Concierge cabins issues

[tomcruiser1234]

Here’s a new topic

 

Ok.  In my humble opinion, the concierge cabins really don’t offer much for the additional cost vs a veranda.  What additional perks should Celebrity offer to create so more value?

 

 

[pattyj 1204]

I'm not sure, we will be staying in one on our Summit cruise in Sept. Only because they didn't have any other veranda cabins available. We are pretty self sufficient cruisers and don't usually need extra pampering but we do like have a veranda. So we are paying the extra. Not sure what else they should offer so I'll be watching to see what others think.

[Not a username2]

Don't CC cabins have more desirable locations?

Also, they're larger on M class.

I think 1 Day pass to the garden and free upgrade to premium drinks package would be a good incentive.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

On M class ships, the cabins are larger.  Really no reason to book concierge class on S class ships.  No clue about Edge and her ilk.

[Georgia_Peaches]

One of the things I really like about having a suite is the embarkation day lunch in Luminae.  If a suite category wasn't an option, I would book CC for the embarkation day lunch available to that category in the MDR.  Being able to have a sit down meal away from the hustle and bustle of the OVC is a huge value to me.  I think CC is the only category besides a suite that offers this and I would book this category over a standard balcony for this perk alone.  Not sure what else I would want to see associated with this category.

[mom says]

No idea about Edge class ships, since I've no desire to sail on them. We like the cabin locations of CC , plus their larger size on M class. Plus the extra Captains club points. The other extras in CC are nice to have, but aren't worth much in our decision making process (aside from the embarkation lunch, which we very much enjoy). We've also needed to avail ourselves if the services of the concierge on occasion- very helpful. But we don't book CC if they are significantly higher than regular balcony cabins.

Edited January 14, 2020 by mom says

[Georgia_Peaches]

Just found this.  Is it still accurate?  Seems like a lot...

Perks:
Amenities are subject to change without notice.
Concierge / Priority Check In / Priority Luggage Delivery / Priority Deparkation / Afternoon Canapes / Complimentary Shoe Shine / Fresh Fruit / Fresh Flowers / Welcome Champagne / Priority Dining Reservations / Thick Cotton Robes / Pillow Menu / Celebrity eXhale custom premium mattresses / Interactive Samsung flat-screen television system / Complimentary tote bag / Upgraded room service menu / Use of binoculars and golf umbrella / Hansgrohe massaging shower-head / Access to the exclusive Concierge Class Pre-departure Lounge / Extra hand-held hair dryer / NEW dedicated onboard concierge desk, concierge service available during check in, exclusive destination seminar, exclusive welcome aboard lunch in main dining room from 11:30 to 1:00 p.m. /

Amenities also include custom-blended bath amenities, personalized stationery, oversized 100% cotton bath towels, specialty restaurant seating time preferences, and access to exclusive concierge class pre-departure lounge.

[mom says]

GP- those look like the same amenities we had on our last cruise.

[tomcruiser1234]

I remember on the Century class thy were larger cabins than the standard balcony. 

[Boatharbour]

9 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Just found this.  Is it still accurate?  Seems like a lot...

Perks:
Amenities are subject to change without notice.
Concierge / Priority Check In / Priority Luggage Delivery / Priority Deparkation / Afternoon Canapes / Complimentary Shoe Shine / Fresh Fruit / Fresh Flowers / Welcome Champagne / Priority Dining Reservations / Thick Cotton Robes / Pillow Menu / Celebrity eXhale custom premium mattresses / Interactive Samsung flat-screen television system / Complimentary tote bag / Upgraded room service menu / Use of binoculars and golf umbrella / Hansgrohe massaging shower-head / Access to the exclusive Concierge Class Pre-departure Lounge / Extra hand-held hair dryer / NEW dedicated onboard concierge desk, concierge service available during check in, exclusive destination seminar, exclusive welcome aboard lunch in main dining room from 11:30 to 1:00 p.m. /

Amenities also include custom-blended bath amenities, personalized stationery, oversized 100% cotton bath towels, specialty restaurant seating time preferences, and access to exclusive concierge class pre-departure lounge.

We sailed concierge on Millennium recently. No flowers, no fruit, champagne available on request, didn’t see a pre- departure lounge, no tote bag, only one hair dryer ( which was all you’d need). There are other posts about the value of the afternoon canapés. 

 

We did like the daily notes from the concierge about the next port of call which were much more detailed than those other passengers received. Bed was extremely comfortable and our cabin was in a great location. This last reason is why we try to book C1’s. 

[Josie201]

The expanded breakfast room service options are nice.  

[laslomas]

Paying for a Concierge stateroom means looking forward to feeling pampered and to have the little 'extras'. So what I would like is to get what I should without having to ask. Sort of spoils it a bit! The last cruise, I took the page from my latest brochure as the list seems to change over time. Still love it though.

[drakes2]

14 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

On M class ships, the cabins are larger.  Really no reason to book concierge class on S class ships.  No clue about Edge and her ilk.

We just downgraded from a CC to a regular balcony to save $600 on our Apex cruise. The only downfall was we gave up the Embarkation lunch. Having the PBP already we were not interested in the sparkling wine.  Most seem to refuse it anyway. An upgrade from classic to premium would be great or if premium to drinks and more.

[TFLG]

17 hours ago, tomcruiser1234 said:

Here’s a new topic

 

Ok.  In my humble opinion, the concierge cabins really don’t offer much for the additional cost vs a veranda.  What additional perks should Celebrity offer to create so more value?

 

 

 

Pretty sure a lot of us feel this way.  I only book concierge when the cost is about the same as a regular veranda, (or less in some cases). I mean why not if the cost is about the same, I'll take the points.  Unless you score a hump cabin I don't think the locations are any better, as far as the bigger cabin on the M class, it's not really noticeable, it's about a foot longer.  I much prefer Aqua, but again I don't think it's worth what they typically ask it for and I only book Aqua if I can get a good price on it.  I certaily don't feel any more "pampered" in CC or Aqua class than in a standard Veranda (although I do like the fancy showers in the Aqua cabins).  I don't drink the bad fizzy wine, I don't use the fancier bath product since I bring my own, The canapes are a joke, never needed the binoculors or unbrella.  One thing we do like is the better tote bag. I guess if a person uses all the stuff they may feel they can justify the cost, I can't.

I agree that they should offer something of real value for the additional cost they are getting. There's things they could do that wouldn't even cost them anything. Give CC free movies, some Wifi minutes, laundry etc.

[SHIP TRAVELER]

We have always felt that we would not use most of the perks and drew the line at paying extra for them.  In November of 2019, the C3 was cheaper than most balcony cabins on the Eclipse Pacific Coast cruise so we booked it as an upgrade from an inside. 

 

One thing that was special on that sailing was that concierge patrons got an invite to a champagne toast on the heliport sail in under the Golden Gate bridge.   It was a lot of fun and it was just for C people.  We had a similar experience when we sailed in a suite but this did not include suites.

 

The blueberry pancakes and smoothies on  the extended room service breakfast menu were a step up that we enjoyed.  Much better pancakes than the buffet or the main dining room.

 

We got a fruit and cheese plate delivered everyday instead of the usual weird snacks.  This was not over the top but it was nice to have a snack with our balcony wine after a long excursion day.  The robes were much better than the usual thin worn out waffle robes.  We used both the binoculars and the umbrella on this cruise.  We liked the MDR  private lunch the first day. 

Just wanted to point out that some of the perks are real and have value.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

1 hour ago, TFLG said:

 

Pretty sure a lot of us feel this way.  I only book concierge when the cost is about the same as a regular veranda, (or less in some cases). I mean why not if the cost is about the same, I'll take the points.  Unless you score a hump cabin I don't think the locations are any better, as far as the bigger cabin on the M class, it's not really noticeable, it's about a foot longer.  I much prefer Aqua, but again I don't think it's worth what they typically ask it for and I only book Aqua if I can get a good price on it.  I certaily don't feel any more "pampered" in CC or Aqua class than in a standard Veranda (although I do like the fancy showers in the Aqua cabins).  I don't drink the bad fizzy wine, I don't use the fancier bath product since I bring my own, The canapes are a joke, never needed the binoculors or unbrella.  One thing we do like is the better tote bag. I guess if a person uses all the stuff they may feel they can justify the cost, I can't.

I agree that they should offer something of real value for the additional cost they are getting. There's things they could do that wouldn't even cost them anything. Give CC free movies, some Wifi minutes, laundry etc.

 

The better tote bag and fancier bath products are history.

[TFLG]

14 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

The better tote bag and fancier bath products are history.

 

Damn it, the one thing I liked...

[drakes2]

44 minutes ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

The better tote bag and fancier bath products are history.

Dont like their bath products and left the tote bag in the cabin. This was March 2019 in a CC.  I'm on the Apex in May. Will they have switched to shampoo soap dispensers by then? If so I'll bring my own. 

[DrKoob]

We sailed CC for years but then moved to Aqua to get Blu. Sailed CC on M-class ships (and still do) to get the aft cabins with the GIANT verandahs. Nothing going through the canal on an aft cabin. 

 

That said, the perks for CC are a waste. And my favorite worthless one (besides the canapés) is the "priority embarkation, tendering and disembarkation. When it come to priority tendering it seems like this the is the order people get to tenders.

• Everyone on an X shore excursion
• Zenith
• Elite Plus
• Elite
• Suites
• Aqua
• Concierge 

Kind of ridiculous. When we were in Concierge on our last cruise that had a tender port, we weren't allowed "priority tendering" until about 90 minutes after they started sending tenders to shore. 

 

Jim

[Cruise Raider]

I haven't sailed in a CC cabin in a couple of years but I liked the following:  

 

Footstools on the balconies (not sure if they exist anymore)

Pillow menu 

Extra points towards the next tier level 

Bottle of wine / sparkling wine in our room (not sure if that was a fluke or not)

Canapes in the afternoon

Expanded room service selection

Nicer towels / robes in the room 

Embarkation lunch (sit down vs buffet) 

Nice denim tote (think these are gone now) 

Priority seating in the MDR with select dining 

Priority tendering 

 

Not sure if all these amenities still exist.  Hmmmm?  

Those are the items I found of value.  

 

[Song in my heart]

We have only gone on Celebrity twice.  Although it is our favourite line, it is too expensive for us except for special celebrations.  I just booked a CC yesterday for Alaska in August 2021 as it is a cabin right at the aft so we can enjoy sunsets and glaciers from the privacy of our cabin.  We used CC six years ago going to Bermuda for our anniversary.  The small extra touches were fun but as the veranda seemed to be like every other veranda it really wasn't worth it.  Only the aft location makes it worth it to us for next year.

[chrismakris]

I sailed in my first CC cabin this past November on the Silhouette and really the only bonus to it is the points.
 

 We booked it because it was only $100 more than a veranda at the time. So it was more of a points grab. 

 

We are sailing in another one In December for Australia($50 more than a veranda at time of booking). 
 

Once again a points grab. 
 

We probably won’t look at one again unless the price and location are right. 

[Baron Barracuda]

On 1/14/2020 at 5:40 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

Just found this.  Is it still accurate?  Seems like a lot...

Perks:
Amenities are subject to change without notice.
Concierge / Priority Check In / Priority Luggage Delivery / Priority Deparkation / Afternoon Canapes / Complimentary Shoe Shine / Fresh Fruit / Fresh Flowers / Welcome Champagne / Priority Dining Reservations / Thick Cotton Robes / Pillow Menu / Celebrity eXhale custom premium mattresses / Interactive Samsung flat-screen television system / Complimentary tote bag / Upgraded room service menu / Use of binoculars and golf umbrella / Hansgrohe massaging shower-head / Access to the exclusive Concierge Class Pre-departure Lounge / Extra hand-held hair dryer / NEW dedicated onboard concierge desk, concierge service available during check in, exclusive destination seminar, exclusive welcome aboard lunch in main dining room from 11:30 to 1:00 p.m. /

Amenities also include custom-blended bath amenities, personalized stationery, oversized 100% cotton bath towels, specialty restaurant seating time preferences, and access to exclusive concierge class pre-departure lounge.

 

CC was originally a good marketing idea for X.  They were able to charge a premium price without incurring much extra cost.  For whatever reason a number of the amenities have disappeared and cabin prices dropped to a point not much higher than regular balcony cabins.  dw liked the idea of priority luggage delivery but our bags never seemed to reach the cabin any quicker.  The fresh flowers weren't elaborate but still nice to have.  They disappeared a couple of years ago along with the tote bag, footstools on some ships and steak from the expanded room service menu.  Quality of afternoon canapes can be hit or miss.  Best remaining benefits for us are embarkation luncheon and use of an umbrella.

 

My suggestion is to add some real benefits that would make passengers feel special and willing to pay extra.  These might include a specialty dining package, upgrade to premium bev pkg, a couple of free photos, wifi and maybe a reserved section in the theater.

 

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

3 minutes ago, chrismakris said:

 
 

Once again a points grab. 
 

We probably won’t look at one again unless the price and location are right. 

How many points do you get for this category per night?

[chrismakris]

5 points compared to 3 for a veranda