunch and dinner.

Adding additional guests, regardless of paying for the privilege, would  just make the situation worse.

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

We would not.

Blu, as well as Luminae, are supposed to be exclusive to guests paying for Aqua class and Retreat (Suite) accommodations. They are not very large venues and many times guests have to wait to be seated for lunch and dinner.

Adding additional guests, regardless of paying for the privilege, would  just make the situation worse.

 

We feel the same.  I always thought you get a little shafted as Blu isn't open for lunch

[C-Dragons]

6 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

We feel the same.  I always thought you get a little shafted as Blu isn't open for lunch

Thanks for posting that. 😊

I forgot Luminae is only open for lunch on certain days too.

Edited December 14, 2023 by C-Dragons

[Ex-Airbalancer]

26 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

We would not.

Blu, as well as Luminae, are supposed to be exclusive to guests paying for Aqua class and Retreat (Suite) accommodations. They are not very large venues and many times guests have to wait to be seated for lunch and dinner.

Adding additional guests, regardless of paying for the privilege, would  just make the situation worse.

I believe OP was asking if Blu was a speciality restaurant would you pay to eat , it would than have nothing to do with AQU 

 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

On 12/11/2023 at 11:09 PM, sandbug2 said:

My sister and I are trying Aqua class for the first time.  She is great, however, at meals we like to meet others and have a different conversation for a bit.  Does Blu have tables where you can join others like the MDR?

If you have met others who are Aqua Class and would like to sit with them for a change, they may be able to do that. I met a couple of guys elsewhere on the ship and once or twice we hit breakfast at the same time and they put us together rather than separately.

 

But it's mainly just you and your party. At least from my experience this past summer on Aqua, no one was asking to sit with others like you sometimes see at the MDRs. That's the beauty of Aqua for me - guaranteed table to myself.

[someguyfl]

6 hours ago, vjmatty said:

I actually like this better than a large MDR table with other passengers. Conversation is there if you want it but you aren’t tied to their service schedule. And you don’t get the same people every night. 

I agree completely. I haven't cruised in anything below Aqua in many years, but the last cruise I had on Celebrity ... the other people at the MDR really had absolutely nothing in common with me, and the conversation was really boring. I found myself dreading having to go back to that table every day.

In Blu or Luminae, sometimes conversations happened with the adjacent tables, sometimes it didn't. Sometimes I liked the people, sometimes I didn't.

 

Overall, I think the way Blu does things is the happy medium, and I'm happy that the Edge class ships have essentially made that the default for all 4 MDR venues as well.

[someguyfl]

3 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

I'll answer the question with another question, how many would NOT book AQ class if Blu was NOT inclusive?

I absolutely would not book Aqua if Blu was not included. It is in fact the primary reason for booking AQ for me.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

6 hours ago, vjmatty said:

And you don’t get the same people every night. 

I guess it depends? On the Summit this past summer, I was seated at the same table (or in the same section) every night so I *did* in fact have the same servers. And for the most part the same people around me.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

1 minute ago, someguyfl said:

I absolutely would not book Aqua if Blu was not included. It is in fact the primary reason for booking AQ for me.

This. I upgraded to Aqua for my summer cruise for the simple fact that I could not imagine being on board without Blu after being spoiled this summer!! (Granted, the fact that they removed the mandatory AI from it helped a lot. I hadn't booked it originally for this upcoming summer because AI was still included and I couldn't stomach paying for 2 drink packages and 2 internet packages again when I cruise solo.)

[Orator]

2 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

We would not.

Blu, as well as Luminae, are supposed to be exclusive to guests paying for Aqua class and Retreat (Suite) accommodations. They are not very large venues and many times guests have to wait to be seated for lunch and dinner.

Adding additional guests, regardless of paying for the privilege, would  just make the situation worse.

The OP asked a hypothetical question. My guess is that they are considering  Aqua Class and wanted to know how it was valued. I could be wrong in my guess.

[NutsAboutGolf]

37 minutes ago, Orator said:

The OP asked a hypothetical question. My guess is that they are considering  Aqua Class and wanted to know how it was valued. I could be wrong in my guess.

 

You're 100% correct.  My WAG (Wild A$$ Guess) is that the OP is on the fence with an AQ move-up bid/bidding amount which is why it was asked the way it was

 

To oversimplify it as much as possible, how does one rate the MDR on a scale of 1 to 10?  Whatever that number is, add a 1 to it and then you have your Blu rating.  It's a slightly elevated MDR experience which is my personal opinion based on actual dining experiences, talking to passengers on board, and reading on here,   There are some additional benefits like no extra charge for multiple lobster tails, and on some ships, you can order anything off the MDR menu but not everyone will utilize those benefits

[C-Dragons]

15 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I believe OP was asking if Blu was a speciality restaurant would you pay to eat , it would than have nothing to do with AQU 

 

I was responding to NutsAboutGolf, not the OP.

[Veinless]

Zero. Had a terrible experience in Blu on the Eclipse. MDR was far superior.

[Mangrove Snapper]

20 hours ago, someguyfl said:

I absolutely would not book Aqua if Blu was not included. It is in fact the primary reason for booking AQ for me.

 

Mine, too.  
 

But we don’t spend much time in our stateroom and this past July we realized just how little time we actually spend there.  So this will be the question on our next cruise.  Is Blu worth it enough to keep booking Aqua?

[Pinboy]

21 hours ago, someguyfl said:

the other people at the MDR really had absolutely nothing in common with me, and the conversation was really boring. I found myself dreading having to go back to that table every day.

So, Why didn't you request to change your table---- even before your 3rd shrimp cocktail on day1?

If anyone at the table asks you " Why ya changed tables "---- All ya gotta answer " Allergies " .

( See post #102 for example )

 

 

 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

19 hours ago, Pinboy said:

So, Why didn't you request to change your table---- even before your 3rd shrimp cocktail on day1?

If anyone at the table asks you " Why ya changed tables "---- All ya gotta answer " Allergies " .

( See post #102 for example )

 

 

 

 

Agreed! Granted, it was on another line, but when I was put at what I still call the "solo dump table", the 2 guys there got on famously and I had zero in common with them and did not follow any of their conversation which seemed to be all about finances and stuff. I asked the dining room manager a couple of nights later (I had a specialty dining room the second night) about moving and they were able to make it happen. My head server handled any issues - and he happened to remain my head waiter in my new section and said he and the servers were not one bit surprised and the servers 100% knew it was not their fault.

 

Odds are slim on a large ship that you'd run into your former tablemates - but even if you did, I'd hope that the head waiter would have tactfully handled it.

[boxkite]

We have been in Aqua class several times and I would say that Blu is worth at least $20 to $25 a day per person IF that price includes breakfast. For us, being able to eat breakfast in Blu is worth something.

 

I will say that we were on S class ships when we dined in Blu so I can't speak to the Blu experience on the M class ships.

[NMTraveller]

I would pay extra to avoid the MDR and buffet.  Whether that is Blu or specialty or sushi on 5.  Blu has a better ambiance than the mdr.

Edited December 31, 2023 by NMTraveller

[LB_NJ]

On 12/14/2023 at 8:13 PM, Orator said:

The OP asked a hypothetical question. My guess is that they are considering  Aqua Class and wanted to know how it was valued. I could be wrong in my guess.

That is the exact reason for the question.

[NMTraveller]

The Persian Gardens are nice to use also.

[IDL]

As stated the value proposition for Aqua class is predicated on how one values meals in Blu as the other benefits of Aqua class add no value for me.  Therefore as the $64K question is how much extra over a veranda cabin one is willing to pay for Blu as the price delta is different for every cruise.  I would not pay more than $50 a day per passenger above the veranda cabin rate.   Celebrity seems very focused on testing price elasticity on everything with the guiding principle of charging what ever the market will bear.