Is booking concierge ever rational?

[Two Ears]

Are there any situations when concierge makes provides evem the tiniest bit of sense?

there just doesnt seem to be any value given what you recieve.

priority access to good seats at shows and specialty restaurants? You pretty much get access to them anyway without concierge. Palo brunch the only one that can proove difficult. But still not impossible. Im not paying a 100 dollars let alone a thousand simply to gurantee palo brunch.

cabana on castaway cay. You probably need concierge for this. but it doesnt come for free with concierge. You still have to pay an additional fee of 600 dollars plus on top of the extremely high concierge fees. Its almost like you are paying 3000 dollars plus for a cabana for 6 hours. Thats not only irrational its bordering on insanity.

the concierge lounge and deck and pool. Its nice. But there is nothing magical about it. Certainly doesnt trump any of the restaurants and bars on the rest of the ship. In fact its a bit drab like an airport lounge. The pools/hot tub are also small and meh.

and getting free alcholic drinks only between 5pm and 9pm (when most people are at dinners and shows) is simply laughable. You are paying thousands and thousands of dollars for these perks and they cant even given you unlimited free alcohol for your entire trip?

priority boarding and disembarkation? Again meh. I would pay maybe 50 dollars for priority boarding if sold individually and nothing for disembarkatiom since you can leave whenever you want anyway as long as you take your luggage with you.

if you seperate the costs out for these perks i cant seeing it valuing more then about 500 dollars max over a 4 day cruise. Yet people pay 7000 dollars plus for them? It doesnt matter how rich you are it doesnt make any rational sense. In fact it seems foolish and I kind of feel pity for people who blow money on this. It feels like disney is taking financial advantage of them. Do people who buy concierge not sit down and evaluate whether something is worth it or not?

Am I the only one who feels this way? It just befuddles me that people would pay for this. Now Im sure there are some outlier examples why this might make some sense in certain situations. But these would be outliers and none of these appear obvious to me.

sorry im just really confused by it.

 

[Chi84]

Are there any situations when concierge makes provides evem the tiniest bit of sense?

there just doesnt seem to be any value given what you recieve.

priority access to good seats at shows and specialty restaurants? You pretty much get access to them anyway without concierge. Palo brunch the only one that can proove difficult. But still not impossible. Im not paying a 100 dollars let alone a thousand simply to gurantee palo brunch.

cabana on castaway cay. You probably need concierge for this. but it doesnt come for free with concierge. You still have to pay an additional fee of 600 dollars plus on top of the extremely high concierge fees. Its almost like you are paying 3000 dollars plus for a cabana for 6 hours. Thats not only irrational its bordering on insanity.

the concierge lounge and deck and pool. Its nice. But there is nothing magical about it. Certainly doesnt trump any of the restaurants and bars on the rest of the ship. In fact its a bit drab like an airport lounge. The pools/hot tub are also small and meh.

and getting free alcholic drinks only between 5pm and 9pm (when most people are at dinners and shows) is simply laughable. You are paying thousands and thousands of dollars for these perks and they cant even given you unlimited free alcohol for your entire trip?

priority boarding and disembarkation? Again meh. I would pay maybe 50 dollars for priority boarding if sold individually and nothing for disembarkatiom since you can leave whenever you want anyway as long as you take your luggage with you.

if you seperate the costs out for these perks i cant seeing it valuing more then about 500 dollars max over a 4 day cruise. Yet people pay 7000 dollars plus for them? It doesnt matter how rich you are it doesnt make any rational sense. In fact it seems foolish and I kind of feel pity for people who blow money on this. It feels like disney is taking financial advantage of them. Do people who buy concierge not sit down and evaluate whether something is worth it or not?

Am I the only one who feels this way? It just befuddles me that people would pay for this. Now Im sure there are some outlier examples why this might make some sense in certain situations. But these would be outliers and none of these appear obvious to me.

sorry im just really confused by it.

It seems you know quite a bit about the concierge experience. How many times have you cruised concierge and on which ships?

 

[monothingie]

Are there any situations when concierge makes provides evem the tiniest bit of sense?

there just doesnt seem to be any value given what you recieve.

priority access to good seats at shows and specialty restaurants? You pretty much get access to them anyway without concierge. Palo brunch the only one that can proove difficult. But still not impossible. Im not paying a 100 dollars let alone a thousand simply to gurantee palo brunch.

cabana on castaway cay. You probably need concierge for this. but it doesnt come for free with concierge. You still have to pay an additional fee of 600 dollars plus on top of the extremely high concierge fees. Its almost like you are paying 3000 dollars plus for a cabana for 6 hours. Thats not only irrational its bordering on insanity.

the concierge lounge and deck and pool. Its nice. But there is nothing magical about it. Certainly doesnt trump any of the restaurants and bars on the rest of the ship. In fact its a bit drab like an airport lounge. The pools/hot tub are also small and meh.

and getting free alcholic drinks only between 5pm and 9pm (when most people are at dinners and shows) is simply laughable. You are paying thousands and thousands of dollars for these perks and they cant even given you unlimited free alcohol for your entire trip?

priority boarding and disembarkation? Again meh. I would pay maybe 50 dollars for priority boarding if sold individually and nothing for disembarkatiom since you can leave whenever you want anyway as long as you take your luggage with you.

if you seperate the costs out for these perks i cant seeing it valuing more then about 500 dollars max over a 4 day cruise. Yet people pay 7000 dollars plus for them? It doesnt matter how rich you are it doesnt make any rational sense. In fact it seems foolish and I kind of feel pity for people who blow money on this. It feels like disney is taking financial advantage of them. Do people who buy concierge not sit down and evaluate whether something is worth it or not?

Am I the only one who feels this way? It just befuddles me that people would pay for this. Now Im sure there are some outlier examples why this might make some sense in certain situations. But these would be outliers and none of these appear obvious to me.

sorry im just really confused by it.

It’s an optional luxury upgrade. I’ve done it and would not cruise any other way. If you don’t see any value in it, no one is forcing you to upgrade your cruise.

Let people spend their money the way they want to.

 

[nickys]

It doesnt matter how rich you are it doesnt make any rational sense. In fact it seems foolish and I kind of feel pity for people who blow money on this. It feels like disney is taking financial advantage of them. Do people who buy concierge not sit down and evaluate whether something is worth it or not?

@Two Ears , Is there a reason you thought it necessary to be quite so insulting to those who enjoy cruising Concierge?

 

[Two Ears]

It seems you know quite a bit about the concierge experience. How many times have you cruised concierge and on which ships?

I can read and watch videos. Are there hidden experiences and perks they dont ever tell you about or show you that makes it worth while? If so please share?

 

[Two Ears]

@Two Ears , Is there a reason you thought it necessary to be quite so insulting to those who enjoy cruising Concierge?

I deeply apologise if it came off this way but im not trying to be insulting.

im trying to understand what hidden perks and logic can be involved in the decision to invest in concierge. What am I missing?

And if Im not missing something then surely a discussion needs to be had about cruise lines (not just disney) praying on peoples irrational biases and offering extremely limited services for the costs they charge by using various exclusivity and hidden price tricks. Its not right. Us comsumers should be protected from this behaviour.

i also think its helpful to share how to overcome these tricks. If you want to buy concierge i recommend that people sit down and break down all the perks that concierge provides and ask yourselves how much would you be willing to pay for these perks individually. Then add the costs up and if its close to the price of concierge then go for it. If it doesnt then dont. I would assume that for most people who pay for concierge (but not all) it wouldnt make sense. Or even come close to it.

 

[networkpro]

IMHO the value proposition afforded by Concierge is not judged by everyone the same as economic realities vary.

 

[HoustonHorn]

In my experience, the question "is (fill in the blank" worth it?" is inherently unanswerable. The reason is simple - every single person values things differently. The value one places on things is informed by that person's own lived experience, and it is influenced by any number of factors, including age, gender, socioeconomic status, family values, religion, preferences, likes, dislikes, etc.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with asking someone if they find something worth the cost.

But asking that question in an appallingly insulting manner is a choice.

That said, my wife agrees with @monothingie about not cruising any other way. And making her happy "makes sense" and is worth it to me, so I will continue to do so. Happy wife, happy life and all that jazz.

 

[Chi84]

I can read and watch videos. Are there hidden experiences and perks they dont ever tell you about or show you that makes it worth while? If so please share?

The videos don't begin to capture the experience of cruising concierge. It's a lovely experience of enhanced service and personal touches that make the cruise luxurious. Getting the excursions, cabanas (fantastic experience, don't miss them), and other reservations without having to worry about them being sold out makes the entire experience more relaxing. Also, you can have the concierge team handle whatever you need without going to guest services.

From your posts, I think you may be confusing "worth" and "value." Worth is an objective measure and is likely what you're referring to when you attach imaginary costs to each perk, add them up and then decide they don't equal the extra price of concierge. (I can pretty much guarantee you no one is doing that.)

Value, on the other hand, is entirely subjective. Two people can look at the same set of perks, disagree on whether they warrant the extra cost, and both be right. This is the concept that I think you are having trouble grasping when you keep saying that you "don't understand." The people who enjoy concierge don't require any additional perks to the ones you mention; they find value in what is offered and don't mind paying for it.

As far as Disney preying on unsuspecting consumers, I think you vastly underestimate the financial acumen of concierge guests. That may be the reason they don't have to stress as much as you would like them to over the price difference.

Please direct your concern elsewhere; we're doing fine without government protection.

 

[monothingie]

IMHO the value proposition afforded by Concierge is not judged by everyone the same as economic realities vary.

But someone might say, @monothingie you’re so critical of monetization of Disney Parks, why are you giving this a pass?

Well I’ll tell you. The park experience has become so terrible that Disney is happy to sell you up charges to make the parks enjoyable and stress free.

DCL is so much better run comparatively, that the guest experience will be excellent regardless of if you have an interior cabin or the top category concierge cabin.