Platinum but First Time Concierge

[Cruising Engineer]

We are platinum and know what's available and how to book what we want to do on the ship.
This next cruise we upgraded to concierge. My questions are:
When does concierge open for on-line booking (120 days like platinum)?
Are bookings or requests handled the same (online)?
Will concierge be asking me questions to make my sailing magical ("Do you want this?", "How would you like that?",)? -Just to be prepared to answer their questions-.
As platinum, do we still receive our bottle of bubbly in our stateroom when we embark?

Anything else we should know how concierge differs from platinum?

 

[Clojel]

You’ll get an email from shoreside concierge at around the 130 day mark with instructions. It will tell you that you can send your booking requests beginning at 12 am eastern at 125 days. They’ll then book for you automatically at 120. I usually draft my email in advance and send it at exactly 12:00 am.

You can request they book a cabana, port adventures, dinners at Palo/Remy, character greetings, spa services, etc....

You can also request certain dining rotations, table preferences, etc...

They don’t reach out to you other than that but you can contact them whenever with questions.

once on the ship, seaside concierge takes over. You’ll meet that team at check in in the concierge lounge. They’ll address any needs you have while on the ship. They’re always super friendly and eager to help...especially if you treat them well!

 

[Clojel]

Not sure about the bubbly....we’re not platinum (yet!) but I’d say it’s safe to assume any platinum perks you already had you’ll keep PLUS the amazing concierge service

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Thank you @Clojel . Those are the answers I needed. I like the idea of drafting my requests. Is the return email with requests in a letter format "Dear Shoreside Concierge" or a fill in the form style?

 

[T & R]

Pretty much everything Clojel said. Especially having your midnight e-mail pre-typed and ready (your cabana e-mail, 10pm your time). There's a bunch of little things you can ask for too once onboard. We had the bump out veranda on the Fantasy 12508 and they were able to get us an extra deck chair. They also golf cart you out to your cabana from the ship on CC instead of having to wait on that tram thing.

 

[T & R]

Also, as a matter of practice, prior to the 120 days out, we always send out a test e-mail to shoreside concierge just checking in with them to make sure we have the right e-mail address, they'll e-mail you back to confirm that is the correct e-mail to use. The reason we do this is a few years back they changed the shoreside e-mail address and we didn't know. So we sent the midnight cabana request to the e-mail address we had always been using which turned out to no longer be the right address. Minutes matter on that midnight request so make sure you got the right e-mail address. There are half the number of cabanas than concierge rooms, so 12:01am and 12:02am can make a difference.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Thank you @T&R. More great advice. Looking forward to a cabana (hopefully) on Serenity Bay.

 

[Clojel]

Thank you @Clojel . Those are the answers I needed. I like the idea of drafting my requests. Is the return email with requests in a letter format "Dear Shoreside Concierge" or a fill in the form style?

I usually reply to the email they send and put it in letter form with my requests listed out. I try to add as much detail as possible...such as the date of the activity, the number of people booking, time preference (if applicable) etc....

We’ve sailed twice concierge and so far - knock on wood - we’ve gotten everything we’ve asked for

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Also, as a matter of practice, prior to the 120 days out, we always send out a test e-mail to shoreside concierge just checking in with them to make sure we have the right e-mail address, they'll e-mail you back to confirm that is the correct e-mail to use.

So how does shoreside initially contact us at the 130 day?

 

[Sarco11]

They encourage you to reply to their email as it includes all of the information about your sailing/stateroom. The one caveat is if you reply to their message, then you will not get an auto reply that your message was received.

My first time I just sent an email making sure to include all pertinent info and immediately received an auto response. The next time I replied and did not receive an auto response, resulting in a bright and early, slightly panicked call to shoreside concierge the next morning

 

[Clojel]

So how does shoreside initially contact us at the 130 day?

by email

 

[T & R]

Thank you @T&R. More great advice. Looking forward to a cabana (hopefully) on Serenity Bay.

So how does shoreside initially contact us at the 130 day?

You shouldn't have a problem snagging a Serenity Bay cabana. The family cabanas are usually the ones that go first. Yes, shoreside will e-mail you at approx. 130 days out to check in with you.

 

[Marc D]

So how does shoreside initially contact us at the 130 day?

We always get an email but also receive a phone call from Shoreside on day 130, but it seems they do not reach out to everyone by phone. I draft my request email and send It exactly when the clocks turns midnight. I was able to snag family beach cabanas that way every time. SB cabanas are in much less demand. We went twice to CC this Februar. On one day, only one cabana was occupied and none were used on the second visit.

And you’ll get the bottle of bubbly in your room, but the selection in the Concierge lounge is much better. We usually get the chocolate instead and wait for the happy hour to grab our drinks.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

And you’ll get the bottle of bubbly in your room, but the selection in the Concierge lounge is much better. We usually get the chocolate instead and wait for the happy hour to grab our drinks.

..... selection in the Concierge lounge is much better ... Yet another thing I did not know. This will be the time we try the chocolates and celebrate the Bon Voyage in the Concierge lounge. Thank you.

 

[Clojel]

We always get an email but also receive a phone call from Shoreside on day 130, but it seems they do not reach out to everyone by phone. I draft my request email and send It exactly when the clocks turns midnight. I was able to snag family beach cabanas that way every time. SB cabanas are in much less demand. We went twice to CC this Februar. On one day, only one cabana was occupied and none were used on the second visit.

And you’ll get the bottle of bubbly in your room, but the selection in the Concierge lounge is much better. We usually get the chocolate instead and wait for the happy hour to grab our drinks.

definitely take advantage of happy hour...which is more like 5 happy hours . I want to say it’s from 5-10 pm. We’d always grab a drink and bring it with us to our MDR. And then grab another after dinner

 

[Cruising Engineer]

definitely take advantage of happy hour...which is more like 5 happy hours . I want to say it’s from 5-10 pm. We’d always grab a drink and bring it with us to our MDR. And then grab another after dinner

Happy Hour ?!?! Weee, the thing I am learning today. "Drink" as in wine/champagne?

 

[Clojel]

Happy Hour ?!?! Weee, the thing I am learning today. "Drink" as in wine/champagne?

for sure! I would usually get a glass of Malbec or a Prosecco every night to take down to dinner and DH would get a mixed drink or a beer. We usually tip the bartender the first night and then again at the end . Not to make it sound like we’re lushes.....but happy hour is one of our favorite concierge perks

 

[Marc D]

Happy Hour ?!?! Weee, the thing I am learning today. "Drink" as in wine/champagne?

Wine, beer or mixed drinks. They have a few selections of champagne and can even fetch a specific bottle you would like if they have it onboard. We usually ask for a mojito, g&t or a moscato.

 

[undertheradar]

Pretty much everything Clojel said. Especially having your midnight e-mail pre-typed and ready (your cabana e-mail, 10pm your time). There's a bunch of little things you can ask for too once onboard. We had the bump out veranda on the Fantasy 12508 and they were able to get us an extra deck chair. They also golf cart you out to your cabana from the ship on CC instead of having to wait on that tram thing.

We have never experienced being carted out to the cabanas. Have sailed concierge 6 times.

 

[Marc D]

We have never experienced being carted out to the cabanas. Have sailed concierge 6 times.

We also never experienced that in our 8 times having a cabana, and we were never offered the service. However, a friend that was sharing one with us once had a broken foot. When the Concierge team learned about his injury, they organized a transport for him from the ship to the cabana even though he wasn’t sailing Concierge. Maybe it’s offered only to guests with mobility issues ?