How much is a Category 3?????

[jacobatt1]

I know this is an almost impossible question b/c of all the different times of year and different size families, but has anyone researched the difference between a 4 and a 3?

We have 2 kids under 12 (6 and 10), and DH and me. Obviously, we can price a cat 4, but does anyone have a ballpark figure of how much more a 3 is???

(If it helps, we usually look at cruising during "regular" season, like May or October, not "high" in the summer or Christmas)

Thanks everybody!

Amy

 

[Mommy Poppins]

May, 2006, DH, me, DD-10, DS-7 and DS-4

$9,950 for 7 Day Western Caribbean
No transportation, no insurance

 

[markºoº]

There are a lot of variables that can impact the cost.

Prices vary from cruise to cruise, Eastern versus Western, time of year, age of children, with or without transportation, and with or without insurance.

Really the best way is to look at the schedule and call DCL and get some quotes.

Our 7 night Western cruise in late August 2004 was $8,572 with 2 kids ages 5 and 12 excluding transportation and insurance.

 

[Az Pirates]

This is from a DCL brochure - not sure if the figures are exact for now
(brochure was printed in 2003)

7 night cruise

Cat 1. 3,899 Cat 2. 3,599 Cat 3. 2,999 Cat 4. 1,749
Cat 5. 1,449 Cat 6. 1,349 Cat 7. 1,249 Cat 8. 1,149
Cat 9. 1,049 Cat 10. 949 Cat 11. 899 Cat 12. 829

Prices vary based on sailing date, time of booking.
Price per person based on double occupancy.



Again, this is just a general guide but may give a little idea of the difference between catagories. (assuming there have not been drastic changes in the pricing tiers - and that is always a possibility)
As always, your mileage may vary!

 

[Tonyspad]

July 1, 2006 Western. Me, DW, DS10, DS8.

$11,500 including insurance not transfers... ouch!

 

[AspiringCindy]

We are traveling on the 4 Day cruise in November with 5 of us!...we were quoted $3700 for Cat.4 and $5700 for Cat.3!

 

[jlima]

In July 2001 we had a category 3 (8546). My fare & DH's fare was approx. $3700 each. DS7 was about $700 and for DS16mos only had to pay port fees (about $150). This was the cruise that was a gift from my mom however when the docs came the fares were printed on them. She made the ressies in May 00, 14 months prior to the cruise.

 

[jacobatt1]

Thanks all! That gives me a really good idea of what to expect--I would love to do it, but I just need to weigh the extra expense with extra stuff. Concierge would be cool though, and to have them book stuff for you!!! Maybe I should price it on a 4 day instead of a 7!!!

We'll see, but thanks so much!

Amy

 

[SweetSpot]

I always found the cat 3 to be equal to about 50% more than a cat 4. I had a hard time booking the cat 3 because to me the difference in price would take me 1/2 way to another cruise. After staying in the cat 3 last year in the end it was worth every penny. We really loved the extra space and perks that came with the room.

 

[princesslondon]

If it helps we have a 4-day booked, Cat. 3 in Sept and the cost is approx. $3900.00 - no insurance, no transfers.
Also, 2-adults, 1-four year old.
This is actually only and $200 more than we paid for our 3-day, Cat. 3 in Jan. 2004

 

[kidsmom]

My quote was $8992.52 for May 2006 Eastern, for myself, DH, DD 14, DS 9. It seems an awful lot of $$ and I'm not sure if I can justify the added perks. We have had a Cat 6 for a 3 and 4 night cruise, but would definitely book a Cat 4 for a 7 night, just for the extra room.

 

[markºoº]

The biggest perk IMHO is the extra space. That alone makes it worth the $$.

Kidsmom, with a girl and boy 14 and 9, each could have their own "bed" in a Cat 3 since one could use the sofa sleeper and the other could use the pull down Murphy bed. Just make sure you can get one of the mid ship Cat 3 (8032, 8034, 8532, and 8534) since they have the pull down in the living in. All other Cat 3's have the pull down in the master bedroom. I also believe there are 4 "accessible" Cat 3 (8100, 8102, 8500, 8502) that do not have a pull down and only accomodate 4.

Our 2 boys (12 and 5) slept together on the sofa sleeper so we could leave the pull down up all the time. This added a lot of space to the room.

 

[my3kids]

WOW! Royal Caribbean really is a lot less than Disney. I'm booked in a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom suite for peak summer and am paying a fraction of what it sounds like Disney would cost. Yikes!

 

[SweetSpot]

my3kids:

I'm not sure that RCCL is always much less than DCL. I booked a 5 day RCCL New England cruise out of Philly. The 2 bedroom suite for 2 adults, 3 kids for 5 days was over $6,500. I thought that was very high. Also, the 2 bedroom suite is over 300 sq ft less than the 2 bedroom on DCL. While I agree that DCL is very expensive everything I priced from RCCL seemed pretty expensive also.

 

[FlynnStone]

6/10/06 Magic - $10,350 for 2 adults, 1 teen, 1 6 y.o.

Roughly the same price the past January. Is it worth it? The convenience of concierge, as well as the extra space both inside and on the verandah were wonderful. We choose DCL to be an extra-special trip, and the Cat 3 makes us feel spoiled the entire time.

If you book early enough, just put money away each month. Makes it a lot easier when the time comes to take your cruise.

 

[Hieatt]

We have a family of 6 and looked at booking a Cat. 1 or 2, but we found that booking TWO Cat. 6 rooms was about HALF the cost... we will splurge for the $330 REAS package and get our Palo reservation and spa treatment reserved before the cruise, and get our full room service breakfast once...

Two Cat. 6 rooms are not even that much more than one Cat. 4, and is considerably less than a Cat. 3.

The way I look at it I am getting two bedrooms, two bathrooms and about half of the concierge service that would have come with the suite, plus I am getting the cost of the spa treatments which DON'T come with the suite, for about half the price of a suite! Truly, the poor man's suite.

 

[TootyJane]

I'm not sure that RCCL is always much less than DCL. I booked a 5 day RCCL New England cruise out of Philly. The 2 bedroom suite for 2 adults, 3 kids for 5 days was over $6,500. I thought that was very high. Also, the 2 bedroom suite is over 300 sq ft less than the 2 bedroom on DCL. While I agree that DCL is very expensive everything I priced from RCCL seemed pretty expensive also.

Having stayed in both the Cat. 2 on the Disney Magic and the 2-bedroom suite on RCL's Voyager of the Seas, I can say that the Magic's suite beats the Voyager's hands down!! There truly is no comparing the two suites.