A very basic question about what category room to look for...

[mrsmick]

We're kinda toying with the idea of doing our first cruise. I've got the Disney Cruise planning book, and I really must ask this simple question.....

What category do I need to look at - for 4-me, my husband, 15yr old daughter and a 4 year old son?

So many of the descriptions state 2 twins or 1 queen and a single sofa.

To get the size of room that plainly states it will sleep 4, its in the deluxe range.

I'm sure there will be some experinced folks to help me out here, so I would like to thank you in advance.

THANK YOU!!!

 

[my3kids]

The only rooms that wouldn't work would be a category 12 and a category 7...those only sleep 3. Everything else would be available. The other rooms all have at least the queen bed(which could be pulled apart into 2 twins) and a sofa which has a back that flips over to form a 3rd bed(a twin) If you are reserving for 4 people, then there will be a single bed which pulls from the ceiling over the sofa bed forming a set of bunk beds.

I've read here that many people love the category 11 room and like that they can be on the upper decks and still in an inside, less expensive stateroom. That would have just the single bath.

A category 10 and above would have the split bath which would help with getting everyone out the door to dinner. In one room there is a toliet and sink and in another room is the shower/tub and sink. These are the deluxe rooms. From the interior 10, you can add a porthole(cat. 9 +8), a verandah(cat. 6 +5) or a little more space with the verandah(cat. 4) Then it is onto the concierge suites.

Good luck with your decision. Happy planning!

 

[peg2001]

If you are very budget-minded, go for the Category 11. This is the category that my family of 4 will be in for our future (Jan) cruise. You get everything that the higher categories get as far as food and entertainment, but pay much less.

If you HAVE to have at least a window to let in some natural light, but still want to be conservative on the budget, you should get a Cat 9 (or try to get one of the "secret porthole" Cat 10s).

You can continue up the budget spectrum to a navigator veranda, a regular veranda, and then to a family stateroom (Cat 4) and then the suites (Cat 1 - Cat 3).

Consider how much time you will be in the room and how much a window or veranda would be worth to you. We will be thrilled to be on a cruise and missing out on the window or veranda means nothing to us!

Peg

 

[wovenwonder]

The secret porthole rooms are category #10 priced as inside staterooms with a slightly obstructed porthole view for FREE. There are only 6 of these rooms on the ship. /5020/5022/5024/5520/5522/5524 - I have pics of two of these rooms posted on my website (linked below).

Here is a link to Dave's site that shows how the upper berth system works:

http://www.dcltribute.com/faq/upperberth.htm

 

[MFan]

Just wanted to point out a couple of things. First, not all cabins have the 4th pull-down bed. Only certain ones in each category do. Second, cat 11 cabins are smaller than cat 10, mostly due to the split bathroom. For a family with a teenager, this could make all the difference...

 

[WDWLVR]

Just to clear up one thing that Peg said. You would not be able to get a Navigators veranda (the cheapest of the veranda suites) as they only sleep 3 not 4.

With 4 people I would really go with one that has a split bath as that will make getting ready easier.

 

[DisneyDarwin]

As a past cruiser (cat 12 and cat 6, cat 7 coming soon) I know all this, but you folks did a great job explaining things! Far more info than you would get by just poking around the stateroom plans on the DCL site. What we've got here is a great primer for picking a room. Good job.

 

[mmouse37]

Don't worry.....Disney will only put you in the Cat/cabin you wish that would accomodate all 4 of you. They could not assign a room that holds 3 for 4 people. Some posters here have worried that their cabin would not hold 4 people.

There are symbols on the category page of the brochure that indicates which cabins hold 4 people. If you see a specific cabin location that you want and it is available, Disney will assign it to you. If you go with a guarantee status cabin Disney will put you a cabin of their choice, but it will hold 4 people.

Hope this was not too confusing!!!

MJ