Family veranda stateroom?

[gem lady]

Hi all, I have had a temporary lapse of sanity and am contemplating a cruise for next spring with an 18 year old nephew and 16 year old niece. He will be graduating from High school and neither child has ever been on a cruise before. It would be on the Silhouette the week of April 5th. What would be the best housing arrangement? Isn't there a family veranda stateroom that would be good for 4. I can't seem to find it. I am not keen on them staying in a stateroom by themselves. Any input on this would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Algebralovr]

The family veranda rooms are only available by booking on the phone, and only with a family of 5 when booking early. They are made of a room with a king bed, a room with bunk beds, and a sofa for the 5th person.

 

Would you happen to have another niece or nephew to take along? Or perhaps one of their parents can go? You'll need extra paperwork to take the 16 year old out of the country as well. I'm not sure about the 18 y old.

[CoralReef]

Not true. We booked an FV online, as a party of two, 7 months out.

[WestLakeGirl]

The FV rooms may be booked out

[6502programmer]

Call. Sometimes they're booked up, sometimes they're on reserve for larger parties. The only way of knowing is to call.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[ghstudio]

Hi all, I have had a temporary lapse of sanity and am contemplating a cruise for next spring with an 18 year old nephew and 16 year old niece. He will be graduating from High school and neither child has ever been on a cruise before. It would be on the Silhouette the week of April 5th. What would be the best housing arrangement? Isn't there a family veranda stateroom that would be good for 4. I can't seem to find it. I am not keen on them staying in a stateroom by themselves. Any input on this would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Sounds like 2 connecting staterooms might work well for you....probably better than a family verandah. Celebrity will allow you to book a room for a minor if the room is adjacent to yours. That way you can have the connecting doors open during the day and either keep them ajar at night or whatever. Don't worry about who's name you put on the second cabin....celebrity doesn't care who actually sleeps there.

Edited May 4, 2014 by ghstudio

[Lsimon]

As others have said the only want to be sure about FV cabin availability is to call directly or through a TA.

 

I agree with GH Studio that you should consider connecting cabins or possibly just an adjacent or nearby cabin.

 

Besides there are pros and cons the choice between the FV cabin vs. two standard cabins. The main plus for two cabins is that you'll have two bathrooms (FV cabins have only one small bathroom) and the teens will have two regular twin sized beds. Depending on the ship you'll also have a bit more privacy for you and your wife.

 

The FV cabins on M class ships do have a wonderfully large, aft facing, veranda and they are highly sought after for that reason. The interior of the cabin is pretty large with lots of storage and is semi-divided into the main room and a sitting room with two sofa beds for the kids. The sitting room can be closed off a little with a divider but the kids will need to pass through the main room to get to the bathroom and the path to the veranda is through the sitting room.

 

The FV cabins on the S class ships do have two bedrooms. The bedroom for the kids is very small and has a set of bunk beds. The one S class FV that I saw had a pretty small odd shaped veranda although I understand that the FV cabins on a different floor had a larger veranda.

[gem lady]

Thanks for all the help. I did not realize that these staterooms had a single bathroom. Sharing a bathroom with 2 teenagers is a deal breaker for me. This will definitely be a 2 stateroom adventure! Besides, I may come to my senses before then! Jane

[Want2Cruise 701]

FV's were just released for our Xmas sailing online 7 mos out and we were able to book for 3ppl. We didn't because prices were extremely high. They do get released early sometimes and you can book online.

[Ando]

FV's were just released for our Xmas sailing online 7 mos out and we were able to book for 3ppl. We didn't because prices were extremely high. They do get released early sometimes and you can book online.

 

I have been checking daily for Solstice 09 Dec 14 cruise and they still have not been released for general booking, yet all 4 are available to book for a family of 5. We had one on our last cruise and it was perfect for our family of 3.

[Pushkin]

We have cruised on the Silhouette with our 2 teenagers in connecting cabins. The Silhouette, and all the other S-class ships except the Reflection (I believe), have a great set-up for connecting cabins. The outside door (to the hall) can be shut, and you can leave the inside cabin door to each cabin open. So you have the outside door, a small foyer/vestibule and then the doors to each cabin. Like I said, it is a great set-up for traveling with kids/teenagers. You can probably search "connecting cabins Silhouette" and get several hits. Have fun!

[drinkspackageexpert]

I rang Celebrity in reference to the FV rooms for myself and 3 of my children and was told in no uncertain terms that those room were NOT available to book for a party of less than 5...except where the rooms are released AFTER the deadline for paying in full. So I would like to know how you have managed that...plus, here in the UK at least, those rooms are not available at all online. They must be booked direct with Celebrity or a Travel agent.

[Turtles06]

I rang Celebrity in reference to the FV rooms for myself and 3 of my children and was told in no uncertain terms that those room were NOT available to book for a party of less than 5...except where the rooms are released AFTER the deadline for paying in full. So I would like to know how you have managed that...plus, here in the UK at least, those rooms are not available at all online. They must be booked direct with Celebrity or a Travel agent.

 

I can't speak to anything that might be different in terms of booking in the UK, but the part in bold is not correct, at least as to USA bookings. Celebrity releases the FVs for sale to anyone whenever they decide to release them, and that can be *before* final payment. My spouse and I were fortunate to snag a corner FV sometime last summer for our Infinity TA in the fall; it was well before final payment. (And actually, now that I think about it, one of the couples on our Roll Call who also got a corner FV at the same time was from the UK.)

Edited May 25, 2014 by Turtles06

[drinkspackageexpert]

I can't speak to anything that might be different in terms of booking in the UK, but the part in bold is not correct, at least as to USA bookings. Celebrity releases the FVs for sale to anyone whenever they decide to release them, and that can be *before* final payment. My spouse and I were fortunate to snag a corner FV sometime last summer for our Infinity TA in the fall; it was well before final payment. (And actually, now that I think about it, one of the couples on our Roll Call who also got a corner FV at the same time was from the UK.)

 

 

Not being rude, but please do not tell me I am wrong!!! I quoted the information given to me directly from Celebrity after I rang and spoke to them yesterday. Whether or not that applies to all countries does not negate from the fact that is the information I received from them. Please do not tell me I am wrong. Thank you

[CoralReef]

Not saying you're wrong. Saying Celebrity is wrong in what they told you. Our experience was the same as Turtles06.

Edited May 25, 2014 by CoralReef

[drinkspackageexpert]

I did point out that I made enquiries from the UK. But if the US can book a FV with 2 people but the UK cannot even book for 4 is that not somewhat unjust? I know it would irk me if when on my cruise with the children having to find a 5th person in order to book a FV and finding that a couple alone had managed it with just the 2 of them. No it would not make me angry or make me change cruise companies but I would be irked. Lol

[DebbieMacG]

I did point out that I made enquiries from the UK. But if the US can book a FV with 2 people but the UK cannot even book for 4 is that not somewhat unjust? I know it would irk me if when on my cruise with the children having to find a 5th person in order to book a FV and finding that a couple alone had managed it with just the 2 of them. No it would not make me angry or make me change cruise companies but I would be irked. Lol

 

I'm from the UK and I've seen an FV released for general sale before final payment as well. I don't think you are wrong or the Celebrity agent is totally wrong as late release is what "normally" happens, but it's up to revenue to decide when cabins are released (as they do with gty's) and your general Celebrity operative may not be aware of this.

 

Often people on CC know more about Celebrity than the operative on the phone does! :)

[Turtles06]

Not being rude, but please do not tell me I am wrong!!! I quoted the information given to me directly from Celebrity after I rang and spoke to them yesterday. Whether or not that applies to all countries does not negate from the fact that is the information I received from them. Please do not tell me I am wrong. Thank you

 

If you will look again at my post to which you have taken such offense, I never said that you were wrong. I said the information you posted --- that you got from a Celebrity rep --- was not correct. That's not the same as saying "you were wrong." And it wouldn't be the first time that a Celebrity phone rep was mistaken. I have personally booked an FV for only two people before final payment, and, as I noted above, so did a couple from the UK on our same TA.

 

When people on CC are trying to help you, you really should let them.

Edited May 26, 2014 by Turtles06

[Turtles06]

I did point out that I made enquiries from the UK. But if the US can book a FV with 2 people but the UK cannot even book for 4 is that not somewhat unjust? I know it would irk me if when on my cruise with the children having to find a 5th person in order to book a FV and finding that a couple alone had managed it with just the 2 of them. No it would not make me angry or make me change cruise companies but I would be irked. Lol

 

The US cannot book for 2 people unless and until Celebrity releases the FV for bookings for fewer than 5 people which, based on the experiences I posted above for the UK folks on our TA, should be the same time you can book for 4, or 3, or 2, or just take the cruise by yourself.

 

I don't think you have anything to be irked about.

[drinkspackageexpert]

The US cannot book for 2 people unless and until Celebrity releases the FV for bookings for fewer than 5 people which, based on the experiences I posted above for the UK folks on our TA, should be the same time you can book for 4, or 3, or 2, or just take the cruise by yourself.

 

I don't think you have anything to be irked about.

 

I do not believe I would be wrong to be irked IF i had tried to book a Family Room a year or 18 months in advance, to then find that the reason my family of 5 could not get one is because 2 people in each room had them. Yes, I would be irked...lol. IF I did not get one due to all FV being booked to capacity, then that is my tough for being late to book. And if I tried to book last minute and they were taken up by couples, then again, tough on me for not getting to it first. Again, like I have been TRYING with no luck to explain, when I go onto the page to book a cruise, i can choose either 1 adult and 3 children, OR 2 adults and 2 children.....at no point has it been available for me to choose 2 adults and 3 children.....I am aware that I need to go to a Travel Agent or ring Celebrity direct to book a FV. I have no why I do not get the option to book a FV online, BUT THAT IS HOW THE EXPERIENCE IS FOR ME.....and as you have all pointed out to me so graciously, it is a very different experience than yours. All I asked, is how did any of you manage to book a FV for 2 when minimum capacity is 5. Obviously we all have differing experiences. Please Enjoy your cruises, no matter where they take you. Relax and Enjoy :D