One of the top perks of booking a suite on a cruise ship is access to the concierge, but what can you expect from them?
The suite concierge serves as guest services, customer advocate, and problem solver rolled into one.
Every Royal Caribbean ship has a subset of benefits reserved exclusively for passengers that are booked in a suite, including reserved pool seating, a private lounge, and added services.
Part of the justification for the higher price tag a suite comes with is the convenience factor that gets added in, and the suite concierge is a major component of that.
As long as you're in a full suite (Grand Suite or higher category cabins), then you get to take advantage of the concierge services. On the biggest Royal Caribbean ships, there are actually two concierges onboard to help split the work load.
If you're booked in a suite, here's what you can expect from the concierge onboard and even before the cruise.
What can the suite concierge do for you?
The suite concierge is always located in the suite lounge, where they work during the day and early evening to assist guests. They're there to make your cruise better in any way they possibly can.
A few days before your cruise begins (usually 4 to 7 days before embarkation), you can expect an email from the concierge introducing themselves to you, and outlining the benefits they can provide.
This email is a good primer for expectations, and how to easily take advantage of your suite benefits.
Before the cruise begins, the concierge can assist you with making specialty dining reservations, show reservations, or clarifying any questions you might have.
Tip: If you purchased a specialty dining package, you should email the concierge with a list of restaurants and times to book to save you the time of making the reservations once onboard.
Speaking of dining, you can ask to the concierge to make a Coastal Kitchen reservation too.
While the concierge can book show times for you, I'd advise you to book show reservations as soon as they become available to book 30 days before the cruise sails, because show tickets usually sell out quickly.
Some other common requests to make of the concierge include:
- Note dietary restrictions on the dining profile
- Request a Main Dining Room table for just our family, not a shared table
- Ask to have beds separated in the suite
- Request corkscrew in cabin for wine
- Request extra hangers
- Request extension cord and distilled water for CPAP machine
The concierge can also book shore excursions or family photo reservations.
You should get an email back confirming any requests you made, or advising you of other options if they cannot assist.
Onboard the ship
When you board your ship, you can go up to the suite lounge to meet the concierge. This is a good idea to not only put a face to the name, but confirm any of the requests you made pre-cruise or get clarification on any questions.
During your sailing, the concierge is there to make your cruise better.
There are posted hours the concierge is available at their desk. You can either visit them in person or give them a call. You should go to them for any issues you have that you might otherwise go to Guest Services for.
In addition to problem solving, the suite concierge is also a friendly face. They will regularly strike up conversations with suite guests in the lounge, and love getting to know their guests.
During the evening cocktail hours, the concierge acts as a kind of emcee, helping people find seats, directing waiters to get drink orders, and ensure the hors d'oeuvres are replenished regularly.
While they can sometimes be busy with their clerical duties, they make an effort to get to know their guests.
Escort off the ship
Perhaps my favorite suite concierge benefit is their assistance getting off the cruise ship on the final morning.
There can be very long lines disembarking the ship on the final morning, but the suite concierge will be happy to get you through the lines.
Prior to the end of the cruise, you can arrange to meet the concierge at a designated location and they will walk your family off the ship. This means they will cut the line and bypass most, if not all, of it.
This is a tremendous time saver, as well as sanity saver. When I cruise with kids, it's such a relief to not have to stand in line.
Is it worth it to pay for concierge access?
The only way to get access to the a cruise concierge is to pay more for a suite (or become a Pinnacle Club member, but likely not practical for most readers), and that is all but certainly a higher cost than a lower category room.
Aside from the inherit benefits of booking a suite, the suite concierge access is a lovely touch, but I'd hesitate to go as far as to say it's worth it every time.
Having access to the cruise concierge is more akin to the "icing on top" of having suite access. You should book a suite because you value the extra space the room provides, bonus Crown and Anchor points, and the extras cruise guests get included with their fare.
How helpful the concierge is depends on you and how much interaction you have with them. If you're going to spend a lot of time in the suite lounge and make many requests of the concierge, they are absolutely worth it. But every cruiser handles the access differently.
On shorter cruises, the value is likely less since there's less time to take advantage of their services.
I've always enjoyed the assistance provided by the concierge, and I'm grateful for even the smallest of assistance. The escort off the ship at the end of the cruise is probably the single best service they provided and it made a big difference when my kids were younger.
So should you book a suite just for the concierge? Probably not, but I think you'll enjoy the value they add to your cruise. Just remember to take advantage of what they offer.
