Stateroom suggestion for Jade based on number of occupants.

Hello,

This is my first post! I've been reading the forums for awhile now, but I've never had a question worthy of asking.

Anyways, my family (brothers/sisters and father) are planning on an 11 day Mediterranean cruise in May of 2019. No spouses involved. Just family. There are three guys and three gals. The ages are mid thirties and up.

We are looking at standard balcony rooms on deck 10 mid ship. Only two of us have cruised before so I'm not sure how some will handle the motion. Mid ship seems to be the best.

The question I have is simple: Should we get three rooms (2 in each) or two (3 in each)? I've looked at the family balcony rooms and the square footage seems to be exactly the same as the regular balcony rooms - the only difference is they connect. It's a nice touch, but not necessary for us at all.

We are trying to keep costs down, but not at the expense of enjoyment. Has anyone tried to fit three adults in a balcony room before and if so, how did it go?

We've been on Jade/Jewels a few times in different cabins...

For an 11 day cruise I would say go with 3 cabins if you can stretch to it... for a short, maybe up to one week I think you could suffer 3 in a balcony but for 11 days I think it'll get pretty old pretty quickly. The pinch-point will be the bathroom and just a general tightness on storage/movement etc.

I've done two in a cabin with one in the bed, one on the couch and that was kinda painful - it worked but ya just have 'stuff' everywhere.

IF you have to go with 2 cabins, try and split the $difference a bit and maybe go for a mini-suite... the bathroom design is a little more forgiving when it comes to get ready for dinner and those few extra sqft will help moving around.

Bottom line... 11 days... family... buy some space ;);)

I took a quick look at the May 2019 cruises on Jade. The only 11 day sailing is the May 12 sailing from Rome. I assume this is what you are looking at. I see that NCL is offering third/fourth passenger sails free in cabin. This can save you quite a bit of money if you decide to go with just two cabins.

I think you should consider two mini-suites instead of three balcony cabins or trying to squeeze into two balcony cabins. On the Jewel class ships the mini-suites offer two advantages over regular balcony cabins, a larger bathroom with a combination tub/shower and separate commode, and a much larger balcony, double the depth. The cabin itself is just a bit larger than the regular balcony cabin. We have sailed with three adults in a mini-suite a few times and have had no problems but every family is different and this is something you need to judge for yourself.

One last suggestion is to book cabins on opposite sides of the ship. If you pick cabins near the same elevator bank it will be easy to go from cabin to cabin. the advantage is that you will always have a view in all directions available to you, plus one balcony will be sunny and one shaded which ever direction the ship is sailing as well as one facing the pier and one opposite.

I have two suggestions. If everyone in your group enjoys a beverage here and there, you might be better off going with three balconies, then everyone gets to choose that promo. If a few aren't much for cocktails, then I'd suggest springing for two mini's and choose 3rd, 4th free, and the beverage pkg for 1 & 2. It's a little difficult to figure out the pricing, but I'd say passenger 1 & 2 should pay the Grats before you divide x 3. It gets complicated. Lol. But I could travel 3 in a mini suite if it is a good savings. Good luck and happy sailing.

Thank you all for the quick response!

I was also looking at those mini-suites as they seem to be the happy medium. The only thing that worries me is all the talk about wanting to be on a 'sandwich' floor (rooms above and below you). It looks like the mini-suites are located right under dec 12 where all the action is. Just a little worried about the noise for the light-sleepers among us.

I took a quick look at the May 2019 cruises on Jade. The only 11 day sailing is the May 12 sailing from Rome. I assume this is what you are looking at. I see that NCL is offering third/fourth passenger sails free in cabin. This can save you quite a bit of money if you decide to go with just two cabins.

 

I think you should consider two mini-suites instead of three balcony cabins or trying to squeeze into two balcony cabins. On the Jewel class ships the mini-suites offer two advantages over regular balcony cabins, a larger bathroom with a combination tub/shower and separate commode, and a much larger balcony, double the depth. The cabin itself is just a bit larger than the regular balcony cabin. We have sailed with three adults in a mini-suite a few times and have had no problems but every family is different and this is something you need to judge for yourself.

 

One last suggestion is to book cabins on opposite sides of the ship. If you pick cabins near the same elevator bank it will be easy to go from cabin to cabin. the advantage is that you will always have a view in all directions available to you, plus one balcony will be sunny and one shaded which ever direction the ship is sailing as well as one facing the pier and one opposite.

Yep, that's the cruise we are looking at.

I was thinking we would get rooms side-by-side but I like your suggestion about getting them on either side of the boat. The only thing is, can we fit 6 on a balcony (even in a mini suite)? The advantage of doing it the other way is that you have that extra balcony space for everyone to enjoy.

You won't have six chairs on any balcony but on the deeper mini-suite balcony six people can be standing together and move out or into the cabin quite easily, something impossible for six adults on a standard balcony.

I would lean toward the adjacent cabins if you could open the partitions between balconies making one long common balcony. We have not been able to do this on our last few NCL cruises so being side by side has lost much of its appeal to us. You can still talk around the partition but it isn't quite the same thing.

That's just us, you may feel differently. Have a great cruise. :cool:

OP, welcome to Cruise Critic!

Below are two photos of a balcony cabin on the Gem, same as the Jade, so you can see how tight the cabin is. Quite frankly, I think it would be pretty tough to have three adults in there for even a short cruise, but 11 days?! My BIL/SIL sailed in one with their then-8-year-old daughter, and when the sofa was made up into a bed, the cabin was literally wall-to-wall bed. You could not access the balcony. And that's not even getting into the issues of three adults trying to use the bathroom, get ready for the day, for dinner, etc. The Med is port intensive; you're coming, you're going, you're showering, you're changing your clothes...

We've never booked a mini suite on the Jewel class ships precisely for the reason you mentioned -- they are under potentially noisy public spaces. You'd have to pick the locations very carefully. And, with the mini-suite, consider also whether you want a tub/shower combo; the side of the tub is quite high, and can be difficult for some folks (especially short people like me, or the elderly, or people with bad knees) to climb in and out of, especially in rough seas.

I like the idea of getting three balcony cabins.

Whatever you do, have a great time!

You've received great advice but since we are just off the Jade I'll just weigh in with the others that having 3 adults share one balcony room would be REALLY uncomfortable. I definitely wouldn't recommend it. We shared with our then 11 year old daughter on a similar ship & as the other poster said once you pull the hideabed couch out you are literally crawling over it to get to the balcony. Not fun. If finances allow I think you'll be much happier with 3 cabins. BTW We LOVED the Jade! We prefer this size ship vs the megaships and love the Great Outdoors aft dining. They just refurbished this ship and they did a beautiful job. Have a great cruise!!

With adults, I would go for three cabins.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I went ahead and booked three balcony rooms side-by-side (two connecting) yesterday.

Now I just have to wait a year a two months :/