What's so special about Concierge?

[TheRatPack]

What ship are you pricing out? Be aware that the older ship's concierge services don't have all the same concierge amenities like the private lounge and private pool deck.

 

[mj2vacation]

Thank you all once again, a few new perks listed. I do like the free WiFi, does it work in the rooms or do you have to go to the Internet lounge? Arcade card sounds cool, I can relive my late 80's youth wasted in arcades. How much credit do you get? And the snack/lounge sounds tasty.

I read somewhere that there is an option perhaps only in some rooms for Palo room service? Any truth to that rumor?

Did some spreadsheet dreaming and for my fam of three the differential is between $1000 - $1500 total for the cruise vs our usual category 4A. Strongly considering it. Thanks for all the feedback and opinions!

Unless something has changed, Palo room service is only for the larger suites.

We did concierge on our last dream, it was nice, and that particular cruise was not a big price difference.

It is an experience on the Dream and Fantasy, I personally would not bother on the classic ships.

The snacks and drinks were cool (grey goose on the rocks!) but they are limited hours. You can't get a grey goose at 10 am, otherwise, I could have a break even on day 2 (only on the cruise for the record).

They do have a cool pillow menu. Our stateroom host got a laugh on us and the fact that we had like 20 pillows brought into the room. You can order all types of pillows, gel, feather, etc

All in all a nice experience, but do note that once you book concierge, it is NOT refundable.

 

[MacII]

What ship are you pricing out? Be aware that the older ship's concierge services don't have all the same concierge amenities like the private lounge and private pool deck.

It was a 7 day on the Fantasy in late 2014. Just playing around, not sure when we would actually go.

What's brought all this about is that we are doing a 7 day on the Fantasy in November but we couldn't get a Castaway Cabana. Got one last time and I'm going to miss it...too late for this cruise but I'm trying to learn from my mistakes.

 

[darkwing818]

Thank you all once again, a few new perks listed. I do like the free WiFi, does it work in the rooms or do you have to go to the Internet lounge? Arcade card sounds cool, I can relive my late 80's youth wasted in arcades. How much credit do you get? And the snack/lounge sounds tasty.

Did some spreadsheet dreaming and for my fam of three the differential is between $1000 - $1500 total for the cruise vs our usual category 4A. Strongly considering it. Thanks for all the feedback and opinions!

OP whether the Concierge perks are worth it, is completely subjective. We've cruised Concierge twice on the Dream, & found it to be a wonderful experience & worth every penny, so much so we've already booked Concierge for the next 2 NYE Disney cruises. The perks others have listed are nice, but for us the lounge, the private sun deck & the Concierge staff (they are your Guest Services, this really is a big deal) and oops almost forgot the expresso machine really make the cruise exceptional. Bottom line only you can decide if Concierge is something you want to spend the extra money to experience. Just be warned sailing Concierge once makes it difficult to go back to standard stateroom.

 

[Lynxxilo]

We sailed the Dream in June - first Disney cruise - went all out with Concierge. Unfortunately, I think I've set the bar pretty high for any future Disney cruising

Upon arrival at the terminal we were directed to the Concierge check-in area. No line what-so-ever! Once we completed check-in, we were escorted to a private lunge area to wait for the boarding process to begin. Once boarding started, we were escorted by a Cast Member through the boarding line. Our CM escort waited while we did the traditional embarkation photo. After the photo opportunity, we were escorted to the ship where our CM handed us off to a white-uniform clad CM who then escorted us to the elevator that would take us up to Forward Deck 12 where the Concierge Lounge is located.

When we arrived at the Concierge Lounge we were welcomed by the Concierge staff. There were snacks available and the bar (complimentary, bartender served) was open. We were shocked to see such a wide variety of top-shelf liquors. For the kids, there were sodas, teas, and water. And let's not forget the amazing coffee machine (more on that later!).

After gathering our beverages and snacks, we were greeted by one of the three Concierges. They had a packet prepared for us that showed our dining times, had our excursion tickets, etc. We had not pre-registered our kids for the kids club activities - they had a CM from the kids area who was able to answer questions that our kids had as well as sign them up. Everything was done right there in the Concierge Lounge - no roaming the ship to take care of such. Our Concierge made it very clear that they were our Guest Service desk - if we had any questions or requests, bring it to them, don't go to Guest Services (and wait in line!). I had read about being able to get autographs on items like pillow cases or photo mats; typically you drop these items off at Guest Services and you get them back the last night of the cruise. I dropped ours off with the Concierge and she took care of everything.

We arrived on the boat at about 11:30, had our snacks and beverages, met with the Concierge; by the time we did all this, our cabin was ready. Our luggage showed up by 1:00ish.

The cabin was very nice. I can't speak for it being better than a typical cabin as we've never stayed in such. We did stay in Cabin 12010 which has the "bump" on the veranda. The bump creates a veranda that is almost twice the size of a standard veranda. 12010 is also two doors down from the side entrance of the lounge. We were able to walk down the hall on the way to our cabin and peek through the lounge window to see if there was anything worth stopping for (i.e. snacks!!!). The bed was very comfortable. The pillows in the room were fine so we did not exercise the "pillow shopping" extra The bed is elevated so there was plenty of room under the bed to store our suitcases. There is a small refrigerator that was stocked with sodas and bottles of Evian water. I can't recall if the refrig was restocked - we typically grabbed what we needed from the lounge - if its not restocked by the CM's you can do it yourself as the sodas and bottled water are available in the lounge as long as the lounge is open.

The only thing that was less than desirable about the room was the layout at night. When the sofa bed is pulled out, there is no access to the veranda without stepping on the bed. We had a 9 year old in the "bunk bed" that pulled down from the ceiling and an 11 year old on the pulled out sofa bed. I have to say that the sofa bed was very comfortable, but its simply in the way if you want to get to the veranda while its pulled out. Stepping across my daughter at 7:00 am with my latte in a pitch-back room made for quite the challenge!

As far as room "accessories" go, there is an alarm clock that has an iPhone dock on it. We couldn't figure out how to dim the brightness of the clock so we ended up covering it up every night. It makes a great nightlight if left uncovered The bathroom supposedly has higher quality products (i.e. shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and aloe). We enjoyed the aloe product! We never had a shortage of products - they left more in the morning and the evening if there was the slightest sign that the tubes had been opened. Same goes for the towels. I don't think we ever used a towel twice - after we got back home, I kept waiting for the clean towel fairy to put out clean towels!!!

The location of the Concierge deck is ideal for accessing the pool deck (Deck 11), the AquaDuck slide (Deck 12 Aft), the theaters which are at the Forward several decks down. There is a gate entrance that controls the access to the Concierge Cabins. The only people in the hallways are your fellow Concierge travelers. There is a private Concierge sundeck above the lounge; sadly its in the middle of the ship so there are no ship-side railings. The area immediately outside of the Concierge sundeck is an adults-only area. We "snuck" out there several times with the kids to catch a glimpse of the view from the front of the boat.

As for the "Extras" of Concierge service, here's a rundown:
1. Cocktail hour(s) - prior to each dinner seating, the lounge has a cocktail hour. Because of the timing of the dinner seatings and the cocktail hour, you could grab a drink before the early dinner seating, go to dinner, head back to the lounge and grab a beverage before attending the evening theater show.
2. Coffee Machine - upon arrival our Concierge stated that the lounge had the best coffee on the ship. I agree 110%!!! There is a self-serve coffee machine that spits out lattes, expresso, cappachinos, etc. Yum!!!!
3. Guest Services - I discussed this a bit earlier, but I'll reiterate - they are your Guest Services.
4. Private Character greeting - the Concierge passengers were treated to a private greeting with a character (we met Mickey!). The event is held up on the sundeck. It was complete with snacks (chocolate covered marshmallows) and an open bar time.
5. Arcade Card - both are kids received a card good for 10 minutes at the arcade. Neither are big gamers, so 10 minutes was just enough to say we went to the arcade and played games!
6. Lithograph - we received a 16x20 lithograph of Donald Duck in the AquaDuck. Its a pretty neat souvenir of the trip. During the trip, they steam-cleaned our carpet and the cardboard sleeve and the lithograph got wet as we had propped it up in a corner out of the way to keep it from getting bent - we did realize that the carpet was still damp. The Concierge replaced the print with no questions asked.
7. Fresh fruit basket - we had a fresh fruit basket in the room upon arrival in the cabin. While nice, we had access to the lounge with food (including fruit) from 7:00a - 10:00p so the fruit basket was just an added touch.
8. Excursion booking 120 days out - you can book your excursions 120 days out if your cruise is 100% paid for.
9. Sundeck "products" - sunscreen products are available in baskets on the sundeck. Our daughter loved the Evian mist!!
10. Bottles of water "to go" - we loaded up the backpack with bottles of water prior to heading off on our shore excursions. Note - They sell a 6-pack of Evian water on-board for $18.00.

Some things to consider:
1. If you are into the Fish Extender thing, unless your fellow FE folks are Concierge travelers, they won't be able to get to your FE since they can't access the Concierge hallways.
2. The Concierge cabin doors are not metallic. I had made a Mickey magnet to place on the door and it would not hold - we put it on the bathroom door instead.

So now the ultimate question - is it worth it? I booked our reservation almost 18 months out so I suspect it was about as cheap a rate as one would get for the room. And I used our Disney Visa Reward points to basically upgrade us to the Concierge Level. For us, it was worth it. We enjoyed every aspect of the level of service provided. And I suspect we would do it again. Its a personal choice - its hard to say that its worth it from a dollar value perspective - my husband would tell you "no" I suspect My kids would tell you "heck yeah, its worth it", but they weren't writing the check!

 

[Dug720]

Just to add to the issue with the sofa bed being laid out, it also blocks all of those drawers and cabinets. I hadn't realized it would, and we had to push it back in a bit the first night so I could get my pajamas and clothes for the next day. In the morning I moved all my stuff to other cabinets and drawers so essentially nothing was in those blocked by the sofa bed.

 

[TheRatPack]

Could someone that has been on the classic concierge levels tell me about the amenities listed below....we'll be sailing classic Royal Concierge next year, our first cruise.

The bathroom supposedly has higher quality products (i.e. shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and aloe). We enjoyed the aloe product! We never had a shortage of products - The nicer H2O products are no longer offered are they?

As for the "Extras" of Concierge service, here's a rundown:
1. Cocktail hour(s) - prior to each dinner seating, the lounge has a cocktail hour. Not on the classic ships, correct?
2. Coffee Machine - upon arrival our Concierge stated that the lounge had the best coffee on the ship. Something we will miss out on by sailing the Wonder....right?
3. Guest Services - I discussed this a bit earlier, but I'll reiterate - they are your Guest Services. I've heard concierge comes to your room for most issues....do they still have a concierge guest services area on classics?
4. Private Character greeting - the Concierge passengers were treated to a private greeting with a character (we met Mickey!). The event is held up on the sundeck. It was complete with snacks (chocolate covered marshmallows) and an open bar time. No private sundeck on the classic ships so I'm guessing this isn't offered to us either?
5. Arcade Card - both are kids received a card good for 10 minutes at the arcade. Neither are big gamers, so 10 minutes was just enough to say we went to the arcade and played games! Also on the classics?
6. Lithograph - we received a 16x20 lithograph of Donald Duck in the AquaDuck. Its a pretty neat souvenir of the trip. No AquaDuck on the classic ships so again, guessing this is a no for us LOL?
7. Fresh fruit basket - we had a fresh fruit basket in the room upon arrival in the cabin. While nice, we had access to the lounge with food (including fruit) from 7:00a - 10:00p so the fruit basket was just an added touch. I really hope this is available on the classics.....we go through a LOT of fruit.
8. Excursion booking 120 days out - you can book your excursions 120 days out if your cruise is 100% paid for. I think classics get this as well?
9. Sundeck "products" - sunscreen products are available in baskets on the sundeck. Our daughter loved the Evian mist!! No sundeck....oh well.
10. Bottles of water "to go" - we loaded up the backpack with bottles of water prior to heading off on our shore excursions. Note - They sell a 6-pack of Evian water on-board for $18.00. I think the Royal Concierge on the classic ships do get continual stocks of water and canned soda, but maybe regular concierge has to pay for restocks?

Some things to consider:
1. If you are into the Fish Extender thing, unless your fellow FE folks are Concierge travelers, they won't be able to get to your FE since they can't access the Concierge hallways. Classic ship concierge is accessible to everyone on the ship isn't it?

Didn't mean to hijack the thread, just trying to clear things up for classic travelers like myself that might stumble on to this thread

 

[KansasFroggie]

We sailed the Dream in June - first Disney cruise - went all out with Concierge. Unfortunately, I think I've set the bar pretty high for any future Disney cruising

Upon arrival at the terminal we were directed to the Concierge check-in area. No line what-so-ever! Once we completed check-in, we were escorted to a private lunge area to wait for the boarding process to begin. Once boarding started, we were escorted by a Cast Member through the boarding line. Our CM escort waited while we did the traditional embarkation photo. After the photo opportunity, we were escorted to the ship where our CM handed us off to a white-uniform clad CM who then escorted us to the elevator that would take us up to Forward Deck 12 where the Concierge Lounge is located.

When we arrived at the Concierge Lounge we were welcomed by the Concierge staff. There were snacks available and the bar (complimentary, bartender served) was open. We were shocked to see such a wide variety of top-shelf liquors. For the kids, there were sodas, teas, and water. And let's not forget the amazing coffee machine (more on that later!).

After gathering our beverages and snacks, we were greeted by one of the three Concierges. They had a packet prepared for us that showed our dining times, had our excursion tickeuts, etc. We had not pre-registered our kids for the kids club activities - they had a CM from the kids area who was able to answer questions that our kids had as well as sign them up. Everything was done right there in the Concierge Lounge - no roaming the ship to take care of such. Our Concierge made it very clear that they were our Guest Service desk - if we had any questions or requests, bring it to them, don't go to Guest Services (and wait in line!). I had read about being able to get autographs on items like pillow cases or photo mats; typically you drop these items off at Guest Services and you get them back the last night of the cruise. I dropped ours off with the Concierge and she took care of everything.

We arrived on the boat at about 11:30, had our snacks and beverages, met with the Concierge; by the time we did all this, our cabin was ready. Our luggage showed up by 1:00ish.

The cabin was very nice. I can't speak for it being better than a typical cabin as we've never stayed in such. We did stay in Cabin 12010 which has the "bump" on the veranda. The bump creates a veranda that is almost twice the size of a standard veranda. 12010 is also two doors down from the side entrance of the lounge. We were able to walk down the hall on the way to our cabin and peek through the lounge window to see if there was anything worth stopping for (i.e. snacks!!!). The bed was very comfortable. The pillows in the room were fine so we did not exercise the "pillow shopping" extra The bed is elevated so there was plenty of room under the bed to store our suitcases. There is a small refrigerator that was stocked with sodas and bottles of Evian water. I can't recall if the refrig was restocked - we typically grabbed what we needed from the lounge - if its not restocked by the CM's you can do it yourself as the sodas and bottled water are available in the lounge as long as the lounge is open.

The only thing that was less than desirable about the room was the layout at night. When the sofa bed is pulled out, there is no access to the veranda without stepping on the bed. We had a 9 year old in the "bunk bed" that pulled down from the ceiling and an 11 year old on the pulled out sofa bed. I have to say that the sofa bed was very comfortable, but its simply in the way if you want to get to the veranda while its pulled out. Stepping across my daughter at 7:00 am with my latte in a pitch-back room made for quite the challenge!

As far as room "accessories" go, there is an alarm clock that has an iPhone dock on it. We couldn't figure out how to dim the brightness of the clock so we ended up covering it up every night. It makes a great nightlight if left uncovered The bathroom supposedly has higher quality products (i.e. shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and aloe). We enjoyed the aloe product! We never had a shortage of products - they left more in the morning and the evening if there was the slightest sign that the tubes had been opened. Same goes for the towels. I don't think we ever used a towel twice - after we got back home, I kept waiting for the clean towel fairy to put out clean towels!!!

The location of the Concierge deck is ideal for accessing the pool deck (Deck 11), the AquaDuck slide (Deck 12 Aft), the theaters which are at the Forward several decks down. There is a gate entrance that controls the access to the Concierge Cabins. The only people in the hallways are your fellow Concierge travelers. There is a private Concierge sundeck above the lounge; sadly its in the middle of the ship so there are no ship-side railings. The area immediately outside of the Concierge sundeck is an adults-only area. We "snuck" out there several times with the kids to catch a glimpse of the view from the front of the boat.

As for the "Extras" of Concierge service, here's a rundown:
1. Cocktail hour(s) - prior to each dinner seating, the lounge has a cocktail hour. Because of the timing of the dinner seatings and the cocktail hour, you could grab a drink before the early dinner seating, go to dinner, head back to the lounge and grab a beverage before attending the evening theater show.
2. Coffee Machine - upon arrival our Concierge stated that the lounge had the best coffee on the ship. I agree 110%!!! There is a self-serve coffee machine that spits out lattes, expresso, cappachinos, etc. Yum!!!!
3. Guest Services - I discussed this a bit earlier, but I'll reiterate - they are your Guest Services.
4. Private Character greeting - the Concierge passengers were treated to a private greeting with a character (we met Mickey!). The event is held up on the sundeck. It was complete with snacks (chocolate covered marshmallows) and an open bar time.
5. Arcade Card - both are kids received a card good for 10 minutes at the arcade. Neither are big gamers, so 10 minutes was just enough to say we went to the arcade and played games!
6. Lithograph - we received a 16x20 lithograph of Donald Duck in the AquaDuck. Its a pretty neat souvenir of the trip. During the trip, they steam-cleaned our carpet and the cardboard sleeve and the lithograph got wet as we had propped it up in a corner out of the way to keep it from getting bent - we did realize that the carpet was still damp. The Concierge replaced the print with no questions asked.
7. Fresh fruit basket - we had a fresh fruit basket in the room upon arrival in the cabin. While nice, we had access to the lounge with food (including fruit) from 7:00a - 10:00p so the fruit basket was just an added touch.
8. Excursion booking 120 days out - you can book your excursions 120 days out if your cruise is 100% paid for.
9. Sundeck "products" - sunscreen products are available in baskets on the sundeck. Our daughter loved the Evian mist!!
10. Bottles of water "to go" - we loaded up the backpack with bottles of water prior to heading off on our shore excursions. Note - They sell a 6-pack of Evian water on-board for $18.00.

Some things to consider:
1. If you are into the Fish Extender thing, unless your fellow FE folks are Concierge travelers, they won't be able to get to your FE since they can't access the Concierge hallways.
2. The Concierge cabin doors are not metallic. I had made a Mickey magnet to place on the door and it would not hold - we put it on the bathroom door instead.

So now the ultimate question - is it worth it? I booked our reservation almost 18 months out so I suspect it was about as cheap a rate as one would get for the room. And I used our Disney Visa Reward points to basically upgrade us to the Concierge Level. For us, it was worth it. We enjoyed every aspect of the level of service provided. And I suspect we would do it again. Its a personal choice - its hard to say that its worth it from a dollar value perspective - my husband would tell you "no" I suspect My kids would tell you "heck yeah, its worth it", but they weren't writing the check!

Great post. Just as an aside, concierge should be able to do the FE exchange. We are doing concierge in 2014 and specifically asked about this. We were told that the gates are sometimes up and even when they are down the FE gifts can be left with the concierge to be delivered

 

[MacII]

We sailed the Dream in June - first Disney cruise - went all out with Concierge. Unfortunately, I think I've set the bar pretty high for any future Disney cruising

Upon arrival at the terminal we were directed to the Concierge check-in area. No line what-so-ever! Once we completed check-in, we were escorted to a private lunge area to wait for the boarding process to begin. Once boarding started, we were escorted by a Cast Member through the boarding line. Our CM escort waited while we did the traditional embarkation photo. After the photo opportunity, we were escorted to the ship where our CM handed us off to a white-uniform clad CM who then escorted us to the elevator that would take us up to Forward Deck 12 where the Concierge Lounge is located.

When we arrived at the Concierge Lounge we were welcomed by the Concierge staff. There were snacks available and the bar (complimentary, bartender served) was open. We were shocked to see such a wide variety of top-shelf liquors. For the kids, there were sodas, teas, and water. And let's not forget the amazing coffee machine (more on that later!).

After gathering our beverages and snacks, we were greeted by one of the three Concierges. They had a packet prepared for us that showed our dining times, had our excursion tickets, etc. We had not pre-registered our kids for the kids club activities - they had a CM from the kids area who was able to answer questions that our kids had as well as sign them up. Everything was done right there in the Concierge Lounge - no roaming the ship to take care of such. Our Concierge made it very clear that they were our Guest Service desk - if we had any questions or requests, bring it to them, don't go to Guest Services (and wait in line!). I had read about being able to get autographs on items like pillow cases or photo mats; typically you drop these items off at Guest Services and you get them back the last night of the cruise. I dropped ours off with the Concierge and she took care of everything.

We arrived on the boat at about 11:30, had our snacks and beverages, met with the Concierge; by the time we did all this, our cabin was ready. Our luggage showed up by 1:00ish.

The cabin was very nice. I can't speak for it being better than a typical cabin as we've never stayed in such. We did stay in Cabin 12010 which has the "bump" on the veranda. The bump creates a veranda that is almost twice the size of a standard veranda. 12010 is also two doors down from the side entrance of the lounge. We were able to walk down the hall on the way to our cabin and peek through the lounge window to see if there was anything worth stopping for (i.e. snacks!!!). The bed was very comfortable. The pillows in the room were fine so we did not exercise the "pillow shopping" extra The bed is elevated so there was plenty of room under the bed to store our suitcases. There is a small refrigerator that was stocked with sodas and bottles of Evian water. I can't recall if the refrig was restocked - we typically grabbed what we needed from the lounge - if its not restocked by the CM's you can do it yourself as the sodas and bottled water are available in the lounge as long as the lounge is open.

The only thing that was less than desirable about the room was the layout at night. When the sofa bed is pulled out, there is no access to the veranda without stepping on the bed. We had a 9 year old in the "bunk bed" that pulled down from the ceiling and an 11 year old on the pulled out sofa bed. I have to say that the sofa bed was very comfortable, but its simply in the way if you want to get to the veranda while its pulled out. Stepping across my daughter at 7:00 am with my latte in a pitch-back room made for quite the challenge!

As far as room "accessories" go, there is an alarm clock that has an iPhone dock on it. We couldn't figure out how to dim the brightness of the clock so we ended up covering it up every night. It makes a great nightlight if left uncovered The bathroom supposedly has higher quality products (i.e. shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and aloe). We enjoyed the aloe product! We never had a shortage of products - they left more in the morning and the evening if there was the slightest sign that the tubes had been opened. Same goes for the towels. I don't think we ever used a towel twice - after we got back home, I kept waiting for the clean towel fairy to put out clean towels!!!

The location of the Concierge deck is ideal for accessing the pool deck (Deck 11), the AquaDuck slide (Deck 12 Aft), the theaters which are at the Forward several decks down. There is a gate entrance that controls the access to the Concierge Cabins. The only people in the hallways are your fellow Concierge travelers. There is a private Concierge sundeck above the lounge; sadly its in the middle of the ship so there are no ship-side railings. The area immediately outside of the Concierge sundeck is an adults-only area. We "snuck" out there several times with the kids to catch a glimpse of the view from the front of the boat.

As for the "Extras" of Concierge service, here's a rundown:
1. Cocktail hour(s) - prior to each dinner seating, the lounge has a cocktail hour. Because of the timing of the dinner seatings and the cocktail hour, you could grab a drink before the early dinner seating, go to dinner, head back to the lounge and grab a beverage before attending the evening theater show.
2. Coffee Machine - upon arrival our Concierge stated that the lounge had the best coffee on the ship. I agree 110%!!! There is a self-serve coffee machine that spits out lattes, expresso, cappachinos, etc. Yum!!!!
3. Guest Services - I discussed this a bit earlier, but I'll reiterate - they are your Guest Services.
4. Private Character greeting - the Concierge passengers were treated to a private greeting with a character (we met Mickey!). The event is held up on the sundeck. It was complete with snacks (chocolate covered marshmallows) and an open bar time.
5. Arcade Card - both are kids received a card good for 10 minutes at the arcade. Neither are big gamers, so 10 minutes was just enough to say we went to the arcade and played games!
6. Lithograph - we received a 16x20 lithograph of Donald Duck in the AquaDuck. Its a pretty neat souvenir of the trip. During the trip, they steam-cleaned our carpet and the cardboard sleeve and the lithograph got wet as we had propped it up in a corner out of the way to keep it from getting bent - we did realize that the carpet was still damp. The Concierge replaced the print with no questions asked.
7. Fresh fruit basket - we had a fresh fruit basket in the room upon arrival in the cabin. While nice, we had access to the lounge with food (including fruit) from 7:00a - 10:00p so the fruit basket was just an added touch.
8. Excursion booking 120 days out - you can book your excursions 120 days out if your cruise is 100% paid for.
9. Sundeck "products" - sunscreen products are available in baskets on the sundeck. Our daughter loved the Evian mist!!
10. Bottles of water "to go" - we loaded up the backpack with bottles of water prior to heading off on our shore excursions. Note - They sell a 6-pack of Evian water on-board for $18.00.

Some things to consider:
1. If you are into the Fish Extender thing, unless your fellow FE folks are Concierge travelers, they won't be able to get to your FE since they can't access the Concierge hallways.
2. The Concierge cabin doors are not metallic. I had made a Mickey magnet to place on the door and it would not hold - we put it on the bathroom door instead.

So now the ultimate question - is it worth it? I booked our reservation almost 18 months out so I suspect it was about as cheap a rate as one would get for the room. And I used our Disney Visa Reward points to basically upgrade us to the Concierge Level. For us, it was worth it. We enjoyed every aspect of the level of service provided. And I suspect we would do it again. Its a personal choice - its hard to say that its worth it from a dollar value perspective - my husband would tell you "no" I suspect My kids would tell you "heck yeah, its worth it", but they weren't writing the check!

Excellent post! I sure hope Disney sends you (and a few others who have also been super helpful in this thread) a commission because I'm totally sold!

 

[Cruisin]

I have a question in regards to the private sundeck?

How did you find it? I have noticed (from the outside of it only) that it is totally closed in by walls. Is it a comfortable temperature in there? Do they have some sort of fans used for cooling it? I would think there would be no breeze getting in to it and it would get quite stifling in the heat.

Everytime I was near it (again, only from the outside) there didn't appear to be anybody using it? So I was wondering if it was not comfortable for some reason.

 

[Dug720]

I have a question in regards to the private sundeck?

How did you find it? I have noticed (from the outside of it only) that it is totally closed in by walls. Is it a comfortable temperature in there? Do they have some sort of fans used for cooling it? I would think there would be no breeze getting in to it and it would get quite stifling in the heat.

Everytime I was near it (again, only from the outside) there didn't appear to be anybody using it? So I was wondering if it was not comfortable for some reason.

You access it via the concierge lounge. We went up there once to see it, but we're really not lay out in the sun people (well, my sister is, but the rest of us aren't) so we didn't really pay attention to what was there. I don't remember it being hotter than anywhere else though.

 

[ktb2002]

Thank you all once again, a few new perks listed. I do like the free WiFi, does it work in the rooms or do you have to go to the Internet lounge? Arcade card sounds cool, I can relive my late 80's youth wasted in arcades. How much credit do you get? And the snack/lounge sounds tasty.

I read somewhere that there is an option perhaps only in some rooms for Palo room service? Any truth to that rumor?

Did some spreadsheet dreaming and for my fam of three the differential is between $1000 - $1500 total for the cruise vs our usual category 4A. Strongly considering it. Thanks for all the feedback and opinions!

The arcade card is 10 free minutes of play. Cannot be used on any games that give you prize credits. Palo is only for the 2 Royal Suites, however the Ts can order from the rotation dining rooms. They have the menus in the lounge, and concierge will order it for you.

 

[Fladis32]

I vote go for it! We sailed concierge on the Dream for the first time last summer and loved it! The lounge was great and always stocked with cold Diet Cokes . That first day of having the Concierge Staff organize your itinerary was awesome. The room was just plush and comfy. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[aggroamerican]

Could someone that has been on the classic concierge levels tell me about the amenities listed below....we'll be sailing classic Royal Concierge next year, our first cruise.

Didn't mean to hijack the thread, just trying to clear things up for classic travelers like myself that might stumble on to this thread

We have done both. We first did concierge on the Dream in 2011 and then the Wonder this past May. I LOVE concierge!! The Dream was probably more awesome but it was still worth it to us. The classic ships do not have a lounge but you still board early and are taken to a lounge that they had hijacked for the concierge guests to use for snacks and beverages. They helped us with signing up for things then. We had two concierge CMs, Rodrigo and Linda, and they were great. They would check in with us several times a day to see if we needed anything. We were able to book Tea with the Princesses (the free one that used to be Alice)and were offered a special dinner with a winemaker at Palo. Snacks were delivered to our room each afternoon. We had a special party with Captain Mickey in another lounge, as well.

I guess I just love being spoiled! I felt that we had such individualized attention, Disney always has treated us well before ( we had done two other Disney cruises without concierge) but we just felt special.

It is a decision some will be willing to pay for and some will not. If you can afford it and not feel like you are going to be adding up in your head each perk to see if it comes out to be worth it, you will love it. If you are going to be constantly searching for the value of each thing and weighing the benefits, you may be disappointed. We loved it for the intangibles, too. We have two more cruises booked on the Dream and Fantasy and we are doing concierge again. If I can help it, I will only do concierge. Loved it!

 

[darkwing818]

I have a question in regards to the private sundeck?

How did you find it? I have noticed (from the outside of it only) that it is totally closed in by walls. Is it a comfortable temperature in there? Do they have some sort of fans used for cooling it? I would think there would be no breeze getting in to it and it would get quite stifling in the heat.

Everytime I was near it (again, only from the outside) there didn't appear to be anybody using it? So I was wondering if it was not comfortable for some reason.

We access to the Sun Deck via a stairway from the Concierge Lounge. It is Very Comfortable up there, they have a "mister' that sprays a cool mist & the lounges are "Well Cushioned & quite comfortable. The towels supplied are also much softer than the ones supplied at the pool. Sun screen is also provided along with chilled wash clothes.
We love the area.
Plus if you get hungry, you can just go down to the lounge for some appetizers & something to drink.

 

[loganpaulsmom]

I am looking into a 4 day trip in Feb.2014 or April.2014. I am pretty sure they are both with the Wonder which I know is one of the older boats. Does anyone have info on the concierge services on this boat? I have never been on a cruise before either. It would be myself, Dh and DS..

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[JoiseyMom]

We sailed the Dream in June - first Disney cruise - went all out with Concierge. Unfortunately, I think I've set the bar pretty high for any future Disney cruising

Upon arrival at the terminal we were directed to the Concierge check-in area. No line what-so-ever! Once we completed check-in, we were escorted to a private lunge area to wait for the boarding process to begin. Once boarding started, we were escorted by a Cast Member through the boarding line. Our CM escort waited while we did the traditional embarkation photo. After the photo opportunity, we were escorted to the ship where our CM handed us off to a white-uniform clad CM who then escorted us to the elevator that would take us up to Forward Deck 12 where the Concierge Lounge is located.

You will be escorted to a lounge on deck 3 that is being used for concierge for embarkation. There will be snacks and they will have drinks for you. Two concierges will be there and will give you your info.

When we arrived at the Concierge Lounge we were welcomed by the Concierge staff. There were snacks available and the bar (complimentary, bartender served) was open. We were shocked to see such a wide variety of top-shelf liquors. For the kids, there were sodas, teas, and water. And let's not forget the amazing coffee machine (more on that later!).

After gathering our beverages and snacks, we were greeted by one of the three Concierges. They had a packet prepared for us that showed our dining times, had our excursion tickets, etc. We had not pre-registered our kids for the kids club activities - they had a CM from the kids area who was able to answer questions that our kids had as well as sign them up. Everything was done right there in the Concierge Lounge - no roaming the ship to take care of such. Our Concierge made it very clear that they were our Guest Service desk - if we had any questions or requests, bring it to them, don't go to Guest Services (and wait in line!). I had read about being able to get autographs on items like pillow cases or photo mats; typically you drop these items off at Guest Services and you get them back the last night of the cruise. I dropped ours off with the Concierge and she took care of everything.

Yes they will be your GS, but there is no lounge to go to. Being in the Royal they will restock your drinks and you will get snacks daily.

We arrived on the boat at about 11:30, had our snacks and beverages, met with the Concierge; by the time we did all this, our cabin was ready. Our luggage showed up by 1:00ish.

The cabin was very nice. I can't speak for it being better than a typical cabin as we've never stayed in such. We did stay in Cabin 12010 which has the "bump" on the veranda. The bump creates a veranda that is almost twice the size of a standard veranda. 12010 is also two doors down from the side entrance of the lounge. We were able to walk down the hall on the way to our cabin and peek through the lounge window to see if there was anything worth stopping for (i.e. snacks!!!). The bed was very comfortable. The pillows in the room were fine so we did not exercise the "pillow shopping" extra The bed is elevated so there was plenty of room under the bed to store our suitcases. There is a small refrigerator that was stocked with sodas and bottles of Evian water. I can't recall if the refrig was restocked - we typically grabbed what we needed from the lounge - if its not restocked by the CM's you can do it yourself as the sodas and bottled water are available in the lounge as long as the lounge is open.

The only thing that was less than desirable about the room was the layout at night. When the sofa bed is pulled out, there is no access to the veranda without stepping on the bed. We had a 9 year old in the "bunk bed" that pulled down from the ceiling and an 11 year old on the pulled out sofa bed. I have to say that the sofa bed was very comfortable, but its simply in the way if you want to get to the veranda while its pulled out. Stepping across my daughter at 7:00 am with my latte in a pitch-back room made for quite the challenge!

As far as room "accessories" go, there is an alarm clock that has an iPhone dock on it. We couldn't figure out how to dim the brightness of the clock so we ended up covering it up every night. It makes a great nightlight if left uncovered The bathroom supposedly has higher quality products (i.e. shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and aloe). We enjoyed the aloe product! We never had a shortage of products - they left more in the morning and the evening if there was the slightest sign that the tubes had been opened. Same goes for the towels. I don't think we ever used a towel twice - after we got back home, I kept waiting for the clean towel fairy to put out clean towels!!!

Yes you get lovely upgraded products adn there are 2 1/2 bathrooms in the royals on the classic ships. The room sleeps 7. You have a living room, library, 2 bedrooms and dining room plus the butlers pantry.
The location of the Concierge deck is ideal for accessing the pool deck (Deck 11), the AquaDuck slide (Deck 12 Aft), the theaters which are at the Forward several decks down. There is a gate entrance that controls the access to the Concierge Cabins. The only people in the hallways are your fellow Concierge travelers. There is a private Concierge sundeck above the lounge; sadly its in the middle of the ship so there are no ship-side railings. The area immediately outside of the Concierge sundeck is an adults-only area. We "snuck" out there several times with the kids to catch a glimpse of the view from the front of the boat.

As for the "Extras" of Concierge service, here's a rundown:
1. Cocktail hour(s) - prior to each dinner seating, the lounge has a cocktail hour. Because of the timing of the dinner seatings and the cocktail hour, you could grab a drink before the early dinner seating, go to dinner, head back to the lounge and grab a beverage before attending the evening theater show.

No this is not on the classic ships.

2. Coffee Machine - upon arrival our Concierge stated that the lounge had the best coffee on the ship. I agree 110%!!! There is a self-serve coffee machine that spits out lattes, expresso, cappachinos, etc. Yum!!!!

No, not on the classic ships.

3. Guest Services - I discussed this a bit earlier, but I'll reiterate - they are your Guest Services.

Yes, call them they are their and they stop by daily also.

4. Private Character greeting - the Concierge passengers were treated to a private greeting with a character (we met Mickey!). The event is held up on the sundeck. It was complete with snacks (chocolate covered marshmallows) and an open bar time.

Yes they will have this in one of the lounges.

5. Arcade Card - both are kids received a card good for 10 minutes at the arcade. Neither are big gamers, so 10 minutes was just enough to say we went to the arcade and played games!

Yes you will have this.

6. Lithograph - we received a 16x20 lithograph of Donald Duck in the AquaDuck. Its a pretty neat souvenir of the trip. During the trip, they steam-cleaned our carpet and the cardboard sleeve and the lithograph got wet as we had propped it up in a corner out of the way to keep it from getting bent - we did realize that the carpet was still damp. The Concierge replaced the print with no questions asked.

Yes you will get a litho.

7. Fresh fruit basket - we had a fresh fruit basket in the room upon arrival in the cabin. While nice, we had access to the lounge with food (including fruit) from 7:00a - 10:00p so the fruit basket was just an added touch.

Yes you will have this. We asked and received fresh fruit daily.

8. Excursion booking 120 days out - you can book your excursions 120 days out if your cruise is 100% paid for.

Yes

9. Sundeck "products" - sunscreen products are available in baskets on the sundeck. Our daughter loved the Evian mist!!

Nope

10. Bottles of water "to go" - we loaded up the backpack with bottles of water prior to heading off on our shore excursions. Note - They sell a 6-pack of Evian water on-board for $18.00.

Yes as much as you want they will bring you

Some things to consider:
1. If you are into the Fish Extender thing, unless your fellow FE folks are Concierge travelers, they won't be able to get to your FE since they can't access the Concierge hallways.
2. The Concierge cabin doors are not metallic. I had made a Mickey magnet to place on the door and it would not hold - we put it on the bathroom door instead.

So now the ultimate question - is it worth it? I booked our reservation almost 18 months out so I suspect it was about as cheap a rate as one would get for the room. And I used our Disney Visa Reward points to basically upgrade us to the Concierge Level. For us, it was worth it. We enjoyed every aspect of the level of service provided. And I suspect we would do it again. Its a personal choice - its hard to say that its worth it from a dollar value perspective - my husband would tell you "no" I suspect My kids would tell you "heck yeah, its worth it", but they weren't writing the check!

Could someone that has been on the classic concierge levels tell me about the amenities listed below....we'll be sailing classic Royal Concierge next year, our first cruise.



Didn't mean to hijack the thread, just trying to clear things up for classic travelers like myself that might stumble on to this thread

ALso, being in the Royal gets you FREE unlimited internet. And all the concierge guests can borrow an Ipad for nintendo DS. They will also get you popcorn for the movies.

The Royal has five tvs, including the tiny one in the master bath. There are also toys/games in the cabinets in the living room.

You are going to love it.

 

[Renysmom]

The gate to the Concierge area is only on the Dream. It was not included when they built the Fantasy so if you are part of a FE on the Fantasy there are no issues delivering your items.

 

[martinm]

Some things to consider:
1. If you are into the Fish Extender thing, unless your fellow FE folks are Concierge travelers, they won't be able to get to your FE since they can't access the Concierge hallways.

I had a few gifts to drop off in that area on my last cruise and had no trouble at all gaining access to that area. Even when the stewards were in cleaning they will let you right in to the halls. Especially if your dropping off gifts... heck they will show you the room your looking for.

The fellow passengers looked at us a little wierd but were used to that

 

[martinm]

Pulled that trigger twice, sorry about the dupe.