Is the DIsney Suite worth it?

[DisneyMomJen]

I am just checking on cruises for next spring and there are 6 of us - 2 adults and 4 children. I can get this suite which would be $2000 to $2500 more for 3 nights on the Wonder. Has anyone done this and do you feel it is worth it? Thanks!

 

[all5ofus]

I am just checking on cruises for next spring and there are 6 of us - 2 adults and 4 children. I can get this suite which would be $2000 to $2500 more for 3 nights on the Wonder. Has anyone done this and do you feel it is worth it? Thanks!

Whether or not it is worth it is pretty subjective based on your personal financial situation.

We has the Roy Suite for a recent 3-night Wonder cruise. The suite is incredible and I would do it again in a second. With a family of 6 your options are already limited. If I had to choose between two smaller cabins and the Cat 1 suite I would take the suite. All that extra space as well is the incredible level of service from the concierge staff just can't be beat.

My only regret is that I probably spoiled myself and my family. For our next cruise we had to "settle" for a category 3 which will probably feel tiny.

 

[Skuba2]

I think it also depends on your style of cruising.

We have been in the suite for all 3 cruises and have a 4th planned for 4/08. This is my 8th cruise in all. We tend to spend a lot of time in the suite and on the verandah. I love the verandah. I am not a lay-in-the-sun kind of person, so it allows me to be outside lounging but not usually in the sun. I hang out there, ipod, good book, drink and pillow. There is 2 loungers, 4 chairs and 2 small tables. Also, I need breakfast BEFORE I can function. So, we usually either make a run upstairs to get food and bring it back down or we do room service. There is a table that seats 6. The kids have their own bathroom and a half-bathroom is right in the front hallway. The closets are HUGE!! There is enough cabinet space for your clothes, his clothes, their clothes and all your suitcases. The kid's even have a small dresser in their walk-in closet.

So, if you plan on spending all day out and about, if you are rarely in the cabin, and if you can deal with limited space for the number of people, go with the 2 cabins. If it is important to you to spend time in your own space, to have a home away from home, and to just veg, then maybe a suite is worth it.

You can even sit in the jacuzzi tub and watch a program on the TV. That is a treat for my 9 year old daughter.

But be warned----it is very hard to go back.

DG

 

[BethA]

We will be facing the going back to a smaller cabin crisis on our cruise Dec 26th and we have been spoiled with several times in a suite. With the suite you can just relax in your room and spread out, enjoy the lunch from the dining room delivered to your room, everyone watch their own tv, enjoy the balcony--we hate to come home to our own house after the suite.

If you are always on an excursion and never in the room, then 2 smaller rooms are great, but given the chance I'd take it in a second, but I am never frugal on vacation--that is my one splurge. Some people think it is crazy to pay the extra, but I will miss it this cruise.

 

[PizzieDuster]

We will be facing the going back to a smaller cabin crisis on our cruise Dec 26th and we have been spoiled with several times in a suite. With the suite you can just relax in your room and spread out, enjoy the lunch from the dining room delivered to your room, everyone watch their own tv, enjoy the balcony--we hate to come home to our own house after the suite.

If you are always on an excursion and never in the room, then 2 smaller rooms are great, but given the chance I'd take it in a second, but I am never frugal on vacation--that is my one splurge. Some people think it is crazy to pay the extra, but I will miss it this cruise.

Hi Beth!

I did just that. After two DCL cruises in Cat 3s, I got so excited when they came out to California. But I couldn't book because of my son's All Star stuff. So I ended up booking within the 30 day mark - like 2 weeks out. A Cat 4. I was so happy to be on the ship again and my DD was 2 years older so she enjoyed the clubs so much more. Give and take. Sure missed it though, I won't lie. Makes me appreciate our prior cruises. As long as you are on the ship....it's all good!

Yes. It is very hard to go back. But so worth it.

 

[tinkerbellmom1]

Skuba2 said it all!

We took our first cruise November '05 and were lucky to get the Roy suite. We loved it! Originally, we had booked it so our entire family (my 4, plus 2 more) could be together. My brother had sugery 1 month before and had to cancel, and my cousin cancelled at the last minute. We kept the suite and we WON'T go back! 30 days from today we leave for our next trip! 6 days at DW and the Eastern in a category 2 suite (only $600.00 less than the Disney, but it was already taken!).

Some people stay really active on their vacations. We use ours to have fun and be together. This suite allowed our then 12 and 13 year old sons to have their own space, and allowed us the same . They had their own bedroom suite on the opposite side of ours. The kids could wonder off to the clubs or the arcade if they wanted, and come back when they pleased. When they went up to the sports deck, I could check on them via the closed circuit feed on the TV.

We spent a lot of time together in the suite. We watched movies (they run fairly current movies on the TV all day long!), TV, we ate room service breakfast at our dining table every day but the last day.

The concierge staff was great! They helped out with reservations at Palo (when you have a suite, you can order off any restaurant menu and have it delivered to the suite), they dropped off little gifts everyday to spread the magic! We used the pantry to store our luggage and all the things we had purchsed at DW then on the cruise (thank goodness we brought an extra suitecase!).

It really is a personal choice. We save all year for our Disney Cruise vacations and it is worth every penny! But you do it in a style that you want.

I wish you the best whatever you choose! Have a great time!

 

[joksten2000]

Would rather go on 4 cruises than spend for one in the big suite. I spend a lot of time with my family, at the pool & at dinner time.

 

[Disneynut1955]

Would rather go on 4 cruises than spend for one in the big suite. I spend a lot of time with my family, at the pool & at dinner time.

I respect your opinion about choosing the quantity of cruises over the level of room you prefer to book. On vacations, I spend a great deal of time in the room so it seems both our individual choices are well suited for our personal taste. With regard to your "not impressed" caption at the top of the post, I am curious to learn if you have ever cruised in a Cat. 1 room and, if so, what specifically were you not impressed with?

 

[hjensen]

I respect your opinion about choosing the quantity of cruises over the level of room you prefer to book. On vacations, I spend a great deal of time in the room so it seems both our individual choices are well suited for our personal taste. With regard to your "not impressed" caption at the top of the post, I am curious to learn if you have ever cruised in a Cat. 1 room and, if so, what specifically were you not impressed with?

I second that!!! I was so impressed staying in a Cat. 3!!! I could not even imagine what it would be like to stay in the Walt or Roy suite!!!

 

[BethA]

We could not manage 4 weeks off a year, so for us the splurge works.

I also would like to know what you were not impressed with.

 

[joksten2000]

Comment was not meant to offend. Stayed in Mexico at a private villa with several servants. Gourmet meals every night. Top of the line. Just not impressed after the first time. As you say everyone is different, to each his own. Certainly be a very dull world if we were. Family time is very important, it's just that we'd like to have more of it.

 

[tinkerbellmom1]

Would rather go on 4 cruises than spend for one in the big suite. I spend a lot of time with my family, at the pool & at dinner time.

No offense taken . Like I said, it's personal preference. If my children were still young, I would have loved the family stateroom with the verandah. With the ages they are now (13 and 14), we all enjoy the privacy the suites offer.

The fact that we all cruise Disney shows that we all enjoy the time with our families. Some people don't do anything but sleep in their stateroom, others spend time reading, vegging, visiting, and even entertaining in theirs!

We spend 49 weeks a year going from here to there and back with 4 different schedules. We enjoy our vacations together. We do spend time trying different activities, but our vacation is for us as a family, and we enjoy having the space, privacy and the luxury of the suites.

Disney offers the variety of staterooms just for this reason. Choose the type of room that will best fit the needs of your family and have a WONDERful, MAGICal cruise!

 

[BethA]

I don't think anyone was offende, just wondered why you felt that way

 

[pppiglet]

Would rather go on 4 cruises than spend for one in the big suite. I spend a lot of time with my family, at the pool & at dinner time.

I'm with you on this. I've never been in the suite, but we were hardly in our room at all.

 

[t&m+5]

YES - we loved the space, service, did I mention the space and the service?

If you don't plan to relax in your cabin then it isn't worth the extra. We loved breakfast on the veranda, reading on the veranda, the kids after getting burned at CC spent alot of time in the cabin watching movies and sleeping.

We have booked it again for 2007. We did book the royal suite on Royal Caribbean but it did not compare to the service we received on Disney.

 

[tinkerbellmom1]

BethA- can't believe you asked, but here's why:

Would rather go on 4 cruises than spend for one in the big suite. I spend a lot of time with my family, at the pool & at dinner time.

The title of her response was "Not Impressed" responding to my post which was just stating my opinion. I did qualify my opinion by saying that it was a personal choice and that everyone cruises in their own style. I was not offended, but you can see how her message came across kind of gruff.

 

[ibouncetoo]

others spend time reading, vegging, visiting, and even entertaining in theirs!

I've been a guest in the suites and it was VERY enjoyable. I'd love to be able to 'have people over' for some private socializing while cruising. One of my best memories from my recent cruise is "sister's hot chocolate night" where four sets of sisters and an 'honarary step-sister' met in a suite for hot chocolate, cookies and a great deal of rowdy laughter!

 

[Robert and Kelley]

We are in love with the Cat 3 cabins. I bet the Walt or Roy Suites are as good as they say. I plan to try one at least once but I am very afraid I will never get DW back down to anything else. If you can get it go for it. Life is too short as it is.

 

[carole88]

Have not stayed in a Cat. 1 yet, but had the pleasure of being invited to BethA's suite on our last cruise. We fell in love with it and plan on being in one in 2008!