Question about comparative value of Concierge Level Cabin

[edgee]

Next month we are taking our second Regent cruise which will bring us to the Silver level. We are planning on taking advantage of the on board (or within 30 days) booking bonuses for a couple of future cruises. We are considering Concierge level cabin advantages compared to same size cabins in a lower category. Question is: If we do not care about night before hotel and have no need for earlier reservation booking calendar for tours and specialty restaurants (since we will be Silver and get that anyway), what are advantages of Concierge level other than perhaps cabin location and additional wifi connections, which we can purchase for a lot less than difference in cabin price? Thanks.

[rcandkc]

Flying in the day before you embark instead of embarkation day.  I personally would never fly on embarkation day.  However, if you are doing your own air this does not matter. 

[RetiredandTravel]

To my knowledge there are no other significant advantages to Concierge other than the ones you mention.  

 

https://www.rssc.com/discover-more/blog/upgraded-amenities-of-your-concierge-suite

[edgee]

24 minutes ago, rcandkc said:

Flying in the day before you embark instead of embarkation day.  I personally would never fly on embarkation day.  However, if you are doing your own air this does not matter. 

Oh no, I would never fly in on embarkation day. One of the cruises I am booking is from my home city so do not need hotel and other one has free land tour I will be taking ahead of the cruise...so no need for pre cruise hotel and credit they give you for not taking it is not a lot.

[wcsdkqh]

I believe you get 4 wifi logins in Concierge as opposed to a single login in lower level cabins. Once gold, I believe you get the 4 logins regardless. You can also pay for the additional logins (pretty steep) once onboard if you don't do the Concierge cabin.

[tnr]

Keep in mind that you will be silver effective on boarding the ship.  Therefore, you will not be able to utilize the priority tour and restaurant reservations on this cruise with a non-concierge suite.

[edgee]

14 minutes ago, tnr said:

Keep in mind that you will be silver effective on boarding the ship.  Therefore, you will not be able to utilize the priority tour and restaurant reservations on this cruise with a non-concierge suite.

Thanks. We will have 22 nights and be silver after completing the cruise we are taking in 3 weeks. So if we book on board that cruise we will be silver for the cruises in future months I believe.

[Linda VH]

You get a % off of wine not on the complimentary list.  I can’t remember what the % is but we always got concierge specifically so my husband could order his preferred wine at a discount.  Tip for those who order but say that they run out - my DH would always ask how many of bottles of xyz wine was on board and then lock them up ahead of time.  

[irishwitchy]

Linda,  I love the lockup wine idea, if the wine/price point is right.  Good idea.
 

There is a percentage off for wine when in the concierge suites.  We miss gold by one night with our next cruise 🤨.  We had been booking them because of the priority in booking of excursions and dinner and location on the ship.  

[wishIweretravelling]

You get a coffee maker and binoculars in the room. Given the price differential, that’s one expensive coffee pot.

[papaflamingo]

Personally I wouldn't spend the extra to get Concierge unless it was strictly for location on the ship.  We don't do the night before in a hotel because we generally arrive 2 or more days ahead of the cruise so we can see the sights in the boarding city.  We are Gold so the other perks are unnecessary.  It seems, reading posts on here and FB, that most people book Concierge specifically to get early picks on excursions.  Since you'll have those when you become Silver,, you won't need Concierge level. 

[RetiredandTravel]

Yes Concierge Suites also offer a 10% discount on connoisseur wines and liquors.  Ball park the Concierge Suite costs about $100-$115 per day for two more than a Superior or Veranda, so your  breakeven is purchasing $1000-1150 wines & liquors per day.  🤪

 

 IMO papaflamingo is correct and the Concierge generally only makes sense for newer (non Silver) cruisers.  

[Lonedaddy]

The 5% discount on the SG excursions and land packages can make it worth it depending on how many you choose.

[HonTri]

We've only booked Concierge once to use the two cabin up grade special we are gold.

[DeepFreeze63]

1 hour ago, RetiredandTravel said:

Yes Concierge Suites also offer a 10% discount on connoisseur wines and liquors.  Ball park the Concierge Suite costs about $100-$115 per day for two more than a Superior or Veranda, so your  breakeven is purchasing $1000-1150 wines & liquors per day.  🤪

 

 IMO papaflamingo is correct and the Concierge generally only makes sense for newer (non Silver) cruisers.  

"Generally" is the operative word.

We now have done 21 Regent cruises and 5 or 6 have been in Concierge level and 2 0f our booked future cruises are in Concierge.  Personal preferences and which ship, besides price differential, enter the decision. We did Concierge before attaining Gold level to arrive (on Regent Air) earlier than departure day and yet avoid the deviation fees. We also love both the larger verandahs for Concierge on the newer ships and E608 etc. for easy access to Deck 5 and the 5 forward elevators. The nicely soft cashmere blanket, binoculars (excellent), and shipboard phone (like a walkie-talkie) are just a bonus for us.

[RetiredandTravel]

2 hours ago, DeepFreeze63 said:

"Generally" is the operative word.

We now have done 21 Regent cruises and 5 or 6 have been in Concierge level and 2 0f our booked future cruises are in Concierge.  Personal preferences and which ship, besides price differential, enter the decision. We did Concierge before attaining Gold level to arrive (on Regent Air) earlier than departure day and yet avoid the deviation fees. We also love both the larger verandahs for Concierge on the newer ships and E608 etc. for easy access to Deck 5 and the 5 forward elevators. The nicely soft cashmere blanket, binoculars (excellent), and shipboard phone (like a walkie-talkie) are just a bonus for us.

 

Yes it is.

[2012_Alaska_bound]

23 hours ago, HonTri said:

We've only booked Concierge once to use the two cabin up grade special we are gold.

 

Same for us. Just had a Concierge on Navigator and it made not one iota of difference to us since all Navigator lower level suites are the same. Had a different color palate (gold) for the decor. My friend remembered that our previous cruise on Navigator had a blue color palate and happened to mention it when our steward was in the room, so he told us the difference. Ha, ha.

 

We did take the hotel credit and booked our own hotel.

Edited September 18, 2022 by 2012_Alaska_bound

[Techno123]

We have booked a concierge on Navigator for our Caribbean cruise and ended up in the Mandarin Oriental for our overnight so quite pleased with that perk and as we don't move to silver until our next cruise starts next year, we were able to book the excursions and Prime 7 a little earlier. Booked the F1 on the Explorer as we have a land programme in Tokyo first and one in Hong Kong after ( if all goes to plan and Japan and China have opened up following Covid 🤞🏻) so wont need the pre cruise. We eat late so hopefully we will be able to access times we like in the speciality restaurants - just hope all the decent excursions haven't sold out 😁

Edited September 18, 2022 by Techno123

[jeb_bud]

On the Explorer class ships the balconies in Concierge suites are much larger than the lower suites. We book Concierge primarily for the multiple logins. And DW really likes those cashmere blankets. 

[irishwitchy]

I will say, the cashmere blanket in Norway/Iceland was used.  Don’t need that in warm weather.  

[LewiLewi]

On Explorer and Splendor, the Concierge cabins have a larger Verandah, which also includes a chaise lounge and chairs. The cabins below Concierge have a smaller Verandah and do not include full chaise lounges.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

4 minutes ago, LewiLewi said:

On Explorer and Splendor, the Concierge cabins have a larger Verandah, which also includes a chaise lounge and chairs. The cabins below Concierge have a smaller Verandah and do not include full chaise lounges.

The layouts of the Splendor Concierge versus Superior suites show the balcony size range to be the same.  12.2 - 7.7 sq meters.

[LewiLewi]

5 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

The layouts of the Splendor Concierge versus Superior suites show the balcony size range to be the same.  12.2 - 7.7 sq meters.

Our son had an F1suite. His Verandah was much smaller than ours; we were in a Concierge D suite and had a full chaise lounge on the Explorer. This year we also checked the categories and they remain the same. Concierge and above have larger verandahs.

[DavidTheWonderer]

Quoting a post here by Colleen McDaniel, Cruise Critic Editor-In-Chief, about Splendor Concierge suites:

:
"Offering the same cabin space (332 square feet internally and 83- to 131-square-foot balconies) as Superior Suites. ... The biggest difference is the extra amenities that Concierge Suite passengers get ..."

Do notice that, as is usual on cruise ships, there is a range of sizes for the balconies. So one cabin might well have a larger balcony than another cabin regardless of whether the suites being compared are Superior or Concierge.

[DeepFreeze63]

9 hours ago, DavidTheWonderer said:

Quoting a post here by Colleen McDaniel, Cruise Critic Editor-In-Chief, about Splendor Concierge suites:

:
"Offering the same cabin space (332 square feet internally and 83- to 131-square-foot balconies) as Superior Suites. ... The biggest difference is the extra amenities that Concierge Suite passengers get ..."

Do notice that, as is usual on cruise ships, there is a range of sizes for the balconies. So one cabin might well have a larger balcony than another cabin regardless of whether the suites being compared are Superior or Concierge.

Pretty easy to determine which have larger balconies.. The Deck plans on the Regent website (Our Ships, Deck Plans) show the comparative size of EACH cabin.