Concierge class versus regular balcony room

[cruiser of the seas]

HI,

 

We are about to book the Insignia June 29, 2007. I am debating wether it is worth the extra $200 pp from Cat B2 to Cat A3. The cabin size is the same, the only amenities are early embarkation, a refrig in the room ( items in refrig not free), priority reservations in alternative dinning, and a few other small things. Since this will be a port intensive cruise with even one sea day, would it be worth the extra $400 per cabin.

Would appreciate your reply.

 

Thanks

Tony

[dabear]

there are many prior posts on this subject if you search. The majority conclude it is not worth the xtra $. We personally decided to book cat b2 ourselves.

[cruiser of the seas]

Thank you for your response, but I have gone through 20 pages of threads on Oceania, and have not found one with topic of Concierge class.

[Bruin Steve]

Cruise lines, of late, have come up with this "Concierge Class" idea as a way to squeeze extra revenue out of, basically, the same cabin...

 

The amenities they give you are never worth close to the extra premium they charge.

If you have 300 standard balcony cabins on a ship...and you can designate 150 of them as "Concierge Class" and charge $400 more, that's an extra $60,000 in revenue per cruise that just didn't exist prior to this "Concierge" phenomenom...Priority dining reservations and early embarkation, such that it is, really don't cost them anything...So, this is pure profit...

 

Really, they should let EVERYONE embark whenever the ship is ready...and "priority" in dining reservations may set a bad precedent--it's basically saying you can BUY the right to make your reservations before your shipmates (of course, $400 is quite a price for that privilege).

 

Remember, all of the cabins go to the same ports, all get the same food, all see the same entertainment. Normally, what you pay extra for is one of the following: a window, a balcony, suite-sized space...

 

To pay extra for the same exact room? Pretty dumb in my book...

Of course, some people don't care...the $400 doesn't mean all that much, they want whatever they want and the price is whatever it is...Just do it and try not to think about it logically...

[hondorner]

It's worth the extra $$$ to me just to get the fridge. I have a "special need" :cool: -- I don't drink anything but Diet Pepsi (and the occasional glass of wine), and most cruise ships don't sell Pepsi products. Even if they had my Diet Pepsi available, I drink one last thing before going to sleep and first thing upon arising, and they have to be cold.

 

Some folks will have a bar bill much higher than the premium I pay to have my Pepsi cold and close at hand. It's all in what you value the most.

 

I never buy anything that was in the mini-fridge; I usually ask the steward to clear it out to make room for my Pepsi. They don't seem to mind.

 

The rest of concierge "amenities" are pretty much worthless to me. I don't especially care for priority treatment; usually, it actually makes me feel uncomfortable.

 

Having said all that, I do find some puzzlement in each cruise line's definitions of luxury and premium amenities. I've looked at the specs for some of the bargain line ships, and they often include refrigerators all the way down to steerage class, while the upscale Oceania charges a premium and limits the number of folks who have access to a fridge. Strange. This is the second cruise where I've had to upgrade to get a fridge, yet the biggest bargain cruise we ever had, on an old ship about to be taken out of service (the Allegra), had a fridge in the lowest class room.

 

My biggest problem is keeping a good supply of Diet Pepsi on longer cruises. I've had some interesting experiences going to local "supermarkets" in some very strange ports. It's a great way to actually get a feel of the local life style.

[drwong]

Oooh oooh - don't forget the toiletries. Concierge Class occupants luxuriate with Lord & Mayfair or Caswell-Massey soaps and shampoos, while normal stiffs get Oceania's house brand that will ultimately lead to bad hair days. :eek:

[Jancruz]

Oceania (Ren) was built without fridges in anything but PH and VS /OS so last year they were added (all ships) deck 7..it is worth it to me to keep water, coke and wine, (cold) also to get the specialty restaurants when I want them..love the cashmere blanket for over my legs when I am out on the balcony and I wouldnt buy champagne on my own!! Whether is is worth it to you is very personal,each person has different needs..my friend who is diabetic NEEDS the fridge!!

Jan

*****

[mike35]

I guess the previous posts pretty much cover why we book concierge class cabins. DW insists on her cold Diet Coke (or Pepsi) every night before retiring, so a fridge is important. But I wholeheartedly agree that every cabin should have a fridge. Ditto the DVD players in concierge-class rooms (which we never use). To me, it's the principle - DVD players cost under $40 each when purchased in bulk, and they should be a standard item. As for the cashmere blanket, canvas bag, priority embarkation (we've never seen a line to board the ship - either concierge or steerage), and restaurant reservations - we could certainly do without any of these. So - bottom line - for the privelege of having a fridge in our room, we lay out the big bucks.

 

Maybe Carol should join DCA (Diet Cokes Anonymous):D

 

Mike

[dabear]

While I have to admit to be in concierge class on my last 3 cruises on Celebrity Millinium ships, there were far more perks and the cabins were bigger than o/s balcony cabins for about $100pp. On Oceania the price I recall was about $300pp difference cc vs o/s with balcony , the perks were minimal and the cabins were the exact same size. If I want a diet coke or pepsi in my cabin, I just order ice which works fine. I already was on the Tahitian Princess 2 years ago with a cabin on the 7th floor which was identical to a friends cabin on deck 6. The bottom line is to each there own decision!

[schreibs]

Tony,

I'm also thinking of going on the 6-29-07 cruise from rome to barcelona. Hope to see you then.

[Zimmy]

What about that the A1 cabins are the premium midship location, while the A2 and A3 are more to the ends of the ship? I don't care about upgraded amenities, but past experiences on other ships have taught us that midship is where we want to be. So we pay the premium and hope that the sailing is so smooth that we have wasted our money.

[cruiser of the seas]

Thank you all so much for your input. We will make a decision this weekend, but from the comments I think we are leaning on B2 instead of the concierge class.

Refrigerator to us is not important, and the other small amenities dont mean to much to us. Thanks again for all your information.

 

Schreibs, let us know if you do book, we will probably book tomorrow with our travel agent.

 

Thanks again

Tony

[gillianrose]

I have read that some lines rent refrigerators, at the very least to those with medical needs, but likely also to others (extra revenue).

 

So, will Oceania rent me a refrigerator? Give it to me for storage of medicine?

[Benita]

We had a B1 cabin on our last cruise - no refrigerator. In the middle of the cruise, they left a comment card in the cabin and I wrote that I missed having a refrigerator, and one has been supplied on every other cruise I have been on (even the very low end lines). I also wrote that they are losing out on the revenue, because we would have purchased the soft drinks that are usually supplied.

THe next day, the cabin steward knocked on the door and offered to bring me a refrigerator. They keep them for diabetic guests and had som extras. We could not figure out where to put it as the cabins are so small, that I declined, but loved the fact that they read the review and responded so quickly.

[hondorner]

Now, that's something that hadn't occurred to me -- that they might supply a refrigerator for rent or upon request. I'm afraid they wouldn't make any money on me from items they stock in the fridge, because I bring my own, but fridge rental would certainly be cheaper than the upgrade.

 

That said, we really didn't have a choice for our next cruise -- because we were fairly late booking it, there were no B class baclonies left, only A2. We ended up with 7078, an A2 that is smack dab next to the aft-most A1 -- in other words, as close to the center of the ship as we could get without paying yet more.

 

I do own one of the small thermal electric drink coolers that normally plug into a car's 12V system, but also has a 120V-12V transformer so it can be plugged into house power. It holds 6 to 8 cans of soda and keeps them cold without worrying about ice. It has a carrying strap and is about the size of a piece of small carry-on luggage. I've often wondered what they would say if I brought it on board and plugged it in to a room without a fridge.

[mike35]

 

That said, we really didn't have a choice for our next cruise -- because we were fairly late booking it, there were no B class baclonies left, only A2. We ended up with 7078, an A2 that is smack dab next to the aft-most A1 -- in other words, as close to the center of the ship as we could get without paying yet more.

 

Hey, Don, that's our favorite cabin! Before they went to A3, we always asked for 7088 - the first A2 next to the last A1. Now we ask for 7078, and since we book over a year in advance, we generally are able to get it.

 

Great idea re the portable fridge - we'll have to look into it, since the fridge is really the only reason we ask for a concierge cabin (see my previous post on this).

 

Take good care of 7078!;)

 

Mike

[Rat]

After reading this thread, I'm glad we have a B1 cabin booked for our 2007 Black Sea cruise. We were also debating if the additional cost was really worth the extras. Guess our "poor man" fridge will be a bucket of ice. LOL

[hondorner]

Hey, Don, that's our favorite cabin!...<snip>... since the fridge is really the only reason we ask for a concierge cabin...

Take good care of 7078!;)

Will do -- I just hope my Diet Pepsi won't alter the conditions in the room that allow Carol to enjoy her Diet Coke. I will think of her (and you), but I won't actually do anything about it, like changing to the rival flavor...:D

 

Shopping for the Pepsi is one of my greatest adventures in many small ports. The last store I was in had a guard wearing a bullet-proof vest and toting a sawed-off shotgun stationed at the front door. It's interesting to spend a few minutes in what passes for the local supermarket and see what the local folks are buying. You can get a good idea of the economy; if the economy is healthy there will be lots of junk food on the shelves.

 

In Costa Rica, the Pepsi came bottled in translucent silver plastic bottles, unlike the clear plastic we're used to. I could peel off the label and carry the drinks anywhere on the ship, and no one had a clue what I was drinking. Normally, if anyone spots me with the Diet Pepsi, about half of them will beg me to reveal where on the ship I got it.

 

Hmm. I wonder how far the concierge class stuff goes. Do you think they'd stock in a few cases of Diet Pepsi if I asked? Probably not -- they probably have to sign an exclusive arrangement with Coke.