Balcony room--will NCL allow 4 people

[motravelerken]

I am looking to book a cruise on the Norwegian Epic in the summer of 2025. Category of room is Balcony (BB). I am pretty sure the answer is no to this question but if I have 2 adult aged children (ages 19 and 21), can we have 4 people staying in 1 Balcony room?  I think not but just curious. If the children were under 18, would the answer be yes. Would they be able to sleep 4 to a cabin if it was a family balcony even if it was 4 adults? 

[D_And_K_gocruising]

Yes you can as long as it says "up to 4 guests"     As long as you are all good with being in the area and the Epic's "unique"  bathroom design.. 

[zqvol]

Balcony cabins on Epic are tiny. You probably will not be happy with a single cabin in your situation. 
 

BTW short answer to the question is that if a cabin says it sleeps four as long as one is 21 or older the other ages don’t matter. 

Edited April 5 by zqvol

[Oakman58]

As mentioned the balcony cabins are small and I take it for granted you already know about the unique bathroom setup of the Epic.  

In my opinion, a balcony cabin for 4 on the Epic is in reality a cabin for 2 adults and 2 small children.

[mking8288]

As long as it is a family balcony designated for 4, that's with an upper pullman that's otherwise recessed into the ceiling; and, the convertible sofa/bed, which has to be pulled out/away from the back of the seatback cushion (non-removable).  

 

In reality, 3 is livable but 4 grown up, I wouldn't recommend it.   There is very little room to move around, keep in mind those extra beddings will remain in place for the duration of the cruise.  Storage room will be tight if not limited ... large luggage can be (and need to be) stored under the main bed, to use as slide-out drawer/trunk.  Privacy will be next to none.  Weather permitting - one or two can step out to the balcony.  

 

On the "up"side, one can shower in 1 of 2 bath closet, another can do #1 or #2 in the other bath closet while a 3rd person can wash & brush teeth in the small sink next to the sofa or bed ... 4th person will have to find another corner to allow other 3 some room to move.  

 

Imagine going on Amtrak for 7 days with 2 booked into one of the roomette - very tight and little room to move around.  

 

Depending on balcony location, consider book an Inside nearby - as you can see, very little room to pass each other inside.  If budget is an issue, find & book 1 of the secret angle balcony for extra outdoor space.  

[JandC_Cruising]

52 minutes ago, motravelerken said:

I am looking to book a cruise on the Norwegian Epic in the summer of 2025. Category of room is Balcony (BB). I am pretty sure the answer is no to this question but if I have 2 adult aged children (ages 19 and 21), can we have 4 people staying in 1 Balcony room?  I think not but just curious. If the children were under 18, would the answer be yes. Would they be able to sleep 4 to a cabin if it was a family balcony even if it was 4 adults? 

Only you can decide if the cabin will have enough space for you, but there are plenty of Balcony cabins on the Epic (as well as other NCL ships) with a 4 person capacity.  NCL doesn't care the age of the occupants as long as there is at least one 21yo or older.

Simply look at the deck plans and you can see the capacity for each style of cabin.  

Here is a screen shot of the Epic's 14th floor cabin listing.  see "accommodates" column.

Edited April 5 by JandC_Cruising

[pete_coach]

Our Son had a family balcony on Bliss. Him and his Wife, a 17 year old and a 14 year old. It had a big bed and the other two were basically bunk beds. the couch was a bed and the other one pulled from the ceiling. It was a disaster LOL

Having said that, there is no way this situation would be comfortable for 4 adults. Closets would not be big enough. No room under the bed for 4 suitcases. the bathroom storage would be totally inadequate for 4 peoples stuff.

[zqvol]

7 minutes ago, pete_coach said:

Our Son had a family balcony on Bliss. Him and his Wife, a 17 year old and a 14 year old. It had a big bed and the other two were basically bunk beds. the couch was a bed and the other one pulled from the ceiling. It was a disaster LOL

Having said that, there is no way this situation would be comfortable for 4 adults. Closets would not be big enough. No room under the bed for 4 suitcases. the bathroom storage would be totally inadequate for 4 peoples stuff.

Design of the Epic staterooms is completely different than the Bliss. There is no bathroom per se. There is however, plenty of storage on Epic. 

[motravelerken]

Thanks All! Kind of what I expected to hear. I was on the NCL Epic 6 years ago and I don't mind the bathroom setup at all but I knew 4 would be too many in a room. Just wanted to hear others opinions on this though. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Imagine going on Amtrak for 7 days with 2 booked into one of the roomette - very tight and little room to move around.  

LOL.  That said, those roomette's are WAY tighter.  DW and I shared one once, when we were about 25 years younger.  Then we shared a bedroom on two other trips.  Next time (this fall), we're going with two roomettes for the two of us.  Nobody has to climb into an upper bunk.  Like the slogan goes, "Safety First."  (Unless you're the GN, where it's "See America First.")

Edited April 5 by ChiefMateJRK

[ChiefMateJRK]

Just book two insides.  It may cost you another 10% - 20%, but everybody gets a real bed and there is twice as much bathroom capacity and storage space.  

[Rick&Jeannie]

3 hours ago, motravelerken said:

Thanks All! Kind of what I expected to hear. I was on the NCL Epic 6 years ago and I don't mind the bathroom setup at all but I knew 4 would be too many in a room. Just wanted to hear others opinions on this though. 

Yep...there's a wide gulf between what *can* be done and what *should* be done!! 😄

[dexddd]

21 hours ago, mking8288 said:

As long as it is a family balcony designated for 4, that's with an upper pullman that's otherwise recessed into the ceiling; and, the convertible sofa/bed, which has to be pulled out/away from the back of the seatback cushion (non-removable).  

 

In reality, 3 is livable but 4 grown up, I wouldn't recommend it.   There is very little room to move around, keep in mind those extra beddings will remain in place for the duration of the cruise.  Storage room will be tight if not limited ... large luggage can be (and need to be) stored under the main bed, to use as slide-out drawer/trunk.  Privacy will be next to none.  Weather permitting - one or two can step out to the balcony.  

 

On the "up"side, one can shower in 1 of 2 bath closet, another can do #1 or #2 in the other bath closet while a 3rd person can wash & brush teeth in the small sink next to the sofa or bed ... 4th person will have to find another corner to allow other 3 some room to move.  

 

Imagine going on Amtrak for 7 days with 2 booked into one of the roomette - very tight and little room to move around.  

 

Depending on balcony location, consider book an Inside nearby - as you can see, very little room to pass each other inside.  If budget is an issue, find & book 1 of the secret angle balcony for extra outdoor space.  

Ok, I see you covered three of the four 'S's, what about the fourth?

[pete_coach]

20 hours ago, zqvol said:

Design of the Epic staterooms is completely different than the Bliss. There is no bathroom per se. There is however, plenty of storage on Epic. 

That would make 4 adults in the cabin even more uncomfortable.

Not so much storage, according to the floor plans.

[zqvol]

Just now, pete_coach said:

That would make 4 adults in the cabin even more uncomfortable.

Not so much storage, according to the floor plans.

More than enough storage. I was in one in January and was finding empty storage on the last day. 

[mking8288]

16 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Ok, I see you covered three of the four 'S's, what about the fourth?

You mean, 4th berth is an upper pullman, recessed into the ceiling above that sofa/bed, a ladder is provided to climb up/down.  With the new housekeeping protocol in place since 2023, this would be the "stationary" setup for x day of days or duration of the cruise/sailing - just finding a corner to sit can be awful. 

 

Was too chilly at night, but our angled balcony definitely has room to put the foam mattress down outside, unzip a sleeping bag and snooze off ... perhaps, securely anchor a mammock to swing & sleep on (like the old sailing days)  No recliners out there, but plenty of usable space. 

 

Storage was adequate for 3, ours was a connecting door into the next balcony - one less closet to use/share - we stacked all of our large suitcases there, improvised with the flat top to put clothing on.  IMHO, not recommended to do this with 4 adults - the toilet/shower setup didn't bother us (aside from any noises) ... an air freshner helped too, LOL.  

[dexddd]

23 hours ago, mking8288 said:

You mean, 4th berth is an upper pullman, recessed into the ceiling above that sofa/bed, a ladder is provided to climb up/down.  With the new housekeeping protocol in place since 2023, this would be the "stationary" setup for x day of days or duration of the cruise/sailing - just finding a corner to sit can be awful. 

 

Was too chilly at night, but our angled balcony definitely has room to put the foam mattress down outside, unzip a sleeping bag and snooze off ... perhaps, securely anchor a mammock to swing & sleep on (like the old sailing days)  No recliners out there, but plenty of usable space. 

 

Storage was adequate for 3, ours was a connecting door into the next balcony - one less closet to use/share - we stacked all of our large suitcases there, improvised with the flat top to put clothing on.  IMHO, not recommended to do this with 4 adults - the toilet/shower setup didn't bother us (aside from any noises) ... an air freshner helped too, LOL.  

Trying to get away with it, but Shxx, shower, shave, sxx.  Four 'S's to get done in the morning.

 

Doesn't sound like two going to work well in an Epic balcony room with four.  That being said, I swore off Epic when first came out, softened up to maybe, but prices too high to go.

[WITraveler37]

On 4/5/2024 at 2:30 PM, pete_coach said:

Our Son had a family balcony on Bliss. Him and his Wife, a 17 year old and a 14 year old. It had a big bed and the other two were basically bunk beds. the couch was a bed and the other one pulled from the ceiling. It was a disaster LOL

Having said that, there is no way this situation would be comfortable for 4 adults. Closets would not be big enough. No room under the bed for 4 suitcases. the bathroom storage would be totally inadequate for 4 peoples stuff.

We have done this twice with our teens, once on Breakaway and then again last month on the Encore. When they did turndown service it wasn't bad as the extra beds were put away during the day, this last time it was a little tougher and we had issues getting into the closet with the Pullman downtown all the time. Other than that it works fine. There was plenty of space under the bed for our suitcases as well as bathroom and other storage. We get the angled balconies for a little more space outside which also helps.

[blackwing]

I would consider booking one balcony and one inside across the hall.  Your older kid is 21 so the two kids could be in the inside cabin by themselves.  Otherwise each parent could take one kid.  Halfway through the cruise, switch cabins so both kids get to be in the balcony cabin for about half the cruise.  That's what my family of four (two teens) just did on Getaway.

 

It's obviously more expensive than squeezing four of you into a balcony cabin, but you will be a lot more comfortable.  Think about when you do land trips and four of you are in one hotel room.  Biggest issue for us is always that there is only one toilet.  We've started booking two connecting rooms when doing land trips.  The extra space is needed.  

 

[MoCruiseFan]

On 4/5/2024 at 2:20 PM, motravelerken said:

I am looking to book a cruise on the Norwegian Epic in the summer of 2025. Category of room is Balcony (BB). I am pretty sure the answer is no to this question but if I have 2 adult aged children (ages 19 and 21), can we have 4 people staying in 1 Balcony room?  I think not but just curious. If the children were under 18, would the answer be yes. Would they be able to sleep 4 to a cabin if it was a family balcony even if it was 4 adults? 

 

You can have as many as is indicated on the deck plan for the specific cabin.  Cabins hold anywhere from 1 to8 people on most ships.  You cannot have more people than the capacity of the cabin in question though.