Favorite Cat 3 Stateroom

[VAgal76]

I don't think I'd want to be on aft so I'm looking at mid-ship and forward. Are the mid-ship Cat 3 suites any different in set up from the forward ones or is it simply a location thing. What's your favorite? I was considering forward for *hopefully* less noise.

 

[BuzzBoyMom]

They are definitely different and better...get the midship. The balcony is twice the size...the room layout is better....go for the midship. Do a search for midship cat. 3...there are lots of people who like them better.

 

[Tigger&Bubba]

Midship 8532 or 8534. I like to sail on the starboard side.

 

[flexsmom]

The "standard" Cat 3s are basically like two staterooms connected as far as space goes. The living room and the bedroom run parallel to one another, and the veranda is like 2 verandas except there are two doors to it. With the midship Cat 3s, the bedrooms are the same configuration, but the living room runs perpendicular to the bedroom, so it runs "sideways". Due to that, the veranda is triple-wide for the full stateroom. I don't know if anyone's actually taken a tape-measure to determine if there is more square-footage in the inside-space of the midship cat 3s. If you take the veranda into consideration, it's definitely bigger, however.

 

[BeanoC]

8532 or 8032, hands-down the best cat. 3 stateroom(s) on board!

8102/8602 (which are aft) have by far the best verandahs, but the rooms are not nearly as nice as the midship ones. If you can get 8532... take it!!

 

[Soccermom-Cheri]

Have to agree with Beanie-boy, 8532 is a winner. The drawbacks outweigh the positives for us on the aft 3's, but we'll take a mid-ship 3 any time. Got an extra one?

 

[m4travel]

Our first Category 3 will be 8048 on the DVC Members' Cruise, with a midship Cat 3, 8034, in December '07. We're aft sort of people; don't really enjoy forward cabins. All the midship 3s were gone by the time we got through on reservation day for the DVC cruise. Booked 8034 while onboard our first DCL cruise last January in an aft Category 6.

We're hoping for the Walt or Roy in 2009. Think it's time to send in our request?

 

[VAgal76]

Ok, thanks for steering me in the right direction. I'll give them a holler and see what I can come up with. Wish me luck!

That was much easier to get through, but sadly all of the midship Cat 3's are gone. Figures. Oh, well. I guess a Cat 3 is better than none at all.

 

[Soccermom-Cheri]

Ok, thanks for steering me in the right direction. I'll give them a holler and see what I can come up with. Wish me luck!

That was much easier to get through, but sadly all of the midship Cat 3's are gone. Figures. Oh, well. I guess a Cat 3 is better than none at all.

in all but one case, YES, YES, YES! an aft 3 is better than no cat 3 (and once you go, you'll be spoiled forever)

 

[outahere]

We were in 8602 last year on the August repo cruise. The cabin was very nice, but the biggest drawback was the verandah. While it was HUGE, there is no cover. That means no shade and no privacy from those above you on deck 9 at Topsiders. Several times while we were on the verandah, we were asked by people standing above us, how to get to that verandah. Our stock answer became -- you have to pay for it. We've sailed in 8048 and while the cabin was nice, it was quite noisey, especially early (like 5:00am) in the morning when they were setting up for the day. While we were on last year, we were able to tour 8532 (and a cat 2 and the Roy suite) and it was great. We got lucky and have 8532 booked for the upcoming Thanksgiving cruise. We can't wait!!

 

[tross]

For those of you who love 8532 is 8534 basically the same? I like the mid ship arrangement because as I understand it the extra bed is not in the bedroom which means we can keep all 3 of our kids together plus enjoy some adult privacy.

 

[VAgal76]

I was able to get 8048. We were in Cat 4 8036 this past June and while there was a noise factor is wasn't enough to warrant us not booking the stateroom area again. Although it would be nice to be a tad bit quieter. I wonder if I should shoot for a forward cabin. They had some availability forward, too. I just worry about the aft with the thruster noise, shaking, motion sickness, etc.

There is a pull out sofa in the Cat 3 living room, right? We want our privacy. KWIM?

ETA: I just have to say that I've had some of the best interaction with CM's with DCL reservations here lately. Wow!

 

[kaseyC]

There is a pull out sofa in the Cat 3 living room, right? We want our privacy. KWIM?

Yes, there is a pull out sofa in the living room. The 4 midship Cat. 3s also have the murphy bed in the living room. It is great for those of us with 3 children and have the need for "privacy" too.

 

[VAgal76]

Whew! Thank goodness. I was getting a wee bit worried that I misunderstood something.

I ventured off to look at photos. The midship balconies had padding on the balcony chairs. I know this since I was next door to one in June, but other Cat 3 pictures don't show them having cushions. Do they not all have cushions on the chairs? I had chair envy this past June so I was really looking forward to some stick free viewing from our chairs.