Cruising with 3 kids

[viper88]

Here is my problem, my entire family (19 in all) want to take a cruise celebrating my mom's retirement. My brother and I both have families of 5. His kids are slightly older than mine. His will be 6, 4, and 2. At the time of the cruise my children will be 8, 5, and 16 months. Other than a suite, which we really can't afford, are there any rooms that can accommodate a family of 5? My mom, a vetern of 2 cruises, said we could fit in a balcony room. I dont see how a pack and play will fit in a room with a queen bed and a sofabed.

We are booked on the Enchantment of the Sea and stopping in Jamacia and Grand Cayman. Are there any shore excursions we can takes as a family or should we stay on the ship the entire trip?

As you can guess, this is suppose to be our first cruise and I am not sure now is the best time for my family to take a cruise.

Do you have any suggestions/tips for me? Thank you in advance.

[kelbell]

You will love your first cruise.:) They have so much for kids to get involved in. I would suggest connectiong rooms, unlike a suite you get two bathrooms. If you can't get the connecting rooms I would try for 2 connecting bal rooms. You can use the bal as an extra rooom, if anything a quiet place for you to relaxe.:) I think 5 in a room makes for granky parents, just no space. Have a great time, and congrats to your mother.

[Rala]

I would suggest two inside connecting cabins, one having a third bunk (pullman). You would probably have to put the baby in a regular twin bed with a bed rail, but the room is small and the beds are very low, so he/ she would be safe. My 20 month grand-daughter did this recently with no problem. This may not be ideal, but probably the most economical. Good Luck!

[mrstrod]

Normally when people ask what type of cabin to book, it's all about prefference and how much time to intend to be in the cabin. But, when you cruise with small children it is a bit different. I go everywhere with my two who are now 6 & 3. But for my own sanity I always book the largest room I can. Keep in mind though that the largest may not always be the fanciest. Two connecting rooms on some ships are bigger than the suites. When you travel with kids, they're age makes it a nessecity to spend more time in you cabin (naps, earlier bedtime, changing, etc...) So, my advice to you is get the largest square footage that you can afford.

Now - here's a bit of travel advice. Leave the pack-n-play at home. Use the cruise ships portacrib. If you are grossed out by the idea, rest assured that they clean them as well as they clean you cabin's bathroom! It will sparkle. Just bring your own portacrib sheets and a small container of antibacterial wipes if your still grossed out. Actually brong the wipes anyway! But you really won't have to bring the pack-n-play and besides, traveling with kids you will need to pack so much more than the normal cruiser, (diapers, wipes, lotions ) don't add to it with such a bulky item.

Last piece of advice, don't stress! Cruising is soooo much fun for the whole family. All the hassles that you go through planning your cruise will all be forgotten once you set sail. And I promise - once you've cruised, you will not want to vacation any other way again!

[CruisinDawn]

Two connecting is the way to go. When one needs a nap they have a quite private place to do so. Inside cabins are dark so bring a nightlight or prop the bathroom door open. Eight year old might just quite time and can watch TV in the other cabin without bothering the napper. The kids can sleep in one cabin with you in the other giving everyone the privacy they need. TWO bathrooms is a big plus too. Two insides should be about the same as a balcony especially if your traveling in the spring/summer when 3/4th passenger prices are much higher. Goodluck, you will love it.

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

[Aggie]

Depending on how well the cousins get along, your family and your brothers family might be able to get three cabins together with two of the cabins connecting. Then, one of the connecting rooms could be the 'kids' room for all of them to play in. When it is bedtime for the kids, you could then put them all down in the connecting cabins and have a rotation of one adult per night stay with them so everyone else could go out. This would also split the cost of the extra cabin. We have been cruising with the entire family since my kids were 2 and 4. You will have a great time and the kids will too. Just take a laid back attitude and enjoy.

[It'sRC4ME]

If you can't afford two connecting cabins, consider this. Get a cabin that has two pullman beds (they swing down from the ceiling, so they don't take up floor space). Some of these are inside cabins, some are ocean view. You will be able to set it up so that instead of a queen sized bed you have two twins and two pullmans above them. It'll look like a little bunkroom, and with any luck the portacrib or pack and play will fit on the floor. It's not very romantic for Mom and Dad, but it should efficiently fit five in the cabin. Plus the 3rd, 4th and 5th pax in the cabin pay less than the first two, so this is much cheaper than getting two cabins.

 

Whatever you do, avoid trying to fit in a cabin that has a queen sized bed and a pull out sofa bed - We had a trying week with four people in the cabin and when the sofa bed was out there was NO room to move around.

[atlcple2]

I would absolutely go with the balcony rooms with kids. They tire and tend to go to bed earlier than you might be ready for and you will use the balcony a lot more than you think you will because of that. We have had inside rooms and balcony rooms. I have found that you spend a lot more time in your room if you have a balcony because the balcony is an extension of your room. Some people don't think it is worth the extra $$ and everyone is different, but for us, it has become the best part of our cruise.

[cyndyt]

Several of the ships also have family cabins and/or suites which will hold at least 6 people. That is how I take my children.

[larkwind]

Connecting balcony rooms sounds like a great idea. You can get a bar to lock the second balcony's door, if your oldest one can't be reliable about not opening it (the other two won't be able to). I don't know how many times I've had my breakfast out there while the rest of the family sleeps inside. And naps--who wants to be stuck inside a dark room while a little one naps. Of course, two adjoining regular rooms would solve this, but get the balcony if you can. Get out the deck plans and look around, then call RCCL directly and ask about those rooms--the ones available to TA's and on websites are not the only ones open, but you have to ask.

 

If you get one of those fold out sofa beds that lays on the floor, be aware that you don't have to fold it out all the way for the shorter kid (or baby). Just leave the sofa back upright and you'll have quite a bit more room to walk. Our 4yo loved the pullman idea in his older siblings' room so next time, we'll try for one of those for him.

A stroller is indespensable w/the little one. Get one sturdy enough to have a space for stuff underneath and yet folds up fairly small (Graco--$30 or so). You won't use it much but it will fit under the bed and when you do need it--hurray, it's there!

 

Your older 4 kids will have a ball! Under 2's just need love anyway... Don't overplan activities and plan plenty of downtime (ie quiet cabin playing, watching tv, etc) This is where two ajoining cabin will come in handy. Don't forget the shower as a great downtime activity--plenty of hot water and solitude (for the kids, too...not just you:rolleyes: ). Don't take too many toys. One or two familiar toys and books will suffice for the whole week.

 

We took our 4yo on a catamaran snorkel trip in GC a few weeks ago. He loved it (snorkeling from a boat is a little rough with the wave action, but your 8yo could do it.) The stingrays were his favorite and you'll have enough adults to have one adult/kid. The stingray city part is in three feet of water. The catamarans have a lower cabin where you can camp out with the little ones. Grand cayman is a nice port with plenty to do so don't miss it. Check out land tours to the turtle farm--never been there myself, but it sounds fun.

 

You will love cruising. It's different with kids than with just the two of you, but fun, fun fun! Enjoy.

[threeofus]

The two connecting room is a GREAT idea because of the two bathrooms. We have a teenage DD and we are taking the GS - and I am thrilled but I wonder if we would have been better off with two rooms and two bathrooms.

Enjoy your cruise - Congrats to Mom.

No matter what you decide have a wonderful time and treasure this time with your Mom.

[dfoote]

We are taking our family of five on a cruise and we have inside connceting cabins. We are putting the three kids ages 11, 9, 6 in one and my husband and I in the other. It was a far cheaper alternative to the family suite, which was an additional $2000

[sailor moon]

Congratulations to your Mom. All the suggestions are great and depend on what you can afford. 2 connecting rooms gives you more space and privacy for naps... Adventure Ocean (kids program ) is wonderful for the 5 and 8 yr old. If the kids have problems sitting in a dining room, I suggest eating in the Windjammer -- This worked great with our kids! We stuck to beach activities with the kids. Realize they will tire before you do and allow for that in your planning. Have a fantastic time!

[mrstrod]

Several of the ships also have family cabins and/or suites which will hold at least 6 people. That is how I take my children.

 

TRue but the OP expressed a budget- usually the family cabins are not very penny wise.

[viper88]

Thank you for the help. I will be heading the TA this weekend to run the $$$ about connecting room versus a family type suite. Maybe I should take our regular babysitter with us on the cruise to watch the kids. We could get her an inside room near the family and the kids could take turns spending the night with her. That might be the cheap way to go.

[mrstrod]

Not a bad idea - last year I brought my oldest neice. She got to go on her first cruise and I got a trustable nannie. Because she was only 15, I booked her into our suite and only paid around 500 for an extra guest. What's better than that?

[Nliedel]

We cruised with our 8 and 6 year olds a few months ago. We got outside connecting cabins and they were the BEST! The boys were in a seperate area and just a second away. We had no noise problems at all and in fact felt more comfortable leaving the door between the cabins open at night.

 

The sitter they assigned us for late evening was fabulous. We had the same one every time we needed her and she adored the boys.

 

My sister in law went with us and stayed in the room with the boys. She was not a sitter for them but she was there when they slept (again we still kept the door open. She is nice enough but kids aren't her thing). Taking along a nanny type is probably a great idea.

[viper88]

We booked a junior suite. It was not that much more $$$. I figured with the word suite in the title it was going to be big $$$. Anyways, thanks to all that made suggestions. We are looking forward to cruising this summer.

[Fang]

My thoughts are that two connecting cabins also.

 

My wife and I have cruised four times with our two daughters. After alittle research, I booked the least expensive connecting cabins. The total cost for both were about what we would have paid for a larger cabin that could have held all four of us.

 

After a day at the childrens program, our daughters, could have slept on the floor they were that tired.

[anadi]

We are travelling with 8 - me, DH, MIL, 5 kids. We ended up with 1 room for2 and 2 connecting rooms for 3 each: it will be DH and 2 sons in one room, connecting to 2 daughters and 1 friend. I will be in the room for 2 with MIL. The room is right next door. We couldn't come up with a better way to do it without sticking MIL with the boys. Actually, SH snores and MIL doesn't....so I will sleep better!