To Verandah or not (w/small kids)?

[imlazar]

We're trying to decide between a Deluxe Stateroom with Verandah (Category 6) versus a Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom (Category 8) for a 7-night eastern carribean cruise in September.

The cost of the upgrade is about $1,000, but that gives us an extra 50 square feet and of course, the Verandah. However, we're concerned about the danger since our boys are 5 & 2 and might have a natural tendancy to want to climb the railing.

Are we crazy to be concerned about this? Is it worth the extra $1k over 7 nights for a larger room and an ocean breeze?

 

[djs113]

verendahs are great and the kids would not be able to open the sliding doors without your help

they are very heavy and have a tricky lock on them

i would say if you can, go for it

- David

 

[b&j's_mom]

Another vote for verandah here. Our kids were the same exact age as yours when we cruised. There was no way they were getting the door open, my husband and I took a good 5 minutes trying to figure it out ourselves. Still, you have to watch them just as would anywhere else, kids can be pretty resourceful. We loved the verandah for when the kids went to bed - we were able to stay out there and have a drink and watch the ocean go by. Very nice!

Julie

 

[videogal1]

We're trying to decide between a Deluxe Stateroom with Verandah (Category 6) versus a Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom (Category 8) for a 7-night eastern carribean cruise in September.

The cost of the upgrade is about $1,000, but that gives us an extra 50 square feet and of course, the Verandah. However, we're concerned about the danger since our boys are 5 & 2 and might have a natural tendancy to want to climb the railing.

Are we crazy to be concerned about this? Is it worth the extra $1k over 7 nights for a larger room and an ocean breeze?

The Disney ships were built with the safety of children in mind. If you get a verandah-equipped stateroom you will find that the outside door is extremely heavy and difficult to open even for an adult. The railings are high, and, if you remove what little furniture is out there there is not much chance that a human child the age of yours could scale it...especially as you'll be keeping a close eye on them because of your fears. My suggestion is to save the money and enjoy all the free verandah time on the decks. Peace of mind is an intangible that will add enormously to your cruise adventure...

 

[lbgraves]

Both categories are the same square footage. It's the area on the verandah that accounts for the extra in the 6. I believe that categories 5-10 have the same area. The differences are inside, porthole, & verandah. We have stayed in a 10 & an 8. We had friends in a 6 and that room was set up the exact same way as our 8 was. If the room size was the reason for you wanting the 6, I would say it wasn't worth it. Our kids loved sitting in the porthole and playing with their matchbox cars in it. They would hold one about half way up on one side & let it go, laughing while it rolled back & forth. That helped to keep them occupied while I was getting ready to go out.

 

[encmerk]

I am with the last poster I would save the money. I have had both and decided to stick with the outside stateroom. If you do get the verandah don't worry the kids are safe. My kids were 1 and 5 when we went. The only bad thing that happened was my dd threw her pacifer over board and it landed on the life boat right underneath us. (thank god we had another one with us) Everytime we went on the verandah my DD would look down and say pacy pacy I found you. It was heartbreaking. We tried to ask someone if they could get it, but no one ever did.

 

[HooKooDooKu]

The cost of the upgrade is about $1,000, but that gives us an extra 50 square feet and of course, the Verandah.

Just to reiterate what the others have said...

...you are NOT getting 50 extra square feet and a verandah. Your $1,000 is only getting you a veranda (it's 50 square feet in size).

As for the kids, in addition to the door being pretty much impossible to open by a child, the kids will not be able to climb the railing because it is covered by a sheet of plexiglass. That doesn't mean it's impossible for kids to go over the railing. There is furnature that chould be used to climb over the railing if they intentionally tried going over. However, do date, there has not been a single reported case of a child under the age of 12 going over the railings and into the water yet.

 

[crisi]

The nice thing about a veranda with little kids is that it gives you a space for when they nap or sleep. But its an odd arrangement, the veranda is on the outside (of course), then the bunks where the kids will be, then your "room" which will have a curtain you can pull between their "room" and yours. The TV is in "their" room. But you can tuck your kids in and then enjoy your veranda while still being able to be close to them. With an inside room, you get to sit on your bed while the kids nap or sleep (which isn't bad either, and may be fine for $1000!)

 

[HooKooDooKu]

I am with the last poster I would save the money.

The subject is frequently debated. Some say they think it is worth the money. Others would rather spend their money elsewhere. Obviously you will have $1000 to spend on other things if you don't get the verandah. But you said you have a 2yo. If he is still taking regular naps, you might find you get a lot of use out of the verandah because you could always sit outside and read a book while he sleeps each day (basically, you're not tied to being inside the room).

 

[HooKooDooKu]

The nice thing about a veranda with little kids is that it gives you a space for when they nap or sleep. But its an odd arrangement, the veranda is on the outside (of course), then the bunks where the kids will be, then your "room" which will have a curtain you can pull between their "room" and yours. The TV is in "their" room. But you can tuck your kids in and then enjoy your veranda while still being able to be close to them. With an inside room, you get to sit on your bed while the kids nap or sleep (which isn't bad either, and may be fine for $1000!)

DS naps on "our bed" while we spend the time on the couch or verandah. This works for both inside and outside staterooms.

Remeber, during the day the "bunks" that the kids sleep on will the "put up".

 

[TheWog]

I'm with the get the verandah crowd for many reasons. Some of those being, it is great out there at night when they are sleeping and also is nice during the day for naps.

 

[depomas]

Having done both, I would not choose the verandah again. We had a great special, and that is the only reason why we took it. I would rather take the money and either spend it on excursions, or on the ship itself. It really depends on your preference or budget. Having said that, we were a party of 11, with three rooms, two being connectors...We hasd 4 children ages 2-8 and I was petrified of the verandahs....Even when I could see them out there, I would not even take a trip to the washroom, so that probably would also have a lot to do with it for me......

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We had a verandah with our 6 yo twins last cruise but chose to book an inside stateroom for next year. Obvioulsly, price is a factor. But also, I found my DS could open the door which surprised me since I'd read here they were difficult to open. At one point he even pulled up a chair to the verandah railing so he could get a better view with his binoculars (we were right there, of course). It was fun but I was a bit uneasy during the trip. And in reality DH and I tried to sit out there late at night but could barely keep our eyes open, LOL.

I also realized it was difficult for DS to "rest" during the afternoon since the verandah was a distraction for him. I confirmed this in January when he was able to successfully take an afternoon nap with the rest of us in our dark, quiet room at Pop Century. I think (for us anyway) it's necessary for us to nap if we expect the kids to stay up late and be relatively well behaved doing so on our vacations. On our last cruise we had late dinner seating and my son fell asleep in his plate at AP since he hadn't napped! (Someday I'll learn to post pictures, it is a riot).

So for us next time it's an inside room and early seating.