Dilemma: Cat 7 or Cat 6??

[EWL]

Help!

We're about to book a 7 day Western cruise on the Magic for next January and can't decide whether to book a regular cat. 6 cabin or save about $400 (for 2 cabins) and book a navigator cat. 7!

I've seen posts here from folks who love the cat. 7 and say it's cozy, airy and bright, good for small kids (we have a 2 yo DD) although they won't be able to see out themselves, and very private. On the other hand, the portholes on the Magic are smaller than Wonder and would we regret not having the "full" balcony?

Anybody have any advice? I am leaning towards saving the $ and going cat. 7 but will we love them??

Thanks!!

 

[traycie2201]

I'm sure you'd be thrilled with either, the best advice is to book what you'd be happy with and that meets your budget, it could be that you'd feel more comfortable not having a full balcony with a toddler or that you'd like one for when the little one is taking naps, don't forget that you can enjoy all of the decks on the ship for some r & r , can you spare the $400 ? if not use it for shore excursions, tips, souveniers etc, if it's not a lot to you then go with the full balcony, i've never heard of anyone not enjoying either category. enjoy whatever you decide, also see if your TA has the DCL dvd for you to watch or order one from DCL directly it has great film of the ship and the cabins.

 

[gassmandy]

I found the only difference w/ the cat. 7 vs. 6 was the fact that you have to stand up to see the views (due to the fact it's metal w/ the porthole). So if you'd rather sit in the chairs and enjoy the sights--you might want to go for th cat. 6. We loved the 6--but for the money we saved--we booked a 7 on our 2nd cruise and it was great too. On our cruise last Nov.--we took advantage of the FL. res. rates and down-graded from a 7 to a 10 and for $1000 less--did not miss the balcony. Plus we had a 7 month old and didn't feel like we wasted money since we spent a lot of time in the room due to naps!!! Like I said--if the money you save is important to you (think extra spending money!!), and you don't mind standing to enjoy the views--do the 7. If you want the sunshine and want to sit and relax on the balcony--do the cat. 6! Hope this jumbled mess helped a little!

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

I've been in both categories 5 (same as 6 but on a different deck) and 7 and for the price difference, we almost always go with the Navigator's verandah (category 7). I don't think the view is that obstructed, and I'd rather have the difference in price in hand. We've only booked the "full" balcony when we've been able to get a really good deal, but we usually don't book that far in advance, so we go with the cat. 7. I think if you've never been in the regular balconies, you wouldn't know what you're missing and would enjoy the navigator's verandah just fine.

One option is to go with one of the rooms which have been re-categorized as a category 7. These have partial obstructions, but are mostly the regular balconies. You can see pictures of them here. We've been in 7120 for our last two cruises, and have it booked for our next one, too.

As far as the safety factor, I don't think one or the other is any more or less safe for a toddler. I think it's extremely unlikely that a young kid is able to climb out of either as long as you're giving them the requisite attention.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Here's the considerations I can thing of...

The only consideration for the 2yo in deciding which to get would be weither or not you want her to be able to see the water at all without being held. While the view isn't perfect, with a typical cat 6 room, she will be able to at least look throught the plexiglass to see the water. But in a cat 7, she'll only be able to see the sky.

Otherwise, from pictures I've seen, a cat 6 is MUCH more brighter than a cat 7 (cat 6 is letting light into your cabin from the "full" balconey, but the cat 7 only lets in light through a porthole. That shouldn't matter as far a DD is conserned because when it comes times for a nap, she'll presumably sleep on your bed where you can block the light by closing the curtain between the bed and the couch side of the cabin (where the verandah is located). However, if you plan on spending alot of time out on the verandah (such as during naps), then I would think the time of year would some what dictate which would be better. If it's closer to mid-summer (i.e. HOT), then a shaded verandah sounds nicer than one in full sun. But if its fall time of year, a bright sunny verandah sounds nice. Of course the side of the ship you are on also plays a role, as your verandah is in full shade or full sun based on time of day and direction of the ship.

Of course one though I had as I typed this up is that if you plan on spending naps on the verandah, the cat 7 verandah is more sheltered and therefore perhaps you can keep the door to the verandah open to provide you some cool air that doesn't immediately float off to sea. Of course that won't help when there is wind from the ship cruising at full speed, but on days you are in port or if you are spending a caual day at sea (like the day at sea on the 4 day where you really are not trying to get anywhere so the ship cruises allong at a very leisurely pace.

It just hit me what the answer might be. Since you said you need two cabins, how about getting one that's a cat 7 and one that's a cat 6. You'll save half the money ($200) AND you can experience what BOTH are like.

 

[EWL]

Thanks everyone! And HooKooDooKu for that great idea-- unfortunately there weren't any 6s and 7s left nearby each other but that was brilliant.

SO..... we have 6640 and 6642 on hold!!!!!!! YIKES! They are deck 6-- reassurance please? Have we done the right thing?!

Can't believe it!!!

 

[HooKooDooKu]

The plus side of what you've done is that you have the veranda's, the lower price, and two rooms that are connected (no such thing as a cat 6 and cat 7 that connect to one another).
In addition, you are towards the back of the boat, an area I frequently hear is pretty quiet (not as many people walking by your door to get to their cabin). It addition, you'll always have a spot outside out of the sun to spend time reading a book while DD is taking her nap.

The only real down sides I can see is that the 2yo will not be able to see the water without picking her up, and you won't get as much natural light in your cabin (and that's really a plus or a minus depending upon your point of view).

And the $400 your saving is equal to leaving DD in Flounders for 67 hours. That's a lot of baby sitting time.

 

[WDWLVR]

We are big fans of the Navigator Verandas. Some things we like:

Instead of two chairs and a small table like with a regular veranda you get a chair, table and a padded bench. I love stretching out on the bench to read a book. This would be great for you with the 2 year old as you could both sit on the bench together. While you can't look straight down and see the water you can look straight out and see it even from a sitting position on the bench.

The fact that you have an eclosed bottom and partially enclosed top means that you also have a little bit of shade - nice for sitting out in the afternoon. Again with a 2 year old you won't have to worry about too much sun exposure.

The muster station for the navigator verandas are in Animators Palette. So while many others are standing out in the sun on deck 4 you'll be sitting in air conditioned comfort.

All this for less money!