2011 Disney Cruise Deck Plans

Disney Cruise Line has released new 2011 Deck Plans for the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder. These deck plans have recategorized the staterooms on board to match with the staterooms onboard Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy. The deck plans for the Disney Dream have been released, and can be seen here: Disney Dream

There are some pretty major changes, with complete elimination of categories 8 and 12 (they have been folded into categories 9 and 11 respectively). Stateroom categories now also have “levels”, so it is no longer simple to distinguish between stateroom types. You can’t just book a category 5 stateroom, you now have to choose between 5A, 5B and 5C.

• Suites remain the same, but have been renamed from Category 1, 2 and 3 to Category R (Royal Suite), Category S (2 bedroom Suite) and Category T (1 bedroom suite)
• Category 4 now has three levels, 4A which is center ship on deck 8, 4B which is forward and Aft of the 4A staterooms, and 4E which is to the very Aft of the ship (only 6 on each ship)
• Category 5 now encompasses the old category 5 and 6 staterooms, for the most part. 5A is on deck 7 midship, 5B is on deck 7 forward and aft of 5A, as well as midship on deck 6 while 5C is on deck 6 forward and aft of 5B
• Category 6 now is only a few staterooms to the very aft of decks 5, 6 and 7, and are now labeled 6A.
• Category 7 remains the same, and are now labeled 7A.
• Category 8 no longer exists on the Magic or Wonder, and are part of Category 9.
• Category 9 now has 4 levels. 9A are the old category 8s, located on decks 5, 6 and 7. 9B is midship on deck 2, while 9C is forward and aft of 9B. 9D is on deck 1.
• Category 10 now has 3 levels. 10A is on decks 5 and 7. 10B is on Deck 2 while 10C is on Deck 1
• Category 11 now takes up all of the old category 11 and 12 staterooms. 11A is on deck 7 and midship on deck 6. 11B is to the aft and forward of 11A on deck 6 and on deck 5. 11C are the old category 12, and are on deck 2.

There are some holes in the Magic and Wonder stateroom types, such as no 4C or 4D. This is to make room for the new ships’ expanded number of decks and additional options for stateroom types.
There is good news and bad news in the new stateroom types.

• Good, in that you can now choose your location much easier, and pay for that location, whether that means pay more or less. I always thought it unfair that everyone wanted to be midship, but the staterooms at the very back or very front were the same price, but much less desirable.
• Bad in that this seems to be another way for Disney to charge you a bit more for what you were getting before, similar to the classification of some lagoon view rooms to theme park view rooms at the Polynesian a few years ago.

Overall, good changes. It may cause problems during the booking process for a while for travel agents and Disney Cruise reps, but in the end, people will be able to book exactly what they want, and pay for what they get. Booking for 2011 Disney Cruises starts on September 28, 2009. Castaway Club members who have sailed with Disney 5+ times can book startin on September 21, 2009.