How much time do you spend in the cabin?

[21stamps]

We have done 3 cruises (RCL Oasis and Freedom and DCL Fantasy) and spend very little time in the room. On Oasis we had an inside balcony over the Central park (booked by MIL)- we did use this- we used it as extra space on port mornings to eat room service breakfasts, enjoyed sitting out there in the evenings listening to the piano or violin players in the park. On Freedom we had an inside and were too busy enjoying the ship, were never in the room. On the Fantasy we had a VGT- we honestly didn't have a chance to use the verandah much at all...we found it very windy a lot of the time. We used it when we were arriving at/leaving Puerto Rico and CC, but not much else. If there had been an IGT or OGT for cheaper we probably would have gone with those and been just as happy. There were so many activities we wanted to do, we pretty much just crashed there at night.

This will be our first time on DCL, and my son's first time ever. I plan on trying to do as much as we can on the ship, but am hoping to start our mornings with a few minutes sitting outside with coffee and room service breakfast, before the nonstop day starts!
Will that be a problem to order most of our breakfasts in the room?

 

[darnheather]

This will be our first time on DCL, and my son's first time ever. I plan on trying to do as much as we can on the ship, but am hoping to start our mornings with a few minutes sitting outside with coffee and room service breakfast, before the nonstop day starts!
Will that be a problem to order most of our breakfasts in the room?

They do not serve hot breakfasts via room service. There is an outdoor deck at Cabanas.

 

[cheermom2four]

DH and I prefer a verandah. We used it more than we thought we would and have switched our port hole to a verandah for our upcoming cruise. Honestly, I'm the opposite on vacation. I am constantly on the go go go all the time (kids' sports, my long work hours and traveling for that, and the fact DH and I have no alone time since he's the head pastor) we use cruise vacations as a time to unwind and disconnect (from technology especially). We hit the character meets etc, but we just dont feel the need to try to do it all when I can do that at home I love reading how we all vacation differently as thats how we all roll

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

We always book a verandah; even for four night cruises. I am an early riser, I will get out of the stateroom to hike around the ship before most of the guests are awake and moving for a little bit then stop off at the coffee station, grab a cup, go back to the stateroom, sit out on the verandah watching the world/sea go by, drink my coffee and look over the Navigator. When we are back in the stateroom getting ready for something while my wife is doing her thing I am on the verandah. And we really like it at the end of the evening before turning in for the night. My wife will take more breaks during the day to sit out on the verandah to watch the world/sea go by and to read.

 

[tink1970]

I have been on 11 cruises and all but 1 had verandahs...why I thought I would do well when I'm claustrophobic as all get out in an inside room escapes me now!

Verandah:
to see the sea, hear the sea, smell the sea (and I'm about 5 minutes from the bay, 10 from the gulf so maybe it's just something I need...).
to sit and read and relax
to allow a little privacy if DD is getting ready
to sun a bit if the pool lounge grabbers (not users) have invaded
watch arrival at the port
watch departure from the port
in Alaska (twice) look for wildlife, both land and sea

As for how much time I spend in my room--on the last two cruises I have been under the weather (not contagious-once a migraine, once terrible allergies which improved but triggered another migraine) and I spent about 80% in my room. I was quite happy that it was nice and while I didn't use the verandah as much as normal, was happy we were in a suite since I spent a lot of time sniffling and sneezing in the bathtub!

My DH is an extreme introvert and he must have a place to escape people so it's good for him, too. He'll eat, go to the gym, walk around a bit but a lot of time is in the room.

As you can tell..we are no longer On The Go 24/7. It's kind of nice, to be honest.

That said, I can completely understand the cabin is for the 3 (or5) Ss philosophy. It's nice that there are choices for all vacation styles.

 

[21stamps]

They do not serve hot breakfasts via room service. There is an outdoor deck at Cabanas.

Ok then. There goes that plan.lol

Are there any continental style offerings or just no breakfast at all available for room service?

 

[Love2Cruz]

If I cruise with a verandah, which is the majority of the time, I spend lots of time out there....especially breakfast, and after showering and late at night with a glass of wine.
If I cruise with an ocean view, I spend less time in the cabin. I don't do insides at it's too claustrophobic for me and not knowing if it's daylight or dark messes with my mind. I wake up with the sun even at home.

So my preferable way to cruise is with a verandah as I utilize it alot on cruises for that private space that really makes me feel like I'm on a vacation.

 

[KimDis]

This will be our first time on DCL, and my son's first time ever. I plan on trying to do as much as we can on the ship, but am hoping to start our mornings with a few minutes sitting outside with coffee and room service breakfast, before the nonstop day starts!
Will that be a problem to order most of our breakfasts in the room?

You can absolutely have a light breakfast in your room, just continental style. We've ordered hot & cold beverages, fruit (whole & cut), doughnuts, croissants, bagels, and (I think) toast before. In the past I may have done cereal too, but I don't know if they still do that. It's Disney - ASK

You can also order all of this ahead of time so that your breakfast arrives at a set time in the morning. There's a form that's usually in or on the desk. Just fill it out and place on your door before 1am (possibly later).

Nice part of our cruise two weeks ago was having breakfast on the balcony & enjoying the ocean or watching them dock the ship while my friend's daughter slept.

 

[BigredNole]

Ok, so I don't mean this in a mean way either, but why did you ask the question? So you could disagree with those of us who do?

Not at all. It was to get an idea of what people do. To get a perspective on spending $6,000 on a 1-week vacation.

 

[21stamps]

You can absolutely have a light breakfast in your room, just continental style. We've ordered hot & cold beverages, fruit (whole & cut), doughnuts, croissants, bagels, and (I think) toast before. In the past I may have done cereal too, but I don't know if they still do that. It's Disney - ASK

You can also order all of this ahead of time so that your breakfast arrives at a set time in the morning. There's a form that's usually in or on the desk. Just fill it out and place on your door before 1am (possibly later).

Nice part of our cruise two weeks ago was having breakfast on the balcony & enjoying the ocean or watching them dock the ship while my friend's daughter slept.

Wonderful!!!! Thanks!

 

[ludari]

Typically I only use my stateroom to sleep, shower and change. However on cruises longer than 10 days I will spend at least one day resting/napping in the room. Of all the rooms I've booked I do prefer window views because I like to leave the curtains/shades open so the sun wakes me up in the morning.

 

[21stamps]

.

 

[Sweetsarj]

We just got off the Dream 5/13. We had a veranda family stateroom. To be honest we were barely in the room. There was always someplace we needed to be dinner, show etc.. Even though we were barely in the cabin I would still book the same category again. I like having a private outdoor space of my own.

 

[kerry1379]

We too like verandahs. We have two children that need time in the cabin to rest from all of the excitement so we spend some time in the room each day. While they nap, I like to sit on the verandah and take in the peace and relaxation that comes from watching the water. We also noticed that our special needs child seems to get real joy from looking out the window and watching the ocean. He did that often on our cruise and would even venture out onto the verandah with us. Add to that, he is an older boy but still requires diapers. So windows (or in this case, sliding doors) that open to air things out is a necessity for us.

 

[Hundredacre]

Wonderful!!!! Thanks!

You can also go to the buffet and bring it back to your room. Not as easy but an option.

 

[KristiMc]

I love having a verandah. I wake-up earlier than the rest of my family so I have room service delivered and sit out there with tea and a book and enjoy the morning. We also love to hang out there in the evening with a glass of wine before dinner. We still have plenty of time to enjoy the activities on the ship.

 

[steves100]

I am in the mix of activities and relaxation category. I definitely enjoy my lounging with a book or cocktail time to the extent I'm able to get it.

My personal preference would be to do that relaxing near the pool, but I find that it doesn't necessarily work out that way because I have a small child (now 3). He tends to get extra-tired from all of the fun and stimulation on vacation and need naps. Sometimes we get lucky and he falls asleep in his stroller while we're out -- but we've found that if we're on a Disney trip he will force himself to stay awake well past the point of exhaustion. So we need the room as a home base for naps during the day and, as a result, we wind up doing our reading and relaxing in the cabin. I found that I was perfectly happy with the porthole cabin on our Alaska trip, so that's what I've booked for our next cruise.

From my experience their is no such thing as relaxing near a DCL pool : )

 

[steves100]

They do not serve hot breakfasts via room service. There is an outdoor deck at Cabanas.

Or....you can bring breakfast to your room. I do that a lot for the sleepy kids....

 

[BigredNole]

I think I see the huge spectrum of people that go on cruises now. I just didn't expect it. We have never been on one. It has been enlightening. I am glad people that are like us responded. When trying to find where we can cut expenses, the cabin is one. It may seem crazy, but relaxing for me would be in the wild places like the pool or on deck watching kids just have the time of their lives. Seeing my daughter jump around, playing, and going all over the place is exciting to me. I guess the excitement and chaos is fun to me.

 

[RedSox68]

We are not pool or sun people. So when we are not exploring the ship or at shows or meals, we sit on our verandah for hours -- even during the evening hours. It is (for us) the most relaxing place on the ship and we do spend a lot of time in our room on sea days enjoying the sounds of the ocean, reading and watching movies. I love looking out at the sea -- you never know what you might spot!

In ports, as soon as we come back onboard, we order room service and sit on the balcony and watch everyone returning and the ship being prepped for sailing.

PP mentioned taking breakfast back to the room -- we have done that a LOT. Especially on the last morning -- gives everyone time to get ready while they eat. We love our staterooms