choices--special west or east? cat. 9 or 10?

[Rock'n Robin]

Well I am planning a possible cruise--in 22 months--and have choices to make. Wonder if you all could put in some input.
1) eastern, or special western? We did the regular western this year. We've been to CC, Cozumel, and St. Maarten. The new experience would be either St. Thomas or Costa Maya.
2) category 9 or 10? The SPH on the eastern we are looking at are gone--I'm guessing on the special western as well, since people have been going nuts over it. The difference between the two is only about $400 for the two rooms connecting rooms. Cat. 11 is only $200 or so less, so I'm not going there, I don't think (oldest will be 14, will want to know when she comes in). I am thinking we may want some light on days at sea, but don't know about deck 2--it's a long way from the clubs on deck 5 (for the then 11 and 8 year olds) and from the pools, stack, etc. We were on deck 6 this last year and it seemed like a good spot. We all know how slow the elevators can be.
Any input? We probably won't be able to book for a month or so anyhow. Our dates are either 7/22/06 or 8/5/06.
Robin M.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

bump--if no one responds to a post, does it exist? doesn't anyone have an opinion about category 9 or 10?
Robin M.

 

[Mjasp]

My choice between a category 9 or 10 would be the 9. I need to see what is going on, when the weather got rough on one of our days on the 8/28/04 10 night cruise, I had to look out to not be sick. So that is a gimme for me, a 9 over a 10. BUT I also wouldn't book a category 9, been in a 9 once and didn't like the lower levels. I would take a cat 8 over a 9 any day.

That is my opinion and you asked so I answered and that is just my opinion.

 

[AKB]

We chose cat 9 over a 10. I also decided the porthole was worth the extra $'s. I decided I needed to have natural light and at this time can't justify the difference for a cat 7 or above. Goodluck on making up your mind.
Kathy

 

[rcomputers]

Robin

I would go with the eastern rather than the so-called "special" western. The only thing special about it is DCL saving lots of money on port charges. If you've been to Cozumel, don't bother with Costa Maya unless you have special urge for large but crowded salt water pools.(The pools looked quite crowded to us and that was with only one cruise ship at the dock.)
As for the shopping, the same goods are found in Cozumel or even in EPCOT for similar prices.
I have to admit I haven't been to St. Thomas yet but I was looking forward to an eastern cruise until they started changing most of them to "special" westerns. Maybe its time to look at other cruiselines again. (sigh...)
Good luck with your decision.

Gail R

 

[MarcyIn Florida]

I think the extra money for the porthole is worth it and I like the natural light. My kids spent a lot of time at the porthole, and i loved watching things go by from the cabin.

Marcy

 

[tkd lisa]

Deck 7s cat 10s sell out fast,but I really like this location. I also prefer the room layout in an inside stateroom. In the inside stateroom, you come into the "living area" side of the cabin. In the outside staterooms, they assume you want the couch by the view, so you come into the "sleeping area" side of the cabin. This means that you are always having to walk around the bed, and it makes the cabin seem more crowded (at least to me it did).

For me, I'd go with deck 7 and an inside stateroom if possible. I'd take a lower deck room if it was a choice of staying or going but for more money and less convenient location, I don't think the porthole is worth it!