Would you change staterooms from cat 08A to 05E or above?

[cheermom2four]

Considering this, I would keep the 8A until you see how you like the verandah on your first cruise. 8As sell out much sooner than verandahs, so you could always hang on to the 8A for now and switch to the verandah later on.

Actually leaning towards waiting to see if we even like the verandah but its hard to compare two different ships (Magic vs Fantasy) and the fact our first cruise is without kids and only 3 nights and the one I'm debating here is on the fantasy with kids and 7 nights. But I think I may just wait and see first as you are correct, I have heard that 8A rooms are sought after and have it on my reservation to not change it by DCL due to this specific one having a tub (most are HA and have roll in showers) as my dd is extremely scared of showers (have no clue why but she will only do baths).

 

[mevelandry]

A big fat YES. We definitely loved having a verandah during our last cruise. Although I love spending time on different decks, I also love the privacy of a verandah.

 

[emilyann415]

We LOVE the veranda rooms but I would not plan on using the murphy bed then. It is very difficult to climb over the murphy bed to get to the balcony and back in especially without waking the sleeping bear on it!!!! I will say we are sailing the NYE cruise this year on the Fantasy and due to pricing we just couldn't justify the high cost of a veranda so are opting for an oceanview room and are actually really excited about it. It will be a fun change.

 

[kiford]

do these privacy curtains keep the light from the little tv out

Yes. They are backed by some kind of blackout material. If you have them completely closed in a verandah cabin, they will screen out the light from the windows very well.

We always sail with a verandah, but it's a completely personal choice. We like to sit out on the verandah in the evenings and sometimes snooze out there in the afternoon if we're not out at the port. We like the more open feel with the big windows. We like to sit out there as we pull out of port (although we sat in the outside deck of Meridian when we sailed the Dream which was really nice). It really all depends on what's important to you and what you're prepared to pay to get that. We wouldn't sail without a verandah but we probably spend a comparatively large amount of time in our room compared to others. My dad doesn't care if he has a verandah or not and he cruises more than we do. He bases his selection strictly on price and sometimes has one and sometimes doesn't.

 

[Ichiban]

I would keep the 8A. They are unique staterooms and you really have to stay in one to fully appreciate the layout. We recently sailed in an 8A on deck 6, but always had a verandah on our previous cruises. I thought I would miss the verandah, but the huge space and two giant windows more than made up for it- you still have incredible views. We spent a decent amount of time in our stateroom, too. I was also worried about the lack of a privacy curtain, but it didn't end up being too much of a problem for us, since we generally went to sleep around the same time. If I woke up early, I just went to one of the open decks. It would have been nice to have had a split bath, but having one bathroom was entirely manageable. I wouldn't hesitate to book this category again!

 

[Iamaplanner]

We really love the 8A rooms. They are so spacious! Also love the two portholes with seating. My daughters each had their own 'cubby' as they liked to call it.

We actually try to rotate. Get an 8A one year and the next, we get a 5E.