This is an area where
DCL has certainly spoiled us. The cabins on Disney ships were designed with families in mind and are considerably larger than industry standard. As my last several cruises have been with DCL, I sort of forgot that this isn't the norm.
When I first walked into my category I ocean view cabin on deck 3, I thought oh my, this is small. It was well decorated and pleasant, very clean and inviting. The first thing I noticed was the lack of drawer space. There were 3 drawers in the cabin aside from the small night side table drawer. There was a shelving unit that housed the dressing table area, mirror, TV, 3 drawers, several shelves and mini bar. This was along one wall, opposite the sofa. The cabin is 178 sq ft as opposed to the 204 sq feet of a ocean view on the Dream/Fantasy, for reference a category 11 on the Dream/Fantasy is 169 sq ft.
The closet was beside the sofa and was double door. It had a row of larger shelves, suitable for folded clothes and shoes, as well as a small safe. The safe would fit cash, ID, jewellery etc but was too small for my ipad. There were plenty of hangers and an area to hang longer dresses etc and double poles to hang sorter hanging clothes.
The bathroom (no splits here!) was actually quite comfortable and I enjoyed the round shower stall (no tubs) with doors instead of doing the shower curtain dance. There were enough shelves in the bathroom to accommodate my things with room to spare. Toiletries were almost nonexistent (small soap bar and a shampoo dispenser in the shower).
Once all of my things were packed and put in their place, I looked around again. I still had plenty of space that would accommodate my husbands things, thought when Ben is with us it will be a little tight, but overall I could make it work to be able to sail this ship again.
I will say this cabin was larger than some others I have experienced on other cruise lines.
The original plan was for me to tour other cabins prior to sailing. That wasn't possible due to the circumstances of the sailing. I will say, however, that upgrading to a balcony cabin will not get you a whole lot more interior space. The actual cabin size for most is listed at 182 sq ft plus balcony space. There are a few family size cabins but they sell out very quickly and already are gone for our Oasis cruise.
When booking a cabin on this ship, there are an incredible amount of choices that honestly can be very overwhelming. Your first decision is inside, ocean view or balcony. Within the stateroom type will be categories based on location and in some cases size. A standard inside is around 153 sq ft, and a large inside is 176 sq ft. If you decide you want a window (oceanview) they are basically all one size. There may also be options for windowed cabins that face central park or the Boardwalk, these can be slighter larger than the ocean view.
For the verandah cabins you can choose from Ocean view, boardwalk view and central park view. They are all basically the same size as my ocean view cabin with a balcony of around 50sq ft. The next level up are the suites, Junior suites, owners suites, aquatheater suites....all with varying sizes and amenities. They are more suites on these ships than with DCL, therefore typically pricing will usually be better than on the Disney ships.
Overall, a seasoned Disney cruiser will have to be prepared for the living space. It is smaller, there is less storage, and in my cabin no dividing curtain. All things I will miss, but I truly found the benefits of this ship far outweighed the cabin space limitations.