1st timer question about rooms

[RousterBlues]

First, this site is awesome. I've been browsing around and there is alot of great advice on here.

I haven't actually booked my cruise yet, but pretty sure it will be on the Fantasy, out of N.O. on June 7th (4 nights)

My question is about the cabins. Me and my wife (and 2 kids 15 and 11) don't really care much about the room and where it's at. Still, I just wanted some opinions.

How bad is the staterooms, inside on the Rivera as opposed to say Empress and so forth. I've gotten some mixed opinons (and may still get that).

And how bad is the front of the ship as opposed to the rear.

I'm sure many of you have cruised and a bunch of you have stayed in different rooms.

 

I'm still checking out all the tips and such which is awesome. Any other booking advice would be awesome. We will probably have another couple and kids booking as well (also 1st timers).

 

Thanks.

[caribbean dreams]

If you have never cruised before and you are not sure about motion sickness, i would stick to any cabin midship.

If you don't really care about the cabin, i would get an ocean view with 2 uppers, make sure you get a cabin where the 2 lowers can be made into one large bed.

I pick the oceanview over an inside because at least you will get some light and know what time it is.

We have had my family of 4 in one of these cabins and it worked out fine.

[manmtnmike]

I vote for mid-aft on lower deck and at least ocean view...

[melgray13]

We base our decision on the floor 1st and then location on that floor. I prefer to stay on a floor that has all passenger cabins above and below (less noise). Also, I try to stay toward the middle levels so I can take the stairs if the elevator is backed up and it won't be more than a couple of flights. After that, I try to stay just past midship on the floor of my choice toward the aft. That way I have easy access to stairs/elevators to both midship and aft end. Check out your ship and see where the areas you think you will spend a lot of time and try to base your location on that. If you are going with kids, I think it makes sense to remember you'll be going to the kiddie zone a lot so keep that in mind.

 

Have a great time on your cruise!

[CWNNP]

How do you know if the 2 lower beds can be made into one large bed ???

- we have a cabin booked for 5 ppl on the Elation - we had booked an ocean view guarantee and just got our cabin assignment- it is on the main deck and the only info that i can see on the ship's plans are that it has 2 uppers. Do i need to call to check if the lowers can be pushed together? (i didn't even think of that when i booked!)

 

to RousterBlues: our last cruise we were on the riviera deck, toward the front of the ship and we were perfectly happy- personally, i couldn't really handle the inside cabins, though, i just feel claustrophobic in a room with no window/no natural light! i don't know if that is very helpful info for you, since we have never been in a stateroom on an upper deck...

[BarJen]

We sailed on the Fantasy twice, myself, spouse & 2 kids, once inside stateroom, Empress deck right below the Universe lounge, you can hear the noise of the shows very much, only a problem if any of your group goes to bed early. 2nd time we had an ocean view on the main deck, same setup, 2 uppers, 2 lowers, very comfy beds, no noise from above. Both cabins were near front of ship, movement was not a problem for us.

 

The Fantasy is a great ship, lots of fun activities, great food, we enjoyed it very much. :)

[Bakmmo]

We always book the lowest level, Riviera, as it does not matter where you are. You don't or shouldn't spend much time in the room. We also always book 1 inside and 1 outside across from each other. The kids stay in 1 and us in the other and have been doing this each year since they were young 5th grade. We like having the extra bathroom and the price for 4 in an outside room is not much different than 2 in 1 outside room and 2 in an inside room. We have always been able to also get the Entertainment discount $100 off hte ourside room (books are sold everywhere).

[jetskier]

How do you know if the 2 lower beds can be made into one large bed ???

 

They can be moved together in all cabins except for 1A's which on some ships have bunks.

Dave

[mamamo65]

My DS(14) would say aft closest to the elevators. That way he would have the fastest route to the pizza.:D We were on the Fantasy, Empress inside toward aft in March 06. I didn't really feel anything. We booked early and didn't guarantee a room. I was quite happy with what we had. Didn't get clausrophobic or anything, nice fake window helped. Trying a oceanview this time around, I'll decide if it is worth it in May.:rolleyes:

[splash_in_the_water]

i thought the state rooms weren't too small, like on the riv, but it would be at least tight for 4 people, but not impossible. we'd walk by the rooms with the younger kids and i was thinking i was glad i wasn't those parents. however your kids are a little older so maybe that won't be as bad. enjoy your cruise.........

[MJ25]

On our first cruise we booked a balcony cabin on RCL AOS. It was really nice, but we decided to try an inside cabin on our next cruise to see the difference.

Now on our third cruise we are going with an inside cabin again. Yes the outsides are nice but for us, we don't spend enough time in the cabin to justify spending the extra money. In fact we made ourselves spend more time in the balcony room just to use it for more then changing and sleeping. By booking inside cabins we have been able to a a cruise to our yearly vacation schedule instead of the cruise being the vacation for the year.

The most important thing in cabin selection is placement. Try for mid-ship, not next to the stairs or elevators for less noise and ship movement. Also the lower in the ship the less you will notice the movement of the ship.

If this is a special occassion or your yearly vacation, I would say get the nicest cabin you can afford, but if it is a cruise for the sake of cruising, the food, shows, nightlife, ports and excursions are the same for those on the riviera deck as for those in the suites.

[Guienevere_Arianette]

We always book the lowest level, Riviera, as it does not matter where you are. You don't or shouldn't spend much time in the room.

 

Shouldn't? I don't know about that; I guess if I had a family I'd force them all to be enjoying the ship fun outside of the room, but when you're with your sweetheart....:p

[petro772]

We don't go unless we can book a Cat 12! ;)

[RousterBlues]

Wow, you guys rock. Thanks a ton for all of the responses.

I've actually thought about doing the inside and outside deal with 2 rooms. But, I really don't expect to be in the room much other than to catch a few zzzzzz's.

I have heard the bathrooms are pretty small which could be a problem with my wife and 15 yr old d.

 

Money's not a huge deal (yea right), but I'd rather save money on the rooms and have more to spend on excursions and (shhhhh) drinking.

[BlueJacketsFan1]

Keep coming back to this site and checking out all of the post. We've been on two cruises, and we still see things here we didn't know or think about. It is some of the best information around about cruises. Just remember when you are reading some of the negative statements you find. It seems like some people are only happy if they are complaining about something. Cruises is a great thing, but cruising is what you make of it too.:cool: