Cat 4 GTY vs. Cat 5 7576? About This Page:

[MelissaL]

When we booked our January cruise in mid-September, we looked for a Category 4 room to give us a little extra space (our kids are 6 and 11). There were no category 4s available, so we booked a Category 5 room, 7576 (which , by coincidence, is next to the room we stayed at on our first cruise in 2002). That location seemed convenient to the elevators, midway between the restaurants/kids club decks and the pool decks, and generally fine. We've stayed in Category 5 rooms before when the kids were smaller and been fine. On our last cruise my mother-in-law had the connecting room next door, so one of the kids stayed with her which alleviated crowding in our room.

I noticed this morning that disneycruise.com was now showing availability for Category 4 on our cruise, so I called our travel agent. For an extra $180, she was able to upgrade us to a Category 4 guarantee. Now I'm just a little bit nervous about not knowing the location. Are there any "bad" Cat 4 rooms, or should we be fine anywhere? None of us is particularly prone to seasickness.

Thanks!
Melissa

[Colexis Mom]

I don't think there are any bad rooms! We were in 6562 (category 6 - midship right by the elevators) and upgraded to 8066 (category 4 closer to aft). It was a great location, just steps up to deck 9, all the eateries and the pools. I didn't miss deck 6 at all. I also found deck 8 to be very quiet since there are only rooms up there. It was just a short walk to wherever we wanted to go!

[HallsofVA]

That's a great price for a Cat 4 o(r better) room! I've sailed on Deck 8 twice, both mid and aft, and it's very convenient. As to whether there are any bad Cat 4 rooms, it depends on your definition. There are 6 Cat 4 rooms that have solid metal verandah walls, and there are 16 Cat 4 rooms that connect to another room. But there are a lot more Cat 4 rooms that don't have either of those issues. Then it becomes a question of what are you located under, and some rooms get more noise from Deck 9 than others do. (The Roy Suite gets a lot of noise, and I've heard similiar complaints about other midship Deck 8 rooms)

If you want the extra 4 feet of space between the couch and verandah, and don't mind being anywhere on Deck 8 where DCL decides to put you, then I'd stick with the Cat 4. Otherwise, for a 4 night cruise, you might be just as happy in the Cat 5 room with a good location (or a Cat 6 room) and use the extra $180 for something fun!

[poohs4me]

We often sail in GTY rooms, ussually cat 6 though. I actually kind of prefer it. I hate having to decide which room because what if I get it wrong. In the past 6 cruises, we have only once picked our room (all others were GTY) and we have never been disappointed.

[MelissaL]

Thanks all for the reassurance! I'm thinking the worst case is that we end up under the Goofy pool or other noisy area, and the best case is that they run out of Category 4 rooms and we get a Category 3. (I know that's wishful thinking, but it doesn't hurt to dream.) A solid verandah wouldn't be my choice, but it wouldn't be that bad. I'm thinking the extra space to keep the kids from bumping into each other (and each other's stuff) as much will be worth it.

Melissa