![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.themouseforless.com\/blog_world\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/2011-01-19_13-44-18_766.jpg\" "\\"2011-01-19_13-44-18_766\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe balcony in these staterooms is a standard size, with two chairs and a little table.\u00a0 It was \u201cjust right\u201d for sitting and standing.\u00a0\u00a0 The Category 5 balconies have Plexiglas over the railings.<\/p>\n The table is actually a trunk, with a lid, and you can use it for storage.\u00a0 Only problem with using it for storage is remembering to get your items out when you leave!\u00a0 My colleague actually forgot some things in there when we left the ship after our conference.\u00a0 \u00a0The large desk opposite the daybed has duplicate switches for the lights in the stateroom, along with a new feature:\u00a0 a night light.\u00a0 I liked this feature for families, but for it not to be annoying to someone who needs absolute darkness the privacy curtain really must be pulled closed.<\/p>\n The Dream also has new flat screen televisions with a plethora of Disney movie options–so keep tabbing through those channels and you’ll find something to watch.\u00a0 And also new to DCL is\u00a0the ability to review the guest account from the stateroom television monitor, like other cruise lines.\u00a0 This is great, because it saves a trip to Guest Services to check room charges–which sure can add up as cruise ships are cashless.\u00a0 For two people, the Category 5\u00a0balcony stateroom on DCL was pretty spacious.\u00a0 It would be manageable for a family of four too, as there are plenty of places to put personal belongings however this is still a cruise ship stateroom without a lot of floor space and the Category 4 staterooms are noticeably larger than the Cat 5 and 6’s.\u00a0 The Disney Dream has closet doors which open out into the little hallway–and the bathroom doors also open out.\u00a0 Basically you can’t be in the closet while someone is going in and out of the bathroom area.\u00a0 I had mixed emotions on those doors as I like old sliders on the Magic and Wonder.\u00a0 However with a sliding door you don’t have full access to the space on the closet floor for luggage and most people feel like this is an improvement from doors that might slide and thud with the movement of the ship.<\/p>\n The Disney Dream has kept the split bathroom area in stateroom categories 10-4, which has a toilet and sink on one side, and a sink and tub on the other.\u00a0 With two women sharing a cruise cabin, the two bathrooms worked out pretty well.\u00a0 (Category 11 staterooms have a typical DCL bath with a small tub, sink and toilet–and this is larger than on other cruise lines.)\u00a0 Bathroom amenities still include the Spa H20 products, which are also available in the shops and online.\u00a0 (Note that you can find some of the DCL products in many of the Disney resort stores too.)<\/p>\n Typically cruise ships have one large bed which splits into two twins.\u00a0 On the Disney Dream (and the Fantasy to follow) DCL has put in one queen bed.\u00a0 While many people love the dedicated queen bed, I’ve got mixed feelings about it.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Having one bed with no bump down the middle\u00a0is a great plus when your travel partners are your sleeping partners.\u00a0 When my daughter and I sailed it was fine because I got the queen and she took the daybed.\u00a0 However when I was with my colleague, one of us had to take the daybed.\u00a0 My friend graciously took the daybed, and I got the queen.\u00a0 (I owe her for that one!)\u00a0 The daybed is of a decent quality, and adult could sleep on it without a problem.\u00a0 However people who travel together do not necessarily want to sleep together, which could present a problem if the passengers didn’t know that the beds do not split.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n