Concierge vs. non. Is it worth it?

[sandsummers]

To those of you who have sailed concierge...is it worth it? What are the benefits? Thanks in advance!

 

[DCSWO]

There are countless threads on this topic. 20 results for “concierge worth it”.

 

[Marc D]

Very subjective question, with many factors to consider, similar to asking if flying first or business class is worth it. For example, I would never pay what they are asking for Europe sailings. I would rather pay off my mortgage or buy a new car with that money.

In the Caribbean or Bahamas, we cruise Concierge because we want to have a 1BR suite and can afford the upcharge. But I wouldn’t pay extra to get a family deluxe stateroom with added Concierge services. While the service you get with Concierge is excellent, the regular service on DCL also is excellent. The extras (free cocktail hour, lounge access, etc.) wouldn’t justify the upcharge in our mind. When we sail non-Concierge, we do not really miss it. Some people say “once you’ve sailed Concierge, you can’t go back...” but it’s not our case. We go back and forth.

As PP said, it is a much discussed topic. A quick search will give you access to many different points of view.

 

[Dug720]

For me, not really. I am perfectly fine with the service on the ship as is. We did the first DCL cruise we took just because that is what my dad booked us in - my sister and I only used the happy hour...and then not even every night. We were SO low-maintenance that when I went into the lounge one time because we'd run out of diet Coke in the fridge and I wanted ONE, one of the hosts jumped up and brought like a 24-pack to the cabin he was so excited to be able to do something for us.

I pondered it for my birthday cruise in 2019 just because it would be fun to get a cabana on Serenity Bay for that day - but it's about $2500 more than my aft-facing balcony to upgrade!!! That is an entire other cruise for me!! (And no way would I drink $2500 worth at Happy Hour...plus that more than takes up the cabana budget!) So no. 100% NOT worth it to me.

But I am weird in that even though we cruised Concierge first, we have ZERO issue going back to "commoner" status. Heck, I've even cruised in a *gasp* inside cabin on another cruise line. Most people who have done it simply "cannot imagine" going back.

 

[FSU Girl]

I think it is, but not if it'll break the bank. It can get really pricey. I've done one normal Disney cruise and one Concierge sailing, did a trip report for each if you want to look through an compare. Both cruises were really great and I'd be okay sailing in a normal cabin again for sure. I think if you're on the fence about trying it look at 3 or 4 day sailings, it'll be a lot less expensive than a 7 day. I did the one-bedroom suite on the Dream and it was the nicest room I've ever been on a cruise. We're doing a 7 day concierge in January for our honeymoon, but we'll probably not sail in that again for a long while because of the cost.

 

[Trera]

We love concierge and would do it every time if we could. We just did a B2B on the Wonder and it was great. We really find we spend more time in the lounge off and on throughout the day than I remember. As for the happy hour...............I find that we have a drink before the main seating of dinner. Then we sometimes get one to drink at the table with dinner. Sometimes we get one to take to the show.

We also really enjoy getting a cabana.

 

[sandsummers]

Thanks for the info! I appreciate it very much!

 

[DietCokeMommy]

I think only you can answer whether it’s worth it to you. Look at the list of perks against the extra cost.

For me it’s a hard pass. On the cruises we’re interested in it seems to make it practically double. I don’t need to pay that much more for what’s included. The concierge perks mostly don’t interest me.

 

[ethanwa]

We've done a 4-day with non-concierge (but the largest normal stateroom with Verandah) on the Dream and a 7-day in a 1-bedroom concierge suite on the Fantasy.

1. Concierge, in my opinion, is not worth it on trips < 7 days. The trip just goes by so fast that you really aren't getting your money's worth. I'm so glad we just saved the money on our trip we just took on the Dream.

2. Concierge, in my opinion, is not worth it unless you get a 1-bderoom suite or greater. A standard room with concierge gets you the lounge with some free food and a booking of a cabana at Castaway Cay (which is also debatable about value at the current price, but thats a another topic) and priority booking of excursions. Sure, there is a priority boarding, but that is a minor perk. And yeah, you get a concierge agent.... but if you are on this forum, you probably already know what excursions you are booking, etc. So really it's all about the larger rooms and the lounge.

3. Concierge on a long cruise with a suite is AWESOME, but it's EXPENSIVE. Unless you are well-off, don't do it. Don't go into debt or drain your vacation budget for 5 years or put yourself in some kind of other uncomfortable financial position just for concierge.

Final opinion: If you are doing extremely well financially, and can honestly afford it on every cruise you take, get concierge with a suite. Otherwise, I'd skip it.

 

[Laughfreely]

We have booked a family concierge room 2 out of 3 cruises. I love it. I use shoreside a lot for questions. Yesterday they told me times an adventure was offered on our Sept. cruise I like being spoiled on vacation.
I take less cruises because of having to save up for it but that is our preference.

 

[Trera]

We have booked a family concierge room 2 out of 3 cruises. I love it. I use shoreside a lot for questions. Yesterday they told me times an adventure was offered on our Sept. cruise I like being spoiled on vacation.
I take less cruises because of having to save up for it but that is our preference.

We have started taking less cruises as well as we also prefer to travel in concierge.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

We got a one-bedroom suite on a Bahamas cruise and it was wonderful! The extra space was nice. That huge bathtub! We ordered dinner from the MDRs every night. We had a cabana on Castaway Cay. If the stars and my budget aligned again sometime, I would love to do it again.

But we've done a 7-night since in a regular cabin, and we have 2 more coming up in the next 12 months that are not concierge. We had just as much fun. Right now we feel like going more often is a better use of our budget.

 

[AquaDame]

The price REALLY varies by ship, category and time of year. When we did it it added a couple grand to try it, but some people pay 15K or more beyond a regular fare for concierge. It depends. For us, at that price and on the Wonder, it was worth it.

 

[ethanwa]

Right now we feel like going more often is a better use of our budget.

Same here. I'd rather spend the extra money to go on an additional cruise than to use it for Concierge (most of the time).

 

[John VN]

First Concierge Dream 1 Bedroom 4 day cruise in 2015 was AWESOME. Totally worth it.
Second Concierge Dream 1 Bedroom 4 day cruise in 2017 was somewhat disappointing, maybe because the first was more . After the cruise we decided that more cruising is better.

 

[acndis]

We just did our first non-concierge cruise in a few years last week. We were big fans of concierge but as time went on, we found we did not use the services any more and kind of got sick of all the extra receptions/events you have to go to. I must say that on this cruise, we did not miss it all! We were a bit clueless about embarkation/debarkation (for instance, we missed the onboard flight check in) because we were used to the concierge taking care of us but other than that, it was great!

The concierge folks are really wonderful but if you are considering, I would recommend what services you are going to need/most use. On this cruise, we planned one excursion on our own and were going to skip the cabana at CC. I also had no trouble booking our SWDAS stuff (even though I logged on pretty late in the day bc we were at WDW when my booking window opened).

I agree with other posters in that service can be hit or miss and you can probably almost always pay for an additional cruise with the money you will save!

 

[justme0729]

My mom generously booked DH and I a regular concierge stateroom for our honeymoon. We decided that while it was nice, we would not pay the extra for it ourselves. It is usually 2,000-3,000 more when I don’t necessarily need the benefits below. It was a luxury. Since we were first time cruisers, it was helpful to have their help and since we were cruising just DH and I, it was nice that it felt like we knew other people on the ship and that they were watching out for us. But now that we know how to do stuff and the price is too high, I booked regular for our next cruise.

Pros:
-High quality food steps from your room in lounge
-emailing concierge to book things for you instead of the phones
-Can book any excursion or cabana because concierge will book for you on opening day
-Little nicer room decor
-someone always close by to ask any question without a line.. how to get somewhere, setting up internet package, how deembarkation works etc.
-Bottled water available
-Complimentary alcoholic drinks during dinner hours in lounge
-Complimentary sunscreen

Con:
-If you need to cancel your deposit won’t be refunded

 

[DalmatianDad]

Next month will be our first concierge cruise. Our first cruise too. I find the upgrades are always worth it. The priority boarding is huge, the lounges are always amazing, the staff goes extra miles. The little extras are always greattoo fridges stocked, special requests etc.

If you have the money it's great. We only get to go out once a year we like to treat ourselves.

 

[Billinaz]

kind of got sick of all the extra receptions/events you have to go to.

You dont HAVE to go to anything.

 

[Billinaz]

Next month will be our first concierge cruise. Our first cruise too. I find the upgrades are always worth it. The priority boarding is huge, the lounges are always amazing, the staff goes extra miles. The little extras are always greattoo fridges stocked, special requests etc.

If you have the money it's great. We only get to go out once a year we like to treat ourselves.

Priority walk off if you leave early. They escort you past the line and through the doors before everyone else is let off the ship.