How important is a veranda on a Mediterranean cruise?

[Disneyfriend]

Last year we sailed Alaska in a 9B on Deck 2. Since we booked late, there was no way we could justify the premium for a veranda.

This year, we're booked on the British Isles cruise and went with a Navigator's Veranda (7A). Booking on opening day really helped offset the premium, which wasn't nearly as bad as when we did the late booking for Alaska.

We are contemplating the one-way Rome/Barcelona cruise next year. The premium for the 7A vs the 9B is less than the Alaska premium, but more than we're paying for the British Isles cruise.

What do you all think . . . how much of a premium might the Navigator's Veranda be worth on that cruise? I know it's a personal decision, of course, but I'm trying to get an idea of how much people have (or have not) enjoyed having a Navigator's Veranda on one of the Mediterranean cruises.

Thank you in advance!

 

[longboard55]

We are verandah cruisers but to be honest on the med cruise we were busy non stop from 6am till after dinner, not a lot of time go sit and enjoy the view. The tours were all day things

 

[Agent 86]

I've never had a veranda, but I can't see it being important at all on a Mediterranean cruise.

The port days are LONG, unless you plan on skipping them or only doing half-day activities. And on the "at sea" days there was always plenty of room on decks 9 and 10 (and no doubt deck 4 as well).

I guess if you enjoying sitting on the veranda watching the world go by, it may be of value. With so much to see and do on board, it's not really something we've ever contemplated.

 

[Shanti]

We treasured our navigator's verandah on our Alaska cruise, but we're going with a deck 2 porthole for our Med cruise next summer. I just don't think the scenery there is worth the price increase, and as others pointed out, we'll probably spend less time onboard during the Med cruise than we did during the Alaska cruise. Also, since the weather in the Med will be fairer than the weather in Alaska, we will probably spend more of our onboard time on the pool deck than in the stateroom.

 

[lizzyb]

I would say not important as your are rarely in your room but DH thinks they are necessary for every cruise. lol

 

[Disneyfriend]

We are verandah cruisers but to be honest on the med cruise we were busy non stop from 6am till after dinner, not a lot of time go sit and enjoy the view. The tours were all day things

Yes, it's definitely a busy itinerary! We have 5 port days and just one at sea day. And I'm planning on 4 full day excursions and 1 five-hour excursion, ha! I've never seen any of the port destinations before and don't want to miss the opportunity.

 

[Disneyfriend]

We treasured our navigator's verandah on our Alaska cruise, but we're going with a deck 2 porthole for our Med cruise next summer. I just don't think the scenery there is worth the price increase, and as others pointed out, we'll probably spend less time onboard during the Med cruise than we did during the Alaska cruise. Also, since the weather in the Med will be fairer than the weather in Alaska, we will probably spend more of our onboard time on the pool deck than in the stateroom.

The warmer/fairer weather is the only thing that gives me pause; I've wondered if it might be all the more reason why we would enjoy a veranda a bit on this cruise. Hmmm. (We live in a warm climate and have a pool, so the pool isn't a huge draw for us personally.)

 

[kiford]

We always book a verandah so I'm obviously going to be biased. On one of our Med cruises, we spent a couple of hours sitting out there with binoculars as we passed through the Straits of Messina. We were so close you almost didn't need binoculars. We also spent a fair bit of time sitting out there on our Baltic cruise as we passed through the Stockholm archipelago. We also just like sitting out there and watching the water either during the day or evening. That said, you don't need it to enjoy the views. There are plenty of places on deck which give you great views and some places inside too (Promenade Lounge by the large portholes is a great place to enjoy the views).

 

[oufpat]

Spend the money on excursions instead. We spent very little time on our Verandah on our Med Cruise.

 

[darnheather]

Dear friend just came home from the med. They normally do an outside or verandah but didn't for this one and don't regret it at all. They went on so many excursions.

 

[Corwin]

One of our best memories on our Mediterranean cruise was sitting on our verandah as we entered and left the ports. The coasts of Italy and southern France are breathtaking.

 

[Disneyfriend]

Thank you sincerely to all who have replied! You have made some excellent points. Not an easy decision, ha!

 

[OKW Lover]

We always prefer a veranda. Doesn't matter if its a standard Caribbean sailing, Alaska, Med, Panama Canal, Hawaii. We just love having that veranda.

 

[RX8]

We just did the Rome to Barcelona two weeks ago! It was fantastic! We had an ocean view on deck 7. This was our second DCL trip. The first was a 3 day Bahama Cruise and we had a veranda. Yes, the veranda was nice to sit and relax while watching the seas. However, we were so busy on the Mediterranean cruise that we were in the room very little. We didn’t get a chance to miss it. I suggest saving the money and put it toward excursions.

 

[Chirple]

We did the 12 night Mediterranean in 2014. We normally like a stateroom with a verandah (any type), but we went with a standard inside cabin on deck 7 (no split bath—2 adults). We decided that we wanted to spend our money on excursions and knew we would hardly be in our room except to sleep and shower.

Since we had no view, I would run up to deck 10 every port morning. I had a 360 view from there as we approached our ports and could run from side to side in order to take pictures. I loved how open it felt.

We now go into stateroom choices based upon the following: what the weather will be like, what can we afford and yet still experience the culture in the ports, how much time are we really spending in our cabin

 

[Disneyfriend]

We just did the Rome to Barcelona two weeks ago! It was fantastic! We had an ocean view on deck 7. This was our second DCL trip. The first was a 3 day Bahama Cruise and we had a veranda. Yes, the veranda was nice to sit and relax while watching the seas. However, we were so busy on the Mediterranean cruise that we were in the room very little. We didn’t get a chance to miss it. I suggest saving the money and put it toward excursions.

Thanks for the reply, and I would love to talk more with you - especially since you were on the first Rome-Barcelona cruise ever (if I'm not mistaken)!

It makes total sense that the veranda would be very nice to have, but I also fear that we might use it comparatively little. This is definitely a port-intensive itinerary!!

Any advice or feedback you can give me on your cruise? Anything you wish you would have known ahead of time? I hope you had a marvelous trip!

 

[Disneyfriend]

We did the 12 night Mediterranean in 2014. We normally like a stateroom with a verandah (any type), but we went with a standard inside cabin on deck 7 (no split bath—2 adults). We decided that we wanted to spend our money on excursions and knew we would hardly be in our room except to sleep and shower.

Since we had no view, I would run up to deck 10 every port morning. I had a 360 view from there as we approached our ports and could run from side to side in order to take pictures. I loved how open it felt.

We now go into stateroom choices based upon the following: what the weather will be like, what can we afford and yet still experience the culture in the ports, how much time are we really spending in our cabin

Seems like a super thoughtful approach, seriously. I'm really tempted to get the ocean view cabin and spend the extra money on excursions.

Then I'm torn, because I bet the scenery and vistas would be really stunning . . . can't seem to make up my mind!

 

[Chirple]

Seems like a super thoughtful approach, seriously. I'm really tempted to get the ocean view cabin and spend the extra money on excursions.

Then I'm torn, because I bet the scenery and vistas would be really stunning . . . can't seem to make up my mind!

Honestly, I thought the best scenery was the Malta port, and I believe this port is not on any current DCL itinerary. Having experienced Alaska from a verandah perspective and the Med from an open 360 perspective, I would take the 360 over the verandah when scenery is involved. When we did the WBTA last year, we had a verandah because we had so many sea days; we had time to sit out and watch the ocean roll by.

Our next cruise is to Bermuda, and we have an oceanview stateroom on deck 2. It's our first time on deck 2 but not our first oceanview. We factored in weather (hurricane season) and port excursion costs.

 

[lucky1]

We just did the Med May 26 cruise and had a SPH room. (No Veranda) It was an easy run up or down to a deck if we wanted fresh air or to be outside. We had ABD booked, so we were on the go must of the time, leaving the ship by 6 or 6:30 and back on just before the all aboard. On Sea days we were out and about with activities or meeting with our ABD guides, would have never had time to enjoy a veranda. Honestly I realized we were so busy, I never did really even look out our porthole that often. You will have a magical cruise.

 

[woody64]

I say it depends on what you and your travel party want. We had a veranda for our Med cruise and loved sitting out there in the evening relaxing. I'm more social, so I would go to the pub, but my wife and kids loved having it as a place to chill or get some alone time while still being outside. I also loved it in the morning, open the door and there was the world. To me, it's all about how YOU use the veranda.