Suite Perks

[Homemom]

who is the current concierge team on the Wonder? What you get in cat3s as far as drinks seems to depend on who you have-last two times we got refills of drinks-previous times only what was there the first day

On the January 31 cruise we had concierge Mike.

 

[poohmomof5]

Do you tip your concierge staff at the end of the cruise? If so, how much is typical?

 

[been2marceline]

Hi there,

I've heard on this board that only Cat 1 and Cat 2 can order from Palo, when others have stated that you can order Palo in Cat 3. Which is correct?:

Cat. 1 and 2 Only..... and you may have to ask for the Palo menu, we didn't have one upon boarding last time we were in the Roy...

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

You should be able to switch out what you want and what you do not want. As far as I know you should also get refills. Just ask, ask and ask somemore for what you want and what you paid for!

Weird all the posts about this.
On our cruise we asked if we could choose what drinks (because we only wanted the diet cokes- the sprites ended up just sitting in the fridge) on the first day and they said that was complimentary on the first day only..no refills, no "choice" of complimentary drinks. They didn't seem hateful about it or anything- more like apologetic that this is just the way it is.
I think eventually our youngest drank all but one sprite. It was a few sprites, a few diet cokes (hey atleast we got some- could have been cokes instead!) and 2 waters.
(oh it was cat 3, btw)

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Does anyone in a cat 3 ask to trade out the Sprites/Cokes for Diet Cokes only (for example?). We never drink reg soda, just diets, but i've never had the nerve to ask.

We swapped ours all to Diet Coke and also had extras added without request.

Do you tip your concierge staff at the end of the cruise? If so, how much is typical?

I use the normal stateroom host tip guideline as a base, -a guide, and then add/take away, for how much you use them.

As others you tip on the last night of the cruise.-They can organise all of your tips for you as well

I also increase the stateroom host tip due to the extra area they have to cover, -other cruise lines automatically do this.

 

[heatherwillmom]

Thanks for all the information. This will be our first Disney cruise & my kids (who are teenagers) first cruise ever. Do you think it was worth the extra money? I like the idea of all the perks, but it is a lot of money difference

 

[mytripsandraces]

Weird all the posts about this.
On our cruise we asked if we could choose what drinks (because we only wanted the diet cokes- the sprites ended up just sitting in the fridge) on the first day and they said that was complimentary on the first day only..no refills, no "choice" of complimentary drinks. They didn't seem hateful about it or anything- more like apologetic that this is just the way it is.
I think eventually our youngest drank all but one sprite. It was a few sprites, a few diet cokes (hey atleast we got some- could have been cokes instead!) and 2 waters.
(oh it was cat 3, btw)

I went back and checked the website and you're supposed to get daily refills. I don't care about the soda, because I don't drink it, but I do want water.

 

[justmestace]

Do you tip your concierge staff at the end of the cruise? If so, how much is typical?

There are usually two of them, so they have to split it. Years ago, they always tried to refuse it, and would only take a tip after much going back and forth over it. Now they just accept it without discussion.

I would be embarrassed to hand them anything less than $50.


We've always been able to swap out the diet soda for regular.

In the Cat 3, there were times when they told us if we wanted more soda, we'd be charged. I hope that's changed since then.

 

[mytripsandraces]

I asked the cruise agent and she told me that the suggested amount for tipping is $12/person/day and that it can be paid ahead of time. On the last night of the cruise, you'll get tip envelopes with vouchers, if you paid ahead of time. There's also supposed to be a sort of guide to how much each person is tipped.

 

[Soccermom-Cheri]

Thanks for all the information. This will be our first Disney cruise & my kids (who are teenagers) first cruise ever. Do you think it was worth the extra money? I like the idea of all the perks, but it is a lot of money difference

I think it is well worth the extra $. The first time we cruised, we lucked into 8532 (my favorite cat3) and DH and the kids were hooked. Dh will not cruise in anything but a suite (lucky me!). Both kids like a quiet place to decompress and it would NOT have been good to have 2 kids trying to relax in a small cabin. I know people say that they are hardly ever in their stateroom. we tend to spend time in there and like to invite DIS friends in for happy hour.

 

[Davids-Coco]

I asked the cruise agent and she told me that the suggested amount for tipping is $12/person/day and that it can be paid ahead of time. On the last night of the cruise, you'll get tip envelopes with vouchers, if you paid ahead of time. There's also supposed to be a sort of guide to how much each person is tipped.

From everything I have read, $12 is the average for everyone in basic tips... not for those in a suite. Tipping is personal, of course... but the general info that I have collected is that many people double what the stateroom host gets. Additionally, concierge is not included in that amount - there is another thread on that: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2348179&highlight=concierge+tip. You can also find info through the cruise tip calculator: http://cruisetip.tpkeller.com/ (which also shows you how they get $12 per day)

Here's the breakdown (generalized) I have gathered over the past year for SUITE guests:
Dining Server - $4/day per person
Assistant Server - $1/day per person
Head Server - $1/day per person
Stateroom Host - $8/day per person
Concierge Hosts - anywhere from $50-$250 for a 7 night

 

[dxcspilk]

I wonder if it is at the discretion of the concierge? We requested bottled water only, no sodas and it was restocked each morning.

We were also given the choice of a continental breakfast on debarkation morning.

We received a bag of popcorn whenever we ordered a DVD.

We also had a private reception outside at Beach Blanket as we were sailing away from Castaway Cay. Goofy showed up for a meet & greet, my children loved it.

I have not read anything about ordering DVD's. Is this a perk only for the concierge suites? Is there an extra charge for ordering DVD's?

 

[Homemom]

Yes, the DVDs are available for concierge guests and there is no charge.

 

[JenGC]

Does anyone know if you get the same service if you upgrade at the port? I have a cat 4 right now but plan on upgrading if there is one available. I didn't know if they did the same thing. I also wondered if anyone celebrated birthdays at a cat 3 and if they do anything different being a cat 3 and above. I want my daughter get as much attention as possible. She is a drama queen and adores attention (no she not a diva at home! LOL I just want this to be the best birthday ever). Anyway, I was just courious.

 

[Homemom]

We upgraded at port. The only thing we didn't get was the use of the conceirge helping us before the cruise (with reservations, etc).

 

[JenKatt]

Both of out cat 3's had unlimited soda and bottle waters. In fact we had daily refills of Diet Cokes and waters.

 

[grace&philipsmom]

Is there any benefit to waiting to upgrade at the port?

 

[JenKatt]

Is there any benefit to waiting to upgrade at the port?

It's probably going to be cheaper. But you run the risk of not getting an upgrade even if you are first in line.

 

[JenGC]

It's probably going to be cheaper. But you run the risk of not getting an upgrade even if you are first in line.

Yeah. That's why most things I have read have been "book what you will be happy with. If you get an upgrade, excellent! If not, then you are not disappointed." I keep checking the site to see if there are still cat 3 available. One was just booked while I was looking! But I have always thought that if all cat 3s were booked, maybe a cat 3 person might ask for a cat 2 upgrade.

 

[lullyloo]

As I'm reading this it looks like the only perks listed so far have to do with food. Is that pretty much the gist of it?