Concierge Cabin

[palermo22]

The difference between a veranda cabin and a concierge cabin on our cruise is about $300 pp. So my question for experienced Oceania cruisers who have done both - is the difference worth it? Normally, I would just be happy with a decent veranda but we are getting so many perks on our cruise (including OBC and TA rebate) - that in the end I didn't see it being as expensive as it sounds (the $300 pp) - but still curious on whether it's a good upgrade or a waste of money.

[Noxequifans]

The answer is dependent on what individual cruisers value. Look at the perks of Concierge and make a judgment ... There is no wrong or right choice.

[sitraveler]

There is no difference in the cabin.

 

Early boarding, bottle of bubbly, on Riviera or Marina only-access to concierge lounge.

[Toranut97]

Earlier reservations for specialty restaurants too. On O class ships, Concierge lounge - which some like, some ignore.

[cruisingxpert]

Also access to the spa terrace with the fancier lounge chairs and the thalassotherapy pool.

[Flatbush Flyer]

We had the same question as relates to our upcoming Alaska cruise on Regatta. Our TA (a top Oceania producer) said to pass on it because the only real value was the two vs one specialty reservations (which would not be a problem if we were willing to dine with others for the second reservation and beyond). Ultimately, because we are yacht sailors on SF Bay and love being rocked to sleep, we opted for a B2 aft. Of course, Oceania will still get our money with either excursions or prestige package.

 

 

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[hypercafe]

We have had a A1 and a B1 class cabin on the O class ship. I would not spend the money for the upgrade after trying both.

[LEESRE]

We have had both and I don't think the extra is worth it. At one time the spa terrace was not policed so everyone who wanted could get into it. I think now it is key controlled. But unless you have lots of sea days then it is not worth the extra. You do get a bottle of so called champagne when you board and the lounge but not worth 600 dollars in our opinion we also go for a B3 or similar.

[canuck.qc]

We've had both and I would not pay extra for concierge. Anyone can buy a day pass for the con.deck and which unless you have alot of sunny seadays you prob. will not use. I've had a B3 extended balcony #7111 that we preferred far more. Flatbush: arrange your own private excursions & transfers !!

[JimandStan]

We've had both and I would not pay extra for concierge. Anyone can buy a day pass for the con.deck and which unless you have alot of sunny seadays you prob. will not use. I've had a B3 extended balcony #7111 that we preferred far more. Flatbush: arrange your own private excursions & transfers !!

 

Given that the extended veranda cabins represent a severely limited number of Staterooms (about 40% of a single cabin category on only 2 of Oceania's 5 ships), it seems somewhat unrealistic to paint taking one of those as an alternative to booking Concierge.

[Flatbush Flyer]

We've had both and I would not pay extra for concierge. Anyone can buy a day pass for the con.deck and which unless you have alot of sunny seadays you prob. will not use. I've had a B3 extended balcony #7111 that we preferred far more. Flatbush: arrange your own private excursions & transfers !!

 

 

Actually, we looked at private vs ship (with 25% discount for 4 or more excursions) and the price for those items we wanted ran just a bit more than the highly recommended private tours on this itinerary. For about $100 more total (both of us on about 7 excursions), we opted for convenience of booking and letting Oceania handle issues.

If I've been some place before, then I will almost always arrange my own sightseeing.

Also, I always do my own hotels, air, etc. unless it's a bargain that can't be best (like some Jetsetter flash sales)

 

 

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[palermo22]

I can see a major difference in price if you are comparing an A1 and B4 cabin - around $800 pp difference; however, if you are comparing an A3 or A4 with a B1 or B2 then the difference becomes quite small: a few hundred dollars. At least that was the way I compared it when trying to make up my mind on which class of service we wanted. What hasn't been stated is that the A3 and A4 have a better location on the ship than a B1 or B2. We have an A3 cabin that is almost mid-ship and is on the 9th level. I just looked at our cruise and the best an A1 will get you is on the 8th level and a little further towards the front (or rear). So for a total of $400 ($33 a day) - we get a better located cabin and priority for a few other things. It's all personal - and maybe on my next cruise I'll choose a B1 or B2 - but for this particular cruise we are quite happy with the A3 cabin.

[canuck.qc]

Given that the extended veranda cabins represent a severely limited number of Staterooms (about 40% of a single cabin category on only 2 of Oceania's 5 ships), it seems somewhat unrealistic to paint taking one of those as an alternative to booking Concierge.

Of course, I agree they are limited, the OP did mention being happy with a 'decent veranda' so I thought I'd point out the B3 ex. veranda cabins (many don't know about them) which are the same size as concierge, cheaper than concierge, but at least have the added SQ.FT bonus of the bigger balcony than concierge.

[I_r_a]

Hi P,

 

We had initially booked a concierge level on our upcoming cruise. However, after several discussions among ourselves and our TA, we dropped down one level and saved $400 pp.

 

((I))

[LHT28]

It is a personal choice

Some do not mind paying for the extra perks others do not use the perks to make it worthwhile

 

Everyone has different wants/needs on a cruise to make then happy

[dorisis]

We did stay in a concierge cabin on our cruise on the Marina. I would rather have a nice piece of jewelry and stay in a veranda cabin. Just my opinion. I DO sometimes use my unspent OBCs for jewelry.

[hypercafe]

We did stay in a concierge cabin on our cruise on the Marina. I would rather have a nice piece of jewelry and stay in a veranda cabin. Just my opinion. I DO sometimes use my unspent OBCs for jewelry.

 

You sound like my wife, she always says let's stay in a cheap room so I can have the difference to buy jewelry

[Gerry53]

For us the must have perk of the concierge cabins is the chance to have a full breakfast in the cabin. If that is not important to you then there is perhaps not a lot of benefit from booking concierge - although the lounge access is nice for coffee and nibbles plus the newspapers.

[robbie21]

For us the must have perk of the concierge cabins is the chance to have a full breakfast in the cabin. If that is not important to you then there is perhaps not a lot of benefit from booking concierge - although the lounge access is nice for coffee and nibbles plus the newspapers.

 

I thought I read that the full breakfast was no longer available in concierge, only in suites. Is the breakfast still available?

[hondorner]

I thought I read that the full breakfast was no longer available in concierge, only in suites. Is the breakfast still available?

It has always been in Concierge and PH suites and above; as far as I know that hasn't changed. I've read the same thing, but I think it was from someone who didn't really know, and assumed it was PH and above.

 

One of the primary reasons it has been offered in Concierge is because they needed something more to differentiate between Category B and Category A (concierge) and help justify the price difference. That hasn't changed. The primary reason the hot breakfast (which is really just eggs and sausage or bacon) is NOT offered in the lower categories is to entice folks to move up to concierge, that hasn't changed either, and is unlikely to be changed. It's marketing.

[robbie21]

Thanks, it makes a difference for us on longer cruises.

 

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[pinotlover]

My wife has to somewhat stay in touch with work. The speed of the O supplied computers in the Concierge Lounge, along with the wireless speeds for your PC, we have found to be far far faster in the Concierge Lounge than in our cabin. For my wife being impatient with the very slow upload and deload speeds, the cost of the move up is well worth it. A reasonable comparison would be what it would take her 3 hours to do in our cabin, on her computer, would be done in less than an hour in the Concierge Lounge. One has to consider the value of that in stress.

 

We also are able to book the specialities early and typically get the bookings we want, not what's left over. With our A1 or A2 rooms we are always on either the 10th or 11th level (O Ships), which we enjoy. Some people do like being further down on the ship.

 

I often use the Lounge, on sea days, to quietly read the WSJ or other supplied papers and catch up on the world.

 

The earlier boarding can be a nice feature also, in that in some ports you can, check out of your hotel, dump your luggage around 11-11:30ish and explore the embarkment city during the afternoon. When we do this, we go aboard, introduce ourselves to the service staff, and they sit our luggage in the room for us, instead of leaving it sitting in the hall way.

 

We enjoy and get value out of the upgrade, but realize everyone might not.

[hypercafe]

I must agree that the point of the location of the cabins is important. The time we had a A1 I got it because of a upsell from a OV for 200$pp. The extras were nice but the location was great. For that trip the regular price was 2400$ more, I do not think it was worth that much to me but for 400$ it was great!