concierge or not?

[bumbershoot]

People report other perks as well like if they dropped their phone in the sink, the concierge team would provide them a rice bucket

Of course, to get that, first you have to drop your phone in the sink.

(and I bet the kitchen could get you some rice if you asked)

People ask these questions but provide no information about themselves. How much do you make? Do you have extra money laying around? Your house paid off? Pay off your credit cards every cycle?

So NOT anyone's business. List out the perks, let the person decide.



We've sailed four times DCL, all on Dream. First was category V for a 3 night. TOTAL price to upgrade from what we had was $300. (plus the extra tips, don't forget the extra tips) Second was an INSIDE cabin for 4 nights. Third was category V again, 4 nights. Fourth was a normal balcony (stateroom 6666), 4 nights.

Concierge was decent and pretty, and DH absolutely adores having a space to call "his" (growing up, his father got to travel the world in luxury thanks to his job, and family got to follow, so he got a taste for nice things). If only I thought the cappuccino machine made anything NEAR decent espresso, but I don't. My fave concierge is no longer with Disney. I didn't adore the most adored concierge host, and neither did my son, to whom the host condescended like my son was a 2 year old (he was 10), yuck. We are low maintenance, don't ask for much. We are vegetarian with food issues, so the food in the lounge isn't a free-for-all for us (there's very little we *can* have there). When we cruise concierge, we tend to stay in or near the lounge, because "we paid for it". When we are non-concierge, we use the ship as our playground. We have more FUN when staying non-concierge. Second concierge cruise we got a cabana. DH and DS loved it, because they have a different feeling of value than I do (they are also not the bookkeepers for the family). For me, just like with the ship, I stayed IN the cabana except for an hour on the beach, because "we paid for it". They snorkeled and wandered and had fun, and I used the cabana. YAWN. Extra cost and, oh yes, even more extra tips.

Obviously I have lots of backs and forths on it.

$2500 MORE for 4 nights? Not a chance in this century. Even if we had that extra to spend on a cruise, I wouldn't. The 3 of us could go on another cruise (on Royal, for 7 nights) for that. And I would rather do THAT.

 

[Alfiegeorgina]

I think it is fair to assume that if we didn't have the money and were not financially stable we would not be asking the question.

We can afford it.

It is just whether we would get there and think wow! Or think wow, that was 2k wasted!

Thank you for all of the advice. Still undecided!

 

[Alfiegeorgina]

For context. This 4 nights is a small part of a 3 week trip costing just over 30000 USD.

GF not club level as saw no value as we are rope drop to fireworks people.

Universal Studios Portofino Bay CL suite as it is minion themed and kids will love (so can see value of this).

Economy flights as any flight with a toddler will be hell so can see no value of upgrading. I don't like flying whichever class I sit in. So to me that would be a waste.

Lounge at the airport - convenience and service.

VIP experience at Discovery Cove as want a cabana overlooking dolphins for mum and toddler.

So a really mixed bag totally dependent on whether we see something as worth it.

 

[TestingH2O]

course, to get that, first you have to drop your phone in the sink.

That was me and it wasn't a very enjoyable "perk." I hope OP wouldn't have to use it.

We are glad we traveled concierge and are doing so again. With a young child and varying sleep schedules, we were frequent visitors to the lounge. We also were very happy to have a cabana.

That being said, we've also booked a 3 day cruise in February of 2017. That will be non-concierge because there will be no sea day and we don't anticipate spending the whole day at CC so don't feel the need for a cabana.

 

[KAS_73]

My last cruise I had a one bedroom suite with concierge on the Magic. If there was a sun deck/hot tub, I totally missed that. Our concierge was wonderful, and very helpful. As I was travelling alone with 2 young children, not having to wait to board, or wait for a tender was worth the extra $$ all on it's own

Every day we had wonderful treats dropped off in our room (fruit trays, chocolate covered strawberries, baked goodies, etc). My children could have had DSs or tablets (but we were too busy to take advantage), and got to pick from a huge menu of Disney movies that they could request and watch in bed in the evening.

Our small fridge was kept stocked with water (which was a ridiculous price if you wanted to purchase bottles of water to take with you on your port adventures) and pop.

We were invited to a few special events and character meet and greets which were by invite only (not sure if that was only to concierge people?) and the kids were gifted cards for use in the arcade.

My personal favourite was complimentary tea and coffee in the cafe by the pool which would have cost me (if I remember correctly) $6 per cup had I not been concierge. Since I can't survive on less than 6 cups of tea a day, I sure saved a packet there!

The concierge was available to help with any bookings, and checked in often. Though we are fairly low maintenance and didn't require any help in that area. He would also pop by regularly at mealtimes. The kids really enjoyed the attention.

I didn't realize it at the time, but have since been informed that as concierge you get your own table. I didn't know that other people were sitting in groups not necessarily of their choosing.

At the end of the trip we received a lovely limited edition lithograph (which was too large to fit in my suitcase so got a little bent on the way home).

Hope that helps I've just booked another cruise and we will be doing the one bedroom suite with concierge again.

 

[bumbershoot]

For context. This 4 nights is a small part of a 3 week trip costing just over 30000 USD.

Whoa.

making sure; you got the Minion Suite and added club level, yes? Because not all concierge rooms are minions, and I am not sure you always get club level with that suite.

My personal favourite was complimentary tea and coffee in the cafe by the pool which would have cost me (if I remember correctly) $6 per cup had I not been concierge. Since I can't survive on less than 6 cups of tea a day, I sure saved a packet there!

Now things might be different on the Magic vs Dream, but there was free *coffee* and basic tea on the ship. You could get espresso or fancier teas for an extra charge, but the basic caffeine delivery systems were included with the fare.

I didn't realize it at the time, but have since been informed that as concierge you get your own table. I didn't know that other people were sitting in groups not necessarily of their choosing.

Most people do. Not everyone thought. And we don't like it. We like sitting with others. I homeschool and am with DS all the time. DH travels, but we communicate constantly even when he's gone, so it's like he's here (more so than when he's at the office having meetings). So it gets a little boring LOL. Having others there is fun for us. So the second time we booked a category V, we requested to be seated with others and were.

Our small fridge was kept stocked with water (which was a ridiculous price if you wanted to purchase bottles of water to take with you on your port adventures) and pop.

I think this is a no-lounge thing. No one restocked ours for us. None of the soda was used, so it would have just been water, but we had to get the waters from the lounge fridge.



Sometimes people have such amazing experiences with concierge, that it can make those who get *normal* experiences feel like they were robbed. I feel that we got normal, average experiences (apart from the host who is now gone from DCL, sigh, she was awesome) with concierge level, and I feel compelled to post so that those who get the same level as we do understand that it's OK, and those who get over the top stuff KNOW it was over the top and astonishing. (It's not meant to be negative. Just...trying to allay disappointment when unicorns aren't dancing in double rainbows every moment of every day when booking concierge)