New to DCL - feels odd to be on this side of the questions!

[miasmom]

I am looking into a cruise for April (just in time for the highest priced week of the year!)

I'm one of those that people COME TO for answers to WDW, so being the ASKER is such a different experience.

We are 4 - Me, DH, DD (13) and DS (10). Right now, they only have the most inexpensive (category 12) rooms, and even those are in the "guaranteed" state right now (so we could actually be bumped up.)

My question is this - How good/bad are the category 12 rooms? We are not folks that must live in the lap of luxury, by any means (we are always very, very happy with our Pop Century rooms.) But I have been on one cruise (no one else in my family has) and stayed in a very small room with my girlfriend. It was teeny-tiny, alright, and just a little uncomfortable. But it was a very old, ugly ship, plus I've heard that Disney "small" is much larger than Royal Caribbean "small". Does anyone know the square footage of a cat 12?

Second question - - I'd book two rooms, and although the literature says that you can get connecting rooms, what do you think about this when you are in the 'guaranteed' state, and therefore aren't booking a specific room at the time of booking? Anyone have experience with this? I don't care if we are actually next to each other, but I'd want to be on the same hallway (in fact, I'd prefer we NOT be right next door. This is also MY vacation, right?)

Lastly (and I'm afraid of the answer to this question) since we are not in a any of the categories allowing early booking of excursions, is it likely that we'll get shut out of our desired trips if I call exactly at the 75 - day mark? Since this is probably one of the 2 most crowded weeks of the year (being Spring Break and all), I figured that booking excursions could be difficult. Or if I call at 75 days out, will I probably be okay?

Oh - one last question. We're going over Passover, and I was wondering if anyone has ever heard if they have an on-board seder? (not that the lack of one would stop me. Just curious.)

Well - thanks so much for your guidance. I guess this is how other folks feel when planning for WDW. I guess I've taken for granted the comfort of knowing everything there is to know about planning a vacation. Looking forward to spending a lot of time in this forum over the coming months!

Thanks,
karen

[Tink1]

You did not say how long a cruise you are thinking on taking, so my answers would vary on the length.

The square footage of a Catt 11 or Cat 12 is about ~180sq ft. I have done inside cabins of that size on short cruises and survived but there were only 2 of us. I would not want to do it with my 2 sons!

Cat 12 guarantee is commonly called "run of ship". It means they can put you anywhere they need to fill space.

Again, for a short cruise, being in a nosey area is do-able. I can do 3 nights with little sleep, 7 I would be miserable if I got a noisy cabin.


If I was getting a cabin for the kids and one for the adults, I would not want to take the risk of them being on Deck 2 and me being on Deck 5 if they were only early teens. Disney will not even allow you to book it that way, you need to have one adult in each cabin unless they are connecting.

Once you get up to a Cat 10, you also get the split bathroom that is a wonderful thing when getting multiple people ready for dinner. Even when it is just hubby and me, it makes life easier.

Our normal plan of action is to get a balcony or outside for us and a cabin across the hall for the kids. When they were younger (a little older than the ages of your kids) I brought my old baby monitor to listen in on them. Since they are now 22 and 19, I leave the monitor home.

Depending on what excursions you are looking for there are cheaper options than doing them through the cruise line.

Nanc

[mic_keyfan]

Our normal plan of action is to get a balcony or outside for us and a cabin across the hall for the kids. When they were younger (a little older than the ages of your kids) I brought my old baby monitor to listen in on them. Since they are now 22 and 19, I leave the monitor home.
Nanc

AHH baby monitor...Wish I would have thought of that!!

[TammiMcMan]

Second question - - I'd book two rooms, and although the literature says that you can get connecting rooms, what do you think about this when you are in the 'guaranteed' state, and therefore aren't booking a specific room at the time of booking? Anyone have experience with this? I don't care if we are actually next to each other, but I'd want to be on the same hallway (in fact, I'd prefer we NOT be right next door. This is also MY vacation, right?)

One very important thing to keep in mind about getting two rooms, is that the first 2 people in the room will automatically be charged as adults (regardless of age). If you're already going during a very expensive week, that's definitely going to drive the price up.

Lastly (and I'm afraid of the answer to this question) since we are not in a any of the categories allowing early booking of excursions, is it likely that we'll get shut out of our desired trips if I call exactly at the 75 - day mark? Since this is probably one of the 2 most crowded weeks of the year (being Spring Break and all), I figured that booking excursions could be difficult. Or if I call at 75 days out, will I probably be okay?

The more popular excursions will sell out. Depending on what you're looking at though, sometimes you can book them on your own.

Oh - one last question. We're going over Passover, and I was wondering if anyone has ever heard if they have an on-board seder? (not that the lack of one would stop me. Just curious.)

I'm nearly positive that I've seen Navigators which do show activities around the Jewish religion as well.

[Tink1]

AHH baby monitor...Wish I would have thought of that!!

I actually hung onto mine since we have a 4 story split level with one floor being my office. When the kids were home sick from school, they could call out for me easily. My friend borrowed it when her mom was sick.

Darn thing has come in handy!

Nanc