Largest indoor or ocean view rm vs balcony or jr ste

[Sthrncrusr]

In years past my husband and I have traveled on RCL ships in either balcony rooms or junior suites. Next year we plan to bring our two kids with us to Europe for a 7 nt cruise. That said, I'm trying to see the cost savings and it looks like ships such as the Liberty offer large interior or ocean view rms with pullout sofas our kids cld sleep on. Normally, I would always take at least a balcony room for the view but with my husband being scared of heights and not going out there and the fact we'd have two small children with us, it seems this may be a logical way to save $. I figure we will be up early dropping the kids off at adventure ocean so we cld just grab a cup of coffee and find a spot on one of the decks?! I have never stayed in a non suite balcony room with a sofa bed. If this were an option which I'll chk on then perhaps we won't have to splurge on a suite but has anyone ever stayed in the interior or ocean view family rooms? Where you can push the beds together but also have a sitting area with a pullout sofa bed for the kids? Just seems SO much cheaper and a lot more space than the small balcony rooms. Plus we won't be in there a whole lot...thoughts? Ps I've been on a Med cruise in a balcony suite so I've gotten to experience it. Now I'm just trying to be economical.....:-)

[UCF_Knight]

It sounds like you are talking about the Family Interior (FI), Family Promenade (FP), and Family Oceanview (FO) rooms. They are huge, and are the same size or larger than a Junior Suite. They have a the master bed, a separate "bunk room" area with bunk beds, and a pull-out sofa. Many also have walk-in closets and bathtubs.

 

The problem for you is that you indicated 4 people in your traveling party. The "Family" staterooms are typically only available to book if you have 5 or 6 people. They only open them up to parties with 4 or less if it is a particularly slow booking cruise. When they do offer them to groups of 4 or less they usually sellout within days.

[UCF_Knight]

I should also mention that if you are not talking about the "Family" cabins, there are no interior or promenade cabins on Liberty which have a sleeper sofa.

 

All regular interior cabins which can fit more than 3 on Liberty do so by using Pullman beds that fold down over the main beds. As for Promenade cabins, there are no normal Promenade staterooms that fit more than 2 people.

 

There are a limited number of Large Oceanview (category F) which do have a sleeper sofa. Those cabins are a little smaller than the inside space of the smaller balcony cabins.

[Sthrncrusr]

Geez, I was afraid of that! We are thinking the Liberty next year and unless we get a suite the rooms are SO cramped. However, the interior family rooms I'm referring to only have the one large bed (two pushed together), and the pullout sofa. Unless I missed something about additional sleeping areas? So it seems it would sleep 4?! You are probably right though. I guess my next question, is what do people do when traveling with their kids? We don't need them to have their own sep rooms/bathrooms. Do the balcony rooms come with pullout sofas?

[leaveitallbehind]

You didn't mention which ships but did mention several room options. In general, the standard interior rooms can be noticeably smaller than the balcony rooms, and certainly the JS's you are used to. You did mention an oceanview family room, which may be a good option to consider. (And, depending on ship, there are also inside family and promenade family staterooms).

 

We have stayed in the FOV before which, only lacking a balcony, are very spacious and will provide the queen size bed, sofa bed, as well as two bunk beds in a separate small room that allows the stateroom to accommodate up to six. (They will allow four if available). There is only one bathroom however. This may also be in an acceptable budget given your JS experience but in a way that will comfortably accommodate all of you in one room.

[mjldvlks]

How about connecting OV or interior cabins? Enough space for four, two bathrooms and still probably cheaper than a suite.

[Sthrncrusr]

Thanks y'all! I have always booked through RC direct. Do you think I tell the vacation specialist my predicament they will do their best to help me find the most economical option? I didn't even think about connecting rooms....

[leaveitallbehind]

Thanks y'all! I have always booked through RC direct. Do you think I tell the vacation specialist my predicament they will do their best to help me find the most economical option? I didn't even think about connecting rooms....

 

Yes - they will be happy to look at all options to best fit your budget and needs. It really isn't a predicament - families of four travel all the time in various types of accommodations. When we travelled with our family as the kids were growing up we were a family of five - now that was more of a predicament!

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[UCF_Knight]

Thanks y'all! I have always booked through RC direct. Do you think I tell the vacation specialist my predicament they will do their best to help me find the most economical option? I didn't even think about connecting rooms....

 

If you are looking for the absolutely most economical option on Liberty of the Seas for 4 people without resorting to pullman beds, that would typically be a single category F Large Oceanview with sofa bed.

 

If you need more space, the connected interiors would typically be a bit more money, but you would have a lot more space, 2 bathrooms, and 4 real twin beds.

 

If you want something to look at, connected promenade cabins would be a bit more than connected interiors, but you would be able to see the promenade instead of 4 insdie walls.

[Ourusualbeach]

My kids actually prefer the Pullman beds to the sofa bed. Much more comfortable and they each get their own bed. We don't spend much time in the cabin so we've never had a problem with regular inside cabins for the four of us. We even did 4 days on the Majesty (120 sq ft) That was cramped but we survived and had a great time.