Try as I might, I just don't get room catagories.

[lovethedream]

If I remember correctly, when we booked our first two DCL cruises, we picked a deck and a room and that was the end of it. Now, when I look at the DCL website, and it seems all Cruise lines that I have looked at do it the same way, you can book a 10a, 10b, 10c, 11a, 11b, the list goes on and on. When I look at the descriptions, most of them appear to be the same, even on different decks. Why do the cruise lines do this?

When I plan a cruise, I look at the deck plans and pick a room and a deck, then call my TA. She then tells me that the room is a cat this or a cat that. Which is fine, but still meaningless to me??? . At one point, she even told me that one room we looked at was more than the other because it was a different cat, but from everything I could see online and from the description, the rooms were identical.

What am I missing here?

 

[HallsofVA]

It's a way of getting more money for what are considered preferable room locations within a category.

Through the end of 2010, DCL had categories based generally on room type and sometimes deck location only, with no sub categories. From the old days, when there was a class system on ships, the cheapest rooms were at the bottom of the ship and went up in cost as you moved toward the top of the ship. That carries forward to the categories today. However, DCL didn't have a way to distinguish preferences within a category. As a result, you could book a Cat 9 room on Deck 1 with two small portholes, or a Cat 9 room on Deck 2 with a single large porthole. Likewise, people often opted for plexiglass verandah rooms than metal walled verandah rooms. And some folks prefer midship locations to forward or aft locations.

Starting in 2011, on all 3 ships, DCL has introduced lettered subcategories within a category to separate rooms by location, and sets separate prices for each subcategory. In many cases the cost difference is small ($20) from one subcategory to the next one. In most cases the midship rooms on the higher decks are the highest priced subcategory, while the forward or aft rooms on the lower decks are the lowest categories.

Personally, I decide what type of room I want (inside, oceanview, verandah), then pick the lowest subcategory that's available on a deck that I don't mind sailing on, based on what's above or below the room.

 

[kcashner]

You're making it too hard. The A, B, and C stand for forward, midship, and aft cabins. Some people care greatly where they are located, others do not. Mid-ship cabins are considered preferable, and generally cost a little more.

The numbered categories are basically the same as they've always been on the Wonder and Magic. They have been re-numbered to correspond to the Dream. The old cat 12s are now 11C. The suites (1-3) now have letters, not numbers. Don't ask me why.....that's just how it is.

You can still pick a deck and a category and let the TA take it from there, or you can get very specific if you wish.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

You're making it too hard. The A, B, and C stand for forward, midship, and aft cabins. Some people care greatly where they are located, others do not. Mid-ship cabins are considered preferable, and generally cost a little more.

The numbered categories are basically the same as they've always been on the Wonder and Magic. They have been re-numbered to correspond to the Dream. The old cat 12s are now 11C. The suites (1-3) now have letters, not numbers. Don't ask me why.....that's just how it is.

You can still pick a deck and a category and let the TA take it from there, or you can get very specific if you wish.

Are you sure? I thought the letters were in order of Deck and location not forward, mid or aft. For example, Cat A's are generally on the highest deck possible for that Category and midship, but only if that category of rooms has any midship rooms.

Taking a few examples - Stateroom 7594 is a Cat 4c and midship, so wouldn't that make it a B under your scenario?

Also, 7567 is a Cat 11b, whereas room 7564 right across the hall is a Cat 5c? (The 11a's are right above it and the 11c's are on Deck 2 midship)) Right above it (8564) is a Cat 5b and below it (6564) is a cat 5d. Two floors above it (9564) is a Cat 5a.

I do agree that you should look at your room number to make sure where you are on the ship as there are some inconsistencies.

Don't Cat 6's now have white verandahs walls on the new ships to make it easier.

Also, Cat 8's have been changed to denote a 5 person porthole room, but none are really midship.

 

[kcashner]

I really don't know anything about the room numbers on the Dream (which I would assume will match the Fantasy.) I do know that the cabins on the Magic and Wonder were re-categorized to correspond with the designations on the Dream, and have an idea of how those work.

I can't address your example of a cat 8 being a 5 person porthole stateroom as there is no such animal on the Magic.

I guess I need to be more careful as to which ship I am talking about when I post.

 

[truck1]

I spoke to 2 different cms about the new system. For what ever reason, DCL took the "If its not broke, we can fix that approach". From class to class there is no rhyme or reason, for the letters.
The A B and C on the Magic and Wonder tell the location of the rooms

On the Dream and Fantasy, they refer to a specific type of room,such as number of beds,or deluxe vs standard,inside outside etc. On the Dream and Fantasy, the letters have nothing to do with location on the ship.
The way it was explained to me, is that it makes sense if you use the system on a regular basis,such as a travel agent or DCL rep.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

I spoke to 2 different cms about the new system. For what ever reason, DCL took the "If its not broke, we can fix that approach". From class to class there is no rhyme or reason, for the letters.
The A B and C on the Magic and Wonder tell the location of the rooms

On the Dream and Fantasy, they refer to a specific type of room,such as number of beds,or deluxe vs standard,inside outside etc. On the Dream and Fantasy, the letters have nothing to do with location on the ship.
The way it was explained to me, is that it makes sense if you use the system on a regular basis,such as a travel agent or DCL rep.

Thanks. I guess it'd be too much to expect consistency from Disney.

I was unaware that the Magic and Wonder lettering system told location as we haven't looked into booking a room on either of those ships under the new system. I just knew that the only way for me to pick our rooms on the Fantasy was to look at a deck plan. On those ships, differences in price among subcategories seems fairly nominal and in some cases, a "lower" category is more expensive than a higher category because of they way the categories sell out. I can see how it makes perfect sense to newbies and veterans alike!