"Guaranteed stateroom"? And Category 6 vs. 5 - any advice??

[Melissa R]

I'm so excited that I booked our first ever Disney cruise this morning!!!!

I went online to look at prices and staterooms one more time before deciding if I was going to book it myself or if I was going to use a TA. When I looked, there were only 2 category 6 staterooms showing as available, so I panicked and booked one after a quick check of the map of the ship. I put in all my info & credit card # and clicked on 'charge my card.' It sent me back to the main reservation page. Sigh. I called DCL to see if it had charged me and booked the room, but the agent saw nothing. He said sometimes when it's busy the system will have a glitch like that.

So I went back in to try again, and the room I chose was not showing as available any more. I wonder if maybe someone else was booking it when I was and that's what caused the glitch? Either that or my attempted booking pulled it out of their system - the agent I called said that's possible and it might show up later. So when it came down to booking, I wasn't in love with the only other cabin it showed as available in our category. When I booked it, I didn't choose that cabin, so our reservation shows as "guaranteed." A TA I was talking to said that means they guarantee that we'll have either category 6 or better.

So this is my question - if we have a "guaranteed" stateroom, does that give us a better chance of an upgrade? Or does that pretty much just guarantee that we'll have the cruddiest category 6 room they've got? Is this something I should try to undo and get a specific stateroom attached to our reservation, or should I play my odds and see what I get? Will there be "bad" rooms our there that I really don't want to be stuck with?

Also, this has me looking at - as a back-up - changing to a category 5 room. What are the pros and cons of a cat 5 room versus a cat 6? Should we spend the extra money (I think it was $100) to change to a cat 5? Or is there not enough difference between a 5 and 6 to spend the extra money?

Help! Newbie feeling overwhelmed!!! ;-)

 

[kcashner]

OK, a cat 5 and 6 are the same stateroom, different locations on the ship. SO, I wouldn't pay extra for the 5.

As to a gty, yes, that gives you the best chance for an upgrade. It means that you will sail in no lower category than you have booked--6 gty means at least a 6, but it also means that you can be put in anything better. It gives DCL some flexibility in controlling their inventory, etc. We have booked gty several times and always been happy. We have never been in "the crummiest available" and have been upgraded on some occasions.

IF you care whether you are midship vs. forward or aft, you'll have to do the cat 5 to make a choice. If it doesn't matter to you, enjoy the cost savings and the chance of an upgrade. There are no bad cat 6 rooms--the rooms that have limited views have been "downgraded" to a cat 7 already (navigator's verandah). DCL is very fair--you will get what you pay for or better.

 

[tinkerone]

another option to try is....if you relly want the room that you had originally booked try calling dcl tomorrow and even the next day. when you book online like that it does take it out of inventory so you can make up your mind but will put it back in ablut 24 hours. just keep a watch for it. that way you are sure of what you get.

 

[gometros]

Also, this has me looking at - as a back-up - changing to a category 5 room. What are the pros and cons of a cat 5 room versus a cat 6? Should we spend the extra money (I think it was $100) to change to a cat 5? Or is there not enough difference between a 5 and 6 to spend the extra money?

Help! Newbie feeling overwhelmed!!! ;-)

The only difference between a cat 5 and a cat 6 is the deck location. Other than that, they are the same room. If you would feel more comfortable with the room location by moving up to a cat 5 and that really is the price difference, then do it just for the piece of mind. If money is an issue, rest assured that you are not losing anything by staying in a cat 6.

 

[Melissa R]

Thanks for the info so far.

So as a new cruiser, this is my question - is there a reason I would prefer one part of the ship over another? Is this just a convenience matter (less walking if you're at a certain position) or a matter of comfort (more likely to get seasick is you're in a particular part of the ship, etc)?

Also, I'm trying to remember - are cat 5 rooms on a different deck of the ship? And if so, are there benefits to being on the cat 5 decks vs the decks where we'd expect to be in a cat 6 room?

And I'd still love to hear from anyone else who has experience (good or bad) with a guaranteed room on their reservation!

Thanks!!

 

[gometros]

Thanks for the info so far.

So as a new cruiser, this is my question - is there a reason I would prefer one part of the ship over another? Is this just a convenience matter (less walking if you're at a certain position) or a matter of comfort (more likely to get seasick is you're in a particular part of the ship, etc)?

Also, I'm trying to remember - are cat 5 rooms on a different deck of the ship? And if so, are there benefits to being on the cat 5 decks vs the decks where we'd expect to be in a cat 6 room?

And I'd still love to hear from anyone else who has experience (good or bad) with a guaranteed room on their reservation!

Thanks!!

Cat 5 staterooms are on deck 7 while cat 6 staterooms are on deck 6 and some on deck 5. The difference between the two decks is insignificant. It's not like island hotels, where the higher up you are, the better the view, therefore the more they charge you. The only difference some people may suggest is the location on the ship (aft versus forward) as far as feeling the motion. Since Disney is a newer ship, it has advanced stabilizers, so I don't feel you really don't feel the motion any more in one part of the ship than another.

 

[ga9497]

There are less inside rooms on deck 7 therefore less foot traffic around the rooms. Other then that the rooms are the same

 

[Pansy]

We did the GTY room once Not in hopes of a upgrade but a room in CAT 5 area. We did have the CAT 5 but it was in the aft area with a solid wall veranda in the curve of the ship.......view wasn't that good. We like the plexiglass so we'll book the exact room or up the catagory for the area we want. We don't want to take a chance on a gty room based on the overfill of people but rather have what we want

 

[kcashner]

After 16 cruises on the Magic, we've been almost everywhere on the ship. My absolute favorite area is deck 5 aft. It has relatively little foot traffic as there are not a lot of guest cabins there (deck 5 has the Oceaneer's Club and Lab as well as the Buena Vista theatre). Really, only guests staying there have reason to be in that hall. It is very convient to both the dining rooms and deck 9 stuff, and isn't an excessive number of stairs to most things. I can usually talk myself into 3 or 4 flights, but beyond that I get lazy.

Ok, so that's the favorite, but I've found something good about each location we've had. It is really a matter of what you wish to be closest to--dining rooms, kid areas, spa, adult only areas, etc are some of the things you may choose. There is a lot of walking on the ship, but not nearly like you experience in the parks.

From a motion standpoint, there is less motion the lower you are on the ship and the more midship you are. However, the Magic has very sophisticated stabilizers and motion is rarely a problem. I like the gentle rocking at night.....

 

[quinnc19]

I have stayed on the 5th floor and while it was quiet and convenient, I did not like the way the lifeboats block the hall porthole windows.

 

[wdhinn89]

The only difference between a cat 5 and a cat 6 is the deck location. Other than that, they are the same room. If you would feel more comfortable with the room location by moving up to a cat 5 and that really is the price difference, then do it just for the piece of mind. If money is an issue, rest assured that you are not losing anything by staying in a cat 6.

This is what we did. We wanted a cat 6 (we were in a cat 6 before) and did not like the locations of what was available. Mostly next to the elevators. So we booked a cat 5 with a location we liked and payed the extra money. I don't like to be surprised with a gty, especially if it is a bad surprise.