Too Many Kids for 1 cabin??

[MichaelandGeri]

What do families do when you have 4 children when it comes to cabins? On the Conquest, the maximum per room (no exceptions I am told) is 4. So if you have a 1 year old, 2 year old, 3 year old and 4 year old, you have to get two rooms; presumably with mom in 1 and dad in the other. And if the rooms are not connecting well you are SOL. Am I missing something? What do others do, please give me your input. Thanks very much.

[hopelea]

We had the grandparents go and put one of the kids in their room :D on the first Disney Cruise, not connecting rooms, across the hall. The second disney cruise we had inside connecting rooms with the grandparents and we put one in their room. Also on NCL grandparents had to go again and we put a child in their room AGAIN. It is becoming a habit! :eek:

[trixiefan]

When we took our three kids on the Conquest we booked connecting rooms and put all the kids in one room.

[Donna - dsw]

You book early enough to get connecting rooms. That is the only way.

[crewser]

Get connecting rooms. Your kids are so young you don't watn to be going from cabin to cabin. If you cant do that, try for a premium/penthouse suite.

[MichaelandGeri]

Connecting is the way to go I think you are right. Penthouse or Premium Suites even still won't allow more than 4, according to a rep at Carnival. Thanks all.

[Snoozeman]

What do families do when you have 4 children when it comes to cabins? On the Conquest, the maximum per room (no exceptions I am told) is 4. So if you have a 1 year old, 2 year old, 3 year old and 4 year old, you have to get two rooms; presumably with mom in 1 and dad in the other. And if the rooms are not connecting well you are SOL. Am I missing something? What do others do, please give me your input. Thanks very much.

 

Yes your missing something. It's not a Carnival rule. The cabins are rated as to occupancy by Coast Guard & SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) regulations.

[Crusin6]

What do families do when you have 4 children when it comes to cabins? On the Conquest, the maximum per room (no exceptions I am told) is 4. So if you have a 1 year old, 2 year old, 3 year old and 4 year old, you have to get two rooms; presumably with mom in 1 and dad in the other. And if the rooms are not connecting well you are SOL. Am I missing something? What do others do, please give me your input. Thanks very much.

We do connecting OV' triples and put the 3 older ones together and Dh and I and the 7yo together. NO UPPERS FOR US. We always look for connecting triples.

 

However, if need be I would do a double and a quad next time as they are getting older.

 

Be careful that you don't book connecting quads as some lines, and I think Carnival does enforce it SOMETIMES, don't like to leave to beds unoccupied, ie. money lost.

 

However, in this economy they should be thanking you for spending any money at all. LOL

 

Also, be sure to have your agent specify that the reservations be linked for the rooms. That way dining, embark and the like are always treated the same.

 

Enjoy crusing with the kids as we have spoiled ours into thinking it is an annual event!!!!!!!:D

[misguidedangel]

The Liberty just came out of drydock and they now have what is called a family suite. The suite can accommodate five, but since you have very young kids, it shouldn't be a problem.

 

I think many of the Conquest class ships will get this upgrade. The Liberty is a wonderful ship too...

[firefly333]

The Liberty just came out of drydock and they now have what is called a family suite. The suite can accommodate five, but since you have very young kids, it shouldn't be a problem. ...

 

4 kids + 2 adults = 6, she still cant put them in one cabin. (As snoozeman says its against coastguard rules).

[bplazo]

Never had this issue come up, I stopped with one child!

[Vanessa L]

What do families do when you have 4 children when it comes to cabins? On the Conquest, the maximum per room (no exceptions I am told) is 4. So if you have a 1 year old, 2 year old, 3 year old and 4 year old, you have to get two rooms; presumably with mom in 1 and dad in the other. And if the rooms are not connecting well you are SOL. Am I missing something? What do others do, please give me your input. Thanks very much.

 

OK, I guess I am missing something here (probably because I only have 2 kids and they are 22 and 11) but if you put mom and 2 kids in one room and dad and 2 kids in the other, that is 3 in each room and under the 4 per room max. I'm assuming that mom can take care of 2 and dad take care of 2? As you can see, my kids are 11 years apart so I cannot fathom having 4 kids a year apart (I think I'd have figured out what was causing them after the second one :eek: , just kidding. I applaud anyone that can do 4 kids 1 year apart). But at any rate, I do not understand what the problem is with 3 and 3??

[MuffyKismet]

I can understand you would like to sleep with your husband so the only answer of course is connecting rooms (lock the outside door in the 2nd room from the inside (keep the connecting doors open and put the kids in one room mom and dad in the other! Simple

[cantwait2cruize]

I think in your case it's a good idea to have Mom in one cabin, and Dad in another:D . It's even harder when you are traveling with 5 kids;)

[yearnin4cruisin]

OK, I guess I am missing something here (probably because I only have 2 kids and they are 22 and 11) but if you put mom and 2 kids in one room and dad and 2 kids in the other, that is 3 in each room and under the 4 per room max. I'm assuming that mom can take care of 2 and dad take care of 2? As you can see, my kids are 11 years apart so I cannot fathom having 4 kids a year apart (I think I'd have figured out what was causing them after the second one :eek: , just kidding. I applaud anyone that can do 4 kids 1 year apart). But at any rate, I do not understand what the problem is with 3 and 3??

 

I think part of the problem is Mom and Dad want to be in the same room! When I've traveled with all four of mine we were always fortunate enough to have Grandma come along. I hope you can come up with something that works for all of you.

[Cooper333]

If I had a 1 year old, a 2 year old, a 3 year old, and a 4 year old, I would leave them all at home. LOL!

[RoofingPrincess]

If I had a 1 year old, a 2 year old, a 3 year old, and a 4 year old, I would leave them all at home. LOL!

If they did that, they might end up with FIVE kids!!! ;)

[Vanessa L]

If I had a 1 year old, a 2 year old, a 3 year old, and a 4 year old, I would leave them all at home. LOL!

 

While I know that some people like to travel with their kids, and I respect the OP's right to do so, cruising is not too conducive to doing so and mom and dad being able to stay in the same room (unless, as others have noted, you take grandparents along ;) ). However, if I was one that wanted to travel with 4 kids ages 1-4 I think I would have to compromise for the short time I am gone and let dad take one room and I another (if I didn't have help). I mean if it meant THAT much to me, I think I could handle not sleeping with dad for 7 days (+/- depending on the days booked). The alternative would be taking land vacations until the point where the kids could be trusted to stay alone in one room. Just my $.02

[Cooper333]

If they did that, they might end up with FIVE kids!!! ;)

 

ROTFLMAO!!!!!!! True! My brother and his wife had a little souvenier from vacation 18 months ago, so when we all went on vacation again, we told them to be careful!!!

[dan40]

1 yr. old, 2 yr. old, 3 yr. old, and a 4 yr. old.

 

First, you desperately need a new hobby. ANY new hobby.:D

 

Second, and seriously, riding herd on that brood has to be a full time job anywhere. But on a ship, multiply by 2 or 3. I cannot see you getting any more vacation on the ship, in fact less than you would staying home. The only relief you will get is relief from having so much money. Sounds like an exhausting waste of money.

Cruising should be a future plan, some YEARS in the future.

 

Dan

[soon to cruise]

It is so expensive to take kids on cruises (full rate no matter what the age) and they are SO young ....I would leave them home with a trusted family member or friend and you and your husband take a WELL deserved break. You arent going to get any relaxation chasing after 4 kids that young. They arent going to remember the trip anyway. JMHO

[CruiznWithHubby]

Well, you're braver than I am,,,,that's for sure. Good luck if you decide to go for it, but unless you can get connecting cabins, you'll most likely be sleeping separately from DH,,,if you want this to be a ROMANTIC vacation,,,,,you're most likely going to be disappointed,,,,if you want a FAMILY vacation,,,it's going ot be a hail of alot of work, but most family vacations ARE with kids that age,,,

 

OTOH, I can name a few family vacations my family took that I wonder to this day why we bothered, it was so much work;) Disney comes to mind,,,,,,outrageously expensive,,,everything went wrong (spent a night in the airport due to a snow storm) and a trip to Treasure Island Florida, where the car broke down for 4 days,,,and a couple camping trips that we took that took longer to pack and unpack than we spent camping,,,,,,though it is far more affordable.

 

Have you considered a family oriented all-inclusive, such as the Beaches Resorts???? They have family suites that might work well for you,,,

 

The problem with family vacations with that number of kids is,,,,,Mom and Dad could go alone three times for the price of the vacation for the whole family:D

 

Basically, it all depends on 1)how much you're willing to spend 2) how much work you're willing to do for the experience and 3) whether it's worth taking the little ones at their ages.

 

Another option that I've employed in the past is to leave the one year old with Grandma,,,s/he won't miss it, and it might just be more distressing for him/her actually with schedules upset, etc,,,,

 

and take the older ones,,,,the littlest will have his/her turn when they're older,,

 

Good luck :) Holly

[Payd]

With the young age of the kids - you really need to go with a connecting cabin - dad in one with two kids, mom in the other with two kids. I would look for triple cabins - the cabin with beds that push together and a convertible couch/bed. I wouldn't put a child that young in an upper bunk bed.

 

Have you thought about leaving the kids at home with family or friends? They are very young and won't remember much if anything. We have talked to couples that have cruised with young children. One couple said they could believe how dumb they were to cruise with a 9 yr old and a 1 yr old. You plan to take 4 under 4. WOW!

[GeekyMom]

We have 4 kids too. :eek: :D

 

On our last cruise we got two cabins; our teen was in the room with the younger one's and our cabin was across the hall. We checked on them regularily when they were not with us, had exact rules for leaving the cabin or opening the door, period!

 

The cruise before that we sailed on the Sensation and got a 5 pp cabin. Our youngest stayed behind with her sitter. Cheaper but tighter. :p

 

Romance with kids in your cabin.... well Carnival Kid programs really allow for that but some planning is in order.

 

I had to choose what to do for my 50th birthday coming up next month and I considered going to Egypt with hubby or doing anything else I really wanted to do and hadn't done before. In the end decision; I chose a cruise, and with the kids on Miracle, because like most of you I LOVE to cruise!

 

While having time away from the kids is really nice, if you are like us with family in a different state, or will be missing or worrying about your kids, or in our case; wanting them to share the experience, then it's a good idea to try and take them. In the end I decided to make it a family thing. My kids REALLY enjoy cruising!

 

P.S. We have never gotten an adjourning cabin, because the right types were not available when we booked, I don't think you get an balcony next to an inside, right. :confused:

[Vanessa L]

We have 4 kids too. :eek: :D

 

On our last cruise we got two cabins; our teen was in the room with the younger one's and our cabin was across the hall. We checked on them regularily when they were not with us, had exact rules for leaving the cabin or opening the door, period!

 

The cruise before that we sailed on the Sensation and got a 5 pp cabin. Our youngest stayed behind with her sitter. Cheaper but tighter. :p

 

Romance with kids in your cabin.... well Carnival Kid programs really allow for that but some planning is in order.

 

I had to choose what to do for my 50th birthday coming up next month and I considered going to Egypt with hubby or doing anything else I really wanted to do and hadn't done before. In the end decision; I chose a cruise, and with the kids on Miracle, because like most of you I LOVE to cruise!

 

While having time away from the kids is really nice, if you are like us with family in a different state, or will be missing or worrying about your kids, or in our case; wanting them to share the experience, then it's a good idea to try and take them. In the end I decided to make it a family thing. My kids REALLY enjoy cruising!

 

P.S. We have never gotten an adjourning cabin, because the right types were not available when we booked, I don't think you get an balcony next to an inside, right. :confused:

 

I figured that the OP was one that didn't have relatives close by. However, I agree with the one who posted that the effort involved to keep up with 4 kids aged 1-4 on a ship is going to be a lot of work :eek: And, for the money the OP will spend, the kids will remember nothing (the 4 year old might remember a few things). I took my daughter (now 22) on her first cruise at 6 and she LOVED it and remembers details that I can't even remember!!! We are going to sail together again next year when the Fantasy moves into Mobile. What a hoot that is going to be! I digress....the OP can certainly spend her money any way she chooses, I just applaud her courage and tenacity to try and take 4 kids that young on a ship. I do however, think that getting 2 rooms, even if they are adjoining, would work for splitting she and DH up with 2 kids in each but not to have the luxury to be able to sleep with DH each night. Certainly something to consider if that was the desired end result. If it was me, I think I'd wait to cruise until the kids were 6-9 or even 7-10. They'd remember it all that way, AND there is Camp Carnival for "mom and dad" time ;) But that's just me.