Would you upgrade to Concierge for these reasons?

[Lillebelle]

Woohoo, glad you made your choice and are so excited about it. If you're interested, here is another recent thread with Wish concierge tips to make the most of your experience:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/first-time-concierge-looking-for-advice-on-the-wish.3940509/

We had a wonderful time on the Wish and I'm sure you will too!

Oh one important tip regarding the nursery -- they will do an open house on embarkation day and *only* embarkation day (vs the normal clubs that do open house time daily). This is your only opportunity to actually go into the nursery with her. I highly suggest you go to the embarkation open house with your daughter so she can see the space and meet the counselors with you there. Otherwise her first experience will be you sending her off with strangers into an unknown space.

 

[WishUponAStar3]

Woohoo, glad you made your choice and are so excited about it. If you're interested, here is another recent thread with Wish concierge tips to make the most of your experience:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/first-time-concierge-looking-for-advice-on-the-wish.3940509/

We had a wonderful time on the Wish and I'm sure you will too!

Oh one important tip regarding the nursery -- they will do an open house on embarkation day and *only* embarkation day (vs the normal clubs that do open house time daily). This is your only opportunity to actually go into the nursery with her. I highly suggest you go to the embarkation open house with your daughter so she can see the space and meet the counselors with you there. Otherwise her first experience will be you sending her off with strangers into an unknown space.

This is SO so helpful, thank you!!!

 

[WishUponAStar3]

I go in November. I wish it were sooner!

Yes, we are planning on using the nursery for my daughter while we go to Palo and Enchante. I will also probably use it other times as well. I want to take the older two snorkeling and a 2yo can't do that. Hopefully she handles the nursery well but she goes to daycare so I'm hopeful. I'm sure the staff is used to some degree of separation anxiety at drop off and many kids calm down once parents leave. Fingers crossed.

Super excited for you. When you return, post about your trip! I would love to read about your experience!

I definitely will post a trip report! I’m excited to hear about yours too!

 

[mmouse37]

54 DCL cruises and we never did Concierge or had a Cabana and always had a great time. It is personal preference. Also, we ALWAYS do late dining even with infants and toddlers. In our case as long as the kids get a nap in and a snack they are fine at late dinner. I would much prefer them awake for the beautiful main stage shows than dinner (if you have late dinner you have an early show time). They can get mac n cheese or pasta anytime at home but how often do they get to see beautiful Broadway style shows with their favorite characters.

Palo is very nice but we often don't get it before we leave for the cruise and 9 times out of 10 are able to get a reservation once onboard. I would definitely not pay $5K for concierge......I would prefer to book another cruise instead. But, like I said....it is personal preference. No right or wrong answer.

MJ

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

I’ve only sailed DCL twice, once to Alaska in a concierge 1 bedroom on the Wonder, and once to Castaway Cay/Nassau in a non-concierge family verandah room on the Dream. With the former, I booked as soon as reservations opened, and with the latter, I got the last family verandah room on the ship 2 months before sailing and was waitlisted for main dining. The first cruise was nearly double the regular verandah price for the 1 bedroom, even though we cruised in the shoulder season. For me, the reasons I booked concierge were the following, in descending order:
- the room was double the size/verandah size. We had a still-napping 2 year old, and I wanted a spacious place to spend time if we were trapped in the room while he slept. We could also get full room service breakfast in that size room, and did.
- the lounge. My DH wakes up earlier than us and loved being able to slip out and go get some coffee in a quiet space. He also retreated to the lounge sometimes while I stayed in the room with our napping kiddo.
- booking priority for excursions/onboard activities. As first-time DCL cruisers, we had no status. Concierge was able to get me onto the second glacier explorer excursion and my DH onto the first so we could swap off the kids. By the time bookings came available for new cruisers, the first one was sold out. They also got us the Palo brunch and dinner times we wanted, and nursery appointments to go with them. They did forget to book the Frozen and Princess gatherings and the character breakfast, but I checked and booked them myself.
- a private table guaranteed in the main dining restaurants. But I should note that none of our tables were well placed relative to the entertainment. Still, DH would not want to be forced to chat up strangers every night at dinner.
-early boarding/early room ready. Honestly, the concierge waiting area was packed, and no more comfortable than the rest of the terminal. I think they gave us bottled water, but boarding is crowded chaos no matter what.

Our planned second cruise was on the Magic in 2020. We booked a regular verandah room that got upgraded to concierge for free after the Magic’s dry dock. It would have been 6K for a 5 night cruise to Bermuda in concierge. It got canceled of course.

For our real second cruise, as Silver who booked late, I was able to get us off the waitlist for main dining and a private table when I checked first thing after boarding, and I got exactly the Palo brunch, Castaway stingray excursion, Remy dinner and spa/tastings/pirates league bookings I wanted by myself. It was a shorter cruise on a new to me, bigger ship, and concierge would not have been worth it with everything else there was to do.

Our upcoming Wish cruise is one night shorter than our Dream cruise, and again a new, big ship, so I couldn’t justify the 5K upcharge for the same size room even though DH pouted a bit about the lounge.

TLR: I would book concierge again for any cruise over 6 nights, if I was booking a 1BR for the space. 5 nights or shorter it’s not worth it, to me. But I also don’t care about cabanas.

 

[WishUponAStar3]

I really like hearing all these different reports about concierge vs. non-concierge, so thank you to everyone who is replying to this thread!! While I feel really good about my decision to go concierge for this first cruise (especially with it being a special occasion cruise celebrating 3 family birthdays!) it's also great to hear that plenty of you have gone back and forth between the categories without missing the concierge perks too much. If we love our first DCL experience, the plan is to book the Wonder out of San Diego for spring break 2025, since that's a much easier trip for us coming from LA. With it being a smaller ship, no Castaway, etc I'm not sure concierge will be as needed there? We shall see how hooked on it I get after this first trip though!

 

[Lillebelle]

With it being a smaller ship, no Castaway, etc I'm not sure concierge will be as needed there? We shall see how hooked on it I get after this first trip though!

I'm sure you could have an excellent time doing your next cruise non-concierge. But I'll just throw out there that I actually prefer the concierge experience on the small ships at the end of the day. Yes, the Wish has more bells & whistles and offers some extra things the other ships don't. But the smaller ships offer a much more intimate experience -- the number of people working the lounge is much smaller so you see the same faces more and can get to know them more. For me, that is where the true value of concierge comes in (and why it is so subjective since I'm sure there are many for whom that would not be something they cared about). Just food for thought. Enjoy your cruise!

 

[MrMagoo]

Having 2-3 extra hours for embarkation and letting the kids enjoy the pools and water slides without a wait + the priority disembarkation on a day when we'll have a fairly long trip home ahead of us back to CA could make a big difference. And my OBC credit went up to $600 with the upgrade, so if we do end up getting off the waitlist for Castaway (I was told we're pretty high up on the waitlist right now) that would cover a big chunk of it.

On embarkation day, if you arrive at the earliest port arrival time you will be held in a waiting room until the ship is cleared for boarding. Then they take you to a sit down lunch at 1923 or the Roy Disney dining room, can't remember which, where you will first meet a concierge host that will go over your plans and other things with you. For your very first Disney Cruise and in concierge I would recommend this.
By the time you are done, many other guests will have boarded and the slides and pools will be filling up.
I suppose you could opt out and go up to Marceline market but you would miss out on a good lunch and getting your kids a Welcome Aboard Sunday which our grandkids love!

Your priority disembarkation will be good for you as the concierge hosts will escort you down to get off the ship ahead of everyone else. It can really speed things up getting off the ship.

Do not get your hopes up too high for a Cabana at Castaway even being high on the wait list. There are very few Cabanas and a lot more concierge guests on the Wish than any other Disney ship. Even if they told you that you were number one on the wait list I still wouldn't get my hopes up. Sorry to be a downer on this. It is possible if you are number one on the list but any lower probably not.

As for getting seasick, unless there is bad weather you will probably only feel a slight motion on the ship. Most of the time you will probably not even notice any ship motion. But you will if you actively watch for it. It all depends on the weather. But still bring sea sickness medication!

And like Lillebelle said, on embarkation day tour the nursery with your 2 year old and the kids club with your 7 year old
so you and they can know what to expect.

For the shows in the theater you definitely want to utilize the early concierge admission. You will probably want to leave the 2 year old in the nursery as it will be a long time to try to keep them calm. It may even be to long for your 7 year old. You are generally admitted about a half hour before the show and then consider a little over an hour for the show. Do not know how active your 7y/o is.

The concierge lounge is wonderful! It even has a hot tub which we didn't see being used and a nice sun deck.

And like Lillebelle said again, the concierge is nice but we are fresh off a B2B on the Magic in concierge and we were able to really get an intimate feel with the hosts there more than on the Wish. There are SO many more concierge guests on the Wish than the Wonder/Magic and even the Dream/Fantasy that the hosts do not have time to really get to know you. They really need more concierge hosts on the Wish in my opinion.

Now, only you will be able to decide after the cruise if it was worth the extra you paid.
But don't you think you are worth being pampered just a little bit more, especially for your Birthday?

 

[RedHead0186]

On embarkation day, if you arrive at the earliest port arrival time you will be held in a waiting room until the ship is cleared for boarding. Then they take you to a sit down lunch at 1923 or the Roy Disney dining room, can't remember which, where you will first meet a concierge host that will go over your plans and other things with you. For your very first Disney Cruise and in concierge I would recommend this.

1923 and Roy Disney Dining Room are the same thing. 1923 is one of the Main Dining Rooms and it's split into two sides: Walt and Roy.

 

[WishUponAStar3]

On embarkation day, if you arrive at the earliest port arrival time you will be held in a waiting room until the ship is cleared for boarding. Then they take you to a sit down lunch at 1923 or the Roy Disney dining room, can't remember which, where you will first meet a concierge host that will go over your plans and other things with you. For your very first Disney Cruise and in concierge I would recommend this.
By the time you are done, many other guests will have boarded and the slides and pools will be filling up.
I suppose you could opt out and go up to Marceline market but you would miss out on a good lunch and getting your kids a Welcome Aboard Sunday which our grandkids love!

Your priority disembarkation will be good for you as the concierge hosts will escort you down to get off the ship ahead of everyone else. It can really speed things up getting off the ship.

Do not get your hopes up too high for a Cabana at Castaway even being high on the wait list. There are very few Cabanas and a lot more concierge guests on the Wish than any other Disney ship. Even if they told you that you were number one on the wait list I still wouldn't get my hopes up. Sorry to be a downer on this. It is possible if you are number one on the list but any lower probably not.

As for getting seasick, unless there is bad weather you will probably only feel a slight motion on the ship. Most of the time you will probably not even notice any ship motion. But you will if you actively watch for it. It all depends on the weather. But still bring sea sickness medication!

And like Lillebelle said, on embarkation day tour the nursery with your 2 year old and the kids club with your 7 year old
so you and they can know what to expect.

For the shows in the theater you definitely want to utilize the early concierge admission. You will probably want to leave the 2 year old in the nursery as it will be a long time to try to keep them calm. It may even be to long for your 7 year old. You are generally admitted about a half hour before the show and then consider a little over an hour for the show. Do not know how active your 7y/o is.

The concierge lounge is wonderful! It even has a hot tub which we didn't see being used and a nice sun deck.

And like Lillebelle said again, the concierge is nice but we are fresh off a B2B on the Magic in concierge and we were able to really get an intimate feel with the hosts there more than on the Wish. There are SO many more concierge guests on the Wish than the Wonder/Magic and even the Dream/Fantasy that the hosts do not have time to really get to know you. They really need more concierge hosts on the Wish in my opinion.

Now, only you will be able to decide after the cruise if it was worth the extra you paid.
But don't you think you are worth being pampered just a little bit more, especially for your Birthday?

Ooh, thank you for this!! I definitely want us to do the concierge Embarkation Lunch, but also was hoping to get on the AquaMouse before lines get long. Do you know what time concierge boarding usually is, and if there is time to do both the lunch and AquaMouse without waiting in line?

For disembarkation, I love that we'll get escorted off the ship and have a shorter wait. But do they only offer that service super early in the morning? If it's possible for us to sleep in a BIT longer and do a sit-down breakfast before disembarking, we'd love to do that!

Thanks again, @MrMagoo!

 

[westie55]

Ooh, thank you for this!! I definitely want us to do the concierge Embarkation Lunch, but also was hoping to get on the AquaMouse before lines get long. Do you know what time concierge boarding usually is, and if there is time to do both the lunch and AquaMouse without waiting in line?

Concierge guests can board the ship as soon as it's ready. I think that's 11:00.

I asked the question about the 1923 welcome lunch and the Aquamouse on a facebook group and the responses were varied. Some people said absolutely do the lunch and it was as quick as you wanted it to be. Others said it was very long and drawn out and they'd skip it next time. One family indicated that the service took so long they left because their kids couldn't wait anymore.

Personally, I'm leaning towards skipping the welcome lunch and eating at Marceline Market or Mickey's festival of foods when it first opens. Without many people on the ship yet, these won't be crowded mob scene and my kids can enjoy the pools when they aren't people soup and there's no line for Aquamouse. I'm sure there won't be a lot of moments like those on the entire cruise. I hear most people stay on the ship in Nassau. I'm not worried about missing food from 1923 because I have a feeling I'll be eating A LOT on the cruise, and there will be other opportunities to dine in 1923. I also imagine there will be other opportunities to chat with the concierge hosts.

 

[cmph]

Unrelated to concierge - bonine is for ages 12 and up. Our pediatrician was ok with our eldest taking at age 11 (not sure if size is a factor - but we're all very tall so she was already like 5'7" or 5'8" by then). However, she definitely wasn't ok with our youngest (7 and then-8yo on the two trips) taking bonine. She said to use Dramamine if necessary, which conked him out on trip 1 - a bouncy day boat trip when we went to Aulani, not a long cruise. We got sea-bands and various ginger-containing products for him for our cruise later that year. In any case, talk to your pediatrician about motion sickness prevention for a 2yo and 7yo.

 

[WishUponAStar3]

Unrelated to concierge - bonine is for ages 12 and up. Our pediatrician was ok with our eldest taking at age 11 (not sure if size is a factor - but we're all very tall so she was already like 5'7" or 5'8" by then). However, she definitely wasn't ok with our youngest (7 and then-8yo on the two trips) taking bonine. She said to use Dramamine if necessary, which conked him out on trip 1 - a bouncy day boat trip when we went to Aulani, not a long cruise. We got sea-bands and various ginger-containing products for him for our cruise later that year. In any case, talk to your pediatrician about motion sickness prevention for a 2yo and 7yo.

Oh, this is very good to know- thank you!!

 

[Lillebelle]

Given that it's your first cruise, I would personally recommend doing the lunch and not stressing about rushing. Yes we've had varied experiences in terms of how long it's taken but I think it's a nice way to settle into the cruise and sort of savor the fact that you've made it and you're on vacation! And...the Aquamouse IMHO is not all that and a bag of chips. Sure, you should do it, but I don't think it's worth trading the lunch. And I think you stand a decent chance of having a shorter line even if you go post-lunch (maybe not no line but really, is saving 10 minutes of standing in line worth giving up a meal that you paid a premium to have?). But you do you!

 

[MomOTwins]

We skipped the concierge lunch. No regrets! We got to "rope drop" cabanas as we boarded before all the other guests and we got to have a wonderful big booth table and get all of our food before the chaos of all the other guests arriving.

 

[WishUponAStar3]

Given that it's your first cruise, I would personally recommend doing the lunch and not stressing about rushing. Yes we've had varied experiences in terms of how long it's taken but I think it's a nice way to settle into the cruise and sort of savor the fact that you've made it and you're on vacation! And...the Aquamouse IMHO is not all that and a bag of chips. Sure, you should do it, but I don't think it's worth trading the lunch. And I think you stand a decent chance of having a shorter line even if you go post-lunch (maybe not no line but really, is saving 10 minutes of standing in line worth giving up a meal that you paid a premium to have?). But you do you!

Yeah, I totally agree! Since the embarkation day lunch is one of the concierge extras we paid for, I definitely want to enjoy that and not miss it. We'll plan to go straight from there to AquaMouse, but won't stress it. Thank you for the feedback!

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Definitely do the lunch- it is a nice perk. Have a glass or two! of champagne and meet your hosts. It is a wonderful way to start your cruise. I highly recommend the lobster salad!

 

[CampbellzSoup]

As someone who travels with a baby who’s now three and have done cruises with him since he’s been 1 what’s the problem with the later dining? He takes a nap from a day in the pool / sun from usually 4-6 we watch the show at 6 it ends at 7 get character photos and go to dinner.

 

[westie55]

As someone who travels with a baby who’s now three and have done cruises with him since he’s been 1 what’s the problem with the later dining? He takes a nap from a day in the pool / sun from usually 4-6 we watch the show at 6 it ends at 7 get character photos and go to dinner.

This will vary by family of course, but many kids are used to napping around mid day and going to bed before 8pm. Add in the exhaustion from doing so much all day and it’s very easy for little ones to be spent and not able to start a lengthy sit down dinner past 8pm. To each his own. Some people whose kids are able to take late naps love late dining, but not all small children do well deviating from their schedules that much.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

This will vary by family of course, but many kids are used to napping around mid day and going to bed before 8pm. Add in the exhaustion from doing so much all day and it’s very easy for little ones to be spent and not able to start a lengthy sit down dinner past 8pm. To each his own. Some people whose kids are able to take late naps love late dining, but not all small children do well deviating from their schedules that much.

Yeah no I’m not going to sleep at 8 pm on a cruise and neither is he if you want to do that enjoy.