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What am I missing about Concierge suites?


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I have a "hold" on the Mariner cruise, Oct. 27: Montreal-Miami. Not sure I'll book since I don't like cold weather or rough water, and there's a fair chance there'd be both. I was drawn by the nice-sounding July 4 offer. But one of the come-ons is that there's a 3 category suite upgrade. One gets a concierge E for what H regularly costs. Other than the free pre-cruise hotel (which would save around $200), I don't see any benefit; in fact I see a disadvantage. We always choose a cabin on the lowest deck mid-ship. With the bump to Concierge, we're obliged to be on deck 8. I guess the movement of the ship isn't going to be all that different one deck above our usual choice, but still-- I just can't see any great advantage of concierge. Is there something I'm not understanding?

 

Thanks!

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You could likely get a mid-ship suite rather than one that is aft or forward. Assume that you already can make dining and and excursion reservations early due to your Seven Seas Society status. There is a 5% discount on shore excursions, you'll have a cashmere blanket in case you're cold and want to it on the balcony and the Illy espresso maker.

 

I am not a fan of the Concierge program, however, since all of the lower category suites are identical on the Voyager and Mariner, they had difficulty booking what is now "Concierge" level suites. Passengers new to Regent or those that have not attained a level where they receive early reservations and 15 minutes of included ship-too-shore phone time find this level a benefit. It seems that the bottom line is that you will have a better suite location!

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I have a "hold" on the Mariner cruise, Oct. 27: Montreal-Miami. Not sure I'll book since I don't like cold weather or rough water, and there's a fair chance there'd be both. I was drawn by the nice-sounding July 4 offer. But one of the come-ons is that there's a 3 category suite upgrade. One gets a concierge E for what H regularly costs. Other than the free pre-cruise hotel (which would save around $200), I don't see any benefit; in fact I see a disadvantage. We always choose a cabin on the lowest deck mid-ship. With the bump to Concierge, we're obliged to be on deck 8. I guess the movement of the ship isn't going to be all that different one deck above our usual choice, but still-- I just can't see any great advantage of concierge. Is there something I'm not understanding?

 

Thanks!

We are Deck 7, G-Cabins, mid-ship fans for the Mariner. Only potential advantage I can see for the Concierge Class on the Mariner is get to the embarkation port a day, early plus avoid the air deviation fee, get the transport to the hotel and ship as well as hotel room and breakfast.

 

However, the offer would be very attractive to us for cruises on the Explorer. The above perks plus a super verandah - wow.

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If you are Gold or above; absolutely no reason to ever book a concierge; they are designed for newbies only; that is why it takes so long to sell them and why we have been given concierge on a number of occasions when we booked an H guarantee.

 

The three cabin upgrade only made sense on Navigator (to book an H and get an E) or Mariner (to book an F and get a B Penthouse) otherwise the sale did not make any sense. I guess you could have booked an Explorer Cat H and gotten an F2 which is also decent. Otherwise, not much difference. We did take advantage of sale and moved to mid-ship concierge but not getting any of the concierge pre-cruise benefits.

 

Marc

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The statement that concierge are designed for newbies only is silly!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Not really, almost all the benefits available for concierge are already available to Gold and Platinum get 10% versus 5% off land programs and regent choice excursions. If you want a blanket and coffee pot and tote bag; go and pay the extra amount.

 

Marc

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I much appreciate the feedback.

 

 

Tc: We're not interested in the cashmere blanket or the Illy, but like the idea of binocs. Not sure what you mean by our having a better suite location with Concierge. Like DeepFreeze, we are fans of deck 7, mid-ship on Mariner. With the "upgrade" we're obliged to be on deck 8. That's not an improvement in our view. I guess that the 5% discount on shore excursions might save a little money.

 

 

Marc and tallship: I double-checked with Regent reservations (who are nothing if not fallible), and they (2 different reps) insisted that concierge pre-cruise benefits are absolutely included in that July 4 deal. I wonder why you were told something different.

 

 

Anyway, when I first saw the ad for the promotion, it seemed like quite the deal. Now it seems like small potatoes. I suspect we'll pass, especially since we're not much interested in the ports after Maine. (Know them all pretty well.)

 

 

Thanks!

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Here are my two sense/cents, I have an upcoming cruise on the Mariner that seems to be selling slowly, I booked the concierge, for four reasons: getting priority reservations, the hotel the night before is included, I get a discount on the better wines (which my husband and I will probably order quite a bit of), and the silly idea that if someone is going to score an upgrade to a PH suite, being the next category down would seem to me, to be a logically person to upgrade;p I'm not gold, because we don't cruise that often, but that could change since I just retired!

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The statement that concierge are designed for newbies only is silly!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Agree with you. The one thing I would say is that, on Explorer, the lowest two categories of suites are suited to people that are used to very small suites on other cruise lines. Most (certainly not all) Regent regulars would not book those suites unless they were staying in them on their own.

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getting priority reservations, the hotel the night before is included, I get a discount on the better wines (which my husband and I will probably order quite a bit of), and the silly idea that if someone is going to score an upgrade to a PH suite, being the next category down would seem to me, to be a logically person to upgrade

 

This is it EXACTLY. Having done the Mariner recently, there really is not any other reason to book concierge if these items are not important to you. Priority reservations are pretty golden, however.

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I can't answer the upgrade question (I'm sure others can speak to their experience) and it may cost money, but the current cost difference between the suites is more than I want to spend. However, I can always look at an offer and decline it!

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This is it EXACTLY. Having done the Mariner recently, there really is not any other reason to book concierge if these items are not important to you. Priority reservations are pretty golden, however.

 

Michael, based on SSS status, you already get same "priority reservation" benefits that go to Concierge cabins.

 

Nice to see you back on the boards; hadn't seen you around for a while.

 

Marc

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These upgrades to Penthouse that you speak of: These would be paid upgrades, yes?

 

Almost positive that any upgrades would be "upsells". Depending on the ship, I would turn down an upsell to a PH suite unless it was really inexpensive.

 

Mailman055 - agree with you about priority reservations and the pre-cruise night at a hotel. The hotel itself is worth about $300 (at least that is what you get as a credit on most sailings if you opt out) and the priority reservations are priceless if you have your heart set on a particular specialty restaurant on a particular evening (like a birthday or anniversary celebration) or if there is a "limited" excursion that you want to make sure that you get.

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These upgrades to Penthouse that you speak of: These would be paid upgrades, yes?

Yes unless you just booked a GTY Concierge in which case you might get lucky :D ............. but probably unlikely

An upgrade/upsell to a PH on Mariner would be very agreeable since they are about 50% larger than Concierge and Veranda suites.

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We use the Concierge cabins for the 10% discount to wine at dinner. On Explorer they have some really nice wine and we end up using our OBC's that way. We had to be waitlisted on our Sept.22 cruise on her and scored an F1 but we are waitlisted for concierge for the stated reason as the cabins are identical

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We use the Concierge cabins for the 10% discount to wine at dinner. On Explorer they have some really nice wine and we end up using our OBC's that way. We had to be waitlisted on our Sept.22 cruise on her and scored an F1 but we are waitlisted for concierge for the stated reason as the cabins are identical

 

Good deal! Assuming you are on the 12 day sailing it is only a $400 per person difference between F1 and E so just purchasing $8,000 of wine makes that a good deal! If you are on the 22 day sailing; only $600 per person difference so just $12,000 dollars of wine; easy to do in 22 days.

 

Bon Voyage!!!

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Marq,

 

ROTFL!

 

(I suppose they could get a bottle of Penfolds Grange or a similarly ridiculously priced wine each day or two, thereby saving 10% on wine with 300% markup...)

Edited by JPR
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