To Verandah or Not to Verandah...

[Disney Obsession]

With 5 people, we will be in a Deluxe Family Stateroom. I'm wondering since this is our first DCL cruise, should we consider the verandah, or save a couple hundred dollars? Sailing with 5 isn't going to be cheap! Also, interested in those who stayed forward or aft with a porthole and have stayed mid-ship with a verandah: did you notice much difference in the motion you felt on the ship? Looking for all pros and cons you might have!

 

[TeaBee]

With 5 people, we will be in a Deluxe Family Stateroom. I'm wondering since this is our first DCL cruise, should we consider the verandah, or save a couple hundred dollars? Sailing with 5 isn't going to be cheap! Also, interested in those who stayed forward or aft with a porthole and have stayed mid-ship with a verandah: did you notice much difference in the motion you felt on the ship? Looking for all pros and cons you might have!

How long is your cruise? It's really nice to have the extra space with a verandah, but if it's a 3-4 night I'd just save your $$.

 

[Disney Obsession]

How long is your cruise? It's really nice to have the extra space with a verandah, but if it's a 3-4 night I'd just save your $$.

I'm one of those anxiously awaiting the 2017 releases, but I think it is going to be a 4 day "intro to cruising" trip since 4 out of 5 of us have never been on a ship.

 

[Sytrace]

We are a family of 4 (two teens) and just stay in the Oceanview with verandah on all cruises we have done. We prefer midship to forward on Deck 6,8, or 10 primarily.
If on Deck 10 we are forward starboard and if on Deck 6 or 8 we go more midship starboard. Midship for us is always the choice...we have had one stateroom aft and it was not something we would do again.

 

[JimGA]

The verandah is nice to get out and get some fresh air. Also, it's nice late at night, if some are not ready for bed, hang outside on the veranda while others sleep

 

[Ofinn]

A verandah is nice, but I don't think it's necessary to enjoy a cruise. Our last few cruises have been on deck 2 with a porthole. I really like deck 2, and I like saving money. The more I cruise the less picky I am about the room. I talked to one family on our last cruise that was completing their 27th cruise they said they always get a inside cabin. I guess that's how you afford 27 cruises.

 

[Disney Obsession]

A verandah is nice, but I don't think it's necessary to enjoy a cruise. Our last few cruises have been on deck 2 with a porthole. I really like deck 2, and I like saving money. The more I cruise the less picky I am about the room. I talked to one family on our last cruise that was completing their 27th cruise they said they always get a inside cabin. I guess that's how you afford 27 cruises.

I would be fine with an inside room, except that it won't fit 5 of us! I've also done the pricing, and in most circumstances, 2 inside rooms is more expensive that 1 family room. Thanks for the advice! Have you noticed more or less motion depending on where you are on the ship?

 

[TeaBee]

I'm one of those anxiously awaiting the 2017 releases, but I think it is going to be a 4 day "intro to cruising" trip since 4 out of 5 of us have never been on a ship.

We loved our verandah on a 4 day cruise, but honestly we just weren't out there that much. Especially for a first time cruise, there is so much going on and so much of the ship to see that you probably won't be in your cabin much unless you have kids that need to nap.

 

[Pile o kids]

Verandah,, we loved it. It was well worth the extra money. We stayed near the aft elevators.

 

[lolainkent]

We're a family of 5 and had a mid-ship verandah on our first cruise (4 night Dream), but had an aft porthole on the Fantasy last month. The rooms seemed to be the same size, just minus the verandah on the Fantasy, which we honestly hardly used on the Dream. We sort of forced ourselves to go outside a few times to justify having the verandah but the reality for us was that it was a waste of money (I can't stress enough: for us!). It might be worth researching the other things you want to do onboard that cost money (excursions, spa, BBB, etc) and see if a verandah would mean not doing something, or it's comfortably in your budget.

We've stayed mid-ship the one time, and then aft twice (DH and I had an inside on the Magic) and I haven't found a huge difference in motions.

 

[Sarah O.]

I would only suggest a verandah on a shorter cruise (3-4 nights) if you have younger kiddos who will nap or sleep early and would cause you to "need" to spend extra time in your room. It was nice to have a verandah to relax and get fresh air while kids slept during the day. If we didn't have napping kids, we wouldn't have spent enough time in our room to make it worth it!

 

[JJsmama]

We used our verandah a LOT. It was wonderful to have a peaceful place to sit and watch the sea (with a reserved chair.) Also lovely first thing in the morning before we are properly dressed and yes, REALLY nice is a child is napping. Parent can still sunbathe or enjoy the view without feeling trapped in the room on vacation. On our Western Car from CA, i even saw a lot of whales from my verandah. So exciting!

 

[scgustafson]

You can't join the verandah club without a verandah. Well you can, but you have to be creative, sneaky, and/or very-friendly.

 

[minnie56]

23 cruises later and not anything but a verandah!
I'm on the seas ..I want to see and breathe them!

 

[cheermom2four]

When it was just hubby and I this past month on our first cruise, we booked a verandah. We actually never thought we would use it as much as we did. He has informed me we will always need one from now on as he loved being able to just go out and get fresh air even in the middle of the night. We were on a 3-night. Our next cruise we had an OV booked but have since switched to verandah since we will have our kids with us and we loved deck 6 midship since its only a floor away from kids club (but a 7-night cruise this time).

 

[daisyx3]

We did the magic and wonder with three kids years ago and a verandah; doing the Dream in 10 days with just our youngest (a teenager now). Next year the Fantasy just DH and I. Both with verandahs. It's nice for me to get room service breakfast and eat it on the verandah since the other two are later sleepers. Plus DH just likes to sit out there and watch the ocean at night.

 

[DnA2010]

We had a veranda on our Fantasy and honestly didn't use it that much. I think if we had small children we would have used it, we also found it really windy.

 

[bethy]

I personally wouldn't cruise without a verandah for several reasons. BUT if you are asking the question then that means you can probably live without one which in that case I would opt to save the money!

 

[My2litteprincesses]

Yes to verandah!! Our kids don't nap anymore, but I would always order cereal for them for an early breakfast & coffee for us the night before from Room Service. So right when we all woke up, we would have our coffee/cereal on the verandah in our jammies (before we went to the buffet breakfast! Haha!)
Verandah is awesome! You can hang out on there while you're coming into & leaving a port & it's a spectacular view. Mid-ship verandah is always worth it!

 

[swimfin]

We have two perspectives ... For us, it all depends on the length of the cruise. We did our 1st cruise with DCL last June, 3 day on the Dream, in a Deluxe Family Ocean View (7512) ... For us, the extra $$$ wasn't worth it for 3 days, BUT this June we have a veranda for our 7 day on the Fantasy. For this cruise we wanted the fresh air option, time in the morning and at night. When we did our 7 day Alaska in 2011 we had a veranda and knew we wanted the option for this June. We also LOVE the ocean and wanted as much time "with it" as possible. ENJOY your time!! Cheers!