To concierge or not to concierge

[mark0157]

I know this is a loaded question, but I'm really torn...do we pay the price for a concierge room? All we rally want it for is to secure a cabana at Castaway...other than that, is it worth the cost?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I know this is a loaded question, but I'm really torn...do we pay the price for a concierge room? All we rally want it for is to secure a cabana at Castaway...other than that, is it worth the cost?

If you're willing to pay the extra cost (for Concierge) just for the opportunity to book a Cabana, only you can say if it's worth it.

 

[Dug720]

Also be aware that there are more Concierge cabins than Castaway Cay Cabanas - at least with the Dream Class ships. So even in Concierge there is the possibility that you might not get one.

OTOH, even as a lowly Silver who will not pay the ransom for Concierge, I was able to get a Serenity Bay Cabana for myself and my parents in February 2017 when we were on the Magic. It was a blessing that time because my dad was having hip replacement surgery a couple of weeks after the cruise - but we all agreed that without that in the equation, it wasn't really worth it for us.

 

[beachdrmn]

We did our first concierge this past May after two non-concierge cruises and my husband and son both said I opened a can of worms and say the only way they will cruise again is if we go concierge. We are from the Midwest and because of having to fly to go anywhere good and jobs we take one vacation a year so for us we feel we can justify going a little higher end on our vacations. If not going concierge meant I could take a second vacation a year then I would definitely skip it but since that isn't an option I absolutely thought it was "worth it" for our family. We also loved the cabana! We ended up letting ours go and sharing with another concierge family we met on the ship and it worked out so great and cost half the price!

 

[quickcat]

I agree with what dug said, you may not get one. There aren’t enough cabanas to go around
The earlier you book, the better chance of them getting one for you. We are not in the “we could not go without concierge now that we have done it” group. We have a 5E for our next cruise and are very happy with that. We did love our concierge cruise but definitely do not feel we are missing out without it.
Good luck and have a great cruise!

 

[Clojel]

I know this is a loaded question, but I'm really torn...do we pay the price for a concierge room? All we rally want it for is to secure a cabana at Castaway...other than that, is it worth the cost?

Worth it as in dollar for dollar value, no? But is it a wonderful experience? Yes!! We went concierge on the Dream last year and we are firmly in the “concierge or bust” camp now, but we’re fortunate that DHs income and the fact that we’re a family of 3, makes it an option we can afford. It’s not worth going into debt for, and probably not *even* worth pushing your budget to the max for, but if you can swing it easily...you won’t be disappointed

 

[robashroy]

I must admit, I'm spoiled. 9th Disney cruise coming up in 2 weeks. 2nd time in the 12001 Walt Disney Suite.
Now, that's luxury.
Concierge is above all else.
I've chatted with several guests in the concierge lounge that are long time cruisers on other ships and were shocked, shocked I say, at the level of service on the Disney.
I've never cruised anything else so I can't give a compare or contrast.
I chose DCL because when we started my kids were 8,7,5,3 and I wanted them to be safe.
I'm sure all cruise lines are safe but DCL is built on the concept of kids having fun and being safe.
The Kids still love our DCL time together and they're now 17,16,14,12.
We all dress up for Pirate night. Like, Really good pirates!
Quick story, Last cruise we were in Palo dining and the Captain was dining a few tables over with his executive staff, all in dress whites.
I had chatted with him briefly on a few occasions in the hallways.
I walked over and asked him, Captain, What do you think Walt Disney would think of this Disney Cruise Line?
He turned to me and said, This is exactly how Walt and his family cruised.
I, (the captain) was Walt's captain on his yacht and the level of service is very similar to the level of service on his yacht.
I explained that it was our 8th cruise on the DCL and we had only cruised with DCL.
He said, Why would you cruise anywhere else?
He is right.
The concierge staff is the best in the business.
We forgot our photos on the dolphin excursion in the gift shop.
We didn't realize it until we got back to the boat and by chance told the concierge staff about that.
I though we would have to wrangle with the Dolphin people to ship us our photos back to the states and had 0 confidence that would happen.
Just before the final horn sounded a boat pulled up from the Dolphin Excursion and someone ran to the ship.
Our photos were delivered about 10 minutes later to our suite.
Unparalleled service.

 

[scrapbookjulie]

The things I enjoy about concierge...Getting on the ship first. The lounge access. The happy hour. The sundeck. The movie popcorn. Could I survive without those? Absolutely. Would I want to go on a cruise without my cabana? Not so much. That little hut is my happy place on earth. LOL So I pretty much book concierge for the cabana. We have our 4th cruise coming up, and we will have a double dip at CC this time. My silly husband asked, "So are we just booking a cabana on one of the days?" I thanked him for giving me such a good chuckle.

But really only you can decide if financially that's "worth it." I say try it once. If you are unimpressed, then you won't need to worry about doing it again. Then at least you won't have regrets wondering if you're missing out!

 

[kaseyC]

Quick story, Last cruise we were in Palo dining and the Captain was dining a few tables over with his executive staff, all in dress whites.
I had chatted with him briefly on a few occasions in the hallways.
I walked over and asked him, Captain, What do you think Walt Disney would think of this Disney Cruise Line?
He turned to me and said, This is exactly how Walt and his family cruised.
I, (the captain) was Walt's captain on his yacht and the level of service is very similar to the level of service on his yacht.

You've got to be joking, right? What ship and who was the Captain?

 

[DietCokeMommy]

Every time I look at concierge pricing it just doesn’t seem worth it for us. It usually works out to be about double the cost of a verandah room (which is what we like to book). The value just isn’t there for me, personally. I don’t need the concierges performing special things for us, I don’t care about the lounge or the happy hour. I’d rather use the money towards the next vacation.

I’m sure some people think that about the verandah rooms, and see more value in inside rooms. It’s all very subjective and only you can decide whether the service and perks are worth the cost.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

I walked over and asked him, Captain, What do you think Walt Disney would think of this Disney Cruise Line?
He turned to me and said, This is exactly how Walt and his family cruised.
I, (the captain) was Walt's captain on his yacht and the level of service is very similar to the level of service on his yacht.

You've got to be joking, right? What ship and who was the Captain?

Certainly not possible. He was pulling your leg or something.

Walt died in 1966. Assuming your last cruise was not more than 2 years ago that would have meant the captain was Walt's captain 50 years ago?

Here are the past and present captains of DCL.
https://disneycruiselineblog.com/cruise-planning/captains/
None of them were Walt's private captain or have been sailing for 50 years. The longest is Captain Andersson who has 40 years on the ocean and only 30 in command. None have been private captains for any member of the Disney family. They tend to come from Military or Cargo backgrounds generally.

 

[Trera]

We love concierge and everything that comes with it. I would do it once if the cost is not an issue and see if you like the experience.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

We love concierge and everything that comes with it. I would do it once if the cost is not an issue and see if you like the experience.

Exactly this! A wonderful experience, do it if you can/want. Not just for the cabana though. We have done cabana, no cabana. They are wonderful to experience, but you do not need one. Castaway is just as much fun without.

 

[kiford]

The value just isn’t there for me, personally. I don’t need the concierges performing special things for us, I don’t care about the lounge or the happy hour.

That sums it up for us. Affordability isn't the issue, it's the value. We might enjoy the happy hour but that's not worth at least double the price for us. I don't want the lounge since we prefer to hang out in the adult only areas and lounges that don't appeal to children. The sun deck (on the Dream class ships) has no water view which is the entire reason I sit out on deck. I'm not interested in a cabana. I don't need help to book anything. I'm Platinum so I can board whenever and I usually don't board until after open boarding anyway. I'm sure the service is very nice, but it's just not something I'd be willing to pay that much more for. If you absolutely must have a cabana, your best bet (but not guaranteed) is concierge. Value is entirely based on what you really feel you need/want and if you feel that it's worth the cost; what you get for the money isn't necessarily something you can express in an unbiased dollar value (i.e., I don't feel that there's any dollar value on having someone available to do my bookings because I'd rather do it myself but others might assign a positive dollar value to it). You should look at what they provide to concierge, the price of it and whether you'd be happy with the value to you if you can't get a cabana.

 

[southerngirl528]

You should look at what they provide to concierge, the price of it and whether you'd be happy with the value to you if you can't get a cabana.

Agree very much with this.

 

[asunutgirl]

We have never cruised concierge. The price to me is ridiculous. The service in all the areas of the ship is already amazing to me so it doesn't seem worth the price to us. (Of course, if we win the 2 billion dollar lottery we might change our minds. Ha!) If we only cruised concierge, we would only be able to vacation once every 3-4 years.

 

[Rob1872]

I want to do one of the Royal Suites just as a "bucket list" item. (Assuming that I can sell a kidney and a few other organs to afford it.) However, the base level of service is so high that I can't see paying the extra cost for concierge. (Plus, I'm not a heavy drinker so I don't need the free alcohol; and my family prefers to be playing at the water's edge than in a cabana.) I can take another really nice vacation for the cost between a category 4 and concierge verandah room.

 

[FSU Girl]

I've done two Disney cruises so far. The first was in a normal balcony cabin, the second was in a concierge one-bedroom suite. I had an amazing time in both rooms. I think it is possible to still have a great cruise in a normal room, we had a great time. The concierge room we had was beyond amazing and that cruise completely spoiled us. I like being pampered and sailing that way was pretty awesome. We are sailing in concierge for our upcoming honeymoon, but I think that'll be it for a long time. The price is just too high to justify. We could go on six Disney cruises for the price of our one coming up. We like to travel a lot so I'd rather more trips than one big expensive one. If you really want a cabana your best bet is booking concierge. There is the possibility you still won't get one, but your chances are far better than a normal balcony. Only you will be able to decide if its worth it or not.

 

[mike314]

I'm on the fence with concierge. I want to try it one day too and now is the best time because me and my wife don't have kids yet (that will change soon) but I'm afraid we will be hooked and fall into the concierge or bust crowd. The price is really high likely wont be able to afford when kids are in the picture.

 

[Sytrace]

I know this is a loaded question, but I'm really torn...do we pay the price for a concierge room? All we rally want it for is to secure a cabana at Castaway...other than that, is it worth the cost?

I would like to experience it at least once, however, I feel that would hinder my cruise frequency if I paid out the concierge prices. I would rather cruise 4 to 5 times a year in a 5A with my husband and two teens (what we currently average a year) as opposed to one concierge cabin and a 5A.
Since I don't care about a cabana (we like to get off the ship, wander around, maybe float, have lunch and then enjoy a super quiet ship) We are platinum so we don't have to worry about booking activities early...however the happy hour and lounge and sun deck do sound like a lot of fun!
Who knows what we will do in the next year or so as my cruising time will be lessened quite a bit (I got a full time job) and the kids school schedules (high school and of course jobs for them too) are going to get crazy.

But I definitely would not book concierge only to get a cabana as that is also not a guarantee it will be available anyway.