Please save my marriage!!

[Mboothby]

Okay, I gotta chime in and say the verandah is worth every penny. No matter what you think, you DO spend enough time in your room that it's worth it AND it's nice to have the verandah to sit on when things are crowded up top. Also...those inside rooms, IMHO opinion, are horrible. No windows, crowded, depressing, cramped. It's your vacation..you should enjoy yourself. Your wife with thank you later..trust me!

 

[mark & sandra]

I'm not sure of your situation or childrens ages, but this is what my TA showed me. We originally had a Cat 6 booked for me, DW, DD age 12, and DS age 10. He showed me that we could book an additional Cat 11, and the price was only 35.00 more than all 4 in one Cat 6. It something you might want to check on...Mark

 

[LTGRAMPS]

I vote for the verandah. All the time spent waiting for DW to get ready for dinner was my verandah time. Coffee in the morning, drinks at night, naps in the afternoon, I wouldn't book without one.

 

[Az Pirates]

JNC1970,

looks to me like it's split just about 50 - 50 'can't live without it' and 'not worth the money' right now.

Probably a good thing - guess thats one of the reasons Disney manages to fill their ships cruise after cruise.

So are you and DW still undecided on this one - or are you just going to cut and paste the replies that support your position to show her.

 

[mkbowlkw]

It is a must have for us also. This is our 4th cruise (1st Disney cruise and 1st one with children (boys 4 and 7). We didn't have the verandah on the first cruise, but once we got it on the 2nd one we feel we can't do without it. On the previous one's we spent a lot of time (mostly morning and night) on the verandah. It was very nice and relaxing. It was nice just to sit and talk and listen to the ocean. Again, we didn't have the boys then so we will see how much time we will spend out there this time (we are leaving less than 2 weeks). It is our goal to spend just as much time out there.

 

[ksjayhawks]

No verandah for us. We are in the room so little, that it would not be worth the extra money. I would rather take that money and do excurions, shopping, etc., and rebook for next time.

We didn't find the inside rooms dark, cramped or depressing. But, as I said we were just there to sleep, change, and for a brief quiet time. We loved deck 4!

 

[BMURPHY02]

it is worth every penny

 

[ES0412]

We had one on the 4 day cruise and my MIL said "you'll never use it, blah, blah, blah". Well, we got it and we used it ALOT! We'd sit out there in the morning and late at night after hitting the clubs and just enjoyed the peace and quiet. We did the cruise using DVC points so the $$$ wasn't really an issue.

 

[Tiggeriffic]

My wife absolutely loved being able to sit out on the verandah. Also, the verandah helps her deal with her mild claustrophobia. She wouldn't even consider doing the cruise without one. So, for us, it is definitely worth it.

 

[crisi]

We had a veranda, booked another one. We really enjoyed it.

Here is another way to look at it. You have $1600....what would you rather spend it on than a veranda. You may say "gee, that's the downpayment on a new car" or "that could really go to the kids college fund" You may be impractical - "Think of all the Bahama Mamas!" Your wife may want new clothes - or a nice piece of jewelry.

Or, in the end you may say "I want to spend my money on a veranda" like we did.

Did we use it $100 a day worth - well, I'd pay $100 a person for the morning we spent on it sailing into CC. There were 4 of us - four days of cruise, so I feel we did OK on it. The rest of the time it was a nice place to go take a peek - but that morning made it worthwhile.

 

[prymsu]

Our family has done cruises both with and without (12 times with and 2 times without), and personally we love the verandah and believe it worth the extra money. Hope you can convince your other half of this! good luck!

 

[Mike Wolfe]

You should do it at least once to find out if its right for you.. We all pass this way but once, and will only regret those things we did not do.


Mike

 

[bwvBound]

LOL! The (possibly) worst move I ever made in our vacation planning was to book a verandah cabin on the Disney Magic (Sept-98)!

That was our "first ever" cruise and it spoiled my DH! We've been fortunate to enjoy many cruises since (on various lines with lots of different itineraries) but my hubby tends to grumble when I can't book a balcony cabin.

All I can add ... is "there may be no going back."

• Sept-98, Disney Magic, Bahama Islands (BALCONY!)
• Oct-99, NCL Dream, Holy Lands (picture window)
• May-00, Renaissance R2, Iberian Treasures (really great BALCONY!)
• Nov-00, NCL Wind, Panama Canal (port holes)
• Feb-01, Marine Expeditions, Antarctica (port holes)
• Sept-01, SS Norway, Transatlantic "Farewell" (port holes)
• Oct-02, SS Norway, Eastern Carrib (back in service!) (port holes)
• May-04, Celebrity Summit, Alaska (BALCONY!)
• Aug-05, Disney Magic, Panama Canal (BALCONY!)

 

[HooKooDooKu]

Your wife is right, the Verandah is too expensive.

When we get a verandah, it's only about $100 per night (or less) more expensive than a cat 10.

 

[endowomen]

Not only does it give your cabin more open space, you can not beat listening to the ocean at night. I would order room service, enjoy some hot tea, and of course chocolate chip cookies. There is something about having privacy on either side of your verandah, knowing that only you can have your own slice of the ocean, that no one else can view!
I did opt to pay alot more for it, it is well worth it.
When you are not sleeping well, you slip out into the night and watch the waves, and take in the amazing awe of it all.
Just do your best not to let Titanic Movie clips run through your head!!!!!

 

[smchan]

Originally posted by jnc1970
she doesn't think that a verandah is worth $1,600. So those of you who are experienced DCL patrons...

A lot of folk say if you can afford it, then do it. I don't know what "afford" really means (have the money saved, have the disposable income, or have the credit?) - but I don't feel I can afford it despite meeting the 3 criteria I put forth. $1,600 is a 7 day, off season cruise for 2, or a 4 day offseason cruise for 4 in an inside room. My vote goes for a cat 9 or less. (Cat 9 because I don't think a cat 8 is worth the premium over a cat 9!)

I do give myself the luxury of a porthole because of the natural light and being able to look out the window. And yes, I spend a lot of time in my room.

I'll add that I'm always thinking about the "quality" vs "quantity" issue. Some might argue that a 1 week cruise with a balcony is worth more than 2 without. Buffet vs gourmet. Hmmm... My thought here is that a DCL cruise, even without a verandah, is quality enough for me.

Good luck with your decision.

Sam

 

[invaderzim]

Definitely would not cruise without it. My DH sits out there for hours in the early morning and early evening and reads while me and our DD get ready for the day or dinner or excursion. He has the opposite opinion -- it's not worth "saving" the money NOT to have it. To him, it's our vacation and the balcony is the upgrade we deserve.

Also, we leave our door open all night and love the fresh air and sound of the ocean. AND even if it is too hot on some days in July or August to leave it open, you can still open the curtains all the way and you have a wall-to-wall "glass window" which has beautiful views. And it really does make you feel like your stateroom is bigger.

 

[kcashner]

We had a verandah once. It was July, 106 degrees, and we really couldn't use it. DD keeps trying to get me to book one again, but I've pointed out that the cost of the upgrade to the verandah is almost the same as the cost of another cruise for the 2 of us. Besides, we spend so little time in the cabin...it becomes a place to change and sleep.

 

[minimahaki]

Go for the extra money at least once and experience the verandah (but then again you may love it and never sail again without one). I never sail without a verandah and would not consider a ship that did not have verandahs. We always stay on deck 7 and we have had the same cabin twice. We love having coffee and juice in the morning out on our verandah. Having the ability to watch the ship arriving and departing ports from our cabin is wonderful. Sitting out there before bedtime in my nightgown just enjoying the night sky and the sound of the ocean could not be more relaxing. This past January on the Western I was confined to my cabin because of GI symptoms. The first day I didn’t care less I was so sick but once I started feeling better the verandah was my salvation. I certainly understand your wife’s concern about the money but I think it will be well worth the expense to experience a verandah at least once. GO FOR IT!

We are booked for our 5th Disney Cruise leaving 7/31 and we may need to cancel because my husband had surgery 7/1 and may not be up to sailing. I need to stop reading these board because I am starting to get excited about the cruise and we may not be going!
Enjoy your cruise
Lauretta

 

[ToyStory]

We are going on our first Disney crusie (have one of the secret porthole cabins), but in the past on other cruise lines we got a verandah.

For a seven day cruise I would get one, but we are only going on a three day cruise so I decided to save the money and to get a nicer hotel in Orlando for the other 5 days.

I used the verandah alot, especially on my last cruise with my son, age 6. It was nice being on the verandah when we got close to port. Also in the late afternoon we went back to the room so my son could rest while watching cartoons, my husband to a nap and I sat out on the verandah to get away. We didn't use it much at night since we were all very tired with all the days activites.

My son also like looking at the bridge cam station on the tv and to go outside to see if he saw what was on the bridge cam.

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