Verendah go for it or pass?

[mamaburrito]

Planning our first cruise for next summer! I'm so excited and so overwhelmed.

So I figured we are going in June or August. And I think we've settled on Alaska. My kids are going to be so excited!

So now verendah or no? Part of me always wants to be frugal but the reason behind the trip is to honor the life of my grandfather who recently passed away. That and a 10 year belated honeymoon.

Thank you!

 

[AquaDame]

Prepare for opinions both ways..! Personally, we did not NEED a verandah and were glad to use the money on the spendier excursions IN Alaska than sitting watching it. Many people are going to say it is a must. In the end, it will come down to what your finances will afford and how much use you think your family will get out of it rather than running around the ship! I know you will have a lovely cruise either way!

 

[disnygirl55]

Personally, I would NOT go to Alaska without a verandah. But, it is not a necessity. Deck 4 especially has wonderful cushy lounge chairs where you can hang out and watch the scenery. But there are other places to go as well. You don't HAVE to be in your stateroom except to sleep. You can have a terrific cruise either way.

So choose what you can afford and what environment you want to have in your stateroom. It is so nice for me to practically fall out of bed and not have to "get ready for the day" in order to see the beautiful sunrise or views, or drink a cup of coffee just outside while the rest of the family is still asleep, or sit outside and watch the stars right before bed - but if that kind of thing is not so important to your enjoyment, save your money for excursions or another future cruise!

 

[jdb in AZ]

If you were going to the Caribbean then I wouldn't consider a verandah necessary, but in Alaska there's so much scenery close to the ship it's good to be able to open the door and take pictures. Some will insist that you have to be up on deck to get the best view of Tracy's Arm, but the captain will turn the ship so both sides will get a good view, plus you can listen to the naturalist's commentary on your stateroom t.v. Not to mention, if it's cold, you can duck back into your stateroom and get warm. And avoid the crowds.

 

[Ms95014]

Get the verandah. It is well worth the money. It is nice to go outside at night and look at the stars.

 

[KristiMc]

We did the Alaskan last June and loved having a verandah.

 

[mamaburrito]

You all twisted my arm. Lol. Are there any 'bad' verandahs? Am I ok if I just get the cheapest one? And, any recommendations on excursions??

 

[bringmethathorizon]

as for us.its a must.if we cant afford the ver.we don't go.we don't do excursions or spend a lot on really anything else once we get on the ship.spend a good bit of time just sitting out there enjoying.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

My wife and I will always get a veranda, even for a four night cruise. Especially for an Alaska cruise. We take breaks away from the rush during the day. I love having it in the morning, being an early riser. I get a little walk in on the decks before the rest of the ship is awake, grab a coffee from the drink station, bring it to the stateroom and sit on the veranda reading or studying the Navigator waiting for my wife to start moving. We also love sitting on it just before calling it a night, a good way to wind down after a full day of activities. My wife will take more breaks during the day, loves reading out there away from the noise. We are taking an Alaska cruise this summer and have a veranda and love the idea of having an area all to ourselves to watch nature slide by as we cruise.

 

[jetskigrl]

You all twisted my arm. Lol. Are there any 'bad' verandahs? Am I ok if I just get the cheapest one? And, any recommendations on excursions??

The cheapest verandahs will have solid white walls (7As will have an open air verandah but the opening is the size of a large porthole). The 6's will have solid white walls for the lower half. If you picture yourself sitting out on your verandah watching the views for long periods, then steer clear of these categories as it will be harder to see out of when sitting. That pretty much leaves you with Cat 4s and 5s (5s being smaller rooms and less expensive).

Since there are 4 in my family (3 adults and 1 almost adult sized), we usually go with a Cat 4 for the extra room. But to save money in Alaska, it was actually cheaper for me to book a cat 5B with an inside room across the hall for us. Same verandah space but we have two bathrooms, etc.

 

[limabeanies]

I think it depends on your personality a little. My mother and I did our first cruise this year and booked a verandah room. Whenever we would split up during the day I knew to head back to the room to find her. She preferred to sit on our verandah over the public spaces. I would find her out on the verandah day or night with a book in her hand or watching the waves. When I booked the room I too was anxious wondering if I was wasting money, would we use it, etc. At the end of the trip I had mom list her top 5 highlights. The verandah was one of them.

It's a personal preference. If you don't have it there will be a million other amazing things for you to do and you probably won't miss it. If you do, it can only add to your enjoyment.

 

[mamaburrito]

Thank you!!! You have given me more info than the three TAs I've contacted. Wondering if I should just book it myself at this point.

 

[limabeanies]

Don't lose out on your onboard credit by booking it yourself.
I think we had $150 from our agency.

 

[hanscarlet]

yea TA will get you some OB credit, go with a verandah fo sho, have fun!

 

[limabeanies]

We used our onboard credit for the rainforest room. It was well worth it.

 

[mamaburrito]

Thank you all for the advice. I really appreciate it. I never thought in a million years we'd be doing this. So I'm so excited and want to get the most knowledge. Any tips, tricks, advice is so helpful.

 

[Pooh2]

Just got back from Alaska (first cruise). We went with the white wall verandah, wish we had gone with the plexiglass verandah. My husband had no issue seeing while seated but I used a few pillows to give me more height.

We enjoyed being able to step out onto the verandah while getting ready and hanging out in the room as well as when the Captain would announce wildlife or scenery. Very glad we did not choose a non-verandah room.

The trip was amazing and sailing through the inside passage was quite an experience in itself.

Have a great trip!

 

[xlxo]

A compromise is the Deck 2 oceanview.

• It feels like a climate controlled balcony. I found the balcony provided a private space for a few hours in Tracy Arm.... but too cold/windy for other days on my August trip.
• The larger "midship" portholes can allow a child to lie down in it. Check this link and scroll down to find the picture. http://www.disboards.com/threads/a-...-all-carry-on-luggage-may-2016.3515261/page-2

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

Planning our first cruise for next summer! I'm so excited and so overwhelmed.

So I figured we are going in June or August. And I think we've settled on Alaska. My kids are going to be so excited!

So now verendah or no? Part of me always wants to be frugal but the reason behind the trip is to honor the life of my grandfather who recently passed away. That and a 10 year belated honeymoon.

Thank you!

I wouldn't cruise Alaska without a verandah.

Now do prepare for some to tell you, you can't miss anything in an inside room, very wrong, the issue us those who have an inside room, can't know what thry missed.

It's essential and a port adventure in itself.

Views from 6 am to 11 pm, ( inside rooms think it's far less).
From early morning daybreak, fog in banks on the mountains, quiet nature.
Sea life, birds etc.
Private space.
Can do what you want when you want, not trying to reserve and keep a space on public decks.
Get room service, go to Buffett and come back to your reserved space.
Watch last evening shows spectacular sunsets.
Can see everything, you can view from your room, you generally go up then back down, like Tracy arm.
You can walk to the other side when you want, without loosing your space on a crowded deck.
Any member can use restroom, or watch a movie whilst you stay together.
Note some will try to freighten you that you can sleep in the room as its not dark at night, - the rooms have curtains, this isn't true.
Some say your stuck to the room so can't see the other side, not true, you gave more freedom, rather than staking out a space on public deck at 7 am and trying to keep it, you can walk the ship when you want, and cruisers will let you in for one photo.
DCL supplies extra blankets to keep warm on s verandah, get them, get room service with hot drinks and snacks, if anyone is Coke, you can pop inside for a few minutes to warm up.
Some of the best views I saw like Eagles were at 11 pm, when those without a verandah had given up for the day, viewers are 24/7, all 7 days.
Get pillows and cushions from your room to keep comfortable.

 

[anricat]

If your budget will allow it, go for it! Unfortunately for us, we found the price difference between a verandah and non verandah to be absurd. It was so ridiculous as to be completely impossible for our family. I just couldn't justify the extra $3,000 for a verandah. Lets say for the sake of argument that if we spent 40 hours out there on our trip, that's $75/hour extra for the verandah. I asked myself, A) Am I going to actually spend 40 hours out there? and B) Even if I did, am I going to get $75 worth of enjoyment out of each hour?

The answer was an easy "No" to both of those questions. We decided that the extra $3000 was better spent on excursions as well as spending two days before and one day after in Vancouver. We compromised and got an Oceanview instead and we're very happy with our decision. (We haven't cruised yet so take this with a grain of salt.)

Again, this depends on your preference and your budget. If you have a bunch of expendable income, that's awesome and you should go for it (I would have if I could have) but honestly, I think Disney has WAY overpriced verandahs compared to the other rooms.

Either way, enjoy your cruise!