Benefits of Concierge?

[bmaher36]

For my next cruise, I will be on a 7-night Western Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy. We are trying to decide between the family stateroom with a verandah and the concierge family stateroom. The rooms don't appear to be very dissimilar, aside from the better pillows, etc. What services are available to concierge guests? I know that there is a private deck and open bar. Are there enough extra benefits to make it worth the extra $1000?
Thanks!

 

[jrbdad]

Early booking of excursions, Palo, Remy, etc. We love the family cabanas and this really helped us make sure we got one. The service on DCL is outstanding, but the concierge level takes it up another notch.

 

[kcashner]

Concierge--getting every reservation you want. Since another post just covered Tea with Alice--yeah, you'll get those too if desired. Palo, Remy, Spa, excursions, etc. Priority tenders. A cabana if you want one. Priority boarding, private waiting area in the terminal.

Other goodies--concierge lounge with free munchies and beverage (including alcohol). Popcorn for movies. DVDs in your room. Ability to have room service from MDR. Extra toiletries (body wash and after sun gel). A Ducky Williams litho. Someone at your beck and call every minute of your cruise with the motivation to never say "no" to you if at all possible.

Worth $1000? That's a personal decision.

 

[All American]

Check out this thread on the Trip Reports board. We're traveling concierge next June, and she has posted TONS of pictures and stories. It gives a great overview of concierge.
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2936532

Like the PP said, it's a personal decision. For us, one of the reasons is that we are new to cruising. Normally, I'd hop on the boards via laptop, phone, ipad if I were in the parks to ask a quick question, but that's not really an option in the middle of the sea. We felt the concierge team would be good for us to answer the millions of questions I'm sure we'll have when we travel. We'll just need a little bit of extra help.

 

[Uncleromulus]

We just booked the Western Fantasy for Oct 2013--and decided to go for the Concierge room (12012).
Too many amenities to ignore!!!

 

[disneywonderfun]

Concierge--getting every reservation you want. Since another post just covered Tea with Alice--yeah, you'll get those too if desired. Palo, Remy, Spa, excursions, etc. Priority tenders. A cabana if you want one. Priority boarding, private waiting area in the terminal.

Other goodies--concierge lounge with free munchies and beverage (including alcohol). Popcorn for movies. DVDs in your room. Ability to have room service from MDR. Extra toiletries (body wash and after sun gel). A Ducky Williams litho. Someone at your beck and call every minute of your cruise with the motivation to never say "no" to you if at all possible.

Worth $1000? That's a personal decision.

Is it still DCL policy to allow room service from the MDR only for the one bedroom/royal suites? Just wondering if that has changed since I last considered it. Can any cabin in the concierge area now order it?

DWF

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

I believe that still only applies to the suites, not the Cat V's.

 

[daisy112878]

Is it still DCL policy to allow room service from the MDR only for the one bedroom/royal suites? Just wondering if that has changed since I last considered it. Can any cabin in the concierge area now order it?

DWF

We were told we would be able to order from the dining rooms in our concierge family suite. That was one of our main considerations for picking it.

 

[disneywonderfun]

We were told we would be able to order from the dining rooms in our concierge family suite. That was one of our main considerations for picking it.

You will have to update us if that is the case. I know when we were last asking, DCL only allowed the one bedroom/royal suites for anything beyond standard room service, stating that those cabins were the only ones with a proper table. I do think a standard Cat V would be very hard pressed to put a real meal for more than one person anywhere from the MDR. Any insight by recent Cat V cruisers would be appreciated!

DWF

 

[daisy112878]

You will have to update us if that is the case. I know when we were last asking, DCL only allowed the one bedroom/royal suites for anything beyond standard room service, stating that those cabins were the only ones with a proper table. I do think a standard Cat V would be very hard pressed to put a real meal for more than one person anywhere from the MDR. Any insight by recent Cat V cruisers would be appreciated!

DWF

I sent an email but I have a feeling you are correct. Since we are cruising with a 3 1/2, 2 1/2, and 10 mth old we thought that would be a great option for us and kindof pushed us to actually doing the concierge family room. Now I don't know how I feel about our concierge room.

 

[carolina_belle]

We were told by Eric (on-shore concierge) back in Feb. that Disney had made some changes and that yes, the non-suites in concierge also qualify for in-room from the MDR's, but not Palo.

Hopefully he is correct. Just a quick vent in general...planning this trip has been incredibly stressful as we get different answers from different Disney reps every single time.

Anyway, we are considering changing to a 1-bedroom suite for the extra space.

 

[TLSnell1981]

.
Anyway, we are considering changing to a 1-bedroom suite for the extra space.

I did it for the bathtub!

 

[disneyholic family]

We were told by Eric (on-shore concierge) back in Feb. that Disney had made some changes and that yes, the non-suites in concierge also qualify for in-room from the MDR's, but not Palo.

Hopefully he is correct. Just a quick vent in general...planning this trip has been incredibly stressful as we get different answers from different Disney reps every single time.

Anyway, we are considering changing to a 1-bedroom suite for the extra space.

go for the one bedroom - so much more space than the smaller one...
you won't be sorry...it's worth the extra money!!

 

[carolina_belle]

go for the one bedroom - so much more space than the smaller one...
you won't be sorry...it's worth the extra money!!

The one bedroom suites are amazing looking! Seriously, I don't know if we would ever leave the room except for Castaway Cay!! The only thing holding us back from switching to the one bedroom is the fact that this will be our first cruise ever. What if we are not actually "cruise people" and hate it? That extra money could certainly go towards a great alternative vacation.

Our trip is not until 10/13, so we have time (hopefully) to switch if we ever actually make up our minds!

 

[disneyholic family]

The one bedroom suites are amazing looking! Seriously, I don't know if we would ever leave the room except for Castaway Cay!! The only thing holding us back from switching to the one bedroom is the fact that this will be our first cruise ever. What if we are not actually "cruise people" and hate it? That extra money could certainly go towards a great alternative vacation.

Our trip is not until 10/13, so we have time (hopefully) to switch if we ever actually make up our minds!

having that one bedroom will turn you into cruise people!!!

only problem: there's no going back once you've spoiled yourself!!!!!

 

[carolina_belle]

having that one bedroom will turn you into cruise people!!!

only problem: there's no going back once you've spoiled yourself!!!!!

Exactly! If there's anything that I've learned from reading disboards, it's that cruising is addictive!

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

And concierge cruising is even more addictive!!

 

[disneyholic family]

Exactly! If there's anything that I've learned from reading disboards, it's that cruising is addictive!

DH, DD, DS and i have been on two cruises - many years ago (my kids have since grown up and married).
Both cruises were on the Wonder (the first cruise 10 years ago, the second 8 years ago).

on the first cruise, i booked us into a one bedroom. Heavenly!!!

then on the second cruise i booked us in the Walt Disney Suite - heavenly doesn't begin to describe it!!!

and as you said, i would have been more than happy to never leave our room (both the one bedroom and the royal suite). Ever! the only reason i did was DD was too old for the teen club and had no one to hang out with, so i became her buddy. She wasn't interested in just staying in the room. But had it just been me - i would have been in the room and on the verandah the entire time. Beyond belief!!! both the one bedroom and the royal!!!

this time, i'm going with my mom and sister and we'll be in a one bedroom on the Dream. I have a feeling i'm not going to want to leave this room either.
Except maybe to go across the hall to the concierge lounge!

 

[carolina_belle]

And concierge cruising is even more addictive!!

Guess our kids had better earn college scholarships as mommy and daddy empty the coffers!

 

[carolina_belle]

Disneyholic,

If we were in the Royal suite, no way would we ever leave...not to swim, not for CC, not for anything.

I hope you have an amazing trip!

I should add that reading disboards is also VERY addictive!