suites/concierge service

[fcrouch]

I am curious to hear from any of you who were in suites that had concierge service - did you find it worthwhile? I doubt it is worth the additional price from a purely $$ perspective, but wondered if it made things much easier (we will be cruising with a toddler and a grandmother in a wheelchair) so thought perhaps having someone else to run errands/make reservations might be a good thing.

 

[ducklite]

Interesting question.

For the "concierge service" alone, no, probably not worth the extra. but for all of the other amenities that come with the suite, full breakfast in the room every morning, preboarding, pre-reserving Palo before even leaving home, not to mention the extra space, two full bathrooms, and so much more, IMHO yes, it was very worth it.

Would I take out a second mortgage or raid my retirement fund for it? Of course not. But if you have the available cash to book a suite, I wouldn't hesitate to do so.

In your case, I think you'll find the various conveniences worth the extra expense.

Enjoy!

Anne

 

[DVC4US]

Hi fcrouch!

And welcome to the boards.

I would have to say that ducklite is probably right is saying just the services are not worth it, but the size of the room sure is. We are a little different than most people on these boards and we really enjoyed the concierge services and have decided that we will not cruise again unless we are in a suite. As a matter of fact we have a Cat 1 for our April cruise (boy did we pay for that one )

It was so nice on the last crusie to make all the reservations in one place and at one time. I also have to agree with ducklite in saying that in your situation I think it would be worth the extra expense if it falls into your budget.

ducklite has a great trip report that she posted from her cruise, you should read it.

LeiLani

 

[justmestace]

We've been in the Cat 2 twice, and the concierge service by itself is not worth the extra cost. Any room can have coffee, juice & continental breakfast delivered, which is all we ever did anyway, we had our excursions booked ahead of time, so there was really not much concierge could do for us.
With a person in a wheel chair, you will get to pre-board anyway, and I don't know about the Cat 1's, but the Cat 2 bathrooms are not handicap-accessable, in that they all have a step up to get into them.
There are handicap Cat 3's that still include concierge service, but also some Cat 4's (much less expensive) that are handicap accessable, have extra-large verandahs, and extra wide rooms. This is probably would I would try to get, and save the extra money for fun stuff.

 

[rundogrun]

We stayed in a Category 1 and had an awful experience with the concierges (still had a great cruise though!).

Most cruisers have had good experiences it seems, so ours was the exception to the rule.

Still, put me down with the "book the room for the size, not the service" group. Even the good service seems limited.

Or look for adjoining staterooms...our family of four had two Cat 5 rooms for less than the price of a suite this past August.

 

[videogal1]

Originally posted by justmestace
We've been in the Cat 2 twice, and the concierge service by itself is not worth the extra cost. Any room can have coffee, juice & continental breakfast delivered, which is all we ever did anyway, we had our excursions booked ahead of time, so there was really not much concierge could do for us.
With a person in a wheel chair, you will get to pre-board anyway, and I don't know about the Cat 1's, but the Cat 2 bathrooms are not handicap-accessable, in that they all have a step up to get into them.
There are handicap Cat 3's that still include concierge service, but also some Cat 4's (much less expensive) that are handicap accessable, have extra-large verandahs, and extra wide rooms. This is probably would I would try to get, and save the extra money for fun stuff.

At last! information on a category that includes the accessible staterooms!
THANK YOU...
I've gotten almost cranky trying to find references to these special rooms. It's very difficult to put all my wishing energy into hoping for an upgrade when there's not much info out there....I know the rooms are generally larger but will I have enough room in my Dec. cat. 11 inside, or May cat. 8 outside for electric scooter, service dog and me, too? I don't want to waste this precious pixie dust wishing energy....

 

[softfluff]

I am going in a cat. 11 handicap on nov 13. I can let you know then. However, I can tell you we had enough room on the cat 5 handicap for everything.

 

[BeanoC]

We have cruised concierge level twice, and had one bad experience and one good. On our most recent cruise (2 weeks ago), we had excellent concierge service. "Above and beyond", you might even say. Every request we made was honored. We even asked for a DIS-themed lime-green cake for our DIS party. Done. I wanted an ice chest in my room for the week. Done. I asked for 35 champagne glasses for the party. Done. All in all, a very satisfying experience.

Last year, they didn't do SQUAT for us!! However, we didn't ask for as much last year, so perhaps the lesson is that you won't get something unless you ask for it!

To sum it up for us - we will never cruise without a suite again.



'Beano'

 

[ducklite]

Beano--Out of curiosity which concierge teams did you have on your cruises?

Anne

 

[cotomom]

BeanoC~
I'm curious as well as to who you had. When we went it was nearly impossible to even track down our concierge staff! Getting ready for another trip in a couple months and hoping we get your staff