We are concierge....my other family is not...

[Tasmen]

Wow I didnt not know that the different levels gave you excursion perks on a cruise. Do people often get blocked from popular excursions?

The perk is people staying concierge get to book excursions at the 120 day mark. You put your requests in at 125 and shoreside concierge staff takes care of all the bookings for you. Essentially, you get first dibs along with the people that are Platinum.

I'm not sure if people get blocked out of popular excursions. I suppose it is possible if Platinum, Gold and concierge go crazy with the bookings?

 

[tinkerone]

Using that justification is likening those non-Concierge people as guests who have PAID for Concierge perks but happen to be staying in a regular cabin, or as being so underprivileged that since they can't afford Concierge perks (by the example you used) they will be given to them for nothing. Naw . . . .

well lets just skim over the 'there could be a thousand reasons why they didn't have to pay' and just concentrate on the two reasons that suit your needs. works for me……...

 

[mummabear]

Using that justification is likening those non-Concierge people as guests who have PAID for Concierge perks but happen to be staying in a regular cabin, or as being so underprivileged that since they can't afford Concierge perks (by the example you used) they will be given to them for nothing. Naw . . . .

I really dont think underprivileged is a term you could use for anyone on a cruise..

 

[Madame]

Because the folks who don't use Concierge THINK (very wrongly) that we who do-- do it ONLY to impress and lord it over the "common" folk.

Naw. We've never (nor will we ever) sailed concierge & I agree with you completely.

I don't understand why people think they should be able to manipulate others to get what they did not pay for & are not entitled to. & we were deck 2 connecting insides on the Wonder our only cruise... Steerage all the way baby .

 

[TestingH2O]

Because the folks who don't use Concierge THINK (very wrongly) that we who do-- do it ONLY to impress and lord it over the "common" folk.

I stopped engaging in concierge conversations before our first cruise last summer for this exact reason. While I can think of at least one person who is sensible about saying that their concierge experience was not spectacular enough to justify the up-charge, I can think of several more who slam the idea out of hand. Each person has to travel in a way that makes sense for themselves. For some, that means concierge. For others, that is not reasonable in terms of price and/or experience. Neither is wrong, they are just different.

Where I see the problem is expecting concierge experiences without the concierge fare. By nature, I'm a rule follower unless I find a moral objection to it. Since everyone on the cruise can see Goofy or purchase alcohol if they would like a cocktail, then I don't see a strong justification for opening up things like the happy hours or private meet and greet to non-concierge passengers.

 

[Sytrace]

I really dont think underprivileged is a term you could use for anyone on a cruise..

I LOVE this!!!! Good point and it made me smile. After reading this whole thread and not commenting to date, I am finally giving in.

We have not (and likely will not) booked concierge even though we could afford it as we are not "underprivileged".

Of all the perks listed, I cannot see us actually utilizing them in a manner that would get full return of our investment.
1. We certainly don't need more food choices as the Cabanas, dining rooms and places by the pool are sufficient.
2. The cocktails in the lounge sound enticing, but I don't drink enough and my husband drinks, but not to the extent that this would be a benefit to just buying one if he wants it. $6.00 beer every now and then on a 7 night cruise does not justify the cost.
3. We don't want a cabana as we come and go from Castaway Cay and like to actually stay on board. Unless I have booked an excursion, of course. Then we get off, float around in the water, snorkel for a bit, do the excursion and go back on board.
4. I don't need someone to book and plan my excursions for me. We are now able to do so on our own in plenty of time to get what we want. And if we don't get what we want, we just don't do it that time around. Takes a lot of pressure off if you are not stressing about that.
5. We generally get really good PAT times depending on how far ahead we book the cruise and how soon our online checkin starts. This upcoiing cruise next week was a VGT booking and kind of last minute change to our original 4 night cruise plan. As a result our PAT time is now 11:45 AM as opposed to 11:00 AM from this past September. No big deal about getting onboard ahead of other people. We all have a common goal of starting our vacation as early as possible...not going to stress out that someone else got to start theirs 45 minutes before I did.
6. The ONLY thing I wish we did have would be the ability to drop off our carryons in our cabin before heading to lunch. That seems pretty awesome. But all that does for us is make us travel lighter in regards to carry ons. If it cannot fit in one or two bags for 4 people, then it gets packed.

I don't feel that I should get the benefits of something I didn't pay for. Even if Disney hosts are telling me its okay to have a cocktail with my friends/family who are sailing in this luxury, I would not feel comfortable doing so. For me the biggest perk of sailing is to be with my family on board a beautiful ship and as cut off from the day to day grind as possible. That is the best thing about cruising for us. The rest is a bonus.

Happy Cruising everyone! Enjoy the moment wherever you are and whatever you paid for.

 

[Adelle Dazeem]

For me, the issue would be more about people booking early excursions for their non-concierge level friends/family and maybe making those excursions unavailable to other cruisers with higher CC status. Say the concierge level person books 8 spaces for a prime excursion. Only 2 people are actually sailing concierge level. The other 6 are first time cruisers. Now, when gold level bookings open up, that prime excursion is booked by first timers, compliments of their concierge level friends/family. That would not be fair and I would be very upset. The fair way would be to have the first time cruisers book at the first time cruisers day and, if they can't get the same time or excursion as their concierge level friends/family, THEN they can see if the concierge staff can pull their strings so they can all be together without screwing over their other castaway club members who have a higher booking status.

 

[Bear3412]

.... if someone not paying diminishes your enjoyment of eating ice-cream your eating it wrong....

Wouldn't it be nice if DCL had large cabins with awesome bathrooms that were not CL.

Also wouldn't it be cool if you could add concierge services to any cabin. Of course a limited amount per sailing.

BTW many CL guests try to sail in stealth mode, maintaining a very low profile.

I too feel it's not fair for CL guests to tack on other non-CL guests to excursions at 125 days out. DCL should change this IMO. I would love to see some stats on this. That will be my next inquiry.

Also just to be clear, CL guests, if they take advantage of their early booking window with shore side thoroughly, will beat Platinum sailors with their requests. Of course this doesn't please the most loyal guests one bit. But of course CL guests enjoy it.

Stay Warm

 

[Expatriat]

I really dont think underprivileged is a term you could use for anyone on a cruise..

Neither do I! I was quoting the term tinkerone used in post #138 of this thread when giving one of the reasons people might be receiving something without paying for it.

 

[tinkerone]

Neither do I! I was quoting the term tinkerone used in post #138 of this thread when giving one of the reasons people might be receiving something without paying for it.

and I was talking about mummabears example of ice-cream, not about a cruise.
just wanted to clarify.

 

[Expatriat]

I realize that, but given the way the ice cream scenario was presented and that the actual topic of this thread is Concierge and getting perks without paying for them, I used your "underprivileged" in the context of the "haves" and the "have nots." Sorry. It's irrelevant anyway, as the back and forth on this thread could go on forever, or until it is closed.

 

[Expatriat]

And BTW - I made no mention of ice cream, although the post I quoted did. My own comments were specifically about Concierge.

 

[tinkerone]

And BTW - I made no mention of ice cream, although the post I quoted did. My own comments were specifically about Concierge.

you are right. it was mummabear who used ice-cream as an example. sorry about that. I will correct my statement.
again, sorry.

 

[Bear3412]

As much as I am enjoying the conversations ....

This is a discussion board where we discuss, critique, and debate on amiable terms. Remember.

I feel I must remind everyone of the parameters that apply to all, regardless of cabin choice.




DISBOARD GUIDELINES
from; http://www.wdwinfo.com/guidelines.htm

[quotes from the guidelines follow]

1; ... it is our number one goal to keep the DIS friendly, fun and informative ...

2; ... While we'd like to think that a Disney fan site is always lighthearted, there are times when there are disagreements. Let's face it, there are certain topics that can transform any of us into a raging "Donald Duck." When you sense this is happening, we ask that you step away from the discussion before it escalates into a fight. Just like Mom always said about fighting, we don't care who started the argument and we don't want it on the DIS.... No attacking others and no sarcasm please. Either will result in an infraction. [clickable link]

3; ... The types of posts that we like to see on the DIS are those that everyone can participate in and benefit from. When a post is intended for an individual, it creates a problem and can be very awkward for both the person you're publicly contacting as well as others .....

4; ... The DIS guidelines are an important part in keeping the site family friendly. While the majority of our visitors abide by our rules, there are times when problems develop. In order to handle these issues consistently and fairly, we have developed an infraction system.

5; ... There may be times where a situation develops that is not covered in our infraction system. For those cases we reserve the right to take whatever action is needed in order to ensure that our guidelines are followed.




Multi Colored text emphasis mine.

Just thought I would share some base logic from the Supervisor.

Type away

 

[mummabear]

For myself, I'm just saying that if you want to bring your inside-cabin nephew in for a Fanta some afternoon, I doubt I'll even notice and I definitely won't care.

But the real question is why does your nephew need to come into a lounge that he is entitled access to so that you can spend time with him, why can you not go to a public part of the ship?

 

[CM Dad]

Not to beat this dead horse any more. But it my case the Concierge staff on Fantasy ask me if the other 2 people traveling with me want to come in the the character meet&greet and 2 happy hours. I didn't ask first. I did ask concierge on-board to book my self and the other 2 on a last minute excursion. Never once were they walked in the lounge without an invitation.

Also I found the concierge character meet&greet to have very low attendance. We had ours slated for 1 hour and Minnie was only for 20 minutes. There were a total of 7 families that showed up. The concierge staff was watching the hallways to try to get more people to come.

My wife, son and I were in the Walt suite on the Wonder last January, we also had other family members on the same cruise in non-concierge staterooms. I can't remember if we were able to book excursions for them at 120 days or not. We did book 2 Cabanas on CC to handle our group. I think originally only our names were on the reservation for that and the rest were added later. Turned out we couldn't use the Cabanas, since the seas were too rough to dock that day :-(.

On that cruise many of the concierge rooms were not in use, since there were upgrading the bedding on the Wonder during that time. I did have the concierge host offer to let the rest of the family members attend the character meet and greet and some of the happy hours that they had just added up in Outlook. This was not something I asked for, or expected, but since it was offered to us, we did take advantage of it.

 

[Bear3412]

My wife, son and I were ...

Thanks for sharing, and stating vessel, and time.

Hope you had fun.

 

[Hundredacre]

My wife, son and I were in the Walt suite on the Wonder last January, we also had other family members on the same cruise in non-concierge staterooms. I can't remember if we were able to book excursions for them at 120 days or not. We did book 2 Cabanas on CC to handle our group. I think originally only our names were on the reservation for that and the rest were added later. Turned out we couldn't use the Cabanas, since the seas were too rough to dock that day :-(.

On that cruise many of the concierge rooms were not in use, since there were upgrading the bedding on the Wonder during that time. I did have the concierge host offer to let the rest of the family members attend the character meet and greet and some of the happy hours that they had just added up in Outlook. This was not something I asked for, or expected, but since it was offered to us, we did take advantage of it.

This is interesting. Now I know why we can't ever get a cabana.

 

[jmpurdy]

I want to apologize for being sarcastic in my previous posts. I was being mama bear to the OP, who is my daughter. We have spent plenty of time in 'steerage' with connecting cabins on deck 2 also. We have splurged on a once in a lifetime opportunity to be in a suite as her father and I celebrate our retirement. Our other daughter and husband will not be in concierge; hence the question about booking excursions together. It was a rookie concierge question. We, and most reasonable people, do not book concierge to 'take advantage' or sneak anyone into the lounge. We want our family to spend time together and that will be in the suite. If something is offered above and beyond, you bet we will accept. DH and I got upgraded at a Disney resort last summer quite unexpectedly. We had no idea until check in when we were escorted to concierge. Were we shocked? Of course. When we recovered, we accepted this gift of pixie dust and enjoyed our stay to the fullest. Did we pay for it? Absolutely not. Did we feel guilty? Absolutely not. I will always think the best of people, even though there are exceptions. I truly wish we could all be kinder to one another on this board and not sling mud. Use your anger to right something bigger in this world.

 

[Skiton]

But the real question is why does your nephew need to come into a lounge that he is entitled access to so that you can spend time with him, why can you not go to a public part of the ship?

MY nephew doesn't. If you read back, I have clearly stated at least twice that I have never brought anyone into the lounge and would not be comfortable with it. I'm talking about YOUR nephew here (general "you," of course). And of course I don't know YOUR motivations for wanting to bring him, I'm not you!