Concierge Room Worth it?

[Nikki906]

I am going on my first ever Disney cruise this August. I am debating upgrading my room for $2600 we are 5 people. Is it worth it? what do you get for concierge level?
TIA
Nicole

 

[bcwife76]

How long is the cruise? What ship is this on? You're going to get a variety of answers for sure.
For me if your cruise is say, 3 nights on the Wish then no, not worth it to me. If that is for a 7 night Fantasy cruise then yes, for me it would probably be worth it.

 

[ILoveMyKellen]

How long is the cruise? What ship is this on? You're going to get a variety of answers for sure.
For me if your cruise is say, 3 nights on the Wish then no, not worth it to me. If that is for a 7 night Fantasy cruise then yes, for me it would probably be worth it.

Totally agree with this.

 

[Nikki906]

Thank You for your reply. The cruise is on the Dream for 5 nights.

 

[Karin1984]

Besides the questions above, is this your very first cruise? Or first Disney cruise?

I would do a first cruise in a regular cabin, Verandah if possible, to test the waters to see if you like it.

The shorter the cruise the less likely you are to fully enjoy all the concierge amenities.

When I am going to a Disney park and my plan is to stay there from open to close, all I need is a room with a bed and a shower. If I plan to relax more, go back to the hotel, sleep in late, etc. I prefer concierge/club level.

And it is the same on a cruise for me, if you are not using the amenities because you are all day doing activities or at the pool with a book, why pay for it?

Oh other question: how many ports?

 

[Nikki906]

Besides the questions above, is this your very first cruise? Or first Disney cruise?

I would do a first cruise in a regular cabin, Verandah if possible, to test the waters to see if you like it.

The shorter the cruise the less likely you are to fully enjoy all the concierge amenities.

When I am going to a Disney park and my plan is to stay there from open to close, all I need is a room with a bed and a shower. If I plan to relax more, go back to the hotel, sleep in late, etc. I prefer concierge/club level.

And it is the same on a cruise for me, if you are not using the amenities because you are all day doing activities or at the pool with a book, why pay for it?

Oh other question: how many ports?

Its not my first time cruising just first time on a Disney Cruise. I think 2 days at sea and 2 ports.

 

[Karin1984]

If it is just your first Disney cruise and you already know you like cruising, with Disney you pay premium for the brand.

Did you cruise concierge on your other cruises? If yes, which ones, and do you think this upcharge improved your cruise?

What is it you are looking for in concierge:
Do you like a bit more space in your room?
Dedicated check in and boarding?
Separate lounge on board?
If your cruise stops at Castaway, do you want to try to get a cabana?
Are you 'high maintenance' and would benefit from dedicated people to help you out?

 

[CisforCookie991]

We were booked in a concierge verandah then ended up switching to two oceanview for about the same price and didn't regret it for a second. The massive difference in space was enough of an "upgrade" for us. This was our first Disney cruise and the level of service was so high anyway that we didn't ever wonder what concierge was like. We're not really "sit by the pool" people so the private deck would've been lost on us (or maybe we would've used it, who knows, but we didn't care enough to think about it), but the pool deck is super crowded on sea days so that might be a consideration for you. And Castaway was so hot that a cabana would've been nice, but not worth getting concierge just for that for us.

For check-in, we had an early PAT so it was super efficient and not really crowded anyway. For disembark, we did express walk-off. At 7:40 we were still packing up (when I was yelling at the kids to hurry up and finish their breakfast because we had to be out in 20 minutes), and the next time I looked at my watch was at the car rental at MIA and it was 8:20. So 40 minutes to get the kids dressed, pack up the last bags, go down to deck 3, navigate the terminal, go through customs, get in an Uber, and arrive at the airport. I don't think the concierge special disembark elevator would've really saved us much time.

In hindsight, concierge would've been a total waste for us but hard to know until you're actually there.

 

[o&smom]

We finally cruised our one and only time in concierge with Disney. We had a discount from our Wish cruises being cancelled, and decided to put it to good use and book a one bedroom suite. We had a really great time, the suite was beautiful, and we spent lots time in the lounge and private sun deck to really make use of what was available only in concierge. We are happy to have experienced it, but will not be sad in the least to cruise in an inside stateroom one deck 2. We just really love cruising with Disney, and any time on one of their ships is amazing.

 

[petrola]

yes. totally worth it for us. but "worth it" is an individual decision. My husband won't go without being in concierge so if it's only going to cost us $2600 more it's a yes for me.

 

[Stitch'sCousin]

I am going on my first ever Disney cruise this August. I am debating upgrading my room for $2600 we are 5 people. Is it worth it? what do you get for concierge level?
TIA
Nicole

I am assuming 2A 3K for the 5 people (like our family) in a Cat. V room. We did this a number of years ago when the difference for 7 nights on the Fantasy was only about $500 more for concierge compared to a Cat. 4A room. We enjoyed concierge but return to Cat. 4A as the value just wasn’t there for us since we booked our excursions ourselves and had no interest in getting a cabana at Castaway Cay. Keep in mind that a Cat. 4A has 3 separate sleeping spaces for your 3 kids while 2 of them will have to share the sofa bed if you get a Cat. V concierge room. This wasn’t a big deal for our two boys, but some kids might not like it.

 

[auntlynne]

I say it is never “worth it.“. As a financial transaction. But… if you ever want the Disney version of Concierge, that is about as good a price difference as you will get. Roughly $100 pp/day. You could pay that difference in cruise fare sailing high season v. Value season.

I sailed Dream Concierge on a 3-night in the lowest category room. There was a double fold-out sofa bed instead of a lower and upper berth. That was significant. Sofa bed with the bar underneath. (Typically, you flip the back of the sofa forward to reveal a single mattress. The upper berth folds down from the ceiling. Any cabin that sleeps five adds a Murphy bed. Main bed does not split in two; it is one bed and frame.

I enjoyed some of my lunches in the Concierge Lounge. I did not take advantage of free drinks. I do not like having people attend to my needs unless I request it or actually need help.

A Cabana on Castaway Cay is not guaranteed when you are in Concierge; neither is it included. And not necessary for most people to enjoy the private island.

There is no exclusive dining room for Concierge. Nor a pool / hot tub situation you would see on other cruise lines.

@Karin1984 presented the main things Concierge offers. Others described what they didn’t utilize. In addition, you make requests for booking specialty restaurants and excursions ahead of time and the shoreside Concierge team books them 5-10 days earlier than other cruisers can. (Hence the reason Concierge guests are more likely to get one of the very limited number of Cabanas). As a first time Disney cruiser, you also don’t stand in the general line for check-in at boarding/check-in.

If your kids are older, I like the idea of doing two rooms. Connecting or even Verandah + an inside across the hall. You just have to BOOK one adult in each room. Once in the ship, you do not have to sleep in the rooms as booked. Mom and dad can sleep without kids in the room.

Concierge deposits are more restricted on cancellations. You need to read that before even putting down a deposit.

 

[shananigans]

I am going on my first ever Disney cruise this August. I am debating upgrading my room for $2600 we are 5 people. Is it worth it? what do you get for concierge level?
TIA
Nicole

We love sailing concierge and do so when we can. Love the personalized service, ability to book spa and dinners at the adult only dining while on board, if you’re in a 1 bedroom, you can have any of the MDR meals delivered to your room and eat there vs in the MDR. Loved the private sun deck (so much less crowded!), sunscreen provided, trolley with drinks came by every night, healthier options for snacks in concierge (small salads, etc), amazing lattes and macchiatos with the same machine used at Cove Cafe for free (where you pay for them at Cove Cafe), unlimited access to bottled water, sodas (kids grabbed sodas and would bring them back to our room), priority boarding, easier to disembark on the last day. We have done 8 cruises with Disney, only two were concierge.

With all of that being said, we’ve only sailed concierge on the Disney Wonder. We’re sailing the Fantasy next month (non-concierge), Magic in September (concierge), Dream in November (non-concierge), and Wish in January 2024 (concierge).

I’ve heard the smaller ships (Magic & Wonder) have better concierge experiences because they are smaller and the staff can get to know you better. But I’ve also read the Wish was designed with the concierge cruiser in mind.

I say try it if you can. I’m hopeful our Magic and Wish concierge experiences are as amazing as they were on the Wonder! We will try Concierge on the Dream and Fantasy at some point, maybe once they are considered the “old” ships when the Wish and Treasure are sailing for a while.

 

[OpieDoodle]

Honestly in your case I'd say no its not worth it. When you cruise DCL for the first time the level of customer service you get on board is WOW amazing compared to other cruise lines. So I bet you'll be happy either way, so I'd be more included to use that money to do some really cool excursions or something instead!