RCI For Family Group of 12?

[Fouremco]

DW and I are treating our kids, grandkids and my DS to a one week Caribbean cruise in March 2017. The GKs will be 17, 7, 5, 4 and 1.5. We are still considering Disney, but with the shrinking Canadian dollar, are looking for possibly less expensive alternatives. DW and I have only cruised HAL and Celebrity in the past, neither of which we would initially consider ideal for the GKs.

 

RCI appears to not only be less expensive but offers a great program for the GKs. As this will be our first time cruising with others, especially the GKs, what important factors should we consider? I'd really appreciate any advice that experienced family cruisers might be able to provide.

 

I'm also interested in comments on RCI cabins and configurations, especially for the family group of five.

A - 2 adults, oldest three children (maybe 2 cabins)

B - 2 adults, youngest two children

C - 2 adults

D - 1 adult

 

What are your views on the different ship sizes? Pros and cons for both kids and adults? What about individual ships?

 

I know that's a lot of questions, but anything you can offer would be appreciated.

[cb at sea]

You will want one of the ships with a nursery, I would think, for the 1.5 year old....the 17 year old will pretty much find their own fun...most older teens don't actually utilize the clubs....they just meet up with kids their own age and hang out! The 7, 5 and 4 year old will have a blast in the kids club!

 

2 cabins for the group of 5 is the way to go....and inside cabin for the kids...they do NOT need or will use a balcony! For pricing purposes, I'd book one of the kids with the lone adult....you know that cabins are priced "based on double occupancy"...you can move the cabin occupants about at will, once on the ship.

[bubba83]

Make sure the ship you choose has a splash/pool area for babies in swim diapers unless the 1.5 year old is fully potty trained at time of sailing....

 

And maybe to save you some $ would the 1 adult be willing to share a room with one or two kiddos from the group of 5? That way you are only booking 4 cabin vs possibly 5?

[AustinCruise]

Freedom class. Presidential family suite. :)

 

 

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[gerif]

Freedom class. Presidential family suite. :)

 

 

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Only if the OP has VERY deep pockets.

[janrey1234]

Price it. A family suite may or may not be cheaper than 2 rooms plus the ages of 2 of them for group 1 a family suite maybe preferrable Group 2 a jr. Suite would be good as it has a bathtub and pull out couch.

 

Last two groups I would do a jr. Suite. A single pays more plus 3rd in room is usually less

[AustinCruise]

Actually, I was semi serious. I priced one out to $1k per person. The inside I was pricing was $1900 for two.

 

It has 4 bedrooms. Not sure if I was misquoted. The week I was trying to travel was already booked so he rccl agent was just looking for other weeks because I asked about it.

 

 

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[Merion_Mom]

DW and I are treating our kids, grandkids and my DS to a one week Caribbean cruise in March 2017. The GKs will be 17, 7, 5, 4 and 1.5. We are still considering Disney, but with the shrinking Canadian dollar, are looking for possibly less expensive alternatives. DW and I have only cruised HAL and Celebrity in the past, neither of which we would initially consider ideal for the GKs.

 

RCI appears to not only be less expensive but offers a great program for the GKs. As this will be our first time cruising with others, especially the GKs, what important factors should we consider? I'd really appreciate any advice that experienced family cruisers might be able to provide.

 

I'm also interested in comments on RCI cabins and configurations, especially for the family group of five.

A - 2 adults, oldest three children (maybe 2 cabins)

B - 2 adults, youngest two children

C - 2 adults

D - 1 adult

 

What are your views on the different ship sizes? Pros and cons for both kids and adults? What about individual ships?

 

I know that's a lot of questions, but anything you can offer would be appreciated.

 

I suggest a Freedom class ship. (Freedom, Liberty, Independence)

 

(I do not know if you have a preference for departure ports)

 

Group B should book one of these two pairs:

 

9696 & 9701 or 9396 & 9401

 

 

They are a balcony CONNECTED to an interior cabin. No risk to the smaller children; two bathrooms.

Edited September 5, 2015 by Merion_Mom

[Merion_Mom]

The same "special" cabin pairs exist on all Voyager class ships, too. (Voyager, Explorer, Adventure, Navigator, Mariner)

 

9676 & 9681 and 9376 & 9381

 

[Fouremco]

Thanks for all the great suggestions so far. They certainly give us lots to think about. It doesn't matter how much cruising DW and I have done together, adding another 10 people makes it a whole new ball game! :eek:

[Desert Cruizers]

We treated our adult daughter to her first cruise last year from Sydney, Australia, but it ended up we cruised home so she got 3 in one trip.:) NZ, Transpacific and Hawaii to Vancouver. She did pay for her own air fare, hotels and tours. She is going with us again out of Quebec. I can't imagine 12. :) Have a fabulous time.

Edited September 5, 2015 by Desert Cruizers

[cruiselvr04]

The DH and I are taking 9 with us on Liberty next summer. I agonized over cabins and booked as early as they opened. We needed four cabins and we wanted to be close together and have a little room to all be together. The presidential suite was way too much even though it would be a great fit. I agree that those insides connected to a balcony would be great for kids. Here is what we did.

 

1700 for DH and I. It's the size of a jr suite with a big balcony so we can gather there once in a while. We had to book a third person in this room to get it but he won't sleep there.

2 k's right by us with three in each.

1 L as close as possible down the hall for 2.

I chose no adjoining cabins as then you lose the loveseat in the room and go down to a chair. We are hoping for the littles the baby monitor will work but don't know for sure so the adults can watch from across the hall in the evening ( not at night)

 

There are also on Freedom class ships on deck nine forward a balcony connected to an outside that would work for a family with little kids.

 

I actually chose the ship and then printed out deck plans and studied them to figure out what would be best and had several options. Ours was actually the cheapest way to go to have a balcony in the grouping. Four outsides were more then what we booked so we all decided having one balcony we could all spend some time on was the best way to go.

 

Happy planning and have a great time! We are all very excited.

[AustinCruise]

I think it's hit or miss on presidential suite pricing.

 

Freedom class has all the voyager class features plus splash zone. A big plus for younger kids. Also has flowrider (strictly enforced height limits) for older kids.

 

Navigator (voyager class) added a flowrider during drydock. I don't think the other voyager class ships have had this added yet.

 

I believe the nursery is getting added during drydocks. Not sure if on all freedom class ships or not.

 

Liberty is getting a slide in January drydock. No idea if there will be height restrictions.

 

 

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[wheretonow?]

My parents took all my sisters and I as well as our kids on a 50th anniversary celebration cruise in December. We were 8 adults and 6 kids, ages 13, 11, 10, 7, 6 and 4.

 

We were on the Freedom 7 night Western in 7 promenade cabins. Each family had 2 connecting rooms, with my folks taking one on the end. Some of use were veteran cruisers, and most were newbies.

 

Everyone had a terrific time. There was a variety of things to do for everyone, the kids club really suited the kids that could use it, and the older kids had a blast hanging out with one another. Having the rooms together was great as the couples could take turns going out at night after bedtime for the little ones, with someone staying back to keep an eye/ear out for any trouble.

 

The Freedom class has the characters for the little kids, as well as the rock climbing and ice skating for the older ones. The pool area is great for all ages. We even managed an adult only dinner while the rest were in kids club.

 

Even if we were off doing our own thing, we had early seating and all met at the MDR for dinner each night. They arranged for two tables and we rotated seating so that everyone got to see adults (and their neices/nephews) over the week.

 

Overall, I think Royal and this class of ship allowed us the most flexibility over a wide range of ages and the kids are still talking about it 9 months later.

 

Please let me know if you have specific questions, I'm happy to answer them.

[tattedbarbz]

Me and my family have been a few times with between 12 and 120of us. We are going in a couple of weeks with 13 of us.

This time it is me, 23 yo, my grandma, my auntie late 30s, my sisters 19 and 13 and my cousins 13, 20, 18, 18, 17, 15, 11 and 5.

 

In terms of cabin arrangements I think whatever causes minimal arguments in terms of kids as in cabins everyone does seem to get on top of one another (I'm choosing to stay out of sharing a cabin with my 2 sisters and choosing to share with some cousins) but really I don't find you're in the cabins for long enough for it to really matter what the arrangements are.

 

I would always opt for us to go on one of the larger ships, the fleet which includes navigator and explorer (sorry can't remember what the class is called). We always enjoy this size as there is something for everyone. The kids clubs are really good for all ages and even when I was younger, being quite shy, I always found them really fun and so do my cousins.

I think RCI are the perfect ships for all the family, whereas I've never been on Disney but I can imagine they may possibly be a bit too young whereas RCI is for everyone. We always do things as a family all togethe like go to the shows and sometimes go to a kids disco afterwards which still us older ones can have a laugh at with the kids! (I don't know if they do these anymore in the nightclubs). We also do fun things like the quest which all the family like.

 

Sorry I'm rambling on now, I cant really remember what the original question was! But basically, although I don't have much experience with other cruise lines, I find RCI perfect for what everyone's looking for, even when we've brought our younger cousins, my grandma has been with several other cruise lines and she has said she couldn't imagine us enjoying any of the other ones. We have so much fun going as a big party and I couldn't imagine going with any less of us! None of us have a better time than any others and there is always so much for all of us to do together without having to find something separate for the kids to do!

[TSC]

My DH and I prefer Celebrity when we cruise alone, but when we take the kids and grands (11 of us total with 5 kids from 11-22) for our yearly family vacation, we now prefer RCCL. We did Disney once when the kids were little. Your grands are all really good ages for Disney (except the 17 year old) and I think it would be a great option. The main advantage to Disney (IMHO) is that the night time is still fun for the grands. On Disney the shows are fabulous but still kid friendly, and they even had a dueling piano "bar" that was super fun and very kid friendly. On RCCL, you'll most of the time either send the kids to the kid club (excellent and lots of fun for the kids) or pay for babysitting.

 

On RCCL, we love the Freedom class. There is plenty to do and the kids love all the sporty things. We'd love to try Oasis or Allure, but the cost is so much more per person that I just can't make myself do it. (the extra couple of hundred dollars per person really adds up for 11 of us.)

 

As for cabins, one year, we were all in inside cabins and one year we had three connecting balconies (and one inside for the 3 boys). It is a bit challenging to find a cabin for 3 close to cabins for 2. Because our grands are old enough to stay in their own cabin (so long as connected to parents) we prefer to get the extra cabin. It doesn't cost all that much more than trying to cram 4 into a cabin and you get an extra bathroom.

 

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time!

Edited September 5, 2015 by TSC

[Fouremco]

As the 17 year old will be in his last year of high school, the decision has been made to make the cruise over his March break. That combined with the general family preference for itinerary and our embarkation port narrows us down to two cruises:

 

Harmony of the Seas

March 11 - 18, 2017

Fort Lauderdale; Labadee, Haiti; Falmouth, Jamaica; Cozumel, Mexico; Fort Lauderdale

 

or

 

Allure of the Seas

March 12 - 19, 2017

Fort Lauderdale; Nassau, Bahamas; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Phillipsburg, St. Maarten

 

Given some of the comments, we will probably split the group of five between adjoining or connected cabins; on paper, move one of the group of four in with the singleton to reduce costs; and DW and I will remain by ourselves. Does that make sense?

 

Also, can anyone comment on the Family Ocean View (FO) and Family Interior (FI) staterooms? how many do they hold?

 

Thanks for all of the great info so far!

[SevenWonkas]

No feedback on rooms themselves, but just a heads up on moving the singleton into the room with the person traveling alone..... Your muster stations are based on where your stateroom is. So if the "singleton" is someone's kid, it is possible that they will be in a different muster station than his or her parents. The chances are very slim that the muster stations will be needed, but just something to keep in mind.

 

That being said, it's going to be hard deciding on which cruise to go on for you! I'd love to try Harmony, but prefer Eastern routes over Western!

[roadburner]

Most of the family cabins on both Allure and Harmony hold six (rather crowded) family members. Each has twin beds that convert to a king, two pullman beds and a sofa bed. Both ships have a few 2 bedroom Aqua-theater cabins which hold 8 in less crowded situation. 2 sets of twin-to-king beds in separate rooms, one of which also has two pullman beds. Plus the sofa bed in the sitting room sleeps 2. Harmony appears to have one cabin on deck 12 that sleeps 12. It is listed as having 4 bedrooms, 2 pullman beds and a sleeper sofa, equaling accommodations for 12. It probably has at least 2 bathrooms, maybe 4.

 

Our family has been on several "Family Cruises", most on Royal, one on NCL. Royal has had no problem accommodating up to 14 people at one table without crowding us. We all ate together every night, even the little ones, at the "early" seating. I have seen tables in the "My Time" area that will seat up to 14 also. On NCL we were able only 3 times to get a table for all of us and only late in the evening, 8:30 or 9:00, when the little ones were tired out and ready for bed.:( I guess what i'm saying is that you should have no trouble having "family time" at dinner if you wish, whether it is every night or not.

 

There is plenty for all ages of kids on both Allure and Harmony. Harmony will be state-of-the-art. You will have a Sea-Pass card for getting onto and off the ship, but you'll have an RF bracelet for entering your room, making purchases, etc. The room is powered by inserting the sea-pass (or another plastic card) in the slot just inside of the door. When you leave, removing the card turns everything off. The younger kids absolutely love the kids club. We took our 6 and 10 year old grandsons on Freedom last year. The younger was reluctant to enter the kids club, at first, since his brother was in another age group and he's shy. But by the end of the first day we would have to bribe them to get them to leave! They both took to ice skating, the younger like he was born on skates. The elder boy was tall enough that they let him try boogie-boarding on the flow rider, which was a thrill to him. They would both play in the splash-zone for hours at a time. Younger cruisers decorate a pillow case, dress up as pirates and parade through the ship singing and shouting "Aarr!", teens hang out in their own "living room", listen to music, maybe dance, have scavenger hunts, etc. They are supervised by 23-ish year old college graduates having fun and earning money while spending a year or two at sea.

 

I hope this gives you a little idea of how fun it can be on a family cruise.

 

Kay

[cruisecraze96]

As the 17 year old will be in his last year of high school, the decision has been made to make the cruise over his March break. That combined with the general family preference for itinerary and our embarkation port narrows us down to two cruises:

 

 

 

Harmony of the Seas

 

March 11 - 18, 2017

 

Fort Lauderdale; Labadee, Haiti; Falmouth, Jamaica; Cozumel, Mexico; Fort Lauderdale

 

 

 

or

 

 

 

Allure of the Seas

 

March 12 - 19, 2017

 

Fort Lauderdale; Nassau, Bahamas; Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas; Phillipsburg, St. Maarten

 

 

 

Given some of the comments, we will probably split the group of five between adjoining or connected cabins; on paper, move one of the group of four in with the singleton to reduce costs; and DW and I will remain by ourselves. Does that make sense?

 

 

 

Also, can anyone comment on the Family Ocean View (FO) and Family Interior (FI) staterooms? how many do they hold?

 

 

 

Thanks for all of the great info so far!

 

 

Join us on the Allure :) we have 5 of us in connecting rooms with a grand suite and a balcony. I am super excited to be going on the Allure and looking forward to all the activities and shows that it offers.

[cruisecraze96]

Join us on the Allure :) we have 5 of us in connecting rooms with a grand suite and a balcony. I am super excited to be going on the Allure and looking forward to all the activities and shows that it offers.

 

 

Whoops nevermind, saw your going 2017 and we are going 2016. Sure you don't want to go sooner :)

[Caribbean Allan]

If you decide that you will be buying inside cabins...... try to buy at least ONE cabin with a balcony. Whoever in the family gets that room should have the understanding that when a little one needs to take a nap... that is the room that will be used. That way, the person that is babysitting while the child is asleep, will not be stuck inside of a small, dark cabin without a window during the daytime napping session. By the way, Royal Caribbean will have a pak-n-play for use upon request to the cabin attendant.

 

I would certainly pay an extra tip, equivalent to the normal tip per person/per day/week to the cabin attendant that is handling the extra person, such as a baby, who is not registered for that room. So yes, you'd be tipping twice for the baby: Once for the room where he is registered, and another for the balcony cabin for napping.

[Deb04103]

Folks are suggesting the Presidential Family Suite..it is also called the Four Bedroom Family Suite on the Harmony of the Seas. It has four bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. With the recently announced Royal Suite Class, that suite is listed as Star Class and includes many perks to help sweeten the deal..Ultimate drink packages, daily gratuities paid, complimentary specialty restaurants, complimentary mini-bar stocked daily, as well as butler service and many more perks worth looking into. Especially for a group that size, maybe having it truly be an 'all inclusive' type cruise may be the way to go.

Edited September 15, 2015 by Deb04103

[CruiseDancer]

 

 

 

Also, can anyone comment on the Family Ocean View (FO) and Family Interior (FI) staterooms? how many do they hold?

 

Thanks for all of the great info so far!

 

While I can't speak to the FO or FI on Allure or Harmony, my family of 5 has stayed in a forward FO on Explorer and a Family Promenade (FP) on Liberty. Both cabins have a small room with bunk beds in them. The FP had a tub instead of a shower, which may be better with a little one. They also both have a sofa bed and the normal 2 beds to combine to a king.

 

I can answer any other questions you have about these cabins if you like.

[emeraldcity]

I actually did exactly this last year. We picked a 5-day on the Liberty because the Freedom class has so many entertainment options for such a wide variety of ages. I booked one set of the connecting quad balconies on deck nine for son and daughter and son-in-law and their kids (9 of them ... 3 adults and 6 kids between the ages of 6 and 12). I booked a nearby JS for me and one person to "sleep over at Nana's on a revolving basis ... this also served as the room that was big enough for us to collect in before big events like going ashore or formal night. Then my son's GF booked a balcony on another deck for herself and DD. On night 2, Son and GF had a date night where they disappeared to be together and did some bar hopping. Meanwhile DD and son-in-law had all the kids in the connecting quads and GF's DD stayed with me. On night 4, DD and son-in-law got their date night.

 

We had 2 round 6-tops for dinner at early seating and we mixed and matched every night. We didn't stress out about trying to plan lots of togetherness,... we just went with the flow. Except for me, they were all newbies ... and they had a fabulous time.

 

If they would have offered us the Presidential suite to free up those cabins, I'd have turned them down ... too much togetherness wouldn't haven't resulted in the same experience we had where everyone felt they got to do what they wanted, but you got to get away to yourself if you wanted to. And then we'd all collect at dinner time to share the events of the day with each other.

 

Very special memories ...