what size cabin do families book?

[punkmuse]

my parents want to take their family on a family cruise vacation next year and me and my mom are having a hard time figuring out how many people fit into each cabin category.

 

specifically my brother and his wife have 2 young kids (9 & 11).

my husband and i have sailed twice in an inside cabin and i cant even imagine fitting a family of 4 in there. not to mention there is only really one bed.

 

are families pretty much forced to do a suite?

 

or am i missing something here?

 

right now our choice is between RCCL adn Princess and the RCCL website is completley unhelpful and the Princess website is only semi helpful

[sarahjoe]

We just did RCCL Navigator. We had adjoining Promenade Cabins with our 12 & 15 yr old. It worked out great-definately nice to have 2 bathrooms. We kept the door open between the two. The cabins were priced a lot cheaper than balcony and were nice to have a window overlooking promenade to watch parades, etc.

[njmomof2]

Cabins have different occupancy rates. Some are 2 people, others 3 or 4. There are some suites that only hold 2 and others that hold 8 or 14.

 

I have 2 boys (11 and 6.5) and we have done a balcony cabin fine. We cruise on Royal. I have heard that Carnival has some cabins that are larger. Also, they have pullman beds (the upper bed pulls down over the lower bed, so it looks like a bunk bed). With kids 11 and 9, this would not be a problem.

 

You have to think of how much time you spend in the cabin. I would not do an inside with the kids, simply because both would have to sleep on uppers and my younger one is still too young for that. But I would be fine with oceanview or balcony.

 

You can also consider a junior suite (on Royal, not sure what the equivalent is on Carnival ships) which would give you more room in the cabin, plus a larger bathroom.

 

It can certainly be done. It depends on individual preferences. Many couples will not share with their slightly older kids and prefer to get them an adjoining cabin or an inside directly across the hall. Many do this for the extra space and the bathroom. In my house, we all share a bathroom at home, so it's no big deal for me. And neither of my boys is a bathroom hog, so we don't usually have problems.

 

So, the short answer is no, families of 4 don't HAVE to do a suite. There are a number of other ways to cruise that work fine.

[punkmuse]

how do i figure out what the occupancy of a cabin is?

i guess that is the info i am missing. On the RCCL site it doesnt say (that i have seen)

[Terpnut]

how do i figure out what the occupancy of a cabin is?

i guess that is the info i am missing. On the RCCL site it doesnt say (that i have seen)

The occupancy is just the maximum number of people that they will book into a particular category stateroom (this is noted in all the deck plans--look carefully at the legend). They have certain standard-sized staterooms with triple or even quad occupancy (i.e. staterooms with standard beds with pullmans or sofabeds additionally).

 

Like your brother, we are a similar sized/aged family of four. Because we can afford it and refuse to cram four into a standard stateroom, we always book two connecting standard oceanview or balcony staterooms. Suites are very pricey and don't offer proportionally more space for the additional premium. From our perspective, connecting staterooms are the way to go--same amount of total usable space, more reasonably priced, privacy for the parents, and an extra bathroom, over a comparably sized suite! So I think the real question (and only you can decide) is whether your mom (and/or your brother) want to pay for the cost of an additional stateroom versus cramming the family into a single 160-180 sq ft stateroom!

 

Of course, if you have money to burn, then a suite is an awful nice way to go. :)

[wrp96]

If you go in to book a cruise, input the number of people on the reservation (4) and the only cabins that you will be offered are those that will accommodate 4 people. RCCL for example offers cabins for 4 people in most categories, so determine whether you want an inside, an oceanview, a balcony, or suite and then go looking . In an inside cabin for example, the 3rd and 4th beds would be pullman beds that come down from the ceiling (they are similiar to bunk beds) over the other beds. Unless you have the 3rd and 4th person in the room, you don't even know they are there.

 

Also, when looking at deck plans, you'll see little symbols after the cabin numbers. These symbols indicate whether a cabin has pullman beds or a sofa bed or both.

[cb at sea]

I agree that 4 in one room, (even a so-called large or superior cabin) is too tight. I'd do 2 connecting rooms, so that mom and dad could have some privacy, the kids can keep their messes in THEIR room, and the extra bathroom is sooooo worth it!

 

When our kids were small, the only time we'd do all of us in 1 room was on an overnight road trip stop. Once at our destination, it was seperate rooms everytime!

 

You may find 2 connectings are cheaper than any of the "suites" and will give you the extra bathroom.

[CeleBrat]

We've done both connecting cabins, and all 4 of us in one room. Recently, we have scored really, really good deals on quad inside cabins. Yes, it's tight. But, really, we're only sleeping in the cabin. And, it has also enabled us to cruise at least once per year (if not more), because we are economizing on the cabin.

 

Also--if we're in an inside, we request the "big" bed to be pushed apart so that each half is under on the pullman beds. That adds valuable floor space to the center of the cabin, and keeps the kids from walking/jumping on your bed.

 

CeleBrat

[Terpnut]

You may find 2 connectings are cheaper than any of the "suites" and will give you the extra bathroom.

Yes, two connecting cabins are almost always cheaper (often MUCH cheaper) than the least expensive suites.

[punkmuse]

thanks everyone i have forwarded the info on to my mom!

 

i understand alot better now :D

[lds26]

my parents want to take their family on a family cruise vacation next year and me and my mom are having a hard time figuring out how many people fit into each cabin category.

 

specifically my brother and his wife have 2 young kids (9 & 11).

my husband and i have sailed twice in an inside cabin and i cant even imagine fitting a family of 4 in there. not to mention there is only really one bed.

 

are families pretty much forced to do a suite?

 

or am i missing something here?

 

right now our choice is between RCCL adn Princess and the RCCL website is completley unhelpful and the Princess website is only semi helpful

 

We are booking for 8 and we have chosen the Carnival Freedom. We will be booking two adjoining oceanview cabins. We will have our 3 sons and my husband in one room, and my MIL, myself and our 2 teenaged daughters in the other. I have inquired with Carnival as to how many maximum per room we could fit and we originally booked Carnival Triumph as it could fit 5.

[Terpnut]

We are booking for 8 and we have chosen the Carnival Freedom. We will be booking two adjoining oceanview cabins. We will have our 3 sons and my husband in one room, and my MIL, myself and our 2 teenaged daughters in the other. I have inquired with Carnival as to how many maximum per room we could fit and we originally booked Carnival Triumph as it could fit 5.

Make sure you are clear on the distinction between adjoining and connecting staterooms. We always book connecting rooms, which are adjacent rooms with a door between them, so we can freely move between the cabins in private. Adjoining rooms on the other hand, are also adjacent, but don't have a door between them. A drawback of connecting cabins is that, to make room for the doorway, there is either a smalller sofa or a chair is eliminated from each room.

[LisaT91403]

We are sailing on Mariner of the Seas in a couple of weeks, and booked connecting rooms. Here's the cool thing about it -- there are two places on the ship (both Deck 9, one on each side of the ship) where you can book a balcony cabin connected to an inside cabin. Our 12-month old gets the inside, and my DH and I get the balcony! It was soooo much less expensive than booking a junior suite, and we'll have a lot more room this way. And we'll have two bathrooms, which is the best part of all!

[Cruisin Kay D]

Last week on a cruise (Mike & me) with 6 grandkids (ages 9-16) -- We were on Carnival Triumph with CONNECTING BALCONY CABINS that slept 4 each. There was the king bed and a couch made into a bed and a bunk above the couch. Mike & I had the 2 9-yr-olds in with us and the other 4 (2 boys, 2 girls) ages 16-15-14-11 were in the other cabin. The girls used the king bed and the 2 boys on the bunk & couch. We were on Spa Deck (11th deck) where there are only 14 cabins on that deck! The location of cabins was behind the elevator stack, so it was PERFECT & very quiet PLUS at end of hall was a door to outside upper sun deck. There were 975 children on that cruise. The sundecks were PACKED and pools & hot tubs FULL of kids. It was hard to find a chaise lounge and harder to walk around the sundecks due to huge crowds. That ship had a 3 story figure 8 water slide which the kids loved. The buffet lines for breakfast & lunch were awfully horribly long, and then hard to find a table!

 

Christmas of 2007, we took those 4 older ones on Radiance of Seas, where we had a triple balcony cabin connecting to a quad balcony cabin. (Mike & I were in the triple and couch was never made into a bed.) That too was a great arrangement but we were on a regular LONG hallway.

 

OF THE 2 SHIPS, I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND RADIANCE OF SEAS!!!!!! Carnival will be cheaper in price but the ambiance & decor on Radiance class (Radiance, Brilliance, Jewel, Serenade) OR Voyager class ships would be soooooo much better & WORTH THE PRICE.

 

I use a travel agent who has a family and she does the searching for me for the type cabins we want....you might be better to find a TA who has been on cruises, than going directly thru Carnival or RCCL because often the people on the phone (telemarketers) do NOT REALLY know much!!!!-

[lumpkin8]

Hi, we always do inside quads for our family of 4, because price is an object. Yes, it is tight, but as some others have said, we only sleep there. We would rather save the money, and spend $ on other things.

[NanciRDH]

I agree on making sure that you have the connecting rooms, there is a difference! I always book 2 cabins for the 5 of us, it's worth it to me to have that extra bathroom. Our last family cruise was on Sovereign of the Seas, and we were in 2 Jr suites. They were adjacent but not connecting. Our room steward was kind enough to open the partition on the balcony, so I could get at the kids' room easily if I needed to. Our oldest is 16, I wouldn't have considered this option if she was younger. Sovereign is no longer with RCCL, and I noticed that Monarch didn't have the same balcony setup when we cruised her (no kids!) in Feb.

[TexasMommy]

We've sailed with 4 in one cabin: 2 little kids and 2 adults 5 times. Ages 5 & 0, Ages 6 & 1 (twice that year) Ages, 7 & 2, Ages 8 & 3. We will be sailing twice this year ages 9 & 4.

 

Every time as been in 1 cabin...and all but one was an inside. It is well worth it to us to be able to sail more frequently. Granted, most of those cruises were on our far away favorite, Disney which has a bigger cabin and a good set up. We just sleep and change in the cabin...we don't want to spend almost double for 2 cabins. The inside cabins actually make nap taking much easier as it is dark during the day. It does of course get crowded but we just try to stay organized and grin and bear the close togetherness.

 

Hope this helps. When the kids get bigger we may reconsider but for now...1 cabin...and more money for more trips!

[4spring9]

Just got back on the Carnival Freedom last month. Had an inside cabin, with my husband, two sons (9 & 11) & I. We each had our own single bed. The upper beds were put up during the day. We had plenty of room. We didn't spend that much time in the room. & it was very reasonable. I guess I fit in with the crowd that says they'd rather share one cabin & maybe be able to travel more often that spend more & have two cabins but cruise less.

[hopingforthebest]

Has anyone stayed in the large oceanview family stateroom on Royal Caribbean? I have one booked for my family of four including two teens for a seven day Med cruise. The size is great (328 Sq ft) and it has four beds for a very reasonable price, but I am getting worried about the bathroom issue and wonder if I would have been better off with two promenade cabins (less space ,153 sq ft each, but two bathrooms). Any thoughts?

[Terpnut]

Has anyone stayed in the large oceanview family stateroom on Royal Caribbean? I have one booked for my family of four including two teens for a seven day Med cruise. The size is great (328 Sq ft) and it has four beds for a very reasonable price, but I am getting worried about the bathroom issue and wonder if I would have been better off with two promenade cabins (less space ,153 sq ft each, but two bathrooms). Any thoughts?

If you value any privacy and bathroom time, go with connecting rooms. The Family Oceanviews (at least the ones I'm familiar with on Radiance-class) are nice but they only have one tiny "bedroom" with the main bed in a large shared open space (so no privacy for mom/dad), 1 vs. 2 bathrooms, and two large windows vs two balconies. Plus I don't like the extreme forward location of the FO rooms. For the money, I'd get two separate staterooms.

[hopingforthebest]

Based on your advice, I opted to change to two adjacent oceanview rooms for only $400 more on a seven night cruise. We'll still have the extreme forward location, but I think two bathrooms will keep peace in the family. I wish I could afford two balcony cabins, but it would cost me about $1000 more than two oceanviews, and after paying airfares to Europe, I just have to draw the line somewhere.