Concierge Benefits

[thorntor]

First time on Celebrity with Concierge class cabin and not sure what the benefit actually is nor how/when/where to take advantage of the benefit?  Specifically:

    -  where do I make contact with the concierge 

    -  can the concierge make specialty dining reservations

    -  can the concierge make show reservations

    -  can the concierge make excursion reservations

Final question, am I better off doing these things myself once on board, assuming that meeting up with the concierge may take a while?
 

Thanks for responses.

[patty1955]

43 minutes ago, thorntor said:

First time on Celebrity with Concierge class cabin and not sure what the benefit actually is nor how/when/where to take advantage of the benefit?  Specifically:

    -  where do I make contact with the concierge 

    -  can the concierge make specialty dining reservations

    -  can the concierge make show reservations

    -  can the concierge make excursion reservations

Final question, am I better off doing these things myself once on board, assuming that meeting up with the concierge may take a while?
 

Thanks for responses.

We've sailed in Concierge class several times. We've never had any services provided by a concierge. All we got was extra points, a bottle of wine, afternoon hors d'oeuvre  and an embarkation day lunch.

[cruisestitch]

44 minutes ago, thorntor said:

First time on Celebrity with Concierge class cabin and not sure what the benefit actually is nor how/when/where to take advantage of the benefit?  Specifically:

    -  where do I make contact with the concierge

 

If you arrive soon enough on embarkation day to attend the concierge lunch in the main dining room, you will meet because he was in otherwise go to his or her desk 

 

    -  can the concierge make specialty dining reservations

yes or you can do this yourself 

44 minutes ago, thorntor said:

    -  can the concierge make show reservations

no because the shows do not require reservations on Celebrity

    -  can the concierge make excursion reservations

yes but you can do this yourself either on line before the cruise or in person at the Shorex desk

 

Final question, am I better off doing these things myself once on board, assuming that meeting up with the concierge may take a while?
Sometimes tgere is a line to see the concierge but you won’t know until you try on board.  

Thanks for responses.

The concierge will do these things but it is often faster or easier just to do them yourself

[C4HCG]

We book concierge on equinox due to location of the cabins, deck 10, perfect for us.

[CruiseCrew123]

You don’t book shows . Don’t leave booking excursions and speciality dining till on board as lots will sold out . Your cabin is the classed as being in a ‘better location’ but that’s about the only benefit apart from lunch on the first day . 

[the penguins]

1 minute ago, CruiseCrew123 said:

You don’t book shows . Don’t leave booking excursions and speciality dining till on board as lots will sold out . Your cabin is the classed as being in a ‘better location’ but that’s about the only benefit apart from lunch on the first day . 

Location is a subjective issue.

Lunch on first day has been dropped on many cruises (you won't know until you board) and replaced by a sea day lunch which defeats the object.

Unless Concierge is just a few dollars more (we booked once for $25 for 2 for the whole cruise) and you need the extra points for us it's a total waste of money.

[killaypirate]

Having chosen CC on several cruises, then Aqua on the last one, have now decided that the money spent on CC is better spent towards Aqua. Interestingly our prime CC is only £12 ($16) cheaper than Aqua but located midships.

Edited July 18, 2023 by killaypirate

[bigAWL]

I explored this question a few months back.  Based on responses from those who sailed Concierge in the past, this is the best list I could come up with for what the Concierge staff can do for you (or presumably for anyone, since they are not actually there exclusively for Concierge class guests):

 

• Dining reservations and changes
• Print boarding passes
• Tender tickets
• Help with general problems
• Help with Guest Services issues with a shorter line

 

Of course there are other benefits that go along with your booking, but I was specifically looking for services performed by the Concierge staff.

 

If you're interested in reading the responses I got, here's the thread:

 

Edited July 18, 2023 by bigAWL
Add a link.

[C4HCG]

3 hours ago, the penguins said:

Location is a subjective issue.

Lunch on first day has been dropped on many cruises (you won't know until you board) and replaced by a sea day lunch which defeats the object.

Unless Concierge is just a few dollars more (we booked once for $25 for 2 for the whole cruise) and you need the extra points for us it's a total waste of money.

For you as you say it is a total waste of money, for us not.

Edited July 18, 2023 by C4HCG

[jshli]

On Millenium class ships, you get a slightly larger cabin

[dock]

We just got off Equinox in CC. 
I was never able to get ahold of the concierge.

 

Tried calling many times during working hours and they never answered . 
Calls went straight to  a voice memo and I was unable to leave a message. 

I went to the desk and either no one was there or the line up was too long. 
 

I ended up at GR to handle the cake order for my husband and my spa issues. 
The lines were shorter and moved faster as there was always multiple people working GR. 

 

I wouldn’t book based on having your own Concierge or the afternoon canapes( sad and soggy).

The extra points , slightly better cabin location and Helipad invite for Sailaway from Tortola made it worthwhile. We always book CC for these reasons especially if the difference is not  outrageous. 

 

 

[AmberCascades]

We've never used the Concierge for any of this stuff.  We like the cabin location and the embarkation day lunch is a nice bonus. You also get a bottle of sparkling wine, complimentary shoe shine (my DH tried it out and they did an amazing job!), a nice place to hang out on disembarkation day while waiting.  We were invited to several events onboard, as well as a couple of invitations to the helipad for sailaways - one from the embarkation port and another from one of the port stops.

 

On our last cruise we had a couple of issues with our cabin and with a food allergy issue.  We were able to access our Concierge on deck 3.  We also played a bit of phone tag but they were all over our issues to get them resolved.  The Concierge isn't a butler though.  They aren't there to do little things for us that we can do ourselves.  

[WestLakeGirl]

5 hours ago, the penguins said:

 

Lunch on first day has been dropped on many cruises (you won't know until you board) and replaced by a sea day lunch which defeats the object.

 

I have seen this reported on certain Alaska cruises. Have you seen reports of this for Cruises elsewhere?

[39august]

The concierge is there for all classes of cabins, except for Retreat who have their own dedicated concierges and butlers. Don't expect much in the way of personal services. I would only book concierge if not much more than veranda and only for the higher deck cabins.  The sparkling wine is awful stuff and canapes questionable. 

[publicpersona]

This fairly recent YouTube video does a good job of describing the benefits. Although we are doing Concierge on our upcoming cruise, it was because the delta in price was insignificant. I don't put much value into having a banana left in the room every day. But if you see benefits of value to you, go for it.

 

 

[momofmab]

We booked it on our first X cruise this past January (E-Class).  Other than the embarkation day lunch, we saw no additional benefit and would probably not spend the extra $$ book that class again.  It was our first X cruise and I wanted to see what concierge class on X was like.

 

If you read the list of the benefits and the majority of them appeal to you, and the money makes sense, then book it.

Edited July 18, 2023 by momofmab

[riredsox]

My last Concierge cabin on Apex was toward the back of the ship.  Quite a hike from the elevators.   It was a B2B and the next cruise was a regular IV in a much better location.  The new Edge class ships sell more concierge rooms just to make more money.  The perk of location doesn’t exist.   

[Arzeena]

26 minutes ago, WestLakeGirl said:

I have seen this reported on certain Alaska cruises. Have you seen reports of this for Cruises elsewhere?

Yes, we have experienced this on a Caribbean cruise.
Once on the Edge and one time on Silhouette. Both times the "embarkation day lunch" was moved to a sea day. We were informed by one of the concierge that this will be the way they will do it in the future on most ships. I do not remember what her reasoning was.

[thorntor]

I appreciate all of the feedback.  It helps to manage expectations.  I asked the question on Celebrity concierge benefits as on our last two Royal cruises the concierge in the Diamond Lounge was outstanding and performed all of the services I asked about here.  She even spoke with the maitre d to arrange our table for six in the MDR.  

 

The consensus seems to be "don't expect much from the Celebrity concierge and better to arrange whatever you can before boarding."  😐

[cruisestitch]

One more thing you should know, the concierge is a member of a team of concierges, which includes the Captains Club host, who share duties.  If one of them is busy, you can consult one of the others.

 

 

[C4HCG]

49 minutes ago, riredsox said:

My last Concierge cabin on Apex was toward the back of the ship.  Quite a hike from the elevators.   It was a B2B and the next cruise was a regular IV in a much better location.  The new Edge class ships sell more concierge rooms just to make more money.  The perk of location doesn’t exist.   

On s class the perk of the location does exist.

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, WestLakeGirl said:

I have seen this reported on certain Alaska cruises. Have you seen reports of this for Cruises elsewhere?

 

1 hour ago, WestLakeGirl said:

I have seen this reported on certain Alaska cruises. Have you seen reports of this for Cruises elsewhere?

Also Southampton. Basically the issue is that now you have to book or are allocated check in times many passengers arrive too late for the lunch.

I know some passengers say to just ignore the times but in some ports (for example Southampton) that is simply not possible. In an attempt to give all Concierge Passengers their special lunch X’s decided , on some cruises, to move the lunch to a sea day. Clearly this is not the sand as a boarding day lunch but at least it shows an willingness to do something.

[the penguins]

6 hours ago, C4HCG said:

For you as you say it is a total waste of money, for us not.

Totally agree with you. No right or wrong just personal choice. 

[Saturngrl]

We consistently sail Concierge and love the benefits.   We sail out of Ft. Lauderdale, so Reflection has consistently done the Embarkation luncheon on Embarkation day.  It's not great, but certainly beats fighting the crowds in the buffet.   We enjoy the Concierge invitation events, such as helipad sailaway.   Before we became Elite, we also found the Concierge disembarkation waiting area a big plus.  

 

Now that we are Elite, we may try Aqua class for our next booking.  Until then, we will enjoy Concierge on this next cruise!

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, Saturngrl said:

We consistently sail Concierge and love the benefits.   We sail out of Ft. Lauderdale, so Reflection has consistently done the Embarkation luncheon on Embarkation day.  It's not great, but certainly beats fighting the crowds in the buffet.   We enjoy the Concierge invitation events, such as helipad sailaway.   Before we became Elite, we also found the Concierge disembarkation waiting area a big plus.  

 

Now that we are Elite, we may try Aqua class for our next booking.  Until then, we will enjoy Concierge on this next cruise!

Another personal view -  for us Aqua is the least attractive offering on the ship.

Why?

1) we don't drink alcohol, our Elite + status gives us unlimited free speciality coffees/teas /hot chocolate, we have no need of unlimited wifi our Elite + minutes are more than enough. So having compolsary AI included in the price just increases the cost for no benefit.

2) Aqua includes dining in Blu where you have your own table. For us one of the joys of cruising is to share a table at dinner (ideally a six) so we always book Select Dining. 

3) Cabin location. High up near the front is a definite no. Deck 7 is as high as we go and centralish. 

Not right or wrong just personal choice.