I need to ask about Concierge prices.

[Mouse511]

Hello - We are long time Loyal to Royal cruisers and would like to branch out and try a Disney cruise as we are big Disney fans as well.

In looking at the new 2024 itineraries for the Wish, I am seeing that a normal Veranda room is +/- $2300 for a 3 night and the Concierge is double the price at +/- $4600..??

What do you actually get for booking the Concierge level?

In have read the online docs and scanned the forums, but I have not really seen the benefit of the double upcharge - unless I am missing something??

Are the rooms any larger? I do not think you get a separate Dining room like Costal Kitchen on Royal.

They stock your fridge with cans of soda or water, and you can get drinks in the lounge, but is there anything else?

Please help me understand the double the price increase?

Thanks

 

[ngl]

For us, the major benefit of Concierge is really having a private space away from crowds. The Concierge rooms on the newer ships are on dedicated floors with a lounge in the middle. You really do not need to go to any buffets or other food areas for breakfast or lunch and wait in line because the lounge has an abundance of it. (On Wish, they have a hot breakfast and lunch menu in addition to standard offerings. Other ships are all cold items but even when cruising on Dream in previous years, we always found enough to fill up there). You get early entrance into the theaters and early access to book excursions and cabanas on Castaway Cay. Wish has it's own hot tubs and wading pool area and sun deck that even during our cruise on Tgiving week was never crowded. In the dining rooms, we found our concierge tables to be in better locations and you really get to chose your dining rotation (not a guarantee but we have always received our requests). The 1 bedrooms are not available elsewhere on the ship but yes the Deluxe Family Oceanview rooms are. Everyone has things they enjoy about a cruise which others may not. For us, it is has always been that the Concierge areas were more peaceful than the rest of the ship. Is that worth 2x? Just depends on what is a priority to you on vacation.

 

[Marthasor]

I sailed concierge on the Wish in October and, after that experience, it's the only way I would sail on the Wish if I booked again. There is no dedicated PAT time for concierge guests - you can arrive anytime you like and get priority boarding onto the ship. At noon, they have a special concierge lunch in 1923 on embarkation day. We booked late, but shoreside was still able to get us Enchante dinner (which was not good) and Palo brunch (which was spectacular). The concierge lounge and sundeck are spectacular. The lounge has offerings all day long including breakfast, lunch, fridges stocked with soda, water, etc. (which will be in your room as well), plus three spectacular coffee machines. The sundeck is very quiet and has two huge hot tubs and a wading pool. They serve included beer, wine and cocktails starting at 5 pm (I think that ends at 7 pm). You get early entrance into the shows and free popcorn. They have a continental breakfast on departure day so you don't have to go to your assigned restaurant if you don't want to and have an express walk-off service so you can be one of the first off the ship if you would like. We were so happy we booked concierge as we found the pool deck area to be extremely crowded - trying to get something to eat from the pool deck food areas was incredibly chaotic (we ended up getting some things, but brought them into the lounge to sit as there were no empty tables in the pool deck area). It's a big price increase, but well worth it for us.

 

[Cheburashka]

It's almost impossible to get a cabana on Castaway Cay if you're not concierge. A lot of people will book concierge just to get a better shot at booking one of those. The cabanas themselves cost several hundred dollars on top of whatever you paid for concierge.

People who pay the Disney premium can typically afford more than what typical cruisers on a standard cruise line can afford. If concierge cost only 20% - 50% more, it would be sold out almost instantly and Disney wouldn't be maximizing their potential profit on it. So it costs 100% more, instead. Supply and demand.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

For us, the major benefit of Concierge is really having a private space away from crowds. The Concierge rooms on the newer ships are on dedicated floors with a lounge in the middle. You really do not need to go to any buffets or other food areas for breakfast or lunch and wait in line because the lounge has an abundance of it. (On Wish, they have a hot breakfast and lunch menu in addition to standard offerings. Other ships are all cold items but even when cruising on Dream in previous years, we always found enough to fill up there). You get early entrance into the theaters and early access to book excursions and cabanas on Castaway Cay. Wish has it's own hot tubs and wading pool area and sun deck that even during our cruise on Tgiving week was never crowded. In the dining rooms, we found our concierge tables to be in better locations and you really get to chose your dining rotation (not a guarantee but we have always received our requests). The 1 bedrooms are not available elsewhere on the ship but yes the Deluxe Family Oceanview rooms are. Everyone has things they enjoy about a cruise which others may not. For us, it is has always been that the Concierge areas were more peaceful than the rest of the ship. Is that worth 2x? Just depends on what is a priority to you on vacation.

^^^ this. When we want to cruise and need to be quiet. We did a 4 night out of Miami, just my hisband and I, after not having cruised for 3 years due to the pandemic. We spent alot of time in the lounge. So quiet. And we found the hosts, on this trip, to be amazing and they took really good care of us. Would I book concierge just to get a cabana? No. We didn't book a cabana for this trip as we booked late and they weren't available. But the day before castaway, there were cancellations and they were offered to concierge first. We took advantage and spent an amazing, relaxing day at our cabana. Everyone has their reasons and their budget. Do I book concierge everytime? No. But when I am looking for a special treat and it is in my budget, I do.

 

[John VN]

Bang for the $$$$ is why we do not do DCL Concierge or Royal SKY or NCL Haven but instead MSC Yacht Club. p.s. - double or triple or quadruple the price just not worth Disney atmosphere

https://www.msccruisesusa.com/cruise/msc-yacht-club

p.s. - I just booked a 4 night YC out of PC for our 51st Anniversary that includes an OVERNIGHT at their Island Ocean Cay $3,000.

p.p.s. - Wi-Fi, ALL DRINKS, Butler, Priority everything, the exclusive YC Decks Section on the ship and Ocean Cay and matching status (IMO - our Diamond is beyond Pearl) has proven to be very relaxing and enjoyable.

 

[ngl]

It's almost impossible to get a cabana on Castaway Cay if you're not concierge. A lot of people will book concierge just to get a better shot at booking one of those. The cabanas themselves cost several hundred dollars on top of whatever you paid for concierge.

People who pay the Disney premium can typically afford more than what typical cruisers on a standard cruise line can afford. If concierge cost only 20% - 50% more, it would be sold out almost instantly and Disney wouldn't be maximizing their potential profit on it. So it costs 100% more, instead. Supply and demand.

This ^ re the cabana. We LOVE the cabana on CC and have been able to get one each time. Friends and family that go with us also get one. On the Dream, none of us ever had challenges getting the cabana. On Wish, 2 of the 4 cabins got the cabana (all sending the email right at midnight). One of those friends is doing the Wish in Feb and they tried cabana again and got shut out again. Wish has about 2x concierge cabins as Dream so harder to get. If that is important concierge is a must.

 

[Jsoenning]

I dream that the prices will come down again someday as the newer ships come on line and there is more open capacity. We booked our first two in concierge when our oldest was a toddler and the pricing was not double as it is today. It was a premium but not eye popping. The issue is it pretty much always sells out and Disney was like "why not?" and increased the price dramatically. We are doing concierge on our upcoming as a surprise for our daughters but it's hard to swallow we could've done two cruises. But you can't take it with you I guess... :O)

 

[RAD]

If you're a type of person that just has to have the Disney experience then does it matter what DCL charges if you have to get your Disney fix?

But if you, like us, have figured out that they Mouse is just getting too greedy then there are other lines out there that can provide equal, if not a better, experience then DCL.

The wife and I have wanted to do a British Isle cruise for a few years and started looking at the options last year. After experience Celebrity (after Tracey's recommendation) we did a 7 night western on the Apex, staying in their Celebrity Suite which gets access to the private Retreat, in January and fell in love with the experience. But not wanting give up on DCL I did a little pricing comparison. Back in March of this year DCL wanted $16,884 for a cat 2B, which is their 1BR concierge level room. My understanding is that this is the base rate and that you would still need to add on tips ($217), WiFi ($252 for their top package) and the premium wine package ($309), we like a couple glasses of wine at dinner. So that's $17,662 or $2,523 per day.

Now this this cruise I priced the Royal Suite on Celebrity, which is also a 1 bedroom, which is in their Retreat section on the Apex but is a 12 night cruise. The cost of that cruise was $21,670 or $1,806 per day $717 a day less than DCL. That price included:
- Gratuities
- Premium WiFi for 4 devices
- Premium drink package
- $800 on board credit

And because we are in a Royal Suite we also get:
- Speciality dining at no additional charge
- Free laundry service
- Priority boarding and shore excursion access

As I said, if you just have to have the Disney experience then you just need to resign yourself to paying the premium for it. But if you can live with just taking a cruise and have a meal without a show then Celebrity is a place to check out.

 

[Wosmama6]

If you're a type of person that just has to have the Disney experience then does it matter what DCL charges if you have to get your Disney fix?

But if you, like us, have figured out that they Mouse is just getting too greedy then there are other lines out there that can provide equal, if not a better, experience then DCL.

The wife and I have wanted to do a British Isle cruise for a few years and started looking at the options last year. After experience Celebrity (after Tracey's recommendation) we did a 7 night western on the Apex, staying in their Celebrity Suite which gets access to the private Retreat, in January and fell in love with the experience. But not wanting give up on DCL I did a little pricing comparison. Back in March of this year DCL wanted $16,884 for a cat 2B, which is their 1BR concierge level room. My understanding is that this is the base rate and that you would still need to add on tips ($217), WiFi ($252 for their top package) and the premium wine package ($309), we like a couple glasses of wine at dinner. So that's $17,662 or $2,523 per day.

Now this this cruise I priced the Royal Suite on Celebrity, which is also a 1 bedroom, which is in their Retreat section on the Apex but is a 12 night cruise. The cost of that cruise was $21,670 or $1,806 per day $717 a day less than DCL. That price included:
- Gratuities
- Premium WiFi for 4 devices
- Premium drink package
- $800 on board credit

And because we are in a Royal Suite we also get:
- Speciality dining at no additional charge
- Free laundry service
- Priority boarding and shore excursion access

As I said, if you just have to have the Disney experience then you just need to resign yourself to paying the premium for it. But if you can live with just taking a cruise and have a meal without a show then Celebrity is a place to check out.

We are on our first DCL concierge and omg. It's amazing. I'd be curious to experience this on other lines, but my kids are 4 and 9.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

You get a lounge .

A lot of the concierge guests came to our adults hot tub because they said theirs was boring.

Outside the lounge and the free drinking hour, to me, there is absolutely no benefit. People see to love it so to each their own

 

[holula]

You get a lounge .

A lot of the concierge guests came to our adults hot tub because they said theirs was boring.

Outside the lounge and the free drinking hour, to me, there is absolutely no benefit. People see to love it so to each their own

Agree. I’ve done concierge once when it wasn’t stupidly priced. Okay, there was no lounge on the Magic in 2014. But I truly don’t see why people pay these insane concierge prices.

 

[John VN]

We are on our first DCL concierge and omg. It's amazing. I'd be curious to experience this on other lines, but my kids are 4 and 9.

Like your experience, our first DCL Dream Concierge was amazing but our 2nd not so much, so not requiring the much sought after Disney Fix we've cruised elsewhere and found our current Concierge FIX source to be not only way more amazing but also way fewer dollars.

I encourage you to *shop around* and take in other cruise line Concierge offerings because while cruising itself can be enjoyable no matter the level - if one is able to cruise Concierge Level IMO the actual vacation experienced from embarkation to disembarkation can be entirely different.

 

[tink1970]

Agree. I’ve done concierge once when it wasn’t stupidly priced. Okay, there was no lounge on the Magic in 2014. But I truly don’t see why people pay these insane concierge prices.

It's the same "ship within a ship" concept as the Haven, Retreat, etc. We'll pay the "insane" prices because we like less chaos AND the suites are very nice. DH loves the coffee machine, I prefer the canned diet cokes to the gross fountain ones and if we need assistance, the concierge is there to provide it. On our last 3 night cruise, after seeing the chaos of the MDRs on our previous 4 night cruise, we asked to have Palo dinner for a second night and it was accomplished, easy peasy. DH won at bingo on both of our B2B cruises and since we had a negative balance, the concierge went to guest services and cashed out the winnings, both times, so DH didn't have to stand in line. I spend more time than the average cruiser in the cabin, so a spacious suite with an extended deck is used quite frequently, as well. On debarkation day, having a dedicated elevator is also nice, as is the escort to leave. Everyone does different things with their money and a seamless cruise offering what I like is worth the price to me. Happily, we all have choices regarding cruising, including different lines and different cabins.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

It's the same "ship within a ship" concept as the Haven, Retreat, etc. We'll pay the "insane" prices because we like less chaos AND the suites are very nice. DH loves the coffee machine, I prefer the canned diet cokes to the gross fountain ones and if we need assistance, the concierge is there to provide it. On our last 3 night cruise, after seeing the chaos of the MDRs on our previous 4 night cruise, we asked to have Palo dinner for a second night and it was accomplished, easy peasy. DH won at bingo on both of our B2B cruises and since we had a negative balance, the concierge went to guest services and cashed out the winnings, both times, so DH didn't have to stand in line. I spend more time than the average cruiser in the cabin, so a spacious suite with an extended deck is used quite frequently, as well. On debarkation day, having a dedicated elevator is also nice, as is the escort to leave. Everyone does different things with their money and a seamless cruise offering what I like is worth the price to me. Happily, we all have choices regarding cruising, including different lines and different cabins.

Totally get it. I appreciate everyone’s choices and respect your decisions.

Cans of coke and being in my room all day isn’t for me, I like being out all day.

 

[jimmymc]

A large difference between Royal and Disney is the variety of cabin choices. If you want anything larger than a balcony room on Disney, then you have to get a concierge 1 bedroom or higher. Disney doesn't have mini-suites or the same variety in their larger rooms.

A huge benefit to concierge is that you are able to book excursions and specialty dining earlier than anyone else, even the highest loyalty tier. If you want a cabana on Castaway Cay, Palo brunch on a certain day, or the small boat glacier excursion in Alaska, paying for concierge is the only way to almost guarantee you get them.

The lounge is nice if you want to avoid crowds during breakfast and lunch. Other than those two times, the common areas around the ship usually aren't crowded.

The concierge hosts on Disney are better than other cruise lines IMO. They have fewer people they are responsible for, so if you'd like a single point of contact to plan your cruise they have some value.

On DCL you're really paying for the service level rather than exclusive spaces or restaurants. If you value having a concierge host who is always available and can arrange for just about anything, then it can be worth it. If you're looking for value from the extra physical goods and spaces, it's not worth it.

 

[jenmiller114]

A large difference between Royal and Disney is the variety of cabin choices. If you want anything larger than a balcony room on Disney, then you have to get a concierge 1 bedroom or higher. Disney doesn't have mini-suites or the same variety in their larger rooms.

A huge benefit to concierge is that you are able to book excursions and specialty dining earlier than anyone else, even the highest loyalty tier. If you want a cabana on Castaway Cay, Palo brunch on a certain day, or the small boat glacier excursion in Alaska, paying for concierge is the only way to almost guarantee you get them.

The lounge is nice if you want to avoid crowds during breakfast and lunch. Other than those two times, the common areas around the ship usually aren't crowded.

The concierge hosts on Disney are better than other cruise lines IMO. They have fewer people they are responsible for, so if you'd like a single point of contact to plan your cruise they have some value.

On DCL you're really paying for the service level rather than exclusive spaces or restaurants. If you value having a concierge host who is always available and can arrange for just about anything, then it can be worth it. If you're looking for value from the extra physical goods and spaces, it's not worth it.

I think this was a really accurate description. We just did our first concierge on the Magic last week and this was our 25th cruise. I can say that it is definitely not worth the price from a value for goods received perspective. But the service is top notch. We met the hosts at lunch and they knew all of our names by dinner.

If you aren't going to use the hosts, then save your money. We didn't use them a lot but we booked the cruise 3 days before departure so it was nice to be able to get a last minute Palo reservation and to be in boarding group 1 instead of 22. Personally, my favorite part was the pre-show escort. I am always in the front of the line to get the seats I want and to have them take us in early was really value-added for me. We would get our drink from the lounge or beverage cart, meet up for our escort into the theater, receive our popcorn and get our seats. I loved everything about that because the shows are one of the main reasons I sail Disney and having good seats is important to me, even if it's the 19th time I've seen Dreams!

I am not sure I'll sail concierge again because I would rather book 2 cruises for the same price. But I can definitely see why people like it. While DCL makes you feel like a VIP even in the cheap seats, the concierge team really does take it to the next level.

 

[Remysister28]

Thank you all for this very helpful discussion. I booked concierge on the Dream for next fall and I’m looking forward to it. I’m not sure I will continue to do that since there are other lines that offer luxury experiences but at least I will get my Disney fix and also my precious private time in Concierge. I am a single senior, who loves the ocean view and reading a book. I might go for a port excursion and the spa. I love quiet time but I know that the ship is the destination and it will be wonderful to explore the Dream.

 

[John VN]

Thank you all for this very helpful discussion. I booked concierge on the Dream for next fall and I’m looking forward to it. I’m not sure I will continue to do that since there are other lines that offer luxury experiences but at least I will get my Disney fix and also my precious private time in Concierge. I am a single senior, who loves the ocean view and reading a book. I might go for a port excursion and the spa. I love quiet time but I know that the ship is the destination and it will be wonderful to explore the Dream.

Enjoy your cruise and alone time.

As I've alluded to in other posts, DW and I have outgrown the need for a DISNEY FIX and have found that we prefer (deserve) much more for our dollar$ since we worked hard and skimped to have them available in our older age. DCL Concierge is nice but lags far behind other lines

 

[Wosmama6]

Like your experience, our first DCL Dream Concierge was amazing but our 2nd not so much, so not requiring the much sought after Disney Fix we've cruised elsewhere and found our current Concierge FIX source to be not only way more amazing but also way fewer dollars.

I encourage you to *shop around* and take in other cruise line Concierge offerings because while cruising itself can be enjoyable no matter the level - if one is able to cruise Concierge Level IMO the actual vacation experienced from embarkation to disembarkation can be entirely different.

Was just looking at msc yacht club. Any thoughts on that?