Anybody stayed in Stateroom 8600 on the Magic?

[xxcell]

Hi,
New to this site. 4th Disney cruise coming up in Nov.
I read a review on another site and got scared.
I booked this suite, last one available. Going to surprise my wife. Just gotta hide the price from her-LOL.
The other review I saw said they hated this room. Something about solid walls and flooding.
Is this room really a good room? We like to sit on verandah and read and relax.
I really would hate not to see the ocean from our room also.
Can you please give me your opinion.

Thanks

 

[inkkognito]

It does have a solid wall verandah because it's one of the far aft rooms. It's low enough that you'll be able to see the ocean if you stand and look over.

 

[justmestace]

Hi,
New to this site. 4th Disney cruise coming up in Nov.
I read a review on another site and got scared.
I booked this suite, last one available. Going to surprise my wife. Just gotta hide the price from her-LOL.
The other review I saw said they hated this room. Something about solid walls and flooding.
Is this room really a good room? We like to sit on verandah and read and relax.
I really would hate not to see the ocean from our room also.
Can you please give me your opinion.

Thanks

The verandah does have the solid walls, but I like them. You can stand and see all the ocean you want to see, but at least when you're in port, people on land can't see you sitting out there. If we don't have an early excursion, I like to sit out there in my nightgown and have my coffee.
And the verandah is really big. Not THE largest...the one next door is the largest, but this one is PLENTY big. Even deeper than the Walt or Roy.

The room itself is great. The living area is large. You'll really enjoy this room and be very spoiled.

The balcony will get water on it at night when they are hosing off the deck above, but it isn't enough to really call a "flood"....and it's usually after 10:00 or 11:00.

We did have the shower spill over onto the floor once or twice, several years ago, but on the past couple of cruises, in handicap staterooms (which yours is) the shower hasn't spilled over, so maybe they fixed the drains in there?

 

[xxcell]

TY, your replies made me feel better. It does sound nice. I guess if I was not surprising my wife I would not be so concerned.
We are doing the double castaway cruise in November and I am so ready.

Again, ty

 

[HallsofVA]

Our first cruise we sailed in 8100 on the other side of the ship, but the rooms usually mirror each other and they look the same on the deck plans. 8100 was a handicap accessible Cat 3 suite, and it was awesome!! Much roomier layout than other Cat 3 suites, but only sleeps 4 (1 bed and 1 sofa bed). Nice big living room, long hallway, huge walkin closet in the bedroom, and a very large bathroom. Because it's H/A, the bathroom is open and there is a curtain you pull around you in the shower, but it didn't get too wet.

Regarding the balcony, it does have a solid metal verandah, but it is large and spacious. It's fairly open, but didn't seem as wide open as the room next door, whose balcony is completely exposed to the folks at Topsiders.

I posted a picture of the balcony in another thread, but have reposted it below so you can see for yourself. It's wedge shaped, tapering to a point by the door where I'm standing taking the picture. Again, 8600 would be the same but reversed. This pic was from Dec 2005, so no guarantees that they have the same furniture now that they had then.

 

[HallsofVA]

Here are some more pictures from suite 8100, the "sister" suite to 8600.

From front door, looking down entrance hallway. 2nd bathroom is to left, hall closet to right, then desk/vanity on right, storage area/access to connecting suite on left:

From mid hallway standing by desk. Bedroom door is on right.

Dining table at end of hallway. Living room on left. Fridge and sink are to the right of table, Verandah entrance behind table. Bedroom is to the right.

Living room. Sofa is a sleeper sofa (was fine for a 2 yr old at the time!)

Bedroom. Walk in closet 1st door on right, bathroom 2nd door on right. Has desk and TV as well.

Master bath. 2 vanities, toilet, H/A shower with seat and hand sprayer. Nice open space.

2nd bath, by front door

 

[xxcell]

Thanks again for your posts. I just realized that their is not a pull down bed, despite what DCL told me.
I have pretty big children and I seriously doubt they can fit on a sofa bed.
Do you know if I can get a rollaway bed in the room?

This was the last suite available, so I didn't really have a choice.

 

[ldalvarado]

How old are your kids? The sofa bed and the bunk above it are pretty big. I mean, I am an adult and I slept on the lower sofa bed.

 

[HallsofVA]

How old are your kids? The sofa bed and the bunk above it are pretty big. I mean, I am an adult and I slept on the lower sofa bed.

Unless they've added a new bunk bed since 2005, this suite didn't have one, and no murphy bed either. The H/A suites only sleep 4 and not 5 like a typical Cat 3. I think I read something in another post where they'd improved the quality of the sleeper sofa to improve the mattress or something, but I can't vouch for that. But no mention of adding a bunk bed. Hopefully a more recent cruiser would chime in.

With the sleeper sofa out, it would have been a little tight to get a rollaway bed in there. But it might be more doable if one person slept on the couch cushions (without extending the bed.)

Look in one of the recent discussions about the suites (Cat 3 or Cat 1,2,3). Seemed someone mentioned in there about some upgrades to the sleeper sofas recently.

One recommendation, since your cruise isn't until November, is to waitlist yourself for a different room should one come available. Especially at the 105 day point when suite reservations have to be paid in full. Some folks may cancel or change their plans, and you'd be able to move rooms.

 

[xxcell]

Trying to verify with DCL,but no response yet.

thanks Again

 

[grlzmom]

We stayed in 8600 couple times on Magic. Last time November 2008.

We like the room alot. Couple of drawbacks in our opinion. We did get trash from Topsiders on the balcony frequently We also got water from hosing down of Topsiders at night. The sofa bed in our childrens opinion not really comfortable. There was no bunk bed, the room only sleeps four, two in bed, two on sofa. No jetted tub like other category 3 suites because it is handicapped room.

The pluses, love the layout, plenty of room, huge balcony. Balcony was setup with sunloungers when we last had it. Metal verandah didn't bother us at all. Location wonderful, just up back steps to Topsider if you want something. In a very quiet part of the hallway. For safety drill, your station is in Animators, so no standing out in the sun in your life vests.

We still prefer the midship 3s, but 8600 is very nice and we liked it!

 

[Doingitagain]

Thanks again for your posts. I just realized that their is not a pull down bed, despite what DCL told me.
I have pretty big children and I seriously doubt they can fit on a sofa bed.
Do you know if I can get a rollaway bed in the room?

This was the last suite available, so I didn't really have a choice.

We were in 8602 in 2000 and the people next door in 8600 had them bring in a roll-away because their two teens daughters didn't want to share a bed. The rollaway takes up a lot of room during the day, but you can use it as another "lounge" if you want.

If this is something you want to do, I recommend contacting the land-based concierge and putting in your request as soon as you make your final payment.

I was considering this room for our next cruise, and if I did it I was thinking about bringing an inflatable bed (one of the nicer ones) because DD and DS definitely would not share a bed. It is one of the nicer self-inflating ones, and it could be deflated or at least moved to the bedroom during the day. In the end I decided to stay with our aft category 3 and not do the handicapped room.

 

[xxcell]

ye, my teenage son is about 6' and around 175. And my preteen daughter is big for her age.

You think maybe I should try for getting 2 cat 4's?

Like I said previously, this is a surprise for my wife,meaning the suite, never could afford to do a suite again. So I am pretty bummed. I wanted this to be the perfect trip.(No such thing-LOL)
This was the last suite on the ship and I never was told about the H/A differences. I thought,and was told, we were getting two full baths.
And the pull down bed.
I guess buyer beware.
We are doing the double castaway trip,so we really can't change the dates. Plus, I bought the airline tickets already.
Last cruise,March 08-Eastern,the ship had engine probs and couldn't dock at castaway due to the current and the engine prob,so we are dying to get back to castaway.
IM not trying to complain, I just want to figure out some alternatives to salvage our cruise.
The inflatable bed idea is good,but with the airline luggage restriction/fees, I think we might not be able to do that. But I will look into it. I guess with the price of the room, paying for an extra bag is worth it.

Also, we have it all paid for, what do you mean by the land based concierge, and how and when would I reach them?

Like I said, I am not trying to moan. Thanks to all who replied.

 

[Doingitagain]

ye, my teenage son is about 6' and around 175. And my preteen daughter is big for her age.

You think maybe I should try for getting 2 cat 4's?

Like I said previously, this is a surprise for my wife,meaning the suite, never could afford to do a suite again. So I am pretty bummed. I wanted this to be the perfect trip.(No such thing-LOL)
This was the last suite on the ship and I never was told about the H/A differences. I thought,and was told, we were getting two full baths.
And the pull down bed.
I guess buyer beware.
We are doing the double castaway trip,so we really can't change the dates. Plus, I bought the airline tickets already.
Last cruise,March 08-Eastern,the ship had engine probs and couldn't dock at castaway due to the current and the engine prob,so we are dying to get back to castaway.
IM not trying to complain, I just want to figure out some alternatives to salvage our cruise.
The inflatable bed idea is good,but with the airline luggage restriction/fees, I think we might not be able to do that. But I will look into it. I guess with the price of the room, paying for an extra bag is worth it.

Also, we have it all paid for, what do you mean by the land based concierge, and how and when would I reach them?

Like I said, I am not trying to moan. Thanks to all who replied.

Sorry, I think I left the wrong impression! We had the handicapped category 3 on our first cruise and we absolutely loved it! I just chose not to do it this time because our kids are adults. I personally would do the category 3 because 1) it is a lot less expensive than two category 4's (most money is for first two people in the stateroom) and 2) you have concierge. Concierge is so nice! There are specific threads on concierge services that you can read.

You can ship boxes ahead to the ship if you want to send the airbed (I bet you can order it from Costco or somewhere like that and send it right to the ship, there is a thread on that as well). For $50, you can use it for the week and leave it there if you can't get it in your luggage. Still cheaper than another room.

I would still check on the roll-away. You will get a letter before your booking time (105 days ahead, another concierge advantage!) and it will have the number to call for concierge. There is a concierge team on the ship to look after your needs during the cruise, but there is a land-based team to help you with advance requests for dining, excursions and other special requests.

Another option to two category 4's would be one category 4 with an inside stateroom across the hall..just use it as a second bedroom. But I still pick the 8600!

 

[Olga]

ye, my teenage son is about 6' and around 175. And my preteen daughter is big for her age.

You think maybe I should try for getting 2 cat 4's?

Like I said previously, this is a surprise for my wife,meaning the suite, never could afford to do a suite again. So I am pretty bummed. I wanted this to be the perfect trip.(No such thing-LOL)
This was the last suite on the ship and I never was told about the H/A differences. I thought,and was told, we were getting two full baths.
And the pull down bed.
I guess buyer beware.
We are doing the double castaway trip,so we really can't change the dates. Plus, I bought the airline tickets already.
Last cruise,March 08-Eastern,the ship had engine probs and couldn't dock at castaway due to the current and the engine prob,so we are dying to get back to castaway.
IM not trying to complain, I just want to figure out some alternatives to salvage our cruise.
The inflatable bed idea is good,but with the airline luggage restriction/fees, I think we might not be able to do that. But I will look into it. I guess with the price of the room, paying for an extra bag is worth it.

Also, we have it all paid for, what do you mean by the land based concierge, and how and when would I reach them?

Like I said, I am not trying to moan. Thanks to all who replied.

In your travel kit there should have been a letter from the land based concierge with their telephone number and email address. If you didn't receive the package contact DCL and they will put you in touch.

The land based concierge is fabulous!
Tell them your concerns and they will work out something for you.
You might want to consider a 2 bedroom suite if one is available.

 

[xxcell]

Great idea. Air mattress. Also, I never realized you can send things pre-boarding,thanks. You think after 3 cruises we would have got it down pat by now.

One more ?, the travel Kit you mention. Since it is a Nov cruise, I sort of remember, they don't send the usual stuff, tags,booklet,etc until a few weeks before.

Should I have gotten a concierge kit by now?

No 2 bedrooms available.

Thanks Again

 

[HallsofVA]

ye, my teenage son is about 6' and around 175. And my preteen daughter is big for her age.

You think maybe I should try for getting 2 cat 4's?

Like I said previously, this is a surprise for my wife,meaning the suite, never could afford to do a suite again. So I am pretty bummed. I wanted this to be the perfect trip.(No such thing-LOL)
This was the last suite on the ship and I never was told about the H/A differences. I thought,and was told, we were getting two full baths.
And the pull down bed.
I guess buyer beware.
We are doing the double castaway trip,so we really can't change the dates. Plus, I bought the airline tickets already.
Last cruise,March 08-Eastern,the ship had engine probs and couldn't dock at castaway due to the current and the engine prob,so we are dying to get back to castaway.
IM not trying to complain, I just want to figure out some alternatives to salvage our cruise.
The inflatable bed idea is good,but with the airline luggage restriction/fees, I think we might not be able to do that. But I will look into it. I guess with the price of the room, paying for an extra bag is worth it.

Also, we have it all paid for, what do you mean by the land based concierge, and how and when would I reach them?

Like I said, I am not trying to moan. Thanks to all who replied.

The room does have 2 full baths - they just both have showers and no tubs.

If you only have 4 people, I wouldn't get 2 Cat 4s. There's no reason to if you have 4 people and there isn't enough extra room in one to warrante the additional cost. We'd booked a Cat 4 for our first cruise so we'd have the extra room for a toddler. We ended up upgrading to 8100 instead and loved it. But when we went to rebook our next cruise, the Cat 3 suite was out of our price range. We opted to book connecting Cat 6 rooms instead as a less expensive option to the suite. That way you get the benefit of 2 bedrooms and 2 baths, but without the additional cost. Or at least that's our theory since we ended up upgrading to the Cat 1 suite and haven't actually experienced the Cat 6's. But we have rebooked connecting Cat 6 rooms again for our next cruise under the same premise.

You can also look for connecting Cat 7 rooms if you only have 4 people, though they are very hard to come by.

 

[Olga]

Great idea. Air mattress. Also, I never realized you can send things pre-boarding,thanks. You think after 3 cruises we would have got it down pat by now.

One more ?, the travel Kit you mention. Since it is a Nov cruise, I sort of remember, they don't send the usual stuff, tags,booklet,etc until a few weeks before.

Should I have gotten a concierge kit by now?

No 2 bedrooms available.

Thanks Again

It may be too early for your kit to have arrived, it is sent out well before your 105 day booking window and explains all of the good things they will do for you.
Sent you a pm.

 

[xxcell]

Ty for the PM, I tried to reply, but since I am new to the forum it won't let me.

Thanks Again

 

[grlzmom]

Since you are still a ways from sailing, you can ask to be waitlisted for a different category 3 should it become available.

Frequently when final payment is due, availability changes and perhaps you might end up with a different room assignment.