Is concierge worth the extra $?

The question to answer is, do you want to pay up to get better service but cruise less often, or would you rather cruise more often with standard service?
That might or might not be the question. That depends on multiple factors, including one's income, and how often they want to cruise regardless of cost. Some people cruise as a one and done, and in that case, getting the top experience available might be worth it. Others have enough money that they can cruise as they wish, regardless of price.
 
Wow, learning more about concierge every day. We hopefully will be on the January 2021 cruise as a concierge for the first time. I keep an optimistic attitude for this cruise as our B2B September has been canceled. I read in a blog that access to your staterooms is earlier than other cruisers. True?

We are going on our first concierge in January too! Keeping my fingers crossed for both of us.
 
That might or might not be the question. That depends on multiple factors, including one's income, and how often they want to cruise regardless of cost. Some people cruise as a one and done, and in that case, getting the top experience available might be worth it. Others have enough money that they can cruise as they wish, regardless of price.
The question stands. It's the answer that depends on some of the factors you have highlighted.
 
Sorry to hijack this forum but seemed like the best place. We currently have a 4 night HOTHS in September booked for 2021. It's myself, husband, and will be 3 year old daughter. The difference between the verandah we're in now and concierge is not outrageous but I'm having a hard time finding whole trip reports/blogs/vlogs of families staying concierge level. We really want to treat ourselves after this whole year of cancelled vacations, we've sailed DCL previously but we're not the type who have ever had what seems like this level of "fancy vacation" (lol)
Any detailed info, tips, and tricks would be amazing! (if you want to relive your entire trip, please do, I love this kind of stuff, haha.)

Here’s reliving my first encounter of Concierge:

April 2010, Magic, 11-night Mediterranean, first of the season (and maybe ever).

We we’re on a B2B after the WBTA. (14 nights, inside cabin, ~$795 pp)

On arrival in Barcelona, we were doing the off-and-on check-in. Our friends were looking for better cabins, so we went along. One concierge cabin available, out of designated budget for my friend.

Our inside cabin for the Med was $1K pp. Upgrade for both of us was $2800. Total $4800. Handicapped one bedroom. Humongous verandah, Deck 8 aft.

The previous day that cabin was showing available for $15,000. I thought, what a deal.

Sadly, a woman was obviously planning on getting that cabin once checked in. When she found it was booked, she grabbed the sign for upgrades and threw it on the floor. She looked like she would probably have enjoyed the perks more, too - she was dressed way better than I ever have for boarding.

The cabin was large, especially the bathroomS And the walk-in closet.

I learned on that trip I am not a Concierge person. I don’t like being fawned over, given extra attention. I do better as part of the masses - but I want us to be treated well, too. I find the same in First Class on a plane. I don’t really want more coddling or better food - I just want more space, for which I would pay a certain amount more.

The little touches are wasted on me. Afternoon snacks, early booking (I am Platinum and don’t think I have missed getting a Palo reservation yet). My reaction was “leave me alone.” I am so glad it is available for those who like the special attention.

Probably my best story of being Concierge occurred in Palo. We sailed B2B on the Magic - 4 nights in a Navigator’s Verandah, then 3 in a one-bedroom Suite. While dining in a Palo on the first cruise, the Chef came to our table. As we were chatting, I mentioned that, in the past, I had enjoyed the lasagne offered. He was delighted to hear that, as he said that was his family recipe. He said he would make it when we returned on the next cruise. And there it was for us - with the Palo staff getting to eat the leftovers. Now, was that a perk of being Concierge or just an interactive chef? I don’t remember chatting with the chef on other cruises.

The other thing I appreciated was getting the table of my choice in Enchanted Garden (as in pre ious post).

Enjoy, everybody.
 


Normally I am all in for concierge and had a V cabin on hold for Bermuda next year for my husband and myself. But with the climate the way it is and concierge rooms deposits are non-refundable, we decided to take a pass. Too many unkowns. We will come back and take a concierge cruise at some point. They are wonderful!
Surprised that you are the only one bringing this up. Until concierges refund policies line up with the rest of DCL I cant imagine I'd be happy to book concierge. Even now with everything DCL is refusing to waive concierge penalties for early October sailings. This is the one point Ive been most disappointed with DCL about, their other policies seem like comparable or better than the industry standard atm.

Id be concerned about booking in the future unless the policy is changed because if they are taking a hard line now, I cant imagine a circumstance where they wont take the same hard line. And I think we will see lots of changes to insurance policies so Im not even certain you could get protection that way.
 
I'm booking a 3 night Halloween on the High Seas cruise next October. Going with my SO and DS(6). I want a room with a Verandah that's 304 Sq Ft. The price difference between the Category 4A and the Concierge room category V is about $800. Trying to decide if this is worth it. I would love to hear some opinions on this.
I would say yes do the concierge. If this is a family trip and you seek special time with them and wonderful memories then do not hesitate or over ask too many folks. Just do categorty v and enjoy life.
 


Depends on what you need. If you are on a popular cruise with a lot of platinum cruisers and you are not, you may need the extra help that concierge can have to book reservations. I for one would be upset if I couldn't get any excursions and I was visiting an area. I wouldn't want to book on my own from outside sources. I would rather book through Disney with the comfort that they can provide transportation and guarantee that I can be back on the ship.
 
There has been a lot of amazing information about the experience provided in this thread, but I don’t think anyone has mentioned the disembarkation day walk-off service that you get with Concierge. They have a special key to lock off an elevator just for Concierge guests and walk you past the gigantic lines that go from the exit gangway all the way around past the theatre and then the other side. They take you straight to the person with the giant Mickey glove beside the person who scans your key card as you get off the ship. It’s one of the best perks of Concierge in my opinion.
 
There has been a lot of amazing information about the experience provided in this thread, but I don’t think anyone has mentioned the disembarkation day walk-off service that you get with Concierge. They have a special key to lock off an elevator just for Concierge guests and walk you past the gigantic lines that go from the exit gangway all the way around past the theatre and then the other side. They take you straight to the person with the giant Mickey glove beside the person who scans your key card as you get off the ship. It’s one of the best perks of Concierge in my opinion.

The one time we sailed concierge we missed this... someone said that you may need to be ready to go early in order to do it but I'm not sure. No one mentioned it to us at any point, so we exited normally that trip.
 
The one time we sailed concierge we missed this... someone said that you may need to be ready to go early in order to do it but I'm not sure. No one mentioned it to us at any point, so we exited normally that trip.

We had the escort and were "early and READY" to disembark.
 
For us no. Now if we were in a financial position where those extra thousands for us would be more like an extra 100 or so maybe. We see no value in paying almost double for a cruise ( I almost fell over when I saw how much concierge was for the Hawaii cruise.) I would rather go on a second cruise. That’s another vacation!! I get there are people with disposable “ throw away money “ and they should book concierge if they can and want. We don’t have that type of money. That extra financial cost does not improve our vacation experience.

We don’t care for a “private deck”. I peeked at the fantasy concierge deck and for me satellite falls was much nicer where I actually can see the ocean. And we see zero need for a Cabana. The amenities, loungers available for the poor man are awesome already on Castaway. , we spend tons of time in the water, exploring. Why do we need a hut to chill when there for the beach and the day goes by so fast anyways. We don’t care for private in room dining. We do enjoy standard room service and that’s enough. I would rather sit in the MDR in the evening for my meal then in a tight state room. One more thing to add is we also find ZERO benefit is not having to wait in line during embarkation or a faster embarkation if there is a cost added to that. I read people book concierge to avoid " waiting in line" .Well we have waited in many lines and to be honest, none were too long, nor impacted our vacation. but paying 1000s more would have impacted us in other ways..

And strategically thinking I would rather take that money and book a short cruise to work our way towards platinum where we are at the top of the tear anyways for ship bookings.
 
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Its a matter of perspective and what you value so this answer is different for everyone. Some of the reasons we like it:
  1. Fancy coffee machine in the lounge - no money spent at Cove Cafe
  2. Bar in the lounge in the evenings - no money spent on drinks for dinner and hanging at night
  3. Ample bottled water and other beverages - no need to buy for excursions
  4. Free popcorn on demand - no need to buy for movies
  5. All day snacks - close by for a quick nibble vs heading to Cabanas or elsewhere
  6. Sunscreen on concierge deck - no need to pack
  7. Want Spa appt, specialty dining, tastings - no need to rush and do those things onboard (if you didn't preplan) - concierge host will handle it all for you. Including throughout the week.
  8. Anything you'd wait in line at guest services - no need - host can handle for you.
  9. Easy morning spot to hang while rest of the party is still sleeping but they can find me when they get up.
  10. Easy access to cabana for Castaway Cay
  11. Full size bed (instead of twin) for me who gets the couch bed
  12. Private table for dinner in dining room
  13. Private sundeck - super nice and never crowded for outside time
Some of these things can be quantified by money - and maybe offsets financial costs. Others are just perks and you have to decide whether they are worth it to you! Many of the things I like that make it worth it, may not be anything you care about.
Thanks for this summary - probably the best one I have seen and does a good job of putting things into perspective as to whether the additional cost may or may not be worth it.
 
For me it is not worth the cost at all. We sail a lot on different Cruise lines in Europe also, and there the perks sailing in a suite are way more attractive.
 
For us no. Now if we were in a financial position where those extra thousands for us would be more like an extra 100 or so maybe. We see no value in paying almost double for a cruise ( I almost fell over when I saw how much concierge was for the Hawaii cruise.) I would rather go on a second cruise. That’s another vacation!! I get there are people with disposable “ throw away money “ and they should book concierge if they can and want. We don’t have that type of money. That extra financial cost does not improve our vacation experience.

We don’t care for a “private deck”. I peeked at the fantasy concierge deck and for me satellite falls was much nicer where I actually can see the ocean. And we see zero need for a Cabana. The amenities, loungers available for the poor man are awesome already on Castaway. , we spend tons of time in the water, exploring. Why do we need a hut to chill when there for the beach and the day goes by so fast anyways. We don’t care for private in room dining. We do enjoy standard room service and that’s enough. I would rather sit in the MDR in the evening for my meal then in a tight state room. One more thing to add is we also find ZERO benefit is not having to wait in line during embarkation or a faster embarkation if there is a cost added to that. I read people book concierge to avoid " waiting in line" .Well we have waited in many lines and to be honest, none were too long, nor impacted our vacation. but paying 1000s more would have impacted us in other ways..

And strategically thinking I would rather take that money and book a short cruise to work our way towards platinum where we are at the top of the tear anyways for ship bookings.
I was thinking of not doing concierge but when i saw the price that it was similar to a 9 night alaska that was non concierge for a verandah i decided to take the jump. I don't think the alaska will go next year so I can hopefully move the funds to hawaii.

I'm only silver and i was on the april 2020 hawaii cruise that got canceled. It was so hard to book excursions initially when the time period opened up. Majority of the ones I wanted to go on with my family were booked. I had to keep refreshing constantly. I would have been so disappointed to go on a cruise to hawaii and not get the experiences I wanted.

In addition, I was not able to get palo until my sis and I combined reservations to get the party needed to book.

In hindsight you can say is time worth it? I was refreshing constantly every day. Up until cancelation i think i was able to get all but Hilo resolved.

Plus with all those sea days it would be nice to have a private verandah and lounge to go to.
 
I was thinking of not doing concierge but when i saw the price that it was similar to a 9 night alaska that was non concierge for a verandah i decided to take the jump. I don't think the alaska will go next year so I can hopefully move the funds to hawaii.

I'm only silver and i was on the april 2020 hawaii cruise that got canceled. It was so hard to book excursions initially when the time period opened up. Majority of the ones I wanted to go on with my family were booked. I had to keep refreshing constantly. I would have been so disappointed to go on a cruise to hawaii and not get the experiences I wanted.

In addition, I was not able to get palo until my sis and I combined reservations to get the party needed to book.

In hindsight you can say is time worth it? I was refreshing constantly every day. Up until cancelation i think i was able to get all but Hilo resolved.

Plus with all those sea days it would be nice to have a private verandah and lounge to go to.
see for you there is then added value.. I was surprised to see what the Alaska sailings cost.. It is insane but boy is there demand! We dont do ship excursions..prefer to rent a car and explore and I am traveling with my mom who wont do Palo " too much food for me- I cant eat that much so not worth the money". I would like to try it one day, but need to do a sailing with my DH or kids when older for that.

I will see what is avail when my silver booking opens up.. but to be honest just a few tastings and its not a make or break if we dont get any. i will most likely do them solo and I had luck on the cancelled maybe because I was solo??

The only negative is the non-refundable deposit.. I have seen Covid related posts, where people who booked concierge are hoping their cruise is cancelled as they wanted to cancel for non-covid reasons anyways and if DCL cancels, they get their deposit back.
 
see for you there is then added value.. I was surprised to see what the Alaska sailings cost.. It is insane but boy is there demand! We dont do ship excursions..prefer to rent a car and explore and I am traveling with my mom who wont do Palo " too much food for me- I cant eat that much so not worth the money". I would like to try it one day, but need to do a sailing with my DH or kids when older for that.

I will see what is avail when my silver booking opens up.. but to be honest just a few tastings and its not a make or break if we dont get any. i will most likely do them solo and I had luck on the cancelled maybe because I was solo??

The only negative is the non-refundable deposit.. I have seen Covid related posts, where people who booked concierge are hoping their cruise is cancelled as they wanted to cancel for non-covid reasons anyways and if DCL cancels, they get their deposit back.
I heard that you can always move the non-refundable deposit to another cruise if you cancel concierge. Or if you decided not to go concierge it would go to finay payment.
 
I heard that you can always move the non-refundable deposit to another cruise if you cancel concierge. Or if you decided not to go concierge it would go to finay payment.

Oh my goodness... yes. ... that deposit for Concierge! We placed a deposit on a Concierge transatlantic years ago that ended up not working with our work schedules, and you CANT get that deposit back ... so we bumped the deposit to a Christmas cruise... then bumped it to a Northern European cruise-oops COVID... then bumped it to a Bahamas quickie... then bumped to another.... you get the idea- no refund but you can keep bumping :)
 
Oh my goodness... yes. ... that deposit for Concierge! We placed a deposit on a Concierge transatlantic years ago that ended up not working with our work schedules, and you CANT get that deposit back ... so we bumped the deposit to a Christmas cruise... then bumped it to a Northern European cruise-oops COVID... then bumped it to a Bahamas quickie... then bumped to another.... you get the idea- no refund but you can keep bumping :)
Lol I think that's the biggest misconception that threw me off originally when it said non-refundable. Like I thought it was lost forever. Then I found out from social media that it just stays with Disney so it's never wasted as long as you continue to cruise with them, that deposit will go towards something else.
 
Lol I think that's the biggest misconception that threw me off originally when it said non-refundable. Like I thought it was lost forever. Then I found out from social media that it just stays with Disney so it's never wasted as long as you continue to cruise with them, that deposit will go towards something else.
That’s good if you don’t need the money. One person was complaining on FB they lost their job and needed the cash. I think it would be a good temporary change for them to implement now during the Covid crisis ( refundable or lowered deposit) . There are many industries where job security is nonexistent anymore and many layoffs . Though DXL taking away that policy would be very hard to put back in place in a few years. Plus I think Disney knows there’s always a demographic that just simply have excess cash / money and are willing to spend. Thank God there are folks like that who are keeping the economy afloat with their spending right now.
 

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