4 in one cabin, or connecting cabins?

[canadian85]

Looking at a Carnival cruise after christmas, and there are 2 adults, a 4yo and 2yo. We've never cruised before.

 

The price for 2 adults is 679 +tax(pp). And the 3rd person (4yo) is 719+tax, 4th person (2yo) is 459+tax.

 

Since the 3rd & 4th are so expensive i'm looking into connecting rooms.

 

If we book say 1 adult and 1 child in each cabin - Would one cabin still sleep 4? The kids are young so obv can't be by themselves, and will likely both want to sleep in the same room as their mom. In other words, would we get a different cabin type if we book connectiong cabins?

 

I understand that kids "take up a seat on a lifeboat" (which they obv would be on our lap.. but anyway), but is there a better option for cruising with kids? Carnival seems the cheapest but are there any others that have kids at a cheaper rate?

[chrisc71]

Most cruise lines charge regular fare for children.

 

Usually connecting cabins are of the same type. And for paperwork's sake you would have to list an adult and child in each room. But once on board you can adjust. Like if you let the children sleep in the adjacent cabin.

[CnCsMom]

Candian85,

 

We are taking a cruise right after Christmas (12/28) as well and have chosen to go with MSC b/c they do have a kids sail free promotion. We have never sailed MSC before and I have found some negative reviews for the ship that we will be going on maybe more than positive. I personally feel that this might be becauses there are a lot less people that write reviews so you end up with more negative. I could be completely wrong.

 

I have read them and saw what their complaints were and I feel what they disliked about the ship would not affect my enjoyment so we are willing to give it a try for the huge cost savings.

 

Sorry for the novel but I wanted to include full disclosure I guess :-) Good luck with your planning.

 

Cyndi

[Kerry's Girls]

Looking at a Carnival cruise after christmas, and there are 2 adults, a 4yo and 2yo. We've never cruised before.

 

The price for 2 adults is 679 +tax(pp). And the 3rd person (4yo) is 719+tax, 4th person (2yo) is 459+tax.

 

Since the 3rd & 4th are so expensive i'm looking into connecting rooms.

 

If we book say 1 adult and 1 child in each cabin - Would one cabin still sleep 4? The kids are young so obv can't be by themselves, and will likely both want to sleep in the same room as their mom. In other words, would we get a different cabin type if we book connectiong cabins?

 

I understand that kids "take up a seat on a lifeboat" (which they obv would be on our lap.. but anyway), but is there a better option for cruising with kids? Carnival seems the cheapest but are there any others that have kids at a cheaper rate?

 

Unfortunately, usually when you book a room for two, there are only two beds in it (there are specific cabins that hold 3 or 4 that generally can't be booked unless you have that many in your party). After xmas is still holiday time, so they expect a lot of families and can raise the rates on 3rd/4th passengers. If you look at the pricing on the cruise right after the New Years Eve week, you'll probably see there's a price drop. At that age though, you could probably put both of them in one twin bed with their heads at opposite ends and have mom sleep on the other bed - or have the beds pushed together to form a queen and the three of them can share that. There are also probably connecting rooms where they could sleep in one room and you can leave the connecting door open while you and your wife sleep in the other. One benefit to two cabins, besides the additional space is the additional bathroom, so if it doesn't cost more and you can get connecting rooms, it sounds like a good idea.

 

Best,

Mia

[cb at sea]

If you have connecting cabins, you will have immediate and private access to the other room....put the kids in there, and the adults in the other....you'll be closer to them then in your bedrooms at home! Or, you can separate and each sleep with one child.

 

But, if you don't want 2 cabins, with very small kids, it's doable in 1 room.

 

Sometimes, Disney and NCL run children's special prices....but not all the time.

[SadieN]

Sometimes HAL has 3&4 sail free.

 

Looks like 2 connecting cabins would cost more on Carnival than a cabin for four. If you do decide to do two cabin just leave the inside door open.

 

Maybe look at another week.

[Mom2B&Z]

We have always had 4 in a cabin, one was a balcony and the other a mini suite (aka deluxe balcony) on NCL. The third and fourth passenger costs were always at least 60% of the cost of the first and second passengers, and we left Jan 1 on both occasions. One cabin has worked fine for us, our boys were only a year older than your children on our first cruise. However, if it was going to be cheaper, I would get connecting cabins, even if we all slept in one cabin at night. The extra space (and bathroom!) would be nice, especially at night or nap time.

So check out NCL, or other dates on Carnival where the extra passenger costs aren't so high.

[Gatrcruzer]

For the cost, if you are able to get connecting cabins (that is not always possible), then it might be about the same total cost and worthwhile. With children that young I would only do connecting cabins, not adjacent, so that you could keep the door open.

 

I will caution you - most Carnival ships do not have bathtubs in cabins until you reach the suite categories. Not sure if you would need a tub for bathing your little ones, but you may want to look into that. The newer Carnival ships (Dream, Breeze and Magic) have some ocean view cabins that have tubs, but only some of the ocean views have them, and other categories, other than suites, do not have tubs.

 

Another issue: when you have 4 in one cabin, often one of the extra beds is a bunkbed. Would you feel comfortable with either of your children sleeping that high up? Just something else to consider if you wind up going the all in one cabin route. Maybe check and see what the bedding situation would be. Maybe the 2 year old would still be in a Pack and Play?

[canadian85]

I wish I could change to another week but my wife works for the school board so we don't have options for vacation time.

 

I wouldn't feel comfortable having both the kids in another room, maybe if a connecting door could be left open though.

If there was a bunk, I could sleep uptop and mom and kids on the bottom beds.

 

So if booking 4 into 1 room, I might get 2 twin beds or i might get 2 twins and a bunk?

[Gatrcruzer]

There are many variations regarding a cabin for four. A common one is 2 singles that can be converted to a queen, plus 2 bunkbeds. Or you might get 2 singles plus a full sized convertible sofa (2 should be able to sleep on the sofa). Or a single sofa and a bunk with two singles. You need to look at the exact cabin to see what the bedding configuration is. Connecting rooms would be ideal, especially given the high cost of the 3rd and 4th passengers (you aren't saving much money by cramming everyone in one room). You'd have double the cabin space, double the drawer space, and 2 bathrooms. However, it is not easy to get connecting rooms, particularly during holiday periods. It's worth checking, though.

[queenL]

I say get one cabin. Why spend the extra money? If your kids were teens I could understand but they are very young. I've sailed 4 in a cabin many times and its not so bad. You really don't spend much time in there anyway.

 

I wouldn't want my husband and I to be in two seperate cabins and like you, there is NO way I'd feel comfortable with my kids in even a connecting room. (I'm a worry wart) Ever since that post where the ladies young kid walked out of the cabin in the middle of night while the parents were asleep....Yikes! I get anxiety just thinking about it.

 

As others have suggested, look for the kids sail free sales. MSC runs them all the time. I sailed MSC for the first time a few years back based on the kids sail free promotion. I also know that NCL recently advertised a kids sail free promotion. I enjoyed cruises on both lines and would sail either again. You can't beat that deal.

[newbiecruiser09]

I say get one cabin. Why spend the extra money? If your kids were teens I could understand but they are very young. I've sailed 4 in a cabin many times and its not so bad. You really don't spend much time in there anyway.

 

I wouldn't want my husband and I to be in two seperate cabins and like you, there is NO way I'd feel comfortable with my kids in even a connecting room. (I'm a worry wart) Ever since that post where the ladies young kid walked out of the cabin in the middle of night while the parents were asleep....Yikes! I get anxiety just thinking about it.

 

As others have suggested, look for the kids sail free sales. MSC runs them all the time. I sailed MSC for the first time a few years back based on the kids sail free promotion. I also know that NCL recently advertised a kids sail free promotion. I enjoyed cruises on both lines and would sail either again. You can't beat that deal.

 

I completely disagree. The cost between 1 and 2 rooms is <$200. Totally worth it for the extra space, everyone gets a "real" bed (bad sleep = bad vacation) and 2 bathrooms. We had had connecting rooms with our kids (on land and on cruise) since they were littler than the OPS kids. We just make sure to bolt lock the hallway doors and when they were younger we had the alarm we put up high on the door (ours never tried to escape). If the OP could change to a kids sail free week that of course would be ideal but since they don't usually run those during holiday times (at least I have never seen it then) the OP is kinda stuck.

[Gatrcruzer]

I agree with newbiecruiser. Another consideration is that, with a 4 year old and 2 year old, there is a good probability that the family will be spending some time in the cabin with naps every day.

[canadian85]

We (or at least my wife) would sleep in the same bed as the kids, but it might be good to have the connecting room for nap time.

 

I'll also check into MSC, might be a better option.

 

Thanks!

[queenL]

No worries Newbiecruiser we are all entitled to our opinions :)

 

I am certain though that every sailing MSC Poesia (the Poesia is the only ship MSC has in the US, leaves from FLL) has during the months of Dec and Jan has kids sail free. Even during the holidays. We were looking at the Poesia ourselves for the month of Dec. I guess technically it isn't totally free, you do pay tax and port charges too (I think) but it would probably be about 200-300 total for both of your kids. I must admit though that I like Camp Carnival better than MSC's kids program. Also, MSC is not for the picky cruiser. They are an Italian cruise line and they do things a little differently. It bothers some people so you should know that before you consider them.

 

It seems that the bed situation is a concern for you. My oldest is 5 she is about to embark on her 10th cruise. We have been sailing with her since she was 5mos. We have never had a bunk bed. We have always selected a cabin with a pull out sofa bed. Hubby and I have the two twins pushed together for us, DD on the sofa bed. Comfort was never an issue. I don't know what Carnival ship you are looking at but most of the newer ones have similar set ups. I would just let your TA know to select a cabin with a sofa bed for your kids.

 

Happy sailings

[canadian85]

What is it that MSC does differently that bothers people?

 

We've never cruised, and we're not very picky people but i'm curious.

[queenL]

Well, mind you I sailed with them in the Mediterranean. They say that the Med. sailings are different from the the US sailings. The food was primarily Italian. Tons of pasta. They charged for water. Italians were in the majority, as such it was the primary language on board. So announcements etc were given in Italian first. Some of the shows were in Italian. It was more difficult to meet people because many did not speak English. That sort of thing.

 

As an American I think many of us tend to be arrogant travelers. We expect visit other countries, yet still have all things the way we are accustomed to here. Instead of embracing the different experiences that other cultures bring. I think those are the main differences that bothers some cruisers. Whereas MSC will never be my favorite cruiseline, I would sail them again. I think the Poesia out of FLL will eliminate many of the differences but I've heard they are still a different exp. As you can see by my signature I've sailed the majority of the lines. They each offer a few differences. If you are adaptable you can enjoy any of the major lines.