Posts in category: Cruise Tips

Normally, when you’re booking a cabin on a cruise, the choices are relatively straightforward. You’ll usually choose an inside if you’re on a budget, an oceanview for a bit of daylight, a balcony to enjoy the views properly, or a suite if you’re after extra space and perks.

But things get trickier when cruise lines add in sub-categories – like Celebrity Cruises’ Concierge Class.

So what exactly do you get with this upgrade? And is it worth the extra cost, or would your money be better spent elsewhere?

Concierge Class Is an Upgraded Veranda Stateroom

Concierge Class on Celebrity Cruises is a luxury accommodation option that offers a Veranda Stateroom with some additional benefits. The room itself is very similar to a standard Veranda Stateroom, but it comes with added services and a few small touches to enhance your trip.

Concierge Class is more of a sub-class of the Veranda Stateroom than a completely different category. It sits between the Veranda stateroom options and the Suites.

One difference worth noting is location. Concierge Class cabins are usually in more desirable spots on the ship – often higher decks or mid-ship, which can mean better views and less motion. On Edge-series ships, Concierge rooms also benefit from slightly larger Infinite Verandas compared to standard versions.

If your priority is having more space overall, you might still prefer to stretch to a Suite. But if you’re happy with the footprint of a Veranda Stateroom, Concierge Class is worth considering to see if the perks justify the price.

You Get Several Extra Perks With a Concierge Class Cabin

On Celebrity cruise ships, Concierge Class guests enjoy an exclusive lunch on embarkation day, and guests can make use of the Concierge Service throughout their cruise.

There are a few other perks to choosing Concierge Class, so let’s take a look at them in turn.

1. Exclusive Lunch

On the first day of your cruise, you’ll be invited to an exclusive lunch as part of the Concierge Class.

Instead of joining the rush for the Main Dining Room or the buffet, you’ll instead relax with a special menu that includes a creamy butternut soup or Caesar salad starter, and mains like roast salmon, braised short ribs, grilled chicken paillard or whole wheat pasta. 

And every cruise needs to start with a good dessert, so choose from chocolate fudge cake with dulce de leche or a warm apple pie. You also enjoy complimentary red or white wine.

It’s a nice touch, helping you get to know the other Concierge Class guests and giving you a peaceful, delicious lunch to start your cruise in style.

2. Priority Dining Times

Concierge Class guests get priority access when choosing their preferred dining times, helping you to plan your schedule for the day a little better.

If you like to eat early, so you can get the best entertainment seats, or if you prefer your dinner to be the main event of your night a little later on, you’ll have first dibs on your party’s time.

You also get priority reservations for the speciality restaurants too, so you can enjoy more varied menus at a time to suit you.

3. Sparkling Wine on Request

You have the option, as a Concierge Class guest, to request a bottle of sparkling wine at some point in your cruise. You won’t get it automatically, but if you ask, then you shall receive – once only, though.

4. Canapes

Whilst this perk had previously been removed from Concierge Class, Celebrity’s website now states that guests receive ‘Daily Delectable Delights’ – a small platter of bite-sized snacks (sweet & savoury) delivered each afternoon to your Concierge Class cabin. Think a mix of meats/cheese, bread or petits fours, fresh fruits or sweets, perfect for that mid-day nibble.

5. Pillow Menu

Guests in a Concierge Class stateroom don’t just have to settle for the standard pillow choice. Instead, you get a full menu with five different types to choose from:

• Goose down pillow
• Body pillow (feather and down blend)
• Conformance pillow (designed to be firmer, and offer additional support)
• Isotonic pillow (made using synthetic down)
• Hypoallergenic pillows (suitable for those sensitive to allergies – no feather or down used)

And if you choose a pillow and find you didn’t sleep well, just ask your Concierge to change it – you’ll have no problem getting a good night’s sleep.

6. Concierge Service

One of the bigger perks that Concierge Class guests enjoy is access to the Concierge Service. It’s not quite a butler who attends to your every whim – you need a Suite to enjoy that – but you can ask the Concierge Service to help you with making reservations on the ship.

That includes restaurant and spa appointments, booking shore excursions, and getting you reserved tickets for entertainment ashore, so you don’t have to worry about queuing at ticket offices during your excursion.

7. Destination Seminar

As well as the welcome lunch, Concierge Class guests also get an invite to the destination seminar on board.

This short seminar won’t eat into your cruise time too much, but will give you some excellent insight into your ports of call, helping you to make the most of each visit and have the most incredible experiences ashore.

8. Small Added Extras

As well as these main perks to booking Concierge Class staterooms, there are a number of smaller benefits that don’t justify their own entry on the list but are worth mentioning together:

• Use of an umbrella and binoculars during the cruise (but the binoculars must remain on the ship at all times, they can’t be used for excursions)
• Complimentary shoe-shining service
• Extra hairdryer in the stateroom (two, instead of the usual one)
• Upgraded Hansgrohe rainfall showerhead
• Embossed keyholder and tote bag

These aren’t the sort of benefits that will really sway you to upgrade to Concierge Class, but they’re nice little extras to have.

If you have two people in your party with long hair, it’s a good convenience to be able to dry both people’s hair at once. And the tote bag is a nice upgrade over the shopping bag that other guests are given.

Priority Embarkation Is No Longer Offered

It used to be that guests booking a Concierge Class stateroom would get priority boarding, so that they could be one of the first on the ship. However, that service is no longer offered for Concierge Class guests. Celebrity does say Concierge Class guests can choose the earliest check-in times, so you don’t miss your Welcome Aboard Concierge Class lunch, though.

Only Upgrade If You Will Use All the Extras

Whether Concierge Class is worth the extra cost depends on how much you’ll use the extra services. Collectively, they do make your cruise run smoother and include some useful benefits. But your stateroom only has marginal improvements over a standard Veranda, including a better showerhead and pillow menu.

Typically, you can expect to pay around an extra $300 to $500 per person for a Concierge Class stateroom on a 7-night cruise compared to a regular Veranda Stateroom, so it’s not a cheap upgrade.

A lot of people used to find it worthwhile just for the priority embarkation and debarkation, but again, those are no longer included. The pillow menu is nice to have if you have particular sleeping needs, but the regular pillows are fine for most people. 

The welcome aboard lunch and destination seminar aren’t essential, but are nice to have. And the sparkling wine on request is good, but it’s not worth $500 extra a week.

It’s an individual choice, whether or not the upgrade is worth it, but if you’ll use all of the services, then it likely will be.

Concierge Class vs. Veranda – How the Rooms Compare

Concierge Class is essentially an upgraded Veranda Stateroom. You get a choice of pillows and a better showerhead, but otherwise, the stateroom is the same. But with Concierge Class, you get extra service-based perks.

The actual difference between the staterooms is minimal – it’s just that showerhead and the choice of changing your pillow (though you might prefer the standard pillow anyway). Both rooms have a private balcony.

Veranda Stateroom guests do get extra benefits over those in Oceanview and Inside Staterooms, but these are shared with Concierge Class. They include an expanded room service menu for breakfast (with a huge selection of meats, fruits, cereals and baked goods), and special bathroom amenities.

Obviously, the other difference is cost – a Concierge Class stateroom, with its extra benefits, will be priced a decent amount higher than a regular Veranda and for a couple, it could cost $600 to $1,000 more in total.

Read more: What is a Veranda on a cruise ship?

Concierge Class vs. Aqua Class

Aqua Class guests on a Celebrity cruise get exclusive access to the Blu restaurant for lunch and dinner, and unlimited spa access. They share some benefits with Concierge Class too, but they don’t get the Concierge Service, embarkation day lunch, or priority dining time choices.

Aqua Class staterooms are more expensive than Concierge Class, and that’s down to the value placed on the complimentary access to the onboard spa on the ship and the other small touches you get.

A quick note – it used to be that AquaClass Staterooms were All-Included by default, and so would’ve cost a LOT more than a Concierge Class, since you got drinks and tips included. Now you can choose between All-Included or a regular fare.

Suggested read: Celebrity Cruises Drinks Packages – Which Is Best?

The benefits of an Aqua Class stateroom include:

• Access to Blu for breakfast and dinner (lunch is not served here)
• Complimentary access to the on-board spa
• Priority wellness reservations
• A wellness consultation included
• Slippers and aromatherapy diffuser in the stateroom
• Enhanced shower with massage water jets

The benefits that are exclusive to Concierge Class, that you won’t get with Aqua Class, include:

• The Concierge Service
• Welcome Aboard exclusive lunch
• Priority dining reservations

For the sake of clarity, here’s the list of benefits that both Aqua Class and Concierge Class share:

• Pillow menu
• Complimentary sparkling wine and canapes
• Small extras including use of an umbrella and binoculars, and a tote bag

Read more: Celebrity Cruises Aqua Class Guide

The Bottom Line

Now you know everything about the Concierge Class Celebrity Cruises experience. It’s very much aimed at those people who want to feel extra special on their cruise, with a touch of the VIP treatment. If you can’t quite afford a Suite, then choosing a Concierge Class Celebrity cruise escape is one of the next best options.

It’s not quite as exclusive as Aqua Class, but you get some perks that just make your whole holiday feel that little bit better. You’ll feel like you really are a valued guest.

But if you’re not someone who is too bothered by these perks, you may as well save the money and choose a regular Veranda stateroom – you can put the extra money towards the things that do matter to you on board instead.

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Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

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