Fantasy Class, 2 upper bunk, cabin organization.

I wasn't sure where to post this question.

We're sailing Elation. OV. 2 uppers. Family of 4. 5 day. Sail in 76 days. We do have F2F.

How do you efficiently organize the cabin, so you're not tripping over everything & each other? Do you unpack everyone? Is it even worth unpacking? Or maybe only take out the next day clothes the night before? Leave the kids suitcases open, under the bed like "drawers"? Is an over the door shoe rack a must have? Is it worth even unpacking everyone? Are packing cubes worth it?

It will be me that has to do the unpacking. I plan on each taking a carry on size suitcase.

Where can I find fire retardant material to put something outside the door, so my kids can easily identify our cabin?

Do you set a shower schedule? Or maybe some shower at the spa?

I've googled, looked at a lot of pics & Youtube videos. I've scoured Pinterest & Cruise Critic. I've read a lot of reviews on our ship class. I haven't found much on organizing effectively.

We don't plan to spend a ton of time in our cabin. I want to be as comfortable as we can when all 4 of us are in there.

I've sailed once, girls trip. This time I'm the Mom & will greatly appreciate some tips on what works for you. Time is flying by quickly for us. We're driving.

Thank you.

(Booking 2 rooms was not an option, financially.)

I don't have an answer for you now. We are sailing on the Elation in 29 days! There are 10 of us, 4 adults and 6 kids under the age of 10. We got two rooms, 5 in each. I will try to remember to come back and update on any organization tips when we return!

When I have more than two in a cabin, I usually work out in the morning and shower & change at the spa/fitness center. As far as organization, I keep my stuff in my suitcase and roll it under the bed. We also bring a lot of magnetic hooks, great for drying stuff & getting it out of the way

I think the key is bed configuration. We have sailed this type of cabin twice. The first time we had the main bed set up as a king. Awful! Everyone bumped their head numerous times. The second time we requested two twins. Each bunk is over a twin and allows for an aisle space in the middle. We also arranged pillows to make the lower twins feel and function like a day bed for day time seating. Much better!

Two set up options:

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Other tips:

There is plenty of storage space in the cabin (even for a family of 4). We each bring a full size suitcase, and we each have a backpack for boarding day and for taking into the ports. We keep the port day/pool accessories (sunscreen, sunglasses, books, snacks, etc.) packed in the backpacks all the time. We always empty our luggage and utilize the dressers and cabinets. All of our luggage will fit neatly under beds. We leave one suitcase easily accessible so that we all throw our dirty clothes into it. We keep extra shoes slid neatly under the bed to free up the small aisle space.

Showers: Are usually not a problem, however, if we get in a crunch, my husband and son will take theirs at the spa. Another key is the flexibility of Your Time Dining. No mad rush to be ready for dinner at a specific time. You merely go when everyone is ready. (This definitely alleviates most of the stress that can come from teens fighting over the bathroom).

We prefer the larger 220 square foot OV cabins on the other class ships and really have no problems in these cabins that have a separate couch seating area. However, when budget and/or ship only allows for the small 185 sq ft cabins, we manage. But hey, we also have an RV and are used to tight family vacation quarters. Think of it as bonding time, and lesson on compromise.

Y'all are awesome!!! Thank you so very much.

We're travel trailer campers too. We have a massive bunkhouse. Lots of room for the 4 of us, plus the dogs. When I showed my oldest the cabin pics I dug up, he asked where the bunk was to store luggage, lol. We have 4 bunks in the back of our camper. One bottom bunk gets used for their bags. I explained to them the cabin bath is about the size of the camper bathroom. Wide eyes met me.

What we do....

Next to the upper bunks should be hooks (could bring me a magnetic one or two), from these we hang a pocket holder. The upper pockets become the bunk's nightstand.

Luggage is stored under the bed.

Only bathroom 'duties' are done in the bathroom. All primping is done outside.

Everyone gets a drawer and a shelf. Double and triple up on hangars.

If you're family, figure out what can be shared.

Bring an extension cord, NO surge protection. The ship will have a single US 110v outlet and a 220v outlet. We bring a plug adapter for the 220v. Do not use an US extension cord in the 220. Most ships use an Euro two pin, but a few older ships use an UK style pin. Look on your electronics, almost all are dual voltage 120v-240v. (We have only one hair iron that's 110 only, needed a converter for that.)

Thank you Sadie. It's me, my hubs, 2 sons. I have the non surge outlet thingie. I'm also taking my own hair dryer. I used it on my first cruise.

I'm definitely getting magnetic hooks! Those seem to be one of the most repeated must take items. Would chip bag clips w a magnet on the back hold a daily paper to the wall? (They hold pizza coupons fine on the fridge)

I got a small dry erase board & post its at the dollar store, for a communications center . I also got door decor, that hopefully will get to stay put outside, affixed w blue painters tape. I'm getting a pop up hamper. Taking backpacks for carryons. And & empty duffle if we need it later. Plus a cute bag for the beach & pool.

I dress pretty modest, even in my swim wear. If I wore a robe to the spa to shower, would that be inappropriate? With like a swim suit cover on under it? I buy cheap knit sundresses dresses for cover ups.

About the only thing that can be shared is a hairbrush, soap & toothpaste. I'm taking 1/2 a full tube instead of 4 travel sizes. My guys are super sensitive skinned, so I'm taking some hotel bars of soap in case the cabin body wash makes them itch. Same w shampoo. They take up little room.

We did 4 one time leaving the bottom beds together and didn't like it. We now split the bottom beds against the walls under the bunks leaving the entire middle of the cabin open. You may not be sleeping in the same bed as your spouse but the room sets up much better.

We always put the four of us in one cabin and will be doing it again for cruise #5 in a few weeks. 185 sq feet is actually plenty of space. Some of the things we've learned and now do:

1. Each person gets one shelf in the closet. The shelves are actually quite deep and tall and it's easy to put two rows of clothes/things on each (as well as piling fairly high). I'm always amazed that each of us can unpack almost an entire suitcase onto a shelf.

2. We use the other two storage closets for shoes, pool/ocean stuff as well as hanging elegant night items.

3. Over the door storage (I got at Dollar Tree years ago and we still use it) that we hang over the bathroom door facing out into

the cabin. This is where all of the personal accessories go (i.e. hair brushes, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc). This way none of this stuff gets lost and it doesn't clutter up the bathroom either.

4. All suitcases go under the bed (yes 4 of them fit easily) so they're now out of the way (you can also store rarely needed items in the suitcases under the bed).

5. Remove the ladders and lay them against the side walls of the cabin. Those ladders just get in the way and besides my kids find it far more entertaining to jump up onto the upper bunks not to mention I now don't hit my head/stub my toes on the ladders.

6. Put the bottom two beds together (this is what allows us to get rid of the ladders so getting up and down to/from the top bunks is now done via the "trampoline" effect of the bottom bed

7. Have the steward leave the uppers open the entire day. This way our kids have their own personal spaces of their own and don't use any square footage whatsoever. Whether it's resting, reading, playing, waiting for the shower after a beach day, they're happy and we have a ton more main floor space.

Thank you so much for this! Y'all's discussion is helping me, waiting for our 4-in-one cabin cruise next month!

Thanks so much for this thread!

This thread is perfect timing! I am sailing with my family of 5 on a 4 day on Ecstasy in an interior on 8/2. We are planning to move the twins under the bunks and have the trundle bed on the back wall so the middle space is free. We are going to only hang up formal night clothes and live out of our suitcases the rest of the time. The female adults may try to shower in the gym but not sure yet. I will let you know how it goes.

When I have more than two in a cabin, I usually work out in the morning and shower & change at the spa/fitness center. As far as organization, I keep my stuff in my suitcase and roll it under the bed. We also bring a lot of magnetic hooks, great for drying stuff & getting it out of the way

We unpack everything and store luggage under the bed. All bathroom stuff and "lose" items are stored in the over-the-door shoe rack on the bathroom door. My husband and I share the closet shelves and the kids share the drawers. Backpacks and beach bags are in the cabinets under the nightstand. Shoes are lined up against the wall, or in the floor of the closet.

I pack a pop up hamper and store it in the closet for all dirty clothes, and do laundry while on board (I like to come home with mostly clean clothes!) Wet swimsuits are hung in the shower on the clothesline.

We made our own door decorations and hung them with command hooks- or if you want to make a banner shindigz is where most people order those (to satisfy the flame retardant thing).

What kind of magnetic hooks to you buy? would be great to have some for bathing suits and towels but not sure exactly what to get.

We get heavy duty magnetic hooks at Daiso. Have seen them at Home Depot and Target.