First time cruising ever.

[mort1331]

Looking at first time cruising ever. Is the verandah worth the extra $400 for a 7 night cruise? We will have at the time a 6 and 10 daughters. Is there a better eastern or western caribbean? Thanks for your help with these questions, I know I will have more to come.

 

[MelInAZ]

The verandah question depends on you and your family. Our first cruise was in March of this year and we spent a lot of time on the verandah as a family. Then my husband and I spent time together, and alone, on the verandah when the kids were off in the kids club. I absolutely loved the verandah and have booked a room with an extended verandah for our next cruise. Some folks don't use it, though, so the money would be wasted. No input on western vs. eastern as I've not done either. Good luck!

 

[JimGA]

I love the verandah and is definately worth it in my opinion. I like sitting outside on my patio at home anyway. For what you pay for the cruise, the price is not a big deal in my eyes

 

[DISGRL13]

For us the verandah is totally worth it! We love sitting out there in the evenings and seemed to use it a lot. We have done the Western Caribbean and really enjoyed the ports we stopped at. It is probably a personal preference and you probably can't go wrong with either. Good luck with your decisions!

 

[Happy100]

For $400 more on a 7 day...Absolutely!

The western is my favorite only because I like Cozumel, Grand Cayman. However, since this is your first either itinerary will be great!

Have a wonderful first cruise!

 

[kiford]

We love having a verandah and won't cruise without one but whether it is worth the price to you or not is totally your own value judgement and based on what you like. My father has cruised with and without and although he prefers to have one, he's not willing to pay the extra money for it and is happy either way.

We like to spend time out on the verandah, to have the larger windows and light and to feel like there's more room in the cabin because of the more open feeling with it. We spend a lot of time in our room and the light and open feeling is important to us. So for us it's worth the cost.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We stayed in inside cabins for our first two cruises and while they were great, after visiting my parents in their cabin with a verandah, we have booked a verandah for this trip. I love the extra light it offers and also the option to sit out there and enjoy the beautiful views.

For us we prefer the Eastern Caribbean as we really like the sea days and all the ship has to offer on those days. An Eastern Caribbean offers 3 sea days, 2 ports + CC. That is our preference. Also, depending on what time of year you're traveling, the Eastern Caribbean takes you further south which I'm guessing makes a difference in the warm weather.

 

[over50visits]

Looking at first time cruising ever. Is the verandah worth the extra $400 for a 7 night cruise? We will have at the time a 6 and 10 daughters. Is there a better eastern or western caribbean? Thanks for your help with these questions, I know I will have more to come.

What a great question!! I think the value of a verandah is right up there with the value of other expensive options, such as spa treatments, photograph packages, Castaway Cay cabanas, upscale adult dining, expensive shore excursions. Disney has a lot of ways to squeeze your wallet!

Look at your budget, and see what you'd like to "splurge" on, and a verandah may be more rewarding than the other options.

Personally, we use our money on something other than verandahs. The few times we've had one we loved it, but there are a lot of great, secluded, and relaxing places on the ship to sit and watch the ocean (or the interior of the ship). Nothing like going to the coffee shop early in the morning and sitting out on deck. We added up how much time we really spent on the verandah and the cost per hour just didn't seem worth it. But...many folks see it as some of the best quality time on their cruise.

 

[jhoannam]

We are planning our first cruise for May and we are booking a verandah, we don't like staying at hotels without balconies. Our girls go to bed before we do, so we like to sit out in the balcony and enjoy a couple of beers.

 

[Warren Templeton]

I love the verandah and is definately worth it in my opinion.

 

[mort1331]

Wow a very pro verandah group, but thats good. I like all your points and help, thanks. Just because of the cost we are looking at early 2017. We were first looking at March, but now the wife thinks she can get time off in Feb, so pricing better. Still up there but better. Both East and West are within 100 bucks of each other so that is really what we need to figure out.