Concierge or regular stateroom

[jestracker]

Hi everyone. What are you thoughts about the concierge staterooms vs regular staterooms? We have been on 18 Disney cruises and have not been in a concierge room. Convince me of the reason to book one! We have looked at them and can't decide if we want to spend that kind of money. It will be just my husband and me. Thanks for any ideas.

 

[lorimay]

We are doing our 18th cruise in Feb.(19 & 20 booked), We have never done a concierge room either.
I feel this way, I can do 3 cruises for the price of one stay in concierge and I'm greedy!
Our Panama Canal Cruise has a concierge room available right now for over $19,000

But I say, if you can do it and want to give it a try go for it!!! I'm sure it will be amazing.
We stayed in what is now a concierge verandah room back in 2003 on The Magic, does that count???? LOLOLOL

 

[Cruising Engineer]

I too, to PP, have never paid for a concierge room, but stayed in a "preview" one. On the Alaska cruise this past September, stateroom 8038 was a very nice family veranda room. Now it is listed as concierge. Same size room. The Mouse can't take a wall down or bump out from the veranda. So it must be added amenities you are paying for the hiked up price. If you can afford the luxury of concierge service, go for it !!!! I would love the added pampering and free drinks, but I to am greedy and tight with the budget.

 

[FSU Girl]

I’ve sailed two Disney cruises, one regular one concierge. I had a fantastic time on both cruises. I almost wish I hadn't sailed concierge because I know how amazing that was. We are sailing concierge for our upcoming cruise, but it’s a lot of money and I really can’t justify spending this amount again for a long time. It’s our honeymoon so figured splurging was worth it.

I think if it won’t break the bank it’s definitely worth it. I personally wouldn’t stay in anything less than a one-bedroom. The family veranahs are basically the same room as a normal verandah with nicer furniture. We did the one-bedroom and it was the most amazing room I’ve ever stayed in on a cruise and felt it was worth it to be in there. The 3 and 4 night cruises on the Dream will probably be the cheapiest options to test it out.

 

[Dug720]

Other than the sofa upholstery, the room is the same (assuming you are talking about the stateroom and not a suite). What you are paying for is basically the lounge, pre-stocked fridges, 3 people to cater to you (or make you feel uncomfortable for NOT using them if you are not high maintenance), and the ability to almost guarantee you get whatever excursions you want (I say almost because on the Dream Class at least, there are more Concierge cabins than cabanas on Castaway, so you might not get one).

Only you can decide if it’s worth it to you - and if you are comfortable being in an environment where low-maintenance is kinda weird.

(The low-maintenance thing - my experience on my first DCL Cruise, our dad booked a Concierge cabin (even he doesn’t know why as we are not Concierge people). We did the happy hour thing, but other than that pretty much nothing. We had not known about the “ask shoreside to have your fridge stocked with what you will drink” thing, and so ran out of Diet Coke. I went to ask if I could get a couple of cans so I could have it first thing in the morning, and the host was so excited one of us was asking for something, he brought a 12-pack and completely redid the fridge with just Diet and Sprite and Water (what we had consumed). Totally over the top IMHO. And unnecessary. I don’t need that kind of fussing over me.)

 

[keaster]

I have never been able to pull the trigger on concierge, just looking at the price tag makes my blood pressure rise lol! I'm always tempted but could never justify shelling out that kind of money for a cruise.

Our daughter will be heading to college/university in a couple years, and the price of a one week Caribbean cruise in concierge would add up to one year tuition and housing (and then some as we are Canadian and the exchange rate would kill us!).

We always sail balcony and enjoy it!

 

[SnowWhite2]

I've done one concierge cruise on the Dream. It was fine but I didn't feel the extra cost was worth it. Other people may find it worthwhile to them. It's great that Disney has these options.

 

[Spiffy MacSpiff]

I feel like I'm going to get flamed here, but after several non-concierge Dream cruises we did the Concierge deed -- no suite, just a family veranda "with nicer furniture" -- and even so we felt like it was totally worth it, so much so that our next cruise in 2020 will be concierge too. Could we go back? Absolutely. It's wonderful but the non-concierge experience is very nice too. My advice = if you can afford it, try it. If it's a stretch, don't go into debt for it.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

We have sailed both Concierge and non-concierge, and one con we found with concierge is we spent too much time in the lounge and not enough time out enjoying the rest of the ship. I guess we were trying to "get our monies worth" by spending most of our time in the lounge.

Our stateroom was equally nice regardless of where we stayed. Food was equally good. Coffee was much, much better in concierge; concierge happy hour was enjoyable but then we missed hanging out in the drink lounges and talking with the bartenders, always a fun thing to do. ...

 

[FigmentSpark]

If I could afford it, I'd take the 2 bedroom on a classic ship. I'd love to have that kind of space for everyone. But before that, I'd take the one of the Disney suites on the Dream class for one reason... private hot tub on the balcony. PRIVATE. HOT TUB!!! On your OWN balcony! Maybe I'd get a cabana, but you know, private hot tub on my own private balcony.

 

[Eeyore54 fred]

We did concierge for the first time on our cruise on the Magic in September. It was going to be the last family cruise as our children are now adults. I saved up so we could splurge on the two bedroom suite. I have to say that I loved the extra space. DS tends to spend a lot of time in the stateroom and it was nice not to be tripping over his things since he kept them in the second bedroom. And the other family members enjoyed the happy hour (I don’t drink so I would go and have ginger ale) We all really liked the attention but could easily go non concierge and still enjoy the cruise. In fact, DD is going on the Magic in January with her BF and they are not going concierge. But I’m glad we got the chance to experience it once.

 

[dcassetta]

If I could afford it, I'd take the 2 bedroom on a classic ship. I'd love to have that kind of space for everyone. But before that, I'd take the one of the Disney suites on the Dream class for one reason... private hot tub on the balcony. PRIVATE. HOT TUB!!! On your OWN balcony! Maybe I'd get a cabana, but you know, private hot tub on my own private balcony.

I never felt the need to book concierge myself, but the idea of having your own private hot tub on your own private balcony is amazing! Maybe someday when I win the lottery…

 

[Jennifer777]

I probably wouldn't sail concierge on the smaller ships again unless I had a really good reason for it, like really needing a cabana or extra space for some reason. I totally agree with Dug720 though that if you are a low maintenance cruiser who wouldn't feel comfortable being doted on it's probably not for you because they do really want to pamper you and you almost feel bad when you don't give them things to do for you, at least in my experience. We went two days without visiting the lounge and they stopped by our room each day with treats wanting to know if we were ok and left a note saying they missed us. I felt obligated to go make an appearance. They were super kind though and when you need something, it's so nice to have them available. The lounge is nice to have and the priority debarkation can be super helpful. If you are really curious and have the money, it's nice to try it out to see if it's for you. I would do a lot of research ahead of time about what benefits there are so you can take advantage of them.

 

[ScooterScott44]

Hopefully you feel you have received some good info so far. I’ll add a few points to consider, not so much about the extra service but how it can be more relaxed.


A little background, we have cruise 13 and 14 on DCL booked for 2019 and one is a veranda and one is a one bedroom suite., so not an issue to go between the levels. We have done one inside and a few suites in the past but most cruises have been in a veranda room. Our suites have only been on the dream class ships so far, 2019 will be the first suite on the classics.


Concierge is a very nice. The cost may or may not be worth it for you but it is a nice experience to try if you can. I agree with most of the previous posters that if you are only doing a Cat.V then it is not too great of a difference,for the cost. If you can make the jump to a Cat.T or Cat.R then it makes a little more sense.


If you want the help and service of the concierge team then it also makes more sense to give it a try. Since we are pretty experienced at booking things that service does not benefit us that much, but if you search the boards there are some great stories how the concierge team helped out even the most seasoned guest. We are pretty low key, don’t want or need the help and like the relaxing aspect of the cruise. When you meet the concierge staff on the first day, it is perfectly fine to say “we want to relax and take it easy.” If the staff know that they will back off. They still want to be helpful and if staying out of the way is helpful to you, they will respect that. (They still have to do some things like cleaning.)


Since we have not done the classics, I can only share this about the dream class. We really like the peace and quiet. The concierge sundeck is almost never busy. The lounge does get busy sometimes but mostly it is a quiet place that is easy access for a quick bite and drink. If you are in a T or R room there is plenty of space to relax.


I haven’t seen SouthernGirl post in a while but hopefully she can chime in, since she has a similar background to the OP and tried concierge for the first time this year.

 

[cadien]

If I could afford it, I'd take the 2 bedroom on a classic ship. I'd love to have that kind of space for everyone. But before that, I'd take the one of the Disney suites on the Dream class for one reason... private hot tub on the balcony. PRIVATE. HOT TUB!!! On your OWN balcony! Maybe I'd get a cabana, but you know, private hot tub on my own private balcony.

That's my husband's dream cruise detail. They do have a few suites on Norwegian with the same feature for about a third of the cost.

 

[DCLDVC1]

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.

 

[Marc D]

I relate to what ScooterScott44 said. We've done 8 DCL cruises. Half of those were Concierge. We have three more booked (well, five, but some are B2B), two in Concierge and one in a regular verandah.

We sail Concierge to gain access to a 1BR suite but we do not mind alternating with a Family Deluxe regular room if such a cabin is not available or if the price for it is crazy high. For example, we would never sail Concierge in Europe or in a Concierge Family Deluxe. We have a tendency to lounge in the room and on our verandah a lot, so we enjoy the extra space. We do not really need pampering from the hosts and make very little use of the extra attention they offer, but it is nice to have it when it is available.

We never feel the need to "get the most out of it" to justify the cost. I guess that has a lot to do with our capacity to afford it... If you believe you would do so considering the price asked, I would suggest not to make the jump. I feel it would take away from the relaxation and enjoyment of the cruise. 95 % of your experience will be the same, without the added pressure. If you can afford it and find going about planning a cruise a bit of a chore, make the jump. They can really help make everything a bit easier if you let them.

As I wrote in another thread, sailing Concierge on DCL is like flying First class. The flight takes the same time, the destination is the same, but the total experience is just a bit different. Is it worth the extra $ ? That's entierly up to you.

My answer would be different on another cruise line. On NCL and Celebrity, upgrading to Concierge can change the cruise experience completly. We just did a cruise in the Haven on NCL Bliss. If we wanted to, we could have stayed in the secluded area for the entire cruise. It has a private pool, sundeck with cabanas and hot tubs, a massive two story observation lounge, a restaurant, a full bar.

 

[TestingH2O]

We have sailed both Concierge and non-concierge, and one con we found with concierge is we spent too much time in the lounge and not enough time out enjoying the rest of the ship. I guess we were trying to "get our monies worth" by spending most of our time in the lounge.

Our stateroom was equally nice regardless of where we stayed. Food was equally good. Coffee was much, much better in concierge; concierge happy hour was enjoyable but then we missed hanging out in the drink lounges and talking with the bartenders, always a fun thing to do. ...

While we didn't do it because we felt me needed to "get the most out of it," I do find that we spend more time enjoying the rest of the ship when we sail in non-concierge cabins. The lounge is just so convenient and comfortable that we would often stop there instead of seeing so many of the other neat places there were to relax and the great people watching that comes with the public spaces.

I do miss the coffee though.

I am so glad we cruised Concierge for our first two cruises. It really helped us figure out the ins and outs of DCL. Plus, since DD was still napping, the cabanas and ease of snacks was perfect. That being said, I am perfectly content to sail non-concierge most of the time right now. Especially on our last two cruises, Alaska and Europe, which were so port intensive. If we ever do another 3/4 day on the Dream, I could see us doing Concierge again because it really does minimize some waiting and we would want to maximize our time on those trips. Otherwise, we love our regular rooms. Heck, DD is disappointed that our next one is a verandah and she's begging for a magic porthole.

 

[pascalspal]

We have done 10+ Disney cruises, and the past 4 and upcoming one have been/will be concierge. Like others have said it can be hard to switch back to 'regular'. The price is a hefty and almost ridiculous one to pay but we have found it 'worth it' to us! Concierge just adds the little extra bit of magic. It has been nice to get pretty much everything we wanted from cabanas, ticketed events, palo meals, to customized spa services that 'don't exist' in the regular offerings. It is also nice to have the extra offerings like snacks, happy hours, and private fireworks viewing areas. All that being said, you could get the same amount of drinks and snacks for much cheaper paying out of pocket, but for us concierge is special because of the pampering experience. It allows us to fully relax and quite literally not worry about anything, which is often quite difficult task. My favorite part is the AWESOME coffee machine and extra bits of magic from the hosts (we got multiple bottles of very nice wine in our room last trip just because they knew we liked it!)

I would suggest trying it out once if you have the means. If you search around enough and are flexible you can find some 'deals' on concierge offerings. Give it a try and see for yourself because it really varies from family to family. We are not high maintenance by any means, but we do take full advantage of all concierge offerings on our sailings and we always have the best time!

 

[Trera]

We have done 10+ Disney cruises, and the past 4 and upcoming one have been/will be concierge. Like others have said it can be hard to switch back to 'regular'. The price is a hefty and almost ridiculous one to pay but we have found it 'worth it' to us! Concierge just adds the little extra bit of magic. It has been nice to get pretty much everything we wanted from cabanas, ticketed events, palo meals, to customized spa services that 'don't exist' in the regular offerings. It is also nice to have the extra offerings like snacks, happy hours, and private fireworks viewing areas. All that being said, you could get the same amount of drinks and snacks for much cheaper paying out of pocket, but for us concierge is special because of the pampering experience. It allows us to fully relax and quite literally not worry about anything, which is often quite difficult task. My favorite part is the AWESOME coffee machine and extra bits of magic from the hosts (we got multiple bottles of very nice wine in our room last trip just because they knew we liked it!)

I would suggest trying it out once if you have the means. If you search around enough and are flexible you can find some 'deals' on concierge offerings. Give it a try and see for yourself because it really varies from family to family. We are not high maintenance by any means, but we do take full advantage of all concierge offerings on our sailings and we always have the best time!

I agree with most of these thoughts on the subject as well.