Thinking about upgrading from an inside stateroom--advice please.

[Kay2397]

We sail on the Fantasy 4/23/16. It's our first cruise. We are a family of 4, with daughters who will be 6 & 8. We are currently booked in a standard inside stateroom 7681, aft. We wish we would have went for at least booked the deluxe inside so we could've had the split bath, those are now unavailable. We are considering upgrading to a verandah room. This is our first cruise. Our TA had suggested the following staterooms with verandahs: category 5D 6530 or Category 5B 8574 or 8540.

Does anyone have thoughts on these rooms (locations, pictures)? Any help will be appreciated

 

[Otimon]

By all means, get a cabin with a plexiglass verandah if you can find one - you won't regret it. We wouldn't sail without one no matter what the length of the cruise. We sail Cat. 4B, mid ship on Deck 8.

Bon voyage.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

What is the price diff? Our only time on the Fantasy we did an inside my kids. Loved the Magic Porthole, but I felt cramped in an inside --something about no window made the room seem smaller.

 

[Kay2397]

I think we definitely want a veranda. The price difference is just under a $1000 for the Cat 5D which is on deck 6 around a 1200 difference for the 5B, which would be on deck 8.

 

[Weedy]

We like deck 6. It's midway between decks. Makes it easier to take the stairs. The elevators are typically very busy.

 

[lillygator]

For me that would be a depot on another cruise. We've done both and insides are fine
We are not in the room that much

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I think we definitely want a veranda. The price difference is just under a $1000 for the Cat 5D which is on deck 6 around a 1200 difference for the 5B, which would be on deck 8.

Is that the cost of the verandah NOW? Or the cost of the verandah at the time of your original booking? You should be charged the latter price, if you're changing categories on the same cruise.

 

[darkwing818]

For us (2 DDs as well) the split bathroom is almost worth the extra $$s by itself. Also my wife & I love sitting out on the balcony at night, relaxing & drinking a glass of wine or Bailey's Irish. Cheers

 

[jubjubrsx]

for me to be honest I couldnt care if its an inside or a veranda or even a port window....my thought on this is that the only thing I do in the room is sleep, I usually like to be outside of the room as much as possible.

 

[ksucats]

for me to be honest I couldnt care if its an inside or a veranda or even a port window....my thought on this is that the only thing I do in the room is sleep, I usually like to be outside of the room as much as possible.

This is how we are also. We do like the split bath with two kids. On our last (probably ever) Disney cruise, we were able to get two inside rooms for not much more than one and we absolutely loved that. We switched to Royal Caribbean for our March cruise and booked two inside rooms for that one. I honestly don't see us ever doing anything different unless price difference is very minimal.

 

[ladypiph]

It all depends on your family. We sailed 1 time (family of 3) in an inside room and it was very tight for us partially since I am an over packer. My DS at the time still needed to take naps, therefore we spent a good amount of time in the room we would also need to just take a time out, and relax for moments since there is so much to see and do it can get overwhelming, I would have loved to be able to just sit on the Verandah and read, or have a drink while he napped. The split bath is very helpful when trying to get ready in the mornings and at nighttime. There are stateroom reviews here http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/roomlist.cfm and here http://disneycruiselineblog.com/cruise-planning/stateroom-explorer-reviews/ but I think a verandah will be worth it and if your kids are planning on visiting the clubs being om Deck five will put you on the same deck as the clubs but Deck 8 would put you close to the pool deck and beverage station.

 

[2prettygirl]

We sail on the Fantasy 4/23/16. It's our first cruise. We are a family of 4, with daughters who will be 6 & 8. We are currently booked in a standard inside stateroom 7681, aft. We wish we would have went for at least booked the deluxe inside so we could've had the split bath, those are now unavailable. We are considering upgrading to a verandah room. This is our first cruise. Our TA had suggested the following staterooms with verandahs: category 5D 6530 or Category 5B 8574 or 8540.

Does anyone have thoughts on these rooms (locations, pictures)? Any help will be appreciated

When we sailed our first cruise on Carnival, family of 4 with 2 young kids, we booked interior and we were cramped, made for a long week. When we sailed Disney Fantasy, we booked the Deluxe Oceanview on deck 8, which is an aft room but it was SO NICE!! It wasn't quite as costly as a verandah but it was roomy. It came with the split bath, one had a toilet and sink, the other had a sink and round tub/rain shower and that was a great perk! We had a bed with a privacy curtain and then the sofa and upper berth pull down for the kids to sleep on. The window was so awesome, the kids could sit inside the window and look out while we sailed, it was nice having that extra sunlight coming in too. We plan to book this same room again on our next DCL.

 

[2prettygirl]

When we sailed our first cruise on Carnival, family of 4 with 2 young kids, we booked interior and we were cramped, made for a long week. When we sailed Disney Fantasy, we booked the Deluxe Oceanview on deck 8, which is an aft room but it was SO NICE!! It wasn't quite as costly as a verandah but it was roomy. It came with the split bath, one had a toilet and sink, the other had a sink and round tub/rain shower and that was a great perk! We had a bed with a privacy curtain and then the sofa and upper berth pull down for the kids to sleep on. The window was so awesome, the kids could sit inside the window and look out while we sailed, it was nice having that extra sunlight coming in too. We plan to book this same room again on our next DCL.

Also, this room is bigger in room size than the verandah, when you compare dimensions, the verandah is counted into the size of the room.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

In your choices, I'd take the deck 6 cabin. I'd save the @$200 and to me, there isn't a difference in the deck 6 vs. deck 8. I've stayed every deck and aft, midship, and forward and to me usually there isn't a massive difference unless the cabin is underneath or over something and in your options they are all fine.

Heather

 

[codex57]

Does it have the Magic Porthole? If so, I'd stay put. Disney is expensive enough, that the extra money can be used to enjoy other things. Souvenirs, excursions, etc.

We were "forced" into a verandah this past cruise cuz we booked late and that's all they had left. It was nice to have, but we honestly didn't use it that much and could have lived without it. Even during what I thought would be "peak" verandah times, I would peek out down the side of the ship and at most there were about 3 other people on their balconies on my entire side of the ship.

The split bathroom is really cool, but it's unique to Disney and especially since you've never had it before, you won't really know what you're missing. You'll live.

 

[Kay2397]

Thanks for all your comments. We did upgrade to a veranda on deck 8. The deck 6 cabin was unavailable by the time I made my mind up. I think we will be glad to have the split bath and I know that my kids will need some down time in the room so the veranda will be perfect. I'm looking forward to morning coffee out on the veranda. ---so excited! We still haven't told the kids.

 

[2prettygirl]

Thanks for all your comments. We did upgrade to a veranda on deck 8. The deck 6 cabin was unavailable by the time I made my mind up. I think we will be glad to have the split bath and I know that my kids will need some down time in the room so the veranda will be perfect. I'm looking forward to morning coffee out on the veranda. ---so excited! We still haven't told the kids.

Enjoy your cruise! Deck 8 is really quiet as there are rooms above and below you! Great choice!