Is upgrading to a room w/ a Verandah worth it?

[Jodi]

Hi All;

First post, but I've been lingering for a bit. I need help/opinions. We're booked for a 4-night cruise in Dec. '06, the day after Christmas. We've been on a DC b4, 3-night in 11/04 & booked 2 Cat11 rooms, 1 for my husband & myself, & 1 for our 3 kids.

This time around we were thinking about upgrading our room (of course) to one w/ a verandah, putting the kids in a Cat11 across the hall. The price for this upgrade is a whopping $930 in addition to the already "premium" rates b/c of the time of the year.

My question is, does anyone out there think it's worth it? The cat11 rooms were fine last time (although the lack of daylight was a little bizarre).

Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Jodi

p.s. Sorry if this question has been addressed numerous times b-4!

 

[dairyou]

Jodi,

Welcome! Congratulations on your first post.

I was just wondering if maybe somewhere in the middle would be okay with you. You stated that catagory 11 room was too dark (I agree!) how about a catagory 9 with a porthole? It isn't a verandah but maybe you wouldn't struggle with the decision of cost so much.

We have never sailed in a verandah yet. We are very much like you. Is it worth it or not. Hubby thinks about all the other things we can do on the ship instead. More drinks, spa treatments, souveniers or excursions.

I've read where people wouldn't sail without a verandah again. I'm sure someone with more "verandah" knowlege will come and post

Good Luck,
Deb

 

[Admiral Boom]

Navigator's Verandahs are a little cheaper, too. Might want to think about that.

 

[Vanvmom]

We avoided the verandah-partially due to cost, but also because DH thought he would likely spend a lot of time out on it instead of up on deck with the rest of us.

We loved our Cat 9 room, the porthole was HUGE!

 

[bonnielynn]

I would love to hear what everyone has to say because I am in a cat 10.. and not sure if I should upgrade to a room with some light.

 

[whetstone]

I can't say what the other rooms on the Wonder where like we had a verandah room on deck 7, but compared to the Carnival porthole room we took last year it was worth it to us. Our next Disney cruise will also have a room with a verandah. It was nice to be able to sit right outside our room in the open.

 

[kplatt]

Our first cruise was in a Cat. 6 and we haven't booked a balcony since. We spent so little time out there that we felt it was a waste of money.

We subsequently had a Cat. 11 (too small for the 4 of us) and a Cat. 8. The 8 was our favorite, and we have a Cat. 9 GTY for the August Repo cruise.

If we wanted to go the 2 cabin route, I would do connecting Cat. 11. My objection to an across-the-hall arrangement is that I've seen (and heard) too many kids standing in the hall pounding on their parents' door, disturbing all cabins nearby.

 

[underdesea]

I think the value of a verandah also increases with the length of the cruise and the number of sea days. We have sailed three- and four-night DCL itineraries in a cat 11 and were fine with that, since so much of the time is spent in port or on Castaway Cay. I'm not sure that I would splurge for a shorter cruise. But for a seven-night or longer, we love having a verandah. It is so relaxing on sea days to have a quiet spot to retreat to and just watch the waves. Also, my DH is a much earlier riser than me, and he really appreciates being able to enjoy coffee and a book on the verandah in the morning while I am still snoozing.

 

[dairyou]

Just to add to Kplatts comment about connecting rooms. We stayed with RCCL and had 2 connecting rooms. It was wonderful. I don't think I would do 2 across from each other. There were times in the morning where I wanted to tell them something and I can't imagine running across the hall in my pjs would be fun. It was very convienet to have them next door. At times we left the door open and times we left it closed. Two rooms are the way to go!

On another note..if you do across the hall staterooms, use your phone to call your kids. That way you wont have pounding at the door like Kplatts mentioned. Even with our rooms next door we did this. Lazy was the reason. Just didnt want to get out of bed to ask them if they brushed their teeth or not

Deb

 

[Ariel&Flounder'sMom]

I'll speak up about the Verandah - we loved it! It was wonderful to have your own space to sit and enjoy the view.

We sailed a cat. 6 in March '05, and have rebooked a cat. 6 for Jan. '06. My DH only wants a verandah, after our first experience.

I think it depends on your kids, and how much you'll be in the cabin. We have DD's 5 and 3, so they both need naps. Also, they both go to bed relatively early - 10pmish. That meant we had downtime in the cabin. (in the afternoons, we usually switched off, one of us hanging in the room and one of us exercising or going the Rainforest room or hanging by the adults only pool)

Some of my highlights of the trip involve the verandah:

-Our first night, the girls were asleep, and DH and I sat on the verandah drinking champagne and smelling the air.

-During naptime/bedtime, we'd read a book and enjoy the view.

-First thing in the morning, we could look and see where we were. It was a great way to start the day.

-Even in port, before we sailed, we stood on our verandah and watching dolphins playing in the water.

Anyway, just thought I'd share some of my thoughts and why we booked a verandah again.

 

[Jodi]

Thanks for all your input, guys. What you're saying makes a lot of sense and gives me something to chew on...So happy I posted the question - must get those kids a connecting room!

 

[mommasita]

I am not 100% positive, but almost that the lowest category of connecting rooms are cat.10's...We did this, and it was fantasic...Tried to go as far aft as possible to be close to the secret deck 7 aft..When we needed a boost, we took our breakfasts and ate there, we actually spent LOTS of time there.....ANd the two connecting rooms are fabulous, like a suite. We left doors open, and all the added benifits, two bathrooms (the best one..) two tv's could not be beat...

hth

 

[Jodi]

I am not 100% positive, but almost that the lowest category of connecting rooms are cat.10's...We did this, and it was fantasic...Tried to go as far aft as possible to be close to the secret deck 7 aft..When we needed a boost, we took our breakfasts and ate there, we actually spent LOTS of time there.....ANd the two connecting rooms are fabulous, like a suite. We left doors open, and all the added benifits, two bathrooms (the best one..) two tv's could not be beat...

hth

Uh...excuse my ignorance, again, but what is the "secret deck 7 aft"?. Please give me the scoop!!

 

[mommasita]

Uh...excuse my ignorance, again, but what is the "secret deck 7 aft"?. Please give me the scoop!!

there is or was an unadvertised bonus on deck 7....As far aft as you go, and there is a brown door, open it and VOILA quite peaceful....Really, very few people know about it.....it is nice...I will try to find a picture..

 

[Jsme]

you can find a picture at castawayclub web site.

 

[Bethipooh4]

We have been in both a Cat 9 and a cat 5 verandah room. I loved both of them.

We had the verandah for our recent 4 night, and we were out there every chance we got, from sailing away, to at night, to pulling into port. I am the early riser in the family, and would go out to the verandah with coffee and a book till everyone was up.

We loved the verandah so much, as soon as we got home we had DU change our cat 9 to a Cat 6 for our 7 night next summer!!

 

[plutojudy]

Yes, it is worth it. We had a verandah for our first four cruises and not our fifth. We missed it so much. We felt like we were in a cave everytime we were in our cabin. We thought we would try without for one cruise because we had such nasty verandah neihbors on our fourth cruise. It was a mistake.

 

[tvguy]

We used the Verandah, we loved the Verandah, but we were upgraded for free.
According to the catalog, that upgrade would have cost us $1200.
All four of us agree it wasn't worth the money.

 

[Ariel&Flounder'sMom]

PlutoJudy, please elaborate. Why were your verandah neigbhors so bad?

Just curious...

 

[Vanvmom]

Another verandah concern we had that kept us with the porthole rooms was this: DH is very sensitive to cigarette smoke. We know (and have seen) people smoking on their verandahs, and our luck we would get smokers as neighbors. What a bummer if we were to pay that extra money for the verandah and then not be able to enjoy it due to DH sensitivity to cigarette smoke.