Family Veranda VS 2 connecting rooms?

I am in such a dilemma, I thought you all could help in my decision making. We are a family of 4 with two kids age 9 + 11. Should we do: A- two connecting state rooms with veranda on deck 6 or B-a family veranda on deck 7. This family veranda on Constellation does NOT have a separate bunk bed room for the kids, it is just two pull out couches in separate main area, there is a door that closes but unsure of how private this would be.

With option A we will have 2 bathrooms and a bit more privacy for mom and dad. With option B we will have a HUGE veranda 242 sq ft compared to two sets of 38 sq ft connecting. Plus we save about $350 with option B.

Are there other pros or cons you can all tell me about? What would you do and why? Thank you, I love reading every ones suggestions.

I visited a fellow cruiser who had a FV on deck 9 on the Constellation on my Nov. cruise.

It is truely two rooms. the partition door does close off the bedroom. the living area is really big , plenty of room for four. they will turn down the sofa beds for the evening. The veranda has a regualr size table four chairs and loungers.

Again great space for four to be together. The minus is only one bathroom.

the locker rooms off the solarium have big showers which anyone can use if you get into a bind for cleaning up at one time.

If you had two connecting regular staterooms, to be together, two of you would have to sit on the beds.

And the balconies on M class ships do not connect. . .everyone who has had an M class FV reports back very positively. We were in an FV on Solstice with 4 adults, DH and I plus my DD and her BF, and we managed fine with one bathroom on a 14 day cruise; there was always a public bathroom nearby if necessary. It was not an issue at all. Since the desk area serves as a dressing/makeup/hair station, it was easy to schedule showers starting with the one who took the most time!!

Keep in mind that with only one bathroom, even though the two sleeping areas can be closed off, the people in the second area still have to pass through the main bedroom to access the bathroom. EM

Depends on how much family together time you want. Those are fabulous cabins with a lot of room, especially if you can snag a corner one. I agree, the one bathroom could be a problem, but the boys could shower in the spa area. If you want to spend a lot of family time, I'd say take the FOV.

I am in such a dilemma, I thought you all could help in my decision making. We are a family of 4 with two kids age 9 + 11. Should we do: A- two connecting state rooms with veranda on deck 6 or B-a family veranda on deck 7. This family veranda on Constellation does NOT have a separate bunk bed room for the kids, it is just two pull out couches in separate main area, there is a door that closes but unsure of how private this would be.

With option A we will have 2 bathrooms and a bit more privacy for mom and dad. With option B we will have a HUGE veranda 242 sq ft compared to two sets of 38 sq ft connecting. Plus we save about $350 with option B.

Are there other pros or cons you can all tell me about? What would you do and why? Thank you, I love reading every ones suggestions.

You can slide the panel closed across the middle of the room to divide the room in half. But it provides very little privacy.

It is nothing at all like the multi-room suite you get with an FV on the S-class ships.

In the evening, the stateroom attendant makes up the couches in the sitting area as beds for the children and you lose the use of your sitting area.

You need to walk between the couches where the children are sleeping in order to go to or from the balcony.

The children need to walk through the parents' sleeping area to get to or from the bathroom or the closets.

As someone previously mentioned, it would be possible for someone to use the showers in the solarium area, but they are not at all convenient because they are located at the opposite end of the ship from the FV cabins.

The biggest attraction of a FV cabin on an M-class ship is its large veranda.

It's great if you are planning to entertain a lot of people out there.

For us, at first the FV balcony wowed us with its size.

But then we soon realized that with only 4 people out there, most of it was just wasted, unused space.

Having two regular staterooms instead of one FV really is much more useful and practical because you get true privacy, the additional full bathroom, and the use of a sitting area at night for the adults after the children go to sleep.

Plus you have easy access to your balcony every night without needing to tiptoe back and forth right between the couches where the children are sleeping.

With children of 9 and 11, we would definitely book an additional stateroom for them, primarily for the privacy and convenience and the extra bathroom.

The room layout and traffic pattern is simply much better that way.

If we needed to save money, we would downgrade to a lower stateroom category.

In the end it comes down to tradeoffs, determining which features matter most to you, something that only you can decide.

Hi Lisa, on the theory that a photo is worth well, you know, a bunch of words :), below are pictures that I took of our corner FV on the Infinity earlier this year. As folks have stated below, and as you can see in the images, the separation between the main cabin and the sitting room is only a translucent slider, it's not an actual door. Also, if you and your husband want to use the balcony when the kids are asleep, you'll have to walk right thru their room. And if your kids need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, they'll have to walk through yours.

There's only one bathroom, as noted above. I think the advice that I've read here and on other threads that people can use the shower in the spa or some other public area is really not very helpful, as these are nowhere near the FV cabins. And who really wants to do that, quite frankly?

The veranda is huge, as you can see. For us (two people), that was the amazing draw of the FV. But given what I think are drawbacks if more than two people are in an FV, perhaps the size of the veranda does not outweigh those drawbacks. Only you can decide (and maybe you won't think the drawbacks are any big deal). Also, please keep in mind that the FVs are held back for sale to families/groups of 5, not 4 (from what I've read on CC), until they are released for general sale, so you might not be able to get one even if you want one. But if you do, and you can't persuade Celebrity to let you book one, then check every single morning to see if the FVs have been opened up for general booking.

Whatever you decide, have a great trip!

The "master bedroom":

Taken in the sitting room:

The veranda:

(photos by turtles06)

Thank you Thank you EVERYONE! I knew you all would have some great insight! And the pictures were such a BONUS! It is not a $ consideration really. Right now we have the two rooms booked but I talked with X last night and they said they could release the FV to us with 4 so that is when we went into our dilemma. We are traveling with some other folks( in other rooms) and I dreamed of little get togethers on that large balcony while the children slept at night and family time in the mornings out there, the one bathroom didn't really bother us so much as the kids are young and no time in the shower at all. HOWEVER the privacy thing was a concern for DH and I. As much as I love the idea of the big balcony I think we will stick with our original booking of two rooms mainly for the privacy issue. IF that was like I have seen the separate room with bunks for the kids I wouldn't even have to think another second and take the FV but having to tip toe around them would defeat the purpose. Maybe next time we will try the FV, after all this is our FIRST cruise ever that we are treating ourselves to a balcony, so anything will be a special treat! Also first time on X. REALLY looking forward to it! Thanks all!

Thank you Thank you EVERYONE! I knew you all would have some great insight! And the pictures were such a BONUS! It is not a $ consideration really. Right now we have the two rooms booked but I talked with X last night and they said they could release the FV to us with 4 so that is when we went into our dilemma. We are traveling with some other folks( in other rooms) and I dreamed of little get togethers on that large balcony while the children slept at night and family time in the mornings out there, the one bathroom didn't really bother us so much as the kids are young and no time in the shower at all. HOWEVER the privacy thing was a concern for DH and I. As much as I love the idea of the big balcony I think we will stick with our original booking of two rooms mainly for the privacy issue. IF that was like I have seen the separate room with bunks for the kids I wouldn't even have to think another second and take the FV but having to tip toe around them would defeat the purpose. Maybe next time we will try the FV, after all this is our FIRST cruise ever that we are treating ourselves to a balcony, so anything will be a special treat! Also first time on X. REALLY looking forward to it! Thanks all!

Well the FV's on S class are huge, 575 square feet with two separate bedrooms. The trade off is that the balconies are only about 75 sq. ft. But something to think about for your next cruise.

Hi Turtles06!

Thanks for the pictures:) Can you please tell me what the cabin # is?

Notwithstanding the one bathroom I'd do the FV, especially if it is a corner one like turtles has posted a picture of. You can separate the room nicely. It will take a bit of organising in the cabin, but it should be fine and the balconies are huge. Cost wise you might think about a balcony and an inside across the hall.

Phil

Hi Turtles06!

 

Thanks for the pictures:) Can you please tell me what the cabin # is?

You're welcome! And that's 8166 on the Infinity (deck 8, starboard corner).

My concern with two rooms? To get that "privacy" mentioned, you would need to keep the connecting door closed. I would not do that with kids that age. Teens ,yes. A nine year old? No way. I would pick the FV myself, especially corners. Love those cabins!

We also a family of 4. We have always booked 2 cabins so we would have 2 bathrooms. Started this when the ds was 9 and dd was 5 and now that they are 19 and 15 there is no way we could get by with 1 bathroom.

You're welcome! And that's 8166 on the Infinity (deck 8, starboard corner).

Thank you!!

I think we will be right below you for 28 days on the Millie #7202:D