How do you pick your stateroom?

[Geomom]

So we've only been on 1 cruise and have a second booked. I pick my stateroom and tell my TA what I want.

To pick my stateroom: I start by going, what is the cheapest category I'm willing to book. (9C oceanview on the Wonder/Magic as I need a window.) Then I look for a room as close to midship as I can get in that category--for the upcoming trip I am 1 room away from the midship category.

 

[Shanti]

My favorite cabins on the classics are the secret verandas on deck seven, with a preference for portside.

Which cabins are the secret verandahs?

 

[Cackyschmackers]

Which cabins are the secret verandahs?

Decks six and seven on the Classics have the "real" Navigators Verandahs, but there are two rooms on each deck with an actual verandah with a bit of an obstruction but have all been re-categorized to 7As. So they're all called Navigators Verandahs but i think 6134, 6634, 7120 and 7620 are the secret verandahs. This is for the Classics. There's a bunch on the Dream class too. We have one coming up, 9012 on the Dream; 9512 is its twin. They all have slight obstructions, some more than others. But full verandahs. Worth the cost savings for us!

 

[sherilynn]

This has been really interesting to read. I've been all over and stayed in most categories, but I much prefer a stateroom with a verandah, aft, near elevators, starboard side.

 

[Laundress]

Veranda ...close to the elevators
That's all I need

 

[DisneyGirlMI]

As a family of 5 we are limited, but we pick our rooms specifically - starboard higher deck, preferably deck 9, midship. Great location, close to the pool deck, drinks, and food, quieter deck. And one of my must-haves is a verandah. I need to be able to open a door to the outside!

 

[Agent 86]

We pick. I think for our first cruise, we read recommendations / reviews on a cruise website (maybe Cruise Critic or something like that).

We liked the room. So, for our second cruise we tried to get somewhere similar. And we've done the same again for our upcoming third cruise.

We just pick the cheapest room with a window, so it's mainly about being close enough to the stairs to be convenient, but not too close to have lots of foot traffic or noise. It's also nice to be somewhat close to a laundry.

 

[Ravenne]

Pick category we want.
Read reviews on said category.
Pick an area of the ship within that category.
Read reviews on some rooms.
Narrow down 3-5 rooms we want.
Request it and hope for the best.

 

[ludari]

I prefer to pick my stateroom I usually make sure it's not near the laundry rooms and not below any highly public areas that have late hours like the bars. I have on occasion let DCL select my stateroom but I do prefer picking my own.

 

[IBLarsen]

I had a hard time with this when booking for our 1st cruise last week. I was worried about motion sickness so had read to get midship. I wanted a Verandah and a little larger room than standard inside. We were on Deck 7 (I chose one that had state rooms above/below). We were right between the forward and midship elevators and thought it was a perfect location. The only thing I would do differently next time is to be on the Port side, as we were told we could see fireworks from our verandah on that side of the ship

 

[Dug720]

I had a hard time with this when booking for our 1st cruise last week. I was worried about motion sickness so had read to get midship. I wanted a Verandah and a little larger room than standard inside. We were on Deck 7 (I chose one that had state rooms above/below). We were right between the forward and midship elevators and thought it was a perfect location. The only thing I would do differently next time is to be on the Port side, as we were told we could see fireworks from our verandah on that side of the ship

Just to note, there are staterooms (no one seems to have a list) that receive a letter asking the residents NOT to be on their balconies during fireworks because of the possibility of debris.

Now, plenty of people ignore that, but do be aware that if you receive a letter and choose to ignore it, you will pretty much NOT have a leg to stand on legally should anything happen.

 

[Trera]

We pick ours as well. If we are not in concierge we prefer starboard side aft of the midship elevators two decks below the pools.

 

[mhconley]

I pick our specific stateroom on our cruises. I start with the category, 4A on the Fantasy. For our first cruise I chose a starboard non-connecting room on deck 9, stateroom 9620. On our second I chose its twin on the port side, stateroom 9120. I chose deck 9 because I am a light sleeper and did not want to risk having to deal with noise from the pool deck 11.

For our upcoming trip I again chose the category, 5A on the Wonder. I would have preferred a 4A but they are all on deck 8 just below the pool deck 9. I then chose a port side stateroom available on both of the B2B cruises we're sailing, ended up in stateroom 7050. Closer to the elevators than I'd like but all the stateroom reports I've read say you can't hear a thing in the stateroom.

Martin

 

[Cackyschmackers]

I would have preferred a 4A but they are all on deck 8 just below the pool deck 9.

Just to let you know, we've been in the cat 4s twice on deck 8 on the Classics. But we are always forward so we are under the spa, no noise from above whatsoever. I too am a very light sleeper so this was a perfect spot for us.

 

[lds0191]

With the exception of 3 of our past cruises we have stayed deck 5 aft. Love deck 5 aft as there are no extremely long hallways that seem to never end, easy access to decks 3 and 4 without having to use the elevators and very quiet. We have had a cabin on 2 midship, 6 aft and 7 aft; no problem with any of the three. We usually book inside due to costs as we spend very little time in our cabin, but we have had a verandah once and ocean view a few times. We are booked for a cruise 3/2018 and are in an inside sideways cabin deck 5 forward. Looking forward to the sideways cabin experience and hope a forward cabin is a good thing.

 

[IBLarsen]

Just to note, there are staterooms (no one seems to have a list) that receive a letter asking the residents NOT to be on their balconies during fireworks because of the possibility of debris.

Now, plenty of people ignore that, but do be aware that if you receive a letter and choose to ignore it, you will pretty much NOT have a leg to stand on legally should anything happen.

Interesting! I would have never thought of that. The reason I brought this up is because a couple CM's onboard were telling me about being able to see the fireworks from balcony if you are on that side of the ship. (We weren't, so they were explaining to us the best place to go to watch). I could see how Disney would recommend not being on balcony though for liability reasons. Makes sense.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I'm confused. When we were on the Fantasy, the fireworks were off the starboard side. We did get the letter in our portside room, but I even asked on deck 11 and the CM told me they would be shot off the starboard side. Has that changed?

 

[ChicosWife]

Do you hand pick your stateroom or put yourself at the mercy of the luck of the DCL draw (after you choose category)? I've done both. My first cruise my group chose the category but Disney picked the room. My second cruise was VGT and I had to take what I got. My upcoming cruise on the Magic I handpicked room 6134 (secret verandah!).

I don't really have a preference but I know when picking rooms people can care about location aft or forward or mid, if it connects to another room, or if it's near the elevators.

I'm just curious to see what others do. Thank you!

How do you find out which rooms/ships have secret verandahs? What category was your room listed as, if not a verandah?

Interesting! So many people are hung up on upgrades. Kind of cool to see someone say "no thank you".

Do upgrades happen that often?

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

I like to pick my stateroom. I prefer midship with a verandah.

Happy cruising

 

[Judyat]

We pick our rooms although last one they suggested was close to the elevator. Wasn't sure about it but turned out to be great. Never heard anything noise wise. Now we will always pick one close to the elevator. Just so convenient to both elevators and stairs.