Concierge "perks" Missing in Action

We have been in suites recently and gone are the towel animals. We had little ones with us, so I kinda was looking forward to this. It didn’t ruin my cruise but when our friends showed us the picture of their animals from one of ‘those’ other cruises, I was a little jealous. Are these gone as well?

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I am sorry, but I have to say it:

If my cruise experience depends on a BAG, it is when I will stop to go in cruises :rolleyes:

Haha! This. Exactly this. I admit - I do have concierge cabins booked on our December holiday cruise on the Silhouette but that was because I really wanted to try an aft-facing cabin and we needed adjoining cabins for the entire family as we are traveling with our three children. The only adjoining aft cabins left were concierge so I booked those. Yes, we could have gotten "regular" adjoining balcony cabins for less, but they would not be aft-facing. I did check out the "concierge offerings" and totally know these are not worthy the additional cost, but in the end, it wasn't the lure of footstools or sparkling wine or afternoon snacks that got me to fork over more money to Celebrity. Rather, it was the old adage ... location, location, location!

 

Plus it has the X logo etc. The 2016 bag was not only nicer, it has no logo so far more useful.

We have been in suites recently and gone are the towel animals. We had little ones with us, so I kinda was looking forward to this. It didn’t ruin my cruise but when our friends showed us the picture of their animals from one of ‘those’ other cruises, I was a little jealous. Are these gone as well?

 

 

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No, they're not gone as well. We have cruised with Celebrity for over 20 years and towel animals have never been a part of what Celebrity offers. Occasionally some guests say that they did have one in their cabin but, those times are very few and far between.

No, they're not gone as well. We have cruised with Celebrity for over 20 years and towel animals have never been a part of what Celebrity offers. Occasionally some guests say that they did have one in their cabin but, those times are very few and far between.

Used to see towel animals frequently but not any more. Doubt stewards have the time. In 2016 X switched from cabin stewards working in teams to operating solo and in the process reduced number of stewards around 30%.

Used to see towel animals frequently but not any more. Doubt stewards have the time. In 2016 X switched from cabin stewards working in teams to operating solo and in the process reduced number of stewards around 30%.

I've seen them on Royal ships, but don't ever remember them on Celebrity.

On the Reflection now Concierge and we had to ask for the wine.

We were told they were all out of tote bags. Usually the items are in your cabin when you get on the ship. It is not worth paying extra for concierge if you do not get the perks.

On the Reflection now Concierge and we had to ask for the wine.

We were told they were all out of tote bags. Usually the items are in your cabin when you get on the ship. It is not worth paying extra for concierge if you do not get the perks.

How much did you pay extra for a bag and a bottle of wine? LOL

All jokes aside, IMHO concierge is not worth any extra money. AQ (because of Blu) is where the fun starts. If you don´t want Blu, book a regular balcony stateroom and save the money for a bottle of wine and a bag ;)

The only time we book concierge is if there is a perk that's only offered to concierge and above (this is one of the more or less standard offers when booking on-board). Otherwise, we book 1A's on S-class (bigger balconies) or A1 on M-class (try to get rear cabins on deck 11). I figured that at our current cruise rate, I'll be 121 when I reach zenith (and we're already elite plus) so the extra captain's club points have little attraction.

Oh please. You said it yourself. Concierge gets very little, so spare us your moaning about what little they do get. Aqua passengers get Blu & Persian Garden for what they pay, and suite passengers get their benefits. I believe that Concierge has gotten priority boarding & disembarkation since it’s inception, so why is this an issue now? And had it occurred to you that some Concierge passengers may be trying to make early flights?

Sorry, but when I rush to breakfast and stand on the snaking line as early as 6 :45 am waiting to walk off, anyone going off ahead of the self disemking cruisers ( other than disabled cruisers) kind of thwarts the effort,

I get that suite guests pay quite a bit for this perk and go ahead of all ..but others do not!

Elite and E plus also get priority disembark by being in early numbered groups but DO NOT get walked off ahead of self disembarking guests as far as I know..,,,,perhaps they and AQ should as well... never met our AQ Concierge on any cruise..not sure there is one!

When they first 'invented' Concierge Class, it was lots of little touches.

I remember pink towels one day, changed to green the next day.

Breakfast was laid out beautifully on a white cloth, flowers etc.

It was the little things and then it slowly became mundane, until embarkation lunch was added. Not worth hundreds of dollars on S-class though.

When they first 'invented' Concierge Class, it was lots of little touches.

 

I remember pink towels one day, changed to green the next day.

 

Breakfast was laid out beautifully on a white cloth, flowers etc.

 

It was the little things and then it slowly became mundane, until embarkation lunch was added. Not worth hundreds of dollars on S-class though.

You're correct. Used to include flowers in stateroom, priority luggage delivery, expanded complimentary room service menu (steak & egg breakfast on balcony!) and a few other items which have gradually disappeared.

Smart businesses find ways to add $1 in percs and get you to happily pay $10 for them. X just cuts benefits and we get threads like this.

Used to see towel animals frequently but not any more. Doubt stewards have the time. In 2016 X switched from cabin stewards working in teams to operating solo and in the process reduced number of stewards around 30%.

Have cruised on Celebrity since 2000, and have never expected towel animal. Might have seen one once or twice. It is a regular on RCL so you should frequent that line if these are a must have.

When they first 'invented' Concierge Class, it was lots of little touches.

 

I remember pink towels one day, changed to green the next day.

 

Breakfast was laid out beautifully on a white cloth, flowers etc.

 

It was the little things and then it slowly became mundane, until embarkation lunch was added. Not worth hundreds of dollars on S-class though.

Original Concierge Class was to encourage bookings of rooms with the overhang...guess no longer an issue? We moved to AQ wgen it was introduced, and some of those rooms are under noisy spots and have overhang issues.. It's all marketing.

Due to an injury from a bad car accident we have not cruised in 6 yrs. My wife is now recovered enough to enjoy traveling. We are booked on the Silhouette the 11th. We are elite with celebrity and booked a deluxe standard balcony. We booked a few CC class balconies in the past and always thought CC class was mostly "fluff". We think elite eliminates the need for CC. It will be interesting to see how many cut backs we see in 6 years. Looking forward to cruising again!!

Our upcoming cruise, in April, is our first in CC, normally we book a standard veranda. Our TA switched us to CC because it was about $50 cheaper. I guess nobody was booking them.

Have cruised on Celebrity since 2000, and have never expected towel animal. Might have seen one once or twice. It is a regular on RCL so you should frequent that line if these are a must have.

Never said they were a must have, just that they were more common years ago. Maybe it was because our children were younger and sailing with us back then. Possibly it was that in the era before prepaid grats stewards were more inclined to go the extra mile to make a favorable impression.

Have cruised on Celebrity since 2000, and have never expected towel animal. Might have seen one once or twice. It is a regular on RCL so you should frequent that line if these are a must have.

I agree. Don't know where people are seeing these towel animals. Just about a year on Celebrity (350+ days) in the last 18 and saw towel animals, I think, twice. Both times told the steward don't bother, save the time for yourself.

Disembarked from the Summit 10 days ago. We booked Concierge Class after considering its amenities. We got virtually none of them except the aforementioned tote bags: no champagne, no priority boarding, no embarkation lunch in the MDR, no pillow menu, no late-afternoon canapes. Our cabin, 8055, was fairly small compared to verandah staterooms on HAL. I expected more. FYI, this was a charter cruise for 2,000 guests. Celebrity's concierge said once a group charters a ship, it takes control of the program. The lack of amenities, although promoted and commanding a premium, was the fault of the cruise production company. That outfit, of course, is blaming Celebrity for the snafu. If we use this line again, we'll opt for a standard balcony/verandah room. Concierge class was just an expensive disappointment.

Disembarked from the Summit 10 days ago. We booked Concierge Class after considering its amenities. We got virtually none of them except the aforementioned tote bags: no champagne, no priority boarding, no embarkation lunch in the MDR, no pillow menu, no late-afternoon canapes. Our cabin, 8055, was fairly small compared to verandah staterooms on HAL. I expected more. FYI, this was a charter cruise for 2,000 guests. Celebrity's concierge said once a group charters a ship, it takes control of the program. The lack of amenities, although promoted and commanding a premium, was the fault of the cruise production company. That outfit, of course, is blaming Celebrity for the snafu. If we use this line again, we'll opt for a standard balcony/verandah room. Concierge class was just an expensive disappointment.

Well, the rules for charters are different if they chartered the whole ship. Sorry the cruise production company didn't make you aware of that or didn't understand it themselves.

Original Concierge Class was to encourage bookings of rooms with the overhang...guess no longer an issue? We moved to AQ wgen it was introduced, and some of those rooms are under noisy spots and have overhang issues.. It's all marketing.

Quite right. Aqua was 'invented' to make more money out of cabins which were normally hard to sell:p

Brilliant marketing. I suggest another special restaurant just for inside cabins with free massages in the spa - hehehehe!!!

I agree. Don't know where people are seeing these towel animals. Just about a year on Celebrity (350+ days) in the last 18 and saw towel animals, I think, twice. Both times told the steward don't bother, save the time for yourself.

We've been sailing Celebrity since the early 90s and back then we sailed with our kids. Never got a towel animal in our cabins for the kids or anyone. Celebrity has never been know for them and rarely do we see people on this board saying they got them.

Never said they were a must have, just that they were more common years ago. Maybe it was because our children were younger and sailing with us back then. Possibly it was that in the era before prepaid grats stewards were more inclined to go the extra mile to make a favorable impression.

If you want a towel animal every night travel with a young family and be nice to your steward. We get one almost every evening ;-) When we were on Holland America they went to town overnight one day and created a zoo of towel animals around the pool area. Some pretty impressive lifesize examples.

We've been sailing Celebrity since the early 90s and back then we sailed with our kids. Never got a towel animal in our cabins for the kids or anyone. Celebrity has never been know for them and rarely do we see people on this board saying they got them.

I travel with my sister, we are both in our 60's, and we have been greeted by towel animals several times on each Celebrity cruise when returning to go to bed. Now I worry we are being treated as kids :D;p My sister decided it was because we are so tidy the steward has a bit if spare time as they are not tidying behind us. I expect we will never know why. I thought it was the same for everyone.

We recently celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary and were delighted by this creation of “kissing swans” when we returned to the stateroom, and the sea of rose petals!

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