IMPORTANT - Regarding the four "obstructed view" Cat. 6s and Cat. 5s [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

Gina

08-23-2002, 06:37 AM

Wow, I don't think this will be the end of what Disney hears about this... they'll be hearing from me later. If I wasn't familiar with stateroom numbers, and booked a cat. 7 (which is a NAVIGATOR'S VERANDA) I would be 20 kinds of ticked off if they put me in a regular, and obstructed, veranda. I would book a nav. veranda even if they were more expensive than a regular one -- it is simply my preference.

Okay, off to give DCL a piece of my mind...

-gina-

my3kids

08-23-2002, 07:25 AM

Gina: I'll be interested in how they describe the category 7 now. In the origional discussion, I think I suggested 7N for Navigator Style and or 7M for metal obstruction or metal bottom. If they are in a reclassifying mood, I'd put all the steel bottomed ones in that seperate classification too.

I always liked the ease of their system...1 thru 12. None of this MM and 8XY and 137 different categories the other lines use. But the value of the differences and need for clarity in descriptions seems to be making me think maybe DCL does need a few more than 12.

ebaynut31

08-23-2002, 08:02 AM

Please keep us posted. I leave in 6 days and I am in room 6096 and I am curious what kind of verandah I have. Thanks

Kelsie

08-23-2002, 08:13 AM

The room numbers are 6134, 6634, 7120 and 7620.

aseafish

08-23-2002, 08:13 AM

You should still be able to tell by the room number which it is. IMHO this is a great step, and I'm impressed at the responsiveness of the company. I had been rather disappointed by what appeared disregard for customer concern. Way to go DCL.:cool:

Mjasp

08-23-2002, 08:34 AM

Way to go DCL!!!!!!!

Way to go Howard and Cam!!! If it weren't for you, there would have been alot of disappointed cruisers. Someone who has never cruised may not know the difference, But someone who has had a regular plexi non obstructed verandah and walked into one of those rooms, may have been quite upset, as you know first hand.

Joanna

Mjasp

08-23-2002, 08:44 AM

Gina...I'm kind of confused, what are you ticked about? If you like a Nav. verandah what does that have to do with the cat. 6 and 7 obstructed?

Please explain

Joanna

hazmat1212

08-23-2002, 09:40 AM

happy for the change, but glad we've moved already
(were 6134 -- now 6652)
was MISERABLE thinking i was paying same Cat 6 $$ as others who had NO obstruction --- resented the 'sneaky-ness' of it ...

somebody must have been listening.

cin in NJ
MAGIC 8/31/02

keenercam

08-23-2002, 09:45 AM

WOWWWWWWW!!!
Congrats to all those who will benefit with this change.

Cam

KeenHo

08-23-2002, 10:00 AM

Happy to hear that this is happening for all future cruisers. It speaks volumes in more than one regard. Let the joyous news be spread.... the obstructed view verandahs are reclassified!!!

Have a wonderful day!

Howard

taswira

08-23-2002, 10:49 AM

That explains why yesterday when I was doing a booking for someone, my system kept coming up with 7120 as a Cat. 7. Good thing I didn't put them in that one. They'd have been FURIOUS because they want a REAL Navigator Verandah! That is exactly how I feel also. There ARE some of us who PREFER the Navigator Verandah and all that goes with it.

It is GREAT that DCL reclassified the "partially obstructed" verandahs, so that guests know that is what they are getting, but I think it's a bad move to call it a Cat. 7 and they may end up with just as many complaints. :(

taswira

08-23-2002, 10:58 AM

Originally posted by Mjasp
Gina...I'm kind of confused, what are you ticked about? If you like a Nav. verandah what does that have to do with the cat. 6 and 7 obstructed?

Please explain

Joanna
I think what she's ticked about may be what ALL of us who LOVE the Navigator Verandah are ticked about. If DCL calls the reclassified "obstructed views" Cat. 7, and does NOT separate them in category or price from the Cat. 7 Nav., that means if you are booking online or even through a TA, you could end up with one of the reclassified staterooms. What they need to do to make EVERYONE happy is to give it a separate category designation. I am curious what they will do with their next brochure update.

cumickey

08-23-2002, 11:27 AM

I'm impressed!, at least they are trying and definitely making a move in the right direction. Just hope a note comes up against those room numbers, when booking, as too a better description on the verandah. People with little children or nervous with open/plexiglass verandahs for various reasons could be very upset getting that type verandah!. It is hard to please everyone but it's going in the right direction as far as cost is concerned, and quick too!!. Future brochures will be interesting.

Gina

08-23-2002, 11:45 AM

Originally posted by taswira

I think what she's ticked about may be what ALL of us who LOVE the Navigator Verandah are ticked about. If DCL calls the reclassified "obstructed views" Cat. 7, and does NOT separate them in category or price from the Cat. 7 Nav., that means if you are booking online or even through a TA, you could end up with one of the reclassified staterooms. What they need to do to make EVERYONE happy is to give it a separate category designation. I am curious what they will do with their next brochure update.

Perfectly put, I couldn't have said it any better. :) Yes, that is *exactly* what I'm ticked about. If I book a cat. 7, I expect a Navigator's Veranda and nothing else. I don't want a regular veranda, obstructed, unobstructed, or otherwise. I LOVE the Nav. Veranda staterooms for exactly what they are, and what they are ain't an obstructed cat. 5 or 6.

We are lucky and/or smart enough to be here on these DIS boards, and have so much knowledge at our fingertips. What of the people who aren't as informed, and think they are booking one type of stateroom yet get another, and both are classified the same??

It's good that DCL is trying to change things a bit to prevent some problems, but tossing out a half-baked solution (at best) that only causes a new set of problems is inane.

-gina-

Mjasp

08-23-2002, 12:05 PM

I totally agree about the people who aren't so informed as us DISers. But we seem to be in the minority, as it seems most people count staterooms and such and feel its quite easy to do.

I on the other hand, until reading Howard and Cams thread NEVER thought about counting staterooms from the outside. Maybe DCL will classify them as obstructed, example cat.5Ob and Cat.6OB. with the same price as category 7's. I see other cruise brochures and they state obstructed views.

So DCL if you are listening or reading. We think you should clearly state they are cat. 5 & 6's obstructed and then list category 7's separately.

Renee'

08-23-2002, 12:13 PM

I guess you can please some people some of the time and other people none of the time. It's good that DCL is trying to change things a bit to prevent some problems, but tossing out a half-baked solution (at best) that only causes a new set of problems is inane. What is a company to do? Given the recent events it seems as though they are attempting to please everyone.

ReneéEdited for spelling.

nuke

08-23-2002, 12:34 PM

I don't know why they can't have a little symbol in their brochure that states that these verandas are obstructed.
Other cruise lines do it and it works out fine. The client knows what they are getting before they book.

aseafish

08-23-2002, 12:48 PM

This difference--navigator's veranda or plexi with a slight obstruction--is very little different than "secret portholes." We may forget that some people also prefer an inside stateroom. Hopefully, people will be told what they are getting. IMHO the obstruction in these staterooms is far preferrable to the obstruction of a metal veranda, but some people LOVE those, too.

taswira

08-23-2002, 01:04 PM

To reclassify those staterooms as Cat. 7 is NOT a smart move. They need to classify each stateroom as exactly what it is. If a Cat. 7 is expected to be a Navigator Verandah and many people specifically request that (I am one who prefers it over the regular verandah and would even pay more for it if I had to!), they will be MORE than ticked to end up with one of those newly reclassified staterooms.

To the person who said, "Given the recent events it seems as though they are attempting to please everyone" - NO, that is not what they are doing and yet it would be EASY to please EVERYONE by giving a NEW designation to those staterooms. I don't care if they want to price it like a Nav., but call it a "7O" for obstructed, or reclassify the Navs as "7N." It would be simple and CLEAR, not the impulsive re-labeling they decided to do. In the system, those rooms now show as Cat. 7. At the moment there is NO distinction between them and the Navs.

Kelsie

08-23-2002, 01:55 PM

I was very interested in the direction this thread would take. I can see both sides of the issue but, I have to wonder sometimes if Disney can ever win? When I read the other thread about this issue and looked at the pictures, I agreed that people need to be told about the obstructed view however, I only thought 2 out of the 4 were really obstructed enough to be a problem. Given the fact that adding a new category would probably be very time consuming and expensive not to mention the printing of new information. What would you have done if you were Disney?

Personally, I think they heard what was being said (and if you remember, it was all around the cost) and tried to do the right thing. Will this please everyone, no! But, I think no matter what they did, there would be someone unhappy with the choice.

We are talking about 4 rooms and personally, although I know a lot of people do like the Navigator Verandah's, I would take an obstructed view, full verandah over a navigator's verandah any day.

Not sure there is a solution to this but I am happy to see that DCL listened and made an attempt to make it right :)

taswira

08-23-2002, 02:03 PM

Kelsie - The problem is that the description of what a Navigator Verandah stateroom IS is not what guests will be getting if they get one of the reclassified staterooms. In other words, it will be false advertising, just as much as it was for them the put people in those cabins thinking they were getting a totally open regular verandah. No matter what people prefer, they should know exactly what they are getting.

Kelsie

08-23-2002, 02:22 PM

I understand what you are saying but at this point, we are assuming that DCL will not notify people when they book a cat. 7 that they have an obstructed view vs. a navigator.

I still think DCL did the right thing. Is it perfect, maybe not but, they were listening and that says a lot to me. :)

paulmc80

08-23-2002, 02:27 PM

Oh how interesting.

It would appear classifying staterooms based on location and view is not all that simple a matter to begin with. My thinking, these rooms do not justify a cat 6 rate relative to other cat. 6's They most certainly are not a Navigator's Verandah mostly based on the stuff added to a nav verandah which these rooms do not have.

It would appear classifying staterooms based on location and view is not all that simple a matter to begin with. The underlying philosophy in this decision I imagine is not to take more money and make the guest feel as if they were ripped off by paying fora cat 6 and getting something less. Is it more than a cat 7? Based on DCL categories and rates it is. Will it confuse guests making reservations without knowing what the room is? Yes. Is that bad? In most cases probably not. If I had to guess I would think this decision will minimize complaints.

taswira

08-23-2002, 02:42 PM

Originally posted by Kelsie
I understand what you are saying but at this point, we are assuming that DCL will not notify people when they book a cat. 7 that they have an obstructed view vs. a navigator.
As I said in a previous post, I am a p/t TA and when booking a Cat 7 for a client yesterday, there was NO distinction made between the Navigator Verandah staterooms and the newly reclassified rooms. 7120 was among those appearing as available Navigator Verandah room. So DCL at this time (hopefully they will in the future) is not making a distinction in the automated booking systems. That even includes their own website, where if you book you can not choose your exact cabin online, but can call and have it switched later subject to availability. So someone using DCL's site to book a Nav. Verandah may find themselves with a reclassified room. True, it will make some people happy, but others will be upset.

Kelsie

08-23-2002, 03:00 PM

I am also a Travel Agent so again, I understand your concerns. Since this was effective just today, I wonder what they are saying now. Guess we will soon find out. :)

taswira

08-23-2002, 03:07 PM

Kelsie - I think what would be reasonable and not as expensive as an immediate revamp of their brochures would be to just make the distinction on the reservations systems for TA's and on the DCL site. That would not take long to do, if they decide to do it. That would alleviate any potential problem for TA's and for those doing their own online booking. As most of us on the DIS know, not all TA's are up to par on DCL info!

mouseclick1

08-23-2002, 05:20 PM

Does anyone know if these cabins sleep three or four people? I know the regular category 7s only sleep three.

Dave_from_Marietta

08-23-2002, 06:22 PM

Somebody PM'd me yesterday that they'd heard about this. Thanks, WebmasterMichelle, for the confirmation.

Hygiene99

08-23-2002, 08:15 PM

we just got off the phone with Donna at dreams unlimited and we got room 7620 for our 2 up coming cruises we had cat 7
booked had never stayyed in nav verandah but thought we would try it ... but we just took room 7620 the obstruction does not bother me as we like to have a verandah but do not base our cruise on this .... so hey the price is right to us and since we had a cat 4 last cruise , figured hey why not .... use to stay in cat 10 on deck 5 was happy with that so this is like a bonus for us .... just lucky i guess

oh yea only 8 days to we go to the world .....

peter

*Huey*

08-23-2002, 10:27 PM

If they downgraded an obstructed view could they upgrade the "secret porthole" rooms? Since cat. 8, 9,& 10 are the same except for location and a porthole, could they reclassify the six 10's as 9's?

aseafish

08-23-2002, 10:32 PM

If they downgraded an obstructed view could they upgrade the "secret porthole" rooms? Since cat. 8, 9,& 10 are the same except for location and a porthole, could they reclassify the six 10's as 9's? Those have previously been reclassified in the same way as the obstructed veranda rooms. They once were considered regular porthole rooms.

PiperG

08-23-2002, 10:46 PM

Is there a list that has good information where I can validate our verandah is not obstructed (SR #6092)?

I think it is towards midship, but with this big long thread going around, I would like to know for sure that we have no obstructions, that our verandah is plexigass etc. . . . . what is the best method? Calling DCL???

taswira

08-23-2002, 10:53 PM

6092 is plexiglass, full regular verandah, port side, just slightly aft of mid-ship on Deck 6. Below you (Deck 5) are the lifeboats, but they are recessed so do not obstruct the view.

PiperG

08-23-2002, 10:57 PM

Thanks SOOOOO much. I am sure that DH checked that out thoroughly, but he is out of town and I was getting nervous reading this thread.:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

I should stick to the threads about the food LOL:p

lampy

08-24-2002, 06:40 AM

I might switch my secret porthole room for one of these reclassified rooms.

I can't "pull" these rooms however, because I have four people in my cabin.

Are these newely classified Cat 7 rooms for 3 or can 4 book them?

aseafish

08-24-2002, 08:02 AM

I have read that they sleep three only.

my3kids

08-24-2002, 08:06 AM

Yes, these rooms only sleep 3 people. I was told by a CM at reservations that none of the rooms on the upper decks behind the aft elevators hold 4 people, He said it was a ship design issue and so much structural "stuff" was running between flooors in that area that they couldn't put a pull down bed.

Now, we have all seen that answers really do depend on who you talk to and what day you are talking to them! So, has anyone ever had 4 people in an upper deck room behind the aft elevators??????

KeenHo

08-26-2002, 07:27 AM

The stateroom we had (6634) had a double/queen bed and a couch. I think the couch would fold down to make a single sleeping area - but I'm not sure. Maybe three but definitely not 4.

Howard

strawberryblonde

09-26-2002, 02:47 PM

I was very interested in how this issue would be resolved back when Cam and Howard posted about it. I'm very glad Disney adjusted the price for these rooms. I hope they can come up with an inexpensive solution to letting customers know which type of room they will be getting not just the price they will be paying. In the meantime, perhaps all of the happy informed DISers will snap up the rooms so noone expecting a true nav. room will be dissapointed by them! Seems to be working so far with the "secret porthole" rooms. I have yet to read about some poor soul wanting their dark inside room and having to contend with daylight because they accidently got into a s.p.r. I think they get booked up too far in advance by people who want them and I'm hoping the same happens with these obstructed 6s and 5s.

Thanks again Cam and Howard for helping bring about this change and for informing future cruisers. I for one, am staying with my "full view" room as it will be priceless to me. I would have been dissapointed in the obstructed rooms.

shoes99

09-26-2002, 03:08 PM

I booked cabin 7120 for a future cruise on the Magic. I read about the obstructed view cabins on several sites and am happy to get that cabin at the cat 7 price. DH will probably not set foot on the verandah, ( he is a little afraid of water), but I will enjoy it. We are going on the Eastern Caribbean which has 3 days at sea and I have always wanted to sail with a verandah. We did the 10 day Sun Princess thru the Panama Canal and had an inside cabin. I know the verandah is obstructed but I am happy.
Michele