concierge service is it worth it???

[Shaynajade]

Is the concierge service for Cat 1,2,3 really worth it?

And Why? I am finding the reservation's for spa, palo, flounders a bit confusing and trying to figure out what shows to go to and what dinner time to miss and so forth so is the concierge really worth it or does everything else just seem confusing and really isnt?

Thanks

 

[Michelemouse]

We've never had concierge service so I can't help with that.

As for dining times, you will always be scheduled to eat at either 6:00 or 8:30pm. If you have early dining you will go to the show after you eat and if you have late dining you will go to the show before you eat (if you choose to go to the show).

If you choose to do Palo you can either opt to skip that evening in the main dining rooms or go before/after your regular meal, thereby missing that evening's show. Palo also offers brunch and tea on at-sea days. The concierge can make reservations for you or you can go to Palo once onboard and make your own reservations.

Palo is the first to open for reservations, then the spa then Founder's Reef. So, if you don't opt for the concierge, go to them in that order to make your reservations.

We've cruised twice without concierge services, and will be concierge-less again in Nov., and have never had trouble getting what we want for reservations.

Hope this helps.

 

[disneylover4ever]

We have cruised once without concierge and once with concierge.
We are sailing June 1st in Cat.3 and next April in Cat. 3. I can honestly say that if money is a major factor in your decisions, then do not book concierge. It is very nice to have, you do not wait in line to board, nor do you need to wait in any reservation line for Palo, Spa etc... You have a scheduled time to meet in the Lounge and they have a rep. from the spa, kids programs, etc.. to take any reservation you desire and to explaine services etc... it is very nice. No waiting in lines or trying to figure out how to get it all. They do it all!!!! It is great, however, if you really do not want to spend the extra money, the scramble to get reservations is not all that bad especially if you know what you want before hand. Just get your reservations and then go up to topsiders, or beach blanket buffet for your lunch. We had no problem either way, but we did arrive at the port by 11:00 and were in line before it was a long line. The concierge line is 1st to board. You do not wait in line!!!! Hope this has been of some help.

 

[Shaynajade]

Disneylover4ever

Thanks... Do the concierge book spa and flounders ( for you? i have heard that they dont?

Thanks again

 

[howardk613]

Shanyajade -
We have been on 2 cruises and both were in concierge suites.
In my opinion the reason to spend all that extra money is not for the concierge service (although it really is a nice plus) but for the suite itself. The category 1 - 3 suites are terrific. Nice and roomy with a lot of great extras and definately worth the extra expense if you can swing it.

 

[dmadman43]

We found the concierge service to only be valuable on the first day--for booking spa and Palo reservations. Other than that, didn't find it any more useful than the service we got from the crew members.

 

[disneyholic family]

concierge doesn't wait in line to board???

i wasn't aware of that.....that's great....
i wonder what happens if we arrive after boarding already begins....do we have to get in the regular line, or is there still a separate concierge line....

as for whether it's worth it...
clearly this is our first cruise, but i'm sure this is like anything else...
i would say what howardk613 says is probably the best way to look at it...

it's a question of money.....you shouldn't do it if money is an issue for you.....at least on our cruise, the difference between cat 3 and 4 was quite large....something like $2,000 more for a lousy 3 day cruise.....that's ridiculous if you think about it.....so really....don't do it unless you're in the habit of spoiling yourself that way.....(i'm horrifyingly frugal in eveyrthing else in my life, though i don't have to be....yet when i go on vacation i splurge obscenely);.....
from what i've read about it, there really aren't any special services to warrant the extra money.....you just get a nicer cabin.........probably not worth that stratospheric layout of cash.....
but then again, we are in a cat 3...and i would have taken 1 or 2 had it been available....

 

[Shaynajade]

The money really isnt a huge issue.. we are the same way we like to spoil ourselves when we travel.. And with 2 children we want to be as comfortable as we can for 7 days..

If it wasnt for concierge is there a huge difference between a Cat 3 to a cat 4?

 

[Mkripke]

I am in the same boat. But, it is only me and my 6yo daughter. I have a chance to get a cat 3. Trying to decide if it is worth it. Money isn't the issue, and the cat 3 wouldn't be for her.

 

[disneyholic family]

there's a post on the board with pictures of a cat 3 suite....
it really does look quite nice (if a bit cramped for a family of 4....as we are)....

i know i'm going to enjoy it and i've decided to completely forget how much i'm paying for it.....expunge it from my mind....

it probably would have made more sense to take two cabins rather than one cat 3.....but two cabins with verandahs would have cost more than the cat 3 cabin.......and even if there aren't that many associated concierge services, there still are some....

as i said, i would have preferred a cat 2 or 1, with a second bedroom for the kids, but they were booked.....

if we like the cruise, maybe we'll sign up now for 2005 in a cat 1.....nothing like planning ahead......

 

[Shaynajade]

Thanks for all the tips.. I think we will probably go with the cat 3
one the space would be nice with 4 of us and the concierge service does seem to be somewhat of a help.. DH can not stand to wait on line AT ALL...

thanks again

 

[disneyholic family]

when are you sailing?...
if it's after we come back i'll try to check out the various cat 3 cabin configurations for you (they're not all the same).....

 

[howardk613]

Although the category 4 - family suites are very nice, the category 3 - 1 bedroom suites are twice as large (618 sq ft vs 304 sq ft) and much fancier (amenities, decor etc.). I can assure you that you will not be disappointed with the room. If you have a choice , try to get any of the following category 3 suites : 8032, 8034,
8532 or 8534. These are right next to the midship elevators and have the extra wide verandahs.

 

[vstitt]

As we have discovered, not every Cat. 3 is built the same. The ones located aft, while very spacious, have only one full/queen couch in the living room area. (There is a reqular queen bed in the masterbedroom.) That means if you have two kids they will share a bed-- and depending on your situation (and how well they get along) that might not be optimal.

Also, there are Cat 3's with a single couch bed in the living room and the other single is a berth that pulls down (out?) in the master bedroom. If you have two kids, getting everyone to bed at night could be problematic.

I've been told only the Cat. 3's mid-ship have two different bed/berths in the living room in addition to the masterbedroom bed. In my mind this is the optimal configuration. This certainly would have been our preference.

You should check the boards or with DCL to verify which Cat.3 is available. We were quite surprised to find out that our Cat. 3, while very large, requires our kids share a bed! No one advised us of that fact when our room was booked. Caveot Emptor.

Good luck!

P.S. Our travel agent is working with DCL to find a solution to our problem. I'm sure they will figure out something.

 

[jlima]

We sailed last year, 7/7. From reading these boards I knew that the concierge would not make Flounders reservations; I did that myself. I did attend the meeting in Sessions and the concierge staff made a ressie for Bananna boats at CC and also a float rental; however they didn't ask which beach and I didn't know there was a difference. They wrote up the ticket for Serenity Bay and when I tried to pick up the float at the family beach I had to explain that the concierge did it, and I didn't know I had to tell them & they never asked and could I please just have my float? The concierge also made a Palo's brunch reservation for 10am when it didn't open until 10:30. They did deliver a fruit basket, video game cards and refrigerator magents; and they did come to the cabin once to introduce themselves and ask how everything was going. I asked them to replace 2 light bulbs in the wall unit and they were fixed the next day. But my biggest gripe was this - I asked how many sq ft my room was - 8546 - and how many sq ft 8532 and 8534 were. She admitted the 32 and 34 cabins were bigger and said she'd find out. (my brother and sister's families were in these cabins) The next day there was a rack brochure left in our cabin with a post-it note on the page with cabin floor plans - with no additional info on the 32 and 34 cabins, after admitting that they were bigger!! Maybe the concierge on our cruise was new or inexperienced but I expected more.