We've had 3 sideways rooms. I think our very first cruise we had one, but just didn't know the difference. The 2nd cruise the room was different, so not sure which was which. Our '06 cruise we got bumped up from a Ct.12 to a sideways room and it was great w/ a little one. We moved the coffee table between the closet and the bathroom to give us more space. It also had the trunk. On our cruise in May, I requested a sideways room and got 5509. We were right above the theatre, but we weren't really in the room when anything was going on. We heard a little noise, but nothing bothersome. As far as noise from other rooms, never in 7 cruises have we heard anything and we've always had inside rooms.
Have fun!