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

[NMTraveller]

4 minutes ago, jelayne said:

We get the same wines in Blu as we do in Luminae and recently better in  Blu.

Do they have wines that are not on the menu?  I am looking at the Blu menu and I am not impressed.

 

 

Edited December 5, 2023 by NMTraveller

[jelayne]

If Blu were a specialty restaurant I would pay more for Blu than Tuscan or LPC.  So on that basis Blu would be worth more than $55 for dinner.

[mtnlvr53]

My experience in Blu on the (2) cruises that I've been in Aqua class was very good. I liked being able to eat a sit down breakfast especially on sea days.  I liked the fact that the hostess and the Maitre d  knew my name, not only when I walked in the restaurant but when they saw me on the ship in other locations.

I have food allergies and celiac disease I found them to be much more accommodating on adjusting the menu for me to meet my dietary requirements if there wasn't anything I liked on the menu that was shown as gluten free. They also went to the other dining rooms if there was something that I wanted from their menu. Our Mediterranean/Transatlantic cruise had no coconut macaroons: my personal favorite on Celebrity cruises. After 15 days of being told "maybe tomorrow"  I mentioned it to the maitre d he said," I'll get them", and sure enough they were my dessert that evening and he even sent another 4 to our room.

When I first went to the Aqua Class room, I told my husband I didn't think it was worth the extra, but after the excellent service, I''ll have to think twice about the extra cost because from a dietary perspective it definitely was worth the extra.

[jelayne]

2 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Do they have wines that are not on the menu?  I am looking at the Blu menu and I am not impressed.

Yes.  I never look at the wine list.  I ask for something I like or ask the sommelier for a recommendation.  

[NMTraveller]

24 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Yes.  I never look at the wine list.  I ask for something I like or ask the sommelier for a recommendation.  

So I could ask for a glass of Domaine Carneros Brut Rose by Taittinger and the sommelier would bring me a glass of this wine or something that is close in taste?

Edited December 5, 2023 by NMTraveller

[mahasamatman]

3 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

So I could ask for a glass of Domaine Carneros Brut Rose by Taittinger and the sommelier would bring me a glass of this wine or something that is close in taste?

 

It all depends on whether the sommelier has heard of that wine, and whether they have something comparable. Neither is guaranteed.

[Travelling2Some]

That would be $0.  We were upgraded to Aqua and were surprised that we found very little value in it.  Definitely nothing we would ever consider paying more for.  Blu was quieter than the MDR but I found myself ordering from the MDR menu half the time.  We will very happily return to steerage, lol.

[goofysmom99]

The difference between a regular verandah and Aqua on a 13 night Silhouette cruise that I priced today was $2923, making the price of Blu about $225/night/cabin.  I'm not sure what would pay for Blu but it definitely wouldn't be $225/day.  BTW, I booked the cruise and purchased a 10-night specialty package.

[Cap_D]

I forget if one can do a three person booking for Aqua, and the answer may be no.  But, if you can determine the difference between the total for 2 person booking and 3 person booking, after the discounting is done, in the same room/class that will give you a rough approximation of the non-room related costs, of which some is the dedicated restaurant and whatever WiFi and drink package, if any, is bundled.  Then you can take the number of days, and then come up with some way to account for breakfast and dinner.  This may work better for Retreat; and may be able to be done for a non -Aqua or Retreat room to determine the value of the MDR and other non room specific costs (Seems to be about $96 - $140, when pricing a 2 person and 3 person in non-Aqua on November 30, 2025 Xcel, porthole seems to be higher for 3rd person compared to 3rd person in concierge class room).   

 

Of course, resort menus for the costs of full breakfasts, dinner items, drinks, etc. are easily found for a relative comparison.  

 

As noted above, there may be an almost priceless value to the maitre'd and waitstaff regardless of the Blu menu and ingredient mix.

Edited December 5, 2023 by Cap_D

[agape01]

9 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

I'm asking because this is my round-about way of trying to figure out what Aqua is worth to us on a M class ship.

 

To us the only real benefit of Aqua would be Blu.  Also, given the location of Aqua cabins on M class ships they would mostly be worth less to us than regular Veranda cabins.

 

On M class ships Tuscan Grill is, for us, the only specialty restaurant we would dine in so a specialty restaurant package doesn't make sense on a cruise over a few days..

 

For comparison purposes Tuscan Grill seems to be about $50 per person plus gratuity.

Having just coming off the Millennium last week, I can honestly say that I will have my doubts with Tuscan Grill ever again. Its a complete reverse from the first time I had it on the Solstice years back where it is a complete night and day.

Between a comparison between Blu and Tuscan Grill based on my most recently cruise, I would pick Blu on any given day and I would say that Blu for dinner as a specialty restaurant, I would pay $39.95 for the experience.

[Cruise a holic]

No.  We find Blu not great.  Tables for two are really a row of tables with very little space in-between- no privacy.  

 

The speciality restaurants and Luminae so much better.  If you want- book a  real specialty restaurant.  Enjoy.

Edited December 5, 2023 by Cruise a holic

[NMTraveller]

6 hours ago, goofysmom99 said:

The difference between a regular verandah and Aqua on a 13 night Silhouette cruise that I priced today was $2923, making the price of Blu about $225/night/cabin.  I'm not sure what would pay for Blu but it definitely wouldn't be $225/day.  BTW, I booked the cruise and purchased a 10-night specialty package.

We just were awarded a MoveUp offer for Aqua for $50 per person per day.  But it was from an inside cabin.  I view going to a real balcony the big part of the upgrade.

[zitsky]

9 hours ago, dlh015 said:

As mentioned above, I would pay the same as the OVC. 

 

I think the Blu hype is a triumph in marketing for X. Just my opinion of course.

Celebrity takes cabins in the worst locations under the pool, calls them Aqua and charges a lot more.

 

But the restaurant?  Who doesn’t want to avoid the buffet or skip the specialty restaurants or at least have a choice?  If I had to eat at the buffet for every meal I would never cruise.

[NMTraveller]

How far away are the two tops in Blu?  Are they spaced as well as the specialty restaurants?  The two tops in the MDR are way too close.

 

 

Edited December 5, 2023 by NMTraveller

[miched]

Blu serves breakfast and dinner.   For that I would pay max $30/day pp over a veranda for the AQ category that also comes with some other amenities.  
 

If it was a separate dining option I wouldn’t pay anything.   The MDR, and  buffet would be good enough.

 

happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[NMTraveller]

I also noted that Celebrity touts the guest/staff ratio for Aqua.  Have people noticed a difference?

[wrk2cruise]

1 hour ago, NMTraveller said:

How far away are the two tops in Blu?  Are they spaced as well as the specialty restaurants?  The two tops in the MDR are way too close.

 

 

 

They are very close.  People are generally respectful wrt chatting.  If the original exchange is not continued they pretty much understand you don't want to chat.

[PTC DAWG]

It's worth a bit to me just for the smaller venue, more personal atmosphere...that said, choices are good.  $25 a day seems about right if I had to throw a number at it.  

 

I am also one that likes to try different things at restaurants, things that I wouldn't normally prepare at home, and I do most of the cooking...I tend to stick to favorites too much.  

[PTC DAWG]

8 hours ago, goofysmom99 said:

The difference between a regular verandah and Aqua on a 13 night Silhouette cruise that I priced today was $2923, making the price of Blu about $225/night/cabin.  I'm not sure what would pay for Blu but it definitely wouldn't be $225/day.  BTW, I booked the cruise and purchased a 10-night specialty package.

Yeah, at $225 per, the math wouldn't work for me either.  Your 10 night specialty option would be much better for my Wife and I too. 

[someguyfl]

12 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Maybe at inception the dinner choices at Blu may have been healthier but as it stands now it is most certainly not. The food at Blu can never be confused with Spa cuisine. You can look to the spa cafe for food items that are examples of healthy spa cuisine.

 

.Does Select Anytime Dining in the MDRs not work for you?

Honestly it’s impossible to make a “healthy choices” restaurant menu which satisfies everyone’s unique goals. 
 

There are certain foods which obviously shouldn’t be on the menu (eg: anything deep fried, excessive refined carbs)… but beyond that…

 

Some people eat very healthy vegan diets.

Some people eat very healthy carnivore diets.

Some people eat very healthy keto diets. Some people eat very healthy diets with timed carb loading.

Some people limit salt. 
Some people try to get more electrolytes (including salt)

Some people try to limit red meat.

Some people try to maximize red meat. 

Michael Phelps ate a lot of McDonalds when he set the record for most ever Olympic gold medals. 
 

The menu at blu certainly is possible for nearly anyone to eat a reasonably healthy diet with some amount of self control in what they order. 
 

For that matter, the same is true for Luminae, MDR, or the Ocean View cafe. 
 

When im on celebrity, I don’t eat at the spa cafe much because the portions are too small and don’t have enough protein. I’m not going to grab 10 plates. It’s not accurate to say that’s the only example of A healthy menu. 

[JDPCruisers]

12 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

They are very close.  People are generally respectful wrt chatting.  If the original exchange is not continued they pretty much understand you don't want to chat.

We found them much closer in Blu than in Luminae. With booking a suite I feel I'm already paying for Blu/Luminae, if not in a suite I would not likely pay anymore and just go with specialty dining package depending on the ship.

[mrgabriel]

1 hour ago, NMTraveller said:

How far away are the two tops in Blu?  Are they spaced as well as the specialty restaurants?  The two tops in the MDR are way too close.

 

 

Some are closer than others. The closest are about 30-36”.  You can have a private conversation and not hear every word the person next to you is saying - unless they want you to hear it. 

[NMTraveller]

36 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

They are very close.  People are generally respectful wrt chatting.  If the original exchange is not continued they pretty much understand you don't want to chat.

Can you request a 4 top?  Definitely not a specialty dining experience.

[graphicguy]

15 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Though the menus in Blu were more appealing than Luminae on our recent cruise, I wouldn't pay extra to eat in Blu.  I found the MDR to be  nice with options that were very pleasing.

Agree.  I liked Blu more than Luminae.  But, to pay more for Blu?  NOPE!  I liked Luminae.  They seem to sometimes being different culinarily for difference's sake.  Sometimes to ill effect.

 

If Blu is your only reason to stay in Aqua class, save your money and sail in a lesser cabin and dine in the included restaurants.  

 

As these things go, some prioritize some things over others.  In the end, the question can only be answered by the one who posed it.

Edited December 5, 2023 by graphicguy

[NutsAboutGolf]

16 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

As far as Blu goes, the menus are "healthier" than those found in the MDR. However, the big draw for us is the "anytime dining" option. As far as comparing the value of Blu's menus to that of specialty dining, there is none. In my opinion X now charges way too much for what they offer in any of their specialty restaurants. But I will add, the desserts in Blu are also "healthier", so we usually go up to the buffet to have a chocolate dessert most nights as they rarely offer them in Blu. 

 

Blu's dessert options are the same as the MDR, with no differences at all.  The Blu menu has a clean cuisine section