Looking for room recommendations for Anthem with 2 older kids

Hi fellow cruisers. My wife and I are going back on another cruise with Royal and this time it is on Anthem. We are planing a 7 day cruise out of NJ in March break of 2017. I know it is still early but we are looking to get a group of 5 or 6 families to go so we are getting an early start. Anyway, my wife and with our 2 kids (DS will be 3 weeks shy of 18, and DD will be just short of 13) will be going.

What are our room options. We cruised a 4 nighter as a family 2 years ago on Disney Dream in a balcony stateroom, but it had 2 washrooms, and the kids were younger. This being a 7 day cruise, with older kids with more stuff, can we get by with only one room ? If we get 2 rooms, and they are connected, then we probably both have to be 2 inside rooms or 2 balcony rooms. Would a junior suite make it more livable? Any other options I'm not thinking of.

Thanks in advance

dp

a JS is not going to be much more(enough) space with what amounts to 3 adults and a teenager. no split bathroom either.

look for a balcony for yourselves with an interior for the kids across the hall. ( not too many connecting rooms over all)

the Family cabins all require at least 5 until ( if at all) they are released for smaller parties but very frequently 2 cabins will be cheaper and you get twice the bathrooms./

A JS is great for 2, but really no more amenities than a standard cabin...only the 1 bath....

I'd go for 2 cabins...a balcony for you, and an inside (across the hall is fine!) for the kids! Kids don't care one bit about sitting on a balcony, so don't pay for one!!!

Hi fellow cruisers. My wife and I are going back on another cruise with Royal and this time it is on Anthem. We are planing a 7 day cruise out of NJ in March break of 2017. I know it is still early but we are looking to get a group of 5 or 6 families to go so we are getting an early start. Anyway, my wife and with our 2 kids (DS will be 3 weeks shy of 18, and DD will be just short of 13) will be going.

 

What are our room options. We cruised a 4 nighter as a family 2 years ago on Disney Dream in a balcony stateroom, but it had 2 washrooms, and the kids were younger. This being a 7 day cruise, with older kids with more stuff, can we get by with only one room ? If we get 2 rooms, and they are connected, then we probably both have to be 2 inside rooms or 2 balcony rooms. Would a junior suite make it more livable? Any other options I'm not thinking of.

 

Thanks in advance

dp

Pairs of connecting OV cabins can be hard to find, but on the March 5 sailing, for example, right now you can get 3180 & 3182.

In the middle of my looking at it, the website "went down" for me, so I can't quote you the US$ price. :(

A JS is great for 2, but really no more amenities than a standard cabin...only the 1 bath....

 

I'd go for 2 cabins...a balcony for you, and an inside (across the hall is fine!) for the kids! Kids don't care one bit about sitting on a balcony, so don't pay for one!!!

I don't think you should generalize about what kids like or don't like.

My kids love a balcony and we get either adjoining or connecting whenever we can. We've done connecting/adjoining ocean views, but doing the insides is not the way we choose to travel.

I have a 17.5 yo boy and a 13 yo boy. We were booked in a D2 quad on Anthem for Christmas because the price was high and that was the only way to do it. The price dropped twice in about 3 weeks, and we're now in adjoining D6 balconies for $80 less than the price of the D2 quad.

I do agree that sharing is not the best option. The D cabins on Anthem are the same size as the E cabins on Freedom (about 198 sf) and we just had them last week. My mom and I shared one, my boys in another, and my older son's 3 teenaged friends in the third. They are definitely small, and after the week was over my mom was grateful that we'd switched to two cabins for the next trip.

Pairs of connecting OV cabins can be hard to find, but on the March 5 sailing, for example, right now you can get 3180 & 3182.

 

In the middle of my looking at it, the website "went down" for me, so I can't quote you the US$ price. :(

You should also look at the "Family Oceanview" cabins that are in the front *corners* of Decks 8-11. One bathroom, but nice spacious accommodations.

I don't think you should generalize about what kids like or don't like.

 

My kids love a balcony and we get either adjoining or connecting whenever we can. We've done connecting/adjoining ocean views, but doing the insides is not the way we choose to travel.

 

I have a 17.5 yo boy and a 13 yo boy. We were booked in a D2 quad on Anthem for Christmas because the price was high and that was the only way to do it. The price dropped twice in about 3 weeks, and we're now in adjoining D6 balconies for $80 less than the price of the D2 quad.

 

I do agree that sharing is not the best option. The D cabins on Anthem are the same size as the E cabins on Freedom (about 198 sf) and we just had them last week. My mom and I shared one, my boys in another, and my older son's 3 teenaged friends in the third. They are definitely small, and after the week was over my mom was grateful that we'd switched to two cabins for the next trip.

One drawback of the D cabins on Anthem is that most of them accommodate the 3rd & 4th passengers in one foldout sofabed. If you have two older/larger kids, dpostman, that may not work out very well. ;), particularly since you have a son and a daughter.

There ARE cabins with a pullman and a sofabed, but you have to look hard for them. (which I still can't do because the site is still frozen for me. :mad:)

We ran into the same problem when booking our NYE cruise on Anthem this coming December. We are 5, not your 4, and when the kids were small, we would book 1 family stateroom and, while it was a little tight, the kids were with us, everyone had a place to sleep and we would do the shower relay every day after the pool and before dinner... no real problems and for as much time as we spent in the room, it worked out well.

Flash forward, now my 'KIDS' are 20, 18 and 14. Even if it were DH and I with any 2 of the kids, they are just too big to be in the same room and we definitely NEED 2 bathrooms.

When we were booking our Anthem cruise for this coming December, I was able to snag a D8 and connecting D3 on Deck 8 for us - both balcony cabins. The cost to put the kids across the hall from us in an interior room, which was an option, wasn't that much cheaper than booking everyone in the connecting balcony cabins and my kids love the balcony (though I do understand that some kids don't appreciate it or care about having a balcony). We looked into booking a suite, but it was a lot more expensive than the connecting balconies.

Only you know your family and what will make everyone's experience the best that it can be... some families don't mind 1 room for 4 or 5, and it works for them. Some families need and can afford suites with spacious accomodations for their families... Whatever you decide, work in your budget to get the best combination that is available for your party and have a great cruise!

It is definitely NOT too early to be planning for March... we are already booked for next August as well!

Definitely check out the bed options for those not sleeping in the regular bed. The fold out sofa was stated to sleep two. My two petite girls, ages almost 5 and almost 7 shared it on the Quantum. I'm glad they are small! It was too small for them to fit longways on the bed and not bump each other too much at night. We switched them to sleeping "short ways" on the bed with the throw pillows as a divider. It worked for us but in a couple of years they will out grow that set up. Sounds like two connecting rooms will be your best bet.

Thanks for all the info. I do consider the suits options to be out of our price range. I like the 2 adjoining balcony rooms but my kids are the type that probably won't even step out once on the balcony. My wife and I really really like a balcony and would regret going to 2 inside rooms and losing our balcony. It is hard to predict in advance but this being a cruise with a bunch of our friends, perhaps we might not make use of our balcony ourselves anyway... Sorry for thinking outloud, and thanks for the input. I'll see what my wife thinks of 2 rooms each side of the hallway.

My wife just had a good question. If we get 2 non adjoining rooms, can we get a room key card for their room?

BTW: Snappynappi, this cruise we are looking into is for March of 2017, not 16 ;-)

dp

Thanks for all the info. I do consider the suits options to be out of our price range. I like the 2 adjoining balcony rooms but my kids are the type that probably won't even step out once on the balcony. My wife and I really really like a balcony and would regret going to 2 inside rooms and losing our balcony. It is hard to predict in advance but this being a cruise with a bunch of our friends, perhaps we might not make use of our balcony ourselves anyway... Sorry for thinking outloud, and thanks for the input. I'll see what my wife thinks of 2 rooms each side of the hallway.

 

My wife just had a good question. If we get 2 non adjoining rooms, can we get a room key card for their room?

 

BTW: Snappynappi, this cruise we are looking into is for March of 2017, not 16 ;-)

 

dp

Oooops.... sorry about that... still not too early :rolleyes:

We booked our NYE cruise for this December last summer.

Anyway - your question about the room keys. When you book, someone in the room has to be 21, so they will probably book it so that 1 of your kids is in a room with each of you and your wife. AFTER you board, go to guest services and ask them to have your key cards work both rooms. I have heard some people say that once updated in the system, their 1 room key card worked both rooms, and I have heard others say that they issued them a second card that was blank (as only a room key card) - I think it depends on the ship. This is what we will do, although with connecting rooms with the door opened up between rooms, it is just semantics about which door you enter. Either way, guest services absolutely can help you once you are checked in and onboard with getting everyone access to both rooms.

Oooops.... sorry about that... still not too early :rolleyes:

We booked our NYE cruise for this December last summer.

 

Anyway - your question about the room keys. When you book, someone in the room has to be 21, so they will probably book it so that 1 of your kids is in a room with each of you and your wife. AFTER you board, go to guest services and ask them to have your key cards work both rooms. I have heard some people say that once updated in the system, their 1 room key card worked both rooms, and I have heard others say that they issued them a second card that was blank (as only a room key card) - I think it depends on the ship. This is what we will do, although with connecting rooms with the door opened up between rooms, it is just semantics about which door you enter. Either way, guest services absolutely can help you once you are checked in and onboard with getting everyone access to both rooms.

Perfect. That is good to know cause we are not quite sure yet witch setup to get.

We were kind of planing to register an adult in each room anyway... then we can bring 4 bottles of wine on board :)

dp

Perfect. That is good to know cause we are not quite sure yet witch setup to get.

 

We were kind of planing to register an adult in each room anyway... then we can bring 4 bottles of wine on board :)

 

dp

LOL! Yes, another benefit of having an adult in each room... :D