Choosing a Verandah Stateroom

[Katie Profeta]

Hi All -

Recently just took my FIRST Disney Cruise and LOVED IT. Booked a placeholder while on board and decided to take my mom on her first Disney Cruise as a gift! We are looking at a 2019 MerryTime Cruise.

We are leaning towards a Verandah room, but didn't know how you all choose yours...what deck do you prefer? Do you prefer forward, mid, or aft? I've never cruised with a Verandah....!

My initial thought was one of the extended Verandah rooms in the aft as I've heard you get great views of Castaway and Atlantis.

Any help would be welcomed!!

 

[KashasMom]

I would choose one sandwiched in between 2 decks of cabins so you won't have any noise from pool deck, Cabanas, etc. I'd also choose one on where you'll be seeing "dockside". It's fun to watch people coming/going etc. (You can research that based on what ports you'll be visiting.) If you're going with the Aft, I'd get one as high up as possible. We stayed in one on the Fantasy Deck 5 and there was a lot of noise/vibration. I would not stay in one again. We usually do stay aft on the very big RCI ships because all the activities are there. On Disney I'd stay more mid - and not too far from the stairs/elevators but not right on top of them either.

 

[Katie Profeta]

I would choose one sandwiched in between 2 decks of cabins so you won't have any noise from pool deck, Cabanas, etc. I'd also choose one on where you'll be seeing "dockside". It's fun to watch people coming/going etc. (You can research that based on what ports you'll be visiting.) If you're going with the Aft, I'd get one as high up as possible. We stayed in one on the Fantasy Deck 5 and there was a lot of noise/vibration. I would not stay in one again. We usually do stay aft on the very big RCI ships because all the activities are there. On Disney I'd stay more mid - and not too far from the stairs/elevators but not right on top of them either.

Thanks for your input! We are looking at a 4-Night out of Port Canaveral with one night at sea, Nassau, and Castaway Cay. I know portside is great for Nassau - but can't recall how much of Castaway you'd see from that side. I have looked at a few stateroom reviews and can totally understand not wanting to be right below Cabanas, etc.

 

[Sytrace]

We prefer Deck 10 all the way forward on the starboard side and under the Rainforest. It is super quiet and down a dead end hallway so the only people walking there are officers heading to the bridge, folks staying down that hallway or the cabin hosts/hostesses.

Starboard affords the best views of Castaway Cay and Atlantis. However, in Nassau, there are usually ships parked on either side of you whether you are port or starboard side so that is not a big deal.
We personally don't like aft and though the extended verandas are very spacious and cool, we would not be pleased with the noise factor or vibration.

 

[smiths02]

We wanted mid ship due to concerns about motion sickness. I have to say that no one in our party had any motion issues whatsoever. I know we had good views of Castaway Cay, and I think Atlantis (I just can't remember). We had 6580 and 6578 on the Dream. You can also look up specific rooms on this site. I'll come back with a link.

 

[smiths02]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/cruise-new/roomlist.cfm

 

[RAD]

As mentioned earlier I try to avoid a stateroom directly under the pool deck or directly above something like the theater. If on the Fantasy I try to avoid aft rooms due to vibration issues when the ship is underway faster then 20 knots if that type of thing would bother you. As for port or starboard side I usually try to see the route of the ships and avoid the side that would be facing the sun in the afternoon if you want to site on the veranda since if can become very warm in the sunshine.

 

[LizGirl]

We sailed aft, 9674, on Fantasy and absolutely loved it. Fantastic views of Castaway Cay and Jamaica!

Deck 5 verandahs are also very large but are not entirely shaded. FYI, incase you want to check those out!

 

[DIS_MIKE]

We prefer Deck 10 all the way forward on the starboard side and under the Rainforest. It is super quiet and down a dead end hallway so the only people walking there are officers heading to the bridge, folks staying down that hallway or the cabin hosts/hostesses.

Starboard affords the best views of Castaway Cay and Atlantis. However, in Nassau, there are usually ships parked on either side of you whether you are port or starboard side so that is not a big deal.
We personally don't like aft and though the extended verandas are very spacious and cool, we would not be pleased with the noise factor or vibration.

This! Deck 10 starboard is my favorite as well although this time we're technically mid-ship and under the cove pool.

 

[Sytrace]

This! Deck 10 starboard is my favorite as well although this time we're technically mid-ship and under the cove pool.

That is still pretty quiet...I don't think there are as many deck chairs being shoved around in that area as they are heavier loungers with cushions. We fell in love with a specific cabin when we were assigned it for a VGT rate a couple of years ago...now we book it all the time.

 

[KashasMom]

Thanks for your input! We are looking at a 4-Night out of Port Canaveral with one night at sea, Nassau, and Castaway Cay. I know portside is great for Nassau - but can't recall how much of Castaway you'd see from that side. I have looked at a few stateroom reviews and can totally understand not wanting to be right below Cabanas, etc.

Starboard on CC lets you see the whole island. Port lets you see the dock side which for most people is not as nice. I liked it on our Very Merrytime cruise because you can see the Christmas tree and big Christmas decorations as well as the Characters (when they are there). I also like to see all the activity. We watch that for a while and then head up top when we're sailing away from CC. You do see the island from the Port side when approaching the island since the captain "backs in".

I don't know if ALL ships pull INTO Nassau...I don't think so but not sure of the rhyme or reason as to which ships do or don't.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I found this site as a good starting point:

https://cruiseadvice.org/CruiseShips/BestCabins.aspx?ShipName=disney+fantasy

After that, I definitely use the stateroom reviews at the link posted above.... post #6

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I know portside is great for Nassau - but can't recall how much of Castaway you'd see from that side.

Three different shots of the portside view:

 

[DIS_MIKE]

Definitely nothing wrong with port side view pulling into CC. No....you won't be able to see the good part of the island, but you get to see them unload the food and other items so it's a little glimpse behind the magic.

 

[Quellman]

Well where was your room on your first cruise? Did you like it? Not like it? What did you like/dislike? That would give us a reference, seeing as how most of the cruiseship is verandah, or at least outward facing.

 

[Katie Profeta]

Well where was your room on your first cruise? Did you like it? Not like it? What did you like/dislike? That would give us a reference, seeing as how most of the cruiseship is verandah, or at least outward facing.

We were in Disney Dream 8004 forward. It was a great room, no noise, minimal vibration and very spacious. It was pretty nice because it was very close to the adult only section of the pool and could get most places without an elevator.

 

[ludari]

I've sailed numerous times and various stateroom categories (minus suites) and I typically do not spend a lot of time in my stateroom. On my last Disney Cruise I had a verandah stateroom and personally I felt it wasn't worth it since I didn't use it. My favorite stateroom thus far was one with porthole seating.

 

[FigmentSpark]

While I'm not in the room much, my DH really loves to just chill on the verandah. I don't think he'd go if we couldn't get one. He likes the privacy. I was trying to sell him on the 4Es on deck 5, since they are bigger, but as soon as I said people on higher decks could see down, he was out. It's not that he does anything really private out there, but it's just the idea of privacy... not being watched.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

definitely stay away from right under the pool. We made that mistake once. NEVER AGAIN. We do enjoy Deck 10 forward - that's our go-to. Otherwise, Deck 9. We personally prefer forward to aft, but that's a personal choice.

 

[eeyoreandtink]

We really enjoy an aft veranda cabin. That is what we have booked for our upcoming trip. The larger veranda is really nice, and the views of castaway key are great. Most of them have room for the smaller loungers. We eat room service breakfast on the veranda every morning.