pros/cons of booking 2 balcony rooms instead of 1 minisuite for a fam of 4

[shod]

We have cruise many times getting a mini-suite every time the kids came along. Now that my kids are 4 and 7, I think we would like more privacy....

 

I priced out 2 BC category balcony rooms and they are very close in price to a single AB mini-suite for 4 which is absurd but the reality of cruising.

 

which accommodations would you choose and why?

 

note that adjoining rooms are not avail on this sailing and the rooms will be "joined" via the balcony. We plan on taking a small wireless baby monitor just to be safe if we go with the 2 rooms....

 

also, which BC type rooms have the biggest balconies on the Caribbean princess?

 

thanks

[Nrknits]

Pros:

2 bathrooms

4 beds

2x closets

twice the balcony space

privacy

 

Cons:

Can't think of any.

 

We have always traveled with a "baby monitor". I always know what's going on in my kids room. You could save enen more by booking a balcony and an inside across the hall. (that's what we usually do, the balcony is wasted on the kids, they are so busy with other things and can always join you on yours)

Enjoy your vacation!

[newfirsttimer]

I would certainly not book a balcony room for children age 4 & 7 nor would I leave them in a room by themselves overnight unless it was an adjoining room with the door open.

[mrsihopes]

Yes I agree, 2 separate rooms would be better than a mini suite. More space as mentioned above. I agree, I would get a balcony for you and an inside room for the small children. Do not know that I would want my younger kids in a balcony room by themselves. I know you will keep an eye on them but it is just my opinion, kids are too darn quick. ;)

[shod]

Thanks for your replies.

 

We decided against the cross hall set up b/c the kids are still pretty young... maybe in 3-4 years. Also, I wouldn't want to get dressed to run across the hall in the middle of the night :)

 

We plan on removing all the furniture from their balcony for the duration of the cruise.... and I am sure we will hear my son opening the balcony door over the monitor. My 4 year old daughter isnt strong enough to pull that door open by herself. They are both good sleepers and are down for the night once they fall asleep.

 

Still the biggest con is the lack of access... if the rooms had inside doors, I would block their exit door with no concern but if my son locks the balcony door, the only other way into the room is the hallway door - so I cant block it....

[DrivesLikeMario]

We absolutely LOVE having 2 balcony cabins together vs. one cabin for the 4 of us!!

 

The pros:

 

Two bathrooms

Two balconies

Two TVs in different rooms (no having to listen to someone else's TV program next to you while you're trying to watch yours on your TV in a mini-suite)

It is very easy to go between the cabins by using the balconies

 

Cons:

Price - sometimes it's cost-effective vs. the mini and sometimes it isn't

Age - at your kids' ages I would be a bit worried having them next door like that. We didn't start the 2-balcony cabin idea until our sons were a little older. We went with full suites until then.

[nomars_girl]

Personally, the only way I would feel comfortable with the 2 room plan with kids that young would be to put one adult and one child in each room. Sure, it's not romantic, but I personally think 4 and 7 is too young if the rooms are not adjoining. I do understand about the connection through the balcony, but that introduces a whole other set of worries.

[Toto2Kansas]

With kids ages 4 & 7 that is just way too young to be in a balcony stateroom by themselves (actually in any type of stateroom by themselves). Even with an adult in the stateroom, kids of that age need total supervision while on the balcony. The thought of leaving them alone with access to their balcony is down right scarey to me.

 

I sure hope you have another plan, such as mentioned with one adult in each starteroom with one child. :eek:

[cruisemom42]

We first took DS on a cruise at age 5. There is no way I'd leave him in a room on his own (or with a sibling close in age), particularly a balcony room. The only way I would consider it is with an interior connecting door and assuming the balcony door could be locked in a way that was 100% foolproof. Even then.......I'd probably still get the mini.

 

With older kids, I'd go with the balcony (adults) interior (kids) approach. Is it really a big deal to toss on a robe if you have to cross the hall?

 

(P.S. When I was a young teen and we used to cruise on Sitmar as a family, we'd get one INTERIOR room for 4: my parents, my sister, and me. And rooms back then were smaller than they are now....)

[Grego]

With kids ages 4 & 7 that is just way too young to be in a balcony stateroom by themselves (actually in any type of stateroom by themselves). Even with an adult in the stateroom, kids of that age need total supervision while on the balcony. The thought of leaving them alone with access to their balcony is down right scarey to me.

 

I sure hope you have another plan, such as mentioned with one adult in each starteroom with one child. :eek:

 

I agree. At that age they will be eager to explore and do whatever they can. Sure the space and double the facilities are nice to consider, but they aren't worth the risk. It's only for a week or so and when they get older, then consider the double balconies.

[Cruzinnana47]

No way would I put 2 young children in a room by themselves, especially with a balcony. Maybe I'm a worry-wort, but too many things could happen.:eek:

 

Would consider the 2 cabins if the kids were teenagers.

[ellbon]

i would put one child in each cabin wih one adult. for grown up time the kids club is open to 1 am on some type of cost baby sitting. that should be enough me time. you will ahve two bathrooms and extra balcony space for breakfast. you will lose the tub and the cabin is small but it is only 7 days.

[georoc01]

When I traveled with my parents, we split with one adult and one child in each room. guys on one side, ladies on the other.

[rjack22]

I agree with the posters who say that 4 & 7 is two young to be in a room by themselves. No way would I do that! An inside would be better than a balcony, but neither is acceptable to me at that age.

 

I would go with the mini.

[kiawahdon]

I doubt Princess would allow 2 young children in any balcony stateroom that is not connecting to the parents- if corporate knew. Cruise contract says no unaccompanied under the age of 21. A seperate room sounds "unaccompanied" to me.

[kiawahdon]

I doubt Princess would allow 2 young children in any balcony stateroom that is not connecting to the parents- if corporate knew. Cruise contract says no unaccompanied under the age of 21. A seperate room sounds "unaccompanied" to me.

[bonnieg]

I just booked a cruise and wanted to book a balcony for dh and myself and wanted to put my 15 yr old son in a balcony room next door. The princess rep told me that he had to be 21 to be in a room by himself. Do people get around this rule by using one of the adult names on the reservation for the extra room? Once on the ship can my son be in the room by himself or could they enforce the rule by not letting him stay in the room alone? Did my rep give me wrong information?

[gertz]

To even consider this is dangerous. By the time you here it on a baby monitor it could be too late.

I think 4 in a mini is criminal but I would certainly do that before putting children even under the age of 12 or 13 by them selves.

[pmcue]

I just booked a cruise and wanted to book a balcony for dh and myself and wanted to put my 15 yr old son in a balcony room next door. The princess rep told me that he had to be 21 to be in a room by himself. Do people get around this rule by using one of the adult names on the reservation for the extra room? Once on the ship can my son be in the room by himself or could they enforce the rule by not letting him stay in the room alone? Did my rep give me wrong information?

 

On Princess you have to book the adult with the child and then get an extra key made for the other room. On Carnival you can book children in a seperate room, as long as they are across the hall. Princess ships have a deck with Huge balconies, usually on Caribe. Get an inside and balcony and get him and you a key to both rooms and you will be happy. The balcony dividers do not open completely, they are just a door, so in my opinion you are wasting the money on the extra balcony.

[notentirelynormal]

I just booked a cruise and wanted to book a balcony for dh and myself and wanted to put my 15 yr old son in a balcony room next door. The princess rep told me that he had to be 21 to be in a room by himself. Do people get around this rule by using one of the adult names on the reservation for the extra room? Once on the ship can my son be in the room by himself or could they enforce the rule by not letting him stay in the room alone? Did my rep give me wrong information?

 

I thought I saw somewhere where its ok to book minors in their own cabin, but for sure you can book your DH in the cabin and just switch around when you get on board.

[DonnaK]

On both Princess and RCI, I always book my children into their own room. Their reservation is noted "accompanied minors" and is linked to mine. It is not necessary to book an adult in each cabin - this is a common misconception.

[kooljamming]

I just booked a cruise and wanted to book a balcony for dh and myself and wanted to put my 15 yr old son in a balcony room next door. The princess rep told me that he had to be 21 to be in a room by himself. Do people get around this rule by using one of the adult names on the reservation for the extra room? Once on the ship can my son be in the room by himself or could they enforce the rule by not letting him stay in the room alone? Did my rep give me wrong information?

 

"Accompanied minor" can be booked in a cabin without worrying about the switch. I thought about booking my kids in their own cabin because it was cheaper to do 2 inside than 1 quad. I finally decided to go with the quad for peace of mind. If this has changed you could simply do the switch but I know kids are allowed to stay in their own cabin if that is your wish.

 

Side note: If things start to get crazy and for peace of mind, just remember the 101 use for duct tape;):D

[chrisahx]

Funny how the original poster never replied back after getting flamed her over putting her young children in a balcony room all by themselves, probably too embarrassed to say she hasn't changed it. Its odd that they were able to book this way when another cruiser wasn't. I assume the TA put each adult in one of the rooms and told her to switch on-board. Its quite odd that on Carnival they would allow minors to be booked in a cabin, but not on Princess when Carnival Corp owns them both.

[kooljamming]

Funny how the original poster never replied back after getting flamed her over putting her young children in a balcony room all by themselves, probably too embarrassed to say she hasn't changed it. Its odd that they were able to book this way when another cruiser wasn't. I assume the TA put each adult in one of the rooms and told her to switch on-board. Its quite odd that on Carnival they would allow minors to be booked in a cabin, but not on Princess when Carnival Corp owns them both.

 

Carnival is more of a family line than Princess. Realistically they know this becomes an issue as kids get older and the cabin size remains the same. The inside cabins on CCL are even larger with more comfortable beds. RCCL, another family friendly line, gives families more options, with adjoining cabin and suites, again knowing this can be an issue. Sometimes it's cheaper to book 2 cabins on Princess than one, encouraging parents who would not otherwise consider it, to do so. I considered it for the first time and now I am liking the idea;) CCL is about family and FUN. glitz and water slides!

 

I thought most of the posts were honest without flame. It's a fact, not flame, that for parents with young kids that would be too young. What's to be embarrassed about, she came here asking for opinions. The shame would have been if someone flamed her for asking, which I did not notice for the most part. I might have missed a few.....JMOP!

 

BTW...check post #5

[TwinCruiserMom]

My 3 teens had their own inside cabin when the twins were 13 and their older sister was 17 and I still worried about them! Made sure to tell them not to open the door to ANYONE and that they needed to call me if someone did knock on their door.

 

Before that, I shared with my daughter and DH with the two boys. I would never leave a 4 year old and 7 year old alone in a cabin. And in a balcony? Absolutely not.

 

The minisuite is more than big enough for 4 people. We have shared an inside with 4 of us before and it was just fine. Get the minisuite unless you and your husband want to each share with one of the kids.