Is Concierge "worth it"?

[kaymoz]

We are looking at booking a balcony on Millenium, and wonder if the extra cost (>$1K currently) is worth it for whatever the benefits are -- can't tell if the cabins themselves are any different, other than deck 8 instead of 6, and maybe something about the the fridge (not sure what?) and about the bed being a King (but we want two twins). 

The amenity list also includes:

- "Personalized Concierge service" - not sure how much they can do in helping; probably depends on their caseload!

- "Exclusive Destination Seminar"  is there no destination briefing for all interested passengers? Every cruise we've done has offered something in this vein

- "Exclusive Welcome Aboard Lunch on boarding day in the main dining room" - but isn't there lunch for everyone somewhere on boarding day?  

Maybe I am overlooing something important!  Like if wifi is included....

[Oceangoer2]

We have always booked concierge...just a higher deck and sometimes better located cabins....unless we book SV or a suite........but I'm seriously asking myself why?? 

• More expensive than verandah but same size cabin, just on lower decks. 
• No perks worth mentioning unless you consider a  pricey embarkation lunch and seminar worth it. 
• Never had any need for the concierge.
• All beds convert to twins.

[bikerunner]

Main thing with Millenium class the concierge rooms are a little bigger overall than regular balconies and also better location, for me anyway as I prefer higher decks.  The lunch is nice but very limited menu overall.  In the end the room for me, yes I need a balcony and or fine with the infinite verandah on E class also, is where I sleep, store my clothes and change.  I tended to take showers in the spa area mainly as I like there showers better.  I would save the money and use it elsewhere.  

[dcbiker97]

There are only 4 concierge rooms on M class I'd pay for. They are nestled among the suites and have huge balconies. They are rooms 6135/36 and 6143/44. The extra concierge class amenities are not worth that price. Only book if you want that huge balcony in those rooms. 

[39august]

The "perks" are worthless to  us. But if you want one of those cabins on the "slant" part of the decks with the larger balconies on S class,  then concierge it is. 

[jelayne]

5 minutes ago, 39august said:

The "perks" are worthless to  us. But if you want one of those cabins on the "slant" part of the decks with the larger balconies on S class,  then concierge it is. 

On decks  7 & 8 those cabins on the slant with larger balconies are Deluxe Verandas.  

[leaveitallbehind]

Worth it is very subjective and only you can decide if the differences, amenities, and associated cruise points are worth it.  We book veranda, concierge and aqua on different sailings for different reasons and each time the choice is worth it to us, otherwise we would not select each.  But typically the base veranda provides what we need and we don't care so much about the point differences and included amenities.

Edited August 15 by leaveitallbehind

[mrgabriel]

We usually book AQ and are in Concierge for our next cruise because we're sailing with friends and that's where they have booked. 

 

Thinking back to the last time we had a CC cabin (7 years ago?), I would put a value of $50 more for Concierge over a regular verandah cabin. That's what I figure the embarkation day lunch is worth. We aren't super picky about our cabin location unless we're on a TransPacific or TransAtlantic, in which case I want to be centre of the ship since I get motion sick. 

 

I would pay $500 more for Aqua Class because of Blu alone, and that's what the value I put on breakfast and dinner in Bu. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Just book a concierge balcony , as the extra point will get us E+ 

That was the only reason 😉

[jwlane]

2 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

the extra point

I'm thinking that's the biggest benefit.

[Saturngrl]

We always sail Concierge and enjoy the perks that come with it.  We request our complementary bottle of bubbly for the first sea day.  The embarkation luncheon in the MDR is a nice alternative to fighting the Oceanview buffet crowds.  We usually get invited to sailaway on the helipad at one of the ports.  The disembarkation waiting area with coffee and pastries is a nice plus as well.  

 

BUT, given the price of $1000 extra, I would encourage you to book the veranda and then purchase the Premium Pass.  You will get premium wi-fi, the embarkation luncheon, expedited disembarkation, reserve show seating...but not the extra Concierge points, the bottle of wine or the cabin size/location.  

 

Hope you book what best fits you! 

[Last Lion]

If you are chasing points for the next level and book well ahead Concierge is a good deal. 
 

 My next cruise. Solo on purpose. 12 day TA. 120 points. Puts me at Elite Plus.

 

We will never get to Zenith so Concierge will lose its appeal.

[the penguins]

4 hours ago, kaymoz said:

We are looking at booking a balcony on Millenium, and wonder if the extra cost (>$1K currently) is worth it for whatever the benefits are -- can't tell if the cabins themselves are any different, other than deck 8 instead of 6, and maybe something about the the fridge (not sure what?) and about the bed being a King (but we want two twins). 

The amenity list also includes:

- "Personalized Concierge service" - not sure how much they can do in helping; probably depends on their caseload!

- "Exclusive Destination Seminar"  is there no destination briefing for all interested passengers? Every cruise we've done has offered something in this vein

- "Exclusive Welcome Aboard Lunch on boarding day in the main dining room" - but isn't there lunch for everyone somewhere on boarding day?  

Maybe I am overlooing something important!  Like if wifi is included....

only if you need a few extra points to get you to E+ otherwise a total waste of money.

We did it once $25 total for the whole cruise (Transpacific) on M class and the extra points got us to E+ a cruise earlier.

On M class the cabins are bigger (well squarer). On S class the same size.

Cabin location is a personal thing - on S Class Deck 7 on the hump is our choice. 

Aqua is a total waste for us for 2 reasons:

The cabin locations are poor - Deck 7/8 is as high as we go 

Having to eat dinner in Blu - one of the highlights of our cruise is sharing tables with different people every night in the MDR - we eat as a couple every night at home and have no intention of doing so on a cruise.

We always have the Elite breakfast so again Blu would be a total waste.

Not right or wrong just our personal choice

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

3 hours ago, mrgabriel said:

I would put a value of $50 more for Concierge over a regular verandah cabin. That's what I figure the embarkation day lunch is worth.

Agreed. That's about what we paid for our upcoming CC, and for that price I figured the negligeable (in my opinion) benefits are worth it.

 

But since I'm not chasing points on X due to my status on Royal, I personally wouldn't pay much more than that.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 hour ago, the penguins said:

only if you need a few extra points to get you to E+ otherwise a total waste of money.

We did it once $25 total for the whole cruise (Transpacific) on M class and the extra points got us to E+ a cruise earlier.

On M class the cabins are bigger (well squarer). On S class the same size.

Cabin location is a personal thing - on S Class Deck 7 on the hump is our choice. 

Aqua is a total waste for us for 2 reasons:

The cabin locations are poor - Deck 7/8 is as high as we go 

Having to eat dinner in Blu - one of the highlights of our cruise is sharing tables with different people every night in the MDR - we eat as a couple every night at home and have no intention of doing so on a cruise.

We always have the Elite breakfast so again Blu would be a total waste.

Not right or wrong just our personal choice

Do they still have sharing tables ? 
 

[OysterD]

I've recently booked a concierge cabin only because it was actually cheaper than the handful of remaining veranda cabins and AQ was about £1200 more per person. I love Blu, but it's not worth an extra £2400!

 

Anyway, I wouldn't pay more than an extra £50pp or so for concierge over a standard veranda, maybe a little more than that if the cabins available in concierge were in much better positions than whatever standard veranda cabins were available. 

 

I can't think of any use for the actual concierge, what have people on here used them for? I personally don't put any value on the embarkation day lunch - from what I've read it's nothing overly special and I don't particularly want to be rushing straight to have lunch on their schedule as soon as I get onboard. 

[Cruise Junky]

We booked a concierge on Equinox for November for the single reason it was cheaper than a balcony 🤷🏻‍♀️  Extra points are gravy.  

[Oville]

For us, no.

[Pushka]

I’ve always looked at CC but decide the benefits just aren’t there for us. Usually Aqua class is as we love eating breakfast and dinner in Blu. And we really like the buffet on embarkation day and take food and drink into the sunset bar. 

[Iamcruzin]

9 hours ago, kaymoz said:

We are looking at booking a balcony on Millenium, and wonder if the extra cost (>$1K currently)

Not worth the extra thousand. 

On M class I believe the balconies are larger than the regular veranda staterooms. We are booked on Reflection in  Premium Concierge only because it was only $30 more than the premium veranda that I was going to book. The Concierge room is in a better location on a higher deck which was the reason I booked it. We will get extra loyalty points but that doesn't mean anything to me since we book AI anyway. Most of the extra perks are just fluff. The embarkation day lunch in the MDR is a nice perk but none of it is worth $1000. I think Aqua offers more benefits and would be worth paying more.

[Tigerfnan23]

We've done it a few times when we've gotten a great deal via move up.  We enjoy the pillow menu but that's about it so we obviously wouldn't ever consider paying anywhere near full price.  

[dreamer321]

I also booked my next cruise in Concierge (normally I book inside cabins) because my 10 Night cruise (105 pts for solo + Go Green)  will push me over the Elite Captain's Club status and the price difference was worth it for me. As far as the other benefits I don't really value them very much.  I suppose it will be nice to avoid the crowd in Ocean View Café on embarkation day.  I don't care about the daily canapés.

[kaymoz]

Thank you for all the great feedback!  Guess I should keep my eyes and ears open for some kind of move-up deal, maybe for Aqua because of the Persian Garden, which could be a nice place to spend time on the 3 sea days, if it isn't too crowded.  

Edited August 16 by kaymoz
clarity

[the penguins]

7 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Do they still have sharing tables ? 
 

Sorry I'm confused.

There are are always sharing tables in the MDR and our preffered size is a table for six. We have Any Time Dining pre booked for 6.30 and on boarding, due to my wife's mobility /pain issues,  X kindly let's us have the same table of 6 every night and we share with different people. 

[hawkesbaynz]

Have sailed Suite, Aqua (mainly) & normal balcony but never Concierge. Never considered it unless need the points to join Elite Plus. 

 

Have a B2B Fall 2025 ex Boston Canada & NE then repo to FLL. Checked the price: several hundred dollar difference the Canada cruise but approx 20 dollars for the Repo. Seems it is worthwhile checking. We will stick with our lower balcony (better for the open Atlantic) as do not wish to move on change over day. Aqua is several hundred dollars.