A DCL question for someone who has never cruised before!

[~Sparkly~Zoe]

Ok we have decided to do it next summer. What's a good category to get and which verandah is better?
I was thinking of the 7 day western.

 

[Dreamer04]

Here is my two cents. The cat 5 and cat 6 verandahs are the same. Cat 6 is cheaper. It will also depend on how many people will be in your cabin. Also, how much you want to spend. This Feb'04 my family and I are in a cat 3. Will probably not do this again. Last Jan '03, my DD 5, and my DM and I were in a cat 5. That's 2 adults and 1 child. There was enough room for all.

As far as which verandah, there are three, Navigator, metal and plexiglass. I have only seen the plexiglass. I loved it.

This Web site www.castawayclub.com has a lot of info and pics.

Good Luck

 

[ohiominnie]

I have sailed twice in a cat 6. This November we'll be in a cat 5, only b/c we added a person last minute and had to upgrade to get the bed space. On the 10 day we'll be in a 6. I can't imagine not having the verandah. I prefer the plexiglass open one b/c the kids can see out without climbing on something or being held "over" the railing. When we get up we go out in our PJ's and watch the sunrise. We sit there and drink room service coffee while the kids are still asleep. At night we go out after ds has crashed in the bunk and enjoy the ocean while dd parties away in her kids club. This last time, I fell asleep out there waiting for dd to be done! MIL and her dh has an inside cat 11 room and complained they had no concept of time b/c it was always dark in the room (no sunlight)

Give me my verandah!

btw, our upgrade to a cat 5 only cost about $40 per adult.

HTH

 

[westjones]

You may want to look at prices too. Summer is peak season and the verandah rooms are the highest priced. So a lot would depend on your budget and what you are willing to spend, and what is most important to you.

We spend VERY little time in our room, but then if we ever did have a verandah, perhaps we would spend more time there. I'm not sure. The window is nice to have though, but any room is fine with us as along as we are on the ship!

Go to http://www.disney.com
Then find the Disney Crusie Line webpages and they have where you can try out different dates and room catagories to see what the prices are like. You can get a better price from a Travel Agent, but this will give you a good ball park figure.

DJ

 

[abitjaded]

Dave and Jennifer suggest in the Passporter that Cat 5 verandahs are actually a bit smaller than those of Cat 6. They have a very thorough discussion of which cabins have what type of balcony rail. The book is well worth the investment.

Carla

 

[din]

As other poster may point out, take a look athe prices and do not forget to add in the other cost (tips, excursions, spa, photos etc..)

As westjones point out consider how much time you spend in your room. We went with a cat 9 and will be going again on a cat 9. The windows gives us sunlight when we were in the room. We only sleep and change in out room, and the rest was spent on the other areas of the ship.

Other than that you get all the same amenities, food etc...

 

[ohiominnie]

Originally posted by din
As westjones point out consider how much time you spend in your room.

Good point!

My dd is in the kids club until midnight or 1....which means she sleeps in a bit. Ds typically can't keep his eyes open past 10:00 pm, so we're "trapped" in the room after that. We also enjoy hanging over the edge of the railing (not literally) and watching the goings-on as the ship docks, especially at CC and Port Canaveral.

 

[CRenze]

Ok, here's what I've done and why...
On Nov. 1 I will be sailing on the 7 day Eastern. I will be sailing with my SIL and 2 nephews (ages 10 & 12). We booked a cat. 9 (Outside deluxe stateroom).

Why the 7 day? humm, you can say that I am preparing to be sick (don't know if I will be or not). I've never sailed before and figured that if I got sick it would probably be for the first day or two and I wanted to allow myself enought time to still have some fun! I know, strange, what can I say? That's the planner in me taking over.

Why the Eastern? It was cheaper. Not being cheap, the cruise was a spur of the moment thing for us so there was only 5 months to to pay it off and 2 months to save for shopping and excursions. Also, there are more "at sea days" which appealed to us, which is also another reason it was cheaper (less Port fees).

Why a cat. 9? Wanted at least a window. I'm an early riser and I want to know when it's daylight so that I can get up and get started. From what I've read, there's soooo much to do and I don't want to miss anything (although I've also read that since this will be my first I'm bound to miss something...so I'm already considering another for next year..even warned DH not to be surprised if I sign him up for the next one).

Hope this helps.

Cindy