Help w/Stateroom Decision - 1st Cruise

[melst5]

This is our first cruise.... sailing a 7 night Eastern with a family of 5. Kids will be 12, 10, & 8.

We can do a veranda room with all 5 or 2 connecting inside rooms. Both are on deck 7, midship (we really want midship). Inside rooms are $100 cheaper so about a wash.

Which would be best? Like the idea of more space but giving up balcony. Any advice from seasoned cruise masters would be much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[dcassetta]

IMHO, 2 bathrooms will be a big asset. A verandah is nice, but when the Murphy bed is down to accommodate 5, it can be hard to access.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

This is our first cruise.... sailing a 7 night Eastern with a family of 5. Kids will be 12, 10, & 8.

We can do a veranda room with all 5 or 2 connecting inside rooms. Both are on deck 7, midship (we really want midship). Inside rooms are $100 cheaper so about a wash.

Which would be best? Like the idea of more space but giving up balcony. Any advice from seasoned cruise masters would be much appreciated. Thank you!

How about a verandah with an inside room across the hall?

Would that be one of the Deluxe Family Oceanview with verandah rooms? Personally, I think 5 people in a room is a little cramped. Especially if the 5 people are all "big" people. It would be somewhat better if one or two of the people were small children.

That being said, as long as you all can stand each other, certainly 5 in a Deluxe room would work.

We've only had a verandah on 4 of our cruises. We don't spend a lot of time in our room, so a verandah isn't really a requirement.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We have stayed inside in the past and enjoyed it but are excited this cruise to have a veranda. What ship will you be sailing on?

Some of the things to consider are how much time do you plan to be in your room? If it's not a lot, and hopefully with that itinerary you'd be on the Fantasy, then you would have virtual port holes in your room. These are neat and really brighten up the place!

If you hope to spend time on your verandah?

It really is a personal decision but having done inside 2 times we're excited for the verandah this time!

 

[dragynally]

I live for a veranda! But with a family of 5 the extra bathroom will be helpful (unless the adults use the spa showers).

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I would spring for the insides connecting. We find we don't use a veranda much I would much rather have more room and 2 bathrooms with 5 of you. So much to do on the ship you won't spend long in your room in day light anyway! Enjoy how exciting first cruise.

 

[Marc D]

For a first cruise, I would choose two inside connecting rooms, mainly for the extra bathroom. A veranda is nice to have and provides extra space and a place to sit on sea days to enjoy the scenery, but you can easily compensate by going to public spaces. Plus, even the larger deluxe family stateroom will be cramped with all five of you in there, and the veranda will be difficult to reach with the Murphy bed down.

 

[MSPeeler]

IMHO, 2 bathrooms will be a big asset. A verandah is nice, but when the Murphy bed is down to accommodate 5, it can be hard to access.

This.

We had 2 inside connecting rooms, the extra bathroom was a blessing! When you gotta go and someone is in there, it's a tough decision "wait or walk to another" LOL. The 2nd bath/shower too.

We had a pack n play in 1 room and it was pretty cramped, so I was happy to have the extra room with us and our 3 kids

 

[LAX]

I am in similar situation as a family of 5. I have been contemplating between 2 connecting oceanviews vs. 1 veranda. I have priced out a few of the summer 2017 itineraries to get some ballpark figures for 2018 and was surprised to see that 2 oceanviews only cost a few hundred dollars more. However, the magical portholes do sound interesting and now give me a second thought about booking them. I think my kids would likely prefer seeing the random Disney characters popping up on the portholes over the ocean or scenery! Are those magical portholes only available on the two new vessels?

LAX

 

[MouseOfCards]

We also were planning on the deluxe family stateroom with veranda for 5, but were surprised that 2 oceanview rooms, even 2 non-family staterooms with veranda, were just a little bit more. Try pricing out different options and mix of rooms (including navigator's veranda, and white wall); you might be pleasantly surprised.

 

[LAX]

We also were planning on the deluxe family stateroom with veranda for 5, but were surprised that 2 oceanview rooms, even 2 non-family staterooms with veranda, were just a little bit more. Try pricing out different options and mix of rooms (including navigator's veranda, and white wall); you might be pleasantly surprised.

Total newbie here. What's the difference between navigator's veranda vs. other verandas? How do you find those? What's white wall? In any event, I priced out a May 2018 itinerary just for fun and found that booking 2 inside cabins saves less than $300 over 2 oceanview cabins! Are the magical portholes so popular that the inside cabins can actually command a premium? I can't imagine other cruise lines would have such small difference between the inside & oceanview cabins.

LAX

 

[MouseOfCards]

Total newbie here. What's the difference between navigator's veranda vs. other verandas? How do you find those? What's white wall? In any event, I priced out a May 2018 itinerary just for fun and found that booking 2 inside cabins saves less than $300 over 2 oceanview cabins! Are the magical portholes so popular that the inside cabins can actually command a premium? I can't imagine other cruise lines would have such small difference between the inside & oceanview cabins.

LAX

Yes, when we priced out the inside vs outside cabins, the difference was not significant enough for us to consider inside.

 

[ghtx]

We had the same choice to make for our family of 5 (kids age 10, 7, 4), and we chose one verandah room rather than two connecting rooms. Hopefully it was the right choice! As a PP said, we don't plan on spending much time in the room.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

I agree with previous posters to price all options. It varies A LOT by cruise. In our case veranda cabins were 5% more than inside cabins. So worth it to us. But in the case of younger kids, I think the extra bathroom might be key. My sons are teens, so we could push them along faster. Also, my wife and I each used the showers in the Fitness Area (they are larger, have lockers, towels, robes, well lit mirrors, much better for getting dressed for dinner), but with smaller kids you might not want to leave one parent in the room alone with the three kids.

One last thought, to those who say they won't be in the room much, all I can say is that I spent a fair amount of time in my room waiting for my family to wake up/shower/dress/ or whatever. So I enjoyed having the veranda at these times. Especially if it is a family with three kids, I think they will spend a lot of time in the room, by default, but they may not have time to go out on the veranda. Oh, and the Murphy bed will be put back up every morning by your cabin stewart and pulled down again each evening before you go to bed, so during the day it won't be in the way.

 

[Dug720]

I agree with previous posters to price all options. It varies A LOT by cruise. In our case veranda cabins were 5% more than inside cabins. So worth it to us. But in the case of younger kids, I think the extra bathroom might be key. My sons are teens, so we could push them along faster. Also, my wife and I each used the showers in the Fitness Area (they are larger, have lockers, towels, robes, well lit mirrors, much better for getting dressed for dinner), but with smaller kids you might not want to leave one parent in the room alone with the three kids.

One last thought, to those who say they won't be in the room much, all I can say is that I spent a fair amount of time in my room waiting for my family to wake up/shower/dress/ or whatever. So I enjoyed having the veranda at these times. Especially if it is a family with three kids, I think they will spend a lot of time in the room, by default, but they may not have time to go out on the veranda. Oh, and the Murphy bed will be put back up every morning by your cabin steward and pulled down again each evening before you go to bed, so during the day it won't be in the way.

BUT it would be in the way for that "early morning" time you're talking about waiting to wake up/get ready in the morning before breakfast.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Are those magical portholes only available on the two new vessels?

Yes, the virtual portholes are only on the Dream class ships.

Total newbie here. What's the difference between navigator's veranda vs. other verandas? How do you find those? What's white wall? In any event, I priced out a May 2018 itinerary just for fun and found that booking 2 inside cabins saves less than $300 over 2 oceanview cabins! Are the magical portholes so popular that the inside cabins can actually command a premium? I can't imagine other cruise lines would have such small difference between the inside & oceanview cabins.

LAX

The Navigator's verandahs are not fully open on the outside. On the Magic class ships, they are an enclosed verandah with a large, open porthole:

And, on the Dream class ships, they are partially obstructed by the ship's superstructure (some more than others):

Navigator's verandahs are a category unto themselves (7A).

A "white wall" verandah also varies between the two classes of ships. On the Magic class the wall beneath the outside rail is a solid white wall, while in the Dream class the white wall is only about shin high beneath the rail, the upper part being plexiglass.

Yes, the virtual portholes do cause inside rooms to often have a higher price than even oceanview rooms on occasion.

 

[MouseOfCards]

This is our first cruise.... sailing a 7 night Eastern with a family of 5. Kids will be 12, 10, & 8.

We can do a veranda room with all 5 or 2 connecting inside rooms. Both are on deck 7, midship (we really want midship). Inside rooms are $100 cheaper so about a wash.

Which would be best? Like the idea of more space but giving up balcony. Any advice from seasoned cruise masters would be much appreciated. Thank you!

As others have mentioned, with 2 rooms you get 2 toilets which is very useful. Everyone will be happier, and the kids, and mom and dad, will love the extra space. You also won't have a murphy bed in the way, so you will have full-time access to the beautiful verandah that you're paying extra for. For one 2018 cruise we priced out different options for a traveling party of 5:

Option #1 - 1 Room
Family Oceanview with Verandah
Category 4A
Sleeps 5 (5 in room)
304 Sq Ft
Deck 8
TOTAL=$5,404 (304 sq ft with 1 toilet)

Option #2 - 2 Rooms Connected with Pass Through Door
Oceanview with Verandah
Category 5C
Sleeps 4 (3 in room)
268 Sq Ft
Decks 5-6
$3,427
+
Oceanview with Verandah
Category 5C
Sleeps 4 (2 in room)
268 Sq Ft
Decks 5-6
$2,760
TOTAL=$6,187 (536 sq ft with 2 toilets)
So, for an extra 14% price, you get an extra 76% of space!

Option #3 - 2 Rooms (check to see if connecting rooms available)
Oceanview with Navigator's Verandah
Category 7A
Sleeps 3 (3 in room)
268 Sq Ft
Decks 5-7
$3,217
+
Oceanview with Navigator's Verandah
Category 7A
Sleeps 3 (2 in room)
268 Sq Ft
Decks 5-7
$2,550
TOTAL=$5,767 (536 sq ft with 2 toilets)
Here, for only $363 more, you get an extra 76% of space!

 

[MouseOfCards]

Here's pictures (not mine, but found on internet) of regular verandah and white wall verandahs on different Disney ships:

 

[wide awake]

Two rooms, no contest. We like a balcony, but the insides are great. If this is your first cruise I'd say go w/ two insides...the rooms are super cozy, everyone sleeps well, and at least there is a possibility of privacy. Also...at home my family of three has three bathrooms...we take my mom, so no way are four of us going to share one split bath. Two rooms for the four of us, always, including the parks.

 

[LAX]

Here's pictures (not mine, but found on internet) of regular verandah and white wall verandahs on different Disney ships:

Thanks for the pics & explanations. The white wall and navigator verandas might actually work better for us as we don't have to worry about our kids (especially the little one) climbing on the railing. It's a nice bonus that they would cost us less!

LAX