People that have MORE than 2 kids...not everyone got snipped after 2!

[MizDemeanor]

One can go in the middle of mom and dads bed upside down. It's a good fit. We sleep with our dog like that all the time.

[Mandylouwho]

One can go in the middle of mom and dads bed upside down. It's a good fit. We sleep with our dog like that all the time.

 

I'm dying. I died.:D

[Gimmiethebeach]

One can go in the middle of mom and dads bed upside down. It's a good fit. We sleep with our dog like that all the time.

 

 

You are amazing. (If only my dog could figure that out. She sleeps across the bottom.)

 

 

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Edited January 4, 2017 by Gimmiethebeach

[Gimmiethebeach]

I bet you really enjoy sitting on lawns and yelling at people to stay away from your garbage cans.

 

 

 

And yes. Yes I do. :)

 

 

You rock. Why are people so nasty? I like your style Mandylouwho!

 

I can't help as I am one of the "family of four", but with two 15 yr old boys who are already bigger than their dad, we are in two rooms from here on out!!

 

 

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Edited January 4, 2017 by Gimmiethebeach

[Mandylouwho]

Are you no longer permitted to carry on a third child? I always just smacked a luggage tag on the third and left him curbside with the porter.

 

This is tempting. But then, I would make the news. And not in a fun way.

[Mandylouwho]

I believe a recent Ncl policy change would prevent it from being booked that way (although you could shift people around once on board). They made me place someone over 21 in our adjoining cabin. They wouldn't allow us to book it as a 19, 16 and 15 year old in one room, even though we were next door in connected rooms.

As a travel agent, I used to do this all the time. One adult in each cabin then do the ol' switcheroo. It does feel good to break the rules and feel like a real outsider. Paging pony boy!

 

Stay gold.

[SuperMommy]

Wow. I'm surprised to find so many snarky people on this thread. Usually CC is a more positive space.

That being said, we have three blessings and have cruised NCL for four years, albeit with extended family usually with one of our children booked in a relatives room. There are the Family Oceanviews on the "away" ships that sleep five and work well when 3/4 sail free (used to be 3-8 sail free). One of our trips we had all three as free but now they will charge you $399/$499 for the "fifth".

There are also rooms on the SUN that sleep five. This is the only ship I've been able to book five in an interior (mock bookings) and on one cruise my sister was put in one of those rooms and I'm telling you it is the most spacious interior I've ever seen and it would truly sleep five. The main bed, a fold down couch (for two) and a pullman.

Royal Caribbean you have to call and I've never bothered because I just imagine it would be sticker shock. For Disney it is cheaper for me to pay for my mother and father to come with us on the ship than to book an ocean view veranda on the smaller ships and the larger ships have very limited oceanviews without a balcony that will sleep five that they are usually booked before I can even price check them. We've never done Disney. I can go on three NCL cruises for the cost of week on Disney.

I hope this helps a little. I can also tell you that Disney remodeled Caribbean Beach resort to sleep five just like Port Orleans so if you're ever trying to do Disney World you have some hope of getting free dining and not paying too much more than $220 per night for a family of five. Good luck. There are a few 2 bedroom suites that might work but generally you'll probably be better off with 2 cabins or a family ocean view on the away ships or an interior on the Sun.

 

 

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[sanger727]

I understand your dilemma. I'm on the other side of it where I feel completely screwed as being a family of 2 adults (by choice). Then NCL offers all these 3rd and 4th sail free things that we can't take advantage of. We are certainly paying a surcharge through life per person by only paying for 2 adults instead of a family with 2 adults full price and 2 kids half off or free.

 

That being said, what you are requesting is clearly not in NCL's best interest. Right now if you are lucky you can grab one of the 5 person oceanviews and get a deal. If you aren't, you can pay more to get 2 cabins or a larger suite. Hmmm, so why exactly would NCL add more 5 person cabins?? :rolleyes:

They have you exactly where they want you.

[SNJCruisers]

I called you Marylouwho. Oops. She's not even close to my favorite Who. My bad.

So...LrgPizza...I'm dying to know...is it Roger Daltry or Pete Townsend? :rolleyes:

[SteveH2508]

One can go in the middle of mom and dads bed upside down. It's a good fit. We sleep with our dog like that all the time.

 

What if your dog produces rainbow coloured farts?:eek:

 

Enquiring minds need to know...

[bzmom2girls]

Book two rooms. I can't imagine 5 people sharing ONE bathroom, especially trying to get ready for dinner.

[sverigecruiser]

It makes good business sense to offer a product that can appeal to more people especially for NCL who markets its product to families.

 

 

 

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I dont agree that it should make good business sense to have bigger, but fewer, cabins (unless it's big, expensive suites). NCL must make most money when selling many cabins for two compared to less cabins for more than two, especially since passenger 3-8 cost much less than the first two in every cabin.

 

I have three siblings so I understand the dilemma. My parents should never be able to afford to cruise with us when we were young and the bigger car we really needed wasnt possible to buy either.

Edited January 4, 2017 by sverigecruiser

[oneplustwins]

This is the most entertaining thread I've read all week! And I'd like to agree with the poster who said "the world is designed for families of four". Some of us got the buy one get one free sale and ended up with three kids by mistake!! After having one, I talked DH into having ONE MORE. Yeah, that didn't work out as planned! That said, DH refuses to cruise, so this dilemma will not be an issue for me as it will always be me and three kids for cruising.

[suron]

I've found that most of life is about solving problems, so I have 60 years of it. I have also found that sometimes the answer is no when I try to make the world shoe horn around my individual wants. My Dad wants to cruise solo but most ships don't have single accommodations. He hates the idea of paying "extra" via a single supplement. All I can offer him in the way of advice is - "sorry, that's the way it is".

 

I too have cruised with 3 kids (blended family). I could have booked a large suite which I really couldn't afford - or two adjoining cabins which I did afford. I invited my Mother to cruise with us so she was in cabin one with two of the boys and my wife and I were in the other with the remaining son. She paid for her own fare. It worked fine.

 

There were others here with the same initial post as me - thanks for singling me out.

 

Some of the NCL ships have Studio cabins (I have been on Epic in one) These cabins are great for solos with no single supplements and there is a Studio Lounge where all those travelling along can meet up and have dinner together, go to shows or even arrange excursions together. The Lounge has tea/coffee making facilities and you can even grab a Continental breakfast there. There is a bar of an evening A crew member is usually assigned to the Studio Lounge - the one on my cruise was great and really went out of his way to ensure everyone had a good time. There was no pressure to join in but most people did and I am still in contact with people I met on that cruise.

 

Good luck with your plans

 

Suzanne

[suron]

I HAD to have three, didn't I?? For the record, I had 2 at once (thats twins, for those not paying attention), so the third just felt natural. Now, I feel like when I travel I'm being punished.

 

I currently have a family ocean view room booked on the escape for 2/3. it seems that, besides the Havens, this was the only viable option.

 

I mean. Do MOST people have just 2 kids? Is it me? Am I nuts? Besides Disney (And I don't have 11 gajillion dollas'), NCL was the only one that seemed to be even remotely understanding of my situation. But how is it that groups don't have better options?

 

Am I cray?

 

Why not think about MSC Seaview which will have Super Family Plus cabins which are three adjoining balcony cabins which according to the description can accommodate up to ten (think this may be a bit of a squash) and the price is per cabin not per person so you could link up,with another family to keep costs down? My son and his wife and their twin boys (age 13) and I are booked for July 2018.

 

Another thing with MSC is that childrenup to 17 travel at huge discounts and sometimes free and there are lots of cabin on their ships which sleep 5

 

Hope you manage to book something to suit your requirements

 

Suzanne

[mjkacmom]

As a travel agent, I used to do this all the time. One adult in each cabin then do the ol' switcheroo. It does feel good to break the rules and feel like a real outsider. Paging pony boy!

 

Stay gold.

 

PCC's encourage people to book like this, letting them know that NCL doesn't care where people sleep.

 

Cruise lines don't want more kids on the ships. They do cater to families to get the mom's and dad's onboard, but get most of their profits from the casino, and sales of alcohol and other items.

[crazymomof5boys]

we have gone thru this dilemma for years (family of 7 ages 28-7) our 2 older ones are on their own so now its 5 of us. I can't do the one room (one bathroom) with 3 boys and my husband, if we book 2 rooms its more expensive, 1 room too crowded but until a line makes a family balcony (hubby wants a balcony) that's reasonably priced we suck it up and get 2 rooms. We normally get 2 no matter where we go. I like having 2 bathrooms and space for me and hubby. Yes its always more expensive but we knew having a large family would be expensive in all aspects.

[hawkeyetlse]

Cruise lines don't want more kids on the ships. They do cater to families to get the mom's and dad's onboard, but get most of their profits from the casino, and sales of alcohol and other items.

That's really all there is to it. And the more kids mom & dad bring along, the less likely they are to pay to do things on their own (casino, spa), and paying for extras for the whole family is often out of the question. An NCL excursion for 2 is pricey. For a family of 5, astronomical. Specialty restaurant, why not? But the kids will be eating off the free menu, thank you.

 

The only way a cruise line can reliably make money off large families is to charge higher fares upfront (looking at you, DCL). Or offer a cheaper product overall (MSC).

 

Another thing is that under the current booking system, even if a room holds 5 and is theoretically for "families", nothing prevents them from being booked by 1 or 2 guests who want the extra room. Or by 5 adult cheapskates. Maybe this is why some other lines make you call to book these rooms, but as far as I know NCL treats them like any other category.

[mjkacmom]

That's really all there is to it. And the more kids mom & dad bring along, the less likely they are to pay to do things on their own (casino, spa), and paying for extras for the whole family is often out of the question. An NCL excursion for 2 is pricey. For a family of 5, astronomical. Specialty restaurant, why not? But the kids will be eating off the free menu, thank you.

 

The only way a cruise line can reliably make money off large families is to charge higher fares upfront (looking at you, DCL). Or offer a cheaper product overall (MSC).

 

Another thing is that under the current booking system, even if a room holds 5 and is theoretically for "families", nothing prevents them from being booked by 1 or 2 guests who want the extra room. Or by 5 adult cheapskates. Maybe this is why some other lines make you call to book these rooms, but as far as I know NCL treats them like any other category.

 

You have to call for the family rooms, and for any booking over 4 people.

[cv322]

I'm also the mother of twins...but there were 2 born before them :p;). What we did was book a cruise and then leave them all home with Grandma & Grandpa! THEN take the entire family to Disneyworld or Hersey or Williamsburg or to the Jersey shore for a couple of weeks. We always had a Mommy & Daddy vacation and then a family vacation....we didn't take the kids on a cruise until my oldest son was already in college, my daughter was 16 & the twins were 14. We felt that getting away alone was equally important....and we chose cruise vacations specifically for that purpose. Hope you have fun whatever you choose to do!

[thatjoeguy]

I HAD to have three, didn't I?? For the record, I had 2 at once (thats twins, for those not paying attention), so the third just felt natural. Now, I feel like when I travel I'm being punished.

 

I currently have a family ocean view room booked on the escape for 2/3. it seems that, besides the Havens, this was the only viable option.

 

I mean. Do MOST people have just 2 kids? Is it me? Am I nuts? Besides Disney (And I don't have 11 gajillion dollas'), NCL was the only one that seemed to be even remotely understanding of my situation. But how is it that groups don't have better options?

 

Am I cray?

 

You could always just cruise with one parent. That would get you back to four.

[thatjoeguy]

I think a regular cabin with 4 in it would be a cramped enough. NCL does have some cabins for 5, but it's limited. Let's face it, Cabin aren't very big. If they were, there'd be fewer cabins and they all would need to cost more. You want 5 in a cabin. What about those who have 4 kids, should there cabins for them too, without going to suites? Not sure you're being realistic about it, from the cruise line standpoint.

 

My dad was one of seven kids. Where are the options for his family?!?

Edited January 4, 2017 by thatjoeguy

[JillK]

As others have posted, most things are geared for families of four. Travelling with a larger group is more challenging.

 

We are a family of 6. My husband and I love to cruise. We decided to try it with our kids and cruised with two of them twice (first time there were only the two of them, the second time we left the younger two at home with grandparents).

 

We have now cruised twice with all four kids but were able to put our older two in a stateroom with my parents, who joined us (the first time we planned the cruise with them, on the Escape in December they invited themselves!).

 

We are now looking at future cruises and are looking at two cabins (3 and 3 or 4 and 2). We can do any number of configurations depending on what we'd like to spend but the long and short of it is that with a family of 6, that's really our only affordable choice.

 

The Haven suites are out of our price point, and I once had the family cabin on an RCI ship priced and it was also significantly than I wanted to spend on cabin alone (if I remember correctly, it was around $8500, making two cabins 3/3 more affordable).

 

Often we need go the route of two rooms - hotels, all-inclusive, etc. and always a minivan. Just the way it is with large families.

 

I think the key for cruising is to book well in advance and try for connecting cabins (as long as you're looking at same category for each and not one balcony and one inside). But yes, they can be hard to get and even more challenging when neither of the connecting cabins aren't configured for more than 2 people, which I've come across quite a bit.

 

Good luck!

 

Jill

[mkmaj]

The clear answer, Mandylouwho, is to take one for the team and book a studio cabin for yourself. I know that it would be hard to let your husband have all of the fun of sharing the small space with 3 kids at night while you're stuck all by yourself with your own shower, lounge, and fancy coffee. But we're moms. Sacrificing is what we do, right?

 

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[LSKC]

It is a constant struggle for our family of 5 as well. We had a family oceanview on the Getaway and actually loved it! Our children are 16, 11, and 8. We had no problems with storage, there was a curtain for privacy, and the window is so large you can actually sit in it. The only issue we ran into was the kids wanting to sleep on the pullman. So they rotated every night. The room also had 2 sinks and a bathtub. Our most recent couple of cruises we have gotten 2 side by side family balcony cabins because the price allowed for it. But should the price ever go up I would not hesitate going back to a family oceanview. I do wish there were more options for larger families. One other option you could do is a balcony with an inside straight across. You just have to make sure the inside room has a door that is directly across. That option works out nice price wise as well. It all depends on how your family does in one cabin. We are the type of family that don't mind being in a cabin all together. We don't spend a lot of time in the cabin anyways. Oh yes and there is a great video on youtube that shows the family oceanview with all the beds pulled out. It is on the Breakaway but is the exact same cabin.

 

Currently thinking of switching our family of 5 from 2 connecting interiors to ONE family ocean view.... do you have photos of the cabin?

Do you know how i'd find that video of all the beds pulled out? that is what i'm trying to visualize... is it just a pull down skinny bed that 2 kids have to share plus 1 pullman (we are on Escape which is Breakaway's "cousin" i hear and extremely similar in design).