Inside Stateroom or Suite w/Verandah?

[devotedchristian]

DH and I will be cruising with our (then) 2year old toddler on a 3night cruise. We have cruised once before but had an inside stateroom on Carnival's Fantasy Shipt and it was cramped with just us 2.

Is the Suite with the Verandah worth the money or will we be so busy that we will hardly be in the room at all.

What did you do and please share your experience as it will help me in booking.

Also, there used to be a website that had online vitual tours for most of the major cruise lines of their staterooms/cabins. Per chance, does anyone know that website?

 

[PoohJen]

ON a 3 night cruise, I'll bet you'll be so busy you won't find the verandah worth the extra $$$.

On the other hand, I've seen threads where Moms (or Dads) like to put their child down for a nap and sit on the verandah during that time.

the Disney site has a good layout of each of the decks and also virtual tours of the different classes of staterooms.

Happy Planning!

 

[AnnMorin]

We spend hours on our veranda, especially at night before bed. DS likes to wind down and watch some tv before going to sleep and DH and I sit on the veranda and enjoy a glass (or two or three ) of wine. There is nothing more peacefull than being in the middle of the ocean where it is pitch black at night and just listening to the waves.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

If your only consern is space, even DCLs inside standard staterooms are plenty big enough. Their only problem is that storage space isn't nearly as good as ANY of the Deluxe staterooms.

But if all you are doing is a three day cruise (and if this is your first DCL cruise), I'd save the money and just get the cheapest room you can and save your money for a later 7 day cruise with a verandah. But otherwise, the cabins are the same size for inside deluxe, outside deluxe, outside with a verandah deluxe (except for the space of the verandah of course).

If space is of concern, you could opt for the cheapest deluxe catagory you can deal with. There's a thread comparing Standard v. Deluxe cabins.

 

[vossjemi]

we have 2 kids and going on a 4 day. We weren't sure if we could afford balcony either, so we went with a category 10 but got lucky with a secret porthole cabin. check out castawayclub and dcltribute websites for info on these deck 5 cabins. there are only 6 of them and they supposedly go fast.

 

[TootyJane]

Personally I think the verandah is worth the extra $$$. If I were traveling with a 2yo I know I would be spending time in the stateroom. Having a verandah to sit out on while my child was napping would be perfect. I would book the room with verandah over an inside room any day. HTH

 

[MB MinnieGirl]

I would definately have to agree with those saying that the verandah is well worth the extra $$$

We were on the 3 day in May with my DD4 and although we didn't spend the majority of our time in the room - we LOVED it in the evening before dinner and after the shows. Even coming back in for the day before getting ready. There was nothing like coming back to the room to get ready for dinner with the drink of the day in hand...and relaxing for a bit on our own private piece of heaven At night my DD was so pooped she would pass right out....it was so great to have the verandah to enjoy while she snoozed away. We would feel like that something special was missing if we were to ever cruise without a verandah again....which as long as I'm doing the booking we would never do

Enjoy your cruise - and if you do opt for the verandah - sit back in your jamies and relax while watching the water glistening under the moon for me too

 

[kcashner]

It's really a personal choice issue. Since I travel as a single mom, I find that with 2 of us, an inside room is fine. The cat 10 is the same size as the cat 5-9, except that the higher levels (5-7) have the verandah. I pay full adult fare for DD, so am really hesitant to shell out more for the verandah. Of course, I was delighted when we got an upgrade free.

Please note that you do not have a suite until you get to a cat 1-3. The terminology can get confusing as some other cruise lines do have "junior suites" which are no bigger than DCL staterooms. DCL staterooms are about 1/3 bigger than many other ship's rooms....with a 2 year old, I think an inside would be fine. It really is a matter of what you want. Breakfast on the verandah is nice....hanging out there while child naps is nice. Personally, I'd rather have more cruises in a lesser category.

Also, you need to be aware that the verandah is a "smoking zone," and you may be disturbed by your neighbor's smoke.

 

[Lisa]

We love our navigator's verandah. In the morning we would have coffee and juice out on the verandah. One day our daughter had a fever and slept most of the day. I sat out on the verandah reading a book while she rested. Very nice to watch the water to relax by.

 

[CAMICKEY]

If money is not an issue, get the verandah. On our past cruises, we spent enough time on it that we felt it was worth the money. If your budget is tight, get an inside stateroom and you will find that your time will be spent more outside of the room anyway since you do not have a verandah. Enjoy your cruise whatever you decide. Once you get a verandah once, it is hard going back to an inside stateroom in my opinion- Mike

 

[CM_Mom]

If you're worried about space, DH ans I sailed on the 7 night Magic in May with our DD in a cat 11 inside stateroom and had plenty of space.....and DD is 25 not 2. Now after saying that, the NEXT time we sail, we will go ahead and spring for a verandah if we can possibly afford it. We enjoyed watching the water go by on deck and I would have enjoyed the quiet time in the room more if I could have been on the verandah.

 

[Dreamer04]

I love the verandah!

But, I am planning on the 3day Wonder and I am going with the lowest catagory I can get!!

 

[momof3luvs2run]

Originally posted by AnnMorin
We spend hours on our veranda, especially at night before bed. DS likes to wind down and watch some tv before going to sleep and DH and I sit on the veranda and enjoy a glass (or two or three ) of wine. There is nothing more peacefull than being in the middle of the ocean where it is pitch black at night and just listening to the waves.

This sounds wonderful!!! We booked a Deluxe Family Stateroom with verandah. I can't wait! Do you buy the wine on ship?

 

[AnnMorin]

Pick it up at a bar or just bring bottles on board with you in your carry on.In the past I have had bottles waiting in my stateroom for me when we arrived via Shirley at the perfect gift.

 

[musicgirl]

We love our cat. 11 room #7127. We are dw, dh and ds-13. We've had this room 3 times (2 Wonder and 1 Magic). There is plenty of storage room when you put luggage inside of one another and put the life jackets under the bed, use an over the door shoe holder in the bathroom and hang up a lot of clothing. We had ours on wire hangers in suitcase (you know the one made specifically to do that-name?????). Easy to unpack (at least that part!) and we threw away the wire hangers.

My sister did the 3 night with 2 adults and 2 kids cat. 11 and were fine.

If money is the issue, if you have it go for the verandah. If you are on a budget, don't. We didn't even go for the split bathroom because we figured we could use the $100 to shop!!!

JMO Lorie