DCL Concierge Reviews?

[Howie]

anyone have any reveiws of the concierge service on the ships lately; like what it includes throughout the day and how accessible the concierge is when you need them? thanks;

 

[Dreamer04]

Hi Howie, I'm booked in a Cat 3 on the 2/14 western. I got alot of info from a trip report by ducklite. Go to the trip report forum. It's there. Also, do a search on concierge at the botton of this page.

I think the best thing is the way you go to one of the lounges after you board, and make all the ressies you need, i.e. Palos, spa, kids clubs. Nice and easy and no rush.

Good luck

Ursula

 

[howardk613]

Howie -
First of all , nice name. We have been on 3 cruises and all 3 were in a concierge suite. While the concierge service is a nice plus , it is not really worth the large difference in price. Having said that the suite itself is definately worth the extra cost. The added space
amazing decor, very large verandah etc. make a cruise in one of these suites worth every extra penny.
Howard

 

[AnnMorin]

I'd gladly forgo the concierge services for one of those gorgeous suites... they look AMAZING!

 

[mjbarnard]

We travelled cat 1 in May. There were 2 concierge staff who looked after us - including Danielle who heads up the concierge staff and is absolutely excellent!

Concierge called us twice before our trip to touch base and also make Palo's dinner and brunch reservations. When we boarded we went to Sessions where you are individually met and all of your additional Palo's, Oceaneers Club, Spa, Excursion and any other reservations are arranged. Although you don't have complete choice of bookings (the concierge staff have blocks assigned to them) it was pretty clear that any requests would be met if at all possible. In fact this was more or less their ethos for everything throughout the cruise. On the few occasions we did call them and request something - it was invariably arranged without problem.

Snacks, colas and little gifts for our daughter were delivered daily. We don't drink a lot of soda - but one afternoon we held a drinks reception in our suite. I requested "snacks and soft drinks" - expecting a menu or charge. Instead they simply brought large quantities of both! The soda lasted us for the rest of the trip (and more!).

How accessible is the concierge? Too much in our opinion! We didn't particularly want nor expect close personal attention. The concierge staff visit daily - and we were usually out. Almost every time we returned to our cabin at any time of day there was usually a voice mail message from one of the staff saying either they were sorry they missed us or reminding us of appointments, excursions etc and asking us to contact them if we needed anything. These messages became so frequent they almost became a point of hilarity!

We had full room service breakfast every morning. They will serve virtually anything you request. On one or two nights we ordered room service from the dining menus. A full restaurant menu is available - but only from the restaurant you would normally be dining at that evening. Further the times for ordering and delivery are very limited - essentially they will only take and deliver your order at approximately the time you were scheduled to eat in the restaurant. This surprised me a bit.

There is a concierge guests cocktail party late one afternoon. However this wasn't quite what we expected - every party was greeted and sat down at their own table. We tried to socialise with some others - but it was quite difficult given the setup! Food and drink readily provided - but we think they missed the potential a bit....

There are numerous minor perks. For example on the last night we were phoned and told that although officially no room service breakfasts are served on the final morning - that we could have this if we ordered the night before! Many other examples also....

Having said all this - I agree with Howard. We did not book concierge for all these benefits or perks. We were fortunate to be able to have it - and we were celebrating a special occasion. I don't think the concierge perks are particularly good value or unmissable. However the suite is luxurious and spacious - and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[rundogrun]

Boy...what a difference between Cat. 1 on the Magic vs. Cat. 1 on Wonder.

mjbarnard, your concierge's did everything ours didn't! Glad it worked out for you.

 

[Howie]

thanks to you all; actually we are already booked for summer 2004 on the wonder in the category 1 walter e. suite like my namesake Howard was(i saw your pics on the castaway club site); and even though there are only 3 of us it is for a special occasion - my daughter's Bat Mitzvah present from us; she wanted to do the cruise before she turned 13 in order to get into the oceaneers lab activities which ends after you are 13 i believe; i will read all the TRs and get some more insight into everything;

we are doing the land/sea and will add a couple of extra days on in wdw before the trip as well hoping for room 4421 in the GF which my wife and i stayed in once before pre-daughter ;-);

 

[Dreamer04]

Sounds like a nice vacation, Howie.