Fantasy Class - 5 in one room - Review from Inspiration, 10-3-2011

My family of five (two adults and three teenagers) sailed on the Inspiration last week (October 3-8, 2011). Before we sailed, I was able to find many helpful and interesting reviews of the Inspiration; however, I was only able to find limited information on traveling with 4-5 passengers in a single inside cabin (other than countless comments from CC members who try to dissuade other members from attempting this housing arrangement). I wanted to post a review of our cabin for other families who are considering traveling with 4-5 passengers in one tiny inside cabin. I couldn’t find many photos prior to our trip and, although I was confident that we would do just fine with five in one cabin, a lot of other CC members did a good job of scaring me. Rest assured, there is nothing to worry about! The cabin worked out perfectly for us!

I selected cabin M-91. The cabin was located mid-ship, which made it very convenient to access both forward and aft locations. We didn’t expect to spend much time in the cabin and that’s pretty much the way it worked out. The cabin was used primarily as a check-in place for the kids, a place to get changed, and a place to sleep at night. We really didn’t spend much time in the cabin watching television or hanging out.

Now for the details on how we made this work! The good news is that there is a LOT more storage space in the room than we ever expected. The room has three large closets (one of which has several large shelves, a large “desk” with four spacious drawers, two small “nightstands,” a shelf under the television, a “fake” window which provides additional shelf space, and a small shelf in the bathroom. There is also a LOT of storage space under the bed, and the bed is high enough that most luggage bags should fit easily underneath.

When we got our luggage at the beginning of the cruise, I assigned each of the five of us a large shelf in the closet. There was more than enough space on each shelf to hold all of our clothes for the 5-night cruise. We also hung our nicer clothes. I hung two different shoe organizers in the closet, which held all of our shoes, flip flops, etc. We stored our five carry-on case of soda (12-packs) in the closet, as well as all of the Carnival towels and robes. We also had two dirty-laundry bags in the closet. There was a ton of closet space left over! I stored all of our luggage under the bed and there was a TON of space left under the bed.

I hung an over-the-door organizer on the bathroom door, which accommodated all of our personal items. I didn’t even need to use the small bathroom shelf that Carnival provided (the only reason you see it being used in the photos is because I took the photos at the end of the cruise, after packed away everything except what we needed to get ready the morning of debarkation).

The kids were warned about not leaving their things laying around the room, to avoid clutter. They kept everything in their shelf of the closet. None of the kids made a single complaint about the room size, nor did any of them complain about the beds being uncomfortable. Even the little trundle bed on the floor was surprisingly comfortable.

I showered in the spa twice, but on the other days we didn't seem to run into any "line" or bathroom problems. There is a large mirror in the cabin (much better than the one in the bathroom), so my daughter and got ready in front of that mirror while the boys changed in the bathroom.

Overall, the cabin worked out great and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. We saved a LOT of money this way, versus booking two cabins. Our cabin cost for the 5-night cruise was $945 total for all five of us (before port fees/taxes/gratuities, of course).

Now for the photos! I apologize for the messiness of the room…I didn’t think to take the photos until the last night of the cruise, after we’d already emptied the drawers and packed for debarkation. Hopefully they’re still good enough to give you an idea of what to expect in a 5-person room.

The photos keep rotating when I try to upload...sorry!

THIS FIRST ONE IS THE VIEW AS SOON AS YOU ENTER THE ROOM. The bathroom is on the right. Closets are on the left. Two beds are pushed together to create a queen. One of the upper bunks is on the left above the queen bed. The other upper bunk and the trundle are on the right side of the room, not visible in this photo.

THIS IS THE VIEW FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE ROOM. You can see all of the beds from this view. Again, sorry for all of the clutter...photo was taken after I emptied the desk drawers onto the desktop at the end of the cruise.

THIS ONE IS A VIEW OF THE SECOND UPPER BUNK, WITH THE TRUNDLE BENEATH IT.

THIS IS THE CORNER OF THE ROOM WITH THE TELEVISION, TWO SMALL NIGHTSTANDS, AND "WINDOW" LEDGE.

THIS IS THE DESK WITH FOUR DRAWERS. THERE IS A LARGE MIRROR ABOVE IT.

HERE ARE PHOTOS OF THE CLOSETS. Again, sorry for the rotation!

VIEW OF ROOM ENTRANCE, TAKEN FROM QUEEN BED - rotated :(

BATHROOM VIEWS - rotated :(

Very informative, thank you for sharing.

We just returned from doing 5 in an interior cabin on the Imagination. 2 adults and 3 kids (ages 9, 7, and 6). It worked out fine and would do it again. We only did a three day Bahamas, I don't think I would try it on a 7 day.

Thanks so much for those pictures!! we are getting ready to sail on Saturday with 5 in a cabin. My kids are still 8, 5, and 4. We will see how it goes and I am sure it will help with my kids all taking turns to get a sleep over with grandma too!

Thanks to the moderator who fixed my rotated photos!

thank you... we are doing 4 in 59 days on the same ship. Our cabin is R184. It will be me, DH and DS16 and DD13. I am not worried about the space of the cabin - though this will be our first interior ever. We are not in the room that much and the kids are in the room even less than my DH and I. I also plan to shower in the spa if possible at night. Our cruise is only 4 nights. The closet space you showed photos of looks standard in all the Carnival rooms we have been in. On our 7 night over the summer we had pleanty of closet space so I know we will be find for the 4 night. Thank you for posting...

we are on this ship next month on Upper....guess the room set up will be the same. We are 2 Adults are 3 Girls...bit crowded with all those beds together it looks like?

WOW!!! We thought we where suckin with three in an outside but you guys look packed in there.

Thank you for posting this. I didn't think they would let you book 5 to a room.

Thank you for posting this. I didn't think they would let you book 5 to a room.

Since this is one of the oldest ships you can also the Dream class have the family cabins which have 5 berths

Thanks for the cabin info. I'd like to bring a few family members with me on my next cruise, but have been unable to locate a 5-person cabin on Holland America, Princess or Celebrity cruise lines, no matter how large the cabin is.

We just sailed on the Norwegian Sky and had 5 to a room, it was actually a suite but had so much room!! So if you're just looking for a spot for 5, and don't mind uppricing a bit look at Norwegian! We actually went on a promotion where kids sailed free, so it was really a bargain!

That is just Fantastic! You guys must really get along:DWhat a way to save some major $$$$, with the times being tough. Cruising is such a wonderful way to vacation. We did our first Port Hole cabin, this October on Sensation and had no problems there. Only DH & I.

Any Cruise is a good one in our book, however long or short.

Great pictures too! Are you going to continue the review, with more pictures and how you spent your time on the ship? Hope so! Thanks for taking the time and effort to share with us "review hungry" cruisers.:)

All i can say is God Bless You. You said you were sailing with 3 teenagers, what are their ages? I can see from the pics, that each of you had more than enough sleep space. That is, once you were all actually "in bed". I certainly hope everyone didn't come into the cabin at different times all night. But all awake, and up. :eek: Who, by the way, got the shelf with the safe on it, for their storage needs? LOL I'm glad it all worked out well for you, and you all had a wonderful cruise. You must be a really really close family.