Got a port upgrade to the Roy O Disney suite!

[Presentation]

We were on the January 24 2010 4 day Disney Wonder cruise.

Bottom line:

Cat 4 to 3 was $600 and they had several available.
They had no category 2 rooms available.
Cat 4 to 1 (Roy O Disney suite) was $1,550. We talked it over and decided to go for it. Wow, what a room!


We are a family of 5 and had paid for a category 4 room, the smallest room that can fit 5 people in one room. Because of the ‘kids sail free’ promotion, this was less expensive then 2 adjoining rooms plus we wanted a veranda.

Below is the cruise and taxes only. Note: This does not include all other expenses like air travel, car rental, tips, dining at Palos, a Florida day pre-cruise plus we went to Disney World for 2 more nights after the cruise plus other spending.




January 24, 2010 4 day Wonder, kids sail free
Room w/Tax
Adult $1,093.92
Adult $1,093.92
Child 13 $44.92
Child 9 $44.92
Child 6 $44.92
$2,322.60

Port upgrade cat 4 to cat 1 on the 4 day Wonder= $1,550.00

Total $3,872.60



I did inquire about how the costs to upgrade vary according to reports I have read online at Disboards.com. The person behind the counter said in the 7 months she has been doing this the rates have not varied at all and it’s the same laminated cards she has used since she started doing it. She showed me the card she was using and there are signs of wear.

She said they have different cards depending on cruise length so one sheet has 3 day cruises; another has 4 and a different for 7. I assume they have separate sheets for special cruises with different lengths. Once she is on the sheet for your cruise length, she looks up the category you PIAD for and what you are seeking. So if you paid for a 9 but have already been upgraded to an 8, she bases the upgrade cost from the 9.

 

[mmouse37]

We were on the February 24 2010 4 day Disney Wonder cruise.

Bottom line:

Cat 4 to 3 was $600 and they had several available.
They had no category 2 rooms available.
Cat 4 to 1 (Roy O Disney suite) was $1,550. We talked it over and decided to go for it. Wow, what a room!


We are a family of 5 and had a paid for a category 4 room, the smallest room that can fit 5 people in one room. Because of the ‘kids sail free’ promotion, this was less expensive then 2 adjoining rooms plus we wanted a veranda.

Below is the cruise and taxes only. Note: This does not include all other expenses like air travel, car rental, tips, dining at Palos, a Florida day pre-cruise plus we went to Disney World for 2 more nights after the cruise plus other spending.




January 24, 2010 4 day Wonder, kids sail free
Room w/Tax
Adult $1,093.92
Adult $1,093.92
Child 13 $44.92
Child 9 $44.92
Child 6 $44.92
$2,322.60

Port upgrade cat 4 to cat 1 on the 4 day Wonder= $1,550.00

Total $3,872.60



I did inquire about how the costs to upgrade vary according to reports I have read online at Disboards.com. The person behind the counter said in the 7 months she has been doing this the rates have not varied at all and it’s the same laminated cards she has used since she started doing it. She showed me the card she was using and there are signs of wear.
She said they have different cards depending on cruise length so one sheet has 3 day cruises; another has 4 and a different for 7. I assume they have separate sheets for special cruises with different lengths. Once she is on the sheet for your cruise length, she looks up the category you PIAD for and what you are seeking. So if you paid for a 9 but have already been upgraded to an 8, she bases the upgrade cost from the 9.

Awesome upgrade price...I would have def paid that to experience the Roy or Walt Suite!!!

Thanks for the info. I also saw the laminated sheet when we sailed 2 weeks ago....I was at the supervisors desk on another matter and no one was behind the desk at the moment....I was tempted to take a pic of the sheet but restrained myself.

MJ

 

[Presentation]

We are thankful for having the opportunity to sail in the Roy O Disney suite.

There were many great things about this room.

I decided to post some gripes, just for the heck of it I guess.


#1 in the master suite there is a vanity. The chair does not fit into the vanity. The vanity is too small or the chair is too big. Best you can do is turn the chair at an angle. It’s a real trip hazard as you get up in the middle of the night to go use the bathroom.


#2 Ice / Soda / Cups – what is so hard to understand about that? When you get to the room, in the main salon is a bar area. It’s stocked with warm soda and class cups, no ice. Since we had no ice we still had to run up to deck 9 to the self serve beverage service to get ice. There is a card in the entry way with items to check including a spot to check for ice. Not one pen in the room, no way to check the card. Early on during day 2 I see the room steward and ask him for ice. After bed turndown a stainless steel ice bucket appears at the bar area with ice but we have used up all the diet soda. I find him in the hall early on day 3 and asked for more diet soda. The soda appears late on day 3 but…….he took every cup out of the room. WFT?!!! I go hunting for him. After looking and waiting I finally find him. It’s not until after bed turndown on the evening of day 4 that we finally had soda, cups and ice in our room. I really do not understand why the room steward could not mentally put these three things together but he could not. I don’t understand why he took the class cups out of our room.


#3 master bedroom closet doors, poor design. The TV’s are set up with doors that you can pull out then close. The closet doors are not like this. The dual closets are on either side of a short hallway from the master bedroom door leading to the master bedroom. The doors open and shut but do not slide back. With the doors open you can’t leave the area, the doors block you from getting to the bedroom our out the door. I know this sounds minor but it sure seemed like we were always in a hurry to dress for dinner and these doors were in the way. If I had a screwdriver I would have removed the closet doors and put them in the other bedrooms walk-in closet.


#4 Oh those wonderful bathroom towels, but you better hide them!!! In the master bathroom is a big whirlpool tub. The other bedroom has a smaller whirlpool tub/shower combination, but I’m talking about the master bath. On the wall by this master bath whirlpool tub are some big, soft white towels. I mean these are incredibly soft, not like any of the other towels in the room. Wow, they are nice.

If you like these towels hide them to use them again. After you use them they are replaced with ordinary bath towels. Had we known this we would have re-used these super soft towels, not the hard, scratchy ones they gave us after the first day.


#5 I think the electrician that wired the room was drunk or high. This is a big suite with multiple rooms. There are a lot of lights and many light switches. Best of luck turning on the light you want to turn on.

I’ll use one as a example, the vanity in the master bedroom has lights on either side. Directly to the left of the vanity is a light switch, obviously to turn on the lights by the vanity, right? Wrong! That switch turns on one of the 4 sets of lights in the master bathroom. You start walking about flipping switches to see if the next switch turns on the lights by the vanity. Eventually you try a switch over by the TV, closest to the entry hallway and the lights for the vanity come on.

Take that logic times what seemed like about two dozen different lights in the suite and you eventually make a game out of it or cry. We chose to make a game out of it.


#6 Even in the Roy O Disney suite, bring your outlet strip. The only standard USA type plus we found that could handle a load (not the electric razor only plugs in the bathrooms) was in the master suite. With all the electronics we bring along I’m glad we had the outlet strip.

We needed to keep charged 3 I-touch's, 1 nano, 1 laptop, 2 cameras, 2 communications radios, 2 cell phones, oh and don’t forget about the hair dryer and curling iron.

The last day I did unplug the door bell by the foyer close to the floor and that was also a USA standard 120V outlet.


#7 The bed that comes down from the wall in the sitting area off the master bedroom needs a new mattress. Remember when you were a kid and your parents took you to your grandparents house on, um, what your parents called a vacation and made you sleep on that mattress from the couch that had a pull out bed with that bar that was right under your back? Well, Disney purchased this mattress, bar included and is using it on this pull down bed.


I know it sounds like I’m being picky, maybe I am. I just thought it would be fun to list some gripes.

 

[abdmom]

Thanks for the info! I'm dreaming of an upgrade for my cat 12 in May.

What time did you get to port to get the upgrade?

 

[Presentation]

What time did you get to port to get the upgrade?

We got in line outside the fence at 9:30 AM.

This is outside the fence, the same area where the rental car shuttle busses drop and pick up people.

A porter took our luggage. I don’t know exactly when they started letting us thru the gate, I’d guess it was around 10:00 AM.

I left the family behind with the carry-on luggage as I ran ahead to get thru security on my own faster. 4 families were ahead of me.

I went to the right most castaway member check in and said I was going for an upgrade so could he please hurry. He called over to that desk to my right and the girl walked over and said they had several category 3’s and one category 1. They asked if I was interested in the cat 1 and I said yes. They said they would hold it for me, so take my time.

We kept it a secret from our kids. I got on video of the kids’ reaction as we entered the room. Give me some time and I’ll post that to youtube.

We put the two younger kids in the bedroom with the separate beds and had the room steward leave the sitting area off the master bedroom with the bed that comes down from the wall made up as a bed all the time. We had this older kid, a teenager; use the pantry by the entry way as her walk in closet.

 

[HallsofVA]

Congrats on the upgrade! We upgraded on the Magic in 2008 and it was fabulous. Sounds like you had some challenges with your room steward. We had a great one when we were in the suite on the Magic. Hopefully you were able to work with the Concierge to get some of your needs taken care of. They are the ones we always turn to when we need additional sodas, or more often, want the sodas replaced with more bottles of water.

There is a regular outlet in the 2nd bedroom. Near the floor by the closet. (Not a logical place, I know.) Plus there are always regular outlets located behind the TVs in each room in addition to the other ones you found.

I've seen numerous reports over the past year or so of folks on 7nt cruises paying the same price to upgrade from a Cat 5 or 6 to the Cat 1 that we paid in Dec 2008, so it doesn't seem that prices have changed, at least for those suites.

 

[jilljill]

I hope you meant on the Jan. 24th cruise?
Awesome price for a cat. 1.

 

[Presentation]

I hope you meant on the Jan. 24th cruise?
Awesome price for a cat. 1.

LOL, yes. I fixed it.

Thank you Jill.

 

[woody73]

Nice upgrade.

#5 I think the electrician that wired the room was drunk or high.

LOL!

Woody

 

[kbmo4444]

#5 I think the electrician that wired the room was drunk or high. This is a big suite with multiple rooms. There are a lot of lights and many light switches. Best of luck turning on the light you want on.

I’ll use one as a example, the vanity in the master bedroom has lights on either side. Directly to the left of the vanity is a light switch, obviously to turn on the lights by the vanity, right? Wrong! That switch turns on one of the 4 sets of lights in the master bathroom. You start walking about flipping switches to see if the next switch turns on the lights by the vanity. Eventually you try a switch over by the TV, closest to the entry hallway and the lights for the vanity come on.

Take that logic times what seemed like about two dozen different lights in the suite and you eventually make a game out of it or cry. We chose to make a game out of it.




I know it sounds like I’m being picky, maybe I am. I just thought it would be fun to list some gripes.

Too funny. We had a category 3 midship back in December and DH had the same comment. The light switches made no logical sense at all. That being said I still would take a suite anyday even if I turn on all the lights in the middle of the night looking for the bathroom.

 

[nic_x]

We got a cat 3 as an at-port upgrade and had the worst time finding outlets. There was one in the master suite closet, near the floor. We had an extension cord, so that ended up working out fine for us. There was also a round/European-style outlet in the main sitting area.

However, on the last day, we found an outlet in the master suite WAY under the tv (it's a cabinet...the TV is at the top, then there's a cabinet with two shelves below that) at the back of the shelves. You had to be on your hands and knees at the foot of the bed to see it. We laughed our heads off over that. I'd been looking for an outlet near the tvs and hadn't had any luck!

 

[Anjelica]

That's awesome!!!!

Question though as I have seen differing answers - you go straight to the Castaway Club check-in FIRST correct? I've read where people went to the Supervisors desk FIRST to get the upgrade.

 

[Presentation]

That's awesome!!!!

Question though as I have seen differing answers - you go straight to the Castaway Club check-in FIRST correct? I've read where people went to the Supervisors desk FIRST to get the upgrade.

Yes, check in first then go to the desk all the way to the right.

As I was checking in I told the person to please hurry because I was going for a upgrade. He called over to the person at the upgrade desk and she walked over and agreed to ‘hold’ the Roy O Disney sweet so I could check-in at a normal speed.

 

[DisneyCruiser83]

Congrats on the upgrade, that's a great price!

 

[Anjelica]

Yes, check in first then go to the desk all the way to the right.

As I was checking in I told the person to please hurry because I was going for a upgrade. He called over to the person at the upgrade desk and she walked over and agreed to ‘hold’ the Roy O Disney sweet so I could check-in at a normal speed.

Thanks!!! Our next cruise isn't until October but we definetly would like to try. Although I think our cruise is close to full now I'm sure there will be a few cancellations before then.

 

[justmestace]

Sounds like you had a particularly "easy-going" (don't want to use the word lazy or bad) room steward, as we've not had these problems in the Walt, the Roy or the Cat 2's and 3's. Every time we came back to our room there was always a bucket of fresh ice, clean glasses and sometimes, but not always, more sodas. The soda issue can vary. Sometimes you're told that you're only allotted the first set-up, and sometimes you can ask and receive more.
We've always gotten the same plush towels, too.

True, the rooms are not laid out the way you would do them if you were building a home, but their designers have to stay within a small amount of space.
Maybe the layout on the new ships will be more user-friendly.

There is another set of electrical outlets that you can use, they are behind the television. But everyone should always bring a strip if you have multiple items to charge.

 

[jilljill]

OP, did you ever speak with concierge over the issues you were having?
Last summer in our cat. 3 concierge asked us if we needed more sodas and water and if everything was going well with our cabin hostess. We had no issues with her and she had ice for us twice a day, she knew that from the first afternoon. She also retrieved our Castaway Club gifts and suitcase from our old cabin, since we upgraded from a SPH cabin.

 

[Presentation]

OP, did you ever speak with concierge over the issues you were having?

Hi Jill,

The post on the first page is 100% true but honestly, my intent of posting it was to make people laugh. I found the items to be funny.

For every minor gripe were many major smiles.

That verandah, OMG, WOW!

We had the FULL (not continental) breakfast at our dining room table twice. It was just wonderful. We did tip in cash the person who brought the food and set the table.

We loved the down comforter on the master bed.

The closet space. The closet SPACE! Never have we vacationed with so much extra space. I should have packed more just to make the closest look more full.

A separate bedroom for a teenager was a big help. Parents with teens will understand what I’m saying.


As far as concierge service, I knew about the dish or treat left in the room each day and the limited edition lithograph.

I had read on this board that the concierge would bring you your photos from shutters. That did not happen. He also gave us cards for the video games but something was wrong with them and they did not work. It was late on our last night when we first tried them. I did call them to let them know, and they offered to help but we were ready for bed.


We asked Mike for the following:

#1 A bridge tour for our 13 year old daughter, who has completed the DNR course and passed the recreational boaters captains exam and is considering a carrier is a port pilot. Mike came thru on this one and it was fantastic. My daughter and I toured the bridge, got to talk to Captain Gus, and she got to blow the horn as we were preparing to cast off from Castaway Cay.

I asked some ship operational questions that required the captain’s assistant giving the tour to get some help from the bridge officers. My questions focused on ships systems because we have a recreational boat with three engines and I was curious how they manage the power from the ships 5 engines.

For example, on our boat our Westerbeke generator is always a generator and is only a generator and cannot be used for propulsion for many reasons including the engineering of the generator that holds its RPM’s constant. The ship can selectively use any or all of the 5 engines for propulsion or power generation in any combination. I was surprised that it’s a direct shaft connection and not diesel to electric. They have 2 more engines then our boat but we have two more propellers then they do. In addition to the dedicated generator we have two main engines that drive two pairs of counter rotating propellers.

I also asked questions regarding AIS, Radar and other electronics and how they use them. For example they do not overlay radar (placing your radar reflection image over your chartplotter image) something that is common and somewhat controversial in recreational boating use. They use digital radar but not broadband (Frequency Modulated Continuous-wave) radar. Broadband (solid state) radar has specific advantages and disadvantages. For recreational boaters like us, broadband radar is latest craze and finally became available to recreational boaters in November 2008. It had been available to the military for years and commercial vessels for a few years.

#2 A engine room tour. Mike said this is not allowed but he could get us a control room tour. Later he called back and said the chief engineer would not accommodate this request. He offered to try to set up a face to face meeting but we let it go.

#3 We requested a different dining room rotation. He was not able to get it.


All and all, the bridge tour was the high point of the concierge service. The other things were included with the room like the lithograph or we were not able to get.

 

[justmestace]

You got really lucky getting the Bridge tour, too. They've really cut back on even letting the suite people visit the Bridge.

I've never heard of concierge getting our pictures from Shutters. I'd prefer to go get my own anyway, even if I'd already chosen them, and had them set aside.

 

[phred84044]

I really do not understand why the room steward could not mentally put these three things together but he could not. I don’t understand why he took the class cups out of our room.

You'd think that they would have the best and most well trained steward(s) working the category 1 & 2 suites!