Alaska Cruise: Inside Stateroom vs Oceanview Deck 2

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Alaska is the only cruise I would never consider an inside for. There is just too much beautiful scenery and I don't want to miss a second of it.

 

[avengerspoilerer]

I wouldn't go to AK until I could afford a verandah. I loved being away from the masses when at the glacier. I loved waking up with my morning coffee as we sailed into the little towns while my family slept. To go without to me would be a waste. I have been in every single type of stateroom on many ships, but for AK a veranda is a MUST!

 

[Plumberries]

I had an ocean view on Deck 2 for an Alaskan cruise this past July. We were basically only in our cabins to sleep at night. On the day we were seeing the glacier, all the adults had a brunch reservation in Palo, and then we did the glacier explorer in the afternoon, so I didn't really spend much time with crowds from the entire ship.

I loved staying on Deck 2 for the convenience (easy to get on and off the ship, close to restaurants and shops, empty elevators to take up to Cabanas), but my experience of sailing Alaska was so smooth that I don't think there was motion on the upper decks at all. Also the cabins my party stayed in (2048 and 2054) only allowed for sleeping 3, so if you do opt for an ocean view, you may have to move to another deck.

But unless I had to stay in the room for some reason, I would not view glaciers from an ocean view because I feel the view is too limited. If I hadn't had Palo and the glacier explorer, I think I would have opted to view the glacier from a deck even if I had a veranda room just so I could move around to the appropriate area to see whatever was around.

Also, regarding the room layout and light, in my stateroom, the couch was near the port hole, and the bed was near the closet, door, and bathrooms. (I think that's better because then the adults are between the children and any trouble they could get into.) With the curtain for the porthole and the curtain separating the living area from the bed area, I never saw the light from outside when it was sleeping time. (Unfortunately for me, on early port days, the docking woke me up crazy early (I didn't get sick or anything, I just couldn't get back to sleep once it started), but it didn't seem to bother anyone else on the whole ship.)

 

[Angie_Ohio]

We are currently booked in an inside stateroom, midship Deck 2 (hoping for less movement down), for our Alaska cruise in July, but have heard from others who have cruised Alaska that we should book at least oceanview. The oceanview room would be gauranteed 1 large port hole on deck 2, but Disney assigns the room. Balcony is out of ur price range.

Others who have cruised- would you spend the $1000 extra for the large porthole?

It's hard to say how much time we will stay in our room. We have two young kids, one who still naps, but we are hoping he will use the nursery during this time. I've heard the outside decks can be cold and wet, but that the views from up top are much better than anything you can get in your stateroom. We've cruised many times (not disney and not with our kids) and have enjoyed all of our cruises whether we were inside, oceanview or verandah, but maybe Alaska is worth $ for oceanview bc of the scenery?

I would not spend the extra for that. We were on deck 2 and occasionally saw things out the porthole/window but were on deck most of the time. We spent our $ on excursions. Deck 4 is has nice chairs and great view.

 

[UmmGooD]

I will give a different perspective. We did two Disney cruises with very young kids. I loved the insides because they slept better. The lack of a window made it where they slept in. We also had a deck 2 inside (actually two connecting rooms) and we loved them.

The second trip was with a family balcony (we have 5 people) and it was fun too but not any better than the inside rooms.

These weren’t Alaskan cruises but for us the itinerary wouldn’t matter much we could still see from the running deck if we wanted to.

 

[vegs1]

When we did Alaska, (not with Disney) we had a balcony, corner, at the rear of the ship. We saw so many whales it was incredible. We missed little as we could literally see both sides. Loved it.

However.....Disney’s cost for that same room type would be $$$$$ and I personally would rather be in an inside in Alaska and be able to afford shore excursions that I really wanted than in an ocean view or balcony and have to skimp. The open decks are there for all to enjoy. If you have small kids, you have to tend to them so will likely miss something at some point anyway.

Do a whale watching excursion (we did Harv and Marv and they were great at pointing out things to children) and you will see lots!

Do what your budget allows. There is no must do. Only what makes you and your bank account feel right. Happy planning!

 

[sazzle12]

Thank you so much for everyones replies! I like the suggestion that with inside cabins kids might nap / sleep in better bc of lack of light. And I will look into whale watching with Harv and Marv!

 

[msmama]

I don't think I'd pay an extra $1000 for a port hole. Especially since those AK excursions are expensive.

But...my son got sick on our last cruise (I think it was a combination of rough seas and too much rich food - either one on their own and he would've been fine, but both had him down for the count). I was grateful for my window when we were stuck in the room on our last sea day.

 

[Sailorsgirl]

we just returned from Alaska (9/2/19 sailing) and had a balcony and loved it. we were on Deck 8 and I was fine as far as sea sickness. for our first cruise (western caribbean) we had a porthole on deck 2 and was fine with it but had a bit trouble with using the patch for seasickness. I ended up taking it off and was fine the rest of the cruise (7 night) our second cruise (eastern caribbean) we had a balcony on deck 5 and loved it but. we have decided next cruise (possibly Ireland) we will just get an inside cabin as it is going to be costly getting overseas.