Ahoy, Gary!
Thank you for sending in this excellent question to the Disney Parks Moms Panel! One of the first things I love to do when planning my cruise vacation is to pick out which stateroom my family will enjoy on our sailing. There is certainly a lot to consider because Disney Cruise Line offers 10 different types of rooms under four main categories-Concierge, Oceanview with Verandah, Oceanview and Inside. Once you've decided which category works best for your crew, there is one more step to think about before your stateroom accommodations are finalized.
Like I mentioned above, each category has different types of staterooms available. These can vary from ship to ship so it's best to look under the the Category Type and Gallery of pictures on the Disney Cruise Line website for the specific ship you've chosen to sail on to understand the differences. I believe Disney Cruise Line takes several things into consideration when they decide where a stateroom fits including how many Guests it will sleep, where the stateroom is located, what type of view is available, the square footage and if it has a split bath design. For example, the
05E on the Disney Dream can be located on Deck 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 with some offering an extra-large verandah with a whitewall (some verandahs have Plexiglass®). It can sleep 3 or 4 Guests and is 246 square feet and includes a split bath.
Gary, my advice is to spend some time looking through the stateroom descriptions and pictures for the ship you are considering. My crew has enjoyed the accommodations in each category with the exception of Concierge (one day!). We typically tend to spend a lot of our time out and about on the ship so we really are happy in any type of stateroom!
Good luck with your plans and please write back if we can assist you further.
Nancy