Ahoy, Lauren! I'm pleased to meet you and glad you came to planDisney, as it sounds like you are in the early stages of planning an adventure beyond the reef!
The line where the sky meets the sea calls me! It calls my husband, too, as long as his stateroom has the headboard facing forward. Patches help with motion sickness, but cruising feet forward bothers him. All this to say, I understand there are many factors to consider when selecting the perfect stateroom for a magical time at sea.
I like the way the
Disney Cruise Line website is structured to search by dates (month), destination, ports of departure, number of nights, ship, and even special themed cruises, like
Marvel and
Pixar Days at Sea. It does not, however, reach stateroom selection until later in the process.
While this is not what you hoped to hear, I have found that the earlier I plan, the easier it is to find more of the staterooms I want available. If you are entirely open to dates, you can start with the furthest out for your ideal itinerary.
You could also consider working with a travel agent. I would look specifically for an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. These agents have extensive training and experience to earn this credential. An agent would likely want to narrow down options – like date ranges, departure ports, and cruise length – but could spend time checking out a few itineraries and availability by deck. They can also talk about why being forward or aft is essential and offer other options with the same benefits. For my husband's motion sickness, he always wanted to stay aft. Our agent talked us into a room on Deck 5 of the
Disney Dream for a magically large verandah because she knows how much we enjoy time on the balcony. This room was midship, closer to forward, but the balcony was a draw. And we loved it! His motion sickness was manageable with a patch, just like the other cruises.
And, of course, there is
planDisney. We can't change programming code on the website, but we can share our favorite staterooms and why (like 5052 on the Dream with its incredible verandah). And once you are booked, we love talking about
Port Adventures,
onboard activities,
rotational dining,
entertainment and all the enchantment awaiting you on the most magical ships at sea. Lauren, we will do our best to make your cruise as easy as an ocean breeze!
SEAS the Adventure!
Jana