Can someone explain concierge value to me?

[epcotobsessed]

Hi - I am a Disney World veteran but totally new to DCL. I have scoured the DCL website and looked through this forum but I still have questions about concierge level. If I am understanding it correctly, concierge gets me 1. a private lounge with food and drinks, alcoholic and otherwise, much like a club level room at a DW resort, 2. a stocked fridge in my room (with items I request? Or a pre-determined mix?), 3. priority for booking a cabana on Castaway Cay, 4. priority disembarkation, 5. priority sign-ups for shore excursions, 6. "hosts" dedicated to helping me with all of these things? Am I missing anything?
This all sounds very nice but I feel like I must be missing something because the price differential is absolutely gigantic on the cruises I am considering, i.e. in the $11k range for 7 nights for 4 people for inside, oceanview, or veranda, but $38k for concierge (1 bedroom suite). Of course "worth it" is subjective but is the concierge differential typically this large? And have I missed any perks of staying at the concierge level? Thanks very much for your help.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

This all sounds very nice but I feel like I must be missing something

Not really. There are one or two additional soft benefits like in-room dining upgrade, but concierge is not something one books because one is value-conscious (ie, "worth it" economically). It's an emotional thing, with the potential for placing a very high value on cabana priority.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

There are a lot of posts you can search here on the Dis asking the same question, but it's really up to each family and their budget to determine if it's worth it for you. We were first time cruisers on our last DCL cruise, so we would have been at the back of the line for booking excursions, onboard activities such as the character breakfast and Frozen character M&G, special adult dining in Palo, and nursery time for our youngest. By booking concierge, we got everything we wanted on the days we wanted it, and they were even able to make changes for us when we learned that the dining rotation changed. We also made a lot of use of the lounge and our fridge was stocked with the items we requested. We took advantage of the priority embarkation for Concierge guests and the special embarkation lunch, and visited with Goofy with no wait when he made a special visit to the lounge.

That said, for me personally those concierge perks were not what made the upgrade worth it for us, for us it was extra space in the 1 bedroom suite. With a napping child, we spent a lot of time in the room, and enjoyed being able to spread out, the larger balcony for the view, etc. We also enjoyed having MDR breakfast delivered to our room avoiding the crowds at Cabanas in the mornings (this is only offered for 1 or 2 bedroom suites, not the family suites). We could have gotten the same amount of space by booking two verandah adjacent rooms, but didn't want to do that with young kids. Since it was a 7 day cruise, it was worth the cost for the added space.

Our upcoming cruise is a 5 day and we are not booked concierge, because I don't think our youngest will be napping anymore and we are unlikely to be in the room that much. I would consider it again if we did another long cruise.

 

[Tasmen]

I agree, the cost differential can be huge especially on some cruises. The value is, indeed, super *subjective*. You have to ask yourself what value do you list to the perks offered and is there worth in those to you.

The perks you listed are offered. The stocked fridge, FYI, is stocked by default with certain things but you can ask to have other stuff there. Example, I ask for Coke Zero to be in the fridge instead of regular coke. This doesn't happen by default.

Things you missed:

• Pillow menu
• Special Meet & Greets/Events for concierge guests
• Concierge staff's ability to perform miracles you could not get done by regular guest services
• Robes in the room (kids looooooove these)
• Your traveling party is automatically seated at a private table in the MDR unless you request otherwise
• The time you save not standing in the guest services line (HUGE for us)
• Shutters photos/USB stick available for you in the lounge on last day
• Booze you buy at port available for you in the lounge on the last day (You need to let the concierge staff know you have some to pick up)

There may be some other things I'm missing (I'm sure there are).

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

I'll share my perspective as a gold-level DCL cruiser who always cruises non-concierge on DCL, but who stays deluxe club level at WDW resorts. For us, unlike at WDW resorts, the value for concierge on the ships isn't there, because there are always complimentary food & sodas available all day on board to all cruisers. And guest services is usually easy to deal with: typically short lines & excellent service there.

The thing to understand is that the baseline quality of service on DCL is much higher than it is at WDW. So even if you're in an inside stateroom, you can have a luxurious cruise with ample food available at all times, and great service. The reason we now always stay deluxe club level at WDW is that it feels almost as nice as being a non-concierge passenger on a DCL cruise.

We only cruise during school holidays when prices are already at their peak, so concierge on top of that just isn't logical for us, given how great all of our non-concierge cruise experiences have been.

Now if you really want a cabana on Castaway Cay, enough to double the cost of your cruise plus the several hundred dollar fee for the 1-day cabana, then it might be worth it to you. But to us it isn't, as there is never a chair shortage on CC & we tend to be active there, anyway.

Nothing wrong with spending extra to get extra attention & be even more pampered, but don't feel like you have to in order to have a great cruise.

 

[lilsonicfan]

$11K for 4 people for 7 nights is already a very high price IMO - sounds like holidays/summer type booking.

I haven't sailed concierge on DCL but I did get to sail in concierge on another line where the cost differential was much, much less. The hubs and I both agreed that concierge on DCL is not, to us, 'worth' the substantial price increase, largely because DCL treats everyone as being special. In a general sense, the service level on DCL is very high and very attentive. As the hubs put it, Disney treats you like you should be treated when cruising on any line. Makes sense since the base price is already pretty high. On the other line, many have commented that if you don't sail concierge, you may actually be unhappy with your experience - I don't think that's really true of DCL at all.

 

[coast2coastmickey]

The thing to understand is that the baseline quality of service on DCL is much higher than it is at WDW. So even if you're in an inside stateroom, you can have a luxurious cruise with ample food available at all times, and great service. The reason we now always stay deluxe club level at WDW is that it feels almost as nice as being a non-concierge passenger on a DCL cruise.

Can confirm. On our last cruise, we did WDW before and after sailing. Before sailing, we booked Beach Club and were upgraded to club level for some unknown reason. I'd say that club-level "service" at Beach Club was on par with non-concierce DCL service throughout the ship.

I'd love to try concierge one day, but it would have be after I won the lottery, as it's not worth the cash to me at this time.

 

[epcotobsessed]

Can confirm. On our last cruise, we did WDW before and after sailing. Before sailing, we booked Beach Club and were upgraded to club level for some unknown reason. I'd say that club-level "service" at Beach Club was on par with non-concierce DCL service throughout the ship.

I'd love to try concierge one day, but it would have be after I won the lottery, as it's not worth the cash to me at this time.

Thank you, this is helpful. I have not found club level at the resorts to provide any additional level of service, so knowing this about the cruise line is helpful.

 

[tink1970]

And have I missed any perks of staying at the concierge level?

I think the PPs have covered most of the perks. We've cruised about 1/2 non, 1/2 concierge. The biggest perk to us is the quiet. Especially on the Dream/Fantasy, there are fewer cabins so fewer kids racing down the halls and the private hot tub/sun deck is usually not crowded at all so we are able to get away from it all, which is really what a vacation is about. DH and I are huge introverts so sailing concierge means automatically having our own table for dinner and between that, the quiet and the coffee machine usually concierge is almost always "worth it" to us. Of course, value is a very subjective construct.

 

[lorimay]

Our theory is this: We can sail 2-3 times a year in a regular verandah room, compared to just once going concierge.
I'm greedy, I want more nights and sights!

* we also benefit sometimes being Fl residents and snag an even better rate that way

 

[tankin]

@epcotobsessed My family has travelled DCL concierge and non-concierge. We've stayed at WDW on the club floor and off the club floor.

Here's my simple take, the "hard-to-quantify" value when it comes to either DCL or WDW and concierge is getting what you want when you want it. If some limited "things" are must haves for you (like Remy / Palo brunch bookings, CC Cabanas, quickly sold out shore excursion, a table by yourself, Cinderella's Castle, BOG, fastpasses to Flight of Passage) concierge may be a good fit for you. At DCL or WDW I don't think you can really eat or drink enough to make up the price difference. So the question becomes, how much is it worth to you to get the limited things you want with minimal effort (I've gotten Cindy's before on my own by staying up. Same thing with Remy & Palo). Only you can say what that is worth to you

 

[epcotobsessed]

Thanks so much for these replies, they are all so helpful. The cruise I was looking at is a Bahamas cruise in December - I have found some Europe ones that also look interesting to us where the concierge differential is not quite so big it's still pretty substantial. For us, literally nothing would make an additional $27k worth it so if we book the December cruise we'll have to try concierge some other time, but I will be on the lookout for some cheaper possibilities.

 

[bumbershoot]

We've only stayed category V, and it was in 2013 and 2015 when things were actually reasonable and I *could* find value in the upgrade, at least for those cruises we went on at that level.

But we enjoyed our other cruises just as much (at least my son and I did), staying in an inside cabin and in a big porthole room.

Pillow menu

Big, bigger, even bigger, in my experience. I now bring my own pillows.

DH and I are huge introverts so sailing concierge means automatically having our own table for dinner and between that, the quiet and the coffee machine usually concierge is almost always "worth it" to us.

Funny, beause my introversion/shyness makes the extreme attention of the concierge hosts to be absolutely awful. My extrovert ex LOVED it. He loved feeling special and being waited on. I just wanted to be left alone. Even getting my first server to *listen* to me when I said I'm not a big eater and didn't want all the courses and no nothing was wrong with my entree, I just couldn't finish it...was exhausting.

 

[Lisa F]

IMO there is not much monetary value in what you pay for concierge... you are paying for exclusivity more than anything. It is a luxury, pure and simple. If you have a lot of disposable income and booking it doesn't force you to make choices about other discretionary spending then there are some lovely, quite enjoyable perks that I'd enjoy the heck out of if money was no object. For me, it would use up like 6-7 years of vacation budget instead of the 2 it took me to save for my cruise and I'd rather have more frequent vacations than a pillow menu, free booze (when I can buy it elsewhere for a lot less) and easier access to spending even more money etc.

If it wouldn't make quite so much of a dent in my discretionary spending I might try it once in a while because it sure sounds nice. They are mostly fully booked so it seems like they have found the price people are willing to pay for the exclusivity. I personally cannot afford "the best" and am just grateful as a single mom I can take my kiddo on DCL at all! But the only way I'd remotely entertain it is if spending that money did not make me feel like I had to miss out on other things I want to spend the money on.

 

[FSU Girl]

The two biggest benefits to me: the room and the advanced booking of things to do on the cruise. I wouldn't do concierge for the standard room, only for the one-bedroom suite and maybe one day the Royal suite. The room is amazing and spacious, whereas normal cruise rooms are tiny. That room alone was worth the upcharge to me. I also have wanted to book hard to get items on the cruise and being in concierge basically guarantees getting them, especially when I'm just a silver level so can be at a disadvantage with the booking window.

The price is very high and not something I can do for every cruise. If you pick off season you can get a better deal.

 

[cgolf]

We did concierge twice on the fantasy, and while it was really nice it wasn't worth the extra money we spent. This was also during the time period that the prices were lower and the jump to concierge wasn't across a canyon, so now there is no way we would even consider it.

I will say we are the type of people that didn't take advantage of the extra services the concierge hosts could provide. The most we asked of them was to make a smoothie during the happy hour time. I could see where others could take advantage of the services the hosts offer, it just wasn't for us. We went from concierge back to inside rooms and our cruise happiness level stayed the same

 

[Travel60]

We've done 12 DCL cruises and one more booked and another in the "thinking about" stage. Earliest cruises with 2 teens and then young adults and a spouse. Last few just hubby and me, the one we are "thinking about" includes kids and grandkids. Never done concierge, never missed it. Honestly, we are fortunate that the price differential would not affect our disposable income but we just don't see the need. We always get a family room with full lanai. We usually eat at Palo one night. We don't drink a lot - maybe a glass of wine with dinner. We don't need snacks at our disposal - there's plenty on the ship. I don't get the lure of a Cabana - I go to the beach for the beach. We don't spend a lot of time in our room although hubby will occasionally sit on lanai to read. Maybe when grandkids are with us the character stuff will be important but as gold, we should be ok booking what we want. As previous posts mentioned, the level of service is already excellent.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

You can buy a Chevy or you can buy a Cadillac; both will get you to the destination, it's just how comfortable do you want to be?

 

[DCSWO]

Since you didn't mention the Cat V room - Concierge family stateroom with verandah - they may not be available for your cruise. If they are, they would be more than $11k but much less than the one BR $38k room with almost all of the concierge amenities except for Palo meal in room. It sounds like you are booking this cruise well after the initial booking period because those prices seem high for a 7 night. To help put the prices in perspective, you can do a search on the forum for opening day prices to get an idea of what they start at when they first go on sale. I relate concierge to booking a business or first class airline ticket on an international flight. You go to the same place and get there at the same time - you are paying for the difference in the level of service. Good luck!

 

[ILoveMyKellen]

You can buy a Chevy or you can buy a Cadillac; both will get you to the destination, it's just how comfortable do you want to be?

^^ What a good way to describe this.

For us it’s about the space and the quiet. Oh, and the second bathroom. I hate sharing any bathroom with my husband. For me, that alone is worth the price. We are both retired army, he doesn’t like crowds or being closed in somewhere. I am an introvert and don’t like to sit with people at dinner that I don’t know. I would hate to make someone else’s vacation uncomfortable because of my awkwardness.

With concierge you can get as much or as little attention that you want. Many previous posters have said that they can go on several cruises for the price of one concierge cruise but our schedules are so busy that we can only take one about every two years. So why not go in style?

We are not high maintenance people and we don’t ask for many things but If we do, we know it’s at our fingertips.