Benefits to Concierge Class?

[LSKC]

I am looking for some input. The jump from 'normal' veranda to Concierge is about $400-500CAD more. I'm trying to justify if that is really worthwhile. I really like the idea of a foot stool on my balcony but not sure it justifies the difference. I know there are other perks to Concierge - what are they? Anyone have the 2 menu's for free room service items so I can see the additionals that Concierge is entitled to?

 

I looked at the Concierge embarkation day lunch and it is not enticing in the least and quite limiting - which surprised me.

 

I see the benefits of a jump up to AQUA with Blu but don't see it as much with Concierge. That being said, I may be missing some perks.

 

Would love your thoughts.

[Gonzo70]

Most of the perks are more marketing hoopla to garner a higher price than anything substantial. Most people feel Concierge is worth a small premium over a regular balcony, but nowhere near the price you are quoting. Personally I wouldn't pay more than about $10 per/person per/day on S-Class; a few bucks more on M-Class since the rooms are a bit larger than normal balcony rooms on M-Class. The one exception is C1 category on M-Class; these have massive balconies - so are worth quite a bit more than a regular balcony - but are often priced substantially more.

 

Other than the footstools, the more significant perks are extra Captain's Club points (Celebrity's loyalty program) and lunch in the main dining room on boarding day (you avoid the crowds of the buffet, but the menu is rather limited). The rest of the perks (to me) do not have much tangible value - i.e. a bottle of sparkling wine that probably retails for $4 (not something I'd drink - especially if I have a beverage package as a perk), canapes in the afternoon (also been poor quality in my experience) etc. etc.

[Orator]

Price not justified on a S Class ship. Jump on AQ if it is reduced.

[floralscent]

Most of the perks are more marketing hoopla to garner a higher price than anything substantial. Most people feel Concierge is worth a small premium over a regular balcony, but nowhere near the price you are quoting. Personally I wouldn't pay more than about $10 per/person per/day on S-Class; a few bucks more on M-Class since the rooms are a bit larger than normal balcony rooms on M-Class. The one exception is C1 category on M-Class; these have massive balconies - so are worth quite a bit more than a regular balcony - but are often priced substantially more.

 

Other than the footstools, the more significant perks are extra Captain's Club points (Celebrity's loyalty program) and lunch in the main dining room on boarding day (you avoid the crowds of the buffet, but the menu is rather limited). The rest of the perks (to me) do not have much tangible value - i.e. a bottle of sparkling wine that probably retails for $4 (not something I'd drink - especially if I have a beverage package as a perk), canapes in the afternoon (also been poor quality in my experience) etc. etc.

 

 

I agree with all of the above comments. We do stay in concierge class when the price difference isn't much more than regular a verandah. The captains club points are more to stay in cc so that's why we book that class. Other than that we don't see other notable benefits.

[TFLG]

Oh no way at that price. Mostly it's just fluff in Concierge class. take that $500 and use of for a dining package or something worthwhile

[Mr. Click]

The only time CC is worth that much money to me is on a longer cruise on an M class ship. CC cabins on M class are bigger than the standard veranda cabins. The rest of the "benefits" are not worth much to me. the binoculars are cheap so I bring my own, I am not a wine drinker so I don't need that bottle, the beach bag as degraded in quality over the years so it is not big deal now, the flowers are nice but they die after a few days, the daily canape....I can go to the OceanView and made myself a better plate...and the "special check in", I have enough Captains Club status to not need that bit. They have so many special check in lines now it gets confusing with all of the signs. So, take that money and do something fun with it....

[TFLG]

The only time CC is worth that much money to me is on a longer cruise on an M class ship. CC cabins on M class are bigger than the standard veranda cabins....

 

 

Might just be me but I don't notice any difference between the regular veranda and the Concierge cabins on the M Class. I know there is about 20sq ft of difference according to the website. As near as I can tell it's in the width of the cabin (slightly less than a foot). Maybe if I was wider I would notice it more;p

[Fouremco]

We've never felt that the difference was worth the money. We were given a free upgrade from an SV cabin (our usual choice) when there was a price drop after final payment, so we'll get to try it for a couple of weeks starting on Sunday. The embarkation lunch is actually something we look forward to and have no issues with the menu. We both enjoy salmon, and we've always had it prepared to our liking on Celebrity.

[Dunmore2]

Some people bring an inflatable foot stool to use on their veranda. I’d be afraid that it might blow away!

Others make a footstool using their life jackets and / or luggage.

[mom says]

We did Concierge on our last cruise, and will on our upcoming B2B. But the decision had little to do with most of these "perks". Our decision had a lot to do with our cabin location, the cabin size (the B2B is on an M class), and the extra CC points. We like the embarkation lunch too. In our case Aqua would have been an extra $500 per leg of our cruise. That's not worth it to us.

[crilski]

One word of caution - I booked a cruise while on board - they put me in the Concierge category. If I change out to a lower category, I get penalized $. If I had known how that worked, I would have booked a balcony. Note to self: read the fine print!

[Munsterguy]

The biggest perk to us was the cabin location, also after only 1 cruise you should get an automatic upgrade to C2, ( ask if not offered ) we got a great cabin location 9th floor on the hump for this years cruise on reflection . Love the idea of the boarding day lunch in the MDR , limited in choice but good, the afternoon canapés are awful , as an alternative ask your Stewart to change to a cheese board , way better. Enjoy !

[TFLG]

One word of caution - I booked a cruise while on board - they put me in the Concierge category. If I change out to a lower category, I get penalized $. If I had known how that worked, I would have booked a balcony. Note to self: read the fine print!

 

Why do you get penalized? I changed on my upcoming cruise from CC to Balcony GTY and saved $1900. I booked the cruise on board in late 2016. At the time CC was only $100 more than a 1A and we wanted the extra captains club points. But when I saw the huge price drop on the GTY I couldn't pass it up. Besides that $1900 we saved helped us go on the Infinity last Oct which meant we didnt need the extra captains club points since we hit Elite on the Infinity cruise. Funny thing is the cabin we ended up in is only a few cabins from out original cabin.

[39august]

Maybe it's not a thing to others, but we like being on higher decks. Thus we are booking Concierge class cabins on the "hump" for those larger balconies. I would love to do a Sky Suite,but oh, my, those are SOOO expensive on our upcoming cruises.

[nikel]

Most of the perks are more marketing hoopla to garner a higher price than anything substantial. Most people feel Concierge is worth a small premium over a regular balcony, but nowhere near the price you are quoting. Personally I wouldn't pay more than about $10 per/person per/day on S-Class; a few bucks more on M-Class since the rooms are a bit larger than normal balcony rooms on M-Class. The one exception is C1 category on M-Class; these have massive balconies - so are worth quite a bit more than a regular balcony - but are often priced substantially more.

 

Other than the footstools, the more significant perks are extra Captain's Club points (Celebrity's loyalty program) and lunch in the main dining room on boarding day (you avoid the crowds of the buffet, but the menu is rather limited). The rest of the perks (to me) do not have much tangible value - i.e. a bottle of sparkling wine that probably retails for $4 (not something I'd drink - especially if I have a beverage package as a perk), canapes in the afternoon (also been poor quality in my experience) etc. etc.

 

We happen to like the Concierge cabins on the S class. Other reasons are, that they are higher up, we almost always manage to get an angle balcony on the hump. The shower head is better, the towels are better, the bathrobe is better. We definitely like the main dining room lunch instead of the crowds at the buffet. From what I hear the Aquaspa café has now done away with their made to order lunches, eg salmon . The sparkling wine may be worth only $4., but Celebrity puts a value on it of $28. or $32. I don't remember which, and we have always managed to upgrade it for another bottle of our choice and pay the difference.

[Hlitner]

We would not pay a dollar more for Concierge Class...versus a S-Class regular balcony cabin on decks 8 or higher. On our last X cruise (21 days on the Reflection in Nov-Dec) we were upgraded from a regular balcony to Concierge (I think our Cruise Agency got that since we are Elite Plus) and we did enjoy the balcony foot stools (the same thing you get in Aqua)...but did not find any of the other perks worth a dollar.

 

Hank

[Elusive_Cruiser]

We started booking CC for 2 reasons - location and points.

 

We're now Elite, and continue to book for location.

 

Be warned, however - not all the locations are the best. As like Aqua, I believe they upsell the location and while the 'place' is great, the 'space' is not.

[justcrusn]

If booking a guarantee cabin, there are no “obstructed view”concierge class cabins.

[mfan]

We booked a Concierge Class cabin in our upcoming Reflection cruise in July. Not sure why, but it was cheaper than a regular veranda cabin when we made our reservation. It'll be our first cruise on Celebrity, so the priority boarding may be useful. We're looking forward to it. We get to compare it with our prior trips on Disney, Carnival, and Princess...

[Still Dreaming]

I had booked a regular veranda on the silhouette and then decided to compare prices with a major hotel chain that I have a credit card with. They had a CC cabin several hundred dollars cheaper ( group booking) then the veranda I had with an additional 300$ OBC and I get double points on Credit card. Win, win, win!

[Silkroad]

We would not pay a dollar more for Concierge Class...versus a S-Class regular balcony cabin on decks 8 or higher. On our last X cruise (21 days on the Reflection in Nov-Dec) we were upgraded from a regular balcony to Concierge (I think our Cruise Agency got that since we are Elite Plus) and we did enjoy the balcony foot stools (the same thing you get in Aqua)...but did not find any of the other perks worth a dollar.

 

Hank

Sometimes Concierge Class costs the same, or less than the equivalent Veranda cabin. That is the case for two of our current bookings, which is why we’re trying Concierge Class for the first time:)

[Shadow9612]

The embarkation lunch is actually something we look forward to and have no issues with the menu. We both enjoy salmon, and we've always had it prepared to our liking on Celebrity.

I've had the salmon at embarkation lunch - it was an incredible way to start the trip - well, after the welcome-aboard-champagne ;)

[Shadow9612]

One word of caution - I booked a cruise while on board - they put me in the Concierge category. If I change out to a lower category, I get penalized $. If I had known how that worked, I would have booked a balcony. Note to self: read the fine print!

 

Why/how do you get penalized?