Review of the New Platinum Castaway Club Benefits

[nenner1]

Thanks for posting your review Barb!

You and Tony really deserve your own category!

 

[inkkognito]

Thanks for posting your well informed info.

I have been wondering, since the Dream does not have the Navigator Verandahs, what Dream cabin will be the "new" Barb & Tony suite?
Or are you sticking with your tried and true?

It does have whitewall staterooms, which is what 5650 actually is. It has some really cool looking rooms that actually look out backwards. Sadly, all the ones on deck 5 are connectors and I don't want to take the chance on extra noise. There is one non-connector on deck 6, so that is the one I grabbed for the inaugural. It might be the new 5650, although we'll probably try an interior room for our second Dream cruise because I want to see those virtual portholes.

 

[ededmd]

It does have whitewall staterooms, which is what 5650 actually is. It has some really cool looking rooms that actually look out backwards. Sadly, all the ones on deck 5 are connectors and I don't want to take the chance on extra noise. There is one non-connector on deck 6, so that is the one I grabbed for the inaugural. It might be the new 5650, although we'll probably try an interior room for our second Dream cruise because I want to see those virtual portholes.

That should be neat to see.
Let us know how you like them please.

I think I knew it (5650) was a whitewall but for some reason I have a picture of you in my mind from prior that I thought was a Nav Verandah. Oh well. It must seem funny to have people you don't "know" picturing you anywhere. Such the price of DISboard fame.

 

[lornak]

Oh no! Are you sure the priority boarding is no more? Or could it have just been something that wasn't in effect for this cruise? We cruised in Oct (platinum level) and we couldn't check in at the concierge desk. But we did get priority boarding. We were later told they just had a mix up that day. Do you think that could have been the case for you? Or did they tell you that benefit was being taken away?!?! Thanks for the report!

 

[kcashner]

I hope it was a glitch--the priority boarding was my favorite of the listed perks. Cruises 3 months apart with one too early (before new benefits started) and one too late (if they've really discontinued it) makes me sad. I'm still going to cross my fingers!

 

[inkkognito]

We were later told they just had a mix up that day. Do you think that could have been the case for you? Or did they tell you that benefit was being taken away?!?! Thanks for the report!

We were told that it was discontinued because there wasn't enough room for everyone. We are sailing again in mid-December so I will post on what we are told then. I'll make sure to check in at concierge again since they should know one way or another.

 

[taswira]

We were told that it was discontinued because there wasn't enough room for everyone. We are sailing again in mid-December so I will post on what we are told then. I'll make sure to check in at concierge again since they should know one way or another.

It is understandable that there may not be enough room if there happen to be a lot of Platinums along with Concierge, but why don't you suggest to them next time that when that is the case (even if it is most/all the time) they just let Platinums board immediately after Concierge? That would still give basically what they "promised" - priority check-in and boarding - just not put us in the Concierge waiting area.

 

[lornak]

I agree with that! I don't care about waiting in the concierge area...I just want a #1 boarding card!!!!

 

[outahere]

We were just on the Wonder this past week and the Concierge told us that the Platinum tours are restricted to only those guests over 18. We are one cruise away from being Platinum and our DS will not be 18 when we reach cruise #11 and is really disappointed that he won't be able to go on the theater tour.

Can any Platinum CC member confirm the age restriction on the tours?

Thanks.

 

[Redeemed&Loved]

We were told that it was discontinued because there wasn't enough room for everyone. We are sailing again in mid-December so I will post on what we are told then. I'll make sure to check in at concierge again since they should know one way or another.

With the building expansion scheduled for completion in October, hopefully this will be addressed.

 

[taswira]

With the building expansion scheduled for completion in October, hopefully this will be addressed.

It was not discontinued except for that day (and possibly other special circumstance days) and according to DCL they have no plans to discontinue it, although it's always possible at SOME time in the future. Currently any time they do not give Platinum members concierge area/priority boarding it is due to unusual circumstances for a particular sailing only.

 

[trekygirl26]

Is there an update on the priority boarding? Has it been discontinued, or is it just not done on special cruises? Have any Platinum members been on a cruise lately that can let us know? Hopefully they have not discontinued this perk because it is the one thing i was really looking forward to!

 

[taswira]

trekygirl26 - Please read my previous post. No, it has NOT been discontinued. If there are an exceptionally high number of concierge guests or VIPs, I imagine THOSE are the particular days when they would need to exclude Platinum from the process, due to too little terminal concierge area space to accommodate. This MIGHT be more likely to happen once in awhile with the Wonder due to more people taking the shorter cruises often and rapidly earning Platinum status.

The NORM is that Platinum still receives the "as advertised" benefits. Just because some guests MAY experience differently on rare occasions does NOT mean it has been discontinued. But as with everything, Disney always has the power to change their policies at any time.

 

[Redeemed&Loved]

Based on this thread <http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2444861> in post #7, the limited concierge area space SHOULD be taken care of with the additional construction...

 

[inkkognito]

Can any Platinum CC member confirm the age restriction on the tours?

Thanks.

If I remember correctly, the restriction is on the theater tour but not the stingray one.

 

[trekygirl26]

trekygirl26 - Please read my previous post. No, it has NOT been discontinued. If there are an exceptionally high number of concierge guests or VIPs, I imagine THOSE are the particular days when they would need to exclude Platinum from the process, due to too little terminal concierge area space to accommodate. This MIGHT be more likely to happen once in awhile with the Wonder due to more people taking the shorter cruises often and rapidly earning Platinum status.

The NORM is that Platinum still receives the "as advertised" benefits. Just because some guests MAY experience differently on rare occasions does NOT mean it has been discontinued. But as with everything, Disney always has the power to change their policies at any time.

I did read your previous post, but as there has been lots of discussion on this, i wanted to get a firm answer. No one seemed to know for sure, and some people said one thing while others said another. I wasn't discounting your post, i just wanted someone who had been on a recent cruise as a platinum member to confirm either way. And, as you said so yourself, Disney has the power to change their policies. You never mentioned where you got your info from (disboards, recent cruise, CM, etc...) so that's why I asked again.

 

[taswira]

I did read your previous post, but as there has been lots of discussion on this, i wanted to get a firm answer. No one seemed to know for sure, and some people said one thing while others said another. I wasn't discounting your post, i just wanted someone who had been on a recent cruise as a platinum member to confirm either way. And, as you said so yourself, Disney has the power to change their policies. You never mentioned where you got your info from (disboards, recent cruise, CM, etc...) so that's why I asked again.

My info comes from a RECENT cruise (and YES, I am a Platinum member) . . AFTER inkkognito's post that it had been discontinued. The "firm" answer is that DCL does everything it can to accommodate its Platinum members in the concierge/priority boarding area, BUT that due to terminal construction, limited space & an occasional high number of concierge or Platinum guests, our priority boarding space (access to concierge pre-boarding area) can not be absolutely (as in no exceptions no matter what) guaranteed at this time. But when all goes well, Platinum receives all the stated privileges. That is probably as "firm" as it's going to get. We just have to go with the flow.

 

[inkkognito]

I think they do indeed do it when they can now, although we've arrived at the port late on all our cruises after the initial post. I can imagine they got a lot of flack from Platinum people who saw that in writing as one of the benefits. We're sailing on Sunday so I'll report my personal experience if we go early...not sure yet what time we'll leave as we are sailing with our neighbors.

They are definitely erractic on the benefits. Most times we get a phone call to set up our free Palo before the cruise, but we did not get it this time.

 

[taswira]

...They are definitely erractic on the benefits. Most times we get a phone call to set up our free Palo before the cruise, but we did not get it this time.

My mom and I had no problem regarding concierge/priority boarding on our recent cruise, but again, that was the Magic and not as many Platinums as I know the Wonder sometimes gets. I know DCL is doing everything possible to keep us all happy.

They never called me about Palo because I really didn't give them a chance. At the earliest possible date for Platinum I made all our Palo ressies online. What surprised me was that when we did brunch (a few days before our Palo dinner), they automatically gave us that "free" because it's otherwise the same cost as dinner and we did it first. So we got free brunch and paid for dinner instead. Interesting.

 

[kcashner]

On the EBTA we were told that waiting in the concierge area was for concierge guests only due to "the large number of upgrades we've had purchased this morning." Also, there was a record breaking number of both gold and platinums on that cruise as well as a record number of B2B cruisers. This info from the officer's reception.

NO word of the concierge waiting area being discontinued. It was presented to us as a "this cruise only" deal due to space limitations. We did get the number one boarding pass.