Concierge - Was I expecting too much?

I'll preface this post with the request that responses please come from those with extensive suite experience.

We had a GS on Freedom last year for our anniversary and had a WOW experience. Rahoul called our suite daily with voicemail updates on ports and activities. We received invites for a slot tournament, officer cocktail party, behind-the-scenes theater tour, galley tour, and bridge tour. Our anniversary was recognized not only on "the day" in Chops but also the following night in the dining room.

Last week on Explorer, we had the polar opposite experience while staying in an OS. No friendly calls to the room from concierge Denzil. No invites for anything other than a dinner, which we declined because we were having dinner at Portofino. More about that later. When we asked Denzil mid-way through the cruise about suite guest tours etc. he did offer to get us on a bridge tour. When we decided to pass on it because it conflicted with something else we chose to do, he gave us a hard time about asking for it then not going.

On our anniversary, we had a cabana in Labadee and Denzil stopped by to check on us. We mentioned that we'd hoped we'd be able to have mimosas in the cabana but the attendant said there was no champagne at Labadee. Denzil said he'd look into it...and sent us complimentary Labadoozies instead (at 9am). We had a nice dinner at Portofino that evening but with no recognition of our anniversary. We did see our favorite bartender from 19th hole (Savio) pass through the restaurant though. The next night we mentioned we saw him. He seemed surprised. He said he had come there specifically to see if we were being well-taken care of and was told we weren't there. Hmmm....odd. We mentioned the anniversary disappointment to Denzil and his response was "how could that have possibly happened?" We hoped that maybe we'd get our anniversary recognition in the MDR instead but it never came...nor did a call from Portofino about the oversight.

So here's my question. Was the suite service we received on Freedom exceptionally good or was the service we received on Explorer sub-par? We'd really like to know how it "should be" before we book another suite. Thanks in advance for your words of wisdom ;)

every ship and every concierge does things differently. I have had different experiences with the SAME ship/concierge in fact.

bottom line, if you want special recognition for anything, arrange for it yourself. we routinely sail on or around our anniversary and I would say, about 40% of the time there is SOME sort of acknowledgement without prompting.

the bridge tours are an effort to arrange and schedule so if you want one you need to ask the first day so that it can be arranged for later on( usually one of the last sea days) there are usually 2 or 3 given total. and if the captain sez nuh uh, then they don't get arranged at all. there are no other freebie tours available to suite guests.. if you want the galley tour or the other ones you need to pay for them although the Concierge can sign you up.

officer parties or suite only parties: same ship, different experiences.. that is the Captain on board's prerogative.

The reality is, Concierge service as well as attentiveness and attention to detail varies widely.

I'm not sure what sort of training the Concierge's receive, but I think it should feel pretty standard regardless of what ship you are on.

It's too bad your experiences were so different - I hope you had a lovely Anniversary celebration in any case :)

My experience in a GS on Enchantment was somewhere in the middle of your two. We found the concierge to be helpful and very responsive when we asked for something. Now we weren't celebrating anything special, so can't comment on that. I don't recall any calls to ours cabin, but most days he asked what we our plans were and did we need any assistance with arrangements. The one time we called and left a message for him, he responded promptly and followed up on our issue (smoking in an adjoining cabin) to see if it was resolved.

We will be on Explorer in an OS in February and we are celebrating a significant birthday. It will be interesting to compare our experience with yours. I have read mostly good things about Denzil and am looking forward to getting to know him.

every ship and every concierge does things differently. I have had different experiences with the SAME ship/concierge in fact.

 

bottom line, if you want special recognition for anything, arrange for it yourself. we routinely sail on or around our anniversary and I would say, about 40% of the time there is SOME sort of acknowledgement without prompting.

 

the bridge tours are an effort to arrange and schedule so if you want one you need to ask the first day so that it can be arranged for later on( usually one of the last sea days) there are usually 2 or 3 given total. and if the captain sez nuh uh, then they don't get arranged at all. there are no other freebie tours available to suite guests.. if you want the galley tour or the other ones you need to pay for them although the Concierge can sign you up.

 

officer parties or suite only parties: same ship, different experiences.. that is the Captain on board's prerogative.

We had our anniversary noted on the reservation. That's all we've ever done and RCI has yet to miss one until now. We were traveling with two other couples who were NOT in suites who did the same and had their anniversaries recognized :(

I would say you had exceptional service the one time and normal service the second time, based upon our experiences.

I do not have extensive suite experiences, but happy anniversary! :)

I Have sailed in 5 suites on RCI

Mariner x 1

Freedom x 2

Allure x 2

Mariner was our first cruise in a suite, never knew the role of the concierge, and only saw him in the lounge. He did nothing for us and cannot even remember his name

Initially the best service we had prior to this past July was on the Freedom, talk about an attentive concierge while on board.

Got us the bridge tour, galley tour and got to sit at captains table.

Never e-mailed us ahead of time. But his kindness and attentiveness made up for it.

Now on the Allure---

2013

Very personable, and available for all our needs, new our names even when he saw us all over the ship. (Fernando)

2014 (Fernando)

First time we were E-mail ahead of time introducing himself and assistant with all the benefits available to us.

Assisted us on board.

Very motivated.

Of all the experiences we had we love our last July sailing on the Allure the best.

Hope it gets better for you, and it is dependent on the concierge and the ship.

Sea Ya

Different experiences everytime for us. On EX we've had a GS twice with two different concierges and two totally different cruises. First cruise, we had exceptional service with a bridge tour, cocktail party with officers, etc. Second time on EX was a member's cruise and our first as D (member's cruise never again-waste of money on a GS for that one) and had none of the previous experiences because there were so many D+ and P onboard that they made sure they got most of the attention and our GS perks outside of CL access were non-existent. Our third GS was on FR and we did get the bridge tour and cocktail party but the concierge contact was different than our first EX cruise. We also have never received an email from the concierge prior to the cruise except for on FR when I emailed him first about a cabana on Labadee. On FR, the concierge left a voicemail every day and that's the only time we've had that.

We've only experienced one suite concierge failure but I'll cut him some slack because it was on a cruise during the infamous Diamonds in December. We've gotten pre-cruise emails from some and not others and while some left voice mails highlighting the day's events, some didn't. On this one cruise we got nothing and you couldn't get near him in the CL. We just avoided the CL and the over flow area that we never knew about and went to the Diamond Event instead. As to your disappointment, we've heard good things about Denzil but never experienced him ourselves. I would guess that with the same concierge, on another cruise you might have a better experience...I said might.;)

Our experience with Denzil the Concierge on Explorer was outstanding. He was the best we have ever experienced, and we look forward to seeing him again on 10/23 - Denzil , in our opinion is an asset to RCCL. On our December 2013 Explorer cruise I needed assistance getting off the ship, Denzil not only made sure someone was there for me but he personally checked to see how I was feeling! We always found him to be delightful and accommodating with any requests

Joyce & George

We have been in suites about 5 times. Three times on Explor. and our most recent in June we had Denzel. He was wonderful, he made arrangements for a Bridge tour for DH, GS and son-in law. Also, dinner arrangements. He also came and hand delivered invitations to different events. I just hope we have equally as nice of a concierge on our upcoming cruise on Legends.

Does anyone know who will be on Legends in March.

Thanks!

We always stay in a GS...we have had Concierges who were overly attentive, as your experience on Freedom, and we have had experiences where the concierge didn't even know we existed....untill the last day when they're looking for a gratuity....

I should add, we hardly ever use the CL. The first evening we make it a point to go and introduce ourselves.

Other than that it's very rare...my morning coffee maybe.

We have cruised enough that we do not need the Concierge for any requests, we pretty much know what we're doing well ahead of time.

Been on plenty of Bridge Tours...

I suppose if we had a problem it would be good to have the help if we need it...

In March we sailed on the EX in a GS. My DH was in a wheelchair due to knee replacement surgery prior to the sailing. Denzil was helpful if we sought him out. We wanted to do the Atlantis tour which was fully booked but recommended how to get their on our own. He also reserved us a cabana at Coco Cay, although we missed it due to weather. At the end of the cruise he was quite helpful getting us off the ship early with the other mobility impaired.

In September we sailed again on the EX in an OS with our adult daughter. Denzil was pretty much non-existent....my impression was he was overwhelmed with the D and D+ on board. We really didn't require much on this particular sailing so it really didn't matter. He didn't know/remember us from just six months before.

On both these cruises, Denzil never came to our suite, called us or delivered anything personally. When we sought him out for assistance (we are pretty self-sufficient so it was minimal) he was helpful. My DD mentioned twice to him we were on board to celebrate my 60th bday. Our cabin steward and hotel manager left a signed note in our cabin wishing me a happy birthday....that was it. That didn't bother me as we were on board to celebrate with our daughter, not Denzil.

We like suites for the additional room and balcony space. Now this is where I will be flamed.....the CL should be for the suites. It is continuously overrun with D and D+ (if they are not wearing their status around their necks, they will let you know). My 20 old Emerald status daughter was given looks or quizzed when she entered the CL (by other passengers). When there are sailings of numerous D & D+ on board, the concierge should have assistance or split the suites from the D & D+ so they have their own concierge to handle the needs. One concierge on a ship like EX during off peak season when D & D+ sail, is not enough. JMO

I'm with you on having the Concierge lounge dedicated for suite guests. I think, depending on number of P & D+ aboard (and what needs they have) might be part of why Suite Concierges can get overwhelmed. We had overflow lounge space at 19th Hole and used that exclusively vs. concierge lounge. The bartender there was our WOW crew member and received a nice tip.

We're also diamond but didn't see many folks using that area as drinks were loaded on sea pass and could be redeemed anywhere.

I'll preface this post with the request that responses please come from those with extensive suite experience.

 

We had a GS on Freedom last year for our anniversary and had a WOW experience. Rahoul called our suite daily with voicemail updates on ports and activities. We received invites for a slot tournament, officer cocktail party, behind-the-scenes theater tour, galley tour, and bridge tour. Our anniversary was recognized not only on "the day" in Chops but also the following night in the dining room.

 

Last week on Explorer, we had the polar opposite experience while staying in an OS. No friendly calls to the room from concierge Denzil. No invites for anything other than a dinner, which we declined because we were having dinner at Portofino. More about that later. When we asked Denzil mid-way through the cruise about suite guest tours etc. he did offer to get us on a bridge tour. When we decided to pass on it because it conflicted with something else we chose to do, he gave us a hard time about asking for it then not going.

On our anniversary, we had a cabana in Labadee and Denzil stopped by to check on us. We mentioned that we'd hoped we'd be able to have mimosas in the cabana but the attendant said there was no champagne at Labadee. Denzil said he'd look into it...and sent us complimentary Labadoozies instead (at 9am). We had a nice dinner at Portofino that evening but with no recognition of our anniversary. We did see our favorite bartender from 19th hole (Savio) pass through the restaurant though. The next night we mentioned we saw him. He seemed surprised. He said he had come there specifically to see if we were being well-taken care of and was told we weren't there. Hmmm....odd. We mentioned the anniversary disappointment to Denzil and his response was "how could that have possibly happened?" We hoped that maybe we'd get our anniversary recognition in the MDR instead but it never came...nor did a call from Portofino about the oversight.

 

 

So here's my question. Was the suite service we received on Freedom exceptionally good or was the service we received on Explorer sub-par? We'd really like to know how it "should be" before we book another suite. Thanks in advance for your words of wisdom ;)

From our experiences, your first experience was the "exception" and your second experience more the "typical". It is very rare that Concierge call your room to check on you. The bridge tour and suite party is fairly typical but the other stuff is "case by case", "ship by ship", "concierge by concierge", "sailing by sailing".

I would say you had exceptional service the one time and normal service the second time, based upon our experiences.

Agree!

I'll preface this post with the request that responses please come from those with extensive suite experience.

 

We had a GS on Freedom last year for our anniversary and had a WOW experience. Rahoul called our suite daily with voicemail updates on ports and activities. We received invites for a slot tournament, officer cocktail party, behind-the-scenes theater tour, galley tour, and bridge tour. Our anniversary was recognized not only on "the day" in Chops but also the following night in the dining room.

 

Last week on Explorer, we had the polar opposite experience while staying in an OS. No friendly calls to the room from concierge Denzil. No invites for anything other than a dinner, which we declined because we were having dinner at Portofino. More about that later. When we asked Denzil mid-way through the cruise about suite guest tours etc. he did offer to get us on a bridge tour. When we decided to pass on it because it conflicted with something else we chose to do, he gave us a hard time about asking for it then not going.

On our anniversary, we had a cabana in Labadee and Denzil stopped by to check on us. We mentioned that we'd hoped we'd be able to have mimosas in the cabana but the attendant said there was no champagne at Labadee. Denzil said he'd look into it...and sent us complimentary Labadoozies instead (at 9am). We had a nice dinner at Portofino that evening but with no recognition of our anniversary. We did see our favorite bartender from 19th hole (Savio) pass through the restaurant though. The next night we mentioned we saw him. He seemed surprised. He said he had come there specifically to see if we were being well-taken care of and was told we weren't there. Hmmm....odd. We mentioned the anniversary disappointment to Denzil and his response was "how could that have possibly happened?" We hoped that maybe we'd get our anniversary recognition in the MDR instead but it never came...nor did a call from Portofino about the oversight.

 

 

So here's my question. Was the suite service we received on Freedom exceptionally good or was the service we received on Explorer sub-par? We'd really like to know how it "should be" before we book another suite. Thanks in advance for your words of wisdom ;)

I guess the suite service can vary from ship to ship and by different Concierge's. Some Concierge's have provided outstanding service and with others, the service was good. We never had a complaint about service from any of the Concierges, on any ship we've encountered throughout the years cruising with RCI. Then again we are low maintenance people and rarely request or need anything. This is the first time I am reading and hearing that Denzil did not provide outstanding service as a Concierge, that man is always on the go trying to please everyone.

We had a GS on Explorer's 9/25/14 sailing and received outstanding service once again by Denzil. From our experience, I can't said enough good things about Denzil and how he went out of his way for passengers on that sailing, which we witnessed in the CL and in the 19th Hole. In agreement with you that Savio did provide us and others with outstanding service during our cruise.

Royal has forgotten our anniversary a few times, no big deal to us not getting a piece of cake, sorry this was upsetting for you. I'm sure Denzil did inform someone either in the dining room or in Portofino's about your anniversary and was shocked to hear from you that it was not acknowledged, which is why he said to you "how could that have possibly happened?" He truly does care about his passengers and making sure their needs are meet.

As far as the bridge and galley tours, they are set up for a specific day, you decided to pass on it because it conflicted with something else you had plan. Did you really think the bridge and galley tours would be convenient to your scheduling and not to the crew members or Officers that would be giving you these tours?

Even though we have never had a cabana, don't recall hearing or reading about anyone being offered Mimosa's in their Cabanas on Labadee. Denzil sent you guys complimentary Labadoozies instead, don't see anything wrong with Labadoozies, hmm they are good :)

I do agree with you that depending on the number of P & D+ aboard (and what needs they have, as some have many needs LOL) might be why Concierges can get very overwhelmed.

I hope you had a good cruise over all despite the minor mishaps that you've mentioned.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contentSiteletSub.do?pagename=sub_labadee_barefoot_beach&pagenameMain=labadee&discriminators=3

In March we sailed on the EX in a GS. My DH was in a wheelchair due to knee replacement surgery prior to the sailing. Denzil was helpful if we sought him out. We wanted to do the Atlantis tour which was fully booked but recommended how to get their on our own. He also reserved us a cabana at Coco Cay, although we missed it due to weather. At the end of the cruise he was quite helpful getting us off the ship early with the other mobility impaired.

 

In September we sailed again on the EX in an OS with our adult daughter. Denzil was pretty much non-existent....my impression was he was overwhelmed with the D and D+ on board. We really didn't require much on this particular sailing so it really didn't matter. He didn't know/remember us from just six months before.

 

On both these cruises, Denzil never came to our suite, called us or delivered anything personally. When we sought him out for assistance (we are pretty self-sufficient so it was minimal) he was helpful. My DD mentioned twice to him we were on board to celebrate my 60th bday. Our cabin steward and hotel manager left a signed note in our cabin wishing me a happy birthday....that was it. That didn't bother me as we were on board to celebrate with our daughter, not Denzil.

 

We like suites for the additional room and balcony space. Now this is where I will be flamed.....the CL should be for the suites. It is continuously overrun with D and D+ (if they are not wearing their status around their necks, they will let you know). My 20 old Emerald status daughter was given looks or quizzed when she entered the CL (by other passengers). When there are sailings of numerous D & D+ on board, the concierge should have assistance or split the suites from the D & D+ so they have their own concierge to handle the needs. One concierge on a ship like EX during off peak season when D & D+ sail, is not enough. JMO

I think you mean D+ and P. D do not have CL access unless they are in a suite.

I think you received average service this go around. Now, whether you feel the average is acceptable of the position and money spent is another matter. It does appear there were some slip ups in service that the concierge could have been a bit more thorough in covering though.

I'll echo what a couple others have mentioned, the one time the Concierge probably could have done better the CL was packed with P and D+, and quite a few of them were pretty "needy". That's life though, because the number of suites on the ship is fixed, but the number of P and D+ can vary widely.

The other three have been more like your experience of Freedom.

'Our anniversary was recognized not only on "the day" in Chops but also the following night in the dining room.'

What anniversary was that? Your 25th, 50th or?

Why should they not recognize everyones, regardless, if they are in a suite or not? Normally they try to if you notified them of such. However, 1 time should be adequate.

Personally, I thought you were treated fairly well.

Seen some people who want the personnel to drop everything to wait on them as if they were the only ones on-board. One person can only do so much for all those in a suite, P or D+.

In September we sailed again on the EX in an OS with our adult daughter. Denzil was pretty much non-existent....my impression was he was overwhelmed with the D and D+ on board. We really didn't require much on this particular sailing so it really didn't matter. He didn't know/remember us from just six months before.

 

On both these cruises, Denzil never came to our suite, called us or delivered anything personally. When we sought him out for assistance (we are pretty self-sufficient so it was minimal) he was helpful. My DD mentioned twice to him we were on board to celebrate my 60th bday. Our cabin steward and hotel manager left a signed note in our cabin wishing me a happy birthday....that was it. That didn't bother me as we were on board to celebrate with our daughter, not Denzil.

 

We like suites for the additional room and balcony space. Now this is where I will be flamed.....the CL should be for the suites. It is continuously overrun with D and D+ (if they are not wearing their status around their necks, they will let you know). My 20 old Emerald status daughter was given looks or quizzed when she entered the CL (by other passengers). When there are sailings of numerous D & D+ on board, the concierge should have assistance or split the suites from the D & D+ so they have their own concierge to handle the needs. One concierge on a ship like EX during off peak season when D & D+ sail, is not enough. JMO

Effective September 1, 2009 the privilege of using the Concierge lounge was taken away from Diamond Members.

The lounge is only accessible to Suite Guests, Pinnacle Club and Diamond Plus Members.

 

Does anyone know who will be on Legends in March.

 

Thanks!

This link might help https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...#gid=371892551

Effective September 1, 2009 the privilege of using the Concierge lounge was taken away from Diamond Members.

 

The lounge is only accessible to Suite Guests, Pinnacle Club and Diamond Plus Members.

Sorry, not always true. It depends on the ship and staff. On the Mariner OTS in Asia this year, D, D+ and P could use both DL or CL and they did daily. Cruise card would open both lounges and personnel who was assigned to the DL and CL knew who was D, D+ and P. Yes, Suites included.

Has anyone had Larissa as a concierge on the Legend?