What ship?
She really wants to get a private cabana on the family beach. I heard you are more likely to get it if you are concierge level. True?
It's the easiest, most "you'll almost certainly get it", way to get a cabana, yes.
How much of a difference is the check in process? Is the wait to get on the ship that much better?
Checkin once at the port? Shorter line. Near immediate boarding once they've started boarding the ship. The feeling of cutting the entire line (this does NOT make me happy, I don't like cutting lines, and it makes me feel very VERY awkward).
Can someone explain the big appeal of the cabanas to me? What all does it include? It seems like a lot of $$$! Thanks in advance!
I can't. I've done it and I cannot tell you any positives about it. I would not do it again.
I've done two concierge cruises on Dream and I've done two non-concierges, and I like NON better. I explore the ship more, I spend more time out of the small lounge, when I'm not in concierge. When I'm in concierge I want VALUE and that means I'm limiting my time to that lounge, darnit. This is a ME thing. If it is a YOU thing, or if it is a YOUR WIFE thing, it's worth thinking about ahead of time. It was also my issue with the cabana. I didn't use the included snorkel equipment etc, because I was paying for the cabana and I was going to use it. I dislike rope hammocks but I forced myself into it. The thought of sitting on stuffed lounger cushions with the sweat of a thousand people before me on them grossed me out tremendously but I sat there, because I'd paid for it.
If that would ring true for you or your wife...think about it hard before booking that cabana.
When we booked concierge the first time it was around $300 more than the room we had booked already. 3 night cruise, so $100 more per night. 33.3333333 bucks more per night for each of us than the room we'd booked previously for that cruise. There is no chance in any part of Hades that I would pay $2500 more for concierge. Second time I didn't have a different room booked beforehand, so I don't know the cost of the next room down, but in looking at the cost, the total cruise price was
less per night than the first concierge cruise we booked. More total, but less per night. The whole cruise was barely over your $2500 upcharge.
Even accounting for Disney-inflation, there is not enough value in concierge, for me, to do that.
That's my flat out opinion based on two concierge cruises, two nonconcierge
DCL cruises, and now 4 non-DCL, non-concierge, cruises.
Someone above said that normal DCL cruises they wait on you nearly hand and foot. In the cruise industry that's about how they do it. DCL does it with Mickey flair, but they are no better, in my experience, than another line. So you're already paying the earth for nothing that much better than others, and then including concierge and then including the cabana....jinkies.
Remember that you get soda and bottled water with concierge, too...so paying for that with the cabana is just irritating to me.