Exactly! My hope is that Disney has some new surprise itineraries for the Magic. They often cut off booking dates at different times for the ships to line up with summer season and unique itineraries like transatlantic. That way they can charge more.
This is us. We got upgraded to a verandah once from an Inside GTY and it was beautiful. But we didn't really utilize it other than to go out once in awhile and be amazed because it was huge (see profile pic, aft on the Wish). All it did was confirm that we aren't in our room enough for it to be "worth it" to us.
The difference between Interiors v Oceanview is not so little right now. About $600 from entry cabin in each category. I am trying to imagine where the lowest price oceanviews are. And how much $ it would take to get what I call a decent cabin. My decent cabin might be a poor choice to others.
The tiny portholes on Deck 1 do let in light, but don’t have the big view of a standard OV. However, all of the people on my PC that were on that deck, interior or OV, were very happy with our area of the ship. We were all in assigned cabins and 14 of us joined for a large dinner table (this was back when we had pre-cruise chat groups on this forum. *Sigh* that was so much fun.
I was thinking that Cat 7 balcony could be a nice option for this cruise - but the jump to Verandah again becomes cost prohibitive for anyone who is a limited use balcony cruiser.
Since I am not booking a cabin - so you won’t be beating me to it - this is where I would most likely book. Any of the cabins next to the blue bar. I could quickly go from cabin to O’Gill’s Pub on Deck 3 for adult trivia or anywhere in Deck 3. Even to Deck 4 for WDT, access to the Promenade or shopping. (Admitting I often used the elevator for this). Cabanas? Elevator to Deck 9, then walk outside from forward to aft. If staying inside, Deck 5 is a great thoroughfare without cabin hallways midship.
Port or starboard? Depends on whether you want to view sunrise or sunset through the window. If there’s a chance viewing if land, it’s probably once in the Pacific, so starboard for that.
We were in 2022 for our Southern Caribbean. We were thinking of moving forward to catch the curvature of the ship and a bit more floorspace.
A Quick Look at my records - I was in 2030 on a TA. Honestly, my memory is that was an aft cabin. Well, it falls in this run of choices.
There are the Secret Porthole cabins on Deck 5. My very first cabin was 5522, but I have such a memory of the work door across the hall slamming so much that I can’t bring myself to revisit it or recommend it. It was a nice way to have a split bathroom with sunlight for a reduced price. But it contributes to my thinking of cabins all around you - if there is gray space, think again.
The gray space (empty) across from 2022 was the door for room service. It never slammed. I also have no noise complaints about elevator lobbies.
![IMG_7751.jpeg IMG_7751.jpeg](https://www.disboards.com/data/attachments/870/870386-f1895a94f88f5571741532635cd977e5.jpg)