interior room for 2 couples?

[pg.]

Hmm, I am guessing most of you have never RVed,, LOL .. you know our family of five survived many vacations in a 28 ft RV. and thats only 8 feet wide, and includes the driver compartment.

 

It would be crowded,, but for those who have RVed it wouldn't be the end of the world,, you do only change and sleep in cabin, at least you don't have to cook in there!

But,, I would only consider it with family,, I really wouldn't want to see any of my friends husbands in their underwear( and I sure its mutual,, LOL ))

[Happy ks]

I'm not a fan of road trips at all. To me an RV trip looks like hell on wheels.

 

I've even watched those shows about luxury RV's and wonder why anyone would want to spend hundreds of thousands of $$ to go park an RV in a parking lot (RV camp) just to look at other peoples RV's. Sure there is a little bit of the outside life, but hauling a motor home to go into the wilderness?

 

I'm always very quiet when other co-workers discuss how much they love camping. Give me a nice hotel room and a flight to get there any day ;)

 

Heck, I wouldn't even want to share a 2 bedroom suite on a cruise ship with another couple, I want privacy, sometimes I even tell my husband to leave me alone for a few minutes.

[Harry and Lucille]

Better be realllllly close friends.

[gerif]

I'm not a fan of road trips at all. To me an RV trip looks like hell on wheels.

 

I've even watched those shows about luxury RV's and wonder why anyone would want to spend hundreds of thousands of $$ to go park an RV in a parking lot (RV camp) just to look at other peoples RV's. Sure there is a little bit of the outside life, but hauling a motor home to go into the wilderness?

 

I'm always very quiet when other co-workers discuss how much they love camping. Give me a nice hotel room and a flight to get there any day ;)

 

Heck, I wouldn't even want to share a 2 bedroom suite on a cruise ship with another couple, I want privacy, sometimes I even tell my husband to leave me alone for a few minutes.

 

I'm with you! My idea of "roughing it" is staying in a Red Roof. My friend (who just turned 40) still has nightmares about the period when her parents decided it would be great to buy an RV and take the kids camping. The kids were all thrilled when they finally sold the thing.

[pg.]

I'm with you! My idea of "roughing it" is staying in a Red Roof. My friend (who just turned 40) still has nightmares about the period when her parents decided it would be great to buy an RV and take the kids camping. The kids were all thrilled when they finally sold the thing.

 

. Thats kind of sad that kids are getting conditioned to only experience and expect fancy vacations, hotels with maid service and restaurant meals all the way.. Camping is more work,, but should not be discounted completely, my kids loved riding their bikes on trails around beautiful lakes, picnicing in wild forest clearings, fishing off docks, and roasting marshmellows.. end of an era??

Hubby and I took cruises sans kids a few times just for us,, and have taken kids on two cruises,, but we look back fondly on our old RV trips. They really are more about family time,, and less about buying things, or spending,, no shores exes to pay for, no shopping in ports, more scrabble around the picnic table . I enjoy both types of holidays,, and I am glad my kids got to experience both.

[luvscruising2007]

I have to defend the camping vacation as well. We had a pop-up that we took on many trips, both weekend and long vacations. The kids had a wonderful time. As pg said it was more about spending quality time with our kids. Sadly as we got older it became less fun. But we remember our camping trips fondly.

[griffy116]

My now ex-husband took me and the 2 daughters camping a few times and we were miserable. Our friends had 2 boys, we had 2 girls all around the same ages. They begged and begged us to go with them. We went to the Smoky Mountains to a park with a pop up and their boys had a tent. Please don't flame me...I heard a black comedian describe camping on TV last year...He said that only white folks want to take a vacation and pretend to be homeless. Seriously...you pack towels, bed linens, pots, pans, stock up on groceries, pack board games,pack bikes, pack, pack, pack everything but the kitchen sink. Drive all day while the family fills the...toilet. Get to a campsite at dark, plug everything up, roll everything out, set up the campsite and...unpack all the groceries, pots and pans and start cooking. Finish the meal and...everything has to be cleaned and packed back in the pop up because you now get to make the booth you just ate in into a bed you can sleep in. By now, you and your family have spent HOURS of QUALITY time and you get to smell all the ...smells that have accumulated all day. Wake up and reconfigure your bed into a booth for breakfast, which you cook, clean up and then...empty the "toilet" in time to leave...Oh, did I forget that you now have no water because you emptied the tank with the family taking a shower. That has to be filled before leaving...and on and on. You are either cleaning, cooking, filling or emptying something. Nice waterfall...what are we eating for lunch. Back to the booth and the cramped kitchen/bedroom. When you get home, you get to unpack everything and start filling the washer with all the bed linens, cleaning out the camper, putting everything back into the house after it's all been put in the dishwasher...I'm tired already and I haven't left the computer. I know everyone enjoys different things, but that's why we fell in love with cruising. We had, for years stayed at a condo on the beach and discovered that the first day and last day of vacation was ruined with re-washing the bed linens on the beds, putting the dishes we would use back through the dishwasher, going to the grocery store and the last day was a washing bed linens, dishes and emptying the refrigerator and cleaning everything out. Sorry but camping is just brutal and I don't think I've lived a spoiled life. We lived on a lake for a number of years. Friends would stay with us and some would use the campsites nearby. We would visit the campsites and seeing everything involved in camping was enough for me. I'm just not happy when camping. I need happy on a vacation.

[lcmslady]

I haven't laughed this hard in awhile - I guess I'm easily amused ;)

 

Seriously, I always book an inside cabin because I want to spend the extra $$ on my bar bill. However, I would never put 4 people in one.

 

Did a NCL Hawaii cruise where it was me, the guy I was dating and the time, and his sister. I ended up in the bunk which was a PITA.

Also, the bathroom schedule could get interesting.

 

OP - laugh at all these stories and then please consider getting another cabin - even if it means you have to postpone your trip for a year.

[pg.]

My now ex-husband took me and the 2 daughters camping a few times and we were miserable. Our friends had 2 boys, we had 2 girls all around the same ages. They begged and begged us to go with them. We went to the Smoky Mountains to a park with a pop up and their boys had a tent. Please don't flame me...I heard a black comedian describe camping on TV last year...He said that only white folks want to take a vacation and pretend to be homeless. Seriously...you pack towels, bed linens, pots, pans, stock up on groceries, pack board games,pack bikes, pack, pack, pack everything but the kitchen sink. Drive all day while the family fills the...toilet. Get to a campsite at dark, plug everything up, roll everything out, set up the campsite and...unpack all the groceries, pots and pans and start cooking. Finish the meal and...everything has to be cleaned and packed back in the pop up because you now get to make the booth you just ate in into a bed you can sleep in. By now, you and your family have spent HOURS of QUALITY time and you get to smell all the ...smells that have accumulated all day. Wake up and reconfigure your bed into a booth for breakfast, which you cook, clean up and then...empty the "toilet" in time to leave...Oh, did I forget that you now have no water because you emptied the tank with the family taking a shower. That has to be filled before leaving...and on and on. You are either cleaning, cooking, filling or emptying something. Nice waterfall...what are we eating for lunch. Back to the booth and the cramped kitchen/bedroom. When you get home, you get to unpack everything and start filling the washer with all the bed linens, cleaning out the camper, putting everything back into the house after it's all been put in the dishwasher...I'm tired already and I haven't left the computer. I know everyone enjoys different things, but that's why we fell in love with cruising. We had, for years stayed at a condo on the beach and discovered that the first day and last day of vacation was ruined with re-washing the bed linens on the beds, putting the dishes we would use back through the dishwasher, going to the grocery store and the last day was a washing bed linens, dishes and emptying the refrigerator and cleaning everything out. Sorry but camping is just brutal and I don't think I've lived a spoiled life. We lived on a lake for a number of years. Friends would stay with us and some would use the campsites nearby. We would visit the campsites and seeing everything involved in camping was enough for me. I'm just not happy when camping. I need happy on a vacation.

 

Um,, you do know a pop tent camper is different then an RV,, bed is made and stays made,, and bathroom is hooked up to a sewer line most of the time... the scnerio you paint is a different sort of camping,,and our RV was already stocked with dishes and such that stay in camper,, do not unpack them at home.

 

Your holiday at the condo sounds rather overdone,, who washes sheets on the day of arrival and rewashes dishes.. ?? I do think you sound a tad spoiled,, but thats ok,, to each his own. I am thinking you are not the type who would enjoy renting a ski chalet either,, LOL

[TroubleT]

Booked on Ruby 7/3/2011 Barcelona to Venice. Have interior room for 2 couples. Want to spend money on tours. Does anyone have advice if this is the way to go?

First of all, I would never book an inside room. Even if I traveled solo I'd rather pay single supplement than to be in a closet for a week or two. Second of all, you will be late for all your tours and excursions getting ready in one tiny bathroom. Third, you will have to leave all your suite cases outside in a hallway simply because there won't be any room for your luggage! Think about it! Just the thought of a small room with no ventilation or access of fresh air from outside and 4 people staying there horrifies me! :eek:

[pg.]

First of all, I would never book an inside room. Even if I traveled solo I'd rather pay single supplement than to be in a closet for a week or two. Second of all, you will be late for all your tours and excursions getting ready in one tiny bathroom. Third, you will have to leave all your suite cases outside in a hallway simply because there won't be any room for your luggage! Think about it! Just the thought of a small room with no ventilation or access of fresh air from outside and 4 people staying there horrifies me! :eek:

 

Staff will store luggage,, much will also fit under beds. Ventilation is a good point though,, I have heard that on some ships some interior cabins are not that efficently ventialted.

[fann1sh]

OP has already decided against this plan, so I'm probably just talking to myself, or maybe someone who unearths this thread via search function.

 

However....if anyone ever reads this, my advice:

 

Don't pick the itinerary, line, ship, then look for a cabin that will work.

 

Do the exact opposite - post on all the different cruise line forums and ask which cabins on which ships hold 4 and are unusually large.

 

Don't just ask about inside cabins for 4. Ask about "great cabins for 4" . Obstructed view cabins can be larger than inside ones, and for about the same price. Also ask about "great deals for 4". Some lines have sales where 3rd and 4th passenger are free. Even if you have to book a higher category cabin to get a deal like that, you can come out way ahead.

 

Do start looking into this at least a year before you want to cruise. It's not unusual for ships to reach their "4 to a cabin" maximum quota months and months before sailing.

[pg.]

OP has already decided against this plan, so I'm probably just talking to myself, or maybe someone who unearths this thread via search function.

 

However....if anyone ever reads this, my advice:

 

Don't pick the itinerary, line, ship, then look for a cabin that will work.

 

Do the exact opposite - post on all the different cruise line forums and ask which cabins on which ships hold 4 and are unusually large.

 

Don't just ask about inside cabins for 4. Ask about "great cabins for 4" . Obstructed view cabins can be larger than inside ones, and for about the same price. Also ask about "great deals for 4". Some lines have sales where 3rd and 4th passenger are free. Even if you have to book a higher category cabin to get a deal like that, you can come out way ahead.

 

Do start looking into this at least a year before you want to cruise. It's not unusual for ships to reach their "4 to a cabin" maximum quota months and months before sailing.

 

Excellant points.

[griffy116]

Um,, you do know a pop tent camper is different then an RV,, bed is made and stays made,, and bathroom is hooked up to a sewer line most of the time... the scnerio you paint is a different sort of camping,,and our RV was already stocked with dishes and such that stay in camper,, do not unpack them at home.

 

Your holiday at the condo sounds rather overdone,, who washes sheets on the day of arrival and rewashes dishes.. ?? I do think you sound a tad spoiled,, but thats ok,, to each his own. I am thinking you are not the type who would enjoy renting a ski chalet either,, LOL

 

Spoiled? I believe I said, everyone is different. If I didn't, let me say it now. Everyone is different. What you consider an enjoyable vacation is not what I consider a vacation. If it involves cooking and cleaning, it's not the ideal vacation for me. Yes, I'm aware an RV has stationary beds and can be stocked. Does it come with someone to cook the meals and re-wash the bed linens when you return? The reason we re-wash the linens and dishes is because we don't personally know the people who had the condo last, and what their hygiene habits are. Would I want to rent a ski chalet? No. I'd like to at least stay in the ski lodge...again, cooking and cleaning on vacation. While it may not bother you, I have no apologies to make and there's nothing wrong with me saying "not for me."

[Wormy53]

My now ex-husband took me and the 2 daughters camping a few times and we were miserable. Our friends had 2 boys, we had 2 girls all around the same ages. They begged and begged us to go with them. We went to the Smoky Mountains to a park with a pop up and their boys had a tent. Please don't flame me...I heard a black comedian describe camping on TV last year...He said that only white folks want to take a vacation and pretend to be homeless. Seriously...you pack towels, bed linens, pots, pans, stock up on groceries, pack board games,pack bikes, pack, pack, pack everything but the kitchen sink. Drive all day while the family fills the...toilet. Get to a campsite at dark, plug everything up, roll everything out, set up the campsite and...unpack all the groceries, pots and pans and start cooking. Finish the meal and...everything has to be cleaned and packed back in the pop up because you now get to make the booth you just ate in into a bed you can sleep in. By now, you and your family have spent HOURS of QUALITY time and you get to smell all the ...smells that have accumulated all day. Wake up and reconfigure your bed into a booth for breakfast, which you cook, clean up and then...empty the "toilet" in time to leave...Oh, did I forget that you now have no water because you emptied the tank with the family taking a shower. That has to be filled before leaving...and on and on. You are either cleaning, cooking, filling or emptying something. Nice waterfall...what are we eating for lunch. Back to the booth and the cramped kitchen/bedroom. When you get home, you get to unpack everything and start filling the washer with all the bed linens, cleaning out the camper, putting everything back into the house after it's all been put in the dishwasher...I'm tired already and I haven't left the computer. I know everyone enjoys different things, but that's why we fell in love with cruising. We had, for years stayed at a condo on the beach and discovered that the first day and last day of vacation was ruined with re-washing the bed linens on the beds, putting the dishes we would use back through the dishwasher, going to the grocery store and the last day was a washing bed linens, dishes and emptying the refrigerator and cleaning everything out. Sorry but camping is just brutal and I don't think I've lived a spoiled life. We lived on a lake for a number of years. Friends would stay with us and some would use the campsites nearby. We would visit the campsites and seeing everything involved in camping was enough for me. I'm just not happy when camping. I need happy on a vacation.

 

You have just explained in detail what I say if someone suggests camping. "Four star - Four star" (That's all it takes) I want to have a vacation too! Not the cook and maid!:D:D

[MargoK]

Back in the 80's sharing a cabin was 'normal'.

 

I did 2 trips, one 28 days the other 29 days, sharing with 3 other girls. :D

 

The first trip was with my friend and we shared with 2 others who were travelling on their own. We had no problems and just respected each others space.

 

The quad cabins seemed alot larger then, or is it that I am a little older!

 

The second trip was with 3 girls I meet on the previous trip (ages 28 - 55) and we had an absolute ball! The bathroom was tiny, you opened the door inwards, stepped into the shower, closed the door to get to the toilet! Only room for one! (my wiffy shoes were confined to there at night complete with a mothball - have know idea where Jan found it!!!)

 

6pm was pre-dinner drinkies in the cabin, which was an inside quad in the bowels of the ship! There was about 10 cabins and one was a 6 berth of guys, and 2 decks up to the nearest lift. There were no refrigerators in the cabins, so we bribed the cabin stewards to use their fridge to chill the drinks! 6pm - 8.30 was always mayhem but fun and laughter. :D

 

Those were the days!

 

But I agree 2 couples in an inside cabin these days NO WAY. I am sure they are way smaller

[alcpa1]

The first cruise we took our sons age 8 and 10 on was on the Mardi Gras, which was ancient even then. We booked at the last minute and had one of the largest cabins under a real suite we have ever sailed in...we loved the sink in the cabin and the shower/wc combo salle de bain. The bath was so small there was not even a shower curtain just a drain.

Seriously, OP, and I will say this as kindly as I can...have you checked the cost of excursions in the Med. Even the self booked excursions are costly. If you and your friends are starting out by cutting corners now you will be in sticker shock even before you pay for your airline tickets to get to Europe. I wholeheartedly agree with the majority. Defer your trip for another year, save buckets of money during that time and absolutely engage two cabins. Another suggestion is to look at sailing during the shoulder seasons. Cruise prices are generally lower mid spring and again into the fall.

We just cruised with our dearest friends and wish our cabins had not been next to each other. I cannot imagine sharing a cabin with them or anyone else.

Good luck.

[CanWeGoYet?]

Spoiled? I believe I said, everyone is different. If I didn't, let me say it now. Everyone is different. What you consider an enjoyable vacation is not what I consider a vacation. If it involves cooking and cleaning, it's not the ideal vacation for me. Yes, I'm aware an RV has stationary beds and can be stocked. Does it come with someone to cook the meals and re-wash the bed linens when you return? The reason we re-wash the linens and dishes is because we don't personally know the people who had the condo last, and what their hygiene habits are. Would I want to rent a ski chalet? No. I'd like to at least stay in the ski lodge...again, cooking and cleaning on vacation. While it may not bother you, I have no apologies to make and there's nothing wrong with me saying "not for me."

 

I'm with you. My idea of camping? No room service or little fridge in the hotel room.

 

No way am I going to spend my precious vacation cleaning, cooking, or worse yet - without a roof over my head & hot water or plumbing. If I have to cook & clean on my vacay that is a busman's holiday.

[ANGSWIN]

My hubby and I have shared a room with another couple at DisneyWorld and other hotels. However, I really don't think that it would work in a tiny interior cabin. I wouldn't even want to do that with my own family! Talk about a lack of privacy - you wouldn't even be able to turn around without bumping into each other! I would have to get at least 2 interiors. It would be terrible if the super tight quarters ruined your friendship.

 

As it is, hubby and I feel like we need a balcony when we cruise - even if it is just the two of us. We like the privacy it gives us. However, if privacy is not an issue for the four of you (I don't know if that is possible) then go for it. Maybe you can work out a schedule for showers, romance, etc - kind of like we had to do in college with our roomates. :rolleyes:

[griffy116]

I'm with you. My idea of camping? No room service or little fridge in the hotel room.

 

No way am I going to spend my precious vacation cleaning, cooking, or worse yet - without a roof over my head & hot water or plumbing. If I have to cook & clean on my vacay that is a busman's holiday.

 

I'm on vacation...from cooking, cleaning and finding things to "entertain" everyone. I want the WOW!!!