Category 12?

[FredS]

Just a little curious. Checking prices on cruises and actually saw one which offered category 12. Do those few book up quickly and are not offered, or since there are so few do most TA's not bother or what? It seems that if you book an 11 in advance you have a decent chance of being upgraded if the ship fills "from the bottom categories" as typical. Where does category 12 fit in with this? Any upgrades from a 12, or is it like category 10 and rarely if ever upgraded?

 

[din]

The common thought regarding booking the stateroom is to book the stateroom that you would feel most comfortable both to stay and financially. Bear in mind that no matter what state room you stay in up to Cat 4, you get the same level of service, the difference being having a porthole, balcony, and extra bath area in the stateroom.

Other posters may chime in, but upgrades are infrequent, particularly in the peak times. I do not think anyone have figured out the reasons for upgrades, at keast not yet. Also DCL does not give any last minute discounts to upgrade at the port.

So book the room that you are confortable with, and if you are one of the few lucky ones that get an upgrade, consider it as a bonus. That way you will not be disappointed that you did not get an upgrade.

 

[FredS]

I would never book a category that I could not live with. My question was why category 12's often don't seem to be even offered, and a possible explanation was that they, unlike category 11's, once booked are somehow set aside as being no longer available, instead of being upgraded. This is how it seems to me that category 10's are handled because I have never seen or heard anyone who was upgraded from a 10 (surely it has happened, but clearly 10's are handled differently than many other categories.)

I honestly thought the reason that I didn't see 12's offered to me personally was because there are 4 in our family and I assumed that they only held 3. Since I have now learned that is not the case I am wondering why they are so infrequently listed as an option.

 

[tcam]

me and my son will have a cat. 12 but it's just the 2 of us. my T A told me the best choice for us would be the 12 since he is 4 yrs old it wouldn't matter about a porthole or a verdahn. it's not like we will be in the room that much anyways.

 

[kaykels]

Beware of 12's because they are exactly the same as 11's but located under the disco. It will be loud late at night and probably annoying to a 4 year old. Just hope that they are on a "guarantee". Then you have an excellent chance at an upgrade since there aren't many of them. I was VERY happy with my cat. 11 and would do it again. I'm not a person that really cares much about a window, and would rather cruise TWICE in an 11, than once with a verandah for the same money. That's just me. I'd probably feel differently if I was wealthier!
Good luck and have fun.

 

[lbrat4]

I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but when I was pricing different dates for our cruise I noticed sometimes cat 11 is actually cheaper than cat 12. This was the case on my cruise (1/29), so we booked a cat 11 guaranteed. The cruise must have had a lot of space available, because we were upgraded to cat 9. The next time I book a cruise with Disney, I am planning to try the same strategy. If I end up with an inside room, that's fine, but an upgrade is always sweet too!! Good luck with your trip planning and have fun!!

 

[rboyz]

I booked my Feb 04 cruise in February 2003. There are 6 of us so we had to get 2 cabins, money IS an object for us so we went for the cheapest room. I don't plan on spending much time in cabin, so it really doesn't make a difference. Within 2 months of booking, we got upgraded to a category 11.
No upgrades since, and it's really fine - all I need is a bed.

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

Please beware like one of the previous posters said is that cat 12's under the night club and from what I hear are very noisy. I would never stay in a cat 12. We have always stayed in a Cat 11 and love it. Its the 4 of us, my mom and dad, me 14 and sister 5. Never a problem in them. We are barely in the cabin anyways. Hope this helps,
matt

 

[papacruise]

The real scoop on this topic......

In the past, many agencies have not bothered to promote Category 12, because of 1) their location, 2) the very limited number of these staterooms on the ship, and 3) the fact that all Category 12 staterooms hold a maximum of three passengers. A Category 12 Guaranty (without stateroom assignment) was almost unheard of, as DCL rarely, if ever, oversold this category.

Disney increases prices dramatically as time passes and the ship fills up. To maintain the higher pricing in other categories while stimulating demand for a particular sailing, DCL came up with their Magical Rates, where Category 11's were sold at prices well below the price commanded by other categories, including Category 12.

That all changes with sailings beginning late-August 2004. For sailings from that point on, Disney has replaced the Category 11 Magical Rates with a Category 12 special. They now have begun to sell Category 12 guaranties to families of four. Obviously, since none of the Category 12's accommodate four people, those who purchase these staterooms will, at a minimum, end up in a Category 11. DCL believes that this move will allow them to better manage their inventory.

It's all an inventory management game. And it's all new.....

Hope that helps..........

 

[dianthus]

Some of the DVC reps and ship entertainers are put under the nightclubs for housing while onboard, so I would presume those to be 12's. Perhaps that is why there is so little available.

~ Linda

 

[FredS]

Originally posted by papacruise
The real scoop on this topic......

In the past, many agencies have not bothered to promote Category 12, because of 1) their location, 2) the very limited number of these staterooms on the ship, and 3) the fact that all Category 12 staterooms hold a maximum of three passengers. A Category 12 Guaranty (without stateroom assignment) was almost unheard of, as DCL rarely, if ever, oversold this category.

Disney increases prices dramatically as time passes and the ship fills up. To maintain the higher pricing in other categories while stimulating demand for a particular sailing, DCL came up with their Magical Rates, where Category 11's were sold at prices well below the price commanded by other categories, including Category 12.

That all changes with sailings beginning late-August 2004. For sailings from that point on, Disney has replaced the Category 11 Magical Rates with a Category 12 special. They now have begun to sell Category 12 guaranties to families of four. Obviously, since none of the Category 12's accommodate four people, those who purchase these staterooms will, at a minimum, end up in a Category 11. DCL believes that this move will allow them to better manage their inventory.

It's all an inventory management game. And it's all new.....

Hope that helps..........

Hmmmmmmm........very interesting. Sounds quite plausible. What's your source?