Looking for some Suite info

[oldkeywestfan]

Just booked a CAT 2 suite for the 1/19/06 3 day. Since grandma and grandpa are coming along for this trip we thought the exta room would be nice. I've been reading up on this some, and have run across something that mentioned concierge service in the suites. What is this? Does it cost any more? Is it anything to look forward to?

 

[happylady]

We had a cat 6 cabin on our cruise, but friends had a one bedroom cabin (cat3?) with concierge service. Concierge is a free service for the cat 1, 2 & 3. They hosted a wine tasting party with disboard members they meet before the cruise. Their concierge arranged everything from corkscrews to cheese and cracker trays. It was great and we all had a blast. I'm sure other disboard members can pass on more info.

 

[RonnieJo66]

Oldkeywestfan...

We (DH Beano & I) are the concierge guests that " happylady" was referring to. HI KATHI!!!!!

We have arranged many a party through concierge services. Just be sure to decide ahead of time what you may want to request. As you board, you will go to a concierge team meeting where you can make all your requests. Remember, if you don't ask you won't get it

If there is any questions you may have, please feel free to pm me and I'll do my best to answer them for you.

Hugs,

RonnieJo

 

[markºoº]

You will have contact with the concierge staff throughout your trip.

You will get priority boarding which means you will not need to wait in line to board. There is also a separate checkin counter at the port.

Once on board, you can go to the concierge meeting where you sit down with a concierge staff person who will make arrangements for you. This includes spa, Palo, excursions, etc. You can also register you kids at this meeting instead of waiting in line at the childrens' centers. They will also help with any dining assignment issues. Since much of this can now be done in advance, this is not as important a feature as it used to be.

During the cruise, you will get personalized schedule and weather forecast each day. The concierge staff will usually stop by twice a day to see if you need anything. They will also have a small treat delivered to your cabin each day. The staff can also take care of any questions you have on your bill and take care of tips for waitstaff and cabin steward.

The concierge also has a lending library of movies and CD's that you can borrow. A list will be available in your cabin.

If you need anything during your cruise, just give them a call and they will take care of it. The only minor issue we has was with a Palo reservation the concierge forgot to cancel when we reschedules. The host at Palo said no problem and to just deal directly with him and he would take care of all our Palo needs. He new we were in a suite and was wonderful.

At the end of your cruise you will receive a going away gift.

BTW, our cruise was disrupted (port changes) and extended 3 days last year due to Hurricane Francis. The concierge staff really tried to keep us personally informed and helped make changes during the cruise due to the disruption in the cruise.

 

[Regina]

Another great benefit of having a category 1 or 2 is that you can order room service from all of the restaurants, including Palo.

 

[TammiMcMan]

It's a very nice, higher level of personalized service. There are only 22 suites on board, so you are very well taken care of by the concierge staff. Mark mentioned most of the benefits. With on line booking now available, concierge guests are able to book their spa and Palo dining at 105 days out with your paid cruise. I imagine that you could still call Debbie in dining directly for assistance also. She was the one who took care of reservations before it went high tech. You'll have your own area to check in at the port and on our first cruise, we had a CM escort us to the waiting area and then onto the ship. I would suggest that you take a few minutes to stop by and meet the concierge staff. When you check in, they'll let you know when and where. It's usually in one of the lounges and they'll have some cool drinks and snacks set up. This is where you can make any special arrangements beyond what you've done on line. My husband and I were travelling without the kids in January and they were able to book all 4 nights of dining in Palo for us. It's pretty close to an 'ask and you shall receive' sort of thing. Maybe you'd like a private tour of the bridge, or to meet and shake hands with the captain. Maybe a family picture taken in your stateroom. These are things that they can help you with. During the cruise, the staff will host a concierge cocktail party. In your suite, you'll find waters and soda, plus they will deliver daily snacks and sometimes gifts for any children you are travelling with. You'll also find some personalized stationary, which I thought was a nice touch.

I think you'll find it to your liking.

Tammi

 

[CACruisin']

You are all such a wealth of information. Thank you.

We are leaving on our first cruise this Saturday in a Cat. 3. I did all of my ressies online, however, I would like to request some additional Flounders time. I read somewhere that it was better to do this directly with the nursery vs. with concierge. Does anyone have any experience/advice about this? I would hope concierge would have some sort of priority for flounders. We also want to book the Rasul (hence the need for more flounders time!) Will conceirge be able to do this for me?

The ability to avoid the "ressie rush" and coordinate all of our reservations was a major for us to book a suite.

 

[SEVANS2208]

How do you book cat 1-3. I had a look on the DCL website for the cruise we want to book (August 2006) but I could only see from cat 4. Do you think they're all booked already?

 

[TammiMcMan]

We are leaving on our first cruise this Saturday in a Cat. 3. I did all of my ressies online, however, I would like to request some additional Flounders time. I read somewhere that it was better to do this directly with the nursery vs. with concierge. Does anyone have any experience/advice about this? I would hope concierge would have some sort of priority for flounders. We also want to book the Rasul (hence the need for more flounders time!) Will conceirge be able to do this for me?

Definately stop by the meet & greet and the concierge staff will assist you with the Rasul. I'm not familiar with requesting additional time at Flounders, but I would ask the staff this question also. It may be easier for them to do because they'll know what time your Rasul has been confirmed for and can make the coordinating request through Flounders. They'll let you know which is the best way to handle it.

Have fun.

How do you book cat 1-3. I had a look on the DCL website for the cruise we want to book (August 2006) but I could only see from cat 4. Do you think they're all booked already?

Suites do not show up in inventory on the website. You can call DCL directly or go through a travel agent to inquire about availabilty and pricing.

Tammi

Tammi

 

[rotary2808]

We're staying in a Cat 3 in Sept. I am so looking forward to it. Keep the info coming about the suites and concierge, I want to know everything there is to know.

 

[TammiMcMan]

Category 3's come in a few different layouts. The biggest are the mid-ship designs. The stateroom numbers are 8032, 8034, 8532 & 8534. You'll have more privacy in the bedroom because the pull down murphy is in the living room. These also have the larger triple length verandahs. The four category 3's in the back of the ship are specially equipped for the handicapped cruiser and limited to 4 guests. The remaining ten category 3's all have the same layout. A double length verandah and the murphy bed is located in the master bedroom.

 

[sweetsue]

Wow! Thanks for all of the info. I didn't know the concierge could help so much on the cruise - like with meeting the captain or a private bridge tour. We're booked in a cat 3 in September and are really looking forward to it. My mother (is that DM?) is really into these things and I'm really into keeping her happy!

Sweet Sue

 

[flexsmom]

We had no trouble getting any additional Flounder's time that we needed - we booked the initial 3 sessions through the Concierge meet, and then after that called each night direct to Flounder's with our additional requests for the next day. We got in each and every time.

We found the concierge service to be great - my parents were in a connecting Cat 4, with friends in the adjacent Cat 4, and they extended their services to everyone. Any issues we had with changing tickets for bridge tours, wine tasting, tea with wendy, you-name-it, they took care of it. We had goodies for the kids each night (including the children in our party in the Cat 4) - color pages/crayons, arcade cards, videos, etc.

We're totally spoiled with the space in the cabin and the extra attention. We've done two cruises now, with the last in a CAT 3. We've done the standard dinenr rotation and all of the old shows, so we're looking forward to blowing off dinner one or two nights for room service from the same restaurant menus for some more "private time" without feeling we're missing out on an experience. DH even liked just laying on the couch to watch a movie in peace and solitude while DS took a nap in the bedroom - it was a totally different experience than in our Cat 6 (which we loved, too!) We're hooked!

 

[MousseauMob]

We just got off our Cat 3 cruise and the conceige staff was WONDERFUL! I missed the first meeting, because I didn't think I needed it due to having booked my ressies online. Well they called and offered to make ressies for Tea with Wendy and Wine tasting, and anything else I couldn't do online. For the kids birthdays being celebrated onboard they placed a sign on our door and left a certificate and pin as well as pillow cases signed by the characters. There was a food item each night:
1 - fruit bowl
2 - cheese plate
3 - sweets (chocolate strawberries a cupcake and small cakes)
4 - cheese plate
5 - sweets (same as above)
6 - fruit bowl
7 - sorry I can't remember this one.

They also delivered each night the weather for the next day, they delivered all our excursion tickets, final bill, they even brought us and offered to help fill out our customs form. They dropped off the gratuities paper and talked me through the form on the phone (I couldn't remember anyone's name ) at which point I left the completed form in the fish on our door and they dropped off our tip receipts. I never had to go to Guest Services and stand in line at all - they took care of everything.

We not only had priority boarding (we never stood in line for check-in as they had a special check-in window and we were boarded first) but they also told us that for tendering in Cabo San Lucas we had priority boarding and did not have to wait in line for a tender ticket - we just needed to call them and they would take us right on. We didn't need to use this because we had shore excursions, but it would have been nice if needed.

They were so wonderful to DS9 and DD2. Everyday they delivered something for the kids. Coloring Books, Plush for DD2 and Arcade Card for DS9 etc.

They also had a private Cabo San Lucas sail away party for conceige guests with hot appetizers and drinks (rum punch for adults and fruit punch for kids). Although I had a fruit punch -- it was SO yummy!

On our last night they also brought by a lithograph of Snow White and her Prince on the Disney Cruise - it's a 16 x 20 and really lovely.

This being our first cruise, I don't know if they are always like this but they were truly wonderful! We loved them, and have rebooked a Cat 3 again!

I hope this information is helpful! Personally I felt the conceige service was well worth it. Having said that, I read a thread where someone felt the conceige hadn't done anything for them - including a birthday onboard. My husband and I also celebrated birthdays onboard (all our birthdays are bunched together), anyway, they didn't do anything for my husband - my guess is because it was on the first night and they didn't have any time. For mine they put the sign on the door and I had a certificate and pin just like the kids did. So if you want them to be able to do something, make sure you give them enough time and talk to them. I was suprised by everything they were willing to do, things I had no idea before hand of.

 

[SEVANS2208]

Suites do not show up in inventory on the website. You can call DCL directly or go through a travel agent to inquire about availabilty and pricing.

Tammi

Tammi

Anyone know the telephone number for DCL to 'phone from the UK??

 

[CACruisin']

Thank you all for the wonderful info.

MousseauMob, thank you for the detailed specifics for the Mexican Riviera. We are travellling with DD11, DD9, and DD(turning 2 the day we board!) We leave on Saturday

 

[MousseauMob]

Thank you all for the wonderful info.

MousseauMob, thank you for the detailed specifics for the Mexican Riviera. We are travellling with DD11, DD9, and DD(turning 2 the day we board!) We leave on Saturday

Are you celebrating DD(almost 2) on the cruise. Even though her birthday is on the day you board, I would wait until the next day (at least) to celebrate, so the conceige has time to get things together for her . I'm sure first day for them is really hectic and difficult to put together the character signed pillow case etc. Make sure you let them know after boarding, either at the first meeting, or when they call you if you miss the meeting like I did. Even though the dining room knew about the birthdays, conceige wasn't aware of the timing.

 

[CACruisin']

Thank you for the advice. Yes, we are celebrating DD's birthday on the cruise. And at 2, we can celebrate any day and she doesn't really know the difference. Thanks again.

 

[justmestace]

We just got off our Cat 3 cruise and the conceige staff was WONDERFUL! There was a food item each night:
1 - fruit bowl
2 - cheese plate
3 - sweets (chocolate strawberries a cupcake and small cakes)
4 - cheese plate
5 - sweets (same as above)
6 - fruit bowl
7 - sorry I can't remember this one.

One or two of the nights, they sent an hors d'oeuvre tray. Little sandwiches with cheese and meat on them.
And I agree, so far, I think Caroline and Karina have been the BEST concierge staff we've ever had.
We've been onboard a couple of times when we never saw or heard from the concierge.

 

[PearlandPaige]

I am on a 7-night Eastern Caribbean in October and when I priced my cruise the price difference between Category 3 and Category 4 for my party (3 adults and one child under 2) was almost $3,500. Is the price difference always that significant or is the difference so much just because we didn't book way in advance? While the concierge services sound wonderful and the extra space would be nice, is it worth $3,500 extra? I could take a whole other cruise for that amount! Would love to hear from folks as to how you valued the concierge service and the extra space and whether you would do it for $3,500 more.