Concierge and CRT

[callaghan]

Need some help. Just like everyone else we have a Cinderella obsessed four year old. Has anyone ever been at Concierge level and NOT gotten PS at CRT form the concierge. THe big question is conciege or not and the CRT will be the deciding factor.
Thanks
callie

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hi there..

Yes there have been people who have NOT been able to get reservations at CRT even though they were staying in concierge level.

I can remember 2 families specifically who were very disappointed and grumbling about the extra they paid for concierge - and how upset they were about not getting CRT.

You have to be really flexible - in fact I told the concierge I could do CRT any 8 mornings out of the 9 we were staying (one morning we had the pirate cruise booked so could not do CRT)

We were lucky and the concierge was able to get us a PS for one of our mornings... but it is not a definate thing.

I do also want to mention that any PS the concierge made for us - we had great tables - window seats at CRT, front row seats at Hoop Dee Doo... etc... and they seat you right away - while others wait for tables. They were also able to get me a table at Boma for 6:30pm when the Boma hostess had told me the earliest time was 8:15pm. Concierge guests definately have their advantages but nothing is in black and white.

Have fun planning your trip!

>>^..^<<

 

[sherry8253]

I wanted CRT the night of MVMCP for dinner. The concierge did NOT get it for me. They told me that I have as good as chance as they do. They have to call WDW dine at the same time that I am able to call and are not permitted to get PS any earlier than the general public. I was not impressed with Disney concierge services at all. In fact I asked them to book an Illuminations cruise for me any of the 9 days we were going to be there. I called them each morning of the first 6 days that they were able to call to get a booking and was told that they had not been able to book for me. I called myself on day 7 with no success and on day 8 when I called I was able to book the cruise myself. When I called concierge to find out if they got a cruise for me so that I would not be double booked they had not. I told them I booked one for myself and all they said was 'oh'. Unless I get a really good deal with concierge I don't bother and I don't count on them to really do anything that I cannot do myself.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Hi Sherry.. I was just reading your post and wanted to know a couple of things...

Where were you staying concierge? and how did you find the other perks (ie) room location, lounge, food, check in, check out?

How was your illuminations cruise? was it Breathless?

====

Sorry to hear of your bad concierge experience - my experience was the exact opposite - however I was not travelling at Christmas - when obvioulsy Disney is very busy.

I was also given conflicting information to what you received (ie)
I was told they have a number of tables per week held for concierge bookings - but it is first come first serve for concierge guests too. So basically you are competing against other concierge guests for certain things.

I had great Itinerary Planners - Don from AKL.. and this year Amy from BC/YC... sounds like you got a dud!

>>^..^<<

 

[taylor1293]

There is no guarantee that they can get CRT for you.

I've heard many people say that Concierge was unable to get it for them.

I recommend you request they try and you also try for the dates you are interested in.

Teresa

 

[sherry8253]

We were at the AKL the first full week in December so it was not during the busy season. I believe it was Alana who told me when I called about the Illuminations cruise that they cannot call for PS or cruises any earlier than I could. I asked them to order 2 MVMCP tickets for me and only received one. I called them at least 3 times asking where the 2nd ticket was and each time I called I was told they had ordered the 2nd ticket for me. After about 4 weeks of this, I finally called the 1-407 number myself and explained what happened. I received the 2nd ticket very promptly in the mail. The lounge, food offerings, room, package delivery to the room, check in, etc were great. I just was not very happy with their service - one evening we asked if there was anything available for two at Boma while we were having a glass of wine. The CM looked at his PC and said nothing for 2 but there are tables for larger parties which he could not book for a party of 2. He then told me to walk down to Boma myself to see if they would seat us. I was shocked. There was no one in line waiting for service - in fact there were only about 5 or 6 other guests in the lounge at the time. I thought that he could easily have picked up the phone and asked Boma if they would seat us instead of telling me to go down myself and ask.
ps - I see that you are from Canada. I jus read that Disney is offering something for our neighbors from Cananda that will charge you in Canadian dollars instead of US dollars. I think that is fantastic that they are doing this for our great Northern neighbors!

 

[LvsTnk]

Not all service is the same, I have had some outstanding CM's and some that could not be bothered. It is frustrating to be treated so well at times and then to have below average service at others.

Just one example would be having a CM at AKL get me CRT a week out, and to be told by a Polynesian CM that most guests would rather take care of the PS at CRT themseves 60 days out because they could not be sure they would call

Also, we have had CM's at the same resort give different service, like you, I would have expected a CM to pick up the phone and call down to the restaurant to see if they could get a table for us.

I have also been told that "everything would be taken care of" and have nothing taken care of at all.

Book the important things yourself, then have everything else be icing on the cake.

 

[Darian]

Yikes... I hope that incident with the poly concierge is not the norm. Our past experience with the AKL concierge was just wonderful. They worked very hard to get our ressies taken care of.

I can't imagine one of them saying "most guests would rather take care of the PS at CRT themseves 60 days out because they could not be sure they would call." I don't doubt you experienced that, I'm just shocked! Gosh, whats the point of staying concierge if all the concierge wants to do is sit on their hands?

One solution to dealing with the "uncertainty" factor of using concierge to make your ressies is to follow up with them the next day or so... to make sure they got your request (if you emailed it or faxed it) and to see how things are progressing. The feedback process is very important. If your CM is a slacker, don't just let it go.

Darian

 

[LvsTnk]

I always follow up, but don't leave anything to chance

 

[sherry8253]

I followed up too. It was while following up that I discovered that they had not been able to get my PS at CRT or an illuminations cruise that I decided that I better get up and be on the phone at 7:00 am and do it myself. Also, I am always very nice to CM's. I waitressed many years ago while in college and I know how important it is to treat service personnel as I want to be treated. We also tip very well because we know that most service personnel are not well paid. We took a gift basket of items from our home state for the concierge since I was told that you should not tip them and gave it to them on our last eve there. I guess what I am trying to say is that I am not a 'pest' or a 'pain'. I was just surprised that for what we paid, the service was not better. We have stayed at places like the Plaza in NYC and the Inn at Spanish Bay at Pebble Beach and the service at these places was much better than the concierge service at Disney. So unless there is very little price difference between concierge and another room, I don't think that it is worth the extra price since I ended up doing things that I expected them to do myself.

 

[Gail T AGAIN]

Last year I was concierge and did NOT get seating for CRT. This year I am going called up and was lucky to get a reservation. I guess that goes to prove concierge can only do so much

 

[Darian]

Originally posted by sherry8253
I followed up too. It was while following up that I discovered that they had not been able to get my PS at CRT or an illuminations cruise that I decided that I better get up and be on the phone at 7:00 am and do it myself. Also, I am always very nice to CM's.

sherry8253, which disney hotel did this happen at? Please say it wasn't the poly.... <quivering in fear> cuz if it was the poly... uh oh... thats where we are headed this october...

Darian

 

[carriep1657]

We stayed at AKL concierge last November and asked them to try to make PS at CRT for several different dates. They said that although it wasn't guaranteed that they would get the PS, it was very likely that they would. They wanted to be sure it was alright with me that my credit card get charged for multiple dates.

We ended up having a mix-up with our PS. AKL wrote down that our PS was for a certain day and time. When we got to CRT, we were told that our PS was for the previous day and for a larger group. I had been very careful not to tell my DD about our breakfast with Cinderella until I had the PS number in hand. I didn't know how to tell her that there had been a mix up and we weren't eating with her any more. Well, the people at CRT were wonderful and they squeezed us in.

When we got back to AKL concierge, we explained what had happened. They refunded the charge from the PS for the previous day. Then, they explained to me how the PS system works for concierge and CRT. Apparently, there are 7 tables (I think it's 7. It was one for each hotel that has concierge.) that are reserved for concierge. They are all controlled by the concierge at the Grand Floridian. At two weeks out, the concierge from each of the hotels, sends a request to the person at the GF. The GF then grants the request, grants it with a modification as to the time, or denies it. I got the impression that the 7 tables were the really prime tables. We got one by the window and looked out on the carousel.

I was also under the impression that AKL tries at 60 days out for the PS but that they don't have any advantage over the rest of the callers.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Originally posted by carriep1657

Apparently, there are 7 tables (I think it's 7. It was one for each hotel that has concierge.) that are reserved for concierge. They are all controlled by the concierge at the Grand Floridian. At two weeks out, the concierge from each of the hotels, sends a request to the person at the GF. The GF then grants the request, grants it with a modification as to the time, or denies it

Hi there.. I received the same information - but not the part about the GF office controlling it! Interesting.

We also had the same table right at the window overlooking the carousel - it was wonderful.

>>^..^<<

 

[Morticia]

We also had the table by the window overlooking the carousel last Oct.

 

[DNSDisney]

Concierge isn't the only ones btw that can help you get PS at any rest. Guest Services at all the resorts will help you too if not staying Concierge. Just thought I would pass that along to anyone who doesn't know.

 

[sherry8253]

Hi Darian - It was the AKL not the Poly. I am sure that you will have a great time. My problems may have just been a fluke!

 

[LvsTnk]

Don't get me wrong Concierge helped me get CRT on Christmas last year but the year before I was able to get it and they weren't. I just don't want anyone to miss out because they left it totally up to concierge to book it or anything else that is really important to them.

 

[Darian]

This has sparked an interesting discussion between me and my DW. Both of us had been in contact with concierge getting the ressies set up and after comparing notes its pretty clear that it took more than just one or two emails to get the job done.

With the passage of time one tends to forget things you would rather not recall... difficulties or hassels one encountered getting that awesome vacation planned and executed. Our enjoyment of the finished result allowed us to forget - for the time being - the initial difficulty we had getting our CM out of "excuse mode" and into "action mode."

The conclusion being some CM will just "blow you off" - make the easy ressies and then call it a day and move on to other guest's itinerarys. And lots of people (guests) apparantly will just go right along with their "oh well" attitude. The solution is politely not go away... continue with your emails - they seem to work better than faxes and there is no toll charge. My guess also is that the email gets logged by the server leaving a possible "paper trail" to expose any laziness. Phone calls are also helpful in providing courteous motivation.

Its so funny because I'd completely forgotten about this. Uh oh... evidence of a "senior moment?"

Darian

 

[LvsTnk]

It's fine to keep after them but what guarantee do you have that that important P.S. will be made? I have an awesome CM I deal with but you know sometimes he makes mistakes too, when we work together it makes for an awesome trip.
I too like to forget and get on with my vacation!