How important is a verandah?

[WicketsMom]

This was my first time with a verandah on the Dream 'Hurricane' cruise and it helped keep me sane as it was the ONLY place I could sit out and see the ocean (at least for a portion of the trip).

If you are prone to seasickness, I would avoid an inside cabin. I'm a dive instructor so have spent alot of time on smaller boats where you feel the motion a lot more and as soon as anyone goes down below to "lie down" you know what's coming next! Being able to keep your eyes on the horizon helps also.

We used Bonine on this trip, including for my five-year old son (half a tablet for him) and it worked fine and I did have a few drinks as well. I always advise my students to try it at home first as many others have suggested. Different medications affect people differently and the time to find out it doesn't isn't when you are already on the ship.

 

[geoffrey]

We are big fans of INSIDE cabins. Love how dark they are at night!

We were upgraded to a veranda on one cruise. We rarely used it. A couple of things that didn't work for us. The layout of the room seems better on the inside cabins. The main bed is in the back of the room in the inside cabins. You are constantly walking around the bed in the veranda rooms. Also, seemed like every time we went out onto the veranda, someone upwind from us was smoking. I mean every time. It was never enjoyable to sit outside. I think it would be better if you were as close to the front of the ship as possible to minimize smoke.

To each his own. But it is OK to like the inside cabins as well

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I haven't yet cruised Disney, but have cruised before in an inside, outside and verandah.
From those experiences, I know that I could never cruise again without at least some natural light. But I'm 'take it or leave it' as far as the verandah is concerned. If the price increase was small (i.e a couple of hundred dollars) then yes, I'd probably upgrade. But there is no way I would pay the thousands of dollars some people do just to have a bit of outside space. I'd much rather put those extra $$ towards spa treatments and extra cocktails.
On my cruise on the Fantasy next year I have booked one of the 8A outside cabins with the dividing wall. I have emailed Disney to request no upgrades, even though an upgrade would mean a verandah. I guess two TV's and the extra inside space is also more important to me than a bit of outdoor space.

 

[MiaSRN62]

I have cruised with portholes and verandahs and much prefer the verandah. When our kids were little, it was nice to tuck them in at night and while they were falling asleep just sit out on the deck with my husband.
Love the early morning sunrises in my jammies out there too....

And I will confess a big fear of mine now. I know it is so remote, but if I ever got quarantined to my cabin for any reason (and I've read about several over the years on these boards), I would certainly feel the verandah would provide me with some fresh air and sanity. Now I realize that is totally a remote thought...but one never knows ?!

 

[Golden Rose]

It sounds like you've probably made your choice, but I will add that I think that for a certain type of cruiser, a veranda is almost essential. Some people love to be out in public spaces chatting and interacting with other people, and some people need a quiet place to get down time and spend a lot of time in their room.

Even when we were younger and didn't feel like we could always afford verandas, we spent a lot of time in our room reading or having quiet time together. We don't get that in our daily lives, and so, for us, that was one of the pleasures of going on vacation together. We'd have loved to get verandas then, we just didn't feel like we could afford them.

Now that we're older and have kids, we won't cruise without one. On our last cruise, we spent a huge amount of time on our balcony, several hours a day. When traveling with a child who naps, which we are at the moment, and have been for many of our cruises, it becomes a necessity for us. We can relax on our balcony during naptime, and still feel like we're enjoying our vacation.

It's very much a personal choice. Are you equally comfortable relaxing on a lounge chair in a public space and relaxing on your own balcony?

 

[luv2sleep]

People keep talking about deck 4. On this laat trip I actually made it out there and tried to relax on deck 4 with my son. Lol, it was mot successful. We could only hang there a while because people were walking, jogging or trying to get some peace and quiet. The biggest benefit of the verandah was being able to relax and read outside while he was playing, napping, watching advice or playing on his leap pad. It's different from the pool where I had to worry about drowning or accidents. Can't say I relaxed at those times. I definitely would try to get a verandah for Alaska. There's no way I'd see much on the open decks with my son. No way he'd want to stand outside in the cold for prolonged periods of time amongst the crowds waiting to see something. I'd miss it all. On the verandah I'd more likely to see something and actually enjoy it. He'd come in and out often to look at stuff but be happy and content in he room.

 

[Niebz]

For me a verandah is a must because of being prone to seasickness. We stayed on deck 2 our first cruise and I hated being in the room because I felt awful from the rocking and being confined to a room with no way to get fresh air made it feel so much worse. I was constantly up on deck because the breeze was the only thing that helped me - I even contemplated sleeping up there! On our second cruise we had a verandah on deck 6 and it was a lifesaver. That nice, breezy fresh air helps so much when the ship is rocking plus it's nice when feeling ill to have a private place to relax and try to feel better.

 

[Mattscott]

The Oct 20th Fantasy Cruise (Eastern Caribbean) was our 3rd cruise (second DCL cruise). We have always had a verandah and the previous two cruises used them extensively. There is NOTHING like having room service in a bathrobe out on deck.

This last cruise we couldn't use ours at all due to the constant smoking of those upwind of us; not just cigarettes but those famous "caribbean" cigars.

I am not trying to turn this into an anti-smoking post. But if you are extremely allergic, as I am, it is something to consider.

We are looking into a porthole room or a verandah on the very back for our next cruise.

 

[mcroadman]

I can't imagine not having one now..
Wow... It just made our cruise so nice.. the view was specatular and we really used it alot.
My husband and daughter were in the room more than expected. Watching the waves, watching the moon and stars, flying fish, and islands and ships..
Watching us dock and undock
We very much loved it and i hope we always have a verandah!
Mary

 

[Aurora l]

Just booked before Christmas and got the veranda. Our first time ever. We always get the ocean view. For $200 more than the inside, I couldn't say no.