Which cabins for a group of 9?

[mill4023]

We're considering a trip on the Epic and I'm looking for opinions on which cabin setup would be best for our group. It's my wife and I, 5 kids (5 to 18), my mom, and possibly our 18 yr old's girlfriend.

 

I'm thinking we would want to do 2 balconies and 1 inside, but we're open to other suggestions also. Having at least one room with a balcony that's large enough for a lounger, instead of just a regular chair would be great. On our last cruise (no kids), my wife loved laying out on the balcony and relaxing.

 

From what I've seen, the mini suites aren't a lot more than regular balcony rooms, so we would definitely consider that if it makes sense.

 

Any suggestions on which decks and what kind of cabin setup would be best for us?

[sdmike]

How old are the kids? Is your mom willing to have roommates, or will she be by herself? Would you allow your 18yo to share a room with his gf (not judging, just asking)

 

We did something "similar" on our Jewel AK cruise. We had a group of 14, with me responsible for 6 of us, including my MIL

 

Wife and I in a mini-suite

Daughter in an inside with her grandmother (actually reduced total cost, since you pay for 2 in a room whether you book one or two in there), and my boys (15 and 17) shared an inside across the hall.

[mill4023]

5 yr old boy

9, 13, 16 yr old girls

18 yr old boy (man?). Not sure which to call him. :)

My mom is happy to share a room.

I'm not quite sure about the 18 yr old and his GF, but they probably won't be in the same room.

[sdmike]

5 yr old boy

9, 13, 16 yr old girls

18 yr old boy (man?). Not sure which to call him. :)

My mom is happy to share a room.

I'm not quite sure about the 18 yr old and his GF, but they probably won't be in the same room.

 

ok...

 

Family Mini Suite for you, wife, and the 2 boys.

Family Mini Suite for Grandmom and the two young girls

Inside for the 16 and 18 yo girls (daughter and your son's girlfriend)

 

Because grandma would have a family mini that sleeps 4, the 16yo might choose to sleep with grandma than the 18yo girlfriend, but putting two in the inside would save you money.

 

You would book this with you and the boys and your 16 year old daughter in one mini, your wife and the 18 year old girl in the inside, and your mom with the others in the other mini. Once on the ship you would move people around (you need an adult in each room for booking), including getting your 16 year old a key to both mini-suites.

 

How's that for an idea?

[jdvmd]

ok...

 

Family Mini Suite for you, wife, and the 2 boys.

Family Mini Suite for Grandmom and the two young girls

Inside for the 16 and 18 yo girls (daughter and your son's girlfriend)

 

Because grandma would have a family mini that sleeps 4, the 16yo might choose to sleep with grandma than the 18yo girlfriend, but putting two in the inside would save you money.

 

You would book this with you and the boys and your 16 year old daughter in one mini, your wife and the 18 year old girl in the inside, and your mom with the others in the other mini. Once on the ship you would move people around (you need an adult in each room for booking), including getting your 16 year old a key to both mini-suites.

 

How's that for an idea?

 

I like it but one question - Why family minis? Just for the proximity to the kid's club for the 5- and 9-year olds?

[mill4023]

Something similar to that would probably work.

But I'm thinking the wife and I won't want to share a room with our 18 yr old.

It would be ideal if it was just the two of us in one balcony. I guess that would require an inside that sleeps 3 or 4. I'll have to take a look at the deck plans.

 

Do the mini suites have larger balconies?

Are the rooms much bigger?

[bonvoyagie]

Mini suites are a bit bigger than a std balcony - well worth the extra $$

"Family" rooms usually sleep 4 using a combination of an overhead pull down bunk and a sofa sleeper along with the bed.

 

Whatever you do you will need three rooms and you need to have an adult (21yr+) registered in each room. As SD Mike pointed out it is easy to change the actuall sleeping arrangements once onboard.

 

On Deck 12 aft (Epic) there are a series of mini suites (MA) and family mini suites (M4) that are connecting (one sleeps 4 the ajoining sleeps 3) and there are insides (1D) that sleep 2 across the hall.BTW with ajoining rooms the requirement for an adult on the registration is waived.

 

Good Luck

[mill4023]

Mini suites are a bit bigger than a std balcony - well worth the extra $$

"Family" rooms usually sleep 4 using a combination of an overhead pull down bunk and a sofa sleeper along with the bed.

 

Whatever you do you will need three rooms and you need to have an adult (21yr+) registered in each room. As SD Mike pointed out it is easy to change the actuall sleeping arrangements once onboard.

 

On Deck 12 aft (Epic) there are a series of mini suites (MA) and family mini suites (M4) that are connecting (one sleeps 4 the ajoining sleeps 3) and there are insides (1D) that sleep 2 across the hall.BTW with ajoining rooms the requirement for an adult on the registration is waived.

 

Good Luck

 

Are you talking about connecting rooms or just rooms next to each other?

I didn't see any connecting rooms on deck 12, but did see some on deck 13.

[mommaof 3]

Are the family suites that sleep 5 or 6 a lot more on Epic that connecting balconies? We were looking for 2 connecting rooms for our family of 5 and found it wasn't that different to get the family suite than 2 connecting balconies. Then you could get that and a second room for the other 4. Just something to consider!

[bonvoyagie]

ajoining is connecting - adjecent is next to each other.

 

I noticed that most of the family mini suites in the aft section had a regular minisuite on one side that was a connecting room the total could sleep 7.

[mill4023]

Are the family suites that sleep 5 or 6 a lot more on Epic that connecting balconies? We were looking for 2 connecting rooms for our family of 5 and found it wasn't that different to get the family suite than 2 connecting balconies. Then you could get that and a second room for the other 4. Just something to consider!

 

I'm not sure if there are other options that are already sold out, but when I put in 5 people, the only thing that shows available is the Haven 2 bdr family villa. For 5 people, that's $7100 and for 6 people, it's $7500. So add another room and it's much higher than the approx $6700 I priced for 2 balconies and 1 inside. Even if the price was comparable, there aren't any non-suite rooms nearby.

[bonvoyagie]

The 2 bdrm family suites and the garden villas are the only places where you can sleep more than 4. These suites usually have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a living room.

 

Family rooms (inside, balcony, or mini suite) can sleep no more than 4 using a double bed, couch, and pull down bunk combination.

 

In order to handle 9 people one would have to get at least three rooms. Be they inside, balcony, mini suite or full suite. And if you want to get connecting rooms then you will have sleeping for only 7 as they don't have two family rooms that connect together.

[mommaof 3]

Sorry for the confusion - I was looking at the wrong ship, on the dawn they had 2 bedroom family suites that sleep 5 and connect to a balcony room that sleeps 4. Sorry - we recently booked a trip for 5 and I'd been looking at a lot of ships!