Jewel of the Seas family of 4 - 1 or 2 rooms??

[tuliplvr]

Hi- I'm looking at possibly a cruise next summer to the Southern Caribbean on Jewel of the Seas. We are a family of 4 and next year my kids will be 14 and almost 11. We have only cruised together once on Disney and I was surprised how roomy the cabin was (and we were spoiled with the 2 bathrooms). I was looking at outside cabins on Jewel. My husband and I have only traveled alone on Royal at outside cabins.. so my question is have any of you traveled with 4 in one cabin (169 sq ft) if so, how cramped was it? I know I could look into two cabins but that would be $1k more. Any thoughts I would greatly appreciate. Thanks so much!

[jellyfish39]

If your budget will allow it, I would suggest 2 cabins, both for privacy and the extra bathroom. When our kids were that age we often traveled in an outside/balcony cabin and had our boys booked in an inside cabin directly opposite.

We never had any trouble with this and had strict rules about them not inviting anyone back to their cabin, even friends they met in the Kids Club.

Some people feel more comfortable with connecting cabins but for that you need to both be in inside or outside cabins and if you prefer an outside or balcony cabin that will increase the costs substantially. Often the cost of 2 people in an inside cabin is about the same as 3rd and 4th person prices in an outside or balcony cabin.

[tuliplvr]

Thank you so much!

[DiamondDiva23]

I just returned from the Jewel's July 20th sailing. I was with my husband in a balcony stateroom and had my 16 year old daughter and my 14 year old little cousin in an interior stateroom directly across the hall from us. 8024 balcony and 8025 interior. It was the only way we would have all fit. We had extra keys for their room just to get in & out and they had extra keys for our room too. As soon as we met our stateroom attendant we told him we were the parents so he'd know they were with us. If you can afford to do so, get the extra room. There's no way clothes for 4 people were going to be stored in one room. Not to mention 4 people getting showered and ready for breakfast & dinner! lol

[tuliplvr]

DiamondDiva-Thanks so much! I know, I can't even imagine the 4 of us trying to get ready for dinner in one bathroom!!! Did you do the Southern C. route? If so did your daughter like it?? Was she bored on the ship?

[SamFritz]

It's all about the budget. The value of the extra room is big. Maybe you could do one inside and one balcony. People do four in a room, and it would certainly lead to some memorable family experiences, but if the money is there to get the extra space I'd go for it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk, please excuse all the typos.

[Travel R]

Although not the Jewel, my experience on the Legend two months ago with 4 in a room -- Four of us shared a balcony (two adults, DD13, & DD8) - and we all shared the space without much problem. Note, I also had no issues sitting out on the balcony when they got ready in the morning or before dinner. I also have to girls -- if I had a boy & girl, it probably would not have worked so well.

 

Space wise for superior balcony staterooms (according to the website):

 

Legend - Room is 191 sq feet + 42 sq ft balcony

Legend - Room is 189 sq feet + 53 sq ft balcony

 

But only you know how your family will accomidate themselves in one room vs. two, and your own budget. It will also depend on how much each of you will be in the room, and when.

[DiamondDiva23]

Yes we did the Southern Caribbean route - St. Croix, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia & Barbados. The girls loved every port and did enjoy the ship although they didn't find much going on in the teen club at night so they hung out with us in the Centrum. Seems most of the kids liked hanging around in the area where you book your next cruise which is NEXT door to Fuel instead of inside of it. You know how kids are. Once they have a place of their own to hang out at suddenly it's not cool anymore! lol

[bigboffs]

While it is certainly possible for 4 to share a large balcony cabin, it will be a tight fit and bath/toilet availability requiring "adjustments." A balcony cabin is always nice and may add some pleasure to your cruise, in general it is not a necessity some may have personal preference to the contrary). The best, as others noted would be a balcony with an inside for the kids across the hall. If budget constraints, then an outside with an inside across the hall. I would also check with travel agencies ( some of which advertise on CC site) for added " goodies"

[Funbobby68]

We just did our last cruise with the kids in a separate room for the first time .......best thing ever !!!!!!!!! , plus there was 300.00 OBC per cabin. Win Win

 

 

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[tuliplvr]

Thank you all! I honestly never considered an inside across the hall. Definitely something to think about!!