Left or Right side of Disney Dream?

[mmbrad02]

I keep procrastinating booking our cruise cause I want to make the best decisions possible. But i really need to book! (October 2019). Do you prefer the left or right side? We want a Verandah room if that makes a difference.

And if you are generous with your opinions, do you have a deck preference? To my knowledge none of us get motion sickness. We have only ever cruised one other time, and it was Carnival. We decided to go about a month after my sister booked her familys cruise, and that made the decision pretty easy - we got the room next to theirs

 

[TortoiseTaughtUs]

If you have a cabin on the starboard side (the right when you’re facing toward the front of the ship), you’ll be able to see the fireworks from your verandah.

 

[darwinsrule]

And starboard gives you a view of the beach on Castaway Cay day. Nothing like being out on the balcony as you pull away. It is a sad moment, but I am all for trying to extend the time of Castaway as long as possible, even if it means just starring at the beach.

 

[MissDaisyofTexas]

Definitely starboard side!

 

[DisneyGirlMI]

Starboard definitely!

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

If you like rocking to sleep, then high up and all the way forward.

If you want less rocking, lower down and towards the middle.

Don’t be under the pool or Cabanas.

Don’t be above or below a theater. Sandwiched between other cabins is best.

Not too close to elevators.

Not right across the hallway from laundry rooms.

 

[ScooterScott44]

Go with Port or Starboard, you’ll get better answers as you have seen so far.

We usually do starboard verandas but you may find you like something else. I’ll add that MOST of the time the comment about starboard looks out on Castaway Cay but there are rare occasions that the ship will pull in which gives the port side the view. Although extremely rare it can happen. There are no absolutes about which way a ship will dock at any port.

 

[g_ppetto]

We were on the Fantasy, 8588, starboard side. We received a letter in our stateroom asking us not to be on the veranda during the fireworks. We viewed them from deck 13, adult area, between the exit from the elevators and the starboard railing. Great viewing area, didn't have to deal with the crowds viewing the show.

We were also on deck 13, starboard side for the sail away. We made a sign, waved, and traded messages with our daughter who was watching on the Port Canaveral web cam. Once the ship clears the channel, cross over to the port side. You should be able to see the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Cape. It's easy to spot. It's the tall one.

As darwinsrule mentioned, you have a great view of Castaway Cay from this side of the ship.

If your veranda permits, take a look at the waterline at night. There are lights illuminating the water. We also enjoyed watching the flying fish during the day from the veranda, and the birds that chased them occasionally.

My wife woke up as we were coming back into Port Canaveral and woke me too. We went onto the veranda to watch the ship come in and dock. You may be able to see some of the SpaceX landing platforms as the ship comes in.

We had a smooth cruise with no motion sickness issues. That said, it took a little while for the world to stop moving once we got back on land. haha!

Have a great cruise!

 

[Dug720]

If you have a cabin on the starboard side (the right when you’re facing toward the front of the ship), you’ll be able to see the fireworks from your verandah.

IF you are not in one of the cabins not allowed to use the verandah during fireworks.

 

[Dug720]

I'm the odd duck who prefers Port. I like the more natural side of Castaway to see. Plus if you have a verandah you can wave to the CC crew as you leave.

 

[TortoiseTaughtUs]

IF you are not in one of the cabins not allowed to use the verandah during fireworks.

Do you know which ones those are? We were in 5530 and we were able to/not instructed not to.

 

[Dug720]

Do you know which ones those are? We were in 5530 and we were able to/not instructed not to.

No. I am not usually a verandah person - I'd rather spend my money on other experiences as there are plenty of places to be outdoors on the ship. I do know that you'll get a letter in your cabin if you are in one of the cabins where you are not to be on your verandah.

 

[californiamomofboys]

I've had verandahs on both sides of ship. Starboard has view of beach/activity area of Castaway, which is gorgeous, but port side allows you to see the anchoring/docking of the ship on Castaway which I found fascinating (listen for the small explosion which is how they launch the ropes onto the pier). We like deck 9 or 8 so that we are closer to pool/Cabanas and have a buffer of only staterooms above and below (avoiding being directly below pool deck or over theaters).

 

[DCLDVC1]

I'm the odd duck who prefers Port. I like the more natural side of Castaway to see. Plus if you have a verandah you can wave to the CC crew as you leave.

I also prefer port side for the same reason.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We normally are port side veranda. Depends on the cruise. Sometimes, we like to see the islands as we approach them, or the open ocean/gulf to watch for ships (binoculars are a must).
So look at the route of the ship and determine what you want to look at while at sea or approaching the ports.

 

[MonaMN]

We were midship on deck 7 which was great - some hallway noise when a group of kids might go by or something, but no other noises to be heard.

 

[Suzie C]

I don't care which side but like midship deck 9. You can take the stairs to deck 11.

 

[soundnew]

I prefer port side. Like to see docking / undocking and see the waving CM. We are usually back on the ship at around 2pm so we enjoy plenty of views between then and undocking on deck.

 

[com_op_2000]

... I’ll add that MOST of the time the comment about starboard looks out on Castaway Cay but there are rare occasions that the ship will pull in which gives the port side the view. Although extremely rare it can happen. There are no absolutes about which way a ship will dock at any port.

Ditto, My comments:
Having been on eight DCLs, 4 back ins and 4 pull ins.
From discussions with CMs, these are some of the reasons that are used to determine which it is:
Sea conditions/Winds
Maintenance issues
Which lifeboats require testing
Captain's choice

 

[Dug720]

And also keep in mind that there are instances where the ship is unable to dock at Castaway (winds, currents...basically weather-related stuff) so picking a side based only on Castaway would be moot there.

Our first cruise we were Port and that tends to be what I stick with. I am left handed and tend to turn left when given an option (as in I don't have to go somewhere to the right), so I don't know if tha has anything to do with it for me or not. I know the one cruise where we were Starboard (because I added my parents on later and the best place for connecting cabins was on Starboard) and I inevitably found myself turning to the Port side and then having to backtrack and cross over to the other side to get to my cabin.