Why is DCL publishing such misleading floor plans?

[HooKooDooKu]

At this moment, I am absolutely furious with DCL for the false impression of the size of their cabins they now publish on their web site.

Current Floor Plan DCL publishes for Deluxe Cabins with Veranda

For anyone who has stayed in these cabins, or who closely pays attention to the 360 views DCL has also provided, they know that these new floor plans are basically a LIE!!!

Here's a sample of what DCL is publishing today:


Here's what DCL used to publish:


Starting with the sleeping area:
1. The night stands are HUGE. They are about 1/3 to 1/4 the width of the bed. But as you can see in the old floor plan, these night stands are tiny.
2. Furniture spacing lie. The new floor plan shows about 6 inches of space between the night stands and the bed. Then they show about 2 feet of space between the night stand and the curtain. The reality is that the night stands practically touch the wall, the bed and the curtain with NO space between any of them.

* The net result is the new floor plans give the impression that the sleep area is about 5 feet wider than it really is. That makes for a 40 to 45 sqft lie.

The sitting area:
1. Furniture spacing lie. The new floor plan shows about a 1 foot space between the curtain and the wall. They show a two to three foot space between the couch and the veranda wall. In reality, that space simply doesn't exist. There is maybe a grand total of about 6 inches of space between the night stand and the couch to make room to draw back the curtain that separates the two rooms. The same can be said for the space between the couch and the wall.
2. Gigantic space beside vanity. Based on the new floor plan, it looks like there is enough space beside the vanity to store something the size of the average size suitcase. The reality is that there is just enough space to store the curtains when they are drawn back.

* The net result is the new floor plan gives the impression that the sitting area is 3 feet wider than it really is. That's about 25 to 30 sqft of lie.

The veranda:
Using the size of the table and chair to gauge the size of the veranda, the thing looks HUGE. The new floor plan shows enough space between the cabin and the rail to place two chairs facing each other with a table between them. The reality is that there is scarcely enough room for one chair and the table. That makes a veranda that is about 5 foot deep look to be about 7 foot deep. That's about a 15 to 20 sqft of lie.

The net result is that a cabin that is advertised to be 268 sqft is shown to look like it is over 350 sqft in size.

Here is even more evidence of how the room has been distorted in the new layout. I looked at the new floor plan, the old floor plan, and the deck plans. I measured the depth to width ratio of the Deluxe Cabins (including the depth of the veranda). Here is what I got:
New Floor Plan: Depth is 4.5 times the width
Old Floor Plan: Depth is 3.6 times the width
Deck Plans: Depth is 3.1 times the width

Now from what I've seen of the Deck Plans, they seem to be very accurate and based on blue prints on the ship. I was able to determine that fact that verandas on deck 5 are NOT as deep as they are on decks 6, 7, & 8 from these drawings (and validated when I stayed in a veranda cabin on deck 5 while cruising with a family member staying on deck 6).

I can only HOPE that DCL has made a mistake and published the floor plans of the Disney Dream and Disney Fantasy. But even so, this is what they are publishing as the floor plan for the Disney Magic and Disney Wonder, and I consider it to be a complete lie.

[mmouse37]

Good comparisons!!! I do see your point and also hope the new floor plans are for the new ships.....but they should also keep the floor plans for the Magic and Wonder intact on the website to represent more accurately what the current ships have.

MJ

[calmpets]

I'd love to be able to say you're just being picky, but you aren't. The new layouts are much prettier, but give a totally false impression of the room size.

[Donna M]

I noticed that too when looking at the DCL site. Don't you wish there was all that extra room in there? I wonder how long those pictures will be there before they're removed for being misleading.

[kcashner]

Well, if these represent the new ships, that should be noted. You're right--it isn't a fair representation of the existing cabins Even the bathrooms look out of proportion.

[disfaninca]

I also noticed how big they make the veranda look. Unless you are in the back of the ship, they definitely are not that big.
Looking forward to seeing what the new ships look like though.

[HooKooDooKu]

Originally Posted by kcashner

...Even the bathrooms look out of proportion.

You can't tell much about the bathrooms in this 3-D floor plan. You have to look at the "over-head" shots to see any detail. But I wanted this comparision to be fair and honest. As such, I compared only the floor plan with the closest orientation as the old floor plan.

Besides, they didn't do themselves any favors in the bathroom. You could nit-pick and say the tiny toilet makes the bathrooms look huge, which they do. There is no where near as much space in the bathrooms as the over-head shots makes it look like. But at the same time, the toilet actually looks uncomfortably small as it looks smaller than the sink.

But if you want to talk about the lies in the bathroom, here's what I can tell (based on memory, not proof):
The bathrooms are MUCH smaller than the layout would indicate. Your knees will be about as close to the sink stuff on your left as they will be to the cabinet in the corner on your right. The current layout would indicate there is enough room to sit on the toilet turned 90 degrees to the right. That's an out-right lie.
The sink area "looks" nicer than it really is. The layout seems to indicate there is cabinetry under the sink. In reality, it's an open area where the trash can sits.

The counter top space shown in these floor plans seems to be larger than reality. And just to nit-pik, I don't recall that diagonal section of the tub. To go along with that, they seem to be showing the tub as being much wider than it really is, it almost looks square (non including that diagonal that isn't really there inside the tub). The reality is that the tub is about 4 foot long by about 3 feet wide.

I also do not recall the mirrors being that big in the bathrooms. However, they also fail to show the shelf over the sink (they had to make room for those largerer-than-life mirrors I guess) nor do they show the corner shelves beside the toilet (that's a major storage area in these deluxe cabins for toiletry articals).


Closet Space:
I just realized that they are basically lying about the size of the closets too. When you look at the floor plan, the closet doors are almost square. Cut about 1 foot off the height of them and they would be square. But if you look at the 360 view, you can tell (if you look very carefully at just the right angle) the doors are closer in proportion to the cabin door... very rectangular. So unless the cabins are only about 5 feet tall, the closets are a complete lie too.

[lbgraves]

These new floor plans go with the new over-zealous descriptions of the furnishings.

[croppincolburn]

Never having been in a room yet, neither one makes a difference to me. They are not schematics or state that they are to scale. The square feet is what I'm imagining. Neither of these drawings will have an effect on my cruise experience.

[pearlieq]

I definitely agree. Those new renderings, especially the verandas, are comically out of proportion.

I would be very disappointed if that was what I was expecting for my cahin.

[dursin]

Agree...they are a bit misleading and give the impression the staterooms are bigger than they are in reality, but...does it really rise to the level where one should be "Absolutely Furious"?!?

btw: The 360 viewer gives a realistic view of the room so nobody should really be fooled.

[Tneah]

Yes, very misleading. I don't usually ever agree with renderings or even real snapshots taken of a room in a house or ship or anywhere else. Everything always seems stretched to appear much larger and spacious than it is in reality.

I'd be upset once I got there and saw it live, but I also know that deep down that it was just a representation.

Who knows, as long as they have one room planned out this way I guess they can use this image as a true representation.

[LindaBabe]

Same guy that drew them must have drawn the ones for the sample DVC rooms in Animal kingdom lodge. Reality was no where near the illustration.

[HooKooDooKu]

Originally Posted by dursin

Agree...they are a bit misleading and give the impression the staterooms are bigger than they are in reality, but...does it really rise to the level where one should be "Absolutely Furious"?!?

In my mind, it is simply a matter of blatant lying... and DCL's own web site has the PROOF that they are simply lying. It just shows a huge lack of character for a company this many already consider to be the best cruise line. If everyone considers you the best, why publish information that is SO misleading.

[brucechase]

Or maybe they are preparing for the next drydock upgrade where all the furniture gets replaced with similar furniture that is actually smaller than the existing (like the sofa, bed, and outdoor chairs). This way the room will look bigger.