? for those who had a rollaway bed in balcony cabin

[brenderlou]

We will be on our 1st Princess cruise (Crown) this Nov. We have a standard balcony cabin on Baja deck and requested a roll away bed instead of using the upper berth for our 5 yr old daughter. I called Princess yesterday and we have been confirmed to have this in our cabin.

 

My question is.....which is the best bed configuration (twin or queen) so the roll away can fit next to the bed (instead of being placed at the end of the bed or by another wall)....or does it matter? Does it fit next to the bed either way?

 

Our last cruise (Celebrity) we had a roll away and a queen bed configuration. The roll away fit perfectly between the wall and the edge of one side of our bed....worked perfectly and no worries about rolling off the bed....hoping for the same set up this cruise. Thanks

[Iamcruzin]

We had a roll away bed in a Baja balcony stateroom. There were 4 of us so we had to use the upper bunk. I have to tell you that it was very tight with the roll away bed and a queen set up. The roll away bed was set up horizontally pushed up to the desk. I don’t know if there is enough room to put it between 2 twin beds. Now that my boys are older, the next time we all cruise together I will book 2 inside staterooms. It actually works out to be cheaper than booking a balcony for the 4 of us and we have privacy and 2 bathrooms.

[Colo Cruiser]

Only place the rollaway can fit is in front of the balcony door.

[brenderlou]

Thanks for the replies.....but isn't the roll away a twin size (or a little smaller)? If we have the beds seperated, won't there be enough room in the middle for the roll away to fit between?

Edited October 19, 2009 by brenderlou

[can786]

Thanks for the replies.....but isn't the roll away a twin size (or a little smaller)? If we have the beds seperated, won't there be enough room in the middle for the roll away to fit between?

 

No. There is not any more than eighteen inches between the beds.

[sunnyv]

The only thing separating 2 twin beds is the night stand, which doesn't allow enough room for the rollaway bed. There is a pretty good picture of the Ocean View with Balcony cabin from Princess' website, about half way down the page, I hope this helps: http://www.princess.com/learn/ships/ep/staterooms/index.jsp

[TwinCruiserMom]

I think you will be very surprised at how small the cabins really are. I really do not know how your room steward would be able to cram the rollaway between twin beds. Even if it would barely fit, which I doubt, he would have to crawl all over the twin beds to wedge it in there.

 

The only place I have heard of them putting rollaways is by the desk in front of the balcony. You will have very little room to maneuver at all with the bed in the room.

 

When you get to the cabin, have the room steward lower one of the pull down bunks and look at the safety rails etc, and see if there is a chance you would let your 5 year old sleep up there. They are very comfortable, much more so than a rollaway, and kids your child's age sleep up there all the time. If your child is the type to roll all around on the bed, you would be better off with the side rails on the bunk.

 

Good luck!

[brenderlou]

DH and I are absolutely fine with her in the upper berth w/ the rails but the last cruise she wanted to sleep "down stairs" as she put it so DH had to climb up every night to sleep.

Does the room steward fold up the roll away during the day?

 

I guess we'll just have to see how the set up is when we board and cross our fingers that she'll use the upper berth so we can give the roll away back to the steward. Wish us luck!!!!!

Edited October 19, 2009 by brenderlou

[rjack22]

I too would recommend that your 5 yr old use the upper bunk. You will all be much more comfortable. I would just sit down with your child and talk to her about using the upper bunk and that it will be her bed for the cruise. Be firm. Tell her that is where she is going to have to sleep on this cruise. And above all don't let your husband cave and sleep there himself. If your daughter knows in advance that this is where she is expected to sleep and you keep reinforcing this before the cruise I think she will come around. Make her see it as an adventure.

 

The only place in a balcony cabin for a roll away is across the balcony door. It will make no difference how the beds are configured, either together or apart.

 

I would sure avoid a roll away bed if it were me.

[Dorset Cruiser]

DS and his partner had a rollaway bed in an Aloha deck balcony on Ruby in January. They were with their two children aged 5 and 3. The intention was for one child to use the drop-down bunk and one to use the rollaway. However, in reality, as the cabin had a queen bed layout, after the first night, the two children slept in that with their mother and my son used the rollaway. Although he is over 6 feet tall, he had no problem as the rollaway was a little wider than a single and he just slept corner to corner. They had no problems as the steward did not have to sort out the drop-down bunk after the first night and the rollaway was 'rolled away' during the day, with the children using the queen bed for their afternoon naps.

 

By the way the rollaway was always set up by the balcony door. There were definitely not be room in between a twin bed setup.

Edited October 19, 2009 by Dorset Cruiser

[brenderlou]

DS and his partner had a rollaway bed in an Aloha deck balcony on Ruby in January. They were with their two children aged 5 and 3. The intention was for one child to use the drop-down bunk and one to use the rollaway. However, in reality, as the cabin had a queen bed layout, after the first night, the two children slept in that with their mother and my son used the rollaway. Although he is over 6 feet tall, he had no problem as the rollaway was a little wider than a single and he just slept corner to corner. They had no problems as the steward did not have to sort out the drop-down bunk after the first night and the rollaway was 'rolled away' during the day, with the children using the queen bed for their afternoon naps.

 

By the way the rollaway was always set up by the balcony door. There were definitely not be room in between a twin bed setup.

 

Thanks so much for the post Dorset Cruiser!!!!

 

I was thinking that it will end up the 3 of us in bed together and that's the end of that. Our daughter just does not like the upper berth and I'm not going to insist she sleep there.

We'll just leave things as they stand with the roll away and if we find we don't need it we will let the room steward know so he can take it away. No matter what, it's almost cruise time and we'll have a blast!!!

[Dorset Cruiser]

Glad to be of help.

 

I do understand when people say that there is not much room to manouevre when you have a rollaway bed but when you are only travelling with a small child, I don't think it matters so much. The rollaway is set up when you are at dinner and so you will not need to move around the cabin much after that - well that is what my DS found. As I say the children used to take their naps in the afternoon in the queen bed with their parents on the balcony - so not a problem there. The children had the nap in the afternoon and then stayed up later at night.

 

I personally would not like to put a small child up in that bunk and in fact I would not like to use it myself. I am sure it is perfectly safe but I would rather be safe than sorry and it is always better for small children to sleep 'down stairs' on a cruise, if at all possible.

 

Enjoy your cruise - we are just back from ours and busily planning for 2010:D

[nhcruisertoo]

I know this is an older thread but, I have questions about a rollaway in a balcony room, too. I will be travelling on the Caribbean Princess on the Scandanavian cruise this summer. We usually go with a mini-suite since there are three of us but, the airfare is very expensive and that along with the cruise cost make it impossible for us to do that this time. I originally thought my teenage daughter could just sleep in the pull down upper berth but, I have been reading comments that if that is used the lower beds cannot be put into a queen bed configuration due to safety reasons. I don't want to have the rolloway in the room since the roonm will be farily small but, I also don't want my husband and I to have to sleep in twin beds on our vacation. Does anyone know if we are allowed to have a queen bed configuration and use the upper berth?

[Essiesmom]

If you keep the beds together, the steward will either have to separate them every night to pull down the bunk, or get up and stand on your bed to do it. If you choose the latter, the ladder will have to come off the foot of the bed and blocks the path to the bathroom. EM

[Iamcruzin]

I know this is an older thread but, I have questions about a rollaway in a balcony room, too. I will be travelling on the Caribbean Princess on the Scandanavian cruise this summer. We usually go with a mini-suite since there are three of us but, the airfare is very expensive and that along with the cruise cost make it impossible for us to do that this time. I originally thought my teenage daughter could just sleep in the pull down upper berth but, I have been reading comments that if that is used the lower beds cannot be put into a queen bed configuration due to safety reasons. I don't want to have the rolloway in the room since the roonm will be farily small but, I also don't want my husband and I to have to sleep in twin beds on our vacation. Does anyone know if we are allowed to have a queen bed configuration and use the upper berth?

 

We were on the Caribbean Princess in B422 when we used the rollaway bed and the upper berth in a balcony room. We did have a queen bed configuration with this set up. I don't even think we would have been able to fit the rollaway bed in the room if the two twin beds weren't pushed together to form a queen bed. The upper berth was one that dropped down from the ceiling. The ladder was at the foot of the bed and I don't recall it blocking the path to the door or bathroom. The rollaway bed, even when folded up during the day was always in the way of something. I would rather sail in an inside with 4 people than ever have to deal with the rollaway bed again.

[karatemom2]

We had traveled with 4 in a Sapphire balcony last year and it was tight but we made it work. The twins were pushed together against the wall and we put the nightstand on the other side. At night the pulldown came down over our bed and the foldout was set up right next to our bed. During the day it was folded up and the steward stored it behind the curtain against the balcony door.

[Times Prince]

If you can afford it a minisuite is the way to go, seeing as the drop down bunk doesn't work. The sofa in the cabin becomes a very comfortable bed (unlike normal sofa beds at home) and you always have room to move around the cabin.

 

Just a suggestion.

[Saisa]

DS and his partner had a rollaway bed in an Aloha deck balcony on Ruby in January. They were with their two children aged 5 and 3. The intention was for one child to use the drop-down bunk and one to use the rollaway. However, in reality, as the cabin had a queen bed layout, after the first night, the two children slept in that with their mother and my son used the rollaway. Although he is over 6 feet tall, he had no problem as the rollaway was a little wider than a single and he just slept corner to corner. They had no problems as the steward did not have to sort out the drop-down bunk after the first night and the rollaway was 'rolled away' during the day, with the children using the queen bed for their afternoon naps.

 

By the way the rollaway was always set up by the balcony door. There were definitely not be room in between a twin bed setup.

 

Do you recommend the rollaway bed? We are four, two adults and two kids 12 and 9. Is uncomfortable the rollaway bed?

Thanks

[Colo Cruiser]

Do you recommend the rollaway bed? We are four, two adults and two kids 12 and 9. Is uncomfortable the rollaway bed?

Thanks

 

It would be much better to use the main bed and 2 additional bunks rather then the rollaway. We have used one and never again. It hits the balcony door and the main bed at the same time. Big time safety issue. No room to move. They do put it up during the day but its a pain when set up. If you can find a cabin that has 4 berths it would be better.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Welcome to Cruise Critic. In case you didn't notice, this thread is several years old. I understand some, if not all, cruise lines no longer use rollaway beds for safety reasons. So double check with your travel agent or Princess before getting your heart set on one. As Colo Cruiser mentioned above, there are cabins on Princess that will hold four in a cabin, with bunk beds that either fold down from the walls or drop down from the ceiling.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Edited June 24, 2015 by SoCal Cruiser78

[RayWitt001]

We are sailing on the Diamond in October and we have booked one of the very few balcony cabins for 4 that has a Queen, rollaway and upper berth for the 4 of us (hubby, myself and 10 & 6 yr old). Having never been on a proper cruise before I was shocked that there was little option of having a double/queen bed with 4 berth and the room configuration we have booked was reason we chose a balcony. I would have been happy with oceanview but all these rooms were 2 sets of bunks (all singles). Is it just accepted that families book multiple rooms or are they all just expected to sleep separately? For spending so much money you would think there would be more options for families (apart from 2 rooms or a family suite at almost double the price of a balcony).

The room we have was marked on the deck plan as having a rollaway in the room and is classified as a 4 berth. Depending on how it goes (when we see it 'in the flesh') we may even get the 2 kids to "top and tail" in the rollaway so we don't have to worry about the upper bunk.

If they can provide bigger cabins for wheelchair access, I don't see why they couldn't provide family friendly 4 berths in each category without having to spend $$$$ extra.

[Saisa]

It would be much better to use the main bed and 2 additional bunks rather then the rollaway. We have used one and never again. It hits the balcony door and the main bed at the same time. Big time safety issue. No room to move. They do put it up during the day but its a pain when set up. If you can find a cabin that has 4 berths it would be better.

 

I really appreciate your advice, thanks for your time. I booked a room with 2 uppers! Is there any another recommendation for this cruise? We are excited! We are going in Emerald Princess, 6 days!

Edited June 26, 2015 by Saisa

[Colo Cruiser]

I really appreciate your advice, thanks for your time. I booked a room with 2 uppers! Is there any another recommendation for this cruise? We are excited! We are going in Emerald Princess, 6 days!

 

 

You are welcome. I think 1 of the issues is once the ship reaches capacity for 3rd and 4th passengers even though there may still be 3/4 berth cabins available they are unable to book the extra people in the cabin. I always say if you think you may need one of these book early. ;)

 

Have some stuffed olives in the Adagio Lounge! :)

[caribill]

You are welcome. I think 1 of the issues is once the ship reaches capacity for 3rd and 4th passengers even though there may still be 3/4 berth cabins available they are unable to book the extra people in the cabin. I always say if you think you may need one of these book early. ;)

 

 

This is no longer a restriction on any Princess ship.