help deciding on cabin for three-5A versus 4E

[Charlies_Mommy]

Hi everyone-
I have booked a 5A cabin on deck 9 on the Disney fantasy for our first Disney cruise. Cabin #9546. It is located 'near' the mid ship elevators which I know can be busy. Cabin says it fits 3-4 people, and while we are a small family, we love open space. I can move 'up' to a 4E cabin for $194. This cabin is on deck 5, near the kids club. It has extra space but the extra space is in the extended balcony.

So, my daughter still naps (She is 4.5). We would love the big balcony to relax on during her naptimes and even to serve as a play area for her. My husband is against spending more $, to move down to lower deck. He likes the ability to run up a flight of stairs and be on the pool deck.

Looking for advice...any at all would be appreciated.

 

[Cackyschmackers]

Try to find a 7A!! It should be a lot cheaper than the 4E and still have the verandah! They are called Navigators verandas and basically it's just like a normal cat 4 (not an extended verandah though) with a small obstruction, so you're basically paying for a nonverandah room but you'll have a normal sized room with a normal sized verandah, just a small obstruction to the outside part of your verandah. Nothing that would bother you. On the Dream and Fantasy they are fore and aft, the first verandah rooms right after a series of oceanview porthole rooms. The one we were just in was 9012 on the Dream and it's mirror twin across the hall would be 9512. There are four I think on each deck from 6-9, two in the front, port and starboard and two in the aft, port and starboard, if I am not mistaken. There is a whole thread on them, if you are interested. I found it saved us so much money so we could afford our beloved verandah!!

 

[Charlies_Mommy]

Try to find a 7A!! It should be a lot cheaper than the 4E and still have the verandah! They are called Navigators verandas and basically it's just like a normal cat 4 (not an extended verandah though) with a small obstruction, so you're basically paying for a nonverandah room but you'll have a normal sized room with a normal sized verandah, just a small obstruction to the outside part of your verandah. Nothing that would bother you. On the Dream and Fantasy they are fore and aft, the first verandah rooms right after a series of oceanview porthole rooms. The one we were just in was 9012 on the Dream and it's mirror twin across the hall would be 9512. There are four I think on each deck from 6-9, two in the front, port and starboard and two in the aft, port and starboard, if I am not mistaken. There is a whole thread on them, if you are interested. I found it saved us so much money so we could afford our beloved verandah!!

Thank you for the tip! Pretty sure those would all be gone as we sail in 60 days. Plus, I like (need?) the wide open verandas. Maybe next time??

 

[Cackyschmackers]

Oh, okay, I didn't pick up on that time constraint (although you never know). Just FYI, it's a wide open regular verandah; it's not a white wall or blocked. It's a regular-sized verandah and a portion of the upper outside part is slanted, a thinner metal sloped area outside above your head. It only blocks I'd say 20% of the upper area. More bang for your buck!

 

[Charlies_Mommy]

Oh, okay, I didn't pick up on that time constraint (although you never know). Just FYI, it's a wide open regular verandah; it's not a white wall or blocked. It's a regular-sized verandah and a portion of the upper outside part is slanted, a thinner metal sloped area outside above your head. It only blocks I'd say 20% of the upper area. More bang for your buck!

I did *not* know that! Thank you! I will take a look to see if they are available!

 

[Quellman]

I have a 4 year old and he still took a nap a day. We also cruised when he was in a pack n play and did 2 naps. The verandah was nice to use during nap times and we like sitting on them in general. We found on our last trip that usually only one of us would go back to the room for nap, so we didn't get as much use as we did previously. A nap is only like an hour usually anyway. Plenty of time to read a book or watch an on demand movie half way. You can determine within your budget what else that total of $194 could be used for. That could be a nice excursion or spa treatment.

 

[Dug720]

Oh, okay, I didn't pick up on that time constraint (although you never know). Just FYI, it's a wide open regular verandah; it's not a white wall or blocked. It's a regular-sized verandah and a portion of the upper outside part is slanted, a thinner metal sloped area outside above your head. It only blocks I'd say 20% of the upper area. More bang for your buck!

This is true for the Dream Class - which the OP is on.

BUT for future searchers looking for the Classic Class, those are the 7As with the closed in verandah.

 

[Cackyschmackers]

This is true for the Dream Class - which the OP is on.

BUT for future searchers looking for the Classic Class, those are the 7As with the closed in verandah.

Yes, the Magic and Wonder have the "true" Navigator's Verandah with the closed-in verandah with open porthole and bench, compass, map, etc. BUT there are also "secret" verandahs, which are also 7As, on the Wonder and Magic that are a *true* verandah, with just a partial white wall obstruction. lol just to confuse everyone. Two per deck on 6 and 7, I believe, aft.

 

[MickeyD]

Deck 9 is very convenient to everything. I want to mention that those extended balconies on deck 5 are wide open to everyone above. I, personally, would not like that everyone above can look down on me while i am out relaxing. I have stayed on deck 9 on the Fantasy and loved it! Balcony was plenty big enough, moving to a 4E will buy you about 2 feet extra in the room and a round shower instead of the tub. there is an additional chair and a drop down bunk over the couch, and I believe some of the 4E's have a murphy bed instead of the chair.

 

[bcwife76]

We were on in a 4E on deck 5 this past January on the Fantasy and loved the proximity to the kids club! Plus the oversized verandah was awesome!

 

[kathi]

We always choose a 4E on deck 5 when sailing on the Dream or Fantasy. We LOVE the extended balcony and spend a lot of time out there. We don't spend that much time in our cabin and for 3 of us (we have one daughter) the cabin is just fine in terms of space. If you are Starboard side, you can watch the fireworks which is a big added bonus.