Best room option for family of 5?

[mama_2_boys]

Is the deluxe ocean view the way to go for a family of 5 or is there a better, cheaper option such as multiple rooms? This is our first time traveling with 3 kids instead of 2. 

[Jerseygirl1416]

You’d have to do a mock booking and see if two cabins would be cheaper than the one deluxe ocean view. Pricing varies week to week, ship to ship, category to category. We started cruising with our 3 sons in the one ocean view deluxe and then quickly switched to connecting rooms. The privacy, extra space and extra TV were worth any extra cost to us. 

[MechE31]

I would recommend connecting rooms, but you will rarely have it come out cheaper. We're also ok going down to interior with connecting rooms, but want OV or higher for 4 in a room. 

[PhillyFan33579]

It comes down to personal preference, but I would never put more than 3 in a cabin, with the exception of some of the larger suites.  In your situation, I would go with two interior rooms since you stated you were looking for a cheaper option.  I know people do it, but no way I would do even 4 people in an OV cabin. 

[mama_2_boys]

Thanks everyone! Two interiors are more expensive but we might go that route anyway. Didn't know if I was missing anything. 

[OkieRican]

We did 2 rooms our first cruise with 3 kids. Had hubby booked in one room and me in the other and then just had the kids sleep in one and me and hubby in the other since there were no connecting rooms. Our kids were 17, 12 and 9 at the time though.

[BENHANDEL]

We had a famy suite on horizon. 2 of our 3 kids are full grown adult-sized (and much bigger than me). It was not much more than 2 interiors, but it was perfect for us and we will def book again if sailing that class. The extra balcony space allowed the room to spread out. I could not imagine sailing with 5 in one room without that bonus space. 

 

Next trip will be two connecting rooms on Breeze. The deluxe oceanview would have been way too small, after the family suite. 

[BENHANDEL]

We had a famy suite on horizon. 2 of our 3 kids are full grown adult-sized (and much bigger than me). It was not much more than 2 interiors, but it was perfect for us and we will def book again if sailing that class. The extra balcony space allowed the room to spread out. I could not imagine sailing with 5 in one room without that bonus space. 

 

Next trip will be two connecting rooms on Breeze. The deluxe oceanview would have been way too small, after the family suite. 

[ireashmott]

We do two connecting rooms. Definitely a great set up. NCL has a perfect two bedroom cabin, but connecting balconies on Carnival are cheaper. Plus the kids perfer Carnival’s kids program.

 

 

[thehappierhomemaker]

We are a family of five who has taken nine cruises since our youngest (now 7) was 8 months old. Our first eight cruises were in single rooms. We did some in normal oceanview or balcony cabins but once we had a deluxe oceanview with the extra half bath we were converted and only looked for those. Our last cruise this past October we were on the Sunshine and got connecting oceanview cabins-our boys are now 7, 10 and 12. It was a game changer and barely more money honestly. We would be hard pressed to go back to all being jammed in one room. I guess the bottom line is budget and how old your kids are, we found it much easier to be all in one cabin when the boys were little, now it's better to have a bigger space and more privacy.

[Tapi]

We are a family of 4, and even though we can easily fit in a standard stateroom, I now prefer to book 2 connecting staterooms. It's like night and day to double the space, have a second bathroom, and enjoy a certain level of privacy. And as someone said above, it didn't cost much more than sailing in one stateroom. For our last cruise we splurged for a suite instead of 2 connecting rooms. Because of a kids sail free promo, this suite cost less than a standard balcony on a previous cruise. That was also wonderful! Long story short, once we got used to the extra space, its been hard to go back to 4 people in one standard stateroom.