If you’re thinking about a vacation on Disney Cruise Line, one of the first decisions you’ll be faced with (after you decide on an itinerary) is what kind of room to book. There are four main types of staterooms on Disney Cruise Line: Inside, Ocean View, Verandah, and Concierge. We have described each below, with pictures where we have them available.
Inside Stateroom
In general, inside staterooms are the least expensive category of stateroom on the Disney ships. Inside staterooms are usually located on the interior corridor of the ship, which means they have no direct exterior view. However, travelers staying in inside staterooms on the Disney Dream and the Disney Fantasy ships can enjoy a “virtual porthole,” which shows views from the front of the ship, occasionally interrupted by the appearance of animated Disney characters.
Some travelers prefer these rooms because they are less expensive than staterooms with an outside view. Additionally, because they have no windows or external doors, inside staterooms are the darkest rooms (which can facilitate sleeping). Also, because there isn’t a view, you won’t be as tempted to spend time in your stateroom, but will be likely to enjoy the ship’s other amenities.
We’ve never stayed in an inside stateroom, so we don’t have much insight or pictures to add.
Ocean View Staterooms
Ocean view staterooms are found on the exterior “walls” of the ship and tend to be found on lower level decks (such as the first and second levels of the ships). These staterooms feature either two small portholes (windows) or one large porthole. The portholes give you a glimpse of the outside, but no access, since they do not open to the outside.
We have sailed on two cruises in ocean view staterooms (ironically, it was the same room on the Wonder for both cruises) — traveling to Alaska and to the Western Caribbean. Both times, we selected an ocean view stateroom because of cost; the verandah rooms were outside of our budget for both cruises. Having the porthole was nice because it gave us a feeling of connection to the outside world. I didn’t feel like we lost anything from having an ocean view room instead of a verandah room; in fact, we probably enjoyed the rest of the ship more because. We spent a lot of time on Deck 4 (the outside jogging deck) taking pictures and relaxing when we had these rooms.
(The above room is 2612 on the Wonder)
Verandah Staterooms
Verandah staterooms are also found on the exterior “walls” of the ship, but generally found on higher decks. Verandah rooms all come with a sliding glass door that lets you out onto a small verandah (or balcony). The verandah will have two chairs and a small table. There is a fairly tall wall/railing keeping you on board, but an enterprising child could certainly find their way over it. We set a strict rule with our children that they could not go outside without us until we felt they were old enough to understand the consequences of going over the side.
We have sailed on two cruises in verandah staterooms. One was a Western Caribbean cruise and one was a short Eastern Caribbean cruise. We definitely enjoyed having the verandah and would book it again if our budget allowed. We definitely spent more time in our room and on the verandah when we had it, including make more use of room service for snacks/coffee.
(The above room is 7610 on the Wonder)
Concierge Staterooms
The Concierge staterooms come with a number of amenities, including early booking for Port Adventures, access to a private lounge for concierge guests, snacks and drinks for guests, and direct access to a team of Disney crew members who will provide special service. Nearly all of the Concierge staterooms have verandahs. There are standard rooms (very similar to the verandah staterooms above), as well as 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, and royal suites. We haven’t stayed in any of these rooms, and we may never do so, as the costs tend to be much higher than for regular rooms ( and we would probably use the additional money for a future cruise).
If you have enjoyed this article, please be sure to check out our Disney Cruise Line information page, which has useful hints in addition to our cruise trip reports!
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