Change to Concierge for $100 pp?

[kasil]

My husband and I are booked on Equinox in March for 10 nights. We currently have a veranda cabin on deck 7. For $100 pp, we can change to a concierge guarantee. This will be our first cruise with Celebrity. We'll have 5 days in port and it's a working vacation for me, so a lot of my time on sea days is spoken for. Are there many concierge cabins that are "less desirable"? Some of the perks that we'd gain are nice, especially since it's only $10 a day pp, but we'll have a great time with or without them. Is it worth the price and the risk of not choosing your location? Thanks for your opinions.

[Andy]

My husband and I are booked on Equinox in March for 10 nights. We currently have a veranda cabin on deck 7. For $100 pp, we can change to a concierge guarantee. This will be our first cruise with Celebrity. We'll have 5 days in port and it's a working vacation for me, so a lot of my time on sea days is spoken for. Are there many concierge cabins that are "less desirable"? Some of the perks that we'd gain are nice, especially since it's only $10 a day pp, but we'll have a great time with or without them. Is it worth the price and the risk of not choosing your location? Thanks for your opinions.

 

Hi Kasil,

 

Tough question - especially as it's a GTY. The first question is, are you comfortable with not choosing your cabin for now ? If not, then I would probably pass. Most of the Concierge cabins are in excellent locations, but some are very far aft. If you dont mind walking a little extra, then it should not be an issue.

 

Also, once you are assigned a cabin (keep checking !), you can contact your TA or Celebrity if you've booked direct, and request a cabin change, if something in a more desirable location is available - but it must be in the same category you were assigned.

 

If these items meet with your approval, then for $100 pp ? I'd go for it. You would also earn extra Captains Club points, which might be helpul to you.

 

If you have additional questions, please feel free to ask. I hope this is helpful, and enjoy your Cruise !

[cricketgal]

we paid $50 pp extra for concierge and thought it was totally worth it. Just returned from Feb 1st cruise on Reflection. As far as I know, all concierge cabins are well located, so guarantee shouldn't be a problem. Perks were nice in our opinion. We certainly got priority Select Dining seating and many other perks were nice as well. I had read from a lot of folks on this message board that its not worth paying the extra for this, but I personally disagree up to a point and I think $100 pp is worth it.

[HappyTvlr]

I think HostAndy got it exactly right that you first need to be comfortable with them choosing your cabin. As for the perks, I never found them worth it. The canapés are a bit sad when compared to the wonderful food available anytime, and we always get a bev package and end up giving our wine away. If you are chasing elevation in the Captain's Club, then 10 nights in CC may help but this would be the only specific perk that makes it worth the money. I opted for CC on our last cruise in order to secure Elite in the old system, but we both laughed at the "perks". Basically we paid $250 for Elite which seems like a good deal in the end.

[BosoxI]

i think hostandy got it exactly right that you first need to be comfortable with them choosing your cabin. As for the perks, i never found them worth it. The canapés are a bit sad when compared to the wonderful food available anytime, and we always get a bev package and end up giving our wine away. If you are chasing elevation in the captain's club, then 10 nights in cc may help but this would be the only specific perk that makes it worth the money. I opted for cc on our last cruise in order to secure elite in the old system, but we both laughed at the "perks". Basically we paid $250 for elite which seems like a good deal in the end.

 

+1.

[The_Big_M]

You also mention that it's your first cruise with Celebrity.

 

As you don't have club status, being in concierge will give you priority boarding as well. For the slight extra cost, I'd go for it, but of course it comes down to affordability and preference.

 

You won't get anything that will make a massive change to your cruise experience. As said though, for the relatively low cost, I'd take the upgrade.

[Cruise Raider]

For $200 more...definitely worth it for me. These are the amenities I like and will pay a little extra for:

 

Pillow menu -- #1 reason for me

Expanded room service menu

Priority boarding

Priority dining reservations

Upgraded towels and robes for your use

The footstools on the balcony

Fresh flowers in your room -- not the most important amenity but still nice

 

Now, AQ is so worth it because of all these as well as Blu, Persian Gardens and the observation relaxation lounge!! Oh, and those smoothies...yummo!

[Dmgmd50]

We were upgraded to CC at aft of ship. Went to see the room and hated the far walk to the elevators. We were able to switch with the coupile who been assigned to our original veranda cabin close to the elevators. They were happy and so were we.

[DebbieMacG]

For $200 more...definitely worth it for me. These are the amenities I like and will pay a little extra for:

 

Pillow menu -- #1 reason for me

Expanded room service menu

Priority boarding

Priority dining reservations

Upgraded towels and robes for your use

The footstools on the balcony

Fresh flowers in your room -- not the most important amenity but still nice

 

Now, AQ is so worth it because of all these as well as Blu, Persian Gardens and the observation relaxation lounge!! Oh, and those smoothies...yummo!

 

You don't need CC to get any of the pillows available, you just ask :)

[riclop]

Hi Kasil,

 

Tough question - especially as it's a GTY. The first question is, are you comfortable with not choosing your cabin for now ? If not, then I would probably pass. Most of the Concierge cabins are in excellent locations, but some are very far aft. If you dont mind walking a little extra, then it should not be an issue.

 

Also, once you are assigned a cabin (keep checking !), you can contact your TA or Celebrity if you've booked direct, and request a cabin change, if something in a more desirable location is available - but it must be in the same category you were assigned.

 

If these items meet with your approval, then for $100 pp ? I'd go for it. You would also earn extra Captains Club points, which might be helpul to you.

 

If you have additional questions, please feel free to ask. I hope this is helpful, and enjoy your Cruise !

Very good points Andy.

[Oville]

. We certainly got priority Select Dining seating

 

You did? This is the first time I've heard of this perk. Anyone else know about this benefit?

[simon stingray]

You don't need CC to get any of the pillows available, you just ask :)

 

I never knew that.

 

I love their isotonic pillows-I cannot sleep with regular pillows and was thinking of bringing my own on our next cruise as we are not in concierge.

 

Thanks for the tip.

[janny444]

We had a guarantee CC cabin and for us was certainly not worth the extra "dosh"

We ended up with a connecting room cabin and you certainly get noise from the other cabin....couldn't change cabin because there weren't any available in the same category.

As for the "perks"...mmmm...luxury bath robes...not what I would class as luxury...they are very thick and stiff...prefer something softer and more drappier. Canapes....not my scene...enhanced showerhead....didn't notice any difference between a "normal" showerhead....flowers...well a couple of stems...and fresh fruit...ok but not that fussed So it actualy came down to

 

Slightly larger cabin

Bottle of wine

Shower Gel

Priority boarding

Extra points

[nighilton]

We are booked on Eclipse out of Southampton May 24, my quandry is that by rebooking to a guaranteed CC from an A1 Veranda we could actually SAVE around £450 (about $750) and still get the beverage package and prepaid gratuities. Does anyone have anything to persuade me that it's not the no brainer that it sounds.

[gsb]

We were upgrade to Concierge on our Oct Eclipse in the Canaries.

The amenities were fine, but I sure wouldn't pay $100 each for them. Pillows were never mentioned, and we had the canapies one day out of 14. We are Elite and had no need for priotority boarding, etc.

I would use the $200 to upgrade the beverage package to premium.

Edited February 10, 2014 by gsb

[Willman]

Prices for guarantee rooms on my cruise are very low now. If I upgraded to Veranda guarantee, does anyone know if the 123go offers are good on guarantee cabins? Celebrity does not specifically exclude them in the fine print.

[gsb]

Prices for guarantee rooms on my cruise are very low now. If I upgraded to Veranda guarantee, does anyone know if the 123go offers are good on guarantee cabins? Celebrity does not specifically exclude them in the fine print.

I would call them directly and get the name of the person that gives you the answer.

[BosoxI]

Prices for guarantee rooms on my cruise are very low now. If I upgraded to Veranda guarantee, does anyone know if the 123go offers are good on guarantee cabins? Celebrity does not specifically exclude them in the fine print.

 

I don't know if the 123 offer is always available for a guarantee cabin, but I do know that we have received the 123 when we booked a guarantee. As has been suggested, there's only one way to find out and it's a phone call away.

Edited February 10, 2014 by BosoxI

[Adammara]

You did? This is the first time I've heard of this perk. Anyone else know about this benefit?

 

It was a listed benefit of Concierge, and the old Elite status carried the same 'perk'

 

It is just another 'perk' that seems to never happen. We tried Select dining on Connie in 2012, and despite arriving when the restaurant open never got a 2 place table for two, despite being in Concierge and Elite members.

 

When we got to the desk we asked for one of the empty tables for 2 that were in sight, yet we were taken to 6 place tables further in the restaurant, which were then reset for 2. The food and service were average, and after this happened 3 times, we quit the MDR and ate in the buffet for the rest of the cruise. Bit annoyed when we got home and another passenger in a suite posted they had the same table/waiter every night.

 

It was a very mediocre cruise, probably caused by the fact that a lot of the crew had been moved to Reflection, and others were transferring during the cruise. It was evident that a lot of the replacements were new to the job.

 

Richard

[Austrian]

The benefit we enjoyed most was fresh-squeezed OJ and smoothies on the breakfast room service menu.

 

S class balcony cabins are all the same size.

C2 on Deck 12 under the Oceanview Cafe can be noisy and the overhang keeps the sun away from you balcony.

C1s aft are great, but no overhead (lots of sun) and no privacy from Sunset bar types.

[gsb]

The benefit we enjoyed most was fresh-squeezed OJ and smoothies on the breakfast room service menu.

 

S class balcony cabins are all the same size.

C2 on Deck 12 under the Oceanview Cafe can be noisy and the overhang keeps the sun away from you balcony.

C1s aft are great, but no overhead (lots of sun) and no privacy from Sunset bar types.

 

What is a Sunset bar type?:confused:

[Rudy888]

Got off the Eclipse about 10 days ago. Like the ship and Celebrity. We had a Concierge Suite. Wouldn't book one again unless the difference between the Veranda and Concierge were very low. We did have a better floor 9. But no canapés except for the first day, not that I minded much. The special room for the last morning waiting to get off was so small everyone was sitting on the floor outside of the room. The footstools were nice on the veranda, but other than that, we received or wanted none of the other perks offered. Would book with Celebrity just not a Concierge Suite.

[BuddyBee]

For $200 more...definitely worth it for me. These are the amenities I like and will pay a little extra for:

 

Pillow menu -- #1 reason for me

Expanded room service menu

Priority boarding

Priority dining reservations

Upgraded towels and robes for your use

The footstools on the balcony

Fresh flowers in your room -- not the most important amenity but still nice

 

Now, AQ is so worth it because of all these as well as Blu, Persian Gardens and the observation relaxation lounge!! Oh, and those smoothies...yummo!

More info please regarding the Pillow Menu. Is this online to request before we sail? Or must we talk to the cabin steward about it? And what types of pillows are available?

[HappyTvlr]

Talk to the cabin steward. There are a variety of fluffy type (cotton/synthetic?) and down. If I recall correctly, we had a variety already on the bed so we just tossed them around between us since all seemed nice enough.

[phoenix_dream]

We had a guarantee CC cabin and for us was certainly not worth the extra "dosh"

We ended up with a connecting room cabin and you certainly get noise from the other cabin....couldn't change cabin because there weren't any available in the same category.

As for the "perks"...mmmm...luxury bath robes...not what I would class as luxury...they are very thick and stiff...prefer something softer and more drappier. Canapes....not my scene...enhanced showerhead....didn't notice any difference between a "normal" showerhead....flowers...well a couple of stems...and fresh fruit...ok but not that fussed So it actualy came down to

 

Slightly larger cabin

Bottle of wine

Shower Gel

Priority boarding

Extra points

Were you on an S class ship? On S class ships the connection is via a door across the two hall doorways. There would be no reason that room would be any noisier than any other room. On M class the rooms connect in the cabin so that is a different story. Also, on S class the rooms are the same size so that is not a benefit.

 

IMHO for the very minor price difference I would probably go for CC. Overall I do not think the perks are worth much, but for that minor amount of $$ I would go for it.