If you aren't sailing DCL concierge, but are doing concierge elsewhere, which ship and why?

[brentm77]

We sailed in a Celebrity Suite last August to Alaska on the Eclipse. It was the same price as a DCL veranda cabin. The suite only had 1 bathroom and no dining table, but it was spacious and comfortable. The service was excellent from all of the Retreat (what they call concierge) Staff.

However - We thought the food in the suite dining was terrible for vegetarians and hit/miss for my husband who eats anything. I felt bullied by my waiter not to order from a different menu and he was not helpful or even seemed to care when we couldn't find anything we liked on the menu. The specialty restaurants (upcharge) were not good and one place I sent my food back because it was inedible. They really didn't seem to care.

The "premium" drink package was garbage for wine/champagne, and I couldn't even find better wine by the glass anywhere. No higher end champagne by bottle or glass. I literally drank Titos bloody Mary's for breakfast, lunch and dinner (they were delicious). So the drink package really didn't work for me and Disney has much better options by the glass and bottle.

Onboard activities were not really things we wanted to do (other than a fun scavenger hunt for what would be the 1820 society on the first day). We did a lot of trivia, which was fun. The shows were "ok" and the movies were infrequent, not of interest and the theater where they showed them was lacking.

For Alaska and for the price, it was a good choice and if the food were better and they acted like they cared, I think the other things could have been forgiven since it's such a port intensive cruse (and I really do like bloody Mary's).

My husband and 18-year-old daughter were less critical than I was but they agreed it was missing the Disney service and quality we are used to.
We will be sailing our 30th DCL cruise this August on the Dream in a 1Bedroom suite and in December on the Fantasy in a 4E. We are trying Celebrity one more time (huge OBC offer if booked on the ship - $300 per passenger) in an Aqua Sky Suite on the new ship in the Caribbean next March.

It seems like food quality varies more on Celebrity from ship to ship, with the newer ships having better food. But I haven't experienced Celebrity first hand yet. I didn't book them for our upcoming Alaska since it was one of their older ships that hadn't been updated recently for the dates I was looking at and I ended up getting a comparable price with Disney. But I have two Celebrity cruises booked for 2024. I will be curious to see if it is a better experience for you next March.

 

[Sykes]

Huh. This is from Celebrity's FAQ:
Do any of the Suites receive complimentary access to the SEA Thermal suite or Persian Garden– i.e. Iconic or Edge Villas?

No, only AquaClass® guests receive complimentary access.

Yeah, it's a bit weird. I was surprised when we sailed in an Iconic suite on the Edge last year and had complementary access. (We were going to pay anyway.) Our Retreat Host said it was standard for Edge Villa and above. I guess it's possible that they've dialed back on it now that ships are more full.

 

[hrhdhd]

Can you tell me what's excluded then? I'm new to Celebrity.

Lots of spa info here:
https://www.celebritycruises.com/faqs/the-spa

See in particular "What are the treatments available at The Spa?"

 

[ngl]

Bumping this back up because it is a question we keep coming back to! Just got off our 5th Disney cruise and all have been on Concierge. We understand some other lines offer amenities more when it comes to the highest level but what we love the most about Concierge is having the separate section of the ship with the lounge and it generally seems to be quieter (we have not done Magic or Wonder and know they do not have Concierge floors).

We LOVE the Disney cruise experience but would love to do some new itineraries. Our kids are now young teens so also feel like we could expand our horizons now (however, they still love Disney too!)

From the way it sounds NCL The Haven seems to have a separate area. Is this on all ships with The Haven or just newer ones? What about RCL or Celebrity? Does it vary from ship to ship? We really are looking for a quieter area where we can retreat to when the rest of the ship gets to be too much for us! For us, Disney Concierge floors and lounges are great for that.

Thanks in advance!

 

[hrhdhd]

Bumping this back up because it is a question we keep coming back to! Just got off our 5th Disney cruise and all have been on Concierge. We understand some other lines offer amenities more when it comes to the highest level but what we love the most about Concierge is having the separate section of the ship with the lounge and it generally seems to be quieter (we have not done Magic or Wonder and know they do not have Concierge floors).

We LOVE the Disney cruise experience but would love to do some new itineraries. Our kids are now young teens so also feel like we could expand our horizons now (however, they still love Disney too!)

From the way it sounds NCL The Haven seems to have a separate area. Is this on all ships with The Haven or just newer ones? What about RCL or Celebrity? Does it vary from ship to ship? We really are looking for a quieter area where we can retreat to when the rest of the ship gets to be too much for us! For us, Disney Concierge floors and lounges are great for that.

Thanks in advance!

Celebrity has The Retreat, but amenities vary by ship. The newer class of ships, Edge class, has all the bells and whistles. Those include Edge, Apex, Beyond, Ascent, and Xcel. Some of the older ships have all the amenities but some have only the Retreat Lounge, kind of a bar/meeting place. You'd want to research to make sure what you're getting.

I will say, we've traveled in The Retreat and not in The Retreat on Celebrity, and we've never found the rest of the ship to be too much.

 

[CarolynFH]

Bumping this back up because it is a question we keep coming back to! Just got off our 5th Disney cruise and all have been on Concierge. We understand some other lines offer amenities more when it comes to the highest level but what we love the most about Concierge is having the separate section of the ship with the lounge and it generally seems to be quieter (we have not done Magic or Wonder and know they do not have Concierge floors).

We LOVE the Disney cruise experience but would love to do some new itineraries. Our kids are now young teens so also feel like we could expand our horizons now (however, they still love Disney too!)

From the way it sounds NCL The Haven seems to have a separate area. Is this on all ships with The Haven or just newer ones? What about RCL or Celebrity? Does it vary from ship to ship? We really are looking for a quieter area where we can retreat to when the rest of the ship gets to be too much for us! For us, Disney Concierge floors and lounges are great for that.

Thanks in advance!

You can get answers to your questions on Cruise Critic’s forums, which I’ve been reading lately. Very helpful and experienced cruisers there just like here.

 

[Sykes]

NCL's Haven is probably the most expansive of the ship-within-a-ship concepts. It's available on the Jewel, Breakaway (and Breakway Plus), and Prima class ships. On the Jewel class ships The Haven is relatively small and similar to what you would find on Disney (a small lounge and sun deck). It's the Breakaway and newer ships that have the much more expansive Haven area that you've heard about.

Celebrity offers The Retreat on the Edge Class and all of their revolutionized ships (everything except the Solstice, Eclipse, Reflection, Constellation, and Infinity). The non-revolutionized ships have Michael's Club, which is an elegant private lounge for suite guests, while everything else has both a Retreat Lounge and a Retreat Sundeck. IMO, they did a really nice job on sundeck on the revolutionized ships and the new lounge and sundeck are lovely, but it really shines on the Edge class ships where you get a full pool and such.

RCL offers a suite lounge on all of their ships, and I think a small suite sun deck (think a few chairs and loungers but no pool or hot tub) on most of them with more expansive outdoor suite areas on their Oasis class ships. The Icon class as well as the Wonder and upcoming Utopia have entire suite neighborhoods on them.

As a general rule, almost any ship with a decent suite program will have something similar to the concierge lounge at Disney, but once you get into some of the newly designed ships you'll find much more expansive offerings with dedicated pools, restaurants, etc.

 

[ngl]

Thank you all for the input. It sounds like NCL in The Haven on the newest ships or Celebrity The Retreat on their newer ships are probably the next target. For those who have been on both, do you think one or the other is more suited for teens? We know NCL has the race track and more intense water slides and did not see as much on Celebrity? Thank you!

 

[ShaneDJ]

Thank you all for the input. It sounds like NCL in The Haven on the newest ships or Celebrity The Retreat on their newer ships are probably the next target. For those who have been on both, do you think one or the other is more suited for teens? We know NCL has the race track and more intense water slides and did not see as much on Celebrity? Thank you!

@John VN seems to prefer the MSC Yacht Club over NCL Haven, per the discussion on this thread:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-cruise-is-it-worth-the-price.3940794/

 

[swimfin]

We have never done concierge on a Disney but have done The Haven on NCL—it was by far cheaper than concierge on a week long Fantasy cruise the same dates. I don’t think there is any comparison—The Haven had a dedicated pool, hot tubs, sun deck, lounge area which were never crowded. Private bar and restaurant with a premium menu (i had lobster tail and filet most nights). Private checkin for embarkation. First on and off the ship at all ports. 450 sq ft cabin with a butler. We are doing DCL in March but I’m not paying concierge for DCL—I do not think they give enough perks to warrant the price after seeing what we got on NCL.

For The Haven, was the restaurant and bar included in the cost for the cruise or an additional cost if you wanted to do that restaurant or bar? I get it’s only for guests at that level. Cheers!

 

[Sykes]

For The Haven, was the restaurant and bar included in the cost for the cruise or an additional cost if you wanted to do that restaurant or bar? I get it’s only for guests at that level. Cheers!

It is included. The Haven Restaurant effectively replaces the MDR for The Haven guests (although they’re welcome to use the standard MDR if they want). Haven fares include Free at Sea so most drinks are complementary across the ship, including in the bar in the Haven.

 

[ngl]

@John VN seems to prefer the MSC Yacht Club over NCL Haven, per the discussion on this thread:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-cruise-is-it-worth-the-price.3940794/

Thank you for the link! We had MSC in the mix but know 2 different families who did YC on MSC and their experiences were very mixed at best so we took that out of contention. From what I have read on different reviews, Celebrity may be a little more adult focused than even The Haven on NCL?

 

[John VN]

@John VN seems to prefer the MSC Yacht Club over NCL Haven, per the discussion on this thread:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-cruise-is-it-worth-the-price.3940794/

Thank you for the link! We had MSC in the mix but know 2 different families who did YC on MSC and their experiences were very mixed at best so we took that out of contention. From what I have read on different reviews, Celebrity may be a little more adult focused than even The Haven on NCL?

DW and I have yet to have anything other than Wonderfully Relaxing and Attentive YC Experiences on the MSC ships we have cruised on so far. In June we will be on Seashore for the first of a number of booked cruises and am hoping the positive streak continues.

As the saying goes -- "Whatever floats your boat"

 

[ngl]

DW and I have yet to have anything other than Wonderfully Relaxing and Attentive YC Experiences on the MSC ships we have cruised on so far. In June we will be on Seashore for the first of a number of booked cruises and am hoping the positive streak continues.

As the saying goes -- "Whatever floats your boat"

Yes, so true - everyone has different likes! Do you cruise with kids? (Teens in particular!) The two families we spoke to have young teens and seems like they did not think there was as much for them to do on MSC as on the other lines (the families do not know each other and both told me that independently). Wanted to know if you have perspective on that. Thanks in advance!

 

[John VN]

Yes, so true - everyone has different likes! Do you cruise with kids? (Teens in particular!) The two families we spoke to have young teens and seems like they did not think there was as much for them to do on MSC as on the other lines (the families do not know each other and both told me that independently). Wanted to know if you have perspective on that. Thanks in advance!

Kids no, just older old folks here so when I read your post I was thinking that the negativity expressed was likely due to Family/Children & MSC interactions or lack thereof.

Interesting event on one cruise was when we met a family (mom & dad and girl + boy young teens) who had their Haven Cruise cancelled so they quickly booked MSC YC. After 1st day the parents gave great praise to their YC experience as compared to previous Haven cruises. We mentioned that we were B2B and it turned out that they chose to also do B2B on last day of first cruise and a benefit was that the kids ENJOYED the tranquility as apposed to other cruise line's more active Kids Clubs. -- Just another difference in the requirements to happily *Floating Their Boat*

 

[Sykes]

As someone who really enjoys MSC Yacht Club (and has one booked in a few months), for me one difference between them and Celebrity, NCL, and RCCL is that on MSC YC is really nice and tranquil, but I rarely want to leave YC and explore the rest of the ship. It's just very much not the vibe I'm looking for, and they tend to pack people in a fair bit. On Celebrity, on the other hand, I rarely spent much time at all in the proper Retreat areas because I enjoyed the rest of the ship so much. The Retreat is great and all, and we met several people that spent most of their cruise there, but we enjoyed all the other spaces so much that the only exclusive area that we used all the time was Luminae.

 

[swimfin]

It is included. The Haven Restaurant effectively replaces the MDR for The Haven guests (although they’re welcome to use the standard MDR if they want). Haven fares include Free at Sea so most drinks are complementary across the ship, including in the bar in the Haven.

THANK YOU!

 

[sponica]

I booked the Haven on the NCL Joy to Bermuda this fall. We were hoping for NY cruises on the dream, but since that won't be happening, I decided to splurge on the Haven because it's our 10th anniversary and there are 2 sea days. My Nana only sails Norwegian and books the Haven whenever she can, especially on routes with sea days.