Beds for lil ones

[alise007]

Having a hard time finding pictures of the rooms with the beds ready for the 3rd and 4th guests. We would be cruising with a 4 yr old and a 6 yr old. Not sure how they would do on bunks (do they have railings) ??

6 yr old could prob handle a bunk if there is a railing.

 

Some of the descriptions say they have pullmans? Or do most ships have sofabeds for the extra guests? They are used to sharing sofa beds in hotel rooms so not a big deal.

 

Where do the pullman beds store? None of the cabin pics seems to have a place where I can imagine they are hiding them!

 

I have it narrowed down to 3 possible cruises--and leaning towards OV instead of a balcony to compensate for the Service/Gratuity fees/Kids Camp tips (at $12/pp on NCL for 10 days adds up QUICK!)

 

-RC Enchantment of the Seas (NE/Canada out of Baltimore) 8 night

-Norwegian Gem (NE/Canada out of NY) 10 night* leaning towards Freestyle

-Carnival Glory (NE/Canada out of NY) 7 night

 

Thanks for any input!

Shannon

[ChickyfromVA]

I think it all depends on the type of room you get. Now, I can only speak for the ship we'll be on in couple weeks. We're on the NCL Epic and we got a mini suite. Our son, who is 22M will have a full crib but they also have a sofa bed. If you get a room without a sofabed they will provide a bed rail for the beds that hang from the wall.

[parrotthead]

Carnival will be least expensive... and have an excellent Kids Program. Is very family geared these days. Lots for kids/family to do.

I will attach a pic of the pullmans on Carnival...the Cabin steward unlocks it and pulls it down the first night, and it stays down for the duration of the cruise.

Maybe younger one could sleep on sofa if you think upper would not work..depending on your child, I think a 6yo would be fine...probably Love it!

[cb at sea]

Pullmans come from the wall or ceiling...there is a short rail. The mattresses DO come off the beds, so you could conceivably put them on the floor. Sofabeds are just that...in the sofa!

Look at your deck plans and the "legend" that accompanies it...it will tell you what your cabin has, bedding-wise.

[powelweb]

I think RCCL has an age minimum of 6 for the upper bunks.

 

We've always booked a cabin with a sofa bed for our DD to sleep so I'm not totally sure on this.

[alise007]

Thanks for the replies and the pictures! The only stock photos I find on the cruise line websites show them all nice and perfect with the 2 twins or the beds pushed together. Not a good example of a family set up...

 

Kid on floor with mattress would be a perfect option!

 

Do the sofabeds open up for a full sized bed usally?

 

I tried doing a dummy reservation and indicated 2 adults/2 kids for a couple of the options above and when they show the cabin # for selection on deck plans it didn't show the symbols indicating the 3/4 person options.

 

Maybe I am missing something or there is a better site to see which cabins/which bedding options are avail!?!

[parrotthead]

Thanks for the replies and the pictures! The only stock photos I find on the cruise line websites show them all nice and perfect with the 2 twins or the beds pushed together. Not a good example of a family set up...

 

Kid on floor with mattress would be a perfect option!

 

Do the sofabeds open up for a full sized bed usally?

 

I tried doing a dummy reservation and indicated 2 adults/2 kids for a couple of the options above and when they show the cabin # for selection on deck plans it didn't show the symbols indicating the 3/4 person options.

 

Maybe I am missing something or there is a better site to see which cabins/which bedding options are avail!?!

Another option I just thought of..(duh) ,,, ask for a Trundle, Carnival has them,,, they are like a Palet on a sled (thats the best way I can describe it)... smaller than a twin , perfect for a child. and then ask for a crib for baby.

[Mom2B&Z]

I can only speak for NCL, but the pull out couch in the balcony/mini suite rooms is about 1.5ft off the ground. DS2 had just turned 3 on our first cruise and he slept in the pull out sofa just fine. We put him against the wall with DS1 (5 at the time) on the outside, no railings, and no one fell out of bed. This year they were 6.5 and 4 yrs, used the same arrangement and they were fine. I would not be comfortable with my 4yo on a top bunk, but that's because he still uses (and needs) the bed rail at home.

The other options are to have the adults sleep on the top bunks (!), or put the mattresses on the floor. I don't know if you'd have room to put mattresses on the floor in an OV.

We love NCL's freestyle concept and Canada is lovely :)

[Essiesmom]

One option you might consider, to see what things look like, is googling for pictures, or joining http://www.cruisedeckplans.com. The site is free, until you want to see the pictures, and then it costs $10/yr. But you can submit your own pictures after your cruise, and at $.50/cabin picture, you can make back your membership fee.

From looking through the pictures available on the site, there are lots of Glory, and if bed configuration is a big concern, I would go with her. OV and balcony cabins have one upper and sleeper sofa below (does not fold out). The others have two uppers. There were no pictures of quads on Enchantment. You might ask on those boards what the bed situation is in quad cabins. EM

[alise007]

I can only speak for NCL' date=' but the pull out couch in the balcony/mini suite rooms is about 1.5ft off the ground. DS2 had just turned 3 on our first cruise and he slept in the pull out sofa just fine. We put him against the wall with DS1 (5 at the time) on the outside, no railings, and no one fell out of bed. This year they were 6.5 and 4 yrs, used the same arrangement and they were fine. I would not be comfortable with my 4yo on a top bunk, but that's because he still uses (and needs) the bed rail at home.

The other options are to have the adults sleep on the top bunks (!), or put the mattresses on the floor. I don't know if you'd have room to put mattresses on the floor in an OV.

We love NCL's freestyle concept and Canada is lovely :)[/quote']

 

 

I agree Canada is very lovely!!! :) It is probably our favorite vacation destination....last summer was Toronto/Niagara Falls, we've done Ottawa, Montreal/Quebec City and Vancouver/Victoria plus on the Alaskan Cruise--we went to Carcross

[Mom2B&Z]

I agree Canada is very lovely!!! :) It is probably our favorite vacation destination....last summer was Toronto/Niagara Falls, we've done Ottawa, Montreal/Quebec City and Vancouver/Victoria plus on the Alaskan Cruise--we went to Carcross

He he he, we live near Ottawa and always plan on going south ;) Opposites attract, I guess!

Actually, Winterlude starts this weekend and we'll probably play tourist in our own back yard. Sometimes it's nice living near the capital, sometimes not so much :rolleyes:

[MandynJim]

We are headed on the Ecstasy in less than a month. My 9 yo slept in the bunk bed last year and the 4 yo was jealous, well this year they both get one. There is a railing and it shouldn't be a problem

[MrYellowDuck]

If you're in a room with bunks and your kids are young then Mum and / or Dad will have to sleep in the top bunks. A six year-old would be fine up top and a four year old would definitely not be.

 

Having young kids in a top bunk when the ship is in heavy seas may well serve to ruin your holiday.

[Colorado Kat]

How about the kids share the sofa bed? Heads at opposite ends, and all legs in the center? Would that work?

[alise007]

How about the kids share the sofa bed? Heads at opposite ends, and all legs in the center? Would that work?

They would be just fine sharing!

 

When I am going in to pick a cabin stating 2 adults and 2 kids for example on royal Carib the cabins don't display what the extra bedding options are (sofa bed or Pullmans). It assigns a cabin number but the descriptions don't indicate beds 3/4

 

Are all of the sofas pull out beds?

[angelndscz]

Instead of booking on-line, call a travel agent who can tell you the exact bed set-up in your room assignment.

[gaylemh]

I will be sailing with my 2 year old grandson on the Gem in a mini suite. He is too big for a crib. Does anyone know if you can turn the sofa around to face the wall, or is it fixed in place. Do the cushions come off if we wanted to put them on the floor to make a bed? I have also requested bed rails through my TA, he said it wouldn't be a problem. I'm just wondering if I should contact NCL just to make sure they have them.

[reallyitsmema]

They would be just fine sharing!

 

When I am going in to pick a cabin stating 2 adults and 2 kids for example on royal Carib the cabins don't display what the extra bedding options are (sofa bed or Pullmans). It assigns a cabin number but the descriptions don't indicate beds 3/4

 

Are all of the sofas pull out beds?

You need to look at the deckplans and check the legend on the side to see which cabins have pullman and which have sofabeds. I just looked at the Enchantment for you and OV cabins have pullman beds, not sofabeds. You can see on the deckplans the cabins that have the number with a cross beside them, those are the cabins that have two twin beds and two pullman.

 

To get a sofabed, you will need to get a balcony cabin on the Enchantment. Not all sofas are sofabeds so you want to look for a cabin number with a triangle beside it. There are also some balconies that have an asterik and a triangle, those have one pullman and a sofabed.

 

The sofabeds are supposed to fit two but I wouldn't put two adults on one but two little kids will be fine.

[woostercruise]

We sailed on Enchantment in a balcony cabin and it had a pull out sofa bed, I don't know what the oceanview or interiors had. Our boys were 6 & 4 at the time and did great in the sofa bed.

[Mom2B&Z]

I will be sailing with my 2 year old grandson on the Gem in a mini suite. He is too big for a crib. Does anyone know if you can turn the sofa around to face the wall, or is it fixed in place. Do the cushions come off if we wanted to put them on the floor to make a bed? I have also requested bed rails through my TA, he said it wouldn't be a problem. I'm just wondering if I should contact NCL just to make sure they have them.

On the Star we were asked how we wanted the pull out bed made up, we had it so the kids slept parallel to the wall, with our youngest on the inside. There is a bit of a hump between the two parts of the pull out, which was enough to keep our youngest in the bed. There are no cushions to come off per se, you could use a bed rail but I wouldn't trust them to have one, even if your TA or NCL says they will. Just read over the posts about dirty/broken cribs and playpens, it will motivate you to bring your own. I have successfully packed a regular bed rail in a suitcase, all you do is take it apart, just like it comes packaged from the store. I packed clothes around it and didn't have any problems, plus I knew how it worked, that it wasn't broken etc.

The other thing is that the pull out couches are not very high, so if your grandson does fall out he's more likely to scare himself than to end up hurt.