Concierge Class Worth It ?

[Supt]

We are looking at our first cruise with Celebrity after quite a few years of cruising with Princess. My Question is , Is Concierge class worth the difference ?

 

On Princess we normally take a Caribe Deck Balcony on the Grand Class; enjoying the larger balcony we have also enjoyed the perks of Being Elite with Princess so one thing we do know is that wife will miss the free laundry benefit.

 

Thanks In advance

[Christine Frances]

What ship and sail date? How much difference in price between Concierge and a reg balcony? Depending on the offer you can offset the price difference with the 123 All Inclusive which is worth quite a bit. I like the cabin locations, the footstools on the balcony etc and depending on the ship ie M Class you would have a larger cabin. People are split on the benefits of this class but we prefer them.

[long time lurker]

You will find many opinions on this topic. Most say that it is not worth it on a S class ship because there is no difference in cabin size. On M class ships the concierge class is slightly larger. Most say that the only benefit of any worth is the additional loyalty "captains club" points. I have only sailed Celebrity one time, being a RC crossover. I look at it as a "real estate" choice in that concierge is a cabin location that I like. Currently the 123 All In promotion gives it a better value. Most of the perks such as priority boarding and expanded room service menu are just marketing hype.

[Mr. Click]

We have sailed with CC perks twice, once on an S Class, once on an M class. On the S class are really not worth the extra money in most cases because the CC cabins and veranda cabins are all the same size inside and out. On the M class ships the CC cabins are bigger. The other perks, the fresh flower each day, the sparkling wine, the canapes each afternoon etc really don't add up to much value. They are nice but....I can buy a flower or two on port days for a few dollars, the wine is no big deal and you get one bottle, and room service will deliver snacks anyway. There are a few other perks too but none of them add up to any real value for us. Our upcoming trip is on an S class ship and we booked a 1A cabin on the hump with a huge veranda for a lot less than a C3..

[Supt]

Thanks for quick replies ; we are looking at either Eclipse or Sil. At the moment we have the 1-2-3- Offers . Choice is 2 complimentary perks for ocean view and above or all three perks for concierge and above.

[mcrcruiser]

We have taken concierge cabins several times ;but ,only on the M class ships because the cabin is 21 sq ft larger & the cabin locations are better;) . The other perks are just so so

[Iamcruzin]

We normally book an ocean view on both Princess and our one Celebrity sailing. This time we wanted a veranda for our Bermuda sailing since we are saving money because we don't have to fly to port. I booked a C2 over a veranda because with the added perks they were offering for a Concierge booking it was $78 cheaper than a veranda. I will add that I was upgraded from a C3 to a C2 because of the captains club perk.

 

The only perk that may be worth anything to me would be the extended room service menu. In my opinion the buffet on the Summit can't hold a candle to the buffet on Princess as far as hours of operation and selection of food. This was my biggest complaint about Celebrity. We ate breakfast in the MDR most days on Celebrity which is something we never do on Princess. Service was faster and you didn't have to wait in a school cafeteria line. I know people complain about how unorganized the horizon court is but you can get in and out pretty quickly and there is a large variety of food.

 

I have read here that the flowers are hit or miss on receiving them and the canapes aren't that great but you can request a cheese plate. The pillow menu is just marketing fluff and how do you judge the upgraded toiletries. Is there really a difference in quality compared to the regular ones?

 

I think Aqua class is a better value because of Blu and the access to the Persian Gardens however on the M class ships I didn't like the room locations which are on deck 9 under the pool deck. So for me the value of CC class comes from the all inclusive package.

[QuakerBoy]

The biggest plus for Concierge after April is that the fare includes prepaid gratuities ($25/day for two), and $300 on-board-credit. So, for a 7 day itinerary, that would be a value of $475. For longer itineraries it will be more. So, if the pricing spread over standard balcony is close to or less than the added value gained, it's a good deal to get a better cabin location and the added loyalty points. The other cabin "perks" don't add up to much.

[CathyCruises]

Having sailed in everything from inside to SkySuite, I have to say that I don't think CC on S class is worth much of anything, the only exception being the additional 123 perk on the current offers. But the basic extras are ephemeral at best. They SOUND great but in reality are not all that.

 

I keep reading that people book them for the location, but I guarantee you that there are plenty of standard balcony cabins in equally good locations.

 

However, if you do the math and the CC cabins work out to be a good deal then go for it!!

[Rufferto]

On out next cruise, our CC cabin will cost us $50 more vs a regular balcony after we factored in all the perks we got. We took it because the extra loyalty points will take us from classic level to select level once the cruise is completed. We can recoup some of that $50 on our following cruise because by then we will have better benefits, such as a bigger savings on an internet package. We never cruised CC before. We will see how it goes and if we want to book it again.

[Duanerice1]

As others said you need to do the price compare since they seemed to have bumped the price on CC due to the perks. We either sail CC or AQ depending on price. Mainly due to the location for CC (although other cabins also have good location), expanded room service, and most importantly the foot stools :)

 

Only CC and above get foot stools. I spend a lot of time on our balcony so it is important to me. Is it worth a few hundred dollars? No, but for a minimal amount sure.

 

I have 2 cruises booked, one in CC and one in AQ. For the 7 night CC was only $200 more for the cruise and I got all 3 perks instead of 1. No need for financial figuring there. For the AQ it is a 10 night cruise and I originally booked CC for $250 more for the entire cruise (same 3 perks versus 1). I later bumped to AQ for anther $200 for the cruise. But worth it to us.

 

So you need to make these decisions for yourself. The other CC stuff isn't worth much to us but it might be to others. And yes in Dec we had flowers but declined the canapes.

Duane

[Killington]

Basically do the sums for each cabin category. I was looking at M class so fewer balcony categories. (In my case 2 because as a past cruiser if I want 2A I only pay 2B). Decide which promos you want for veranda and do dummy bookings for each cabin class you are considering as far as where you can see a price breakdown. It then depends which promo you are choosing, I would always take beverage if not getting all 3 in Concierge and factor in the cost of upgrade to premium in all cases, so as to compare like with like.

 

Example 1 - Round the Horn Mar 2017 All inclusive pricing pp for cabin+taxes+grats+bevs upgrade 2C £2250, 2B 2325, 2A 2385. C3 £2295 (factoring using OBC for bev upgrade)

No contest C3 cheaper thab 2B so booked C3 (upgrade to C2 as past passenger) cabin 8046 with 50% bigger balcony

 

Example 2 - Emirates and India Dec 2016. Costed out exactly the same way. 2C £2110, 2B £2140, C3 £2170, C1 £2270. In this instance I decided that £130pp extra for 2B to C1 was well worth it for the huge aft balcony:D

 

It may seem laborious but it's really the only way to see what value you are getting with the current 123Go. I take into account cabins available in each class looking for the elusive bigger than normal balconies

[DavidYYC]

It is for us.

[ailetoile]

My husband and I are enjoying CC on our quest to get to Elite status as fast as possible (three more seven-night sailings after the one we're booked on, woo!). If it weren't for that, I believe we would take the balcony and just call it a day unless there was something like the 123 Go promotion to consider.

 

Just to give you some perspective of us.... We're both very, very relaxed and easygoing individuals. We've never had a problem with the food or the service on Celebrity no matter what class we have chosen to sail. With regards to CC specifically, we enjoy the canapes, the footstools, the expanded room service, and the other extra perks, but to be honest I don't believe they're worth the money if there's a big difference in the fares. The Captain's Club points, on the other hand, are definitely worth it to us.

[phoenix_dream]

IMHO the only reasons to book CC over a regular balcony are extra perks with the current promotion, extra Captains Club points if you care about that, and on S class the footstools. (I don't think they have them on M class, do they? I know they don't for Aqua Class). Beyond that, I see very little value. If the cost differential with all considered was minimal and the location was better I would pay a small difference. But it is true that you can often find a regular balcony in a great location as well.

[capitalbarry]

NOt worth it at ALL. I have cruised with Celebrity in Concierge three cruises and believe me the last one in Dec was Concierge and wasn't worth a dime in extra service, biggest RIP OFF. Was on Silhouette and, well.. no flowers, no pillow menu, canapes, WHAT A JOKE- they send nacho chips and dip, REALLY and that was everyday. Sparkling wine, never opened it...They say you have a priority line for concierge, YA ok, took forever to get on the ship. Line was longer for us than the regular folks..SAVE your money as Celebrity should be downgraded and NOT a 5plus star cruise line, mediocre 3 at best..

[Muushka]

Why do we pay extra for the Concierge Class?

 

1. Footstools

2. Nice fluffy robe (for me)

3. Fresh squeezed OJ and grapefruit juice at breakfast

4. The ever elusive Elite Plus status gets us there quicker.

 

The above and the awesome OBC we received.

[Iamcruzin]

NOt worth it at ALL. I have cruised with Celebrity in Concierge three cruises and believe me the last one in Dec was Concierge and wasn't worth a dime in extra service, biggest RIP OFF. Was on Silhouette and, well.. no flowers, no pillow menu, canapes, WHAT A JOKE- they send nacho chips and dip, REALLY and that was everyday. Sparkling wine, never opened it...They say you have a priority line for concierge, YA ok, took forever to get on the ship. Line was longer for us than the regular folks..SAVE your money as Celebrity should be downgraded and NOT a 5plus star cruise line, mediocre 3 at best..

 

 

What or who gave you the impression that Celebrity was a 5 star line. It's a mass market product which to me is a 3 star experience.

 

 

 

 

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[Redtravel]

CC is not worth much on S class ships. On M class, extra space is nice. Depending on the price and location, a regular veranda may be a better choice. On many cruises, an ocean view is also a good choice. I saved $3000 by taking an ocean view over a veranda on a 15 night Panama Canal cruise. We don't spend much time on the veranda. Often the difference between the veranda and ocean view is huge. I have sailed in all types of cabins. Best price and location work for me.

[capitalbarry]

Mike, guess from your 1 time experience from Celebrity you can judge the rating system??

[Iamcruzin]

Mike, guess from your 1 time experience from Celebrity you can judge the rating system??

 

It's on par with Princess which is also a 3 star experience. I wouldn't expect any mass market line to be 5 star. When you pile on 3000 plus passengers how can it be? I would expect the luxury lines to be 5 star. When I booked Celebrity I knew what to expect and was very satisfied. Then again I don't get caught up in the fancy adjectives like "Concierge Class" and "Modern Luxury". The only reason I booked CC class for the next trip is because it was less expensive than a veranda once you add in the all inclusive perks.

 

Again I will ask who told you or where did you read that Celebrity is a 5 star line? I have always seen it referred to as a mass market line.

Edited January 17, 2015 by Iamcruzin

[capitalbarry]

Mike, guess from your 1 time experience from Celebrity you can judge the rating system?? Must be an opinion, and thats that RIGHT, from your experience with cruising and all with your 5 cruises??

__________________

[Iamcruzin]

Mike, guess from your 1 time experience from Celebrity you can judge the rating system?? Must be an opinion, and thats that RIGHT, from your experience with cruising and all with your 5 cruises??

__________________

 

 

It's a shame you didn't have an opportunity cruise back in the 80's and 90's when ships were smaller and there was white glove service, food prepared table side and waiters pulling out your chair. That's what I compare my experience to. I think people on these boards seem to throw around the adjectives and ratings too freely.

 

Since you never answered my question I'm guessing that the 5 plus stars that you were expecting was from your own opinion which is fine. I just thought I missed an actual industry rating review. Also I sailed on Princess 5 times and my total cruises are 8.

Edited January 17, 2015 by Iamcruzin

[7leagueboots]

We have taken concierge cabins several times ;but ,only on the M class ships because the cabin is 21 sq ft larger & the cabin locations are better;) . The other perks are just so so

 

I agree - good summary.

[bigbenboys]

We book concierge or Aqua. For us it is mostly about location on the upper decks near the pool and buffet. For us it is worth it.