Stateroom Upgrades

[ashrenee]

Hey Guys-
I am new here and have a question. My fiance and I are going on the 3 night, July 13, 2006 Disney Cruise. We would really like to get a navigator's verandah, but don't think we can afford it and decided to go with the oceanview. My first question is, do you think that it is worth the extra $400 to have a verandah? And I was also wondering, our travel agent said that she was going to put that it was our honeymoon and we might get an upgrade. Do you think that since it it is our honeymoon and we are booking so far in advance that we might get an upgrade? That would be so awesome!

Thanks a lot!

 

[Anthony1971]

If you plan on spending a lot of time in the room the Verandah is worth it..
I can tell you these rooms seem a lot bigger because of the balacony.
I have not heard of anyone getting upgraded
the only chance you would have is by not being in a confirmed room #
but I would not do this being you have a great selection now and are paying for the ocenview room.
I in general wil not pay for the Verandah unless it is special or I have extra$$
but I spend very little time in the room
Good luck

 

[gwtw428]

My husband and I were on the Feb 26, 2005 7nt western for our Honeymoon. We booked Cat 10 inside deluxe and were upgraded to Cat 5 navigator verranda.

 

[alexandrew]

Youre TA is being very overly optimistic....on a typical DCL cruise, many are celebrating special occasions....anniversaries, honeymoons et al....bottom line, there is no rhyme or reason as to whom or why DCL gives upgrades to....So, dont count on it happening just because your TA thinks so....

Book the stateroom you really want and spend the extra $...a special event like yours is worth the extra cost.....

 

[mommasita]

I agree with the others completely.. I hope it does happen though..

Have to add that this cruise leaves on MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!
I know i am a bit silly tonight...

 

[ashrenee]

Hm...I seem to be getting mixed responses. I can't decide whether or not to upgrade for the extra money. I am concerned about the size of the stateroom, although I heard that there were fairly big, and my fiance and I really want a balcony, but we don't know if we can justify it or not. Keep the suggestions coming though

 

[Mommy Poppins]

Go for the balcony--it's your honeymoon!!! Don't have any regrets when it's over--except that your cruise is over!

 

[Az Pirates]

OK... always more than willing to throw my opinion out there!

From what I've read here upgrades are few and far between. Don't know if the honeymoon thing will help or not.


My advice would be to book the cabin you will be really happy with. Then if you do get an upgrade, it will be a bonus. I don't know about booking less than you really want and hoping for the upgrade - I'd hate to see you start out the cruise feeling a bit disappointed if the upgrade doesn't happen for you.

I'd say that unless it's going to put you in financial trouble, your honeymoon is definitely worth a splurge!

 

[joehips]

My DW and I chose a category 6 on our first cruise (our honeymoon). It was well worth the extra couple hundred of dollars. We would order room service every morning for breakfast and eat it out on our balcony. Although we were not in our room that much it was nice waking up, stepping outside and getting a nice overview of the area and the wonderful view of Castaway Cay.

I would recommend it for anyone who sails.

Jordan

 

[jrabbit]

Upgrades to happen, just not very frequently. It totally has to do with how well the ship is selling out and what categorys are not filling up. With DCL NEVER count on an upgrade. If you want the verandah, just pay for it now and hakuna matata - no worries!

The rooms are all about the same size from cat 9 (ocean view room on deck 2) through cat 5 up on deck 7 (Deluxe stateroom with verandah). The difference in size (214 vs 268) is the square footage on the verandah (about 50 sq feet). The porthole in cat 8 and 9 rooms make the room seem bigger and obviously the verandah do the same, only more of it.

Enjoy your cruise!! and honeymoons -- don't rock the boat too much

 

[kcashner]

As a veteran of 12 cruises on the Magic, we have been upgraded twice. It's wonderful when it happens...but you absolutely can't count on it. Since it is your honeymoon, go for the verandah. You will love having room service breakfast in your own private "dining room."

The cabins are all about the same size. Yes, the verandah makes it seem bigger. They are plenty big enough for 2 people. In general, they are about 1/3 larger than cabins on most other cruise lines for the same category. When looking at other lines, you must compare "apples to apples" as much as possible. For instance, you have to go up to a "Junior Suite" on RCCL to have as much space as a normal cabin on DCL.

As to an upgrade because it is a honeymoon--that probably won't cut it on DCL. Many people do the cruise to celebrate a special event. They are happy to recognize that with a cake, but upgrades are few and far between, especially at busy season.

 

[scrapperjill]

We were in a DOV (cat 8) on deck 7... and were very happy with the room and porthole. Of course we didn't spend a whole lot of time in the room...after all there is a huge ship to explore and LOTS of deck space on deck 9 & 10 to sit on....not to mention the not so secret but more secluded deck 7 and the shaded deck 4. Everyone has their own opinion on if a verhanda is worth the additional money or not. Myself...I would think of all the other things I could get for the $400 diffrence....then decide if I wanted all that stuff...or to be able to sit out on a verhanda.

It never hurts to have the TA put in the "honeymoon" comment on your reservation...you never know...But when you do book just make sure you'll really be happy with what you pay for...just incase there is no upgrade.

 

[txaggie94gigem]

Go for the Verandah!

We had a Cat 4 on our first cruise and it was great! We ended up not using the verandah very much because we were not in our room much but since you are on your honeymoon, I think you will be in your room more than most...

For such a short cruise and small $$ difference I would go for the verandah this time. After this, you can decide for yourselves if it will be worth it to have a verandah on future cruises. Evryone should try a verandah at least once to see if it is for them....

 

[donaldsgal]

first, congrats on your upcoming wedding!

we loved having a verandah. we have only been on one DCL cruise (a land and sea combo in March 2001). we loved loved loved having the verandah. we were in a category six stateroom - #6080. There's nothing like falling asleep at night on a cruise boat that is gently rocking from the waves - except if your verandah doors are open and you get to HEAR the waves and smell the sea air. ah, the sweet bliss.

As a tip, you're booking far out, so if you are open to it, there are 4 navigator verandah rooms that are not like the others. They are category 7 staterooms, but they were originally category 5 and 6. They have plexiglass railings and partially obstructed views from the verandah due to the hull design, but their verandahs aren't enclosed like the other cat 7 rooms. These are staterooms 6134, 6634, 7120, and 7620. Here's a link to a picture of them: http://**********************/ (Go to staterooms, and then Cat 6 for the price of Cat 7). Compare that stateroom's verandah to the one on the same site (go to Navigators Verandahs). What this boils down to is that instead of it being $400 more, it would be $300 more. That's still a sizeable chunk of change, but you do get the Verandah with more of a view than the regular Navigator's Verandahs but still save a bit of money.

IMO, get the verandah. Always thought it would be romantic to take the honeymoon celebrations out to the deck... Forgive my naughtiness... if you cut something, like one fast food meal, out of your life (approx $5) a week for the next 52 weeks, you'll have saved $260. You're not going until July, right, so that's enough time to save the extra $40. You can do it! Whatever you do, book what you'll be happy with, because upgrades are few and far between. There are 877 staterooms... that's a .001140 chance! Whew - pretty small.

Whatever happens, happy cruising. You'll have a delightful time no matter what.

Jenny

 

[smilingmouse]

I have done both a 3 and a 4 day Wonder, and we had a verandah. Yes, it was more expensive, but we did spend a lot time there. As another poster mentioned, it is HEAVEN to fall asleep with the verandah door open...