2 rooms or maybe Cat 3?

[Glass Slipper]

Hello all...

My parents brought up the idea of taking a 3 day cruise in early December. It would be my parents and then myself and my husband. I was looking at prices and started to wonder if it would be worth investigating a cat 3 room. Instead of getting 2 rooms (have no idea what cat they are thinking), but seems like it could come out comparable to just getting maybe the cat 3. I have no idea if they would even still be available at this point and I don't know much about them.

My concern is the amount of privacy between sleeping quarters. As long as it could be closed off well, other than with a curtain I think it could work. It appears that the room can be closed off with an actual door. Am I on the right track here? LOL

I guess I'll need to contact someone about the price...any ball park estimates? It's so hard waiting to get the prices back in email.

Thanks all!!! New to this and trying to get it figured out.

 

[CruiserMom]

I'm not sure how a Cat 3 would compare to 2 Cat 5/6/or7 (balcony cabins). I can tell you that our experience has been that 2 Cat 8's (window) are cheaper than a Cat 3.

The other thing is, with a Cat 3, one couple will have to sleep on the pull out couch, which I remember was not the most comfortable bed to sleep on. With separate cabins, both couples could have comfortable beds. There is a set of french doors between the "living room" and "bedroom".

 

[HallsofVA]

I've never priced out a 3 day cruise, so I can't speak specifically to those prices. For one of our 7 day cruises we priced out a cat 3 at about $8000 2 years in advance, and ended up booking 2 connecting Cat 6's for just about $5k. [Course we ultimately ended up paying that $3k on a upgrade at the port to the Roy suite, but that's another story. Now there's a suite that would work great for you!]

We again booked connecting Cat 6's for our upcoming cruise. There are also connecting Cat 7's, 8's and 10's available depending on if you need the verandah or window, and you may not need connecting rooms at all (we do because our kids are young.)

Because the Cat 3s are still 1 bedroom suites, the second bed is in the living room or between the main bedroom and the verandah, I think. So while it does give some privacy from each other while sleeping, it may not work that great if the living room half goes to bed earlier than the other. We had our 2 yr old son sleeping on the couch in the Cat 3 we had on our first cruise, and we had to tip toe around him and hang out in the bedroom for awhile until he fell asleep. Luckily there is a TV in the bedroom as well!

If you book 2 rooms, each gets their own bedroom, living room and bathroom. And it's been running less than a Cat 3 suite in almost every category (except Cat 4). There are also options where you can book room across the hall from each other if one doesn't mind an inside room while one wants a window or verandah.

 

[Glass Slipper]

Great advice! Thank y'all so much, I really appreciate it.

 

[kcashner]

You can basically book 2 cabins with balconies cheaper than a cat 3. It will give you more privacy and about the same space. Of course, you won't have the concierge service.

 

[SweetSpot]

My family of 4 have been in a cat 1, cat 2, midship cat 3's, cat 4 and then connecting cat 5's. I loved the suites but would have loved them much more especially if it were just me and my DH. In the cat 3's if you have the bedroom you have to tip toe around trying not to disturb anyone. I loved the connecting 5's because we could open the connecting door when we wanted but we could also close it for privacy. We booked the cat 5's again. I was really surprised how much more I preferred the connecting rooms to the suites and the difference in price for 2 rooms versus on suite made them even better.

 

[Doingitagain]

If it were my parents and DH and I, I would definitely go with two rooms rather than a Cat 3. If you can swing a Cat 1 or 2 you would be fine, but a Cat 3, even them midship ones, may not give you the privacy you want. We have done Cat 3 many times, but it was with our teens and not our parents.

If you do go Cat 3, try to get the mid-ship (8032, 8034, 8532, 8534) since they have the murphy bed in the living room (so you don't have to share a sofa bed). They are slightly larger as well.

You will probably find Cat 3s available as it gets closer to and after the final payment deadline. Suite deposits are non-refundable, so people tend to move them to other cruise dates as the deadline hits. On our August 1 cruise, I had choices of Cat 3 rooms in the weeks before and after the final payment deadline.