Can someone explain concierge value to me?

[epcotobsessed]

Thank you, I really am a total newbie and had no idea there was an "initial booking period" - when is generally the cheapest time to book a Disney cruise, i.e. how far in advance?

 

[Dug720]

Thank you, I really am a total newbie and had no idea there was an "initial booking period" - when is generally the cheapest time to book a Disney cruise, i.e. how far in advance?

Generally the lowest rates will be when the cruises are first released. Rarely do they drop lower than that pricing.

 

[chirogrrl]

For us, concierge cruising is all about ease and comfort. Could I cruise without it? Sure, our first 6 Disney cruises were non-concierge and they were amazing, too. It is all about the convenience things that have been mentioned. Plus, the concierge lounge has what we call the "magic cupboard" for things you didn't even know you may need on a cruise. If you unexpectedly need something, chances are they have it in that cupboard (e.g. mending kits, feminine supplies, pencils, extra lanyards, etc.) We enjoy spending time relaxing in the lounge and getting to know the hosts and talking with them about their families and experiences back home. That being said, we also tend to cruise at less expensive times, so the jump to concierge is not as drastic. As much as I love it, I personally would not book it with the price difference that you mentioned.

 

[Trera]

For us, concierge cruising is all about ease and comfort. Could I cruise without it? Sure, our first 6 Disney cruises were non-concierge and they were amazing, too. It is all about the convenience things that have been mentioned. Plus, the concierge lounge has what we call the "magic cupboard" for things you didn't even know you may need on a cruise. If you unexpectedly need something, chances are they have it in that cupboard (e.g. mending kits, feminine supplies, pencils, extra lanyards, etc.) We enjoy spending time relaxing in the lounge and getting to know the hosts and talking with them about their families and experiences back home. That being said, we also tend to cruise at less expensive times, so the jump to concierge is not as drastic. As much as I love it, I personally would not book it with the price difference that you mentioned.

That does seem like high pricing. I am looking at a president's day weekend 7 night eastern SWDS cruise for 3 of us in a Cat V and it is only $11,215 and a verandah room starts at 5,442

 

[lalariner]

We managed to get reasonable concierge rates on a 4 nighter out of Miami on the Magic in January. We were traveling with family, so for us, the big draw was a common area to spend time together in the lounge and the ability to book the family cabana. We ended up loving the ease of embarkation and debarkation, that coffee machine, drinks every evening, popcorn before the shows, and the space to spread out in a 1 bedroom stateroom. That cabana day on CC ranks high on my best vacation day ever list. Will we ever do concierge again? Probably not, but it was pretty great.

 

[Tasmen]

For us, concierge cruising is all about ease and comfort.

Ding ding ding ding. That's a huge reason why we go Concierge. Time = money and I will always happily throw money at things that save me time.

Plus, the concierge lounge has what we call the "magic cupboard" for things you didn't even know you may need on a cruise. If you unexpectedly need something, chances are they have it in that cupboard (e.g. mending kits, feminine supplies, pencils, extra lanyards, etc.)

Ooooo yes. I forgot about the "magic cupboard" (Love that name for it). They found us a sharpie and a sundry of other things we forgot on our last cruise in that magic box o' yay.

Oh and the popcorn. I don't know what is in those bags of popcorn. Pixie dust? But I want to inhale it (and do).

 

[DCLDVC1]

I love cruising Concierge but can't think of anything that is "worth" $27,000. If you can cruise during the non-peak seasons, the price difference will be a lot less. For example, our next 7 night in a Category 00V cabin is around $12k. We find a lot of value at that price.

I think it's definitely worth trying once. We had planned to book a regular verandah room for our first cruise but our TA talked us in to upgrading to a Category V. We didn't really understand the difference until we sailed in a non-concierge stateroom later. That was the eye opener for us. It was a completely different experience. There is so much more to Concierge than the room, complimentary drinks and a bunch of the other often talked about perks. It's tough to put into words until you do it.

We've booked Category T and Category V rooms on both classes of ships and get more bang for our buck in the Category V rooms. We don't eat meals in our room so that perk isn't important to us. The extra room is nice but we're usually not in our cabin much and like to use the lounge and sundeck as an extension of our room if we want more space. If the price is right we'll book a one bedroom suite but we are perfectly happy in a Category V.

 

[kiford]

We're quite a bit less concerned about cost and more about value. I'm willing to pay for high perceived value even at high prices. But for us, there is no value whether or not we can afford it. We keep looking at it, and at club level at WDW, but keep determining that there is so very little of value to us that it's not worth the cost differential. We frequently do the equivalent of club/concierge level at other locations but it's usually very much tied to how we intend to spend our time and what we want to do. We've even looked into it on other cruise lines but, for me, the biggest drawback on those and DCL is that I'd feel like I have to spend time in the private spaces that I paid for and then I'd feel like I missed out on the ship itself.

 

[DCSWO]

Thank you, I really am a total newbie and had no idea there was an "initial booking period" - when is generally the cheapest time to book a Disney cruise, i.e. how far in advance?

Someone more savvy than me can give you the overall schedule. I know DCL announces the next summer cruise schedule in Feb the year before, and they go on sale in early Mar. Booking priority is by Castaway Club status so Platinum on day 1, Gold on day 2, Silver on day 3 and new cruisers (you) on day 4. I know this because we are looking at an Aug '21 cruise to Norway so I'll book in Mar '20.

Here is a link for fares so you can get an idea on opening day prices. It takes a bit of deciphering. https://www.disboards.com/threads/one-stop-shop-for-opening-day-price-threads-inside.3747907/

 

[DCSWO]

A little more data from a quick search:

Sailings for Winter/Spring 2020 (January through May) were announced on September 27, 2018. They went on sale for Platinum Castaway Club members on October 1, 2018, Gold members on October 2, 2018, Silver members and DVC members on October 3, 2018, and everyone else on October 4, 2018.

Marvel Day at Sea and Star Wars Day at Sea 2020 cruise dates (January through March) were announced on January 31, 2019.

Sailings for Summer 2020 (May through September) were announced on February 28, 2019. They went on sale for Platinum Castaway Club members on March 4, 2019, Gold members on March 5, 2019, Silver members and DVC members on March 6, 2019, and everyone else on March 7, 2019.

Sailings for Fall 2020 (September through December) were announced on June 6, 2019. They went on sale for Platinum Castaway Club members on June 10, 2019, Gold members on June 11, 2019, Silver members and DVC members on June 12, 2019, and everyone else on June 13, 2019.

I think they follow the same pattern (more or less) each year so you are looking at 15-18ish months out for the earliest booking.

 

[epcotobsessed]

We're quite a bit less concerned about cost and more about value. I'm willing to pay for high perceived value even at high prices. But for us, there is no value whether or not we can afford it. We keep looking at it, and at club level at WDW, but keep determining that there is so very little of value to us that it's not worth the cost differential. We frequently do the equivalent of club/concierge level at other locations but it's usually very much tied to how we intend to spend our time and what we want to do. We've even looked into it on other cruise lines but, for me, the biggest drawback on those and DCL is that I'd feel like I have to spend time in the private spaces that I paid for and then I'd feel like I missed out on the ship itself.

I agree with you entirely and the poor value I've found trying out multiple club level Disney World resorts is probably adding to my skepticism about the value of the concierge level on DCL, but this thread has helped me understand the difference(s).

 

[epcotobsessed]

DCSWO, thank you - we are relatively late planners, almost never plan any vacations more than 6 months in advance, and often more like 3 months in advance, so it seems like we'll have to change our habits if we want to maximize value and options on a Disney cruise.

 

[Mango7100]

If you have the flexibility, booking a last minute cruise can give deep discounts when they are trying to fill up the ship. The trade off is you have a guaranteed category (interior, ocean view, verandah) but do not get to pick your room. We booked a 4 day cruise 3 weeks before it left in September 2018 (which is a cheaper time to go anyway) and saved a crazy amount of money. We still got dinner reservations at Palo, got a private dining table, did the princess meet and greets, and were on board at 1 pm.

 

[DCSWO]

DCSWO, thank you - we are relatively late planners, almost never plan any vacations more than 6 months in advance, and often more like 3 months in advance, so it seems like we'll have to change our habits if we want to maximize value and options on a Disney cruise.

My pleasure. I'm retired military so I have a bit of a sick fascination with planning. I would be lying if I said I hadn't done some initial research on London in conjunction with our cruise 2 years away. At least I'm willing to admit it...

 

[epcotobsessed]

If you have the flexibility, booking a last minute cruise can give deep discounts when they are trying to fill up the ship. The trade off is you have a guaranteed category (interior, ocean view, verandah) but do not get to pick your room. We booked a 4 day cruise 3 weeks before it left in September 2018 (which is a cheaper time to go anyway) and saved a crazy amount of money. We still got dinner reservations at Palo, got a private dining table, did the princess meet and greets, and were on board at 1 pm.

Generally we don't have *that* much flexibility but sometimes we do - I will keep this in mind, thank you.

 

[Lisa F]

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?

I would not equate a standard DCL room to a chevy though. It's more like the top trim model of something like a Toyota vs. a Lexus. Both very nice, extremely comfortable and somewhat luxurious, but the Lexus carries more prestige and a few more bells and whistles but structurally they are very similar. But a top of the line, fully loaded Toyota is no slouch either and anyone would be extremely comfortable in that as well.

 

[DCSWO]

I'll bring up one more possible "value" related point which is the value of concierge on the older ships vs the newer. I haven't looked enough to see if there is a concierge price difference for the same category room on the same length cruise on older ships vs newer but it would be interesting to see.

On Magic/Wonder, there are 32 concierge staterooms scattered around deck 8. These ships weren't built with a concierge lounge but lounges were added later on deck 10. Depending on where your room is in relation to the lounge, you may have a bit of a walk. Also, I think the space-per-customer in these lounges is not as great as on the newer ships. Prior to the addition of the concierge lounge on the Magic/Wonder, I would not have considered sailing concierge on them. To me, the lounge makes that big a difference.

On Dream/Fantasy, there are 41 concierge staterooms that are located all together on deck 11 (12 rooms) and deck 12 (29 rooms). These ships were built with a concierge lounge and sundeck (deck 13), and the lounge is in the middle of the concierge rooms on deck 12. In some cases, you can walk out your stateroom door, cross the passageway, and walk right into the lounge. It is very convenient, especially during the evening open bar. At worst, you are one deck below the lounge.

Personally, I would put a little more value on a concierge room on Dream/Fantasy due to the layout and sundeck vs Magic/Wonder. I've sailed both and experienced an identical level of service from shore-side concierge CMs and the shipboard hosts so that not a factor in my opinion. We were even lucky enough to have Andy as a host on Dream and again later on Magic - an excellent and hilarious host - Energy, Energy, Energy!!!

 

[Cruise Diva]

We cruise to relax and enjoy the quiet. We like a larger stateroom and we always reserve a one bedroom suite. We enjoy having everything at our fingertips when we want it. We spend a lot of time up on the concierge sundeck reading and do not have to worry about getting up early to get a seat by the pool or someone taking our seat if we go get a drink. It is the one vacation a year where we both enjoy being pampered. We come home from our cruises refreshed,relaxed, and looking forward to our next cruise instead of feeling like we need a vacation from our vacation.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

^^ What a good way to describe this. We are both retired army, he doesn’t like crowds or being closed in somewhere.

My pleasure. I'm retired military so I have a bit of a sick fascination with planning.

We're retired Army.

 

[hnthomps]

DCSWO, thank you - we are relatively late planners, almost never plan any vacations more than 6 months in advance, and often more like 3 months in advance, so it seems like we'll have to change our habits if we want to maximize value and options on a Disney cruise.

I think this is correct. We always plan over a year out, no matter where we are going, so DCL works well for us.

While we have researched concierge, we have never sprung for it. We could technically afford it without chopping off a limb or whatever, but it really doesn't seem worth it to us. And we've never had real problems getting what we want, even on our first cruise -- we got some imperfect timing for things like a princess meet and greet, and maybe a second choice excursion (maaaybe, I don't remember), but nothing that impacted our overall enjoyment. I absolutely would have loved a suite for the extra room, but the $25k price difference we were looking at (spring break, SWDAS, 7 night) was pretty hard to justify. We also would never find a cabana worth it for the price -- sure, if a cabana was free, I'd enjoy it for a couple hours, but we aren't the type to just sit by the beach for hours on end, and we really aren't going to pay for the privilege. But for other people, of course, this is really really worth it. So no one can tell you if the value proposition is worth it for your family. But I will say that while concierge may guarantee access to things, we had tickets to everything we needed tickets to, private table at the dinner seating we wanted, excursions we wanted, and amazing service in our room, without worrying about any of it, as first and second time cruisers. So it's not like sailing non-concierge will guarantee you can't get what you want.