Cabin choice for a family of 4? Ruby, Alaska

[kmayoros]

We are a family of 4, (2 daughters ages 10 and 12), looking to cruise Alaska on the Ruby Princess next June (2019). I was looking at the mini-suite option since 4 of us in a standard balcony room on our last (Carnival) cruise was pretty cramped, especially the bathroom. My husband isn't tiny and likes a bit of elbow room in the shower. This is our first time on Princess so I'm not sure how the ships compare. I've considered a Vista Suite (only deck 8 is available) but is it really worth the money? I've also considered connecting balcony rooms. Is 2 small bathrooms better than 1 slightly bigger bathroom?

 

Those that have been on the Ruby before, what would you recommend?

[voljeep]

note that bathrooms in mini suites have a shower/tub combo...

 

for that reason alone, we won't book another one...but that's just us:halo:

[carmensmom]

Family suite maybe, it has 2 bathrooms

[kmayoros]

Family suites look to be sold out already :(

[ggprincess2004]

Suggest either a Caribe deck balcony, with an inside cabin directly across the hall, or a minisuite with an inside directly across the hall. Book one adult in each cabin, then put the girls in the inside. It is simple to go to the passenger services desk and get the cruise card/room keys adjusted as needed.

[Thrak]

Just be aware that Princess policy says there must be someone at least 16 years of age in the cabin... Whether they will enforce that or not I don't know.

[Colo Cruiser]

Family suites look to be sold out already :(

 

 

 

Have to call Princess to book the Family Suite. You cannot see availability online there are only 2.

 

 

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[Colo Cruiser]

A mini would be a good idea. We have sailed the ruby more than 10 times and have “been there done that” with 4 in a regular cabin. [emoji15][emoji15][emoji15]

 

 

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[DrivesLikeMario]

As a family of four, we've found that it's much better to go with 2 separate cabins. Having two balcony cabins side-by-side is the most comfortable for us. The cabin steward opens the balcony door and you can go between both cabins that way. This works well because you have two bathrooms and 2 TVs that are separated by a wall (whereas the mini's TVs are right next to each other). The kids can go to bed at a different time than you and you still have some privacy. You have two balconies and the overall space is more than a mini-suite too.

 

For this to work, you have to have kids that are really well-behaved and mature enough to be on their own at nights. I wouldn't recommend it for young kids or ones that are very "active" (to put it nicely), noisy or very messy. ;)

[jb008]

Suggest either a Caribe deck balcony, with an inside cabin directly across the hall, or a minisuite with an inside directly across the hall. Book one adult in each cabin, then put the girls in the inside. It is simple to go to the passenger services desk and get the cruise card/room keys adjusted as needed.

 

I'd second Caribe deck balcony plus the Inside cabin directly across the hall. In a pinch, you could probably have the interior or balcony room set for 4-occupancy by the steward and then use the other bed cabin for the 2nd bathroom and extra living space/elbow room if the girls aren't OK being left alone at night (assuming the "registered" room assignments are really 1 parent + 1 kid per each room to fulfill Princess' policy on requiring a 16+ person in every room). Balcony + inside is probably cheaper than quad occupancy in a balcony, and very likely cheaper than quad in a minisuite.

 

Added in Edit: Caribe balconies are much larger, so easier to fit family of 4 comfortably on the balcony.

[moki'smommy]

Definitely do not try to put 4 people in one cabin. You want either a mini or 2 cabins. 2 cabins will actually give you more space--as noted, you'll need to book one adult in each. After boarding, they don't care who sleeps where. One hint with kids in their own cabin--if you have or can locate/borrow an old baby monitor, you can put it in the kid's cabin with the receiver in yours. That way, you can have "ears on" any time you wish. My concern is not to "spy" on them, but rather to be sure they are OK....not scared being in a cabin alone but now wishing to tell you.

[Kellie in Texas]

No way would I put a 10- and 12-year-old in a room across the hall from me on their own. My family of four has done two cruises with all four of us in one room -- one was Alaska 2011 when we had an OV (sons were 18 and 10) and then an inside for the Baltics in 2016 (sons were 23 and 14). It can totally be done and we saved hundreds of dollars that could be used for excursions.

 

The #1 rule with four in an inside is "don't leave your shoes in the middle of the floor." :)

[skynight]

Two adjacent balconies would work well. You will have to initially book one adult in each cabin, but once on board you can move around and request additional cruise cards. There are some cabins that have interior connecting doors. You can find them on the Princess web site deck plans.

 

The Vista suite would be a nice option, includes Club Class dining plus some other perks like breakfast in the Crown Grill. The family suite also has full suite benefits.

[Wiggums]

Not sure about the Ruby but we did Alaska on Emereld in C526/C530 which are considered Premium Balcony rooms.

We had 7 people in our party and split 4 / 3 in the two cabins. !!!NEVER!!! again will we do the balcony cabins with 4 people. Once the beds are down you lose the entire cabin to the beds. You can't watch TV, or even sit on the beds comfortably. In the cabin with 3 people it was not as bad but you still lose a lot of space. Even getting into the top bunks is a pain.

 

We are sailing Emerald again next summer but this time we are doing two Mini-Suites E725/E727 with the same group. The bed setup is different and we are looking forward to having some extra space.

[Desert Cruizers]

Since Mini Suites/JS are smaller then Royal Caribbean, I would try and book two rooms. The big difference with their room sizes is the balcony is factored in with the room size. On Royal Caribbean a room size of 230 sq ft is just that plus the balcony of 47 +.