Have A Big Room Concern...Kinda Long..

[LADYnTRAMP]

Here's what I'm worried about and would like some opinions. I am booked for a Cat. 10 on a 4 night cruise next May. Over the weekend I called to see if the room that we discussed with our T.A. had been assigned to us. It had not. We have no room assigned. I called the Travel Agency this morning and our TA isn't in yet so I discussed my concern with someone else. She said we have a "Cat. 10 Room Guarantee" but sometimes they don't make the room assignments until a couple of weeks before sailing. Sounds like a bunch of bull to me since I know that on my last 2 Disney Cruises I had room assignments months in advance. She said that if I had a particular room assigned to me now it would lessen my chances of getting an upgrade. (I know those are very hard to come by.) I'm afraid that if I don't make them nail down a room now I'll get stuck with a room I really don't want like across from the Laundry. What would you do?
Thanks everyone!

 

[mmouse37]

Your TA is right in that alot of the times DCL does not assign rooms right away if you are on a guarantee status. If you really want a specific room, call back and request it now. No sense in waiting and being unhappy.

I would not count on an ugrade....just pick the room you really want now and avoid any disappointment.

MJ

 

[mcnuss]

I'd just wait and not worry too much. My TA (who books a TON of Disney) told me that the guarantee is very typical in the cruise world, so I don't think it's baloney. If you are uncomfortable with the information you are getting from the TA, however, then that's another problem. It sounds like you think she is trying to pull one over on you, and if you feel that way, you need a different TA.

FYI - we were on guarantee status for a couple of weeks after making our reservation, we got a call from DCL telling us our room assignment - and it is a very nice location.

 

[outahere]

We've booked two cruises directly through DCL and had our room assignment before we got off the phone with them (we wouldn't have booked if we couldn't get a room we were happy with). I know that's not the same as booking through a TA, but I am pretty sure your TA could get a definite room assignment.

 

[KMovies]

Doesn't the guarantee thing work like this -

a. first they assign rooms
b. when the ship gets fuller, they then assign rooms on a guarantee basis
c. they sell more rooms that they have in a category, on a guarantee basis, so they upgrade some people

Would work like this - all 10's are full and no 8's are left, so they decide to sell more 10's because it is easier to sell the cheaper rooms and then move some people up from 10's to the 8's.

 

[prymsu]

KMovies, i believe you are correct, and this is how the booking of rooms and guaranteed rooms are done.

 

[kramer_clan]

I just checked Disney Cruise Line availability and there are Category 10 room assignments available for all 4 sailings in May. I would definitely call back and have them assign you a room.

You can make a call to DCL first and find out what is available for your dates and then call the travel agent with that information. If you are armed with the information and know what you are talking about, your travel agent will have to call or at least check into it to see if you are assigned a room.

If you are attempting to book a secret porthole room, I would still have them assign a room and waitlist you for one of those rooms if they become available.

Vicki

 

[peagreenid]

How many passengers LADYnTRAMP has traveling with her. There may be Assignments for 2 or 3 passengers but not for 4. I don't know how many she has traveling, but, I know, traveling with 4 often narrows things down for our family.

smiles Patty

 

[quidam]

LADYnTRAMP,

I am in the exact same situation as you are and I feel a bit uncomfortable too.

When we were on our first Disney cruise, in August, we knew our cabin number the minute we got off the phone with our TA.

Two weeks ago, we booked another cruise in a cat. 6 cabin, but haven't been assigned a number. We are doing the Western itinerary, the first week of March. I have checked DCL website, but cat. 6 does not even show, so I guess it is true that it is sold out. So all I can do, I guess, is keep my fingers crossed and hope that we will have a cabin that we enjoy and that is not too noisy!

Good luck to you!

 

[outahere]

I think I would....

call DCL directly

find out which rooms are available that would sleep the number of people travelling

check the deck plans for the location of those rooms and select the one(s) I would prefer

call the TA and have them contact DCL to assign one of those rooms

 

[Wishing on a star]

I think I would try to get an acceptable room assignment... especially based on the very rare upgrades on DCL in the past. I am not so sure that having a room number would lessen your chances of an upgrade. That just doesn't seem like the biggest factor to me! (up to me, I would choose the earliest reservations, honeymoons, etc....) I do not think anybody has figured out exactly how DCL does choose upgrades.

We are booked into a category 10, secret porthole! 5020 and 5520 look really great! I would hate to be moved or upgraded into another room, unless it was a verandah. (Now, a nice verandah, THAT would be an upgrade!)

PS: I have heard of people who thought they had a room assignment finding out at the last minute that they were placed in a different room!

 

[mcnuss]

Originally posted by outahere
I think I would....

call DCL directly

find out which rooms are available that would sleep the number of people travelling

check the deck plans for the location of those rooms and select the one(s) I would prefer

call the TA and have them contact DCL to assign one of those rooms

You are assuming that DCL has rooms to assign. It may not. As I said before, we were on guarantee status for a few weeks. I happen to trust my TA implicitly, but even still, I called and got the exact same answer from DCL. It is HIGHLY unlikely that the TA is telling her that she cannot confirm her room when there is actually a room to confirm. What would be her motivation to do that?

 

[taswira]

Okay, for Cat. 10 for 4 people: On May 25th I'm showing at least 8 available, all on Deck 2. For May 18th - 6 on Deck 2 and 2 on Deck 7. For May 11th - 1 on Deck 7 (7001), 1 on Deck 5 (5020) and 6 on Deck 2. For May 4th: 1 on Deck 7 and 7 on Deck 2.

This is based on 4 people in a Cat 10. Stateroom numbers show for all the dates of the 4-night in May. I'm sure there are others available also, as the booking engine on my site only lists up to eight in each category. I see no reason why your TA can not assign you a stateroom number.

 

[mcnuss]

Well, Taswira, mystery solved. It seems like LADYnTRAMP needs a new TA!

 

[Tluvs2talk]

When we called DCL to book our October cruise last January we told them what room we wanted. No Problem!! Well we got our cruise documents a few weeks ago and have been assigned a different room on a different floor. I decided what the heck, and will wait and see how the room is.

 

[Michelle]

Hi Susan!

You've got lots of good advice here and it sounds like there ARE plenty of Cat. 10s available, so I agree you should ask your TA to check with DCL and get your cabin number assigned now.

The only time DCL places anyone in a guarantee status is if there are a VERY limited number of cabins available in a category.

Good luck!

 

[LADYnTRAMP]

Okay, here is how it ended yesterday. I called the Castaway Cay Club yesterday and told the Gentleman my situation. He "checked" and said that there were only "guarantee rooms" available. I just couldn't buy this so a few minutes later I called and spoke with someone else and didn't mention that I was already booked. I just asked her if a few specific rooms were available in a Cat.10 (that I had seen available on the net) and she said "Yes". So, I called my TA with that info and got the room on Deck 2 that I requested! (Not on the "noisy" list....Thanks Dave!) A little later I called the C.C. Club and verified it. Don't ask my why I had one person tell me there were no rooms available and another told me there were! As far as my TA goes I'm going to give her a break 'cause I think there was a little confusion that I was partly to blame for. I told her a specific room # I'd like but then I also told here that I'd like to be wait listed for a room on Deck 5 in case one became available. After I said that she thought I meant wait listed ONLY. Anyway, I think we'll be happy with our room and I appreciate everyone's comments. Thanks!

 

[joyv]

hi....first time on this site and first time to take a cruise - ever. I am also sailing with the Wonder in May, and had (and still has) a lot of trouble figuring out if my cabin is ok. I booked a category 10 on deck 2, but i'm hearing a lot of diff opinions on which is better, front of ship, back of ship, lower deck, higher deck and then I just found out about the noisy room list. Although my designated room is not on the list, i am still worried....

Does anyone have general info on what pros and cons are with different decks? I've heard from some people that you feel less movement on lower decks, but also heard otherwise from others.
I'm a little prone to motion sickness so it's one of my main concerns.

any feedback on room #2109? any suggestions, comments will be appreciated. thanks!