economy family cruise

[air man]

I am looking for tips ideas to take our family of 5 on a royal caribbean cruise out of New York. We live in the close area to NYC but it sounds like we would need to book 2 rooms? There has to be any easier way.....

[James MTL]

I am looking for tips ideas to take our family of 5 on a royal caribbean cruise out of New York. We live in the close area to NYC but it sounds like we would need to book 2 rooms? There has to be any easier way.....

 

Maritime Law states you cannot put more than 4 passengers in a QUAD stateroom and all Cruiselines must follow. You did not mention the age of your passengers or your budget but some other options include:

 

a) 1 outside (window or balcony) and 1 inside directly across.

 

b) 2 adjoining outsides/insides

 

c) Family Stateroom category which can sleep up top 8.

 

Hope this helps and good luck.

[yogimax]

It really is a pity that children as young as one are charged full fare. It really makes it tough for parents to afford a family cruise.

[cb at sea]

Even if you were allowed to put 5 in a regular cabin, you wouldn't want to...you'd be jam-packed in like sardines! Ship cabins (especially RCI) are nowhere NEAR the size of hotel rooms! A Junior Suite is the closest to a normal hotel-sized room.

 

2 inside cabins will most likely be the cheapest option. Then, there will be tips which will run $9.75 per person, per day (yes...for the kids, too!) Alcohol/soda/gambling/bingo, etc...will all be added expenses, along with any excursions...and they can be pricey. You need to figure all of those costs into the overall budget.

 

Cruising can be a good value (and if you can do your own thing at the ports, and not book pricey excursions) and doesn't have to cost a ton! By not flying to the home port, you've saved a bundle! But, it's not exactly cheap!

[LBumb]

two inside would be great for extra space and two bathrooms

[tonythewop]

I am looking for tips ideas to take our family of 5 on a royal caribbean cruise out of New York. We live in the close area to NYC but it sounds like we would need to book 2 rooms? There has to be any easier way.....

 

Hi,

We are a family of 5 and booked the 14 night January 2,2011 cruise out of NJ. We are in a FO which is a family oceanview that sleeps up to 6 and is 265 sq.ft. A regular oceanview or balcony is 165 - 186 sq.ft. so this is substantially bigger­. Plus, you really don't spend much time in the cabin other than showering & sleeping.

 

For our family of 5 we are paying $4350 plus tips which is an amazing deal for 14 nights.

 

No biggie if 2 of my kids miss a week of school. :D

[dmdiver]

It may depend on the age of your family members. We have always booked 2 cabins next to each other. The kids get 1 to themselves. They were 10, 15 & 18 when we first started cruising. We liked this arrangement because dh & I can have our privacy and we have 2 bathrooms. We had considered a suite, but it was actually less to book 2 cabins. If your kids are young, then I would certainly look into that family ov that the other poster mentioned.

[jmom5]

Sometimes 2 connecting rooms are cheaper and sometimes a family stateroom is cheaper (not a suite, there's a difference). We just got off the Liberty this weekend and I booked my 5 kids in a Promenade Family Stateroom (roughly 300 square feet) and it was cheaper for me to do this than get 2 rooms because we got a great deal and the 3rd, 4th and 5th passenger price was only $200 each. If I booked 2 rooms for them, I would be paying 1st and 2nd passenger price for 4 of them, and only getting one person for the 3rd passenger price. It really does depend on the sailing though.

I am assuming that the op is looking at the Explorer and I have heard on these boards that it usually sails full and you will always pay a little more. I believe the Explorer only has Family Interior Staterooms (cheaper) and Family Oceanview Staterooms. The Family Promenade is exclusive to the Freedom class.

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Two cabins IS an EASY way...

I agree, 2 connecting cabins (can be cheapr than a FOV). An extra bathroom is a huge benefit. Id recommend a balcony for the adults (it is very nice!) and an inside for kids if they're old enough. If they're not, having 2 conencting inside cabins is like a suite w/ 2 bathrooms, probably your best way to go. We have never gone on a budget-oriented, economy cruise. I call that a drive-land based get-away, not a vacation or holiday. Everyone has different concepts of what a vacation is.

[marci22]

We are a family of 5 (3 teens) and so we usually get 2 rooms (we got one suite when the kids were younger). Unfortunately, the Royal Caribbean cruises out of Bayonne, NJ tend to be priced fairly high to begin with.

 

Try pricing cruises out of Florida (with airfare) to compare the cost. Sometimes, the cruises will be equal, or cheaper than cruising out of NJ.

 

If you are really trying to be budget-friendly, you might want to just watch a few sailings that interest you (since you don't have to purchase airfare for NJ). There are typically lots of discounts after final payment is due, and I have also seen some categories go on sale 5 months prior. You just have to keep watching.

 

Your biggest problem will be finding an available triple as these tend to sell out well before the doubles. (although I have found triples after final at a good rate, there is just not as much of a selection).

[Michiganmom25]

Just to confirm what most of the other posters are telling you.... We have 5 kids.... so we are a family of 7. We always do our home work and 2 rooms really are the way to go. You get 2 bathroom which is a huge bonus! For us, is works out well because we have 3 boys and 2 girls. Me and my girls stay in one room. My husband and the boys in the other. We get connecting rooms and leave the door open most of the time so it's like having all the room of a suite. We had 2 balconies on the Disney Wonder this last April. It was soooo nice! Just watch for specials and book early. Also, Google something like "cruise deals, cheap family cruises" etc. Good luck. :)

[tracyanns]

Hi,

We are a family of 5 and booked the 14 night January 2,2011 cruise out of NJ. We are in a FO which is a family oceanview that sleeps up to 6 and is 265 sq.ft. A regular oceanview or balcony is 165 - 186 sq.ft. so this is substantially bigger­. Plus, you really don't spend much time in the cabin other than showering & sleeping.

 

For our family of 5 we are paying $4350 plus tips which is an amazing deal for 14 nights.

 

No biggie if 2 of my kids miss a week of school. :D

 

Hey Tony...I think my hubby and I were on the Gem with you and your family a few years ago...at Atlantis we put your oldest son on our room so you didn't have to get 2...haven't heard from you in a while. We were looking at doing this cruise as well but I don't want to bring the kids and can't seem to find anyone to watch them for 2 weeks...

[funfamilyof6]

We are a family of 6...2 adults and 4 children ages 15, 13, 12, and 8. We always get connecting oceanview (I can't take the darkness of the interior cabins and never know what time of day it is in the room).

 

We always go to Florida to take a cruise. We drive straight which from where we are in NY is about 20 hours. Once we get to Florida, we stay in a hotel. When we take a cruise, we always get to the cruise a day early. When we come back from our cruise, we drive straight home...no need to get a hotel. With all this being said we always incorporate more than the cruise into the vacation like Universal or Disney.

 

New York cruises are a lot more than Florida cruises. Also, you get the newer ships out of Florida. The Explorer always charges premium prices and there are never last minute deals on it. Have you considered the Enchantment out of Boston? If you don't want to drive all the way to Florida, this would be a lot closer and is a lot cheaper than the Explorer. But yes, you will still have to get 2 rooms. We have always had to pay adult prices for 2 of our children when we go on a cruise.

[marci22]

The Explorer always charges premium prices and there are never last minute deals on it.

 

If you are talking in absolute terms, then yeah. Bermuda is always ridiculous. I have found decent deals after final, but still not as cheap as Caribbean out of Florida.

 

I was watching one Ex cruise last March (12 night) and it did have some big discounts along the way, and they were before final. This was around Easter and I was surprised how low they went.

[tonythewop]

Hey Tony...I think my hubby and I were on the Gem with you and your family a few years ago...at Atlantis we put your oldest son on our room so you didn't have to get 2...haven't heard from you in a while. We were looking at doing this cruise as well but I don't want to bring the kids and can't seem to find anyone to watch them for 2 weeks...

 

Hi TracyAnns,

Yup, that`s us !

How are you doing ?

Join us for the 2 week and bring the kids. The price is great and the kids have a blast at the kids clubs. We went on a 9 night last February and we hardly ever saw the twins. The teenager, well, he was more of a pain..couldn`t get rid of him.:mad:

[Bound4Bermuda]

I, too, have a family of 5 and live in NY/NJ area. We booked two adjoining inside cabins on Explorer of the Seas to Bermuda, 5 nights, for $3,000. The rooms are based on double occupancy, so the first 4 are full price, but the 5th person is booked at a lower rate. For the suites that can sleep say 4-6 people, each person is charged at that full (and much higher than an inside cabin) rate, so it would be a lot cheaper to get two connecting inside rooms than one suite. As was mentioned, the booking agent said that not only is it much cheaper, but a lot of families find it more convenient, too, since there are two full bathrooms and more privacy. We don't plan on spending much time in the room anyway, so who cares if we don't have a view?

[marci22]

I, too, have a family of 5 and live in NY/NJ area. We booked two adjoining inside cabins on Explorer of the Seas to Bermuda, 5 nights, for $3,000.

 

What month is that for? If OP can go off-peak he can definitely save some money.

[RareBird]

as everyone said, prices out of NJ/NY are always higher than Florida. We love sailing on Explorer to Bermuda, Canada, Caribbean.

 

You can try NCL, their prices are lower, especially to Bermuda. But be prepared to pay extra on board. For example, comparative balcony cabins to Bermuda in May [off season] are about 1,200 for Explorer and 800 for Gem [used to be Dawn].