Cat 1 & 2?

[joshg]

First time cruise but planning a VERY special trip for the family and am considering going for Cat 1 or 2. Anyone here have experience with these rooms?

And I can't find any online agents who even quote these rates, do you only get those from DCL? Or are they just sold out forever...

what are my chances of getting a cat 1 or cat 2 room on relatively short notice? or do they just book up like years in advance?

thanks for any help...

--josh

 

[confal1]

The Cat. 1 &2 usually are booked way in advance. I called last week to see about a cat. 2 for Thanksgiving week 2005 and they were sold out. You can fax in a request for dates that are not out yet and they said that they go by the order in which they are received, but who knows. You can also be waitlisted for a Cat. 1 or 2. Good luck.

 

[ThomS]

We just got back from the 3/13 Magic and cruised category 1. We booked it while onboard an April 2002 cruise, and were waitlisted from catagory 2 until 6 weeks before the cruise. Even that far in advance, we booked November 2003, and moved it through inventory control. it was already booked before it entered the inventory. These rooms are really hard to get. We re-booked for thanksgiving 2005 and the highest we could get is cat 3.

Thom

 

[howardk613]

joshg-
the best way to get a category 1 or 2 is to call DCL 2 years out and be flexilbe. We called in Dec of 2002 and asked for category 1 availability for the end of 2004. We got the only category 1 left
for the entire year of 2004 and we grabbed it. Altough they are hard to get, the category 1 and 2 suites are worth the wait and the cost.
confal1-
did I read somewhere that you are on our cruise this Nov (11/6/04) and staying in 8032 ?

 

[SweetSpot]

Howard:

You've often posted about how much you love the Cat. 1. Have you stayed in both and do you have a preference? Do you think it is worth the difference between a Cat. 3 and a Cat. 1 for a family of 5? It seems silly spending so much more for a room you don't spend so much time in yet it seems like it would be really exceptional.

Also, I remember another poster saying that Cat. 1 thru 3 could order from Palo through room service and then another poster saying that they weren't able to. Do you remember is ordering from Palo was a possibility?

We were on the same cruise with you in 2002, NJ week. We are going the week before you this year and I thought we had NJ week. Do you know something I don't know?

Tracy

 

[MickeyB426]

I have stayed in a Category 3 (first cruise) and a Category 3 (second cruise).

While, to some, it is debatable whether the price jump from Categories 4-11 to Cat. 3 is worth it, this much I can tell you...

If you're willing to spend the money on a Cat 3, the price jump to a Cat 1 is ABSOLUTELY worth it.

It's like living in a condo on the open sea. It is very spacious, absolutely gorgeous, and enough room for everyone to do their own thing.

I went to Palo's so we didn't order Palo's room service, but that doesn't mean you couldn't. I'll bet it's possible.

For our next cruise (#3), unfortunately I couldn't get a Cat 1, so I booked a connecting 3 and 4. Not the same, but I'll take it.

Again - book the Cat 1 if you are able to - you won't ever look at a cruise the same way again.

 

[howardk613]

Tracy-
We have been on 3 cruises and all were in a category 1. We were in the Roy Suite once and the Walt Suite the other 2 times. We prefer the Roy Suite because of the decor (darker wood -
nicer look) but the layout is the same , only reversed since the suites are on opposite sides of the ship. We always try for the Roy Suite but it has been unavailable the last 2 times so we had to "settle" for the Walt Suite. For a family of 5 (especially if the kids are small) the category 3 suites are just as nice as the category 1's especially if you can get one of the midship suites
(8032, 8034, 8532, 8534) which have the best layout. We do spend a lot of time in our suite mainly on that terrific verandah.
The concierge suites can order from Palo or from any of the restaurants and have it served in the dining room in the suite.
We are going this Nov. (11/6/2004 in the Walt suite - again we tried for the Roy Suite but it was already taken) and I am not sure whether it is teachers week or not, as I said this was the only reservation for a category 1 suite for the entire year of 2004 when we booked in Dec 2002 so we grabbed it.

 

[confal1]

Howard,
Yes we are going Nov. 6th in 8032 and are very excited. It will be myself, DH, DS-1 1/2 years and DD 5 1/2 years. We went on a 4 day last year in a Cat. 6 and my DH who does not like to vacation fell in love with the Disney Cruise. See you in Nov.

 

[howardk613]

Confal1 -
We will be next door neighbors (we are in 8030). We will be with our married son and his family in our room ( DGS 10 and DGD 4) and our married daughter and her family will be in 8028 (DGS 71/2
and DGD 41/2). Can't wait. See you in Nov. By the way , we looked into 8032 at the end of our last cruise just to see what it was like and believe me , you will LOVE that suite. It was just as nice as the category 1 suite (only a little smaller) but still one of the best rooms on the ship or for that matter on any ship at sea.

 

[SweetSpot]

Thank you MickeyB426 and Howard for answering my questions. We have been on two cruises in Cat. 4's and although it was livable it was really cramped with 5 people. When we rebooked we decided to get a Cat. 3 for this year if a we could get one of the 4 and we got our first pick 8534. It was a large jump in price but I'm sure it will be well worth it. The day they opened up Fall of 2005 I called and was able to get 8530 for the NJ week cruise and I had to take it.

I was hoping that we could order from Palo so that our kids could try their food. They were really excited at the possibility

 

[Hieatt]

Has anyone faxed a Cat. 1 request to inventory control before dates were available? I faxed in a request in Feb for the 7 night sailing over our 10th anniversary in October 2006. I never got any sort of acknowledgment, and I am just hoping they got it - should I be worried? I really want that date - a 10th wedding anniversary is the only excuse my wife might accept for spending that kind of $$$. Besides, we have 4 kids, so we really could use the room. We are going to invite all of our extended families as sort of a big family reunion at the same time, so we want to use the suite as a gathering place.

 

[mickey squared]

When we sailed last Sept. in a cat.1 (Roy Suite), we got it with only a month's notice. Being my first cruise, I wasn't savvy,and didn't know you had to book so far in advance! Now, we cruise with 8 people so we can"t all fit in a cat. 1. My next cruise will be in connecting 3 and 4. I couldn't get the two midship 3's.

 

[dtuleya]

Ok, not to sound tacky here, but can someone tell me what a category 1 goes for a week? Just curious.

 

[1stNoel]

We've been waitlisted several times (we are currently) and we've been called each time with availability. Unfortunately, it's always been on really short notice, less than a month, and we just can't coordinate 4 working adults and 3 kids that fast. Like Howard said, if you're flexible in your dates you will eventually get one. We're flexible to any time of year, we just aren't flexible with short notice. Someday it will happen. The kids may be shaving by then, but someday.....

 

[ThomS]

Denise,
Cat 1 varies from season to season and year to year. We just cruised a cat 1 in March, having booked it in 2002, so the price was from 2 years ago and it was around 9k for 2 adults and 2 kids. Hope that helps. THe trick is actually getting the room, you generally have to reserve a long ways out and even then may have to deal with a waitlist.

-t

 

[dtuleya]

That's what I was thinking, between 9 & 10 K. Maybe I had better start thinking about DS's graduation trip in 3 years. Thanks for the info!

 

[surfdisney]

I faxed a request to inventory control this winter for a 7-day (Cat. 1 or 2) in fall 2005. I didn't hear anything from them, but noticed in spring that rates were released - so I called DCL to inquire about availibilty. I ended up getting the cat. 2 I wanted (which was my first choice), but never did hear from inventory control. I don't know what would have happened if I hadn't followed-up on my own, but I'm guessing I wouldn't be in a cat. 2!