Just returned from 4 night concierge on Disney Dream...AMA

[undertheradar]

Hi Volfan, thanks for offering to answer questions. It has been over 12 years since we have been on a Disney cruise and we are splurging next August! Can you tell me how the pre help worked for you? We are obviously super green when it comes to Disney cruise knowledge and have two families including 4 teens going. I’m hoping they can help me figure out activities and dining.

Not Volfan, but have sailed concierge a few times. Shoreside concierge should contact you before your booking window opens. So long as both families are concierge, they will assist each with planning. There are several threads pertaining to concierge and should help you learn about things that they can assist you with.

 

[volfan1978]

Hi Volfan, thanks for offering to answer questions. It has been over 12 years since we have been on a Disney cruise and we are splurging next August! Can you tell me how the pre help worked for you? We are obviously super green when it comes to Disney cruise knowledge and have two families including 4 teens going. I’m hoping they can help me figure out activities and dining.

We pretty much had everything figured out that we wanted to do, so shoreside Concierge was more for execution of that plan for us rather than helping us plan. That being said, I'm confident they can make suggestions if you ask.

 

[volfan1978]

One more question, what type of food can we expect on embarkation? Given it's our first cruise we planned to board early and head to cabanas, which looks very good from a food perspective, but also a very hectic way to start the trip.

Wondering what the food in the lounge is like that first day and if it makes more sense to board early, snack/eat there, tour the ship and maybe stop in cabanas to check it out early afternoon.

Depends on your group. If you have children, they probably won't be satisfied by the lounge's offerings because they tend to skew to the fancy side. My wife and I, on the other hand, ate plenty in the lounge to keep us satisfied when we boarded. So we ate in the lounge and then took the kids to swim and got them pizza/chicken/burgers from Flo's.

So I guess you'll just have to see what you think when you board...

 

[Trera]

Depends on your group. If you have children, they probably won't be satisfied by the lounge's offerings because they tend to skew to the fancy side. My wife and I, on the other hand, ate plenty in the lounge to keep us satisfied when we boarded. So we ate in the lounge and then took the kids to swim and got them pizza/chicken/burgers from Flo's.

So I guess you'll just have to see what you think when you board...

Our DD only really likes the sweets, fruit and cereal in the lounge. We definitely feed her at the other breakfast and lunch spots on board..

 

[abuck75]

Question about embarkation day. I plan to have a rental car, and being our first cruise we'd intend to go early. I have no idea what to expect, although I've heard embarkation is easier for concierge.

Does it make sense to drop of DW and older DS about 10:20, drop off the rental and then come back so we can board? Looking for other experiences as far as timing.

 

[dcassetta]

Question about embarkation day. I plan to have a rental car, and being our first cruise we'd intend to go early. I have no idea what to expect, although I've heard embarkation is easier for concierge.

Does it make sense to drop of DW and older DS about 10:20, drop off the rental and then come back so we can board? Looking for other experiences as far as timing.

I think it's far easier when you have a rental car to drop off as many people and as much luggage as possible at the terminal, and then return the car to the rental office. That way when you get on the rental car shuttle to come back to the terminal all you have to worry about is you, no bags and no extra people. Your wife and son will have a nice place to sit in the concierge waiting area while they wait for you to return from the rental car office.

 

[abuck75]

I think it's far easier when you have a rental car to drop off as many people and as much luggage as possible at the terminal, and then return the car to the rental office. That way when you get on the rental car shuttle to come back to the terminal all you have to worry about is you, no bags and no extra people. Your wife and son will have a nice place to sit in the concierge waiting area while they wait for you to return from the rental car office.

Thanks ... any suggestion on best time to arrive at port given concierge and the rental car. 10:00AM?

 

[volfan1978]

Thanks ... any suggestion on best time to arrive at port given concierge and the rental car. 10:00AM?

We had a rental car with Avis and we returned it at 10:15. Unfortunately, the shuttle driver put a higher priority on retrieving guests from the incoming Royal Caribbean cruise than taking people to the port...so we didn't get to the terminal until 11:20, and by that time boarding had already started. If I had known it would take that long, I would have Ubered us to the terminal. So while I agree with the opinion that it's easier to drop the family/luggage at the terminal and then ride the shuttle back, be prepared that you may be separated for an extended period (which would have caused some anxiety for us).

That being said...it wasn't all bad not being there to be "first" on the ship. Since boarding was already in progress (to group 3 by the time we got checked in), there was a huge line waiting to get on. But not for us...we got whisked right to the front of the line to the dismay of those who were waiting. The funny thing is that my 10 year old daughter is a dead ringer for JoJo Siwa, and so I heard one kid exclaim that it was her and that's why we were being allowed to bypass the line.

 

[undertheradar]

Have the port hours changed? I thought it does not open until 10:30, unless you are on DCL transportation?

 

[Clojel]

Have the port hours changed? I thought it does not open until 10:30, unless you are on DCL transportation?

We arrived at 10:45 and when we walked into the terminal there were already TONS of people inside! We were concierge so we checked in and were boarded around 11 am. I don't think anyone had boarded prior to our group being called.