I post this for all of you who wonder what difference there is in Category 3 suites and above and the conciege service. I wondered this but could not find any concise information so thought I would fulfill my duty upon return to let the rest of you who might be interested know.
First of all, the rooms are quite large and many of the items which are listed as very useful for a standard room are not needed in the suites. Because there is plenty of storage space, you do not need any over the door shoe organizers, you do no need hangars and you do not need night lights. You do have a bar with a sink equpped with bar and wine glasses but no cork screw. You also have a beverage cooler but not a refrigerator so you can bring wine, etc. If you want to wash dishes, you should bring dishwashing liquid but I did not wash anything and had a room of 5 so thought I would. I brought wipes of every kind, Windex, Clorox, Shout and regular wipes. I used the Clorox ones to quickly clean up after a room service meal or snack and that was it. Do bring your small travel clock that lights up (even though there is a clock by the bed, it doesn't light). And for the 1 bedroom suites that are larger like 8532, 8032, etc, you probably will want a noise maker if you sleep lightly at all because of the slight shuffling of furniture on the deck above. Still, I believe this room layout is great because of the privacy if offers in the main bedroom and it allows the children to all sleep in one room (presuming you are a family of 5, 2 adults and 3 children).
Second, do no worry if you can't quite figure out what excursions you want to do before you go because they can book them for you once you get on board. Perhaps the Dolphin Encounter which is the most difficult to get should not wait until you board but I would venture to guess that they may even be able to get that for you if you were to wait. The Concierge service is wonderful and they go out of their way to make you think that having that service has been worth the extra money you pay for it. They can probably get you Palo reservations when you want them within reason and can get the spa reservations for you also when you want them within reason. You can request these even after the initial concierge meeting on board and they will try their best to accomodate you. They will also try to accommodate your request for a change in diner time and rotation. Finally, you have room service offered from all of the restaurants and not just a room service menu. Other friends of ours really used the room service perk a lot more than we did and they thought it was the best perk offered. Some things are the same though and the large chocolate chip cookies are still the best desert as well as the ice cream from Scoops.
As an aside, you also get a separte check-in and do not have to stand in any line to get from the terminal on to the ship.
Finally and FYI, before getting on board, I had contemplated tips for everyone suggested but had not contemplated tips for the concierge service providers. We considered it a must once we got there and did leave them each a $40 tip for a 4 night cruise (there were 2 of them). Our friends in a similar suite left a similar amount.and we had not discussed it before tipping so we each thought it was necessary. I know that Disney does not make any suggestion in this regard so it's entirely up to you.
I hope this answers your questions. I know it's expensive but it certainly made it more enjoyable for us to have those extras; I would recommend the coneirge level if you can justify the cost of it Happy Sailing!
First of all, the rooms are quite large and many of the items which are listed as very useful for a standard room are not needed in the suites. Because there is plenty of storage space, you do not need any over the door shoe organizers, you do no need hangars and you do not need night lights. You do have a bar with a sink equpped with bar and wine glasses but no cork screw. You also have a beverage cooler but not a refrigerator so you can bring wine, etc. If you want to wash dishes, you should bring dishwashing liquid but I did not wash anything and had a room of 5 so thought I would. I brought wipes of every kind, Windex, Clorox, Shout and regular wipes. I used the Clorox ones to quickly clean up after a room service meal or snack and that was it. Do bring your small travel clock that lights up (even though there is a clock by the bed, it doesn't light). And for the 1 bedroom suites that are larger like 8532, 8032, etc, you probably will want a noise maker if you sleep lightly at all because of the slight shuffling of furniture on the deck above. Still, I believe this room layout is great because of the privacy if offers in the main bedroom and it allows the children to all sleep in one room (presuming you are a family of 5, 2 adults and 3 children).
Second, do no worry if you can't quite figure out what excursions you want to do before you go because they can book them for you once you get on board. Perhaps the Dolphin Encounter which is the most difficult to get should not wait until you board but I would venture to guess that they may even be able to get that for you if you were to wait. The Concierge service is wonderful and they go out of their way to make you think that having that service has been worth the extra money you pay for it. They can probably get you Palo reservations when you want them within reason and can get the spa reservations for you also when you want them within reason. You can request these even after the initial concierge meeting on board and they will try their best to accomodate you. They will also try to accommodate your request for a change in diner time and rotation. Finally, you have room service offered from all of the restaurants and not just a room service menu. Other friends of ours really used the room service perk a lot more than we did and they thought it was the best perk offered. Some things are the same though and the large chocolate chip cookies are still the best desert as well as the ice cream from Scoops.
As an aside, you also get a separte check-in and do not have to stand in any line to get from the terminal on to the ship.
Finally and FYI, before getting on board, I had contemplated tips for everyone suggested but had not contemplated tips for the concierge service providers. We considered it a must once we got there and did leave them each a $40 tip for a 4 night cruise (there were 2 of them). Our friends in a similar suite left a similar amount.and we had not discussed it before tipping so we each thought it was necessary. I know that Disney does not make any suggestion in this regard so it's entirely up to you.
I hope this answers your questions. I know it's expensive but it certainly made it more enjoyable for us to have those extras; I would recommend the coneirge level if you can justify the cost of it Happy Sailing!
It sounds awesome! Thanks for sharing!
