Concierge Questions From A 1st Cruiser!

[birdieboiler]

I will be going on my first DCL on May 13th, Disney Dream 3 day. I have concierge as well. I emailed Shoreside on the 125 day and requested a cabana on SB as close to the restrooms as possible. We have cabana # 22. Really excited to go!

 

[Trera]

I will be going on my first DCL on May 13th, Disney Dream 3 day. I have concierge as well. I emailed Shoreside on the 125 day and requested a cabana on SB as close to the restrooms as possible. We have cabana # 22. Really excited to go!

Congrats. You will have the best time. I wish I was there relaxing right now.

 

[John VN]

Congratulations for the upcoming events.

DW surprised me with a 1 bedroom Concierge for our Dream 4 day last November following the Space Coast Half Marathon we completed. Since we like having a single couple table for dinner and wanted it to be quiet, our choice was to dine in our room every night. Picked a restaurant, ordered from the menu and prepared for a 6:30PM dinner. Our server, concierge only, came to the room and set a formal table then brought first course. Left, came back to check on us about 10 minutes later. Came back in a bit, cleared table then returned with second course for me. Came back, cleared my 2nd course, then brought dinner. Checked back with us about 10 minutes later. Returned to clear table and brought in desert. Cleared table and left. Only dislike was that since we were in November, the view outside was darkness not that of the water. First night felt weird since we did not know what was coming but thereafter it was BLISS. Couldn't have been any more intimate.

BTW......she still surprises me after 42 years of marriage.

 

[VallCopen]

I am loving all the information people are giving you because I have wondered about several of your questions too. We are sailing for the first time on the Fantasy in Dec., in a 1-bedroom, so all of this info is great. Hope you enjoy your cruise!

 

[lfishe3]

Congrats! We said DCL for our honeymoon as well. It was absolutely magical. We had "Just Married" buttons given to us and every staff member made sure to tell us congratulations. In regards to Atlantis. We absolutely love the water park. There is a reason it is one of the best in the world. If you are love water coasters and slides it is a must do.

 

[ncurley]

Maybe you already discovered this, but I believe the Serenity Bay cabanas are slightly cheaper (by $100+?) if that makes your decision any easier. That could mostly cover a brunch at Palo, or couple spa access for the duration of the cruise. We have 2 rowdy young boys so we had to get a cabana on Family Beach. We had Cabana 9 and loved it, although we had neighbors pretty close by on both sides. I think they are all pretty packed in but if they have enough vegetation they feel nice and secluded. There are some cabanas that are newer that supposedly don't have as much vegetation, so if that is important to you maybe search past threads to see if you can figure out which cabanas are newer. The furniture in our cabana was starting to get a little worn though it had a nice beachy vibe. (Maybe the furniture in the newer cabanas is is better shape?)

If I was sans kids and I had the option to try Serenity Bay I probably would do that only because if you are on a honeymoon, I'm guessing there is a chance you *might* someday want to have kids. So maybe try Serenity Bay while you can. Just my 2 cents. The Family Beach by the cabanas is SO not crowded and really nice though, so if you have the money to splurge they are awesome.

We had a Cabana at Atlantis also, which was about $220-250 or so. I'm not usually a person to splurge this much but it was also our first cruise and I wasn't sure DH would ever agree to go on another cruise. So I went all out and we really enjoyed it. While we were there, there was a downpour of rain and we were able to avoid it zipping up our cabana and huddling in the provided towels. Everyone else crowded in the bathroom or ran back to the resort. There was also a safe to put valuables, and attendants who could get lunch for you (included in the Aquaventure excursion price). Also, we waited for a while in the excursion line but when they were ready to get going, people who were going to be in cabanas were given higher priority boarding the buses and we were walked to our cabana by an Atlantis employee so no need to find your way around that huge resort. So while it wasn't quite as nice as the Castaway Cay cabana experience, I still think it was a nice splurge.

Don't forget to bring a few dollars with you to tip the person driving you over to your cabana on Castaway Cay, the cabana attendant (who will probably be your concierge staff members) and the person getting your lunch at Atlantis. Supposedly you can also send postcards from the Castaway Cay post office, but we did not do this. If you do, you need to pay in cash.

 

[StaceyDarling!]

Congratulations for the upcoming events.

DW surprised me with a 1 bedroom Concierge for our Dream 4 day last November following the Space Coast Half Marathon we completed. Since we like having a single couple table for dinner and wanted it to be quiet, our choice was to dine in our room every night. Picked a restaurant, ordered from the menu and prepared for a 6:30PM dinner. Our server, concierge only, came to the room and set a formal table then brought first course. Left, came back to check on us about 10 minutes later. Came back in a bit, cleared table then returned with second course for me. Came back, cleared my 2nd course, then brought dinner. Checked back with us about 10 minutes later. Returned to clear table and brought in desert. Cleared table and left. Only dislike was that since we were in November, the view outside was darkness not that of the water. First night felt weird since we did not know what was coming but thereafter it was BLISS. Couldn't have been any more intimate.

BTW......she still surprises me after 42 years of marriage.

Wow! Thats a nice tip, I knew we could get room service from the restaurants, but I didn't know it would be as nice as you've made it sound! Definitely sounds like something to consider! At least one night! We requested single seating, in hopes we won't get put with another couple, considering it is our honeymoon, and I am a rather shy person anyways!

I am loving all the information people are giving you because I have wondered about several of your questions too. We are sailing for the first time on the Fantasy in Dec., in a 1-bedroom, so all of this info is great. Hope you enjoy your cruise!

Ah! Wonderful! Thank you, I hope you enjoy your cruise as well!

Congrats! We said DCL for our honeymoon as well. It was absolutely magical. We had "Just Married" buttons given to us and every staff member made sure to tell us congratulations. In regards to Atlantis. We absolutely love the water park. There is a reason it is one of the best in the world. If you are love water coasters and slides it is a must do.

I do like water parks, but I'm not crazy over them. But it sounds like a nice time! We think that's what we'd like to do!

Maybe you already discovered this, but I believe the Serenity Bay cabanas are slightly cheaper (by $100+?) if that makes your decision any easier. That could mostly cover a brunch at Palo, or couple spa access for the duration of the cruise. We have 2 rowdy young boys so we had to get a cabana on Family Beach. We had Cabana 9 and loved it, although we had neighbors pretty close by on both sides. I think they are all pretty packed in but if they have enough vegetation they feel nice and secluded. There are some cabanas that are newer that supposedly don't have as much vegetation, so if that is important to you maybe search past threads to see if you can figure out which cabanas are newer. The furniture in our cabana was starting to get a little worn though it had a nice beachy vibe. (Maybe the furniture in the newer cabanas is is better shape?)

If I was sans kids and I had the option to try Serenity Bay I probably would do that only because if you are on a honeymoon, I'm guessing there is a chance you *might* someday want to have kids. So maybe try Serenity Bay while you can. Just my 2 cents. The Family Beach by the cabanas is SO not crowded and really nice though, so if you have the money to splurge they are awesome.

We had a Cabana at Atlantis also, which was about $220-250 or so. I'm not usually a person to splurge this much but it was also our first cruise and I wasn't sure DH would ever agree to go on another cruise. So I went all out and we really enjoyed it. While we were there, there was a downpour of rain and we were able to avoid it zipping up our cabana and huddling in the provided towels. Everyone else crowded in the bathroom or ran back to the resort. There was also a safe to put valuables, and attendants who could get lunch for you (included in the Aquaventure excursion price). Also, we waited for a while in the excursion line but when they were ready to get going, people who were going to be in cabanas were given higher priority boarding the buses and we were walked to our cabana by an Atlantis employee so no need to find your way around that huge resort. So while it wasn't quite as nice as the Castaway Cay cabana experience, I still think it was a nice splurge.

Don't forget to bring a few dollars with you to tip the person driving you over to your cabana on Castaway Cay, the cabana attendant (who will probably be your concierge staff members) and the person getting your lunch at Atlantis. Supposedly you can also send postcards from the Castaway Cay post office, but we did not do this. If you do, you need to pay in cash.

Thank you so much for the tips! I honestly don't think I'd mind which beach we get, I just really would like a cabana! Do you remember how much you paid for your cabana on Castaway Cay?

 

[tink1970]

I last saw prices listing the cabanas on Serenity Beach at $399...DH and I had one for our honeymoon cruise. It was nice but we sailed in January so not sure we needed it, to be honest.

We did enjoy everything about it, although come to think of it, were so busy relaxing didn't take advantage of the bicycle rentals (huh). When we were there it was sort of chilly and SB never got too overcrowded but it was nice to try it and for a "special" event like our honeymoon was a nice splurge (in addition to Palo, and Remy, and mmm...Palo . Oh, and the couple's retreat in the spa. ).

I'm such a big fan of SB I wouldn't spend by honeymoon anywhere else but hear those on the Family Beach are quite nice too...but yes, more expensive ($549). I think the difference is in capacity but don't quote me on that!

--hopefully these prices are up to date, it was what I found on a couple of sites and looks like it's increased a bit over the years so you never know when they will change

Anyway, enjoy and congrats!

 

[John VN]

Wow! Thats a nice tip, I knew we could get room service from the restaurants, but I didn't know it would be as nice as you've made it sound! Definitely sounds like something to consider! At least one night! We requested single seating, in hopes we won't get put with another couple, considering it is our honeymoon, and I am a rather shy person anyways!................

The other nice thing about having dinner in our room was that all of the tip money, and then some, went to our server. SHE EARNED IT!!!

 

[phinz]

Wow! Thats a nice tip, I knew we could get room service from the restaurants, but I didn't know it would be as nice as you've made it sound! Definitely sounds like something to consider! At least one night! We requested single seating, in hopes we won't get put with another couple, considering it is our honeymoon, and I am a rather shy person anyways!

For what it's worth, Shoreside has told me several times that Concierge guests are always seated by themselves unless the specifically request regular seating. We've *never* been seated with anyone else when in Concierge.

 

[tink1970]

That's one of the big selling points for concierge for my DH. Although on our last trip we sat with the rest of my family who weren't concierge. Never again. Seriously.
I'm too cranky for toddler sheenanigans.