DCL concierge service vs other lines' suite experiences.

[sweetpee_1993]

I've sailed suites on DCL, Celebrity, and HAL - well technically Premier also, but since they are no longer in service, I'll leave them out. LOL!!! I've always only sailed in suites, until 2011 when I decided I would no longer sail in a suite on DCL, since their suite perks were not worth the additional money. They really didn't compare to what the other lines did. I broke that by sailing in the Walt suite on the Magic in 2013, because my sister wanted to, but other than that I stick to 4A on DCL.

They all have priority boarding and priority tendering so I'll leave those out. On DCL you can sail in 2 staterooms and get Castaway Cay loyalty points for both staterooms, but if you sail in a suite you still only get one credit, even though it is like booking multiple rooms. Other cruise lines gives credit for suites. On DCL I had sailed almost 40 days in mostly suites and still was the same level as a single room 3 day.

Celebrity we had a butler that took care of everything, he brought us goodies every afternoon, planned a party, they fully stocked a fridge with drinks (including alcohol), offered to help with unpacking, had a computer with internet in the room (this was their penthouse) hot tub and treadmill on the deck, reserved the special wine room in the specialty restaurant for us, etc.

HAL has the Neptune lounge, with a concierge desk always manned, they've always been so helpful. They will even arrange afternoon tea service in your stateroom or course by course dinner. The lounge has goodies throughout the day, tables for visiting, games, etc. Champagne and fresh fruit in the suite, corsages on formal night left in the room, free laundry (my personal favorite).

Don't get me wrong, I love the concierge on DCL - they've always been great, but I can attest to the fact that other lines are great also.

Free laundry?!?! SOLD!!!!! ((I am a bit weird about keeping the laundry done. LOL!))

 

[kaseyC]

@MousseauMob made me remember that NCL also gives extra loyalty points to those in Suites as well as a higher on board credit. With the recent promotions they have been running, suites get all of them. You do not have to choose 1 or 2. For our upcoming Escape cruise, we got the Unlimited Dining Package, Unlimited Beverage Package, prepaid gratuities and shore excursion credit. Since it is a Transatlantic cruise without any port stops, my TA got NCL to give us OBC in place of the shore excursion credit.

*NCL offers a pre-concierge service like DCL. You can email or call them with your requests. They will send you the pillow menu and the coffee and tea choices for the awesome Lavazza coffee machine in your suite. I usually ask them to have the mini bar emptied and stocked with milk, creamer and a pitcher of iced tea.
*Concierge and Butler service. The concierge takes care of everything outside of the suite (reservations and such) and the Butler takes care of everything inside of the suite (in room dining, instruction for coffee machine, daily snacks and treats).
*Haven courtyard and sundeck staff. They make sure all the lounge chairs have fresh towels, bring cold cloths around, serves snacks such as fruit kabobs and takes care of drink/food orders.
(you can literally park your butt in a lounge chair all day and have breakfast, lunch and dinner brought to you as well as cold adult beverages)
*The Haven area has it's own mini gym with work out equipment, there are also private spa treatment rooms so you don't have to leave the Haven for you massage.

 

[VbChristy]

Aside from DLC the only line on which we've had a suite was Celebrity. Our butler might as well have been a stateroom attendant. Nope. All of our stateroom attendants have been more helpful than he was! He did nothing to help us at all. At all. We asked about wine tastings and he gave us incorrect information. With various requests he would just tell us who to ask. When I asked if he could find out once, he finally pulled out a phone and had a really awkward conversation with someone and still didn't help us. It was the total opposite of our experiences on DLC. Maybe we just got a bad butler but it really colored my perception of Celebrity (and we were big Celebrity fans before that.).

Reading posts above, I see Haven in my future. Lol.

You definitely had a bad one! We had a not as great one before, but did better than yours- maybe it was the same one. Ha. But we've had others that have been absolutely amazing- and really making the experience special.

 

[VbChristy]

I didn't think I was a fan of NCL but the haven does sound lovely. You've sold me @kaseyC

 

[Gigi22]

I've been fortunate enough to sail twice on the Magic in a one bedroom and two or three times in a concierge class cabin with Holland America. If asked to compare the perks, the free laundry and pressing service on HAL trumps everything DCL offers. That said, I should point out that HAL offers their free laundry service to both 4 and 5 star Mariners (cruisers with *many* days onboard), so they know it is a very desirable perk.

I think it is part and parcel of DCL's corporate complacency, and is consistent with their loyalty program which is simply of very little value. Entertaining, but of little value.

 

[Bree]

New suite classes beginning May 2016 on Quantum and Oasis class ships. There will be three tiers of suites - Star Class, Sky Class & Sea Class each with different benefits.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/royalsuiteclass#seaclass

 

[kaseyC]

New suite classes beginning May 2016 on Quantum and Oasis class ships. There will be three tiers of suites - Star Class, Sky Class & Sea Class each with different benefits.

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/royalsuiteclass#seaclass

Interesting. Looks like Junior Suites will be getting a few perks. The Star class perks look fantastic.

 

[diznymom]

I'm looking for info specifically on NCL Pride of America suites vs DCL concierge. We are really leaning toward a Hawaii cruise w/ NCL and are wondering how they compare. We have been in DCL concierge on the Dream and Fantasy. We will not be sailing until around 2023.

 

[OKW Lover]

I'm looking for info specifically on NCL Pride of America suites vs DCL concierge.

We have done both. We were frankly disappointed in the PoA. The suite was certainly large enough and had good amenities. However, the service from both the concierge/buttler staff and the rest of the ship wasn't great. And the dining options were lack-luster as well.

However, we did enjoy seeing all the islands with minimum fuss.

Also, John & Kevin did a review of the PoA cruise a few years (2015) ago You might be able to find it on YouTube.

 

[Noodlez]

I had my first suite on PoA 2 years ago and absolutely loved it. They don't have a Haven section on there so this makes it a lot more affordable than the ships that do. The butler and concierge were great, but you don't get a private lounge or concierge area. I haven't done concierge on any other lines yet, but I'd say this is more of a halfway between a standard room and the full concierge/suite perks that you get with other ships. We have a concierge room with DCL in a couple of weeks and with Princess the month after, so I'll be able to make a better comparison then!

I'm not sure what prices are like at the moment, but a week on PoA was only slightly more than 3 nights on DCL so I definitely think it was worth it.

(Looking at the age of this thread, it might be better to start a new one. I imagine a lot has changed since this was started!)