Category #3 Info For Dummies :)

[joy508travels]

Hello all. Just booked our first Disney Cruise. We're sailing March 13th for the 3 day cruise. In my previous post, I learned that because we are in Category #3, there are certain perks I can look forward to, so for any and all that don't mind explaining or sharing, please fill me in :). One thing I notice is that our suite is toward the back of the ship...should I try to move to a better location? We are mid 20's/early30's and our son is 7. Thanks for any information.

[HisChildBeth]

Cat 3 gets you free conceirge services and that means that you can get help with booking excursions, free food at cocktail times, and other stuff. I don't think anywhere is bad on the ship. We just came back from a 7 day east Caribbean on the Magic which was our first cruise. I think the only thing that will make us cruise another line would be going some place that Disney doesn't go. You will just barely get a taste on your short cruise. You will probably be on deck 8 or maybe 7? with a Cat 3. Look up your room on the virtual ship tour. We were just between aft and mid and it was wonderful. Having a verandah, even if you don't actually sit on it because you are too busy doing stuff, is wonderful because it makes your stateroom seem huge, even though Disney staterooms are some of the largest of the cruise lines. Your age and the age of your son has no bearing on where you stay on ship really. Food is at the back of the ship and so is the drink station on 9 which is nice.

 

Ask Disney to give you a list of "free services" that are provided with a Cat 3 stateroom. Guaranteed you'll like the conceirge and other cast members, but don't forget the tips for excellent service. These folks are wonderful and they work really hard. I was amazed at all they do.

 

I would suggest doing your own shore excursions and not going through Disney because it is usually cheaper and the times are more flexible as most shore excursions leave from a location on the ship which means if you are trying to do a morning and afternoon, it will be hard because you have to come back to the ship in between. Just don't forget to be back onboard at the specified time!

 

If your child is 7, consider even a one hour nap even if he/she is past it because they will enjoy the evening much more.

 

Disney offers so much for every age that sails. You will want to take a vacation when you get home. Take time every night to read and mark your Personal Navigator which is delivered to your room. Take it with you when you leave your stateroom in case you change your mind. You can get extra copies from Guest Services if your spouse wants their own.

[MBprincess]

We have been in the suites several times. If you were able to get one you are lucky. It is unlikely you could switch rooms.

 

You can book everything at 105 days and you should. They theoretically give you better service on board too. Just count on having more space which is nice.

 

The one perk we used all the time is better room service. You can get hot breakfast plus anything from any of the dining rooms when they are open. If you ask they will even bring a table cloth for the table. It was nicer for us to have dinner in the suite than in the dining room many nights. First they bring all the food so we can eat at our own pace. We could eat in whatever we had on, eat on the balcony, let the kids go to sleep etc. You also don't have to eat at your asigned time. We went to an early show and then ate in our room afterwards. You get the idea....

[outahere2]

One thing I notice is that our suite is toward the back of the ship...should I try to move to a better location?

 

We've cruised 4 times in a cat 3 and have stayed in all 4 of the cat 3 configurations. If you can provide your cabin #, I can probably give you a pretty good idea of what to expect.

[joy508travels]

We've cruised 4 times in a cat 3 and have stayed in all 4 of the cat 3 configurations. If you can provide your cabin #, I can probably give you a pretty good idea of what to expect.

 

 

we are in cabin 8086.

[joy508travels]

I was happily surprised to find they had a suite available, since I just booked last week. Online the only thing that shows up is categories 4-12. I decided to call, and sure enough, a cat. 3 was available :).

 

Thanks for all the replies. I just registered online so that I can come back in late Nov. and make all of our reservations.

[outahere2]

I was happily surprised to find they had a suite available, since I just booked last week. Online the only thing that shows up is categories 4-12. I decided to call, and sure enough, a cat. 3 was available .

 

Just so you know, the suites (cat 1, 2 and 3) never show up online. You either have to call DCL directly or have your TA call (if you're going through a TA).

 

Cabin 8086 is one of the "standard" cat 3 cabins, which means it is basically two category 4 cabins combined. It has a living room/dining area and a separate bedroom (a pocket door divides the bedroom from the living room) with a walk in closet and whirlpool tub. As I recall, the murphy bed is in the living room and will block the door to the verandah if it is down. There is another door to the verandah in the bedroom. It has a double wide verandah and is under the forward part of Beach Blanket Buffet. The second bath is off the hall as you enter the suite. We have stayed in both 8600 (furthest aft) and 8602, which are under the buffet and they were probably the quietest cat 3 cabins we've stayed in. The cat 3 cabins further forward, including the mid-ship cabins were much noisier.

 

If it's any comfort, we chose 8086 for a 4 day we have booked in April.

 

If you have any questions, fire away and I'll do my best to help.

[joy508travels]

thanks! It's always good to talk to veterans! I swear I don't know how people got good vacation info before message boards :)

 

Well I am actually comforted that the pull out bed will block the verandah door, as I have a 7 year old who will sleep there and I would not want to have access to going out there alone, as we sleep in the BR.

 

Now, I think I received advice that we should request that our dinner rotation begin with Animators so that my s/o and I can do Palo's on night 2. Is that what you would recommend?

[outahere2]

 

Well I am actually comforted that the pull out bed will block the verandah door, as I have a 7 year old who will sleep there and I would not want to have access to going out there alone, as we sleep in the BR.

 

Now, I think I received advice that we should request that our dinner rotation begin with Animators so that my s/o and I can do Palo's on night 2. Is that what you would recommend?

 

The verandah doors are not that easy to open and there is a child lock that is about 6 1/2 feet up on the door. Even with the bed down, the door is not completely blocked, because they slide open. You would have to crawl across the bed to get to it. When we were on the Wonder this past April, they had changed all of the sofa sleepers to a new design that our son thought was much more comfortable. The sleep sofas in the suites are queen sized, and the murphy is a twin.

 

If you start with Animators, you would have the APT rotation (Animators, Parrot Cay, Tritons). Even if you don't want to skip one of the dining rooms, you can always go to Palo before, or after, your dining time. If you go before, just have an appetizer, if after, have coffee or another dessert. :) Keep in mind that you can request a rotation, but it is not guaranteed that you will get it. I have been able to get our rotation changed at the Concierge meeting right after we boarded.

[joy508travels]

what are the dining times? Thanks again.

[OceanLiner]

I copied this from one of my previous posts:

 

Concierge Service? We won't leave home without it! The overall service on DCL is excellent but the Concierge Service really is a value added product that is a "not to be missed" attraction. The concierges themseleves are highly trained and they all seem to carry a bit of Disney Magic. You are greeted upon boarding the ship and taken to Sessions where they set up a welcoming reception which not only includes food and drink, but they also take care of EVERYTHING: registration at Oceaners Club, Palos for brunch and dinner, spa appointments, excursions, etc.....you will then be escorted to your suite. Luggage arrives with priority and the suite is always filled with snacks and sometimes flowers. While you really should get reservations as early as possible before boarding the ship, there are certain amount of spaces that are held for the last minute use of C1-C2-C3.

 

One thing that should be mentioned is that the Concierge Services started out as an afterthought on DCL, consequently the ships do not have a special lounge such that exists on most other lines. Your concierge has a small office with a special phone number, and he/she responds either by phone or by coming directly to you or your family. (Getting a Concierge Lounge on the new Disney ships was part of the wish list that we reviewed in the engineering department.)

 

We have also stayed on the Concierge Level at Disney World, and if you liked the service at World you will love the ship.

 

The room is wonderfully arranged with a huge walk-in closest and plenty of room to move around. The master shower is really something to behold.

 

We share your same apprehension about the kids getting out on the verhanda without our knowledge, but it would be really difficult for them to get out there without everyone in the suite knowing.

 

Make sure to let the concierges know about any special events and they will really rise to the challenge.

 

BTW: it was me who suggested to use Animators Palate on the first night because by the second night your son will really want to be with his new friends, which should allow you and your wife time for Palos.

[joy508travels]

thanks oceanliner...it was your very detailed and helpful post in that other thread that enlightened me to the cat. 3 perks :)

 

BTW, I am the wife!

[outahere2]

what are the dining times? Thanks again.

 

Here are the dining times for all the rotations on a 3 night:

 

3 day cruise

TAP 5:30 and 8:00

APT 5:45 and 8:15

PTA 6:00 and 8:30

[joy508travels]

thanks!

[kakelly03]

We stayed in a cat 2 and I just wanted to add a few of the perks that we enjoyed the most.

 

Better room service - someone already mentioned this but it was a great bonus for us with two small kids. They delivered breakfast to our room every morning - the kids could eat as soon as they woke up without having to get everyone dressed to go to the dining room.

 

They have DVD's in the room and if you call the concierge and order a movie they bring popcorn as well - kids loved it.

 

First day you can call and receive complimentary lanyards for your key card - don't pay $5 for it in the gift shop.

 

Pre-boarding at port - they have a conceirge check in line and waiting area. You board the ship first - for us it was at 11:45am. No need to get to the port hours early to be first onboard.

 

Lastly, don't buy the water package when you board -you will have plenty of complimentary drinks in your suite - restocked daily.

 

Have a wonderful trip!

[joy508travels]

thanks kakelly! Great tips :)

[reigle4]

We've cruised 4 times in a cat 3 and have stayed in all 4 of the cat 3 configurations. If you can provide your cabin #, I can probably give you a pretty good idea of what to expect.

 

I am not the person that initially asked the question but I too would like to know. THis will be my first ever Disney cruise. I have cruised on Carnival before and have always had a blacony room , this time I chose a suite to see if I would like the difference.

[outahere2]

Some of the perks in a cat 2 are different than in a cat 3.

 

 

Better room service - someone already mentioned this but it was a great bonus for us with two small kids. They delivered breakfast to our room every morning - the kids could eat as soon as they woke up without having to get everyone dressed to go to the dining room.

This is true in a cat 3 as well.

 

They have DVD's in the room and if you call the concierge and order a movie they bring popcorn as well - kids loved it.

We've ordered movies on every cruise, but never received any popcorn.

 

First day you can call and receive complimentary lanyards for your key card - don't pay $5 for it in the gift shop.

Not sure if this is true in a cat 3, we've never tried it. If you're a Castaway Club member, you will get a lanyard when you check in, no matter what category cabin you're in.

 

Pre-boarding at port - they have a conceirge check in line and waiting area. You board the ship first - for us it was at 11:45am. No need to get to the port hours early to be first onboard.

This is correct for all suites.

 

Lastly, don't buy the water package when you board -you will have plenty of complimentary drinks in your suite - restocked daily.

Water and sodas are not restocked in a cat 3. On our last cruise (this past April) there were 6 bottles of water in the room when we arrived, but no sodas. Nothing was restocked during the cruise. This has changed over the years..... they used to give you 6 cans of soda, but have never restocked in a cat 3.

 

[MBprincess]

In Cat 1 or Cat 2 you can also automatically get room service from Palos - our favorite perk of the bigger rooms.

 

The conceirge service is hit or miss on board and on land. We have had some great service and some horrible service but we look on it as a bonus.

 

I think the murphy bed in the cabin number that started this is in the bedroom. The midship ones are the ones that have them in the living room.

 

(I hope the rumor is true about more suites on the new ships and I hope my kids aren't too old to want to DCL still....)

[outahere2]

I think the murphy bed in the cabin number that started this is in the bedroom. The midship ones are the ones that have them in the living room.

 

(I hope the rumor is true about more suites on the new ships and I hope my kids aren't too old to want to DCL still....)

 

Now that you mention it, I think you are correct about the location of the murphy bed. I stand corrected.

 

I would love to see more suites, and a concierge lounge, on the new ships. Our son is 13 and he can't wait to go on the new ships. Even if he changes his mind when he gets a little older, we'll just have to go without him :)

[joy508travels]

thanks for all of the great responses!

 

Since there's only 3 of us going, we will only need the BR for ourselves & pull-out sofa in the LR for my son. Looks like we are going to have plenty of space, which was the main thing :) and plenty of perks which is....well also the main thing :)

[OceanLiner]

I would love to see more suites, and a concierge lounge, on the new ships. Our son is 13 and he can't wait to go on the new ships. Even if he changes his mind when he gets a little older, we'll just have to go without him :)

 

Excellent point. DCL messed up with the first two ships in omitting the lounge, but the concierge service was not really a consideration in the ship design. While we were reviewing the engineering department wish list for the new DCL class of ships some of the "hotel" changes were mentioned, and the lounge issue was a major point. While the lack of a lounge in the current design really is not a drawback, the addition of a lounge would become an added feature. I really feel sorry for the concierge staff because they are forced to run up and down the ship in order to meet the guests on a face to face basis. We kept in touch by phone and in fact we kept telling them that they did not need to come to the suite, but invariably they were always at the door.