Help me figure out the cheapest way to book this cruise

[cruisnfamily]

Hi All!

Been a while since I've been over on the cruise board. We're now planning a cruise for Sept 2006. Either 9/2/06 or 9/9/06 whichever works out cheaper.

We've got a family of 5(2 adults, boy13, boy9, boy1) and a family of 4(2 adults, girl13, boy10). I can't figure out what type of accomodations to get. We know that the 2 adult rooms MUST have balconies. So we could do a Cat 6 for the family of 4 but what category would we need for the family of 5? Then, the other thought is get a 2 Cat6s (2adultsboy1 & 2adultsgirl13) and one Category(whatever it is directly across the hall) for the boys 13, 10 & 9. I know that would probably be cheaper for the family of but would it be more for the family of 4 than just keeping our own 4 in our own cabin?

I realize that I'll need to get some quotes and work out the math, I just thought that some of you experts might have advice on which way to do this.

Thanks for your help!

and, I'm assuming that the 1 year old still counts towards room capacity so they would not be permitted to have 5 in a Cat6. Is that true?

 

[Jsme]

Hi All!

Been a while since I've been over on the cruise board. We're now planning a cruise for Sept 2006. Either 9/2/06 or 9/9/06 whichever works out cheaper.

We've got a family of 5(2 adults, boy13, boy9, boy1) and a family of 4(2 adults, girl13, boy10). I can't figure out what type of accomodations to get. We know that the 2 adult rooms MUST have balconies. So we could do a Cat 6 for the family of 4 but what category would we need for the family of 5? Then, the other thought is get a 2 Cat6s (2adultsboy1 & 2adultsgirl13) and one Category(whatever it is directly across the hall) for the boys 13, 10 & 9. I know that would probably be cheaper for the family of but would it be more for the family of 4 than just keeping our own 4 in our own cabin?

I realize that I'll need to get some quotes and work out the math, I just thought that some of you experts might have advice on which way to do this.

Thanks for your help!

and, I'm assuming that the 1 year old still counts towards room capacity so they would not be permitted to have 5 in a Cat6. Is that true?

The family of five cat book a Cat 4. This will have the verandah since it is a must. Otherwise you can book two lower Cat's without the verandahs. This is the cheapiest way of doing it.

 

[kcashner]

Ok, the bottom line is that you need a cabin for 4 and either a cabin for 5 or 2 cabins to split the 5. You will pay adult rates for the first 2 people in each cabin, regardless of age. DCL insists that you BOOK at least one adult in each cabin--they don't care where you actually sleep.

The only way to "do the math" is to look at the specific cruise dates you want. Since you both want verandahs for the adults, the choice is a 6 and a 4 or 2 cat 6 and a cat 11 (across from the 6). You are right about the infant paying only port taxes but counting as a person.

I have what might be a tacky suggestion. Is there a grandma or someone who might care for the infant back home? The baby is not going to enjoy or remember the cruise. You would save a some real money by needing only 2 category 6 cabins, and the mom of the infant would probably enjoy the break. Otherwise, you are going to be needing significant Flounder's time or having the teens babysit, as well as needing more cabin space.

The way the pricing will work--you will pay the adult rate for the 2 oldest people in each cabin. For the family of 4, this will logically be mom and dad. The family of 5 will put mom and one child at the "adult" rate in one cabin and dad and the next oldest child in the other cabin. How you split the costs between the families is a personal matter. Yes, it is cheaper for younger kids than older, so you want to list your oldest kids as the "extra adult" for the extra room...but it really isn't fair for the family of 4 to get hit for the adult fare when they would be just as happy with all 4 of their's in one cabin. Am I making sense? The good news is that September is low season....

Call a good TA and have her price it out all of the ways....then decide how the families want to split it up.

 

[cruisnfamily]

Thanks for the suggestions.

My family is the family of 4. There is no way the other family will leave the 1yr old home so that thought is out.

I'm going to price it out both ways on the DCL website and see what i come up with. Probably my crowd will get a Cat6 and the other family will get a Cat4 but I'll price it both ways just for fun. We'd split the cost in half so it would probably be more expensive for my group if we go with the extra cabin.

Are there any decks that have both Cat6 and Cat4 rooms? We really would like to be near each other.

Any more thoughts? I'm open to ideas.

 

[cruisnfamily]

OK, still more thoughts. I've played around on a few websites getting prices but I'm still deciding. It looks like we could do 2 Cat7 cabins with a Cat11 across the hall which would save my group approx $400 and the other family about $1200 or more. My head is swimming with all the figures. I need to write it all out.

Anyway, here are my newest questions:
1)How much smaller is a Cat7 than a Cat6? Is it noticeable? Can a crib fit in there without too much trouble? How is that balcony as compared to a Cat 6? I know it's like an open cut out oval but is the bottom portion plexiglass? or solid?

2)If you book with one of the discount places and further discounts come out...do they apply them for you?

3)We are FL residents and I know sometimes only certain categories get FL Res discounts, is anybody familiar with which categories those usually are? For example, last time we were in a Cat 6 but the discount was only available on a Cat5 so we had to switch cabins and sailed for less than in the Cat 6.

OK, that's it for now! Thanks! I'll keep you all posted!

 

[lbgraves]

All staterooms categories 5-10 have the same interior square footage. A pack & play can fit in the room in front of the TV unit at night & the host will put it away for you during the day. IDK about the size of the verandah but since the rooms are the same size, I would think that the verandah would be as well.

 

[cruisnfamily]

All staterooms categories 5-10 have the same interior square footage. A pack & play can fit in the room in front of the TV unit at night & the host will put it away for you during the day. IDK about the size of the verandah but since the rooms are the same size, I would think that the verandah would be as well.

Thanks! I didn't realize the rooms were the same size! When I asked about the verandah, I didn't really mean the size of the verandah but the opening and plexiglass vs solid thing.

Thanks!

 

[kcashner]

If prices go down or FL resident discounts become available, DCL will give you the lower rate IF YOU ASK FOR IT. It is not automatic. A good TA will track this for you and automatically get you the better rate if one becomes available.

As above, cat 10-5 are the same size. The only difference is the verandah.