Concierge In Room Dining

[Sandbtwmytoes]

Hi everyone,

We are looking to book our next cruise and will be traveling with our 4 year old and 1 year old. I'm debating on booking concierge for the in room dining benefit. Can we eat all meals in our room? We aren't antisocial, it's just easier to not have restaurant meals with my little kids every night.

Any other benefits you found when traveling with young kids in concierge?

TIA!

 

[Bettyscruise]

Unless you are in a 1 bedroom suite or larger, then your choices are only from the regular room service menu, which is pretty limited. Perhaps if you are intimidated by the MDR, then Cabanas, which is still table service but less hectic, crowded and formal... sort of. If in a large suite then you can order from the MDR menu, and why not if it suits your needs. The MDRs are set up to handle families though and may be easier than you anticipate.

 

[bumbershoot]

We aren't antisocial, it's just easier to not have restaurant meals with my little kids every night.

While I"m sure we all get that, please know that around half of the other groups in the dining rooms with you every night will be in that same boat. You're all in it together. And of all places to have a meal out with littles, a cruise is about the best, because of the assistance of the serving team. I've seen servers come in and cut up the food for little kids, so that the parents don't have to do so. I've seen a server cut up the food for the mom, since the kids were old enough to deal with it themselves, but he wanted to help her out.

(now this stuff doesn't attract ME...if someone tried to cut up my food I would NOT like it, and DS would never have needed food cut up (plus we're vegetarian so there are no steaks etc to deal with), but other people seem to absolutely ADORE this level of service.)

They'll help entertain the kids, they'll entertain you, etc etc.

 

[FigmentSpark]

Just an aside... the 'steak' knives are not great. That may be why so many servers have to cut up kids' food. DCL should invest in better knives.

 

[Dug720]

While I"m sure we all get that, please know that around half of the other groups in the dining rooms with you every night will be in that same boat. You're all in it together. And of all places to have a meal out with littles, a cruise is about the best, because of the assistance of the serving team. I've seen servers come in and cut up the food for little kids, so that the parents don't have to do so. I've seen a server cut up the food for the mom, since the kids were old enough to deal with it themselves, but he wanted to help her out.

(now this stuff doesn't attract ME...if someone tried to cut up my food I would NOT like it, and DS would never have needed food cut up (plus we're vegetarian so there are no steaks etc to deal with), but other people seem to absolutely ADORE this level of service.)

They'll help entertain the kids, they'll entertain you, etc etc.

I am with you. I would find the nearest fork not being used and stab a hand (not really, but I'd think about it - and say "Please, stop. I am NOT helpless and that is NOT cool."). Even as a child I would have balked at it.

 

[clemsonlongs]

We have 3 young kids (7, 4, 18 mo) and last sailed concierge in February of this year in a royal suite. First time we sailed we did a 1 bedroom with the 2 kids we had at the time. We used in room dining for hot breakfast so there wasn't a rush to get everyone ready and the kids could eat in their pjs. If anyone got up earlier than room service, I would head up to the lounge, which opens at 7am, for a snack until breakfast was delivered (we did 8:30a every day).

We also did in room dining the night Tangled played on the Magic bc we knew our kids wanted to see it but couldn't stay awake to see the later show. We ordered basic room service for the kids before the show and then ordered main dining dinner for the adults after we returned.

Bottom line is we did a nice mix of in room dining and the restaurants. My kids really enjoyed the presentation and servers on our trip. The servers do a great job getting the kids' food to them quickly and keeping them entertained. Even though it's more courses than we typically eat, the servers move through the meal as efficiently as possible. I never thought my kids would last as long as they did during the meals, but it really is fun. you might be surprised! I promise my kids aren't as good eating out now that we are "on land!"

 

[coloradocutie]

We have done exactly what you are describing for our last 3 cruises (1,4 year old, 2 and 6 year old, 3 and 7 year old) as, like yourself, we are not antisocial, but we loved being able to dine in our room without the distraction of the MDR. It worked out wonderfully as DH and I could sit and enjoy our meals once the little ones were done... and they just played in the room. We did it for breakfasts and most dinners. We brought tips for the servers and found that they were wonderful in setting up and clearing the meals. We would place our order earlier in the day and could choose which dining room we wanted the meal from. We were in a 1 bedroom and, for us, it really allowed us the quality family time we were desiring. The concierge lounge was also a wonderful option for breakfast without having to go to Cabanas. The food in the lounge is often more flavorful, though smaller plates. We thought it was a wonderful way to travel with the little ones. The lounge hosts were very good at spoiling them !

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Sandbtwmytoes]

We have 3 young kids (7, 4, 18 mo) and last sailed concierge in February of this year in a royal suite. First time we sailed we did a 1 bedroom with the 2 kids we had at the time. We used in room dining for hot breakfast so there wasn't a rush to get everyone ready and the kids could eat in their pjs. If anyone got up earlier than room service, I would head up to the lounge, which opens at 7am, for a snack until breakfast was delivered (we did 8:30a every day).

We also did in room dining the night Tangled played on the Magic bc we knew our kids wanted to see it but couldn't stay awake to see the later show. We ordered basic room service for the kids before the show and then ordered main dining dinner for the adults after we returned.

Bottom line is we did a nice mix of in room dining and the restaurants. My kids really enjoyed the presentation and servers on our trip. The servers do a great job getting the kids' food to them quickly and keeping them entertained. Even though it's more courses than we typically eat, the servers move through the meal as efficiently as possible. I never thought my kids would last as long as they did during the meals, but it really is fun. you might be surprised! I promise my kids aren't as good eating out now that we are "on land!"

Thanks! I'm thinking a combo of both would work well for us.

Which ships have you sailed on while in a concierge room? Our two trip choices are a 5 day on the Magic or a 7 day on the Fantasy. The 5 day works best for us for numerous reasons, but I like how the concierge lounge is close to our room on the Fantasy (7 day). The sun deck also looks nicer on the Fantasy. Do you have a strong preference for one ship vs the other? I really want to make our time on the cruise as relaxing and easy as possible.

 

[Sandbtwmytoes]

We have done exactly what you are describing for our last 3 cruises (1,4 year old, 2 and 6 year old, 3 and 7 year old) as, like yourself, we are not antisocial, but we loved being able to dine in our room without the distraction of the MDR. It worked out wonderfully as DH and I could sit and enjoy our meals once the little ones were done... and they just played in the room. We did it for breakfasts and most dinners. We brought tips for the servers and found that they were wonderful in setting up and clearing the meals. We would place our order earlier in the day and could choose which dining room we wanted the meal from. We were in a 1 bedroom and, for us, it really allowed us the quality family time we were desiring. The concierge lounge was also a wonderful option for breakfast without having to go to Cabanas. The food in the lounge is often more flavorful, though smaller plates. We thought it was a wonderful way to travel with the little ones. The lounge hosts were very good at spoiling them !

Enjoy your cruise!

Thank you so much! You stated it perfectly - DH and I would love to relax and enjoy a meal together! When we eat out with our kids, the restaurant meals are nice, but not relaxing.

Which ships have you sailed on while in a concierge room? Our two trip choices are a 5 day on the Magic or a 7 day on the Fantasy. The 5 day works best for us for numerous reasons, but I like how the concierge lounge is close to our room on the Fantasy (7 day). The sun deck also looks nicer on the Fantasy. Do you have a strong preference for one ship vs the other? I really want to make our time on the cruise as relaxing and easy as possible.

 

[coloradocutie]

We have sailed in the 1 bedrooms on the Wonder (no lounge at the time), the Fantasy, and most recently on the Magic (with lounge). I do not think that you can go wrong with any of the ships, it is, rather, what preference you have.

I usually like longer trips, however my DH and I did not like Fantasy compared to the smaller ships of the Magic and the Wonder. We did a Fantasy Caribbean cruise and we felt that the ship was just tooooooooooo crowded. We ended up using the lounge a lot, as a result, as we ate there for breakfast, lunch and snacks as it was quite peaceful, where as we found Cabanas a bit of a madhouse when dealing with little ones. We really tried to avoid it. Some people love the larger ships as there are so many activity options, we prefer the smaller ships as they feel so much more intimate (and less crowded). DH does not want to go on the Fantasy again because of how busy it was (and it was a low season first week in May cruise). The rest of the ship was so crowded, I felt that the lounge was necessary for an escape, more than an additional amenity.

We personally loved the Magic and the lounge options. The lounge was smaller, but as we found the whole ship was smaller and less people on board, we did not mind going to the main dining areas with the little ones if we needed to. But once again, we really liked the small plate samplings the lounge had and felt that we could easily make a lunch of the samplings, in the serenity of the lounge. It was so relaxing and, for us, worked beautifully! And in relation to the location of the lounge, we were in the very aft and the walk to the lounge was not inconveniencing at all, especially given the yummy treats that we were eating during the cruise . We utilized the Magic lounge more as it was so easy to pop in and out and grab coffee, snack, wine etc...It was very easy and was enriching.

On the last day of the cruise, the lounge host mentioned that if she had known we would be eating the vast majority of our dinner meals in the room, she could have requested our dining room servers be assigned another party and then they would not have been relying us for their tips (we tipped them fully although we only used them 20%of the time). We did not realize, but she said that we could have just been placed at an empty table when we did want the dining room experience, and just tipped on the times when we were there. We appreciated knowing that for future cruises.

Either way, your cruise will be lovely!

 

[clemsonlongs]

Thanks! I'm thinking a combo of both would work well for us.

Which ships have you sailed on while in a concierge room? Our two trip choices are a 5 day on the Magic or a 7 day on the Fantasy. The 5 day works best for us for numerous reasons, but I like how the concierge lounge is close to our room on the Fantasy (7 day). The sun deck also looks nicer on the Fantasy. Do you have a strong preference for one ship vs the other? I really want to make our time on the cruise as relaxing and easy as possible.

We first sailed in Aug 2014 with the 2 kids we had at the time on the 4 day Dream in a 1 bedroom. This last time we sailed the Magic on a 5 night in a royal suite with our 3 kids.

I know people have strong opinions about the ships they like but we LOVED the Magic. Like to the extent we only want the Magic and Wonder now. We were fortunate to have one of our previous concierge hosts from the Dream on our Magic sailing and he pointed out lots of advantages of the smaller ship: less crowds in hallways and dining (tables on big ships are MUCH closer together...which you feel when you have tiny children getting in and out of their seats), cast member group is smaller so there's more comraderie amongst the staff (his opinion), less crowds at ports, less fighting for tables around pool deck, pools and lines for slides are much shorter. I could go on and on. Now it is a short hike to the lounge but the view from the lounge is far superior. The lounge on the larger ships is interior. The lounge on the Magic overlooks the adult area and you can look out to the ocean. The sun deck is also really nice and shaded.

Of course bottom line is that you can't go wrong. We thought we would hate having to climb stairs to the lounge, but it's nicely tucked away and just feels like a private oasis. Any sailing you choose will be magical I'm sure!

 

[Sandbtwmytoes]

We have sailed in the 1 bedrooms on the Wonder (no lounge at the time), the Fantasy, and most recently on the Magic (with lounge). I do not think that you can go wrong with any of the ships, it is, rather, what preference you have.

I usually like longer trips, however my DH and I did not like Fantasy compared to the smaller ships of the Magic and the Wonder. We did a Fantasy Caribbean cruise and we felt that the ship was just tooooooooooo crowded. We ended up using the lounge a lot, as a result, as we ate there for breakfast, lunch and snacks as it was quite peaceful, where as we found Cabanas a bit of a madhouse when dealing with little ones. We really tried to avoid it. Some people love the larger ships as there are so many activity options, we prefer the smaller ships as they feel so much more intimate (and less crowded). DH does not want to go on the Fantasy again because of how busy it was (and it was a low season first week in May cruise). The rest of the ship was so crowded, I felt that the lounge was necessary for an escape, more than an additional amenity.

We personally loved the Magic and the lounge options. The lounge was smaller, but as we found the whole ship was smaller and less people on board, we did not mind going to the main dining areas with the little ones if we needed to. But once again, we really liked the small plate samplings the lounge had and felt that we could easily make a lunch of the samplings, in the serenity of the lounge. It was so relaxing and, for us, worked beautifully! And in relation to the location of the lounge, we were in the very aft and the walk to the lounge was not inconveniencing at all, especially given the yummy treats that we were eating during the cruise . We utilized the Magic lounge more as it was so easy to pop in and out and grab coffee, snack, wine etc...It was very easy and was enriching.

On the last day of the cruise, the lounge host mentioned that if she had known we would be eating the vast majority of our dinner meals in the room, she could have requested our dining room servers be assigned another party and then they would not have been relying us for their tips (we tipped them fully although we only used them 20%of the time). We did not realize, but she said that we could have just been placed at an empty table when we did want the dining room experience, and just tipped on the times when we were there. We appreciated knowing that for future cruises.

Either way, your cruise will be lovely!

Thank you so much for your input! I really thought people would prefer the Fantasy, but you bring up excellent points. And thank you for mentioning the part about letting them know if we aren't going to use the dinning room too often.
Thank you

 

[Sandbtwmytoes]

We first sailed in Aug 2014 with the 2 kids we had at the time on the 4 day Dream in a 1 bedroom. This last time we sailed the Magic on a 5 night in a royal suite with our 3 kids.

I know people have strong opinions about the ships they like but we LOVED the Magic. Like to the extent we only want the Magic and Wonder now. We were fortunate to have one of our previous concierge hosts from the Dream on our Magic sailing and he pointed out lots of advantages of the smaller ship: less crowds in hallways and dining (tables on big ships are MUCH closer together...which you feel when you have tiny children getting in and out of their seats), cast member group is smaller so there's more comraderie amongst the staff (his opinion), less crowds at ports, less fighting for tables around pool deck, pools and lines for slides are much shorter. I could go on and on. Now it is a short hike to the lounge but the view from the lounge is far superior. The lounge on the larger ships is interior. The lounge on the Magic overlooks the adult area and you can look out to the ocean. The sun deck is also really nice and shaded.

Of course bottom line is that you can't go wrong. We thought we would hate having to climb stairs to the lounge, but it's nicely tucked away and just feels like a private oasis. Any sailing you choose will be magical I'm sure!

Thank you so much for your input also! As with the previous poster, I'm so surprised you both prefer the smaller ships. Thank you

 

[clemsonlongs]

Thank you so much for your input also! As with the previous poster, I'm so surprised you both prefer the smaller ships. Thank you

I'm sure there are plenty who love all the "bells and whistles" that the newer, bigger ships offer but for us, with little kids, the smaller ship was ideal. I vividly remember embarkation day on the Dream when we grabbed food at cabanas and lugged trays of food, with two little ones trailing behind, and could not find a seat both in the restaurant and out on the pool deck. And this was with the earliest PAT (but right after the concierge reception). I also felt like the kids clubs were not nearly as crowded either on the Magic. Again, it's all personal preference, but I don't see us sailing the larger ships ever again. We might be swayed by the new ships coming out, but I cannot imagine what the ships will be like with even more people on board (not to mention the price)!

 

[coloradocutie]

I'm sure there are plenty who love all the "bells and whistles" that the newer, bigger ships offer but for us, with little kids, the smaller ship was ideal. I vividly remember embarkation day on the Dream when we grabbed food at cabanas and lugged trays of food, with two little ones trailing behind, and could not find a seat both in the restaurant and out on the pool deck. And this was with the earliest PAT (but right after the concierge reception). I also felt like the kids clubs were not nearly as crowded either on the Magic. Again, it's all personal preference, but I don't see us sailing the larger ships ever again. We might be swayed by the new ships coming out, but I cannot imagine what the ships will be like with even more people on board (not to mention the price)!

Ditto for us!
But whichever boat you choose, realize your trip will be amazing! It is a Disney cruise, after all!

 

[Sandbtwmytoes]

clemsonlongs and coloradocutie

I have a question about closet storage if you don't mind. I tried looking at some videos for both ships. It looked like some rooms on the "older" ships had a walk in closet that had a tall dresser and lots of hanging room. The fantasy had two small closets and one walk in (all right by the front bathroom), but I didn't see any drawer space and very few shelves. I saw some small drawers next to the bed and one under the bed. For our last trip, I used packing cubes and these saved so much time! I just opened them up and put them in the drawers. My kids will still be young so must of there stuff won't need to be hung up. Is there a dresser anywhere in the Fantasy?

Thanks