*Standard* vs. *Deluxe* Inside Stateroom?

[devotedchristian]

I cannot tell the difference. I *thought* I wanted a Deluxe because I thought it was bigger than Standard.

From dcltribute, it just says the Deluxes are the *secret* porthole rooms with an obstructed view of lifesaving equipment. Is that what I am paying a huge difference for? Are there other amenities besides that?

Also, having a 3 year old, I want to be on Deck 5 which houses some Category 11s. I'll take a Category 11. Is Deck 5 good? Is it noisy since the Oceaneers Lab/club are there?

Also, I am *considering* a verandah, will the sun bother us in the morning? DS likes to sleep in a dark environment. Will we be awakened in the morning by someone's door slamming?

I want a verandah but these things are an issue for me. Please advise.

 

[mommasita]

I think the differces in a standard, versus Deluxe, are the split bathroom...Cat 11 is just the regular, and a Deluxe is split..Shower and sink on one side, toilet and sink on the other..It is very nice to have, but in my opinion, not worth it..

We love the cat..11 for the darkness, the $$, and we are a family of 4 who basically spend little, if no time in our room.

Deck 5 would be a GREAT location, less staterooms=less noise in hallway, and only staterooms above you, so, should be quiet..I have also "heard" there are sideways cat..11's there, which maximize space..

dcltribute.com is a GREAT place, and you could surf around for lots of helpful info..

 

[my3kids]

There are only 6 secret porthole category 10 rooms...the ones on deck 5. Most are just the regular deluxe inside rooms. If you didn't get the few that actually have the window I'd book the category 11 on deck 5. I peeked in those rooms and thought they looked great. The location is SUPER!

 

[wdw1014]

We traveled on DCL a couple of weeks ago and had two staterooms on deck 5. (one inside, one verandah) This deck is very quiet!!! We did not have anyone young enough for the clubs on deck 5, but found the location of the rooms to be great...It was very quiet, the clubs caused no extra noise... We are early risers, but I did notice that it did get very light in our room (verandah) early in the morning. Even with the drapes shut. Hope this helps.

 

[Barbmouse63]

We booked a cat 10 SPH room for next summer. I really was struggling between a cat 8 or 9 as we wanted a porthole. All cat 9s are on Deck 2 and 8s are higher but more $. I wanted to be on a higher deck than 2..don't know why since I have never cruised before but that is what i*think* I will like. So the 10s are on Deck 5 and are less $ than the 8. I figure we will still have some natural light for less $. I have also read great things about Deck 5.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Here's a thread I started a while back after we tried a "test" cruise in a Cat. 11 after having always done a Cat 6.
Standard v Deluxe

Deck 5 Aft is (in my opinoin) an awsome place to be:
1) Very little hall traffic.
2) You're on the same deck as the kids clubs (but they are all at the center of the ship).
3) You're near all the resurants

DW doesn't share the same enthusism for Deck 5 Aft. The one time we've tried it, she felt like we had more noise and shaking than previous trips. I don't see how one section of the boat could shake more than another, but I must admit that ONCE (during the 14 day cruise) manuvers as we were trying to put DS down for a nap did cause problems.

Don't worry about the sun bothering you when you have a verandah. There is a currtain that covers the verandah, and then there is a 2nd curtain between the sitting area and the bed.

 

[ljql_5969]

good info. Thanks!

 

[devotedchristian]

yes, good info!

 

[ljql_5969]

My family has the foillowing Category 11's booked :

6049, 6051, 6053, 6549, 6555.

Has anyone stayed in these? Are they good? They are more towards the front of the ship.

My DH and I have cruised 3 other times with different cruise lines and have always been happy with our room though. So I am sure they will be fine. I guess we are always just so happy just to be on a boat with no worries!

 

[mketting]

We had cabins 6049 and 6051 last year when we cruised last year and we booked the exact same for our 2006 cruise, except we also have 6045 6047 6053 and 6055. There are 6 families going.

I loved the location!! I felt like we were in the perfect spot, right in the middle of the ship, just a couple of floors up to the pools, one floor down to the clubs, a couple down to the restaurants. We hardly used the elevators!

I think you will be very happy. Any other questions let me know.

 

[hawaii5o]

We were on deck 7 room 7629 aft cat 11. This room was quiet and near the secret deck. I would book this room again.

 

[ljql_5969]

We had cabins 6049 and 6051 last year when we cruised last year and we booked the exact same for our 2006 cruise, except we also have 6045 6047 6053 and 6055. There are 6 families going.

I loved the location!! I felt like we were in the perfect spot, right in the middle of the ship, just a couple of floors up to the pools, one floor down to the clubs, a couple down to the restaurants. We hardly used the elevators!

I think you will be very happy. Any other questions let me know.

Thanks! I have been wanting to ask but hadn't. Thanks for the info! I know we will be happy with it! We will just be excited to be there!

 

[Corryn]

we had room 6555
Hello
First off, I loved this room because it was the first room right off the elevator banks and it was both Very Quiet and Very Convenient since it is mid-ship!
I have two daughters, 11 & 12 and we all fit fine. Remember, you're not at home, so it is a bit cramped. My girls were busy running around the ship with their friends, so I established a schedule with them. They would return to the room while I was up at the spa and they would shower and change for dinner. I would return from the spa all showered and ready to change into my dinner clothes. While I was changing, my husband took his shower. We worked it out quite well so we were all ready for dinner without being rushed and cramped.
If your kids are smaller, it shouldn't be so bad. My girls are my height, so it was like there were 4 adults in the room.
We're going to book another cruise when Disney releases their 2007 schedule, and we will be booking the same bank of rooms. Everyone in our group had at least 4 people in their rooms and they are also going to be booking these same rooms. You are never in the room anyway, so what's the sense of spending that money? You can spend it on bingo or nice souveniers!
Also, I chose to do the Rainforest Spa which is the use of the saunas, which was my absolute favorite. We had the late dinner seating, so I would go up around 5:30 and relax, enjoying each sauna and then I would take the wonderfully scented showers they have and wash my hair and body. Then I would lay down on one of those wonderfully heated tile lounge beds and I would literally fall asleep. After I woke up, I would go into the showers and shave (with the towel still on my head because they have two special showers, one with rose infused water, the other with mint (I think) infused water, and you hair just gets so soft and smells so good. I have curly hair, so I would gel up my hair while in the dressing room and I did my make-up down in the cabin. There is a nice big mirror with a hairstylists chair in the locker room and a blowdryer, so you can get totally ready up there. Then I was all relaxed and ready for dinner! I would suggest this to anyone!
The only problem with the room: The life vests. We had 4 adult ones in our room instead of two adults and two children, so they took up a lot of room in the closets. Other than that, it was great!
I also have a Select Comfort mattress at home and I am usually not satisfied with anything else, but this mattress was wonderful and very roomy. We also liked the curtain pulled closed during the night to give us privacy, even though we didn't actually do anything The kids also said they loved their beds, they were very comfortable.
I hope you enjoy yourselves! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask

 

[aprilgail2]

We had a Cat 11 on Deck 6 and the location was great, we were towards the aft of the sip....BUT I would not book a Cat 11 again. We had 2 adults and one child in the room and felt like we were on top of each other the entire time we were in the room. It was always dark and I felt like we were staying in a cave. Prior to this I only had Cat 6 rooms and I will only have Cat 6 rooms in the future. The lack of space to put your clothes away in the Cat 11 room was insane, the steamer trunk in the other cat. is a necessity! I also did not like not having a split bathroom, that was so nice to be able to have 2 people getting ready at the same time with the split bathroom!

 

[fcrouch]

We'd always had outside cabins with balconies on prior cruises until last spring break - did a category 11 (no split bath) at the aft of deck 7 near the "secret deck" - we were very happy and have booked again for a 7 day in the same room - for next spring (so we'll see if the difference between 3 and 7 night makes us feel any different about not having a window/balcony). There were three of us - 2 adults 1 child - and we had plenty of room for clothes, etc. - everyone packs differently. I was surprised that I didn't miss the window much (now perhaps if I was on an Alaskan cruise again where much of the cruise is scenery - and chillier - a window/balcony would be nicer - and we certainly enjoyed our balcony when we did an Alaskan cruise 5 years ago). In the Caribbean, I can always go out to a deck and see the ocean and don't have to put on a coat - and the sea is of course beautiful in its own right. We look forward to the Magic in March 2006.

 

[cgajdzisz]

What is the 'Secret Deck"?

 

[WeLuvDCL]

Does anyone have a photo of a cat 12 room that they can post? Is there a size difference between cats 10,11 & 12? We have always cruised in cat 9 or above but trying to save some $$ this time on a 4 day cruise. TIA!

 

[lbgraves]

The room for categories 5-10 is the exact same size. The 11 & 12s don't have the split bath & are smaller with less storage space (drawers & such). We have been happy with a 10 since it was the same size as the 8 we had been upgraded to the previous cruise.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

What is the 'Secret Deck"?

When people are talking about the 'Secret Deck', they are refe ring to a relatively small overlook located all the way Aft on Deck 7. (Follow the "Deck Plans" link at the top of the page and you'll see this white space at the back center of Deck 7).

It's considered the 'Secret' deck because relatively few people know about it. It's not explicitly labeled on deck plans and it's not located in an area of the ship most people would wander by.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Does anyone have a photo of a cat 12 room that they can post? Is there a size difference between cats 10,11 & 12? We have always cruised in cat 9 or above but trying to save some $$ this time on a 4 day cruise. TIA!

When it comes to the "room" size (i.e. the area where the couch and bed are located) Cat 12 through Cat 5 are all the same. Cat 4 is even the same size except that it's a little bit deeper to accomidate the murphy bed.

However, the change from Cat 11 to Cat 10 is the "standard v. deluxe" break point. The difference between a "standard" versus a "deluxe" is that the deluxe has the split bathroom configuration. This split bath configuration results in an entry hall that is longer for a "deluxe" than a "standard". This longer entry hall allows for more furniture that gives more storage space. The difference in the layout of the bathroom(s) between "standard" and "deluxe" also results in more storage space.