Seeking Pros and Cons re: Stateroom Preference

[sleepydog25]

Rather than do an exhaustive search online, I'd appreciate some more immediate, expert advice regarding the pros and cons of:

1) mid-ship vs. aft staterooms with verandahs (cat 6A vs. 5E/5D)

2) decks 8-10 vs. decks 5 or 6.

I've sailed w/Disney once before and stayed in a mid-ship room which was great. But, I'd be interested to know what more experienced cruisers have to say about what is their preference and why. I'm seriously considering booking for later in the year in the next day or two, so any aid would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[sleepydog25]

Bumping and looking for help. . .

 

[Silverfox97]

OK, so it looks like you are talking about the Dream/Fantasy - in that case, I know it looks overwhelming, but grab some popcorn and read thru this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2586763&highlight=dream+staterooms+index

It is TREMENDOUSLY helpful - it in fact helped sway my decision away from a 5E room to actually booking a 6B room on Deck 9 aft on the Fantasy.

In general, on all of our past cruises, we like aft rooms, and we like higher decks (6 & 7) on the Magic/Wonder. For them, we like the 7A rooms, and specifically the "secret" verandah cabins. I have never stayed forward, but truthfully, we like aft, so we just stay aft. That's all I have for ya!!

 

[dvcer57]

We have sailed with dcl 3 times and have been located deck 2 Fwd deck 6 Mid deck 8 aft and have deck 9 Fwd booked for June. We can't tell a big difference in location except with ease of access to different locations on ship. Kids clubs on deck 5, drink station and pool access on deck 11, restaurants and theaters located decks 3-5. If you use the elevators the mid ones are more crowded then the fwd or aft ones are. I would say find one that would be convenient for your family's needs and budget. You will have a great time what every room you choose.

 

[erbie]

I've only been on two DCL cruises, a three day on the Wonder and a 14 day repo on the Magic. Don't actually remember where we were on Wonder, since it was almost nine years ago. For Magic, we were deck 2 forward for the first week and deck 6 midship for the second week. We had some trouble in our room, so we were moved. They were painting nearby, and it caused my dd and me to have asthma attacks.

We went through the edge of a large hurricane when we were in 2 forward. My mom was in 6 aft, and I can tell you her experience was a lot better than ours. We were moving up and down a LOT! I was terrified. Her room wasn't too bad. We moved midship a couple days later and while we didn't have seas as high as we had before, the rocking was much less midship than even the gentlest rocking forward. From what I understand, if rocking is your concern, midship and higher up are the most comfortable.

We're on the 2-day next week (can't wait!!!) and we're deck 2 forward again. And then on the LA-Vancouver repo we're in a 6a gty, so if we end up with that, we'll be aft for the first time.

 

[Gigi22]

1. We usually request a midship cabin with a balcony because we tend to cruise off-season, sometimes during the tail end of hurricane season, I always feel that since we are gambling on the weather, I want to make sure we experience less pitch and roll in our cabin. Also, midship balcony cabins generally have a plexiglass balcony, whereas balcony cabins that are very close to either the bow or the aft can have solid balcony walls. The plexiglass balcony is preferable.
2. As to choice of decks, we have had cabins that are on higher decks, and cabins that are closer to the middle of the ship. You experience more ocean movement the higher up you go. I don't believe there's a lot of difference between decks 5 and 6 and deck 8--you might notice a difference in the ocean movement you experience on deck 10. I would be more concerned about selecting a cabin that is located some distance from public areas on the ship--either adjacent to, or immediately above or below the cabins selected.

 

[inkkognito]

In 78 cruises we've been just about everywhere you can be on the Magic and Wonder, but my absolute preference, and the place we spent the most time on those ships, is low and aft. I love deck 5 because I like being close to the water, plus less motion (the ship is like an upside down pendulum, with the most swing at the top), and there is much less foot traffic aft. We booked a deck 6 far aft stateroom for the maiden voyage, and as a plus, it's not an adjoiner. The rest of our cruises are interior rooms down on deck 2, since that's where the cat. we booked is, and I tried to get non-adjoiners for as many as possible. For the christening cruise, we are on deck 8 midship in a verandah room. I'll be reporting on the different types as I try them out.

 

[sleepydog25]

In 78 cruises we've been just about everywhere you can be on the Magic and Wonder, but my absolute preference, and the place we spent the most time on those ships, is low and aft. I love deck 5 because I like being close to the water, plus less motion (the ship is like an upside down pendulum, with the most swing at the top), and there is much less foot traffic aft. We booked a deck 6 far aft stateroom for the maiden voyage, and as a plus, it's not an adjoiner. The rest of our cruises are interior rooms down on deck 2, since that's where the cat. we booked is, and I tried to get non-adjoiners for as many as possible. For the christening cruise, we are on deck 8 midship in a verandah room. I'll be reporting on the different types as I try them out.

Thanks for the response, but just exactly what do you mean by "adjoined" or "non-adjoined?" I'm sticking with either Cat 5E/D/B or 6A if at all possible, so I'm guessing that shouldn't be an issue.

Thanks to all the other responders as well. I'm fairly certain based on all your comments, that it's largely a matter of preference, and since I'm not affected by motion sickness at all, I should have good options.

 

[TDluvsDaisy]

I think by adjoined they mean connecting staterooms.

 

[drparoo]

One of the things that surprised me on the Dream and Fantasy was putting the suites COMPLETELY forward and high up. I mean, yes, what a few from your verandah, but what a potential barf-fest.