Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...What Would You Choose?

[wishuponastar42]

Just a quick background...my wife and I have never cruised before, this will be our first time out of the country, we are leaving the kids at home, and we are celebrating our 10 year anniversary.

So I've been pondering how to balance our budget vs our wants for the trip. The options I've been looking at are listed below (been looking at a lot of cruise lines, including DCL) and wanted your opinions on what would be the best option and why...

1) 7-Day Cruise, Veranda room, not as much money for doing extras/excursions.
2) 7-Day Cruise, Ocean View or Interior room, a reasonable amount of money for doing extras/excursions.
3) 5/6-Day Cruise, Veranda, a reasonable amount of money for doing extras/excursions.
4) 5/6-Day Cruise, Ocean View, more than plenty of money for doing extras/excursions.

 

[WIFamily]

This is just my personal opinion based on my likes and what I find enjoyable.

I would choose 1. Veranda is a must for my wife and I, and the longer the better, even if it means fewer excursions. I cruise to be on the ship, and have little interest in getting off for planned excursions. Probably the most fun I've had off the ship was one cruise that stopped in St Maaarten, we walked off the ship, down the road, and to a public beach. We spent $20 on four chairs and two umbrellas and swam in the ocean.

 

[Quellman]

Just a quick background...my wife and I have never cruised before, this will be our first time out of the country, we are leaving the kids at home, and we are celebrating our 10 year anniversary.

So I've been pondering how to balance our budget vs our wants for the trip. The options I've been looking at are listed below (been looking at a lot of cruise lines, including DCL) and wanted your opinions on what would be the best option and why...

1) 7-Day Cruise, Veranda room, not as much money for doing extras/excursions.
2) 7-Day Cruise, Ocean View or Interior room, a reasonable amount of money for doing extras/excursions.
3) 5/6-Day Cruise, Veranda, a reasonable amount of money for doing extras/excursions.
4) 5/6-Day Cruise, Ocean View, more than plenty of money for doing extras/excursions.

For some people itinerary matters a lot in room choices. If you are going to be in a port everyday, there is less incentive to get a veranda since you'll be off the ship most of the time. Others insist it is a necessity in Alaska (but you mentioned out of the country).

I think most people would recommend the longer the cruise the better.

This is just my personal opinion based on my likes and what I find enjoyable.

I would choose 1. Veranda is a must for my wife and I, and the longer the better, even if it means fewer excursions. I cruise to be on the ship, and have little interest in getting off for planned excursions. Probably the most fun I've had off the ship was one cruise that stopped in St Maaarten, we walked off the ship, down the road, and to a public beach. We spent $20 on four chairs and two umbrellas and swam in the ocean.

You didn't get wifi and a shower either? Sounds like you got robbed! Though we walked almost to the end of the public beach. But it was a nice time to just sit. Well other than shooing away people selling foot rubs or trinkets. But not really a bother.

 

[bfamily5]

We are sort of in the same boat. We ended up choosing an inside cabin BUT on deck 7 aft. On the Magic and the Wonder you can access the deck 7 aft deck, so in my mind, it's like having a balcony

 

[GatorMomInNC]

We are sort of in the same boat. We ended up choosing an inside cabin BUT on deck 7 aft. On the Magic and the Wonder you can access the deck 7 aft deck, so in my mind, it's like having a balcony

I think, on the Magic at least, the Deck 7 aft deck is gone.

Port intensive cruise , like Europe, I would skip balcony. Longer cruise is better. If this is Carribean I would choose balcony and less excursions.

 

[Little Doe]

We have been in each category from inside to Concierge. We loved each trip. I would say the longer the better. You will love where ever you are.

 

[wishuponastar42]

I think, on the Magic at least, the Deck 7 aft deck is gone.

Port intensive cruise , like Europe, I would skip balcony. Longer cruise is better. If this is Carribean I would choose balcony and less excursions.

Caribbean...I have enough Disney Rewards points to comp our flights to Florida (although not excluding other ports if the price is right).

 

[steves100]

Possible 3, depending on the itinerary. We have only stayed in verandahs and we are platinum

 

[MickeyEarrings]

I would recommend an ocean view as your first cruise, with a 7-night itinerary. It allows you the benefit of sunlight for circadian rhythm and affords the same beautiful views as a verandah. But it also forces you out of the room to explore
the ship. Then next time, decide if you really wished you had had that verandah, or wanted more
money for excursions...that may even lead you to an inside room.

 

[mmouse37]

I would ALWAYS opt for the longer cruise, even if it was in an inside cabin or oceanview and forgo the verandah. To me the length of the cruise is very important...the longer the better. Did two 2 week cruises this year and don't how I can go back to anything less!!! We just did the 2 WEEK Panama Canal cruise in an oceanview cabin on Deck 1 and had a blast!!! Did the 2 week transatlantic in May in an oceanview on Deck 2 and didn't miss the verandah AT ALL.

Deck 2 oceanviews on all the ships are one of my favorite areas for a cabin. So convenient to everything. Have been in many verandah cabins but just don't feel the need for one. I am just as happy in an oceanview.

MJ

 

[mevelandry]

DH and I are obsessed with the verandah... I would pick the verandah over many excursions.

 

[bethy]

We spend a lot of time in our rooms(s) when we travel for multiple reasons. Always have. For this and other reasons I would take a nicer room and a shorter cruise if I had to. But for me the excursions are the lowest priority of the three.

 

[tinkerone]

your going to get so many different answers to this as you can see, lol.
you should try a 8A if you can get one. we had 5522 recently and it was amazing. it is ocean view however there are two of the big port holes and the rooms are massive. there is only a one room bathroom but if its just the two of you then its probably not that major of a deal. we have done verandas and find that we didn't spend enough time on it to justify the extra cost. excursions are not important to us, we normally get off and walk around the town area or even stay on the ship.
i would do at least the 7 day. if your looking to keep costs in line DCL may not be the ships to sail with. you can save a lot of money with other lines and it sounds like there are good ones out there. you mentioned that you are looking at other lines so you should be able to find something that fits with your needs and wants.
no matter what you decide on have a great anniversary and a great first cruise.

 

[vinotinto]

This is an impossible question for anyone other than your family to answer. Extras are optional, but they can add up to quite a bit - which ones are you interested in?

Will you be getting a bottle of wine every night (we do!). Will you be getting drinks around the pool, at CC, or at the bars (we also budget for this). Will you be doing any mixology or tasting classes (yes, please!). Spa? Palo/Remy? Pictures? What are the ports and what types of excursions have caught your fancy (do you like to snorkel, dive, jet-ski, learn about the islands, or are you happy just browsing the tacky tourist shops that are normally found right where the ship's dock?).

If you are interested in many "optionals", I would not opt for the Verandah. Also, what time of the year and what location? Bahamas are chilly in the winter - we did not use our verandah on our January Bahamas cruise. Would be more useful further south or during the summer.

 

[Tama-chan]

I would go with option 1. This is pretty much what I did with my husband for our delayed honeymoon cruise.
We did 7 night Eastern Caribbean Cruise in category 6B. To save our $$$, we booked shore excursions not from Disney, we used Viator for St. Maarten and contacted local snorkeling/scuba diving shop in St. Thomas for activities. Also you can bring up to 2 bottles of wine or 6 cans of beer per person on board. So we did not order any alcohol drinks except at Palo one night.

 

[DanielleKR]

Just a quick background...my wife and I have never cruised before, this will be our first time out of the country, we are leaving the kids at home, and we are celebrating our 10 year anniversary.

So I've been pondering how to balance our budget vs our wants for the trip. The options I've been looking at are listed below (been looking at a lot of cruise lines, including DCL) and wanted your opinions on what would be the best option and why...

1) 7-Day Cruise, Veranda room, not as much money for doing extras/excursions.
2) 7-Day Cruise, Ocean View or Interior room, a reasonable amount of money for doing extras/excursions.
3) 5/6-Day Cruise, Veranda, a reasonable amount of money for doing extras/excursions.
4) 5/6-Day Cruise, Ocean View, more than plenty of money for doing extras/excursions.

We've done three DCL cruises, twice with veranda, once ocean view. Two were 7 day, and one was 4 day. Our next is January 23, 2016, 7 night with Star Wars Day at Sea, which we are DYING to go on! So excited.

My opinion:

While the veranda is very nice, we actually found that we didn't use it that much, and if you want to be outside, there a so many places to sit and enjoy the sea air without having the veranda. Don't get me wrong, if money was no object, we'd get the veranda. However, I'd rather have some spending money and forego the veranda. We don't spend a lot, but tips alone for us are over $200, and we always have some drinks, and buy a few souvenirs. We don't really do excursions, as they're expensive, and the cruise is what we want to spend our money on.

Our first cruise ever was DCL, and we absolutely loved it, and I'm sure you will too. That said, book the longest one you can, because you won't want to get off! We found the 4 day way to quick to go by, and now will only do at least 7 from now on. I'd always pick longer cruise vs. veranda.

Good luck with your planning!

 

[ForMyBoys]

We've done it both ways, with and without veranda. On a budget I would do the 7 day in an ocean view... but I would pick one of the higher ocean view rooms so you get the large porthole windows. Its still a great view and they are nice rooms. You can always find great places to sit on the ship and enjoy the breeze.

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

3 of our 4 cruises have been insides and we love them. I'd definitely take a longer cruise in an inside than a shorter cruise in a verandah. The only caveat to this is the fact that this is a 10th anniversary cruise sans kids, I may spring for the verandah if you can talk her into joining the verandah club

 

[bumbershoot]

7-Day Cruise, Ocean View or Interior room, a reasonable amount of money for doing extras/excursions

If the itinerary is good, I go for this one.

First cruise you have no idea what anything is like. So start small. Our first cruise was our honeymoon, and we had an ocean view and NEVER missed a balcony. And we were in Alaska. We've since had balconies, oceanview, inside, concierge...all are good. We go for the ports, we go for the ship. We don't go to hide in the room. (others might have done that with a honeymoon, but by the time we got to the honeymoon I was pregnant and was running at what felt like 300 degrees Fahrenheit, just radiating heat, and DH nearly had them pull the beds apart LOL...our honeymoon was not typical, or perhaps we should look at the time between wedding and cruise as our proper honeymoon)

 

[Danni75]

We love verandas. We actually used it everyday and especially got delivered breakfast almost every morning and ate it on the terrasse. It is lovely not to be in the buffet, quiet and in the sun for your first meal!
Every time we had a break we would use it.