First Timer Here.. Question about Staterooms

[JusGetinStarted]

Hello Everyone,

 

This may be a silly question and hopefully it is not redundant. This will be my family's first cruise ever. So Excited!! I am doing all of the planning. I am looking at 7 night Western Caribbean on RCCL Oasis of the Seas in June or July 2016. However, I know that staterooms are much smaller than hotel rooms. It will be my mom, dad, me, and my 11 y.o. niece . I would like a balcony room. My question is Are we allowed to put 4 people in a balcony room? If so, should we? Or should we get two rooms together? The details of the rooms only talk about twin beds or push them together for a royal King. Is there a sofa couch or should we automatically book 2 rooms?

 

Thanks in Advance!

Edited February 26, 2016 by JusGetinStarted

[Captain Canuck]

prepare to get addicted

 

you can look at cabins here: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/cabinclass/cabinTypes/home.do?cabincls=B&br=R&shipCode=OA

 

can fit 4 but might be a tight fit...I would also shop and see what the difference is between a family balcony and a regular balcony and an inside. you will get a bit of privacy plus for group stuff you can enjoy the balcony cabin.

 

lots and lots of stuff to do on the Oasis...you may not use the room for much more than sleeping so 2 inside cabins could be an option as well. they call them interior cabins.

 

have fun

[Clarea]

Hello Everyone,

 

This may be a silly question and hopefully it is not redundant. This will be my family's first cruise ever. So Excited!! I am doing all of the planning. I am looking at 7 night Western Caribbean on RCCL Oasis of the Seas in June or July 2016. However, I know that staterooms are much smaller than hotel rooms. It will be my mom, dad, me, and my 11 y.o. niece . I would like a balcony room. My question is Are we allowed to put 4 people in a balcony room? If so, should we? Or should we get two rooms together? The details of the rooms only talk about twin beds or push them together for a royal King. Is there a sofa couch or should we automatically book 2 rooms?

 

Thanks in Advance!

There are balcony staterooms that can fit 4 people. Most would have a one sofa bed for the 3rd and 4th person to share. The sofa beds are small, and I would not be comfortable in one if I was sharing it. Another thing to consider is having one bathroom can be a challenge.

 

I realize your budget may not allow it, but I would prefer two staterooms in this situation. On Oasis, you can get less expensive balcony staterooms if you are willing to face the inside of the ship, as opposed to having an ocean view. This is not the view I prefer, but it is easier on the budget.

 

Good luck, and don't hesitate to post on the Royal Caribbean forum where there are many people who can give you other ideas:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=83

[98Charlie]

4 in a balcony is entirely doable. BUT that means that the 4 of you have one bath to share which can be a challenge. Generally there will be 2 twins that can be configured together, a sofa that turns in to a bed and an upper bunk that lowers from the ceiling. The room steward takes care of setting up the cabin each evening and returning it to living area in the morning.

 

There are adjoining cabins on most ships and in most categories (balcony, OV, inside).

 

You may want to consider the comparable cost of a balcony quad with either two insides or a balcony & inside. You can usually find cabins that are directly across from each other or very close.

 

Good luck,

 

Charlie

[Keith1010]

You have gotten great answers. I just wanted to wish you the best on your families first cruise.

 

For us it was so very exciting as well and we liked it so much we continued to cruise with the family

 

Keith

[mncruizr]

Me, my Wife and our two daughters recently took a cruise with all 4 of us in one room with a balcony and it was just fine. It is tight quarters and there is only one bath, but we enjoyed it. If we had someone in our group that needed lots of space that would have been a problem and we all agreed we'd do it again versus getting two cabins. The morning is the worst when beds are out and there is little room to walk around in the room and nap time is crowded.:)

 

Enjoy! I hope you like it as much as we did.

[Cuizer2]

Hello Everyone,

 

This may be a silly question and hopefully it is not redundant. This will be my family's first cruise ever. So Excited!! I am doing all of the planning. I am looking at 7 night Western Caribbean on RCCL Oasis of the Seas in June or July 2016. However, I know that staterooms are much smaller than hotel rooms. It will be my mom, dad, me, and my 11 y.o. niece . I would like a balcony room. My question is Are we allowed to put 4 people in a balcony room? If so, should we? Or should we get two rooms together? The details of the rooms only talk about twin beds or push them together for a royal King. Is there a sofa couch or should we automatically book 2 rooms?

 

Thanks in Advance!

 

Can you put four people in a balcony room? Yes. However, finding a balcony that will hold four people 3 1/2 months prior to the cruise will be very difficult.

 

You have to look for cabins that contain the additional bed necessary to sleep four people. For example cabins 7286 and 7280 can sleep four (I don't know if these cabins are book already).

 

You can look for cabins that connect if you want. 7270 & 7272 are connecting cabins. You can look for cabins that are next to each other. Cabins 7288 & 7290 are next to each other. Or you can book a balcony and an inside across the hall (to save a little money). 7274 & 7275 would be an example of this. Or you could go with a balcony next to an oceanview cabin. 7128 & 7130 is an example of this.

 

Or, you could book a junior suite which is a little bigger than a regular balcony (but would probably be less expensive than two balconies) or your can book a family oceanview stateroom with a balcony (this is different than a family oceanview or a Royal Family Suite). 7330 is a family oceanview with a balcony.

 

Other options include booking a Central Park or Boardwalk balcony. These are balconies, but the Central Park balconies do not have a view of the ocean and the Boardwalk balconies have only a partial view of the ocean.

 

9244 is a Royal Family Suite. The advantage of this cabin is that it has two bathrooms, but is expensive. Many of the Grand Suites also sleep four, but are also expensive. 9260 is a Grand Suite. 11132 is a Family Oceanview stateroom (no balcony).

 

I think I have covered all the options for a balcony with four people, unless you want to go really expensive and go with an even bigger suite.

 

This is what the Boardwalk balconies look like (on the Allure - a sister ship to the Oasis) ...

 

 

 

 

[Cuizer2]

This is a standard balcony cabin (from the Allure) looks like. This one only sleeps two ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continued ...

[Cuizer2]

... continued (as you can see, this is one in a pair of connecting cabins) ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cuizer2]

This is what an inside cabin that sleeps four would look like ...

 

 

The kids were left over from the prior cruise.

[cb at sea]

As you can see, 4 in one cabin will be TIGHT!!!!! If you can swing 2 cabins, that's the way to go!

[kitty9]

Being a new cruiser you might not know this but when traveling with a minor child without their parents, you must have a signed and notarized letter from both parents giving permission to take the child out of the country. This letter must also give permission for the adults to make emergency decisions for the child.

 

I don't know how old you are, but since the niece isn't traveling with parents, and you share a cabin with her, you have to be 21 years old. It's different if this niece was your sister, but the rules can be applied differently to a niece. If she were your sister, you could share the cabin if you're under 21.

 

Many cabins have not only a pull out sofa, but some also have a bed that pull down from the wall or ceiling. That would work for a family of four.

 

In all honesty, you're booking late for summer cruises. Since there are so few ships left in the Caribbean in summer, cruises sell out months in advance. You might have a problem booking two cabins that are near to each other, much less right next door or across the hall.

[Sea Green]

Lots of good advice above. Most cruise ship staterooms are generally much smaller than hotel rooms. Apart from sleeping arrangements you also need to consider luggage storage and sharing one small bathroom etc. Another thing to consider is the specific arrangements of your group. The inside cabin here might do fine for a couple and their two young children (and note that photo is taken from outside the door, that is the entire size of the cabin!). But what you have is three adults and a tweenager, so you may 'bash heads' more if cooped up together. If you can't find a family balcony or mini-suite within your budget you might do better you might do better with one regular balcony and an inside across the hall?

 

And of course it all depends on what cabins are left on your cruise.

[Cuizer2]

Lots of good advice above. Most cruise ship staterooms are generally much smaller than hotel rooms. Apart from sleeping arrangements you also need to consider luggage storage and sharing one small bathroom etc. Another thing to consider is the specific arrangements of your group. The inside cabin here might do fine for a couple and their two young children (and note that photo is taken from outside the door, that is the entire size of the cabin!). But what you have is three adults and a tweenager, so you may 'bash heads' more if cooped up together. If you can't find a family balcony or mini-suite within your budget you might do better you might do better with one regular balcony and an inside across the hall?

 

And of course it all depends on what cabins are left on your cruise.

 

That is the bathroom door handle you see - I was inside the door. And this room is a little smaller than a standard inside, since this room is inside a Royal Family Suite. I was trying to show what it looks like with the bed down.

 

Here is a standard inside cabin on the Freedom of the Sea (you can see the outline of the beds in the ceiling for 1563) ...

 

 

 

 

Edited February 27, 2016 by Cuizer2

[NMLady]

Hello Everyone,

 

This may be a silly question and hopefully it is not redundant. This will be my family's first cruise ever. So Excited!! I am doing all of the planning. I am looking at 7 night Western Caribbean on RCCL Oasis of the Seas in June or July 2016. However, I know that staterooms are much smaller than hotel rooms. It will be my mom, dad, me, and my 11 y.o. niece . I would like a balcony room. My question is Are we allowed to put 4 people in a balcony room? If so, should we? Or should we get two rooms together? The details of the rooms only talk about twin beds or push them together for a royal King. Is there a sofa couch or should we automatically book 2 rooms?

 

Thanks in Advance!

 

Since you are so close to your cruise, you need to know that even if a balcony cabin is built for four you still might not be able to book four in one of those cabins if the lifeboat capacity for the cabins in that area are at capacity. This can happen if all the cabins in that area have maximum capacity rather than just two people in some of the cabins.

Edited February 27, 2016 by NMLady

[azboardmom]

We are doing the S Caribbean in one week. We are taking our 13 and 11 year old kids. We were looking to spend as little as possible on our room and having a window doesn't matter to us. We booked 2 inside staterooms. We took advantage of the BOGO half off deal. It was actually less money for us to get our kids their own cabin as opposed to putting them in the same room as us. The BOGO half off doesn't apply to the 3rd and 4th person in the same cabin. We are more than excited to have a room to ourselves and also not have to share the bathroom with 2 more people! [emoji2]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Edited February 28, 2016 by azboardmom

[Cruisin' Chick]

Being a new cruiser you might not know this but when traveling with a minor child without their parents, you must have a signed and notarized letter from both parents giving permission to take the child out of the country. This letter must also give permission for the adults to make emergency decisions for the child.

 

I don't know how old you are, but since the niece isn't traveling with parents, and you share a cabin with her, you have to be 21 years old. It's different if this niece was your sister, but the rules can be applied differently to a niece. If she were your sister, you could share the cabin if you're under 21.

 

Many cabins have not only a pull out sofa, but some also have a bed that pull down from the wall or ceiling. That would work for a family of four.

 

In all honesty, you're booking late for summer cruises. Since there are so few ships left in the Caribbean in summer, cruises sell out months in advance. You might have a problem booking two cabins that are near to each other, much less right next door or across the hall.

 

Definitely get the parents to sign and get notarized a permission letter to take their child on a cruise (both parents have to sign it). Also, a letter to allow medical care if needed (plus get a copy of their insurance card).

 

On the last issue, have the parent place any medicine the child might need (Tylenol, etc) in a ziplock bag with the usual dosage the child might get.

 

Also ask for the documentation that would be needed (passport, original copy of birth certificate if that alone will work).

 

Be aware that the cruise you're interested in may not have the exact cabin you want (one that will take four)... and as others have said, just because there's cabins, it doesn't mean the ship isn't nearing the capacity, which could affect your ability to book four.

[JusGetinStarted]

Thanks So much guys!

 

So far I've found 2 balcony rooms which costs a lot. So I have also looked for a balcony room and an inside stateroom. I've found these on both Oasis and Allure on the same deck. I know that I need to book fast so that I can get these. Thank you so much for the pictures. I always do so much research before I make a decision and I need to move fast on these I know. Can you guys tell me what is the difference of a large interior stateroom and just a interior stateroom? On Oasis, the large interior costs more than the regular interior but on Allure the large interior came up for a higher cost than the interior. I doubt it is much difference and probably doesn't matter to me but I was just wondering.

As for my niece, thank you very much for that info as well. I am definitely going to have her mother sign a notarized letter for travel and medical. I have guardianship of her for purposes of school and she lives with me, but not for vacation/traveling so I always have her sign a letter and notarize it. Her father has recently come around in the last couple of months but he is not on the birth certificate so I don't believe that I need him to sign. If I am wrong please let me know. I have never taken her out of the country before.

Edited March 2, 2016 by JusGetinStarted

[GUT2407]

Look into a balcony with an interior opposite.

 

A big plus is the 2nd bathroom.