Please tell me about concierge level :)

[FairestOfThemAll37]

As I mentioned in another thread, I have a random Monday off so I decided to book a 3-night on the Dream (makes sense, right? ).

I realized last night that there was still a concierge room for our sailing. It's the family view ocean verandah. So, I'm assuming, the same (and it looks this way from the sq. ft. listed) as regular family room with concierge privileges?

What are the concierge perks on Disney (I always decide DCL when it's already sold out and somebody else has always dealt with room categories lol)?

Usually we sail in a suite for the space, which unfortunately we won't get here. The other main draws for us are: priority embarking/disembarking, ability to order from the dining room as room service, and priority dinner reservations.

Some of this will be negated by such a short cruise with a first-timer. We hate sitting with others, but I'm not sure that's worth the $1k difference haha.

I'm hoping you guys can help me understand the concierge perks or experience better so I have a better idea of if its "worth it" to me.

Oh and we're just two adults if that matters.

 

[taishartrueblood]

$1k extra each, for a 3 day cruise?

You also get a private sun deck, free snacks,assistance in setting up excursions and activities.

 

[Skiton]

On the Fantasy, those rooms are basically the same as the regular family ocean-view, but the decor is nicer and there are two TV's (on in the sitting area, one in front of the bed.) You have access to the concierge lounge, which serves premium coffee and pastries in the morning, snacks the rest of the day and a complimentary happy hour in the evening. Shore-side concierge will help you book everything at 125 days out, the ship's concierge will help you while onboard. You get preferred seating for shows. I enjoyed the whole experience but didn't find it overwhelmingly better than sailing in a lower class.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

$1k extra each, for a 3 day cruise?

You also get a private sun deck, free snacks,assistance in setting up excursions and activities.

About $1k total above the regular family verandah.

 

[belac]

You get preferred seating for shows

This is the first I heard of show seating, I know you get the Princess meet and the Frozen meet arranged ahead of time (emails sent out recently) but I have not heard of preferred show seating. Is this only on Fantasy?

 

[TestingH2O]

This is the first I heard of show seating, I know you get the Princess meet and the Frozen meet arranged ahead of time (emails sent out recently) but I have not heard of preferred show seating. Is this only on Fantasy?

I have never seen preferred seating either.

 

[Skiton]

This is the first I heard of show seating, I know you get the Princess meet and the Frozen meet arranged ahead of time (emails sent out recently) but I have not heard of preferred show seating. Is this only on Fantasy?

Well, now that you mention it, I'm not sure. We were traveling with non-concierge family so we never tried to take advantage of it. But I'm almost sure I saw that listed as a perk? Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[belac]

That would be a nice perk, tho.. Other lines have that and it would be great not to have to rush or wait for in line for a great seat.

 

[Skiton]

I just went and looked, and I can't find anything about it. I think I'm confusing DCL and RCCL with the preferred seating. RCCL had it for shows, and also reserved concierge seats in the pool area. Sorry for the bad information!

 

[belac]

Aww shucks, but one can Dream

 

[kaseyC]

I've never seen or been offered preferred seating on DCL. Many of the other lines offer it as a perk but we have never seen it offered on any of our cruises and we've be sailing Concierge on DCL since 2006.

OP, it looks like you are looking at a Cat. V. Since the Cat. V does not have a dining table, in room dining from the main restaurants is not available. It's only a perk for Cat. T, S and R.

 

[belac]

Sorry for the hijack but back to OP questions

http://www.disboards.com/threads/wh...-included-in-a-one-bedroom-concierge.3305633/

Post Number 3 has a great description which I think still holds true for the most part

 

[JDB08]

We're two adults that did a 3 night Dream Cat V a few weeks ago. Enjoyed the lounge, priority embarking/disembarking and priority dinner reservations. Room was great (quiet and good location) Had a table for two as requested at MDR. I don't think ability to order from the dining room as room service was an option for us in this category, but we didn't ask. As to TVs on the Dream and this cat, you will usually just have one smaller one. This thread has more info on the TV subject: http://www.disboards.com/posts/55268957/ (Question about Concierge Staterooms)

 

[Bishoparc]

OP, it looks like you are looking at a Cat. V. Since the Cat. V does not have a dining table, in room dining from the main restaurants is not available. It's only a perk for Cat. T, S and R.

I did not know this. Thanks for posting!

 

[PackYourPixieDust]

They can also help you get sold out shore excursions and cabanas. Never a guarantee, but you are further up on a list. If you want a certain seating for dinner, you will likely get that as well. We are new converts to concierge and are big fans. I love the lounge for drinks in the evening. There is an hour before each seating. So you could go to both. The concierge hosts are very attentive which is nice as well.

 

[squirk]

I keep bouncing back and forth about trying Concierge. It sounds very nice, and I am blessed financially where it would not be a burden, but I just am not feeling the value of it. We prefer to blaze our own trail when in port, so we avoid the shore excursions and thus don't need any help with those. We are very light social drinkers, so the happy hour is appealing, but it's not, like, a huge draw. The lounge and the priority boarding also sound nice, but not for the premium Disney is charging.

So, like Skiton said, it sounds very enjoyable, but not thousands of dollars more enjoyable than a regular Cat 5D.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

Thanks for all the info! I think we're go to go for the cat. 4d this time around.

If it were a longer cruise than it would be a no-brainer, but I just don't think we would use enough of the perks on a 3-night cruise to make a difference.

I just hope the 3-day isn't more stressful than not being so short!

 

[timrousbeastie]

I keep bouncing back and forth about trying Concierge. It sounds very nice, and I am blessed financially where it would not be a burden, but I just am not feeling the value of it. We prefer to blaze our own trail when in port, so we avoid the shore excursions and thus don't need any help with those. We are very light social drinkers, so the happy hour is appealing, but it's not, like, a huge draw. The lounge and the priority boarding also sound nice, but not for the premium Disney is charging.

So, like Skiton said, it sounds very enjoyable, but not thousands of dollars more enjoyable than a regular Cat 5D.

I was in the same situation before we tried concierge for our 3rd cruise, but I decided to go for it to have more room for quiet interaction within our extended family. Since we live across different continents and only see each other a few times a year, it was a priority just to be able to sit together and talk. On the previous cruises, we'd shared 4A cabins. That worked ok, but we always seemed to split up in smaller groups since there was so little room in the cabins. When all of us were together (Cabanas, MDRs, theater, ...), it was usually so noisy that it was hard to hear everyone.

Although the cabana on Castaway Cay, the coffee maker in the lounge, and other things, I'd read about, were nice, they honestly were not worth the extra (2x) cost. On the other hand, by far the biggest plus turned out to be that we came back with a lot more memories of the family spending time together than we had on previous cruises. We would sit together in the lounge, on the sun deck (we hardly ever saw anyone else, but we loved it and spent _many_ hours relaxing up there), on the balcony or in the seating area of our Cat T. All of those turned out to be very inviting for our group of 9 and we would just naturally end up in the same location and enjoy each others company. When someone wanted to watch a movie, sit and read, or just a little more privacy, there was always another really nice place to go to. And, at dinner, it was so nice to skip dessert in the MDRs and head up to the lounge where we would sit and talk over a cup of tea/coffee, a glass of wine, or a beer, while enjoying the desserts there. Of all the time we spent on the ship that week, I am sure at least 75% it was spent in the suite, lounge, and sun deck. That was completely different from our previous cruises where we'd just stop by the staterooms to sleep and change clothes.

Concierge is definitely not necessary and we've had two great cruises without it, but, personally, since I do have the option financially, I will definitely book V or T for our two upcoming cruises. What made it worth the extra cost was the quiet quality time that the 4 areas, I mentioned above, made possible. Every family is different, of course, and we all have our own constraints and priorities. If I had a family, where I'd be concerned that people might start arguing if they spent too much time together, I am not sure it would be a worthwhile investment.

 

[Trera]

I was in the same situation before we tried concierge for our 3rd cruise, but I decided to go for it to have more room for quiet interaction within our extended family. Since we live across different continents and only see each other a few times a year, it was a priority just to be able to sit together and talk. On the previous cruises, we'd shared 4A cabins. That worked ok, but we always seemed to split up in smaller groups since there was so little room in the cabins. When all of us were together (Cabanas, MDRs, theater, ...), it was usually so noisy that it was hard to hear everyone.

Although the cabana on Castaway Cay, the coffee maker in the lounge, and other things, I'd read about, were nice, they honestly were not worth the extra (2x) cost. On the other hand, by far the biggest plus turned out to be that we came back with a lot more memories of the family spending time together than we had on previous cruises. We would sit together in the lounge, on the sun deck (we hardly ever saw anyone else, but we loved it and spent _many_ hours relaxing up there), on the balcony or in the seating area of our Cat T. All of those turned out to be very inviting for our group of 9 and we would just naturally end up in the same location and enjoy each others company. When someone wanted to watch a movie, sit and read, or just a little more privacy, there was always another really nice place to go to. And, at dinner, it was so nice to skip dessert in the MDRs and head up to the lounge where we would sit and talk over a cup of tea/coffee, a glass of wine, or a beer, while enjoying the desserts there. Of all the time we spent on the ship that week, I am sure at least 75% it was spent in the suite, lounge, and sun deck. That was completely different from our previous cruises where we'd just stop by the staterooms to sleep and change clothes.

Concierge is definitely not necessary and we've had two great cruises without it, but, personally, since I do have the option financially, I will definitely book V or T for our two upcoming cruises. What made it worth the extra cost was the quiet quality time that the 4 areas, I mentioned above, made possible. Every family is different, of course, and we all have our own constraints and priorities. If I had a family, where I'd be concerned that people might start arguing if they spent too much time together, I am not sure it would be a worthwhile investment.

This sums it up so nicely. It is definitely an experience inhancer for our family. The hosts are so great with our DD and she lights up every time she sees them. We have had great cruises in both concierge and not but going forward, we will book concierge.


They do the little things like give us popcorn and Mickey bars before we head to a movie or show, provide additional necessities in our cabana, color or make bracelets with our DD, pick up our photos at shutters and have them in the lounge before disembarking, print replacement keys, take our DD band and credit it back to our account, and print our final statement as we leave.

Worth it for us.

Good luck.

 

[shelbell77]

I have never seen preferred seating either.

Me either. This was definitely not a benefit we had.