Cat 4 or 2 Cat 10's please help!!!!

[Jaime]

We are thinking about a 3land/4cruise disney vacation. It will be my 2 dd who are under 5, my DH, me and my mom. We can't decide if we should get a cat 4 room which gives us a balcony and a room at the Poly or 2 ajoining cat 10 which gives us 2 rooms at a moderate resort. Where we have small children we will be in our room a little more than normal and will be taking afternoon naps. The convenince of the monorail in Disney would be great. I can't decided, please help!!!

 

[beattyfamily]

I think it might depend on what's most important to you.

Personally, I think I'd go for the Poly and Cat 4 with a nice balcony.

Is there any major difference in the price for you?

A PRO for 2 cat 10s is 2 bathrooms and 2 bedrooms but I still think I'd go for the Cat 4 and the Poly!!! **edited to add** a CON for us was how DARK the room was with no window!!

So my vote is Cat 4 and the Poly!!! Did I say the Poly?

 

[MiaSRN62]

Where we have small children we will be in our room a little more than normal and will be taking afternoon naps. The convenince of the monorail in Disney would be great.

True, that the monorail will be convenient for the MK access, however, I feel the two cat 10's will be better for naps. Particularily if you reserve two "connecting" 10's. This way, the girls could sleep in one room and the adults would still have the second room to stretch out in and watch TV or whatever while they sleep.
True, if you had the verandah you could stay out there, but what if the weather is bad or consider how comfortable will 3 adults be on the balcony ? I'm not sure how big the cat 4 verandahs are. I also think the extra bathroom would be nice with 3 adults and 2 kids ?
I wish you luck. I had this same dilemma to ponder. I chose the two cat 10's. I traded off the verandah for the extra space and bathroom. It wasn't an easy decision.

 

[Jaime]

It cost about $500 more for the cat 4. Really like the idea of staying at the Poly over a moderate. The Poly is normally out of our price range. It's such a hard decision!!

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by Jaime
It cost about $500 more for the cat 4. Really like the idea of staying at the Poly over a moderate. The Poly is normally out of our price range. It's such a hard decision!!

Well, I'd still go for the Poly then. Sounds like a nice once in a lifetime splurge for you??

You have young ones and that's the BEST time to stay on the monorail if any! So convenient to MK which is probably where you'll be spending most of your time with little ones! You can run back for naps so easily.

I know having 2 Cat 10s is cheaper and you'll have 2 bathrooms and a separate bedroom for naps but the Cat 4 isn't too shabby.

We have 2 DD's ages 4 and 7. We've stayed in one cat 11 and then cat 8 when they were younger and had no problems when it came to naps. That shouldn't be your only deciding factor.

I know this is a tough one! Good luck! Let us know what you end up doing!

 

[MO Disney cruiser]

We've stayed in both a Cat 4 and a Cat 10. With 5 people, I'd take the 2 10's. The only difference in size is about 4 feed at the end of the Cat 4 and the balcony. Also, the balcony is blocked if the bed for the 5th person is pulled down.

I really think you'd be more comfortable in the 2 10's.

I like the inside rooms. They really are good for napping. No windows, so nice and dark.

 

[Bbgrizzle]

Why don't you book the 3-day cruise and the land portion seperately? Then you can do the 2 category 10 rooms, yet still stay at the Poly, and you will probably save money by not doing a package. For the land portion, book the room only (check for discount rates on Mousesavers.com), then buy your park hoppers seperately. You can save a lot of money.

 

[Bbgrizzle]

Oops, sorry, I meant book the 4-day cruise on your own!

 

[WaltDisneyWorld]

The Polynesian Resort is absolutely beautiful! Do not pass up the chance to stay at this gorgeous resort. The grounds are breathtaking and the pool is fabulous.
Since your children are young and you have just three days at WDW, you will probably spend a lot of time at the Magic Kingdom... and you won't have to see MK and do everything in one day. Being on the monorail is an incredible luxury. You can go to the MK in the morning, easily return to the resort for naps or a swim in the afternoon, then return for more fun, parade, and fireworks in the evening. You will not waste valuable time waiting for a bus and travelling the distance. You'll be able to spend most of your time having fun... and it will be more magical with rested, happy children.
Being on the monorail will give you access to the Grand Floridian Resort and the Contemporary Resort to explore or dine. Additionally, you could catch a boat from the Magic Kingdom dock to the Wilderness Lodge. It's a beautiful boat ride over and again the resort is amazing. You will have so much to see and do in the Magic Kingdom Resort area.
Having a verandah is wonderful, and you can still enjoy "cruising" while your children nap. You can sit back and relax, have a cool drink, order froom service, read a good book, watch the beautiful,blue ocean....you wouldn't miss a beat... and you would not feel confined in your state room while the children slept.

If you're still thinking Cat. 10 is a better set-up but still want the Polynesian Resort, you can do the reservations separately. We did this both times for a 3-night cruise, staying 5 nights at a WDW resort prior to the cruise. There was no problem at all with reservations, accomodations, etc. and no difference in pricing. Everything went absolutely smoothly and we got the exact vacation we wanted!!!
Good luck with your decision. Hope I've been some help.

 

[kellimomo3]

We are a family of 5 and I booked the category 4 vs. the adjoining rooms. The room is a little larger and the veranda will be greaat! My children are 8, 6 &4. Even if we are a little on top of each other, isn't that what a family vacation is all about??

 

[hydster]

but we had 3 kids and 2 adults and then my inlaws came along. We booked the land/sea all together with dreams (it was actually cheaper than doing it seperately) and it was ok I guess. We stayed in the Poly and the rooms (we had connecting with the grandparents) but they were nice. I dont know if they were so nice that they would have been worth the extra cost involved in staying there on our own but then rooms arent a big deal to us as long as it's clean and has enough room. The monorail was nice but we had kids aged 9, 7 and 3 and we never went back to our hotel from any park during the day. Of course we were there in November so it wasnt extremely hot. We took a stroller for my 3 year old but could have rented one just as easily and if he got tired he fell asleep in that and one of us would just stay with him. I think he would have freaked out having to go back to the hotel instead of staying with the "kids". We've done Disneyland with him every year since he was "conceived" and not once have we ever had to take him back for a nap during the day. He just fell asleep in the stroller. Also we got the Cat 4 room and hated every minute we were in it. It is SO noisy and you can hear the sailaway party and it goes on for what seems like forever. You can hear kids running above your head at any time and the chairs scraping against the teak on the deck above your head was annoying! This year we are going to WDW the 28th of April and we are staying at the POR with a trundle mattress for the 5th kid. it is a beautiful resort and true it doesnt have the monorail but it is still really easy to get to the parks. The monorail only helps if you want to just go to MK or Epcot otherwise you have to board busses from the TTC anyway. We then are going on the E. Carrib in 2 connecting Cat 8's on the 6th deck with nothing but cabins above and below us. I found the 8th deck to be really a let down considering the cost. It was nice to go up 1 deck for the pools but we didnt think especially on a 4 day that the balcony was used enough to warrant the cost and annoyance involved. It's a matter of personal preference but we swore we would never ever stay on deck 8 again.

Heidi

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by hydster
we got the Cat 4 room and hated every minute we were in it. It is SO noisy and you can hear the sailaway party and it goes on for what seems like forever. You can hear kids running above your head at any time and the chairs scraping against the teak on the deck above your head was annoying!

I found the 8th deck to be really a let down considering the cost. It was nice to go up 1 deck for the pools but we didnt think especially on a 4 day that the balcony was used enough to warrant the cost and annoyance involved.

Wow, I've never heard this complaint before. Could your experience have been different if your cabin were on the opposite end of the ship though?

I just looked at the decks and I see that there are Cat 4 cabins on both ends of the boat and in the middle. I'm just wondering if your experience could differ depending on where your cabin is located on deck 8?? Anyone know?

We are staying on deck 7, cat 8 this Nov but our friends are staying on deck 8, cat 4 right above us so I'm very interested in this complaint.

 

[hydster]

We were in room 8550 midship right next to a cat 3 suite I believe. Knowing that the cat 3's and higher are premium we thought it would be a perfect deck to get on. We were right below Pinocchios I believe so that could have made a difference but when we sailed away from Nassau they did a deck party and the music was so loud we couldnt go out on the balcony and our kids could hear the yelling and screaming and the music and the CM running the party. They were exhausted and we wanted them to go to bed since we were going to do the Dolphin Excursion early the next morning in Freeport. We finally had to turn our sound machine on as high as it would go to drown out the band. The running was terrible all day long above our heads. We could hear it in the hallway and in our room. The chairs scraping were mostly just bad while the pool and pizza parlor was open but still it was really annoying in the morning and mid afternoon when we would go back to the cabin to rest for a few minutes. I know there are alot of people who love the 8th deck and maybe we are just "pansies" for sleeping and noise but it was a huge annoyance to us. We've stayed on the top decks of other lines (granted without kids) and havent heard half the noise we heard with DCL. Some people know what I am talking about and others defend the 8th deck as wonderful. I guess it's all in what your tolerance level is for things like that. We felt for the cost involved that the rooms should have been really quiet with noise above our heads. I know sound isnt controllable outside so the sailaway party is something that would be hard to control but hearing running and chairs scraping to us isnt acceptable for the price you pay for rooms on that deck. Also we hated that we could NEVER EVER get an elevator so with 3 kids in tow we would walk up and down the stairs. Could just be us though but we wont ever stay on the 8th deck again.

Heidi

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by hydster
We were in room 8550 midship right next to a cat 3 suite I believe. Knowing that the cat 3's and higher are premium we thought it would be a perfect deck to get on. We were right below Pinocchios I believe so that could have made a difference but when we sailed away from Nassau they did a deck party and the music was so loud we couldnt go out on the balcony and our kids could hear the yelling and screaming and the music and the CM running the party. They were exhausted and we wanted them to go to bed since we were going to do the Dolphin Excursion early the next morning in Freeport. We finally had to turn our sound machine on as high as it would go to drown out the band. The running was terrible all day long above our heads. We could hear it in the hallway and in our room. The chairs scraping were mostly just bad while the pool and pizza parlor was open but still it was really annoying in the morning and mid afternoon when we would go back to the cabin to rest for a few minutes. I know there are alot of people who love the 8th deck and maybe we are just "pansies" for sleeping and noise but it was a huge annoyance to us. We've stayed on the top decks of other lines (granted without kids) and havent heard half the noise we heard with DCL. Some people know what I am talking about and others defend the 8th deck as wonderful. I guess it's all in what your tolerance level is for things like that. We felt for the cost involved that the rooms should have been really quiet with noise above our heads. I know sound isnt controllable outside so the sailaway party is something that would be hard to control but hearing running and chairs scraping to us isnt acceptable for the price you pay for rooms on that deck. Also we hated that we could NEVER EVER get an elevator so with 3 kids in tow we would walk up and down the stairs. Could just be us though but we wont ever stay on the 8th deck again.

Heidi

Wow, sorry you had such a bad experience! That stinks that you pay that much and have that kind of experience. It looks like your family was RIGHT under the sail away party! Right under the Goofy pool? That could be part of the problem, but still unacceptable.

I'm just hoping our friends won't have quite as bad an experience as you did. They'll be in cabin 8014 by the Spa and adult pool end of the ship.

Thanks for your story.

 

[Luv2Dream]

We are staying on the 8th deck in room 8528 in April and when I was chosing our stateroom, I took into account what was above us on the next deck. Originally our TA wanted to give us a room under the Goofy pool. I said "no" and chose a room under the adults only portion of the deck. Hopefully this will cut down on some of the "above deck" noises. We'll see.

 

[MO Disney cruiser]

We were way aft on deck 8. It was quiet down there. I think there were only a couple of cabins more aft than the one we were in.

It really does depend on what's around you. I've read some cat 3s are really noisy. I can see if you spend that much money and can't really enjoy it that it would turn you off of deck 8.

Personally, I really enjoyed the deck 2 cabin on our first cruise. Nice and quiet.

 

[Mike320]

Hi,
We have five people in our family and we thought alot about all the options.

I had a great counselor at CrusingCo and they recommended two outside cabins, cat 9 with BIG honking round windows.

It was great and both rooms equalled 428 feet versus the 300 for the Cat 4. If you want a veranda, that's understandable BUT THE BOAT IS ONE GIANT VERANDA!

Eitherway, you have fun!

We can't wait....

Michael

 

[mrsdon]

We were upgraded and had room 8502. It was at the very front of the ship. We never heard ny noise. Since it was at the end of the hall the only people we heard were our neighbors in 8500.
Great room and location.
I wish I could afford to book cat 4 all the time/

 

[makaylee]

Can you please tell my where you got your pics or if you can give me the url addy. I looked all over the net a couple weeks ago and coudnt find a good Dubya pic I could get the url too. Maybe that has something to do with me being very computer illiterate. I have that Bush Cheney '04 bumper sticker and I was thinking about scanning it and trying to get it on my post, but like I said earlier I really have no puter skills. My hubby is the one with those and he is in Korea right now. Thanks

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by makaylee
Can you please tell my where you got your pics or if you can give me the url addy. I looked all over the net a couple weeks ago and coudnt find a good Dubya pic I could get the url too. Maybe that has something to do with me being very computer illiterate. I have that Bush Cheney '04 bumper sticker and I was thinking about scanning it and trying to get it on my post, but like I said earlier I really have no puter skills. My hubby is the one with those and he is in Korea right now. Thanks

Sure!

Well, the picture on the left I got from another Dis member. All I did was right click on the other persons' bumper sticker and went into "Properties" and then copied the web address (URL). I then pasted the web address into my Profile.

I found the one on the right at: GeorgeWBush website and I did the same procedure of copying and then pasting the URL in my profile just like you would a picture.

Let me know if you have any further questions.