We finally got to cruise on the Disney Wish! After months of looking at prices for a one-bedroom concierge suite, I was able to snag a great deal for our perfect room. Lately, we like to stay in suites so our toddler can have his own room for naps/bedtime. My husband was pretty against the idea of cruising (so many people!), so I figured the concierge experience might just be perfect for him. Since we were traveling with a 2-year-old, our trip was fairly unique compared to adults and older kids. Keep reading concierge cruising on the Disney Wish: A First Timers Perspective, to get our take!
Note: This was my second Disney cruise and my husband and toddlers’ first cruise!
Pre- Embarkation
Before we even left for vacation, 130 days out, we were able to make requests to the concierge team. This was a nice perk, but we honestly didn’t have much to request. I wanted to have the fine dining from Palo sent to our room for dinner one night since I heard you could do that if you had a suite. This is apparently not true. I asked the team, and they said only the highest-level suites can do something like that. Not our one-bedroom suite. I was a little bummed since I am DYING to try Palo, but I guess it gives me a reason to take another cruise!
Other than that, I just requested some milk and water in our beverage cooler and a good seat for the Frozen dinner show. Both of our requests were met with no issues. Some people use this time to request cabanas for Castaway Cay since they are uber-exclusive. Maybe someday I will use that perk, but this trip we didn’t spend enough time on the island to justify that splurge!
Embarkation
We purchased transportation from Disney to get from the Art of Animation resort to the cruise terminal. I was told by the attendant that the “reserved” signs on the chairs were for concierge guests, which I thought was a great perk! But, on our way home when we sat there I got dirty looks from the driver and was told we weren’t supposed to sit there. So, your mileage may vary with that one. Whoops.
At the actual cruise terminal in Port Canaveral, there was a separate seating area for concierge guests. They had beverages available and plenty of seating. There we were introduced to our concierge team and quickly boarded the ship. We never waited in line, I loved the exclusive feel of staying concierge already! We boarded fairly early, somewhere around noon.
Once we were onboard we went straight to the 1923 dining room for a concierge welcome lunch. This was an excellent way to start the trip, and very relaxing. We even got a welcome glass of champagne! I was pretty excited! =)
One thing to note, it took a long time to get our luggage that first day. We made sure we had anything essential with us (not packed away) before they took our luggage in the morning. We luckily got our bags before dinner so we could set our kiddo’s bed up, but. it was definitely cutting it close!
Concierge One-Bedroom Suite
We went to our room to check it out after lunch. I knew what the room would look like after watching way too many YouTube videos, but I was still in awe of the gorgeous space and Disney touches! Watch my own walkthrough video below to see our room!
We had two full bathrooms, a table and bar area, a seating area with a pullout couch, a huge bed in the bedroom, a walk-in closet, plus a huge balcony! It truly was just about as bougie as I could have ever wanted. It included upgraded toiletries, plus a HUGE soaking tub! I did get to use it once, though our kiddo enjoyed it every night. =p
There is also an exclusive concierge menu for room service. We used room service once to get breakfast. After that, we decided that the lounge was so close to our room, and it opened earlier than we were able to get our room service, so it really didn’t make sense to order again. By walking down the hall we had food available most times of the day, so in reality, room service was a nice perk but not really useful for us.
Concierge Lounge
Now this is where we got the most use out of during the entire cruise, the lounge! The concierge lounge is on the 12th floor, which was right down the hall from our suite. We stopped by frequently and also spent breakfast and an early lunch there daily. They offer a rotating selection of snacks and treats in one area of the lounge. In the main open seating area they also offer a menu with some limited options from the kitchen.
For breakfast one day we had Mickey waffles and a hot breakfast sandwich. Lunch was small sandwiches and “fish sticks” for the kiddo (which he didn’t eat, but we thought they were really good!). In the evening starting at 5 pm, there was an open bar where we could get alcoholic beverages for free until 8 pm. This was when the lounge got the busiest, though it wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t get a drink.
The staff was wonderful and knew our kiddo whenever we came in. They also have a seating area with small chairs in front of TVs to occupy the littles. There were usually only a few other people in the lounge when we were there. It was a peaceful and delicious retreat from the rest of the ship.
This could possibly be a negative for some, but we ate at the lounge so much that we never tried any of the other lunch or breakfast offerings. The ship has a huge buffet and a “festival of foods” area with so much to choose from. We… only ate soft serve from the festival area and that was it. We did purchase a cupcake from the sweet shop (which wasn’t anything special. but the Inside Out theme of the shop was clever).
Private Concierge Sundeck
Another HUGE perk for us was the private sundeck for concierge guests. We tried to go to the splash pad and other pools on the ship but found them pretty crowded. We ended up enjoying the private sundeck with its very shallow wadding pool and hot tubs. Our child loved the shallow pool and played in it each day. I was even able to lay out on a lounger for a bit and relax as I listened to the music piped out on the deck.
They have a bar on the sundeck, free dole whip smoothies (which were yummy!), and sunscreen/towels. There are showers to rinse off before heading back inside. It was such a wonderful spot, we really didn’t need to go anywhere else on the ship since it was so relaxing and peaceful!
Extra Concierge Perks
My family didn’t use many of the “extra perks” you get with concierge. Since we didn’t go to any of the Broadway-style shows (which I hope we can do someday!), we didn’t use the free popcorn and early entry perk that was offered. The team can also book you excursions and special hard-to-get things like Palo reservations.
We did use the complimentary wifi service they offered. Also, concierge guests do not have to share dinner tables with anyone else. They also have exclusive meet and greet’s with Disney friends during the cruise in the lounge. We were able to meet Pluto!
Disembarkation
One more perk for concierge guests is priority disembarkation. The day we got back into port we enjoyed the continental breakfast that was offered in the lounge at 630 am. Then we grabbed our bags and were escorted to the midship to disembark. It was SO EASY to get off the ship with the concierge team helping us out. I imagine this is a huge bonus for staying concierge!
Was Concierge Cruising on the Disney Wish Worth It?
Staying concierge level on a Disney cruise is NOT cheap. And by all means, Disney cruises in general are full of magic and great service no matter where you stay on the ship. With that being said, we LOVED our concierge experience and thought it was worth it for our family. We do not love huge crowds, and cruises tend to feel a bit crowded at times. With concierge, we were able to feel relaxed and comfortable throughout our trip without feeling overwhelmed by people. My only complaint is that the three-day itinerary is way too short to fully enjoy everything! I fully intend to cruise concierge again, and hopefully for a longer trip. I’m not gonna lie, writing this review already has me casually looking at cruise prices and wondering how long it will take us to save up for another amazing, relaxing, magical, concierge cruise! Happy cruising ya’ll!
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