Concierge service

[DVCNuts]

We cruised concierge as a treat in September on a 3-night Dream. We booked a cat V but got a free automatic "pixie dust" upgrade to a Cat T 1BR. Beautiful suite! We enjoyed the concierge lounge. The concierge staff was great. Very entertaining. We also got a cabana, which we have had before as a non-concierge guest.

Give it a try? Sure! A must? Not for us. We are on our 10th cruise in January, and will be platinum after that-- which means we will have the same early booking opportunity as concierge guests (unless it changes).

If you have the means, go ahead and book it.

 

[outahere]

Really? So if we're staying in a 1 bedroom on the magic this month, we can order from the dining room for room service? Lunch or dinner? That's kind of exciting!

We've never tried to order lunch from the MDR but have ordered dinner several times. Since you will be in a suite you can also order hot breakfast from the MDR, which we have done several times on the Magic and Wonder. I would suggest you talk with the Concierge team about ordering lunch if you go to the Concierge reception right after you board. It's a great perk, especially if you've been off the ship all day at an excursion or sightseeing and don't want to rush getting ready for dinner.

 

[DreamGirl90]

Dream: Concierge One-Bedroom Suite with Verandah (Category T) 536 square feet, sleeps 5. Queen-size bed, living area with double convertible sofa, Murphy bed "in some," walk-in closet, whirlpool bathtub, rain shower, private verandah, concierge service. 11th and 12th Decks. We lose over 75 square feet from the classic ships, but we gain a private lounge, and a private Sun Deck. I'm very okay with that.

Magic: Concierge One-Bedroom Suite with Verandah (Category T) 614 square feet, sleeps 5. Queen-size bed, living area with double convertible sofa, Murphy bed, walk-in closet, whirlpool bathtub, rain shower, private verandah, concierge service. 8th Deck.

The Magic and Wonder Cat. T are 614 square feet, but the Dream and the Fantasy Cat. T are 622 square feet, as per DCL's website. All stats include the verandah.

However, I agree that the room layout is better on the classic ships, plus they offer the 2-bedroom, not available on the new ships.

 

[JoiseyMom]

The Royal Suites come with unlimited internet. And I have a feeling if you are in a Royal and they have 1 cabana left, the Royal suite would have dibs....
They don't want to say no to those in The Walt/Roy Suites.

 

[Bonniec]

The Royal Suites come with unlimited internet. And I have a feeling if you are in a Royal and they have 1 cabana left, the Royal suite would have dibs....
They don't want to say no to those in The Walt/Roy Suites.

That would be nice to know for sure because we booked a royal and the cabana is our top priority. I have a question on all of that though.

You have to be paid in full to book those at the 120 day mark. If we were not able to get one, can we push our cruise date back or are you stuck once you have paid in full? I'm sure that's such a silly thing to stress over but like I said, it's important to DH and I want to make sure we can get one.

 

[JoiseyMom]

That would be nice to know for sure because we booked a royal and the cabana is our top priority. I have a question on all of that though.

You have to be paid in full to book those at the 120 day mark. If we were not able to get one, can we push our cruise date back or are you stuck once you have paid in full? I'm sure that's such a silly thing to stress over but like I said, it's important to DH and I want to make sure we can get one.

Have you spoken to your concierge team yet? I know they keep 2 on hold (or so I have been told). I would talk to them. DH and I have only done concierge once, and we upgraded at the port, and it was the Canadian so no Castaway Cay for us on that trip. Talk to your team.

 

[janpluto]

The cabanas are a must for us. Though now I am worried we still won't get one when the window opens. I've been reading they go within 5 minutes. What if your computer freezes or there is a glitch on the web site? I've heard they hold some for concierge too but not sure how that works. They don't happen to hold one for the royals do they?

A couple of days before we cruised I noticed all if the cabanas were booked on-line. So I was quite surprised both nights before our Castaway Cay days the Concierge team offered us a cabana. I said to them I thought they were all booked and was told they keep some aside for concierge guests. I should have asked how many but did not.

 

[kaseyC]

A couple of days before we cruised I noticed all if the cabanas were booked on-line. So I was quite surprised both nights before our Castaway Cay days the Concierge team offered us a cabana. I said to them I thought they were all booked and was told they keep some aside for concierge guests. I should have asked how many but did not.

My understanding is that they hold back two. A family cabana and a adult beach Cabana. We were fortunate after upgrading at the port, the concierge was able reserve a Cabana for us. The informed us the day before CC.

 

[cypressmom]

May I ask what other things you utilized a butler for (other than packing/unpacking)? Do they do your ironing and laundry? THAT would be worth it to me! We had a butler at an all inclusive in Mexico, and didn't know what to utilize him for!!! The best we could come up with is a bucket of Coronas with interestingly displayed limes. Hubby ate all the caviar on the fancy lunch buffet, not knowing what it was... they didn't put it out the rest of our stay.

I may be wrong, but concierge does not get you a butler. I don't think the concierge team will pack and unpack for you.

 

[JoiseyMom]

I may be wrong, but concierge does not get you a butler. I don't think the concierge team will pack and unpack for you.

The butler service was from another cruise line and the poster wanted to know what else was provided by the butler on the other line.

 

[Bonniec]

Have you spoken to your concierge team yet? I know they keep 2 on hold (or so I have been told). I would talk to them. DH and I have only done concierge once, and we upgraded at the port, and it was the Canadian so no Castaway Cay for us on that trip. Talk to your team.

Nah, I'm still a year out, lol. If I dont get one at midnight at the right time, I will call them then

 

[jennandcompany]

We booked our cruise about three 3 weeks in advance. We sailed 9/14/12 in a 1 br suite. We were offered a cabana if we were interested. Believe me, I am a big fan of nice perks. We decided to not do the cabana since we spend most of our time in the water. Guess what, we spent most of the day in the water and didn't miss not having a cabana. There was sooooo many loungers and plenty of umbrellas. We actually heard cabana guest complain that they should have sent the money on other things.
There is plenty of beach and plenty of water to go round. I actually second guessed myself about not choosing a cabana prior to the cruise after reading the posts here. People are cabana crazy..... You wait up all night for your chance to get one. So, I said maybe I should change my mind. Glad I didn't. We had a blast at CC !!

 

[jennandcompany]

May I ask what other things you utilized a butler for (other than packing/unpacking)? Do they do your ironing and laundry? THAT would be worth it to me! We had a butler at an all inclusive in Mexico, and didn't know what to utilize him for!!! The best we could come up with is a bucket of Coronas with interestingly displayed limes. Hubby ate all the caviar on the fancy lunch buffet, not knowing what it was... they didn't put it out the rest of our stay.

We had a ship mobile phone with a special line to our butler. Anything that we needed, any place on the ship, we could call and Das would arrive with our request. We tried not to abuse this awesome service, but with three kids we did utilize the service. We did use him to press our clothes. I do believe he sent it out, but it was ready in three hours.

Our butler delivered our hot breakfast every morning. He made use gourmet coffees and catered to the kids needs.

Ncl also opens the high end restaurant (Cagneys) for breakfast and lunch for suite guests only. So, if we did not eat in our suite, we ate there. Nothing like filet mignon and eggs with a bloody Mary.

Ncl has figured out the suite perks.... Disney take note.

 

[kcashner]

Celebrity has a special restaurant, concierge only.

 

[JoiseyMom]

Nah, I'm still a year out, lol. If I dont get one at midnight at the right time, I will call them then

No, the point of them is to call them before hand. They will make the bookings for you. That is their job. If you are in one of The Royals I am sure they can secure this for you so you don't have to get up at midnight. Don't wait...before you get to the window and they contact you, ask them. Good luck and enjoy!

 

[Kbrush]

Hi,

This is just my opinion but...
I went on my first cruise last year in a perfectly nice, normal, cabin with verandah. There were only 2 of us and our cabin felt just right. I never found myself at Guest Services - I just called them from my room or phone when I needed something. But as most things had been set up online I did not really need them. Getting my DD signed up at the kids club was also no big deal. I had signed her up ahead of time online and just went over with her the first time to get her wrist band. Having a character show up might be nice, and there were often long lines for autographs in the main atrium, but we bumped into characters all over the ship and so never waited in those lines. I did have to pay to get some laundry done but the prices were less than in NYC so that was OK. Our room steward was great as was room service. It wasn't MDR food but that was Ok.

I think Concierge sounds very nice especially if money is not really a constraint or you have a big group or you cannot stand to be cabana less. But otherwise for a first cruise I would just spring for a nice cabin with a verandah.

If I were on a romantic cruise with another adult and no kids it could be fun too. But at age 8 my DD would not appreciate the luxuries and I would spend all my time at the Aquaduck anyway.

Why start out at the luxurious top? People take DCL after DCL and never try concierge. Clearly they are all having a blast anyway.

Besides, it will give you something a little different to try if you go in a second DCL cruise!

 

[Bonniec]

No, the point of them is to call them before hand. They will make the bookings for you. That is their job. If you are in one of The Royals I am sure they can secure this for you so you don't have to get up at midnight. Don't wait...before you get to the window and they contact you, ask them. Good luck and enjoy!

Hmm, thanks for the suggestion. I just assumed I wouldn't be speaking with them until right before the cruise. Thanks!

 

[jennandcompany]

Hi,

This is just my opinion but...
I went on my first cruise last year in a perfectly nice, normal, cabin with verandah. There were only 2 of us and our cabin felt just right. I never found myself at Guest Services - I just called them from my room or phone when I needed something. But as most things had been set up online I did not really need them. Getting my DD signed up at the kids club was also no big deal. I had signed her up ahead of time online and just went over with her the first time to get her wrist band. Having a character show up might be nice, and there were often long lines for autographs in the main atrium, but we bumped into characters all over the ship and so never waited in those lines. I did have to pay to get some laundry done but the prices were less than in NYC so that was OK. Our room steward was great as was room service. It wasn't MDR food but that was Ok.

I think Concierge sounds very nice especially if money is not really a constraint or you have a big group or you cannot stand to be cabana less. But otherwise for a first cruise I would just spring for a nice cabin with a verandah.

If I were on a romantic cruise with another adult and no kids it could be fun too. But at age 8 my DD would not appreciate the luxuries and I would spend all my time at the Aquaduck anyway.

Why start out at the luxurious top? People take DCL after DCL and never try concierge. Clearly they are all having a blast anyway.

Besides, it will give you something a little different to try if you go in a second DCL cruise!

Amen. And that is from the guy who spent 15k for a concierge suite. Next cruise..... Family stateroom with Verandah!!!!!

 

[SharonLowe]

We sailed this past August on the Dream and Shutters did not bring our pictures to either our room or the Concierge lounge. Does this happen on the other ships?

There is an issue between Shutters systems and DCL systems that was causing problems with concierge guests being able to view and order their photos from the concierge lounge. So, until that issue is fixed, concierge guests need to go to the regular Shutters areas to take care of their photos.

 

[cypressmom]

The butler service was from another cruise line and the poster wanted to know what else was provided by the butler on the other line.

I apologize. I missed the previous comment.