Disney Dream - which decks are best?

[Roo's Kanga]

Looking at the deck map of Disney Dream, which decks do you think will be best to stay on and why? Is it a general rule that the more desirable decks are the most expensive ones?

 

[expatcat]

I have no idea although I'm sure someone will come along who is a lot more informed than me! I have gone for a cabin on Deck 9 on the grounds that there are cabins above and below me, so hopefully not too much noise (as I assume it would be noisy over restaurants etc.) and it is close to the pools etc.

 

[vbarry]

I am wanting to know the same thing. Trying to book Feb 2011 but there are sooo many categories etc to choose from.

 

[SHammett]

I think generally, higher up is a better "view" and more expensive. Notice most of the suites on all ships are on the higher floors. It boils down to personal preference, though. We booked on deck 5 because the kids clubs are our most frequent stop on a Disney cruise. We don't spend a lot of time at the pools, so that didn't matter to us as much. Deck 5 has less rooms, too, so it's not just an endless hall of doors, which we liked as well.

 

[tinkmom2]

We booked on deck 6. That's what we have had on the Wonder the last two cruises. We picked something mid ship because it looked pretty central to everything.

 

[mmouse37]

Throughout cruising history it has always been the "the higher the better" stemming from the old class system of 1st class passengers being above the steerage passengers.

With today's cruise ships the lines still use that mentality to sell their cabins...the suites are always up higher, thus more expensive....but in actuality...many people complained that the suites on DCL (Magic/Wonder) were right under the pool deck making them very noisy. The Dream looks a bit different but I would not across the board say that higher is always better. Other than suites, pretty much all other categories anywhere on the ship are going to be fine unless possibly you are over/under a nightclub, restaurant, kids club, etc.

For example the Cat 9's....I really do not think it will make a difference if you are in a Cat 9 on Deck 2 or Deck 6 or 7....the "view" might be slightly different but really no better or worse. With the Dream there are more categories to choose from and it can make it difficult to choose. Some of the cabins in the same category look very different...again like the Cat 9's...some all the way forward look much larger than the Cat 9's on Deck 2. But I would not hesitate to book on Deck 2 if it was available.

 

[branv]

It's funny, I'd always assumed it wasn't just about higher is better, but location regarding noise. But now I'm coming around to what PP's are saying. I admit I was surprised by how they classified some locations on the Dream...even cats for whom a view doesn't matter. For instance, the cheapest cat 11(c) is on deck 2. They are under the shops and main lobby, but at least not under one of the clubs with bass. Yet they are charging more for a cat 11 (b) that doesn't just seem to share a wall, it seems to almost be sitting inside the teen club. Holy Cow, talk about the potential for noise. And it's far forward, so less stability. The only reason I can imagine they would charge more for this is because it is 3 floors higher.

Now personally, we are staying on a higher floor this next trip than we have yet. This isn't due to view (no balcony, but we do have a window), or even how close we are to things on the ship. We chose solely based on finding the least noisiest in the cat we wanted.

 

[mousecruzer]

Good question! Does anyone know if any books have been written yet about the DREAM? Either Birnbauer's or Passportors Guide? I am booked for Feb. 27 and have a cat 11 in GTY status. With this ship being 40% larger (according to the DCL cruise agent) it will be interesting to explore all the new areas of the boat!

 

[kcashner]

Since the Dream is in the building stages, we are just guessing. But, MJ is totally right that tradition on ships is that the higher you go, the more expensive you go. We've stayed all over the Magic and the Wonder--literally. We've been as far forward as you can go, and nearly as far aft...and from deck 2 to deck 7.

Truly, I've found something that I like about each location.For some, it depends on the ages of the people in your party...or special needs, or whatever. I suspect it will be the same on the new ships.

 

[cakesnjammom]

I think generally, higher up is a better "view" and more expensive. Notice most of the suites on all ships are on the higher floors. It boils down to personal preference, though. We booked on deck 5 because the kids clubs are our most frequent stop on a Disney cruise. We don't spend a lot of time at the pools, so that didn't matter to us as much. Deck 5 has less rooms, too, so it's not just an endless hall of doors, which we liked as well.

that teen club at the front of deck 5 kept me from wanting tobe on deck 5 even though we spend most ofour time going to and from the kids club too

 

[camarks1234]

Our last cruise we stayed in a cat 9 midship located on the 2nd deck and I loved it. very convenient to the elevators, little noise and almost no motion. Previously we'd stayed in a cat 9 far aft and felt tons of motion.

I haven't looked at the Dream plans much yet, but I do like to stay midship, nevermind the floor.

 

[jmpurdy]

Cat 9 was awesome for us too! Midship, almost no noise and large porthole. We loved it. Alot less of these cabins now on deck 2 with the addition of the restaurant, but we booked early and got one for May 2011!

 

[actuarian]

In my experience, the quietest decks are those that contain no public areas and are both above and below other decks that do not contain public areas. On the Dream, those would be decks 7, 8 and 9 since the public areas are on decks 2-5 and 11-14.

 

[Roo's Kanga]

Thanks for all the help. I booked our March 2011 4-nighter on the Disney Dream today. We are in Cat 8B, deck 9, far aft, on the right side of the ship (is that the starboard side? and did I spell that right? lol).

Hope it's a good location, but I think it will be.

They originally put us on the port side, but looking at the trip map (Bahamas), I'm thinking that we'll have better views on the other side of the ship, so I moved the room to the other side. Hope I didn't screw up.